Vacation is Supposed to be Relaxing

Have you ever had a vacation week where you cannot wait to work because so much required your attention that work would have been a vacation? Welcome to what I went through last week.

I had been looking to a week of rest and relaxation before starting my new job. My nephew had the week off so we decided that we would take his two boys to Hershey Park and on the way home we would stop off at the Crayola factory.

Monday morning started fine enough and we made it to Hershey in the 3 ½ hours that it was supposed to take. We managed to find our hotel room with no problem; but, then it took us 30 minutes to find where the restaurants were in the Hershey Lodge. All I could keep thinking as we walked the entire lodge and climbed up and down steps is I am getting a good workout. The Hershey Lodge is huge and it took us that entire day to find our way around it. After lunch we went to the pool and I made some telephone calls to my car insurance agent (remember, I am trying to get my car fixed from my fender bender).

Tuesday after breakfast we were heading to Hershey Park. As we are standing on line for the shuttle bus to take us to the park, I receive a phone call from the Employee Health Department at North Shore – LIJ. I am advised that I need to have a rubella vaccine shot and the Hepatitis B vaccine unless I choose to decline the Hep B and I need to sign the “declination form” and fax it back to them. Remember, I am on vacation not due home until Wednesday evening and my start date is Monday, 27 June. I quickly call my doctor and am able to schedule an appointment for Thursday morning to have the nurse give me my rubella shot.

At some point during the day I also need to speak to my insurance agent and provide her with a recorded testimonial of the accident. I tried calling her at 8:30, 9:00 and at various times as Ryan was on a ride in Hershey Park but to no avail. The boys enjoyed the rides in Hershey, the lunch we had and Ryan wants to go to Chocolate World to make his own candy bar – by this time Callum is showing signs of tiredness and ready for a nap. We make the decision that we will start heading out of the Park and to Chocolate World – I just need to make a quick bio break. Well as luck would have it as I am just finishing up my bio break who calls??? The insurance agent. I manage to get myself together as I give her my recorded statement and we decide that on Wednesday once I get home I would call her and schedule an appointment for the adjuster to look at my car and for the body shop to start working on it.

The rest of Tuesday proceeds just fine with Ryan making his chocolate bar, Callum napping in my arms at Chocolate World, going to the pool and an 18 hole game of miniature golf.

Wednesday morning off we go to Crayola factory. It was a bit of a surprise for me as I did not expect it to be right in the town of Easton and a replica of the town in “A Christmas Story” with Ralphie. Callum who loves to color had a great time with crayons, markers and the sidewalk where he could use chalk.

Now off to our various homes. Once I got to my house and started to unpack I realize that Ryan has left his candy bar that he made and Gerard needs Callum’s drinking cups. I promise to drop them off at his father’s on Thursday on my way home from the doctor. I also call my insurance agent who provides me with some times to go to the body shop and we decide that we would touch base at a little after 9AM when I finish my training session with Jennifer.

I have a great training session with Jennifer on Thursday morning and I get home and call the insurance agent and leave her a message. Out of the shower and dressed and call the insurance agent to again get her voicemail. Now I am on the road to the Doctor’s office and I get the phone call from the insurance agent; I pull off and take her call. We make arrangements to take the car to the body shop on Saturday morning at 8AM and Enterprise will have a rental for me at the same time. On to the Doctor – I get my MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine and the Nurse faxes the information to Employee Health Services. I stop by my cousin’s and leave the cups and chocolate and pick up his portable GPS system. Home at about 4PM and there is a call from Employee Health Services advising me I am still not cleared for work on Monday as they do not have my paper work. I asked for an email address and I would scan and email it to them; I handle that immediately.

Friday, I have a training session at 8AM with Jennifer and a haircut/coloring appointment at 11. Training goes well again and I am home taking a shower when I hear my cell phone go off - I am not jumping out of the shower, I will check it when I get out. Get out and it is Employee Health again telling me they do not have my required vaccine paperwork – still not cleared. AM I ANNOYED?? I get dressed, and call them – first the phone rings 20 times before anyone picks it up and then it is only to say “please hold”. After 12 minutes of being on hold a call buzzes through and I pick it up – it is Employee Health telling me they have my paperwork and I am cleared to work on Monday. HALLELUJAH!!!!

Off to get my hair cut and colored and to enjoy the rest of the weekend. I did get the car to the body shop on Saturday morning and my only disappointment is that my rental is a Ford Fiesta which has NO pick up and go; but, beggars can’t be choosers and the insurance company is covering the rental. The rest of Saturday was wonderful spending much time with the man I have been seeing for over three years.

Sunday had me off to Zumba, preparing my clothes for the rest of the week and just relaxing.

So I am not sure that I can state that this was a relaxing week; but, much got accomplished and now I am ready for work which couldn’t possibly be as frenetic.

Hope your vacations are less hectic.

Lesson Learned

Last week I spoke about driving and how no one seems to adhere to the driving rules any longer. Well needless to say this week I was the recipient of an individual who does not adhere to the driving rules; but, more importantly I learned something about the human psyche and what to do in the future. Listen to this story and know what to do should this happen to you.

It was Thursday morning and I was off to the gym to workout with my trainer, Jennifer. I was running early about 10 minutes and I tend to like to park in the same area. I pulled into the parking lot and noticed that someone was walking to their car so I figured I would take his spot. Three minutes later and the man has not backed out of his space.

At this time I notice that someone else is walking to his car which is another three spaces down and to my right – I pull up a little bit and am just sitting in my car waiting for him to back out of his spot. As I calmly wait all of a sudden I feel and hear “CRUNCH” – as I look over my shoulder the original gentleman (and I am using that term loosely) has managed to back out of his parking spot and into my car.

I place my car in park – get out and ask him if he did not see me there? He admits that he did not look back before starting to back out of his spot. My thought is “okay, he admitted he is wrong so let me collect his information”. He also points out that since his car is old he really doesn’t mind that his car received a tiny scratch and the letter “B” fell off of SAAB. Meanwhile my car is a 2009 lease so I do care that I have to have the entire left backside replaced and the rear fender. He kindly provides me with his name, insurance information and his home and cell phone number. I manage to park my car and go in for my training session.

I am a few minutes late for my appointment with Jennifer and upon seeing me she realizes that something is wrong – I told her what happened and she recommends that I file a report with the Club. We get through my training session and I go ahead and file a report with the Club and they even take a picture of the car. I then call my insurance agent and give them all the information and they said they would start working on it right away.

By the time I got home I had a call from my insurance with all the information on the other insurance company, who I had to call, etc. I do that immediately, give them a recorded statement of the incident and am waiting for instructions on having their adjuster take a look at the car.

On Thursday morning I receive a call from the gentlemen’s insurance company stating that I can get an estimate from my Body Shop and just fax it to them – if it is reasonable then they will okay it and I can get the car repaired. I stop by the body shop – they provide me with an estimate and I immediately fax it to the insurance company.

Later that afternoon I call his insurance company to make sure they received the estimate and what are our next steps. WELL, if I am not in shock when I find out that the “gentlemen” has now changed his tune and stated that I too was backing up and am also at fault. I am appalled that he is now blatantly lying. There is still that part of me that believes that individuals are generally good and will do the right thing. Those of you who know me can realize that I am now tongue-tied because I am so angry. Her (the insurance agent) proceeds to let me know that it is now 50% my fault; and, therefore they are only responsible for paying 50% of the repairs and this is a result of my not calling the police and having a police report or an eye witness.

I then called my insurance agent advising her of what happened. I have to say that I very much like them (www.geico.com) as she advised me that she would fight for me on this. She will get recorded statements from each of us, she will have her adjuster look at my car and that the most I will be out of pocket is half my deductible. I also advised her that I had filed a report with my fitness club and that I knew he had not because by the time I had parked my car he was gone.

So a few lessons learned:
1. No matter how minor the accident and no matter what you will be late for file a police report
2. Don’t think the best of individuals in matters like this
3. Even though you are parked and will be moving forward – keep looking behind you for what others are doing
4. If you are the one backing out – look behind you – don’t just back up

My little burgundy CRV will be fixed; it is a hassle to go through this process – I have not been in an accident for over 30+ years and although not my fault I dislike the thought of it.

Things to be grateful for: I was alone in the car, I am not hurt and neither is he. The car is a piece of materialism and not a life.

Recommendations I will be making to my fitness club: install speed bumps and surveillance cameras.

So this week was a lesson learned, in a car accident no matter how minor call the police.

What is Your Driving Style?

I know you are all used to receiving my blog on Sunday evening. This weekend was babysitting weekend for my nephew’s boys and then last night after doing that I went to visit my cousin who is recouping from knee surgery and to have dinner with him so I didn’t get home until 8PM. Hope you don’t mind that I decided to watch the Tony Awards instead of writing the blog.

How long have you been driving? For me it is more than 35 years – I was not an early driver; I didn’t get my license until I was 21 and had to do my student teaching. I couldn’t walk to the High School I was assigned to so it was necessary for me to get my license and a car.

Why do I bring this up? Well I can remember having to read the Learner’s book, getting my Learner’s permit and then learning to drive to get that almighty license. More importantly, I can remember as a child when I was riding my bicycle having to use hand signals to let cars know that I was turning.

The last couple of years because I have worked from home my driving was pretty much limited to a 10 mile radius and every now and then when I visited my cousin or went to babysit the boys I would venture another 50 miles from home. When I worked in the city my driving was limited to 6 miles a day from home to the station and back again at hours when many people were not even hitting the snooze buttons on their alarm.

Okay, I can hear you saying where is this going Toni? Where it is going is have you seen or experienced drivers lately? It takes all of my efforts to not shout some expletives out the window or give them an ethnic salute (I don’t care if it is Puerto Rican, Italian or American) as long as it emphasizes what I am thinking.

Nowadays no one uses their turn signals so you don’t know if they are going straight or turning – why is that so hard to do? The turn signal is right there near the steering wheel and it only requires you to flick your hand on it either up or down!!!

And did you not read the section in the Driver’s manual on 3 way or 4 way stop signs? You go according to who arrived at the sign first? It is like standing in a line and going to the next cashier – what is so difficult about that?

How about those individuals who ride on your tail? I am doing 70 in a 55 mile zone and I am still not going fast enough for you??? Are YOU kidding me? I always have the irresistible urge to slam on my brakes; BUT, I know that the only one who will get hurt is me as they won’t be able to stop in time and they will invariably slam into my backside.

Then let’s not forget the folks who don’t follow the rules and are texting or on their cellphone without it being on hands free or on a Bluetooth. They think that they are not being noticed; but, there was this one time when I was driving down the main road of my town and I couldn’t understand why the car in front of me was only doing 10 miles an hour and was weaving between the two lanes. It really was starting to get to me; and, as I was finally able to pass the car sure enough there was the driver texting and not looking at the road. WHY, oh why do you feel the need to text while driving???

I live in New York – you need to keep your eyes on the road to watch for the bicycle rider (I loved the guy who was riding on a bicycle during the December 26th snowstorm) and I am trying not to hit him. How about the bus and the people crossing the street between cars, buses, etc? And the best is when I am trying to back out of a parking space and can’t really see because it is a huge SUV and people all of a sudden show up in your rearview mirror. It is amazing that our accident rate is not much higher.

I am at the moment knocking on wood as I have not had an accident since I was 22 and I hope not to have another in my lifetime if I can help it. But, to prevent that you need to consider the following:

• Nothing is worth speeding and zigzagging through other drivers to get to
• Use your turn signals or your hand to let drivers behind you know what
you are doing
• Do NOT text while you are driving and minimize your cell phone
conversations – now is not the time to catch up with your girlfriend
• Review the Driver’s manual if you have forgotten some of the basic rules
• Lastly, be courteous to the other driver – who knows what we each have
on our minds – it isn’t always focused on the road.

Driving is a privilege – let’s not overstep our bounds.

Door Closes, Door Opens

I am a firm believer that when one door closes, another one opens. At the time when things are happening you may not be aware of what is occurring because you are caught up in the drama of the situation and what it is doing to you and your family. But, hopefully you can in time see why it occurred and that you are better for it.

I recently found myself in such a situation – many of you may be aware of it and I appreciate your support through this time in my life. In mid-March I was informed that my department was being disbanded and sent to different areas within the organization; and, that my position was being eliminated. I was advised that a new position was being created and that I could apply for it. I was devastated and I surely had my cry over it.

Somehow I had a premonition that my time with this company was not going to be long and I began my networking and job search. I updated my resume and my friend did a great job of formatting it. I reached out to good friends to let them know what was happening and many of them provided me with companies or individuals I should talk to. Lastly, I used Linkedin (www.linkedin.com) and updated my experience, joined many groups and started following companies. For those of you who do not know Linkedin is a social media for professionals and through joining groups or following companies you will be advised of their job openings/positions.

Although still working I actively began the process of looking for a new position and was applying for and sending resumes to at least 5 companies per day; I also went ahead and interviewed for the new position at my current company.

In mid-May I found out that I did not receive the new position and that my last day would be May 27th; as well as, the terms of my severance package. Was it difficult to swallow – YES – because I felt as if I had failed. I needed to see that this was good for me as for the last 9 months my blood pressure had not been under 130. When I saw the Internist in January my blood pressure was so high that she immediately performed an EKG which thankfully read normal. We have been trying since January to get my blood pressure under the 130 with no luck.

Throughout this time I had seen a job posted in Linkedin by a recruiter – the job seemed exactly like something I would love to do and would be very good at. I reached out to the recruiter who did her initial interview and then had me interview with the individual who had the opening. That interview went well and now on to the next step. I interviewed with a consultant and then had to go through 5 interviews in one day. This all ends happily – this past Friday I was made an offer and I have accepted it. I will be once more heading up a department in conferencing focusing on telemedicine and understanding how to make us succeed in this environment. I will have an increase in salary; and, although I will be going into an office I have the flexibility to work from home a couple of days a week.

I do not regret the past couple of years – it gave me the flexibility to help my family during various health crisis, to babysit my great nephews when their parents had to work; and, more importantly to focus on working out and losing the weight I had gained when I was doing my MBA.

The family is in a good situation, the boys only have to be watched on a couple of weekends during the month and I have gotten my workouts into a good routine. I am looking forward to interacting in an office once again and to making a difference.

So as I said earlier – although as things are happening you might not understand why, you may doubt yourself and your capabilities; but, if you put things in perspective, if you can believe and rely on a Higher Being you might just be able to come through the situation unscathed and better for it.

Sooooo some good news: I start my new position on June 27th, I am looking forward to going away with my great nephews to Hershey Park for a few days; and, best of all last week for two days in a row my blood pressure was under 130.

Take the good with the bad; let the door close and the other one open.