|
Saturday, September 29, 2007
One Million Dollars
I don't know if you heard the Dr. Evil inflection in my title, but it
was there. One million dollars. Not a lot of money in some contexts, quite a bit in others. Regardless, it's
what I have to sell between now and January 1. Period, end of story. So my focus, from here through the end of 2007? Work.
Work. And more work. First in the office, last out. More phone calls, more follow up, more bringing Carrie Neal Land to my
brokers. Whatever it takes.
One million dollars. I never thought I'd find inspiration
or a connection with Austin Powers, but there it is. Let's roll.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Ladybug
Sometimes, it just seems things aren't going your way. No matter what
sector of your life - work, family, love, friends, whatever it is - you're definitely not the cat's meow.
But I'm an optimist. I don't know if it's genetic (I do think it's partly
that) or delibarate, practiced choice on my part (I know that much is true, especially recently), but I have always believed
that no matter how your luck is going there is bound to be a change of the tides. On top of the world for a day, a week, a
month? That will change. That is not my pessimist side talking, it's hard-learned knowledge that everyone has to take their
licks - and we should.
Today wasn't a particularly good day for CN. I'll spare you the details,
but despite my recent jubilation at the car debacle resolution, other areas of my life are proving challenging, unsettling,
angst-provoking. When I got home tonight and was getting my things out of my tiny little rental car (hopefully only mine for
one more day!) I was suprised to find a Ladybug crawling on the top of the car above the driver's side passenger door. It
took me back to being a little girl, when my brother and I used to hunt for ladybugs and fireflies at our grandparents' house.
We always gingerly picked up the ladybugs and set them back on a safe spot on the ground so they could be on their way, wherever
that may be.
That's exactly what I did tonight. It reminded me that maybe good luck
abounds in all forms, that I'm not silly for being an optimist, and that everything will be ok. I'm going to go to bed tonight
feeling alright. I'm glad I met my Ladybug today - it was just what I needed.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Victory Is Mine!
Fight the good fight, and you just might win! Yes, indeed, sometimes
the optimist, the persistent, the squeaky-wheel prevails. What in the world am I talking about, you ask? Well, my recent car
accident debacle!
It only took five weeks, countless phone calls, a letter to the Insurance
Commissioner (and a few tears, I will admit, though not on the phone with any of the insurance company people, I
promise).
You see, on August 18th, I was hit by a woman turning left on a green
light. She got the ticket, and it all seemed quite clear-cut. That is, until the insurance company - we're both insured by
Progressive - decided that I could have done something, anything, to avoid hitting the other driver, and therefore 20% of
the liability was mine.
I fought back. No way was that a fair decision.
Long story, short? Two days ago, this past Friday, I finally reached
the fifth level of management and got the decision overturned.
What if I had been one of those people who just accepted whatever the
insurance company first told me? Which, by the way, was that 40% of the liability was mine. Or, what if I didn't have the
time or the chutzpah to ask to speak to each successive manager and keep pursuing the chain of command to fight for the fair
resolution of my situation? I'd be just like the majority of people who take whatever they're handed or think that all insurance
companies stink.
Well, that's not my bag. I'm proud to say that I stuck up for myself,
and for the facts of the situation that happened. I hope more people will do the same. Is it a pain? Absolutely. Should it
be this hard? No way. But, at least for me, in this instance, trying one more time, and not giving up - I told the second-to-last-manager
I spoke with that I'd appeal the liability decision up to the point that the top guy at Progressive had told me a resounding
"no" - proved worth it.
I say, sometimes, hard-won victory is pretty sweet.
|
