No x 3

Lately I have been getting a lot of solicitor phone calls. When I see the 866 or 877 number I know that it is not a call I want. I always try to start off polite because the person at the other end is just trying to do their job and make a living. What I do not understand is when I say "no" once, why can't they accept it. They go on and on and I say "no" twice. I do not really want to hang up on someone, but if I have to say "no" the third time, I hang up. The next time someone does not take my first "no" as the end of the conversation, I am going to ask them to explain why they want to continue the call until someone is forced to be rude.

War of the Ants

I am having a war with some tiny ants. Every few years the tiny ants come out from hiding and run rampant on my kitchen counter. There is never any food or crumbs out, so I have no idea what they are after. I have sprayed them with ant spray and wiped the counters with ammonia but they keep coming back. Years ago cinnamon used to get rid of them. This year the cinnamon only works to keep them out of the microwave. I think they spent the last two years coming up with a plan to outsmart me. I am by no means paranoid, but I think I heard them laughing at me. This morning when I woke up, there were no ants. They either got tired of harassing me or they are just sleeping late.

The Manager

One of my evening receptionists called me last night to give me a heads up that a disgruntled patient would be calling me this morning. Usually when nasty patients are told to call the manager the next day, they never do. They seem to think about it and realize that they will never get the better of me. The patient was upset that her charge card was used to pay for 2 old visits. When a new patient books an appointment I ask for their credit card number. I explain that I will never use it unless they have a visit and walk out without paying. I usually let the first unpaid visit go until they come in again. If they do it a second time, the card is charged for both visits. Imagine going to a gas station or supermarket or clothes store and taking merchandise out of it without paying. Imagine doing it twice. A doctor visit is like merchandise. You have the service and must pay for it.

Head First

I have made a correlation between swimming and the different temperaments of men and women. As I observe behaviors at the town pool, it is apparent that the differences between the sexes extends to how we enter the water. Men dive in head first. They have no idea of the water temperature or even how deep the water is. They jump first and access later. Women go in slowly and start by putting one foot into the water. If things feel right, they tread slowly as they go farther in. If it is too cold or too deep, they reevaluate before making the next move. Once things seem to be right, the next step is taken.

Cloudy Day

Before we know it, the summer will be over. Each day in the sun is precious. Today I woke up to the clouds. If it was tomorrow it would be alright, as I will be in work. Even though I do not sit in the sun, I still like to see it shine brightly. I will wait until 12pm to see if it is a pool day. Otherwise, new plans need to be formulated.

Sky

I am sitting in my den looking out of the window at the sky. I want to go to the town pool this afternoon and when I got up the sky was blue. I said I was going. Then the sky turned grey, so I said I might not. It cleared up again, so my bathing suit went on. Now it is grey. I think that Mother Nature is toying with my emotions. Last year I went to the pool on a rainy day and just sat under an awning. That might be the case today.

No Bones

I am not a complainer. I know that this is not a perfect world, so I just go with the flow. I heard a story the other day and I am still laughing about it. I have a friend who complains about everything. She scrutinizes people's behavior and motives. The other week she went to buy a veal chop in Waldbums. She bought a package that she thought would feed two people. She said it was delicious, but she was still not happy. She took the empty meat packaging back to the store the next day and asked to see the meat manager. It seems that when she opened the package, she saw the round bone that is in the veal chop. The label was placed over the bone and not in full view. She felt that it was strategically placed there to fool the purchaser into thinking that there was more meat than "met the eye". The manager offered her money back but she declined. She just wanted to make him aware of his employees deceitful practices. You can't make this stuff up!

Recognition

Everyone wants to be recognized for doing a good job. Most times we are not. I have a research volunteer that is also my front desk receptionist. She is a smart girl, in school for a second Masters Degree and works part time. She does everything well and goes above and beyond what is asked of her. I always praise her for being such a valuable worker. When she is doing research, she is extremely professional. Her Masters Degree is in psychological statistics. She created a data base and then wrote an instruction binder. She did this for no pay and much of it was done on her own time at home. Not only was she not thanked for it, the other volunteers are giving her a hard time learning it. They goof around and show up late to her meetings. Yesterday she told me she was quitting her job as she had a fight with the other volunteers and feels awkward now. Even though I am not in charge of them, I will have a meeting today and try my best to straighten things out. She is too good of a worker to lose. 

Rx's

Years ago when you needed medication, you went to your local pharmacy and got it that day. A refill would be done in a few hours. Now we need to plan. Our insurance companies want us to have 90 day supplies even if we might not need it. We have to be on our toes two weeks before the prescription comes due. If not, there would not be enough time for it to be mailed to us. Then we would have to order a "bridge" supply. It is bad enough that I have to remember my medication, but I am also responsible for my husband's. This month, he never told me that he was down to 2 pills of each. Good thing I hide a week's supply.

Living Dolls

I love to do crafting. I think of a project and then become obsessed with it. Anyone who crafts will know what I mean. You keep working and hours fly by. You want to make your project the best it can be.

Here are my newest creations. Hope you like them! There are more to come!

Passing Papers

Today my niece is taking title and closing on her house. Years ago when my son bought his house, he told me he was "passing papers". I asked what that was and he said it was when you sign papers to take title of a house. I told him that we call it "closing". I thought that the term "passing papers" was funny, but in reality it is the most specific term. All you do at closing is pass a bunch of papers from person to person to have them sign. I wish everything could be that simple. So, instead of "writing a blog", I will just "type words".

All Backed Up

I always tell people to back up their computers. Everyone agrees that it is a good idea but then they get lazy. For some reason the concept of "backing up" seems to be more than it actually is. All it takes is a small flash drive placed into a USB port. Somehow it feels like an insurance policy. Hopefully you never need it, but if you do you are covered.

Sense of Humor

I was driving with my daughter in law and grandson yesterday. She sat in the back seat with him. After a few minutes I heard giggling. It then turned into hysterical laughter. It seems that my daughter in law was making funny faces at the baby and he thought that it was very amusing. The sound of a baby laughing is one of the most wonderful sounds you can hear. At 15 months old, he has a sense of humor. His brain can distinguish serious from funny. His laugh made me smile.

Control

Being controlling can suffocate the people around you. I work with a woman who is so controlling that I needed to put a stop to it yesterday. If you say you are buying a car, she wants you to buy the brand she says. If you are going to a doctor, she wants you to go to her doctor. If you have not gone on vacation for a while, she will nag you about it. She even had the nerve to tell the doctor we work for that she was not going to give her a weekly paycheck if she did not file away her notes. She is a mix of controlling and meddling at its worst. Her only saving grace is that she is a great worker. As of yesterday, she has been cut off from all work related information other than her own job. I made this decision because she needs to realize that she is not "queen bee". Every doctor and staff member was informed that she has been put on an information lock out. I am sure I will face her wrath on Monday, but if she goes too far she will be fired.

The Calendar

Today is my son's wedding anniversary. Three years have flown by. He was married on a Sunday. For some reason I started to think about the calendar, since today is a Thursday. Every year a date moves down the line one day so three years should have put this date on Wednesday. There was a leap year so it is a Thursday. Who thought up the calendar? Who accounted for an extra day every four years to realign the year? Who decided that May should have 31 days but June should have only 30? Why was February the poor month that was totally short changed? I live in the year 2014 and am surrounded by technology. There is no way that the concept of a calendar would have ever crossed my mind. I would have said, "See you in 6 moons".

Monsoon

It has been raining for a few days. Not just regular rain, monsoon type rain. The skies opened up and down came the rain. The thunder and lightening were so intense that Shelby needed to be calmed down. If this was the Biblical days, we would thing that G-d was showing us his wrath.

No Vibes

There is one rule in life that makes things easier. Never keep your cell phone on vibrate. One of my doctors told me that his wife had a meltdown yesterday. She misplaced her cell phone. She was pretty sure she last saw it in her house. They tried calling it but she had it on vibrate. If it was on a ringtone there would have been no problem. My friend had to go onto the internet and download a tracking app to locate the phone. He saw it was in their house. They searched high and low and finally found it in his sock drawer. They assume that one of their three boys placed it there. From now on her ringtone will be on.

All the Same

We are all the same. No matter where we were born, the level of education, our nationality, our color or our gender. We are all human. I was at a fancy restaurant last night and saw how rudely the valet parker was treated. People handed their keys over and never even looked at the person they handed them to. I am an observer and like to watch human nature at its best and worst. There were no greetings, no pleasantries. I found it appalling. The man that parks your car tonight might be the man that saves your life tomorrow.

Flashback

I had a wonderful time upstate with my family yesterday. It was the kind of day you want to rewind and live again. First we went to the place where the Woodstock festival was held in Bethel, NY and then we went to the actual town of Woodstock. I had no idea that they were almost 2 hours apart. We toured the museum and saw pictures and films of the famous event. We listened to music that we had not heard in years but still remembered the words to. We then drove to the town and felt like we were in a time machine. It seemed like the town residents arrived there in 1969 and never left.....nor changed their clothes. Almost everyone there had a long grey ponytail and a beard. Even the women. The streets smelled of incense and patchouli oil. Just those smells alone brought me back to the hippie days. The weather was gorgeous and we had a nice meal followed by ice cream. Does life get better?

Picture Perfect

I woke up this morning to a picture perfect day. The sky is blue and there is not a cloud in the sky. I am going on a daycation to upstate New York and since part of the day will be outside, the weather needed to be like this. My husband thinks that the weather revolves around him and maybe it does, since whenever we go away it is beautiful.

In The Park

I went to a concert at a local park last night. I went with my family. It was so entertaining. A band from the 1960's, Herman's Hermits, performed. Peter Noone, aka Herman was so funny and lively and had the audience totally involved. Everyone in the audience knew the songs and sang along. Those are the concerts I love to go to. If I do not know the songs, I lose interest. What could be nicer than having a picnic dinner and seeing a concert under the stars?

Jack of All Trades

My employer thinks I am a jack of all trades. She relies on me for everything ranging from important business problems to her broken shoes. Yesterday, I was responsible for buying a new computer, negotiating fees for high level patients, speaking to her insurance company about her dental plan, figuring out how our office needed to be wired with new Ethernet and assessing whether or not I could fix her broken shoes. I know this sounds insane. In the midst of an important phone call, she walks up to me with a "puppy face" and asks if I can fix her favorite pair of shoes. They were missing stones and she knows I do crafting. I told her I would do my best to track down replacement stones. I went to the craft store last night and there is nothing that fits the size of the missing stones. Sometimes I just can't perform miracles.

Please Refrain

When I get into work this morning, I will be posting a sign that says,"Please Refrain From Using Cell Phones In The Waiting Area". I was hoping it would not get to this but it has. A few weeks ago there was almost a fist fight between 2 patients over one of them talking loudly on his cell phone. These were two businessmen and I would have never believed the language that came from both of them. Yesterday, a woman patient spoke so loudly that the entire staff now knows all of her personal business. When you are in a public place, just sit and wait your turn without having to amuse yourself. If you feel the need to make a call, step outside for a few minutes. We all have enough of our own problems without having to hear yours.

Life Leads

As I get older, I realize that sometimes we just need to sit back and let life lead the way. When you do that, you will be led in the right direction. I know that seems like a spiritual approach and it is. I believe that we are meant to be, where we are meant to be, in all phases of life. That does not mean that we stop trying. It just means that we must have faith that the answers will come to us in many different ways.

Decal Family

I was  riding behind a car the other day when I noticed the "Decal Family". Normally it is a group of decals in size order. This time it was just two small ones. A boy decal and a girl decal. No parents, no pets. I scrutinized the window to see if maybe the parents fell off or were removed, but there were no signs of that. It was just two kids, all alone. I don't know why, but I felt bad for them.

Pool Baby

The year flew by and here it is, pool season again. Last year my grandson was an infant and he was only able to sleep in his stroller. When it got too hot I remember wrapping him in a wet  T shirt to cool him down. This year he is old enough to enjoy the summer. He is taking swimming lessons and yesterday he went underwater for the first time. He is very social and smiles at everyone around him. Since we live in the same town, all of my friends have watched him grow. He sits with us in the adult area and then will go to the kiddie pool to swim. As each of my friends arrives at the pool, they greet everyone, including him. It's nice that they make a fuss over him and include him in the group. He is the darling of the town pool.

Ingenuity

It rained all day yesterday but we went to a barbeque anyway. As I pulled up to the house, I saw the familiar puff of smoke and smelled food cooking. I was wondering how 17 people were going to keep dry in the backyard. I walked down the driveway and turned into the yard and saw how. There were three tents all alongside of each other and a huge tarp pulled over them so that the space between the tents was covered. The tarps were then braced into the ground with stakes and bungee cords. By doing this, there was now a 30 foot covered area. We sat outside all day and into the evening, never getting wet. It shows how a bit of ingenuity and the right tools can make a big difference.

Happy 4th

Happy 4th of July. I have no idea where June went as it flew by. Many people will be having a celebration today and many more have postponed it until tomorrow. There is a bad weather system hovering around and having an indoor barbeque seems less appealing than an outdoor one. I am going to my daughter in laws parents. They are prepared with a few tents and a gazebo. Tomorrow there will be some people with one less finger than they have today. I hope everyone is careful if they light fireworks.

Sign Out

This morning when I went to write this blog, I had to sign my husband out of his email for the hundredth time. It took him years to know how to access it and he has no idea how to write an email. His main purpose is to check on his ebay orders. Any other fancy maneuvers become my problem. It isn't a big deal to sign him out, but it is a good thing he only opens his mail at home. More times than I care to remember, I have to sign out work people when they forget to do it. Leaving email open can be dangerous. I have a good code of ethics and would never look at anyone's email when it is open. That would be like checking someone's medicine cabinet. I am sure other people would love the chance to snoop. I just hit the sign out option and yell at the person who did not close out.

Best for Less

I am by no means a fashionista, but I do like to buy makeup. I have been on a year long search for an eye pencil that will not smudge under my eyes. I hate the zombie look at the end of the day. After buying most brand names and going to the specialty stores, I bought one at the Dollar Tree. Lo and behold, it is the best pencil I ever bought. L.A Colors makes the best eye pencil and it was only $1.00. As if that was not good enough, I found the best nail polish brand. I never go for a manicure as I do not like the smell of the salons. I am very sensitive to fragrances. I could be a bloodhound. I saw a beautiful lilac color polish at another dollar store and bought it. It lasted three weeks without one chip. Usually my polish chips in two days. I went back and got 2 more colors and had the same results. The polish is b.s.n. Who needs brand name makeup when you have a dollar store nearby?

The Stump

We have all heard the standing joke that when you buy a child a toy, they love to play with the box it came in. The other day I had four children at my house. I set up a few riding toys on the back lawn. I thought that would keep them busy. Last month when my husband cut down our tree, we were left with a stump. It was not able to be ground down so it sticks up about 2 inches from the grass.  I looked outside and the children were all standing on the stump. Jumping up and down and twirling. They were using it as a stage. They looked so cute on it. We took pictures of their performance.