BYOC

My computer in work broke. There was a debate about what to do as far as fixing it. It would take three weeks and there might be a charge if something other than the hard drive is broken. If we bought a new one, it would cost $300. Not a big investment for a large company.Yesterday I had to bring my own laptop to work. It has a small screen and I am not happy that I have to use it until the other one is returned to me.

Warranty

Sometime a warranty is just not worth the effort. In work I have a new Dell computer tower. After 9 months it broke so I called  Dell to put the warranty into effect. I was on the online chat for over an hour and told that I have to send the computer back and have their tech open it to diagnose it. The turn around time is 3 weeks. If they think it is our problem, we are charged for parts and labor. My issue is that there is personal work related information in the hard drive and I have no idea who the tech will be. I would rather spend $300 on a new tower than to compromise patient information. I told this to my boss and I am waiting for her answer.

Past Comparisons

If we took today's news and internet standards and applied them to past generations, I would be surprised to see what we find. Any president prior to the year 2000 was allowed to do whatever he wanted to and was protected by his staff and the media. No one was privy to the inner workings of anyone in the public eye. They did as they pleased and things were covered up. If we look back to the 1960's and held President Kennedy up to today's internet standards, we would be reviled. First there would be the uproar of a president making his brother Attorney General. Then there would be the articles and tweets about male celebrities with underworld ties being invited to the White House to be wined and dined. Next would be the investigation of Marilyn Monroe being secretly invited into the White House and then publicly singing to the president with hidden undertones. We then would have daily updates on her death with tabloid headlines pointing fingers. We would investigate the wheelings and dealings of an administration where the two top leaders did not get along well. The public can take any person's life and turn it upside down if doubt is placed upon it. We are living in a Salem Witch Hunt society where once blame is placed it is seen worldwide. Every day more accusations are coming out and now that some of them are being proven to be false, it diminishes the importance of the true ones.

Number Six

In a little while I will be driving to Brooklyn to pick up my parents and bring them to see their sixth great grandchild. Even though my father still drives, we have limited him to local roads only and not parkways. He still feels he can do the drive to my neighborhood but I ignore his wishes. It is not a big deal for me to go get them. This afternoon they will meet the newest addition to the family. The family is lucky that both my mother and father will be able to walk on their own two feet to see her. Not everyone at 94 years old can do that. Even though it is cloudy out I feel like the sun is shining on me.

Getting Back To Normal

For the past few months things have been out of sorts. I had three family situations to deal with and they weighed heavy on my heart. Two of them have resolved with the best outcomes. The last one is stable and maintaining. I kept using the term, "Grow, Heal, Maintain". Things are calmer now and I can concentrate on the maintaining issues. I just want to keep things as they are without losing any ground for as long as I can.

Cheese

Last night I had ravioli for dinner. Years ago there were two choices, either cheese or meat. Lately I have noticed that even buying ravioli has become a complicated decision. There are chicken, squash, seafood, meat, spinach, sausage, mushroom and cheese raviolis. Within the cheese option there are more choices. There is cheese, three cheese, four cheese and five cheese. To me cheese is cheese. I have no idea why I need to have three, four or five cheeses. They all taste the same. They get boiled and have sauce on them. Why does everything need to be so complicated?

Good Night's Sleep

Sometimes all we need is a good night's sleep. I was never one to fall asleep easily because my mind keeps going even though my body is tired. I envy the people that can sleep anywhere. When I fly, I am usually seated next to someone who falls asleep on take off and wakes up upon landing. If the plane rocks, they are unaware. I am there worrying for them. Some people boast that they fall asleep as soon as their head hits the pillow. They must have nothing to think about.

Too Many Cooks

There is an expression that too many cooks spoil the broth. That theory works in all places. Too many people involving themselves in one task makes things harder. My office does our banking the normal way. We charge people's charge cards, collect cash and checks. Then we go to the bank and deposit it. We get the statements at the end of the month and settle the books. We recently found out that Dr. Crazy ordered herself a check scanner and thinks she will be scanning checks directly into her account. If she does that, how will the bookkeeper reconcile the daily books? If a check is returned, how will we know? If someone pays in cash will she be the one driving to the bank? She never thought of these questions prior to ordering the machine. My bookkeeper is about to stop doing this doctor's books and let them become ruined. I agree.

Cold Case

A cold case has been solved. After almost one year I now know who deleted me from a work account. When Dr. Crazy first arrived at my office, I was the administrator of her electronic account. Her assistant came to work with us and within a week I realized that I was deleted. I asked who did it. My boss also asked who did it. Dr. Crazy swore that she was so computer illiterate that even if she wanted to do it she would not know how. Her assistant also swore that she did not do it as she was new there and since I was her manager she would never do that. It went back and forth and we left it as her assistant did it under orders of Dr. Crazy. From that moment on, I never went in to the system again. I was on a Dr. Crazy work stoppage and have remained that way since. I do not work for liars. Flash forward to yesterday. The assistant was training the newest girl and needed to add her onto the electronic system as a user. She realized that she could not do it because she had now been removed as an administrator. She was so upset. She called me immediately and said that this now proved that she had nothing to do with deleting me. Dr. Crazy was obviously capable of the act and lied about it. Case closed.

Routine

Today I am returning to work after being off for a few days. Even though I was there last Wednesday, I feel like I have been away for a long time. When I left work Wednesday, I had two granddaughters. When I return today, I have three. I have not had a regular routine for the past few months because I had three situations to deal with. Two of them are resolved, so now I can focus on just one. My mind is still on high alert and I think it will take a while to calm down.

Visitng

This morning we are off to Brooklyn. We are now in a Sunday visiting routine. We bring lunch and have a nice visit. We go through mail and tie up every loose end of the week. We make sure things will run smoothly until next Sunday.

Names

My four grandchildren have wonderful names. They are all names that have been used through the generations and are being used more now than before. Names go through cycles. Nothing shocking or thought provoking. Nothing that will make them stand out or be whispered about. A celebrity just had a baby and the name is odd. It is after a city. Her other child's name was after a direction. What's with that? It is to stand out and be talked about? I like names that are nouns. Not verbs or adjectives or nouns that are things. Maybe people should consider naming a child doorpost or salad bowl or maybe even  street curb. Then they could be called Dori or Sally or Curbi. There used to be a song called "The Name Game". Sally, Sally Bo Bally.....

A Little Late

My blog is a little late this morning. I have been watching my grandson while his sister and parents are in the hospital. I forgot how a morning routine for a four year old is. He got up and dressed and ate breakfast, all on time. He played a bit and he was off to school. All of this took an hour but I did not want to take away time to write. If I did, it would have delayed things and we were on a roll. It is nice to have a child in the house again. I always tell people that my vision of paradise is being alone with the four grandchildren for a few days. No one else but us.

Serendipitous

She is here! I have heard the word serendipitous used before and it applies beautifully to this story. Thirty four years ago yesterday, my husband walked me into the hospital to have my son. Thirty four years later, to the day, he walked my son's wife into the hospital to have their daughter. She was born eighteen days early and wieighs 6lbs 10 oz. She is a healthy baby girl. She is the best birthday present that my son could ever wish for.

Happy 34th

Today is my younger son's birthday. Thirty four years ago, at 7:12am, a beautiful baby boy was born. Years later, he is waiting for his beautiful baby to be born. I see my children age but I do not see myself age. I can remember the day he was born as if it literally was yesterday. I can remember the conversations, what we ate, the OR room and the doctors and nurses. I remember them putting him on a warming tray with tiny sunglass shades. I remember the little beanie he wore while he was sun bathing. He looked like a burger platter in a restaurant being heated until it was ready to be served. He has turned into a wonderful man, husband and father. I am very proud of him. Happy Birthday D.

Picky, Picky, Picky

The saga continues. Two more interviewees were tossed to the wind. One was a perfectly nice, well educated, professional woman. There was nothing wrong with her. I have no idea why the "bosses" thought she would not be a good fit. The other candidate I did not like. She told me she was fired from her last job because she argued with the doctors and then informed me she was Bi Polar. That's a good way to start an interview at a psychiatrist's office. "I want the job and by the way, I have mental heath care issues". I suggested we go on Match.com because we seem to be looking for love and not a receptionist.

Incompetence Calls

This morning I have to make four calls to people that are incompetent in order to fix the messes they have made. I do not understand how people run their businesses. If they need to make a call, why don't they? If you pay them for their services, how do they take your check, cash your check, never post it to your account and then send you a "past due bill"? Twice. I have paid my alarm company for two three month periods and both times they cashed the check and never posted the payment. I notified them at the last cycle that they did it and they said it was a computer problem and they would fix it. Now I have a statement with two open balances. If you settle your books each day, your numbers should have been off. If it happens once, it is a mistake. If it happens twice, it is a pattern. I am thinking of cancelling their services. I do not have time for these types of nonsensical issues.

Week By Week

Today marks the thirty seventh week. This means that my baby granddaughter will not be born a preemie baby. It is a milestone for us. I never had a worry about my two older granddaughters but since the new baby's brother was born at 31 weeks, each week of this pregnancy was carefully watched. At this point she is fully developed and we are praying for a healthy easy delivery whenever God intends it to be.

Too Many Pages

When I first started this blog, it was with the intention of writing it for a year and then having it printed out in book form for my children. Seven years and four grandchildren later, I am still writing it. The printing out as a book option is not really viable now as it would be 30 cents a page and I have over 2400 entries. Even if it is 2.5 entries a page, that would put the cost to upwards of $300. If I include the cost of the book plus the extra pages plus shipping, I am most likely looking at $500. I do not think that it is worth $500 even though my heart wants it. There is a PDF option that I guess means you print it on your own paper, so Maybe I will consider that

Job Security

Is someone's job secure or are they secure in their job? These are two different mindsets. Most people with job security work in unions or have contracts. They cannot be terminated unless there is a huge problem. People who are secure in their jobs are not bound in any way but know that what they do makes them valuable and they will not be easily replaced. Today I have assigned one of my newest receptionists with the task of interviewing a possible candidate. No one other than I has ever done interviewing, but since it is my day off and we are getting desperate, I asked her to fill in. I am slowly showing this girl what I do because I know that I will not be working there forever. She was hired under bad circumstances as she was the nutty doctor's assistant, but now she is a trusted employee. She is part of the office team. I am not afraid that by showing her some managerial responsibilities. she will take, or for that matter even want, my job. I am just glad that I finally have someone that can step in when I am not there.

Gut Instinct

My gut instinct was correct. The potential new hire never called. Everyone tried making excuses for her. I tried calling her cell phone once and it was shut off. One person said that maybe her phone was shut while her child slept. One person said that maybe her phone lost its charge. One said maybe it was totally broken. I said that she was an inconsiderate girl who was trying to stall time to see if she had any other offers. If she really wanted the job and her cell phone was out of commission she had many options. She could have called from her house phone, her mother's phone, any friends phone or emailed. Even if she did not want the job, a phone call was the proper etiquette since we already offered her the job. Now if she calls, I will not take her call. She showed a character flaw that I cannot overlook.

Decision

After many resumes, we interviewed a person that everyone liked. Yesterday the woman spent two hours being shuffled around four people's schedules. All agreed that she was a good fit for the office. When I took her back in to my office to discuss the terms of employment I was very surprised when she told me that she had another interview set for later that day and would need to think about which job she was going to take. We have no other applicant so if she declines, we are back to square one. My gut instinct is that she will take the other job.

Geneaology

I have always been interested in genealogy. I like to get to the root of things and have always been curious about mine. I have a binder on everything I could find out about my great grandparents and have some of the loose ends tied up. I am still missing a few but do not know how to search more. Last night my 23 and Me gene testing kit arrived in the mail. I have provided a saliva sample and in 8 weeks will know my families genetic background. I know that my direct decedents are Eastern European but I have no idea where the previous generations originated from. It will not make a difference in my life but it will fill a curiosity in my mind. It will be another piece of information to add to the binder of my family's history.

Thawing Out

Today begins the thaw out. Temperatures will rise into the thirties. Usually the term plunge comes before the words "into the thirties" but this season we are working backwards. It has been a brutal few weeks and finally there is a break in the weather. This morning I only have  2 layers of clothes on as I go to work.

Dreaming

Every night I dream. I solve the world's problems and figure out the meaning of life. Then I wake up and forget what happened. Last night I had many odd dreams. In one of them, I was on a beach and looking for a bathroom. For some reason, bathrooms are common dreams. As I was standing on the bathroom line, I started talking to the women ahead of and behind me. I said that the bathroom line for the women's room is an "ancient ritual" Everyone seemed to love that statement and it opened up a conversation. We all agreed that if the line was long and slow, people would start talking to each other and bond. These would be people that we normally would never speak to. The concept was astounding and I felt like Socrates. Then I woke up with a headache and went about my day.

Layers

It is bitterly brutally cold out there. Colder than I ever remember. I need to hang on until Wednesday when warmer weather will arrive. Until then I will layer. I will wear as many layers as I can put on without choking myself. I might walk funny, but at least I will be warm.

Download

There is a rule in my house that my husband is not allowed to do anything "fancy" on the computer. By "fancy" I mean anything other than read email and look on ebay. Anytime he does more than that he creates a problem that takes me a while to shovel out of. He is expecting a package and wanted to track it. Without asking me, he tried to locate his package. Instead he went in to a phony browser and changed my computer's defaults. This comes on the heels of last week's fiasco of him getting into another site that froze the computer and then he called the 800 number to discuss it. Thankfully he hung up the phone without giving information and it only took me 1/2 hour to set the computer right again. This was at 11pm. Last night's problem was fixed after three tries and we reviewed his computer rights. I hope that he listens this time as I am getting tired of being a computer tech.

Day Off

I did not go to work today. I never even got up to look outside and make that decision. The decision was made last night. Years ago I would wait until the morning to evaluate the situation. The new me doesn't. I will no longer go to work in inclement weather. I think of my own safety and well being first.

Not Here, Not There

It is the first week of January. This is a month that is not here and not there. It is a simple, boring month. There are no holidays to look forward to and prepare for. The next holiday is Valentine's Day and that is a month away. January is almost a sad month. It has the holiday let down and the nothing to look forward to feel. If you mix it with freezing cold and possible snow, it almost wears a frown. Poor January.

Deep Freeze

We are still in a deep freeze. Today starts the 2018 work year and the weather is not helping things. I am still on the hunt for the perfect receptionist and I have an interview set for today. I am betting that she does not show up. She was a bit distracted on the phone call when we set the appointment so I do not have any confidence that she will come in. Years ago I would care. In 2018 I do not. 2017 was a deal changer in my office. It showed that the income from a crazy doctor was more important than the happiness of loyal workers. You reap what you sow and the only thing that is being sown in ambivalence.

2018

It is the first day of 2018 and other than the calendar, nothing has changed. It is still cold outside. The Yahoo news is scrolling the same nonsense that it did yesterday. I will still be going out food shopping in an hour. I like it that way. I have realized over the years that I like simplicity and consistency. It is easy to please me. Basically leave me alone and don't screw up my things. I did not need much in 2017 and will not need much in 2018. The things I need are health and family and enough money to make ends meet. That's it. The clothes I wear or the shoes on my feet need to fulfill one purpose and that is to keep me warm. My house needs to keep me safe and sheltered. My family needs to give me love. If given the chance to change places with a billionaire, I would decline. All of their money could not give me more than I already have.