how bad do you want it?

Things are the same at work.  I have many tasks to do.  There's over 110 cases of people getting hurt that I have to take care of, and I work as a *Medicare negotiator.  A case has moved to the forefront.  We are going to take it to trial, and I have to get the case ready by putting together a group of documents showing what our case is about, why we are suing for the amount that we are suing.

 We have a client hurt badly in a car accident.  Hurt so bad that he has gone years and has not worked.  His injury is so bad that there's little hope of recovery, and he will go for the rest of his adulthood not working as well as living with very significant pain. There's no treatment, there's only pain medicine to make the pain tolerable.  The case is worth quite a bit of money, and I have to play a significant role in what will hopefully be the case's success.  Putting the documents together in a clear, cogent manner, adding up how much money they have been damaged, and putting together a narrative of what happened in the accident and the injuries suffered/treatment done.  I learned how much the case was worth.  It's A LOT.  (I have to be deliberately vague so that if someone is looking through Google they can't say,  "Oh, Vince working on (name of person)'s case!!" I would like to say how much the case is worth, b/c I was the one who helped determine it, the person to find out FIRST, but I can't do that ).

But my point is this. 
 How far will you go to make sure you are an EFFECTIVE worker?  What will you do when your workload is overwhelming? What are the sacrifices that you would make carrying such a big workload? Would you say, "I work 8 hour a day, my usual shift, and then I'm leaving.  I have a family at home that needs me."
Or, would you say, "I'll work extra.  If I work 8 hours a day, I will NOT get what I MUST DO done. If I work 8 hours, I will blow deadlines, I will put cases into jeopardy!
No!  I will work on cases when I go home for awhile.  I will drive to work on Saturday and put in 4 hours. I must fulfill deadlines.  I must do what I can for our clients so that they get the compensation they deserve for the injuries they suffered as a result of other people's negligence.

That's exactly what happened yesterday, That's what's happened week after week, Saturday after Saturday.  Yesterday, I worked not my usual 4 hrs, but 5 hours on Saturday.  I burned a quarter of a tank of gas to drive to work and drive home after I was done.  No compensation for that. Some Saturdays, I have to pay $13 for parking, no compensation for that.

But, I got to have a piece of mind, and I will work very hard to get it.  Could you imagine failing a deadline just before a trial?  Could you imagine being responsible for ruining a case for someone who suffered for 5 years, spent a fortune on treating his injuries, and he gets nothing because you refused to work extra hours?  So, one case see I'm not as much of a "shmuck" for paying for gas, paying for parking when I really didn't have to, when the boss has never told me to work a Saturday.

 But in my view, there is no choice.  Even though I work extra, I have a lawyer who points out each and every week the assignments that I'm behind in and the bad consequences if I don't start working on it, finishing the task SOON, and how it was wrong that I let it go for awhile without working on it.  &, of course, I had so many other tasks to do. & he is very aware of the fact that I work until 6 pm, not 5 pm, and that I work on Saturday and that I sometimes work at home.

Yesterday, I went for broke. I worked 5, not 4,  hours in Chicago.  I came home took about an hour break and worked on the case until after 1 am.  I cannot, I will not tell my boss the work I was assigned is "not done".  Tomorrow, I want to say, "Here is the draft, check it, make revisions, take it to a copy company, bind it and then hand it into court and the opposing counsel."

Still, it bothers me all these sacrifices.  My co-workers work extra sometimes, but it's the exception to the rule.  When I work from 9-5, that's the exception to the rule!  The mystery I don't understand is how do they do it without blowing deadlines.  Their workload is very comparable to mine.  Why do they take a lunch, and I set aside about 15 minutes for eating.  Why do they go home around 5:15 and I go home at 6 or 6:30?

It bothers me, and I wrote to my boss an e-mail saying, I'm overwhelmed.  I have too much to do.  I said that I don't know the solution, It would seem like we should hire more people, but the chances of my bosses hiring more people are as likely as them jumping out the window and flying home at night.  They state there is no room in the office (that's true except on Fridays) and they have no money (well I've never looked at their ledger).

So one of the bosses sat me down and we talked.  The first thing she asked is "What can we do about this?  We don't you to work so many hours."  But I already said that I really don't have a solution.  If the amount of work is as big as a BARN and there's only 6 full time people and 2 young part-time clerks to work on it, then there's no 2 ways about it, there's too much work and there is very little to do about it.   & the bosses want the work to be as big as a barn, b/c if it's a small, manageable amount of work for each of us to do, then we wouldn't make enough money.  We tried to come up with little solutions that might help a little. One is to repeat and re-emphasize the fact, that I can assign clerks work.  Ok, I will do that, but they only work less than 20 hours a week and the 3 lawyers are allowed to assign them work, too and if they assign work, their task must be done first.

So, we are stuck.  I am really stuck.  That's just the way it is.  Oh well..............

-------------------------------
*Where I live, suppose you were 65 or older (which means you're in Medicare) &  you were to get hurt in an accident and it was the fault of somebody's negligence, there's several things that happen.  Medicare pays for the medical bills.  However, as soon as they find out our client were injured was the result of a car accident, slip & fall, or some kind of negligence, Medicare feels that they should GET BACK the money they paid for the medical bills.  The injury was the fault of someone else, so that's the person that should pay, not Medicare.  My job is that Medicare gets their money, but they don't get money based on mistake, like if our client has a stomach problem that has nothing to do with the accident. Sometimes, they will ask, by mistake, for money spent to treat their stomach problem or their intestinal problem. That's when I have to write a letter attached with medical records showing where they are wrong.  It takes a lot of time.  

2014 the good and the bad

There was good and bad to 2014, just like years in the past.   To me only certain years stick out for being very good (1989, 1993) or very bad (2002, 2003), but most of the time I look up to God and appreciate the good, and bemoan or roll through the punches of the bad times.

The good:  being recognized for doing a good job as a paralegal and getting 3 raises during the year.  That's not much to brag about and here is why.  At the start of the year, 1/1/2014, I was paid only a little more than what I was making on unemployment insurance (which I was pretty much forced to be on from 2/14/2012 to 9/15/2013).  Obviously, it was better to be off unemployment making a little more money than to stay on unemployment b/c you become less and less marketable the longer you are on unemployment.
I was not only recognized as being a good paralegal at the downtown/LOOP firm that I am at but also by 2 other lawyers.  I made a few thousand more doing side jobs.  I made several hundred selling on eBay.  My popular items that sold very well were the hammocks and the dog heaters.

BAD
Yet, even after three raises at the firm, money made on eBay and 2 other lawyers, I still didn't make ends meet ! UGH !   I mean I don't have big costs, I keep my condo at a harsh 59 degrees F (15 degrees Celsius).  I shop at Aldi to save grocery money.  It certainly didn't help getting into a car accident and spending well over $1,000 (with help from my insurance company I got another $5,000 and paid to repair car) .  I also suffered some neck and back pain.  Thank God my girlfriend, Pat, was ok !!

By the way, this isn't actually my car. I was too lazy to put my car on this post, and too embarassed, TOO !  I can assure that my poor, silver  2004 Pontiac Grand Am looked about this bad.
The worst thing about 2014 was that my workload quadrupled this year.  I now have 110 cases and am the Medicare negotiator.  It's too much.  It's still too much after they hired 2 people part time this year.  We still have to dig out of the mess created when they are understaffed.  I come home so many times sad b/c  Father Time has beaten the shit out of me.  There's always the nagging feeling, "Have I done enough??"

But we come into the new year with hope. Maybe things will change, maybe we will solve some large problem.  Like last year, 2013, I solved my unemployment problem.  There was financial problems that improved slightly in 2014, but there were more health concerns as now I'm diagnosed with glaucoma.  So, here's a picture I took of my 2 happy sons after 2015 came to us.  My daughter was not with all of us but she had fun too.  

I'm coming back

OK, here it is.
a little announcement.
I'm coming back.  My New Year's Resolution has already been made.
POST HERE MORE !!!!!!! 
So it's going to happen, just you wait and see ! 

look...

look for.....
my new creation at








http://www.tumblr.com/blog/leftwingwiil 

a strange night

I think I made a mistake last week, last Wednesday night.  I think I got a little too desperate for money. 
A mixture of pity and greed made my decision making a little suspect. 

I was trying to drive into the street where my condo is.  The car ahead stopped and then went ahead.  A 20something woman came up.  She was desperate.  She needed a ride 10 miles north.  I was going to get $25 if I gave her a ride.  Then she motioned to me that her boyfriend would be coming too. 

I drove into the Church that is adjacent to our condo's property to talk to him and "think" about the situation.   I said that I would go to my condo 1st before I take them to Chicago.  I took my leather jacket off and put a much cheaper jacket on. I put away my wallet and carried just my driver's license, ATM card and AAA card.  I knew there was a risk taking a stranger 10 miles.  I wasn't naive.

I'm too old to be that. 

I operated on 2 considerations.  I consider the odds.  The odds were LOW that I was going to deal w/ strangers with guns.  She said that she would give me money, over $20 and I needed the money bigtime BAD.  It's been that way since the fuckin summer !

So, I began the car ride w/ 2 perfect strangers by telling them that I didn't have enough gas in my car to get them to Chicago.  They were required to put about $10 of gas into the car. We pulled into the gas station, & I think I saw the 20something woman, Meegan go up to people getting gas to ask for money !!!! (ugh!).  Then, I saw her go into the station and go up to the cashier.  She paid the cashier $6, not $10. That was enough.  She told me when she came back she only had $6. 

The talking that was going on w/ John/Jr. (he goes by 2 names) and Megan was making me uneasy.  This young couple, only a few years out of high school, were uneducated and only living "on their wits".   They talked about begging money from one person to pay off the person they begged money from last week!!! The girl gave me $6 in gas money. Then they had to speak w/ "Nick".  Something wasn't right and John/Jr.  was told by NICK that he would help them not at all!  John/Jr. walked away, and I decided, since something was going wrong, to talk to Nick alone. 

I walked up to Nick, and John/JR. wanted to know what I would ask him but I waved him off and made sure he kept his distance from my conversation with Nick.  

"Nick?"  I asked, "are things going to be safe???"

"Oh YEAH! Of course, it will."
I walked into the car w/ my 2 strangers already in the car (yes, I was carrying the keys, and didn't leave them in the car, I'm NOT STOOOOO-PID!)
  They said they needed my help to talk to the guy giving them money.  Well, if I wanted my $20, I had to agree.  I pulled it off.  The money was split.  So, the last thing I had to do is take them to McDonalds in a not-so great part of Chicago. 

I dropped them off and no sooner did I drop them off, but there were flashing blue/red lights of the police on my tail !

Then something very bizaar happened.  I was so relieved to get my $20; I was so intent on just getting them to the fuckin Golden Arches of McDonalds and then...........I get stopped by the cops???????????
The cops did the new thing of taking a ton of time of having me sit there before they even talked to me. & when they did, they acted very strange.  I only had one cop encounter even comparable to this one (a female cop stopped me for speeding and acted like she wanted to get laid.  At 5'5" and 200 lbs. she apparently wasn't getting a lot of action.  But I sweet talked my way out of doing that without any ticket or illicit sex going on.  I was happily married so I wasn't going to lose my morals to please a cop). 

So, 2 African American cops came up to me with smiles on their face. 
Police: "What you doing out here?"
I replied :  "I dropped a young couple off at this McDonalds, b/c they needed a ride".
"Really?  From where?"
"Oak Forest"
"DAMN.  That's a long way.  You went through a red light."
"Really"  I didn't even see the damn light!  Were they kidding?  I know I was nervous where I drove, but could I have been so pre-occupied that I was so blind not to see a light?  No, I don't think so.  What the hell were they doing pulling me over???

The comedy continued.

"Are you doing drugs tonight?"

"No, sir" I replied.

"Do you have any dead bodies in the car?"

"No, would you like to check?

"Naaaaaaaah,...(he paused).... that's ok"
"Would you like to see my proof of insurance?"
"No, but you DO have insurance?"
"Yes, sir, am I going to be here awhile?  Should I turn the engine off?"
"Naaah, that's all man.  Be careful, ok?"
"Yes, sir you all have a good evening"
"Gee thanks"  & they drove off.
I talked to Ted afterwards since he has opted not to live w/ his Mom but rather stay at the condo w/ me.  I said, I messed up.  I didn't use good judgment even though I came away w/ $26. I was too desperate for a few bucks.  I said that sometimes parents don't set good examples, and this was one of those times.  He agreed that he wouldn't do something like that in a similar situation. 

What made it worse is that John/Jr. and Meegan said they lived next to me in an apt.  What if they are desperate again?  What if they see my car parked in front of my condo?
I'm keeping my damn car locked from now on. Sigh

Facts that show what's wrong w/ supporting the Rich & the Southern status quo on ENERGY

The current population of the United States is about 312 million persons. This came from http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html

The United States used 18,690,000 barrels of oil per day in 2009. This number came from http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/ene_oil_con-energy-oil-consumption.
I am going to estimate oil consumption in America in 2011 to be 20,000,000 barrels of oil per day. This is admittedly a "rough number". I am trying to make conceptual points in the material below. Exactness is not required in order to do so.

The price of oil today is $85.30. This number came from http://www.oil-price.net/.

The cost of oil consumption per day in America is $1,706,000,000 (about one point seven billion dollars).

The cost of oil consumption per week in America is $11,942,000,000 (almost twelve billion dollars).

The cost of oil consumption per 30 day month in America is $51,180,000,000 (about fifty one billion dollars).

The cost of oil consumption per 365 day year in America is $622,690,000,000 (about six hundred and twenty three billion dollars).

The oil consumption cost per person per year in America using a rounded 312 million population count is $1995.

Coal costs about $100 per ton. This number came from  http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/20/patriotcoal-idUSL3E7LK1LY20111020

Coal consumption in the United States is 1,060,000,000 tons used per year. This number came from http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/ene_coa_con-energy-coal-consumption.

The 1,060,000,000 tons of coal used per year in the United States times $100 per ton equals $106,000,000,000 (One hundred and six billion dollars).

The annual cost per capita for coal in America equals about $340 per person.

Natural gas consumption in the United States in 2010 was 24,087,938 million cubic feet. This number came from :
http://205.254.135.7/dnav/ng/NG_CONS_SUM_DCU_NUS_A.htm

The cost of natural gas in the United States is $4.27 per thousand cubic feet. This number came from http://205.254.135.24/dnav/ng/ng_pri_sum_dcu_nus_m.htm.

If a thousand cubic feet of natural gas costs $4.27, then a million cubic feet of natural gas costs $4270, which is one thousand times as much as $4.27.

The total natural gas consumption in the United States of roughly 24,000,000 million cubic feet times $4270 per million cubic feet equals about 102 billion dollars.

The annual cost per capita for natural gas in the United States equals about $327 per person.

The total cost for oil, coal, and natural gas use in the United States equals about $2660 per person.

The total Health Care Cost in the U.S. in 2009 was about $2,500,000,000,000 (two point five trillion dollars). This number came from
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/04/nation/la-na-healthcare4-2010feb04

The total Health Care Cost now in America is now running at the rate of $2,700,000,000,000 (two point seven trillion dollars). This number came from a magazine article I read not too long ago.

Total health care spending in America is expected to nearly double to $4.6 trillion dollars in 2020, from $2.6 trillion dollars in 2010.

Health care spending per capita in America is forecast to increase to $13,708 in 2020 from $8,327 in 2010.
The numbers in the above two paragraphs came from http://money.cnn.com/2011/07/28/news/economy/healthcare_spending_forecast/index.htm.

In a magazine article I read not too long ago, they had an even higher number of $8650 per person being spent on health care today in the U.S.

Even using the conservative number in the material above, our current health care cost of $8,327 per person in 2010 is more than three times the total cost of oil, coal, and natural gas use of $2660 per person in the United States.

Our total Health Care Cost in America is about 17.5 percent of GDP.

This total Health Care Cost is headed northward to 20% of GDP within only a matter of few short years.

Then it is headed further northward to 25% of GDP.

This situation continues to get even worse.

What follows is an interesting quote from our own Congressional Budget Office:

CBO projects that without significant changes in policy, total spending for health care will be 31 percent of GDP by 2035 and will increase to 46 percent by 2080.

The above came from http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/102xx/doc10297/chapter2.5.1.shtml.
In case you don't know what GDP means what follows is a definition of GDP from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_domestic_product.

Gross domestic product (GDP) refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period.

Now let's contrast the above to 1960.

In 1960 there were 189,323,175 million people living in the United States.

The GDP in 1960 was about 520 billion dollars (1960 non-inflation adjusted dollars). This number came from
http://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&met_y=ny_gdp_mktp_cd&idim=country:USA&dl=en&hl=en&q=what+is+gdp

Our National Health Care Cost was about 5% of GDP in 1960.

our total Health Care Cost nationwide in 1960 was about 26 billion dollars in "1960 money".

Money was worth a lot more in 1960 than it is today.

Okay, so let us adjust for inflation.

$1.00 in 1960 had the same buying power as $7.46 in 2011. This number came from http://www.dollartimes.com/calculators/inflation.htm.

Twenty six billion dollars of 1960 money is equivalent to about 193 billion dollars today.

In 1960, one hundred and ninety three billion dollars of "inflation adjusted money" covered the entire health care costs of one hundred and eighty nine million Americans.

What this boils down to is that in 1960 Americans were only spending about one thousand dollars of "today's 2011 dollar" per year on health care on a per person basis.

We are now spending over eight times as much on health care on a per person basis as we did in 1960.

By next year it will be almost nine times more.
And we will be spending fourteen times as much on health care in America as we were in 1960 by the year 2020.

For a person in the United States today to only be spending only about $2660 on their entire use of oil, coal, and natural gas, and be spending about $8330 on health care *over three times as much* is nuts!

And for a person in America to be spending over eight times more on health care than they did in 1960 is nuts too!

For all this "great health care" that we get in the United States, health care that costs over eight times what it did in 1960, one in six children is now considered learning impaired (learning disabled is another term).


Something is really wrong with America when our children as a whole rank so low in educational achievement vs. children in so many other countries.


Who do you blame? And how can we fix all this?

written by Allen Darman

Website: http://nutrientscure.wordpress.com/

A Related Blog:

Two Persons That the OWS People's Movement Should Become Aware Of and Why (10/19/2011)

http://nutrientscure.wordpress.com/2011/10/18/two-persons-that-the-ows-peoples-movement-should-become-aware-of-10172011/

We participated, it's time to fight back

I put in my opening line, that I don't want plutocrats dominating our national capital. & they haven't quite yet, b/c of President Obama.  Plutocrat/plutocracy = rule by the rich.  Our Constitution wasn't about rule by the rich when it was made.  We didn't overcome the Great Depression and World War II by rule by the rich.

Historians agree that the GREAT DEPRESSION STARTED BECAUSE THE WEALTH DISTRIBUTION WAS DISTORTED WHERE TOO FEW PEOPLE HAD TOO MUCH MONEY. It wasn't caused by Welfare cheats or too much government.  THE GREAT DEPRESSION WAS CAUSED BY TOO LITTLE GOVERNMENT.

& NOW THE SAME THING HAS HAPPENED AGAIN. 1% of the richest percentile in OUR NATION own 50% of American wealth. 

It is for that reason that I joined Occupy Chicago.  Last night, I took my son, Ted and his friend Nate to the rally.  It's time to fight back against the lobbyists fighting for the rich.  It's time to fight against guys like Congressmen Eric Cantor and Paul Ryan, bastards that care nothing about the poor and the lower middle class. They are assholes that are paid by the rich when they ran for office and work for the rich.  It's that simple.  They bought the rich's line about how to make this nation better and it was done from 2001 - 2008 when Bush was in office and he had a Republican Congress. 

Keeping the rich's  taxes too low  DOESN'T LEAD TO PROSPERITY, IDIOTS !!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE INCOME TAX RAISE OF 1993 DID CONTRIBUTE TO PROSPERITY and you don't have to believe me, believe an economic leader like Alan Greenspan, A REPUBLICAN, and the Federal Reserve chairman of the US during the 90s WHO said that the Clinton tax raise cut the deficit & that led to the nation's longest prosperity EVER .  (1992 - 2001)

HOW can Paul "Shame of Janesville" Ryan fight so hard for rich people not to even pay taxes.  How can he & other just continue to cut money for road construction and infrastructure improvements. Their real aim is to help those who financed their  campaigns and fuck everyone else.  They don't want to help the nation they want to continue to help the rich which is how it was done from 2001-2009.  Bush adm. put us in a huge hole, and they want us to believe it's all Obama's fault.

So, I participate in the Occupy Wall Street-Occupy Chicago movement.  I bought bottled water for the people that are at the Federal Reserve building at Chicago 24/7 for over 3 weeks.  I gave them more permanent markers to make signs.   I like some of the ones below, as you can see. 

the 1st 4 pictures are obviously self-explanatory.  This last picture is of the drummers.  When you go to the protest site, the 1st thing you can do is hear it, not see it.  There are the protest drums and this is Ground Zero of the drummers and the chants.  The best thing I heard all night wasn't the speeches.  It was as we were driving away. It was Ted's 13th birthday, yesterday.  As we were driving away.  He thanked me for taking me to the protest.  His friend Nate, loved it too !

this is a good icebreaker

The next time you’re at a party, try this fun ice-breaker: ask people what their first concert was. It’s always a delightful conversation topic, and typically the more cringeworthy and one-hit-wonder acts are more fun to discuss than the “cool” bands (if your first show was U2, that’s cool, but Vanilla Ice is almost more special.) I put the question out on Facebook: what was your first concert? Feel free to add your own in the comments. 

Me: CARS   saw them in 1982 in Madison, Wisconsin.  I love the fact that they were cool enough to be at Lolapalooza this year.  Too bad their co-lead singer and bassist, Benjamin Orr weren't still alive.  

Justin: Public Enemy & Anthrax at Aragon!

Joel: Starship and The Outfield, somewhere in Virginia (but not Wolf Trap...). It was 1986 and I was on a teen tour, so maybe that can be my excuse (heh).

Kate Z.: Janet Jackson

Nora: Peter Gabriel at Rosemont Horizon.

Jane: 1988: INXS

Marly: Menudo. I wish I were kidding. They were playing in el Poliedro, in Caracas.

Cheryl: John Denver. ACC Arena. 1974 or 5. Also not my idea -- but when your mom drags you to a concert, you kind of have to go

Rebekah: Liz Phair at the Vic. Fall 1995.

Daniel R.The Monkees at the Rosemont Horizon. Their reunion tour. 1986. I went with my church's teen club. I quit the club after that night.

Andy: Fishbone at Mississippi Nights. It was the nutmeg nineties.

Jonathan: Meatloaf: Rockland Community College, summer of 1978.

Elizabeth J.: Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine at Poplar Creek. I think I was nine. AWW YEAH.

Leonard: The first concert I ever went to was a Beach Boys outdoor show. My best friend's dad took us and someone threw a can of beer at my head. This would have been sometime in the late '70s. 

& someone else:...........The first concert I ever went to of my own choosing was, embarrassingly, Quarterflash. Arizona State Fair, 1982.

& do you recall either the 1st concert or your favorite concert??  you are more than welcome to discuss both.  I  love when you share...........

Isn't this a problem?

Look at Doonesbury cartoon today.

http://www.doonesbury.com/strip/archive/2011/08/21 

You know if one of the major causes of the Great Depression was the MALDISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH IN THE UNITED STATES, then isn’t the fact that 400 families have more than about 150 million people in the United States a problem????!?!?!?!?!?!?!

 & don’t you dare try telling me that rich people work harder b/c that’s bullshit.  Try telling that to the woman working 2 jobs in New York City busting ass to feed her kids.....our a couple BOTH WORKING  in a shitty little apartment in LA or Chicago trying to make ends meet.  

Who works hard?  BOTH RICH & POOR

WHO DOESN’T TAKE A VACATION FOR 4 OR 5 YEARS, BECAUSE THEY CAN’T AFFORD IT??  not the rich……..

recent thoughts

This summer has brought changes - large changes, in fact. 

With the death of my father-in-law, my ex has decided to move out of the 2-bedroom condo we shared, and into her late father's house.  That's pretty understandable considering that she and the kids are able to live in a more spacious house, and each has their own bedroom.  During the school year, however, the kids will spend a lot more time in Oak Forest and at the condo, because that is the school district they prefer and been at for 12 years.

There was an observation that I speak/write about money often.  That may very well be true, yet when your conditions change in a very noticeable way, then why not write about it?? 

If you were a model, wouldn't it seem natural to talk about photo shoots?

If you were a football player, wouldn't it seem natural to talk about the games?

If you are a parent, wouldn't you talk about your kids??

If you were a farmer wouldn't you talk about your crops or livestock?

If you were happily married and in love with your husband, wouldn't it seem right to talk about your husband?

So, it is logical for me to write about what's on my mind.  I read a book about anxiety/worrying.  One of the definitions of worrying is:

repeatedly thinking about the same problem/area of concern & worry over and over without coming up with a solution.

Now, no one is perfect. We all worry.  The book made clear what should happen if I am concerned about money. 

Before the book, and definitely after the book I read, I have been making constructive plans to solve the money dilemma I have.  The kids and Maribeth were surprised I got rid of my cable TV subscription, but it certainly didn't surprise me as I'm saving $50 a month.  So, look for ways to save money.  My utility informed me that I'm using less energy than I was last year.  It helps having your air conditioner set 10 degrees higher than it was last summer as well as turning down the freezer. 

Next, is paying off certain accounts.   Now, the air conditioner doesn't turn on unless the temperature is in the 80s (that's fahrenheit and upper 20s if you live where they measure in celsius/centigrade).

I have paid off 2 credit cards during 2011.  In the next 2 months, I am going to be able to pay off 2 more credit cards.  With my medical problem that I have mentioned previously, I have paid off 2 medical accounts.

Third, is to prioritize my accounts.  The mortgage gets paid first, the insurance is a high priority.  Certain accounts necessitate calling customer service and telling, not asking,  that they won't be paid because there's simply not enough money to go around.  It's advice that was given by my dear close friend, Patricia, and it's worked. 

Speaking of friends, getting help is sometimes necessary.  When you are helped, pay  back the little loan soon as I have.  Or, pay back the help with other non-monetary benefits like giving the helper rides when needed and other types of help as well.

Don't get down about setbacks.  I thought that Google AdSense would help just a little bit (not much, I never thought that!)   as they paid for me showing their ads on this very blog.  However, over a week ago, they decided to not to pay after all, so there's no use crying to a monolithic many-billion-dollar corporate piggish entity.  No, forget them.  Let them think what they want, because piggish corporations and piggish corporate heads think only of profit and have a tendency to hurt not only people but nations.  That's why there was a need for the law in 2010 to order health insurance companies to actually use more money towards providing health benefits rather than the lavish compensation to the pigs who run them.  

One thing that Republicans fail to acknowledge is that the most efficient provider of healthcare among the elderly was MEDICARE, not the private insurance companies. Why?  Because Medicare is not profit driven & there's no rich CEO/pig  that is demanding that the board of directors give him more money. 

Don't take my word for it, because it's documented:

"[T]he Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has found that administrative costs under the public Medicare plan are less than 2 percent of expenditures, compared with approximately 11 percent of spending by private plans"

Too much politics?  I wouldn't discuss it if it wasn't true !

 The next thing is keep trying.  That's a rather general platitude for many things.  Being a good Christian (we all sin, but we need to keep trying to live a good life), being a good parent (try hard to  say "no" when you have to, even when you said "no" many times before, even when it's hard and even if they have a compelling reason for you to say "yes", but it hurts the long term goal !) 

Having medical billers write to you and tell you that you didn't pay them when you did is stressful.  But I would be more stressed if I didn't have the records to show the payment.  So, being organized with decent record keeping is another key to the money problem dilemma.

 

One of the best options is to find a better job, and that is difficult.  That takes many resumes and trying.  Another option is to find a 2nd source of income.  I have accomplished that, but am seeking better methods and better pay in that regard.

I don't even know for certain that I'll succeed, but I'll try, I'll use what I've written about and then some.  Theft may be on my list of options, if things ever get worse, but let's hope not !  JK !

EXPRESS MONOPOLY

The winged feet are to show that I invented and wanted to share with you a speedy version of Monopoly.  You know how Monopoly can go on 6 hours. Now, some people don't have 6 hours or 5 or however long it takes for you to spare time playing the fun game.  So, I invented a game that shaves time off of Monopoly.  The best aspect of my invention is that Monopoly gets a lot more interesting when there are actually players with MONOPOLIES!  Before that it's not all that eventful.  So here is what you do.  Players (whether you have 3-5 players) get properties at the beginning of the game as follows:  

3 players Monopoly Portfolios




Portfolio 1
Purple monopoly (eg. has Baltic & Mediterranean)
Orange monopoly (eg. has New York and others that are orange)
Park Place
Get Out of Jail Free card
$2,800


Portfolio 2
Baby Blue monopoly (e.g. has Oriental)
Violet monopoly (eg. has States )
Boardwalk
N. Carolina Avenue
$2500


Portfolio 3
Red monopoly
Yellow Monopoly
Pacific and Penn. Aves.
$2200


4 players Monopoly portfolios (EVERYONE GETS $2,500)

Portfolio 1
Purple monopoly
Boardwalk
Marvin Gardens
2 RR2s (1st & 2nd side)


Portfolio 2
Violet Monopoly
Park Place
Ventor & Atlantic Avenues
2 Railroads (3rd & 4th sides)


Portfolio 3
Baby blue Monopoly
N. Carolina Ave
NY & St. James Aves.

Portfolio 4
Red monopoly
Pacific & Penn Ave
Tennesse Ave.


5 players portfolio

Portfolio 1
Purple monopoly
Boardwalk
Marvin Gardens
$2,400
Portfolio 2
Violet monopoly
4 Railroads
$2800



Portfolio 3
Baby blue monopoly
Park Place
Atlantic & Ventor Aves.
$2,200


Portfolio 4
Red monopoly
Utilities
N. Carolina
$2,400

Portfolio 5
Orange monopoly

Pacific & Penn Aves.

$2500


Rules
1. The Sky is the Limit” as far as how many hotels you put on a . You get to put as many hotels as you want.

2. Corollary to Rule 2 You cannot buy 2 hotels (on 1 piece of property) until every player has passed GO once. You cannot buy 3 hotels (on 1 piece of property) until ever player has gone GO twice. Once that has occurred, Rule 2, above, applies

3 “You snooze you lose!” If someone lands on property you own, if you don’t ask for rent he doesn’t have to pay.

Monopoly trivia:  Over 30 years ago, those who lived in the former Soviet Union (what is now Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhistan, and other areas), were forbidden to play Monopoly as it was against the values of that Communist society.  People in North Korea and Cuba STILL are not allowed to play it !

random thoughts

I'm really trying to save money.  I'm no longer living with my ex-wife (MB), because she is inheriting & also working on financing the place that her late father lived.   I am also trying to finance and buy out MB's share of the condo.  I learned, however, that it will not be easy.  Yet, there are solutions.  I have:

• turned the air conditioner so that it's not used as much;
• cleaned the bedrooms and picked areas that have been a bit overlooked.  Now, there is no blaming or criticizing about areas of the condo overlooked.  Yet, with the kids sometimes not at the condo, but over with their mother in the house, I can throw away things that need to be taken out, dust, sweep and vacuum;
• we were very fortunate to have such nice neighbors.  One of Ted's good friends is Jake who lives next door.  His father gave us the very topline Dyson vacuum cleaner which I have put to good use;
• I had to go to MB's house, and I did not want to spend any money on expensive gas, so I biked/walked the 2 1/2 miles.  The first half of the trip, I biked west on the Cook County Forest Preserve bike trail.   I then hid my bike into the forest where people couldn't see it and walked the rest of the way.  Maribeth's tenant, Sal, was kind enough to give me a ride to approximately where my bike was.  More on Sal at   http://25mi-swchicago.blogspot.com/
• On the same night, Ted, my 2nd son, was concerned about me, because I had lived by myself for 2 days with no kids around.  "Are you ok?", he asked that twice ! !  What a good kid ! Then when he knew that I walked over to save money and not burn any gas driving my car, he gave me $3 !
• I broke the news to my kids that we don't need or are required to have cable anymore; Cable is basically entertainment, and we could rent a few movies per month at a much cheaper price.  We will still have about 20 channels anyway through digital broadcast.  The kids were strong and took it in stride.  I was going to get ride of my landline phone too. But the problem is that I would use my cellphone more, go over the allotted 300 minutes and then have to spend more money on my cellphone bill.  I don't need to do that. 

We have to be thankful for what we have.  There has to be an effort to continue to find better opportunities either working at a hospital again, finding a better law firm or a combination of staying at the same law firm and working at the hospital.

& here's  a picture of Ted; I'm very glad he decided to get his hair cut !  The 3 boys decided at Nate's birthday party to have frosting on their face.  That was the cool thing to do !  Now, can't you see that's cool (lol) ?

a winning couple

“Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes, and she’s gone.”

“Lucy and the Sky with Diamonds” - Beatles/ written by Lennon & McCartney

When Jack saw them at Church, they had well-earned, wonderful, white teeth. When Lucy & Ralph went a  party, they lit up the room.

Jack viewed them with envy. He did well with his kids and his hobbies, but about the rest of his life?

Oh well, he’d rather think of the Thompsons, Ralph and Lucy Thompson.

Lucy was a classmate and a childhood friend.  Nearly fifty years ago, Jack saw her Monday through Friday, in school.  On Saturday, they both went to +*+CCD, then attended Church on Sunday.  Jack distinctively remembered in 7th grade having a loving crush on her.  If there were an 8th day of the week after Saturday, and they spent that day with just each other, then Planet Earth and the heavens above would be perfect.

Yet, opposites attract and not a couple that is too much the same.  Both Lucy and Jack were earnest, sensitive kids in 7th grade and stayed that way through adulthood.  Lucy chose a boy with a great sense of humor later in high school and married the quiet and successful Ralph Thompson. 

 

Jack hadn't seen Lucy in ages, 1987 to be exact.  He graduated with Honors in Journalism that year and entered a job market with few takers.  He found more success doing various work with businesses, and his pride in a job well done usually kept his bosses happy. 

Yet, Lucy was smart for picking Ralph over Jack.  Ralph, after all, may not have worked as hard as Jack, but he had a job with the U.S. Government, paid him well, gave him great benefits, and made Lucy and their sons and daughters happy.  Now, think about it.............wasn't that all Lucy could ever ask and hope for?  

 

Jack knew the correct answer and was happy he found a decent place to live and had good kids.  Last month, Jack decided to see his ailing parents and go to Church in his rural hometown.  He knelt down after Communion, saw a woman who walked by him that quickend his pulse and then saw Ralph and felt a lump in his throat.  He stopped kneeling and sat down in the pew stunned as it hit him.  After 25 years, Lucy Schroeder Thompson recognized him.  He acted as if he was earnestly praying but actually felt like crying instead.  He was amazed at how raw she hit his emotions and personal history. 

 

His mind raced as he forced slow, deep breaths to calm down and prevent sobbing.  Are they going to stay?  How fast would he have to walk out of Church to meet both of them.  They were friendly enough glancing at him as they walked by his pew, maybe he could talk to them after Church.  Was she going to leave before the recessional hymn was over?  Was he going to catch up to them?

 

"HELL NO!,"  his pride dictated. 

There would be no running in Church, no beeline toward her, and very little, if any, hint of how badly he wanted to talk to her. "That was exactly how it was going to be!" his pride shouted.  He was no longer a 7th grader, senior or even a 30 year old triumphantly getting married.  No, he earned a nice office working in Joliet, and there would be no provincial excitement of any kind. 

 

Recovering emotionally, he walked calmly over to the Thompsons. 

"It's nice to see you," Jack said with a smile.

"JACK!" exclaimed Ralph, "how have you been?"

"I've been covering sports for Joliet's Herald-News.   I get to see a lot of excellent high school athletes like you used to be!" Jack smiled at Lucy.

"I thought I was ok, but my kids put me to shame," as she smiled and her her husband a knowing wink.

Ralph added, "Mari won a conference title in discus!"

"That's great!  What year is she?" Jack asked.

"She's a junior"

"Wow, still another year left.  Maybe she'll compete at state next year".

"Maybe!" Lucy and Ralph said in unison.  Ralph asked, "Do they treat you well at the newspaper?"  Jack knew he was more interested in how much he was being paid rather than how he was "treated". 

"Well, with all the problems newspapers are having, I am glad things are steady, and I have plenty of work. How is your career going?"

"Ok, I  have been busy too"

"Lucy, are you still working at a clinic?"

"No, I haven't worked there in years, thanks to when Ralph got his promotion," Lucy noted with pride.  Ralph smiled affably at his wife's pride as Jack smiled along.

"Can you believe it will be 40 years since we graduated?" Jack asked Lucy.

"No," replied Lucy, "I can't but when you think about it, so much has happened since we graduated."

"Lots of changes to people and circumstances," Jack observed.

"Yes"

"Are you going to the class reunion when they have Homecoming next fall?"

"No, I haven't gone since the 5th year reunion," Lucy dismissively noted.

"Why?"

"Because Gary grabbed my posterior right in front of Ralph," Lucy replied disdainfully.

"Gary?"

"He was the only guy in our class with blonde hair"

"Oh, right, he was medium height and medium build.  He left our school for awhile, right?"

"Yes, I knew you would remember him"

"And I felt like punching him!" Ralph asserted, "I was in nearly a dozen fights and won them all during college!"

"Except the one with Pete Wilson," Lucy observed.

"Yes, but he was on the college football team!" Ralph stated.

"Your accomplishments later in life are much bigger than any fight you won," Lucy mused.

"And look how well your kids turned out !" Jack noted.

"Thanks, Jack," Lucy replied.  Lucy's gratitude was the furthest thing from Jack's mind as he could not believe how nice Lucy still looked after all these years.

"Are you sure you won't be going?" Jack asked.

"We won't" they said in unison.

"Well, listen, I want to go and see how well my kids are doing with their Grandma, so I probably should get going," Jack said.  He was looking for a smooth, suave departure from the two.

"How have your kids been doing, Jack?" Lucy asked.

"They all made the honor roll last semester.  One son is in basketball and football, and the other is in track.  Both daughters are in cheerleading," he noted.

"Wow, how often do both daughters make the cheerleading team?!?" Lucy wondered.

"Probably not that often, but they have a very good rapport with the cheerleading coach.  She's also the Language Arts teacher, and they do well writing," Jack recalled.

"They take after you then?" Ralph smiled as he asked.

"Maybe," Jack shrugged nonchalantly.

"Well, listen, Jack, it was nice to see you," Lucy said and shook his hand.  Jack also shook Ralph's hand, and after the "goodbyes", they left and went to their respective cars.

Jack was happy to see her and talk to her, but felt disappointment that he wouldn't see her at the reunion.  Jack was willing to block Gary or, better yet, occupy Gary from talking or doing anything stupid with Lucy.  But then again, wasn't that what Ralph was supposed to do?

Jack realized that the Thompsons could not be bothered.  He understood that they were more comfortable on a boat with friends they enjoyed sharing fun times with rather than former classmates she grew apart from.  That was all there was to it.  He knew that he was going to have to be content with this chance encounter, there was no use wanting more.  
---------------------------
+*+ CCD = Confraternity of Christian Doctrine is the teaching of Catholic youth the doctrine of The Church.  While many Catholic students go to private schools and learn about Catholicism during school, most kids, sharing the same faith, go to a Catholic education session on Saturdays or 1 weekday evening during the school year. 

more fiction as the 2 talk

Jack had given Brent an excellent documentary on human behavior and social psychology called “This Emotional Life” and Brent saw the 1st part of the 3-part series that Jack bought.

“This is really good, and I can relate to a lot of what it says,” Brent exclaimed to Jack minutes after Jack entered his apartment.

“It is, you learn a lot when they discuss aspects of relationships between couples”

“Speaking of couples, that’s pretty nice that Karla let Joe (Brent & Jack’s younger brother) play in that band for the past year or so,” Brent stated.

“Yes, she’s a good wife,” Jack replied.

“There were times when she was criticized before”

“True, but you really can’t know success; they’ve been married 20 years.”

“Better than Martha (Jack’s ex)”

“Exactly,” Jack exclaimed, “I think that Karla shares our family’s strength in being resourceful and saving money.”

“Yeah, I heard she’s gone to rummage sales”

“& Martha has never been to one since 1994. She’ll pride herself on spending less than $120 on clothes in a year but then spend too much on groceries and all sorts of crap for the kids,” Jack note.

“& that hurt when you went bankrupt”

“There were a number for the bankrupt. It would be wrong to blame them all on Martha. But those 2 years after the millennium were the 2 worst years of my life. I hope to never go back to those days or the problems that occurred then.”

Brent asked, “Did you want to end it all?” Jack brushed aside the question. “The fact that she can save money well, be a good mother and allow him to do his hobbies, makes her a good wife”

“Yeah, I think so”

you know what's interesting

In the 3 times that I have had surgery (& none of them were serious, extensive surgeries, Thank God), the anesthesiologist was the nicest person in the room. I wonder why? Is it because they're paid well and their job isn't as hard as the surgeon's??  I'm just guessing. 

When they inject the sleeping agent into the IV line, they always tell you to count back from 100.  I'm sure glad I haven't even made it to 80.  I distinctly remember not even making it to 90 last time. 

The GLIB, SUPERFICIAL conversation

It was a good Memorial Day holiday for our condo complex yesterday !  Amid rumors that the pool would not open because of some mysterious slime, the pool opened on time, and the water looked great (without slime).  I was almost, but not quite amused at the conversation I heard yesterday when I went to the pool. 
1=1st man
2=2nd man.  Both men know each other at this condo complex.

1: Things are better than they were last year at this time.
2:  Good! I'm happy for you!  It's about time it's that way for you.
1:  I mean the one thing I have to deal with is this cancer thing and trying to pay for it all, but...
2. (interrupting)  Oh,  snap out of it!
1:  Hey, well, it's good seeing you.
2:  Talk to you later. Nice seeing you too.
Then "2" thought to himself, "Snap out of it?  Like you snap out of a bad mood and become more reasonable? Like you snap out of sadness and become happy?  Glad he figures it's that easy with cancer."  He would go back for clarification with 1 if he thought the other guy knew what he was talking about.  Ah, glibness........there's not too many things like it. 

Part 2 of 2, Andy's Eulogy

There's little that needs to be said to introduce this.  My oldest son Andy who is 15 has nearly completed a successful 1st year of high school. Andy has spent a good deal of time being a caretaker to his grandfather during at least the last two, if not three years of his life.
After his 83 yr. old grandfather died on May 21, the wake, funeral and burial was held Wednesday, May 25.  Here is what Andy said:

--------------------------------------------------

Andy’s Eulogy to His Grandfather, the Late Paul DeMars

We are here today to remember my Grandpa, because he has been with us through good times and bad. And today, he is in heaven to look upon us all to remember him by.

I have always loved my grandfather whether he needed personal care, cooking a delicious meal, grabbing his medical kits-whether it’s blood pressure or blood sugar monitoring, and most of all spending quality time with him.

I remember when my grandpa was bored, and I wanted to spend some quality time with him so I brought out a board game, “LIFE”. When we played, he had 2 daughters, then when he had gotten the boy, he said, “Andy, thanks for helping me. You are like the son I never had”. That was a moment I have never forgotten. Thank you grandpa for always being there for me.

I love you very much.

Andrew V. Schauf, delivered on 5/25/2011

dogs rise to the occasion

Part 1 of 2

Maribeth's father passes away on May 20

Paul DeMars died exactly a week and12 hours ago. He was my ex-wife's father.  I was surprised to learn that part of the reason he died was from dehydration (according to the Death Certificate).  However, we knew about the other problems.  He had renal failure and was finished when his heart gave out.  He did not even live 1 day at the nursing home he was at.  Maribeth said that he acted like he didn't want to be there.  I don't think there was any malpractice with respect to his dehydration. It was a matter that the kidneys worked so bad that they didn't allow the rest of the body to get liquid.  That's my theory. I'm no doctor, so I am not sure.  

Before, I laughed myself silly when the 2 dogs above got together.  No, I'm kidding.  Yet, Maribeth owner of Minnie, black gentle pit bull, and Faith, my Late Father-in-Law's dog (black & white Border Collie/Sheepdog mix) didn't get along very well.  It was a pattern.  Minnie, age 1, would bounce around Faith (age 8) and the older dog would feel her space was violated and bark at Minnie.  Minnie is about the opposite of the stereotype of a nasty fighting pit bull.  My dear friend, Patricia, has a dachsund, (this breed is illustrated below).  Minnie, backs down to a damn dachsund! 

It was like I told my son, Andy, "I have good news and bad news for you, son.  The good news is we don't have to worry about Minnie tearing up anything but my old cowboy boots. She gets along great with other dogs.  The bad news is that if another person or animal attacked you; Minnie would sit and watch or  get herself killed trying to save you ". 

& Brianna found someone to play baseball with.....

Parental talk

A conversation; making it quicker, I'm not using quotes but more like a play which I don't do often

D: father

T: 2nd son

Ma

---------------------

D: You have 3 Cs and you nearly had straight As last quarter and the quarter before. Can you bring it up?

T: I hope so, I know I’ll do well in the fraction test on May 20

D: I know you had a growth spurt in 5 months you went from a size 9 ½ adult shoe to a 11 ½ shoe now. & you’ve gotten 8 ½ hrs. of sleep

T: Yeah, but it didn’t take much out of me until now.

D: Things are harder now. Each quarter of school is different from the last. Maybe you better put some Mountain Dew with your lunch from now on (both laugh, enter Mom).

Enter Ma

D: We were talking about his lousy grades (T makes no facial expression b/c he expects better from himself).

Ma: You have to go to bed earlier get more than 9 hrs. of sleep.

D: You have to eat more earlier in the day, T, you skimp on breakfast, lunch and eat a big supper.

T: I want to lose weight.

D: Weight shouldn’t be a factor. & that’s precisely the wrong way to lose weight ! You’re growing. Look at Andy, gets enough rest, gets good grades and he’s taller and more slender! !

Ma:  YOU GOTTA GET MORE SLEEP !

D: But Ma, we really should take him to a Dr.

Ma: That’s fine as long as you take time off work and handle it.

D. Yeah, but you work full time, 12 hr. shifts & you work 3 times a week.

Ma. HERE’S WHAT’S HAPPENING! He’ll get more sleep. If that don’t work, we take him to Dr. NOW THAT’S ENOUGH, MY FATHER IS DYING !

(Ma storms out of room T & Dad were in)

D: She gets angry, but she’s right. And she’s going through a lot now. We have both options,   sleep now and maybe later we'll get blood tests.  You should be fine by June, sometime.

T: Yeah, I’m not that worried about it.

There was a rather angry debate in my neighborhood at a garage sale.


God & salvation are on the minds of many people.

There was a COUPLE of people that said we should live simple like the Apostles and the Early Disciples as discussed in Acts and the Epistles. But a group that goes to church regularly and give much money in philanthropy ridiculed the idea. They said and laughed, "How are you going to live simply when we are almost required in the US to have a computer, Internet and cellphone??"

Some suggested getting good information and not live too luxioursly.

One person in the COUPLE said that Internet was evil and that the Apostles didn't need that to be a success in life.

What do you feel? Is either side right? What is the middle way??

If there is a middle way, please explain how you negotiate your time between praying, the Internet and the challenges of lack of money and the difficulties of living in 2011