Movin on....weed whack your weeds!

Good morning! Sorry that I have not written in the last 6 days but my stupid allergy/cold/tonsillitis/whatever it is was dropping my energy level to a low simmer. Plus, I am helping to raise money for a cancer organization with Big Sis in honor of BP Grandmom. Yep, she beat it....

Fade to black....

Last year, BP Grandmom was battling a very odd cancer. She underwent chemo and lost her hair and vitality. A local organization gave her a wig, massage, facial, blanket, and other items that helped her to battle. 


Well, guess what? She did so well, she sees her MD every few months.

Based upon the generosity of this organization, Big Sis and I are now working to generate funds to help other cancer patients. By the way, they also offer nurse navigators and rides for patients who need them. This is a grass roots organization where the money goes to local people. Therefore....I'm in....

My big job for the fundraiser in two weeks is to find volunteers to register people, sell raffle tickets, and keep things going. Guess who I tapped on?

Well, if you are thinking my students, then....you win a slightly used wig!

Yep, I made the announcement in class and some of my minions are going to help with the fundraiser. Do I give them extra points in the gradebook? Hmmm....tough call.......Probably not. The goal of volunteering is to do it selflessly. That is, you expect nothing in return. Right? 

Ok, here is what they will receive.....  my eternal gratitude and a great letter of recommendation when they apply for a job. How does that sound? Much better than a point or two on their participation attendance grade.

Anything else going on?

Hmmmm...Tink starts her new job tomorrow. She is going to be working in a bakery. Guess what? She gets a discount! Yep, I like this job although my hips and not-so-petite bottom will not. Will have to join the Biggest Loser again in January. It's my fall back diet. Every January, I join the battle with he rest of the gang and we work out and eat salads for two months...get weighed.....and buy new pants....yep...who says my life is not glamorous?

We are also waiting for word from the insurance company to see if the Big lefty will receive his medication. Since it is 10/30 and we change insurance on November 1, it does not matter if the insurance company approves it or not, because he will be on another plan in the same company. We took out a plan just for him so his records would not be lost. Hopefully, the appeal will take hold with his new "gold" plan. Yep, we bought the best and shiniest plan that they had to offer. After all, this guy is on more medications than BP Grandpop.  He has them lined up on his bedside table, has his watch alarm on to remind him when to take his pills, and sees a doctor or speech therapist at least once a week. This is pricey...not just pricey.....but costly....

Did I say "costly?" I mean exorbitant.

My thoughts are with those individuals who are sick and do not have health insurance. Yes, I know that it is mandated, but even if it is, I can count on both hands the number of people that I know who make too much money for Medicaid and too little for Obama Care. Therefore, they are penalized on their tax returns. Can anyone say "insurance reform?

Also, if we had socialized medicine, the big lefty would not receive the care he needs. He would have to wait in a long line. The system we have now is broken but effective. Let's look for ways to help those without funds and ways to improve the system.  'Nuff said.

Update on the southern house....we got a citation from the home owners association asking us to clean up the construction site. It is  bothering the neighbors. Hmmm....that's right....the neighbors do not like looking at my weeds as the construction workers trample them. I was going for a southern hillbilly look, but am told that shabby chic is not working. Soooo, we had to hire a company to weed whack the weeds. Can anyone say "Cha ching...cha ching...cha ching?" 

OK, I gotta work. I am on a dissertation committee and have put off reading the 300+ page document until now. I am almost motivated to download the document...almost....I'm close to it....I can see the email and attachment, but cannot get myself to read it...I am useless on some days.....

Peace!

Movin on.....Lights out

Good morning! It's a windy and slightly rainy day and I have class in an hour. It should be interesting since I have received word that there is a power outage on campus.



This means....no power (duh). What it really means is that I have to work without a net. That is...no internet sources, no Powerpoint slides, no You Tube informational videos. it's all left to me with some laryngitis to carry the class. Can anyone say "Group work?" Now all I have to do is figure out what kind of group work so I am not accused of making them do busy work. ..ah, the life of a professor.....so glamorous....as I sit my box of Puff Plus with lanolin Kleenex on my desk and fill the trash can with dirty tissues. I love having an audience when I blow my nose. Oh, how I love online education....

How is the big kid? Well, we are still waiting to hear back from the insurance company about his medication. In the meantime, he signed up for his own insurance plan to stay on Independence Blue Cross, per advice of doctor. This also means that we have yet another big monthly bill until he goes into remission and can go back onto the family plan.

Tink was offered another job last week which makes two jobs in two weeks. Follow that one?

She has her options and  weighing the pros and cons of each. She favors the job that pays less (naturally......) and will have to submit her resignation to the other job after working two shifts. In other words, she is turning in her apron.

Why is Tink job shopping? Welll........

Fade to black.....

She was offered a great job last year on a local campus. She started off on the day shift and was moved into the evening shift. She would get home after midnight. The dogs whined and barked as they missed her. Then she would stay in the car for a few minutes after she drove to the house and the dogs would go crazy at 1 am....Then, she would be up until three am and sleep until 2 pm, then go to work. This job was not conducive for a healthy life style for her or for us. Naturally, I would be waiting for her to get home and have to get up early in the morning. So, it was not conducive for a healthy lifestyle for me either. She begged her manager to give her the day shift and was ignored. She was also promised health insurance which never materialized. Eventually, we decided to pull the plug on this career path and move down another one. She then got a part time job at the health and racquet club which she loves but does not offer benefits. Hey, it is time to get your own benefits so I can start saving for my long term care facility in the mountains of Wisconsin (does Wisconsin have mountains?).....just sayin'.....

And now, she is going into a new position and is excited about her future. Me too! After all, what do we want as parents? Well, if you ask me.....

We want for our children:
1. To be nice and kind
2. To love God and neighbors
3. To do good works for others
4. Be productive
5. Be independent
6. have their own benefits and 401K plans and savings!
7. Have someone to love them and for them to love back.
8. To pay for their own cell phones, car, and insurance premiums
9. To live dependently....oops, did I write that one twice? uh, my bad.....

OK, I have to figure out what I am going to do in class with the lights out......

Peace!

Movin on......Oh Danny Boy

Hi All! Shout out to Ice for making me laugh and being a good friend. She is one of a kind and a freak athlete....Pickle ball queen, paddle, tennis....you name it. I bet she is even tops in games like Scrabble and Monopoly. Doesn't matter if she wins or loses, she's tops in my blog!

On to our second opinion for the big leftie at a large prestigious hospital in Baltimore. Can you guess where we went yesterday?

Yep, Big Rig and the big guy filled the BPmom-mobile and pointed the car south to discuss treatment options with another specialist. Why? Well, we want to be assured that his neurologist, Dr. B is the expert the world proclaims him to be. And so, equipped with nothing but a bottle of water, we hit the road. It was a no-Skittles trip. Got to lose some summer weight.....

When we pulled into the hospital parking lot, I got a familiar feeling...like...we do this an awful lot for such a young man. After all, if you remember from baseball days, he needed four opinions from all over the east coast to figure out how to treat his shoulder. Now we seek a way to regain his old life, vitality, strength, and spirit.

Looking at this enormous institution, I felt that we were going to get lost, sit in an uncomfortable chair for hours on end, and finally be seen next Wednesday. Yet, that was not the case. In fact, we checked in, got a visitor bracelet, and took the elevator to the 5th floor. After waking down the hall, there were kiosks that looked that ATM machines in which we had to register. After signing in and getting a number, we sat down in a room that reminded me of the DMV. You know the place that you go to to renew your drivers license.....So, we sat with the rest of the neuro patients and families, again with the thought that we were going to spend Thanksgiving there, when they called his number, and walked us into another waiting room, where we sat again and made small talk....like....so....what do you think about the Yankees' chances? Do you really like Devil Dogs better than Yodels? And finally debated on the merits of a leaf blower versus using a rake to get rid of the dead leaves on the lawn.



Then she appeared....yep....there she was...the doctor....she looked my age....you know, like she was celebrating her 29th birthday for the last thirty years and proceeded to ask him question after question. She was so thorough, I think she was also able to procure his debit card pin number. 

After 30 minutes, she concurred with Dr. B and his plan of treatment. She did offer a few important pieces of advice such as "Do not....repeat.....DO NOT CHANGE INSURANCE COMPANIES!"

Why do I bring this up? Welllll....

Fade to black....

My place of employment is switching health care insurance to another less expensive, cheaper, crappier, stinky insurance carrier. Why? Of course it is about money, but now that the big leftie has a preexisting condition, he may be un-insurable. OK, not un-insurable, BUT our current plan has covered almost every bill except the medication that will put him in remission. As such, we sent an appeal with data to support he will benefit from the medication and not have to have the three days 8-hour infusions once a month. Makes sense, right? Well, not to the insurance company. 

And so, my coverage changes in two weeks as we wait for the appeal to be resolved. IF he moves to the new, not-so-good plan, his bills will not be covered like they are with our current plan.

Soooooo, he has to stay on it and not move which means, we pay out of pocket for it....



Cha-Ching......

Cha-Ching

Cha-Ching

Look, I'm OK with this. It's only his life that I am trying to save, not a stubbed toe or hang nail. He needs this medicine and by-jingo, he is going to get it.

Fast forward to today, he called Dr. B's office to see if the insurance company accepted the appeal and the nurse told his that he would have to wait two more weeks, which means that he will be on the new insurance plan that we are buying. Following this?

The issue is....once he changes insurances, the MD may have to re-write the appeal which according to our new doctor is a bear, beast, a lot of work, and crappy, all at the same time. She also said that it was not fair to the doctors to have to redo the appeal....

OK, I nodded, he will stay on this plan if I have to eat cereal for the rest of my life....with skim milk, of course......

Then I had another thought....hey, it's not fair for the doctors to have to write another appeal. Ok, I get it. Not fair to the docs....uh huhh.......

Then I hit the roof of my SUV as we drove north on I-95....not fair to the doctors! Hey, what about my kid? What is fair about what is happening to him? How about the insurance company denying medication that will lead to remission? Is that fair?

How about the rest of the masses in the waiting room as they patiently waited to be seen as some idiot with a violin played Danny Boy? Yeah, that's right, when we left the examine room, there was a string quartet playing Danny Boy to the neuro patients who were waiting with awful diseases and illnesses...you know Danny Boy......

"But when ye come, and all the flowers are dying,
If I am dead, as dead I well may be,
You'll come and find the place where I am lying,
And kneel and say an Ave there for me.
And I shall hear, though soft you tread above me,
And all my grave will warmer, sweeter be,
For you will bend and tell me that you love me,And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me!"  

Is there no self awareness with some of our do-gooders? Why not play a Johnny Cash song? How about Frank Sinatra? Beetles? Elton John? Metallica? Danny BOY???! Sheesh, talk about depressing!

Ok, back to the SUV traveling north. After I spewed nastiness about insurance companies, doctors whining about having to do extra work to write compelling appeals, I settled down and made a phone call to Blue Cross. Yep, we are going with the Gold Plan and if this does not work, then BP mom is headed into the city equipped with my appeal and lawyer. My boy is going to get that medication if I have to buy it on the black market, like they did in MASH. Remember when Hawkeye and Trapper went to Tokyo to buy medicine from the black market and landed up giving them Henry Blake's antique desk for the medicine? No? Well, they did.

I will give the black market my desk, laptop, cell phone, lucky Villanova basketball, class ring, and SUV. They are just things. I am working to save my son.

More later!

Movin on.....looking under sofa cushions for a million dollars'

Good morning from the south. Yep, I am here with the Big leftie to work on some house related issues. As you may or may not know, the southern house was destroyed in a flood when an older water pipe burst and flooded the first floor as water gushed for days. Finally the housekeeper found the flood but damage was done and mold grew. Nice huh? The entire first floor is gutted and the second floor is in bad shape too.



Since the house was 25 years old, there were other issues such as the heating/AC units were non operable (which can be nasty on a 100 degree day), then the roof needed replacement, the pool was unusable (more about keeping an unusable pool on life support later), and so on.....


Yikes, so glad we had insurance...although if you ever worked with an insurance company, you are probably laughing right now.


Flash back 2 years when dad and I decided the house needed some updating. Sooooo, we contacted an architect whose father designed the home. He has some interesting stories on how the house developed and was built by Architect 1.0. It gave us another insight on how Pop and the Southern Belle worked to create their lovely retirement home in a stunning location.



As we met with our Architect 2.0, he walked through the house and had some keen insights. All I wanted was a bigger kitchen and family room. After all, this is what I crave in any home...you know...family and friends surrounding the kitchen island, cool tunes on the radio, wines (yes, wine and some beer), singing, chopping, laughing, and loving being with one another. It's really what life is all about, right? Then we watch a movie or stupid television show, go to bed, get up and do it again....Yep, a dream, right...or nightmare? You choose!



So, Architect 2.0 walked around the house with us (pre flood) and said:

"Yes, you can eliminate this wall and have a bigger kitchen and family room."

That was it, right? Six weeks and a few construction workers....and then.....boom!




New kitchen and family room.



Is that what happened?

Uh, this is me...BPM typing....of course that is not how it went....

Fade to black.....

As Architect 2.0 walked around, he began working me.....yep, I say...WORKING ME!

How?

OK, picture this... as we walked around the first floor, he says: "Hmmmm, you could have a bigger eating area to accommodate your posse. Let's push this room out a bit."



More eating room...just break through house and add space? "Sure, I said....."

We turned the corner and walked toward the first floor master bedroom.....Looking up at the vaulted ceiling, he says: "How would you like a loft with a spiral stair case adding  another room and bathroom to the space?"

Another room, bathroom, spiral staircase....sounds cool....go for it.



2.0 was NOT done.....

Walking up the stairs to the second floor, he saw opportunity...."you can add another bedroom and bathroom in this space"....hmmm.....do I need another bedroom and bathroom?

"Absolutely."



As we walked down the hall, he thought..."you can break through this wall and have a larger bedroom, new bathroom, and a balcony to watch the golfers go by and drink your morning coffee...."

Balcony....bedroom, bathroom, coffee...peace...quiet.....hmmmm....another great idea....

Are we done?


What do you think?.....he looks at the area and speaks with dad..."You can create a small media room....."



Dad thinking "I can hide from the crowds, laughter, and especially BPM's singing..." was immediately entranced by the idea.

Done yet? Have we spent every cent plus borrowed on my grandchildren's college funds yet? What about the 401K I once had?



One last thing....you need a new roof!

Crud, double crud! Triple crud!

Nope. Not done....



New mudroom for the dogs....

Fireplace and columns in the living room....

Fill in the pool...it was unusable and costing a fortune to maintain the "Cee-ment Pond" as Granny from the Beverly Hillbillies would screech.



Done yet? Uh, nope....

Guess what? The driveway was crumbling because the tree roots were growing and pushing the cement up. Need a new driveway....

Done yet?

Nope.

The landings and walkways were rotting and needed to be replaced.


Done yet?

Nope.

The landscaping was overgrown and needed to be torn out and replaced.



Done yet?

Almost.....

The trees were overgrown and were either dying, rotting, or leaning against the soon-to-be replaced roof.....

Now are we done?



Yes. We are done...financially...mentally....spiritually...emotionally....

Even the Property Bros would leave this project alone....



Finito. What did we agree to do?



More later.....

Peace!

Movin' on....De-nial is not a river in Egypt

Good morning! It still feels like summer and I love it. Although, I have no idea how to dress for work....long pants, skirt, capris, shorts.....bathing suit? Because of labile temperatures in the classroom, I began to bring a portable fan that is powered by the computer to class. I stand in front of the little thing as it blows a breeze. I still perspire and want to use a Fieldcrest plush towel to wipe off the brow. It looks like I have run a marathon after a two hour class. Also, this group of students do not like to speak in class, so I am on my own as I deliver a monologue rather than an invigorating class discussion each Tuesday. Then.....they had a test in the afternoon after my class, so they chose to study while I spoke rather than listen to the "Stooge on the Stage".... Their eyes were looking at their notes and they appeared to be listening when they were actually reviewing their notes for the forthcoming  test.

Was I upset? Angry? Miffed? Hurt? They would rather study than listen to me pontificate about the virtues of the electronic health record?

Actually, I let them think that I did not know that they were studying and kept on with my monologue. It's their tuition money, not mine. If they want to sit in my class and paint, I don't care. However, there is something on the syllabus called "class participation." That gives them 15 points. Then there is a weekly quiz and a huge cumulative final exam which will focus on ....yep, you guessed it...the virtues and usability of the electronic health record.....And so....study away, my friends...it's your nickel....

How are things at home? Can anyone say "one day at a time? One breath at a time? One moment at a time?"

Here is my take on this crazy life......do not (and I do mean...do not) live in the past or future. Yesterday is over and done. Tomorrow is not guaranteed (sounds like a Hallmark card). We have this moment only. I am training myself to live one minute at a time, which means I do not dwell on the past. When I think about it, I stop myself and command: "Stop! This moment only!" It jars me back to the present and I stop lingering in a state where I should not be. Therefore, past events do not haunt me. Gone....finito!

Does this mean that I do not plan? Oh sure, I plan. However, once the plans are made, I leave it up to life being flexible enough to accomplish my goals and plans. If not, so be it.

Is there a named theory or philosophy that I subscribe to? Nope, it is called survival. I can't go into a path of darkness mulling, dwelling, commiserating. It is no way to conduct your life. A person has to look for the good in every situation. Stay present. And keep their spirits up. The only way to do it is either deny troubles or look at them as opportunity.

Sounds stupid. Maybe it is even naive. But my denial has helped me over the years to open my eyes and take care of the immediate and plan for the unknown.

one last thing, this life throws lots of curve balls at us. Do I swing away at them or run?



If you know me, you know the answer. I swing. I may miss but I won't go down looking (baseball metaphor for not taking a chance).
 
Two things....

1. Take care of yourself and eat right. Sure, we can say, get enough sleep, but ladies....we know better, right?

2. Give your angst, fears, concerns, and troubles to God. I love the line from the Carrie Underwood song: "Jesus, take the wheel."

Yep, I am asking...no, I am praying, Jesus, take the wheel....but first can you fill up the tank?

Peace!

BPM