Lintefiniel Musing...formerly Jen Speaks!

Wednesday, June 18, 2003

Must. Not. Kill.

Phone rings.

ME: US Marshals Service.

HIM: *on speaker phone, so that’s a strike against him from the git-go...oh, and he’s yelling, not to be heard but because he’s irate - strike two* I need to speak to a supervisor because the Marshals have committed fraud (there were additional accusations that I won’t get into)…

ME: *trying to keep calm because I don’t like to be yelled at when I’ve done nothing to warrant it* Sir, what kind of fraud are you talking about?

HIM: *did I mention that he has a heavy foreign accent? He’s of Middle Eastern extraction based on that accent and his name, which I will change for his privacy later, as much as it pains me* I have a case in court and I had summons to be served by the US Marshals and the judge is saying they were not served and [a large insurance company he’s suing, now known as ALICHS™ for my story] are saying they never received the summons, but I have a copy from the US Marshals that says the summons was served… *he rambled on for a little bit more before I finally cut him off*

ME: Sir, hold on a second. Before you accuse us of shenanigans *yes he used that word* and fraud, let me get a few more details. I’m the civil clerk and I think I can help you. (or words to that effect) And would you mind picking up your phone, I’m having a hard time hearing you on the speaker? (I could hear him fine since he was yelling, but I hate speaker phones and didn’t want to deal with it.)

The next 10 minutes were relatively civil (heh) as I was able to figure out which case it was (Hussein v ALICHS™), check my process logbook to see what I had on record. Turns out he had six summonses for his case. Two of them needed to be forwarded to another district to be served, the “missing” one was one of those.

ME: Sir, from my log it looks like the process was served on October 9 and I returned it to the Clerks Office on October 15. Did you get the yellow copy?

HIM: Yes, I have it in my hand.

ME: *heavy internal sigh - then what on earth is the problem, I’m thinking* Well, if you have the yellow copy then you can see that it was served, a deputy signed and dated it, and the office date stamped it. Right?

HIM: Yes, but Judge Smith is saying that it wasn’t served. The Clerks Office is saying they don’t have a copy. So someone in the US Marshals is playing shenanigans…

ME: No, sir. You have the proof in your hand that the summons was served. There’s no fraud or shenanigans going on. A piece of paper got misplaced between my office and the Clerks Office…

HIM: Yes, and that’s shenanigans *I can’t believe I’m having an argument about what shenanigans are with this guy* is it not?

ME: Not really, stuff gets lost in the shuffle all the time. I can make a copy of my copy and take it to the Clerks Office.

Immediately I could sense the calm come over him.

HIM: Will you call Judge Smith to tell him it was served?

ME: I don’t need to call the judge, the Clerks Office will notify his office.

ARGH. Four people who overheard me said I handled it well. So that’s nice to know. I was cursing him in my head.

Then LW said, “Whe didn’t you pass him on to a supervisor? You don’t get paid enough to handle irate callers.”

“Because I had the answer he was looking for, I just needed for him to calm down long enough to listen to it.”

And now I feel better. *sigh*

LATER: Before I could post this I was checking my files and I see that he’s a serial sue-er. We have a few of them in the district. Every once in a while I’ll get a huge pile of civil process (usually summonses) that are for one case. Last time it was 24 summonses.

Unrelated to the above, we have about 12 young interns from HQ over for a visit with The Marshal. I think he should lock them in the cellblock for a minute or two.

Posted by at 11:57 AM
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Tuesday, June 17, 2003

Blogger’s Rules

Plenty of bloggers have posted their tips on blogging for newer bloggers that may happen upon them. Add Kevin’s to the list. He’s got some good advice and insight.

Posted by at 11:12 PM
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The Thinklings Celebrity Awards

I love those guys at Thinklings blog. Good, thoughtful writing about faith, politics, Gatorade, The Simpsons, and now…

The Thinklings Celebrity Awards. Why?

The categories are excellent as are the nominees. And there are additions in the comments from the peanut gallery, including moi.

My favorite category:

Go check it out… Posted by at 10:17 PM
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NoVa CC

So I was watching the news when they mentioned that President Bush was at a Northern Virginia community college. I looked up to see “Annandale, VA” on the screen and I realized he was at the main NoVA campus (which is what the locals call Northern Virginia Community College - original, I know). There are several campuses around the area.

I took an Accounting class there about 12 years ago. At that campus.

Freaky.

Posted by at 09:58 PM
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Babysitting in My Future

“So Jen, what are you doing on Friday night?”

My normal answer is, “I have worship band practice at church.”

This week’s answer is, “I’m babysitting my niece.”

Talked with Marmie today and we will be CootieGirl-sitting on Friday night so Mr. and Mrs. Cootiehog can go out for dinner and a movie - a date night. I hated babysitting as a teenager and quit that as soon as I could (and got a real job in a store). But I am very excited to have this chance to torment my niece. Woo hoo!

Posted by at 09:33 PM
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Commuting

You’ll get tired of my traffic rants. Or maybe you already are. But it gives you a little local flavor, right?

From this morning:

There are stories, but I won’t bore you with the details. Posted by at 11:44 AM
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Pride vs Your Tax Dollars

There have been many news stories about AG Ashcroft’s position on the Gay Pride thingy at the Dept of Justice this month. He’s allowing it to occur, but the members of the group have to pay for it themselves rather than the Department. That seems fair to me, I don’t want my tax dollars paying for any group’s party, no matter who they are.

Bryan McAnally (permalink seems to be working, it’s the post called “From Ken’s Perspective") has posted a good essay on the subject.

An Excerpt:

“Sponsorship sends an important message to the employee group that their work is valued.” What? Isn’t that what a salary is for?

The DOJ doesn’t set aside other months to affirm married people or mothers or singles. Besides, one would think that, with the ongoing war against terrorism, homeland security concerns and plain old street crime, the government would have better things to do with taxpayer dollars and federal employees’ time than to celebrate personal sexual preferences.

Emphasis is mine. That’s been my thought exactly when I’ve heard that complaint. Employees do not have the right to have a party at the expense of the company or agency just because they’re “celebrating” something that they deem special or noteworthy. If they choose to have a party or whatever, then they can pay for it themselves. They should pay for it themselves.

The fact that these are government employees makes it even more maddening...because they’re talking about spending The People’s Money™.

Posted by at 08:19 AM
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Wandering Hillbilly

This Wandering Hillbilly showed up in my search referrals. So I clicked over to see what that blog looks like and I laughed out loud. Hilarious, clever, and a challenge to read.

A snippet:

at first it aint a parent that ye cant proov ever negativ n i spose most folks dun knows it tho ye gotta wunder on a cownta the way folks keeps a usin it n tendin lack its proovin sumpn

He’s got some links in that stuff, I didn’t take the time to get them. Go take a look.

He’s got me linked, I will reciprocate the linkage.

Posted by at 07:59 AM
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Monday, June 16, 2003

The Mug Arrived

There are two people who sent me mugs recently. They may both be thinking that their mug arrived today. One would be incorrect, but only for another day or two when I expect his to arrive.

Thanks for the mug, I love it...it’s perfect!

Posted by at 08:51 PM
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Driving Home Stories

I’ve added a new category - Here in My Car - because I spend so much time driving and things happen. Like tonight on the drive home.

1. I was on I-66 and this beat up old station wagon came up beside me on the left. As he got closer, I could see in my side mirror that the passenger was hanging out of the open window. My lane slowed, but that lane continued on and as the wagon passed me the passenger and I made eye contact briefly. He was a reasonably attractive man, a bit scruffy, looked like a manual laborer at the end of a long day. Anyway, as I was moving my gaze back to the front, he winked at me. No smile, just the wink. I’m choosing to be flattered by it.

2. I was on Route 50, following closely behind a utility type truck. VDOT is adding some turn lanes where a new storage facility was built and there are traffic cones on the right shoulder. The truck edged over to the right just enough to clip one of the cones, which went flying into the right front fender of my car. No major damage, but the paint was scratched up a bit. I’m hoping it will buff out.

The good and bad. It’s a delicate traffic balance.

Posted by at 08:37 PM
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Extended Goodness

There’s word from the USA Today that the LOTR: TTT, Extended Version DVD is going to be really long (3 hours, 43 minutes) and include the resurrection of Boromir (in a flashback).

Not only is there more Bean to savor, but the twisted emotional ties that ensnare ruler Denethor (New Zealand actor John Noble, who officially joins the cast in King), his favorite son, Boromir, and scapegoat Faramir also are exposed. The scenes also help explain why the noble Faramir is rather rude when he meets heroic hobbits Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin).

More spoilerage follows...I can’t wait!

[Via PromoGuy]

Still Speaking...

Posted by at 06:13 PM
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It’s Kookie

I just got my first kook call in a long time. When we got our new phone system it cut down on the kooks significantly, it’s been months since I got a call from one of the regulars that used to call.

This guy is claiming that another guy is “monitoring him and putting him on the internet.” I asked a few questions and it turns out the perp has been “monitoring” the compainant with a webcam and posting his images on the web. Complainant doesn’t know the web address (big surprise), but I managed to get names and phone numbers for both people (who knows if they’re real). I told him that I’d pass on the information and see what we could do.

Posted by at 04:48 PM
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Monday, Monday

I don’t have much to share today. It’s a typical Monday.

I did notice that we have several mushroom patches developing in the mulched areas in front of my apartment building. They remind me of the mushroom fairies in Fantasia.

[photo credit]

On the job front, we have to watch this video on sexual harrassment sent to us from HQ. So as I type this, there’s a large group of folks congregated in the conference room watching. There’s much laughter and loudness emanating from that end of the hall. Let me say that we have a couple people who are just LOUD. And that room is at the end of the hallway. I can hear specific things one particular person is saying. And I want to yell, “Shut your piehole!” back there. Sheesh.

Later: LW, The Boss, a new investigator, and I watched the sexual harrassment video this afternoon. I can understand why the laughter - especially with that group that watched it earlier. It’s completely ridiculous. Truth is most of us in our office would be in trouble all the time for saying “inappropriate” things based on the examples in this video, myself included. This tells me that people have chosen to be offended by stuff that should just require a good old fashioned eye roll. What babies people have become...imho.

Posted by at 03:35 PM
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Favorite Scenes

Everyone has favorite scenes in movies, right? The one scene in a movie that moves you, makes you laugh, makes you think, scares you…

Meet the Parents is on cable right now and it’s just gotten to the scene when Greg has left the house in shame and is at the airport to go home. That whole sequence - where he’s trying to get a flight booked, waiting to get on the plane, trying to fit his carry-on in the overhead compartment - that is one of my all time favorites for hilarity.

“...Shut your piehole!”

*Yes, I’m laughing as I type this.*

Posted by at 12:00 AM
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Sunday, June 15, 2003

The Compassionate Church?

After I posted Jason’s issue with a church mailer, I was reading over at The Thinklings and found this post about the lack of compassion in the church. I think they’re related and so I’m going to excerpt a little of the comments from the Thinklings post here because they’re good, thought-provoking, and may spark debate.

Still Speaking...

From the original post (written by Jared):

At some point, we have taken our somewhat necessary role as moral “watchdogs” and turned ourselves into judgmental attack dogs.

[...]

The unchurched around us offend us, disturb us, disgust us. We call them “whores” and “pagans,” and we further retreat into our protective Christian bubble.

I am not saying that sin should not offend us. I’m saying that our response should be more compassion than condemnation. When you look at the teenage girl at the mall with her cleavage and midriff bared, her skirt shorter than her hand is long, her mouth full of obscenities, I’m asking you not to see a whore, but a hurting person lost without Jesus. I’m asking you to be outraged that this person and other people—like homosexuals and “godless” politicians and the morons on MTV and the co-worker next to you who only knows you are a Christian by the fish on your car and the stuff you pontificate against—are all in desperate need of a Savior.

When you look at the people around you, I’m asking you to look at them not from the position of your own self-righteousness, but with the perspective that, before grace, you were spiritually just as offensive as they. When you look upon “the crowds,” I’m asking you (and myself) to see them with the eyes of Jesus, who pretty much reserved His outrage for religious folks like ourselves.

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”—Matthew 9:36

There were a couple comments, including one of my own that I won’t post here because it was a lengthy story recalling an instance from my Young Life days. However, Bill had a good thing to say:

non-Christians

[...]

Lost people act lost...

Then Jared responded with:

Over on Jen’s blog, she reprints a portion of another blogger’s critique of a church mailer “advertising” a late service and free coffee. The blogger (not Jen) argues that we shouldn’t be so concerned about making folks comfortable.

I am thinking “what?” We should absolutely be concerned about making them comfortable. Because once they hear the good news, and once they are confronted with their own sin and how they don’t measure up (which a lot of lost folks already know deep down anyway), they will be plenty uncomfortable. If part of our mission is to deny “felt needs” just because of some idea that it is our duty to do so, count me out.

A lot of the things the Church today is upset about missing are things the Church itself has invented—hymns, organs, pews, portraits of Jesus in the lobby, etc. Am I supposed to believe that no one really worshipped before the 1800s when those hymns were written?

We are very hung up on the institutions of our church subculture, when we ought to be hung up on removing any unnecessary barriers between Christ and the lost. The only barrier should be sin and one’s discomfort when pondering it in the light of God’s grace and forgiveness.
For what it’s worth . . .

It’s an interesting debate, that has been discussed in countless churches and parachurch ministries over the years, including my own.

Done Speaking...

Posted by at 11:26 PM
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