The economy is not improving, I don't care which paper you are reading or which expert is in your ear. There may be a few real estate deals to be had for those with spare funds, but rents are remaining the same in my area. Gas, groceries, insurance, and many other living expenses are inching up each month yet everyone lucky enough to still have a job has the same wage as before.
My son is weighed down by student loans, an uncompleted education, and the stresses of retail management. Eldest daughter is balancing full time work and motherhood. Youngest daughter has returned home stressed after a failed attempt to share a home with friends. It seems a perfect time to revisit an old post.
Handy Hints For Communal Living
When you are on a frugal path with a goal you have to stay the course until your goals are met. If you jump too soon any small setback can put you right back where you were before. Keep your skills fresh, remember these times will not last forever, celebrate small victories, and plan out your future without losing sight of your goals.
Things are working out so far here, everyone is pitching in to help out, and someone is always here to entertain Grandbaby. Side note: every time I try to write a post, or do any reading on my computer Grandbaby comes into the room, gives me a kiss, smiles, sits next to me, and says, "I watch," next thing I know I'm clapping along to "Yo Gabba Gabba."
Realistically I will be here for up to two years until everyones goals are met. I'm reworking my room a bit now and turning it into more of a retreat for my husband and I. This doesn't involve money as I am just deep cleaning and moving furniture about. I'm getting rid of some furniture that just takes up too much of the limited space. Next I will tackle the common rooms, before attempting a massive garage clear out. Reorganization of our small house will make it easier for all to get along.
My one remaining debt is shrinking, and my savings are growing gradually. We'll just be that much further ahead when everyone else catches up. If you are paddling toward shore and feeling discouraged don't stop and try to stay on the lilly pad. The lilly pad will crash, keep on paddling all the way until you reach shore, you'll be glad you did. Plan, and be ready for the better times ahead.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Double Rainbows, Grandpa Pizza, and Dancing With the Hired Help
It's been a rough week. I feel worn out and beaten down. I caught a horrible cold, missed some work, and spent three days in bed. My lungs still hurt and I'm still exhausted, but I'm heading back to work in the morning.
Bear with me, I'm still groggy so I'm having a bit of a ramble today. We all went to the store a few weeks ago. My daughter needed clothing for her new job. It was late in the afternoon and we were lucky enough to get rain. My daughter ran in with the baby and I was a bit disappointed because I wanted to point out the rainbow for him. My husband and I lingered in the parking lot a bit longer to gaze at the rainbow. It seems I saw them more frequently in my childhood. Perhaps that's due to an ever present drought. The rainbow was strong and complete, and became a double rainbow before we went inside. Beautiful.
Grandbaby loves pizza. He doesn't, at his young age, look down on his grandpa for working such a lowly job. One evening my husband called me after work to ask if I needed anything. Grandbaby was sitting on my lap and when he heard Grandpa's voice he smiled and pointed at the phone and said "Pizza." When my husband arrives home at night Grandbaby and dog run to the door to bark together. When I open the door and he sees the car he yells "Pizza pizza!" He also wears the uniform hat any chance he gets. Whenever we introduce a new food to the baby I suggested that we cut it in a triangle shape and call it pizza.
I know I've discussed work before but I've never wanted to get so specific that someone figures out who I am and where I work so I can be fired, but sometimes corporate ideas are so stupid that you have to vent. I take my job seriously. I do the best I can possibly do. I consider myself quick, efficient, and kind, and I have never had any problems or complaints. I work in a grocery store and as I myself am a shopper I think I have an idea of what people want. I want to get in, find what I need and get out. I want fresh product on the shelf, plenty of sale items to choose from, and a quick checkout. I do not want entertainment. I don't want to be followed about while I shop. Get in, get out, that's me.
We have someone new in corporate. He has new fresh ideas to take us to the next level in the shopping experience. He thinks we need a heart shaped bulletin board in our break room to share our great ideas about doing good things at work. He thinks we should do videos and photos of employees at work and post them to the company website. He suggested employees use their smart phones for this which really amuses me because a previous communication warned employees that cell phone use on the sales floor both ON and OFF the clock was forbidden.
They also want us to fist bump and high five each other when we pass on the sales floor. The worst idea ever--they want us to drop whatever we are doing when our new store song is played over the intercom several times a day and dance and sing. I was hired for customer service and cashiering. I will not leave my customers waiting in line while I dance. Fire me. This is not a Texas Roadhouse, or a strip joint. It is a grocery store, ask a few shoppers what they actually want, better yet go back to school.
This is in a store that needs some improvement. Dairy products are often found a week or more out of date, equipment breaks down, proper rotation isn't always followed, sale stickers are left on the shelf from the previous week, and I suspect product in some departments is relabeled with a new date so they can sell it past the sell by date. It's not pretty. You could add a few employees so there would be more time and attention spent pulling products and setting up the sales. You could stop freezing the pay raises of your lowest paid employees. You could hire someone just to inspect the store on a daily basis to ensure there are no out of dates. But no, you have the best idea, a little song and dance will fix all that.
One last note, company loyalty and pride is never forced. It is earned after learning how to treat employees fairly and doing the right thing. It is earned after treating your customers well. Song and dance? No thank you, I'll go elsewhere where I will be appreciated, dignity intact.
Bear with me, I'm still groggy so I'm having a bit of a ramble today. We all went to the store a few weeks ago. My daughter needed clothing for her new job. It was late in the afternoon and we were lucky enough to get rain. My daughter ran in with the baby and I was a bit disappointed because I wanted to point out the rainbow for him. My husband and I lingered in the parking lot a bit longer to gaze at the rainbow. It seems I saw them more frequently in my childhood. Perhaps that's due to an ever present drought. The rainbow was strong and complete, and became a double rainbow before we went inside. Beautiful.
Grandbaby loves pizza. He doesn't, at his young age, look down on his grandpa for working such a lowly job. One evening my husband called me after work to ask if I needed anything. Grandbaby was sitting on my lap and when he heard Grandpa's voice he smiled and pointed at the phone and said "Pizza." When my husband arrives home at night Grandbaby and dog run to the door to bark together. When I open the door and he sees the car he yells "Pizza pizza!" He also wears the uniform hat any chance he gets. Whenever we introduce a new food to the baby I suggested that we cut it in a triangle shape and call it pizza.
I know I've discussed work before but I've never wanted to get so specific that someone figures out who I am and where I work so I can be fired, but sometimes corporate ideas are so stupid that you have to vent. I take my job seriously. I do the best I can possibly do. I consider myself quick, efficient, and kind, and I have never had any problems or complaints. I work in a grocery store and as I myself am a shopper I think I have an idea of what people want. I want to get in, find what I need and get out. I want fresh product on the shelf, plenty of sale items to choose from, and a quick checkout. I do not want entertainment. I don't want to be followed about while I shop. Get in, get out, that's me.
We have someone new in corporate. He has new fresh ideas to take us to the next level in the shopping experience. He thinks we need a heart shaped bulletin board in our break room to share our great ideas about doing good things at work. He thinks we should do videos and photos of employees at work and post them to the company website. He suggested employees use their smart phones for this which really amuses me because a previous communication warned employees that cell phone use on the sales floor both ON and OFF the clock was forbidden.
They also want us to fist bump and high five each other when we pass on the sales floor. The worst idea ever--they want us to drop whatever we are doing when our new store song is played over the intercom several times a day and dance and sing. I was hired for customer service and cashiering. I will not leave my customers waiting in line while I dance. Fire me. This is not a Texas Roadhouse, or a strip joint. It is a grocery store, ask a few shoppers what they actually want, better yet go back to school.
This is in a store that needs some improvement. Dairy products are often found a week or more out of date, equipment breaks down, proper rotation isn't always followed, sale stickers are left on the shelf from the previous week, and I suspect product in some departments is relabeled with a new date so they can sell it past the sell by date. It's not pretty. You could add a few employees so there would be more time and attention spent pulling products and setting up the sales. You could stop freezing the pay raises of your lowest paid employees. You could hire someone just to inspect the store on a daily basis to ensure there are no out of dates. But no, you have the best idea, a little song and dance will fix all that.
One last note, company loyalty and pride is never forced. It is earned after learning how to treat employees fairly and doing the right thing. It is earned after treating your customers well. Song and dance? No thank you, I'll go elsewhere where I will be appreciated, dignity intact.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Thinking Bigger for a Better Future
Whenever one tosses about ideas for a brighter future, whether it is ideas for food, education, housing, politics, health care, etc. there is always someone telling you how it won't work and why. Of course many new ideas will not work in the current framework. You have to imagine there are new choices and less hindrances. You have to think outside of our reality occasionally. Dreaming is good. It's the first step.
My first dream is for government to bring Kiss to their legislation. No, not the rock band, but the old phrase "Keep it Simple Stupid." When I hear of a 500 page proposal to allocate extra funding to education that includes buried deep within funds for a bridge in Wyoming, and on page 362 funds for a casino in Delaware it infuriates me. They don't know what they vote for because they don't have time to read the whole thing and if they do muddle through it there is just so much.
I want the language and length of these bills simplified so all may read and understand. If something is put to a vote by the people they should know what they are voting for. If the newspaper feels the need to print a full page describing what four proposals mean then those proposals need to be rewritten. There is no reason to hide your real intentions behind murky language. Keep it simple so everyone, including our elected officials, can make an honest decision.
We live in a country of excess. Most manufacturing is automated. We have enough whatsits for every man woman and child in our nation. We also have a great divide between a few "have it all's" a larger group of "have enough's" and a greatly increasing group of "have none." Imagine a world where the resources are redistributed more evenly. I'm not advocating taking from individuals who have worked hard to get where they are. Bear with me, I'll try to explain.
From the perspective of the poor, where would you be if basic food, health care, and housing were already there for you. Would you feel elevated, more of a human being, more worthy? With time freed up that was previously used for basic survival in a world that didn't care, what would you do? Would you volunteer in a community garden, pursue further education, spend more time with your children? Would you work part time for a little extra in life or would you keep plugging away full time? What would you change?
In "The Overworked American" Juliet B. Schor describes a time during the Depression when a 30 hour work week was proposed so the work could be spread out between more workers. Some companies may have done this for a while but big business was definitely against this. Most corporations look at how they can gain from their labor not how they can improve the well being of their work force.
It's time to take the power from the few elite and the corporations. We should have regularly scheduled interviews with normal everyday citizens in the offices of our elected officials. Why do we allow lobbyists who represent corporations visit and gift our officials? Why do corporations have this power over American policy? It needs to change!
Future planner Jacque Fresco known for his "Venus Project" has given much thought to these problems. He is well known for designing buildings and cities of the future. While he shows great detail in his work and it appears like something from a science fiction novel he has also put just as much time into designing a theoretical future society. He proposes a resource based economy where the citizens have control and corporations no longer exist. He acknowledges there will be transitional phases, but to hear him describe it, it seems perfectly feasible.
Fresco proposes we already have the resources for all citizens to live well. Why should a few have an overabundance while others go without basic necessities? His cities would use power from wind, sun, wave or water. Without money and corporations clinging to the old way of doing things, the old way that pollutes our earth and lines their pockets, there would be nothing blocking the use of new technologies. Without a money based society, all citizens would benefit. It's not something that could be transitioned to overnight but it is fun to read his ideas and imagine what life could be like.
In "For Us The Living" Robert A. Heinlen describes daily life in a future Earth society. Basic needs are seen to and people are free to study and work as they wish. Imagine if you were able to study what interested you and choose work based on your passions, not what your earning potential would be. Would there be fewer disgruntled workers?
As for jobs that no-one particularly enjoys, imagine if job sharing was available at all levels. Citizens appear at the factory or field for a four hour shift. No-one is required to toil for twelve or sixteen hour days, six days a week for just a basic living with hardly any family time. That job will be split between four to six people. More people work and there is plenty of time left for creative pursuits, education, gardening, family celebrations, or gathering with neighbors. There may be a few that choose a shoddy life spent in front of the television with just the basics covered but I bet the majority would pursue the life they could only dream about in a conventional society.
Now readers, its your turn. Sit back, shut your eyes, transport yourself 60, 300 or 500 years into the future and tell me what you see.
My first dream is for government to bring Kiss to their legislation. No, not the rock band, but the old phrase "Keep it Simple Stupid." When I hear of a 500 page proposal to allocate extra funding to education that includes buried deep within funds for a bridge in Wyoming, and on page 362 funds for a casino in Delaware it infuriates me. They don't know what they vote for because they don't have time to read the whole thing and if they do muddle through it there is just so much.
I want the language and length of these bills simplified so all may read and understand. If something is put to a vote by the people they should know what they are voting for. If the newspaper feels the need to print a full page describing what four proposals mean then those proposals need to be rewritten. There is no reason to hide your real intentions behind murky language. Keep it simple so everyone, including our elected officials, can make an honest decision.
We live in a country of excess. Most manufacturing is automated. We have enough whatsits for every man woman and child in our nation. We also have a great divide between a few "have it all's" a larger group of "have enough's" and a greatly increasing group of "have none." Imagine a world where the resources are redistributed more evenly. I'm not advocating taking from individuals who have worked hard to get where they are. Bear with me, I'll try to explain.
From the perspective of the poor, where would you be if basic food, health care, and housing were already there for you. Would you feel elevated, more of a human being, more worthy? With time freed up that was previously used for basic survival in a world that didn't care, what would you do? Would you volunteer in a community garden, pursue further education, spend more time with your children? Would you work part time for a little extra in life or would you keep plugging away full time? What would you change?
In "The Overworked American" Juliet B. Schor describes a time during the Depression when a 30 hour work week was proposed so the work could be spread out between more workers. Some companies may have done this for a while but big business was definitely against this. Most corporations look at how they can gain from their labor not how they can improve the well being of their work force.
It's time to take the power from the few elite and the corporations. We should have regularly scheduled interviews with normal everyday citizens in the offices of our elected officials. Why do we allow lobbyists who represent corporations visit and gift our officials? Why do corporations have this power over American policy? It needs to change!
Future planner Jacque Fresco known for his "Venus Project" has given much thought to these problems. He is well known for designing buildings and cities of the future. While he shows great detail in his work and it appears like something from a science fiction novel he has also put just as much time into designing a theoretical future society. He proposes a resource based economy where the citizens have control and corporations no longer exist. He acknowledges there will be transitional phases, but to hear him describe it, it seems perfectly feasible.
Fresco proposes we already have the resources for all citizens to live well. Why should a few have an overabundance while others go without basic necessities? His cities would use power from wind, sun, wave or water. Without money and corporations clinging to the old way of doing things, the old way that pollutes our earth and lines their pockets, there would be nothing blocking the use of new technologies. Without a money based society, all citizens would benefit. It's not something that could be transitioned to overnight but it is fun to read his ideas and imagine what life could be like.
In "For Us The Living" Robert A. Heinlen describes daily life in a future Earth society. Basic needs are seen to and people are free to study and work as they wish. Imagine if you were able to study what interested you and choose work based on your passions, not what your earning potential would be. Would there be fewer disgruntled workers?
As for jobs that no-one particularly enjoys, imagine if job sharing was available at all levels. Citizens appear at the factory or field for a four hour shift. No-one is required to toil for twelve or sixteen hour days, six days a week for just a basic living with hardly any family time. That job will be split between four to six people. More people work and there is plenty of time left for creative pursuits, education, gardening, family celebrations, or gathering with neighbors. There may be a few that choose a shoddy life spent in front of the television with just the basics covered but I bet the majority would pursue the life they could only dream about in a conventional society.
Now readers, its your turn. Sit back, shut your eyes, transport yourself 60, 300 or 500 years into the future and tell me what you see.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Inspired
Thanks to Hulu I just realized a second season of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution has already started. I never watch regular television, but if I can catch something on my time on the computer I will watch the occasional show. I was horrified by the first season. Children in a elementary school had no idea what a tomato was. Many could not distinguish corn from broccoli. It was really sad, and amazing too. It opened my eyes to how corporations have changed our nation, how much control we have given over, and how helpless many of us would be in a large disaster or emergency.
I truly feel inspired to make a few changes in my own kitchen. I already do a lot of from scratch cooking. I visit a fruit stand to get a good price on vegetables, although I really can't afford organic meat. I would love to be able to do this but the price is too high at this time.
I recently purchased "Jaime's Food Revolution" cookbook and have been joyfully trying new recipes each evening after work. The chicken leek stroganoff was okay, the spaghetti Bolognese was amazing, and today's burgers were so delicious even the grandbaby who doesn't eat hamburgers normally gobbled one up. I've been having fun.
I bake from a cookbook not a mix, I make my own white sauce for soups instead of relying on a mix or store bought cans of soup. I am usually good about preparing things myself although sometimes there are a lot of work hours, and mixes for things are on sale, and the budget is tight. I will admit I have never mastered gravy, and spaghetti sauce has usually come from a can or bottle then doctored up with seasonings and vegetables. I'm going to make steps to stop this. I enjoy being in my kitchen too much and I owe my family better. I have the skills to do better.
I wandered about after work gathering what I needed for dinner that night and randomly read a few labels for products I had recently purchased out of thrift or laziness. Second ingredient high fructose corn syrup, third ingredient corn syrup, and that was on just one jar of pasta sauce. Added together what are all of these products doing to us? I deserve better as does my family.
After the extreme success of the spaghetti Bolognese sauce I will be making my own pasta sauces instead of just dumping a jar in a pot to heat.
This is one show I can get behind 100 percent. We really need better food education in this nation. We say we are rushed, tired, poor....but we really need to wake up. Thank you Jamie Oliver for inspiring so many of us to do better.
I truly feel inspired to make a few changes in my own kitchen. I already do a lot of from scratch cooking. I visit a fruit stand to get a good price on vegetables, although I really can't afford organic meat. I would love to be able to do this but the price is too high at this time.
I recently purchased "Jaime's Food Revolution" cookbook and have been joyfully trying new recipes each evening after work. The chicken leek stroganoff was okay, the spaghetti Bolognese was amazing, and today's burgers were so delicious even the grandbaby who doesn't eat hamburgers normally gobbled one up. I've been having fun.
I bake from a cookbook not a mix, I make my own white sauce for soups instead of relying on a mix or store bought cans of soup. I am usually good about preparing things myself although sometimes there are a lot of work hours, and mixes for things are on sale, and the budget is tight. I will admit I have never mastered gravy, and spaghetti sauce has usually come from a can or bottle then doctored up with seasonings and vegetables. I'm going to make steps to stop this. I enjoy being in my kitchen too much and I owe my family better. I have the skills to do better.
I wandered about after work gathering what I needed for dinner that night and randomly read a few labels for products I had recently purchased out of thrift or laziness. Second ingredient high fructose corn syrup, third ingredient corn syrup, and that was on just one jar of pasta sauce. Added together what are all of these products doing to us? I deserve better as does my family.
After the extreme success of the spaghetti Bolognese sauce I will be making my own pasta sauces instead of just dumping a jar in a pot to heat.
This is one show I can get behind 100 percent. We really need better food education in this nation. We say we are rushed, tired, poor....but we really need to wake up. Thank you Jamie Oliver for inspiring so many of us to do better.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Grocery Store Chatter
The Extreme Couponing chatter will just not die down. Customers in the checkout line will mention it each day, some in amazement of the show and others wishing their coupon skills were better. We now have one or two extreme couponers of our own. I witnessed one the other day making a purchase of 75 Powerades. I didn't see what her final price was because I was on the counter.
I do use coupons myself but not to such extremes. I do not need 150 candy bars at once, nor do I need 80 boxes of pasta, and 50 bottles of ketchup would spoil before we used them. I only buy two newspapers and do not feel the need to climb into a dumpster for more. I do typically save 60 to 70% off the bill with sales and coupons. Last week I purchased a gallon of milk and a large bag of popcorn for 68 cents but that does not happen every week. It was a small purchase as well. It usually is just a random small purchase, not nine carts full of groceries for 50 cents. No TV cameras will follow me about for my shopping.
My dad was the coupon and rebate king. He would visit family and bring laundry detergent, shampoo, cereal, and other household goods as gifts. After his death I was told he did this for extended family and friends as well. My niece said he would show up with a huge box of stuff and say, "Here, I got this for a quarter."
As well as chatter in the store I also get several phone calls a week at the store. People will call and ask what our coupon policy is. Dozens have called asking when we have double coupon days. We have never had double coupons but they insist that it says we do on the Internet. I don't know of any stores close to my area that ever have double coupons.
Like it, hate it, or just plain fascinated by it, I don't see the interest in Extreme Couponing waning any time soon. It is still a big topic of conversation.
I do use coupons myself but not to such extremes. I do not need 150 candy bars at once, nor do I need 80 boxes of pasta, and 50 bottles of ketchup would spoil before we used them. I only buy two newspapers and do not feel the need to climb into a dumpster for more. I do typically save 60 to 70% off the bill with sales and coupons. Last week I purchased a gallon of milk and a large bag of popcorn for 68 cents but that does not happen every week. It was a small purchase as well. It usually is just a random small purchase, not nine carts full of groceries for 50 cents. No TV cameras will follow me about for my shopping.
My dad was the coupon and rebate king. He would visit family and bring laundry detergent, shampoo, cereal, and other household goods as gifts. After his death I was told he did this for extended family and friends as well. My niece said he would show up with a huge box of stuff and say, "Here, I got this for a quarter."
As well as chatter in the store I also get several phone calls a week at the store. People will call and ask what our coupon policy is. Dozens have called asking when we have double coupon days. We have never had double coupons but they insist that it says we do on the Internet. I don't know of any stores close to my area that ever have double coupons.
Like it, hate it, or just plain fascinated by it, I don't see the interest in Extreme Couponing waning any time soon. It is still a big topic of conversation.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Very Brief Update
Thank you to everyone who took the time to comment on my previous post. I've let way too much time pass before writing again but life is busy and I'm afraid this will just have to do for a while. The back is better. It was a muscle pain that passed with time.
I received the best of care while I was under the weather from the dog, aka Nurse Sasha. She sat by my side the entire time giving me deep soulful looks almost willing me to get better. If she had opposable thumbs I'm sure she would have gone into the kitchen to prepare a cold drink and make a snack as well.
Life is very full at the moment so please forgive me my quiet times. I don't know how full time bloggers manage to keep up with daily posts. I'm behind on everything but I'm not going to beat myself up over it. It is what it is. I can only do so much, I have to attend to life first (the physical one not the virtual one.)
I hope everyone is doing well. I will return very soon.
I received the best of care while I was under the weather from the dog, aka Nurse Sasha. She sat by my side the entire time giving me deep soulful looks almost willing me to get better. If she had opposable thumbs I'm sure she would have gone into the kitchen to prepare a cold drink and make a snack as well.
Life is very full at the moment so please forgive me my quiet times. I don't know how full time bloggers manage to keep up with daily posts. I'm behind on everything but I'm not going to beat myself up over it. It is what it is. I can only do so much, I have to attend to life first (the physical one not the virtual one.)
I hope everyone is doing well. I will return very soon.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Brokeback Mother
I hurt my back and I have no idea how, I just woke up one morning and could barely walk. This means I have missed a few days of work and spent my days shifting one eighth of an inch one way or the other trying to find an ounce of relief from the unrelenting pain.
This is not the first time this has happened although the other times there was a definite cause. The first time it happened I thought I was dieing so I splurged on an emergency room trip. They looked at my spine to see if everything was lined up properly, gave me an x-ray, then told me I had some torn muscles and sent me home with some painkillers. The first painkiller knocked me out for eight hours straight and made me weird and groggy for a long time after that so I never took them again. All I can do is bear with the pain and wait for it to pass. Gradually it is getting better.
This is not an enjoyable break from work. Times like these remind me of the precarious spot I perch on as a part time worker with no health insurance. If something actually were to go wrong, what could I do? There are no sick days, not much of vacation time, and no affordable health care.
To tell the truth if I were to become seriously ill, I would have no options. My personal catastrophic health care plan is a copy of "Final Exit" by Derek Humphry. If my health were to decline to the point that I could no longer find any joy in daily details then I would like to leave on my own terms. This would only be if there were no other way. It really isn't to be taken lightly.
The reason this comes to my mind, is the health care topic. There are millions of workers with no health care. Many people live in poverty, or slightly above. There are no checkups, and family doctors for these people. They try to get by as best as they can. If it hurts take some aspirin and slap a bandage on it. You can't miss work, they're having a sale on egg biscuits, or that convention group will be checking in, or you'll be replaced. Without health care there are no regular checkups so when something is found it is often too late.
The current model is not working. It's time for new ideas, new ways of looking at the world. Let's rework the entire system to find something new and beautiful where no group is excluded.
This is not the first time this has happened although the other times there was a definite cause. The first time it happened I thought I was dieing so I splurged on an emergency room trip. They looked at my spine to see if everything was lined up properly, gave me an x-ray, then told me I had some torn muscles and sent me home with some painkillers. The first painkiller knocked me out for eight hours straight and made me weird and groggy for a long time after that so I never took them again. All I can do is bear with the pain and wait for it to pass. Gradually it is getting better.
This is not an enjoyable break from work. Times like these remind me of the precarious spot I perch on as a part time worker with no health insurance. If something actually were to go wrong, what could I do? There are no sick days, not much of vacation time, and no affordable health care.
To tell the truth if I were to become seriously ill, I would have no options. My personal catastrophic health care plan is a copy of "Final Exit" by Derek Humphry. If my health were to decline to the point that I could no longer find any joy in daily details then I would like to leave on my own terms. This would only be if there were no other way. It really isn't to be taken lightly.
The reason this comes to my mind, is the health care topic. There are millions of workers with no health care. Many people live in poverty, or slightly above. There are no checkups, and family doctors for these people. They try to get by as best as they can. If it hurts take some aspirin and slap a bandage on it. You can't miss work, they're having a sale on egg biscuits, or that convention group will be checking in, or you'll be replaced. Without health care there are no regular checkups so when something is found it is often too late.
The current model is not working. It's time for new ideas, new ways of looking at the world. Let's rework the entire system to find something new and beautiful where no group is excluded.
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