About the three ring circus

Go ahead and play yesterday's music again.

I have a theory about about businesses who operate in the manner of some so-called service companies such as those of whom I was discussing yesterday.

They are such that they have many of the regular clientele locked in to their system.
The clients have no choice.
The put the front line lowest level employees up as the first contact for those clients.
Said employees bear the brunt of the client's dissatisfaction and unhappiness.

It is part of their plan.
They use this scheme to cull all but the most compliant workers from the workforce.
It makes it possible for them to keep the brighter individuals from becoming tenured employees and also allows a potentially lower pay scales.

In other words the lack of communication on the part of the different departments is planned incompetence.
The fact that none of the employees are empowered to act without the complicity of others is planned incompetence.
The fact that everything must be signed off by an absentee before being acted upon is planned incompetence.
The government has operated this way for years.
I think they've learned it from European governments.
The private sector in this country is finally catching up.
I'm not just talking about big government, either.
I think maybe this started out at the local level and worked it's way up.
I have a story about a minor home improvement project whose inspections, after more than two years, may still not be resolved, all through the incompetence of one inspector, who never worked a day of construction in his life . . .but he knows the friggin' code.

this could go on for weeks

That's what they said

Yep. . .  "warmer" than yesterday

that's one in a row

It's a freakin' three ring circus (a Monday update)

Play this video while you are reading the following.

Maybe you've noticed the dearth of Monday Updates here?
That's primarily because there hasn't been much to update.
I'll bring you up to speed about what's been going on recently [since the end of February].
You might remember GS went down to Stanford for a consultation and at that point we determined it was time to find a new oncologist to treat her here.
That took just a little longer than anyone thought it should because even when you find one there are scheduling issues ...and paperwork.


Since visiting Stanford ...and seeing a different doc from the first one down there ...GS has had another CT/Pet scan [maybe I told you?].
The results were not what anyone would call good news.

...or bad news.

Interpretation is best left to the professionals.

The new doc, who we just saw again for the second time yesterday, is starting off with an intramuscular injection.
Both he (the new doc) and the Stanford doc came up with this independent of each other.
We will see how this goes.
Treatment will start whenever the insurance approves [big sigh!].

Both docs, along with the last doc at the hospital, also were quite concerned about the constant diarrhea.
The main concern has to do with dehydration.
So each of them suggested a mild narcotic drug (tincture of Opium) to help control it (along with the anti-diarrhea medicines already prescribed).
What a joy-ride obtaining that medication is.
Fortunately for GS there was an alternative to use in the meantime.

Morphine is not just a pain med.
One of the side effects is constipation.
It isn't easy to get either... but we had some that was unexpired from after the aneurism repair [who remembers that?] last year in 2012.
The doc at Stanford prescribed the opium.
But the local chain store pharmacy wouldn't accept the form he used.
The pharmacist told me he would accept a fax.
After going back to the pharmacy twice, only to be told they hadn't received the fax ...having been told twice by Stanford they had sent and re-sent... I called a third time.
I was told then that they didn't handle tincture of opium.
that was about a week of wasted time.

Another week passed and we had the first appointment with the new oncologist in Redding... after a slight comedy of errors I may or may not have told you about.
(that had to do with lost paperwork)
There is enough morphine to carry until we see him for the first time.

GS, PHG, and I meet him and like that he is really caring.
We have a little difficulty understanding what he is saying sometimes.
We weren't exactly happy with what we did hear.
Our decision to change docs was reinforced.
He'd been able to get the results of the CT/Pet scan.
There's been no improvement, which is kinda what we already knew from the colonoscopies.
He seemed to believe the cancer has progressed.

Anyhow, he wrote a new scrip for the opium tincture, also an order for lab work [they have their own lab in house because they're affiliated with the hospital], arranged for another appointment in about three weeks [that appointment was yesterday], and promptly left on paternity leave.
Our return visit was to be with an associate known as Dr. O.
I took the scrip, which was written on the proper form, and mailed it to the mail order pharmacy designated by our insurance carrier.
That was on a Wednesday.
By the following Monday there was no acknowledgement.
Finally, on Friday, at 5:30 in the afternoon, nine days later, there was one of those automated calls that there was an "issue with a prescription".
Really?
A machine makes a call with a general statement that there is an "issue."
On a Friday.
After office hours.
I did call the mail order folks back.
I was shuffled among three different departments before anyone even knew what I was talking about.
Then they had to determine whether it was my prescription or GS prescription.
After about a half hour or so it was determined that the dr. is required to obtain prior authorization before they could fill the prescription.
A notice had been mailed to his office.
We spent the weekend wondering what was going on.
Monday morning another automated phone call was received.
The prescription was denied.
I called again.
I was jerked ping-ponged around for another lengthy period of time.
Because the dr. had not responded in a timely manner the prescription could not be filled.
So told them how he was on paternity leave.
They suggested I find another doc to write the prescription.
I made a suggestion about what they could do with their suggestion and told them to mail the scrip back because I could take it somewhere to get it filled.
(I might even have used the word f***wads to describe what I thought of the brilliant individuals who operate the company.
I have an inkling there may be a number of former government bureaucrats involve.)
Of course the person I was asking to mail the scrip back was not directly involved in the process of mailing it back.
That was a different department.
That different department would have to get it back from whatever department had determined the prescription could not be filled.
Evidently none of these folks are allowed to talk to one another because they have to send some kind of form to accomplish any task.
Clients are allowed to talk to all of them, but that accomplishes nothing other than confusing and irritating the client.
I was told it would take a week to ten days for the scrip to be returned.
Much of the vocabulary I learned to use on a regular basis in the Navy was coming back to me.
Fortunately I was able to suppress it ...somewhat.

I called the Doc's office and left a message on his assistant's voice mail.
I called the Doc's office again and left a message on his assistant's voice mail.
I called the main number at the Doc's office and explained the situation.
She strongly suggested I tell the voice mail the exact same thing and offered to transfer.
I accepted the offer and was put on hold.
Finally I hung up [hanged up?] and called the Doc's office and left a message on his assistant's voice mail.
She called me back and I explained the situation further.
It was determined we could refill the scrip for morphine, but I would have to wait until the following morning to pick it up because the office was now closed.

The next morning I drove to Redding, picked up the scrip for morphine, did the weekly shopping at TJ's, Costco, the bagel shop, and then headed back to the chain store pharmacy to fill the prescription.
I dropped it off and was asked how soon it was wanted.
I said as soon as possible.
The clerk told me it would be about twenty minutes.
I said that would be fine, I still had some groceries to purchase at the supermarket.
About 40 minutes later I returned to find a line waiting for prescriptions.
I waited.
Finally my turn came and I was told the prescription wasn't ready because they had not yet confirmed it with the dr's office.
Huh?
I called the Doc's office and left a message on his assistant's voice mail.
I made it clear why I was calling.
I came home.
About an hour later I got a call from a friend who clerks in the pharmacy.
The prescription was ready.

I'm really glad these are not life-saving medications.

The original opium scrip finally arrived back in our hands on Thursday afternoon.
The chain drugstore is out of the mix now, too.
I can't decide if they are confused about what their function is or just plain incompetent.
It wasn't always this way with them... only since they started merging with one another.
We have a local pharmacy chain that does everything the big drugstores do except they only purvey pharmaceuticals [what a concept!].
I can't remember why we haven't been going there all along.
It turns out they are also on the insurance companies preferred list.
They couldn't fill it immediately because they don't keep opium tincture laying around, but they would have it by Monday [yesterday] by noon.

Is seven weeks to get a prescription filled too long?
(that's a rhetorical question meant to point out that some folks have no idea what service is)

Yesterday was also our second appointment at the new Doc's.
We didn't get to meet Dr O afterall.
GS doc was back from leave.
He has a new healthy baby daughter and all is well in that department.
That was when he informed us of the intramuscular drug treatment.
He also urged GS to get more protein and increase her albumin intake (eggs).

We left feeling much better about things than we had the first time we saw him.

maybe all posts should have theme music

There's been a little change

That last line is kind of appealing.

Remember

some things should never be forgotten

Simple

Three elderly men are at the doctor's office for a memory test.
The doctor asks the first man, "What is three times three"?

"274," came the reply. 

The doctor rolls his eyes and looks up at the ceiling, and says to the second man, "It's your turn.  What is three times three?"

 "Tuesday," replies the second man. 

The doctor shakes his head sadly, then asks the third man, "Okay, your turn.  What's three times three?"

"Nine," says the third man.

 "That's great!" says the doctor.  "How did you get that?"

 "Simple," he says, "just subtract 274 from Tuesday."

Saw this

It's the narration that makes this work.

Bonus post

Every once in awhile day. . .  well, almost. . .  I see a comment somewhere [usually on F/B] that makes my jaws tight.
It always involves a preposition and usually the word 'at.'
The previous sentence is probably the one time you will see me use it at the end of a sentence. . .

. . .unless I am demonstrating how someone has incurred my disdain.

Today it was the question:

"Where did you have lunch at?"

It was all I could do to refrain from asking, "Where'd you learn English?"

trying not to be a total @$$#°1e

!!!

I  suppose some kind of apology may be in order for inflicting yesterday's post on you.
I probably should have mentioned the house in question is vacant.
The tenants, who did little to maintain things anyway, left about a month an half ago.
Someone has since posted a notice, that is unreadable unless one trespasses, to call an 800 number if any trespassers are noticed.
There are also a number of notices of a number of code violations.
They are all at least a month old.
It seems there are clerks and supervisors. but nobody to actually act on violations.
Worse... when the party who own the property is bigger than the enforcing agency, there's a pissing contest and everyone else gets the over-spray.

seems like so much is paid for so little

I'm kinda torn

I have some really nice iris pics on the other blog.
But I'm not entirely happy about the space around here.

First off I have to look at this every time I go out front.

At least the couch and chairs are out of the driveway.

What's more disturbing is this. . .

...which I see more like this. . .

. . .this.

until recently we've had

 neighbors that cared

Let's talk about...

The past few days have been what we might call 'normal.'
That is if we used that word.

What the heck is he talking about?

The weather, of course.
Everyone can relate to the weather. . .

. . .even when theirs is different.

Around here it has been most spring-like  . . .with one major exception.
Usually spring-like weather is accompanied by rain showers.

It has remained relatively dry.
Thus it is a major concern for two reasons.

1. a shortage of water for agriculture  . . .and in some cases even household use.
2. wildfire season may well start at any moment  . . .and the fuel levels are high because of the brief series of storms in March causing grasses to flourish.

when you do burn this

 please extinguish the

 flames carefully and

 make certain the

 ashes have cooled

We haven't had one of these in awhile

(Yeah, that's a Detroit Pistons shirt under the napkin)

Worth it

One toddler, one egg, many thank yous ...makes the entire effort worthwhile.

The full story is the Lions Club spends a few hours collecting supplies and getting community support.
A few more hours boiling and coloring the eggs.
An hour or so on Sunday hiding the eggs.
Then there's the two or three minutes we get to watch the excitement of the kids hunting the eggs.
Then the Lions pack up until next year.

Photos here

ibid

Handles, call signs, and nicknames

I was reminded the other day, by a post at Sarge's place, that I spent a lot of time with a bunch of guys who went by almost anything but their given names.

It is customary to address most shipmates by their last name, unless they're E-7 or above.

They're called “Chief.”

Today they're called Chief, Senior Chief, or Master Chief.

That's about as familiar as one gets with those guys.

Officers through O-3 were addressed by their last name with “Mr.” preceding it.

Beyond that it got kinda confusing at times because titles often had little to do with rank.

Those sailors we worked with more closely were addressed most informally and seldom by a name their mother would recognized.

If a shipmate didn't have an unusual moniker, it was because he was new ...a nug [that's what NG sounds like when said aloud].

Some of the officers had unusual monikers, but the enlisted kept those private.

We had an XO everyone called Big Red.

That wasn't so secret.

But Rotten Ol' Ralph and Mr. Bumblef**k would not have appreciated their handles.

Neither would the original CO or the original XO.

A number of the guys I worked with had also been in 'A' School in the same company.

I was the first to acquire a handle.

It didn't matter that I already had a nickname . . .since birth [or before] . . .and nobody called me by my given name anyway.

I was “Obie,” spelled OB.

A couple of other guys got their handles a 'A' School, too.

There was “Greek” (not the Greek), because it was easier to say than his last name, and his father was French and his mother an Italian, and he was from New Jersey.

Then there was “Elmer,” because his last name rhymed with Gantry, as in the movie. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053793/

He was also called “Elmer John.”

To this day folks still call him Elmer.

Another from 'A' School got his handle aright after reporting to the ship.

He was a Blues fan and kind of quirky.

He brought a bunch of vinyl with him . . .and a record player . . .was a big fan of Howlin' Wolf. http://www.howlinwolf.com/

We called him Howlin' Gary . . .guess why.

Then there was “Dingle” . . .a play on his first initial and last name.

“Tubes” was short for Wartubes . . .a circular reference to the fact that his name was somehow connected to a Torpedoeman's Mate with a similar name.

“Sandy,” because his last name was Sanders.

“Red,” because of his hair color.

“Old Man,” because he was 26 years old which was older than anyone else but the chief, by two years.

“Treb,” which was short for Trebor, which is Robert backward.

“Moon,” his last name was Mullens

“Big John,” because his name was John and he'd been an offensive lineman at Notre Dame until he partied out.

Finally, there was “Purty Patrick,” who created his own handle and he was big enough that nobody argued.

Those were the Radarmen.

There were more, but they didn't have nicknames that stuck.

We also worked with the ETs.

Most, but not all went by their own names. I mention them only because two of them were really good buddies.

There was “Bear,” who was kinda like a big teddy bear, and “Needle,” who I have no idea where it came from, but it was abbreviated from “Needledick the Bug F****r.”

Maybe some day I can continue this further with a civilian version.

 that is if memory serves

So here I am

Waiting...
. . .for the Muse.

About the only thing I've got is

Yep, the weather.
It reached 80 yesterday, clouded up, and we received all of 2/100ths [1/50th] of an inch of rain.
The surrounding mountains did better, but there was no snow.

I wouldn't have know it rained, except I was late [or early, as the case may be*] putting the wheelie bin at the curb.

Happy Birthday to Suldog's WIFE!
(it occurs to me, I might just have an inkling of his feelings about her)

Things being such as they are, posts may appear at any time of the day.
Once we have a routine around here again that isn't exactly conducive to early morning posts.

part of that routine is I sleep later

*many Fridays it just beats the garbage truck to the spot

Change

A different runaround today.
Tonight the Anderson Lions Club will be coloring the eggs for the Annual Easter Egg Hunt at the park.
So today I will be catching up on the last minute items we need to accomplish the task.
I also have a shopping list for our weekend groceries.
I kind of wish I'd had it yesterday morning.

maybe if I leave now?

Frustration

Things over which I have no control  . . .meaning others have too much control [or choose not to control]have wreaked havoc with the routine since Monday.
One if GS's prescriptions had been depleted and the re-supply has yet to be returned by the mail order pharmacy.
So I called her new doc to see if we can obtain another Rx to hold us over.
I was connected to his assistant's voice mail  . . .not a good thing where I'm concerned.
I hate voice mail and answering machines [I hate fax machines even more].
(don't even talk to me about all-in-one printers)

I waited for a call-back to explain the situation.
I waited some more.
I called again and got the voice mail.
I again asked to be called back.
Finally, I called the main number of the office and explained what I wanted.
They told me it was better if I told the assistant.
They said to give a full explanation, including GS's full name and birth date.
I was assured that the assistant would respond ...eventually.
Then they told me they'd transfer my call.
I was put on hold.
I waited ...and waited some more.
Finally, I hung up.
I called the assistant's number and gave the whole scenario.

I hoped things would be okay.
I had to go out because I had a dentist appointment.
A minor adjustment was needed on the re-line from last week.
I was at the dentist for an hour and a half.
I didn't have an appointment so I was a fill-in.
It seemed like all day
I had forgotten to bring my Kindle.

The actual adjustment took about ten minutes.

When I got home there was still no word on the prescription.

Finally, well after I expected to hear anything on Monday, we got a call.
A scrip had been written.
The catch was the office was closing so I wouldn't be able to get it until Tuesday morning.
WTF!

The one positive . . .if it can be called that ...is the medicine is related to comfort, rather than directly to health.
I headed to Redding Tuesday morning and picked up the scrip, dropping it off at the local pharmacy on the way to the supermarket.
They told me it would take about 20 minutes.
I hustled around the grocery store, forgetting to purchase only one item.
I returned to the pharmacy, stood in line for about ten minutes, and was told, when I finally got to the head of the line, that they were waiting for a call back from the drs. office for a confirmation.

"Hello!!!"

WTF!

This is a prescription that has to be hand carried because they won't accept a fax for it.
It is right there in front of you.
You haven't needed a confirmation the last two times you've filled it.
Why now?

It had already been about an hour [or seemed like it].
I called the dr's assistant and asked her voice mail to expedite the confirmation.

Fortunately, one of the pharmacy techs is someone I have known since she was twelve years old.
She said she would call as soon as the scrip was ready.
I came home and paced.
(well I don't exactly pace, but I can't settle in one spot under those types of circumstances)

Finally, the call came and I was able to pick up the scrip after waiting in line again for about 15 minutes.

I wonder what folks who don't have others to run errands for them do in these circumstances?
I figure I probably wasted somewhere around 6 to 10 hours over two days. . . not to mention the mileage.

Later, after I get done with the dentist [again], I will be on the phone to the mail-order pharmacy.
They've had a week to acknowledge there is an order.
I will grant that there is always a bit of a delay for new prescriptions, but this is ridiculous.

#@%^&*@

I debated

...with myself

Why do you have your phone in your jacket pocket, Skip?

I decided if it's okay to post candid shots of others, I should do the same to myself.
I have a "moonshot" over at the other place.

Mmmmmm ...okay!

Done

Convention is over.
The Anderson Lions didn't take home any awards as a club, but that's not why we do what we do.
One of out members, though, received two very prestigious honors.
First, Lions Clubs International, to wit, the International President, presented her with the International Leadership Medal.
Then, not more than about ten minutes later, she was awarded District Lion of the Year.
The Anderson Lions are extremely proud because we nominated her for the Lion of the Year.

I mentioned I had salmon for dinner.
I forgot to mention it was very good.
Tonight's dinner is at home.
I will be trying something new.

I have no more jobs at the district level ...I think.
There is one more report I may have to make, but, otherwise, I'm done.
I will be able to stick closer to home.

The weekend was kind of bittersweet.
GS and I have always attended district activities together.
I did enjoy the weekend.
I enjoy these weekends more when I share them with her.
Maybe I mentioned somewhere our first date was a Lions convention.
What I probably didn't mention is that it was at the same hotel where we were this weekend.

In the middle of it

Started off at 6:00am with a short walk.
Then had the hotel breakfast that comes with the room.
On station certifying delegates again until 11:30am.
Then lunch, a new members induction, and a passionate inspiring speech by the International Director from Pennsylvania.
That was followed by the District Student Speaker Contest and a little down time.
Next is the banquet, before which there will be the Parade of Governors, in which I will participate.

salmon for dinner  

At rest at the convention

Spent the day certifying delegates for the Lions District Convention.
Then went to the hospitality for a few minutes before braving the rush hour traffic to head home for pizza with GS and PHG.
Arrived back at convention HQ to socialize a little at the tail end of the food fair.
Then found the Giants vs. Rockies game on TV and unwound with a glass of water and ate a tangerine as the Gmen won.

You may have heard

There was a terrible accident on the Interstate near here.
I was going to write a little bit about the Lions district convention,
Instead I will ask you to give a moment of silence for the young people who were on that bus, the chaperones, the drivers of the vehicles, and the families.

How cool is that

I just got a text from my daughter.
No, not the the PHG or NT, the mother of my grandchildren, who, with my son-in-law, lives just far enough away that we don't see them much..
The book we sent the kids for their birthdays arrived and are a ginormous hit.
The perfect grandson is really hooked on books, reads a few words, and interprets the stories to his sister, Li'l Teeny.
Since he is not yet in kindergarten, that's probably a good thing.
He has also started playing baseball.
Granted, it is T-ball, but the skills have to be started sometime.
Reading and baseball are two of my most favorite things to do [well, I really only watch baseball any more] so how can I not think it is way cool that he has an interest.

yeah ...way cool

Dead on...

The weather folks, that is.
Today is predicted to be almost identical.
It's a good thing, too.
The three of us are GS is taking an excursion up the road to Redding to see a new doc [PHG and I are chaperoning].
The switch of docs is because there are more questions now than when she started.
A number of those were from the doctor who saw her at Stanford.
There is a whole lot more to this story, but I don't have sufficient words to tell it without resorting to language that I prefer not to use [unless I am directly quoting someone else].

reporter #1: "What did he say?"
reporter #2: "It sounded like 'Cough, cough!'"

For want of anything better

at 10:00am [1000 hours in mil time]

Maybe I should have exchanged posts and put this one of Li'l Teenie' birthday pic here.
Anyhow, spring seems to have arrived in the Northstate.
According to the Weather Underground we'll see clear through Sunday.

which bodes well for a certain convention

Odds 'n ends on a Monday

Once more I have an early Showtime at the dentist.
This entire process should have been completed a month or so ago.
However, there was a minor hitch and some tissue damage occurred.
We have been biding our time while the injury heals.
With any luck there will be no more screwups.

The first part of this post was written on the Kindle.
It works for posting just a little better than the iPhone.
I may have to try GS's tablet before I declare my complete frustration with anything portable (some of you may remember how I hated decried the laptop as a blogging device?).
My point is the desktop unit, a PC, is far and away the least despicable device for communicating whatever it is I post here.

Yesterday I remembered one more thing hanging over us [me] this week.
The reason why many Americans dread April.
There's a visit to the accountant.
I was really slow putting together the numbers so they would make sense to anyone.
My tax guy was really nice and didn't scream and holler.
He even said we won't necessarily have to file for an extension (it's really too bad an extension doesn't delay having to pay).
I just don't know when he will have the details finished.
So add that to all the other stuff I have to do between the time I finish with the dentist this morning and the end of the Easter egg hunt a week from next Sunday.

Something else about yesterday.
When I woke up I couldn't find my glasses.
I hadn't set them in the usual place.
I spent about a half an hour fumbling around with blurred vision before I discovered where I had laid them down.
On top of that, the coffee maker misfired and I had to remake a pot of coffee.
So I was late to help set up for the breakfast at the Senior Center.
Then, we found that someone had made off with the lighter we use to light the burners on the grill.
Not once during any of those little irritations did I do what I wanted to do.
Could that be a sign of maturity?

ask my sisters

One

celebrating Big Brother's fifth birthday two weeks ago

photo from her mother

Today she will be celebrating her own first birthday

Every year

No ...that's not quite true [it started in 2010].
In consecutive years, now, April has been the month for the A to Z Challenge.

As usual I have met this challenge and again avoided participating.
OTOH, I have admired the efforts of others who have chosen to participate.
I've pretty much determined I don't have to seek challenges.
They find me.

so there

So...

It seems like everything happens at once.

1. One grandson turns 12 ...another was five two weeks ago
2. granddaughter turns one
3. family comes for a visit
4. finally get responses to medical inquiries which now require action
5. the monthly breakfast is at the Senior Center this weekend
6. there's some major dental appliance work
7. I need to visit the barber
8. there's a Lions convention next weekend
9. followed by Easter and all of those activities

All of that happens whether I do anything or not.
I hate to think what happens if I don't do my part.

don't tempt me

Huh?

There is so much going on that it hasn't been an easy task to focus on any one thing.
I am not a multi-tasker.
If there is more than one important thing to do, they will not be finished in any kind of timely manner.
The fact of the matter is they will slow me to a snail's pace ...or less.
That's because when I am supposed to be working on one, the other(s) will be crowding my concentration ...even to the point of interrupting and switching tasks.

...now where was I?

see what I mean

Still lurking

There's something rattling around up there.
We'll just have to wait to see if anything develops.

I see you, but you can't see me

All things considered

I have decided to forgo a post today, but I thought I should at least tell you.

this is not an April Fools prank