Since the future of my Twitter account is hazy, I went to investigate several alternative social media sites/apps.
The first visited is CoHost! It’s beautiful, extremely easy to maneuver and set up, and I think I’ll like it very much. However, without an invitation code (which I did not have) there is a waiting list for new users. It may take as long as 2-3 weeks for my posting access to be approved.
The second site visited is Counter Social It’s not pretty, in my opinion, a dark background with white text. It looks remarkably similar to Tweet Deck, with individual columns for the main feed, notifications, friends, etc. Registering was effortless, adding an avatar, setting preferences, and little tweaks extremely easy to figure out. I was able to begin posting as soon as I verified my email address.
The third site visited is Mastodon. It was a bit confusing at first, users must pick a server, but there is a wizard that really was helpful. As soon as I verified my email address, I was able to set up my account and begin posting. The interface is beautiful, and very easy to customize. The only problem I encountered is finding friends. I had their user name, but not the server they chose, which is necessary to find them, the search string must be username@server name. I’ll have to wait until my peeps are online to ask them for the information.
Each of the three sites are perfect for newsfeeds, keeping in touch with friends, and any other reason I use Twitter. The two drawbacks I found: Counter.Social isn’t very pretty, and Mastodon makes me jump through hoops to connect with my friends.
If you ask me…. Go have a look for yourself, and have fun doing it!
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bethbethbeth, lunaris1013, cherrypinup, miafeliz, tingler, trixiefic, vickita, cherrypinup42, archersangel, for the time being, until the fate of Twitter is determined, I'll be posting here periodically, just to keep up with everyone.
In hindsight, I should have run over her.
My supervisor, Dave, hired a woman for our team, I'll call her Shelley. She was six-foot-tall, three hundred pounds, with bright red hair in a bi-level cut, the left side was just below her earlobe, and the right side was collar length.
I am not a superficial person; I don't judge others by their appearance. Hell, I would never win any beauty contests myself. However, there was something about Shelley... a niggling, prickly sensation at the back of my head, an anxious feeling in my chest, a warning to keep my distance.
A week or so later, on my lunch break, I pulled out of the parking spot and started toward the exit. Shelley stepped right into my path and stopped. Shelley, with her outlandish hair, long purple coat, and gray boots.
Just standing there, staring at me.
After I rolled down my window, she explained that her car was in the shop and she was on foot, would I mind if she rode to lunch with me?
That's how it started. The next day, when I left for lunch, she went with me. She always had horrible situations going on in her life, her boyfriend said mean things, her mother said mean things, her friends weren't generous enough, you name it. If it was bad, it was happening to her.
Then, she started having money woes, didn't have enough money for groceries or to buy lunch, didn't have enough money to buy cigarettes. It progressed to not having money to pay her rent. I got a drunken, hysterical call one night asking if she could pitch a tent in my backyard because her friend threw her out and she had nowhere else to stay.
I felt drained all the time, exhausted. Then, I got sick. After nine months of dealing with her, I ended up in the hospital on intravenous antibiotics for a massive respiratory infection.
Shelley quit her job a few steps ahead of getting fired. After she left, I never heard from her again.
In hindsight, I should have run over her
No social media until Monday. No Twitter, no Facebook, I may not even watch the news on television.
Trump
Ansel Elgort
My head is about to split open from all the hate and negativity. My anxiety level is off the chart. In the wise words of Mr. Leary, it's time to turn on, tune in, and drop out!
The past three days at work have been mind-numbingly stupid. Stupid mistakes made by others for me to fix, the explanations are not clear as to what was done and what needs to be done to correct it. This requires enormous amounts of research. Additionally, there is a quota of claims I'm required to finish each day. If it takes twenty to thirty minutes just to find the issue... you see where I'm going.
In the good news department, I had a very happy dream about my mom last night. She was in good health and in good spirits and, in the dream, we had a very nice time. I'm choosing to believe that she actually paid me a visit just to let me know she is okay and happy, and that I should be, too.
So, now that I'm finished working and finished talking about it, I think I'll take a nice hot bath and soak away the day. Have a great evening!
The furthest I've ever traveled from home was to Glasgow, Scotland.
My sister Cathy, our friend Betsy, and I drove from home to Kansas City, and stayed the night at a motel close to the airport. We were allowed to leave the car in their parking lot and take their shuttle to the airport the following morning. Their rate was much cheaper than KCI's long term parking rate.
We arrived at Newark Liberty International four hours before the flight to Scotland was to depart. The airport staff took us to a private lounge with a television, free snacks, and drinks. It was pretty awesome...
Cut to the actual transatlantic flight. Cathy, Betsy, and I sat in a bank of three seats, Betsy at the window, I was in the middle, and Cathy on the aisle. The arm-rest on my seat with the lever to make the back recline was broken, the back would not lock into position. My choices were: lean forward with elbows on knees or lie in a supine position and stare at the person sitting behind me.
We asked the stewardess if there were other seats where we could sit together, or at least one seat that I could move to, but she stated the flight was basically at capacity. She was terribly sorry, but she had nothing to offer me.
It takes six hours and thirty minutes to fly from Newark to Glasgow.
Think about that.
Six hours and thirty minutes...
I would sit with elbows on knees for a while, then stand for a while, I even cried at one point, but just for a little while.wolfette - Fortunately, our time in Scotland was every bit as fun and exciting as we'd hoped it would be. Possibly the best twelve days of my life.
Even better, the flight home wasn't even close to crowded and each of us were allowed to sit in a bank of three seats all alone. We had all the room we could possibly want or need.
May 18, 2017 Farce
Today, I found out the real reason we're working such long hours and getting money in the door.
In 2014, a physician didn't have his contract renewed over some pretty petty stuff, e.g., a sexual relationship with a coworker, questionable prescriptions for controlled pain medicine, etc. After his dismissal, he turned whistleblower, accused our healthcare system of ordering unnecessary treatments for patients, incorrect billing to Medicare and other insurance companies, and stated the reason he was fired was because he kept talking to his superiors about the issues.
He filed a wrongful discharge suit against my employers, then testified in two separate cases for the Department of Justice.
The subsequent investigations determined there was no fraud on our part, we were completely cleared of that charge, but there were a few incidents of incorrect billing – totally benign, not fraud.
The physician's wrongful discharge suit was thrown out as unsubstantiated, but we had to refund quite a bit of money to the insurance companies and the DoJ assessed penalties of $34,000,000.
So, there you have it... in a nutshell.
May 17, 2017 Precipice
Again, at my place of work, we're working long hours and not having much success. There are thousands claims totaling millions of dollars, just sitting. I was asked to jump in and work on them, but when I saw they're all federal payers – Veteran's Affairs, Indian Nation Health, Active Military, I knew there was nothing I could do.
We have a team dedicated to these claims, which have to be worked in a very specific way. If they're sent incorrectly, we're not given a chance to appeal, we have to start over from scratch. It's a complicated, time consuming process and I am not about to mess anything up.
The hierarchy are flogging us to get claims out the door and money coming in, but we're working with one hand tied behind our backs, getting closer and closer to the edge of the precipice.
Yay!!
May 16, 2017 Qualm
Leslie's car is in the shop – a couple of weeks ago when the water was so high, she misjudged how deep some standing water actually was, and drove into it. The car hasn't run since.
At my place of work, June 30 is the end of fiscal year, and we're trying to collect as much money as possible before then. We've been asked to work ten hours of overtime per week. This means going in at 6:00 am and working until 5:30 pm.
Sharing a car hasn't been easy, getting the two of us to work and the kids to school on time, making sure everyone has a ride home without waiting too long.
Today was a bit stressful to say the least, and qualms plagued me to the point my stomach was upset.
Ah, well. Everyone is home now, dinner and dishes are done, and everyone seems to be happy. I guess I worry too much about things that will work themselves out.
May 15, 2017 Collaboration
The kids were still with their dad's family, their uncle hosted a party for Cindy's Mother's Day gift, complete with decorations, cake, flowers, and swimming.
Leslie and I finished every bit of laundry in the house, gave the kitchen and bathrooms a good scrub, swept and mopped the floors and made a really fun Mexican feast for our dinner.
When the kids got home, they'd made cards for both of us, and Leslie gave me chocolates.
Collaboration = Happy.
May 14, 2017 Hospitality
The Wiener Kids' other grandma, Cindy, offered her gracious hospitality today. She picked up the kids around 9am and took them to her house, so Leslie and I could have a free day for the weekend.
Thanks to Cindy's hospitality, all of the household chores were accomplished quickly and easily. Leslie and Josh went to see a movie for her Mother's Day gift early, and I had the house to myself all evening. I ordered take out and watched movies.
Hospitality is a good thing...
baggyeyes