Temple Construction Progress Developments for Two Temples

After five days of no major temple construction progress developments, I checked on the LDS Church Temples site during my last few minutes of work, then again when I came home. I was amazed at the developments that have taken place with two temples. In Barranquilla Colombia, where the temple is anticipated to be completed either in late 2018 or early 2019, walls are being poured for the steeple base. In the meantime, at the Lisbon Portugal temple site (where construction is anticipated to be completed sometime during 2019), structural framing is underway for the meetinghouse that will reside on temple grounds, and they are also excavating for the maintenance building and the temple site has been completely cleared of all debris that would prevent consturction from moving forward.

With these developments announced, I am not sure how likely it is that any further progress or temple construction milestones will be reported by the end of this year. But you can count on my keeping track of such developments and doing everything in my power to report them as soon as I can after learning of them.

Thanks to you all for your continued interest and expressions of sympathy and support. Any and all comments are welcome and appreciated.

Third Workday: First Full Day on the Phones

Hello, all. My work shift is almost over tonight. After resolving several issues today, I am finally able to post with a report on how my first official day on the phones has gone. It's been quite a wild ride.

Even though I got out of bed when my alarm rang today, I still had trouble getting going. I was able to get some things done, though. And all too soon, the time arrived to leave for work.

When I got to work today, my team leader advised me that we were mainly getting the most basic types of call we deal with. And even though this first day on the phones has been busy enough, it has still been mild compared to what is normal call volume. I learned a lot today, and it's been a very good one.

The main problem for me is that my supervisor Trent, his assistant Jenny, and my TL are all scheduled earlier on in the day. It appears that on Wednesdays, for the span of roughly the last 5 hours of the shift, I am momentarily the one and only person manning the phones for this branch of the campaign.

I have had plenty of good conversations. I had received hands-on training from all three people mentioned above. And even though manning the campaign alone meant there wasn't really anyone to ask for advice and help for the last few hours, it hasn't been too much of a problem. For a while, I forgot about being taught how to set up callbacks for the job, but I was able to have my memory refreshed.

I also felt a little stupid. As those who know me best will tell you, I at various times have had trouble with appropriately modulating my voice. This became a problem today. I am hoping beyond hope that I seemed louder to myself than I actually was. Time will tell. And I am fully prepared for an appropriate tongue lashing if it is necessary.

I did get several compliments today on my excellent customer service. I hope that will work to my favor. It has been a most amazing day, and I am so thankful to have been able to be a part of it.

I had some major problems with headaches, nausea, and vertigo today, but I didn't let that stop me. I have stuck it out for my entire shift. And now there are less than 5 minutes until I can go home.

I am so grateful to be back to earning a living for my family. The fact of my working again has (not surprisingly) improved both the outlook and the mood of Amy and myself. It is so amazing to be back in the saddle again, and I couldn't be more grateful to have this opportunity. Thanks to you all for your interest, concern, and support.

As always, any and all comments are welcome and most appreciated. Thanks.

Report of Second Workday

Hello, all! Once again, it was a busy day. Today I woke up early and made phone calls. I got almost everything addressed that I needed to, including getting doctor's appointments rescheduled. Most importantly, I was able to call about the error with my anniversary gift to Amy. The company representative I talked to was very sympathetic. She apologized profusely for the error, said we could keep the wrong set as a complimentary gift, and said she was sending out the correct set at no charge. So that was good. I wasn't able to call to get a status update on how close we were to getting Amy on the health insurance I have. That I will have to save until tomorrow.

Because I was so tied up getting things resolved and phoning people, I barely had time to eat breakfast. But I knew I would be coming home a few hours later, so that wasn't a problem. I did have to throw everything I needed for work together in a rush to get out the door.

Due to traffic and my running late, even with the shorter commute, I was a few minutes late for work. But I got right into things. Through talking to Trent and my TL, I was able to gain access to all the systems I needed to do my job. But as I read through the script for the different phone calls, I had some trouble understanding the flow. I brought this to my TL's attention. She was kind enough to rewrite the confusing parts for me, but I still felt insecure. Since the other trainee was likewise confused and uncertain, she volunteered to demonstrate how to do the job.

But another part of this job that will be a mixed blessing is that the call volume is inconsistent. From what I observed today, it seems that call volume is fairly mild (with long intervals between each call) and that somehow, the calls in the queue are not evenly distributed. So I honestly don't know how busy I personally might be. But that's yet to be determined. I now know more about the job than I did yesterday.

Once again, my day ended early. I start on the phones with my full-length shift tomorrow. And I feel ready for it, especially since I got mostly everything settled. One problem I encountered is a minor issue, but one that I am doing my best to get addressed. The other people assigned to my campaign seem very nice. They all introduced themselves to me and let me know they would do anything they could to help me adjust to things. However, most of them appear to be very heavy smokers, and the stench of the residual smell of smoke was severe enough that it caused me to have both an asthmatic and allergic reaction. It didn't help that this applied to most of the group I am working with. They even spoke about taking a smoke break as a group as I was leaving today. I advised Trent of the problem, and he promised to work on it. I just hope I don't get anyone in trouble. Some of the nicest people I know from my previous experience at ROI are smokers, but they hide the scent well, and they are very kind to me. My own brother has picked up smoking, which is a constant worry, but he has the decency to cover up the smell and not do it when he is around us. I tried my best to indicate to Trent that I had no desire to get anyone in trouble, but that the situation would be problematic for me. He sent me a very kind text in reply saying he was sorry about that, that he hoped I was okay, and taht he would try and work something out.

The one good thing about getting this job at this time is that it sounds like, among all of my coworkers, I have a real shot at becoming one of the most diligent employees assigned to the campaign. This is a goal which I indicated to Trent I would do my best to achieve. And it's not because the rest of the people on the campaign are lazy or inefficient. To the contrary, despite the obvious difference that I do not and never will smoke (as it would probably kill me, assuming I even had any inclination to do so), they seem to be a good group. And they seem to respect taht I am different and also to be mindful of what I'm dealing with. So I hope all of that will be taken into account when anything is decided about how to further handle my unique circumstances. I will keep you posted.

In the meantime, I had been hoping to do another blog post containing a massive Church news update, but in view of my fatigue (borne of the stress of the day and the close contact I had with smokers), it will have to wait for a day or two.

But one thing I did want to mention. My sister Joanna and her family headed out for Maine @ around 4 am. Joanna, if you read this, I hope you will have a safe journey. We will look forward to hearing of your adventures and seeing your family again this summer. Bon voyage!

As for the rest of you, thank you for reading all of my posts, and I hope that whatever I have to say about my life or the Church continues to interest you all. I look forward to much more blogging in the future. Today, I was still adjusting to my job. But as things evolve, I anticipate fully being able to report on all such developments with greater diligence and accuracy than every before.

Thanks so much for your interest and support. I appreciate all of you. Any comments or other feedback of any kind are welcome.

My first workday

Contrary to what I had supposed, today, which marked my return to employment, turned out vastly different than I could have every anticipated. Since I have time to do so, I wanted to report on what's happened.

I was able to get up early enough to make the phone calls and to look into things that I needed. However, much to my frustration, many of those whom I tried to call were closed in observance of the Christmas holiday. I was able to have plenty of time to pray soon after waking up, and that was wonderful. I also had time for quite a good breakfast, which I have not been able to do for a while. I was ready in well enough time. I went in to work. Directly as I got to the door, Trent walked out, letting me know that, if I would take a seat in the lobby, my team leader (TL) would be there shortly to train me. While I was waiting, I got to meet one of my coworkers, who is from Hawaii. He will be working the graveyard shift, so I probably won't see him a lot. But he seems like a very nice guy.

Our TL soon arrived on the scene and took us back to talk about what the job would involve. Much to my surprise and delight, the bulk of our brief training was to remind us of ROI's policies on attendance, pay, the campaign, and what would be allowed during down time (of which she indicated there would be a fair amount). Much to my surprise, I was gratified to learn that. as long as we weren't on sites that stream (YouTube, TV shows, etc.), anything else was fine. In my case, this means that I will be able to do my normal multiple checks during the day of my favorite websites, Church-related and otherwise. She also indicated that Facebook use was allowed.

In training us for the job, she describe three types of calls we would be dealing with (being able to do both inbound and outbound calls, which are automated and therefore will come unless we are not in a ready status with our phone systems. She also said that, while we should clock out for lunch every day, as long as our breaks weren't longer than about 10 minutes, we could stay clocked in. Breaks are paid in this case.

When me and my coworker that started today were unable to start on the phones (because we might have had the incorrect login information for some of the systems we will be using), we spent the time just chatting and getting to know each other, our team leader, and some of our surrounding coworkers. While my coworkers said they appreciated the fact that I was a Latter-day Saint and that my religion is so much a part of my life, not many of them share my faith. In fact, the conversation around me mostly centered today on tattoo styles, getting them and having them removed, and the personal significance behind some of the tattoos they've gotten in the past. There was also talk of relationships. I was able to talk about how I met Amy, and even was able to show them a picture of her. They all said she was really beautiful. This is one of the few opinions I share in common with my coworkers. In fact, I have a hard time believing that she loves me enough to stay married to me, especially given how stupid, irresponsible, and selfish I have been at times.

While we were chatting, Trent called my TL and asked to speak to me. He said he was pleased to see that I had made it, and that he wanted to make sure that the campaign was still going to be a good fit for me. I assured him that it would be.

There wasn't all that much to do today with the phones down. Much to my surprise and great delight, I learned that, in view of the holiday, ROI was closing early for the next few days. I got off work at 4, three hours after my arrival. Tomorrow will be another short day, and tomorrow and the day after will be business casual, which is what I typically come to work in anyways. And I am not worried about not getting paid for the early work shift end. It will just be a great blessing to have money coming in again.

And happily, the way it works with my SSI is that there will be a two-month lag between my starting the job and any reduction in my SSI amount. Our food stamp amount might be lowered more immediately than that. It may be adjusted before my wages are factored in anyways. I was told there was a possible slight reduction in EBT benefits as a result of the annual COLA (Cost-of-living adjustment; my SSI for 2017 will thus be a mere $2 more than it was last year. And I honestly don't know how my wages will factor in to any reduction of my SSI amount. The situation of any money coming in affecting that SSI amount has been an ongoing problem. It seems that we can never break even: the SSI is such a small amount that it's not enough on its own to carry us through a month, and unless I can work well enough to allow us to be compensated for the SSI money that the wages take away, we still might have some problems. But I do finally anticipate us being able to make some major headway towards paying off some of our debts and allowing us to get back on our feet financially to the best of our ability.

I admittedly didn't sleep well last night, and the stress and continual worry I have had about our situation, on top of the stress and worry surrounding starting this job today, not to mention the lack of sleep, gave me a really horrendous headache. But now that I am done with my first day and know beyond doubt, rather than merely believing, that this truly will be a great opportunity for me, and that I can do it, I expect to sleep much better tonight. And the stress headache itself should be gone within a day or two.

Today confirmed beyond doubt what I had tried to believe but which I couldn't quite convince myself: This will be an easy, wonderful opportunity. And I will be able to handle it with little or no inconvenience to myself. I only hope I will prove to Trent that he has made the right decision in giving me another chance.

After the way this all came together, how can I call the whole scenario anything less than the absolute miracle that it is? I have so much for which to be grateful. But I am particularly grateful for my sweet wife Amy, who has stuck with me all this time in spite of the many things I have done that might have caused a lesser woman to doubt the sincerity of my love and the honor of my intentions. And I owe her a great debt of gratitude for not giving up on me ever, and for continually giving me every chance (whether I have earned it or not) to improve myself.

And so, having the first day under my belt, I am determined to progress and be the very best employee I can be. I hope that, as in the past, I will become known for having a strong work ethic and that I can be trusted to be reliable and to serve the best interests of those whom I am assisting.

Thanks so much for taking time to read this. It has been a most wonderful day. More to follow as I can post of such developments in the future. As always, any and all feedback is appreciated. Thanks for your readership and support.

First post-Christmas Post and Last Post Before New Job Starts: Apostolic Age Statistics

Hello, all! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas Day yesterday. My wife and I had the opportunity, even though we weren't able to make it to Church, to spend time with each of our sides of the family. It was wonderful. As usual, our family's gifts on both sides were very generous. Yesterday marked the last time I would have a chance to see my older sister Joanna, her husband Lyle, and their children Grant (age 7) and twins Caleb and Alexis (age 1) for the next short while. I was gratified to learn, however, that instead of being away from the family until the next holiday when they might be able to come back, their plans merely involve a winter/spring 2017 residency for Lyle in Maine, and that they will be back for the entire summer next year. Also, with Maine being much closer than St. Kitts, the likelihood of us being able to chat with them via Skype increases substantially.

In the meantime, since my new job starts later today (while most of the nation observes a day off for Christmas falling on a Sunday), this may be my last chance to blog until I get into the rhythm and routine of the work I will be doing. I couldn't think of a more fitting blog post topic for this reason than an update on the apostolic age averages, as has been my custom every week for the last little while.

As of Christmas Day yesterday, the First Presidency average age was 83.02 years, while the average age of the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was 74.57, and the average for the 15 as a group was 76.26 years. There have been no significant changes from the last report in terms of who is closest to each of these averages.

Also, just by way of future milestones I am looking forward to, President Nelson will jump up two spots in his tenure length as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles just within this next week, assuming the rank of 22nd longest serving Quorum President on Tuesday (tomorrow; passing Spencer W. Kimball) and 21st longest serving Quorum President two days later (this Thursday; passing the second and shortest tenure of Brigham Young Jr.'s two separate service periods as Quorum President). There are no other foreseeable changes in age ranks and tenure lengths for President Nelson or President Monson, nor will there be any change in President Nelson's noangenarian rank within this next week.

Well, as diverting and exciting as all this has been to report, it's time I take a serious look at wrapping things up in preparation for going to bed. I need to get as much of an early start as possible tomorrow given all I need to settle before starting work at 1 pm, to say nothing of what might happen during my first day at the Cedar Hills branch of ROI Solutions. I will see what regulations prevail for floor activities and evaluate at that time if I will be able to continue blogging as I previously did during down time at work. With the new project to which I will be assigned, nothing would surprise me.

Until I can blog again, thank you for your readership and support. Your prayers would be appreciated in my behalf as I adjust to the new schedule and to working again. Thanks.