Driving Responsibly - A Request

Ok, everybody knows the rules.  Everybody knows they should do this, not do that, etc.  So I'm not going to say anything about the safe/legal responsibilities.  Rather, I'm going to make a single, simple request to try and remember that there is one time and place above all others where you need to be paying very close attention.

Stopped at a light in position #1.

When you are at the front of the line, you have a sacred responsibility to everybody behind you to pay attention to the light.

If you're in position 2, 3, or further back, you can get away with paying just enough attention to notice if the car in front of you is moving.  But if you find yourself in the honored front of the line position, then you are saddled with added responsibility.  A trust. A duty.

This duty becomes even more important in construction zones and at left-turn arrows where traffic becomes backed up and the length of time you have to make it through the intersection is extremely precious.  When both of these added factors combine, you are at the pinnacle of driving responsibility.  You hold the fates of many in your hands.

Becoming distracted in such a situation can mean the difference between 1 car or 5 getting through the light.  And if you're so far out of it that you don't notice the light has changed until it's yellow again, you are not only asking for a hefty helping of angry honking, but you might also be in for a negligence-induced beating.

Of course, I'm not condoning vigilante justice, or even violence as a means to solve issues of road-rage.  But I am making a desperate plea for all responsible people everywhere to please take this duty seriously.  If you were unable to make it through the green/yellow/orangish light, then you have taken a great yoke upon your shoulders.  They yoke of responsibly watching for the next green.

An otherwise furious follower will thank you.

Customer Service - Shouldn't It Extend to Job Applicants?

For a little over a year, now, I’ve been casually looking for a new, better-paying, better-benefits-offering, better-hours-giving job. Due to some very specific circumstances that job search has become less-casual and more frantic over the past month.

Tammy has also been on the prowl for better employment for a little over a year.

During this period of job-hunting we’ve made some observations that I want to share: Potential employers don’t care. The people handling applications need to receive some training from the company Public Relations and/or Marketing Departments.

Here’s what they are forgetting: As a prospective employee, I am also a potential customer. This doesn’t mean you have to hire me, it doesn’t mean you even have to interview me. But in today’s hi-tech world of online job applications, it does mean that you, as a business, should at least have the customer-friendly courtesy to provide a minimal response to applicants. An automated email stating “Thank you for your application, it will be reviewed within [a given amount of time], at which point we will contact you. If we feel that your application meets our needs, and if the position is still open at that time, we will schedule an interview.”

And then, once the application has been processed, if they aren’t interested it is not a difficult process to set up an automated email that says nothing more than: “Thank you for your interest in [such and such a position] with our company. Unfortunately, we are unable to schedule you for an interview at this time due to the position having already been filled, your qualifications are not exactly what we are looking for, or due to unforeseen circumstances, we are no longer able to fill the position as expected.”

Of course, this last option would need to be written better, but it could say basically the same thing. Maybe tack on a “We apologize for the form letter, however we hope you can imagine the necessity as we receive hundreds of applications every month, and to keep our costs low for our customers, we need to stream-line our services wherever possible.” And yes, this is probably not the best wording for the apology, either, but you get the point.

Having applied for dozens of jobs over the past 12-18 months, I believe that between the two of us, Tammy and I have received exactly four responses from potential employers letting us know that they were not interested. In Tammy’s case, she even had interviews (sometimes multiple interviews with the same employer) where the employer didn’t bother following up, in the end, to let her know they decided to go with somebody else.

In her case, as a math teacher, she’s not really a potential customer, since few (if any) of her applications were within our school district; however, in my case, all of my applications have been to businesses that I could potentially patronize. With very limited exceptions, I do have choices as to whether or not to use their services. Example: I’ve applied for jobs at Comcast, Dish Network, and DirecTV. Two of them responded to my applications. One of the responses was better than the other. Now, if we ever decide to get more than broadcast TV, I know which one of these companies will be my first choice, which will be my second. And that I’m least likely to consider Comcast.

< /soapbox >

Desert Gardening

On Saturday we went to a water conservation fair... thing.  Basically, we went in order to see lots of various possibilities for Xero-scaping our yard in order to keep our water-usage to a minimum.

It was interesting, but that isn't what this blog is about.  It's about Cordelia having fun.

I really don't think I realize just how much bigger I am than her until I see us together in a photo or a video.  I'm really quite frightening.  She had been watching other kids climbing the wall and she wanted in on the fun.  I wasn't sure she was big enough, but then I noticed a great big banner that said "Free for all ages."  So we went for it.

Waiting her turn was not something she did patiently, at first.  I wish I had gotten some video of her as we waited for the hosts to retrieve the special tiny harness she needed... she kept looking at me in frustration, I could almost hear her thinking "C'mon dad, I don't need that!"

Once she had it on, it took some convincing that she had to wait her turn (fortunately there were only a couple of kids ahead of her, and there were 3 cables).  She, oh-so-patiently, folded her arms and set her hips and her scowl to wait.  It was cute.