I’m actually surprised that they haven’t already done that. The weather people are predicting freezing rain for tomorrow afternoon and usually around here in the wholly-unprepared-for-winter-weather south we close the schools and shut down the city government at the suggestion of cold wet stuff of any kind.
Way back in May/June when I was smacked with high blood pressure and the doctors couldn’t find a medical cause, I decided to take advantage of my company’s free counseling service to see if there might be a stress induced component to my problem. After my initial interview it was determined that I had a stress inducing boss and I should keep a journal of my stress inducing incidents and what my response was and what it should have been. I also needed to replace my rapidly declining cycling (because of a different medical problem) with a different form of exercise. As it turned out, because of scheduling conflicts and the consoler’s inability to operate her Outlook calendar, a couple of appointments were missed, so I never went back.
Two weeks ago as part of the counseling services quality program, I got a call asking how I felt about their services. I told them that they were definitely sub-par, the advice given made sense, but the level of commitment to keeping appointments left a lot to be desired. Two days later I got a call from the Head of Patient Services. He told me he was sorry I felt that way and if I was still interested I could be set up to see another counselor. I thought, what the heck, it doesn’t cost anything, go for it.
This evening I had my session with a different counselor. We chatted for an hour and he came to the conclusion that I was having trouble dealing with the fact that I was getting old. I should learn to deal with this, considering the alternative and he gave me a sheet of paper with some relaxation breathing exercises and if I ever needed to talk he gave me his card. You’re dismissed.
Now that I look back on these counselors and their diagnoses, whose problems are we dealing with? The first felt I had boss issues, I don’t think there is a big issue between myself and my boss, he is a lazy asshole and everyone knows it but himself (this is a universal truth and not just my problem.) So is it hers? She is a female and she is non-white. She kept a very messy office and obviously had no idea how to handle and set up appointments. Is her boss on her case a lot? Counselor #2 is in his early 40’s and his 19 year-old daughter recently presented him with a grand baby. I don’t feel I have a problem with my getting older, but does he?
Here is the final twist. Did my different reactions and responses to the different counselors cause each one to come to their different conclusions?
In my extremely lazy day around the house today I have watched a bit of TV. Everything from a rerun of SportsNight at 7:30 AM to some of the Saints/Bucs football game at 9:30 PM. As my habit, and probably most men’s, as soon as a commercial break happens we go hunting other things to see. In the probably 25 times I passed through MTV today, not once did I stumble onto a music video being played. Because it is of no interest to me, I didn’t stick around to see if it was Road Rules or Real World or whatever. VH1 is falling into the same rut as well, only about half the time we they playing videos. The rest was Behind the Music stuff….
Watched about half of an NFL football game on TV this afternoon. It’s Thanksgiving, so I felt it was expected of me. Saw the latest loser version of a Dr. Pepper commercial with some sort of Buddy Holly/early rock ‘n’ roll thing that was absolutely without any redeeming qualities. Who were they expecting to appeal to with that? They ought to take a cue from the beer ads, those are funny as well as populated with young, hip twenty-somethings we all wish we were.
…always seem so long. By Tuesday it seemed like I’d been there long enough for it to be Thursday. Which if you look at it, was just about right because today was Wednesday, but really Friday because it was the last day of the work week.
Went out for bagels for breakfast. When we sat down in the restaurant to wait for our order I noticed that the newspaper print was slightly out-of-focus. It wasn’t the paper, it was me, I had left my glasses on the nightstand. I got tired of hunting down where I put my reading glasses about a year ago, so I went and had no-line bifocals made up of clear glass on top and +1.00 reading glasses on the bottom. Now I just wear them all the time. Trouble comes in the morning, because I don’t really need them to see, unlike my wife, I can get ready for work without putting them, so sometimes I get all the way to trying to read the paper before I realize that I need to get my glasses. Today was the first time I left home with out them though.
On the way to work this morning we stopped at the ATM to get out a twenty because Donna was going out at lunch with her co-workers. When we were walking into the building at work she asked me to give her the receipt from the withdrawal. She likes to put them inside the checkbook right away because I have a tendency to forget about them and have nearly caused some checks to bounce in the past. When I opened my wallet the $20 bill was there, but no receipt. For that matter, no ATM card either! Left them in the ATM. Hopped back in the car and hightailed it the 3 miles back to the bank. The receipt was still there in the slot, but no card. When I got back to work I called the 1-800 customer service where the fellow explained to me that after a minute or so of the card being left in the slot the machine sucks it in. If I was lucky that would be the case. I called the bank an hour later when they opened and sure enough they had my card. When you are old and senile it helps to be lucky. 🙂