Its always hard to believe when my DH acts in a nasty unreasonable way about something. Even after nearly 30 years of marriage, I persist in thinking he's at heart a nicer person than he actually is, I guess. I'm the eternal optimist; he is the pessimist.
Anyway, I took the day off today; gave my 8.5 hours shift to another cashier who really needs the hours, a single mother whose laid off ex isn't sending child support anymore. It is my ONLY day off this week, as I went to school both of my originally scheduled days off.
Now why does my DH react to this with such meanness and resentment? Since he hasn't worked in nearly 2 years, did he forget that a person needs a day to regroup once in a while? Or does he just not care about that, because he thinks going to school IS avoiding work? Is he worried about money? HE could get a job, duh?
OK, I think that is probably it. He would never admit it, but I bet he is afraid that I will not earn enough to carry on and he will have to get some kind of part-time work himself. That would really cut into his time with his girlfriend, which he actually says is a job, but never seems to produce any income.
It has obviously not occurred to him that I am really incapable of working as a cashier ON MY FEET for more than 8 hours a day, physically I mean. Being so totally friendly and wonderful for that long is hard enough but to maintain it while your whole body is screaming in pain gets harder and harder as the hours slowly pass. Perhaps I should share that fact with him, but I doubt if it will make any difference in his attitude.
s
Friday, August 28, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Bloglines - 7 Myths About Global Warming and Carbon Cap-and-Trade Regulation
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Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Someone has sent you a message from Center for Rural Affairs
Published on Center for Rural Affairs (http://www.cfra.org)
A Faithful Perspective on Health Care: Part II
By Steph Larsen
Created 08/26/2009 - 16:04
By Sabrina Miller
Sabrina Miller is a Young Adult Intern with the Rural Response Committee of the Nebraska United Methodist Conference. Her first in this series of blog posts is here [1].
My primary goal in speaking with people about health care is to create a space of respect, love, and open conversation, and let differing opinions exist while having exhilarating discussion. As I talked with folks in local churches about health care reform, similar topics continued to arise, and fear that reform would leave them without care.
Many were retired and comfortable with their Medicare insurance, and appreciated the personal relationship they were able to have with their health care providers. Some people were disconnected from the realities in their communities. One town in North Central Nebraska receives 70% of its hospital income from Medicaid alone, and many patients with Medicare or no insurance.
I encouraged participants to see a bigger picture: If you are Christian as I am, we must look beyond our personal needs and fear, and see how care can be provided for every person, each a temple of God.
Issue 1: Health Care is working for me, therefore it does not need to be reformed. I talked to people with employer provided insurance that paid well over $10,000 a year, and up to $18,000 including co-pays. While they receive the care they need, they pay very high amounts for it.
This system may be working for those who have good benefits and steady jobs, but the self-employed and individuals who work at small businesses which are the heart and savior of small communities suffer. They often cannot afford insurance, or if they do purchase it, pay higher costs and receive less reimbursement. This leads to medical debt [2], and neglect of preventive care.
And of course, I hope we will consider the needs of the 47 million Americans with no insurance [3]at all, no longer a marginal number, but overwhelming in scope.
Issue 2: Uninsured individuals don’t want insurance, or could afford it if they lived more frugally. This argument is invalid firstly to the Christian who wants to provide care for every person. Secondly, uninsured people are often families with full-time employment, some poor, but more and more frequently people who are simply not offered health care by their employer and feel they can’t afford insurance which itself costs more than the poverty line income.
If you have to choose between health insurance and food or utilities, immediate needs must be met. Other people without insurance do not have it because of pre-existing conditions, like diabetes or a mental health issue. The people that need good health insurance are those least likely to have access to it.
In my next post, I'll explore other issues on this topic.
Links:
[1] http://www.cfra.org/blog/2009/08/21/faithful-perspective-health-care-part-i-0
[2] http://www.cfra.org/blog/2009/08/25/428-rears-its-head-again
[3] http://www.cfra.org/weeklycolumn/2009/05/11/uninsured-and-underinsured
Starting school again
I started classes in the health core curriculum at Estrella Mountain Community College yesterday. I'll be going Tuesday and Thursday afternoons this semester, then if I still have no job at Banner, I'll transfer to Gateway to get the Health Unit Coordinator certificate to keep trying for a job. I do plan to try and finish this semester even if I get the Banner job, as it will update my medical terminology. I took the class in the late 80s at Phoenix College, but lost my book somewhere and it never hurts to do it again anyway.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Still waiting for interview
Its been up and down while waiting for a call from HR to interview me for the job I want. The website actually said I was no longer being considered 24 hours after I applied, but I sent a note to the manager who will be interviewing me, and she told HR that she WANTS to interview me. Now the website says pending review, and the job posting is no longer listed on the open jobs page. I THINK this is encouraging. Anyway, I am as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs waiting for a call from HR. AND I start school this afternoon, on Tues and Thurs afternoons through December, so I am doubly nervous. I'll be fine as soon as I actually get there, but anxious about change is how I am. I handle it fine; I'm just always nervous about it beforehand.
Someone has sent you a message from Center for Rural Affairs
Published on Center for Rural Affairs (http://www.cfra.org)
Questions on Health Care Legislation? Me too.
By Steph Larsen
Created 08/24/2009 - 17:38
In my last blog post [1], I said that I'd post some links to summaries on the various health care bills floating in Congressional limbo. It's taken me a week, and while I'm still not satisfied with the results of my searches, here is what I came up with.
First, let's look at bill summaries. These reference various proposals - the Senate Finance Committee, the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, the House Tri-Committee (a fancy way of combining the Education and Labor, the Ways and Means, and the Energy and Commerce Committees), and President Obama's Principles for Health Reform - but don't actually make you read the legislation. Trust me when I say that is a blessing.
- My favorite is this summary by the Kaiser Family Foundation [2]. More on it below, but if you only look at one of these links, this should be it.
- Families USA [3], a non-partisan non-profit health care advocacy organization, has put together numerous topic-specific reports on health reform:
- Coverage for America: We All Stand to Gain [4] discusses how the House bill will make health insurance affordable for all Americans
- Don't be fooled by the title, 10 Reasons to Support the Health Care Reform Bills [5]is no fluff piece. It cuts through the legal-ese and is full of references on what the bills contain and why these changes are needed
- Setting the Record Straight on Medicare [6] briefly discusses what health reform would do for Medicare
- A short piece explains Why Employers Should Share the Responsibility of Paying for Health Care [7]
- They have lots of other reports and summaries here
[8]
- The Kaiser Family Foundation has a great online comparison tool to view the various health care reform proposals. While longer (and more technical), Kaiser still tries to use understandable language.
- This link takes you to a side by side comparison [2] of all 4 proposals. I refer to this frequently, and it has a good search function.
- This link [9] allows you to pick any number of the various proposals to compare side by side, and includes a wider variety than the one above. Also very helpful.
- This link [10] compares only the proposals that have passed out of their respective committees (the Senate HELP Committee and the House Tri-Committee)
- This link takes you to a side by side comparison [2] of all 4 proposals. I refer to this frequently, and it has a good search function.
- Ezra Klein had a blog post about the House Tri-Committee bill [11] that I thought did a good job of outlining what is in the bill
Then the various committees also have their own summaries. They make for very dry reading, but if you can get through them they can also tell you what's in their proposal. I did not find one on the Senate Finance Committee page, probably because they haven't finalized their bill yet.
- House Education and Labor bill summary [12], and there is also a whole page with links on this bill here [13]
- House Ways and Means page with links to the bill [14]
- House Energy and Commerce Committee press release and brief summary [15] of the bill
- Senate HELP Committee press release with Section by Section Narrative [16]
- Kaiser Family Foundation side by side of Senate Finance Committee Options, Senate HELP, House Tri-committee bill, President Obama's Principles [2]
Finally, if you're a glutton for punishment, the entire House bill (called HR 3200) is online, accurate to July 14, 2009. I found it through this Congress.org link [17], but you can also access a very large PDF of it here [18].
I hope that through these links you can answer for yourself some of the concerns and questions you have about the bill.
Democracy works best when we can be presented with the legislation and make up our own minds instead of having someone suggest to us what to think with a clever sound byte.
Links:
[1] http://www.cfra.org/../../../../../../blog/2009/08/16/more-reasons-health-care-reform
[2] http://www.kff.org/healthreform/upload/healthreform_sbs_full.pdf
[3] http://www.familiesusa.org/about/
[4] http://www.familiesusa.org/assets/pdfs/health-reform/coverage-for-america.pdf
[5] http://www.familiesusa.org/assets/pdfs/health-reform/10-reasons-to-support-reform.pdf
[6] http://www.familiesusa.org/assets/pdfs/health-reform/medicare-setting-the-record-straight.pdf
[7] http://www.familiesusa.org/assets/pdfs/health-reform/employer-responsibility.pdf
[8] http://www.familiesusa.org/resources/publications/by-date/publications-by-date-2009.html
[9] http://www.kff.org/healthreform/sidebyside.cfm
[10] http://www.kff.org/healthreform/upload/healthreform_tri_full.pdf
[11] http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2009/07/the_house_releases_its_health-.html
[12] http://edlabor.house.gov/documents/111/pdf/publications/AAHCA-BILLSUMMARY-071409.pdf
[13] http://edlabor.house.gov/blog/2009/07/americas-affordable-health-choices-act.shtml
[14] http://waysandmeans.house.gov/MoreInfo.asp?section=52
[15] http://energycommerce.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1723:energy-and-commerce-committee-passes-historic-health-care-reform-legislation&catid=122:media-advisories&Itemid=55
[16] http://help.senate.gov/Maj_press/2009_07_15_b.pdf
[17] http://www.congress.org/congressorg/issues/bills/?billtype=H.R.&billnumb=3200&congress=111
[18] http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:h3200ih.txt.pdf
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
JOb finally posted
Finally, the job I have been waiting to apply for, at Banner Estrella, has been posted externally, and I was able to apply online. My hair is colored and short, and my new glasses look modern and snazzy, so I am ready to be interviewed, just as soon as I get a call from the HR there. The boss does know I applied, as I emailed her and said so, so hopefully she will ask HR for my app if they don't get right on the stick. I just want to go, and get this job, and go back to my real life in health care. PetSmart has been fun, but I am a grownup and need to do a grownup job.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Whining
I finally got a birthday card from my mother, although I suspect that another relative probably reminded her after reading my whiny posts about it. I agree my demented and semi-crippled dad keeps her busy, so I forgive her. What are the choices, anyway? ANd why is my bloody birthday so very important? Cause its mine, thats why. ANd my whining did produce notes from several other people that I haven't heard from in a long time, so there was a net gain for me.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
New hope
An email from my friend says that her boss IS cognizant of the delay in posting the pool position I want, and thanks me for being patient. She will do something to ramp it up if the position is not posted pretty soon. This reassures me somewhat; I was getting pretty discouraged.
I finally heard from the corporate center that they don't want me and wanted to let me know without delay. Duh, it has been at least a month since the website said I was no longer being considered. Better late than never I guess.
A visit to Target Optical yesterday for a new glasses prescription and ordered new glasses. I am getting a narrow rectangular frame the color of my new hair, sorta auburn with progressive lenses. Can't wait; I will look much more modern. I guess my present huge roundish lenses look very 70s.
ANd the bifocal line will be gone. I couldn't afford progressive lenses last time, and just hate them. No mid-range vision, which makes computer work, cash register work, most things difficult to see well. ANd lately I haven't been able to see far or close either one as my eyes have changed. It will take 10 days or so to get the new glasses and I can't wait.
I finally heard from the corporate center that they don't want me and wanted to let me know without delay. Duh, it has been at least a month since the website said I was no longer being considered. Better late than never I guess.
A visit to Target Optical yesterday for a new glasses prescription and ordered new glasses. I am getting a narrow rectangular frame the color of my new hair, sorta auburn with progressive lenses. Can't wait; I will look much more modern. I guess my present huge roundish lenses look very 70s.
ANd the bifocal line will be gone. I couldn't afford progressive lenses last time, and just hate them. No mid-range vision, which makes computer work, cash register work, most things difficult to see well. ANd lately I haven't been able to see far or close either one as my eyes have changed. It will take 10 days or so to get the new glasses and I can't wait.
Saturday, August 08, 2009
Abrazo
I think maybe it really DOES automatically disqualify you to work at Abrazo if you have worked for them before. I was joking when I said that before, but they have already rejected my application for Financial Counselor at West Valley, and the position is still posted. No hi, shit, or boo about it. I guess I will have to give up on them, close or not, and concentrate on trying to get back to Banner. There my excellent record and undoubted skills will count FOR me, if only I can get somebody to look at my record.
AJ
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Waiting, again
So I have filled out a few more online applications to my preferred work places and am back to waiting to see if they deem me worthy of an interview. I just wish there were some way to show prospective employers what I can really do and what I am really like. I have never had an employer yet that didn't want to clone me, but that just doesn't seem to get through a job application, and often not through an interview either. I think if it weren't so difficult for big employers to actually let people go once hired, they would be more willing to give (what they consider) imperfect applicants a chance. A reinstatement of the old 30-60-90 reviews with possible termination at each step would make them much more willing. I know that that applies theoretically in many places, but its only theory. They should put it into actual practice.
My not so humble opinion. I have no fear of being judged by my work. I welcome it. I just need the chance to actually do some.
My not so humble opinion. I have no fear of being judged by my work. I welcome it. I just need the chance to actually do some.
Sunday, August 02, 2009
Where did my family go?
On another subject, I wonder why I never hear from my family members anymore. Not my mother or sister or SIL, or MIL, or DIL. Not that I ever heard much from MIL or DIL, but I used to get the occasional email from my sister, and my mom has always been a regular writer, either by mail, or more recently by email. Now I don't believe I have heard anything from her since before my dad's birthday in early May. And I have sent at least 4 snail mail cards in that time, plus at least that many emails. I know somebody would phone if something bad had happened, so I guess its just that nobody cares to communicate with me. It hurts.
I believe my sister has actually moved across 2 states since her last email, and I only know about that because she sent out a group email to our aunts and uncle and included me. I wrote to her several times when my niece's husband died, so its not like I am the one who disappeared.
The most faithful writer has been my brother's wife, but I am not even hearing from her anymore. Maybe people don't even think of writing to somebody who doesn't want to use Facebook and doesn't twitter. Heck, I think I am advanced enough by writing this blog. Oh well, my birthday is pretty quick and surely I will hear from at least my mother then.
I believe my sister has actually moved across 2 states since her last email, and I only know about that because she sent out a group email to our aunts and uncle and included me. I wrote to her several times when my niece's husband died, so its not like I am the one who disappeared.
The most faithful writer has been my brother's wife, but I am not even hearing from her anymore. Maybe people don't even think of writing to somebody who doesn't want to use Facebook and doesn't twitter. Heck, I think I am advanced enough by writing this blog. Oh well, my birthday is pretty quick and surely I will hear from at least my mother then.
Feast or Famine
Of course, since I decided to go to school, signed up, and paid for the Fall semester, a possible job has cropped up again, at Banner Estrella. My friend gave my resume to her boss and talked me up, and I have been invited to apply for an ED registration position. That job is what I did for 6.5 years ending in 2000, and is what I trained my friend for long long ago. It will be at least a week before the boss can do anything about interviewing me as she has a major project in the works, but at least I have hope again.
I would still go to school this semester, as my classes are all Tuesd and Thursd afternoons, but if I could count on 2 shifts a week after training, I would earn more than I earn working ALL week at PetSmart. And it would get me in line for a full-time position. I could still go to Gateway for the certificate in the spring if I still want to be an HUC, or I could stay in the ER with the health core curriculum classes from Estrella to my credit. Either is a good scenario. Now to be nervous and anxious for at least another week. until I hear or don't hear from my friend's boss.
I would still go to school this semester, as my classes are all Tuesd and Thursd afternoons, but if I could count on 2 shifts a week after training, I would earn more than I earn working ALL week at PetSmart. And it would get me in line for a full-time position. I could still go to Gateway for the certificate in the spring if I still want to be an HUC, or I could stay in the ER with the health core curriculum classes from Estrella to my credit. Either is a good scenario. Now to be nervous and anxious for at least another week. until I hear or don't hear from my friend's boss.
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