Life – Page 45 – Write From Karen

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 …

http://twitter.com/#!/writefromkaren/status/138343101042405376

http://twitter.com/#!/writefromkaren/status/138343359109537793

http://twitter.com/#!/writefromkaren/status/138344131725508609

http://twitter.com/#!/writefromkaren/status/138344854706061312

http://twitter.com/#!/writefromkaren/status/138345992448782336

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

Life

My Man Child

November 14, 2011 Karen

I have a man child.

This “man” is my oldest son.

I gave birth to him nearly 19 years ago (this coming Friday, in fact!!).

He graduated from high school this past May.

And little by little, he is opening up to the world around him.

Day by day, he gets more and more used to doing things on his own – without momma around to hold his hand.

Because momma is working her tail off at her new job … and doing a damn fine job, I might add.

*ahem*

Even though I’m frustrated that we’re having to push this man child every step of the way, I’m encouraged by his growing confidence and the fact that he’s starting to take the initiative.

We’ve allowed the boy to take some months off to enjoy his new-found freedom after graduation. But we have always told him that he would need to start taking classes in the spring no matter what happened on the job front. (And there is nothing happening on the job front, I might add. But I’m not surprised given our crappy economy and how unemployment is in the low 20 percentile for people Dude’s age, and which will NOT improve until we vote Obama out of office – just sayin’).

But now. Now it’s time to get serious. It’s time to enroll.

Kevin has been AWESOME in making sure Dude is following through. Dude obtained his ACT scores and actually went up to his high school, by himself, to get an “official” transcript to give to the technical school he is applying to.

And he’s been accepted.

Enrollment opens this coming Thursday – the day before his birthday. He called the school today and he is to report to some orientation thingie and after that, he can enroll in his classes.

He plans on taking three classes. I’m not sure what days he will decide on, but that will keep him busy enough. We won’t be totally satisfied until he’s both working AND going to school.

Welcome to the real world, right?

He’s following a Computer Information Science tract (you can’t be surprised by this news). And if he follows the plan, he’ll have an Associates Degree in about three years – if he stays part time.

I’m hoping he will eventually transfer to MSU in order to take more challenging computer classes, but it’s his decision – we’re just along for the ride.

Kevin is taking Thursday afternoon off to make sure Dude actually shows up for his orientation thingie. Because Dude is the sort of kid that needs that push and by golly, we’re pushing him every step of the way.

And because we love him too much NOT to.

Life

2011 Trans-Siberian Orchestra Concert Review

November 13, 2011 Karen

Kevin surprised me with Trans-Siberian Orchestra tickets for my birthday.

We went to see them last night.

Because we’re cheap, he bought four, (yes, the boys went with us), cheap tickets. The concert was at JQH Arena and we ended up sitting in section OO, row 12.

Just three rows DOWN from the very top.

I.E. – nose bleed section.

I’m not complaining, mind you. I would rather sit in the nose bleed section than spend another $80.00 for a better seat. But it was SO far up that I actually experienced a mild case of vertigo.

I had to close my eyes a few times to reorient myself.

Our seats were on a 45 degree angle and it was really spooky to look down because it was practically a sheer drop down to the landing below. I’ve never sat in seats in a stadium quite like that before. I worried that Dude would be completely freaked out because he HATES heights, but he actually did better than I did. I downplayed my reaction to keep the boys from being spooked, but I’m telling you guys, I WAS A LITTLE FREAKED OUT.

Before the show began, local radio show disc jockeys came out to present a check to the Victory Mission, which is a local charity for the poor. Apparently, one dollar from each ticket went toward their charity, which I thought was uber cool, and they ended up presenting them with a check for about $4,800.

The show began.

A man came out to begin the “story.” The first half of the show consisted of this story with breaks for them to play their awesome music. The light show was pretty spectacular, too.

Because we were sitting so high up, we were really in the ideal spots for the light shows because they were both below and above us. The lights were so intense at times that I again had to shut my eyes to re-orient myself.

*Side note: If you’re prone to seizures, I would NOT go to these shows. Seriously.

I video taped segments of a few of the songs. This gives you an idea of what the show was like.

We thought the show was finished when the story finished – not so.

In fact, the show took a rather bizarre turn after the story – they started playing some pretty hard stuff complete with dragon eyes and jaws. It was weird because the first half of the show was about the beauty of Christmas and the second half was like we had descended into hell.

I don’t know if the group was trying to show us that they could play more than just the Christmas classics we’ve come to know and love so much, or what. But it was sort of uncomfortable, if you want the truth.

In fact, some people actually left.

Again. This type of music was pretty awesome as well. Different. But awesome, nonetheless. It was just a weird switch to what we had been listening to. And just when we thought the show was going to wrap up – it didn’t.

In fact, we all sighed with relief when it was FINALLY over.

The show lasted 2 1/2 hours.

Which was about an hour too long, in my opinion. They should have just ended it after the Christmas story was over – but they continued to play for another hour and a half.

Then, toward the end of the show, it was like they had suddenly remembered why we had all come to see them and played a few more of their Christmas classics for us.

And each song went on FOR-EVAH.

And though the lights were freaking awesome, after a while? They too became a little annoying.

The whole concert was too much of a good thing, I think.

I know they wanted everyone to feel like they got their money’s worth, and I do feel that way, honestly, but wow. It just went on forever.

Overall. It was a very good concert. There is NO disputing how talented this group of musicians are. And the female singer was so good I actually got goosebumps. But it just lasted too long for me and I found myself wishing it would just get over with at the two hour mark.

It’s worth the money and the experience, just prepare to sit for a while.

Day-By-Day

So Much Pain. Donating to a Political Campaign. We’re Going to See Who in Concert?

November 12, 2011 Karen

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.

http://twitter.com/#!/writefromkaren/status/135460826063708160

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.

http://twitter.com/#!/writefromkaren/status/135459033279758336

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.

http://twitter.com/#!/writefromkaren/status/135459119250423809

Politics

An Outstanding Display of American Creativity and Pride

November 12, 2011 Karen

How freaking cool is this marching band?!?

Did you watch the formations? My favorite is the moving tank … though I don’t know, that sinking submarine was pretty impressive, too.

Don’t EVER be ashamed to be proud of our military men/women. And don’t EVER let anyone take away the rights our military have fought SO HARD to win for us.

Stop being a spineless jelly fish and stand up to these socialist movements.

NEVER BE ASHAMED TO DEFEND OUR COUNTRY OR OUR MILITARY PERSONNEL.

We are America and we are proud.

Get over it.

Home Movies, Life-condensed

We Have a Golfer in Our Family?

November 5, 2011 Karen

In an effort to get Dude out in public more (he’s an introverted sort of personality and though he’s getting better, we’re still pretty vigilant in making sure he doesn’t spend anymore time in his room than absolutely necessary), Kevin has been taking him various places on lunch break.

(Dude goes to Kevin’s office every day. He works on his programs up there, helps Kevin out with odd jobs and Kevin even has him doing janitorial work. BONUS).

One day, Kevin took Dude to the driving range. There’s one just down the street from Kevin’s office. He took a video of Dude on his phone hitting some balls.

He had nothing but good things to say about his efforts. Considering the boy has never hit golf balls outside of a putt-putt course, we thought he did pretty well.

We’re working really hard to help build Dude’s confidence. The kid has no confidence. ZERO. NONE. I blame myself. I think I “broke” his spirit by being too strict with him growing up, if you want the truth. Now, we’re trying to repair the damage by exposing him to all sorts of experiences to help him find his “niche.”

Life can’t happen unless we MAKE it happen, right?

Day-By-Day, Work Stuff

Work, Cookie Cake, More Work

November 1, 2011March 17, 2012 Karen

I nearly walked out of my job today.

It’s not because I don’t like it, I actually DO like it.

It’s not because of the people I work with – I LIKE the people I work with.

But the job itself is SO FREAKING FRUSTRATING!!!! I’m getting used to not knowing what I’m doing. I just sort of float along all day hoping that whatever I’m doing is good enough, or at the very least, won’t inconvenience a patient or land me in hot water with my boss.

I find myself taking care of patients twice. TWICE. Because I have no recollection of ever helping them to begin with, let alone following up on their specific needs.

It’s insane how out-of-control I feel in this job.

I can’t even tell you how much time I WASTE following up on patient’s I’ve already taken care of. I called a patient twice today because I didn’t remember taking care of him in the first place. I faxed something over twice and a gal came up to my desk today to ask me about a note I put in a patient’s chart and I DON’T EVEN REMEMBER WRITING THAT NOTE.

It’s spooky. I know it’s because I have a million things going through my head and I’m trying to cover all of my bases, but still, it’s a little disconcerting how out-of-control I feel in this job.

Wait. Did I just say that?

At any rate, I’m going in early and working late because I’m desperately trying to stay no more than one day behind.

And according to the girls I work with? That’s totally normal!!

They told me to just accept the fact that I will never be caught up in this job – all I can do is put out the fires that spark up unexpectedly (and they do, boy howdy they do), and to try to take care of the oldest pending work first and go from there.

It’s an insane pace and there are times I have to walk away and just BREATHE. But at the same time, it’s a rush and I’m quite enjoying myself. It also really helps that I genuinely like the people I’m working with.

I bought a Halloween cookie cake for the boys.

Because they’re too old to go trick-or-treating and sometimes you just gotta stuff your face with fattening chocolate chips and gooey icing.

You know?

Guess who ate most of it.

No. Not me.

But I ate a(n) (un)healthy portion of it.

Shut up.

I’m totally taking a picture of my desk one night after everyone has left for the day (because I’m often one of the last people to leave at night – no kidding) so ya’ll can see where I’m working.

I know you’re curious.

Don’t even deny it.

Jazz’s car has a huge oil leak. Kevin said he drove it to work the other day and when he took off for lunch, there was a HUGE oil puddle underneath. He felt so bad about it that he poured kitty litter on it.

Looks like him and Dude will be making a trip to the garage tomorrow to get it fixed.

And no. I have totally dropped the ball on teaching Jazz how to drive. Why? Two reasons:

1. Jazz has been busy with band and hasn’t had time.

2. I haven’t had time to even THINK about it, let alone take him out.

And now? Daylight savings happens next week so we’ll have to drive in the dark.

Fun.

A dress code reminder went out to everyone today. Apparently, there are certain people at work who are stepping out of the professional-looking sphere and have dropped somewhere in the too-casual sphere.

Not ME of course. Even if I wasn’t new, I would never show up to work wearing scrubs and crocs. Or crazy-looking shirts w/ scrub pants.

It just doesn’t look professional. And apparently, my company doesn’t think so either. Because instead of talking to the individuals who are no longer following the dress code, my company opts to send out a friendly “reminder” to everyone.

Don’t you just love office politics?

I came home to 20 emails yesterday and 12 emails today.

Yes. I’m still maintaining websites.

No. I don’t plan on giving that up any time soon.

Although a certain someone *cough*Kevin*cough* thinks I should.

But at least I don’t have to cook dinners anymore. Kevin has taken over that chore. He cooks. I clean up. And it’s a good thing. Because if my guys waited on me to cook them dinner after getting home from work, we’d be eating at 10:00 p.m.

No. I’m not kidding.

I will be 46 next Wednesday. (???!!!)

But I only feel about 26.

I look about 26, too.