Resolutions

Okay - my first resolution is to blog more often. Not that what I ramble on about is important or anything, it's just a question of follow through. I started this, I should stick with it. So look for more posts.

Next of course is to improve my health. Getting back to work seemed to trigger my fast food frenzy again. And we all know from various sources now that fast food 2 0r 3 times a day isn't good for any body. And especially not my body. So, I'll chart my progress here. So far - only breakfast remains a problem...I need more breakfast foods in the house so there's no excuses to go out.

Another resolution is to finish a couple needlework projects. One project was started when my son joined the army - the first time. He served 6 years, discharged and re-upped - and the project isn't close to finished. It's the metallic thread - that stuff is just crazy to work with, and there's so much of it in this picture I'm cross-stitching. The other project is also cross stitch, on black fabric...I need great lighting for that, and maybe new glasses. It will be the easier of the 2 to finish though.

That seems like a good start for now. Don't want to get too carried away with the self-improvement thing.

New topic: Have I mentioned how much I love the internet and all the wonderful things you can find there? My favorite Harry Potter news website started doing podcasts. Not wanting to miss a thing in the Harry Potter world, I found myself downloading i-tunes (at the time I had no i-pod) and subscribing to not just 1, but 2, podcasts about the books. And while exploring i-tunes I found podcasts featuring book reviews by NPR radio. The only problem with listening to those is that I want to READ every book they talk about. I also found a some political podcasts that I enjoyed listening to in the run up to the election. And lastly, I found another podcast about another book series - Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time - that has provided much enlightenment about the complex plots in this 11 book (and not yet finished) series.

Podcasts led me to MySpace - because everybody has a page there. Even my kids. I created a very lame page, mostly so I could post "I'm watching you here - love Mom" on their pages - as a joke of course. I've only dipped the tip of my big toe into the MySpace waters. As my minimalist page would indicate.

Then there's Wikipedia - an amazing resource for just about anything you could ever have a question about. That's definitely moving up on my frequently visited web sites count.

The most amazing thing that I'm most grateful for is the ability to chat in real time with my son while he's stationed in Iraq. That he can be there, and we can still have little chats about day to day things is so wonderful. Even just a quick "hi Mom!" lets me know he's okay.

So, yeah, I love the technology that has brought us to the point where everyone can ramble on in a blog that maybe nobody or everybody will read, video of things you can't believe are posted practically before they happen, and there's always a group of people out there somewhere that shares your interests.

Vagaries of Clothing / Feeling Older

I was doing my laundry today, and had the opportunity to once again ponder the vagaries of clothing. You know, the 2 socks that are missing, but aren't a pair - one sock from each pair is missing. The pants that always have one leg turned inside out when I take them from the washer, even though I know I put them in with both legs turned the same way. And then there's my 2 shirts - identical, except in color. They each have a ribbon (of corresponding color) that laces up the front. The ribbon on the red shirt always stays laced into the shirt. But - and this is what baffles me - the ribbon in the blue shirt never does. I've had to fetch it out of the lint trap almost every time it's washed. I've even washed them in the same load, and it's the blue ribbon that comes undone. I can only conclude that there are little gremlins in my washer and dryer that enjoy doing these things to my clothes to keep laundry day more interesting.

April is not my favorite month any more. It used to be, when i'd be happy at the thought of winter ending, flowers blooming, birthdays for 2 of my kids, and April 15th finally passing. But somewhere along the way, it changed. Winter pretty much looks like spring here in southern California, just different flowers in bloom. Now my kids birthdays just remind me that I'm getting older too. My daughter turns 30 today - but I can't possibly be old enough to have a child that age. And my baby (all 6'3" of him) turns 24. My own birthday coming up just hammers home the fact that I'm getting old. Even April 15th has little significance now that I'm no longer working in the tax industry.

Funny what reading instructions can do

After my last post, I decided to look at the instructions on this web site for creating links. When I followed them, gosh - it worked!

Thanks Caitlyn for providing your instructions as well. I appreciate your willingness to help.

I survived my first week on the job. Again, following instructions has proved valuable. I stayed out of trouble by trying to listen closely to the instructors, both what they said, and what they implied by what wasn't said. Learning the culture of a new company can be tricky.

Even though I'm missing the naps to which I'd grown very accustomed, I didn't fall asleep in class once. I get a little drowsy after lunch, but so far my head hasn't hit the desk...LOL. Lunch is another story. I've really got to take my lunch, instead of running out to Del Taco, which the only place close enough to get there, eat and get back on time. And being on time is critical on this job. So I'll be grocery shopping this weekend to find things that are doable for packing a lunch. Most likely, it will be frozen things that I can pop in the microwave.

Start of something new

Today, I once again found myself on the 60 freeway, heading for the 57 to get to work. It was deja vue. But it felt good. After 23 months of unemployment, I'm really excited to get back on a payroll.

The drive itself was great. Moderately heavy traffic (it was a federal holiday, after all) and it was one of those sunny California mornings that look so pretty. Even the sun glaring off my dirty car windows didn't bother me much.

I won't be blogging about the job - that seems to be a bad thing these days, and I don't want to do anything that would jeapordize my staying with this company.

It will be interesting to see how my computer time at home works out. Definitely a big decrease in my Pogo time. But I'm hoping to keep up with the news and my favorite web sites. One of these days I'll figure out how to put my favorite links on my blog page. Actually, with less computer time than ever, it might be a long while...

Anyway, it nice to be started on something new and different. Here's hoping it turns out to be as good a thing as I think it is.

Insurance is a scam

My rant today was initiated by my prescription service.

I hate insurance companies. They are the worse form of bureaucracy imaginable. Actually, I should qualify my statements...I hate medical insurance companies. I've dealt with several varieties over the years, and can state that the HMO concept could only have been conceived by an evil, evil person. You are required to jump through all their hoops, but they have no obligation to provide reasonable, rational services.

At the end of July, I order 2 prescription refills through my mail-order prescription service. The refills were shipped August 2. Through an error on the part of the post office, instead of my pills arriving in MY mailbox, they ended up at my son's apartment in Kennesaw, Georgia. Since he and his wife were in the process of packing their household goods to be moved to his new post in Hawaii (he's in the Army), my pills inadvertantly ended up on an Army transport, on the way to Hawaii. No idea when they will see the light of day again. I've explained this to my insurance company (Pacificare) and their contracted prescription service (Prescription Solutions). But, since it's not time to refill the 3 month supply yet, any refills I get till October 8 will not be covered by my prescription insurance. So when I go to my local pharmacy (having given up on meds by mail), I not only do not get the advantage of ordering 3 months at a time, I have to pay full price, not just my co-pay. The advantage of meds by mail was that you got 3 months for the price of 2. I called my insurance company about the problem, and was told only the prescription service could waive the refill date. The prescription service says that the insurance company makes that determination. I guess I could go to the post office and ask them to pay for the refills, but I suspect the med insurance bureaucracy might even be surpassed by the postal one.

Insurance seems like such a scam. You pay outrageous premiums for car insurance, and if you ever need to file a claim, they increase your premiums. How can that be right? House insurance is the same. Plus, they can arbitrarily decide they don't want to cover you anymore. Oh - and as far as car insurance, it's against the law not to have it. So they have government supported piracy going on. I feel really sorry for the folks down in the Katrina path, when they go to file claims and find out all the ways their insurance companies can weasel out of paying up. Some companies will probably just declare bankruptcy - easy for businesses these days, but not for the victims of the hurricane that have lost all. Thanks to our congress and president for passing that new bankruptcy law...

So - do you wanna ask me how I really feel about insurance now? LOL

Headline News? No Thanks.

Okay, this has been bugging me for a few months now. I used to like to watch CNN Headline News. For years you could watch for 1/2 hour and get the jist of what was going on in the world. Then they changed so they "recap" the headlines every 15 minutes. But all you get is the headline, practically only soundbites. Then, early this summer, they changed yet again. Now they have an HOUR of showbusiness "news", then an HOUR of Nancy Grace grilling people about how guilty someone is in a court case that is still being tried - or better yet - hasn't even gone to trial yet. Then there's the HOUR of news that is suppose to be in depth, but still covers - you guessed it - showbiz and court news. Then for the next 4 hours they repeat those 3 shows. So not only are you getting more and more re-hashed news during the day, but the evening prime time hours aren't "real" news at all. They might mention that we lost more soldiers in Iraq, or that Karl Rove is up to more shenanigans, but only a mention mind you. I guess they think people don't want to know about those things. Only about sensational, celebrity filled stories, or stories about cute little animals having adventures. Congress passed a bill today? Okay - a mention that it passed, but nothing about the contents.

If I want showbiz news, I'll tune to E! channel. If I want court news, there's always Court TV (Nancy Grace has at least one show on there also). And I guess to get "real" news I'll have to switch to a "real" news channel, like MSNBC or something. Bottom line - CNN is no longer my "most trusted name in news". I actually learn more about what happened some days from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

Online Radio Stations

I finally finished listening to the 41 disk book "Storm of Swords" by George R. R. Martin. I hope his next one isn't quite so long, but each book in the series is longer than the last.

Anyway, while I listened to the book, I couldn't listen to my Launchcast radio, which is what I usually do while poking about on my computer. I actually pay for this radio station, but for all the enjoyment I get from it, it is well worth the $40 a year. I get to rate each song that plays, also the artist and the album. I can mark a song to say I never want to hear it again. But the real joy has been discovering new artists, or hearing songs from so long ago that I'd forgotten I ever knew them.

The first time I realized that this radio was a find, I heard the song "All My Trials". I knew it was by covered by Peter, Paul and Mary a long time ago, because my sister had the songbook for it. But the music was keyed very high, and it was so difficult to sing if you weren't soprano. So I was surprised to hear the PP&M version sung in a low key. I'd strained my voice on that song for so long, and could have spared myself if I'd just tracked down the record when I was young. (Yes, I listened to real vinyl records - 45's, 78's and LP's or 33's.) It was one of mom's favorite songs, and we 3 girls had to sing it whenever we were all there together.

I've also heard music from Broadway plays I didn't even know existed (not living near NYC). Like "Assassins", which is about Presidential assassins. Neil Patrick Harris sings about John Wilkes Booth. Who knew Doogie Howser could sing? But it's a great song.

Anyway, I love listening to all kinds of music, and this radio station is great, because it customizes to what you want to hear. I tried AOL's station, but it isn't nearly as much fun, since you have to pick a genre station.