Odd Pricing

Since it is the beginning of the year, it is time to order basic accounting supplies. I always order from the same company because they print the specific ledger sheet that we use. Each year, when I order it, the same option pops up. If I want 12 sheets, it costs $25.99. If I want 25 sheets, it costs $25.99. That's right. It is the same price for 12 or 25. I have no idea who would be that careless and order 12 when you get 13 free. If you only use a few a year, they should still buy more and save it for another year. I wonder if the price went on the website incorrectly years ago and no one ever checked it. I guess I will never know. I will just keep ordering 25.

Sleep

I have not slept a full night since May 2, 1980. That was the night before my wedding. After that, I had to adjust to a time schedule that included my husband working nights, then babies that got up every two hours. It is now 32 years later and my body no longer has the capacity to fall asleep and stay asleep. I choose not to take any medications to help, as I want a natural sleep not a drugged one. Instead of sleeping, I lie in bed and think. And think. And think. Sometimes I think so much that I wake up with a pounding headache. That is how I feel this morning. Once I take two Excedrin, I will be good to go. I think I need to get a night job and see if I could sleep days.

Levels of Crazy

The other day I was discussing how people react to adversity. Some take bad news well and some react poorly. Good news and bad news are concrete ideas to cope with. Uncertainty is the killer. As calm of a person as I am, when I hear bad news, I like to kick it up a notch and act like a maniac. In the end, the bad news turns out fine so all I have done is wasted my time acting crazy and irrational. Acting that way, obviously helps me deal with an unpleasant situation and calms me down. Maybe acting crazy is really sane.

Two Slices

I just came home from a local deli named The Meadow Dairy. They have lost me as a customer, forever, over 2 slices of cheese. I have been going there for 30 years and continued going there when the new owners took over about 6 years ago. Here is what led to my boycott: I went to get lunch and ordered 2 sandwiches. I also ordered 2 buttered rolls. Then it happened...I asked for 1/8 lb of Swiss cheese. The owner said, "No". Huh? No? I said, "You won't give me 1/8 lb of cheese?"  He said, "No, I will only sell you 1/4 lb". Had I not been in a rush, I would have put down all of my items and walked out. The other worker behind the counter looked at me and said he would give me the 1/8 lb. The owner then chimed in, Only this one time". I took my order and went to the counter to pay. I then said, In this economy, with businesses failing, you would lose a customer over 2 slices of cheese?" His wife, who was also behind the counter started to stare at the wall. I then told her that the least I would expect from anyone is for them to have the courtesy to look me in the eyes when I speak. I paid and took my bag and as I left I told them goodbye.....forever.

De Coding

Our government has taken over healthcare and it is not a good thing. HMO's and locked in plans are being forced upon us and with that comes a decrease in fees that are paid to the doctors. I know that in previous years doctors fees were a bit over inflated but now things have reversed. Office visits that Medicare used to pay $130 for are now being paid at the rate of $64. Considering our level of inflation, that is an unfair schedule. Doctors are now trying to interpret the coding rules in order to get a higher reimbursement. My employer wants me to follow what the others are doing. I refused. If my name is attached to the billing records, I will only bill what is correct. No deviations. I explained that yesterday, in no uncertain terms. Taking a risk, for a higher payout, is never worth it in the long run.

Not My Buddy

For lack of anything better to do, I began to watch a marathon of the television show "Next Great Baker". The show is an offshoot of Cake Boss, a show about a man named Buddy, who owns a bakery in Hoboken, NJ. It is a specialty bake shop that makes amazing cakes. The show was entertaining until they got to one specific challenge. Each team of bakers had to duplicate a cake that was made by Buddy. It had to be perfect and look good enough to be a cake he would sell in his shop. Each team started to reproduce the cakes to see who could create the most and win the challenge. As each cake was finished, Buddy inspected them. If it was good, he put it on the table. If it did not pass inspection, he tossed it into a garbage pail. One by one, the cakes were forcefully tossed into the garbage. In total 11 cakes were discarded and 7 passed muster. For some reason as I saw him toss each cake, I found myself getting upset. All I kept thinking about was hungry people who had no food to eat, and this man tossing cakes aside like garbage, all because they did not look picture perfect. A total waste of edible food. In a flash, I saw why people look at Americans as shallow, wasteful people. Eleven cakes could have been cut into 88 slices and fed 88 thankful people. Instead they sat in a heap, in a black hefty bag. I do not think I will watch this show again.

Happy New Year

Happy 2013. I cannot believe how fast 2012 went. A lot happened in 2012, so maybe that is why it flew by. I spent New Years Eve just the way I like it. At home and quietly. I was never a person for fanfare and revelry. I am not a party animal. I am content within my own space. As I was watching television, my older son called and asked if I wanted to Skype with his family. I jumped at the opportunity and ran to the computer. Within 5 seconds, there they were....my son, daughter in law and the new baby. I felt like I was sitting in their kitchen with them, talking and laughing and watching the baby look around and move her arms and legs. Midway through our visit, she fell asleep. It seems that she had her first play group yesterday and was tired out. I have the pictures to prove it. The baby in her New Years party hat, sleeping. Unexpectedly, I spent my New Years Eve with the people I love the most, even though they are 230 miles away.