KUDOS TO THE FRONT OFFICE STAFF

Post contributed by Leonard Phelps

I went into work this morning after direct tv ft lauderdale stopped by to install the new television package that we had ordered. I probably should have just taken the whole day off because when I went in everything was a mess. The girls in the front office were having a horrible time. Another girl was out sick and the phone had been ringing off the hook all day. I usually don’t work in the front, but they were so slammed and I ended up helping out. It was exhausting! I remembered why I liked to work in the back. People were coming for their appointments and asking a thousand questions. You have to check the patients in, answer questions, collect money, and check them out. The other thing you have to do is get on the phone and talk about payments and schedule patients that call. I really don’t know how the girls in the front office handle it. I had some people on the phone that were just so rude to me, I couldn’t handle it. By the time I left and headed home, I was almost in tears. Kudos to the girls that work up front!

So Much for That

Well, after 4 weeks of not smoking with the e-cigarette as a replacement, I finally broke down and bought a pack. I am not smoking all the way, but find that I just need 2 or 3 a day. That's still a huge improvement over smoking a pack and a half a day, and the e-cigarette is fine to fill in the gaps. It really can't get over that hump though. Even after 4 weeks, in fact, it got worse at about 4 weeks, I found that there were withdrawal symptoms in spite of the nicotine replacement. There must be other things in cigarettes--well I know there are--that are as addictive and cause as much withdrawal as the nicotine itself. Unless, because the e-cigarettes nicotine is not as easily accessed, it isn't as efficient a nicotine delivery as a cigarette, I just can't get enough nicotine to resolve the issue fully. Either way, I'll have to be satisfied with having cut down a lot, rather than quitting altogether.

Guitar Life

I love the guitar. When I listen to music, the guitar riffs and drums are the instruments that really lure me in. I grew up playing the guitar. I started lessons when I was 8, and played in several bands during my teen years. Back then, carrying around a guitar and amplifier was pretty bulky business. Even the small portable amps were clumsy and cumbersome. I don't play anymore, but I think about it now and then. If I were to start again, I'd love the small portable amplifiers they have now like the lunchbox sized amp. It is so lightweight and portable you can carry it anywhere. I love that it is no bigger than a lunchbox and you can just pick it up and move around with it.

Taking Life Seriously

February has been a really slow weight loss month for me. I've tried. I have been fairly good about watching what I eat, but I let myself slack on the health club a lot for several weeks. Finally last week I kicked myself back into gear, and stopped making excuses. It felt good to get back on track, and the scale even nudged a little. I could blame the cold weather, the fact that I quit smoking, or just that I have been very busy work wise, but the bottom line is, I made excuses. This has to be the year of no more excuses for me. I have to conquer this once and for all. After all, it's also the year I turn 50. Time to take life seriously.

Bargain Coupons

Coupons, coupons and more coupons. It's actually a great way to save money. If you have the knack for it, you can even get many things completely free. I have a friend who is an amazing couponer. I've never achieved her stellar heights in coupondom, but I do manage to save a tidy bundle every time I go to the store. It only makes sense. Groceries and household items are expensive. You can get a lot more for your dollar if you pay attention to sales, collect and use coupons and also use store cards. What may not seem like a lot on face value, the .10 here and .50 there really does add up to a lot of money when it's all tallied up at the register. There are a lot of great ways to get coupons online too. RedEnvelope coupon codes are an excellent resource for cost saving coupons that you can use for special items that you don't normally find coupons for like jewelry, flowers and even holiday or birthday presents.

Ignorant and Rude

I witnessed something yesterday that just left me completely flabberghasted. I couldn't believe the audacity of these people, and it wasn't just a couple, it seemed rampant. Here's what happened. I was on the way home from the health club, and in a very good mood. I got stopped by a ton of traffic on a normally busy, but smooth moving street. The traffic was backed up for almost a mile. I thought there must be a horrible accident up at the intersection ahead, and braced for seeing something horrific. What did I find when I got there? The lights were out. Nothing more horrible than a blinking red light in each direction. That isn't cause for alarm, and while it does cause traffic to back up, what really got my attention was the ignorant and rude actions of some of the drivers.

Oddly enough, not the drivers on the street I was on. Everyone, and I do mean ABSOLUTELY everyone I watched obeyed the normal and common courtesy of approaching the line, waiting their turn, and crossing the intersection. That meant three at a time on each side, because the road is three lanes wide at that point. That's fair. What was so shocking was the actions of the drivers on the cross street. IN EVERY instance, when the cars pulled up to the line to wait their turn, when the road was clear, not only did those three on each side cross, but TWO more lines of three on each side crossed as well. This did not just happen one time, as if a group of unruly drivers felt their right to get through the ordeal faster than anyone else... no, it happened repeatedly through as many exchanges as I could see as I approached. It had to be eight crosses before I got up to the line and watched the gaggle of cars boldly charge across before it was my line's turn to go.

I lost a lot of faith in human decency yesterday.

I know this is the "big city" and people do things that are rude and in their rush to be where they are going faster than anyone else, can seem ignorant, but that was far beyond anything I would have ever imagined before. What got me most was that it wasn't a few brash, rude people, it was dozens of them. Shame on you... you just aren't that important. You can wait your turn like everybody else.