...we had a dream...

...the hospital wards & departments are decorated for Valentine's Day...any reason to have a party &/or celebrate!...but all PEDS areas are full...other hospitals are being contacted to handle the overload...the Rounds have been averaging 2 hours per day!...

...1/22/03: Brad baked a chicken, and served it with wonderful mashed potatoes & heavenly brown gravy...we feasted on this enjoyable food again on 1/23/03...I found a sugar packet from the INDULGE company (possibly from Palm Springs, CA?)...1/23/03: and it is 14 below zero in Bismarck, ND...ABQ will be warmer than Atlanta...and Billings, MT will finally have temps (slightly) above freezing...

...since the beginning of the year, I have not seen the "Cat" woman who rides the Central bus (see below)...

Fact#1: Buses do not stop at a bus stop in a construction zone.

Fact#2: A bus can block traffic if unable to reach a functioning bus stop due to road work, congestion or an accident.

...with the warmer weather, the windows & doors are open during the day, and Captain sleeps upstairs during part of the night...and Brad takes Captain for his outdoor stroll...our cat is exploring the land on the second level...

...1/23/03: Cassandra was out the entire day for her cousin's funeral...Hope is training Arlene...(I don't know who to feel more sorry for!)...but I finally saw Stan again; he takes the earlier Lomas bus (the one I have to run for if I want to catch it!)...I seem to like "!"!...I have been employed at UPA for 1 year! (see what I mean about "!"!)...

...ice breakers are clearing the cold, natural blockade in Boston Harbor (this usually happens at least once each year!)...

...gave directions from UNM to the SSN building on Cutler AVE...1/24/03: left @12:30, met Brad on the same bus...got my blood pressure checked (still high [surprise!]), then met with my Social Worker, Eric...talked about the stressful life I lead...Brad had blood drawn for a future visit...lunch at the Ko Palace (very good Oriental food)...but Brad made a delcious meat loaf on 1/25/03...

BAM!

...1/24/03: 42 degrees @5AM; 61 degrees a@5 PM...8 degrees in Boston, NY & Atlanta @5 AM...a full house again in most PEDS areas; clinic is also busy...could not convince Geri to come in on 1/25/03, even to do it gratis...she says it can wait until Monday...while this is true, one hour on Saturday could translate into 2 on Monday...there would be 2 more days of charts & activity to read through...with so many patients coming & going, lots of paperwork means a longer time doing the Rounds...

...on 1/23/03, I discovered that we are to meet with Pulmonary on 1/24/03 to discuss their new form...Cassandra will have to do it alone, since John forgot to notify Geri or myself, and I have to leave early...the stocks fell to 8100 by 1/24/03...

...the Pentagon's internal multiple column construction prevented it from sustaining more extensive damage on 9/11...George W. does not want to repeat the mistakes of the 1990s' that allowed Saddam Husein to stay in power while lying about his military stockpile...could he be referring to mistakes his father made?...a dozen countries support war (per Colin Powell); those who don't retain the beliefs of Old Europe...again I say, if the US is so confident it can defeat Iraq, why not start the war now?...

...Hooters Airlines, based in Atlanta, will start flying on 3/1/03...planes will have 111 blue leather seats...at the same time, United Airlines expects additional layoffs, mostly flight attendants...

...1/26/03: -14 in Bismarck, ND @7 AM...this may be the warmest & driest January in NM history...

...a woman had been driving east for several miles on Westbound I-40, west of ABQ ...she had been drinking...cell phones resulted in her quick arrest...

...I do not have a big appetite these days...

Of course we cannot devulge the source of this information, or the information itself, for reasons of national security.

...1/27/03: it's time for Super Bowl XXXVII @San Diego!...the security will cost $9 million...no metal can be worn on outfits, nor anything that could be considered a potential weapon, such as spikes...there will be no adveritsing blimp, and planes could not fly in that airspace...fans will be shuttled in from the satellite parking lots...a 30-second ad cost $2.2 million...

...the NM governor is in Switzerland, attending the World Economic Forum to persuade international businesses, such as MicroSoft; and countries, such as Mexico, that New Mexico is a good location for their companies...a U-2 spy plane crashed in S Korea...State of the Union address by George W. on 1/28/03...war & economy...the entire speech is already on line!...the president will not declare war...soldiers from Kirtland AFB are being sent to Afghanistan...

Calm Down!

...once upon a time, men's earring were small gemstones & very discreet...now, men pierce both ears (sometimes many times per ear[s]), and wear jewelry that resemble Prince Albert rings!...many wear matched sets...it is a joy & a drooling delight to watch Nigella & her cooking creations...Captain went for a walk that turned into a run as he flew down the stairs from the second level to the parking lot, and was persuaded by Mike to return to the apartment...

"You're da' Man!"

...Kuwait wants Saddam to surrender, or go in exile...

...by the first week in February, the US may make finally decide to go to war with Iraq...and the US does have the necessary evidence to do so (although it is not known what that evidence is!)...progress report from UN weapons inspectors...more time, meaning add'l weeks or months, is needed to visit add'l locations...the burden of proof is on Iraq...there is already talk on how the US will rebuild Iraq after Saddam has been removed from power...the President can find money to fund this project, but not to help Americans who are freezing & cannot pay their higher fuel bills...1/27/03: the stocks plunged below 8,000...

...and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beet the Oakland Raiders 48-21...it was the winner's first Super Bowl victory in its 26 year existence!...riots broke out in Oakland, more than 2 dozen arrested...over 138 million people watched the game, the second highest since 1998...received a 2002 CPT book on 1/24/03 from person(s) unknown...Rosanne let me work during Labor Day Weekend...but overtime could not be approved...so I did it for nothing, and prevented an avalance of work on the following Tuesday...by the way, who approved Geri's OT during Rosanne's absence?...the powers above want Cassandra to learn I/P, when they haven't finished training her on E/R; she still has claims she is coding to reduce their backlog...Jolin will be leaving soon for maternity reasons...we're still waiting for claims from the PEDS clinics, none received on 1/28/03...the Rounds lasted from 7:30 until 9:45...Cassandra will be out all day on 1/30/03; her baby sitter (in-law) needs dental work...1/27/03: it is 52 degrees at noon, and I can go for a walk without a jacket...1/28/03: I brought the [thick] jacket, but it is too warm to stay in the sunlight...so I walk in the shade...I take my jacket off, and the shoulder it is flung over gets very warm very fast...the bad news is that there is no chance of rain for the rest of January (5 days left)...the 2 black pens I brought to work both died...even cactus are drying out & shriveling...1/28/03: a record high of 66 degrees is reached...there has been no rain since 12/3/02...I finally saw both Stan & Tom!...

...deep vein thrombosis can result from staring into a PC monitor...one should get up & walk, at least once per hour...a computer virus, thought to have originated in Hong Kong or Britain, plagued big businesses from 1/25-1/27/03...it issued a command to copy data over & over...

...1/27/03: Rosanne is back...asked Geri her opinion about form changes; she sent the request to Rosanne, who asked for a copy of the proposal...meetings on 1/29/03 w/Pulmonary & Surgery; both areas need further training sessions...all the blank PICU sheets were pulled from that area by person(s) unknown...1/28/86, the Challenger exploded just after liftoff...some cell phones look like devices from the earliest Star Trek series...

...1/29/03: a day to tear out of the calendar...had to wait @5th & Central, bus got stopped by a very slow train crossing Lomas...arrived to work with 3 minutes to spare...2 meetings, the first (Pulmonary) was attended by Rosanne...the second lasted for 1 hour, and finished at 3:45...we were sitting in one conference room, the Surgeons were in another, which we discovered & walked to and still waited...these people have no concept about Coding...left work, waited for a bus...the #5 made good time...at 2nd & Central, the bus door opened and a man sat on the floor, bleeding...I have no idea, and do not care what happened!...but that meant I had to wait for another Central bus, which took more than 10 minutes to arrive...in the meantime, this passenger refuses to be examined...it can be slightly stressful waiting for buses, especially when you miss them by seconds!...so, I arrive home after 5 PM; tired, angry & frustrated...and I find a letter from my lawyers stating that a company is trying to update its records regarding my bankruptcy...Brad will see what he can find out about this situation...1/30/03: Brad called the company itself, they had found the info...we hunt for a new lawyer, who wants to work for us...

...Bush also wants to ban cloning...Mayor Chavez wants to NM State Fair to relocate to the new community that will be created south of ABQ, Mesa del Sol...this event drains too much of the city's resources...

"You do the math!"

...Colin Powell will present to the UN evidence that Iraq is creating a nuclear device...this will take place during the first week of February...Saddam says that his country will fight & crush us in battle...the US says that he has links to al-Qaeda, is hiding weapons and should resign...on the other hand, the US needs allies, and not too many countries are fully supporting our desire to start a war...we also have to consider how this will affect our relations with other Arab countries, plus Israel...a group from Canada wants to send inspectors to tally our weapons of mass destruction!...

"Where in the world is Osama bin Laden?"

...1/29/03: to add to the insanity, Saul (the person I replaced), called...he was looking for Ann...but he knew Cassandra, since they were in the same coding class...so he asked her for assistance in preparing for an exam...she said the computer was down, and there were no CPT books...so he tried to contact Geri...he also contacted the PEDS receptionist, but would not leave a message or phone number...I wore a tie to work, because I felt like it!...1/30/03: the buses were in my favor, and I arrived @6:30 Pat (my big boss) called me, saying that the rumor is starting again about the Coders holding billing sheets...Pat asked & I gave her the name of the person in Pulmonary who keeps spreading this story (unfortunately, this person's name is also Patricia)...we shall see what happens...the Clinic finally brought Admits, audits, corrections, Hem/Onc & specialties...this was followed by Hope's clump of missing info...some date back to March, 2002; 12 are past the filing limits...these were given to Rosanne (via Geri)...someone may be hired to pull charts & bring them to their respective areas...

...1/29/03: a baby is left near ABQ High School, brought to UNM...she is only hours old, but an initial exam does not reveal anything seriously affecting her...1/30/03: now it seems that the mother brought the baby to the hospital as a safe haven...the baby has been discharged and is in a foster home...

...1/30/03: (below) I saw the "Cat" woman at the hospital; she had visited a sick relative...she was then on her way to buy some cat food...someone gives her a ride to work, getting her there an hour earlier...I was also able to see Stan & Tom...this is accomplished by rushing for buses, to & from work, through INGENIX & doing the Rounds so as to beat Medical Records before they take the charts of discharged patients...Cassandra E-mailed Hem/Onc explaining where to place their completed charge cards: problem solved...forms; Pulmonary (missing zeroes at end of dx), Surgery (two categories of dx listed twice)...@10:50 told of 11 AM meeting with Endo; none on 1/31/03 (as of now)...the hospital is getting another group of new nurses & interns...some of our the Dept. (not us) got new PCs'...kids look like they are wearing "off the rack" styles (shoes included); they are never dirty or wrinkled (except when done on purpose)...woman loses control of car, kills passengers of oncoming car...the reason: she was breastfeeding her child while driving!...