Thank goodness that heat wave is gone. I hope it stalls out over the Atlantic and stays there all summer. If I believe my trusty weatherbug, our heat index hit about 106 on Monday. Tuesday was weird because it felt cooler only because the cold front was coming. You could actually feel little breaths now and then during the day until all hell broke loose Tuesday night.
The rest of the week has been in the 80's. Yeah, yeah, I know some people feel a HUGE difference between 82 and 89. I say "Pffft!" Anything in the 80's is good for me... /g/
So what have I done? I actually finished a pair of socks. Oh, a couple months ago, I'd bought some of Gypsy Girl's newest colorway Spring Fling and started the pair looooooong before I was out of work. I only had about 36 rows to the end of the second sock. During my recovery period, I was supposed to finish those, finish the pair of Happy Feet also OTN and knit my friend Linda a pair in Fannie's Farmhouse. Hmm.... remember my last post where I said I did nothing but sit and zone out on the boob tube? (Yes, I've just dated myself because my girls haven't a clue what the boob tube is... /g/) Okay, I finally finished that pair of socks. Next will be to work on Happy Feet.
But I'm happy with myself because my fingers were itching to pick up the needles. That's a good thing, right? /g/ That was Wednesday night after our heat wave made a beeline for Europe.
I'd love to tell you about Tuesday except I don't remember much of it. I think it was one of those days where I woke up with great intentions and promptly forget each and every one once my feet actually hit the floor.
So Wednesday was better. I bought some plants. This will force me to start that dreaded weeding. But I bought anyway.
Thursday was a work day. Things are piling in the office faster than I can process them. The monthly bills were in the mail on Monday, so the phone calls began on Tuesday. "What do you mean you charge us if we don't show up?" It's in the contract, dear. The one you signed. I even made the print bold so you can't miss it. Oh, that's right. You'd actually have to read it before you signed... /sigh/ "Why are you charging me and not my insurance company?!?!?" Because you didn't give us any insurance to bill, dearest. I really do try my best, but I'm sadly not telepathic. I have no idea if you have insurance unless you give us your card so we can -- here's a concept -- make a copy of your card so we know who to bill and where to send it.
My favorites are the people who've been sent to collection because they refuse to fork over the money they owe. We send bills every month. No payment. We stamp the bill with a big red stamp that says "Past Due". No payment. We hand write on the bill "If you don't send us money, we'll be forced to send you to collection." Yes, we actually sit down and hand write this on the bill, showing that we really try to keep that personal touch with our patients. No stamps. No computer message. A real honest-to-goodness handwritten message. What's the usual result? No payment. We finally send them to our collection agency who sends yet another letter that states they have 10 days to send something or this will be put on their credit report as a bad debt. Ten days comes and goes. The agency sends notification to the credit bureaus.
That's when the phone calls begin. You've had months of hints, threats, action and warnings. Nada. Suddenly now we get irate phone calls of "How dare you!!!!"
/sigh/
I shouldn't tell this story, but I do have a good one. We had a patient who was a 20-year-old girl. She ran up a bill that was over $600. Finally, the doctor told her she needed some kind of payment or she couldn't see her anymore. The girl left. So we went through our routine of hint, threat, yadda, yadda. The doctor asked me to call. Now, I work this job part-time. Heck, not even part-time. I only work 10-12 hours per week. It's a solo practice, so it's not like billing is a huge thing. Couple hours a week, but she pays me well to keep the paperwork flowing. Anyway, at the time, I worked on Sundays because I was also working my full-time job. So it's Sunday morning and it was around 11AM when I pick up the phone to call this girl. Someone answers the phone and I tell them who I am. They don't cover the receiver, but I can hear LOTS of noise in the background. Frankly, between you and me, it sounded like she was in the middle of Sunday dinner with her family (and it was quite an extended family from the chatter). Then another voice comes on the line and asks who I am. I repeat my name and I'm calling from the office of so-and-so. Again, it's obvious to me that the phone is moved away from the person's ear as this person repeats to someone who I am. What do I hear in the background? A third voice saying, "I don't want to talk to her!" And they hang up... /bigger sigh/
So I call back and no one answers. I get the voicemail (this is obviously a cell phone with caller ID so they can ignore me), so I left a message stating that we needed to discuss some kind of payment plan or I'd have no choice but to send her into collection.
The very next week we get notification that our bill is being listed in the parents' bankruptcy. So very not kewl. So I wrote a letter to the attorney representing the parents as well as a copy to the bankruptcy court stating that this bill was not the responsibility of the parents as it belongs to their daughter who is of legal age to make her own messes and have to clean them up. Take note here, folks. Big trouble ensued. Trying to claim someone else's bills in your bankruptcy is attempting to perpetrate a fraud on the court. They don't have the ability to discharge debts accrued by someone else. And claiming it as yours is illegal because of the fraud issue. The parents got into big trouble and the girl still ended up in collection.
For what it's worth, don't be a deadbeat. I have great admiration for another patient who used to come to our office. She ran up a bill of well over $1,500. They started paying us $25 a month. As they paid down other bills, it went up to $30 a month, then $35 and they currently pay us $40 a month. Each and every month, their check arrives and their bill is now down to a bit less than $500. It's been a long, slow journey, but I can't send them to collection. They don't pay much, but they pay every single month. I'm sorry, but I see a lot of deadbeats in my job, but I admire this couple for recognizing the fact that they ran up this bill and they're doing their best to pay it off.
Oh, the stories I could tell, but I won't. That wasn't my intention. I was simply relaying that Thursday was a pain. Computer work is fun. I shuffle lots of paper, my biggest interaction is with my keyboard and I get to sit in an air-conditioned office for part of the day. But then there are the phone calls....
Anyway, moving onto Friday, I took care of some appts, paid a couple bills since Fri was payday. Then I did some weeding in the yard, though I wonder why my liatris is drooping on one side. I thought it was just dry, so I watered on Thurs. But it's almost kind of smooshed on one side. I'm wondering if Copper sat on it while it was developing. It's that kind of smoosh. I'm hoping the plant bounces back. When you first walk into the side yard, it looks okay and then you see it from the side. The whole back half is smooshed. Considering it's in the center of a triangular garden, this could be a problem. But we'll see...
Then about 2PM, I drove oldest daughter and her friend to the beach. We only spent about 2 hrs there, but it was nice. The water was cold, but not unbearable. I splashed sea water up on my legs and my arms. Time to start the summer tan. I'm already 5 weeks behind.
Today is a day of yardwork. I should be cleaning my filthy house, but I can't bear the thought of another day inside these walls. I've been pretty well housebound for the last 5 weeks... Argh!!!! I need sunshine and fresh air. I need dirt under my nails and allergens clogging my nose.
Yes, the pine trees are throwing off pollen like crazy. I started early this week with one Zyrtec a day. Ha! After 3 nights of waking at 3AM because I was so stuffed I couldn't breathe, I took an additional Zyrtec last night and was able to sleep through. Another week or two and I'll be past the tree pollen. Then I should be fine until fall.
And, if I get yardwork done early, maybe I can sit at my little Prelude and finally begin my summer spinning. I have a couple lbs of fiber to spin up and I haven't even begun to work on that. So that's the plan.
I hope your day is just as productive as I hope mine to be. And I promise to be better about updating. I think I have 3 relatives who read this and my Mom loves to tell me that she learns more about my life reading this blog than she does through our phone conversations. I haven't figured out why. It's just one of those mysteries that we'll have to live with...
LOL!
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