Just Another Herd Creature

I'm watching Michael Moore's Sicko.  I know I am being manipulated, it's a documentary with an very open agenda.  Pictures of children, sick 911 rescue workers, Cuba's free medical system, the voice over, the music - it's all well designed to pull your heart strings.  I see all this and yet I sit here crying, knowing that the heart of this issue is right.  The U.S. has had its head up its butt on so many social issues for so many years, and universal health care is certainly in the top three as far as I'm concerned - education & economic security/justice are the other two.  Regardless of how you see this country's diversity (a blessing or a curse), there is no diversity when it comes to our humanness.  We all have the same basic structure and the need to keep it healthy and in repair.  Illness and injury can happen to rich or poor, it's only in the diagnose, treatment and impact on the economy of our family that it differs.   

My brain can argue all the sides of this issue, but my eyes are wet and my heart is hurting.  And I want it to change.  Can it happen in my life time?  Will it?  Ever?  

I didn't start out planning to document my lunches, but when serenejournal said I should do it after I photographed my smoothie on Tuesday, I just kept going.  Well, it's Friday and I didn't feel very good today - I've had a headache most of the afternoon.  I wandered over to a pizza place and picked at a Greek Salad and a slice of pizza.  I tracked down all the olives, peperocine, onions and feta cheese, only eating the lettuce stuff when my main quarries were stuck to it.  The pizza wasn't that good, but it was a very, very large slice.  I don't think you can make up for taste by just giving a bigger portion, but they tried.

I spent part of the lunch sitting on a bench in the Plaza waiting for a pigeon to come along so I could feed it some of the pizza, but no one showed up for the party.  When I sat down, there was a man standing near the other end of the bench.  He was talking very loudly on his cell phone complaining about a job.  He showed up, but they didn't pay him the full amount he was promised.  I was resting my head against the cement planter with my eyes closed.  After he finished, he fumbled around in his large bag and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.  He announces "I don't see a sign that says I can't smoke here, so I'm going to.  I was here first.  I hope nobody minds."  I was the only one in earshot, so I guess he was addressing me.  I opened my eyes.  He was lighting up a cigarette and since he was downwind of me I didn't plan to move - it wasn't going to bother me.  As this point, he grabs his bag and storms off.  I have no idea why he did the big announcement and then stomped off before I even said anything.  A proactive touchy smoker?

It's been fun having lunch with ya'll this week!

The Salad                                                               The Peperocine                                                The Goodbye Coke

On Wednesday, I went to the Burger Bistro.  On the menu my lunch was called "Chinese Chicken Salad", but when the cashier called out the order it was changed to "Asian Chicken Salad."  It was quite tasty and pretty.  After I ate, I finally tackled my taxes.  For the last month I have promised myself every morning that I would gather stuff up that evening.  And every evening, I did not.  I figured the only way I would get it done was to throw it all in a bag and take it to work.  I'm missing a few things, but at least I did enough work that I felt comfortable making my H&R Block appointment next Tuesday.

Problem: Currently I scan in hundreds of documents each week that must be filed with our office.  We want to give people the option to submit them electronically as pdfs, but we need to have a legally accepted way to date stamp their arrival.  I've looked at Adobe's date/stamp info and it seems to be tied to a signature stamp.  What I couldn't find was if I can sign a document I did not create.  Anybody know anything about this or can point me to a website for more info.  I've looked at the 3rd party software and have the same question.
Thanks for any help.

Mostly it was a boring work day.  The best phone call was a woman who didn't like the rent increase her landlord was giving.  She said the LL didn't need the money and she did.  She needs a new pair of shoes and she thinks the LL has dozens of shoes already.  She said the LL was evil and probably a worshiper of Apep, an Egyptian snake deity.  I told her I'd mail her the Tenant Rent Petition and she should fill it out and return it.  I wonder if next to the need for shoes, she'll list the LL's true nature. 

On an equally boring note.  Here is a picture of the Vietnamese restaurant where I had lunch today.  I eat there at least once or twice a week.  Today I had their combination Chow Fun.  And the Fun just keeps on coming . . .

I'm having a serious case of cabin fever right now.  I sat outside to eat my lunch and it was gorgeous, sunny and the perfect temperature.  I wanna go home, sit outside in the back yard, watch Pippin play, and alternate between reading a book and naval gazing.  Work so gets in my way of greater life enjoyment. 

I hurt my back taking garbage bag out last night.  Can't sit, stand or lay down without pain.  Bending is a big NO NO.  I'm staying home from work.  As soon as I made that decision this morning I started thinking of all the things I could get done today.  I need to take stuff to the dry cleaners, van needs to be smogged, call a plumber to fix the toliet, find my notary stuff so I can turn it  in, go to the movies, go see dbubley in the nursing home, clean more of dbubley's house . . . .  And the list just gets longer and longer.  The other part of my brain says "get the ice pack and go to bed."  Wonder which it will be.  Stay tuned.

On the edge or over the edge - you decide.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2009/03/06/vo.china.toilet.restaurant.cnn

Pippin  has taken a dislike (as in barking and growling) at a poster of President Obama I bought yesterday.  It's a wonderful poster with maybe a dozen different newspaper front pages the day after the election.  The largest is the Chicago Sun Times and it's mostly a head shot.  The poster was propped up on the counter when Ms Pippin saw it this morning.  When she first started growling and barking, we couldn't figure out what it was - she was staring in the general direction of the kitchen.  Then I noticed she had her eyes locked on the poster.  This just won't do, we'll have a long talk with her about the current political situation and why we believe President Obama is a good guy.  Of course, letting her sniff it and giving her treats at the same time works too.

Off to buy new cells phones for everyone.  On dbubley's last ride to the ER, they lost her charger and her cell phone is so old we couldn't find one for it.  I'm sure we could get one on-line, but our plan is up and they said we could all get new phones for only $30 plus the tax on the full amount of the phone.  Of course that means we sign up for another subscription period, but we've been happy with Verizon, so why not. 

They took dbubley to the nearest Kaiser last night, because they couldn't get her blood sugar above 50.  Unfortunately it was Hayward and you'd think they never had a fat patient before.  She called me in extreme pain this morning.  They did not have a bariatric bed for her - ER doctor did not order one, nor did they have an order for pain meds.  And the respiratory therapist was a complete bust when it came to fitting her with a mask and setting the pressure.  They only had full face masks and after she asked what pressure dbubley used on her home cpap, the RT said that's too high " it will blow you away on our machine."  Well it didn't, plus it was only after she left that dbubley found the hose was leaking. 

I called and finally got through to her nurse, Michael.  It took him a call to two doctors before he got an order for morphine.  I called him just as he was getting the drug together to bring to her.  Nothing can happen until the doctors make their rounds this morning and re-evaluate her.  If they are not sending her back to KPPACC (where I hope they still have her bed and room in place) then they need to order a bariatric bed asap or send her to Oakland Kaiser where they already have them in the hospital.  Hayward has to have one delivered from an outside company. 

I'm feeling helpless and useless right now.  I don't know how much more she can take of this shit.  I'm going to get stonebender up in a little bit and get him settled and get myself to Hayward.  I've had about 3 hours of sleep and I'm feeling pretty fragile myself right now.