Stupidly Amusing

So apparently some ego-idiot thinks that I need to "make Jesus my friend" in reference to events surrounding my job change and "friendship" changes. As ridiculous a statement as this is to me, I'll spell it out for the simple minded...
First of all... If I believe that Jesus is the Son of God and therefore my Lord and Savior (and this is already presuming that this belief is my only choice) then He no more needs my "friendship" than my children need my "friendship". My children will have MANY many friends through their lifetimes many of which come and go and require real effort to remember 30 years later. I am the ONLY mother my children will ever have, that is unchangeable, unquestionable, unconditional and irrevocable no matter what transpires in their lives or mine, no matter how we feel about each other on the surface. Why, in the name of all that is holy, would one ever subjugate that to mere "friendship"??? Likewise, why would anyone subjugate the relationship of Lord and Savior to mere friendship? Isn't that just a bit insulting? overly familiar? egotistical? If He is my Lord and Savior, he expects my honor, worship and devotion...not a day at Old Navy shopping for party-cardi's. 
Second... No one has the right to judge another's heart. To make such a foolish comment as the one above takes real gonads if the person thinks they can take on the role of judge and prescriber. I do believe there is a verse or two about that, right? 
Third, and to my mind, most IMPORTANTLY in this specific case!... This person implies that I am not acting within God's Devine Will. How do I judge for myself if I am in His Will? God would NEVER ask me to remain in a position that would require me to LIE, CHEAT, STEAL, or commit FRAUD against man or government. He would never expect me to compromise moral or ethical standards no matter how large or small. If I find myself in a position where I am asked to do these things in order to receive approval, then it must not be God's Will huh? Maybe others know how to accomplish the same job without those compromises, then go for it! My experiences are mine and I own them. It remains the only reason I will leave any job in less than one year because I hate how it looks on my resume.


Best of all is that the more I learn about the place I find myself now, the more I appreciate it. I can clearly see how the past experiences do and will help me directly in many ways but this new job is soooooooo much more than the last one. Requires so much more intense nursing judgement, so much more PROFESSIONAL communication and relationship building and receives so much more professional recognition in exchange. I feel like a thinking, reasoning and challenged (not to mention respected; a sadly lacking factor in the recent past) nurse again instead of a glorified data collector serving at the whim and emotion of every Tom, Dick and Administrator. Is it a tough job? HELL YEAH! and thank goodness for it. 
So there you have it. My treatise on the ethics of jobs and friends. It's nothing more than my take on the matter but does anyone else's really matter to me? 
Peace Out! 

Fresh Start!

So it seems I haven't posted here since last April...which coincidentally is when life went downhill like an avalanche. I understand better now what happened and how to try to prevent that problem in the future. I'm not going to re-hash old offenses and wounds though. That would just give the people who tried to harm me more power and authority than they ever deserve. I'm going to use my lack of posting as a metaphor for my attitude: Look forward with a clean slate. :) I'll post more about my new job-adventure in the coming weeks once I jump in and get started. I will say that I am still happily driving my little sports car and now have added a sexy big motorcycle to the garage. The motorcycle riding has been FANTASTIC the past year and I'll blog on that more later.
Meanwhile, I've gotten back to some knitting and spinning! I'm surprised I actually remember how. I finished a simple scarf to wear on the motorcycle a couple of weeks ago (first FO in 2 years!!). It's a great, if painfully simple design that buttons into a double layer V over the front of the chest - right where the wind is most cold while riding. Now I'm finishing up a pair of socks in a great colorway of blues, golds and browns. I'm going to call them my New Beginning socks since I started them between jobs. Maybe I'll wear them my first day symbolically IF they go with the outfit. LOL They are from the "Hat-Heel Sock" pattern on Knitty Fall 09. Not a bad pattern, I liked the idea of a new way to knit the heel, but I doubt I'll do the pattern again. I do like the way the heel fits but I don't like the lump of seams in the instep. Now, if I could use that heal as an afterthought heel..... hmmm.
Then I'm toying with a couple of patterns I might start next. A heart cable sock out of some fantastic red yarn I bought with Judy last week or a scarf out of sock left-overs. We'll see what leaps onto my needles. LOL

Happy Birthday to Me!

It's a 2006 Mazda Miata with a Bose stereo, Leather seats, keyless entry and alarm and it's all mine! (ok, mine and the bank for now)

NOTICE!

To all who know and love me enough to call...
We are finally eliminating our land-line phone. We can still be reached on Ken's cell 717-821-2657 or my cell 717-644-1089
As always, if we can't talk, we won't answer, just leave a message. :)

Thought for the day

Thought for the day:

"No woman will ever be truly satisfied................ because no man will ever have a chocolate penis that ejaculates money."

Lent resolution

I'm not a big one for Lenten sacrifices but this year I decided to use the excuse to change a habit. So for Lent I'm giving up elevators and resolving to park farther away from stores and walk whenever reasonable in order to get a bit more excercise.

My new office space

Welcome to my new office! I'm currently sharing space with the bookkeeper and her assistant, both very nice ladies. This works out great for me as I learn my way around the building and all the systems like the phone, fax, and computer. I have the big copier in the next room, the office supplies in the closet and all the advise I can beg from my office mates. I also have an entire wall of windows behind me which is a god-send in the winter months. (note to self: buy a small fan) I don't get my computer and phone until Friday when the case manager using them is finished so probably Monday will be spent arranging my desk and supplies to my liking. My boss and I worked out my building assignment and he helped me pick some really cherry facilities where I've already met lots of terrific folks and will follow some good CM's making my transition easier. It doesn't hurt that those facilities are exceeding budget projections and are in some very nice areas of the city.
The folks in this facility are sooooooooooooooo nice. The administrator must have asked me at least 4 times if there was anything he could do to make me feel at home. The PT/OT/ST folks were also very welcoming at the meeting today and the Liason is an absolute delight who says she can't wait for me to teach her more ways to manipulate her poor unsuspecting husband. Yes, my influence is on the move again. :)
So far this job REALLY feels like my reward for the past 16 months of giving my 150% at work. It feels like I'm gonna like this job very much.

The first day on the new job...

....and I had a great time! My first two days are spent with Nnenna who is the friend who encouraged me to apply for the job in the first place and today will be spent with her in Lebanon. What a great way to start out. With an encouraging friend in familiar surroundings with people who like you. Awesome.
In case anyone is wondering, I've carefully refrained from blogging about my last 2 -turned into 3 - weeks on my old job because I CHOSE not to go there. If you can't say anything nice..... right? Let's just say that I had my eyes opened to some unpleasant aspects of my supervisors and their attitude towards other employees and even their parent corporation itself. Rather unflattering. I've written no fewer than 4 posts about the subject but wisely chose not to publish them. So I'll try to let that be that and move on and up.
I'm still trying to get that bird's eye view of the process that makes up my new job. Lots of learning to do! Just how I like it. :)
For those who find such things important - and you know who you are - I wore light brown pants and a fantastic green sweater top.

The big reveal!

So FINALLY I can reveal what has had me on pins and needles and keeping to myself a bit more than usual. I HAVE A NEW JOB! I've received a promotion from Hospice RN Case Manager to General Case Manager working for HCR ManorCare Corporate. So the questions ensue...

1. What the heck is a Case Manager? The CM is the hub in the center of the health care universe (how's that for pretentious?). She(he) stands as the moderator between the patient, the payer source (insurance) and the provider (doctor, therapist, facility) to assure that the patient receives the highest level of care that his insurance can (will) pay and that the provider is fairly compensated so that they can provide the best care.
   
2. Isn't that the same thing you have been doing for Hospice? Well, yes, and no. The hospice Case Manager coordinates the care as it is delivered to the patient, but there are layers of administration preventing the CM from directly negotiating better rates or more service. The hospice CM is also directly responsible for providing a significant amount of that care herself. General Case Management is pretty much hands-off. Because she provides hands on care to specific patients, the CM also must serve on-call time to cover services 24/7/365. A general CM basically works when the insurance companies are open.
3. But I thought you loved hospice! I do! And I sincerely hope that this career path brings me back to hospice at some point. For now, I have tons to learn that I can't access in my current hospice position.

What real world differences are there?

• REAL girl clothes instead of fancy pajamas.
• Business hours instead of lost sleep.
• A COMPUTER instead of carpal tunnel inducing paperwork!
  
• An office!
  
• Being responsible for my own work, my own results and my own SCHEDULE!
• NOT having to clean up other CM's messes every Monday. grrrrrrrrrrrr
• Not having to clean up patient messes any day. (no, I will not miss that aspect of direct patient care...are you serious? yuck!)
  
• Did I mention no call, no holidays and no sleepless nights?
  
• More money.
  
• A CLEAN uncluttered car. (Imagine that! I no longer have to explain to guests why I have 3 sizes of incontinence briefs in my back-seat.)
• Working for Corporate which opens up all sorts of doors.
  
• Trips to Toledo for training and inservicing. (Toledo night life. woot.)
• MARKETING! My job actually falls under the marketing department and I'll be responsible for visiting and marketing to hospitals, doctors, nursing homes and other providers. LOVE. IT.
  

So that's my big news. I start my new job February 9. My "home" facility will be in Camp Hill PA and eventually I'll probably have 4+ buildings throughout York and Carlisle. I'm really excited! This is going to be a really intense year learning the ins and outs of insurance and medical compensation and I just can't wait!
Edit: Now I won't be starting my new job until Feb 12. Not my choice nor my new boss's choice, don't even ask. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Personality typing

Every so often, usually when I am questioning my place in the universe (i.e. I feel antsy...usually somewhere between January and March) I take another of those online personality type tests. Philosophically I do tend to lean to Jung so it's not surprising that these tests intrigue me. So tonight, when I should have been working diligently, I took a brain-break and completed yet another. And I got the same answer I always do: ENTP Here's an explanation:

ENTPs value their ability to use imagination and innovation to deal with problems. Trusting in their ingenuity to get them out of trouble, they often neglect to prepare sufficiently for any given situation. This characteristic, combined with their tendency to underestimate the time needed to complete a project, may cause the ENTP to become over-extended, and to work frequently beyond expected time limits. Complicating this situation is their predisposition to experiment with new solutions. This makes them eager to move on to the next challenge when things get boring. ENTPs become stressed when their improvisational abilities are ineffective and they will avoid circumstances where they might fail.
If stress continues, ENTPs become distracted and their "can do" attitude is threatened. Feelings of incompetence, ineptness, and inadequacy take over. They need to escape situations that are associated with anxiety is more prominent for the ENTP than for any other personality type. Doubtful of whether they will have what it takes to accomplish a task, they displace their fears onto situations they can elude. Panic, fear, and anxiety then block the expression of their creativity. Defensive phobic reactions cause the ENTP to circumvent achievement in other areas and prevent the success they strive on.

I'm honestly not sure why it surprises me that I always get the same answer.

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. -Albert Einstein

And there you have it.