A monster headache sent me scrambling for a quiet room last night. I took my meds and opened the window as it was so nice out and then I crawled into bed and slept.
It was one of those that has sent me to the ER before but I was not in the mood to deal with them last night and having MUCH stronger meds then I used to it was easier to get some rest then previous times.
Some good news. One of the ladies my wife works with has an adjustable hospital style bed they are going to let me have. It had been purchased for her father but after he passed away they put it in storage where it has sat ever since. As well her mom really wanted to make sure the bed was going to someone who truly had a need for it.
When they heard about my back problems and how tough a time I was having getting to sleep they offered us the bed. At first they had asked for some money but it was going to take us a few weeks to save what they wanted. When my wife told her we were interested and if they could wait a bit she said don't worry about it they would let us have it for what it would cost her to get it back to town (it is about 70 miles away).
I believe my wife said they might have it back here this weekend. I am so grateful that they are doing this as it means I will be able to get a real nights sleep or at a minimum be able to take the pressure off my spine when I lay down by raising my knees and head. I am SO looking forward to this!
While the stronger meds have certainly been helping me get some sleep they do not keep you from waking when they wear off nor do they keep you from waking in utter pain. Your body feeling like it badly needs to be pulled back into position, you cannot move your back and limbs easily in the morning. I have learned to keep a small container of my meds by the bedside so that when I first wake I can take a dose of my fast acting meds and usually within a bit I can hobble down the stairs.
Once I get my first dose of meds taken care of and the pain starts to wan I am generally ok for the day provided I do not try anything "stupid." But seeing how I am me that is almost everything I do!
9/30/2005
9/28/2005
Insurance is such a pain!
Well I have gone over the States health care plans and have decided they all are just awful. The one nice thing that I did find is that the State picks up most of the tab as well they have no pre-existing clause in their policies.
However for their PPO's it is 65/35% IN NETWORK which is pathetic and the HMO's have both a co-pay and Co-insurance. It is like a $30 office visit and then 90/10% on top of that. Prescription coverage? I have never heard of paying a percentage like they have listed. Instead of say $20,30,40 for the 3 tier drug program it is percentages, 20%,30%,50% which means drugs are going to be pretty expensive. I am hoping that they have a set amount that a pharmacy can charge though which even with the percentages should keep costs down. I know 1 of my meds alone would cost me about $80 if they base the discount on the pharmacies actual prices. There is no way I will be able to afford all my meds if that is the case.
The good news is that with no pre-existing clause I can remain on our current policy by myself and still have the same benefits for the next 18 months. Since we were already paying 100% of the plans premiums I know what I will be paying through COBRA and when the 18 months are up it would be considered a lifestyle change according to the States brochures so I could just enroll on my wife's policy then.
I did try to call some of the companies the State has their program through but either they were closed (at 4pm?) or they would not talk to me as I was not the employee or I did not have a policy number. So how am I supposed to really compare the plans if I can't ask questions from the companies?
Today has been very cool and windy, right now it is 60F and dropping. We are set for an overnight low into the mid 40's so it looks like I will be kicking the heater on tonight before we turn in. I truly do not like the smell of the heater the first few times it kicks on after being off for almost 5 months. That rusty/dusty smell that takes a day or two to go away. Bleech!
Well tomorrow it looks like I will be spending the day on the phone trying to figure out the insurance deal.
However for their PPO's it is 65/35% IN NETWORK which is pathetic and the HMO's have both a co-pay and Co-insurance. It is like a $30 office visit and then 90/10% on top of that. Prescription coverage? I have never heard of paying a percentage like they have listed. Instead of say $20,30,40 for the 3 tier drug program it is percentages, 20%,30%,50% which means drugs are going to be pretty expensive. I am hoping that they have a set amount that a pharmacy can charge though which even with the percentages should keep costs down. I know 1 of my meds alone would cost me about $80 if they base the discount on the pharmacies actual prices. There is no way I will be able to afford all my meds if that is the case.
The good news is that with no pre-existing clause I can remain on our current policy by myself and still have the same benefits for the next 18 months. Since we were already paying 100% of the plans premiums I know what I will be paying through COBRA and when the 18 months are up it would be considered a lifestyle change according to the States brochures so I could just enroll on my wife's policy then.
I did try to call some of the companies the State has their program through but either they were closed (at 4pm?) or they would not talk to me as I was not the employee or I did not have a policy number. So how am I supposed to really compare the plans if I can't ask questions from the companies?
Today has been very cool and windy, right now it is 60F and dropping. We are set for an overnight low into the mid 40's so it looks like I will be kicking the heater on tonight before we turn in. I truly do not like the smell of the heater the first few times it kicks on after being off for almost 5 months. That rusty/dusty smell that takes a day or two to go away. Bleech!
Well tomorrow it looks like I will be spending the day on the phone trying to figure out the insurance deal.
9/27/2005
Mr. Mom again...
It is beautiful outside! The sliding doors are open and the boys are playing outside, the cool crisp air feels good and smells great. The trees have started to turn, hastening the departure of summer and I am all too happy to see the heat say it's goodbye's and leave us to our own devices.
My back has been mediocre for the last 2 days, not bad but not great either. I have been able to sleep fairly well by timing my meds for bedtime so that I am basically taking them all within an hour of each other and that has really helped me get through the night.
My wife started her new job this Monday working for the state. She is also training at a new restaurant by us so she can pick up tables a night or two a week. The sad thing is that even with working all day and then going to the restaurant at night she will be home before she would with her old employer. Gone are the 14+ hour days and getting home at 4am.
It will be interesting to see how the new insurance works as we will be rolling out of one plan and into another. Since we are doing that I am not pre-existing (THANK GOD!) but I want to make sure that we get on the plan that covers my current doctor. They have a cafeteria plan so there are a ton of options to choose from so I want to make sure that we get the best plan all around. I need to consider the cost of my prescriptions as well as surgical costs as chances are I will be having surgery in the near future for the L1-L4. I have been trying to prioritize the needs of the plan in order so that we get the best coverage but it is not easy.
My thoughts are that I will be having surgery but that is down the road so I need to look at the part of the plan where I will be spending the most out of pocket right now and that is prescriptions. Sure I see the docs a lot but the meds will be more. It is not going to be easy but I have until Monday I believe to get the papers turned in.
It has been nice to have the house all to myself and the youngest again. We can lounge around in our PJ's (yes, I wear PJ's) until nap time at which point it makes no sense to change as we are going to be taking a nap soon. Then it is lunch time followed by some general running around the house and playing games. The library has started story time again since school is going so I thought maybe I would do that a few days a week as he is starting to ask more about reading. Right now though it is time for the boys to come in and take their showers/baths.
My back has been mediocre for the last 2 days, not bad but not great either. I have been able to sleep fairly well by timing my meds for bedtime so that I am basically taking them all within an hour of each other and that has really helped me get through the night.
My wife started her new job this Monday working for the state. She is also training at a new restaurant by us so she can pick up tables a night or two a week. The sad thing is that even with working all day and then going to the restaurant at night she will be home before she would with her old employer. Gone are the 14+ hour days and getting home at 4am.
It will be interesting to see how the new insurance works as we will be rolling out of one plan and into another. Since we are doing that I am not pre-existing (THANK GOD!) but I want to make sure that we get on the plan that covers my current doctor. They have a cafeteria plan so there are a ton of options to choose from so I want to make sure that we get the best plan all around. I need to consider the cost of my prescriptions as well as surgical costs as chances are I will be having surgery in the near future for the L1-L4. I have been trying to prioritize the needs of the plan in order so that we get the best coverage but it is not easy.
My thoughts are that I will be having surgery but that is down the road so I need to look at the part of the plan where I will be spending the most out of pocket right now and that is prescriptions. Sure I see the docs a lot but the meds will be more. It is not going to be easy but I have until Monday I believe to get the papers turned in.
It has been nice to have the house all to myself and the youngest again. We can lounge around in our PJ's (yes, I wear PJ's) until nap time at which point it makes no sense to change as we are going to be taking a nap soon. Then it is lunch time followed by some general running around the house and playing games. The library has started story time again since school is going so I thought maybe I would do that a few days a week as he is starting to ask more about reading. Right now though it is time for the boys to come in and take their showers/baths.
9/25/2005
RenFest and Amazon.com
I wanted to go to the bookstore but my headache kicked in this morning removing all desire to do anything but relax and take my meds. Thankfully my wife took my oldest out for the afternoon to the renaissance Festival. While they did that the youngest and I relaxed and watched the first season of the Simpsons and fell asleep in the recliner. Boy that little guy is a pillow hog! I seriously think he pushed my head off the pillow a few times.
I am not into the whole SCA or RenFest scene but both my wife and son really like it. Hard to believe I married a nerd! LOL! They both like the RenFest as well as SciFi, Harry Potter and the likes while I prefer to dabble in History, especially Military History. While they were at the festival my son entered an archery contest of some sort and did well enough to win. Not bad for a someone who has never really held a real bow so now like most kids his age who try something new I am expecting to be bombarded with the "I want to buy a bow and arrows." Thankfully it will not be a difficult one to say "No!" to.
While I did not make it to the bookstore like we had planned I did hit Amazon.com and order 4 books online. I was looking for some books on CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), DHTML (Dynamic HTML) and ASP (Active Server Pages) as well as anything they might have on VBScript, which was not much. I ended up finding most of what I was looking for in the used section and spent less then $25 for all 4 books including shipping. I actually spent $5 more on shipping then I did on the books but I figure I would have spent $50 at the bookstore if I had gone and would have only walked out with 1-2 books. Yea yea, I am a cheapskate but since these are all "tech" books they generally cost $25-50 a piece at the store, plus my time, gas and the $14 for the pizza. You can't go to the bookstore without hitting my favorite pizza joint.
Anyway, I am trying to bone up on my web development skills so that is why I keep buying all these books. I know I call them "nerds" for going to the RenFest and here I am buying books on programming and markup languages. Their is a difference, they are indeed nerds. I'm just a geek!
I am not into the whole SCA or RenFest scene but both my wife and son really like it. Hard to believe I married a nerd! LOL! They both like the RenFest as well as SciFi, Harry Potter and the likes while I prefer to dabble in History, especially Military History. While they were at the festival my son entered an archery contest of some sort and did well enough to win. Not bad for a someone who has never really held a real bow so now like most kids his age who try something new I am expecting to be bombarded with the "I want to buy a bow and arrows." Thankfully it will not be a difficult one to say "No!" to.
While I did not make it to the bookstore like we had planned I did hit Amazon.com and order 4 books online. I was looking for some books on CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), DHTML (Dynamic HTML) and ASP (Active Server Pages) as well as anything they might have on VBScript, which was not much. I ended up finding most of what I was looking for in the used section and spent less then $25 for all 4 books including shipping. I actually spent $5 more on shipping then I did on the books but I figure I would have spent $50 at the bookstore if I had gone and would have only walked out with 1-2 books. Yea yea, I am a cheapskate but since these are all "tech" books they generally cost $25-50 a piece at the store, plus my time, gas and the $14 for the pizza. You can't go to the bookstore without hitting my favorite pizza joint.
Anyway, I am trying to bone up on my web development skills so that is why I keep buying all these books. I know I call them "nerds" for going to the RenFest and here I am buying books on programming and markup languages. Their is a difference, they are indeed nerds. I'm just a geek!
9/24/2005
Where's my stash?
The summer is fighting to maintain it's grip on us here. We are still climbing in to the 90's during the day but dropping down to a cool 70 at night. Perhaps another week and it will be time to have the windows open for a bit before it is too cold! I love being able to air out the house and take my afternoon naps with the fresh air of the Midwest plains.
Of course with the cold weather comes out the feather bed and my down comforter! They were wedding gifts from my parents and make the bed perfectly comfortable on the cold winter nights. The only problem is that until it is cold enough it is just to warm for them as well this winter they will help stave off the cold even better as we crank the heater down even lower in hopes of not going broke trying to pay the fuel bill. It is bad enough right now at $60 a month when it used to be about $25 this time of the year.
I ran out of my meds yesterday but prior to going to the winery my wife had told me she would drop off my prescriptions as I would need them this morning. Well I did not have a second thought about it and went about my business until this morning when I woke up, in pain no less, and came down to take my morning dose. Except there were no meds to be found, ANYWHERE. Of course this is the morning that my wife also had to drive into the city to finish some business down there. Right in the middle of my frantic search she called to let me know she had made it safely, so I asked about my meds thinking perhaps she left them in the car or her backpack. I was hoping but I was wrong, she had not dropped them off at all! EGADS! I was left with no meds, the kids and no transportation to haul all 3 of us to the pharmacy. Of course this was about 8am and she would not be back until about 1pm. Thankfully I had my breakthrough meds and while a full dose is a buttkicker there was no way I was going to make it until 1 without my primary meds unless I did so. Obviously I made it,but this is a prime example of why I prefer to have a "stash" of my major meds.
I am really looking forward to my wife being home during the evenings now. While she will still be working part time at a local restaurant to help with some bills we both agreed that she will not work more then 2 nights a week and Friday and Saturday are out of the picture.
This is a great time to bring back some family habits that got pushed aside with her last job, like eating as a family or even eating at the dining room table. While I enjoy eating in front of the idiot box on occasion I just think it is not something we should be doing everynight. I am also looking forward to perhaps having a night or two to play some family games especially with our youngest being old enough to play some of the simpler games like Candy Land or Chutes and Ladders.
I want to find some books on VBScript and C# so tomorrow we are going to head to Barnes & Noble and make it a family trip kind of thing. Since my oldest has been doing ok in school (although he is still the quintessential smart ass) I thought we might find a book he has been looking for as the library does not have it nor do any of their lending branches.
The youngest is also starting to read a lot more or should I say he loves having his books read to him and while he has a ton of books I find myself reading the same ones over and over again. My wife and I were talking over which ones we should get so I was thinking a few of them on manners (although he has impeccable manners) and potty training as we are having some problems in that area. We have been reading him Underwear Dos and Dont's in hopes that it will help but alas we are still trying.
Of course with the cold weather comes out the feather bed and my down comforter! They were wedding gifts from my parents and make the bed perfectly comfortable on the cold winter nights. The only problem is that until it is cold enough it is just to warm for them as well this winter they will help stave off the cold even better as we crank the heater down even lower in hopes of not going broke trying to pay the fuel bill. It is bad enough right now at $60 a month when it used to be about $25 this time of the year.
I ran out of my meds yesterday but prior to going to the winery my wife had told me she would drop off my prescriptions as I would need them this morning. Well I did not have a second thought about it and went about my business until this morning when I woke up, in pain no less, and came down to take my morning dose. Except there were no meds to be found, ANYWHERE. Of course this is the morning that my wife also had to drive into the city to finish some business down there. Right in the middle of my frantic search she called to let me know she had made it safely, so I asked about my meds thinking perhaps she left them in the car or her backpack. I was hoping but I was wrong, she had not dropped them off at all! EGADS! I was left with no meds, the kids and no transportation to haul all 3 of us to the pharmacy. Of course this was about 8am and she would not be back until about 1pm. Thankfully I had my breakthrough meds and while a full dose is a buttkicker there was no way I was going to make it until 1 without my primary meds unless I did so. Obviously I made it,but this is a prime example of why I prefer to have a "stash" of my major meds.
I am really looking forward to my wife being home during the evenings now. While she will still be working part time at a local restaurant to help with some bills we both agreed that she will not work more then 2 nights a week and Friday and Saturday are out of the picture.
This is a great time to bring back some family habits that got pushed aside with her last job, like eating as a family or even eating at the dining room table. While I enjoy eating in front of the idiot box on occasion I just think it is not something we should be doing everynight. I am also looking forward to perhaps having a night or two to play some family games especially with our youngest being old enough to play some of the simpler games like Candy Land or Chutes and Ladders.
I want to find some books on VBScript and C# so tomorrow we are going to head to Barnes & Noble and make it a family trip kind of thing. Since my oldest has been doing ok in school (although he is still the quintessential smart ass) I thought we might find a book he has been looking for as the library does not have it nor do any of their lending branches.
The youngest is also starting to read a lot more or should I say he loves having his books read to him and while he has a ton of books I find myself reading the same ones over and over again. My wife and I were talking over which ones we should get so I was thinking a few of them on manners (although he has impeccable manners) and potty training as we are having some problems in that area. We have been reading him Underwear Dos and Dont's in hopes that it will help but alas we are still trying.
9/22/2005
A fair day...
I was so sore this morning that I thought I was not going to make it down the stairs! After a few days in the winery I did not realize that I was really that bad off. I was not able to go in today as my wife needed to head to her former employers and sign for her final paycheck and some other stuff. Her new position starts on Monday bright and early!
While she did that I spent the afternoon with my youngest who now has that crappy cold we have been passing back and forth. The poor kiddo is nothing but snot and drool. Since his sinuses are so congested he is keeping his mouth wide open to breathe and that of course leads to drool which he was already a champion at without the cold. We have been giving him all the stuff we have trying to once again find the right combo to alleviate the symptoms. The lunch time dose worked like a charm and he was able to take a good 2 hour nap and right now he is down for the evening after another dose and a warm bath. I have set his pillow up so he can sleep a bit elevated and hopefully it will help him sleep through the night.
We took the boys out for a cheap dinner, the local Chinese Buffet as none of us were in the mood to cook and both my wife and oldest son love that buffet. Of course the oldest loves any buffet or restaurant for that matter, just like most 12 year old boys I would suspect. Myself? The Chinese buffet is good but I would prefer to spend that money on gas and drive to the mall about 45 minutes from us with a real NYC style pizza shop. They make the best pie in the state and we have been known to drive down there on a whim just to get some! Yes, it is that good.
I am actually comfortable this evening. The foot is not buzzing this afternoon, no muscle spasms and only a small knot in the middle of my back (probably from being overworked this week). I only had to take 1/4 of the evening dose of breakthrough meds at dinner time and since I did not take a nap this afternoon (I watched the idiot box) I am hoping that as soon as I crawl in between those cool sheets and my head hits my super comfortable down pillow I will be off to dreamland for the next 8-9 hours. If I could have more days like this I would be good to go.
While she did that I spent the afternoon with my youngest who now has that crappy cold we have been passing back and forth. The poor kiddo is nothing but snot and drool. Since his sinuses are so congested he is keeping his mouth wide open to breathe and that of course leads to drool which he was already a champion at without the cold. We have been giving him all the stuff we have trying to once again find the right combo to alleviate the symptoms. The lunch time dose worked like a charm and he was able to take a good 2 hour nap and right now he is down for the evening after another dose and a warm bath. I have set his pillow up so he can sleep a bit elevated and hopefully it will help him sleep through the night.
We took the boys out for a cheap dinner, the local Chinese Buffet as none of us were in the mood to cook and both my wife and oldest son love that buffet. Of course the oldest loves any buffet or restaurant for that matter, just like most 12 year old boys I would suspect. Myself? The Chinese buffet is good but I would prefer to spend that money on gas and drive to the mall about 45 minutes from us with a real NYC style pizza shop. They make the best pie in the state and we have been known to drive down there on a whim just to get some! Yes, it is that good.
I am actually comfortable this evening. The foot is not buzzing this afternoon, no muscle spasms and only a small knot in the middle of my back (probably from being overworked this week). I only had to take 1/4 of the evening dose of breakthrough meds at dinner time and since I did not take a nap this afternoon (I watched the idiot box) I am hoping that as soon as I crawl in between those cool sheets and my head hits my super comfortable down pillow I will be off to dreamland for the next 8-9 hours. If I could have more days like this I would be good to go.
Tagged, finally
Ok, Bridget from Seeking Sanity tagged me a few days ago and here it is!
7 Things that scare me:
Losing my children
Losing my wife
My children being hurt
My wife being hurt
My wife's driving skills (or lack of!)
Having to have another back surgery
Having to find another doctor
7 Things I like:
Brewing beer
Playing around with HTML/CSS & ASP
Cooking
Playing with my kids
Going to the range with my buddies
Watching TV
Playing PS2
7 Things in my room:
My TV
My PS2
My very comfortable down comforter
My super comfortable feather bed
DirecTV
My books
All my extra computer parts
7 random facts about ME:
I was born on a military base
I had braces as a kid
I was a bounty hunter for several years
I worked as a craps and poker dealer for a casino
I have a "Long Island" accent
I was a Boy Scout and an Altar boy
I used to run a mile in under 5 minutes
7 Things I plan to do before I die:
Watch my children become successful
Travel
Get my PhD in History
Finish decorating our house
Spoil my grandchildren
Make sure my family will be taken care of
Be as old as possible!
7 things I can do:
Write HTML & CSS(although not an expert)
Brew beer
Deal poker, Hold-Em, Razz, 7-Stud, Omaha (Hi-Lo as well). Having dealt it in the casino I learned all the ins and outs.
Fix computers/electronics
Cook/Bake
Whittle
Roll my eyes in opposite directions at the same time!
7 things I can not or will not do:
compromise my integrity/principles
Fail to care for my family
Skydive (only because of my back though)
Go hunting
Run (again a back issue)
Speed! I refuse to drive faster then the speed limit any more.
Be unfaithful to my wife or my family.
7 Things I say the most:
So what's the problem?
Do you know what you're talking about?
WTF is wrong with you?
And you know this how?
I love you. (To my wife)
Go to your room (To my oldest son)
Stop jumping on the furniture! (To my youngest son)
7 Celebrity crushes:(These are not in any order!)
Charlize Theron
Jamie Lee Curtis
Jill Hennessy
Angelina Jolie
Ashley Judd
Helen Hunt
Halle Berry
7 Things that scare me:
Losing my children
Losing my wife
My children being hurt
My wife being hurt
My wife's driving skills (or lack of!)
Having to have another back surgery
Having to find another doctor
7 Things I like:
Brewing beer
Playing around with HTML/CSS & ASP
Cooking
Playing with my kids
Going to the range with my buddies
Watching TV
Playing PS2
7 Things in my room:
My TV
My PS2
My very comfortable down comforter
My super comfortable feather bed
DirecTV
My books
All my extra computer parts
7 random facts about ME:
I was born on a military base
I had braces as a kid
I was a bounty hunter for several years
I worked as a craps and poker dealer for a casino
I have a "Long Island" accent
I was a Boy Scout and an Altar boy
I used to run a mile in under 5 minutes
7 Things I plan to do before I die:
Watch my children become successful
Travel
Get my PhD in History
Finish decorating our house
Spoil my grandchildren
Make sure my family will be taken care of
Be as old as possible!
7 things I can do:
Write HTML & CSS(although not an expert)
Brew beer
Deal poker, Hold-Em, Razz, 7-Stud, Omaha (Hi-Lo as well). Having dealt it in the casino I learned all the ins and outs.
Fix computers/electronics
Cook/Bake
Whittle
Roll my eyes in opposite directions at the same time!
7 things I can not or will not do:
compromise my integrity/principles
Fail to care for my family
Skydive (only because of my back though)
Go hunting
Run (again a back issue)
Speed! I refuse to drive faster then the speed limit any more.
Be unfaithful to my wife or my family.
7 Things I say the most:
So what's the problem?
Do you know what you're talking about?
WTF is wrong with you?
And you know this how?
I love you. (To my wife)
Go to your room (To my oldest son)
Stop jumping on the furniture! (To my youngest son)
7 Celebrity crushes:(These are not in any order!)
Charlize Theron
Jamie Lee Curtis
Jill Hennessy
Angelina Jolie
Ashley Judd
Helen Hunt
Halle Berry
9/21/2005
Upate...
I have not been in this much pain in some time. I am certainly glad that the doctor had just upped all my doses for me or I would be SOL! I am trying to not overdo it but that is not as easy as it sounds. As you can imagine working in a winery is every bit as physical as working in a brewery. One of these posts I will go into it a bit more.
My wife got a second job offer that while it is less money is more tempting as it is a State job, offers all benefits including a state retirement and the best part is 9-5 M-F. Neither of us have had a 'normal' job in many years. It is also even closer to the house then her previous position which was only 1.8 miles. I do not even think this one is a mile but I will have to check it out. It also means 1 hour a day for lunch in which she will be allowed to come home breaking her day in half! It is too much to pass up even with the pay cut.
Right now I am so tired I want to go to sleep but I have some more things to do and "tag" I still have to tend too.
My wife got a second job offer that while it is less money is more tempting as it is a State job, offers all benefits including a state retirement and the best part is 9-5 M-F. Neither of us have had a 'normal' job in many years. It is also even closer to the house then her previous position which was only 1.8 miles. I do not even think this one is a mile but I will have to check it out. It also means 1 hour a day for lunch in which she will be allowed to come home breaking her day in half! It is too much to pass up even with the pay cut.
Right now I am so tired I want to go to sleep but I have some more things to do and "tag" I still have to tend too.
9/20/2005
Ok, I have been a bit bad this past week about getting on here and posting but I have a reason.
I have not put this on here yet as we were trying to figure things out but my wife lost her job 2 weeks ago which once again put us with no income. Having just started recovering from when she had to leave her job to take care of me (after my surgery) we were not really in a great position. We are ok as we did have a bit in the bank as well she was paid all her vacation hours which was almost 15 days worth as well as some other separation pay. While we do not have a ton of money we had enough to get through a lean spot.
She started the job hunt with a great lead and 2 great interviews with the company. It would have been a 20 minute drive rather then the 5 minute drive she had been making but it was a 25% raise which more then made up for it. The 1st interview was with the GM and the 2nd was with the owners and the GM and she was told they would call in 48 hours to arrange the days to come in and do the paperwork. That was 2 weeks ago and all they have done is avoid her calls. Interestingly enough they are doing it to someone else we know who just applied as an hourly employee and not as a manager. So while the lead started great and the offer was more then we were expecting apparenlty it is not going to work at all.
She had some other interviews in the meantime and while there were some decent jobs it came down to either the driving and/or the pay. She does not mind a small pay cut some of the jobs were an hour drive and a paycut meaning by the time you factor in gas we would be screwed.
She is on an interview right now here in town and if all goes well it will be a great job. It has benefits and is less then a 10 minute WALK from the house and while the pay is a bit lower then she was at we have a plan for that.
However should this be something that does not work she was hired at another restaurant last night. It is not management but that is because they are staffed right now and will not have a position for about 60 days. At that time they will re-evaluate their situation especially since they have only been open for 2 weeks. The job is about 15-20 minutes from our house and while it does not have any benefits we have 18 months of COBRA so I am ok.
So what is the plan to make up any short income? ME! I go back to work here in about an hour and a half. For those who did not know I am a brewer and I love the job. Iwas running a small brewery when I got hurt and it is all I have wanted to do since then. Yes, some people laugh and say things like "It's just for the beer" and so on but the truth is that as a brewer you drink very little during the work day. Brewing is a labor of love at the pub level because it is all you. Designing, formulating and making the beer. It is a VERY manual job and the satisfaction you get from taking something like barley, water, hops and yeast and turning it into a worldclass beer is unbelievable. There was no such thing as a bad day in the brewery IMHO.
Anyway, while my back does hurt and I am limited in some of the things I can do I decided I wanted to try and go back to work part time. I love being at home with the boys and will continue to do so but I also need something to do, to exercise my mind.
Obviously brewing jobs are not going to fall out of the sky and unless you are willing to relocate for low pay (brewers are very underpaid) you are out of luck. However while my wife was looking for a job the other day she came across an ad for a local winery needing someone to run their bottling line and filter, so I gave them a call. The owner and I talked for a bit and then yesterday I went over and talked with him for a bit about what they needed and what I could offer and I start this morning.
I did disclose to them about my back so that they understand I have physical limitations as well so that if I find I am unable to perform the job as needed they know why I would have to leave the position.
This is starting part time but they said I can work as much as I feel like up to a full week but again I told them that right now this is part time to me. It is a bit for the money but mostly to have something for me to do outside the house 2-3 days a week. We will have to see how it goes, so please wish me luck!
I have not put this on here yet as we were trying to figure things out but my wife lost her job 2 weeks ago which once again put us with no income. Having just started recovering from when she had to leave her job to take care of me (after my surgery) we were not really in a great position. We are ok as we did have a bit in the bank as well she was paid all her vacation hours which was almost 15 days worth as well as some other separation pay. While we do not have a ton of money we had enough to get through a lean spot.
She started the job hunt with a great lead and 2 great interviews with the company. It would have been a 20 minute drive rather then the 5 minute drive she had been making but it was a 25% raise which more then made up for it. The 1st interview was with the GM and the 2nd was with the owners and the GM and she was told they would call in 48 hours to arrange the days to come in and do the paperwork. That was 2 weeks ago and all they have done is avoid her calls. Interestingly enough they are doing it to someone else we know who just applied as an hourly employee and not as a manager. So while the lead started great and the offer was more then we were expecting apparenlty it is not going to work at all.
She had some other interviews in the meantime and while there were some decent jobs it came down to either the driving and/or the pay. She does not mind a small pay cut some of the jobs were an hour drive and a paycut meaning by the time you factor in gas we would be screwed.
She is on an interview right now here in town and if all goes well it will be a great job. It has benefits and is less then a 10 minute WALK from the house and while the pay is a bit lower then she was at we have a plan for that.
However should this be something that does not work she was hired at another restaurant last night. It is not management but that is because they are staffed right now and will not have a position for about 60 days. At that time they will re-evaluate their situation especially since they have only been open for 2 weeks. The job is about 15-20 minutes from our house and while it does not have any benefits we have 18 months of COBRA so I am ok.
So what is the plan to make up any short income? ME! I go back to work here in about an hour and a half. For those who did not know I am a brewer and I love the job. Iwas running a small brewery when I got hurt and it is all I have wanted to do since then. Yes, some people laugh and say things like "It's just for the beer" and so on but the truth is that as a brewer you drink very little during the work day. Brewing is a labor of love at the pub level because it is all you. Designing, formulating and making the beer. It is a VERY manual job and the satisfaction you get from taking something like barley, water, hops and yeast and turning it into a worldclass beer is unbelievable. There was no such thing as a bad day in the brewery IMHO.
Anyway, while my back does hurt and I am limited in some of the things I can do I decided I wanted to try and go back to work part time. I love being at home with the boys and will continue to do so but I also need something to do, to exercise my mind.
Obviously brewing jobs are not going to fall out of the sky and unless you are willing to relocate for low pay (brewers are very underpaid) you are out of luck. However while my wife was looking for a job the other day she came across an ad for a local winery needing someone to run their bottling line and filter, so I gave them a call. The owner and I talked for a bit and then yesterday I went over and talked with him for a bit about what they needed and what I could offer and I start this morning.
I did disclose to them about my back so that they understand I have physical limitations as well so that if I find I am unable to perform the job as needed they know why I would have to leave the position.
This is starting part time but they said I can work as much as I feel like up to a full week but again I told them that right now this is part time to me. It is a bit for the money but mostly to have something for me to do outside the house 2-3 days a week. We will have to see how it goes, so please wish me luck!
9/17/2005
Short post
We spent the day with my family out at my sisters house. My nephew turned 3 today so they had a bbq for him.
It was nice to see all my family in one place but my sisters neighbors ruined the day big time. They had a kiddie pool full of stagnant water in the back yard. Of course that turned into a breading ground for mosquito's who chomped on us all night regardless of what we put on to ward them off. Hell I am still scratching! I had one bite that must have been the size of a silver dollar and at least 6-7 quarter sized ones before we all said screw it. The pool was just out of reach and apparently the neighbor was not about to empty it (or cut the grass) so we found a long stick and poked a hole in the bottom of the pool. It was one of those $4 wading pools and I highly doubt based on the algae growing in it that they were going to be using it again. As soon as the water ran down the yard the pest problem let up a bit and we could stop smacking the mosquito's off.
A decent day pain wise. Having to adjust to the new dose a bit as it does make me a bit tired. I ended up falling asleep about 7pm this evening and just now woke up so I am going to take the doc's advice and take 2 pills in hopes that it helps me sleep better. I would prefer some Ambien though, it knocked my butt out last time I took it.
Tomorrow a good friend is in town so I will be trying to catch up with him for dinner. It may be another late post and Bridget, I have not forgotten your list but between the appointments and bbq I have not been online but a few minutes. I promise I will work on it right after breakfast!
It was nice to see all my family in one place but my sisters neighbors ruined the day big time. They had a kiddie pool full of stagnant water in the back yard. Of course that turned into a breading ground for mosquito's who chomped on us all night regardless of what we put on to ward them off. Hell I am still scratching! I had one bite that must have been the size of a silver dollar and at least 6-7 quarter sized ones before we all said screw it. The pool was just out of reach and apparently the neighbor was not about to empty it (or cut the grass) so we found a long stick and poked a hole in the bottom of the pool. It was one of those $4 wading pools and I highly doubt based on the algae growing in it that they were going to be using it again. As soon as the water ran down the yard the pest problem let up a bit and we could stop smacking the mosquito's off.
A decent day pain wise. Having to adjust to the new dose a bit as it does make me a bit tired. I ended up falling asleep about 7pm this evening and just now woke up so I am going to take the doc's advice and take 2 pills in hopes that it helps me sleep better. I would prefer some Ambien though, it knocked my butt out last time I took it.
Tomorrow a good friend is in town so I will be trying to catch up with him for dinner. It may be another late post and Bridget, I have not forgotten your list but between the appointments and bbq I have not been online but a few minutes. I promise I will work on it right after breakfast!
9/16/2005
Trip to the doc
Saw the doc this afternoon.
It was a good visit all in all. We talked about the increase in pain and how while the meds work they are no longer working all the time.
He upped my breakthrough meds, which I figured he would go up just a bit, he pretty much tripled the dose. I can actually take a 1/2 which is 15mg (the old max dose was 10mg) but the full dose is 30mg. Of course they are also scored which means I can take a 1/2 if need be which means I can also take about 22mg rather then the full 30. I am just gun shy for the 30 as I am fairly sure it will knock me on my ass! LOL!
He also did a quick "procedure" I believe it was called iontophoresis. Basically it is like a TENS machine except they had little sponges under the electrodes. As the current traveled through the pads it basically forces the medication into the area of pain. I forgot the name of the medicine they used but it is close to lidocaine. They want me to come back for it 2-3 times a week but that is going to be a bit tough as we live so far away so I will have to figure something out for that. Perhaps finding someone in town he can do this part of the pain management.
Of course increasing the dose created a new problem as well as very few pharmacies carry that dose and if they do they do not carry the amount he prescribed. Since we have had this problem in the past with lower dose/amount I decided to try and call some of the pharmacies in town before we drove all the way back and it was a good thing I did as not one single of the ones I use had the meds. It took some sleuth work but we did find a place and that is where we ran into the second problem, the number the doc wrote it for is not covered by my insurance. The pharmacist said that they could go ahead and just sell me what they would cover and I would have to "write off" the extra or I could pay out of pocket for the extras. Now we are talking about a medication that is strictly controlled and rather expensive and I have 60 pills over the limit. The only thing going through my mind was that I would 1-not have enough meds for the month as the overage was going to be at least $120 if not more which is a far cry from the $10 copay I have. Of course out of curiosity we asked anyway and was pleasantly surprised when they charged us a whopping $25 for the overage. Long story short (too late, I know...) I got all my meds and it was no where near what I thought it would be.
The good news is that I will most likely NOT take that many pills in a month. That means I can build my "stash" back up which anyone having chronic pain knows is ever important. You build a stockpile of 2-3 weeks up for those times where you might not be able to get to a doctor for your refills or more likely the pharmacy runs out of your meds and no one has them. I found that out the hardway as well as they do not get refills overnight or even in 2 days. It apparently takes a week and sometimes more for them to get their shipments, learn something new everyday!
Oh well, my wife is back with my burger so I am going to take a break and eat something.
It was a good visit all in all. We talked about the increase in pain and how while the meds work they are no longer working all the time.
He upped my breakthrough meds, which I figured he would go up just a bit, he pretty much tripled the dose. I can actually take a 1/2 which is 15mg (the old max dose was 10mg) but the full dose is 30mg. Of course they are also scored which means I can take a 1/2 if need be which means I can also take about 22mg rather then the full 30. I am just gun shy for the 30 as I am fairly sure it will knock me on my ass! LOL!
He also did a quick "procedure" I believe it was called iontophoresis. Basically it is like a TENS machine except they had little sponges under the electrodes. As the current traveled through the pads it basically forces the medication into the area of pain. I forgot the name of the medicine they used but it is close to lidocaine. They want me to come back for it 2-3 times a week but that is going to be a bit tough as we live so far away so I will have to figure something out for that. Perhaps finding someone in town he can do this part of the pain management.
Of course increasing the dose created a new problem as well as very few pharmacies carry that dose and if they do they do not carry the amount he prescribed. Since we have had this problem in the past with lower dose/amount I decided to try and call some of the pharmacies in town before we drove all the way back and it was a good thing I did as not one single of the ones I use had the meds. It took some sleuth work but we did find a place and that is where we ran into the second problem, the number the doc wrote it for is not covered by my insurance. The pharmacist said that they could go ahead and just sell me what they would cover and I would have to "write off" the extra or I could pay out of pocket for the extras. Now we are talking about a medication that is strictly controlled and rather expensive and I have 60 pills over the limit. The only thing going through my mind was that I would 1-not have enough meds for the month as the overage was going to be at least $120 if not more which is a far cry from the $10 copay I have. Of course out of curiosity we asked anyway and was pleasantly surprised when they charged us a whopping $25 for the overage. Long story short (too late, I know...) I got all my meds and it was no where near what I thought it would be.
The good news is that I will most likely NOT take that many pills in a month. That means I can build my "stash" back up which anyone having chronic pain knows is ever important. You build a stockpile of 2-3 weeks up for those times where you might not be able to get to a doctor for your refills or more likely the pharmacy runs out of your meds and no one has them. I found that out the hardway as well as they do not get refills overnight or even in 2 days. It apparently takes a week and sometimes more for them to get their shipments, learn something new everyday!
Oh well, my wife is back with my burger so I am going to take a break and eat something.
9/15/2005
More work on the school projects...
Very cool today, down to 60F for most of the day. It was nice to have the windows opened up for the whole day and let the house air out. We also got a lot of rain but it has been so long since we could have the windows open all day that we left them alone. Surprisingly we did not get any water in the house.
I also spent the day trying to tidy up my sons school website. Apparently someone is supposed to be working on the High School's portion of it but after looking it up not only does it appear they have not done much it looks like they have taken 4 months to get that far. I don't have a problem doing both of them but they need to figure out what they want.
I volunteered to do the site and I want to get it done but so far they have been VERY slow in providing me the material for content. We have 5 campuses for our school in town but I do not have any pictures of the schools or the staff, I do not have the names for staff other then what I got from the new calendar, no logos, and so on. In fact the only material I have is the actual calendar. Luckily the printing company put their info on the back cover and after a quick call to them I had the calendar and handbook in digital format. Since no one has said how they would like it on the website I tagged it up to embed the .pdf right into the pages for both the calendar and the student handbook. I also have a program that converts pdf to HTML which I did for those who may not have Adobe or for those who do not care to download it but still need the online calendar.
I really want the website to be fully functional, more then just a place to get information about the school. I want the parents and students to be able to get the required documents for the school year, registration forms, permission slips and so on. I know that my son has a bad habit of losing things and if I had a place I could go to download it, well that would be MUCH easier.
The school also puts out a weekly newsletter which like other papers rarely makes it home. Putting it online would make it so much nicer for the parents. They could list by grade what projects are coming up and when they are due and so on. While we have several campuses each one only has 2-3 grades on it and each class only has about 45-55 students in it. That means listing assignments online would not be difficult. It could really be a great resource for the parents and with the kind of money we are spending to send our kids to this school I frankly expect something like this website can be.
Anyway, there is just so much we can do with the site. All they need to do is give me the documents they want/need on it and it is done.
My back has been ok today. The cool weather has made me a bit stiff but having been working on the school project for most of the day I have been in my chair so I have at least been comfortable. I see the doctor in the morning so I plan on talking to him about adding a bit to the breakthrough meds. Not so much upping the individual dose but giving me enough for those 20-30 times a month (out of 60-90 total times) I need a bit extra. Sometimes 10mg just is not cutting it but upping to the next dose (20mg) would be to much. We will see what he says.
I also spent the day trying to tidy up my sons school website. Apparently someone is supposed to be working on the High School's portion of it but after looking it up not only does it appear they have not done much it looks like they have taken 4 months to get that far. I don't have a problem doing both of them but they need to figure out what they want.
I volunteered to do the site and I want to get it done but so far they have been VERY slow in providing me the material for content. We have 5 campuses for our school in town but I do not have any pictures of the schools or the staff, I do not have the names for staff other then what I got from the new calendar, no logos, and so on. In fact the only material I have is the actual calendar. Luckily the printing company put their info on the back cover and after a quick call to them I had the calendar and handbook in digital format. Since no one has said how they would like it on the website I tagged it up to embed the .pdf right into the pages for both the calendar and the student handbook. I also have a program that converts pdf to HTML which I did for those who may not have Adobe or for those who do not care to download it but still need the online calendar.
I really want the website to be fully functional, more then just a place to get information about the school. I want the parents and students to be able to get the required documents for the school year, registration forms, permission slips and so on. I know that my son has a bad habit of losing things and if I had a place I could go to download it, well that would be MUCH easier.
The school also puts out a weekly newsletter which like other papers rarely makes it home. Putting it online would make it so much nicer for the parents. They could list by grade what projects are coming up and when they are due and so on. While we have several campuses each one only has 2-3 grades on it and each class only has about 45-55 students in it. That means listing assignments online would not be difficult. It could really be a great resource for the parents and with the kind of money we are spending to send our kids to this school I frankly expect something like this website can be.
Anyway, there is just so much we can do with the site. All they need to do is give me the documents they want/need on it and it is done.
My back has been ok today. The cool weather has made me a bit stiff but having been working on the school project for most of the day I have been in my chair so I have at least been comfortable. I see the doctor in the morning so I plan on talking to him about adding a bit to the breakthrough meds. Not so much upping the individual dose but giving me enough for those 20-30 times a month (out of 60-90 total times) I need a bit extra. Sometimes 10mg just is not cutting it but upping to the next dose (20mg) would be to much. We will see what he says.
9/13/2005
Sleep will do you good
I must have slept for most of the day yesterday. I recall seeing the clock saying it was about 9:30pm and wondering how was I ever going to sleep through the night as I had been sleeping all day. Of course the next thing I knew the clock said 6am.
I do feel better this morning, a bit at least. I do not have that run down feeling which I have to say is the worst of it all. Being sick sucks it is worse when you have that rundown feeling to go along with it. I still have the dry cough and a bit of sinus congestion but nothing a little Sudafed or Robistussin should not be able to handle.
My youngest is too funny. He was snacking on his pop tart (S'mores flavor) when he asked mom for another snack. Well of course mom told him that he could not have another one because he just got his pop tart. So the little bugger throws the pop tart in the trash and tells mom "I'm done can I have something else?" LOL!
He is really starting to speak in complete paragraphs now. 2-3 sentences at a time and very clear for the most part. Clear enough that people who are not around him all day long can understand him as well. He can also read some basic words and sentences, especially his favorite TV shows from the TV menu. D'oh! We have the TiVo and he has learned how to turn on his favorite shows.
It is a pain in the butt actually because he also deletes shows. We started hiding the TiVo remote when we leave the room but he figured out how to use the console itself to do the same thing. The only thing I can think of is to build a shelf for that stuff or perhaps by an armoire with a locking door. Not sure but unplugging them is not an option as he has figured out how to rip the outlet covers from the wall and plug things in anyway. We even have the good outlet covers that actually "clip" into place. Not sure how he gets them out but he does...
Well we are expecting severe hail and a ton of rain according to the national weather folks. Surprisingly my back is not hurting as I would expect from a storm this size. I am not comfortable but I am not in hard pain either. Perhaps we will have a good day all around! Maybe I will make some brownies this afternoon.
I do feel better this morning, a bit at least. I do not have that run down feeling which I have to say is the worst of it all. Being sick sucks it is worse when you have that rundown feeling to go along with it. I still have the dry cough and a bit of sinus congestion but nothing a little Sudafed or Robistussin should not be able to handle.
My youngest is too funny. He was snacking on his pop tart (S'mores flavor) when he asked mom for another snack. Well of course mom told him that he could not have another one because he just got his pop tart. So the little bugger throws the pop tart in the trash and tells mom "I'm done can I have something else?" LOL!
He is really starting to speak in complete paragraphs now. 2-3 sentences at a time and very clear for the most part. Clear enough that people who are not around him all day long can understand him as well. He can also read some basic words and sentences, especially his favorite TV shows from the TV menu. D'oh! We have the TiVo and he has learned how to turn on his favorite shows.
It is a pain in the butt actually because he also deletes shows. We started hiding the TiVo remote when we leave the room but he figured out how to use the console itself to do the same thing. The only thing I can think of is to build a shelf for that stuff or perhaps by an armoire with a locking door. Not sure but unplugging them is not an option as he has figured out how to rip the outlet covers from the wall and plug things in anyway. We even have the good outlet covers that actually "clip" into place. Not sure how he gets them out but he does...
Well we are expecting severe hail and a ton of rain according to the national weather folks. Surprisingly my back is not hurting as I would expect from a storm this size. I am not comfortable but I am not in hard pain either. Perhaps we will have a good day all around! Maybe I will make some brownies this afternoon.
9/12/2005
Restricted?
I have a ton of reading to catch up on. I spent the last few days messing around with the computers and trying to get things done around here that I have not had time to read my favorite blogs.
I should have plenty of time over the next day or so as I am restricted to bed by my wife. I felt fine this morning but about the time for my sons nap I was playing around with him, making growling noises while showing him the stuffed bear, and it felt like someone had poked me in the neck with a needle. Sure enough the tonsils and throat are swollen, red and covered with those little white "pimples" that ooze exudate. I have had that flu type headache and a dizzy feeling when I stand up. So I have been packed off to bed.
Funny thing about it though is that the headache does not bother me. Now as a kid this would have been excrutiating I'm sure but compared to the previous headaches this is a cakewalk.
I have stocked up on orange sherbert, ginger ale and Robitussen to get me through the few days and I actually spent most of the day asleep. It is actually being tired that lets me know I am coming down with something as I have slept most of the day and am ready to crawl right back into the bed and sleep the night away.
Ironically while my throat hurts, I am tired and my body does ache, I do not really feel sick. I would prefer to be downstairs with the boys playing a game or watching TV with them but the last thing we need is sick kids, especially my youngest. I feel so bad when he is sick.
So off to read some blogs I go...
I should have plenty of time over the next day or so as I am restricted to bed by my wife. I felt fine this morning but about the time for my sons nap I was playing around with him, making growling noises while showing him the stuffed bear, and it felt like someone had poked me in the neck with a needle. Sure enough the tonsils and throat are swollen, red and covered with those little white "pimples" that ooze exudate. I have had that flu type headache and a dizzy feeling when I stand up. So I have been packed off to bed.
Funny thing about it though is that the headache does not bother me. Now as a kid this would have been excrutiating I'm sure but compared to the previous headaches this is a cakewalk.
I have stocked up on orange sherbert, ginger ale and Robitussen to get me through the few days and I actually spent most of the day asleep. It is actually being tired that lets me know I am coming down with something as I have slept most of the day and am ready to crawl right back into the bed and sleep the night away.
Ironically while my throat hurts, I am tired and my body does ache, I do not really feel sick. I would prefer to be downstairs with the boys playing a game or watching TV with them but the last thing we need is sick kids, especially my youngest. I feel so bad when he is sick.
So off to read some blogs I go...
9/11/2005
About time...
It has been a rough few days dealing with this server transfer. My site would be there one minute and gone the next!
We finally finished the back to school shopping for the oldest or rather the back to school exchanges. Since he wears a uniform to school the shopping itself is relatively easy but since he is a 12 and growing like a weed it means what fit last week does not fit this week and of course the first store you go to NEVER has the right size.
Part of their uniform is white, green or black polo shirts and generally Old Navy has then perfect green they are looking for which is more like a Pine Green but not a light green. However as we are going through piles and piles of the shirts they have 2 total shirts in all the colors in his size (Mens Small) and the rest, I kid you not, are XXXL. There must have been 200 shirts in all the colors they sell that size. Now perhaps they just sold out of all the other sizes as this is the 3rd week of school here and most of the sizes have been snatched up. However while we were looking at the pants we had the same problem again. Out of all the tan and khaki trousers (not cargos) we found 4 total pairs in his size (26-28). The rest? They all had waists of 44+ and inseams of 26+. For those who do not know what that is it means those pants are for rather short and very rotund people.
We then headed to find shoes for the boys so we headed to Kohls. They had some great sales on the sneakers and we found a pair of New Balance for the youngest right off the bat but when it came to the oldest we were in for a long afternoon. Now he is 12 years old and is wearing a size 11 and a 2E width. We chose Kohls as they do carry New Balance and they are great about having the wider widths (I have 4E feet). It took some digging through the racks and 30 minutes to hunt down a salesman to look in the stock room but we finally found a pair of Reeboks that he liked in his size. Even better was they were on sale for 50% off so we got them for $30!
While we were not out that long it was just enough to make me want to hurry back for my recliner. Having to root through every nook and cranny in the stores to find what we needed took a toll on my back, the constant up and down looking through shelves was more then I anticipated. Of course customer service could have been better at the stores as well. You just don't find good customer service any more and that is a shame. I about had to use a cattleprod to get the kid at Kohls to look in the stockroom for the sizes we needed.
We finally finished the back to school shopping for the oldest or rather the back to school exchanges. Since he wears a uniform to school the shopping itself is relatively easy but since he is a 12 and growing like a weed it means what fit last week does not fit this week and of course the first store you go to NEVER has the right size.
Part of their uniform is white, green or black polo shirts and generally Old Navy has then perfect green they are looking for which is more like a Pine Green but not a light green. However as we are going through piles and piles of the shirts they have 2 total shirts in all the colors in his size (Mens Small) and the rest, I kid you not, are XXXL. There must have been 200 shirts in all the colors they sell that size. Now perhaps they just sold out of all the other sizes as this is the 3rd week of school here and most of the sizes have been snatched up. However while we were looking at the pants we had the same problem again. Out of all the tan and khaki trousers (not cargos) we found 4 total pairs in his size (26-28). The rest? They all had waists of 44+ and inseams of 26+. For those who do not know what that is it means those pants are for rather short and very rotund people.
We then headed to find shoes for the boys so we headed to Kohls. They had some great sales on the sneakers and we found a pair of New Balance for the youngest right off the bat but when it came to the oldest we were in for a long afternoon. Now he is 12 years old and is wearing a size 11 and a 2E width. We chose Kohls as they do carry New Balance and they are great about having the wider widths (I have 4E feet). It took some digging through the racks and 30 minutes to hunt down a salesman to look in the stock room but we finally found a pair of Reeboks that he liked in his size. Even better was they were on sale for 50% off so we got them for $30!
While we were not out that long it was just enough to make me want to hurry back for my recliner. Having to root through every nook and cranny in the stores to find what we needed took a toll on my back, the constant up and down looking through shelves was more then I anticipated. Of course customer service could have been better at the stores as well. You just don't find good customer service any more and that is a shame. I about had to use a cattleprod to get the kid at Kohls to look in the stockroom for the sizes we needed.
9/10/2005
New Server
Well we are on the new server but during the move some of the files did not move into the right locations, thus some of the images are still down. I am working on it though and should have it all tidied up tonight.
9/09/2005
We will return to our program shortly
I am in the process of upgrading my server from a Linux based package to a MS based one where we will have many added features we did not have before. It may take another 24 hours from now until this is complete but I hope we are up before then.
Cheers!
Cheers!
9/07/2005
Thanks
A lot of words of encouragement both in the comments and by email and I really appreciate them.
My wife has been on my ass for a few days now to go to the ER and have them look at what might be causing the headaches. The only problem is that 1- I don't want to go to the ER and 2- I don't want to go to the ER. While my town is big enough to have 2 of them neither is manned by true trauma docs who would be quick to do a head to toe CT scan. Of course I also live 100 meters from the one that is not covered "in network" on our insurance...
I would love the headaches to go away but I am just not sure I want to go to the ER. Of course with the "lack" of diagnoses from my regular doctors it might be the only thing to do.
My wife has been on my ass for a few days now to go to the ER and have them look at what might be causing the headaches. The only problem is that 1- I don't want to go to the ER and 2- I don't want to go to the ER. While my town is big enough to have 2 of them neither is manned by true trauma docs who would be quick to do a head to toe CT scan. Of course I also live 100 meters from the one that is not covered "in network" on our insurance...
I would love the headaches to go away but I am just not sure I want to go to the ER. Of course with the "lack" of diagnoses from my regular doctors it might be the only thing to do.
9/06/2005
The headache is back this afternoon. It is to the point that I spend more time with it then without it and I am truly beginning to wonder if this is not something more then just a headache. Even with the arachnoiditis causing a possible increase in the pressure of the cerebral spinal fluid I cannot see that being a constant like this has been.
I have the number to the new anesthesiologist so I am going to try to get them to see me tomorrow or the next day and perhaps get them to do an MRI from head to toe. There has to be something causing these headaches and I am tired of docs telling me they are migraines.
I have the number to the new anesthesiologist so I am going to try to get them to see me tomorrow or the next day and perhaps get them to do an MRI from head to toe. There has to be something causing these headaches and I am tired of docs telling me they are migraines.
9/05/2005
Headaches again...
The headaches seem to be coinciding with the doldrums, even when the headaches are not severe I have noticed that my mood swings to the other side. Nothing seems to work on them any more either. Each time we switch the drugs I get a few months relief but as I grow tolerant of the medication the headaches come back and with a vengeance.
None of the docs seem to be wanting to do a CT Scan or an MRI even though it has been some time since the last one. I was thinking about heading to the ER at like 1am the next time the headaches come around and having them do one. At this point I am willing to try just about anything to find out what is causing them although I suspect the arachnoiditis is the culprit.
The pain in the middle of the back was not so bad today but that is because it seems to have migrated. Never a dull moment! Actually even in the new spot, slightly off to the right and right above the buttock, it is not too bad. More of an "overworked" feeling rather then the usual burning. Funny how what might have once been a good 5 or 6 on the pain scale is no considered to be a good day. LOL! We have to find the good in all I suppose.
The pain med study begins again this month and I plan on giving the doctor running the study a call tomorrow. I missed it by 1 day last time. I had the appointment set and got the call the very night before the appointment to begin it to tell me that they had filled and there was no more room. Since this study just begins tomorrow I figure I should be good to go if I get there on the first day. Now if I can just make sure I am part of the study and not the control!
The cold however is gone. I don't feel rundown like the other day and thankfully so because couple that with the headache and I would have been more cranky then my wife has been telling me. I don't like being like that and I certainly do not try to be but it is like it happens and you have no control over it. You don't realize that you are doing it because all you can concentrate on at times is the pain, or rather the opposite of it. I try to spend that time sleeping as if I am sleeping the pain is generally under control for a few hours and I am not being cantankerous.
None of the docs seem to be wanting to do a CT Scan or an MRI even though it has been some time since the last one. I was thinking about heading to the ER at like 1am the next time the headaches come around and having them do one. At this point I am willing to try just about anything to find out what is causing them although I suspect the arachnoiditis is the culprit.
The pain in the middle of the back was not so bad today but that is because it seems to have migrated. Never a dull moment! Actually even in the new spot, slightly off to the right and right above the buttock, it is not too bad. More of an "overworked" feeling rather then the usual burning. Funny how what might have once been a good 5 or 6 on the pain scale is no considered to be a good day. LOL! We have to find the good in all I suppose.
The pain med study begins again this month and I plan on giving the doctor running the study a call tomorrow. I missed it by 1 day last time. I had the appointment set and got the call the very night before the appointment to begin it to tell me that they had filled and there was no more room. Since this study just begins tomorrow I figure I should be good to go if I get there on the first day. Now if I can just make sure I am part of the study and not the control!
The cold however is gone. I don't feel rundown like the other day and thankfully so because couple that with the headache and I would have been more cranky then my wife has been telling me. I don't like being like that and I certainly do not try to be but it is like it happens and you have no control over it. You don't realize that you are doing it because all you can concentrate on at times is the pain, or rather the opposite of it. I try to spend that time sleeping as if I am sleeping the pain is generally under control for a few hours and I am not being cantankerous.
9/04/2005
Not much going on today. The temps have dropped drastically, I mean we are down in the mid 70's but still kind of muggy.
Finally shaking this cold or whatever it is and spent most of yesterday sleeping, again. I do not even recall moving from the recliner to bed last night but I woke up in bed this morning which means I moved there on my own.
The left leg and foot are vibrating again and not even elevating them seems to calm it down as it has in the past. While I already knew the answer I looked up some info on this and it basically said that as the nerves are being killed off by the scar tissue this is to be expected. It is not as painful as it has been in the past but it is certainly annoying.
Just wanted to drop in and say all is good and I am going to get some sleep. Hopefully this cold should be gone tomorrow and I will be back to normal. This run down feeling is no fun!
Finally shaking this cold or whatever it is and spent most of yesterday sleeping, again. I do not even recall moving from the recliner to bed last night but I woke up in bed this morning which means I moved there on my own.
The left leg and foot are vibrating again and not even elevating them seems to calm it down as it has in the past. While I already knew the answer I looked up some info on this and it basically said that as the nerves are being killed off by the scar tissue this is to be expected. It is not as painful as it has been in the past but it is certainly annoying.
Just wanted to drop in and say all is good and I am going to get some sleep. Hopefully this cold should be gone tomorrow and I will be back to normal. This run down feeling is no fun!
9/02/2005
The weekend is here, time to relax...
A tiring day. I don't even feel like doing much and I am very tired.
I am not even going to waste a ton of time on the events related to Katrina. I truly feel sorry for those who have been affected by the storm and pray daily for them but I am sick of hearing people whine that this is the Presidents fault and all that crap. You choose to live in an area like those affected and you take a risk. I know first hand, I live in Tornado alley. Actually I live in an area that has gained a reputation over a hundred years for being home to the some of the worst tornadoes. But hey, I chose to live here and we understand the consequences. I have been flooded out, my roof has been destroyed, my fence and yard have been screwed up more times then I can count but I am not blaming the President or anyone else for decisions that I made. Sorry but that is the way it is. Of course we also do not shoot at our rescuers here, I guess that has a way of making the help leary of going in to do their jobs too.
My left foot is just burning. It has been for several days and nothing seems to be making it better. Stress maybe? Stress from not being able to sleep at all. Waking up all night long, every few hours to turn over or having to get up and stretch out to stop the pain. Stress from waking up in the morning, not because the alarm went off or because you are not tired but rather because the pain is so intense that sleep is impossible.
Yea, I am in yet another cranky mood. I really think it is the headaches though and there is nothing apparently they can do to stop them. I don't think they are just your run of the mill normal headaches nor do I believe they are from the pain meds because I used to get them all the time before I was on the meds. However they have not found anything through a normal CT Scan and getting someone to do a scan with contrast is a near impossible task.
Well instead of being cranky for the rest of the night (I really am trying not to be) I am going to get some ice cream and a brownie and settle in to watch a movie. Maybe tomorrow I will take the boys to the library as that is always a good place to go. Nice and quiet, no screaming and yelling kids.
I am not even going to waste a ton of time on the events related to Katrina. I truly feel sorry for those who have been affected by the storm and pray daily for them but I am sick of hearing people whine that this is the Presidents fault and all that crap. You choose to live in an area like those affected and you take a risk. I know first hand, I live in Tornado alley. Actually I live in an area that has gained a reputation over a hundred years for being home to the some of the worst tornadoes. But hey, I chose to live here and we understand the consequences. I have been flooded out, my roof has been destroyed, my fence and yard have been screwed up more times then I can count but I am not blaming the President or anyone else for decisions that I made. Sorry but that is the way it is. Of course we also do not shoot at our rescuers here, I guess that has a way of making the help leary of going in to do their jobs too.
My left foot is just burning. It has been for several days and nothing seems to be making it better. Stress maybe? Stress from not being able to sleep at all. Waking up all night long, every few hours to turn over or having to get up and stretch out to stop the pain. Stress from waking up in the morning, not because the alarm went off or because you are not tired but rather because the pain is so intense that sleep is impossible.
Yea, I am in yet another cranky mood. I really think it is the headaches though and there is nothing apparently they can do to stop them. I don't think they are just your run of the mill normal headaches nor do I believe they are from the pain meds because I used to get them all the time before I was on the meds. However they have not found anything through a normal CT Scan and getting someone to do a scan with contrast is a near impossible task.
Well instead of being cranky for the rest of the night (I really am trying not to be) I am going to get some ice cream and a brownie and settle in to watch a movie. Maybe tomorrow I will take the boys to the library as that is always a good place to go. Nice and quiet, no screaming and yelling kids.
9/01/2005
What's wrong with my town?
My back is killing me today. Not even my pain meds seem to be working well.
I stopped by my old employers this morning. Just felt like getting out for a few minutes and I found myself in that area (a few blocks from my house) so I stopped in. I found one of the owners so we chatted for about an hour. Hard to believe it has been 2.5 years since I last saw these guys.
While I loved the job there was no love lost when I could not return. After all, the owner I was talking with today had the audacity to call my surgery elective at one point when I had to fight for my benefits. We ended up going before an administrative work law judge because the guys I worked for kept filing appeals to keep me from claiming any earned benefits. However in the end they lost and I got all my benefits and then some.
It was good to get out of the house even just for a few minutes and seeing the old boss was even interesting. We talked about a lot of the development that was supposed to have happened in the area of their business. Things that were supposed to be completed 3 years ago have not even been started and the projects that have been finished have fallen far short of the expectations.
The problem is that the Chamber of commerce wants to focus on one area while the area development group wants to do something else and with everyone wanting something different, nothing is happening. It's a shame too as the old downtown of my city is cool. Since this city was founded almost 200 years ago there is a ton of history there and many of the buildings are from the civil war through the Indian war periods. Sadly many of them are empty due to bad planning on the part of many people and meanwhile the town to our south, with 1/5 the population, is thriving. New developments going in, great schools, brand new housing going up like gangbusters. It makes my wife and I seriously question whether we want to continue to live in this town.
How can we stay somewhere that is not growing with it's population? They won't develop the old downtown area, the public schools are among some of the worst in the state, new development is almost at a standstill and forget about new housing.
We live 10 minutes from 2 major interstates, a NASCAR track, a minor league ballpark and a few other major developments but they are doing nothing to bring business up from those areas when a race is going on or a game is being played. Pathetic.
I would love to pack my family up and just move south of here but with my wife working in this town and my son having been in school since kindergarten here it is not that easy. I swore to myself that I would not drag my kids in and out of schools. So I guess for now we are staying.
I stopped by my old employers this morning. Just felt like getting out for a few minutes and I found myself in that area (a few blocks from my house) so I stopped in. I found one of the owners so we chatted for about an hour. Hard to believe it has been 2.5 years since I last saw these guys.
While I loved the job there was no love lost when I could not return. After all, the owner I was talking with today had the audacity to call my surgery elective at one point when I had to fight for my benefits. We ended up going before an administrative work law judge because the guys I worked for kept filing appeals to keep me from claiming any earned benefits. However in the end they lost and I got all my benefits and then some.
It was good to get out of the house even just for a few minutes and seeing the old boss was even interesting. We talked about a lot of the development that was supposed to have happened in the area of their business. Things that were supposed to be completed 3 years ago have not even been started and the projects that have been finished have fallen far short of the expectations.
The problem is that the Chamber of commerce wants to focus on one area while the area development group wants to do something else and with everyone wanting something different, nothing is happening. It's a shame too as the old downtown of my city is cool. Since this city was founded almost 200 years ago there is a ton of history there and many of the buildings are from the civil war through the Indian war periods. Sadly many of them are empty due to bad planning on the part of many people and meanwhile the town to our south, with 1/5 the population, is thriving. New developments going in, great schools, brand new housing going up like gangbusters. It makes my wife and I seriously question whether we want to continue to live in this town.
How can we stay somewhere that is not growing with it's population? They won't develop the old downtown area, the public schools are among some of the worst in the state, new development is almost at a standstill and forget about new housing.
We live 10 minutes from 2 major interstates, a NASCAR track, a minor league ballpark and a few other major developments but they are doing nothing to bring business up from those areas when a race is going on or a game is being played. Pathetic.
I would love to pack my family up and just move south of here but with my wife working in this town and my son having been in school since kindergarten here it is not that easy. I swore to myself that I would not drag my kids in and out of schools. So I guess for now we are staying.
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