New year, same as the old year

I don't know about you.
But I fail enough in life without setting myself up for even more failure.

So I don't make resolutions or think I'm going to change my whole life because we flipped over a page on the calendar. I just.. go on. Some things get better, some don't improve and some things are worse. It's all just life.

I posted a few years ago about the little things I do for other people.
I can't improve anyone's life by donating a million dollars to them or make big, splashy donations that get me in the news.
I can only do small things.
I'll continue to do that when I can.
As the recipient of many small things, I can tell you that it makes a much larger difference than you may think.
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Matt came over yesterday and he and Eric cooked all day long. They made tamales, taquitos, enchiladas, rice... seems like there might have been one or two other things, but since I don't eat any of it (yes, I know) I am not keeping track.
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My mom went to the doctor's office on Friday afternoon and peed in a cup for them again. Apparently the Cipro didn't work. And because she's stubborn and sometimes a little stupid, didn't bother telling them that it was making her sick.

So when the clinic contacted the closest urologist (3 hours away from my parents in Bend) HE prescribed another antibiotic over the phone. Another type of fucking Cipro!!

So my mom still feels like crap, but she's "watching carefully for side-effects". Um, hello? That horrible feeling you have? The way you're still sick? That is a fucking side effect!!!

::headdeskheaddeskheaddesk:::

I'm so pissed off at her that I don't even want to talk to her right now. She doesn't even QUESTION the doctor. The one she hasn't even fucking met who prescribed for her over the phone until she can see him halfway through January when he makes the rounds and comes to her little town.

Jesus H. Christ.
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I've spent a little time catching up with laundry and folding and making sure stuff is where we can find it.

I'm not good at laundry, really. I am great at making sure it's clean, but not so good at folding it and putting it away. What happens is that I (usually sometimes occasionally) hang up the hangy-uppy stuff and toss the rest (towels, underwear, socks) in whatever basket is in the laundry room. Except when I don't have time to hang stuff up or Lyssa needs to use the dryer so she pulls everything out and just crams it into the nearest basket. So now I *can't* hang stuff up because it's all wrinkled and hanging it is pointless, so then it sits in the basket and more stuff gets added to it and eventually I have two full loads to toss back into the dryer to fluff up and that doesn't happen and then more stuff doesn't get folded and we have towels and socks and underwear all mixed in with the rest of the stuff and I don't feel like dealing with it. And then we have a ton of laundry that needs to be dealt with, sitting in the momcave. So that's what I'm going to spend the day doing. Catching up with that.
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But I will also color and draw. And watch old movies. Last night I watched Grumpy Old Men and Grumpier Old Men. The stories themselves aren't really that stunning. But the people cast in the roles made the movies into something great and I always enjoy seeing them.

Speaking of people cast in roles making the movie what it is, I'm trying to decide between Mrs. Doubtfire or The Birdcage for my afternoon's entertainment. Robin Williams was an amazing actor.

I don't have a lot of variety. I have several movies on dvd (probably fewer than 30 of them, I suppose) and can hook up the very old TV in the momcave to the stereo and get great sound. But I can't watch Netflix in there unless I hook my computer to the stereo, hence the limited selection.

Once I get caught up with the hospital bills (and the surgery I had over summer did NOT WORK on my ankle in case you wondered and I'll probably be having that revisited sometime soon, FUCKKKKKKK)

I will buy a smart TV for my little room. It's not something I need, just a thing I want. So I'm not in a hurry to get it. I am considering trying to save a little money at a time so I can go get one and not feel guilty about it, but it's not my number one priority. If you'd like to be my fairy god mother/father, let me know. I'll give you my address. :)
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I've been aggravated about one aspect of my new job since I started.
They're expecting me to drive to the office once a week to pick up four pieces of paper. My weekly contracted schedule and the sign in/out pages for the kids. Since I only have nine children enrolled, it's not exactly difficult to keep track of them. I can fill names in on the blank forms I've been provided with and I know which kids are supposed to attend on specific days. But to go every Thursday and pick up the paperwork takes about two and a half hours out of my day, sometimes more if the traffic is heavy.

The rest of the staff lives within about fifteen minutes of the office, so it's not a huge task for them. In addition, many of them are stationed close to each other in various schools, so it's easy for one person to pick up/drop off the paperwork for four or five different programs, too.

Part of the reason I was hired for the site I'm at is the fact that I live just down the street from my school. It's a six minute commute.  But driving to the office... no. The traffic management in our area has been and continues to be, abysmal. It's really frustrating.

I have asked about it more than once. My 'manager' looked blankly at me and said, "Well, be sure to turn in your mileage."

The mileage isn't the point, of course. I get 54 cents a mile, which more than pays for my gas. They even pay me my hourly wage to drive from my school to the office. I don't care. I don't want to drive over to the other side of goddamn Portland for some paper every week. It was not discussed (along with other things, like how shitty their insurance plan is) and I had no idea.

So Eric drove me over there on Friday to pick up some snacks and to get this week's paperwork. I told her this time that I'm not going to be able to come to the office on Thursdays, using the excuse that I need to drive my daughter to work. That is true, I do need to be available to drive her to work. So I'm not making it up. It's important for me to be honest as much as possible.

Haha, ask Fluffy and the Big Fish about that. My honest email is probably still being forwarded around at HQ. I hope someone takes action for the sake of the children being crapped on. It's too late to take care of all the employees who have left due to that same crapping.

I said, "There are at least five different ways for me to get that paperwork. Only one of them involves me driving 45 miles." (That's the round trip... 45 miles to pick up four pieces of paper!!)

"You can fax them to me. I have already checked with the school and they're absolutely fine with that. You can send them to me in the mail. Our program has a mailbox in the school's office. You can email them to me and I will print them at my house. I am willing to meet Rose once a week, I know she lives out in my area. But I'm not going to drive over here every week anymore. It's a waste of resources."

She blinked at me. "Well it's just our policy."

"I know. I can't do it. I need to be available to take my daughter to work. Let me know which other option we're going to use."
I smiled, said, "See you later," and walked away.

And I got an email late on Friday afternoon asking for the school's fax number. However, she found it necessary to let me know that I still need to come to the office to pick up snacks and attend monthly site director meetings. DUHHHHHHHH.

She's very new at her job. And I don't hold it against her, but it drives me insane. When I emailed her at the end of August with, 'What is the phone number of my site?' I got back, "(123) 456-7890... but the phone is only to be used during program hours."

Nooooo, ya think??????

Anyway, I don't want to be that person. The one who needs everything adjusted to suit. But goddammit, I am doing the same outstanding job for this company that I did for the last one, including contributing a lot of my own things, and the kids are happy, the parents are happy and from what I've seen, the company could learn at least one thing from the way I run my program. It's a very disorganized place, and they really need someone with some management skills to come in and get things fixed. It's inefficient and costing them money. They don't seem to care, it's a non-profit. I've decided to just do my job and go along with most of it, but when it's personally difficult for me, say something. At least for now. Companies are constantly searching for people who do what I do, and I am sure I can find other employment if I have to.

On the other hand, there are many reasons that my current thing is a good fit.

Like I said. New year, same as the old year.

Do you make resolutions?