Pharmaceuticals of the Undead

So, I live near one of the (if not THE) counties in the country with an drug problem.  Its opiates and it is a problem.  In my opinion, not because it is killing people.  I do believe that addiction is a mental health problem and that addictive personalities need help, but I also believe people need to not try drugs in the first place so they don't get addicted.  I believe that while the second, third, or fourth time you use is not a choice, the first time is.  People make bad choices I know and while people are born with tendencies, that initial exposure is indeed a bad choice.  Anyway, the problem I have is Narcan.  I have a real problem with this life saving drug.  Not because it saves lives of people but because it is used so easily.  Someone ODs, cops bring them back with Narcan.  There are businesses in the urban area of the county next door who are having people OD in their parking lots numerous times a day because they know they will be found, the cops will be called, and they'll be saved thanks to Narcan.  I'm not saying these people don't deserve to live.  I am not God.  It is not my place to judge.  The problem I have is that if you have cancer and no insurance or limited finances to pay co-pays, cops don't show up at your house with cancer fighting meds.  Little kids with peanut allergies and other allergies can't get Epi-pens because they are upwards of four hundred dollars but Narcan is free?  What about inhalers and other medications that are required for life due to a disorder that someone is born with not a bad choice someone makes.  It is almost like rewarding people for ODing.  I just can't wrap my mind around it.  And don't even get me started on zombies.  Has no one noticed that these people OD and are brought back to life through the use of Narcan?  People are BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE!!!  They are zombies people!  ZOMBIES!  How long before those who have been saved with Narcan start craving brains?  AND NOBODY NOTICES THIS???  Whatever.  Keep using your Narcan.  I'll be stocking up on treadmills to surround my house with so the zombies won't get me.  Nothing like watching zombies fly off the back of a treadmill instead of crashing through my windows to entertain the masses.  So when the zombies, who are already living among us, come to get you, come to my house.  We'll be safe.  I even have an Epi-pen, an inhaler, HBP meds and psych meds - just no Narcan ;)

It Ain't Alcatraz

First off, let me say that I in no way feel any dislike toward the people of Oklahoma but WTH?  Are your prisons made of nerf?  Ever heard of bars or guards or locks?  I ask this because on my social media feed, I receive updates from an Oklahoma news channel.  Having lived in Oklahoma for a couple of years, I found it interesting to get the local low-down on the what's up in Okie Dokie Land.  Anyway, daily, ok maybe weekly, it seems that the police in OKC have surrounded a house containing a suspect believed to have escaped from so-and-so prison.  I guess I was young and naive when I lived there because I don't remember Oklahoma being one of our more dangerous states unless your talking tornadic terror.  I just don't get how all of these people keep escaping.  Hubby says that they are most likely on a work detail but don't they still have guards with them.  And we all know that Oklahoma guards like their guns.  Why don't they just shoot them?  Then Hubby reminded me that its not the guards in Oklahoma that like their guns, its the police.  See when we lived there, an elderly man with dementia on his front lawn weilding a weed-eater was shot several times to his death when he charged police with said weed-eater.  Now, man charged with assault trying to escape prison or elderly man with a weed-eater - which one would you shoot?  And they aren't just escaping prison.  They are doing it with flair.  I recall a posting from a few weeks ago about a young man who escaped prison and went to a local fire department and stole a fire truck.  The posting told anyone seeing a man in prison garb driving around in a fire truck that "well, you know what to do".  At first I thought this was a very nonchalent treatment of the situation but upon further consideration, I think it was an invitation for the gun-toting populace.  I think it was Oklahoma code for shoot him yourself.  This may not be a bad idea because I have often wondered what would happen if one of those major Oklahoma twisters hit a large penitentiary.  But maybe that's why so many Oklahomans have guns.  They are just waiting to hear that secret code.  So take caution who is around next time you say "you know what to do".  You may just open a whole can of worms - worms with guns who are ready to take you down.

When I Grow Up, I Want to be an Insurance Agency

Man what a week!  I thought "Oh this week is gonna go so slow with the kid gone off to college" but it was anything but slow.  I wanted a distraction and boy did I get one.  The main focus of the week was Monday when I was innocently sitting at a red light and WHAM! got hit hard from behind.  I got out of my only-a-year-old SUV yelling "What the hell?" to find a very apologetic and scared high school boy.  He was so young he still had braces!  I took one look at him and thought of my daughter.  How would I want someone to treat my daughter if this happened to her.  So I calmed down and told him to follow me to a nearby parking lot where we could exchange information.  He was standing in the rain trying to write his name and address.  It was sad.  So I invited him to come sit in my car.  He just kept repeating "Oh my God!"  It was actually kind of humorous.  (The panic not the damage to my vehicle)  He tells me how his tires are so bald and didn't work and he can't believe how nice I was being about the whole thing.  I assured him that things happen and what's done is done, no use being mad over something you can't go back in time and change.  He had to call his mom to get the policy number.  He was just so young.  Once we had exchanged information.  He went on his way and so did I.  I went on my way to the Kroger.  This seemed to upset my hubby a little bit.  Apparently when you have an accident you are not supposed to carry on with your life.  You are to immediately report home, call insurance and stay put.  Until what?  I don't know.  But as with every other accident I have had I continued on to where I was going.  I needed tape.  Having an accident didn't change that fact.  (Oh, and it was lunch time so I grabbed some lunch at a local fast food window)  Once home I immediately called my insurance.  I tried to do that from my cell phone but it was a touch tone menu and apparently my cell phone doesn't have touch tone.  It can play Ke$ha when my daughter calls me but it can't beep so that I choose number 1.  Go figure.  Anyway, the insurance tells me that I have two options.  I can 1) call the other driver's insurance and do everything myself, or 2) pay a $500 deductible to have them handle it for me.  What?!?!?  They said they will try to get that money back from the other driver's insurance and reimburse me for the $500 but I thought a deductible was what you paid when it was your fault that there was an accident.  I have had three previous accidents.  Two weren't reported due to circumstances beyond my control and one was a "no fault" in a parking lot fender bender.  I had to pay my deductible then but my insurance was paying for the repairs.  I guess I just don't understand why I have to front the deductible when the other driver fully admits fault.  What if I didn't have that money to spare?  I'd be screwed.  I'd be stuck handling everything myself.  In which case, what the hell do I have insurance for?  I pay them a hefty sum every six months to do potentially nothing?  I don't get it.  I'm thinking maybe I need to go into the insurance business.  Collect a couple hundred twice a year and tell people they have to pay me more when they are hit or I won't do anything.  Sounds like a nice free ride to me.  The adjuster even had a fancy name for it.  Subjegation or something like that.  Just in case you were wondering that is actually pronounced "bull-shit".  Maybe I don't have enough accidents to know that this is the way insurance works all the time but seems rather fishy to me whether its just my company or the industry as a whole.  I won't name names or point fingers here but if this sounds a bit off to you and you want to know the name of my company, feel free to comment and I will share the name of this entity which is performing questionable procedures with you.  I'm nice like that.  Just ask the boy who hit me.

I'm QuirkyMe and I Approve This Message

I can't believe what transpired this afternoon.  I was just sitting around on facebook looking at my newsfeed when another bit of political "humor" appeared.  The person (at the time, a friend) who posted the picture had been posting things similar to this for days if not weeks.  It was bashing the candidate that they are against.  Not my cup of tea but if that's the way you want to express yourself, who am I to judge.  The problem arose when a friend of mine made a comment stating her opposing opinion.  Said person immediately began an argument with her.  She continued bashing the opposition calling the candidate an "idiot".  I agreed with the commenter so I "liked" her comment.  They went back and forth again.  I "liked" the commenter's comment again.  She had valid points.  The conversation quickly took a nasty turn but only on one side.  The person who posted the picture was belittling and accusing and many other not-so-nice things.  I was appalled.  This person who I thought was a friend, was verbally attacking another friend - a friend I agreed with.  I have never seen cyber-bullying before but I definitely witnessed it today.  The attacker's friend joined in and together they tag teamed my friend until she was at a loss for words.  She stood her ground as best she could but the harassment was just too much.  She tried numerous times to politely end the conversation but those two mocked her until she felt compelled to speak up for herself again.  Eventually it ended and my friend (the commenter) realized that the attacker had blocked her and deleted her as a friend.  Then I realized that she had done the same to me.  Guilty by association I guess.  I don't know.  All I know is these were grown women.  When I think of cyber-bullying, I tend to think teens but now I know better.  Everyone is entitled to their opinion and agreeing to disagree (as my friend had suggested) is a means not of backing down and admitting you are wrong but respecting another's opinion.  These people had their opinion and everyone else was wrong.  What happened to freedom of speech and freedom of choice.  There are other opinions than yours out there and it is rude to think otherwise.  I am still in shock as to what happened.  To unfriend someone over their political opinions.  Hello, I was reading your political crap for weeks before this whole incident.  And what happened to supporting the candidate that you want to win instead of just bashing the one you don't like.  I just don't understand hate.  I will not hate this woman because of what she did.  It confuses me and baffles me but I will not hate her.  Judgement is something I leave to my God.  It is God's place to be the one to judge not me.  All I know is I won't hate her but I won't tolerate her bullying either.  Bullying has no place in this world.  Find another way to feed your desire for power.  If its this bad with grown adults, I can't even begin to know what teens and children deal with.  And for them there is often no way to unfriend someone.  They often have to deal with their bullies every day, day after day.  So if you are being bullied know that it is not right.  Speak up and speak out.  Tell someone.  Even adults bully and get bullied.  You are not alone.

Insert Jeopardy Theme Music Here

I am sitting and waiting.  God I hate waiting.  I am waiting for some woman to call me back.  Waiting for a phone call.  Quite possibly the worst kind of waiting.  I also hate health insurance red tape and snooty doctor's office employees. I would say that I hate health insurance but they keep things from costing like a million dollars so I don't hate them, I just hate their red tape.  Let me start at the beginning.  My daughter went to see a specialist who wanted to refer her to another specialist.  So after much schedule juggling (they told me initially that they couldn't get her in before she left for school), we went to see this other specialist on Wednesday.  We sat in the office for about 45 minutes just to have a woman come out and tell us that she couldn't be seen because they didn't have a referral.  Even though when I scheduled the appointment, I asked the person if they had the referral and she said yes.  Then the woman changed her story and said well we didn't have the right kind of referral and that it had to be from her PCP anyway.  So we drove to the PCP's office and stood there while they made the referral.  I also asked them to call and make me another appointment to avoid being told again that they couldn't get her in before she left for school.  They made the appointment for the next day because like the other specialist, the PCP thought she should see the new specialist right away.  So, Thursday we go to the new specialist again.  When I get there to check in and give my daughter's name, the same woman from the day before jumps up and literally runs over with our file to state that we still don't have the right kind of referral.  I said that we got one from the PCP and she said it still wasn't right.  I stated that we stood there while they did it and I didn't know what more to do.  Then this nice lady offered to call the PCP's office and explain to them what was needed.  She came back and assured me that Lori at the PCP's office would be calling me but that we couldn't see the new specialist until after Lori had called because then it would be covered by our insurance.  I asked if I would have trouble rescheduling before my daughter left for school and she said that her name was Kathy and I was to ask for her when I called if there was any trouble.  So I waited all day yesterday for this Lori to call.  I waited all through this morning for Lori to call.  Lori never called.  So at 11 am I took it upon myself to call insurance.  They said that the referral was good as of Thursday afternoon and that we were good to go see the new specialist.  So I called the new specialist's office and was told she can't have an appointment until the end of September.  I told the woman on the phone that I was told to ask for Kathy if there was a problem with the scheduling.  She said maybe I meant Chris and I said no, I mean Kathy and she said well Kathy is out to lunch right now but can I take your name and number and have her call you back?  I gave her my name and number.  Its 1 pm.  Apparently they take really long lunches at that office because she still hasn't called me back.  Oh and did I mention that the PCP is on vacation next week so its not like his office will be able to help me get an appointment.  This whole thing is just one big mess.  My hubby already called his HR department to find out if we could switch to a PPO (where you choose your doctors and specialists, it just costs more) instead of our HMO especially since our daughter will be going away to college and won't have access to her PCP to get referrals and such.  They said that moving to college was not a life change so we would have to wait until the next calendar year to switch to the PPO.  They said that if she were a spouse who was going from part-time emplyment to full-time employment or vice-versa that those circumstances are considered a life change but not moving to another state away from your family (and PCP).  That's not a life change at all.  Whatever.  So I wait.  I hate waiting.  She's not going to call is she?  She is never going to call and I am going to have to call them back again and go through the whole process over again.  Have a nice vacation PCP.  I'll just be here waiting.  Have a great three hour lunch Kathy.  I'll just be here waiting.  Have control over my life health insurance company.  I'll just be here waiting.  No.  I'm not waiting anymore.  I'm calling again because if you want something done, you have to be forceful and push or people just walk all over you or forget about you.  That's it.  I'm calling again.  No more waiting for me. . . . Ok, I'm back.  I got an appointment and she said that I needed to call my insurance to have them fax the referral approval to the new specialist's office.  I called insurance.  They don't do that.  They said they do things electronically and that I would have to call the PCP's office to get that done.  I called the PCP's office and they said they are doing it.  I will call back to the new specialist's office to confirm that they have it on Monday.  Good Lord!  Finally, all my ducks are in a row.  Thank you ducks.  Thank you for finally lining up even though getting you there was more difficult than herding cats.  Don't ask where I got that comparison from.  It's been a long week.  At least I'm done waiting :)

"Meat" Me at the Steakhouse

I was once a vegetarian.  I was for many, many years.  I was the girl at the family reunion that was stuck eating sauerkraut on a bun because the hot dogs and the fried chicken grossed her out.  Even though now I am not a vegetarian, I think I am still quite sensitive to the subject.  See, I want to know what great interior designer thought "Hmmmm . . . steakhouse . . . let's put the animals they are serving up on the wall."  I know that some people . . . mostly hunters would be my guess . . . think that taxidermy is an acceptable form of art.  I'm not going to be the one to argue that.  Whatever you want to put in your home is your prerogative.  I'm the daughter of an avid hunter so  Iaccept that some people enjoy hunting.  I personally don't understand it.  I know there are arguements about keeping populations under control and I understand that but that doesn't mean I have to like it.  That said, I just don't get the appeal of having cows and such stare at you as you eat their distant cousins.  Kind of gross if you ask me.  And why is the poor cow the only one that seems to be acceptable.  There are never taxidermy specimins of pigs or chickens at these restaurants.  It's not like we hunt cows.  They meet (lol! I accidentally spelled that as "meat" at first) their end the same way the chickens and pigs do.  There is a place where we go to eat that has pictures of pigs and chickens on the shirts of the waiters and waitresses.  I still find that disgusting.  Its a tad more tolerable but not much.  When I eat meat, I prefer not to think about where it comes from.  I wish I could go vegetarian again but with all my food allergies and such, it would be so hard.  I don't need to become anemic again.  I don't want to feel like I'm offending the hostess when I don't eat at a party.  Its just too hard.  So in the meantime, I will avoid chicken and fish because they blatently state the name of the animal and that can be too tough for me.  I will ask to be seated away from the offended glare of the taxidermy cow at the steakhouse.  I will do my best to be animal friendly.  Except for beef.  And turkey on Thanksgiving.  Oooo and bacon.  Everything is better with bacon.

Cut the Cord Already

This past Monday was no ordinary Monday.  It was the day that my hubby and I took our daughter to University to get registered for the fall.  They had a day full of activities for the students and parents as well.  I can't really speak for the student happenings of the day but the parent sessions were really interesting.  I learned a lot of little tips for helping my child transition to university life, I was reaffirmed that the things I planned to do were indeed the right things to be doing and I realized that there are some wacko parents out there.  We had a short session that started at 8:30 a.m. and then much to the dismay of some parents, students and parents were split up.  Some of the things that were pointed out to us during those parent sessions were ridiculous - things we have been doing with our child for years.  They were recommending to parents things like "Don't call your child every morning to wake them up or to be sure they have gotten up".  I thought this was a joke.  I chuckled to myself and noticed that aside from Hubby no one else in the room seemed to be amused.  Were these parents actually considering doing this?  That's just crazy.  Your child is old enough to be responsible for rising and shining on their own.  If your child is not capable of doing this on their own, how did they get through high school.  Then it hit me - mommy and daddy.  These are the dreaded "helicopter parents" that I had heard about when my daughter was in junior high and high school.  They do everything for their children.  The thing is I didn't realize that this continued through college.  I can't imagine calling my child's professor to clear up an issue.  If you do that, at what point do you stop doing things like that.  Do they call their child's boss when their child wants a raise?  Where does it end?  My daughter heard my husband and I discussing this crazy style of parenting and shared with us a story she heard of one university student who regularly sent her homework home for her parents to do.  Are you kidding me?  You are paying big bucks for your child's education at this level.  Wouldn't you want them to actually GET that education.  Who knows - maybe it's just one of those urban myths of college.  I hope it is.  All I know is that I plan to not be a helicopter parent in any way, shape or form and should I have to deal with said "helicopter parents", I'm not sure how much patience I'll have.  Parents, at this age your children are adults, young adults, but adults nonetheless.  Allow them to function as such.

USPS BS

A friend of mine was telling me a story the other day of his most recent trip to the post office.  He said that there was a line of eight or nine people (when isn't there).  The postal employee called the next customer in line and the woman walked to the counter.  The customer needed one hundred sheets of stamps.  Yeah, you heard that right, one hundred sheets of stamps.  No problem right?  Wrong.  This is the post office.  Things are not supposed to be smooth and easy - let alone quick.  You would think that the employee would punch in the number 100 and then scan a sheet of stamps.  But that's out in the real world.  This was the postal realm where things are not as they should be.  No, the employee begins to scan each individual sheet of stamps INDIVIDUALLY!  After she had scanned in about twenty individual sheets of stamps, the line of people waiting began to get antsy and aggitated.  Noticing this, the postal employee stopped what she was doing and explained to the line that she had to do the transaction this way because if she did it the other way, the transaction was would be too quick.  Then when they do their studies of postal productivity, it would show how fast they were capable of going and the excess slack at the post office would be cut if not needed.  Yeah, you heard that right as well, the postal employee was telling them that she had to go as slow as possible in order for all the people at the post office to keep their jobs.  Are you kidding me?  I mean, we all knew they were slow but admitting it outright to customers.  That just takes the cake.  Nothing like a governement agency that is boasting about their inefficiency.  They are a monetary drain and a financial liability.  Instead of wanting to be productive and show their worth, they are determined to ban together in an inefficient union to protect each other.  Screw the mail and their customers.  The post office is slowly becoming obselete but at least they are consistent and becoming obselete slowly like everything else they do.

The Unanswerable Question

How do you throw away a trash can?  Yes, I am seriously asking this.  We have an old trash can that we want to get rid of.  So the other day, we (ok let's be real, it's Hubby that puts out the trash) Hubby put out the can.  He put out old standing fan in it as we were throwing that out as well.  We had loads of recyclables and a can full of trash too.  But when all was said and done, both our good trash can and our old trash can remained.  So I ask the question, how do you throw away a trash can?  Next week, I am going to put a sign on the front of it that says "This can is trash.  Please recycle." and hopefully they will take it.  If not, I don't know what else to do.  Just like I don't know what to do about that crazy relaxation breathing therapist.  She called on Tuesday and left a message saying she got my cancellation message and to call her to reschedule.  I, of course, expecting her to call let it go to the machine.  I luckily did the same thing again yesterday when she called back again.  She left a similar message as the one on Tuesday asking me to call so we could reschedule.  My question with her is - Don't you get the hint lady?  I cancelled my appointment and now I'm not calling you back to reschedule.  Get it.  I don't want to talk to her again so I'm not calling her back.  Hopefully she'll stop calling.  In the meantime, I have been prepping my online store for its launch on Monday.  I'm excited and nervous but I really feel this is the next step for me.  I've kind of hit a wall though.  See, before I can list any items, I have to verify my Paypal account which requires me to input two deposit amounts from my bank account.  So, Hubby went out to get those numbers for me but we were unfortunately stumped by the security question "What was the name of your first pet?"  After three tries, it of course locked up.  So Hubby journeyed to the bank and they voided out the question saying that only our second question would appear.  So Hubby tried again and apparently we don't remember where we went to high school (even though we both went to the same one) because we got that one wrong too.  So today Hubby is going back to the bank to straighten things out.  In the meantime, I wait impatiently to start the next phase of my life.  Thank goodness the bank didn't ask "How do you throw away a trash can?" as their security question.

The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round - Except in Suburbia

Wow!  I can't believe that January is half over and I have only blogged on here twice this month!  Having bronchitis didn't help but honestly, there hasn't been that much happening that I've felt the need to share.  I went through a bit where I didn't want to just air out my frustrations on here but when I decided not to do that I realized I didn't have much else to say.  Oh well.  I guess its back to venting my frustrations.  Today, I shall tackle the Suburbia school district.  See, their tax levy didn't pass back in November.  Their solution to saving money has been to eliminate all bus service for the high school and require all students within a two mile radius of the school to walk to the middle school.  There are plenty of other misappropriated funds that they could move around in my opinion but nobody asked me and this is what they decided upon.  Nice huh?  So now every day, I have to get up, get dressed (who am I kidding, I go in my jammies), and take the child to school.  Then in the afternoon, I have to go pick her up.  Life will continue every stinkin' day like this until she graduates in June!  That is a long way off and a heck of a lot of dropping off and picking up.  It wouldn't be that bad if she wasn't one of approximately 2,800 students getting dropped off.  This has created quite the traffic hassle.  I have to go at like 2:30 p.m. to get in place to pick her up at 3:05 p.m.  Nothing like wasting a half an hour.  But not tomorrow!  No.  Tomorrow is "Wisdom Tooth Day" mwah-ha-ha-ha-ha!  Yes, tomorrow our daughter is getting her wisdom teeth out.  I really don't know what to expect.  My two wisdom teeth came in and then I had one removed.  Still  have the other one.  Hubby had his out as an adult.  I remember him eating lots of mashed potatoes and jello but I think I have blocked out all the bad stuff.  I am nervous by proxy for tomorrow.  I saw a piece one time on Dateline or something where this guy had his wisdom teeth out and he lost basically all of his mental capacity.  I know, I know.  That's a once in a lifetime story and I shouldn't be afraid of that actually happening but I'm a mom and that's what I do.  So tonight, we will take our non-bus-riding daughter out to eat super crunchy food for dinner and swing by the grocery to load up on jello, mashed potatoes, soup, mac & cheese, and anything else that doesn't require much chewing.  Hey, at least she'll be off school for a few days so I won't have to deal with driving her.  See, there's always a silver lining.

Thank You God for These . . . Um . . . Well . . . Er . . . Gifts?

Last night we went out to eat (big surprise there) to one of the three local steakhouses.  We were seated in a booth in an empty section.  A large party was quickly seated right next to us.  They had a booth with a small table pulled up next to it and another booth across from that.  There were two more booths behind those ones and there was still room to get around the table so that potentially, they could seat more people there.  The thing that really bugged me is this blond in stiletto boots shows up and she's got a cake and a wrapped gift the size of a small SUV.  Are you kidding me?  She takes the gift and puts it on one of the booths behind them and then puts the cake on the other - thus taking over an entire section of the restaurant.  The hostess even brought people over there to seat them in the gift/cake booths only to find that they were already occupied by the cake and the gift.  My thing is - who the hell did this woman think she was?  I just don't understand people that are that egocentric.  This is a public restaurant.  You have not hired out a banquet room to celebrate a birthday party.  And they brought their own cake!  The restaurant serves dessert.  Why didn't they just buy everyone dessert instead of bringing their own food from home?  I wouldn't go to meet someone for lunch at a restaurant and take a sack lunch with me!  I know it can be hard to find a time and a place to get everyone together for celebratory gatherings but if you want to have a cake from home, here's a thought - HAVE IT AT HOME!  Luckily we were finished with our meal before the gift opening began.  I'm sure they would have wanted our booth to put the ripped up wrapping paper on.  Or better yet, we could have been background for their photos like at the restaurant last week where the woman in the next booth took a flash picture of everything her baby did.  Why do I always get stuck next to "God's gift to the world"?  God, if your listening, I speak for the world.  What is your gift return policy?

Can I Pay You in Bodily Organs?

Holy Hell ! ! !  I just did the handy-dandy financial estimation calculator for a university my daughter wants to attend next year!  What the hell ! ! !  I understand what the EFC is but when I saw it I couldn't believe my eyes!  Our EFC (estimated family contribution) is $15,000!  Yeah you read that right - FIFTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS ! ! !  Now I know college costs a lot of money but there is a school up the road where she can go for approximately $10,000 total!  Problem is they don't have what she wants to be when she grows up!  We probably should have saved more for her future but I didn't know we were supposed to be saving nearly $100 a month since the day she was BORN!  Hell, back then we only MADE $100 a month.  We were po' folk to say the least.  We have worked hard to get ourselves out of debt, gather an emergency fund and get Hubby a job that pays well.  Great!  We did all that.  The problem now is I feel like we are being punished for it.  On the questionaire it asks for how much we have in our savings and checking.  Ok.  I answered truthfully.  The thing is even with my truthful answer, our checking and savings combined does not equal what they are expecting us to contribute for ONE year.  That's right.  That $15,000 is just for one year.  And as for my hubby having a good job, you better hope you're on unemployment when your kids apply because here was our breakdown:  Federal Gift Aid - ZERO, State Gift Aid - ZERO, Institutional Gift Aid - ZERO.  I'm seeing a trend here.  The problem is even if we do give them everything we have and then some for her freshman year, then we will have a big fat ZERO.  How does this happen?  Are we really supposed to be homeless so that our daughter can attend college?  And as for scholarships?  She isn't athlete, musically inclined, or anything else that might get her a scholarship.  She is an average, middle-class, white kid which means she gets no help at all.  Nothing.  Anybody wanna buy a kidney?

Postal Preparedness

Dear People of America -
I have a request.  When you wish to send someone a gift for their birthday, by all means feel free to do so.  Buy them something nice.  Wrap it up in pretty paper and tie a bow on top.  At this point in the process, whatever you do, DO NOT PROCEED TO THE POST OFFICE WITH NOTHING BUT THE WRAPPED GIFT!  It is not the responsiblity of the postal employee to find you a box or other package in which to mail said gift.  Nor is it their job to find you tape and scissors with which to continue the wrapping process.  Borrowing a pen is bad enough but let's come a little prepared here people.  And let me just say that if you do come to the post office - totally unprepared - and expect the postal worker to do your job - just to be told that you need to do things for yourself - and you leave the line with your gift to package it up properly -  DOES NOT GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO SKIP BACK TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE!  The rest of us came prepared and had to wait while you were given all the packing materials you needed that you should have USED AT HOME!  Get in the back of the line and wait your turn again!  You've already caused enough trouble.  True story.  I'm just sayin'.

Blessed Be the Tithe that Binds

We got a letter some time ago from the catholic church of which we are official registered non-attending members.  Basically, it said this:  Their campaign to increase their members' giving has been successful and their incoming finances are better than expected so please, give more.  Yup, that's right they have extra money and they still want even more.  I just don't get it.  Yesterday, we got two phone calls solicating money for police forces.  Two in one day!  One was for the local sheriff and the other for the state police.  I'm sorry but I thought that was what I paid taxes for but now you want to call my house asking for more?  Then there are the weekly calls we get from the vietnam veterans, the lupus foundation and many other organizations asking if we have anything to donate to their cause.  They of course take items as donation but don't they think calling every week is a bit obsessive.  Oh, and my favorite, the college that my husband attended calls about once a week to ask for "alumni support".  Are you kidding?  First off, he went to school on-line so he didn't really experience your campus which coincidentally could use many new, improved buildings and lots of other expensive crap.  Second, we had to pay the huge price tag for his education.  Why would we continue to fork over more cash?  Shortly after receiving our well worded begging from St. Down the Street's, we got yet another request in the mail.  This time from the regional catholic diocese asking for money for their fundraising campaign.  It seems to me that when it comes to these organizations the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing because both hands are open and asking for cash.  Working at a church, I type the hymn titles into the weekly bulletin for the parishoners.  I always chuckle when I type the hymn "Blessed Be The Tie that Binds".  I can't help but think to myself the more appropriate title would be "Blessed Be the Tithe that Binds".  Hee hee!

Flight to Suburbia: Cancelled

I just downed a half quart of cherry cheesecake ice cream straight from the carton which means - I am upset.  I was so upset yesterday that I couldn't even blog about it.  But today I have decided to share because I want all of those following along in our saga to be up to date.  Yesterday we e-mailed the Faraway social worker to ask for additional visits before Frontrunner came to live with us on her "moved up move in date".  We stated that we needed additional time with her and that everything was happening very quickly with last week's news of moving up the move in date to before June 6th when foster parents are going out of the country.  We even suggested using us as respite care during that time and counting that as our visit.  Easy peasy.  Problem solved.  We get another extended visit.  Frontrunner gets to finish out her school year in Faraway.  Faraway social worker gets to take her time with the paperwork.  Anyway, we heard back from Faraway social worker who said there would be no Memorial Day visit or visit for respite care.  There would be no more visits until after Frontrunner graduates from middle school at the end of June.  WHAT?!?!?!  At the recommendation of Frontrunner's therapist, all visits have been called off until late June at the earliest.  What the hell kind of therapist recommends that in order to help with an adjustment to something new, you should totally separate yourself from that new thing for an extended period of time?  We asked for more visits, they in turn took away the visit that was planned.  We were told the decision was a done deal.  Later that night when texting with Frontrunner, we found out that she was aware of this cancellation.  We asked when she found out.  She didn't know.  We asked who told her.  She didn't know.  We asked why it was called off.  She didn't know.  Okay?  Seems a little fishy to me.  What I want to know is why we were the only ones who were not told that this visit was not going to happen?  If we hadn't asked Faraway social worker for more visits, we would still be in the dark.  I understand the main focus here has to be the kid but it seems like nobody is taking the potential adoptive parents' feeling and needs into consideration let alone just keeping us informed.  I feel completely out of the loop.  One minute they are pushing her here early.  The next minute we can't even get a visit.  I am just worried that we are getting strung along or forced out of the picture for some reason.  I try not to say too much to Frontrunner but she is the only one communicating with us at this point.  We tried to talk to the therapist.  The proper paperwork wasn't filled out on Faraway social worker's end.  She tried to bail on Frontrunner's last visit as well.  If she wants her to be adopted, why doesn't she want her coming here.  She's the one that matched us and chose us as the adoptive family.  I'm not going to make any comments on how I feel people are doing or not doing their jobs.  It is your conclusion to come to based on what you now know.  Our social worker is trying to get some answers for us and in the meantime, we will be talking to the guardian ad lidem to see if he can answer some of our questions on Frontrunner, the process and anything else he can possibly tell us.  All we can do is wait to get some answers.  This process is hell.

Snow, Swimming & Broken Hearts

April Fool's Day and I just got back from sitting in a hot tub watching the blustery snow fall outside.  Nice April Fool's Day joke mother nature.  Real funny.  We were supposed to be leaving Faraway today but thanks to about a foot of snow that continues to fall, we get to spend an extra day (in the pool once again) with our Frontrunner - who I might add is our only candidate.  At this point after driving for three days, meeting her and spending constant time with her for the past 48 hours and the next 24 as well, if this does not go through and actually happen, I don't know if I could start the process again.  We are hooked.  She has melted our hearts and we wish we could take her home with us tomorrow.  We checked and, well, we can't.  This will be the hardest part.  Leaving her here.  We have to wait about three weeks till it is her turn to visit us in Suburbia.  Then we have to wait a good two months for her to be able to move down to live with us.  We think that it would be better for her to move down sooner.  She could finish out the year in the Suburbia Middle School and make some new friends before she gets lost in the shuffle of the monster beast that is Surburbia High.  We thought it might be easier than her waiting until her school lets out at the end of June, but her worker says the dreaded red tape can't happen any faster.  Frankly, I think it is mean to say "Here is your new family for three days.  Now say goodbye to them.  Its ok.  You'll see them again in a few months."  But that's how the child welfare system works in this country.  Fractured and broken.  There will be tears tomorrow.  I am sure of it.  She has already asked us to take her home with us when we go.  At the mention of our leaving, she gets quiet and withdrawn and depressed.  I know the people on her team are professionals who are supposed to have her best interest at heart.  I just hope someone listens to what she actually wants.  I hope her voice gets heard above all of the political din.

2 Legs + 30,000 Feet = Discrimination

Today, I spent the day going back and forth on whether to fly or drive for our trip to Faraway.  I listed the pros and cons.  Researched travel routes.  Priced flights.  But the one thing that kept sticking in my head was "What if I fly and someone carries on a cat or dog?"  My allergies and asthma would go haywire!  It could be deadly for me.  So I hit the internet trying to find my answer.  There was a lot of information about what to do if I wanted to take my pet on a flight but nothing about pet free flights.  I knew it was a long shot but they have peanut free flights now where they don't serve peanuts.  Of course that doesn't mean Joe Ignorant can't open a pack of peanut M&Ms he carried on but at least they are making the effort.  So with renewed inspiration, I dialed the airline 1-800 number.  After pushing a million buttons, which if you remember is one of my favorite things, I got a representative and told her my dilemma.  She said that I had a very good question and that if I would hold for a minute she would find out the answer for me.  Great!  She sounded kind of optimistic.  Maybe they had pet-free flights.  She returned to tell me that they do not have flights that are guaranteed to be pet-free.  The process I would have to follow is to book my flight and then call back periodically to check and see if a pet was registered on the flight and if they were, the airline would make the best effort to help me reschedule.  Um, ok.  So I can fly on your airline but not if Fido chooses the same flight.  I mean, its not even first serve.  Dogs and cats take priority over guests with a disability.  They do limit the number of pets on a flight so maybe if I reserve a pet spot and pay the extra fee then NOT take on a pet I could manipulate the system.  The airline we flew on for our transatlanic flights years ago could guarantee there would be no pets.  And that was years ago.  You'd think on a shorter, within the country flight in a more modern time that things would have developed a little.  Apparently only if you have four legs.  Nice.  I guess we will be driving the two full days in one direction to get to Faraway.  I just wish I had the same options as Fluffy and Spot.  Look out, I feel an angry letter coming on . . .

The Tax Man Cometh

I am super stressed.  Tax time is officially here.  I know that because I have seen approximately fifty H&R Block commercials in the last half hour.  Its still three months until I have to have them done, but our taxes are already freaking me out.  Sure, my OCD doesn't make the whole process any easier.  I have to do a trial run.  Then I have to do a check of the trial run.  Then I do a real copy.  Then I compare the real copy and the trial run hoping there are no discrepancies or else I have to start all over again.  Then, if everything agrees, I have to do a final copy.  Then I make photocopies of the final copy (usually two photocopies) and file them all away in my file drawer.  To make life easier, I could have them done by a professional.  Simple, right?  No.  Not a chance.  See the problem lies in the fact that I have kept no records of anything over the last year.  Medical expenses - no.  Donations to charity - no.  I have been a totally irresponsible adult when it comes to our financial records.  Now, I could do what I have done in the past and just short myself whatever I am rightly owed in exchange for the ease of the standard deduction and an EZ form.  However this year, my husband's company has started to put money in his 401K.  This is diving into a realm that I have no idea how to handle.  Since I have scrimped on the organization of receipts, I must try to educate myself on this new addition.  Go through all the ridiculous rules and changes to see what is what.  Then for next year, there is also the possible added bonus of having rental income/expenses and adoption credits.  But you are my witness, I am vowing to not be so financially naughty in 2011.  I will keep track of receipts.  I will keep a record of donations.  And best of all, I will take that shoebox full of all that crap someone else to do my taxes. 
Now, did I get our 2010 W-2 forms and if I did where did I put them?

Sex Education: The Musical Version

***Warning:  This blog contains some material that may not be suitable for younger readers.***
So I thought I was doing something nice and I bought tickets for my family to go see a show at City Playhouse.  City is close, only about 15 minutes away, and the show, "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee", sounded cute and endearing.  I had a "coupon" for an outing of my choice that I had won during our Christmas Eve Wii Tournament.  So I decided to cash it in.  I went online and bought the tickets.  Two adults and one student.  $42.  Not too bad.  Then the next day I noticed on the facebook event page that if you click to "see more" and scroll down there is the following message:  "**WARNING** Parents, be wary of bringing children. Vulgar language and dirty humor run this show. Really, I mean it. If you don't want to be holding your child's ears the whole performance, don't spend the money to buy them a ticket! Have a nice day :)"  Nice of them to put this front and center so everyone could see before they bought their tickets.  When I went to the City Playhouse site to purchase my tickets, there was no warning.  There was a synopsis of the show that made it sound nice and wholesome but no warning.  I messaged one of the cast members (who had messaged those attending) asking about the level of language and dirty humor and was told to find the show on Youtube and watch the musical numbers.  I did this and well, there is a whole number dedicated to an erection.  That's right I said an erection.  I was livid.  Now my daughter is older and has probably heard worse things on the school bus but its the principle of the thing.  If I am going to purchase your product and you are not going to offer any refunds, there should be some warning posted somewhere on your site.  The only place where this warning was was on the facebook event page and even then you had to click to "see more" and scroll down.  The warning should pop up on the City Playhouse site BEFORE you buy the tickets.  So now I am out $42.  I don't want to take my daughter to see this show because I'm not sure if the erection song is the worst of the show's humor or the best of it.  I am attempting to have the box office release my tickets to me in advance so that I can have the option to try to resell the tickets to someone else.  From now on no more trying to do something nice for anyone.  Look what's its gotten me.  A little musical sex education.  Anyone interested in buying some tickets?

Insuring a Perfect Holiday

Dear Nationwide Insurance,

I would like to thank you for covering the recent copper pipe theft we experienced in the house which we are trying to sell.  You handled our claim swiftly even promising us that we were paying too much and adjusting our policy.  We appreciate all you have done for us including opening our eyes to your ridiculous practices and idiotic procedures.  Not being able to talk to an actual person at your office has been a true delight.  There is nothing I enjoy more than pushing buttons trying to get a real person.  Your front office staff has been remarkably unhelpful.  It seems they really excel at taking customers money and, if they are calling for any other reason, making sure they get disconnected.  I myself got to experience this wonderful skill during three consecutive phone calls - all within a fifteen minute span.  Now that's talent.  But most of all I would like to thank you for the wonderful Christmas greeting that arrived in our post box yesterday.  Most Christmas mail simply says "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays" but no, you went with the much more original "We sincerely regret we are unable to continue your Homeowner insurance protection at this time".  Wow.  Never has a more eloquent Christmas greeting been uttered.  What an amazing gift - adjusting our policy so that our payments will be zero.  I hope you all had a magnificent Christmas break of four and a half days out of the office.  Nothing beats spending time with family especially when you drive together to your agent's office to find it dark and vacant.  Your holiday spirit in unmatched and your new year will be prosperous, without you even having to do anything to deserve it.  Thank you for making this a craptastic Christmas for me and my family.

Sincerely,
quirky me