My very close call

Hello, all! The last couple of days have been personally hectic for me. I will explain that in a minute. But first, there was so much Church news yesterday what with the temple construction updates and the reported death of Elder Porter, and given the situation I have had in the last 24 hours, I have not been at liberty to blog about things until now.

Yesterday was a fairly good workday. I felt confident doing what I was doing, and the best part of yesterday was that the assistant account manager had a split shift, so even after Trent and my TL left for the day, by that time, she (her name is Jenny) was back, and she was able to stay the rest of the night.

Things went swimmingly . . .until about 8:15 PM. Due to some technical errors with my system that could not be resolved because our technical support staff had gone for the day, I was sent home. While I was getting ready to leave, Jenny talked to all of us that were representing the campaign. She said the agent company had come down very hard on Trent due to mistakes made by the ROI agents who represented the agent company. The situation was bad enough that they were threatening to pull the contract.

While I had been assured by Jenny when she shared this news that even if our contract with the campaign ended, they would try to find another campaign at the Lindon ROI for me, I had that all-too-familiar knot in my stomach about the stressful nature of the situation. As instructed, I went home at about 8:45 since the issues with my system would not be cleared up until today when the technicians could handle it.

When Amy came to pick me up, I told her about the situation. She waited until we were home to ask me about it further. Her fear was that I would lose this job within the same week of getting it. I had been assured by Jenny that there was a learning curve for the job,, and that any errors I had made were due to not being properly trained on how to handle them, and that this would be a consideration in determining my fate, regardless of the outcome with the campaign.

Shortly after we arrived back home, Amy asked me how I was handling this. Putting a brave face on it, I told her I was fine. But I couldn't look her in the eye while saying so. When she told me to repeat that while we had eye contact, I couldn't. I had a meltdown right then and there. She held me tight and let me know that whatever happened with work, she was here for me.

One thing I have always been able to count on during the last 6+ years is Amy's ability to calm me down and reassure me. She has never once failed to do so. She encouraged me to pray right then and there for the Lord's blessings in our situation.

As I followed her advice, I became convinced that everything would be okay. I felt an overwhelming sense of peace. I was able to enjoy the rest of the day and get to sleep with relative ease, albeit in the early morning hours.

I had no end of trouble waking up and getting going today, but I still managed to arrive at work on time. When I got here, I received additional training from Trent and from my TL. Latitude had been extended to me because of the learning curve. Some of my coworkers, with whom I formed a good bond in a short time, were not as lucky unfortunately. I am hoping beyond hope that nothing I did led to their termination. Time will tell.

In the meantime, with the retraining, I was able to handle things so much better today. It was a wonderful day. There were system issues, but I had no issues learning from my mistakes and changing my behavior accordingly. If only everything could be resolved so easily!

Well, FWIW, that's my report of the latest personal happenings. Another bullet dodged. I am one of the luckiest men alive. That said, the time has come for me to leave for the day. Thanks to you all for your interest, concern, and support. Any comments continue to be welcome and appreciated. Thanks for your readership and support.

Temple Construction Progress Report

Given all that has happened today between work and personal stuff, I was only able to make my first daily check of the LDS Church Temples site a few moments ago. I was amazed and overjoyed to read of the progress that has taken place since my last posted update. This blog post will serve to let you all know the latest developments on that front. Enjoy, and .let me know what you think.

Temple Construction Progress Report (current as of 12/29/16)

Current Temple Status: 155 operating; 1 scheduled for dedication; 11 under construction; 1 scheduled for rededication; 2 undergoing renovation; 10 announced; (NOTE: Up to 3 additional temples may soon have a groundbreaking announced).

Dedication scheduled:

156. Paris France Temple: Exterior lighting system operating; interior work underway; scheduled to be dedicated on Sunday May 21, 2017.

Under Construction:

157. Meridian Idaho Temple: Light fixtures hung; interior trim underway; completion anticipated sometime in late 2017.

158. Cedar City Utah Temple: Fencing progressing; entrance plaza created; landscaping areas defined; hanging drywall; completion anticipated sometime in late 2017.

159. Tucson Arizona Temple: Pouring walkways; erecting fencing; installing art glass windows; hanging drywall; completion anticipated sometime in late 2017.

160. Rome Italy Temple: Interior work progressing; completion anticipated sometime in early-to-mid 2018.

161. Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple: Building the exterior walls; completion anticipated sometime in early-to-mid 2018.

162. Concepcion Chile Temple: Attaching building wrap to exterior walls; adding landscaping structures; completion anticipated sometime in mid-2018.

163. Durban South Africa Temple: Pouring temple foundation; setting rebar for missionary housing walls; palm trees planted along entrance road; completion anticipated sometime in mid-2018.

164. Barranquilla Colombia Temple: Pouring walls for steeple base; completion anticipated sometime between late 2018 and early 2019.

165. Winnipeg Manitoba Temple: Groundbreaking held Saturday December 3, 2016; completion anticipated sometime between late 2018 and early 2019.

166. Fortaleza Brazil Temple: Pouring the second floor exterior walls; completion anticipated sometime in 2019.

167. Lisbon Portugal Temple: Structural framing underway for meetinghouse;  excavating for maintenance building; temple site cleared; completion anticipated sometime in 2019.

Scheduled for rededication:

8. Idaho Falls Idaho Temple: Closed for renovation; finish work underway; rededication scheduled for Sunday June 4, 2017.

Undergoing Renovation:

20. Jordan River Utah Temple: Closed for renovation; rededication anticipated sometime between late 2017 and early 2018.

41. Frankfurt Germany Temple: Closed for renovation; some exterior stone removed; foundation exposed; old meetinghouse razed; rededication anticipated sometime between early and mid 2018.

Announced:

168. Harare Zimbabwe Temple: Approval and construction preparation phase; official site announcement anticipated in early 2017, with the groundbreaking anticipated to take place shortly following the site announcement.

169.  Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple: Governmental approval phase; preliminary environmental license issued in November 2016; groundbreaking pending.

170. Arequipa Peru Temple: General contractor selected; groundbreaking pending.

171. Urdaneta Philippines Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

172. Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

173. Bangkok Thailand Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

174. Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.

175. Quito Ecuador Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.

176. Belem Brazil Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.

177. Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.

Key:

Bolded numbers and text denote temples whose numbers already exists (for renovations), or is certain due to a scheduled dedication, as well as information that is certain, such as dedication or groundbreaking dates.

Italicized numbers and text denote temples whose numbers may change based on the order in which future dedications and groundbreakings are scheduled.

Underlined numbers and text denote temples whose numbers may change based on progress towards planning, approval, and groundbreaking.

Red text denotes changes from the last posted temple progress update.

General Authority Seventy Bruce D. Porter Dies at 64

Sad news today from the LDS Church. Bruce D. Porter, a General Authority Seventy since 1995, who was 64, died today at home as a result of complications from a severe pulmonary infection. He had been reassigned to Church headquarters earlier this month after his health rendered him unable to continue his assignment as president of the Europe Area of the Church. It may just have been incident to age. Elder Porter is the second actively serving General Authority Seventy to pass away this year. The first was Elder Per G. Malm, the first native Swiss General Authority. Elder Malm passed away on July 26.

Getting back to Elder Porter, I always loved listening to him speak during General Conference. His messages always struck me on a personal level. He will be greatly missed.

Though I do not believe anyone from his family will ever read this, my heartfelt condolences go out to the family of Elder Porter as they mourn his passing and celebrate his life. To read more about the life of this remarkable man, please click here. If any of you would like to review his 4 amazing talks given in General Conference over the years, click here.

Thanks to you all for your interest, readership and support.

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.