Day-By-Day

Searching for My Bucket List

Karen

365-prompt “What’s the 11th item on your bucket list?”

Bucket list?

What bucket list? I don’t have one. I should have one, I suppose.

Let’s make one right now while we’re thinking about it. (Try and contain your excitement).

1. Publish my writing – whether it’s a short story (it’ll probably be a short story because I think I have ADHD when it comes to writing) or a novel. (*snicker*)

2. Live a ripe old age and still have my mind.

3. Take a Mediterranean cruise. (Hey, don’t laugh. Kevin and I are seriously planning for this one. It probably won’t be for a few (or ten) years, but still …

4. Take a cruise around the Hawaiian islands. (Again – don’t laugh. We’re actually planning to do this one next year for our 25th wedding anniversary).

5. Make a longer bucket list.

6. See a Broadway play. (If I can ever bring myself to pay the ticket price – wowsiers).

7. Be a grandma. (HAHAHAHAHAHA – that would mean our boys would have to put themselves in a situation where they MEET girls, then find one they can tolerate and marry … HAHAHAHAHA *wiping eyes* – sorry, I don’t see this one happening in my lifetime).

8. Become a grandma to grandpuppies.

9. Publish some … oh wait, I already listed that one.

Honestly – I can’t think of anything else right now. Either A. I’m super boring, B. pretty content with my life and how I’ve lived it so far, or C. too brain dead to come up with any more options.

I’ll take D: all of the above.

Politics, Work Stuff

Human Resources Notified Me Today That an Extra $21 Bucks is Being Deducted from My Paycheck. Guess Why.

Karen

This notice was in our daily bulletin at work today:

Mandatory Healthcare Reform fees
From Human Resources: All employees participating in our health plan will see new federal fees deducted from their paychecks starting Jan. 3. The healthcare reform law (Affordable Care Act – aka OBAMACARE) [added because I’m PISSED OFF] requires all employers to collect fees on all health plan participants. This new fee is known the Transitional Reinsurance Program fee. Beginning in 2014, the new Transitional Reinsurance Fee will be shown as a line item deduction titled “FedIns1,” and will be deducted from the first check of every month. The fee is $5.25 per month for each family member covered by your health plan. This fee is in addition to normal premiums for our health plan and is scheduled by the federal government to end in 2017. It is intended to provide additional funding for the new Federal Healthcare Exchange to cover costs of people with serious, previously untreated health conditions who have previously been uninsured.

And it begins – the first of the “fees” that are now being taken out of my paycheck – that’s $42.00 PER MONTH. And if you think it’s going to stop there, just wait until government tries to “fix” it by adding in more fees “for the common good.” It’s not for my family’s good, asswipe …

I get up at 6:00 a.m. every morning, I work 40 hours a week for barely over minimum wage (I made more at Wal-Mart – shocked? Go figure). I have TONS of stress trying to help people who are in serious pain and need serious help. I’m making sacrifices, I’m doing everything right, I’m keeping my family off the government welfare system, I’m being RESPONSIBLE for me and my family and I pay taxes. I don’t like it. I think we pay WAY TOO MANY TAXES, but I can live with it, somewhat, because again, I’M RESPONSIBLE and it’s RESPONSIBLE to help pay for roads, firefighters, police, etc.

But I’m NOT okay paying for something I didn’t vote for, that the majority of Americans are against, for people who know how to milk the system.

Here’s an idea – brace yourself because it’s a pretty crazy idea, how about instigating programs that help people OUT of their dire straits and not steal (yes, STEAL) money from hard-working people that goes to SUPPORT people who may begin in dire straits but then figure, to hell with it, sucking off the government’s teat is WAY easier than actually working.

Working is hard – mooching is easy.

And before you even think to say, “Calm down, Karen. It’s only $20 bucks” I’m going to say, twenty bucks here, another ten bucks there and before you know it, I’m working FOR the government. Where, exactly, does that leave me and my family again?

When, exactly, do we draw the line and say enough is enough?!

Son of a BITCH. I DESPISE this administration.

AARGH!!!!

Day-By-Day

Have You Ever Kept a Resolution?

Karen

365-prompt “Have you ever made a New Year’s Resolution that you kept?”

So I went back and checked out my 2013 and 2012 resolutions – and how sad is it that they’re EXACTLY the same? And do you know why they are exactly the same?

Because I was too lazy to come up with new resolutions. That and my goals haven’t changed.

And if you’re too lazy to click over to see what I’m talking about (no worries – I won’t judge you, I’m right there with you), then here they are:

1. Manage my energy levels. (Which have gotten better, but I’ll probably never be the Energizer Bunny like Kevin – I don’t think there’s a human alive that can keep up with my husband, he’s exhausting).

2. Write. Newp. BIG huge fat fail there, too. I mean, I think I blogged a dozen times the entire 2013 year. NOT IMPRESSED.

3. Take more pictures. I’d take more pictures if I ever did anything outside of leave the house and go to work. My life is uber boring, ya’ll.

4. Travel. We have actually been pretty good about this one and I guess I’d answer the above question with travel. We have been taking a mini trip and a week-long vacation somewhere twice a year for the past several years. We went to Colorado May, June? I went back to look and I didn’t write about it. GAH! Do you see why blogging is so important to me? Because I don’t remember this crap. That’s something else I’m going to have to tell ya’ll. (My list is getting overwhelming). And then we went on a cruise to Alaska, which might I add, WAS AMAZE BALLS.

So yeah. I think we’ve done a pretty good job of keeping our travel resolution. I’m really going to concentrate on writing more, though.

A goal without a plan is just a wish.” I have a lot of wishes. lol

Politics

IT Begins: Hospital Workers Go Unpaid

Karen

The contractor building the financial management system for Healthcare.gov is being blamed by a Houston hospital for delayed Medicare reimbursements that have caused the hospital to miss payrolls for weeks.

According to the CEO Jason Leday, more than 150 employees haven’t been paid in nearly a month.

“I understand that they have children and a house payment, bills. Not getting paid is wow,” nearby resident Theresa Gutierrez said.

The hospital is strapped for cash not because its not making money, but because Leday says a new Medicare payment facilitator named Novitas Solutions is taking too way long to pay out Medicare claims to the hospital.

Leday says he’s owed nearly $3 million in payments from Medicare and can’t make payroll…

The Texas Medical Association says they are familiar with complaints like this one regarding the medicare payment facilitator- and a representative told us smaller community hospitals like this one are in similar situations.

Source

This is precisely why doctors will either choose to see fewer Medicare patients or will stop seeing Medicare patients altogether. Contrary to some beliefs, people work to be PAID for their services – there is no such thing as a free lunch.

And this is just ONE hospital that we KNOW of – think how many more HAVEN’T been reported on.

Just think, the government is JUST getting started.

If you’re not scare yet, you should probably start worrying.

Day-By-Day

The Stroke of Midnight

Karen

365-prompt

Where were you last night when 2013 turned into 2014?

Kevin and I (and when I say Kevin and I, I really mean ME because watching movies has become an instant sleeping pill for Kevin – I can’t think of the last movie Kevin actually remained awake for), streamed “Serenity” last night on Netflix. In fact, we used the “Max” feature on Netflix. Basically, if you can’t think of a movie to watch, “Max” will give you three categories to choose from – then will offer several movies from that category until you find one you’d like to watch.

It’s a pretty cool feature, actually.

After “Serenity” was over, I was actually watching an episode of “Heroes” when the stroke of midnight happened. (Kevin was drooling – ha!)

Suddenly, we heard fireworks (the nearby country club, I’m betting) and Blake comes out of his room to cheer, “Happy New Year!”

I suspect the boy was buzzed on the Bud Light Margarita-style drink that he helped himself to (he’s 21 after all).

It was pretty funny, actually. He denies he had a buzz going, but Kevin couldn’t even drink half of his before he claimed to feel the buzz. I was going to drink one, but my stomach was giving me issues and I didn’t want to take any more chances.

So yeah – it was a tame New Year – but at least I stayed awake for it.

*ahem-Kevin-ahem*