Nyiah, Ouch! I hope that it isn't broken and that it heals up and feels better quickly. It doesn't sound like it was a great night for your poor finger.
Ugh! My bank was just bought by another bank recently. Not by a big huge national mega bank, but it is still a hassle. We got brand new debit/credit cards and new checks with new routing numbers. Everything was deactivated (the cards and auto-payments set up with the cards or check routing info) at midnight of tonight (the 4th) and could be reactivated as of 12:01 the 5th. Supposedly. That means that we have to call every single place we have auto payments set up (every single utility and some of my medical payments as well as the college that Quin's college classes are through) to re-set up everything.
So, I was going to get started on that just a few minutes ago and set up what I could do online and then it wouldn't be so much work when I had to do the others that require phone calls. The problem is that I called the bank number that came with the card for activation and followed all of the steps and I get to the end and it tells me that it is an invalid number try it again. So I did, got the same response. I tried one more time with the same response and have come to realize that I am just wasting my time at this point because it isn't going to change and give a different reply. Now I have to call the bank to talk to a live person and see what is wrong and if it can be fixed quickly so I can get all of my autopays set back up. I am hoping that Russ won't run into the same problem so that if nothing else, I can get his number and work on it on my lunch break tomorrow.
The biggest problem is that Quin's college class autopay is set up to come out of the account tomorrow and it won't because the bank has things all messed up. So I have to get a hold of the college first thing in the morning and see what can be done about putting the autopay on hold until we get the bank mess cleaned up and fixed.
I'm just frustrated with it all. I don't like change to begin with and this is a big change that puts all of the work on me because they couldn't leave well enough alone and just transfer everything seamlessly without all of the hassle for the customers.
Well, I finally got my card activated and got some of the account autopays switched over. I will have to finish the rest tomorrow. It has been one hassle after another with this change over to the new bank.
Today's whine is more on Quin's behalf. Her boyfriend is at college in Winter Park, FL and she is frantic for him with the hurricane coming. She has been following every report about the path of the storm obsessively. His parents are worried about him, but are sure that he will be fine. He and some friends have pretty detailed safety plans in place and are prepared to shelter in place unless they need to get somewhere safer and have assured Quin that if they do, it will be done in a timely manner and not at the last second.
If you find a moment, please keep him in your thoughts. Hopefully it will pass with very minimal damage and Quin will be able to relax and breathe again.
Post by Glencairn on Sept 10, 2017 23:47:12 GMT -6
Grrrr...it seems that the problem might not be my power supply for my computer. Russ took apart a computer that wasn't being used at the office to borrow the power supply so we could see if that was the problem. The power supply lit up, but the computer still wouldn't turn on. Now we have to swap the power supplies back out and try other things to see if we can figure out what the problem is. I am so frustrated with the computer giving me drama.
Glencairn, it SUCKS when you can't figure out what's wrong with a computer. The only time I damn near took one of Spyder's mallets to a computer was when an old Dell laptop I had started to go. It was constantly blue-screen-of-deathing me, even after buying a new battery, new power cord, replacing the RAM. Turned out, it had bad sectors on the hard drive that couldn't be fixed. That was a PITA to figure out how to partition off so the computer wouldn't keep trying to use them and crash all the time, but I did manage to do it the first try without screwing it up.
That laptop was my first hardcore crash course in computer DIY tech savyness, I even flashed the BIOS without bricking it (updating the BIOS -- VERY easy to frakk up if you don't know what you're doing, and end up with a permanently locked up computer paperweight)
Minor bunny complaint -- he's a cheeky little shit! If you're spot cleaning his cage, he's ok for a few minutes. until he gets the Crazy Bug up his backside sideways and does a "home base slide" through the sifted bedding pile, spreads it back over into the stuff I'm still sifting through, or just darts back and forth in front of you. It really makes it take a whole lot longer to clean than it needs to be, but he's at least having fun -- the bunny binky maneuver is being perfected each night in there while I spot clean.
He also finally ventured out of his cage and explored the living room yesterday. Bunny 500 is a major understatement I later deduced by the amount of binkying he did that he enjoys being chased, like it's a game or something. Getting him back in his cage after restocking his hay later in the night (he hopped out when I opened the door, wasn't really any way to prevent that...) was a massive, massive PITA, because he thought I was playing. No fuzzy buns, this isn't playtime. IT'S BEDTIME
Queen of English Language Mangling, Master of the Edit button
Post by Glencairn on Sept 14, 2017 23:58:12 GMT -6
It sounds like the bunny is adjusting well! They are fun to play with and amusing to watch, but it sounds like it would be a bit frustrating having him sliding into the pile of stuff you're trying to clean up in the cage. At least he was having fun. He sounds like a wonderful addition to your family, but it's easy for me to say that not having to be the one cleaning his cage and chasing him around the living room at bedtime.
Really frustrated right now. I'm having a problem with a medication that I'm on and I had a doctor appointment yesterday and the GP that I had been happy with in the past has shown that I don't have much reason to trust that he's interested in helping me get the medication issue fixed. Unfortunately it isn't one that I can just stop taking all at once, but has to gradually be weaned off of to avoid things like heart attack and strokes, so I don't want to attempt to do it on my own. I am now looking for a different GP who is interested in working with me and not just poking his head in the room and collecting my office visit fee.
Russ described it as needing a doctor who is on "Team Cindi" and not on "Team How Much Can I Make Off This Patient". The problem is, there are a whole lot more of the second than the first.
Glencairn,I feel your frustration! The medical system has collapsed since the family doctor days. Every faction of our health is treated by a specialist who only considers that one part of our body- the GP is only for referring us to whichever specialist seems to best fit our symptoms. Each specialist throws a different designer drug ( yes, they DO get kick-backs from prescribing the latest, most expensive drug)and the combinations of side effects from multiple pharmaceuticals can lead to a perfect storm.
I am terribly drug sensitive and it's really hard to convince doctors of that fact until they OD me. I have been pushed to the brink more than once by prescription medication that has a very low incidence of serious side effects. Before I take any new prescription I research it and weigh the most serious side effects against the benefits. I am lucky enough to have found primary care that will accept my refusal to take the latest 'fad' drugs and prescribe something that's been used for 20 years without the 'rare but fatal' side effects.
When Nixon changed the law and allowed the entire medical field to become a for-profit business it stopped being about saving patients lives. The whole industry gets a cut whether the patient lives or dies so we need to be our own advocate. Primary care physicians need to work with and for the patient, not the other way around.
Post by Glencairn on Sept 18, 2017 23:40:22 GMT -6
Nugget, That sounds like a lot of the problem I'm having right now. My primary care doctor, or GP, is the one I "report to" and he has been a problem when it comes to wanting to not stay on a treatment path that is working, but wanting to change it up to other things that I am either not familiar with or am familiar with and have had problems with. If it isn't that, it's like you mentioned and if I try to talk about a specific issue, he isn't very interested and just wants to shuffle me off to yet another specialist. This last visit I mentioned a problem with a medicine I have been prescribed and am currently taking and he couldn't even bother with staying in the room long enough to hear what the problem was, much less discuss it with me and try to get it resolved. And it is one I really NEED to have a doctors help with and not something I can just quit taking with no bad effects. It is just really starting to get to me.
On top of that, I am having frustration with work, too. I showed up today and found a handful of children at the office. My brother's youngest was there needing to be babysat and the other girl who works in the office with me had her middle son (10 years old, but acts 4 most of the time and solely due to parenting) there also. It is one thing when my brother asks if he can bring his youngest in for the day and if I can watch her because (insert whatever random "emergency" his usual babysitter is having) as a one-off, but this has been almost every day for the past two weeks. Once or twice (when he asks) is a favor, every day is a second job and one I am being expected to do for free at that. In the case of my niece, I don't mind as much because she is wonderful. She is laid back and has amazing manners and is super well behaved. She just isn't much trouble, she just wants to be entertained when she gets bored with her sing-a-long shows. But it is getting to be a bit over the top having her come in every day when he hasn't asked if I mind.
With the other kid, the son of the girl I work with, he is a brat. I hate having him in. He is disrespectful and willfully disobedient. He likes to listen to youtube "lets play" videos, but he refuses to use headphones. When the phone rings he doesn't turn his video down or pause it, but as soon as I start talking on the phone he turns his volume up. When I tell him to turn it down so I can hear, he turns it up even more. And his mom sits there staring and says nothing. He also sets up camp on the floor by spreading out blankets and pillows across the whole office floor (it's a small office space). It is like trying to get around an obstacle course. His mom nominally watches him, but not in any way that is conducive to anyone else getting any work done. And when she brings him in, it is because he is sick. Look, I understand that having a sick kid is miserable, but I also have an auto immune disorder and work really hard to do things to keep myself healthy. Having a sick kid sitting in the office with me isn't helpful. I have a hard enough time staying healthy as it is with my own kid being in school and being out of the house working, I definitely don't want direct contact with someone elses sick kid.
Even beyond all of that, is that I am the one getting stuck watching the kids and being expected to do it regularly for free. It is taking away from getting the work done that I am actually being paid to do and so I have to work twice as hard to do my work and watch kids at the same time. If I wanted to be working two jobs, it would be two jobs that BOTH came with a paycheck. I am so exhausted from doing both my own work and babysitting that it is making the auto-immune problem worse and I am running myself into being more vulnerable to getting sick from it.
UGHHH! Sorry, I just needed to rant a bit before I exploded.
Glencairn, I'm pretty sure that I don't need to tell you anyone with an autoimmune disease needs to be proactive and take avoid things that trigger a response- like SICK KIDS/PEOPLE and STRESS. lol Each flare-up robs you of a bit more health and you're too young to have it turn into a major, debilitating issue!
Is it absolutely imperative that you work there? It's not sounding like the best fit- or safest, health-wise.
Post by Glencairn on Sept 20, 2017 23:49:20 GMT -6
Nugget , The problem is only when they bring their kids in. Otherwise, I love the job (the one I'm being paid to do) and generally like who I work with. Since it is my family's company that I am working for there is a ridiculous amount of flexibility with hours and scheduling and that has been a Godsend for all of the doctors appointments and sick days I've been dealing with. I work with my dad (when he and my mom aren't up at the family cabin in WI, they are mostly retired, but not all the way yet) and with Russ, my youngest brother and the other girl in the office. We generally all get along well and even working with Russ isn't a problem because he is in the office so rarely that we would never know we were working together if I didn't occasionally see him in passing.
Russ and I were talking about the issue with the kids and since he is in charge while my dad is gone, he said that we might be having a company sit-down to discuss the kids at work policy. I even told him that I don't mind if they aren't sick at the time and it is just a one off here and there in emergencies, and as long as whoever needs to bring the kid in asks first and doesn't just assume I am up to babysitting. Also that if it is being done for free, it needs to be a truly rare emergency otherwise some cash had best start being ponied up.
I do love that I have the flexibility and blessing of everyone there to bring my dog in with me if there aren't any kids in that day. Like tomorrow, the boys and V (the office girl) will be out of the office all day doing fire inspections and I will be bringing the dog in with me since I will be there all by myself. Things like that are a wonderful bonus to being at this job. The only real downside so far has been the kids being brought in when they are sick.
Last Edit: Sept 20, 2017 23:51:39 GMT -6 by Glencairn
Holy crap, it's hot 92* today, the Heat Index probably broke 100* (it's 90 w/ a 96* HI right now) The forecast for tomorrow calls for 94*. In September, in MI? WTF?! No cooler than 90* until Tuesday, ugh. Everybody's pretty miserable right now. Well, everyone except the stupid cockatiel, he seems thrilled with the temp. Asshat bird.
Queen of English Language Mangling, Master of the Edit button
Post by Glencairn on Sept 21, 2017 23:45:12 GMT -6
Nyiah, We just got that heat wave down here in IL, too. It has been indecisive, though. Just a day or two ago it was only in the low 70's and now today and the next few days are supposed to be in the low to mid 90's. I got an email a bit ago from the school saying that they would be dismissing at 11:15 tomorrow due to the heat. The temperature has fluctuated so much this past week that it seems insane to go from freezing (for me) earlier to this 90 degree wave in just the span of a day or two.
Glencairn, we're supposed to go from the 90's on Tuesday to the 70's on Wednesday next week. I think I'd rather have your yo-yo temps!
We had to break out the ice packs for the rabbit. He cleared parts of his cage floor and was trying hard to stay cool. I figured if he's going to lay on it, it might as well be cool so he doesn't end up with heat stroke or something, so I put a few packs underneath that spot under the cage. I also put a bowl of water with ice cubes in it for him to either drink or poke around in. He did neither, he sat in it. These approaches seem to appeal to him, and his grumpy disposition improved. I've got a 2-liter bottle filled with water in the freezer for tomorrow, we won't be here for part of the afternoon, and I think he'd be better off with a larger cold item to cool off with during the peak heat.
Queen of English Language Mangling, Master of the Edit button