2018--Striving to Make This Year Our Best Possible
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Isn't that the truth! I had a much needed massage today. Driving to NJ and back last week had my shoulder and back muscles in knots. It feels much better but I should also ice it tonight.0
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This is where I stand right now:
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Jean - those are both hilarious!0
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I went to Wilmer Eye Clinic (Hopkins) yesterday. I see their glaucoma specialist although I have not yet been diagnosed with anything but "suspicion of..."
They were going down the list of medicine and supplements they have in their system and finally came to oxycodone in May of this year. That was the broken wrist. How the heck did that get into the Hopkins computer? DH just says "Big Brother...." Am I wrong to think that's a little creepy? Or should I be glad that some of the hospital systems are finally sharing information?
Anyway, the appointment went fine. The doctor was in a jovial mood at 5 pm in the afternoon. When I first started seeing him he was very cold. I've concluded when you keep going back and he knows you're going to be compliant, he loosens up. Of course as usual I was there for hours and hours. They have several doctors that are only at that location once a week and they try to squeeze in many, many patients.0 -
Maryanne, your account of your appointment yesterday brought back memories for me of a job I had in my early 20’s. I was a clerk typist in the Gastroenterology department at the VA Hospital in Dallas. This would have been around 1975, I think. My primary job was to gather all of the records and prepare for the clinic that was held every Thursday. Patients were scheduled to see the doctors during the afternoon but most had to come in the morning in order to have labs drawn, so they were there all day. I spent all week running all over the hospital to find all of the patients’ records, making sure all of the lab orders were prepared, and setting everything up so it would run smoothly. Just finding all of the charts and x-rays was a chore, since many of the patients were also being seen in other parts of the hospital. We often did not finish up with the last patient until after 6, after starting at around 7:30 in the morning. I then spent all day on Friday processing the orders written by the doctors the day before and returning the files to the records department. It was a very long day for all of us — patients as well as staff. When I started in the department we typically saw about 50 patients on clinic day but by the time I left 2 years later we were seeing about 120 because I was a lot more efficient than the person who previously had the responsibility for the clinic (who, by the way, was my supervisor). We usually had between 4 and 6 Fellows and 4-6 residents who were seeing patients, so it was really busy trying to process each patient out after they were done with the doctor. I was always exhausted by the time the last patient left, but so were they. And many of them still had to go to the in-hospital pharmacy to wait for meds, then drive home, which in many cases was 2 or 3 hours away. I sincerely hope that in the years since I left that job that they’ve come up with a better system.0
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Pam, You were doing yeoman's work in the VA setting. You must have made it a lot easier for the patients even if they couldn't see your efforts. How long did you stay in that job? Maybe not that everything is computerized, the record are more accessible than having to run all over the department gathering up files.
On that same note, Maryanne, while it is a little Bib brotherish, at least they have a complete list of meds in case of interactions or if any of them affected the eye. And you may not have remember to mention the oxycodone since it was short term and months ago.0 -
Helene, I stayed in that job about 2 years, then moved to the Dental Benefits department. There we reviewed records and treatment requests to determine whether the treatment met criteria for to be considered service-connected and therefore eligible for coverage under VA benefits. It was much less stressful, or would have been had my supervisor not been a complete witch with a capital B. I think I stayed in that job about 8 months, then moved downtown to work for IRS in the Special Collections department. I stayed in that department about a year then moved over to the word processing center of the legal department for IRS, which was a very interesting job. I think I stayed there for almost 5 years before leaving to go to work as a legal secretary for a large downtown law firm.0
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Pam, you've had some pretty interesting job. I only had one really bad boss and I think she was a little bit crazy. She would tell staff to do things and them blame them if things went wrong. If we tried to warn her that we had already tried something she wanted to do and found it unsuccessful, she would tell us we were negative and hostile. For some reason, she liked me so I only got a little bit of her crap. The worst thing I found working for her was she was unpredictable. She'd tell you how she wanted something done. You could do the same task the same way the next time and get yelled at for doing it the same way.
The Director didn't listen to us until residents started complaining about her attitude. His solution was to transfer her to the Main Library where he worked. She lasted about a year there before complaints there prompted him to give her several months to find a new job. That way, she could resign instead of being fired. We worked under her about 18 months before the transfer. She was a nightmare.0 -
Pam, You were doing yeoman's work in the VA setting. You must have made it a lot easier for the patients even if they couldn't see your efforts. How long did you stay in that job? Maybe not that everything is computerized, the record are more accessible than having to run all over the department gathering up files.
On that same note, Maryanne, while it is a little Bib brotherish, at least they have a complete list of meds in case of interactions or if any of them affected the eye. And you may not have remember to mention the oxycodone since it was short term and months ago.
Except they don't have a complete list. I've had 4 prescriptions so far and they only had one in their computer. DH thinks it's that they are keeping better track of opioids.0 -
With the exception of the law firm job, all of the jobs I mentioned were under the federal civil service system. Once you made it past the first year of probation, it was very, very difficult to get rid of a bad employee, which is why some of my supervisors were so bad. The one over me in the GI department had a son in college, so she spent most of her time using the WATTS system to make free long distance calls to him and other family members. The other supervisor was just a mean old biddy, as best I can recall. She had an extremely high turnover rate in her department, but never suffered any consequences as far as I could tell.
I really enjoyed my job at the law firm. I initially worked for two associates in the corporate and securities area. One of them eventually left to do a 2 year stint working in Japan and the other became a partner. At that point I stayed with him and was assigned to assist a paralegal as well. I found corporate and securities law very interesting and worked there for about 6 years. When I left that job I briefly tried being a financial planner, which, in retrospect, was a horrible fit for my skills and interests. I had to obtain various licenses including a Series 7 which is the license one must have to be a stockbroker. That was probably the most difficult test I’ve ever taken. I think I suffered through that job for about a year, then decided to go to school full time and get a degree. I had been going part time while working and at that point had completed less that 1 years worth of credits. Luckily, DH was on board with me going full time and we were able to get by on his salary alone, although I did work as a temp for my old law firm during all of my school breaks, which basically paid for my tuition and books. I’m very fortunate that I was able to complete both my bachelors and masters degrees without any debt.
After I got my masters degree I needed to complete 2000 hours of supervised work in the counseling field, which is rather difficult. It’s the classic Catch 22 situation where no one will hire you unless you have your license, but you can’t get your license until you’ve completed the 2000 hours. I ended up teaching part time at our local community college for 2 1/2 years then I was hired by our local Mental Health/Mental Retardation agency to do in-home family counseling as part of a new juvenile first offender program. I did not enjoy the work but I took the job because it allowed me to obtain the hours I needed and they provided free supervision for it, which was a big plus. I completed the hours then stayed for another year but the program was changed significantly by that time. By then, I was the only licensed therapist on staff and my role had changed from actually providing therapy to supervising techs who worked with the clients. I was spending most of my time completing paperwork instead of therapy, which was frustrating for me. So I left that job and went to work for a company that managed the mental health, substance abuse, and employee assistance benefits for large companies that self-insured (think companies like UPS, Southwest Airlines, BP Petroleum, etc.). I started out there as a care manager which meant I spent all day talking on the phone to people who might be calling to get referrals for therapy, or I might be talking to a clinician at a hospital calling to get approval for treatment for someone who was being admitted to a psych hospital, or approval for on-going treatment. We also had the occasional caller who was suicidal that we would try get immediate help for. After about 18 months in that role, a position was created for a trainer for new employees and to provide on-going training for all employees. I applied for and got that position, and truly loved that job. Looking back, I realized that in every job I ever had, I ended up being the person who provided training and support to new employees, but it was just part of my routine. It was nice to finally have a job where I was able to put my full focus on it. I did that job for about 4 years but when the position was eliminated due to budget cuts, I went into a management role for about 15 months. It was very stressful and when I left it, I actually resigned from the company. After 3 months of resting and relaxing, I was offered the opportunity to go back part time to the job I originally did at that company, which I accepted. I did that for about 2 years before retiring for good.
So that’s the highlights (and lowlights, lol!) of my work history!0 -
That could be true. Opioids are such a huge problem these days. I know of at least one family personally who lost an under 30 year old son to an overdose. I've seen a lot of funeral notices for young people that were probably drug related. What a shame for them and their families.0
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I also feel extremely bad for those folks who can only have any semblance of a life with the help of strong painkillers who are now finding it harder and harder to get them.0
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Pam - fascinating work history! Whenever folks identify the most complicated and esoteric areas of law to practice in, securities is always on the list!0
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Our ice cube dispenser was clogged and I couldn't get it off. I asked DH to help. We removed a HUGE plug of ice from the bottom.
DH: have you done this before?
Me: of course
DH: what other things do you do that I don't know about?
Me: (rolls eyes) too numerous to mention, dear, too numerous to mention1 -
Maryanne--Love the talents DH is just recognizing, thanks to the injured wing.
This is how I feel this weekend after a week of work and not sleeping well:
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It is so humid today I've pretty much done nothing. I'm enjoying sitting under the ceiling fan.
We had our annual hazardous waste collection at the high school today. We rustled up some old cans of paint and a couple of old cleaners.They had a shredder there too and that was the real reason we went. I had a box of shredding I'd been collecting for months. I was hoping they'd have the shredder there. We have a small one at home but it's so tedious to shred. You can only do about 5 minutes before you have to let the machine cool down.
We were supposed to go to a community festival with friends tonight. With the rain forecasts so high, the organizers postpone the festival until September 1st. Weather Channel said 80% chance of thunder storms. If we do get the rain, I hope it breaks the humidity.0 -
Jean - that's so cute and so true!
Helene - I get so tired of all the mail that has to be shredded - even from places where I'm theoretically on he "Paperless" list. Since I work at home, we have a fairly decent size shredded but still.......0 -
I went to the city to get my nails done. I wasn't really feeling well but they had to be done. I sinned! After getting my nails done, I went through the Burger King drive thru and got a Whopper combo. Long time since I had one, so it tasted very good.
I also applied for my visa to go to Australia. This is the extent of my activity on this lazy, rainy day.....with more rainy days to follow, This has been the Summer of Rain.0 -
The festival I mentioned did get postponed two weeks. and the rain rolled in. My internet went out and I thought it was my equipment. When I realized the phone was out too, I figured the storm affected Comcast's service. We kept TV service so I shut the laptop down and watched movies.
Today i almost like a fall day. And thankfully, the humidity is down. We've had more than our share of rain this summer.
Jean, I hope you feel better today. When is your trip? Australia sounds like a dream vacation.0 -
Helene--The Australia trip is over Spring break plus a week beginning March 25. I loved Australia when last there 10 years ago and have always wanted to go back. Now, compared to the England trip, I did England but it didn't motivate a desire to go back. Australia is like Hawaii; loved it so much that I could keep going back. This will be my swan song for Australia.0
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wow, that cat really blends into the carpet. You have to watch where you step.
Are you repeating the same places in Australia that you aw the first time or going to different areas. We recently saw a fascinating documentary on an Australian train trip that went from the bottom of the country to the top. It took about 3 days but sight seeing stops were built in. It looked like an Orient Express type of train. I remember they started at a coastal climate, traveled through dessert and rain forest. I'm sure I left things out. Here's information about the train. https://www.australian-trains.com/ghan . I haven't done it justice in my description. I know that's not the trip you're taking but thought you might find it interesting.0 -
I had a fairly quiet, uneventful weekend. I did go to see Crazy Rich Asians with friends yesterday. Although the reviews were pretty good for the movie, my friends and I all thought it wasn’t that good. It did have funny parts, but overall it seemed kind of long and a bit boring. All five of us were disappointed and felt it hadn’t lived up to the hype. Afterward we went to a nearby restaurant where I ate a grilled chicken southwestern salad with a Diet Coke. Everyone else had nachos and drinks, but I didn’t want or need the extra calories. I was still trying to work off the extra calories from the carb-heavy dinner party a week earlier. I guess it paid off since this morning I was back to my pre-party weight. Now to keep it going downward before the next party in 2 weeks to celebrate a friend’s 70th birthday! The menu for that one will also be loaded with carbs since the hostess is planning to make a pasta dish and there will be cake that I am making.
School started this morning for the local school district. I’m looking forward to less traffic and fewer crowds in the stores during the daytime now.0 -
Helene--My niece is going with me for her first and likely only trip to Australia. We will be repeating some of the same spots in and around Sydney, adding a trip to Canberra (their capital), some beaches and the wine country as well as a repeat trip to the Blue Mountains.
Pam--You are doing great with your eating out. There are ties you can prepare for extreme eating by eating less during the week or just do your best. It isn't total deprivation.
I'm trying to maintain right now. The skin isn't shrinking and most of my weight loss is resulting in more of an aging look. I almost forgot to log food today
I work tomorrow and on Friday; the rest of the days aren't booked. I wouldn't mind one more day as I can handle 3 days a week well.0 -
Traffic here gets much worse after school starts. I have to remember to leave more time.
I got Indy to the vet yesterday. She was the only one who missed anything during the past couple months. I was able to meet the new office manager and found out that their second vet is leaving with no replacement yet so things may get interesting.0 -
Maryanne & Jean, I was watching America's Got Talent on Demand last night. Check out A woman and her daughter had a trained cat act. Those cats were amazing. It's episode 1310. You'll really get a kick out of it. I think they were the first act so you don't have to watch the whole show.0
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My orthopedic surgeon has a guy that follows him around with a laptop and takes notes. I think it's the most bizarre thing ever in this day and age when you could just speak into a machine that would transcribe your voice. I was at the vet yesterday and we were chatting and one of the employees know someone that just got such a job. This is apparently a thing. I can't for the life of me figure out why in this day and age of replacing humans with machines this particular function is suddenly being filled by humans.
https://www.scribeamerica.com/what_is_medical_scribe.html
Last week when I was at Hopkins Wilmer Eye Center - those docs tape whatever they tell you as they are telling you. Seems so much more efficient and so much more likely to be 100% accurate.
The only reason I can think of for the scribe is if the doctors want deniability. "I didn't say that - the scribe must have gotten it wrong."
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