So, last night W and I had a great dinner at one of our favorite places (her suggestion for going to dinner), got that Walmart TV return issue sorted, and then watched some TV back here for a while.
Today I spent quite a bit of time helping her sort out an issue with cable/internet provider.
It's good that I know these systems and could trick my way thru the menu using my account and then jumping to customer support. When I tried to use her number, I couldn't get past sales. And, I sweet talked the agents by commiserating about the systems. This guy was all to eager to talk about the problems with the program and how he can't control the notifications, and it causes all kinds of problems between customers and field reps.
Believe me, I know all about that having worked on these back end call center systems and the phone systems for several years. And I've experienced it from the other side as a customer, too. Glad I could put that experience to use. At least I wasn't talking to folks in India (no offense if there's anyone reading this in India or from India!).
All of this has been great practice for me to keep my cool under pressure. I'm doing so much better at it. I'm starting to feel a little more motivated and effective at work, too. I realize that there will be ups and downs and much I can't control in that arena, just like with M and other relationships. Work is (or can be) a long term relationship and will have many good and bad times. To make it work, one has to commit and apply many of the same principles as DBing. I must be doing something right. I've managed to stay in an IT job for 15 yrs with same company, despite more layoffs than I can count.
So... after much consideration, I did decide to send her a modest flower arrangement tomorrow, which is our anniversary. I included a simple message that didn't even mention the anniversary, or use the L word or anything. Just a message about having a great day (even tho it's Monday)
