Sleep? What's sleep?
Oh, you mean that stuff you're supposed to get about 8 hours of a night? Yeah.
I wish.
Last night's topics to ponder when I should have been sleeping:
Oh, crap! Did I pay all of my bills last month?
Crap! I have to pay April's bills soon.
I need to turn in my taxes- do I have enough money to cover what I owe?
Did Sam pay the mortgage last month? I think so...?
As you can see, money is apparently a stressor for me. Yay.
But isn't it for everyone? I just want to get rid of ALL my bills and only have to worry about the mortgage. But I don't see that happening anytime soon. :(
I just need some rich relative to die and leave me hundreds of thousands of dollars... even just $100,000... so I can pay off all my cards and a chunk of the house. That would be awesome... but I have no rich relatives. LOL
Monday, March 30, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
"Interactive" Wedding Plans
Basically, as I figure things out, you'll know, too.
Or, as I pick and choose, you'll know what I'm deciding between.
It's a way for me to get all my thoughts down somewhere "solid," even if it's not on actual paper... yet.
Possible Wedding Locations:
El Dorado Park ($5,000)
Includes:
- Gazebo/Wedding Arch/Aisle Runner
- Cake & Cutting/Serving
- Complimentary Champagne & Cider Toasts
- Linens & Dance Floor
- Inclusive &/or Custom Bar Service
- Venue Space for min. 4-5 hours
- Dinner served
- Complimentary Entrée for the Bride and Groom
- China, Flatware, and Glassware
- Skirted Head Table or Sweetheart Table
- Personalized Tiered Wedding Cake
- Customized Room Set Up
- Complimentary Guest Parking
Not Included:
- Groom’s Room (no big deal, right? haha)
- Photographer (Megh has connections)
- Decorations (Do I really need them? haha)
- Clergy (Blah)
- Music: No DJ Equipment at all. Not even speakers for my iPod.
On the Plus:
Most things included!
Ceremony + Reception = Cheaper!
On the Minus:
Reception *might* be outside in a tent.
Skylinks at Long Beach (No online quotes)
Included:
Not Included:
On the Plus:
Indoor reception area
Ceremony and Reception on site
On the Minus:
I looked up CSU, Long Beach's Japanese Garden for a possible wedding site... but it would only be for the ceremony and it would only be available for 2 hours total for $2,400. No thanks. As beautiful as it is, it's too expensive, even as an alumni.
My Dress:
David's Bridal Version
Alfred Angelo Version
Bridesmaid Dress:
Retro "Pinup" Dress
Strappy Fun Dress (Alfred Angelo)
More "Traditional" Dress (David's Bridal Mix & Match)
Or... There's always David's Bridal Mix & Match where everyone gets something they like (and look fabulous in), as long as it's Clover Green with Black accents!
Flower Girl:
I'd like Cassidy (Sam's Goddaughter) to be our flower girl. If that happens, here is her dress! It fits her personality perfectly!
Ring Bearer:
I'd like to request Colby for this position. :)
Generic "tux" or suit with a green tie.
Photographer:
Yet to be decided.
Music:
On the RSVP cards, you'll be asked to name ONE song (maybe two if you're a couple) you'd like to hear at the wedding. I'll download that onto my iPod and off we go. I'm thinking about an actual DJ though, so we can have a sound system and someone to announce things, like toasts or cake cutting.
Invitations:
My friend Whitney said she can make them! Yay!
I'm also looking into an online website that specializes in wedding stationary.
Honeymoon:
HAHAHAHA! We're going back home to Oregon! We'll travel to Ireland, Scotland, and England another time. But it is going to happen one day. :)
Anything else I missed?
I'm loving all the extra and added help from all of you!
Thank you!
You don't know how much it all means to me.
You're awesome.
*hugs*
Or, as I pick and choose, you'll know what I'm deciding between.
It's a way for me to get all my thoughts down somewhere "solid," even if it's not on actual paper... yet.
Possible Wedding Locations:
El Dorado Park ($5,000)
Includes:
- Gazebo/Wedding Arch/Aisle Runner
- Cake & Cutting/Serving
- Complimentary Champagne & Cider Toasts
- Linens & Dance Floor
- Inclusive &/or Custom Bar Service
- Venue Space for min. 4-5 hours
- Dinner served
- Complimentary Entrée for the Bride and Groom
- China, Flatware, and Glassware
- Skirted Head Table or Sweetheart Table
- Personalized Tiered Wedding Cake
- Customized Room Set Up
- Complimentary Guest Parking
Not Included:
- Groom’s Room (no big deal, right? haha)
- Photographer (Megh has connections)
- Decorations (Do I really need them? haha)
- Clergy (Blah)
- Music: No DJ Equipment at all. Not even speakers for my iPod.
On the Plus:
Most things included!
Ceremony + Reception = Cheaper!
On the Minus:
Reception *might* be outside in a tent.
Skylinks at Long Beach (No online quotes)
Included:
Not Included:
On the Plus:
Indoor reception area
Ceremony and Reception on site
On the Minus:
I looked up CSU, Long Beach's Japanese Garden for a possible wedding site... but it would only be for the ceremony and it would only be available for 2 hours total for $2,400. No thanks. As beautiful as it is, it's too expensive, even as an alumni.
My Dress:
David's Bridal Version
Alfred Angelo Version
Bridesmaid Dress:
Retro "Pinup" Dress
Strappy Fun Dress (Alfred Angelo)
More "Traditional" Dress (David's Bridal Mix & Match)
Or... There's always David's Bridal Mix & Match where everyone gets something they like (and look fabulous in), as long as it's Clover Green with Black accents!
Flower Girl:
I'd like Cassidy (Sam's Goddaughter) to be our flower girl. If that happens, here is her dress! It fits her personality perfectly!
Ring Bearer:
I'd like to request Colby for this position. :)
Generic "tux" or suit with a green tie.
Photographer:
Yet to be decided.
Music:
On the RSVP cards, you'll be asked to name ONE song (maybe two if you're a couple) you'd like to hear at the wedding. I'll download that onto my iPod and off we go. I'm thinking about an actual DJ though, so we can have a sound system and someone to announce things, like toasts or cake cutting.
Invitations:
My friend Whitney said she can make them! Yay!
I'm also looking into an online website that specializes in wedding stationary.
Honeymoon:
HAHAHAHA! We're going back home to Oregon! We'll travel to Ireland, Scotland, and England another time. But it is going to happen one day. :)
Anything else I missed?
I'm loving all the extra and added help from all of you!
Thank you!
You don't know how much it all means to me.
You're awesome.
*hugs*
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
May I have your attention please...?
After realizing two of my friends have been married now for SEVEN years, I decided it was time for Sam and I to have a serious talk about setting a date for our wedding.
And with that, we did. YAY!
January 2, 2010.
Think about it... 0102 2010
Awesome, eh? hehe
Oh, and it's a Saturday, too. haha!
It will be in Southern California, but the location is yet to be decided. I'm looking at the Long Beach Museum... It's beautiful and on the beach!
Colors: Green and Black (I win) HA!
And yes, it will still be a Masquerade Ball, no matter where it is. :)
More details as I get them...
This is so much fun!
And with that, we did. YAY!
January 2, 2010.
Think about it... 0102 2010
Awesome, eh? hehe
Oh, and it's a Saturday, too. haha!
It will be in Southern California, but the location is yet to be decided. I'm looking at the Long Beach Museum... It's beautiful and on the beach!
Colors: Green and Black (I win) HA!
And yes, it will still be a Masquerade Ball, no matter where it is. :)
More details as I get them...
This is so much fun!
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Beer Tasting!
All the boys are in town so I thought I'd buy a mixed 6-pack of beers to taste test... and then I also bought a 12-pack of mixed beers (three of each flavor). All together, we had 9 different beers to test.
Drop Top Ale
Fat Tire Ale
Honey Beer
McTarnahan's Amber Ale
Mac's Blackwatch (cream) Porter
Black Toad
Black Butte Porter
Oatmeal Stout
Oatmeal Blueberry Stout
Out of all of them, I preferred the Black Butte and the Black Toad. The Blackwatch wasn't bad; it had a light taste for a porter. Kinda nice.
Now... I'm onto my pineapple and Malibu.
Ahhh... I'm a happy lady.
hehe
Drop Top Ale
Fat Tire Ale
Honey Beer
McTarnahan's Amber Ale
Mac's Blackwatch (cream) Porter
Black Toad
Black Butte Porter
Oatmeal Stout
Oatmeal Blueberry Stout
Out of all of them, I preferred the Black Butte and the Black Toad. The Blackwatch wasn't bad; it had a light taste for a porter. Kinda nice.
Now... I'm onto my pineapple and Malibu.
Ahhh... I'm a happy lady.
hehe
Sunday, March 01, 2009
The Boys.
I haven't posted much about them lately, but I just cleaned off my camera and I thought I'd share.
Here's Grimm, looking oh so cute with his bag o' catnip. I gave this to him as a Christmas gift... He really liked it.
Here's Grimm attempting to get into the window. He doesn't like to jump onto the windowsill anymore because they're not as wide as they were at the apartment. He needs some help getting into windows now.
Odin... last night. We bought him a new scratcher because he destroyed his old one. This time, we got a taller one so he (and Grimm) can stretch while scratching. Apparently, Odin likes to climb it, too.
And somehow, he managed to turn around while on top of it. He's so funny!
Both of my boys. This is the cuteness that I woke up to this morning. They seem to like the new bed. But even though there's PLENTY of room (it's a king size bed), Odin still has to snuggle with someone... and it just happened to be Grimm.
Aren't my boys the cutest little dudes?! hehe
I know, I'm biased.
Here's Grimm, looking oh so cute with his bag o' catnip. I gave this to him as a Christmas gift... He really liked it.
Here's Grimm attempting to get into the window. He doesn't like to jump onto the windowsill anymore because they're not as wide as they were at the apartment. He needs some help getting into windows now.
Odin... last night. We bought him a new scratcher because he destroyed his old one. This time, we got a taller one so he (and Grimm) can stretch while scratching. Apparently, Odin likes to climb it, too.
And somehow, he managed to turn around while on top of it. He's so funny!
Both of my boys. This is the cuteness that I woke up to this morning. They seem to like the new bed. But even though there's PLENTY of room (it's a king size bed), Odin still has to snuggle with someone... and it just happened to be Grimm.
Aren't my boys the cutest little dudes?! hehe
I know, I'm biased.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Our Newest Addition...!
Sam's gas-guzzling 1990 Suburban is slowly dying... After the snow and all of the complications involved, we decided it was time to get him a "newer" used car.
Our tax return was pretty nice with the First Time Home Buyer credit... so we decided to put part of it down on a car for Sam.
Here it is:
It's a 1999 Dodge Durango SLT with a V8 Magnum engine.
They were asking $8,995. We got it out the door for $5,800.
Nice, eh?
Our tax return was pretty nice with the First Time Home Buyer credit... so we decided to put part of it down on a car for Sam.
Here it is:
It's a 1999 Dodge Durango SLT with a V8 Magnum engine.
They were asking $8,995. We got it out the door for $5,800.
Nice, eh?
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Mee, lately.
An update... since I haven't been posting much, let alone have the time to post much.
I've been very busy at work these past few months, mainly because I'm picking up the slack of my new co-worker. It's been over two months now and she still can't seem to get it down. I've also, recently, acquired a new "job" within the office of maintaining the pharmacy (inventory, ordering products, researching new products, pricing, etc). The main reason why I acquired that task is because my co-worker can't seem to handle it. I now have two of the toughest, most demanding jobs in this office... and somehow, I'm still picking up my co-worker's slack. I don't know how that works, but somehow, it does... and for whatever reason, I still continue to do so. Good news though is that I'll be getting a nice pay raise in April if all works out well with me working these two jobs. Ans that will also mark my 1 year here at Peg's office.
I've been having horrible headaches, almost daily. Peggy has been working with me to pinpoint the trigger, if there is one. I've also been seeing her for acupuncture treatments every few weeks for both my headaches as well as for stress (thanks to my new co-worker). I've been taking two different homeopathic remedies, one for my headaches and the other for caffeine withdrawals (which I thought might be causing my headaches), but neither one of them have worked lately. Over the past week, I wrote down all the foods I ate and tracked my blood sugars, both before and after eating. My blood sugars weren't all that high (between 90-110), but two hours after eating dinner the other night, my blood sugar level was 140. It's weird. I have an "appointment" on Friday and I'm getting more acupuncture today at lunch (soon) to get rid of the nasty headache I woke up with.
On a happier note, life at home is good. The house is getting to be more and more like a home. Most of the painting is complete, now we just need to focus on one room at a time in order to "fix it" how we want it. The cats are good; Odin continues to run around the house like it's a race track and play slip and slide on the hardwood floors. However, he's also becoming more co-dependent. Odin has also found that sleeping on the heater vent keeps him warmer than sleeping on my lap or on the bed. Grimm is becoming more "social" and friendly as the days go by. It's nice to see him sleeping on the couch and following us into rooms again. Grimm has also started eating wet food. I grabbed some TUNA at Trader Joe's and he seems to really enjoy it; in fact, that's the only wet food he'll eat! But at least it's a step away from baby food...
On March 3rd, Sam and I will be having a few house guests from out of town. We're having a 40th birthday party for a good online (MMO) friend of ours. On the 3rd, two of the three people coming to the party are flying in. And then on the 6th, the other person will be flying into town and that night, we are going to see The Watchmen in the "living room" theater... which means NO KIDS ALLOWED! :) It's a 21 and over theater. It's nice. There's leather ottomans, reclining seats with super cup-holding arm rests... Oh, and they serve you food, drinks, and alcohol while you watch. It's the most amazing theater ever. EVER. We're going to have about 7 people at our house for a few nights... it should be fun. And now that I'm not working at Target anymore, the weekend should prove to be a LOT of fun. :)
On my last visit to California (the beginning of February), I got to see my two "kids," Colby and Gavin. Wow... they've seriously grown. It's crazy how kids grow up so fast. I miss them SOOO much already and it's only been a few weeks. I guess I'll just have to settle for pictures and blogs to keep me updated on how they're both doing.... and snuggle with Odin and talk to Grimm until I can actually have children of my own. haha!
So that's mee... in a nutshell. Well, kinda.
I'll post pictures again... one day...
I've been very busy at work these past few months, mainly because I'm picking up the slack of my new co-worker. It's been over two months now and she still can't seem to get it down. I've also, recently, acquired a new "job" within the office of maintaining the pharmacy (inventory, ordering products, researching new products, pricing, etc). The main reason why I acquired that task is because my co-worker can't seem to handle it. I now have two of the toughest, most demanding jobs in this office... and somehow, I'm still picking up my co-worker's slack. I don't know how that works, but somehow, it does... and for whatever reason, I still continue to do so. Good news though is that I'll be getting a nice pay raise in April if all works out well with me working these two jobs. Ans that will also mark my 1 year here at Peg's office.
I've been having horrible headaches, almost daily. Peggy has been working with me to pinpoint the trigger, if there is one. I've also been seeing her for acupuncture treatments every few weeks for both my headaches as well as for stress (thanks to my new co-worker). I've been taking two different homeopathic remedies, one for my headaches and the other for caffeine withdrawals (which I thought might be causing my headaches), but neither one of them have worked lately. Over the past week, I wrote down all the foods I ate and tracked my blood sugars, both before and after eating. My blood sugars weren't all that high (between 90-110), but two hours after eating dinner the other night, my blood sugar level was 140. It's weird. I have an "appointment" on Friday and I'm getting more acupuncture today at lunch (soon) to get rid of the nasty headache I woke up with.
On a happier note, life at home is good. The house is getting to be more and more like a home. Most of the painting is complete, now we just need to focus on one room at a time in order to "fix it" how we want it. The cats are good; Odin continues to run around the house like it's a race track and play slip and slide on the hardwood floors. However, he's also becoming more co-dependent. Odin has also found that sleeping on the heater vent keeps him warmer than sleeping on my lap or on the bed. Grimm is becoming more "social" and friendly as the days go by. It's nice to see him sleeping on the couch and following us into rooms again. Grimm has also started eating wet food. I grabbed some TUNA at Trader Joe's and he seems to really enjoy it; in fact, that's the only wet food he'll eat! But at least it's a step away from baby food...
On March 3rd, Sam and I will be having a few house guests from out of town. We're having a 40th birthday party for a good online (MMO) friend of ours. On the 3rd, two of the three people coming to the party are flying in. And then on the 6th, the other person will be flying into town and that night, we are going to see The Watchmen in the "living room" theater... which means NO KIDS ALLOWED! :) It's a 21 and over theater. It's nice. There's leather ottomans, reclining seats with super cup-holding arm rests... Oh, and they serve you food, drinks, and alcohol while you watch. It's the most amazing theater ever. EVER. We're going to have about 7 people at our house for a few nights... it should be fun. And now that I'm not working at Target anymore, the weekend should prove to be a LOT of fun. :)
On my last visit to California (the beginning of February), I got to see my two "kids," Colby and Gavin. Wow... they've seriously grown. It's crazy how kids grow up so fast. I miss them SOOO much already and it's only been a few weeks. I guess I'll just have to settle for pictures and blogs to keep me updated on how they're both doing.... and snuggle with Odin and talk to Grimm until I can actually have children of my own. haha!
So that's mee... in a nutshell. Well, kinda.
I'll post pictures again... one day...
Monday, January 19, 2009
New Year, New Mee.
With the start of the New Year, I decided to start my liver detox, which was recommended by my doctor to help with some of the "issues" my body was having. She recommended it for me back in December, but with the holidays coming up and all the foods I wouldn't be allowed to eat while on this detox, I decided to wait until the New Year and make it part of my resolution to be a better me.
I started on January 2nd, taking about 1 scoop a day. I finally made it up to two scoops, three times a day, by the following week. I mix it with 1/2 water and 1/2 apple juice and a LOT of cinnamon... it helps. I've noticed that I have a bit more energy, I'm typically in a better mood, and my face has cleared up quite a bit. Since I've started, I've also dropped about 5 pounds, which isn't bad, considering I'm not really exercising. :) haha
Here's a brief list of what I cannot eat while on this detox:
Wheat/gluten
Meat (Beef, mainly)
Pig products
Oranges/Citrus
Corn
Soy/Tofu
Peanuts
Eggs
Shellfish
Dairy
Margarine, mayo, and hydrogenated oils
Soda, coffee, tea, and alcohol
Refined sugars, honey, and syrups
Let's just say this had severely limited my diet. LOL
I call myself a gluten-free vegan... that's how I feel, anyway.
I'm eating rice, rice cakes, rice pasta, rice bread, and using rice milk! I can't believe how many products are made with rice now! It's so awesome! I can still eat fish, turkey, chicken, and any and all veggies and fruits I want (other than corn and oranges). It's nice, in that respect. I've been shopping at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's more than I usually do, which is making our food bills go up a bit, but it should all be over in another week or two...
I made vegan cupcakes this weekend. They weren't bad, but the batter could be improved upon by adding bananas and making it banana bread instead! LOL! I also found chocolate chips that were vegan! Not carob, chocolate! Yummy! I actually missed chocolate...
All I have to say is:
Yum... Rice!
I started on January 2nd, taking about 1 scoop a day. I finally made it up to two scoops, three times a day, by the following week. I mix it with 1/2 water and 1/2 apple juice and a LOT of cinnamon... it helps. I've noticed that I have a bit more energy, I'm typically in a better mood, and my face has cleared up quite a bit. Since I've started, I've also dropped about 5 pounds, which isn't bad, considering I'm not really exercising. :) haha
Here's a brief list of what I cannot eat while on this detox:
Wheat/gluten
Meat (Beef, mainly)
Pig products
Oranges/Citrus
Corn
Soy/Tofu
Peanuts
Eggs
Shellfish
Dairy
Margarine, mayo, and hydrogenated oils
Soda, coffee, tea, and alcohol
Refined sugars, honey, and syrups
Let's just say this had severely limited my diet. LOL
I call myself a gluten-free vegan... that's how I feel, anyway.
I'm eating rice, rice cakes, rice pasta, rice bread, and using rice milk! I can't believe how many products are made with rice now! It's so awesome! I can still eat fish, turkey, chicken, and any and all veggies and fruits I want (other than corn and oranges). It's nice, in that respect. I've been shopping at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's more than I usually do, which is making our food bills go up a bit, but it should all be over in another week or two...
I made vegan cupcakes this weekend. They weren't bad, but the batter could be improved upon by adding bananas and making it banana bread instead! LOL! I also found chocolate chips that were vegan! Not carob, chocolate! Yummy! I actually missed chocolate...
All I have to say is:
Yum... Rice!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
I work with a retard.
Well, not really, but almost. She could probably pass as one.
/sigh
/roll eyes
I'm so tired of her and all of her complaints, issues, questions, and smells. I don't know how much more of it I can take. She complains about having to work later than 5pm. She complains about having a "12 hour day." She complains about all the work she has to do, but that she doesn't have time for. She complains that she's, "only one person." She even has the nerve to complain that I'm not helping her.
She asks me SO many questions on a day-to-day basis. Now, I know, she's new and I'm trying to go easy on her, but when you bombard me with so many questions everyday, I'm going to grow tired of answering them. And my favorite question to answer, "Can I ask you a question?" UGH! That's not even a valid question in my book! I should answer, "You just did. Now what?" but I'm good and refrain myself. This morning, I was on the phone and she came up to my desk and whispered, "Can I ask you something?" and I whispered back, "I'm on the phone...?" So she decided to call a representative for a Laboratory INSTEAD of waiting for me to get off the phone to ask. She wanted the lab to pick up a blood specimen from the office. I actually knew the answer to that question... I even knew the phone number to call for a pick up! But she couldn't wait. She asked the Lab Rep who gave her a new number to call and then she had to call that number. /sigh
Then, a patient comes into the office and I start talking to her. We're having a nice conversation when my co-worker says, "Excuse me, Sarah, I need to ask you something." First thing that popped into my head: Colby. That's what he says when he wants to ask his mom something and she's talking to me! LOL! I quickly turned my head, even though I thought it was being rude to the patient, and she asked away. She wanted to know how late "the office" was going to be open. Well, DUH! Until 5:30pm... when we CLOSE. Everyday. OMG. Hours don't magically change because she doesn't want to stay after 4pm.
I went back to talking to the patient. We were having another nice conversation (she said I need to go on a cruise! LOL!) when my co-worker does it again. This time, however, she didn't go away. In fact, she asked for my attention AGAIN. I had to use my finger as if to say, "Give me a minute..." but she still persisted. I cut it short with the patient and turned to her kinda rudely and was like, "Yes...?"
She asked me what to do next in regards to the lab requisition form. I told her she had to fill everything out. All she needed was the patient's chart and all the information would be inside. I told her what to put where, including insurance information, date/time of collection, and everything else. She asked, "Shouldn't you be doing that? Don't you do all the paperwork in the office?" And I said, "No, you take care of everything LAB related. You fill it in, you send it in." So what did she do? She went around my back and asked the doctor! UGH! And of course, what did the doctor say?
Yay. Yet ANOTHER task put in MY lap because dipshit doesn't know what she's doing. It took me all of 2 minutes to fill in all of the information. Two minutes. And then, my co-worker had the nerve to ask me, "Are you upset about this? You seem upset." Well, freakin' DUH! I told you how to do your job and then you made me do it. Like I don't have other things I need to be doing today. If you don't know how to do it or want me to do it, just ASK ME. Don't go behind my back and ask my boss to "make" me do it. Bitch. (Sorry, I'm a bit pissed off right now.)
And now she's telling me I obviously have time during the day to do things like that for her because I "type little e-mails to my friends" all day. Yay. Seriously. I can't take her crap anymore.
Somebody kill me, please.
/sigh
/roll eyes
I'm so tired of her and all of her complaints, issues, questions, and smells. I don't know how much more of it I can take. She complains about having to work later than 5pm. She complains about having a "12 hour day." She complains about all the work she has to do, but that she doesn't have time for. She complains that she's, "only one person." She even has the nerve to complain that I'm not helping her.
She asks me SO many questions on a day-to-day basis. Now, I know, she's new and I'm trying to go easy on her, but when you bombard me with so many questions everyday, I'm going to grow tired of answering them. And my favorite question to answer, "Can I ask you a question?" UGH! That's not even a valid question in my book! I should answer, "You just did. Now what?" but I'm good and refrain myself. This morning, I was on the phone and she came up to my desk and whispered, "Can I ask you something?" and I whispered back, "I'm on the phone...?" So she decided to call a representative for a Laboratory INSTEAD of waiting for me to get off the phone to ask. She wanted the lab to pick up a blood specimen from the office. I actually knew the answer to that question... I even knew the phone number to call for a pick up! But she couldn't wait. She asked the Lab Rep who gave her a new number to call and then she had to call that number. /sigh
Then, a patient comes into the office and I start talking to her. We're having a nice conversation when my co-worker says, "Excuse me, Sarah, I need to ask you something." First thing that popped into my head: Colby. That's what he says when he wants to ask his mom something and she's talking to me! LOL! I quickly turned my head, even though I thought it was being rude to the patient, and she asked away. She wanted to know how late "the office" was going to be open. Well, DUH! Until 5:30pm... when we CLOSE. Everyday. OMG. Hours don't magically change because she doesn't want to stay after 4pm.
I went back to talking to the patient. We were having another nice conversation (she said I need to go on a cruise! LOL!) when my co-worker does it again. This time, however, she didn't go away. In fact, she asked for my attention AGAIN. I had to use my finger as if to say, "Give me a minute..." but she still persisted. I cut it short with the patient and turned to her kinda rudely and was like, "Yes...?"
She asked me what to do next in regards to the lab requisition form. I told her she had to fill everything out. All she needed was the patient's chart and all the information would be inside. I told her what to put where, including insurance information, date/time of collection, and everything else. She asked, "Shouldn't you be doing that? Don't you do all the paperwork in the office?" And I said, "No, you take care of everything LAB related. You fill it in, you send it in." So what did she do? She went around my back and asked the doctor! UGH! And of course, what did the doctor say?
Yay. Yet ANOTHER task put in MY lap because dipshit doesn't know what she's doing. It took me all of 2 minutes to fill in all of the information. Two minutes. And then, my co-worker had the nerve to ask me, "Are you upset about this? You seem upset." Well, freakin' DUH! I told you how to do your job and then you made me do it. Like I don't have other things I need to be doing today. If you don't know how to do it or want me to do it, just ASK ME. Don't go behind my back and ask my boss to "make" me do it. Bitch. (Sorry, I'm a bit pissed off right now.)
And now she's telling me I obviously have time during the day to do things like that for her because I "type little e-mails to my friends" all day. Yay. Seriously. I can't take her crap anymore.
Somebody kill me, please.
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Heard this today...
I heard this today on the radio... and I realized how right most of this stuff is. Weird.
Everybody's Free (to wear sunscreen)
~Baz Luhrmann
Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99:
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it.
The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience...
I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh never mind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded.
But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.
You’re not as fat as you imagine.
Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum.
The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing everyday that scares you.
Sing.
Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss.
Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind.
The race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.
Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch.
Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life... the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.
Get plenty of calcium.
Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.
Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary... what ever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s.
Enjoy your body, use it every way you can... don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own..
Dance... even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.
Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.
Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good.
Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on.
Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don’t expect anyone else to support you.
Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.
Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it.
Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than
it’s worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen...
Everybody's Free (to wear sunscreen)
~Baz Luhrmann
Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99:
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it.
The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience...
I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh never mind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded.
But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.
You’re not as fat as you imagine.
Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum.
The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing everyday that scares you.
Sing.
Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss.
Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind.
The race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.
Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch.
Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life... the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.
Get plenty of calcium.
Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.
Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary... what ever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s.
Enjoy your body, use it every way you can... don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own..
Dance... even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.
Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.
Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good.
Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on.
Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don’t expect anyone else to support you.
Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.
Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it.
Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than
it’s worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen...
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
And the verdict is...
My labs are fine. I'm not anemic, but my body is still making sure I won't be anytime soon, hence the high iron binding numbers and kinda low iron saturation. Peg says my cholesterol is fine, believe it or not... but my HDL is a little low, which means I need to exercise more. My LDL is a little high, but that can be improved with fish oil. Yay! As far as the high CRP cardio ratio, it's due to inflammation of some sort, which can also be helped with fish oil. She wants me to repeat that test and see what it's like in a few months; whichever number is lower is usually the correct. haha The lab work I had done for PCO came back ok... even though my numbers were low for where I supposedly was in my "cycle," the ratio between the two numbers was OK. She is curious as to how my sister's tests came back, however.
So basically... my blood pressure is good, my blood work is good, everything is good... I'm just overweight. Blah.
She recommended a liver detox, for which I am totally game. :) I'm supposed to start taking 2 fish oil caps a day along with my multi-vitamin with iron. Hopefully, after the holidays, I will feel better, be more active, and not fall asleep at my desk!
So basically... my blood pressure is good, my blood work is good, everything is good... I'm just overweight. Blah.
She recommended a liver detox, for which I am totally game. :) I'm supposed to start taking 2 fish oil caps a day along with my multi-vitamin with iron. Hopefully, after the holidays, I will feel better, be more active, and not fall asleep at my desk!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Lab Results!
Last week, I was brave enough to "donate" blood to the laboratory. I know there's something wrong with me, but I wanted to know what. My doc ordered a TON of labs, especially since I haven't had any lab work done since I was covered by Kaiser in 2005/2006. Not only that, but it was only basic lab work that was done... nothing fancy.
I've been looking at the results since we got them faxed over this morning. Some levels have been circled, some have been "checked," others... well, I guess are ok. LOL!
The bad news:
My LDL cholesterol is HIGH. Not skyscraper high, but it is pretty high.
My blood glucose level is kinda high, too. Not a shock, seeing as how much I love sugar.
It appears as though my blood isn't "forming" correctly- my iron isn't bonding well enough and I'm anemic... although you couldn't tell by my hemoglobin count.
Oh, and my CRP level is SUPER high... but it's affected by my birth control pills.
The good news:
Diet & Exercise will most likely help all of my current issues.
We'll see what my doc has to say when I see her for an appointment next week.
I've been looking at the results since we got them faxed over this morning. Some levels have been circled, some have been "checked," others... well, I guess are ok. LOL!
The bad news:
My LDL cholesterol is HIGH. Not skyscraper high, but it is pretty high.
My blood glucose level is kinda high, too. Not a shock, seeing as how much I love sugar.
It appears as though my blood isn't "forming" correctly- my iron isn't bonding well enough and I'm anemic... although you couldn't tell by my hemoglobin count.
Oh, and my CRP level is SUPER high... but it's affected by my birth control pills.
The good news:
Diet & Exercise will most likely help all of my current issues.
We'll see what my doc has to say when I see her for an appointment next week.
Stress at the Office
I want a vacation. I need a vacation.
But EVERYTIME I take a vacation, someone f*cks something up and *I* get blamed for it, even though I wasn't there and I knew nothing about what was going on.
Like today, for example... I get a note the other day, asking me about a patient.
"What happened to (Jane Doe)- She should weigh in! No charge for that, or $10 to see me!"
Today, my boss says, "What happened to (Jane Doe)?"
I say, "Good question. I thought she couldn't come in anymore due to money issues."
She replies, "Did you get the note I gave you? Did you call her?"
I say, "I haven't- I didn't know what I was calling her about, since I thought she wasn't coming in anymore due to not having the money to do so. I thought she was off the program."
My boss then says, "Give me the note. You know what, give me the note so I can give it to Ruth (the office consultant). I can't do this anymore. Ruth should be here either Monday or Tuesday."
HA HA!
So I look through the chart... I find the old superbills... I discover...
The patient was last at the office on my day off, October 3rd. My boss did NOT circle a "follow-up" appointment day for her, so whoever was at the front desk that day did not schedule the patient, not even for a weight check. However, in the chart, the patient had directions to follow-up in 4 weeks. If the patient gains more than 3 pounds since her last visit, she is supposed to come in sooner.
Hmm... is it just me or is this yet ANOTHER inconsistency in scheduling that IS NOT my fault?! Peg noted that the patient was supposed to come in, but didn't notify the staff that we were supposed to schedule her. Happens a lot. It's either that, or Peg tells me to schedule the patient for a 40 min. appointment one week and then the next week says the appointment should only be 20-30 min... and then blames me for scheduling it incorrectly and asks me for the superbills so she can attempt to prove me wrong. (When in reality, she proves herself wrong most of the time).
So now, I need to call this patient and schedule a follow-up visit... after Thanksgiving. LOL! Yeah, I bet she's going to gain at least 3 pounds before now and then! hehe
Another fun time earlier today...
My co-worker's friend called to make an appointment this week. I set him up for today at about 10:20am. He wasn't sure about his benefits so I said I'd check and get back to him. Earlier this week, I called and left him a message, saying that his deductible wasn't met and that he would have to pay for the visit in full... $235. And yes folks, that's with a 20% discount for paying in full at the time of service (cash discount). I had a feeling he wouldn't be coming in, especially not for that price, but ya never know.
Yesterday, at about 2pm, he called to cancel his appointment for today. He was just a few hours shy of his 24 hour requirement, and he's a friend of my co-worker, so I cut him some slack and didn't say anything about the cancellation fee (yet another $65). Not only that, but I don't expect a new patient to pay a cancellation fee. They've never been here before; I don't want to piss them off prematurely. What if he wants to come back, but then changes his mind after being charged $65? I wrote Peg a note and "fudged" the time a little bit... I put 11am on the note. His scheduled appointment time was 10:20. Big deal, 40 minutes.
Well, apparently, 40 minutes *IS* a big deal to Peg. She wanted me to charge him the $65 cancellation fee and then call him to re-schedule. Not only that, but she wanted me to try to get him to come in anyway, even if only for 15 minutes...
"Did you tell him that there's a cancellation fee?"
"No, but it is on his new patient paperwork."
"Well, you need to tell them. You need to enforce our cancellation policy."
"The last time I tried to enforce the cancellation policy with a new patient, I got yelled at and hung up on."
"Well, then, you need to know how to handle patients better then."
Me: (/rolleyes)
"Do you tell new patients how much we charge for an office visit?"
"Not unless they ask- especially insurance patients."
"Well, aren't you supposed to? Isn't it in the new patient dialogue?"
"I don't think so."
"You called him and told him his benefits, right?"
"Yes."
"Ok. So he thinks he's going to be paying $74 for this visit, since that's 30% of our insurance charges. So instead of him paying the $65 cancellation fee, why doesn't he come in and just pay the $74 to get some help- I'll keep it as brief as possible, 15 minutes even. Just enough to get him some advice for what he should do."
"But his deductible isn't met. He would have to pay the full $235."
"He would only have to pay $74."
"No, he would have to pay the full amount you're going to charge his insurance, since his deductible isn't met yet... THEN he has a 30% co-insurance."
"Well, isn't $74 better than $65? I'd rather him get some help for $74 than none at all for $65. Give me a copy of what you tell new patients. I think it needs to be revised. I'll give this to Ruth when she comes in next week."
At this point, I just gave up. It was like talking to a brick wall. She was NOT understanding that the patient's deductible HAD to be met in full before he was responsible for paying 30% of charges. Which means he would have to pay in full at the time of service, for two visits, before he paid his co-insurance. That's a horrible thing to do to a person. Tell them, "Yeah, you only have to pay $74!" and then a month later, when we get the EOB (explanation of benefits), it will say, "Patient is responsible for the full amount," and then we have to send the poor man a bill. That's awful... and poor practice in my opinion.
I just told her that I left the guy a message. My co-worker will back me up on that.
When in reality, I did no such thing... and neither did my co-worker. We both agreed to let this one drop... and we're hoping this doesn't get brought back up again and again and again.
/sigh
But we both know it will.
It's not everyday now, at least... Thank goodness. I'm thankful for my "salary" promotion... but I don't get my raise until "The Gunt" (the biller) is fired! Damnit! I guess I'll have to wait for a raise until next year... BOO!
But EVERYTIME I take a vacation, someone f*cks something up and *I* get blamed for it, even though I wasn't there and I knew nothing about what was going on.
Like today, for example... I get a note the other day, asking me about a patient.
"What happened to (Jane Doe)- She should weigh in! No charge for that, or $10 to see me!"
Today, my boss says, "What happened to (Jane Doe)?"
I say, "Good question. I thought she couldn't come in anymore due to money issues."
She replies, "Did you get the note I gave you? Did you call her?"
I say, "I haven't- I didn't know what I was calling her about, since I thought she wasn't coming in anymore due to not having the money to do so. I thought she was off the program."
My boss then says, "Give me the note. You know what, give me the note so I can give it to Ruth (the office consultant). I can't do this anymore. Ruth should be here either Monday or Tuesday."
HA HA!
So I look through the chart... I find the old superbills... I discover...
The patient was last at the office on my day off, October 3rd. My boss did NOT circle a "follow-up" appointment day for her, so whoever was at the front desk that day did not schedule the patient, not even for a weight check. However, in the chart, the patient had directions to follow-up in 4 weeks. If the patient gains more than 3 pounds since her last visit, she is supposed to come in sooner.
Hmm... is it just me or is this yet ANOTHER inconsistency in scheduling that IS NOT my fault?! Peg noted that the patient was supposed to come in, but didn't notify the staff that we were supposed to schedule her. Happens a lot. It's either that, or Peg tells me to schedule the patient for a 40 min. appointment one week and then the next week says the appointment should only be 20-30 min... and then blames me for scheduling it incorrectly and asks me for the superbills so she can attempt to prove me wrong. (When in reality, she proves herself wrong most of the time).
So now, I need to call this patient and schedule a follow-up visit... after Thanksgiving. LOL! Yeah, I bet she's going to gain at least 3 pounds before now and then! hehe
Another fun time earlier today...
My co-worker's friend called to make an appointment this week. I set him up for today at about 10:20am. He wasn't sure about his benefits so I said I'd check and get back to him. Earlier this week, I called and left him a message, saying that his deductible wasn't met and that he would have to pay for the visit in full... $235. And yes folks, that's with a 20% discount for paying in full at the time of service (cash discount). I had a feeling he wouldn't be coming in, especially not for that price, but ya never know.
Yesterday, at about 2pm, he called to cancel his appointment for today. He was just a few hours shy of his 24 hour requirement, and he's a friend of my co-worker, so I cut him some slack and didn't say anything about the cancellation fee (yet another $65). Not only that, but I don't expect a new patient to pay a cancellation fee. They've never been here before; I don't want to piss them off prematurely. What if he wants to come back, but then changes his mind after being charged $65? I wrote Peg a note and "fudged" the time a little bit... I put 11am on the note. His scheduled appointment time was 10:20. Big deal, 40 minutes.
Well, apparently, 40 minutes *IS* a big deal to Peg. She wanted me to charge him the $65 cancellation fee and then call him to re-schedule. Not only that, but she wanted me to try to get him to come in anyway, even if only for 15 minutes...
"Did you tell him that there's a cancellation fee?"
"No, but it is on his new patient paperwork."
"Well, you need to tell them. You need to enforce our cancellation policy."
"The last time I tried to enforce the cancellation policy with a new patient, I got yelled at and hung up on."
"Well, then, you need to know how to handle patients better then."
Me: (/rolleyes)
"Do you tell new patients how much we charge for an office visit?"
"Not unless they ask- especially insurance patients."
"Well, aren't you supposed to? Isn't it in the new patient dialogue?"
"I don't think so."
"You called him and told him his benefits, right?"
"Yes."
"Ok. So he thinks he's going to be paying $74 for this visit, since that's 30% of our insurance charges. So instead of him paying the $65 cancellation fee, why doesn't he come in and just pay the $74 to get some help- I'll keep it as brief as possible, 15 minutes even. Just enough to get him some advice for what he should do."
"But his deductible isn't met. He would have to pay the full $235."
"He would only have to pay $74."
"No, he would have to pay the full amount you're going to charge his insurance, since his deductible isn't met yet... THEN he has a 30% co-insurance."
"Well, isn't $74 better than $65? I'd rather him get some help for $74 than none at all for $65. Give me a copy of what you tell new patients. I think it needs to be revised. I'll give this to Ruth when she comes in next week."
At this point, I just gave up. It was like talking to a brick wall. She was NOT understanding that the patient's deductible HAD to be met in full before he was responsible for paying 30% of charges. Which means he would have to pay in full at the time of service, for two visits, before he paid his co-insurance. That's a horrible thing to do to a person. Tell them, "Yeah, you only have to pay $74!" and then a month later, when we get the EOB (explanation of benefits), it will say, "Patient is responsible for the full amount," and then we have to send the poor man a bill. That's awful... and poor practice in my opinion.
I just told her that I left the guy a message. My co-worker will back me up on that.
When in reality, I did no such thing... and neither did my co-worker. We both agreed to let this one drop... and we're hoping this doesn't get brought back up again and again and again.
/sigh
But we both know it will.
It's not everyday now, at least... Thank goodness. I'm thankful for my "salary" promotion... but I don't get my raise until "The Gunt" (the biller) is fired! Damnit! I guess I'll have to wait for a raise until next year... BOO!
Monday, November 17, 2008
Black Friday
Before reading, a brief lesson on "Target Speak:"
Store Manager: Highest Authority
HR: Next step down (Human Resources)
LOD: Next step down (Leader on Duty)
GSTL: Next step down (Guest Service Team Lead)
TL: Next step down (Team Lead)
TM: Lowest of the low (Team member)
Last weekend, my LOD at Target came up to me and asked when I would be available to work on the Friday after Thanksgiving. My GSTL was standing next to me at the time.
I told her I still had to work at my office job and that I couldn't make it in.
She said, "You HAVE to work that day. Everybody HAS to work that day."
I said, "Fine," and told her I worked until about 6pm that night.
She said, "Good, I'll schedule you from 6pm to close."
I said, "No... I work downtown. It's going to take me 30 minutes to drive home and then I have to change and drive here, which is another 30 minutes so the soonest I can be there is 7pm, and that's with no traffic and if I leave work on time. But doesn't the store close at 10pm? So what's the point?"
And then I remembered...
It's the "holiday season." Which means Target is open until 11pm every night until after Christmas. YUCK!
She said, "No, we're open until 11pm. But that's still a 4 hour shift and that's the minimum amount of hours you HAVE to be here. Perfect. See you then!" and walked away.
My GSTL told me that the LOD was correct and that when I started working for Target, I was told that there were certain days out of the year that I *HAD* to work... Black Friday was one of those days.
Damnit!
On Thursday, I went to Target to buy a few things, so I headed upstairs to check out the schedule for Black Friday. I noticed that I was scheduled to close as a CASHIER from 7pm-11:15pm. BLAH! No thank you!
On Saturday, I went in for my shift and looked at the schedule again. There were about 10 people that were NOT scheduled for Black Friday. Wait... I thought EVERYBODY had to work that day? Not only were there about 10 people, but there were a few that were marked as "unavailable" on that day. WTF?!?! I thought that wasn't allowed??!! And then... THEN... I noticed that there was someone that had the same availability as I did (weekends only) that was NOT scheduled to work on Black Friday. WTF?!?!!!
I ran into her on my way down to the sales floor.
I asked her, "Did anyone ask you if you could work on Black Friday?"
She said, "No, and I'm glad they didn't schedule me, either. I can't come in."
I said, "Yeah, same here. I have to be at my other job, too."
She said, "I wouldn't have come in even if they had scheduled me, though."
ARGH! What kind of crap is this, anyway? This TM was hired on after I was, technically, since she left the company before Christmas 2006 and was recently re-hired. I talked to a TL about it and she said to talk to HR about it. Apparently, HR knew that they were scheduling people to work that day, regardless of their availability. Nice, eh? However, if there were any problems, have the TM talk to HR about it.
So I did.
I called HR this morning and let her know how I felt about this whole ordeal. She understood where I was coming from; I mean, really, who wants to be at work from 8:30am to 6pm, only to have to leave to go to another job from 7pm until 11:15pm on the same day? I wake up at 7am... and then I wouldn't be home until about 12midnight... That's one hell of a long day. Not only that, but after I realized that there was someone else with my same availability that wasn't scheduled... but yet, I was? And not only was I TOLD I HAD to come in, this person wasn't even asked to come in? She told me that it was nothing personal and that she'd ask the LOD and find out why it wasn't as... even across the board... as she thought scheduling for Black Friday would be.
I still haven't gotten a call back.
But I sure as F*CK had better not have to work that day.
Grr.
Quick Edit: 11/18/08
I DO NOT HAVE TO WORK ON BLACK FRIDAY!
The nice HR lady said she took me off the schedule! YAY!
I shall have to call her tomorrow and tell her, "OMG! THANK YOU!"
Life is good. :)
Store Manager: Highest Authority
HR: Next step down (Human Resources)
LOD: Next step down (Leader on Duty)
GSTL: Next step down (Guest Service Team Lead)
TL: Next step down (Team Lead)
TM: Lowest of the low (Team member)
Last weekend, my LOD at Target came up to me and asked when I would be available to work on the Friday after Thanksgiving. My GSTL was standing next to me at the time.
I told her I still had to work at my office job and that I couldn't make it in.
She said, "You HAVE to work that day. Everybody HAS to work that day."
I said, "Fine," and told her I worked until about 6pm that night.
She said, "Good, I'll schedule you from 6pm to close."
I said, "No... I work downtown. It's going to take me 30 minutes to drive home and then I have to change and drive here, which is another 30 minutes so the soonest I can be there is 7pm, and that's with no traffic and if I leave work on time. But doesn't the store close at 10pm? So what's the point?"
And then I remembered...
It's the "holiday season." Which means Target is open until 11pm every night until after Christmas. YUCK!
She said, "No, we're open until 11pm. But that's still a 4 hour shift and that's the minimum amount of hours you HAVE to be here. Perfect. See you then!" and walked away.
My GSTL told me that the LOD was correct and that when I started working for Target, I was told that there were certain days out of the year that I *HAD* to work... Black Friday was one of those days.
Damnit!
On Thursday, I went to Target to buy a few things, so I headed upstairs to check out the schedule for Black Friday. I noticed that I was scheduled to close as a CASHIER from 7pm-11:15pm. BLAH! No thank you!
On Saturday, I went in for my shift and looked at the schedule again. There were about 10 people that were NOT scheduled for Black Friday. Wait... I thought EVERYBODY had to work that day? Not only were there about 10 people, but there were a few that were marked as "unavailable" on that day. WTF?!?! I thought that wasn't allowed??!! And then... THEN... I noticed that there was someone that had the same availability as I did (weekends only) that was NOT scheduled to work on Black Friday. WTF?!?!!!
I ran into her on my way down to the sales floor.
I asked her, "Did anyone ask you if you could work on Black Friday?"
She said, "No, and I'm glad they didn't schedule me, either. I can't come in."
I said, "Yeah, same here. I have to be at my other job, too."
She said, "I wouldn't have come in even if they had scheduled me, though."
ARGH! What kind of crap is this, anyway? This TM was hired on after I was, technically, since she left the company before Christmas 2006 and was recently re-hired. I talked to a TL about it and she said to talk to HR about it. Apparently, HR knew that they were scheduling people to work that day, regardless of their availability. Nice, eh? However, if there were any problems, have the TM talk to HR about it.
So I did.
I called HR this morning and let her know how I felt about this whole ordeal. She understood where I was coming from; I mean, really, who wants to be at work from 8:30am to 6pm, only to have to leave to go to another job from 7pm until 11:15pm on the same day? I wake up at 7am... and then I wouldn't be home until about 12midnight... That's one hell of a long day. Not only that, but after I realized that there was someone else with my same availability that wasn't scheduled... but yet, I was? And not only was I TOLD I HAD to come in, this person wasn't even asked to come in? She told me that it was nothing personal and that she'd ask the LOD and find out why it wasn't as... even across the board... as she thought scheduling for Black Friday would be.
I still haven't gotten a call back.
But I sure as F*CK had better not have to work that day.
Grr.
Quick Edit: 11/18/08
I DO NOT HAVE TO WORK ON BLACK FRIDAY!
The nice HR lady said she took me off the schedule! YAY!
I shall have to call her tomorrow and tell her, "OMG! THANK YOU!"
Life is good. :)
Thursday, November 13, 2008
A quick note...
Hate goes both ways.
Yes, unfortunately, I am talking about CA's Prop 8. Sure, I don't live in CA anymore and I shouldn't care, but I have friends and family in CA still and I hear A LOT about these things. I even hear about Prop 8 on Oregon radio stations because people are causing such a fuss. The voters voted. That's the way it is. Sure, it's not the outcome *I* would have wanted, but unfortunately, that's life. To quote the greatest "second mom" that I've ever had, "Life Isn't Fair."
I was, and still kinda am, upset with people that were voting YES insisting that they were being victims of hate throughout the campaign.
What about the people who you are campaigning against? Aren't they victims of hate, too? Aren't they more so the victims of hate than you, seeing as how you're trying to deny their rights? You're standing on a street corner, holding up signs, protesting, calling people at home, knocking on doors around the neighborhood, and trying to get Prop 8 passed... That's an insane amount of time, energy and effort going towards one of the most hateful propositions (other than the one in AK).
Unfortunately, everyone that voted NO is now getting *angry* and seeking revenge on the people that voted YES. Now, to me, this is silly. Leave the people alone. Stop protesting at Mormon Temples. Sure, they put a lot of time, money, and effort into things, but don't go closing doors that may one day open simply because you're angry right now. You're ruining your chances of ever having something like this actually happen. Shut up and let the courts do the talking.
Now, grated, Oregon does not allow gay marriage, but they do allow civil unions. But honestly, when I tell people about my friends X and Yav, do I say they are married or that, "They have a civil union." I tell them THEY ARE MARRIED. Because, really, they are. If a straight couple goes to the court house and gets a civil union, they are MARRIED. It's just the way you word it, in my opinion.
The hate flows both ways, people... whether you want to see it or not. The only way to stop the hate is to rise above it and be a better person. It's just sad that not everyone has realized that yet.
Yes, unfortunately, I am talking about CA's Prop 8. Sure, I don't live in CA anymore and I shouldn't care, but I have friends and family in CA still and I hear A LOT about these things. I even hear about Prop 8 on Oregon radio stations because people are causing such a fuss. The voters voted. That's the way it is. Sure, it's not the outcome *I* would have wanted, but unfortunately, that's life. To quote the greatest "second mom" that I've ever had, "Life Isn't Fair."
I was, and still kinda am, upset with people that were voting YES insisting that they were being victims of hate throughout the campaign.
What about the people who you are campaigning against? Aren't they victims of hate, too? Aren't they more so the victims of hate than you, seeing as how you're trying to deny their rights? You're standing on a street corner, holding up signs, protesting, calling people at home, knocking on doors around the neighborhood, and trying to get Prop 8 passed... That's an insane amount of time, energy and effort going towards one of the most hateful propositions (other than the one in AK).
Unfortunately, everyone that voted NO is now getting *angry* and seeking revenge on the people that voted YES. Now, to me, this is silly. Leave the people alone. Stop protesting at Mormon Temples. Sure, they put a lot of time, money, and effort into things, but don't go closing doors that may one day open simply because you're angry right now. You're ruining your chances of ever having something like this actually happen. Shut up and let the courts do the talking.
Now, grated, Oregon does not allow gay marriage, but they do allow civil unions. But honestly, when I tell people about my friends X and Yav, do I say they are married or that, "They have a civil union." I tell them THEY ARE MARRIED. Because, really, they are. If a straight couple goes to the court house and gets a civil union, they are MARRIED. It's just the way you word it, in my opinion.
The hate flows both ways, people... whether you want to see it or not. The only way to stop the hate is to rise above it and be a better person. It's just sad that not everyone has realized that yet.
Friday, November 07, 2008
My "mmm" Dream
I was rudely awakened this morning by my STUPID alarm from an awesome dream. AWESOME. Well, I thought it was awesome. No names will be mentioned. :) haha
We were all on a boat/yacht/huge ship. There were a bunch of people from high school there, even some that went to middle school with us. I was standing near the bar when I noticed B walking by. I was so excited! I waved him down and started talking to him. From the bar, J saw me talking to him and freaked out. She ran right over to where we were and started talking to him, attempting to kick me out of the conversation. I was slightly upset; he seemed very into me and not into her, but J didn't see that. J wanted him all for herself, just like she always. Just then, the ship hit some choppy water and everyone on the boat felt it. I bumped right into B and turned a little red in the cheeks. He just smiled; he didn't mind at all. J picked up right where she left off with B... I couldn't get a word in no matter what I tried.
I decided to head back to my room to relax. My room was at the very front of the boat. I could look out the window and see the water hitting the front of the boat. My room had a bathroom attached, which included a large bathtub with a huge faucet, waterfall ledges, rose petals, rose quartz, pebbles, and a water fountain feature (the round globe that spun with water moving it). It was shaped similar to this:
But it didn't have such big spaces inbetween the levels. Instead, the levels were right on top of each other. The individual levels each had their own design/pattern. The top level was the actual bathtub. It was filled with small pebbles so one could take a bath, but still be able to have other people in the room that couldn't see you nekkid. This was where the water globe was; it was directly under the faucet, but above the water level. The second tier was filled with more pebbles (both black and white), rose quartz, and rose petals. The third tier was mostly water, but there were a few small sections of black pebbles and rose petals. When the water hit the bottom of the third tier, there was a pump that pumped it out.
For whatever reason, however, my bathroom on the boat did not have a toilet. Luckily, the room next door to mine was K's room and our rooms were joined by our bathrooms... so I went into K's bathroom. His bathroom had a pedestal sink and two toilets. Unfortunately, the seat was broken on one of them (in fact, the whole toilet was broken) and the other was more like a urinal than a toilet. Well, I had to go, so I used the broken toilet. I tried to squat over it, but that didn't work very well, especially on a boat that was going thru choppy water. Oddly enough, while I was in the bathroom, K decided he had to go too and used the other toilet. Even more oddly enough, C decided to join us; he took a seat on the sink and joined our conversation.
After the talk, K went into his room and I went into mine. C followed me into my room and we kept talking. I decided I was going to take a bath in my "fancy" bathtub and told him to turn around while I got changed. I changed into a towel and put my hair up... I started walking towards the bathtub when I realized it was too tall for me to get into without help. C was happy to help me... but when I reached the second tier, I kinda tripped and fell. My towel started to slip off of me and I was EXTREMELY embarrassed, especially with C there. It didn't seem to bother him and he helped me back up... he had this look in his eyes...
And then my freakin' alarm went off.
And just when it was getting good, too!
We were all on a boat/yacht/huge ship. There were a bunch of people from high school there, even some that went to middle school with us. I was standing near the bar when I noticed B walking by. I was so excited! I waved him down and started talking to him. From the bar, J saw me talking to him and freaked out. She ran right over to where we were and started talking to him, attempting to kick me out of the conversation. I was slightly upset; he seemed very into me and not into her, but J didn't see that. J wanted him all for herself, just like she always. Just then, the ship hit some choppy water and everyone on the boat felt it. I bumped right into B and turned a little red in the cheeks. He just smiled; he didn't mind at all. J picked up right where she left off with B... I couldn't get a word in no matter what I tried.
I decided to head back to my room to relax. My room was at the very front of the boat. I could look out the window and see the water hitting the front of the boat. My room had a bathroom attached, which included a large bathtub with a huge faucet, waterfall ledges, rose petals, rose quartz, pebbles, and a water fountain feature (the round globe that spun with water moving it). It was shaped similar to this:
But it didn't have such big spaces inbetween the levels. Instead, the levels were right on top of each other. The individual levels each had their own design/pattern. The top level was the actual bathtub. It was filled with small pebbles so one could take a bath, but still be able to have other people in the room that couldn't see you nekkid. This was where the water globe was; it was directly under the faucet, but above the water level. The second tier was filled with more pebbles (both black and white), rose quartz, and rose petals. The third tier was mostly water, but there were a few small sections of black pebbles and rose petals. When the water hit the bottom of the third tier, there was a pump that pumped it out.
For whatever reason, however, my bathroom on the boat did not have a toilet. Luckily, the room next door to mine was K's room and our rooms were joined by our bathrooms... so I went into K's bathroom. His bathroom had a pedestal sink and two toilets. Unfortunately, the seat was broken on one of them (in fact, the whole toilet was broken) and the other was more like a urinal than a toilet. Well, I had to go, so I used the broken toilet. I tried to squat over it, but that didn't work very well, especially on a boat that was going thru choppy water. Oddly enough, while I was in the bathroom, K decided he had to go too and used the other toilet. Even more oddly enough, C decided to join us; he took a seat on the sink and joined our conversation.
After the talk, K went into his room and I went into mine. C followed me into my room and we kept talking. I decided I was going to take a bath in my "fancy" bathtub and told him to turn around while I got changed. I changed into a towel and put my hair up... I started walking towards the bathtub when I realized it was too tall for me to get into without help. C was happy to help me... but when I reached the second tier, I kinda tripped and fell. My towel started to slip off of me and I was EXTREMELY embarrassed, especially with C there. It didn't seem to bother him and he helped me back up... he had this look in his eyes...
And then my freakin' alarm went off.
And just when it was getting good, too!
Monday, November 03, 2008
Happy Birthday, Colby!
He is my child, by proxy, after all. :)
And in honor of his 7th birthday (I feel old), I thought I would write him a note, since I can't be there to celebrate with him on this momentous occasion.
Colby,
Happy Birthday. I hope you had a good day and an even better night with your cousins. I'm glad you had chocolate cake and that it was good. I'm sorry that I couldn't be there to celebrate with you tonight, but now that I live in Portland, it's harder to come and see you. I miss you everyday and I can't wait until my next visit to Los Angeles. Be good to your mom, as always, and give Meeka a snuggle for me (but not too tight)!
Love you... Miss you...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
In honor of this special occasion, I thought I would post some pictures of Colby... through the years...
And in honor of his 7th birthday (I feel old), I thought I would write him a note, since I can't be there to celebrate with him on this momentous occasion.
Colby,
Happy Birthday. I hope you had a good day and an even better night with your cousins. I'm glad you had chocolate cake and that it was good. I'm sorry that I couldn't be there to celebrate with you tonight, but now that I live in Portland, it's harder to come and see you. I miss you everyday and I can't wait until my next visit to Los Angeles. Be good to your mom, as always, and give Meeka a snuggle for me (but not too tight)!
Love you... Miss you...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
In honor of this special occasion, I thought I would post some pictures of Colby... through the years...
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Office Thoughts
Tomorrow, Peggy (my boss) is sending in a lady that is going to WATCH ME all day. She's going to watch what I do, listen to what I say, see how I interact with the patients, and then critique me and give Peg the "inside scoop." Peggy has basically hired a "Practice Manager" to tell her what's wrong in the office and give her advice as to what she should do. This lady is also available to "guide" and educate me and my co-worker.
Yay. Tomorrow is NOT going to be fun.
Kirksey (my co-worker) and I have decided that we're going to "let go" on this lady. She is here to get our input as to what's going on in the office... so here it is:
1. Peg wants us to call people back 2-3 times to get the "correct" message across.
2. Peg wants us to call people back that came in/had supplements mailed to them to see how their health is.
3. Peg wants us to call people who discontinue automatic refills to see how their health is.
4. Peg wants us to call people who haven't been in for a while 2-3 times and let them know it's been a while and she'd like to see them.
Do you see a pattern? We are harassing our patients, almost. Sure, it's a doctor's office and we need to call our patients to check-in on them, but damn, it's getting excessive. Patients don't want to call during office hours anymore because they're afraid of being bombarded with questions like, "How's your health?" "Why are you canceling?" "Would you like to reschedule?" over and over. It's getting old.
Peggy also wants me to use a script, word for word, whenever I talk to patients. I'm sorry, but there's not a script for EVERYTHING. There is not a script for angry patients that don't want to talk to me on the phone. There is not a script a lot of things...
Oh, and what to do with patients who I've called twice and left messages for and never received a call back? I'll ask her that tomorrow. I'll also be asking her about "The Gunt," our other co-worker, AKA "The Biller." She is always making/receiving personal cell phone calls at the office, including leaving her ringer on at a very high level with a very annoying pitch. She also doesn't know how to take messages or how to water plants, apparently. She doesn't bill correctly and she sends insurance claims to PATIENTS, and not just the patients' claim, but other patients as well. She's horrible at her job. She needs to be canned. But Peg won't do it for whatever reason.
Here's my opinion (and she doesn't have to pay me extra for this):
1. Fire the Gunt.
2. Keep Kirksey at part-time status, for MA and pharmacy purposes.
3. Make me salary at $14/hr. and train me to do billing on Mondays and Thursdays.
4. Hire me a part-time "assistant" for Mondays and Thursdays (1/2 day, each day).
5. Revise scripts to make them less like a script, more like a conversation.
6. STOP NITPICKING EVERYTHING THAT GOES ON WITHIN THE OFFICE!
Simple. Done. Easy.
And no bothersome "shoulder-peering" necessary.
Yay. Tomorrow is NOT going to be fun.
Kirksey (my co-worker) and I have decided that we're going to "let go" on this lady. She is here to get our input as to what's going on in the office... so here it is:
1. Peg wants us to call people back 2-3 times to get the "correct" message across.
2. Peg wants us to call people back that came in/had supplements mailed to them to see how their health is.
3. Peg wants us to call people who discontinue automatic refills to see how their health is.
4. Peg wants us to call people who haven't been in for a while 2-3 times and let them know it's been a while and she'd like to see them.
Do you see a pattern? We are harassing our patients, almost. Sure, it's a doctor's office and we need to call our patients to check-in on them, but damn, it's getting excessive. Patients don't want to call during office hours anymore because they're afraid of being bombarded with questions like, "How's your health?" "Why are you canceling?" "Would you like to reschedule?" over and over. It's getting old.
Peggy also wants me to use a script, word for word, whenever I talk to patients. I'm sorry, but there's not a script for EVERYTHING. There is not a script for angry patients that don't want to talk to me on the phone. There is not a script a lot of things...
Oh, and what to do with patients who I've called twice and left messages for and never received a call back? I'll ask her that tomorrow. I'll also be asking her about "The Gunt," our other co-worker, AKA "The Biller." She is always making/receiving personal cell phone calls at the office, including leaving her ringer on at a very high level with a very annoying pitch. She also doesn't know how to take messages or how to water plants, apparently. She doesn't bill correctly and she sends insurance claims to PATIENTS, and not just the patients' claim, but other patients as well. She's horrible at her job. She needs to be canned. But Peg won't do it for whatever reason.
Here's my opinion (and she doesn't have to pay me extra for this):
1. Fire the Gunt.
2. Keep Kirksey at part-time status, for MA and pharmacy purposes.
3. Make me salary at $14/hr. and train me to do billing on Mondays and Thursdays.
4. Hire me a part-time "assistant" for Mondays and Thursdays (1/2 day, each day).
5. Revise scripts to make them less like a script, more like a conversation.
6. STOP NITPICKING EVERYTHING THAT GOES ON WITHIN THE OFFICE!
Simple. Done. Easy.
And no bothersome "shoulder-peering" necessary.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Ugh.
I can't help myself, folks. I'm sorry. Here comes another political rant. I watched the debate tonight. The whole thing. And I've come to ONE decision:
Obama NEEDS to win.
McCain seems like a sore loser already. McCain would attack Obama... Obama would set the record straight... McCain would continue to say the same attack over and over, regardless of what Obama said. McCain told "Joe the plumber" that he's going to have to pay a fee on his health care when 5 SECONDS EARLIER Obama said there was NO FEE. Sheesh, does the old man need hearing aids?!
Now... this is what hit my sore spot. Teaching. Education. As an educated person... someone who has been to college for 6 years to become a teacher (and who still isn't finished), someone who has taken SEVERAL state mandated and standardized tests, someone who has a teaching credential in three different states...
... TO LET A SOLDIER STRAIGHT OUT OF SERVICE BE ALLOWED TO TEACH WITH NO COLLEGE PREPARATION AND NO STATE MANDATED TESTS... is a crime to our children in the current education system.
"We need to encourage programs such as Teach for America and Troops to Teachers where people, after having served in the military, can go right to teaching and not have to take these examinations which -- or have the certification that some are required in some states." ~McCain 10/15/08
In fact, it should be illegal according to No Child Left Behind, which McCain supports and wants to "reform and re-fund," to make it better than before. No Child Left Behind is the ONLY reason why I had to take as many state mandated tests as I did. It's the reason so many people/teachers have had to go back to college to "re-learn" material to continue to teach and to prove their competence as a teacher/educator. Without NCLB, teacher testing would not be as severe as it is today and more stupid teachers would be permitted to teach our children (even though some have managed to slip thru the cracks...).
Now, either McCain has his facts screwed up... or his Troops to Teachers policy is a bunch of bullshit.
Obama NEEDS to win.
McCain seems like a sore loser already. McCain would attack Obama... Obama would set the record straight... McCain would continue to say the same attack over and over, regardless of what Obama said. McCain told "Joe the plumber" that he's going to have to pay a fee on his health care when 5 SECONDS EARLIER Obama said there was NO FEE. Sheesh, does the old man need hearing aids?!
Now... this is what hit my sore spot. Teaching. Education. As an educated person... someone who has been to college for 6 years to become a teacher (and who still isn't finished), someone who has taken SEVERAL state mandated and standardized tests, someone who has a teaching credential in three different states...
... TO LET A SOLDIER STRAIGHT OUT OF SERVICE BE ALLOWED TO TEACH WITH NO COLLEGE PREPARATION AND NO STATE MANDATED TESTS... is a crime to our children in the current education system.
"We need to encourage programs such as Teach for America and Troops to Teachers where people, after having served in the military, can go right to teaching and not have to take these examinations which -- or have the certification that some are required in some states." ~McCain 10/15/08
In fact, it should be illegal according to No Child Left Behind, which McCain supports and wants to "reform and re-fund," to make it better than before. No Child Left Behind is the ONLY reason why I had to take as many state mandated tests as I did. It's the reason so many people/teachers have had to go back to college to "re-learn" material to continue to teach and to prove their competence as a teacher/educator. Without NCLB, teacher testing would not be as severe as it is today and more stupid teachers would be permitted to teach our children (even though some have managed to slip thru the cracks...).
Now, either McCain has his facts screwed up... or his Troops to Teachers policy is a bunch of bullshit.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
hmmm...?
So I heard this the other day on the radio and IMMEDIATELY got pissed off. I already hate the woman, and now this:
“I’m reading on my Starbucks mocha cup, okay? The quote of the day… It was Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State and UN ambassador. ... Now she said it, I didn’t. She said, ‘There’s a place in Hell reserved for women who don’t support other women.’”
Yup, that's right. If you don't support her, you're going to a special place in hell. Palin said that at a rally recently... and here's what I found online:
And apparently Madeline Albright didn't much care for Palin misquoting her, either... and released this statement:
"Though I am flattered that Governor Palin has chosen to cite me as a source of wisdom, what I said had nothing to do with politics. This is yet another example of McCain and Palin distorting the truth, and all the more reason to remember that this campaign is not about gender, it is about which candidate has an agenda that will improve the lives of all Americans, including women. The truth is, if you care about the status of women in our society and in our troubled economy, the best choice by far is Obama-Biden."
I love the interwebs. LOL!
... and I still hate Palin.
hehe
“I’m reading on my Starbucks mocha cup, okay? The quote of the day… It was Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State and UN ambassador. ... Now she said it, I didn’t. She said, ‘There’s a place in Hell reserved for women who don’t support other women.’”
Yup, that's right. If you don't support her, you're going to a special place in hell. Palin said that at a rally recently... and here's what I found online:
And apparently Madeline Albright didn't much care for Palin misquoting her, either... and released this statement:
"Though I am flattered that Governor Palin has chosen to cite me as a source of wisdom, what I said had nothing to do with politics. This is yet another example of McCain and Palin distorting the truth, and all the more reason to remember that this campaign is not about gender, it is about which candidate has an agenda that will improve the lives of all Americans, including women. The truth is, if you care about the status of women in our society and in our troubled economy, the best choice by far is Obama-Biden."
I love the interwebs. LOL!
... and I still hate Palin.
hehe
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
