Write From Karen

This little guy has nothing to do with a turkey, but he's cute and who cares.

Actually. We got our vouchers for a free turkey last week.

I went and picked up the CERTIFICATE today before I went into work.

Now. I get to cash that certificate in and get a free turkey from Price Cutter.

Why my company didn’t just give us the certificates to begin with and skip the voucher stage is beyond me.

I suppose they wanted to make us come up to the hospital so they could make a fuss over us. Which. Okay. But I was in a hurry to get to work and I felt sort of silly being made a fuss over, so I simply walked in, switched out my voucher for my certificate (silly, I know), and left with a smile and an “excuse me.”

It was a nice gesture, though. My company had some gifts displayed that you could buy along with food and even a Santa that you could have your picture taken with. (And to my complete surprise, a few of the people actually took advantage of that. Call me crazy, but watching grown women sitting on some “old” man’s lap seems a little pervish to me, but I’m a prude, so …)

I have no idea what we’re going to do with a turkey. I mean, we’ll EAT it, of course, but Kevin and I are already talking about different left over ideas for all of the turkey we’re sure to have left over. Sure. I have two teenage boys, but they’re not exactly vacuums in the food department – evidenced with their anorexic appearances. (Not eating disorders, just over-active metabolisms. They actually inherited that from me and Kevin. I know. It’s hard to believe I was EVER as skinny as a bean pole but yep, once upon a time … in the land before children …)

Kevin and Dude are hitting the town tomorrow. We need five gag gifts. We’re having Christmas at my folks’ house on Saturday and we have nothing to offer.

Other than our sparkling personalities, of course.

I’m looking forward to seeing what they come up with. They mentioned something about hitting the flea markets …

If you’re reading this and happen to be a member of my family … be afraid. Be very afraid.

I survived another work week.

It’s starting to get easier. I think I’m getting it. I hope I’m getting it. I didn’t have to correct AS many mistakes this past week as I’ve had to.

I’m behind. Just not AS behind as I was.

I’ll take what little encouragement I can get.

I’m learning the ropes for outlying clinics. The office lead went out of her way to drive me to the Branson clinic this past Wednesday. I thought that was really nice. (She likes me. But seriously, who WOULDN’T like me. HA!) She showed me how to set up the laptops in the exam rooms, then how to check patients in, make sure they sign the correct paperwork, collect any co-pay, if required, and of course, I know how to check them out – I do that every day.

The day went by fast – sort of. Since I sat and watched the entire day, I was a bit bored and the day dragged on a bit, but after I make myself some notes, I’m pretty sure I can handle outlying clinics in the future.

I rode back to Springfield in the van – with the doctor, his PA, his nurse and MA. It was awkward, but the doctor was super nice and after chit-chatting for a few minutes, he ended up sleeping the rest of the way back to town.

I can’t blame the man. I’m betting he doesn’t get a lot of sleep to begin with.

We got back to the Springfield clinic around 2ish. And I stuck around and worked the rest of the day. In fact, I ended up working until 5:30 (I’m THAT dedicated. Actually, I just don’t want to get that far behind because 1. I don’t want my superiors to think I can’t handle my job and 2. patients are counting on me to get them set up for tests that the doctors ordered so they can proceed with whatever treatment results from those test).

I think they want me to work the Harrison clinic on December 9th. That will be with the other doctor I schedule for. I’ve never met him, so I’m more nervous working that clinic, I think. His nurse is super nice though and I’ve talked to her on several occasions.

One of the gals I work directly with is going on vacation this week – she’ll be gone until Wednesday of next week. I’m not really nervous to have her gone, but it will make my job a little more difficult. I ask her A LOT of questions and though there are other people close that can answer my questions, I don’t feel as comfortable with them. It’s a sink or swim moment, I think. I hope she has a really good time, she deserves the break (they were SUPER short handed before I got there), but at the same time…

*SCREAM!!!*

We got Jazz’s saxophone back from the music store this week. We took it in because it was growing this funky green stuff all over it and it was quite disgusting to look at. They ended up taking it apart, soaking it in a chemical bath and putting it back together again. Now it looks brand new again. I’ve been watching videos on YouTube on how to keep it clean and I will make sure Jazz watches these videos and stays on top of his maintenance in the future.

We can’t afford to pay to have that cleaned every year. It wasn’t as expensive as I thought it might be, but still … it’s something that we can do ourselves.

Or Jazz can do, I should say.

Kevin and Dude are one year older – Kevin turned the big 50 and Dude is 19. We didn’t do much – the guys wanted to eat at Lamberts (the home of the throwed rolls – yes, they really throw rolls at you) and though I like eating there, I HATE the wait time. They are always so stinkin’ busy and Friday night was no exception. However, we got there early enough that we only had to wait about 20 minutes.

It’s a fun place to eat – but the portions are HUGE. I ended up getting the pulled pork sandwich (*drool*) and all three guys got the fried chicken. We went back to Kevin’s parents’ house afterward and had cookie cake.

I didn’t want Dude to feel left out, so I bought him his own cookie cake:

He didn’t mind.

It’s been a challenge trying to celebrate both Kevin and Dude’s birthdays on the same day without making one, or the other, feel left out. When Dude was younger, I used to run around with my head cut off trying to decorate, pick up presents, and get the house cleaned up so we could have a party for my guys. Now that they’re older, it’s not AS big of a deal.

I can’t believe I’m married to a 50-year old. Kevin neither acts, nor looks, 50-years old to me. Not that 50 is old, it just SOUNDS old, doesn’t it?

Dude is officially enrolled at OTC. He went up to OTC on the 17th, by himself, and attended some sort of seminar for new students. He got his student number and was at the bookstore when Kevin met him on campus. They turned in his high school transcript (because Dude wouldn’t ask questions and find out where he was supposed to turn them in) and Kevin was supposed to help him register for classes. But somehow, Dude talked Kevin out of that plan and they ended up coming back home. Kevin then told Dude to get online and register for his three classes (because he had the capability of getting online and doing that since he attended the seminar) while he went back to work. When he came home, Dude still hadn’t registered and Kevin sort of lost it with him.

Welcome to my world.

I’ve told Kevin, from the moment our oldest graduated from high school, that he would have to push Dude EVERY. STEP. OF. THE. WAY. into his future.

And I was right. Dude will take the easy road, every time. And if it even SEEMS like it’s going to be an uncomfortable, and/or new situation for him, he will simply procrastinate and do nothing until we end up losing our temper with him and MAKING him take that next step. I’ve had to push that boy all his life, and I’ve gotten very frustrated with him over the years. I would give him the chance to do whatever it was he needed to do, on his own, first, and when it didn’t happen, then I would have to step in and twist his arm until it DID happen.

I don’t think Kevin really understood what I was talking about until recently. Now that I’m working and unable to hold the boy’s hand anymore, Kevin has had to step up and take charge. He’s A LOT more relaxed than I am, which is better in so many ways, but still, even Kevin has limits. And when he came home and Dude STILL hadn’t registered for his classes, he got pretty angry with him.

And because Dude procrastinated so long that day, he ended up not getting a class that he wanted because it was full by the time he finally committed to registering. He has an English class, a math class and some stupid computer class that he could probably test out of but won’t because he’s afraid of his own shadow and Kevin and I simply don’t have the time to MAKE him do it.

*sigh*

But. The boy is registered and classes start January 17th. He will go from 9:00 to 11:00 every Monday, Wednesday and Friday leaving Tuesday and Thursday free for him to catch up on homework and work – whenever he gets a job.

And that’s another thing.

Kevin and Dude went laptop shopping on Friday. Kevin needs a better laptop because he landed a pretty big client and has to work at their offices for the next four months. They went to a computer store and after Kevin made his selection, he asked them if they were hiring. He actually talked to the owner. And the owner told him, (and Dude), that in order to work in his, or any, really, computer store, Dude would need his A+ certificate. (Some computer thing).

So. We are going to push Dude into getting his certificate because that is his ultimate goal – to work with/around computers. And what better way to start than in a computer store?

Right?

When you ask Dude if he WANTS to do that – he makes a noncommittal sort of sound. But here’s the thing – Dude doesn’t WANT to do anything. What Dude WANTS is to hide in his room and play video games all day because it’s easy and it doesn’t require any effort on his part.

Because the boy is 1. shy and 2. lazy.

Um. NO.

So. We have to push him – for his own good. Because when you ask Dude what he wants to do, or what interests him, he simply shrugs. Since he’s not making a commitment to his future, then I guess we’ll have to push him to that commitment.

I have to be honest. I will breathe easier once Dude starts taking an active interest in his life and starts taking the initiative on DOING something with himself. It’s exhausting always being the bad guy. I know he’s young. I know he probably doesn’t KNOW what he wants out of life, but hells bells, if we wait on him to make up his mind, he’ll be 30-years old and still holed up in his dark room, with his over-sized headphones on his head, completely lost in his cyber world.

Um. NO.

I love my oldest son something fierce. But I’m REALLY ready for him to start living his life.

Without us.

Soon.

I think I’m going to have Jazz drive to school tomorrow. With me, of course, because he doesn’t have his license yet. But I’m not entirely sure he’s READY to drive to school, in morning traffic, yet. He really hasn’t practiced all that much – he’s only been on the busy roads about half a dozen times, but I’m getting impatient for him to learn to drive. It’ll be SO MUCH EASIER when he gets his license.

But if I push him too hard too soon, it will scare him off driving entirely and we’ll end up taking one giant step backward.

*sigh*

Patience is not my strongest suit.

I bought two Christmas albums yesterday: Michael Buble and Glee.

I know!

I’ve already burned both albums and I will be posting the songs from those albums very soon. Buble’s voice is so smooth – he’s sort of a cross between Frank Sinatra and Harry Connick Jr. And of course, the whole Glee cast is fun and different. I had thought I might put our Christmas tree up this weekend, but I’ve just been too sapped of energy to even think about it. I have a four-day weekend coming up, so that will give me a chance to get some stuff caught up around the house and to get the tree up.

I started my Christmas shopping today. I buy everything online because 1. I have NO time to shop and 2. I would rather avoid the lines and simply have it delivered to me.

Only. I don’t trust our mail service anymore (because NetFlix didn’t receive yet another movie and I’ve now resorted to dropping our movies off into an actual mailbox instead of leaving them in our mailbox), so I will have to have our packages delivered to either Kevin’s office, or order my stuff from Wal-Mart and just pick up my stuff from them.

Which saves me on shipping but UGH, PAIN IN THE BUTT.

I know this crappy economy has put people in dire straits and you can always tell when things are bad when people start stealing movies out of your mailbox or break into places to steal copper so they can resell it, but still! It’s not an excuse.

And lastly …

Mega-Actress Worth $58 Million Caught Trying to Go Incognito During Occupy Protest bit.ly/sBRySt //Idea: Put money where protest is.—
Karen M (@writefromkaren) November 20, 2011

Listen. If you're going to protest big business/capitalism, then don't profit from it. You can't have it both ways – either for/against it.—
Karen M (@writefromkaren) November 20, 2011

Personally? I like capitalism because it allows me opportunity to be successful & THEN ENJOY IT by giving back to community in various ways.—
Karen M (@writefromkaren) November 20, 2011

You want to be successful in America? Work for it. We are a country DESIGNED to offer opportunities – don't take them? Your problem.—
Karen M (@writefromkaren) November 20, 2011

So SICK of whiny people. Successful people use their time to be productive. Whiny people use their time to b*tch and moan. Wah. Big babies.—
Karen M (@writefromkaren) November 20, 2011

There. I feel better since getting that off my chest.

It’s like I sit down to write something and then think, “Eh. I’m too tired to deal with it.” And then I see that more people actually come to read my silly blog when I DON’T write and I think, “See? Absence really DOES make the heart grow fonder.”

I can’t believe I didn’t write anything this past week. But rest assured, Internet, I’m getting used to this new pace and I will do better.

Maybe.

It makes me sad just how many people are in pain.

I have to deal with a lot of people in my job. And given the nature of my job, I deal with a lot of people who are in a lot of pain.

It hurts me to talk to them sometimes. Some of them even break down and cry when I talk to them because I, or my doctors, simply can’t do anything for them.

It’s sad and humbling at the same time.

It also makes me very thankful that I’m healthy. My family is healthy. And that we have health insurance. Some people are self-pay and they have to work out a payment plan before they can be treated.

One woman just broke my heart this past week. I went above and beyond the call of duty to help her and was able to plead her case to get her in sooner to see the doctor. I’m not telling you this to pat myself on the back but because it was the right thing to do. Because I’m compassionate and helping people is THE reason I decided to bite the bullet and dive head first into the health care field.

And I’ll tell you something else – I now have a bird’s eye view of what all of the health care insurance hoopla is about and I’m telling you RIGHT NOW, ObamaCare is not going to work. In fact, it’s going to hurt a lot of people. And though I understand that ObamaCare was well intended (well, sort of), it’s actually going to be counter-productive. Because doctors didn’t go to med-school and willingly put themselves in debt, or in a high-stress profession, simply to do the work for free. They want to be paid. They deserve to be paid for their time and talents. And though I won’t argue that our health care does indeed need a complete restructure, it does NOT need what Obama just crammed down our throats.

I’m telling you now – mark my words – if we don’t repeal this disastrous law and replace it with something that is reasonable and fair to everyone, there are going to be A LOT of people who won’t get the health care attention they need and deserve.

It’s a convoluted mess and we need some realistic, steel-spined individuals in there who will not be afraid to make the changes that we HAVE to make in order to save our health care system.

I’m now in the thick of this health-care mess – it’s not pretty, friends.

Since Obamacare’s Passage, Millions Have Lost Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance bit.ly/uT2amS // Hate to say it, but told you.—
Karen M (@writefromkaren) November 12, 2011

Kevin forwarded me an email this week. It was a receipt and a thank you note for donating to Herman Cain’s campaign.

That’s right – we donated money to Herman Cain’s campaign.

Do I like Herman Cain? I do. And mainly because he’s not afraid to stand up to the Republican “establishment” and say what we’re all thinking. He’s got cajónes – and we need someone in the White House with cajónes.

That’s right, I said it.

Is he my favorite out of all the Republican candidates? Right now, yes. But I still wish we had someone like Cain but with more political experience. And the fact that he scares our media enough for them to viciously attack him and throw all sorts of crazy allegations at him is enough to get my attention. Because if the media doesn’t like him, then he must be a threat. And that’s pretty much good enough for me.

Yay! I got my Cuddl Duds today. Because wearing scrubs is like wearing paper, that's why.—
Karen M (@writefromkaren) November 12, 2011

I didn’t tell anyone at work it was my birthday. Not even after Kevin’s attempts to force my hand by having flowers delivered to my cubby hole.

(I just told people that my husband is awesome and sent them “for no reason.” Yes. I’m a stinker).

It was a quiet, and unassuming, day – just like me. (Stop laughing).

Though my co-workers sort of figured it out after the fact and one gal brought homemade red velvet cupcakes to celebrate on Friday. (*DROOL*)

I was supposed to get the flowers before noon and with a big “Happy Birthday” balloon, but the flowers came about 2:00 and they didn’t include a balloon.

Kevin was pretty ticked off. (He complained, by the way. Because if you’re going to pay extra for the extras you should get the extras, right?)

My birthday has never really been a big deal to me. I mean, it’s nice to have people acknowledge the day, but I would honestly prefer if they wished me happy birthday and be done with it.

I know it sounds strange, coming from me, but I really feel uncomfortable being the center of attention. (Stop laughing).

I had to stay after work and return a few phone calls. (I’m always about ten phone calls behind – I’m getting used to it, actually). I didn’t get home until 5:30. My folks were already here and waiting for me and they gave me a Bath and Body Works gift card (SCORE) and my mom made me a beautiful neck warmer. (I would model it, but I’m looking a little rough right now and I’ll spare you the horror. You’re welcome).

I had put a pot roast on earlier in the day and we had hot roast beef sandwiches with The Pioneer Woman’s DELICIOUS mashed potatoes. (Seriously. I could LIVE off those potatoes alone). We didn’t go out to eat because I hate going out to eat. By the time we get through the meal, it’s two hours later and we’re about $100 poorer. It’s such a waste, in my opinion. We stayed home. Relaxed. And saved moocho bucks.

I was a happy girl.

Kevin DID surprise me with a gift, though. Four tickets to see the Trans Siberian Orchestra!!!!!! Which is TONIGHT, by the way!! I’m beyond excited. I’ve been watching YouTube videos and we’re all really looking forward to seeing their show. Hopefully, I can sneak a little video to show you later.

I’m not making promises.

We finally got Jazz’s car back from the mechanic’s yesterday. It had been leaking a lot of oil. Apparently, not only was the oil thingie rusted through, but there was a lot of thingies rusted through and they had to replace them.

We’re now $600 dollars poorer. OUCH. However, there is a bright spot in this story – the mechanic said that after fixing this? It’s actually a pretty solid little car so hopefully we won’t have to pay for any more “fixes” for quite a while.

It’s STILL worth not having him learn to drive in my car.

We dropped Jazz’s saxophone off at the music store to have it cleaned the other day. They called to say that there was so much gunk built up that they were going to have to take it apart and soak it in a chemical bath before putting it back together again.

I braced myself to hear how much that was going to cost – but luckily, it was much cheaper than we thought it would be. I’m looking forward to getting it back – it’s going to look brand new. AND, we’ll make sure that Jazz keeps up with his maintenance duties in the future.

I spent most of my day trying to make my house smell nice. I live with three boys/men – need I say more?—
Karen M (@writefromkaren) November 12, 2011

(NOT my picture. Puh-lease. I wish).

What a beautiful day! ………. To stay in and get some chores done.

*sigh*

I didn’t want to. I had to. Since we’ve been gone these past three weekends, my house was looking like something out of a horror movie – only with more color and fewer ghosts. But I prevailed, ladies and gentlemen, I got everything on my to-do list done this weekend.

Laundry
Bathrooms
Dry mopped the hardwood floor
Mopped the kitchen floor
Straightened up the bedroom (which really means I put MY laundry away. Kevin always puts his away).
Blogged

Wait. As I’m sitting here writing this I’ve noticed one thing I didn’t get done today – my desk. Is gross. And I WILL get MY corner cleaned up before the end of the day.

As God is my witness, I SHALL clean this corner up today! (Just channeling a little ‘Gone with the Wind’ there).

Anyway. I feel like I actually accomplished something today, which is more than I can say for MOST of my weekends, thank you very much.

We have one more band weekend coming up. We’ll be making a one-day trip to Columbia Missouri next weekend -that’s Jazz’s last band competition. It’s at Mizzou and hopefully our kids can take 1st place. We’ve done really well this season, but it would be the icing on the cake if we brought home a 1st place trophy.

I’m sort of glad the season is winding down (I bet you are too). Though I have SO MUCH FUN traveling around and cheering them on, it’s exhausting. Especially when you start a new job in an industry you know nothing about and are trying to focus and learn as much as you can in a short amount of time that your brain is mush by the time you come home and it’s all you can do to keep your eyes open to finish dinner with your family.

So. Yeah. The job is going well.

No really. An email was sent out to the clinic on Thursday letting everyone know that I was “ready” to take charge of two doctors. This means I’m in charge of these doctors’ patients and anything schedule related comes to me. I’m getting all sorts of voicemails from patients wanting to either cancel appointments, reschedule appointments or, they want to make an appointment, which requires research on my part before I can make those appointments. For you see, I work for a group of neurosurgeons and they are not like primary care physicians – you can’t just make an appointment to see them for every little ache and pain, there are certain things that I have to look for in order to make that appointment. And if those things are not present, then I have to “flag” the nurse (which is like an instant message system) and ask them if it’s okay to schedule them.

Because I’m a peon and am only paid to do what I’m told. Which is FINE. I’m OKAY with that. I just have to be careful how much initiative I take on.

So I’m learning a lot about this medical field and picking up new terms and learning about new procedures and tests every day. I have to say, it’s damn interesting and no two patients are alike as far as what they need done. It’s challenging and completely absorbs my focus and attention and I really love it.

And I’m not just saying that – I really do LOVE my job.

I’m starting (and only JUST starting) to get a handle on my new routine. My energy level is starting to slowly catch up with my duties and I’ll be used to this new lifestyle in no time. The one thing that I have the hardest time with is the fact that I’m isolated from my family. It’s like I’ve been sequestered and I’m quite literally stepping into a whole new world, separate from them and definitely out of my comfort zone.

But it’s exactly what I needed. I felt like my brain was going soft and it feels SO GOOD to be using my brain again.

Or what little brain matter I have, that is.

Even though my shift starts at 8:30, I’m going in at 8:00 for the next three mornings to make up for the time I’ll have to take off Thursday morning to get my tooth fixed. (I broke it last weekend). I’m thinking I’m going to regret making my appointment for so early in the morning because this means I’ll have to go to work with a numb mouth and will likely be talking weird.

Oh well. I’m getting used to coping with obstacles, what’s one more, right?

Update on my guys:

Kevin has been on a mission to get Dude out in public more. Dude is still going to the office every day and they go out to lunch twice a week. They go shopping at various places whenever they go out – they even went out to the driving range and hit some golf balls. (I have a video of that coming soon). Dude is a very introverted individual and Kevin is hoping that by getting him out and around people more, he’ll loosen up a bit and not be so freaked out whenever he gets a job. He hasn’t had any more interviews but it hasn’t been for lack of trying – he’s been applying someplace nearly every day and Kevin keeps track of his spread sheet and makes him re-apply at places. It’s just a matter of time before the kid gets a job. But it might not be until this crappy economy turns around and I’m predicting that won’t happen until Obama is voted out of office.

*ahem*

In the meantime, Dude has been getting his documents ready to submit to a vocational college. He’s planning on taking two computer classes next semester, so that will be enough to keep him busy until he gets a job. It’ll be interesting to see how he juggles his schedule whenever he gets a job AND is going to college.

Kevin is pursuing some client leads and has been doing well. The word is getting out and he’s becoming more and more busy. It’s just a matter of time before his business really takes off the ground. If you know of anyone who needs a good accountant, give him a buzz! He specializes in elder care, so if you have an elderly person in your family that needs some accounting help (not just taxes, but paying bills, etc), he can help! (http://kkacct.com)

Jazz is finishing up the first quarter. He’ll be getting rid of the following classes: History of Baseball (which he actually enjoyed, believe it or not) and Math Functions, which is a pre-Calculus class. I’m not sure what classes are coming up, but the kids really seem to enjoy switching out classes every quarter and semester. Our school district is considering getting rid of the 4-block schedule set up and I think that would be a HUGE mistake! Having only four classes per quarter is a lot more manageable than having the same SEVEN classes all year long. We’re only one of two high schools in our district that is set up this way and everyone has really loved it. It would make a lot of parents and students upset if they eliminated it.

So. All of this to say, we’re doing well.