...12/15/02: NYC subway and bus workers were poised to shut down the nation's largest mass transit system as early as 12/16/02 if they didn't receive a new contract giving them raises and changing work rules they call demeaning...12/16/02: the strike has been averted (for now!)...this is also the busiest mail day of the holiday season...
...12/15/02: Mayor Chavez will have $12,000 worth of phone calls paid by the city, instead of ABQ PAC...ithe same is true for $7700 worth of travel expenses...NM averages 700-800 bankruptcies per month...2002 is running 4.8% higher than 2,001, which had 8,669 bankruptcies...about 160 more are needed to beat that number...the nation as a whole will have similar statistics for the current year...add Planet Hollywood to that list...the number of shops has decreased from 22 to 10...it sold $1 million in memorabelia to pay expenses...a Powerball lottery ticket has achance to win $200 million on 12/18/02...received a holiday card from the Simpsons in CT...12/17/02: holiday greetings from Allen Grim in FL...
...12/15/02: received an E-mail from John Haynes, who was forced to buy a new car...he now owns a Toyota Camray, and works for the Fairfax GOVT...so far, holiday shopping is less than last year...people are uncertain about war & the economy...more digital sound upgrades for DJs'; scratching without vinyl!...the person with the most amount of patents was Thomas Edison, with 1,093...now that Clariton is an OTC medicine, people will have to pay "more", since it will not be covered by insurance plans!...Trent Lott appeared on BET to ask forgiveness from people of color...when they reconvene, the Senate will decide Lott's fate in Congress...BULLETIN!...Trent Lott reisgns as Majority Leader on 1/6/03...
"Radio-Activity!"
...neither the US or UN feel that Saddam Hussein has proved he has destroyed Iraq's WMD (weapons of mass destruction), but a post-Saddam regime is being created...there have been protests around the world...even President Carter does not approve of Bush's actions...but, now the word is US is not eager to go to war!...actor Sean Penn went to Baghdad...spoke to Tareq Aziz...other actors share his beliefs about this war...in the end, no one would really win...the final report for the weapons' inspectors will be given to the UN on 1/26/03...Al Gore made fun of himself on SNL...he says he will not run for PRES in 2004...he has also been on the West Wing, with a dream sequence that he had won the 2000 election...what's worse, a sex offender who has served his time in jail, and has been forced out of ABQ to land in Santa Rosa, but forced again to relocate someplace else...or a priest who is allowed to continue his duties, even though he was guilty of molesting boys...
...heavy rains in CA cause mudslides in San Rafael; more than a foot of rain has been reported...90+ mph winds batter the coast, and the Sierras receive up to 6 feet of snow..at the height of the storm, 2 million people were without power...this arrived in NM by mid-week...at 5 AM on 12/17/02 it was 44 degrees...up to 8 inches of snow fell in the N mountains...there will be rain in the valleys...dust storms have reduced visibility to zero near Deming...these winds will spread across the central part of the state, including ABQ...chalk it up to the jet stream & El Nino, pushing ripples of weather from west to east, through NM...more by the holidays?...some fell during the weekend prior to Christmas...'twas a small clipper, gone in 1 day...
...got my hair cut very short; it's cold outside without a hat on my head!...walked to Constitution, then back to the campus...the East Coast is in a warming trend...the state car for NM is the Hyundai Santa Fe...a girl in OH is being sued by a burglar who was caught by her...she tackled him & tied a rope around his neck to prevent his escape...12/17/02: Brad made potato bread & shepherd's pie, both great!...saw a mailbox with part of it outside the fenced yard, with the other half inside the property...the mailman slides letters in, and the homeowner opens his (or her) side...
The semi-suggestive "Joe Boxer" holiday commercials!
...12/16/02: the Titans beat the Patriots 24-7, but the fat lady has yet to sing!...their last 2 games are at home, against the NY Jets & the Miami Dolphins...it's cliffhanger time!...12/16/02: received batches from the clinic in early AM [some of which contained OCT charges], then none again until the PM of 12/17/02!...the latter day was filled with insanity...there were lots of edits to correct, but discharges to be located & coded...worked on INGENIX, stopped, coded the D/Cs, came back to complete the edits, then completed the Rounds!...the forms meeting with NICU was a joke...they kept repeating the CPT codes they wanted to add...they also wanted to know what the levels meant for I/P visits...Geri is working 7 days a week, and lots of overtime...in that meeting she was referred to as a SUP/MGR ...her paychecks will make her smile!...in the AM, the #10 bus (4th ST), had an 11 (for Lomas) in the back...the #5 (Mont./Carlisle) came next, followed by the real Lomas...these delays made some people late for their jobs!...12/18/02: 3-E & GPU are full!...there is also an edible adobe in 3-E...so are the other "baby wards"...I still say there are discount rates for mid-week stays...the same was true at the Clinic; there were lots patients at the end of my work day (4 PM)...Dr. Fahl put his arm on my shoulder while commenting on the green PEDS I/P sheets...he asked if I did that for the holiday...I replied yes...he asked if I would continue doing this for the entire year...I told him to give me some time (small joke!)...
...12/18/02: 3-6 inches of snow fell through the day in western NM...I-40 was closed from Mile Marker 149 to Grants, then MM 79 - 102...this was due to the black ice...most of the road was open at dawn...I-40 west of Gallup was closed in the PM due to adverse road conditions in AZ...in CA, 10 feet of snow has fallen in & around Lake Tahoe...after 3 weeks in NC, Vivian thinks it is too humid...the store number of the Albertson's @Coors & Central is 922 (our old VA home address)...over 7 million people will shop in the 3 ABQ shopping malls during the holidays...my hands are cold while eating breakfast...
...Mike's AM greeting, when asked of his day: So far, so good!; or Too early to tell!...
...12/19/02: but this was the Day of Hell for Cassandra & Mike...it started OK; Mike met & spoke with Dr. Anderson at the coffee cafe...Dr. Fahl brought some work and explained why he only does consults (because he is a specialist)...then...nothing from the PEDS Clinics because the person who pulled charts was helping Data Entry...a rumor was being told to people that we had nothing to do...an E-mail to Geri tried to correct that situation...it was then implied that we were holding charges so that doctors would not get paid...and another E-mail to Geri...plus Cassandra tried to talk to Geri, but she was not in her office...so Cassandra sent a priority E-mail...but she forgot to say her name when answering the phone, and the call was from Rosanne!...and PowerChart sometimes does not display complete daily entries when first accessed...and another E-mail plus a face to face chat with Geri...and we were told that something had been dictated but only a written copy existed...it was attitude city in that dept!...this day could have been a 50's sci-fi thriller, The Day That Nothing Got Done!...
...on 12/20/02, doctors were asking us about dictation...Dr Cordova, head of Pediatrics, asked us if we had a lot of old charges...we told her that the September bills were sent to Data Entry today...other than that, everything was under control...we showed what we were waiting from dictation...note: as of 1/1/03, we will be tracking green & orange cards on a spreadsheet...charts will be requested for those more than a week old...12/19-20/02: GPU had 21 patients, which is the absolute maximum, then dropped to 20 the next day...3-E was also full...we were lucky that some patients could be discharged...and, again, the same was true in the other wards...
"Just Clumsy!"
...12/18/02: Geri sent an audio E-mail holiday card, but no one has speakers on their PC...I think the holiday cheer is fizzling out...maybe it's because of the full moon!...Sandia peaks are snow capped!...but the ski slopes are still closed...I can now update my web page at work (when I have the time, which is not too often!)...as more snow fell, US 64 was closed between Tres Piedres & Tierra Amarilla, and Taos recorded another foot of snow on the ground!...it was 47 degrees in LA @3 AM!...both LA & SF have flod watches...deadly tornadoes struck AR & MS; lives are lost...12/20/02: 20 degrees here at 5 AM; - 6 in Gallup!...12/18/02: LOTR: The Two Towers is an absolute hit!...it is a darker movie, but with plenty of action & special effects...the second part is also 3 hours long...it earned the highest amount of money in history, for its first day premier!...the previous winner was the first day of Fellowship of the Ring!...12/21/02: the Powerball is up to $215 million!...no big winner, but 6 people in NM won $100,000...on 12/25/02, the jackpot is $280 million!...12/20/02: Brad makes great scones!...12/20/02: Cassandra gave Mike a holiday hug!...
"No use crying over spilled coffee!"
...12/20/02: and that's how Mike felt when the coffee cup stuck to the coaster...as the coaster fell to the floor, the coffee spilled on the keyboard, Mike's work station (floor included) & Mike himself...first, Mike quickly went to the kitchen to repair the damages to himself...then he used lots of paper towels & all purpose cleaner on the caffeine stained area...the smell was not easy to eliminate...
...Trent Lott should have never resigned...that means he admits to doing something wrong...in a couple of months, the entire incident would have been forgotten...if Lott were voted out, then he could have said that these people saw him guilty, but he himself did not think he did anything wrong...his popularity would not have been effected if he can cast blame on someone else for his expulsion...
...12/21/02: people desire peace between Israel & Palestine, but want war with Iraq!...the new West End Jail has showers that don't drain & a security system that is only 50% effective...it cost $90 million & took 3 years to build (1 year behind schedule, using weather as the cause for the delays)...since these problems might jeopardize the safety of the guards, the inmates will remain at the downtown jail...unlike DC, people here do not judge you on your looks or clothes...these people just like to talk with each other, young or old...nobody has commented on my very short hair...they do so with regards to what you are wearing...12/17/02: at 6 AM, saw a guy walking with his bike on 5th & Central, wearing the same black leather jacket that I was!...of course, this started a small conversation!...12/21/02: slight dizzy spell when reaching for aspirin in the bathroom cabinet...it passed quickly...8 members of the Lobos football team had fake IDs' from OK in order to buy &/or drink alcohol...12/22/02: Brad made a wonderful beef adobo w/carne adovade...
...I received a wrapped assortment of candy from our receptionist, Viennese wafers with hazlenut from Rosanne, coffee cake from Jill, and a tin of cookies & candies from Cassandra...and there is Havoc, the cat...it can be found on all levels of the complex, but it likes our front door...this feline also enjoys being underneath cars...
...winter began @6:14 PM MST on 12/21/02...the shortest day, the longest night...
"12/21/02...a day of despair! I want to be in DC!"
...12/22/02: -1 in Durango, CO...
...there are over 1.85 million inhabitants of NM!...
...12/21/02: got LOTR: The Two Towers soundtrack...
...12/22/02: at Tingley Beach, a goose was shot in head with a BB gun & died; 2 men arrested & charged with cruelty to animals...
...12/22/02: there is a winter storm watch & snow advisories for most of the state...the storm is heading east from CA...it should arrive here MON & last until WED...the E part of the state could get 3-5"; the N & W, 4-6"; over a foot in the Central & Sacramento mountains...in ABQ, possibly 1-4"...rain turning to snow in the S & SE of NM...
...12/21/02: 2 accidents on I-40 W...one near Wyoming, in which three lanes reduced to two, too fast for the three cars to switch lanes; 1 person was seriously injured...a second crash near 6th ST, in which someone, in the process of trying to pass a semi, struck it instead...the driver in the car died...
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