January 2007 Archives

   I just have to say that putting a bunch of crushed ice in a very fine Merlot is as painful to watch as someone eating a perfect steak with ketchup. It's just not right.

"If we have the opportunity to be generous with our hearts, ourselves, we have no idea of the depth and breadth of love's reach." - Margaret Cho

MJL - 1923-2006

You will be greatly missed. (and so will your hammer)

..

   Over the past few weeks I've been an observer and occasional participant in the local healthcare system. From the things I've seen, heard, and been told it's truly scary. You really have to be your own advocate for your own care.
- nurses wondering where to find patients charts and orders because they don't know where they are.
- an ER that takes several hours just to give pain medication
- doctors who really don't tell you anything, especially if you catch them in a bad mood.
- doctors that tell you someone's probably about to die when they're really not
- a hospital that repeatedly gives narcotic pain medication without conducting a pain assessment
- nurses that start treatments without consulting a chart or patient's condition...
- doctors unable to see a patient for 3 months to diagnose a debilitating condition

Lessons from all this:
- Know a doctor or two personally
- You have to be unafraid to challenge assumptions (or have someone around to do it for you)
- Research everything that the doctor tells you - get clinical terms for things and go online
- Understand that truly, you alone are responsible for your treatment

   It's New Year's resolution time, and so I'm seeing a lot of those weight loss commercials. By far the most prevalent and annoying to me is the Nutrisystem advertisements. This particular one is targeted at men and it's specifically tailored to "hearty meals for men." This is the one where you spend about $300 for a months worth of food in boxes like Lean Cuisine or something.
   So after watching this ad a thousand times and seeing the hearty food they send to you, I paused the commercial to inspect it. (Gotta love TiVo) I expected to find some manly food there, but instead I saw these little portions and some things I hadn't expected. One interesting item was the hot dog. Now I love hot dogs as much as anyone, but I'm not thinking it's really a diet food. Then there's the nasty looking burger that looks like it's too small to be a hearty, appetite satisfying burger.
   Further investigation on their website lists an apple granola bar as a hearty breakfast. A satisfying manly lunch could be split pea soup. How about an amazing dessert of white cheddar soy chips? And I like the fact that they designate some foods as having a new recipe... Does that mean that the other one totally sucked?
   Really, if you want to lose weight go to the gym or eat some carrots. Eating all frozen, prepared meals isn't manly, and you probably won't stay on the diet anyway. Remember, results are not typical.

   I love animals as much as anyone. I have two wonderful cats, and love them both. My sister herself is the biggest dog lover I know, and has rescued more dogs than I can count. So why am I going on about how much we all love pets? Because I'm about to rant and I wouldn't want you to think otherwise.
   Why is it now in the great freaking backwards state of Ohio that apparently as of Jan 1 pet owners can set up a trust fund for their animals, and yet I can't protect my family with a marriage or even a civil union? Yes it's true, "pet owners in Ohio can create a trust fund for their dogs and cats." (O'Mara, WKYC) A man in Medina said that," we owe it to the animals who share our lives ... think about what will happen after we pass away." (O'Mara, WKYC) But we don't owe to our partners who share our lives, other human beings, to be able to provide for them when we die?
   The State of Ohio resolved that it's in the strong public interest that gay people not be allowed to protect their families with the same rights as straight folks. But now there is a freaking law specifically for pets? Something's wrong here.. and I know what it is.
   All those folks who keep saying that gay marriage will lead to things like polygamy and people marrying their dogs, well, they secretly want to have 10 wives and marry their dogs. Why else is there all the adultery and now trust funds for their dogs? It's a slippery slope folks...
(source: Trust fund for your pet?)

   Last year I volunteered 420 hours. Holy crap! I could have been blogging all that time...

Oh, and Happy New Year. (don't write 06 on your checks anymore - oh, and if you still use checks people look at you funny...)