I have always tried to keep to myself. This is not to say I have not had my share of good and bad friendships but I have tried really hard to be as self-sufficient as possible. Recently, there has been a lot of drama at work and with drama, comes gossip. I do not care what people do, however the drama and gossip has caused me to think, how much of myself should I be sharing with my co-workers?
I am a very private person and share limited amounts of information but I would go as far as to say, very few people at work know details about my personal life. So what is my limit of information I share? In the past, I have been betrayed (and very much hurt) by people I have worked with and still currently work with, so if you take my past experiences with what is currently happening, then I am reluctant to forge any friendships with my co-workers. For myself, I am finally drawing a line, just because I work with someone, does not mean I have to share my life or become friends with him or her. It is in my own best interest to separate my personal life from my work life. I think for my own happiness and peace of mind this is what has to happen because I know myself far better than anyone else does.
Could I be losing out on the best friendship of my life because I am reluctant to be drawn into the inner circle? Yes, I could be, however I don't ever want to have to choose sides if it comes down between work or this friendship. Sometimes friendships are not meant to evolve beyond work. I wish I could be more trustworthy but past experience has taught me different, so I must draw the line and realize I am only at work to do a job and nothing more.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Bad Decisions
I have made my share of bad decisions, as most people have. My bad decisions include renting a shit hole apartment, which was next to Section 8 housing, run by a complete slum lord, who did nothing to improve that nasty place. Fortunately, I only lived there for 8 months, after I had enough of the roaches and the general sliminess of the place and neighborhood. I was young, naive and extremely poor, on the verge of bankruptcy, trying to dig myself out of a financial hole, which threatened to consume me from poor habits in college. Even though, those were dire times, I made it through them, without anyone having my back. These are regrets and things that cannot be undone.
Perhaps my most recent bad decision, would involve an unwillingness to believe in myself, an unwillingness that I cannot even understand myself. I have been in a the same job for ten years, a job that is yes, honest work, but it is a job that I despise. It is the kind of job that is repetitive and becomes a bad, a very bad habit. I have convinced myself that I have only stayed because I wanted to obtain another degree (I work at a university). The advantage to this is my tuition is free, so I am now on my third option, meaning I started out getting an Education certificate. Then I decided I didn't want to teach high school kids,so then I just took some writing classes. Finally, I decided to get an MFA, unfortunately I didn't get into the program. Well, after a year of not doing anything, I applied for the MA program and was accepted (surprisingly). Hopefully, I will be done in the next year, if I get through the thesis, which will be a great challenge for a procrastinator like myself. If I graduate, then I am not sure what is going to happen. I hope to move on from this job, as I have told myself too many times.
We all become too comfortable with our lives and change becomes a challenge. Our lives are constantly evolving, sometimes we don't always see it. Maybe it took me longer to find my path, more so than others but I do see another side to this, my decisions, whether bad or good have lead to this. When I was rejected from the MFA program, it was a complete letdown and as of this point, I still haven't written any fiction or poetry; however I am writing this blog, which says something in itself and that means I haven't given up, yet.
Perhaps my most recent bad decision, would involve an unwillingness to believe in myself, an unwillingness that I cannot even understand myself. I have been in a the same job for ten years, a job that is yes, honest work, but it is a job that I despise. It is the kind of job that is repetitive and becomes a bad, a very bad habit. I have convinced myself that I have only stayed because I wanted to obtain another degree (I work at a university). The advantage to this is my tuition is free, so I am now on my third option, meaning I started out getting an Education certificate. Then I decided I didn't want to teach high school kids,so then I just took some writing classes. Finally, I decided to get an MFA, unfortunately I didn't get into the program. Well, after a year of not doing anything, I applied for the MA program and was accepted (surprisingly). Hopefully, I will be done in the next year, if I get through the thesis, which will be a great challenge for a procrastinator like myself. If I graduate, then I am not sure what is going to happen. I hope to move on from this job, as I have told myself too many times.
We all become too comfortable with our lives and change becomes a challenge. Our lives are constantly evolving, sometimes we don't always see it. Maybe it took me longer to find my path, more so than others but I do see another side to this, my decisions, whether bad or good have lead to this. When I was rejected from the MFA program, it was a complete letdown and as of this point, I still haven't written any fiction or poetry; however I am writing this blog, which says something in itself and that means I haven't given up, yet.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Small Idea
I really don't consider myself extraordinary, nor do I think I have the capability to influence another person's life. All I know is, I can only share my experiences and thoughts with you (if anyone at all is listening), not that it matters if anyone is reading this. I don't tend to hold back too much, unless it is complete emotional involvement, then that is another matter, which I won't bore you with.
I guess you are wondering what is the point of this post? I started this blog, not because my life is so interesting that I need to share it with someone else but because I need an avenue to explore and vent, whether to rant or share opinions or to spread happy joy. I always wanted to be writer, I can't believe I said that loud, however I always listened to what other people told me I should be. I have been down many other paths but my experience has lead me back to this, whether it is the right path I do not know. This is what I do know, I will never stop writing, even if someone tells me it is not something I should be doing. Unreasonable critics be damned, this is who I am and who I will be. I was always a writer, I just didn't realize it at the time.
I guess you are wondering what is the point of this post? I started this blog, not because my life is so interesting that I need to share it with someone else but because I need an avenue to explore and vent, whether to rant or share opinions or to spread happy joy. I always wanted to be writer, I can't believe I said that loud, however I always listened to what other people told me I should be. I have been down many other paths but my experience has lead me back to this, whether it is the right path I do not know. This is what I do know, I will never stop writing, even if someone tells me it is not something I should be doing. Unreasonable critics be damned, this is who I am and who I will be. I was always a writer, I just didn't realize it at the time.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Erie Insurance Continued
Today, I received a response to my letter I sent them at the end of June. In my first letter to them, I addressed the three incidents, stating clearly I was only at fault for two incidents, not three accidents and they never paid out on the third incident(which was December 2008 and my fault). To be clear, in case you are not, the first incident in January 2007 was not my fault, the latter two incidents in 2008 were my fault but Erie never paid anything on the last one because I closed it out. I also addressed the fact that the same day I received their notice for dropping my auto insurance, they decided to renew my home renters insurance. I thought it was rather insulting that they renew my home rental insurance and advised them so.
Erie's response to me in the letter I received today was basically they would not renew my auto policy (for some reason they thought I wanted them to reconsider their decision, which was never my intent. I only wanted to express my point of view and I never asked them to reconsider their decision). This is also where becoming an informed consumer comes in handy. Erie advised me that they had not dropped me last year because Ohio law dictates the policy can only be reviewed every two years (and since my policy started in 2002, they could not drop me). They also advised me that they compared my claims to other policyholders, meaning that if someone has 0 claims vs. someone like me, then they will take that into account. Of course, the first five years with them, I did have a perfectly clean record, which they did not seem to care about or take into account. Erie also noted that my claim frequency was high, meaning that I had too many claims in three years. This is not entirely accurate as the first claim was January 2007, which would have been 3 1/2 years ago.
Erie did not choose to address my second issue with them, which was about the home rental insurance, which I asked them to discontinue. I found their response letter to be rather insincere and unoriginal. I will say they did address my concern about why they didn't drop me last year, I must give them credit for that. I have written them another letter which states the following:
"My complaint with your response letter is that you completely misinterpreted my letter to your company. Since reading comprehension seems to be a problem for you, then let me explain. Nowhere in my original letter did I ask your company to reconsider renewing my policy, nor did I ever express disappointment in your decision. The intent of my letter was to explain my position to you, since your original letter was quite vague and impersonal. I already accepted you were not going to renew my policy." I then address the home rental policy again and ask they cancel it, since Erie never addressed that portion in their response letter.
I guess my point of this is to never be afraid to be assertive and do not let these companies take advantage of you. These companies do not appreciate loyalty, nor do they appreciate the face behind the customer. It is the consumer's responsibility to be informed and to care about where he/she puts his/her money. Ask yourself, why would I want to support a company that only cares about the dollars and cents (let's face it they are in it for the money) and does not listen to the customer? If you want any more proof than this, then go back to the generic "Dear Policyholder", ask yourself how does that make you feel? We are all more than just policyholders!
Again, my rant is not to discredit Erie completely, I had some decent years with them and I will move on with my life. Perhaps, Erie will survive, then again they may not. However I cannot recommend them, especially if you have younger drivers or are a higher risk driver, even if you are not high risk, would you want to take a chance that you may a bad year or two? I left Erie with this final paragraph in my letter, "I understand this was a mere financial decision on your part, however how you treat people is a reflection of your company's character. If this is how you decide to treat people, then you must accept the consequences of your actions because every action has a consequence and people never forget how you treat them."
<
The End
Erie's response to me in the letter I received today was basically they would not renew my auto policy (for some reason they thought I wanted them to reconsider their decision, which was never my intent. I only wanted to express my point of view and I never asked them to reconsider their decision). This is also where becoming an informed consumer comes in handy. Erie advised me that they had not dropped me last year because Ohio law dictates the policy can only be reviewed every two years (and since my policy started in 2002, they could not drop me). They also advised me that they compared my claims to other policyholders, meaning that if someone has 0 claims vs. someone like me, then they will take that into account. Of course, the first five years with them, I did have a perfectly clean record, which they did not seem to care about or take into account. Erie also noted that my claim frequency was high, meaning that I had too many claims in three years. This is not entirely accurate as the first claim was January 2007, which would have been 3 1/2 years ago.
Erie did not choose to address my second issue with them, which was about the home rental insurance, which I asked them to discontinue. I found their response letter to be rather insincere and unoriginal. I will say they did address my concern about why they didn't drop me last year, I must give them credit for that. I have written them another letter which states the following:
"My complaint with your response letter is that you completely misinterpreted my letter to your company. Since reading comprehension seems to be a problem for you, then let me explain. Nowhere in my original letter did I ask your company to reconsider renewing my policy, nor did I ever express disappointment in your decision. The intent of my letter was to explain my position to you, since your original letter was quite vague and impersonal. I already accepted you were not going to renew my policy." I then address the home rental policy again and ask they cancel it, since Erie never addressed that portion in their response letter.
I guess my point of this is to never be afraid to be assertive and do not let these companies take advantage of you. These companies do not appreciate loyalty, nor do they appreciate the face behind the customer. It is the consumer's responsibility to be informed and to care about where he/she puts his/her money. Ask yourself, why would I want to support a company that only cares about the dollars and cents (let's face it they are in it for the money) and does not listen to the customer? If you want any more proof than this, then go back to the generic "Dear Policyholder", ask yourself how does that make you feel? We are all more than just policyholders!
Again, my rant is not to discredit Erie completely, I had some decent years with them and I will move on with my life. Perhaps, Erie will survive, then again they may not. However I cannot recommend them, especially if you have younger drivers or are a higher risk driver, even if you are not high risk, would you want to take a chance that you may a bad year or two? I left Erie with this final paragraph in my letter, "I understand this was a mere financial decision on your part, however how you treat people is a reflection of your company's character. If this is how you decide to treat people, then you must accept the consequences of your actions because every action has a consequence and people never forget how you treat them."
<
The End
Erie Insurance
My first rant will be about Erie Insurance Company. It is not my intent to slander or make Erie Insurance look bad, however I believe we should all be more informed consumers. I will be the first to admit, I know or understand little about car insurance. I just know I need it to drive my car legally.
Erie Insurance is a company based in Erie, PA. They do not service all 50 states but they do serve my state which is Ohio. I discovered them through an insurance agency online about 8 years ago and have been with them ever since.
I will not post the exact letter they sent me, however the letter dated 6/23/10 begins "Dear Policyholder". Now this is one thing I take issue with, the generic greeting, "Dear Policyholder". I have been with your company 8 years and this is what you come up with? The rather short and impersonal note goes on to say that they have decided not to renew my policy because I had too many incidents with their company. Now isn't this why we pay for insurance, so we are covered in case accidents happen? Why would they decide to drop a long term customer and not just raise the rate? Their rather brief and final notice explained little about their decision.
The accidents that I actually claimed on were the following:
01/20/2007 My vehicle was hit in a parking lot by someone else (not my fault, I wasn't even in the car)
02/08/2008 I hit a pole in a parking lot (yes this was my fault)
There was 3rd incident in December 2008 but I dropped that claim because the damage was minor. They never paid anything out on this and there was never a police report filed.
I admit I am not the best driver, nor always the most careful, however I was puzzled by their decision and wrote them a letter.
Erie Insurance is a company based in Erie, PA. They do not service all 50 states but they do serve my state which is Ohio. I discovered them through an insurance agency online about 8 years ago and have been with them ever since.
I will not post the exact letter they sent me, however the letter dated 6/23/10 begins "Dear Policyholder". Now this is one thing I take issue with, the generic greeting, "Dear Policyholder". I have been with your company 8 years and this is what you come up with? The rather short and impersonal note goes on to say that they have decided not to renew my policy because I had too many incidents with their company. Now isn't this why we pay for insurance, so we are covered in case accidents happen? Why would they decide to drop a long term customer and not just raise the rate? Their rather brief and final notice explained little about their decision.
The accidents that I actually claimed on were the following:
01/20/2007 My vehicle was hit in a parking lot by someone else (not my fault, I wasn't even in the car)
02/08/2008 I hit a pole in a parking lot (yes this was my fault)
There was 3rd incident in December 2008 but I dropped that claim because the damage was minor. They never paid anything out on this and there was never a police report filed.
I admit I am not the best driver, nor always the most careful, however I was puzzled by their decision and wrote them a letter.
Welcome!
Welcome to my blog! I will keep this short & sweet for today. I promise I will rant and bitch daily (ok at least once a week) on multiple topics. I may even do a book review, if I ever get around to reading an actual book. You may or may not like what I have to say but you know I will say it. More later.
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