The beginning begins again!

...the "reincarnation" of Ed Feathers...the wild party in which someone was calmly walking down a hall with a fist...well, you know the rest!..."Bibbling"...League Receptions that lasted until late on a workday evening and expected you at work on time the next day...leaving 2 bed pillows behind at the Quality Inn near Kitannang, PA; we called and asked if they could send these items to us. (They never did!)...Who watches the Watchmen?...shopping for "inexpensive" pillowcases at Macy's in Albuquerque; the saleswoman was quite upset that we used the "I" word!...the day spent in Alexandria Hospital's emergency room, repairing Brad's nose after a branch fell on it; he had been sawing various parts of a tree and more broke off than expected...hunting for back issues of comics; the journey went from DC to Baltimore, plus the MD & VA suburbs...playing miniature golf in North Dartmouth, MA...the waitress at Pan Asian...Linda & Joy & Vanessa & Clara from Giant...getting a queen size bed upstairs; the things we had to do!...being placed in the Clerical Area on purpose at a Christmas party (Mike was a manager; the planner disliked gays, but went to a gay hair stylist!)...the "era of no programmers"...Leonor & Madeline Cervantes, and the furniture they gave us when they relocated from DC to MD, and the remaining sanity they lost after the move...the The knotty-pine charm of the Quality Inn, West Yellowstone, MT and the Inn at Little Switzerland, NC...1991: finding out that everything (including shopping malls, restaurants & gas stations) closes at 5 PM on Saturdays in Madison, WI (I kid you not!)...the Pleasure Chest & the Leather Rack in DC...what part of the word 'no' don't you understand?...Brad caught speeding when he was told by our roommate that the limit was 10 mph faster than it actually was; however, the ticket never appeared on Brad's record; we believe the mayor's wife bought a new hat with the money...sliding into (at least three) parked cars during an icestorm, just to get a haircut!...Ruby Tyree & Angela Tate & Renu Thakral & Teresa Brown & Delwara Sultana & Linda Fry & Linda Griffin & Millicent Less & Dev Chabbra & Edna and Melody Herschberg...squirrels & a park ranger at the Alamo..."Together in Electric Dreams"...seeing two performances of Paul Parker...stayed up very late to watch the two movies we rented after buying our first VCR; 'Clash of the Titans' and 'Cat People'...the "Viking" who propositioned us, and we had no place to (privately) fool around!...our first Gay Pride parade as Trident Int'l DC, using Bill's boss's car, and winning an honorable mention award; another parade consisted of champagne & beaded necklaces, both in great quantity; another had our members shouting "Hunk Alert", when the occasion became necessary!...

...Give me just one night (una noche!)...sitting in a Waffle House restaurant at 5AM outside of Charlotte, NC. The patrons consisted of streetwalkers, pimps & us!...Philippe Gay-Thebaud ("chief") & Roman Cosio ("President Marcos")..."Round Robin" at Mr. P's, bingo & raffles, followed by the "Mr. Rooster/Mr. Chicken" at the Eagle/Exit...partying all Sunday night, resting for an hour, then working for 10 hours (as always, "better living through chemicals!")..."The Break" by Katmandu & "Give Me the Night" by George Benson...dancing handcuffed at "Chaps" in Boston (which once was linked to a bar called "Stix")...having Bruce's washer in our kitchen, and the water problems when the hose disconnected from the faucet...dietetic liver pate at the Boston Government Center listening to the Veinar String Quartet...spring, 2001; robins building a nest in the trumpet vine...J.P.=Joan Parks...coping with a flat tire from Denver to DC..."Menergy!"..."Barky & Jane" (aka Ruth Barksdale & Jane Martin)...Thanksgiving in Atlanta; the stop for coffee at Eflin, NC with Lars upset when asked to contribute to the charity sponsoring the event; Lars driving 55 in the passing lane, and Mike Cadle convincing him that Brad or Mike should drive into Atlanta since they were familiar with the city; eating Thanksgiving meal at a "hustler bar"; Lars convincing people not to go out that night so he could be alone on the prowl; Lars finding out that Bill used his car during that weekend...he drove to Winchester (among other places!)...remember Bishops' Gate condos...
...where beginnings are reborn!...

"There is a hole in your mind!"

"Do you have a reason for living?"

...3/12/03: Jolin brought her baby to work, and had a post baby shower...she has lost most of the weight gained during maternity...and the young women had maternal yearnings for another child as they held her in their arms...this includes Cassandra, who would like a baby sister for Miguel...3/13/03: Brad visits the first chiropractor we went to in ABQ, located @7100 Menaul NE...the treatment seems to have worked...but he forgot his hat...retrieved it on 3/14/03...Brad made Eggs Benedict (var.), but did not make copies of 2 cash register receipts with our medicines...these are the 2 entries that do not jive with the bank statement...oh, well, I bowed to the evidence and adjusted the checkbook...

...there has been no estimate on the cost of this war, something that Congress feels should be addressed...the US may use Iraqi oil as currency...3/12/03: gas has jumped 12 cents to $1.69/gallon...there will be a summit meeting in the Azores with the US, UK & Spain, and no other countries...Bush has completed his plans for peace in the Middle East...

"3/13/03: a day of defeat!"

...3/13/03: it was a hell of a day for Cassandra & myself...at our PEDS audit meeting, prior to it starting, Hope announced that Coders were not supplying the necessary 5th digits for ICD codes...I told her to tell me how many...John said this is something that can be resolved by cooperation & working together...this was said, to me, in a manner that silenced the rest of the room...billing sheets with CPT codes needing a 4th or 5th digit would be separated from those used in the audit...will John mention this event to Rosanne, who will return on 3/18/03?...Later, as they say in SoCAL...got back to my desk when Jackie, the Charge Entry Manager & Doreen, a CE supervisor, asked us about the CPT entries I wrote for consults...I would write Do Not Enter on the form...this should be coming to an end very soon...I will write the info on the census report...Doreen would like all forms to have a FIN#...there are ways we can find them...we also explained that we do not receive many questions for missing 5th digits...the example by Hope did not indicate that a 5th digit was necessary (usually indicated by an *)...Doreen said all new billing sheets should be batched...earlier, Hope had said "No"...next week, Doreen will sit with the PEDS Data Entry staff...

...3/13/03: call from Gateway...they cannot accept the electronic transmittal of funds...so we tried using the debit card...oops!...there is a $500/day limit...I was told to call my bank & get a 1-day increase of $1175.05...3/14/03: I did, to the penny...and then we used our debit card for food & books...so I had to call the bank again, bumping the limit on 3/14/03 to $1300...called Gateway, the balance was paid...the PC will be shipped on 3/17/03, possibly arriving by 3/21/03...it is 1167 miles from Sioux Fall, SD to ABQ...

...3/12/03: dress alike day for Mike & Cassandra (white shirt, black slacks)...I have actually worn low shoes for 2 days...but the weather will change before the weekend is over...asked Geri if a yearly cycle for Annual Leave usage starts in Jan. or July...her response: ask Human Resources...John asks if we have any problems with a legal side NICU form...no, it will be the same side as the PEDS Clinic billing sheet...3/14/03: left @noon, will probably repeat this one more time next FRI...went ot Owl Cafe...that has been overkilled...next week, maybe a pizza or a new Mexican restaurant on Central, W of us...another position, similar to Rosie's, is open...will Geri be interested?...the Hem/Onc scandal continues...however, upon obtaining the charts, it was noted that more than 50% are ADMIT services...these are considered I/P services, and are billed as such...and Dr. Heideman knows this...3/15/03: to make life less hectic on Monday, when Cassandra is celebrating her husband's 31st birthday, went in to take care of the discharges...

...3/14/03: Hope says something, people believe her, and then we Coders have to prove we did not do anything, thus wasting lots of time...she does not need proof, her words are enough to cast judgement on us...on top of that, we are told to be more alert to catch these mistakes...she talks, we're wrong...if we disagree, that's being uncooperative...Hope arrives early to a meeting & grandstands; smiles, talks with everyone (except Cassandra & myself), laughs & agrees...and has Arlene as a witness...

...in Pakistan, the trail of Osama bin Laden turns cold...the NM GOV is in DC as a witness for LANL charges of using company credit cards for personal use...the UK will provide a significant military contribution...Iraq may send Scud missles on pre-emptive strikes against enemy targets...troops & planes are heading to Hawaii for maneuvers...and to be placed closer to Korea...3/15/03: in the Azores, the leaders of Spain, US & the UK met to design a resolution that would be acceptable by other countries plus the UN...maybe if they asked other countries (no one else was invited to this summit) for assistance, it might make it easier to accomplish their task...but, what do I know?...more protests are scheduled across the country, including DC, LA, SFran & ABQ...for a few weeks in March, 1862, ABQ & Santa Fe were captured & became part of the Confederacy...more job cuts requested by our mayor...

...3/14/03: Captain heard a cat fight, jumped up & went ouside to investigate...3/15/03: ABQ St. Patrick's Day Parade, from KAFB down Louisiana...this business dress for this city is [2- or 3-piece] suits with [cowbow] boots...if it is approved by the Congress, the GOV will sign a bill to allow coverage for domestic partners if a business has a group health insutrance plan...this will not force a company to provide this benefit...cold & windy conditions arrive during the next few days...there are chances for T-storms in the low elevations & snow in the mountains...both Captain & myself are slowly getting better...gas dropped to $1.65/gal...we went to Walgreens' and witnessed an arrest with police, guns & handcuffs...later Brad made chicken with rice, spring onions, red peppers plus a crushed habanera red pepper...it was very good, and just as good when served on 3/16/03...later in the day he prepared Bananas Foster...it was so good!...this is the weekend of our 23rd anniversary!...3/16/03: 51 degrees @7 AM...

...3/16/03: Captain & I had a cat fight...he isn't drooling that much (if at all) from the side of his mouth...he cleaned himself...he enjoys eating raw beef...he has a more energetic "meow"...his eyes are wide open when he saw the beef...he walked into the bathroom through my office, and back into the corridor...that is his patrol route...he slept on the bed last night (until my cough chased him away)...he scratched on the cat mat...
The wake-up call by Mike W. for Brad, a tradition spanning many years (some things never got old!):

"Rise & shine, snugglebugs!

Light coming on momentarily!

Good morning!

How are you this morning?"

The time on the clock was usually between 4 & 4:30 AM;
this was when we were employed in Alexandria.

It took 10 minutes to walk to work.

Now I get up @4:15 AM;

it takes 30-45 minutes by bus (2 buses, transfer downtown) to get to work.

...maybe a 30- or 45-day reprieve to prevent war?...

...Data Entry receives 80% of the billing sheets that are batched by Hope with either my name or Cassandra's...we never see these charges unless there is something wrong...so since Data Entry gets the bulk of the billings, they would see more mistakes, but these are not always made by the Coders...yet so few people understad that concept...and then, we audit the remaining 20%...