A Shattered Dream (a little dramatic, I know)

I hate parking in the city. I would rather spend $20 at a parking garage than humiliate myself trying to parallel park. It just never clicked for me. So as I was preparing for my debut at the WIP studio last Tuesday morning the only thing that gave me anxiety was getting there and finding parking. What if I get lost and am late and then disqualified? What if I think I can just pull into a spot on the street but really should have parallel parked and end up crying out of frustration (that's happened before). This last what if turned out to be a reality. What if I am in the wrong lane and can't get over fast enough and go over the Ben Franklin Bridge?

Yup.

Instead of staying in the right lane onto 6th St., I am stuck in the left lane on my way over the Ben Franklin Bridge to New Jersey. I was already a half hour early so I didn't freak out too much. I quickly plugged my current location and the studios address into the Maps app on my iPhone and made my way back over the bridge in about six minutes. Phew. The sad thing is that I've gone over the Ben Franklin Bridge before by mistake. You would think I'd learned my lesson the first time but apparently I didn't.

After that episode I found the nearest parking garage which was luckily right behind the WIP building. I made way way through security and up to the 9th floor where I met the intern Francesca and was taken back to the studio. This is awesome, I thought to myself. This is happening!

And yes I will be bringing you through almost step by step as to what happened. Sorry I'm not sorry.

When I walked in the two other guys were already there and I sat myself right next to who I assumed was Glen since he was sporting an all black workout attire flaunting his personal trainer profession. I will say that I was surprised how nice he was. When I heard him on the air I initially thought he was full of it. Turns out he is a nice guy. They do exist.

We chatted for a few minutes and Angelo came out during a commercial break to let us know what the deal was. He was going to bring us in and do the interviews and then we would go to another room for some Phillies trivia.

"Oh shit" I thought. I'm not good with sports history or who is the all time leader in Phillies whatever category. It's just not my thing. It's more of a "I wasn't born then so I don't really know" attitude. But I will admit that sports history is something I need to work on.

They brought me and Glen into the studio first to be interviewed. What I didn't know and I'm sure most listeners were unaware of as well, is that Rhea sits in a different room than Angelo and Al do. There is a window between the rooms and Rhea has multiple computer screens at her disposal for her sports updates and Twitter news. I would want to be in a different room than Angelo too if I were her.

The atmosphere there is incredible. Between the hosts, producers and interns the energy is very spirited at an early hour which made the whole experience enjoyable and really stress free. In these types of situations I would be getting uncontrollably nervous which typically includes a shaky voice, red face and shortness of breath. Lucky me, I felt right at home.

Glen was up first. Angelo was intrigued by his profession as a personal trainer and his attitude about women. Of course his comment about reindeers came up, but in a way, was perfect for this interview.

"Now Glen we know you're into butts.."

"Like a reindeer."

That was the recording from his first call that Friday. I couldn't help but burst out laughing and even more so at Glen's goofy laugh.

So his interview goes on about how he has "access" to a lot of women and quite frankly I won't bore you with his story so I turn you now to my shining moment.

"Mare is smokin hot!"

Thanks. No, really thanks Angelo. I'd like to win these tickets based on something other than my looks, please. In addition to why it's easier for a girl to find these dates and who I had in mind, there was no way Angelo wasn't going to bring up the breakup. So we dabbled on that topic for a while as I bullshitted my way in bad mouthing the ex in the most modest way I could.

"What did he do?"-Angelo

"He dumped me!"

I couldn't have said it any simpler. But I tried to stray away from the whole breakup because I felt it was unnecessary at this point and didn't want to look at my phone later to missed calls or angry text messages.

(Thinking about this experience now I wished I had blogged about this right after it happened because I feel I could have colored the day a little better but I am trying my best to picture this day and share it with whoever is reading my blog.)

I explained how I already had some dates lined up in my head and I really did, I just hadn't asked more than one person yet, which was okay in case I didn't win. Apparently this was an interesting topic for Angelo because he is convinced that women have an "on deck" lined up after a breakup. I spoke for myself and said I didn't have a realistic one, and just that Riley Cooper was on my pretend list. I never got to tell him that I wanted to start a Twitter campaign to get him to be a date for one of the games if I won.

The first thing Angelo says after we're off the air surprised me in the upmost way.

"Mare, you should think about doing the Steven Singer Bubble Bath, I'm serious you'd be great."

"WHAT?! No, I won't do that"

Yes, it's tacky and no I'm not into that, even if the prize is worth $10,000. Not my style. He didn't like my response and before I left that morning mentioned it to me another two or three times.

Hell. No.

Angelo clearly had his vote in for me and now the other dude was up next, Dave. How coincidental that he also went through a break up, a more serious one I'd say, at around the same time as I did.

"It wasn't you two that were dating was it?!"- Angelo

If that were my ex competing with me that studio would have been a lot more dramatic, I'll tell you that much. But, no Dave was not my type and I think I might have offended him when I told him he was too old after Angelo asked if I would date him.

Dave seemed a little full of shit himself, too. So what that he had more than 19 girls' phone numbers. He wasn't anything special, in my opinion.

After Dave's interview we were taken into another room where we were nailed with random Phillies trivia. It was a rapid fire kind of deal where they went one by one asking us different questions. Glen had to go ahead and guess within a two percent range of what Chase Utley's stealing percentage or whatever the question was. So what if Dave happened to be spot on on what the most dollar dogs sold in one night was (75,000 hot dogs- gross Philly). I went two for two on that round with Ruiz leading the team with doubles and the soft pretzel selling more than any other food item in the stadium, which I found hard to believe that a.) that answer came out of my mouth and b.) was still taken as a correct answer after someone guessed the other real answer, crab fries.

The round that killed all of us was naming the former first round picks on the Phillies' current roster. It took about 15 minutes before the judges decided to end it. We were awful. We did get a hint toward the end that they don't have to be star players. They weren't kidding.
After all the party and bullshit we were taken back into the studio and ready for the announcement. Right before we went back in I presented Glen with a little present.

A Webkinz reindeer. For those of you who haven't babysat or been around kids in the last three to five years these are the modern day Beanie Babies.

Before the announcement we were told we were all getting Phillies tickets for Sunday's game even if we didn't win. I'm thinking, "Oh, so now I have to sit next to these people if I don't win?".

Friggin Glen. I should have immediately taken back that Webkinz and returned it to my four and six year old neighbors but I refrained and smiled politely at the winner.

"Now Glen, why don't you ask Mare to go to one of  the games with ya. Mare tell him no."- Angelo smirked

"Hey pretty baby would you voice.

"I have plans."

So there you go, my short term dreams were crushed. I had big plans for those tickets. Riley Cooper was bound to respond to one of my tweets accepting the offer for a date and then we'd end up dating and I'd be at every Eagles game for the remainder of his career here in Philadelphia.

Yes, sadly those exact thoughts came to mind. But hey, a girl can dream.

A Second Chance

When I am on vacation I don't like setting alarms but granted I was given a second chance at landing those 19 Phillies games I found myself yet again awake before my alarm. I sat in bed for about twenty minutes before I started calling in to WIP. It took a few tries before I was able to get past the busy signal and finally reach someone.

"Hi, its Mare. Angelo told me to call in this morning again for the 19 Phillies games."

I found out pretty quickly that my parents shore house was not a hot spot for cell service so I mosied my way out of bed and outside on the sidewalk in front of the house. Lucky me I was on hold listening to the Soup Nazi. Didn't know him. Never heard of him for that matter but eventually figured out during his interview that he was a Seinfeld character. I'm not Seinfeld fan to say the least. Not my kind of show. I'd rather watch Criminal Minds or CSI all day, just sayin.

As I am on hold, Soup Nazi's interview is over and I hear Angelo shout to the world that there is one last chance for a running at the 19 Phillies games.

"I have Mare in the lead now, she called in Friday but I want to give others a chance so if you can get through the lines are pretty clogged please call in. But Mare's up next."

Here we go! I got this, I kept thinking to myself. There was less than an hour for others to call in and I was optimistic this was all mine for the taking. I was ready.

"Hey Mare, how are you today?"

I'm great, now give me those friggin tickets, Angelo. No, I didn't say that but I sure should have. Aside from the boring chit chat we got straight to the point and I was determined to make my case yet again on air.

Here we go again.

"You sound extremely attractive, Mare. What do you look like?"

Oh how our elders forget things sometimes. I refreshed his memory from Friday's call but the short blonde description I gave was not enough, he had to know my favorite body part.

"You mean on me? Or the guys?"

Ricky Botalico got a kick out of that one, but I was serious. No one's ever asked me that question and honestly I've never thought about it so I struggled and said my abs. They're no abs of steel but hey, that could be intimidating and possibly even scary looking on a female. The only six pack I can relate to is a little thing called Budweiser.

After about three more "Mare, you sound extremely attractive" comments the conversation went back and forth from breakup talk and the 19 different dates. Angelo seemed sold on my call and my chances of making it to the next round were increasing. There was about 20 minutes left in the show and only one caller decided to challenge me for these tickets.

Uh oh. I kept thinking what if it's the ex calling in to compete against me? Or what if its one of his friends or someone I know that wants to shatter my dream for the time being? Shit. I guess I'll find out in a minute.

"Yo can I take some of my guy friends to these games? Is that ok, I'd like to take a few buddies if that's ok."

Is this guy serious? It gets even better.

"No no, we need you to be able to try and get 19 dates. Are you single?"- Angelo

"No, I'm married with four kids."

Thank God. Let the drum roll begin.

I won. 

Next stop: 400 Market Street

"Like a reindeer"

I always wake up at least an hour before my 7:30 alarm goes off every morning. Last Friday was no different, except in a way it was. I could see the glow from my iHome on the floor of my bedroom read 5:55. Normally, I would turn over and pull the sheets back over my head but before I did that I decided to check Twitter for some reason. One of the recent tweets was from 94.1 WIP and I don't remember what it said exactly but I remembered at that moment that I only had until Monday to get my chance at winning 19 Phillies games for the month of August.

"@rheahughes when can I call in to make my case for why I should win the 19 Phillies games?"

"right now!"

That was easy. The lines must not have been busy at that hour because the phone rang, I presented my reason for calling and gave my name. I waited on the line only a half hour and it was already my time to win the morning show over.

Going into this I knew I had a valid case to present. My points were quick and more than worthy of a shot at such a memorable prize. Angelo started off by asking why I should win the tickets so I began with my first and in my opinion, most dominant point.

"Well, I want to make up for the games I'm missing after losing a Sunday pack in a break up."

Their responses went something like this (almost in unison):

"Ohhhh noo!! Wow. What happened? Did you both pay for them? Why?! Oh man!"

After explaining that the ex took them and we both paid the same amount it was evident that Angelo needed to know more.

"What happened? Why did he break up with you, did he say it's not you it's me? Tell me more, Mare."

I knew there was a 98% chance he was listening that morning, like he does everyday, so I sort of kept my answers brief.

"Yeah, well he broke up with me and I guess it was a form of its not you it's me but I'm pretty sure he's listening I don't think it's a good idea to elaborate." ( As I awkwardly giggle)

That was Angelo's cue to do what he does best, well to some degree. First I sounded "extremely attractive" then since I tweeted at Rhea he must have caught a glimpse of my twitter picture because I was asked if I was the blonde or brunette because then I was "very gorgeous, you both are, really".

At that point I knew I had won at least Angelo over so I made my second point as to why it's easier for a girl to find 19 dates than it is for a guy. I summed it up by pretty much saying it is easier to find a guy who likes sports, enjoys going to games and has a general understanding and knowledge of sports than it is to find the same in a girl. I'm already a pretty good example of what I described above so finding that in guys is simple. I think it's hard to find a girl who will pay attention, know who is at bat or playing right field, know what an ERA is and maybe even stay for the entire game. I've witnessed some pretty bad dates at sporting events and I feared that if they chose a guy to win, he had a pretty decent chance of missing a two run home run or some huge play because he had to get up in the middle of an inning and get his girl a Mike's Hard Lemonade because she doesn't like the real beer the yellow shirts sell in the stands. There's a good chance that is bound to happen at least once or twice in those 19 dates. If you've seen How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, you know what I'm talking about.

"Mare, I gotta tell ya, you knocked it out of the park!" With that and a few more "you sound very attractive" comments it was clear I had the in. However, I did mention something in my call that I didn't expect to produce much of a result. When asked how I would go about finding these dates, my response was "with some phone calls and then I'd open it up to Twitter." After accepting my offer as a finalist and giving my last name and contact info offline I hung up and had four new email notifications of new Twitter followers, all guys not to mention. Like I said, these results were unexpected but hey I guess I can thank Angelo for that for the endless compliments.

I continued to listen to the show that morning and decided to go for a walk since I was wide awake at that point. Again, I heard Angelo signing my praises, "Mare was amazing, can you beat her?!"

Apparently, someone did. Long story short, the guy who got both Angelo's and Al's vote was Glenn, who happened to be remembered most for his answer to which body part he liked on a woman best, the butt.

"Like a reindeer."

Nope. No. Friggin. Way. I was not losing to reindeer man. So I called back and pretty much got right through and on air.

"Oh wait, we got Mare back on the line and she's not happy. How are ya, Mare?!"

What do you think, Ang??! I refuted my loss and wanted a re-match but Angelo simply told me since he liked my call and you know, thought I "sounded very attractive" that I can call back Monday and get in the running.

Yup. He was getting that call Monday morning, no doubt about it, Angelo. Besides, "like a reindeer"?? Not gonna lose to that comment.

The Wire

This guy I know recently got me hooked on an HBO show called The Wire. I heard some great things about it and considering I'm a crime show buff I decided to welcome the show into my weekly crime show lineup. I must admit , it was a great decision to do so. Right now my boyfriend and I are about to finish up season three, which from what I've heard through the grapevine is the best season.

The premise of the show is so interesting the way the writers portray the drug dealers, addicts and cops. You see each side and get to know the characters for who they are in their own world. I took a liking especially for Omar, who I consider to be the modem day Robin Hood. Walking around in his long trench coat, his shotgun in hand and smoking his cigarettes in season one gives him a fierce attitude that no one in Baltimore dares to challenge. The best part about his hole persona is that when he is walking the streets of Baltimore ready to rob or kill his enemies he whistles. It's not just a normal whistle. The tune is familiar to people of all ages, The Farmer and the Dell. The whistle echoes off the stone walls of the nearby buildings, a helpful warning that something is about to go down. Despite his dangerous behavior Omar is one of the most interesting characters on the show. Of all seasons so far this one has kept me on the edge of my seat. I hear the end of season three is quite a treat!

2012 Blogging Goals

I started blogging for the sole purpose of trying to get myself to read up on sports more often and for some time it was going well. I was spending most of my time reading and writing about Philly sports because that's what I am interested and have a passion for. After all, it's easier and fun to write about things you're interested in. But after working at SunGard for more than a year and it being a tough 2011 for Philly sports I decide to take another approach to my blog, give myself a challenge. I recently read an article that I found on LinkedIn that i thought had some great insight. The article talked about the top five reasons to blog if you're looking for a job. This was a sign for me. A sign to motivate me to blog more and not just about sports. The article stressed the importance of blogging about things such as current events or even hobbies. This way during interviews you can tell the potential employer to check out your blog where they can see your interests and opinions about different topics. It can give you something to talk about rather than just going over you resume.

My goal for 2012 in blogging is to broaden my topics and spend more time in my day to blog. I hope to spend at least an hour on blogging and possibly posting 3-4 times a week. I enjoy blogging and it really forces me to read more about things I'm interested in and form my opinion.

A Day in the Life of Customer Service: Financial Services Edition

When people ask me what I do at my job I usually tell them I answer the phones and emails and leave it at that. In reality, there is way more to my job but I want to spare the facial and verbal reaction to "I am in customer service". Typically, when people (including myself) hear customer service they have a negative reaction which may include a loud tone of voice and a lot of hand motions. I have talked to a number of people about their experiences with customer service and a common complaint is they are talking to people who do not speak English very well. One of the main goals of service is being able to successfully communicate to clients. The language barrier makes it extremely difficult to maintain that goal. In addtion to this obstacle, people find themselves on the phone for hours at a time trying to solve their issues through customer service. This unpleasant combination can result in a flurry of unpleasant feedback. The one thing I can say about my company, for the specific product I work for, is that we do not outsource our customer service. Our clients call a team line where one of three people will take their calls; me, Keith and Abby. Neither of us have a foreign accent, however Abby and I do have a relatively strong Philadelphia accent.




A day in the customer service world of financial services can be very interesting. Since we are a small product owned by SunGard we have about 200 clients. I usually hear from the same people each week so there is more of a personal interaction when I am on the phone with them. The number of clients who actually contact us is so low that I can recognize the number on the phone when people call. That can be a good and bad thing. Luckily, I am not the only one answering phones. One lady, maybe middle-aged, calls quite frequently. I think she picks a day to work on her Investor'sView (our product) projects, gives us a call when she logs in and asks us random questions when she is navigating through the system. One day she called three or four times within a half hour, each time I was the lucky one to pick up. By the third call here is how the conversation started,





"Investor'sView this is Marianne."





"Hi, it's me."





IT'S ME?! I didn't know we were on that level already. Like I said, customer service has it's good and bad days. I've had my fair share of those bad days but I try to bring out the good in those times. When my boss overhears me having a hard time on the phone with a client she comes over to my desk and tells me not to take things personally. That advice goes a long way in customer service.

Happy Valley Chaos...But for What?

The bizarre and embarrassing acts that engulfed Penn State's Main Campus late last night set a bad taste in my mouth and stomach. Students rallying for Joe Paterno did not seem like such a good idea especially in the midst of what is looking like the biggest scandal in sports history. I sat quietly in my living room watching the strange press conference last night wondering why this was all going on. The whole idea of holding such a meeting for the firing of Joe Pa totally fed into the culture at Penn State. Ideally, the Board of Trustees would have been better off with just a statement but to open the room for questions might not have been the best idea for the institution at a national level. In fact, the room was full of students blurting out their questions of concern for how their legend, their so called "god" was fired. Who cares if they called him or showed up at his door? The bottom line is the man is no longer the head football coach. How he was fired is minuscule in this entire scandal. From what started out as the discovery of heinous acts, which are unbearable to read on the 23 page grand jury report, it has turned into something that is not. Joe Pa.

The reactions I have read on Twitter from friends and friends of friends who are Penn State alum are quite astonishing. "So sad", "I can't believe this is happening", "We love you Joe!" "WE ARE...PENN STATE". All of these posts I saw populate my Twitter feed only made me feel sick to my stomach. I could not believe that people my age, which is the same age now as those boys who were raped, are sticking to one of the many men who covered up what was happening. Had i not known they were for Joe Pa I would have assumed they were for the children and families of those whose lives were traumatized. My response to those Tweets was harmless but I don't think it set well with Penn State folks, "Joe Pa getting fired is not sad. Little boys getting raped is sad and disturbing." I never got directly responded to on that one, but there was one shout out to Penn State haters saying "no one wants your opinion, shut the f*** up, ur about to get unfollowed..." Part of me wanted to respond indirectly just so I would get unfollowed. Let's get serious, who cares if you stop following me. It's people like that who have twisted this scandal into a worship-fest for Joe Pa. And because he is Joe Pa, he can do no wrong. Now that he has done wrong, he is being held responsible and as well he should be. But regardless, his fans will back him up, feel bad for him and rally for his legacy. For such a legacy and top dog at a prestigious university one would think he would take responsibility not only as a head football coach but as a human being to see that justice is served. But that is not what happened. It was ignored. It was ignored to protect the face of the program and the university. For something as serious as this, it makes you wonder what else are they hiding in Happy Valley? I just don't get it and I never will. Just because I didn't graduate from Penn State doesn't mean I can't have an opinion on this matter.