Wednesday, February 21, 2007

A Couple Of Items

Where does your mail and to-do lists and things of that nature get dumped at your house? Mine is on my place setting on our kitchen table. I have to move it to the unused end of the table every night when we eat. I move it back thinking "yeah, gotta get to that stuff" like it will happen any sooner back on my place mat.
Located in this pile of important crap was a notice from my one and only credit card company telling me my APR was going to increase a point for no particular reason as well as some other minuscule changes that didn't really effect me greatly. I scanned it back in January when I got it, noticed I had till March's billing date to respond and laid it down, intending to call to politely decline their option at some point before then. Well, I re-read this notice this morning and found it said "notify by mail if you decide to decline" and do it by February 20th. But..but..but this February 21st!!!! CRAP! I wrote a letter this morning and promptly dropped it in the mail saying something like, "I opt out of your intentional increase and I should get to do this no matter when I send the letter since I am such a good customer". Think that'll fly?

Time management hint- If you are tired of waiting on the doctor who is having a rousing conversation with another batch of patients in the next exam room, just get off the table and move toward your purse to check your cell phone for incoming calls from kids expected home from school and you can bet he'll be arriving in your exam room AT THAT VERY MINUTE YOU ARE STANDING WITH YOUR BUM UNCOVERED! It doesn't have to be your cell phone. Magazine racks, freebies from the drawers (like the doors of "Let's Make a Deal"), the intercom are just a few of the other reasons to hasten his/her arrival. And yeah, he knocks first but does he really plan on listening for that squeal "not yet!"
Hope this helps.

Can you imagine working in a place where you see kids every day that are not adequately clothed, fed or kept from harmful situations or helped in the ways I take for granted a kid should be helped? I am not assuming anything either, by the way. How a child looks, dresses, acts, says a lot of what goes on at home but there has to be some contact with the parents of said students to give a reasonable understanding of the kid's home life. We get that contact, too. And I'm not coming from a religious standpoint, either. I am talking about basic needs. Clean clothes, enough to eat (although our school provides breakfast and lunch and many get this at free or reduced prices), enough sleep, a safe place to live. I have always known there were kids like this, but I never knew I would feel education is just a small part of what they need. Or that I would feel so useless to provide hope for any of them.
Would you try to reach out to those who need the most basic needs? Could you just look the other way on those needs and just give them moral support? Make their time at school a very positive experience? There are so many of them.

Time for a cocktail. The kids have left the hovel with their dad for a meal so I am getting some "me" time. I bought some pomegranate juice and plan to mix a Pom Martini. I'll rate it in a while, k?
Cheers

6 Comments:

Blogger Otis said...

Until last year, I saw those kids...

6:04 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I take one rubber glove for every five minutes the doctor is late for the appointment! LOL

That drink sounds good!

8:38 AM  
Blogger Gnomeself Be True said...

I recently had a credit card company raise my rate from 8% to 16%. They had a right to do it, since I was 3 days late on a payment.
I emailed them and said that I was prepared to transfer my balance to another account if they did not reduce the interest to be comptetitive with a 9% offer I had in my hands.
They reduced it to 6%.
Give them a call or go online and use their customer service system. Nine out of ten times, a request to lower interest rates will be granted.
Depending on your debt, 5 minutes can save serious money.

8:57 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh, the piles. I've finally mastered them in my house. We have a shredder, a trash can and a paper recycle bin in our kitchen right next to each other. I sort the mail every night while standing by my mail processing center. What doesn't qualify for recycling, the trash or the shredder is put in a to-do box. It has really helped a lot.

Ha-ha for getting caught with your buns hanging out. I'll have to remember that strategy. I go batty waiting in those small rooms with the white walls and flourescent lights.

Your martini sounds good. I can't have alcohol (allergic), but I love to mix pom juice with sprite. Tasty.

3:44 PM  
Blogger Anne said...

Lisa - My new office is exactly like those exam rooms, but worse. I'm going batty, to the tune of major headaches every day. Had to go to the Dr to get a note to turn the lights out. The doctor's office had nice teal walls.

Greeny, good luck with the credit card, blessings on those kids, if I worked where I see kids like that I'd like to think I'd help more.

9:04 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Hi, otis. I know a lot of people see those children in their day-to-day lives.
sm, that's a good beginning but I'm after larger loot.
The drink WAS good. Try one some time. And oh, the antioxidants!
Iamnot, I think I have it licked. I did what you said today online but will have to see what they send me back. Part of what was in the pile on my placemat was the other credit card offers I kept for leverage.

lisa p, all that was in my pile was stuff I had to keep to do! I am religious about my junk mail going by-by fast. I just let my to-do stuff pile up.
Hey, the Sprite concoction sounds good. I never knew anyone could be allergic to alcohol! I guess it's a shame unless you really don't mind.
Thanks Anne, for stopping by. The counselor and school nurse are very giving and on top of all things of this manner. It's just an overwhelming problem. So many are kids I can see bringing into my home to care for. And that is some horrible prob to have with the lighting situation. Hope it gets resolved soon.
Happy weekend everybody!

2:32 PM  

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