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Public | | Entries: 273 (Private: 0) | Comments: 366 | | Start Date: Nov 13, 2008 | Last Update:
Yesterday
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| Bathroom Remodel | | Had a good time with my oldest boy. We went out to dinner at a Greek restaurant when I got there. I had a Greek salad with a skewer of chicken on top. (I wasn't sure how to spell "shishkabob" so I used "skewer"; now neither one looks right). We mostly planned what to do Saturday night and then visited.
On Sunday we started ripping out the old rug and linoleum. Then we went to get the material in between rain showers (we had to get some sheetrock and didn't want to mess with a tarp). By the time I left last night we had his new walls framed in and a plan for the rest of the work that needs done.
While I was still at my boy's house my older brother called. He sounded kind of "down". We know our health insurance costs are going to go up 8.5% and aren't sure what to do about it. (We have always covered the worker AND their family and have only recently had them contribute a portion.) He also had a worker ask him "what am I supposed to do for my kids for Christmas this year". I assume this comment was after learning that there were only 12 working days left in the year. There's really not much more we can do; we're scrambling just to keep the business afloat; but I know it weighs heavily on my brother when our workers suffer financially. | | Saturday | | Tweety, if you watch Axmen next year you'll be able to see a yarder. But if you do, keep in mind that I'm just slightly more "refined" than some of those "yahoos". (but just "slightly") 
I'm going to work at the shop for part of the day and then I think I'll head up to my oldest boy's house. He's going to remodel his master bath. He wants to have it complete by the end of the week and he's a little unsure of how to do it and where to start.
The family business heard back from our health insurance broker. The increase to keep our current plan will be 8.5%. Also in the family business news; I was reminded of the phrase "12 Days of Christmas". From now until the end of the year we are only allowed to work 12 days. | | Run Yarder | | I'm off to run yarder this morning..... but before running it I have to fix it. The operator was trying to fix a small air leak and turned it into a major one; one that isn't easily repaired. I'm going to have to "kludge it" for now. Fortunately, I've seen every McGyver episode ever made so I have a plan.
Checked the weather and it looks like at least I won't be turning wrenches in the snow, but it will still be dark. Well, it will still be dark if I put the 'puter down and get my rear in gear; otherwise the crew's going to be waiting on me. I'm not sure why I ended up filling in for the yarder engineer. I wanted to get my hair cut today, but now that's looking very doubtful. Oh well....... | | Wrong Date | | The person making the prayer request for my high school friend's husband was mostly right, but he had the wrong date. He does have prostate cancer; he is going in for surgery; but not until the 8th of next month. I did stop by my friend's shop yesterday after calling to confirm she was there. While on the phone I told her I was going to stop by but I didn't expect a hair cut (I was headed north to work on a machine that was broke down). We verbally abuse each other in jest so much that I felt inclined to add this caveat, "I'm just stopping by to be nice, so I thought I'd better warn you. I'll bring you a coffee."
So I headed to town and picked up a "small light mocha latte" and went to her shop. She was busy doing a perm on a woman's hair when I came in. I asked her how her husband was as I set her coffee down and then gave her a hug. As she told me he was fine and mentioned what he was doing that day I realized he obviously hadn't had surgery the day before.  Oops......
As she continued to work we talked about the cancer. It was apparently detected by his Dr. monitoring PSA levels and then doing a biopsy when they changed suspiciously. I told her I thought that PSA wasn't considered a reliable indicator but I did happen to have my baseline checked a few years ago when my Dr. determined my prostate was enlarged. She shook her finger at me and told me I'd better follow up on that.
Besides learning that the surgery was next month up in the "Big City", she mentioned it's going to be done robotically. I also learned that even though he's self employed, her husband has health insurance  but she doesn't  .
After visiting for a bit, I left and headed off for work. As I was driving down the road I realized I forgot to set up an appointment later in the day to get a badly needed haircut.  Oh well........ maybe tomorrow; today she's spending quality AND quantity time with her granddaughter.  | | Hair Cut | | | I need a hair cut, and will try to get one this week. I doubt I'll be able to get one from my high school friend who usually cuts it for me though. I learned at church during prayer requests that her husband has prostate cancer and was scheduled for surgery yesterday. I don't know if they have health insurance or not since they are both self employed. I'll call her shop this morning and see if her DIL can cut my hair; but mostly I'll call to check on how my friend is doing. If my friend does make it to her shop today I may stop by regardless if I have an appointment or not....... just to give her a hug. | | "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished" | | The title is a song from "Wicked"; I thought of this when my son told me what happened when he was went down to local store during lunchtime on Sat. to get some food from the deli. As he was leaving the store, he saw an elderly lady was about to walk in. Being polite he opened the door wide (the door opens in) and stood behind it to give the lady plenty of room. But the opening door apparently caught her by surprise and she had already planned on pushing on it. She failed to react in time and fell to the floor. The son couldn't attempt to break her fall because he was behind the door. My son and the gal working at the store helped her up and sat her in a chair, and then discussed with the lady whether to call 911. They eventually did.
I learned later that the medics suspected a broken hip and she was transported to the hospital. Kind of sad; the DS felt bad about it, but it would have been difficult to have foreseen that happening. I hope she's OK. With HIPAA, I don't think there's anyway I could find out. I thought it ironic for this to happen shortly after reading about Cariad's mum. I wonder if this lady will need a hip replacement too?
Today we had friends over for dinner. They brought their 13 year old girl with them. From since she was very small I have always greeted her the same way, "Oh NO! I didn't know you were going to bring her!" Then she flashes a great big smile..... (hmmmm...... that kind of sounds bad when I read it over in cold black and white; but she knows I'm teasing..... honest!)
After dinner we played "Taboo". (DS#2 and his GF are here too.) That was fun. Then I visited a bit with my friend (he's a paramedic and works where DS#1 lives). Later, DS and the GF are going to go over to our friends place. The wife has planned her 2 son's wedding and is she is helping out on theirs. | | Trip is Nearly Done | | One more night, a half day of work, and then I'll be heading home. Snow is coming, though, so the trip home may be interesting. I planned on going home by the southern route, but I may change my mind. It is shorter, but it is all secondary roads, and there are 4 different mountain passes. The northern route is nearly all freeways and just 2 passes that are lower elevation. The main reason to go the southern route was to stop by and visit at another potential customer. But I could easily put that off to another time.
I talked to the oldest boy yesterday. Things had settled down around his neighborhood. (I guess they had the street closed off well into the evening. Fortunately he didn't need to go anywhere.) He's thinking about remodeling the master bath at his house over Thanksgiving. It is set up with with the comode and shower in the bath but the sink is actually in the bedroom. He wants to enclose the sink so it's included with the bath. I told him I could probably come up and help him if he wanted.
I asked him about his plans for Thanksgiving and told him that his friend would be welcome to have dinner with us if he wanted to bring her along. He told me he knew she would be but he didn't think he'd even ask. He said they aren't even really "dating" yet and he wasn't sure that they would be.  | | Oldest Son's Neighborhood | | I just finished watching the opening news story on one of the big city's local stations. It was a little surreal to see the neighborhood I've spent quite a bit of time in when visiting my son to be showcased on TV......... to see the Subway where we've had lunch before; to see the medical lab that we drive by when we make any trip downtown all boarded up; to see the good samaritan interviewed on the street only blocks from my son's home. The reason for the story was yet another gunmen who shot and killed someone; in this case it was his estranged wife that he killed and then he took his own life.
I heard of the shooting earlier in the day when jnette mentioned it in the good morning thread. When I googled it, the area looked familiar. After work I called my oldest boy and it was where I thought it was; just a dozen blocks or so away from his house. He was miles away at work when it happened so I knew he was safe. When I talked to him about it he was obviously bummed that it happened, and being in his neighborhood undoubteldy augmented the feeling. But in regard to it being in his neighborhood, I reminded him that it could happen anywhere.... even in our little home town. The comment was in reference to a horrific skeleton in the family closet, but one that has taught me that there is suffering on all sides when something like this occurs. I thought of this as the news reporter commented regarding the shooter that, "we contacted his family and all refused to comment".
But what could they say? What do you say when someone you're related to; someone you care about, and think you know, commits a heinous act? What is there to say as you sit reeling from the horrific news.........
I must have been only 5 or 6 when my father could have been put in the same position of those refusing to comment. My paternal grandfather murdered his girl friend and then committed suicide. Nobody knows for sure what transpired that day, but from accounts I've heard I believe Grandad had mental health issues. I know that I was rarely allowed to be with him unless accompanied by Dad or my older brother. In fact, I spent so little time with him, and my memories of him are so faint that I can barely muster a handful of mental images. I remember my maternal grandmother commenting to Mom on that terrible day of how she "wasn't surprised....."
I can't imagine what it must have been like for Dad to go out in our small community with everyone knowing who he was and what his dad had done. The good news is that over the years the front page story of the local paper over 45 years ago has been forgotten. The family name is now associated with a business that has provided jobs for the community and given money to nearly every worthwhile charity. The paper has gone from reporting of a terrible act of a sick man to that of a couple recently being honored for their contributions to the community.
The actions of my paternal grandfather have heightened my awareness of the consequences of untreated mental illness. I don't foolishly take refuge in the thought that "they're just depressed, they'll get over it...." I was reminded of the possible conseqences of depression and suicidal tendencies when I heard Rascal Flatt's new song on the drive over here. When I heard the very first line of the song it resonated with me and caused me to listen with rapt attention. Nobody should ever leave the stage in the middle of the song by their own hand......... and if I can do anything to prevent it I will. It's not much of a legacy, but it might be the only one Grandad left.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXJqu...eature=related | | New Computer | | Sunday I spent over 90 minutes on the phone with my oldest boy and we "built" a computer together on Dell.com. I haven't kept up with computers like my son has so I enlist his support anytime I need to buy a new one. I never buy the best that money can buy, but I usually purchase a machine just "behind the curve". I hate relocating all my "stuff" from one computer to the other so I try to get as many years out of them as possible. My first two computers served me from '88 to '98.
I did something I've never done before on any of my laptops on this one. I got two hard drives that are "RAID'ed". I configured them to be mirrored. I'm not good about backing up my hard drive like I should so I figured this was a good idea. (I've never done a total backup on this computer; I've only backed up my most important files to a thumb drive). By the time we added a little tweak here, and a little tweak there, and preloaded it with software it added up to $2500. But at least it's a business expense. It's scheduled to ship by 11/25.
The oldest boy is still seeing that engineer from across the state line. She seems like a nice gal. I spoke once with my son on speaker phone and she joined in the conversation some. Then youngest son and fiancee finally set a date. I think it's 8/21/10. I think the wife is a little less stressed about the wedding now that they have a date. Either that or she is so focused on her classes she doesn't have time to worry about the wedding. (Either way works for me..... )
I noticed when I started this entry that I made a typo in my last one. My friend's husband had an "echocardiogram". Something about "electro" that just wants to flow naturally from my brain to my fingers.
I did get a chance to talk in detail to my Hawaiian friend when her daughter wasn't around. I guess she has 60 days to get him to sign the papers. If he doesn't, and she produces proof that he received them, she can still go to the judge. But she would prefer not having to go that route. She said after the judge gets the papers he could make a decision possibly as early as 2-3 weeks. The judge may or may not require her to make an appearance. Once the judge makes the decision, she says the divorce will be final. Apparently HI has no 6 mo. waiting period. Her soon to be ex is still being a turd. He is leaving messages telling her things that he should have said years ago; but now are inappropriate. He also bought her a pair UGG boots that she is just going to ship back to him. She told him not to before he bought them. I'm sure she would have appreciated it much more if he had sent some money to cover the co-pays of the DD's recent Dr. visits. It's nothing serious, mostly some female issues, but every Dr. visit adds up. Ironically, this friends DD had an echocardiogram. There was something suspicious in her sports physical but everything is OK.
I'm rambling and it's time to get to bed.  | | "When I Whine....." | | I'm sure I've mentioned this poem before, but I thought of it yesterday when I called my "St. Patrick's Day" friend to see how things are going with her husband's health. Here is the poem I thought of: http://cyber-church.com/thinkabout/theworldismine.htm
It sounds like they have been up to the big city numerous times to see the heart specialist. In July he had an electrocardiogram done and his EF was measured at 24%. Amazingly, her husband is still working, but mostly because his coworkers pick up the slack. Work has become increasingly difficult for him. The Dr. thought this must be an erroneous reading because my friend's husband was still able to work, so they sent him to the big city to get another one. I called my friend after this test a few months ago to see what they had discovered. They did indeed get a different number this time; they measured his EF at 17%! I had her repeat this number because I thought I must have heard her wrong.......... but I didn't.
When I talked to her yesterday, he was back from yet another test and his EF was measured at 24% again. This they felt was due to the meds slowing down his heart rate some and the heart muscle doing some recovery, but the prognosis still wasn't good. They are trying to determine whether to install a pace maker with a defibrillator (he also has had problems with A-Fib), or to put him on the list for a heart transplant. This blew me away. Her husband is barely 50 y/o and he may need a new heart? The husband is coming home form work each night exhausted, but he doesn't want to quit until he qualifies for temporary disability insurance. Even though my friend has a part time job, they could never get by on just her income.
It looks as if he'll have to quit his job before the end of the year regardless if the temporary disability kicks in or not. They hope he'll just need the pacemaker but they aren't sure when that surgery will be. The good news is that they have insurance......... at least for now.
So I have a friend whose husband is suffering from heart failure, another freind going through a divorce and teetering on bankruptcy, and I'm complaining about my sore back..... "Oh Lord forgive me when I whine....." |
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