And I'm going to go against all principles and break the news: Congrats to Nick and Kristin on their recent engagement!

posted by paula 10:53 AM

I’m a fact freak. And I never really considered myself a history buff, but I guess I could be considering I love investigating the origins of certain customs, holidays and traditions. So it seemed befitting that on this day that love abounds, I look into the history of Valentine’s Day and commercialism that surrounds it.

The most famous -- and logical by far – of legends says that Valentine or Valentinius was a Catholic Priest in Rome during the reign of the Emperor Claudius II, otherwise known as “Claudius the Cruel.” The support for war was declining in the country and Claudius decided that the struggling enrollment in the army was due to the hesitation for men to leave their wives and family at home to fight in foreign lands. He noted that younger men who were single had less hesitation and more enthusiasm for such ‘sports’ as war and consequently, he outlawed marriage within Rome.
Valentinius, a loyal servant of love and God, couldn’t bear to see young couples denied their right to marry, so he continued to perform marriages despite the ruling. When his infractions were discovered, Claudius had him imprisoned and sentenced to death. While in prison awaiting his fate scheduled for February the 14th (the date is the most debatable of the legend), it’s rumored that he fell in love with the jailor’s daughter who visited the prisoners quite frequently. On the eve of his execution, he wrote a letter to her, professing his love and signing it “With love, your Valentine.” Valentine, for his efforts to unite those in love in the eyes of God was later declared a saint and martyr by the Catholic Church.

Where does cupid enter into all of this? Mythical legend, of course. Another legend states that in medieval times, February 14th was a holiday to honor Juno, the Queen of the Roman Gods and Godesses, who apparently held other positions, such as the Queen of Women and Marriage. February 14th was also the eve of the festival of Lupercalia, a celebration of purification and fertility.
In a time when girls and boys or young men and women were kept separate from each other – raised in different realms of life – to have them unite was scandalous. However, during the holiday to honor Juno, Roman citizens were offered one day to celebrate love among the two sexes. The names of girls were placed on pieces of paper and the boys drew the names and were ‘paired’ with a girl, if only for a day. Some fell in love and the ‘pairs’ lasted much longer, eventually resulting in marriage. Cupid enters later, either as the son of Aphrodite (if you’re from Greece) or the sun of Venus (if you’re Roman). Either way, he’s a mischievous, chubby little thing, doing the deeds of his mother and shooting his bow and arrow at those who they wish to fall in love.

As for facts, the Census Bureau compiled some interesting statistics regarding Valentine’s Day and commerce:

-- 2.3 million people get married in the United States each year. That’s about 6,400 each day, if you’re counting individual marriages.
-- The estimated U.S. median age at first marriage for women is 25.1 and 26.8 for men, respectively. The age for women is up 4.3 years since 1970. The age for men, 3.6 years since 1970.
-- The estimated wholesale value of those domestically produced flowers sold during the year 2001 is $424 million. California produces two-thirds of this amount, coming in at a whopping $292 million. $68 million of these figures is solely roses.
-- There are approximately 24,197florists nationwide, which employ approximately 122,224 people.
-- Americans consumed 24 lbs. of candy per capita in 2001, which is down from 27 lbs. in 1997.
-- There are 29,303 jewelry stores in the United States that recorded a $2.1 billion in sales last February – a figure only second to sales in the month of December.
-- Still good news for you 20-something single women out there: there are 119 single men in their 20’s for every 100 of you. Don’t get your hopes up too much, though. According to the census, types like Ryan and I are technically considered ‘single’ although attached, since we qualify as “never married, divorced or widowed.”
-- If you’re looking for better odds than that, the best place to move is Crowley County in Colorado, which boasts the highest male-female ratio in the nation; 205 men to every 100 women of their similar age. Move over Alaska! If you’re male, you might want to consider moving to Clifton Forge, Va. where you’ll find 100 women for approximately every 78 men.
For more facts see the Census Bureau and give your loved one a huge smoocher from all three of us.

posted by paula 10:39 AM

Spending the day on hold.
I have a sneaking suspicion that there is a conspiracy within the Customer Service industry to secretly pack all high-volume call centers in America with non-English speaking citizens, as to frustrate the common population into eventually abandoning their customer service requests when they call into large corporations. This, of course is only a last resort, as the first method of aggravation is to slowly and painfully maneuver customers through an endless stream of alternating phone menus and promotional messages which eventually lead you to a dead end where you either get disconnected while sitting on hold or eventually get transferred because you ended up speaking to the wrong person (after which, that individual accidentally cuts you off while trying to transfer your call).
Yesterday, I spent very close to half of my day trying to confirm the closure of my account with MCI. It seems that although I tried to close it in early December (via an automated phone menu, no less) I continue to get charged for long distance service although I’m not using it.
It was here that I had the pleasure of getting to know one of their customer service representatives, although I didn’t quite catch his name, or anything after the introduction for that matter. He was quite apologetic and I appreciate his willingness to resolve my issue but it was pretty clear that I didn’t understand him and likewise he didn’t understand me, which explains why it took him twenty minutes to find my account number, even after repeating it to him several times. The phone conversation was a mix of stuttering, repeated sentences on both ends and various periods of being put on hold while he ‘found my account’ or was ‘looking up my bill.’ Which for all I know, he could have been talking about a bad case of gout or his upcoming lunch with Phil. It was statements like these followed by minutes – or hours – on hold. Planets moved. The sun set and rose again. Seasons changed. A cure for cancer was found. Still, I refused to give up and be deduced to some ignorant fool because I couldn’t understand the individual on the other end of the phone. Nor could he understand me. Either out of pride or spite, I was determined to make it work.
But somewhere between the beginning of the call and the end of eternity, it occurred to me that it while it’s beneficial for MCI to employ a diverse culture of individuals, it might be wise for MCI to actually employ those individuals who actually are of moderate capacity of speaking the language of those that they’re relating with. Unless of course, they’re trying to frustrate their customers into hanging up before the issue is ever resolved, no? You don’t hire surgeons without hands, do you? We don’t hire Lutherans to be Rabbis, do we? Similarly, I wouldn’t exactly qualify for a job in aviation mechanics or more simply, a job where I had to communicate with the German population. I don’t speak German. And I wouldn’t even apply for a job in translation of Spanish, aside from my years of experience with the language because I don’t speak it very well. It seems to me that this isn’t rocket science for a hiring manager to figure out. Unless of course, it’s a conspiracy.
As for the status of my account with MCI, I’m not quite sure the issue was resolved. I think the call ended with him telling me that “this is the last bill you will get.” Either that or he asked me if Phil and I have met.

posted by paula 10:19 AM