what the heck...

So, alright. I know that I'm here to work, not make friends. but come on, seriously?

Besides last weeks sexual assalt email...it's been months since my coworkers (who sit right next to me) have invited me to go with them when they go out. They go out regularly (2 times a week, about), and seem to forget about inviting me. They used to remember. Not anymore.

So today, the second day this week that they've gone out without me, I'm blogging about it. Sometimes they say they're going one place, and so I go out on my own, to the deli or something, and see them there. Yeah, whatever.

Today we had some big-wigs come around and meet us. We've met them before, but they probably don't remember that. So they came back here (where I sit with Judy), and Judy decided she wouldn't shut her mouth, and went on and on about how they (her, Sarah and Amber) worked together to help with the zero out process, etc etc. And I just sit here and look on like I did nothing. Then they go out to wherever it is they go.

So yeah...looking at other jobs is looking better and better. I feel...weird. I feel like I have no friends, no-one to just talk to, like I can't talk about anything but work. It's really sad for me. I'm not happy.

Robins

This is a funny story about a Robin.

So at work, we have tons of wildlife, including lots of robins. There’s one who sits on the trees outside the giant wall of windows we have. He sees his reflection in the window and thinks it’s another bird…and tries to dive bomb it. He usually realizes that he’s going to hit the glass, and comes back…but it’s humorous.

(Not humorous is how many birds see the reflection of the trees and don’t realize there is glass there, and fly right into it…every year we get about 5-10 birds that do this and end up dead on the side of the building).

So anyway, a manager in another department, Cindy, is a firm woman. She doesn’t pull her punches, tells it like it is. Some people are uncomfortable with her, b/c she can be harsh and abrasive. I enjoy her, as you always know where you stand with her. She sees no reason to hide her annoyance or whatever in diplomatic cover-up. Also, she’s not my boss, and since I’ve been nothing but straight with her (even to the point of saying I have no idea what I’m talking about, when I don’t), she’s been nothing but cool with me.

So yeah, Cindy was going to get a new car…she had just cleaned her old car up for trade in. It being warm, she had the windows down a smidgeon while it sat in the parking lot. At lunch time she went out go to the dealer and exchange. She had a little surprise.

Remember the robin who dive bombs his reflection? Well, it’s not just him that does it…there are some that sit on the top of the cars and dive bomb their reflection in the windows of cars… now what if one of these cars had the window open a bit too much? Enough to let a robin slip in? And what if, once in, the robin couldn’t figure out how to get out? What do birds do when they’re trapped in a car and panicked? They poop. All over. Everything.

The bird did manage to get out, before Cindy came out to her car…so all she had was a car she had just super scrubbed the night before…the interior covered in bird droppings…and an appointment at the dealership in 30 minutes to exchange the car.

She had some very interesting curses as she stormed back into the building for paper towels and water. I wonder if the dealer noticed a difference… ;)

Divorce

*sigh* So I’m at work, and a co-worker is talking to another co-worker about her marriage. She’s not happy in it. Her husband doesn’t want to do anything, like go out to clubs and stuff. Her friends give her a hard time for his attitude, and are encouraging her to get a divorce. And she’s considering it. Tonight she’s going to tell her husband to pack up and get out.

Now, I haven’t been married, so I can’t begin to pretend that I understand what it’s like…but it just seems so sad. They have a little baby (less then 2 years old). The woman is talking about it so casually. I wonder if she’s tried to talk to her husband seriously (without placing blame or whatever) about her concerns.

Perhaps she has, and perhaps her friends are right…. It saddens me that divorce is the first option on peoples minds when things are rough. Did the marriage vows mean nothing? Was “death do us part” replaced with “I’ll give it a shot”?

Sad day.

Am I a first, second or third cild?...

So I’m house-sitting at the Blades…and their water did this weird thing…it turned brown. Once you ran it long enough, it went back to clear, but it’s peculiar to see the sink and bathtub fill with brown water, and the toilet bowl to be stained…

It reminds me of the plagues of Moses…which is something I thought of last year when I house-sat (the plague of locusts/grasshoppers along the nearby road). Peculiar…

I officially suck...

So I’ve killed my first animal. A little chipmunk. I was coming up over a hill, and it was darting across the street. The car behind me was so close to my rear end I couldn’t hit the breaks…I checked my rearview mirror, and I hit it.

I sobbed the entire rest of the way to work.

My co-worker said maybe I just stunned it…but I’m not putting too much hope in that. I think I killed it. I feel so bad. :(

RIP

We're so lazy

The other day on NPR I was listening to a report about Toyota, a car company that hasn’t needed a bailout. They were talking to one of the assembly line workers. Toyota assembly line workers are known for being able to put a car together in 60 seconds.
Well, the worker said one of the best lines ever…

“I hear the Europeans get breaks.” “A chance to wipe the sweat from their brow”

Sadness, but it does kinda sum it all up, huh?

Stressed Out!

So I’m a bit stressed at the moment.

--> I have overtime at work, bringing me to 50 hours a week.
--> I have more then 1 calling that need my attention on a regular basis.

--> I have one friend who just had surgery (and is needy)
--> I have one friend who is contemplating suicide (she puts herself in these positions, allows herself to fall into this way of life)
--> I have three ladies I visit teach that need special attention: 1 with marital issues that is a friend, and thus I worry about anyway, 1 that is inactive and Cindy is always bugging me about getting her to come back, and the elders are sure to bug me every stinkin’ time they see me about the other one of them.
--> I had my credit cards paid off, then had dumb medical bills come in and rack them right back up to where they were.
--> I feel myself slipping, spiritually and just want the world to stop for a few days so I can catch my stupid breath!

Grrr. *deep breath* Sorry about that. I just want people to stop needing me at the moment. I know, that’s a ridiculous request, that my whole purpose on this earth is to serve others. I get that, I understand. But for one minute, can I have a break? Just one?

Drives like a...

So I heard a commercial on the radio this morning, promoting the Mini Cooper. How do they decide to promote it?

"With go-kart like handling..."

Really? Go-kart like? They've obviously never seen me drive a go-kart...that's not going to entice me to get this car. Sorry.

Driving along in my automobile...

So I went to yahoo.com to see who of my friends may be online to chat with (which you can do through yahoo mail, without needing the chat application on your computer). My mother lives in Canada, so chat is the way we communicate.

Anyway, on the front of Yahoo is the little teaser’s of things they think are interesting, to get you to spend more time on their site. One of them was “Test reveals the worst drivers in America”. When I saw this I thought I’d see who it was…the whole time going ‘please don’t be me, please don’t be me…’

It wasn’t me. The worst were people in New York (which we know of, just by them driving around our state…). The next top 4 contenders were New Jersey, Georgia, Hawaii and California. Idaho and Wisconsin were the best. In those areas, you sit at a 4-way stop for half an hour while everyone gives the ‘after you’ gesture. In New York, you get a different type of gesture. O.o

I need protection, but don't want to pay full price...

Some of you may know, others not, what I do for a living. I work processing Medicaid for the state. That’s the short version of what I do. The longer version is that I make sure the procedure, diagnosis, revenue, modifier codes are on file correctly, restricted correctly, and make sure that we have limitations in place for these codes (like only one dental cleaning per 6 months). I make sure claims suspend for this correctly, and write up the instructions for other employee’s to follow when manually reviewing claims. I also deal with the state on a regular basis.

So part of what I do is look at claims that have suspended for a few reasons. One is procedure code/modifier combo not on file. A procedure code is what was done (physical) or an item (wheelchair) that was given. A modifier tells something additional about the procedure code (like if it was a procedure on the left arm, someone would bill with LT modifier, that indicates left). So these combinations (the procedure code and the modifier) need to be put in our system, if they’re valid, and I do that. I also deny claims billed with invalid combo’s.

Back to the story. I’m working these claims. Pretty easy stuff. I come to a claim were the provider has billed a T procedure code (t4534 or something). It’s for “adult sized disposable incontinence products”. Now I work with these claims and see all kinds of things here, so it doesn’t phase me at all. However, it’s the modifier the provider bills with this code. NU. Do you know what this modifier means? New. It means ‘New’ product. As opposed to UE (used) and RR (rental).

Does the provider think we’re stilling here wondering if he’s giving out new diapers or not? Does he really think we’re questioning “I wonder if these are rental diapers or not…they don’t say…”?
I know what you’re thinking… “Tiffany, maybe they’re cloth diapers and briefs and pads.” Well, if that is the case, they would not be listed as ‘disposable’. These codes are pretty specific. And even still, I don’t know that I would accept a rental or a used cloth diaper. Sorry. :P

Day 6

Yes, it’s been a while. My disclaimer at the beginning said I wasn’t good at blogs, so deal. ;)

This is Day 6 of the gaping holes in my mouth that used to house my wisdom teeth. It’s not at all what I expected it to be. I figured ‘hey, I’ve lost baby teeth before, it’ll be easy!’ It’s nothing like that at all! These sockets never close up. Ever. I’m going to have four more holes in my head for the rest of my life. And I still have pain. It depends on what I’ve done (laughed, talked, slept) as to how much it hurts, but it’s still there.

Also, I’m paranoid about dry socket. I haven’t gotten it, but feel the need to check that the blood clot is still there every few hours or so. I know, I’m ridiculous. Yesterday during FHE I was giving announcements, and felt something soft in the corner of my mouth, and was thought ‘oh no, this is it, this is the blood clot coming out’. Nope, it was a piece of egg from supper. Thank goodness.;)

Yes, I’m a dweeb, I’m aware of this.

During the procedure of having my teeth removed from my skull, I was knocked out on anesthesia. I did, however, reach twilight about 4 times. That’s a vague awareness of what’s going on, but without really being .. uh.. aware of it.

Two of those times, I heard myself snoring. Lovely.
One time I felt something metal in my mouth, between tongue and jaw. The nurse said that was the tongue rake used to hold my tongue out of the way.
The last time I was aware of what felt like a chisel and hammer on my bottom left tooth. The nurse said it was used to elevate the tooth so it could be removed. And that it did kinda resemble a chisel and hammer.

Kinda glad I wasn’t awake for that. ;) tee hee…although the nitrous oxide they gave me (so they could find a vein to put the iv in, since they had to poke me a million times) was kind of delightful, I wont lie…

I’ll spare you a picture of my actual teeth…for now… bwahahaha! I did keep my teeth, and found out (after I decided to keep them), that they can be used to retrieve stem cells. See, being kind of creepy has it’s advantages…if I ever need some stem cells, I can just hand over my teeth and see what they can to with it. Awesome! That’s provident/resourceful living right there. :D

I’ve gotta go throw up…

So a coworker who sits in a cube next to mine was telling a story to his friend…about his friends drinking escapades last night (being Monday night). The entire story consisted of his friends drinking various amounts of liquor and beer, and then having to excuse themselves to go throw up, b/c they are so full (from supper), that it’s too much for their stomach to handle.
Two things:
1, Monday night, what the heck? Who does a drinking showdown on Monday night? I think it’s called alcoholism…
2, how do you talk about throwing up so casually? Excusing yourself from your friends to go throw up, and announcing it, like it’s a badge of honor, just seems so weird to me. And then going back to hang with your friends AFTER having thrown up. After I throw up I just want to curl in a ball on my bed and not move, not go party. And they were out, so it’s not like any of them had toothbrushes or anything.

I just don’t get it.

Tax Time

To anyone who may not have done their taxes yet....Have fun with that! :D

Tax Solution

In honor of tax time which is right around the corner, I have a tax related post:

So here it is, I have the solution to all those different people who complain about taxes on their income bracket being too high and taxes on another being too low, complain complain complain.

Percentage, people. Why can we not tax a standard percentage? Instead of saying ‘Group A is taxed 35% and Group B is taxed 25% because of reason C’, why not just say ‘All groups will be taxed at 30%’? This seems like the fair thing to do, right? “Well, shouldn’t the rich be taxed more, b/c they have more to spare?” No. “Shouldn’t the poor be taxed less, b/c they have less to spare?” No. Keep it standard across the board. When you start doing exceptions, you have problems. By having a set percentage for everyone, it ensures a sameness, a unity, between us.

In addition, I used to live in a town that was very…well, it was struggling. I worked at a grocery store, and would see people come in wearing more gold then I own, paying with food stamps. I saw people living with their boyfriends, but the boyfriend has to leave when the state comes to inspect the ‘single mother living alone’. I’ve seen people purposely not get married b/c they loose benefits, etc etc. I think that helping those in need is great. However, I’m not for rewarding those in need. A coworker of mine at the time, her daughter was in the same situation. She lived with her boyfriend (ie, ‘alone’ to the state), and had two children. They had a leak in their apartment, and my coworker was saying how daughter had to move all of their stuff into one room. “So now she’s got the big screen, both computers and the game station in the one tiny room.” I was like “isn’t she state funded? I don’t even have that stuff.” That shut my coworker up real quick. Now I’m ranting, but bear with me. I work with the Medicaid program. I pay doctors claims, that’s what I do. I also deal with the state in deciding what should and should not be covered. Let’s just say that the benefits given out in the various Medicaid programs are better then my own benefits, in most cases. You would think it would be bare minimum, what was necessary. However there are quite a few procedures we cover that baffle my mind.

It’s frustrating. So yeah, flat percentage over the whole board. Problem solved. People will quit their bitchin’. Obama can send his thank you letter to my home address.

Hope for Humanity

So there is hope for humanity. Take this article, for instances:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30092624/?GT1=43001

A man who had fought liver disease got a surprise call that, finally, his liver for a transplant was available. The man and his wife got in the car and started for the hospital….in another state. The couple lived in Wyoming, and the hospital with the liver was in Denver Colorado.

After a 250 mile drive, they came to a road closed barrier. A blizzard had blocked off roads for miles and miles. Frantic, the couple called 911. The dispatcher sent a police officer to talk to them. After talking with the couple, the police officer went back to his patrol car and made some calls. He came back to the couple and said “'If you wait right here, the area boss for WYDOT will be right here” (WYDOT being the Wyoming department of transportation). Within 10 minutes they had a convoy of plow trucks.

The couple followed on the bumper of the plow trucks in white out conditions for some 80 miles (and involving 8 different plow trucks).

I was touched by this story. It’s nice to see that there are people out there that recognize the right thing to do when it comes to them. I’m glad that this made some type of headline. Perhaps it will encourage people to realize that good does happen out there, and that they can be a part of it.

Rain

It's been raining for a few days here, and we have another 5 or 6 to go. I love precipitation of any form, and rain has always calmed me down. It's soothing.

Rain. I love it. No matter what form it comes in... ;)

So for anyone who reads my blog and not Christal (does anyone read my blog?), i wanted to redirect your attention to a recent entry she did.

It's in regards to political opinions and such.

Not long after I read her post, did I come across a little cartoon satirizing all the great things Obama will/has done for our country. They got progressivly more outragous as the strip went on, and ended with him 'dieing for our sins'. They were joking on how people think of him as the Savior. But Christal is right. He is not the Savior. No matter how much you may (or may not) like him, he's not our Savior, as there is only One.

So yeah. Good post, per usual. :) Here's the link:

http://christalcollette.blogspot.com/2009/04/president-of-world.html

General Conference

So General Conference went well, and of course it touched upon stuff that was on my mind. One of the things I feel it touched upon was my eating habits. They are bad habits, addictions, that I do b/c I’ve always done them and they’re comforting to me. Tips were given in regards to addiction (of any kind, but I apply it to where I need it). I don’t need it, and I may not even really want it. It does not satisfy the emotion I want to get from it, it just makes me feel worse, more guilty. I should think of the goals I want to accomplish, and ask Heavenly Father for help, and press forward.

On my way to work today, NPR/VPR had a short segment on Will Power. It talked about the marshmallow test. In this test, 4 year old children were left alone in a room with a treat (a marshmallow or a cookie). They were told that they could either eat the treat while in there alone, or, if they waited for the examiner to come back before eating it, then they could have TWO of the treat.

So what happened? Some kids couldn’t wait a minute, while others lasted 20. So the question was, how did some have strong Will Power then others? For the most part they used two techniques. One the children came up with all on their own. When the craving for the marshmallow got really strong, they would distract themselves: play with their toes, sing a song, make up a game, anything to get their mind off of the marshmallow. Those are some ideas I should try (except the playing with my toes part).

The other technique was given to them by the examiner before he left. This was visualization. To think of the marshmallow in a new way. Instead of seeing a marshmallow, imagine it to be a cotton ball, or a little cloud, and see if that helps to stave off the craving. Sure enough, when kids thought about the marshmallow differently, they were more able to resist it.

So I now have some valuable tools to use in my endeavor. I will think to myself ‘is this item or amount really necessary?’ ‘do I even really want this?’ ‘Father, I’m trying really hard, but will need Thine help with this one…’. After these thoughts, I shall try to switch my focus (hum a song, think of what I’d like to do instead, etc). I will also try to change the way I think of the item. Instead of seeing a pizza, I will try to picture it as a flat plate full of vegetable oil.

Which it pretty much is.

I don’t want pizza anymore… O.o

April 6th...

April 6th. Makes me happy.

April Fools

I hate April Fools day. Hate hate hate it. What could possibly be good about tricking your friends. “Oh, sorry buddy, your dad just called…your mom died. April Fools!” See, nothing fun about that at all.

In addition to disliking being tricked, I don’t like the anticipation. The waiting, wondering, worrying about what may or may not happen. It’s worse then the trick itself!

So glad when this day is over.

Justice

So, as some of you may know, instead of getting mad at a car that zooms by me, I usually talk to them in a conversational way. Case in point:

Today, coming from Williston to the Shelburne Rd exit, I’m in the passing lane, going about 75 (speed limit is 65). In my mirror is this guy in a silver Audi (expensive car) right on top of me, really quite ridiculous. So, when the opportunity arises without me speeding too much to get past, I move back to the right lane. The Audi zooms by me at about 80-85. I say in my flippant way “go on with it, when you get pulled over, tell ‘em I sent ya.” I say this at times, and nothing ever comes of it.

So after his zooming be me, he then cuts off a person to get in the right lane to get off on the Shelburne Rd exit. Lovely, he couldn’t wait an extra 30 seconds, he had to try and zoom by everyone. But whatever.

So we get on the 189 link to Shelburne Rd, and he goes up and over a hill and I’m not paying attention because I’m trying to move to the left so the people merging on wont hit me. So as I get closer to where 189 ends, I see police lights up ahead on the right. I cross my fingers…but no, there’s a white car behind the police officer who’s getting a ticket. As I get closer, there’s also a blue car in front of the officer, who’s getting a ticket (that officer is good). And as I drive past, who is leading the pack of ticket-getters? None other than my friend in the silver Audi, Mr. my time is more valuable than yours.

I smiled. Mercy cannot rob justice. It’s so true.

How can I help?

So, a while ago (month and a half?) I was saying to myself “Tiffany” I says “what can you do to help EDS and HP as a whole?” It’s a good question, and I didn’t have to think long on an answer:
we got an email from corporate announcing pay cuts as follows:

Hourly: 2.5%
Salary: 5%
Managers: 10%
High level managers: 15% (or 20…I forget)

So I fall into the first category…hourly. This paycheck is our first with the new pay deduction. Well, apparently somewhere along the line I was bumped up to manager status, because I seem to have been cut by 10%. I’m not the only one, all hourly employee’s lost 10%. Now, I’m all for helping the company, being a team player, blah, blah, blah, but I’m not that generous. Don’t mistake my generosity for weakness.

Funny how this ‘accidentally’ happens. The longer the company can keep that extra money in the bank, the more interest they can make off of it. Huh. Imagine that.
So yeah, admin is on the phone with payroll as we speak. Second job, here I come!

Shelly the Turtle

So here’s a sweet story of a little sick turtle. I will call him Shelly.

So Shelly was sick. Sad Shelly. Shelly decides to swim all around the Florida Keys while sick. Poor Shelly. Eventually, Shelly came to a dock and stuck around. The people at the building near the dock thought it strange that a sea turtle as massive as Shelly (73 pounds) was hanging out around their dock. “Maybe he got lost and will leave soon” they thought.

But this was not to be the case. Shelly stuck around for quite some time, hours, and finally the people from the building near the dock took him inside, found his sickness, and have given him antibiotics.

As it turns out, Shelly swam to the only animal hospital in the world that is licensed solely to treat turtles.

I think that it’s wonderful when things like this happen. Perhaps Shelly didn’t really know where he was going, but I think that perhaps Shelly had a prompting, “instinct” of where to go, and followed it. This prompting brought Shelly to the turtle hospital, and through this who knows what kind of benefits and blessings Shelly is bestowing upon the people who work there. It’s just so neat. I love it.


http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Sick-Sea-Turtle-Pays-Unexpected-Visit-To-The-Doctor.html

Turkeys!!

Okay, so I know I’m the biggest dork in the world, but I get so excited when I see the wild turkeys on the side of the highway while coming to work. It happened again this morning, about 20 or so hens about 5-10 feet away from the highway. I almost got in an accident. I was so excited, was smiling so big my face hurt. I was bouncing up and down and thanking the Lord for letting me see the turkeys today. It made my entire day. Seriously.

I’m such an animal/nature freak, it’s horrible. But they’re so cute!! *sigh* :D

Child Falls, Men are Hero’s, Father is changing diapers

So this article is a heartwarming story of a toddler who is dangling from a third story window. A 45 year old father of two sees the toddler from across the street and runs to the building. He meets up with a 23 year old gentleman who had just come out of the building from a Bible group. Together they catch the 18 month old when she fell. She very well could have survived b/c of the actions of these two brave men.

So my question was, why is she dangling from a third story window? The second to last line of the article: The child's father was taking care of a newborn at the time.

I’m not saying that men are incapable of taking care of multiple children at once, not by a long shot. But there seem to be a lot of people I know who have toddlers and newborns, and none of them dangle and fall out of windows. *shrugs* I don’t know, the article doesn’t say anymore. Just an observation.


http://wbztv.com/local/child.falls.lawrence.2.971127.html

Kittens

So, I’m not too embarrassed to admit it. I love animals. Any type of animal, really. They all make me happy. Imagine my delight when I found thedailykitten.com. Every day, pictures of a different kitten! It’s a great way to get an ‘aw’ in for the day. ^_^ tee hee.

http://thedailykitten.com/

My Syrup Tree

So where I work, there is a break room (with a sink), but it’s on the other side of the building. I’m a busy girl. I also am a girl who likes her fruit cups. Peaches in light syrup make me happy. Except the syrup part. I very much dislike the syrup. Blah.
Well, in an empty cube near by, there were two plants enjoying some light. I decided to pour the syrup from my fruit cup into one of these plants. It was handy, convenient, and no one would know.

Well, my coworker Dominick (a guy funny as all get out), who waters the plants, commented that one of the two plants in the back (where I am) wasn’t doing so well, while the other one was doing great. I felt guilty real quick. I went over to visit the plants, when he was watering, and it turns out the plant that is doing well is the plant I pour my syrup into! It looks kind of like a little tree (I’ll have to get a picture of it), and so I call it a tree. It’s doing very well! I confessed to my coworker what I was doing. He told me to drink the syrup. I just about gagged at the suggestion. To keep me from pouring the syrup in, he moved the tree to the front of the building (where there is more light, to be honest). I walk by it every day and wonder if it misses it’s glucose. I’ve grown attached to my syrup tree. *pout* I don’t know what to do with my syrup now. I should bring in my own plant. ;)

But then my syrup tree may feel bad.

I’ll have to get a picture of it to post, as I can’t seem to find one online. Stupid internet, bane of my existence. ;)

Cycle through for new

“Is that a new jacket?” “nope”. “Is that a new bag?” “this old thing?” “Look at your new shoes!” “oh, they’re not new.”

It’s not being humble, it’s being honest. I have a few things I enjoy about clothing. I enjoy a jacket/shrug/sweatery type thing. I enjoy purses. I enjoy a certain type of shoe. However, I don’t want to buy a million of these items. So I cycle through.
I have a staple. About 4 pairs of shoes, about 4 jackets, and about 6 purses. I then cycle through my staples.

Example, my purse. This is the most obvious of my cycles. I use a particular purse for anywhere from a month to three months. Then, when I get tired of it, I pick out another bag from my stash. It feels like a new purse, b/c I haven’t used it in who knows how long. And people have forgotten that I have it, and so it looks new to them as well. I do this with shoes (like I said, I have about 4 that I enjoy and will cycle through, all black so they go with everything), and jacket type things. It’s an easy way to indulge in a ‘new’ item, without actually buying one. ;) Just thought I’d share.

My Mormon Book

So it turns out that the book for one of my classes (Forensic Accounting) is written by a bunch a Mormons! It’s three brothers, and some other person. Two of the brothers and the other person teach at BYU, while the third brother is in Spain (probably learned Spanish on his mission or something). So anyway, I call it my Mormon Book. It does explain why they are constantly talking about the ethics and morals of fraud. ;)

Well, last week’s chapter was talking about Bribery and such. And guess what example was given of bribery? Judas betraying Jesus for some silver coins.

I found it humorous. It’s a text book, and they’re making sure they incorporate some sort of gospel topic in there. Talk about true missionaries. ;) Puts any efforts I have to shame.

Torture

I’m such a sucker for torturing myself. Chocolate. I know what it does to me. You don’t, and that’s good. Chocolate, my body does not like. Really does not like. It fights back on me, and it’s not pretty. There are very few occasions when I can have chocolate (such as a candy bar or something equally indulgent). Chocolate cakes and ice-cream don’t seem to bother me, but something that has a higher concentration…it better be my monthly or it’s just not going to happen. A friend of mine has something very similar, and calls it an allergy to chocolate. I refuse to accept that.

So anyway, I’m constantly learning what the concentration of chocolate is in different items. This last weekend I made brownies. Not just any brownies, Ghirardelli brownies.

Turns out, they have a high concentration of chocolate. In case you were wondering.

But they’re sooo goooood.

Brrrr

So this gets me every time. We live in Vermont. Vermont gets a little chilly in the winter, I wont lie. However, it’s Vermont. It’s normal for it to be cold in the winter. Normal for a spring chill, a few days in the summer when it dips down to the 50’s, and a crisp fall season.

So why is it, that every year there are people who seem to be surprised at the weather? Vermont has had this type of weather for thousands and thousands of years. What makes people think that it will suddenly change because they’re tired of it? It’s not going to. If you don’t like the temperature here don’t feel like you have to stay, by any means.

These same people who hate the cold usually don’t have a very big winter jacket, nor do they have hats, gloves, and scarf’s readily available. Like the cold just sneaks up on them. Or the first 50 degree day and all the supplies get packed away and shipped off somewhere, not to be seen for another 6 months. I don’t care if you don’t want to look like a dork, or if you think it’s not ‘cool’ to be bundled up when others are wearing shorts. I’d rather you did that then complain about it, nor do I want to be seen in public with you if you’re shaking like a Chihuahua or something. Put a hat on, throw on some gloves, and deal with it.

You don’t have to remind everyone how much you hate the cold. It gets old real fast.

Just so ya know.

The Standoff

Alright, so this happened this morning, and as such, I’m writing it down. You know when you and another car come to an intersection. You wave the go ahead for the other vehicle. The normal thing is for that other car to go, give you the courtesy wave, and all is well. That doesn’t always happen, however. Sometimes you get the standoff. This is when you wave for them to go, then they refuse and wave for you. Now your honor has been bruised. Darn it, you were trying to be the nice one here! If you go, then you’re admitting that they’re nicer then you! You can’t have that happen! So you refuse, and wave them on again. Then you both do this little moving of your cars a bit forward, not sure who is going and who isn’t, and then it’s back to the standoff.

This bugs me so much! I’ve stopped fighting people on it. If I wave them to go, and they refuse, then I go. I don’t feel bad about it, I’m not going to wait and debate with this person in their vehicle about the merits of them going before me. I’ve got places to be and things to do. And if they realize that I drive to slow for them, once they’re behind me, then maybe they’ll think twice before not accepting the go ahead next time.

Lesson learned.

The Man

So recently, the man has been trying to keep me down. By ‘the man’, I mean my dental insurance MetLife. By ‘keeping me down’, I mean not wanting to pay for anesthesia for the removal of my wisdom teeth. Their rejection letter summed up to ‘you’re a big girl, suck it up’.
So, for those of you who don’t know, I tend to be resistant to Novocain. For a filling on one tooth, it took 5 shots, and even then it didn’t numb all the way, but the dentist and I both got tired of waiting and just went with it.

So the prospect of having four wisdom teeth pulled (in such a tight, tiny area) with just Novocain, makes me a bit apprehensive.

What kind of rough and tumble girl do they think I am? “Hey doc, I brought the pliers’ fer ya, but can we hurry this along, I gotta horse to shoe in about an hour.”

Now, between you and me, if they don’t cover the anesthesia, I will, but that’s a $250 difference out of my pocket. So you best believe I will fight them on this. My surgery isn’t until the middle of May, so I have plenty of time, and I work for Medicaid for freakin’ sakes, I know a thing or two about medical terms, dental information, etc. I’ll fight it to the end! Power to the people! Don’t let whitey keep you down!

I shall try…

So yeah, I’m not a great blogger, but my friend Christal said that she uses hers for rants (as opposed to as a journal type thing). I thought ‘hey, maybe I can do that!’. So here I am, trying to do that. There’s so much that I have to vent about, too. I know, I seem like an easy go lucky kind of girl, and I am, but I get frustrated too. I’m just generally fairly good at letting it go pretty quickly. Someone can cut me off in traffic and by the time I get to work I’ve forgotten all about it.
But for stuff that sticks with me, I shall put it here. Who would have known there was so much! Wish me luck!