Brainstorming

I never stop thinking. My mind is like a set of gears that are constantly moving. One thought leads to another and another. Then there are the offshoot thoughts. It is like a circulatory system that has the arteries leading to the veins and then the capillaries. I had an idea that I consider the artery. It is a bracelet with a saying in it. Then it led to another version which is a bracelet with a child's information in it. That is the vein. Now I have to make it age appropriate so I am at the capillary stage. Sometime the gears move so much that they make my head hurt. I guess it is better than having them stop running and getting rusty.

Movies

Every Saturday morning I go online and reserve a movie for my husband to watch later that night. We use the Red Box machines. He gives me a choice of three movies and I rent one to be picked up during the day. As I was going through the movie choices, I realized that I am not a movie person. I have no interest in made up stories about the apocalypse, or super heroes or bank heists that have gone bad. When I see the same handful of actors playing a new role every six months, it all seems so fake. One day Matt Damon is a banker, then a lawyer, then a freedom fighter. All I see is the same guy wearing different clothes. I am a literal person and even though I have a great imagination, I just do not enjoy actor's role playing. Maybe that is why I like reality TV.

Demeanor

Some people have a nice demeanor, some do not. They might be wonderful, kind and caring people, but the way they deliver their message falls short. After fourteen years, my main receptionist's demeanor has caught up with her. Since the big "shake up" in work, my boss' eyes have opened and she can no longer tolerate the abrasive way that my receptionist presents herself. Now we have a dilemma. For fourteen years she has been the most loyal, hard working employee and those qualities made up for her nasty tone. That can no longer be. How do we handle this? My boss wanted to give her a one month leave of absence at half pay, but I said that would not be good for many reasons. If she left for a month, she might not return and she is the main person responsible for time sheets, schedules, bookkeeping and payroll. I told my boss that I would not assume any of those responsibilities. We came up with a plan that hopefully will be the one that is the least hurtful. We can move her desk to the other side of the room so she has no direct patient contact and ban her from answering phones. She will also be told to keep her mouth shut around the doctors and not boss them around as if they are children.  I know there will be a lot of tears when she is told this, but she has a pension involved and a smart person would just accept the terms of the new position.

Goals

We all set goals for ourselves.The important part of goal setting is trying hard to finish them. Years ago when I became a life coach, I wanted to do lectures. I wrote to many schools and organizations until a few responded. I went on to lecture for the NY Public Library, CW Post and a few other high schools. I still lecture for them on an as needed basis. That goal was completed. A few months ago, I started to make bracelets. They are colorful and contain inspirational sayings. My goal was to sell them in a store. Yesterday that goal was completed. I had a meeting with a store owner that has 6 locations in malls. He loved the bracelets and took all of my samples to test how they will sell in his busiest mall location. I used to stand outside that store, looking in the window and thinking that maybe one day my jewelry would sell there. Whether or not is sells is not as important to me as the fact that I was able to get it in the store. I set a goal and completed it.

Seeing It

Seeing is believing. There is an expression that says, "If you don't see it, I can't explain it". It means that sometimes you just need to see things for yourself or you will not truly be aware of the situation. The more someone else tries to explain it to you, the worse they look. They become a complainer. I saw that theory work yesterday in my office. I have been telling my boss that her newest worker is not a team player and although she agrees, she never saw it for herself. Yesterday, she did. As soon as she realized it, she "got it". No explanation was needed.

Just Be Honest

Three of my doctors are leaving the practice because they are moving out of the area. We have to assign their patients to new doctors but since we are so short staffed we have no open slots. We hired a new doctor to start on June 1st and she will need at least a week to see how we work. Patients have been calling and the doctors are afraid to call back and say that for the next few weeks there will be no therapy sessions. Considering that they are doctors, they should have the skills to explain this to the people that are calling. Yesterday an irate patient called and I happened to pick up the phone. She was yelling that no one has called her back. Instead of making up excuses or glossing over the problem, I just told her the truth. We are short staffed and have no idea who will be her new doctor, but by the second week of June she will have one. I told her that we are upset that this has happened but we are in a mess and have to dig out of it. I told the plain truth. After I told her, she said that she understood and would be glad to wait. She did not know why she was not told this two weeks ago as she would have been fine with it. What she was not fine with was having her calls ignored. I agreed with her and told her that I would have been angry too. We ended the conversation laughing. Things are simpler when you tell the truth.

Newsday

Yesterday I received the Fun Book from Newsday. I opened it and knew that I had to make a phone call to question it. My coworker, who was sitting next to me, also had the same problem so she called first. It seems that we were not paying for it, as requested,  but the delivery person puts it with all papers. Now came the other problem. It seems that she is paying $34 every eight weeks but I have been paying $47. Hmmm, why is that? I called Newsday and got a woman who gave me a "bubba meinser" about rates and coupons and promotions. I said I want $34. She said it cannot be done. I asked for a supervisor. She also said it cannot be done and she cannot review my coworker's rates. That is when my friend piped up on speaker phone to add to the argument. The woman said that there was nothing she could do. I said that I was going to go from door to door on my block, jot down rates and then call "Seven on your side" to open up a can o'worms. All of a sudden she could adjust my bill to $39. I guess that is the going rate to keep worms in a can.