Headset Politics

 I never knew something as simple as replacing a headset would serve as a reflection of what happens due to my antisocial tendencies at work.   As I've previously mentioned, prior to recent developments in having new teammates, I was working solo at my Chicago office.   Since my work was separate from the other support teams, I tended to be on my own.    There was one guy that worked in one of the other support teams that happened to be part of the same Salesforce program that I participated in 2021.    But we would only chat briefly before going about our separate days.   He then wound up leaving the company in September 2025.   Oddly enough it coincided with one of our companies recent layoffs so when I saw his account was deactivated, I worried that he was impacted by the layoffs.    But when I reached out to him on LinkedIn he said he chose to leave to pursue another opportunity.    There is one other guy that is generally friendly to everyone who I chat with briefly from time to time.    But any communication to my actual team has to be done via our chat boards since the majority of my teammates are based in Indianapolis.

So Hemingway last month I was telling my manager that my headset had seen better days and wanted to see if I could order a replacement.    She mentioned that there were new headsets ordered a few months back that was distributed to the different managers and that I was supposed to get one.   I had never gotten the memo.   I mentioned I would reach out to that "one other guy" (let's call him Roland).

Roland was so nice about it and mentioned he would look further into it.   He mentioned he would reach out to the manager of the other support group.   However, I later learned that the manager was currently out on paternity leave.    Unfortunately Roland wasn't able to make any headway.   

The sound on the headset worked perfectly fine.   It was just that the ear foams were spilling out which made them look horrible.   I'm sure other folks around me were making fun of my headset.   After a month I finally decided to look through my previous headset order to see if I could find the exact model.   It ended up I had ordered my current headset sometime in early 2024.

Once I got the correct model, I was able to find replacement ear foams for under $10.   Thankfully I ordered the correct ones and I was able to replace it and save my existing headset.

The whole thing had me thinking how due to my lack of socializing with the team, I was overlooked for new headsets.   Maybe if I made an effort to talk to their team, I wouldn't have been ignored.  I never was good at small talk.   But part of it too is that my homebase office is still Indianapolis.   For example, Boston mentioned that the senior leadership team was meeting with Chicago support team.   I wasn't included in the meeting.    It was only later that I realized that it was because of my Home Office.    I get notices whenever the Indianapolis office has meetings.   So it's likely I wasn't on any list when it came time to distributing headsets and nobody thought of me.

The newer team members that are joining my support team will all have Chicago as their homebase.   It may be time for me to officially make the switch.    A part of me wants to stay based in Indianapolis just because it makes my taxes easier.    When I worked at the aviation company and Amazon in Illinois, I had to file both Illinois and Indiana state taxes which was a pain in the butt.   It always felt like I was being double taxed (though in actuality I typically got a refund from Illinois while owing Indiana due to Lake County taxes).   It is possible I'm leaving extra money on the table by not switching but I do like how much easier my taxes are now.    There's no rush though.

From A Distance

 Bette Midler - From A Distance

VERSES

From a distance the world looks blue and green,
And the snow-capped mountains white.
From a distance the ocean meets the stream,
And the eagle takes to flight.

From a distance, there is harmony
And it echoes through the land.
It's the voice of hope, it's the voice of peace,
It's the voice of every man.

From a distance we all have enough,
And no one is in need.
And there are no guns, no bombs, and no disease,
No hungry mouths to feed.

From a distance we are instruments,
Marching in a common band.
Playing songs of hope, playing songs of peace.
They're the songs of every man.

REFRAIN

God is watching us. God is watching us.
God is watching us from a distance.

The lyrics from this song are inspirational though definitely not our reality.    The world is not harmonious, folks are in need, guns and bombs are aplenty, and disease is ever present.   The skies are still blue and there are snow-capped mountains but humans are quickly chipping away at that.   We get daily reminders in life of this and it doesn't help that our current administration is slowing taking away our basic rights.

There is one thing I believe is still true.  God indeed is watching us.   A lot of times we don't understand why bad things continue to happen to good people but God is watching over us.   I was reminded of this when I received a phone call last week from my college friend Doug who mentioned that he was in my neck of the woods for his training at a new job he got at Motorola.  

We reminisced about old times and I couldn't help but remember our time at the club 9.9.   I actually blogged about that experience before in my original blog.   I kept a paper journal (which I've since lost) back in the early 90's (that was a whole lifetime ago over 30 years ago).   To recap I was part of an organization called National Society of Black Engineers.   Our chapter of the organization attended a national conference that was being held in Houston, Texas.   I believe we attended that conference in 1993.   I remember that the R&B group SWV was hitting the scene and they had two songs that were making waves, I'm So Into You and Weak.   Former college friend Earvin and I were riding in a rental when Weak started playing.    I remember telling Earvin how I enjoyed the song and Earvin saying that the ladies sounded like chipmunks.   I remember that comment making me chuckle.

Hemingway the experience that stuck with me the most was my time at a ghetto club called 9.9.   I had my version of my experiences there but when I reunited with Doug years after my first blog entry he shared a version of the story that I didn't remember.   He told me that I was almost jumped by three random hoodlums who were up to no good.   Doug said that he was standing off from a distance checking out the scene when he heard three guys talking and pointing at me saying that they were planning to rob me as soon as I left the club.    Doug said he was worried about me but didn't know what to do.   He stood still and was watching me from afar.    He said he was praying that I wouldn't leave the club on my own.

Next is where my version of the events and Doug's version of the events differ.   In my version I pretty much was standing in one spot (Doug and my recollection of that was clear).  I did not see Doug or Rick at all.   I did see Earvin having his fun with some locals.   Eventually Earvin comes to me and the two of us split up looking for Doug and Rick.    When we don't find them, we go outside and when walking to the car, we see Doug and Rick waiting there.

Now in Doug's version, he says that he was racing in his mind trying to figure out what to do to save me.   He mentioned that there was a girl fight that distracted the random hoodlums and other patrons.    He said during this time that he quickly came up to me and told me that we needed to go and to ask no questions.   He mentioned that we both went outside away from the club.

I don't remember the events playing out that way at all.   I feel like he would've told me that sooner.  Hell I would think I would remember being ushered out of the club.    But nonetheless if I truly was about to be jumped, all I can say was that God truly was watching out for me that night.   Who knows how the trajectory of my life might've changed had I gotten mugged that night.   Maybe I may not even be here today.   I do thank goodness guns weren't involved as shootings have become all the more prevalent.

But now that I think about it, comparing our two versions of the story, maybe Doug is misremembering who the potential victim was.    Maybe Rick was the one that was in danger and he actually was saving him instead of me.   The next time I talk to Rick I'll have to bring up the story to see if he remembers it the same way.    Either way none of us had any business going to that place.   God truly was watching us to get us unscathed.  

Growing Work Spurts

 My company in the last few months have been steadily working to add new employees to the mix.   With the proliferation of AI, my company's stance initially was to continuously reduce head count due to the perceived benefits of utilizing AI.    But AI isn't the end all be all when it comes to providing customer support.   Feedback from a growing number of customers has been the frustration of having to deal with an AI bot before they can connect to a human support agent.   A lot of times the recommendations from AI didn't correctly address the issues that customers were complaining about.  It does appear that the company may have finally heard the complaints and subsequently have decided to temporarily increase head counts.    Of course there's no guarantees that they won't reduce head count again at some point in the future.

One change is that my team is planning to add members to the Chicago office where I'm located.   I have been the solo Chicago member for more than two years.   But that ended when a second member named Boston was added in early July to my team.   Of course since I was the only Chicago member of my team, I was chosen to be his mentor.   Interestingly enough Boston's personality almost mirrors mine.   He is a bit quiet and he also has a tendency to want to retreat to quieter areas of the office.   In fact we don't always sit together.   I didn't interview him prior but I oddly felt like Boston may have reminded my manager of me.   He's a really cool guy and I look forward to him contributing positively to the team.

I also got pulled into doing a few interviews in search of more team members for the Chicago office.   They are wanting to grow our support presence in Chicago.    I hate doing interviews but I have to remind myself it's better doing them on the company side than me on the outside interviewing trying to find a new work home.    I performed three interviews so far (with more coming in the future no doubt).   Only one of the three showed potential promise.  Romero I learned actually is from Griffith, IN which isn't too far from where I live.   He spent some time working at call centers for tech support which I felt would be good for our chat cases.    He did wind up accepting an offer and will start work in Chicago on October 5th (though I'm guessing he may work from home initially that first week).

My manager also mentioned that a fourth person is planning to relocate to the Chicago area.   I met her last week when she briefly visited the office.   I had to meet her in the lobby so she could get a visitor's pass.   My manager wanted to meet with her directly (via Google meet) but was busy with several meetings including an interview.    So since she wasn't available to meet with her, she had me take a photo with Padma.    My manager mentioned that she has some good experience working in Support.   I wasn't clear if she was a current employee or not but at some point she'll be starting work in Chicago as well.

So I've gone from being solo to having three new co-workers.   It'll definitely be an adjustment for me as I've gotten used to being alone.   There's a lot of office politics that I've mostly avoided because I wasn't near my team.   It'll be interesting too to see how the new team members play off each other.   

Still Kicking

 Another summer is soon coming to an end.   It's been a crazy one with Dom's health and court issues as well as the inclement weather that came through our region.   I still need to get the solar battery backup, repair the roof, and cut back some of our tree branches.   To top it off I need to get my old car for its annual maintenance, which is overdue.   All of that requires money.   My credit card debt has definitely creeped higher which I hate.   I have to figure out how to prioritize everything.

I did apply for a hardship credit from work last Friday for $800 that I'm hoping they will decide to credit me for.   That cost covers all the food expenses we had during and after the derecho storm.    That was a crazy time especially with the back and forth of visiting Dom in the hospital.     We've gotten some of the bills which actually weren't too bad so far but I'm waiting for the big one for Dom's overall hospital stay.   I'm wondering too if we'll also get individual doctor bills as well.    This will be in addition to the $607 a month we'll have to pay for his previous medical debt as agreed upon from our last court date.

I am getting a small bonus by the end of September, which right now I'm planning to allocate towards my credit card debt.   On the positive the mortgage is inching closer and closer to being paid off.    I'm anticipating paying it off either in Dec 2026 or Jan 2027 which is so exciting.   It's a milestone I've been working towards for a few years now since I started my career's second act.   I had originally targeted June or July of this year to have it paid off but life.    Assuming I make the new goal that would put me completely paying it off around the ten year mark of my thirty year loan.    It's so wild to pay off a 30 year mortgage in about ten years.

I haven't really been feeling like blogging lately but I wanted to post a quick entry since the month of September is almost half over.   Time is really flying and it truly waits for noone.    Till my next entry.