Perspective..

The cellphone issue was eventually resolved this afternoon but only because I just couldn't bear to contact the cellphone shop even one more time. The original lady that I dealt with was back at work yesterday but was worse than useless and full of excuses as to why the problem was not being resolved. Eventually she objected to my use of bad language - I objected to her inability to solve my problem or to even phone me back after promising to do so. Eventually I threw down the phone after demanding that she get the other assistant (who had helped me on Wednesday) to phone me when he returned on Friday. She didn't do so but when I got him on the line today, he spent a lot of time on the phone to Head Office trying to sort out my problem. Apparently the upshot of the problem was that the deal was loaded on the computers at Head Office but the deal wasn't feeding through their online system to the computers at the shop and so couldn't be processed until the IT guys solved the problem. I threw in the towel. After establishing that he could use my information already uploaded I told the assistant to process the deal at the normal price which is about R32.00 a month more than the cheaper deal would have been. Ten minutes later he phoned me back and told me I could collect the phones. Sometimes one just has to admit that the dead donkey won't stand up no matter how many times you flog it.

I was also nearly written off this morning by another road user who flagrantly decided to disobey the road rules. I was approaching the driveway of our office. The driveway is approached by a straight stretch of road and then one takes a left turn and turns right almost immediately into our driveway. Luckily I had slowed right down after making the left turn because this other driver jumped the stop street further up from me on the same road I had turned into and whizzed past me down the road. If I hadn't slowed right down for some reason (because I had already checked and the road was clear), this lunatic would have ploughed right into my drivers side door and I would have been injured. My guardian angel was looking after me! My boss said he would have chased after the offender but I said it was not worth it because a lot of drivers are driving around with road rage and just defending yourself or arguing the point can sometimes get you injured or killed. Being alert and anticipating the actions of other road users is an absolute must.

During the course of the day I also got to talk to two of the Personal Assistants who work for the CEO and Financial Director down the road at Head Office. The one lady always updates me on what is happening with her finances, ex husband, etc. whenever I visit her. We are all single mom's and obviously all have similar issues with regard to making ends meet. She also told me that a week ago she had been diagnosed with cervical cancer for the third time, she had approached an attorney to assist her with her maintenance claims and because of this her ex had refused to pay for her sons monthly preschool (kindergarten) fees out of spite. She looked so beaten that I just had to give her my 'pep' talk, which is what I'm really good at. I told her to be positive and take control of her situation. I told her to start with a step by step evaluation of her lifestyle and her finances. She is living beyond her means and her means are small to start with. I have got a very bold and irreverent stance when I'm giving my pep talk and it almost always ends with the listener laughing and feeling better and a bit stronger. It helps that I've been down and dependent on family at various stages of my life. The important thing is not to look at yourself as a sum total of your circumstances but to empower yourself with action. I really feel so satisfied when I've managed to help someone to feel a little better about their situation. I think if I could do a job that I really enjoyed it would be something like counselling or motivational speaking because I get such a sense of achievement when I have spoken to someone and they feel a little better about themselves and their circumstances.

To all my fellow bloggers, have a relaxed and safe weekend. See you in the trenches next week!