January 22, 2006
It snowed
It snowed on Friday the 20th. It was about a week too late for the Capitol Square Sprints that happened the previous weekend. It was in the upper 30s or maybe low 40s and everything was brown except for the street around the Capitol building where the organizers of this skiing event laid down snow that they brought from a nearby ski resort! I was on "the square" walking home the night before watching people put barracades up along long the street. I asked someone working where they were going to get the snow? They pointed down the block to a dump truck and a Bobcat that was removing the snow and packing it down! Then Monday morning when I went to work all the snow was gone again, except for a few chunks lying next to the curb. I think it was a bit decadent of the promoters to bring snow up from Tyrol Basin!
January 15, 2006
Happenstance
"Happenstance" is not just the name of a CD by the self-proclaimed "America's most Entertaining band," Fozzy!! (Fronted by WWE Superstar Chris Jericho.) Happenstance is a chance encounter. I have had a few of those in the last couple of months. I am finally blogging about them.
The first two happenstances were when I was waiting for a bus on State St. Some guy walked up and asked if I was waiting for a bus. I said yes. He said he would wait with me. He looked fairly young. He was wearing a polo shirt and a light jacket. He seemed a bit upset. I asked what was wrong, and he said something about his friends leaving him behind. They took off in a cab without him. I could sorta smell alcohol on him. I assume they left him at a bar. He started talking about how he really wanted to join the army and serve this country. He said that nobody understood how he wanted to serve his country. I commented that people here in Madison probably wouldn't appreciate the fact that he wanted to go into the Army. I told him that he should follow what made him happy. I basically just listened to him because he was upset. He got on the bus with me and then go back off after a few stops.
Another happenstance at a bus stop was when it was pretty cold, and I was waiting for the bus. I didn't have my watch with me, so I asked an older woman what time it was. She told me, I said I hoped that the bus would come soon. She sort of sighed and said "If the goddess is kind." I thought about saying something like "Yes HE is very kind" to express my view about God or to mention Jesus Christ. But I didn't want to seem like I was picking a fight. People here in Madison can be so sensitive. I also thought something like "the bus is going to come anyway, it's not a result of 'the goddess' or God being kind." Sort of like what does God care if the bus is on time or not.
There was another time, several months ago, when I was doing a phone interview at the survey center. One of the questions for the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS) asked about the man's religious preference. He said Christian. I read the list of options to him which were something like "Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist, Roman Catholic..." He said he was just Christian. One of the subsequent questions asked how often he attends religious services. He explained that he doesn't attend religious services, he watches a Christian TV show every morning, 5 days a week. I don't remember what I ended up entering into the computer for that question. Out of curiousity I asked him what Christian TV show he watches. He said Arnold Murray's Shepherd's Chapel. The man I interviewed said he likes it because the pastor goes verse by verse through the Bible. I have seen bits and pieces of Shepherd's Chapel. It's usually on very early in the mornings on network TV. I have also looked at a few websites who call it a cult and point out the strange teachings of Arnold Murray. (The only website I could find through a Yahoo search was this "Let Us Reason" article.) I guess Arnold Murray teaches the Bible verse by verse, but he twists some very strange interpretations out of it.
So this brings me to the existential question of these happenstances. Why was I there to hear the young guy talk about how nobody understood his desire to go into the Army? Or when the older lady said "if the goddess is kind"? Should I have told that guy on the WLS phone interview that I had heard that Arnold Murray teaches weird things out of the Bible? Should I have mentioned "God is kind" to the older lady at the bus stop? Is it wrong for me as a Christian to not say something about Jesus Christ to everyone I meet? I don't know.
The first two happenstances were when I was waiting for a bus on State St. Some guy walked up and asked if I was waiting for a bus. I said yes. He said he would wait with me. He looked fairly young. He was wearing a polo shirt and a light jacket. He seemed a bit upset. I asked what was wrong, and he said something about his friends leaving him behind. They took off in a cab without him. I could sorta smell alcohol on him. I assume they left him at a bar. He started talking about how he really wanted to join the army and serve this country. He said that nobody understood how he wanted to serve his country. I commented that people here in Madison probably wouldn't appreciate the fact that he wanted to go into the Army. I told him that he should follow what made him happy. I basically just listened to him because he was upset. He got on the bus with me and then go back off after a few stops.
Another happenstance at a bus stop was when it was pretty cold, and I was waiting for the bus. I didn't have my watch with me, so I asked an older woman what time it was. She told me, I said I hoped that the bus would come soon. She sort of sighed and said "If the goddess is kind." I thought about saying something like "Yes HE is very kind" to express my view about God or to mention Jesus Christ. But I didn't want to seem like I was picking a fight. People here in Madison can be so sensitive. I also thought something like "the bus is going to come anyway, it's not a result of 'the goddess' or God being kind." Sort of like what does God care if the bus is on time or not.
There was another time, several months ago, when I was doing a phone interview at the survey center. One of the questions for the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS) asked about the man's religious preference. He said Christian. I read the list of options to him which were something like "Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist, Roman Catholic..." He said he was just Christian. One of the subsequent questions asked how often he attends religious services. He explained that he doesn't attend religious services, he watches a Christian TV show every morning, 5 days a week. I don't remember what I ended up entering into the computer for that question. Out of curiousity I asked him what Christian TV show he watches. He said Arnold Murray's Shepherd's Chapel. The man I interviewed said he likes it because the pastor goes verse by verse through the Bible. I have seen bits and pieces of Shepherd's Chapel. It's usually on very early in the mornings on network TV. I have also looked at a few websites who call it a cult and point out the strange teachings of Arnold Murray. (The only website I could find through a Yahoo search was this "Let Us Reason" article.) I guess Arnold Murray teaches the Bible verse by verse, but he twists some very strange interpretations out of it.
So this brings me to the existential question of these happenstances. Why was I there to hear the young guy talk about how nobody understood his desire to go into the Army? Or when the older lady said "if the goddess is kind"? Should I have told that guy on the WLS phone interview that I had heard that Arnold Murray teaches weird things out of the Bible? Should I have mentioned "God is kind" to the older lady at the bus stop? Is it wrong for me as a Christian to not say something about Jesus Christ to everyone I meet? I don't know.
January 12, 2006
I've gone Corporate!
I have a new job working for Ticketmaster. I take phone orders from people buying tickets for concerts and sports events. Pearl Jam wouldn't like me. I work for a major corporation. In the 90s they tried to sue Ticketmaster over the convenience fees. I found this undated article about Pearl Jam's arguments against Ticketmaster. It cites a couple magazine articles which will probably give a hint as to when it was written. And then ironically there is this E! Online article about how Pearl Jam started using Ticketmaster again during their 1998 tour. Ticketmaster has exclusive rights to vend tickets for certain venues, like Madison Square Garden, so if Pearl Jam wanted to perform there, they had to use Ticketmaster.
I had about a week's worth of training. The first few days were kind of boring. The trainer and her assistant talked about the Ticketmaster philosophy of being friendly, enthusiastic and polite. We learned how to use the computer system as well, but there were problems with the training program. I was happier once the problem was solved, and we could practice going through the computer program and making pretend ticket sales. The only thing we weren't adequately trained on was how to use the computer program that controls our phone lines. I found out the hard way that if I have that computer program up on the desktop and the main program running in front of it, calls sometimes get accidently disconnected!
My first day taking calls was pretty hectic! People really want "good seats" to these events. The computer pulls up the "best available" seats at any given time. Customers want to know if they are "good seats" and most of the time want a second opinion. I try my best to find good seats, but it's hard when customers order tickets 2 weeks before the event, especially with NBA and NHL games! At least I can use the Madison Square Garden website I linked to above. It has a very cool map of the venue so I can have an idea of how close the seats are to the action! During the orders we are supposed to read scripts for magazine sales and some sort of traveler's discount club. My first day I think I failed to properly transfer a couple callers. Hopefully I will be better at my job soon!
The things I love about the job are looking for information for the customers. I love looking up information on Ticketmaster.com! It is challenging because the phone sound quality is sometimes bad. It sort of bugs me when I can't find information on certain events. I don't know much about Broadway plays and musicals. The call center here in Madison handles the New York and New England market, so we get a lot of orders for Broadway shows. (Ironically there is a call center in New York state that handles the Midwest market.) I have tried to look up information on a play or musical called "Man of Her Dreams" and not been able to find a synopsis. Hopefully I will find it soon.
I had about a week's worth of training. The first few days were kind of boring. The trainer and her assistant talked about the Ticketmaster philosophy of being friendly, enthusiastic and polite. We learned how to use the computer system as well, but there were problems with the training program. I was happier once the problem was solved, and we could practice going through the computer program and making pretend ticket sales. The only thing we weren't adequately trained on was how to use the computer program that controls our phone lines. I found out the hard way that if I have that computer program up on the desktop and the main program running in front of it, calls sometimes get accidently disconnected!
My first day taking calls was pretty hectic! People really want "good seats" to these events. The computer pulls up the "best available" seats at any given time. Customers want to know if they are "good seats" and most of the time want a second opinion. I try my best to find good seats, but it's hard when customers order tickets 2 weeks before the event, especially with NBA and NHL games! At least I can use the Madison Square Garden website I linked to above. It has a very cool map of the venue so I can have an idea of how close the seats are to the action! During the orders we are supposed to read scripts for magazine sales and some sort of traveler's discount club. My first day I think I failed to properly transfer a couple callers. Hopefully I will be better at my job soon!
The things I love about the job are looking for information for the customers. I love looking up information on Ticketmaster.com! It is challenging because the phone sound quality is sometimes bad. It sort of bugs me when I can't find information on certain events. I don't know much about Broadway plays and musicals. The call center here in Madison handles the New York and New England market, so we get a lot of orders for Broadway shows. (Ironically there is a call center in New York state that handles the Midwest market.) I have tried to look up information on a play or musical called "Man of Her Dreams" and not been able to find a synopsis. Hopefully I will find it soon.
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