March 23

I'm pretty effing good at telephone support. I worked in a call centre one time, where (as my resume states:) "I maintained low talk times and high quality scores". They had this guideline where every call should take <10 minutes. "What about when they want to cover multiple issues that all take 10 minutes?" the sharper of us would ask. "Do we ask them to call back or hang up on them?". Maybe this reveals some of the issue I have with inflexible bureaucracy. Anyway, my talk times were low, and my quality scores were absolutely top drawer - which they should have been as I did it superbly. So well they'd have others listen to me for training. I'd often do this trick - when someone called I'd match their accent, or do one that was geographically similar. They were all Americans, so it was easy. Most of what you do as a Canadian to sound american is stop enunciating and make your mouth lazy, imagine you've just been to the dentist and its still a bit numb. Then use more colloquialisms than gators in the swamp at feedin' time and tell them your name is STEVE or DUKE. I had them eating out of the palm of my hand. They'd ask if I saw the local high-school football match, try to set me up with their daughter because I sounded like a nice guy, or even tell me how grateful they were to have gotten through to someone local instead of a foreigner "stealin' all our jobs" (oh the irony). The guy who often sat next to me was Indian, and had a thick accent like you'd hear in Bollywood. His quality scores were not great (through no fault of his own) though his talk times were pretty low - people kept hanging up as soon as he'd say the opening line.

So back to the point, I'm effing good at telephone support. When I call in for help now I know exactly what the score is, and how to pitch myself. I know how to be belligerent and angry when necessary, but not so belligerent and angry that they write me off. I know how important it is to reset my patience for the supervisor or new person even when I've been on the phone and hold for hours - its not their fault the last guy was an asshole who didn't listen or understand the problem. Being upset isn't going to help them deal with it any faster. These days I've been harnessing social media to fight against large faceless corporations, with fantastic results. But I really do prefer getting it done civilly, via phone. I'm fairly comfortable there.That job doing phone support taught me a lot.

TLDR: I got 5$ from my cell phone provider because I was nice (small victories).

So what have I been up to? Its been a while since I wrote in this last. Got my health coverage stuff all done last week. By "done" I mean mailed. So I'm waiting for them to mail back - then I have to start paying health insurance. UGH. I mean, you have to pay it in Ontario too but its done through tax so you barely even notice. Here you pay it every month. UGH. My actor stuff is all done transferring, so I have a UBCP (union of British Colombia performers) number and am eligible to work. My acting resume is up to date as is my regular computery resume, (though I have yet to send them out anywhere). I've compiled a spreadsheet of agents I'm interested in with boxes covering all the details, like who actually runs it, things I've read about them / interesting people they represent, and how they prefer to receive submissions (not everyone uses email, lul wut?). My paradigm shifted from "Gosh, who's gonna want to represent ME? I cant even get this bloody demo done.." to "Of all the agents in this city, here are the ones I think I like. I will submit, meet the ones who get back to me in a timely manner, then choose the one that feels the best for me". Much more empowering and positive.

My cat is unhappy. He liked going outside. He REAAALY liked going outside. I know it'd make him happier to be able to go outside again, right up unto the point where he becomes roadkill. When I bike I often think about cars and trucks and how much damage they could do to me. Sometimes after having crossed a major intersection I'll hear a squeal of tires and honking then imagine that in an alternate course of events or alternate reality those sounds could have been the last ones I'd hear. Its horribly morbid, but really, as a cyclist, I need to keep myself aware of the risks I'm taking and the cost of risks. Its similar with the cat. I know the risks involved with letting him out. I also know he wants to go out just as bad as I want to ride my bike.

Next week I'm doing a course on coursera. I've taken several, though have not lasted past a few classes as its free and I'm easily distracted. This time - I paid 55$ to sign up for the "signature track". They will give me a certified certificate saying I did the thing, but more importantly I paid money for it so will have that added incentive to actually complete it. As a cheap penny pinching bastard, im gonna get my moneys worth out of anything I put my money into. Also, if I take two other similar courses (computer stuff bla bla) then I get some larger certification which will totally help me get more acting work.

OK, ima go ride my bike safely using arm signals and being hyper aware of traffic (as per usual).