5/11/2007

Mother’s Day is Sunday

Some people think Mother’s Day is a waste of time - a Hallmark holiday that serves no purpose.  I think some people make more of it than perhaps they should, but I won’t say that it serves no purpose.  We moms work hard - 24/7 - to keep the household running - the relationships flowing - the kids in line - and the dads going, too.  We cook, clean, console, cheer, build, repair, assist, tutor, tend, heal … it’s hard to keep this going with just verbs, you know?  But basically, we do a lot - our job requires multi-tasking and many skills.  And so - it’s kind of nice to have one day of the year when dad and the kid(s) step up and say thanks in a more obvious and pronounced way.  A quick “thanks, mom” as a kid is running out the door wearing just washed clothes and with a freshly made PB & J stuffed in his mouth isn’t the same as a hand-picked flower, a hug & kiss, and a heartfelt “I love you, Mom.”

So in some ways - while the day is for Mom - it isn’t all about Mom.  It’s also about you (husband, child, or grandchild) saying thank you, for recognizing the person who bravely tackles and takes on all kinds of problems, issues, burdens, and chores to make your life better.

So maybe you don’t buy into the whole cards, candy, and carnations thing.  Fine.  But you could do her chores for a day - or run errands for her - or cook her dinner for a change.  Oh, and don’t forget the hug & kiss and heartfelt “I love you, Mom” - those are very important.

sparta at 11:13 am

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5/4/2007

SAHM salary

Salary.com conducted a survey of several thousand stay-at-home moms and figured what their annual salary would be:  $138,095.  I would say that for some moms - it would be a bit more, and of course, you would have to adjust for the cost of living in your area - however, this feels pretty close.

If this is an accurate assessment, then I only have one thing to say:

Someone owes me a heck of a lot of back-pay!  LOL!  :-)

OH!  And Mother’s Day is coming up very soon …. sooooo - for all the SAHM and WM in your life, take note!

I’m just sayin’……

sparta at 11:01 am

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5/3/2007

Thoughts?

Man essentially jailed for failure to complete prescription for TB.

Okay, look.  Yes, it’s awful that this man is in the prison wing of a hospital.  He feels his rights were abused.  Yada, yada, yada.  He has freakin’ TB!  The newer drug-resistant strain.  Hello!  While in Russia, he failed to follow the doctor’s orders and take the full course of antibiotics … THEN LIED ABOUT BEING BETTER … and came to the U.S. where AGAIN, he failed to complete his meds. Who knows how many people he has infected both there and here!
Now, once the doctors at this facility say he is cured, and not infectuous to others at all, then we can let him go.  He’s had two chances - he blew them both.  I know it must be hard to be so isolated - but he’s CONTAGEOUS!  The current death rate for the strain(s) they have labeled XDR-TB is something like 50%.  Um - that means 1 out of every 2 that catch it DIE!

So, yeah, he’s being held for not only his own good, but the public’s good.  Which is to show that while we need to stand up for personal rights and freedoms, we also have to consider the public at large as well.

sparta at 11:15 am

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I love XKCD

sparta at 10:42 am

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5/2/2007

Wha….?

So - having ended up being the receiver of two torn one-dollar bills, I proceeded to my local branch to exchange them.  This has been the policy of banks since I was a young kid:  get a torn bill, take it to the bank, they give you a new whole bill in the proper denomination, and you go buy books, or toys, or candy, or whatever.  Well, not at my bank’s closest branch.  The teller proceeded to tell me that they didn’t exchange for torn currency any more.  I said, “Really?  What should I do with it then?  Throw it away - shred it?”  She smiled and said, “Well, we’re supposed to tell people to take them to a federal bank.”  A federal bank?  Yeah, right.  “There’s one in downtown San Francisco,” she offered.  I looked at the ones - then back at her - then down to the ones.  When I looked back up, she was looking at them too, then she looked up at me, and we shared a little laugh.

Still, it was bugging me all day.  So I looked it up on the Internet, and right there at the Treasury’s website, it says to take such bills to your local bank.  So I called my bank, and after being shuffled here and there, I spoke to Emily.  Emily spoke to someone, and when she came back, she said it was up to the individual branches.
This perplexes me.  Since when did banks …wait, no, individual branches of banks…get to decide how they deal with currency?  I’m sure my “do I shred it?” comment went over well.  As you should know, you’re not supposed to intentially deface currency, and I WASN’T SERIOUS … just a little frustrated.  After all, if I can’t exchange it, and I can’t spend it, what AM I supposed to do with it?

I do have another branch I can try, and maybe I will if it works out that I happen to be there like using the ATM or something.   And maybe if I happen to be at the Safeway that has a Wells Fargo, I’ll see if they will take them.  I’m certainly not commuting an hour in and an hour back, plus in-city travel time, plus a wait in the line there, just to exchange a couple of ones.  A couple of hundreds might be worth it - but anything less wouldn’t be worth it.

Anyone else faced something like this?  A shift in what used to be a basic understanding of procedure?  Share.

sparta at 6:03 pm

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