"Log of my Life"

...11/15/02 weekend...9.5% of New Mexico's population is Native American...needed to buy another spoon to pick up Captain's biological deposits...will wear no low shoes until the spring or warmer nights...Brad made pumpkin bread, split pea soup & spaghetti with meat sauce...all were very, very good!...30 degree wake-up calls on both Saturday & Sunday...15 year old boy rapes 4 year old girl after reading Playboy...

...11/15/02: a slow moving Low pressure area will generate a classic Nor'easter, bringing heavy rains, snow & cold weather along the Eastern Seaboard...the major problem was the half inch of ice that also fell, causing power lines to snap...in FL stong winds battered the state...the storm should be out to sea by 11/19/02...

...11/15/02: 23 car pile-up near Santa Fe due to icy conditions...no one seriously hurt...the incident took place at the junction of US 285 & SR 599...fleas carrying the Bubonic Plague were found on cat in the East MTNS...he was treated with medications & improving...the West Nile Virus has spread to 14 counties in the state...

...Santa Fe & Taos ski resorts will open by 11/23/02 thanks to El Nino and cold evenings (thereby preventing snow to melt)...what happens if Saddam Husein complies & Iraq is found free of biological weapons or other weapons of mass destruction...what will be the next step, or next phase...Canada fears entering the Iraq conflict, because Iraq will be able to hear their transmissions because their old jets do not have the modern jamming functions...

...there are already Christmas car sale ads...the cool weather brings a touch of coolness to the head/neck pad on the AbWorks exercise equipment...1 train, 2 deaths (run over), 133 miles apart in FL...

...President Bush said he would find Osama bin Laden, dead or alive...so far, he has not done so...this is a sensative spot for Republicans & the administration itself...65,000 US soldiers patrol in countries throughout the world...there was a peace rally in Farmington...to take a virtual tour of the White House with President & Mrs. Bush and Mrs. Cheney, go to www.whitehouse.gov...

...the Leonid meteor shower will be visible at 3 AM on the morning of 11/19/02...the best views will be on the east coast of the US & in West Africa...11/17/02: a repeat of this year's Super Bowl as New England goes to CA to play against Oakland at 8:30 PM PST...the Patriots lost, 27-20...the country is currently under a Yellow Alert...our vacuum cleaner sounds like a buzz saw...Black Voodoo beer...moral question: die with dignity vs alive with constant suffering...

...I am currently anti-hotel...I think the rates are too high, the rooms are too bland...every room across the country is basically the same...something always fails to work...breakfast is usually served too late for us...there is always at least 1 snafu...

...Mike's reaction of Brad's face after Brad sneezes 3 or more times in a row...

"Nice color!"

...11/18/02: James Coburn, dead at 74...

...the audit has a new password, a very colorful display, and you need to know the doctor's attending number...or else...

...11/18/02: Mike feeling ill, took plenty of medications & a long night's rest...feeling better the next day...until the evening...11/19/02: Mike heaved twice, felt better after that...11/20/02: a little more life in Mike...

...11/19/02: 7 Eastern Europe countries joined NATO...they are the Baltic states Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, as well as Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia & Slovenia ...United Airlines will cut a total of 9,000 jobs, bringing their total layoff to 17,000...but the mechanics rejected the idea for a pay cut; this action may prevent the company from filing for bankruptcy...11/30/02: the flight attendants gave in to the wage cuts...US Air (which has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this fall) will also be laying off workers...

...11/18/02: a letter was written by Mike to Rosanne...in it, he explains that Ted & Sherry must phone each other, then walk together to our area, in order to arrive at the same moment...they ask about the status of billing charges, as if the answer will change in a period of hours...they think that billing sheets less than a week old should have been coded by now!...this process is repeated 5 or 6 times a day!...Rosanne wrote to Doris (their boss),who wrote to everyone...Sherry said she only visits PEDS once a day (her nose should be ten feet long with that statement!)...that day, Cassandra spoke with Doris about the current, stressful situation...

...11/20/02: the 3M system goes down, then pops back up!...

...11/19/02: Brad went to chiropractor, feels better...Mike brought Cassandra some pumpkin bread; Cassandra, in return, baked sugar cookies...Rosanne will be out 6-8 weeks for surgery, Rosie has gone to 1650 UNIV; this makes Geri in charge!...Ted will not look at me, bowing his head as we pass...11/20/02: Sherry spoke with both of us; Ted remains quiet...11/22/02: the ice finally melted as both of them talked with us...11/25/02: at 3PM Brad interviewed by Rosanne & Darlene for a coding position...with Rosanne to be out 6-8 weeks, and Rosie gone, Geri has too much to do...this new position requires a comprehensive knowledge of medical terminology, illnesses & coding...this person will need to work with minimal assistance, especially during the first weeks of this job...the individual would be coding all I/P services renedered on a specific floor of the hospital...the only person currently that could qualify for the position is Geri!...11/26/02: Brad finally found a very good chiropractor on Carlisle, north of Menaul...

...the Central bus that did not stop at 2nd@Copper...the Montgomery bus that failed to turn onto the frontage road...the Central bus which turned on 6th @Gold...and now there's the road rip-up in the downtown area...

...11/26/02: Amtrak train struck & killed a teenager 15 miles north of ABQ...I-25 was closed for a period of time...the boy died on 11/28/02...11/27/02: the northbound lanes of the interstate were closed again...a 2 car crash, north of Tramway, claimed the life of a child...

...12/13/02: another Star Trek: TNG movie...Nemesis...

...a princess in the royal family of Saudi Arabia is accused of sending money to the al-Qaidi hijackers!...

...11/23/02: Brad received a letter stating that NAMS wanted him as a full- or part-time counsellor for HIV patients...he has been offered the part-time position...the interview will be held on 12/2/02 @2 PM...and Brad did not receive a phone call from UPA on 11/27/02, which is when they would make their decision...fate?...perhaps!...

...the click pen, a must-have at work...

...11/24/02: Die Another Day, the 20th Bond flick, took in $47 million over opening weekend, the best debut ever for the 40-year franchise, according to studio estimates Sunday...Halle Berry met the Queen of England at the London movie premier...a limited edition, only 700 red Ford T-birds were commisioned, similar to the one used in the spy thriller...

...11/18/02: OPM falls under the jurisdiction of the Homeland Security Dept...

...11/22/02: fans in Columbus, OH tore up the astro turf, vandalized & burned cars after their football team finished the season with no losses (?)...what would have happened if they lost?...

...11/21/02: finally, Cassandra can access the audit database...she enters all the Hem/Onc billing sheets...we were asked why there was such a low number entered the prior week...answer A: there were few returns from Hem/Onc...one day we receive 30; the next day, zero...another day, the billing sheets arrive at the endof the day...answer B: we coded their billing sheets & shipped them to Data Entry as quickly as possible to reduce our backlog...so many INGENIX edits, so many rooms that fell under PEDS care, so many audits & the Rounds...also, more Data Entry personnel are entering our charges...so, 2 people are being sent corrections from 5 or 6 people...Hope asks how to enter doctor vs facility charges, plus post-op surgical visits...answer C: we don't know!...11/27/02: Cassandra & I met with Dr. Anderson, discussed leveling criteria, gave her 2 handout, and answered question...later that day, she had additional billing sheets to give us...

"Who's your buddy? Am I your buddy? You're my buddy!"

...11/20-24/02: warm weather, temps in the 60s...as of 11/25/02: there will be a drastic change in the weather, as the coldest air this season moves into this area...more snow in the northern MTNs...11/27/02: the storm loses its energy, but it is still cold...25 degrees at 5 AM...maybe another by the weekend...still mild through Sunday, 12/1/02...

...Michael Jackson, and his youngest baby boy bouncing from a 4th floor balcony in Berlin!...
"No, but I stayed at a Holiday Inn last night!"

...ZZZzzzz!...more than 50% of drivers are drowsy...this is higher than the number of drunks behind the wheel!...yet the sleepy ones never stop to rest...the reasons: in a hurry!, or too many things to do, no time to rest!...11/20/02: gas down to $1.37/gal...quiet at work...and outside the hospital is a Channel 13 truck & announcer on Lomas ...reasons unknown...11/25/02: a Channel 7 truck was parked near the UNM Campus Police HQ...they were filming a story of healthy people who use handicap stickers to park their cars closer to school...11/25/02: Mt. Etna erupts, and melts ski lifts as the lava oozes to the sea...we received, and have put to great use, the new large file trays...11/27/02: 3 more were ordered...O/T approved for 11/30/02 (worked 6 hours)...

"A Line in the Sand!"

...11/23/02...an Oil/Water weekend, finally resolved...lunch at the Owl Cafe...11/24/02: Mike gets a new briefcase & lunch bag...

...a burrito was used in an attempt to smuggle pot into prison! (it failed!)...11/19/02: E-mail from Jennifer, all the paperwork has been completed, and now we wait for the checks to be sent...the top of Mike's pen fell off...it was found in a shirt pocket...by that time, the pen had totally come apart!...razor blades were found in children's school lunch kits...3-4 feet of snow blanketed New England...11/22/02: DC was under a dense fog alert...more fleas & mice tested positive for Bubonic Plague in Santa Fe...kids smoking pot at a an ABQ bus stop...11/20/02: the case of the Shaking PC Monitor....Mike got a new one on 11/21/02...still some tremors...Mike keeps that area in the dark, for the overhead lights may be causing the problem...Mike looking for an 8-ball; Cassandra, a crystal ball!...the clinic was invaded by kids getting their flu shots!...11/23/02: Gem & Jewelry show @UNM...dull...drink a cup of real coffee at the onset of a migraine headache to combat its effects...11/23/02: Mike's 2-day sinus attack!...1-4 inches of snow in CO...I-25 shut down in CO, and near Raton, NM...ripples of cold weather through the Thanksgiving holiday & weekend...11/26/02: now, slightly warmer weather will prevail for the hoilday...but black ice & fog shut down 100 miles of I-25 south of Las Vegas, quickly reopened at dawn; the same was true @Raton...11/25-26/02: Brad makes a delicious vegetable quiche & coconut custard pie w/meringue...11/26/02: still can't get Cassandra in the list of people who receive UPA & UNM E-mail, so I forward mine to her...I have been told (by Geri) to contact Mike Gadler...

"He traded favors of the Court, for favors of the Flesh !"

...11/27/02: Brad cooked the turkey, complete with stuffing...11/28/02: the Thanksgiving meal was turkey, stuffing & scalloped potatoes & biscuits...later there were glazed carrots & cranberry sauce...then, on 12/1/02, a turkey pot pie was served...enjoyed seeing Lord of the Rings, prior to the release of The Two Towers on 12/18/02...the soundtrack will be available on 12/10/02...

...11/27/02: I'm back! was the greetings from Dr. Lattimore...11/26/02: saw Dr. once, Handmaker once, then twice on 11/27/02, complete with waving hand...11/25/02: Brad's check-up was better this time...he will begin a new drug cocktail in early 2003...he also got plenty of food (plus a fresh turkey) at the Food Bank!...Rosanne let us leave at 3:00 on 11/27/02...

...11/28/02: Zsa Zsa Gabor, 85, in ICU @Cedar Sinai HOSP after car crash in W Hollywood...