My favorite is when H asks me for tech help, saying “it will just take a minute.” No, usually it takes a lot longer.
On the road this week, enjoying warm temperatures in the south!
kmc, you are so funny and such a good writer. My mother is not even at the level of sophistication of your mother. I have printed her passwords in very large bold font and put the paper on her desk and the next visit they are nowhere to be found…I guess she tidied them up. This goes on all the time,. One of the worst things my mother does is that she still uses Dad’s Facebook page (she says it comforts her to see his profile picture). She doesn’t post but she frequently “likes” things and she doesn’t take it seriously when we tell her that it is creepy and/or upsetting to see a “like” from someone who has been dead for over two years. And yes, she has her own Facebook page.
Yesterday’s “virus” was a button inadvertently pressed on her monitor. Sigh.
Hello!
Trying to catch up with everyone’s postings. Back from Chicago in time to welcome a big spring snowstorm. Ugh…
I have been trying to sort out my Social Security record. There are three years of missing earnings. One is my senior year of college and I know I worked during the summer for school and I was also a work study student. How and the heck do I find those records!?!?! The other two years I was a grad student living on a TA stipend and working part time at a department store. I doubt we still have records from 25 years ago! Any suggestions???
NM, I have my HS years missing also. My sibs and I have consecutive numbers and I used a sister’s # during that time.
Do you have a tax return from then?
H is going to try and find old tax returns and W2s for me. I hope we have them.
In our case my sib and I decided that it did not amount to much in the end (maybe she got $5.00 more) to figure it out.
Your work as a student employee at the university may not have been subject to SS taxes, NM. Many universities at that time did not participate in SS, and even for those that did, student employees were often exempt from social security taxes. (D’s earnings at the college’s writing center were exempt.)
In my case I worked at a Woman’s Apparel store and then at Borden’s Ice Cream Factory. ( where I learned some very important life lessons and am glad I did…Given a “special job” but not autherized by the union and so I did refuse"}
Oregon, where was the factory? (Years back, a client bought Borden’s. I think it was the largest deal I’ve worked on.)
Why are y’all tracing your earnings for SS purposes? I receive the occasional report, but what made you look into it deeper to determine that years are missing?
I haven’t worked out of the home since I had D1. We are doing retirement planning and I need those years to get SS! Guess I need to go get a part time job! 
I worked one very hot summer at the Bordon’s plant in Fort Wayne, Ind.
It was 120 degrees inside most days. The ice cream is packed soft and then put in the freeze.
Had to join a union to work there. Was offered a spot on the drumsticks machine filling the cones, which was a
plush position, but turned it down because they were not following union code.
A very educational summer job in many ways. Due to the heat someone fainted everyday.
One other student figured out to put wisps of paper in a crack in the machine and cause it to shut down.
Then we would take cloths and wipe down the stainless steel machines.
Any of the ice cream that fell on the ground (the goal was to have the machines move just slightly faster than a human could work) went back in the big vat to be made into chocolate. All but sherbert, it was a loss.
The popsickles and fudge bars were a hoot–they came so fast they were everywhere. Think “I love Lucy” moments.
ShawD called me. She has been a little uncomfortable with her new employer. She felt that the doctors weren’t that good and put the nurses in difficult positions from a legal standpoint (I haven’t gotten her to explain that but it is interesting she would think that). They also were requiring her to work 16-24 hours per week, which is a bit more than she wanted to work given that she is in a full-time demanding program. So, she got a call about for an interview at a school for kids in residence. I think the kids are autistic or have other issues. She said she like the feel of the place a lot and how it was run. As has happened each time before, she was offered the job before the end of the interview. They only want one day per week and one day every other weekend, which is a more comfortable commitment. Plus, I’m sure she will fill in for others when they need it. So, she wants to resign from the old job, where she is still orienting. I told her that if she wasn’t comfortable with the work, she should leave. The other place was a 12 minute walk from her house. The new one is 14 minutes (or a $5-6 Uber at night).
shaw - D should ask what kind of coverage she is expected to offer. Will there be any other RNs on shift with her? What is the make up of the ancillary staff? How many patients will she be directly responsible for and what is their acuity? She may find herself responsible for 20 patients with 2-3 certified nursing assistant staff. It could easily be a nightmare in terms of liability for her.
Thanks, @woody. I will ask her right away. She is taking an exam this morning, but is going to call thereafter.
Hello. Sending wishes for ideal job for shaw D!
Just checkin in while procrastinating on kitchen cupboard paint touch up after some vigorous tsp-ing and a mad search for my “special” screwdriver that nobody’s supposed to touch. Bought “his and hers” and can’t find either!
I love my foreclosure compound but have always hated the “galley” kitchen that I suspect used to just be a hallway
I was very close earlier this week to dressing her up with some tres expensive soapstone counters, but had a change of heart when I realized how far I could make that same money go in the pool area where I spend way more time and have way more fun
So instead, miss kitchen is getting the guerrilla slumload makeover more befitting my situational cheapness based on return-of-fun-quotient. I’m swapping the old countertops for faux that looks just like soapstone (laminate but with a nicer edge) and a granite sink and a pretty faucet. Said counters won’t arrive for a few weeks, but I thought I’d touch up the cupboards. Its a sure sign of belated spring
@woody, one question. Why do nurses have liability? Why isn’t this covered by the employer? Does the liability arise if they are deemed to have been negligent? [Actually, that is three questions].
Well, yes, the employer would certainly have some degree of liability but in environments like the one I think you are describing, the RN on duty will assume most of the responsibility for those who actually do most of the physical work. So while the RN is responsible for getting meds out and for more involved procedures (suctioning endotracheal tubes for example), she is also responsible for the work that her subordinates actually perform. And the nurse:student ratios can be manipulated very much in favor of the institution - not the nurse, nor the student.
I don’t know the degree of disability at the facility but let’s say the nurse’s aide is responsible for positioning a student every 2 hours to prevent bedsores. If bedsores develop, guess who is responsible? And lawyers will go after everyone - the owners, the corporation and the nurse on duty as she assumes oversight.
In the case of students with autism as you implied earlier, different situations arise such as use of restraining holds. Is your daughter trained in that? I bet they will ask her to be trained. It is not something I would ever do because I don’t want to ever be accused of an improper hold that may cause injury to the student. Nor do I want to be injured. I hate to say it, but even an 80lb child can be very violent. ( I must have sent teachers WITH TRAINING to a walk-in for emergency care over 15 times last year for student-caused injuries.)
I’m assuming your daughter has malpractice insurance already… if not, get it ASAP!
So yes, the liability only arises if there is a question of negligence but these are children we are talking about and the litigious nature of child care is something to consider.
I am concerned about this as a 30+ year experienced nurse. As a new grad, I would be very concerned.
Thanks woody. I will get her malpractice insurance. At the psych hospital where she is currently orienting, they spent two days training her on restraining. I will ask about the degree of disability.
Her discomfort in the current facility is that the doctors only prescribe psych drugs but give patients whatever they were already getting that was prescribed elsewhere. Shen ShawD was there, a patient came in with a long list of heavy-duty drugs but the only thing that was positive on the tox screen was cocaine. So ShawD and the charge nurse went to the doctor and said, “Look. She is not currently taking any of these drugs. This is too much for her.” The doctor said, “Just give her what she has prescriptions for.” The patient became very listless and then threw up. Apparently, the nurses were saying, “You have to really check what the doctors are prescribing” as it isn’t always safe. The impression she got was that this kind of thing was a common occurrence. She just said, “I don’t feel comfortable there.”
She’s going to shadow a nurse at the new place before deciding whether or not to take the position.
“You have to really check what the doctors are prescribing”
Ahh yes! one of the joys of nursing is that not only do you have to know your job but you have to make sure that everybody else is doing their job correctly as well! And as a new grad, confronting an experienced MD may not be the most comfortable of situations.
Just tell her to keep her eyes open during the shadowing.
Hello all! I feel as if I’m in the movie “Groundhog Day” – it just keeps snowing here! OK, not enough to really accumulate, but I am just so sick of looking out the window to see more of the infernal stuff!
Friday night we went to a performance of Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion.” It was excellent. Of course it was all in German, so the translation booklet was very helpful … Then on Saturday night was the Engagement Party I had mentioned up thread a while back. Lots of fun, great food, etc. And finally, yesterday afternoon we cashed in the Groupon I had gotten H for Christmas – a tour and tasting at a local whiskey distillery. H is much more a fan of the stuff than I am, but it was fun. They actually make a vodka, and both a light and dark rum, as well as whiskey. So, a big “event” weekend for us!
Apparently we won’t see S over Easter – not because he’s on duty, but because he’s already made plans to hang with friends. Sometimes I get pretty down at how much he seems to want to cut himself off from the entire family. I keep asking myself if we did this? I honestly don’t know – but if so, I can’t even say what it is we did. We found out he’s headed to a base in the Azores in September, for a 1 year tour of duty. I think I mentioned his other possible assignment was S Korea. Of the two, I’m happier with the Azores. The AF base there is pretty much a giant gas station for AF planes headed overseas. He’s pleased since he’ll be able to do a lot of scuba diving. I feel a “field trip” coming on next winter …
Last week I drove out to my hometown in western MA to have lunch with my father and to collect all the family history stuff my mother had worked on. I am SO impressed with the work she did/what she uncovered – and this was all before the various online sites like Ancestry.com. So, now I have a few more bits of information, which may help with the search.