Smartest One

Why work for someone else if you can work for yourself? Some people are lucky and have the type of profession where they can be self employed. I work for a group of psychologists and that is one of the professions that can be independent. For some reason, no one in my group has tried that. These are young people who can start a private practice by just renting a desk in someone's office space. There is minimal overhead. Desk, phone, paper, file folders and a laptop computer. They have to carry the same malpractice insurance wherever the are. No one does it. I ask them why, but no one has a good answer. Last year we had a young woman work for us. She had been with us as a grad student intern and chose my office for her post doc externship. After a few weeks, she became disillusioned and opted out of her 4 year contract. She went on to become a full professor at a local college and called me a few weeks ago for advice about opening her own practice. Finally, someone is sensible. She became licensed as soon as it was allowable and is ready to go out on her own. I told her that I would guide her as to how to run her office and do the billing. She is the youngest of the doctors, but she is the smartest one.

4 out of 5

I placed an ad on Craigslist offering a part time job. It was for 2 evenings a week and Saturday morning. The hours and salary were clearly stated. I received almost twenty responses and called each person back. Five people returned my call. I went over the specifics of the job and asked if they would like to set up an interview. They all said yes, happily. I scheduled two interviews for Tuesday and three for Wednesday. Only one girl showed up. The other four never even had the consideration to call and cancel. I did not really care that they did not show, but I was annoyed that they did not cancel. The girl that did show was nice and smart and personable, so I hired her. If I were to do a statistical analysis of the event, it would show that 80% of Americans are inconsiderate and do not take employment serious. How sad.

Great Gatsby

Last night I went to the movies with friends. I do not go to the movies often, so I was glad to go. We saw The Great Gatsby. I remember reading the book many years ago and loved it. As we all know, the movie is never as good as the book because some visions in our minds play out better than visions on the screen. I liked the movie but I did not love it. The acting was good, the scenery was good, the music was entertaining but over all something was lacking. All night I though about it. Then it dawned on me. Many of the scenes were almost like caricatures. The colors were too bold. The music was too fast and loud and some parts were almost like 3D with objects and people flying towards you. I like realism. I do not like too much fanfare when it does not enhance a storyline. At times the movie seemed frenzied. I would have preferred a toned down version. I think I might rent the version with Robert Redford and see the difference.

Cinnamon

I have been having an ant problem. For the past two years as Spring approaches, the march of the ants begins. Hundreds of tiny baby ants begin to take over my kitchen. They walk all over the counter and get into any food that is left out. I have tried ant spray and ant traps and nothing has helped. One day, during one of my lectures, a student told the class that ants hate cinnamon. I had never heard this. She said that for some reason they have an aversion to it and they will let the nest know to steer clear of the area. I went home and poured some cinnamon into a dish and put it on the counter. Miraculously, the ants stopped coming out. It had been one month and not one ant has appeared. Sometimes the home remedies are the best ones.

Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day. It is a beautiful day. Sunny, bright and cool. I thought it might be warm enough for the beach, but if it is cool here it must be cold at the shore. Every year my town has its annual parade. People walk for about a mile from the high school to the town square. The boy scouts walk, the girl scouts walk and most of the sports clubs walk. The baseball club has its own parade on their opening day, so they do not participate. The most special of the parade walkers are the war veterans. When I first started going to the parade, there were World War 2 veterans. I do not think they are still around since they would be in their 80's at least. There are the Korean War vets, the Jewish War vets and the Vietnam War vets. People always applaud loudest for them, as a way to show that they are appreciated. Unfortunately, no one applauded when they returned home originally. So, a happy and healthy day to all and enjoy whatever plans you have.

Sun-Day

This morning I woke up to a spotlight in my eyes. It was the bright sunshine coming through my bedroom window that placed itself directly on my eyes. As I opened my eyes, I heard the wind outside. Although it is almost summer, the weather has been strange. I had a spring time outfit planned for today, but I am now wearing winter clothes. At 10am I am off to Brooklyn to visit my parents. Even though it is only 30 miles away, it feels like a "getaway". The neighborhood they live in has turned more ethnic, specifically Chinese and Russian. You can purchase things there that you cannot find on Long Island. That is half the fun of going there. You never know what you will find. One thing that I am sure will be there are two loving parents. I am so very lucky, that at 57 years old, I can say that.

Un-Suitable

Today is the start of Memorial Day weekend. It is raining and feels like 30 degrees. It is the kick off of the summer season for all resort towns. This year people will not be in bathing suits. The weather feels more like they should be wearing snowsuits. Outdoor barbeques will be transformed into indoor get togethers. Hopefully by tomorrow the clouds will clear and the sun will shine.