"Caucasian, in 1604...."

...5/19/03: the couch finally arrived @4 PM...the delivery crew had no problems getting it up the stairway...it is a beautiful piece of furniture...Brad hurt his arm when removing something from the couch...he went to the doctor on 5/20/03, saw Dr. Williams (my MD)...it's a strain/sprain, and should be resolved by the weekend...take aspirin if there is any severe pain...

...5/20/03: there is an Air Quality Alert for ABQ until 10 AM on 5/21/03...the winds reached 54 mph @SunPort...hail in Torrence County caused cars & trucks to slide, closing several roads...one incident occurred in Edgewood...there were power outages across the city...a live wire snapped and fell in front of a door, trapping the family inside their mobile home...it was cold & windy the entire day...@5 AM, it was 50 degrees & 69% humidity...there is a slight chance of mini-monsoons through the week...5/19/03: high temp for Hobbs: 100 degrees...5/20/03: same city, now 70 degree high...what a difference a day makes!...

...between Mad Cow disease in Canada & the decline of the dollar, the stocks tumbled, also...most affected were businesses like Tyson, Outback & MacDonalds...the cow was killed 1/3/03...the diagnosis was not confirmed until 3 months later...100 people around the world have been killed by this disease...countries have already started to ban beef imports from Canada...

...Ari Fleischer, White House spokesperson, will resign to accept a position in the private sector...5/22/03: the EPA administrator is resigning...5/20/03: Buffy's last episode after a 7-year run...NM ranks 34th in terms of auto thefts...former GOV Johnson begins his climb up Mt. Everest...this should be an active (6-9) hurricane season...the problem with the A/C (low freon) was fixed...Brad made fried tomatoes & brocolli...and will the winter bring La Nina, and her dry weather pattern...the head of EPA resigned...a 6.7 earthquake struck Algeria...the death toll has risen to 3,000...5/23/03: 2 are dead, dozens injured in a pile-up on I-68 in W Maryland...zero visability due to dense fog caused 100 or more vehicles to collide, forcing the interstate to close in both directions for 20+ miles...5/25/03: interstate reopened...

...we have discovered that the sound cards in our PCs' at work have been turned off...management feels there is no need since the new medical software package does not include any vocal explanations...there was another power blink in GPU @7:30 on 5/21/03...a day to remember: only 5 patients in GPU...as mentioned before, a person spends at most 3 days as an I/P if bitten by a rattlesnake...we also discovered that too many hands & eyes have to examine Hem/Onc billing sheets...a newly hired employee will be taught what to look for...she will do a 7-point check & verify that nurses have been correctly charged for their services...all the charts & fact sheets created by Cassandra & myself was enough to cancel the 1 PM meeting...but we still attended the training session for PEDS Surgery...5/21/03: more ancient billing sheets found in the PEDS Clinic...will separate into those that can be paid & those beyond the filing deeadline...where have these charges been hiding?...

...more CEOs' were fired in 2002 than in 1995...the primary reason: poor judement calls on the stock market...a bad CEO will last 6 yrs.; a good one, 11...either way, there are lucrative retirement benefits...

...in 2000, the Tuba City Trading Post was returned to the Navajo Nation, who want to make it a National Historic Landmark...Brad moved the board, which had previously held jewelry, to the kitchen...he then reorganized the utensils into a more logical pattern...the board looms above Captain's dining area...

...5/22/03: Judgement Day...meeting with Pat, Rosanne, Drs. Katz & Heideman to discuss the missing charges, as well as the delays in billing...outcome: a spreadsheet will be created to determine how many people handle a Hem/Onc chart during a 24-hour period...

...a look at on-line hotel rates verifies the news story that these charges have not risen in years...for day 1, Dr. Hecht wrote very good notes...5/22/03: Eric from NMAS called...I have a counseling session @noon on 6/6/03...there were 6 patients in GPU, 5 in PSAC & 8 in PICU...Hope resigns as of 6/6/03...Roxann & Darrel have to help PEDS 2 hours/day...reasons: unknown...but we will not give up our important work...

...this is a true story...C's sister's boyfriend borrowed their roommates' car & drove from Tulsa to OK City, where they boarded a bus to ABQ...the boyfriend is wanted for Grand Auto Theft in OK...C has a printout of his crimes in OK, plus who to contact for more information...C or her mother would take custody of the sister's child, Cheyenne...C's mother's boyfriend lives with C's mother, and he will do anything to protect her...C wants to get the reward money...C's father is a 25-year veterant of the ABQ Police...C's sister & boyfriend have spent the last few days with her (their) father...C wants to know if he has skipped parole or probation...C's mother was looking for her ex-husband's address when she stumbled across a notebook with the sister's boyfriend's arrest papers, probation papers & child support papers...this man has 4 children in the Southwest...he got a woman pregnant while being the sister's boyfriend...C's spouse P knows some with police connections, who will see if they can produce a rap sheet...no can do, without due cause, such as work related...but, C has a neighbor who is a cop...C found out that it would take 1 day to get custody of the child...C also has the phone number of a UH social worker...the drama continues!...

...5/23/03: Captain began a non-stop routine of meowing & scratching...so Brad picked him up and put him in the upstaits bathroom...that calmed him down...for now...5/24/03: Captain tried the meow madness again...I put him in the bathroom for 10 seconds...at the end, I let him out and he decided to be quiet for the rest of the night...@4 AM, I opened the kitchen porch door, providing access to the cat plant...

...5/23/03: saw a peacock on the neighboring roof...69 degrees @4 AM...Brad made a very tasty cream cheese spread w/olives...we enjoyed it as sandwiches while waiting to see the Matrix: Reloaded...that is a great movie, and the F/X are worth the hefty price of a discount ticket ($5.75)...the third chapter in this story has been completed...this weekend is the 87th Indy 500...

...5/23/03: the eastbound Central was early & empty in the AM...the same was true for the Lomas...Rosanne was out...doctors do not comply with the HIPAA federal regulations...so why should they adhere to POS guidelines mandated by laymen?...Data Entry says they throw away billing logs...but these are supposed to be the documentation used in case there are questions raised by audits or edits...

...isn't this country amazing!...we talk in terms of billions of dollars for war...sports players have salaries in the millions...so do movie stars...and yet, more & more activities have to be sacrificed in schools due to lacks of money...sports, bands and after school activities are eliminated...teachers must perform janitorial duties...others are let go...education is suffering...the burden is on the overburdened cities & states, who must supply the money for homeland security, and are still waiting for the Federal GOVT to provide assistance...but Congress will pass a 13-week extension in unemployment benefits...

...5/23/03: Broadway near Rio Bravo was closed all night due to 37,000 gallons of gas covering the street..it may have been flammable, but it could not hurt the city's water supply...the cause: the flow into a tank was not halted once the maximum level was reached...

...a stationary front over the East Coast is producing a training effect of moisture...we may experience thunderstorms & cooler temps as the weekend progresses...golf ball size hail fell near Tucumcari...5/23/03: the high reached 90...1 inch of rain fell in Taos...scattered T-storms...possibly tornadoes in E NM & storms in the DC area...did not sleep well due to a stiff neck, in spite of all the medications I took...5/24/03: twitchy legs woke me up, needed to apply lotion, which did work...5/24/03: no rain, but 40 mph winds in ABQ...7 fires in Cibola NATL Forest, the largest was 30 acres...all are 100% contained...golf ball size hail in some areas; 2 inch hail fell in Union City...a storm watch remains in effect for E NM until 8 PM on 5/25/03...the chance still exists for dry lightning storms...there is also a chance of flooding in Quay & Curry counties...the PM became dark & windy...after 2 months w/o rain, some rain (albeit small) fell in the Duke City...

...5/24/03: a structure fire in Downtown ABQ @519 Central...9 units were called to put out the blaze...motorists were advised to avoid that area of the city...buses were rerouted down 5th to Copper to 6th...at one point the building was fully engulfed in flames...the casue could be a natural gas leak...the owners do have fire insurance, and want to create artist studios...there was more damage to the back than the front...

...5/23/03: the town of Playas, NM has been purchased by the US GOVT for $3.2 million...it will be used as a terrorist response training facility for the DEPT of Homeland Security...there are about a dozen people still living in the town, located SW of Deming...

...5/25/03: 10 miles of I-80 remains closed due to a semi which struck a column, causing the overpass to collapse on the truck...the driver was killed, 8 other cars were damaged...5/25/03: one lane reopened...accident near Big Springs, NE, where I-76 (to Denver) meets I-80 (to Cheyenne)...last Memorial Day weekend, a barge hit a column of a bridge on I-40 in OK...coincidence?...US 82 from Cloudcroft to Alamogordo has the highest amount of accidents...its goal is to become the first Safety Corridor in NM...

...Captain has been shedding, turning the biege rug into an off-grey color...

...5/25/03: Brad made delicious lime pudding served in mini-pie shells...we will use the B-B-Q to create meals during the Memorial Day weekend...Sunday is Hot Dog Day...salad with homemade vinagrette dressing...

...Joseph Moura, who was shot in the abdomen & spine by his uncle, is recovering slowly, but gradually every day...the steps may be small, but are big to him...I am going to walk!, he says...there is minimal feeling in his right hand & leg...the bottom line is that he is improving...he will be discharged from the hospital at the end of May...5/24/03: 3 teens set a 7 year old boy's hair on fire...one was caught & sent to jail...the teen says it's better than his conditions @home...

...5/23/03: saw Jolin @Albertson's...5/24/03: Dr. Michael Ng sat across from me at the Ming Dynasty on Eubank...we have finally found a clean restaurant with a very good wait staff that prepares good dim sum...we ate what we could, and enjoyed leftovers later in the day...after I came home from working 2.5 hours in the hospital...

...5/24/03: while waiting for a bus on Menaul, a car sped by and screamed White Trash! at us...?...5/29/03 is the 50th anniversary of the first person to reach the top of Mt. Everest...GOV Johnson is in his second attempt to make it all the way to the summit...

...NM south of Socorro is a mecca for bird lovers...