1. Our Landline: Our landline no longer has a dial tone. Luckily we discovered it Monday when we tried phoning it to check our flip phones. I’ll spare you the details, but it probably took me about an hour yesterday to get through Lumen’s phone and chat AIs to reach a real person, Kaninglung K, on the chat line. The neat thing is that person was friendly and helpful. When I thanked them and told them how much I appreciated their help, they answered,
I appreciate the opportunity to help you today.
Jean, just want to inform you that you are the best patient customer of mine for the day. Thanks for being so kind with me.
That feedback means a lot. When I faced up to the problem I knew it was going to be a hassle, and soon as I started to feel frustrated, this question popped up in my mind:
What’s the opportunity here?
Yep, another chance to practice patience and persistence. As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been working since 2018 on focusing on how I handle things rather than letting my mood depend on how any particular situation turned out.
That’s all very well and good, and it mostly works, but connecting with a real person, one that is doing more than just reading a script, is a powerful reinforcement. It doesn’t always happen, but I treasure the times it does.
(It’s not over yet, the technician isn’t coming until sometime Friday, but in the past that part has gone smoothly.)
2. My Driver’s License: I had my appointment with the Motor Vehicle Department to renew my driver’s license. We have to do it in person every year in order to take the eye test, and I did fine. That’s always a huge relief.
The woman there was friendly too.
Now it’s time to goof off and recharge my batteries. Have a great day, everyone!
May 27, 2026
