Spring is in the air!

And I can't wait!!! Actually spring has already made it to North Texas, unofficially anyway. I wanted to get this in real early as last year we went from winter directly into summer and we didn't get a break until mid to late September. This being North Texas I can start talking about gardening. Yes, I've spent some time in my yard pulling weeds and planting late winter into spring flowers. Someone gave me a daylily plant last year so I’ve decided to add some more to my landscape, some yellow ones as I'm in a yellow mood this year. And I've already planted some yellow pansies. As luck would have it I had some yellow bluming plants already coming up, however I can't remember what they are. Looks like I'm going to be doing some research here shortly.

Being from Jamaica in the West Indies, I love tropical plants. My favorite is Coleus. Last year I got one or two of every kind I could find in the stores. Home Depot, Lowes, Mike’s Garden center and my local nursery loved to see me coming! Last year too my local nursery had several coleus that was specifically for planting in full sun. However with the heat we had here in North Texas last year I had to relocate them mid season. They just barely made it through the summer. I don’t know if I’m going to plant any coleus this year as I have to constantly monitor them for aphids. I’m into low maintenance so bugs bug me.

Speaking of new beginnings. I'm always looking for ways to make my website better so that I can make some more money so I can quit my J.O.B. and last week I came across this website called Site Build It!.

I'm getting REALLY excited about their them. Their website has a wealth of information that I'm still trying to digest. Check it out for yourself. SiteSell

Until next time...


Lorna/
SiteSell Blog

Things Are Starting to Get Ugly

My mantra when I was younger was I don't discuss politics or religion, mainly because I didn't pay much attention to either. My opinion is that since there are no two people who will EVER agree on the same points of any issue, it is just a waste of time and effort on my part. Though I still have the same mantra, I now pay more attention to both subjects.

Take the issue we have here in Texas, the Governor Rick Perry's mandate regarding girls entering the 6th grade. Governor Perry has mandated that all girls entering the 6th must be vaccinated with the HPV vaccine.

I feel that it's the parents’ decision as to whether or not their daughters get vaccinated. Read it for yourself.

Also, we are giving the kids the wrong message here. There is ONE sure way of NOT contacting the virus.

One question keeps running through my mind, what about the BOYS? If the virus can only be contacted through intimate contact, and since this contact will presumably be with a BOY, how come they don’t have a vaccination for the BOYS?

Then there is this thing between Clinton and Obama. You can read the whole store if you'd like.

Just my 2 cents worth.

The Apprentice

I enjoy watching "The Apprentice," but I was a little disappointed with last night's episode. Did we need to see those 2 making out? Did it add anything to the show?

In my humble opinion, I didn't think so.

EVIL EDITOR

EVIL EDITOR

What Would Happen If We All Thought This Way?

There was an article in the Bottom Line Personal on Ed Koch, three time mayor of New York City entitled “Why I’ll Never Retire.” Something he said really struck me.

When asked about the serious health problems he’s faced and how he managed to remain vital and positive, he answered,

"Sometimes it is people's reactions to physical problems that really handicap them. My personal bests may be behind me, but there are more 'very goods' to come. The most important thing is to never give up on staying in shape. As mayor, I weighed close to 245 pounds. I'm down to 220 now, and I'm always on a diet. Also, my rule is that if I don't feel bad enough to go to the ER, I must go to the gym three times a week." And here's the part that got me thinking, "It’s difficult to keep mattering in life when you don’t matter to yourself."

Isn’t that an awesome way of looking at life? I think I’m going to make that my new mantra.

It’s difficult to keep mattering in life when you don’t matter to yourself...former New York Mayor Edward Koch

I Read Somewhere That the Belief That.......

............you will gain weight if you consistently eat after a certain hour is a myth. You will gain weight however, if you consistently eat more calories than your body needs after a certain hour.

That’s good news for me as I work the evening shift at the hospital and I’ve been having my dinner between 9:30pm and 10:00pm and so far I have not gained any weight. Thank God!!

I suppose that is because I skip breakfast most days and only have lunch. No I’m not saying that you should do this, it’s just what I do and I KNOW that I SHOULD NOT do this but I do it anyway, shame on me.

One of my goals for this year is to eat healthier. I don’t do diets that well so I’m not even going to attempt another diet. I have cut out a lot of the “bad” stuff, though I haven’t added enough of the good stuff yet.

Monday and Tuesday I listened to a program on the radio program,
PointofView.net where the topic was healthy lifestyle. The guest was a Dr. Ted Broer. He made everything sound so simple.

I haven’t committed to anything yet as I’m still searching for that diet where I can eat all the chocolate I want and and less vegetables and still look like Jennifer Aniston!

I Won't Be Watching the Super Bowl

...this Sunday.

Not because I don't like sports. Nothing of the sort. In fact, I enjoy sports. I'll even go so far as to say that I love sports.

I developed a love for sports when I was young lass in my native Jamaica. That's in the West Indies, in case you were wondering. I used to play jump rope, hop scotch, baseball, what you Americans call punch ball, I believe.

So what's up with your football? I'm sure you're fed up with non Americans making snide comments about the fact that you Americans call a game where you don't hardly kick the ball, football and a game that you DO kick the ball A LOT, soccer. What's up with that?? Anyway that's all I'm going to say about that right now. I love both sports, whatever you choose to call them so you'll get no argument from me.

But that's not why I'm not watching the Super Bowl on Sunday. I'm not going to be watching the Super Bowl on Sunday because none of the teams that I would normally root for is playing. The way it stands now, I wouldn't know who to root for.

I have to have some stake in the game in order for it to hold my interest. So the next time the New York Giants or the New York Jets...what's up with them still being called the New York Giants and the New York Jets when neither team has played in New York in about 2 decades? Don't get me started on that!!!

As I was saying, the next time one of my teams, and please add the Dallas Cowboys from my adopted state to that list, you won't be able to pry me away from in front of the TV.

Well let me qualify that. If some kind sir gallantly offers me 2 tickets on the 50 yard line and an all expenses paid trip to wherever the game is being played I'll gladly give up my spot in front of the TV! I'll even hand you the remote.

What Part of “You’ve Got the Wrong Number” do you NOT understand?

This woman keeps calling me on my cell phone asking for someone that’s NOT me. And I keep telling her that she’s got the wrong number but yet she keeps calling.

Now she done made me mad as this has been going on for several weeks now. I’m thinking to say, “Woman, what part of ‘You’ve Got the Wrong Number’ do you NOT understand? No matter HOW many times you call this number, I’m still going to tell you the same thing. You’ve got the WRONG number. No matter how many times you call this number, you’re always going to get ME. It ain’t gonna change. I’m the ONLY ONE who uses THIS PHONE NUMBER. So QUIT calling it. Much more of this and I’m going to have to REPORT YOU. See, I’ve got YOUR number.”

I'm Having Trouble Getting Over This

The outcome of my court case is still stuck in my craw. I keep replaying it in my mind. How could it have gone differently?

Bottom line is the judge is/was not current in his knowledge of the labor laws. I wouldn't be surprised if he had never heard of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. Or the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor. Or the Department of Labor's FairPay Overtime Initiative.

Yup. I probably wouldn't be surprised.

One thing he asked me during this horrible fiasco was if my former "employer" ever told me that he would pay me for overtime when we agreed on the pay. I said "No."

But then later I thought, none of the employers I've worked for had ever told me that they would pay me overtime.

For instance, when I originally got hired at the hospital it was on an as needed basis, however when I happen to work over 40 hours in a single week they automatically paid me overtime.

So I'm thinking, based on this judge's reasoning, a person who agreed to accept a job to work 40 hours per week would not be entitled to be paid for overtime if he happened to work 41 hours one week. Better still I could give him an hypothetical with his bailiff as the example. I could say something to the effect of, "Did you tell your bailiff when you hired him that you would pay him overtime? Well, do you pay him for overtime when he works over 40 hours in any given week?"

I have 10 days in order to file for an appeal of this judge's decision. I'll be filing my appeal on Monday, which is the 6th day.

I dutifully got back onto the Department of Labor's website and found a piece of information that will no doubt be of interest to this judge.

I'll show him!

I Like My Job At the Hospital

...only drawback, I don't get enough hours to make a decent living. Working on that.

Anyway, but some of the people who call in are down right idiots.

I'm the receptionist so I know this first hand.

This person with call and ask, "Is Willie there?" Willie who? And I want to add. There are 253 employees working here. Do you expect me to know each and everyone of them personally and by name when I only work here part time AT nights????

But I calmly say....is that an employee or a patient? What department do they work in? Yes, it would make life easier if you knew what department they worked in. Thank you. I don't have a listing for that person. Goodbye.

Someone else will call and ask for Tracy. I'm like, which Tracy. I happen to know of at least 3 Tracys. Do you have a last name? No. Then do you know what department they work in. No. I could go on and on.

Then there's the woman who called wanting to talk to a director. Which one? I ask sweetly. Don't you have a director there? Yes, I say. We have several. She then explained that she wanted to talk to the director who would handle matters if something was stolen from her relative's room while they were at our hospital.

I find someone to speak to her. Not easy with it being AFTER HOURS and all. While the person is talking with her one of her family members yells out to her that THEY had the equipment.

I forgot to ask if she apologized. I somehow doubt it.

Can you tell that I'm in a grippy mood?

But overall. I don't have many complaints about my job. Like I said, I wish I had more hours.

The patients and family members are 99 percent loveable. It breaks my heart though when you find out that their loved one is nearing the end. That really hurts, especially when the patient has been in the hospital a long time and you have gotten to know their family.

Now that's the hardest.