Well that's over. The Holy week is over as is the season. I gave up soda for lent. It was hard, well towards the end it was, I could taste the sweet cherry flavor of my fave cherry Coke. I did manage to teach the child the story of Easter and the last week of Jesus' life. The preachers jaw dropped when my 4.5 year old knew the answers to her Easter questions. Proud papa moment. Faith is an interesting thing. Faith of a child is needed most times. Our old pastor has this in spades. She does many things without planning or any follow through afterward, faith of a child. She just thinks the stuff will happen. It varies from ordering Easter flowers to shipping hand made dresses to 3rd world countries. The ladies of the church pick up the slack and things get done. I often wonder, is that God working or just lazy and stressed people working to make one functioning person? As I get older I think I see things happen and just know that was Gods work. Then times I'm like what's going here? How can this stuff happen? I wonder if the new Pope gets interviewed and asked stuff like that. "Cardinal Smith tell me 3 ways you've seen God work and 2 ways that have made you go huh?" Catholic is the basis of the Christian church. We all have oaths and other mantras that mention them in most denominations. This pope thing was big stuff. Well my 1 Catholic friend told me it was. Either Rome or Israel own all the cool bible stuff and on each big holiday they parade them around. Jesus' burial shroud was in Rome on Good Friday (I think that was the day). I'm sure the Jews have the Arc of the covenant and make every Nazi war criminal glare into it at some point. Indiana Jones reference hope you get it.
So whats the point of all this? I have none. To read my blog requires faith like a child. What will this weirdo say next, how is his body trying to kill him now, what cool rock song will he show this time. Who knows? Peace and Love, Ben
Since when do hospitals call and ask for money? That shiny beacon of health in Winston on Hawthorne Hill as they call it is now soliciting. The audacity! Calling former patients for donations because your care was so stellar. Do they call families of the unfortunate souls who did make it out of the hospital? What is next, calling former employees? The same employees the stiffed for numerous years to hit the bottom line? That place deserves the sour name it has now gotten in the NC triad. I asked a guy at church a few weeks ago what his job at the beacon was, he honestly looked frightened. Like I was gonna gun him down or hit him in the Sunday school hallway. Health care is failing in America. This place is an example of how, tens upon tens of VP's getting fat checks and bonuses. Paying millions to bring in a new CEO, just to bring him in from Texas. His salary is added to that hush hush bonus. The allied health workers lived in fear for 2 years while all this transpired. X-ray techs got canned, nurses hours got cut, nurses got canned or reassigned, respiratory therapists got canned and had schedules/hours "trimmed". Fancy focus groups formed to lead us into a new golden age. Plus no raises for 3 cycles! Pay freezes and hiring freezes are not the new golden age. Yes the depression was at full force during this time period but as stated above the VP's did not seem to mind. I forgot to mention doctors were purged. The best ones, the ones with demands and great ideas, fired. Some without even being told, he had to read his job ad online. I left to find a place I'd be appreciated and paid for my input and ideas. Surprisingly just a few miles away this problem did not exist. I was shown just how poorly that hospital was run. I do not miss that place, I do not regret leaving, I do feel sorry for my friends employed there. I do hope one day they call and ask me for money or a review of their services/reputation. Any medical center that goes from having 10 specialties in the top 25 in The US world news hospital report to having 2 in the top 50 within a year is in deep trouble. Hospitals are today's factories. In the days of our grandparents a HS diploma would get a job at a local factory making something for a honest wage, a livable wage. Today a HS diploma gets you a PT job at Sheetz for minimum wage and you may have to drive 25 miles round trip to get there at $3.75 a gallon. Money gone! For 3 years at a community college anyone with a C average can become some form of healthcare worker. Now yes it is harder than that to get in most programs, but if you look hard enough you will become something. Most jobs at a hospital start out at near $17 an hour in this state. Most can just be a warm body at said job, do the minimum, don't screw up and get that honest wage. To me this is wrong. Just another example of how America is broken. Working at any allied health job should be a privilege not just a pay check. How do we fix the American work force? I do not know but I know that a job at a hospital should not be the only job in town that pays you well(unless you work in Winston Salem at the trauma center). This may or may not make any sense to anyone, I just had to spill it all out. I have been pondering this for awhile and needed to say it. If you get it, good. If you don't, then its just the ramblings of a disabled former healthcare worker.
Hello readers. I have 2 posts i am currently writing in my wandering mind. One is about the evil empire on hawthorne hill here in Winston Salem and the other is on faith. However, I am flaring right now and don't feel like doing anything other than breathing. I am in immense pain and its not getting better. This may take awhile to work its course. I have 12 days until Easter and hope to be better by then, we will see.
Sorry folks! I've been in no mood for blogging. The end of winter has me in the dumps. I am ready to move onto summer. I am also trying to overcome phase 1 of disability acceptance. I am stuck in denial/isolation. I so try and move past it but it just drags me back down each cold day. I have had a few interesting social media debates these past weeks. One was on medical spending and its place in economy downfall. It was had between myself, a ECMO attending, and another Respiratory therapist. The doctor sided with big business but offered a great debate. We RRT's sided with the regular joe. The hospital bills are just one great atrocity, the pay of certain staff and underpay of others is part two. I feel that PharmD , Pharmacists, are way over paid and CNA's , nurse aides, are under paid. The education between these 2 jobs is great but $8 an hour for the hardest job in a hospital is too low. over 100k a year is too high, some make up to $100 an hour at your local CVS, to count pills most of the day. Yes they do more than that but you will never see one lay hands on a patient, provide any life saving service, or generally leave the pharmacy of the hospital. France has a great medical system in place. Cuba does too, oh no I sided with the reds and the frogs!!!!! In the mid to late 2000's an anesthesia doctor made about 90k a year in France and lived as well as anyone would ever need. In USA they get at least 20k more a year. Why? Ask the government. Medical overhaul is a good thing. Getting peoples salaries under control is just a small part. Am I saying pay doctors like a person with just 4 years of education? NO! We have eliminated the middle class by allowing doctors and VP's of banks,hospitals, and big business to get raises while we the average American maintain on the same amount we had in 2008. It was great debate and we each made points that made the other kinda say thats right. It ended in a stalemate. The other was about the great evil. ABORTION!!!!! This was a twitter war. Fanatical Christians ruin the Christian name. People slam Planned Parenthood like its a Nazi death camp. They do abortions, yes. Would I want my wife to have one? No. Would I tell her what to do with her body ever? No. Would I as a man try and ever tell any woman what to do with their bodies? No. I am secure enough in my religion and masculinity to admit those things. PP* does many things and abortion is just 3% of those things. Cancer screens, STD treatments, and basic health care for poor all rank higher on the pie chart than the the A word. People don't care! They see one thing and focus all the hate on it. I debated with a progressive tone and my enemy surrendered. I hope to to get my ideas out more via this blog. I stated 2 posts ago that I was now going for quality and quantity. This will maintain but I hope to blog more than every 3 weeks. Until next time....
I started Twitter this week. I have enjoyed it. I have also be banned twice in a week. Aggressive following, whatever that is. I have a learning curve and they do not allow such things. My cognition is off a bit and while I learn the ropes of this media source I keep getting nagged and booted. I don't get it! AHHHH whatever! Who needs it? Happy note my Deacs beat the #2 ranked team today. AWESOME!
Well...... I'm back! I have taken basically all winter off from the blog. My humor did not transfer well, some feeling got hurt, and I quit. Now I'm back and it is no holds barred. If I offend you, sorry. I assure it was not on purpose or I would have said it to you in person. Also, I got off track toward the end. I was looking for high reader numbers and not substance. Not anymore. Quality over quantity is the new key. I will not be posting the links for every post either. I will only post it on my Facebook page after a new post. I need this outlet to keep my mind fresh. My disease has started to affect my speech and cognition. So I will try and write again to keep my sharpish.
Movie review:* The newest James Bond (007) film was just that a true film, not some popcorn flick. I have seen every Bond movie to date and this is by far the best. Most 007 movie have video game like violence that results in video game death which equals many lives and a massive regenerative ability. However, Skyfall only had one scene that I count with such goofy death and non-death. The story was great. Taking us deep into the past of Bond and giving us a little taste of what made him who he is. The first 10 to 20 minutes are so full of action and chippy dialogue that you will find yourself immersed in the world and unaware of your true surroundings. The next act ( I see this movie as a 4 act not the typical 3 act) shows us a Bond we have never seen, down on his luck and just a drunk. It was great! I did not see it coming. The dialogue was well written in a dark comedic tone. The M agency also has a few unfriendly encounters during this part and rolling into act 3. M herself is under fire for basically being old and using an old approach to today's computer world. Guess she still plays pong. The villain shows up during the middle acts, he is the best one since Goldeneye. A ex spy turned bad guy because he was wronged. I know, its an old and often used background for any action movie villain. It works well in this one due to the things he and Bond have in common. The final act is just like the first, non stop action with dry witted humor peppered in between gun shots. As always Bond prevails and saves the day, but we do suffer a loss this time. A dear friend is killed and a new one is born. I should say 2 old friends because the car 007 drives is destroyed and it was the one from the original 007 days. This is one movie you need to catch on the big screen. I saw it in IMAX and it was a grand experience. As for the song, I hear it is a lock for an Oscar nomination, I hated it. Then again the only Bond song I ever liked was by Duran Duran ( A View to a Kill). I might have dropped a spoiler or 2 but they are minor. * I did this for fun. I saw the movie at The Grand 18 in Winston Salem and Kim White took me. I did not pay so maybe I am a true movie critic. LOL
