Its been a long --- life... as of late!
This past weekend I helped my friend, Kim move to a new apartment. It was a last minute move and so we got one guy to help us pack her things up into my brother in laws truck, but we couldn't get anyone else so - the two of us mighty women moved queen size beds and boxes of books and chairs and plants to her new digs and we woke up Sunday morning with aches and pains and signs that we were weaker and older than we had originally thought. By the way, Kim, I'd do it all over again for you -- just not next weekend.... :)
Then - the wonderful/insane person that I am, I volunteered several days that I had planned myself home in order to stay with some kids in Mundelein. Some other friends who are on the mission field in Japan and have come home for 6 months had to go to some training at their mission organization and so the kids needed someone to make sure they got to the bus and got fed -- you know, silly little things like that that might actually keep them alive and growing.
Its been a wild ride these past couple of days as I ran around for work and the kids and a few other little errands to prepare for a camping trip that I'm doing this weekend.
And then - if bad is enough... I found out on Sunday that I needed to go to Minneapolis for an account thats been having a problem. So - another wonderful friend of mine :), Amy, came over last night to be there in this morning to get the kids off to school. I had to get up at 4 to get ready and rush to the airport to catch a 6:30 flight with one of our lab techs.
So - here's the happy scenario... I'll sum it up -- I'm right.... Yes, thats enough to put a smile on my face, but let me expound....
This account that uses our products and has for the past 7 years, runs these verification test. Basically, its a little metal strip with bovine blood and fibrin on it and covered with a plastic tab. They run these "TOSI"s through the washer in order to verify that their washer and detergents and all are functioning correctly. In order to verify this, all of the blood and fibrin should be cleaned off the metal plate, if anything remains, its a fail. So, the beginning of the year, I get a call from the facility that the tests are failing and they need me to come in and solve the problem. So - 6 months later, they're still calling me with fails and alluding that I need to fix my product. For the past six months I've looked at every issue that would impact the failure and changed things and tweaked things and come to the point where I'm giving them a ton of other check points to look at besides our product and I'm being told that those things are all fine and its my problem. I literally listed several things in specific that I was told that the washer manufacturer said those things were not problems.
Today, we fly all the way in to work with them on getting the test to pass and we walk into the director's office and she greet us with "guess what?!"
The tests had passed that morning!
Hmmm -weird that for 6 months they've failed and they've just gotten the party involved who makes the tests and they were doing some probing. Well - turns out, the things that I had been saying all along had been the issue. That morning, the washer rep had changed tubing, couplings and pumps (everything that I had pointed towards) and the tests passed with flying colors.
Once again - I would like to point out, very humbly mind you :) - I was right!
Added to that - I just got a call that we are converting another hospital system in Oregon (yes, dear brother Karl, you will once again be seeing me before the end of the year) and another system in Vegas. Sometimes you feel like things are going too well -- so I better not get too happy or cocky... but....
I am happy :) I know I have to give credit where credit is due as I've been praying my hiney off on this one with the tests... Thanks God! Sometimes all you can do is trust that things will turn out for the best!
My dear sister; I could have told you that you were right. In fact, I'm having t-shirts made up that say "My sister Alison is always right - period".
ReplyDeleteOh - and my B&B is always open for you. Looking forward to seeing you before years end!