Kevin's Watch

Cambo wrote:

Krazy Kat wrote:Maybe you find can find a smalltown somewhere and get elected mayor.

If that happens, I'm emigrating

Ha!!! be careful what you ask for

KrazyKat that is some story! When I was in college they still had printing presses with acid plates. I worked in the print shop (r u reading this, Jenn?). One day I made about 20 plates and could not get it to work. I also went ape and trashed the whole shop. I blamed it on intruders and filed a police report.

Today I got a statement in the mail. Last week I had an epidural in the spine to relieve the pain from my damaged spine. The bill was $1,154 dollars. My insurance covered $145.00. If I was on welfare and received medicaid like my clients the bill would have been $0. So glad I have health insurance.

Ugh, Lorin. That is so totally crappy.

I'm tired. I did get to have some fun with Sorus today though. We had a lively discussion about what "country scent" meant. I think we ended up deciding it was something along the lines of cows and chicken poop. Then we figured out what the green slime stuff is from that nickelodeon show, it's the $1.49 economy dish soap that we just got in stock. We both agreed that we NEVER want to wash things we eat off of with that creepy looking unnatural stuff. For the frustrating part of this evening's rant I'll take it to my blog...

lorin, you tempt me to rant. The bill to the indigent is zero because the insurance companies know there is no blood to be squeezed from stones, that they will spend more trying than they will ever recover, and so they take it out of their insured base who can afford to pay.

(SdS, can I have a hearty "Baaaaa!", please?)

Of course, there is a segment of the indigent that know this as well as we do and are managing to stay in that category to assure that they do not lose their free healthcare...but that is a different rant and probably one that will draw me more tomatoes than roses.

How do I feel today? Well, it has been a roller-coaster. Best not to discuss the professional aspects, other than to say that getting two colleagues flashing me a "thumbs-up" after I finished leading a meeting I thought was a disaster was...encouraging.

On a personal level, the up side was that Dam-et got his first college acceptance letter today. The down side is that the plumber Dam-sel brought in to check out why there was moisture in the living room carpet had bad news. Between him and the subcontractors he had come in, it looks like we have several thousand dollars of remediation (and probably at least a week of living somewhere else) to be done before we can even start to figure out what it will take to put it all back together again.

Figures this would happen a couple days after booking travel later this spring for our favorite serial houseguest...

We'll deal...

Thank you. Thank you very much...


It may not look so
But it is entirely
A quite "sheepish" grin

Shaun, I trust you understand what I just did there, and why...

Shaun das Schaf wrote:www.sheep.com/sounds/baasheep1.wav

I played this, and one of my doggies barked from the other side of the house. So Iplayed it again, and he barked again. We had a little Marco Polo game going on for a couple of minutes while he tracked down the source. Good times

Savor Dam wrote:Thank you. Thank you very much...

You are entirely welcome SD. You know you can count on me to spill the Baaaa's. And yes, consider yourself decoded.

shur-Lord Gudatetris wrote: I played this, and one of my doggies barked from the other side of the house. So Iplayed it again, and he barked again. We had a little Marco Polo game going on for a couple of minutes while he tracked down the source. Good times

By the sounds of it, you two played a similar game us three played here. (us three being SdS, cat 1 and cat 2).

Savor Dam wrote:lorin, you tempt me to rant. The bill to the indigent is zero because the insurance companies know there is no blood to be squeezed from stones, that they will spend more trying than they will ever recover, and so they take it out of their insured base who can afford to pay.
Of course, there is a segment of the indigent that know this as well as we do and are managing to stay in that category to assure that they do not lose their free healthcare...but that is a different rant and probably one that will draw me more tomatoes than roses.

Not sure I am completely with you on this one. I have private insurance, there are no indigent on the roles of my insurance company so there is no loss to them that they seek to pad onto my bill. The bill is zero for the medicaid recipient because the entire bill is picked up by the government. There is no requirement from the government for the recipient to even pay a co-pay. It is another way we (the people) infantilize our welfare recipients. They never learn to take responsibility for even the smallest bill, like a $15 buck copay. For instance, my facility is THREE blocks from a hospital. THREE! Client will call an ambulance for every sniffle because it is cheaper than paying for a taxi, easier than walking and more convenient than going to the clinic. Then the ambulance bills medicaid for 600 bucks to take them to the emergency room three blocks away. When there are no repercussions to a behaviors there is no change in behaviors. period. There is no incentive to change when we continue to enable the recipients. Welfare is a drug. period. Welfare was never intended as a catch-all for everyone that has trouble getting up before 11am. I am sorry if I insult anyone here, and although I rant there are of course, exceptions to every rule.

That does not change my problem. I am supposed to get a series of three injections which may or may not work. Which means my bill will be more than three grand, which I cannot do.

It's been a day that's left no room for selfish desires.

I was feeling the onset of a depression in the early afternoon. Just when I was getting mired, I got a call from a friend. She's got some fairly intense psychological problems and was in the middle of a meltdown. Self harm, suicidal thoughts, anxiety attacks. So I forced my desire to wallow down, and went and kept peace with her for hours, until another of her friends could come by and stay the night with her.

I was supposed to be meeting a girl I am smitten for for a drink tonight. Was very much looking forward to it as a relaxing and perhaps exciting end to a taxing day. I managed to get myself straight from my friend's to her workplace with a sixpack. Our get together was joined by a mutual friend, the friend who introduced us actually. He was very drunk and in a bad state. Two people he cared very much about had commited suicide this week, and he'd been to the funeral yesterday. So we spent a good deal of time having deep and meaningfuls with him. I invited them both back to my place, hoping I could get the girl aside for some alone time, sound her out about how she felt, maybe even get some kisses (yes I was still thinking about that despite my mourning friend). While she was in the toilet at mine, he told me that he didn't want to sleep alone on the couch-bed I'd set up for him tonight. So all three of us clambered in to the fold out. The others fell asleep and are at this moment spooning in my lounge.

I love all the people involved. There is a war going on in me, between a self absorbed part who keeps asking when it'll be his turn for things to go as he wants, and the rest of me going STFU you jerk, people whose problems make yours look like a stubbed toe need you.

Life sometimes sees fit to remind me that as nice as I generally am, there *is* a part of me that really doesn't measure anyone's needs or wants above my own. That part needs guarding against.

Cambo wrote:Life sometimes sees fit to remind me that as nice as I generally am, there *is* a part of me that really doesn't measure anyone's needs or wants above my own. That part needs guarding against.

Emphasis mine -- it is this realization and capacity that makes us noble creatures.

dw

Cambo wrote:Life sometimes sees fit to remind me that as nice as I generally am, there *is* a part of me that really doesn't measure anyone's needs or wants above my own. That part needs guarding against.

Hmm, I dunno about that. There's "selfish" and then there's "asking for what you want/need". "Selfish" comes into play when you start demanding it, thinking you deserve it. And if you're aware of the possibility, then you're probably not being as selfish as you think you are. Besides, giving way *every single time* is one route to depression.

This is not a direct corrolary, but: My mom was hospitalized for cancer surgery over 4th of July weekend in 1998. The hospital was just a couple of blocks from Navy Pier in Chicago, and I knew they'd probably be shooting off fireworks, and I loves me some big, public fireworks displays. But I was driving back and forth every day from Mom's house to be with her, about a 1.5-hour to 2-hour trip one-way. So anyway, as I left her that day and was walking to the car to drive home, I found myself crying. Why? Because I was denying myself the thing I wanted, which was to head over to Navy Pier and see fireworks. Why I thought I had to be on this self-denial treadmill because Mom was sick, I don't know. Luckily I realized how ridiculous I was being, turned around, and went to see the fireworks.

Anyway, today's Friday and there's nothing on my to-do list here at work.

sgt.null wrote: no more whore's baths!

They must have been getting expensive.



Sorry, I couldn't resist. It is going to get better, isn't it? Hope so.

Everything is cool here. I'm about to make pizza for dinner.

Cambo wrote:It's been a day that's left no room for selfish desires.

Why are desires selfish?

I was supposed to be meeting a girl I am smitten for for a drink tonight.

Are you cheating on me?

Life sometimes sees fit to remind me that as nice as I generally am, there *is* a part of me that really doesn't measure anyone's needs or wants above my own. That part needs guarding against.

In my very very humble opinion any action, be it helping a friend, getting a massage, harming yourself or eating a chocolate sunday are all motivated by some kind of positive reinforcement. We get 'something' out of every action.

Self care is essential in inorder to continue to care for others.

the juxtaposition of those first two quotes + responses is great, lorin!
(at least, I'm pretty sure it was intended ironically... )

I wanted to pop in and say hi... been away because I've had an insanely-busy (for me) week, starting "training" for the new job.

Today is a slow day for me so I get to take a break! I intend to go outside in the sunshine for an hour or two, do a load of laundry and a bit of cleaning... and hopefully hang around on the Watch a bit.

deer of the dawn wrote:

sgt.null wrote: no more whore's baths!

They must have been getting expensive.

at least they would have been fun.

waiting on plumber - sinks backing up. then maybe shower chair.

Had a helluva stressful day at work, but I'm feeling positively surprised and happy since I received an all-clear from my orthopedist. The fractured vertebra has healed itself completely, and I can begin resuming normal routines. It apparently took less than half the expected time to heal, but the specialist told that all the (careful) activity I've done in the limits of pain has aided the process (climbing stairs, walking a few km's every couple of days) tremendously.

Need to start an exercise program to get rid of the remaining muscle cramps. And heed slippery roads rather more in the future.


's to everyone who's having a rough time!

Zorm wrote:Had a helluva stressful day at work, but I'm feeling positively surprised and happy since I received an all-clear from my orthopedist. The fractured vertebra has healed itself completely, and I can begin resuming normal routines.

Awesome!

What's your work? Do you get to do something related to your artistic passion at this point in your life?

It apparently took less than half the expected time to heal, but the specialist told that all the (careful) activity I've done in the limits of pain has aided the process (climbing stairs, walking a few km's every couple of days) tremendously.

a couple km's a day when healing up? wow... sounds like you were motivated to me! cool.

Feeling much more rested after having slept till 11:30am. And now I have a ton of tasks to take care of in the amount of time left before the sabbath starts.

Thanks Linna.

Linna Heartlistener wrote: What's your work? Do you get to do something related to your artistic passion at this point in your life?

No, at the moment it's a hobby. I'm actually an IT engineer.

Linna Heartlistener wrote:a couple km's a day when healing up? wow... sounds like you were motivated to me! cool.

Did I word it poorly; I meant a few kilometers every two-three days, although I regularly walk so much that I don't really count the distances. Actually did nine a couple of days back with mom; the weather was excellent, hadn't felt any significant pains that day, and didn't notice how far we'd ended up before turning back.

Neither of us owns a car. Europe is different from the States in this sense: pavements and bicycle paths exist almost everywhere, and nature's open-access ("everyman's right"). It's been very slippery for a good while now, however, so we've been wearing add-ons like these over our winter boots (well, I've been wearing them since slipping). Don't know what they're called in English but there's a picture. They have little metal spikes that dig into the ice or packed snow beneath.

Yes, and I've been motivated.

Zorm wrote:Had a helluva stressful day at work, but I'm feeling positively surprised and happy since I received an all-clear from my orthopedist. The fractured vertebra has healed itself completely, and I can begin resuming normal routines. It apparently took less than half the expected time to heal, but the specialist told that all the (careful) activity I've done in the limits of pain has aided the process (climbing stairs, walking a few km's every couple of days) tremendously.

Need to start an exercise program to get rid of the remaining muscle cramps. And heed slippery roads rather more in the future.


's to everyone who's having a rough time!

I am going through similar issues right now. Spondylothesis, stenosis and herniated disc. any advice you can give me about pain management would be GREATLY appreciated.