The Good Story And The Bad Story

The good story is about the lottery. The bad story is about the swine flu.

First the lottery:

What would you do if you bought a lottery ticket as a gift and the person you gave it to won two hundred thousand dollars? Would you want them to reward you in some way? What if the situation was reversed and you were given the winning ticket? Would you reward the giver? And how would you reward them?

From AOL.Com. Paraphrased.

"A lottery ticket given to Patricia Gray of Wichita, Kansas by her mother-in-law turned out to be a whole lot more than a mere token: It was a big winner. Patricia Gray and her husband James won a $200,000 cash prize they won from a Powerball ticket that was given to them by James' mother. "

"If it weren't for her, we wouldn’t be here claiming this ticket," Gray told a Kansas lottery official. "She's the kind of person who always thinks of her family first. She is excited for us and told us to keep the money. We've been struggling financially for a long time." Gray says she will use the prize money to pay bills and help family members."

I hope Gray at least buys her mother-in-law something nice.

On to the Swine Flu:

The local paper here, The Oregonian, did a pretty good summary of what the Swine Flu is. You can read the complete summary at Oregonlive.com. The flu is a disease caused by influenza, a virus with eight genes made of RNA. The Swine Flu is viruses that live in many animals, including people, birds, and pigs. There are signs that up to half of the U.S. Pigs have been infected with some form of swine flu. Pandemic flu is a germ that spreads easily from person to person and has hit has hit a least two regions of the world. The current swine flu is not yet considered pandemic. How often does a pandemic flu happen? An estimated ten pandemics have hit in the past three hundred years. The most recent being the Honk Kong flu in 1968 that killed 34,000 U.S. Residents. The worst pandemic flu was in 1918, the Spanish Flu, that killed an estimated fifty million people.

Now what to do. In another article in The Oregonian, that you can also read at Oregonlive.com they had a list of things to do:

Have a week's supply of water, food, vital medicines and some cash on hand.

If you get sick stay home. Drink lots of clear fluids, call your doctor for advise, cover your cough and sneezes with a tissue. Before making an appointment with your doctor make sure you tell the doctor that you have flu like symptoms.

How to avoid getting sick? Don't have close contact with anyone sick. Wash your hands. Wash them several times a day.

I'm going to add something here that wasn't in the article since a lot of us care for elderly parents. The elderly usually don't have the best of immune systems. Take extra caution with them. Maybe even make them wear a mask when they go out. If the elderly get the flu it could be deadly, turn into pneumonia, or result in serious muscle or joint pain. Make sure they take extra showers, wash their hands a lot, even spray their house with Lysol. Make their living area as germ free as possible. If they have visitors make sure the elderly parent wears a mask during the visits.

What are you doing to prepare for a possible invasion of the swine flu in your area? Does it scare you?

May this be a lottery winning day for all of you and may you be disease free!

The Results Are In And Aging Isn't Easy

Some of this is pretty personal but I promised to be honest with you on the blog and sometimes to my own detriment I decide to keep that promise.

I know women worry a lot about aging but I'm going to tell you a little secret, so do us men.

OK, the last five months my health kind of went by the wayside. A concussion, bronchitis, three jobs, a mom to care for, twelve to fifteen hour workdays just didn't leave a lot of time to worry about my health or to do healthy things. No walks in the morning. Eating more to keep my energy then for health. Considering all of that I was surprised about how good my reports were. The good despite not walking and not eating properly was my cholesterol, total 133, bad 63, trys 159, ratio 3.5. All good. My prostrate was normal, kidneys good. Now the two concerns. My good cholesterol was only 38. The good needs to be higher than 40. And there were two thyroid tests, one showed normal, one showed lower than normal. Not a lot lower than normal but lower than normal. The plan is to test me again in ninety days and if the thyroid is still low to go on freaking medication.

I now have a plan for the next ninety days. Back to my walking. Back to healthy eating. Back to really concentrating on losing the ten pounds that I wanted to lose for six months now. Also to learn to like fish. Fish is good for raising the good c.

I'm hoping you will all keep me in your good thoughts, good vibes, and good prayers for the next ninety days so that the next test will blow the doctor out of the water.

Even though I actually think I get better with age, still aging isn't all that easy, is it? What are your concerns as you get older? Your health concerns? Your emotional concerns? Any other concerns?

Birthdays, Good Vibes, Tidbits, Personal Ads, and Books.

First the birthdays. Say Happy Birthday to Simply Amused from the great State of Texas. She works a job, takes care of a special needs daughter, and attends college so she is often to busy to post here. But I enjoy it whenever she does and would be remiss if I didn't ask all of you to wish her a happy birthday!

The good vibes are for DR and myself. DR has a couple of busy weeks coming up with a lot of visitors coming her way celebrate her Mom's 90th birthday. Say a prayer for her, send some good vibes and thoughts her way that the weeks will be easier than expected and the party for her mom will be a great success! And send prayers and good thoughts my direction as my physical is tomorrow morning. It scares me to no end. So please say a prayer or send good thoughts and vibes my direction that the physical will go well. Thank you.

The main tidbit is for you Project Runway fans. It returns in August on The Lifetime Channel. The producers have settled their lawsuit with NBC and it allows for a new season of Project Runway to begin in August. Another tidbit is for you Friday Night Lights fans. It has been renewed through 2010!

Personal ads? Do you ever read them? Are you ever curious about the motivation behind the ads? Here is one from today's Oregonian: "Lost Person, looking for a woman named Mary who was in Vegas 3/20/09 wkend w/her 3-4 sisters, 2 of which are twins celebrating 1 of the sister's b-day. We met at Tao nite club. Mary is in her mid 30's, a runner (5-10 mi/day) 5'3", 5'7" tall, blonde, wavy curly hair, has 2 sons age 10 & 8, I need to re-connect w/her. She has something of mine - my heart. Atlanta Bob" It then gives contact information. Do you find this romantic? Or do you find it more like stalking? If you were Mary would you respond or run? Do you think it is unusual for Bob to have so much information about Mary and in their conversations didn't ask for her phone number? Have you ever placed a personal ad?

Reading. I'm currently reading JUSTICE DENIED by J. A. Jance. I'm half way through and somwhat enjoying it, it is taking me a while to get into it. In Sunday's Oregonian they always list top ten book lists. I'm not going to list all of the top tens. You can read all the Oregonian's top ten lists by going to oregonlive.com. The list that I liked is "Paperback mass-market fiction" and its list is:

1. Tribute by Nora Roberts.

2. Where Are You Now? by Mary Higgins Clark

3. From Dead to Worse by Charlene Harris.

4. Angels And Demons by Dan Brown.

5. Montana Creeds: Tyler by Linda Lael Miller.

6. Nothing To Lose by Lee Child.

7. Curse The Dawn by Karen Chance.

8. The Whole Truth by David Baldacci

9. The Choice by Nicholas Sparks.

10. Twenty Wishes by Debbie Macomber.

Have you read any of the above books? The only one on the above list that I have read is The Whole Truth by David Baldacci. I'm a fan of his so I enjoyed the writing and the story. Dona I know you like to cook so I am going to mention an author that writes in a genre called "culinary mysteries". Diane Mott Davidson might be an author you would enjoy. Good stories and great recipes!

Off to buy the lawn mower that I looked at yesterday. I won't be able to use it until Wednesday because it is a battery operated mower and those take twenty-four hours to charge. Then Monday and Tuesday I'm at Mom's so the lawn mowing is scheduled for Wednesday!

May this be a happy day for all of you!

Update Day, A.K.A., Confession Day

Friday's seem to come faster and faster! I'm pleased about that because that means it is day where I get to learn more about you. More about what is going on in your life. What your concerns are. What your joys are. I even like hearing your vents because they usually result in good discussions and a lot of us saying that is how we feel too! You can tell me your secrets today. You can ask me your questions today. You can introduce yourself today. You can post anything you damn will please.

This has been a busy week for me. With some ups and downs. Care giving is a lot like riding an elevator with its ups and downs. Let see this week, there were three nights at Mom's, a movie, a two day Body, Mind, & Spirit Expo, a movie, a doctor's appointment, taking mom to two doctor appointments, fixing some things around the house, cleaning house, doing my tax return, doing my sister's tax return, lawn mower shopping, laundry (it was at the place where I either did laundry or bought new clothes), did my quarterly payroll reports, washed my car, and so on. On next week's plate is getting my lawn in order, two nights at Mom's, go back into work and finish a project and more errands. Tonight I am going to sit down and relax. Get a nice bottle of water. Turn on the TV and watch the Portland Trailblazers take on the Houston Rockets. My kind of peace. Maybe there is a movie on the horizon this weekend. I do know there will be a lot of walking. I'm going to win that diet Pepsi from my doctor!

Confession time. I got it wrong. The movie review of State of Play had a major error in it. The error lead to an anonymous poster lambasting me, questioning my integrity, questioning whether or not I had even seen the movie, and chastising me for not checking out my facts before posting. Then laughing at my mistake. The post cut to the core of my pride. My greatest gift and the thing that I pride the most is my integrity. I try really hard to check out the facts before I post anything. I almost always give references to where I obtain the information for my Blog. I love the posters here and want them to trust what I post. That what I post is the truth. I reacted to the anonymous post in the most unprofessional way. I deleted it. Then I took the mistake out of my review. I should have let the post stand and then defended myself. Acting in such an unprofessional manner had me question whether or not I have the makeup to do a Blog. I will admit I do think if you are going to lambaste somebody it is cowardly to do it anonymously. I might have not reacted so badly if the poster had posted in a manner that I could have responded to him both on the blog and in email.

Here is the mistake. Have you ever went to a movie, was impressed by the performance of an actor and couldn't think of the actor's name? I waited for the credits to come on after State of Play but right during the credits their was a distraction in the theater and I missed the credits. Edward Norton is one of those special actors that not only gets into the role of the character he is playing but also changes his look. He looked completely different in Primal Fear than he did in American History X. He sometimes gains and loses weight for roles. When I got home I checked out two movie sites. Both had Norton still listed in its credits. The actor is State of Play that I couldn't recall his name looked a little like Norton. So I assumed the sites were right to still list Norton in the movie and he was the actor whose name I was trying to recall. He wasn't. Norton backed out of the movie early on and didn't appear in State of Play. I wrote "Norton commanded the screen whenever he was on it." When he never appeared in the movie. Oops.

My idiotic mistake reminded me of an entertainment reporter that I not only adore but completely trust once reviewing a movie that she hadn't seen. She confessed and moved on. Her fans still trust her. I still anxiously await her reviews and trust them.

That is what I hope. I am apologizing to the readers and posters here. Asking for your forgiveness. Moving on and hope that you will still trust that I do check my facts before posting. And I also hope you will trust that even if you disagree with me your post will not be deleted.

Now it is your turn. Do you have anything you need to confess to? What is going on in your life? The Blog is now yours.

It's A New Day, Getting Back On Track

A couple of days ago we were discussing that a lot of us were feeling like we were stuck in neutral. DR suggested an assignment that I took to heart. What one thing can we do for ourselves that makes us feel like we have some of our life back and are getting out of neutral?

I met with my doctor yesterday for the six month thing, next Monday is the full blown physical. Doctors kind of scare me because have you ever noticed that when someone dies the last person they have seen is usually a doctor or a priest? OK, yesterday my reports were good, not as good as the last time but still good. With my three jobs, caring for mom, and life in general it just got to busy for me to continue my healthy habits. No daily walks. Focusing more on keeping my energy up instead of healthy eating. Even though I wasn't concentrating on my health during the busy work schedule I still outworked the younger ones at the firms. However, it is time for me to get back on track. Time to concentrate on healthy habits, on losing the weight I want to lose, on focusing on my own health as much as I do Mom's. After the full blown physical if nothing major shows up I won't see the doctor again for six months. The doctor made a bet with me. If I lose eighteen pounds in that six months he owes me a diet Pepsi for every pound over eighteen that I lose. If I don't make it to the eighteen pounds I owe him a diet Pepsi for every pound under eighteen that I lose. Piece of cake. I can do it. My walking regiment starts today! I'm also heading out as soon as my ten o'clock appointment is over to buy a new lawn mower. Taking care of my lawn should be good exercise, no?

The question for the day. What is one thing can you do to help you feel less like you are stuck in neutral? More time to yourself? More reading? More shopping? A new hairstyle? New Shoes?

On to another subject. Tomorrow is Update Day and I want you to think of one more thing to talk about tomorrow. A confession. Tomorrow I am going to confess about an incident that happened on my blog earlier this week that I handled poorly. In some ways it made we wonder if I should be doing the blog.

Stay tuned.

I'm Not Who I Say I Am.

Well, I am. At least most of the time. However, there are doubts that Jeff Alan is really who he says he is.

Two days ago we discussed the state of journalism in today's society. The three part story that The Oregonian just finished about Jeff Alan will have you shaking your ahead. Here are the links to the story in order:

http://www.oregonlive.com/special/index.ssf/2009/04/former_koin_directors_life_rid.html

http://www.oregonlive.com/special/index.ssf/2009/04/jeff_alan_has_a_knack_for_leav.html

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/04/former_koin_director_sues_over.html

Jeff Alan was a director for the local CBS affliate, KOIN - Channel 6. He also has been a guest as a media expert on CNN and MSNBC. He was at the hotel when Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated. He was fired from Koin a while back. He is suing the station for wrongful termination. After reading the three part series I think he should have left well enough alone.

Turns out he may not be Jeff Alan. He has several social security numbers under one which he is listed as dead. He has left more than one ex-wife behind as well as a few daughters.

Doesn't this just amaze you? These are our journalists. They couldn't even properly investigate one of their own to discover a shady, untrustworthy past.

If you read the story tell me what you think of it? Does it surprise you that someone in the public eye could so easily hide his real identity?

It also begs for a few questions that I am curious about. If you could reinvent yourself, would you do it? And if you did reinvent yourself what would you become?

I don't think I could ever reinvent myself because to do so means that you have leave all your current connections behind. However, if I did reninvent myself it wold be as a comedian, motivational speaker, or radio host. And you?

More Prayers Needed. Stuck In Neutral.

Dr one of the regular posters here sent me this email yesterday:

"Please send prayers and good thoughts to my s-i-l's mom and my brother and s-i-l. Rosie had some problems and Alice went to PA last week to be with her for her colonoscopy. They found what my brother will only refer to as "problems," including a polyp too large to be removed, but apparently what they did remove raised concerns. She has clearance from her pulminary and cardio specs, but the plan is to do surgery the end of this week and decide where to go from there. Until she had a nasty bout of flu and infection that landed her in the hospital about a year ago, Rosie has enjoyed excellent health (she's 88), so this is all a bit of a jolt for everyone involved. You're a powerful bunch and Lake knows I'm asking my prayer chains to keep them in their thougts and is so grateful. I'll keep you posted as I learn more. Right now, it's a waiting game."

DR certainly has mine. The power is with us to help her. Please send out all your prayers, good thoughts, good vibes in DR's relatives directions!

Now today's post. Do you ever feel like you are running in neurtal? That you are stuck on the treadmill at the same speed and can't get off? Today really should be called "Bill is going to bitch again day." I was hoping that after April 15 that I would be able to get a little bit of rest. It just wasn't in the cards. The caregiver is sick again. She is sick so often that I offered to pay for a physical for her. She refused. Of course caregiver being sick translates into bill stopping his life, canceling any plans he might have had, and putting everything in his life on hold. Lately I have been feeling both underappreciated and frustrated. I know mom appreciates me being there for her and enjoys the time I spend at her house but I don't think she really respects my schedule. When I try to talk to her about it she changes the subject. I don't think once in the eight or nine years that I have been caregiving that Mom has ever called and said "Susan is sick and won't be here tomorrow. Can you be here that night?" Instead she just assumes I will be there even though often I don't find out that I am supposed to be there until minutes or hours before I am to be there. I tried asking her has she ever given any consideration to what would happen if she couldn't get a hold me at the last minute. The question is either ignored, the subject is changed, or I get "I'd just stay alone." Yeah, right, and someday I'm going to wake up and look like Robert Redford. I also don't think once in the eight or nine years that I have been a caregiver that mom has ever called and said "Susan isn't feeling well, do you have any plans for tonight, tomorrow or whenever." She just assumes that I either don't have plans or will change the plans on a moment's notice. Again when I try to explain to her how that makes me feel, the conversation is ignored, the subject is changed, or I get "you won't be happy until I have someone here seven days a week." Guilt squared. I truly believe that my feelings and my schedule aren't all that important to Mom. As long as she is taken care of that is all that matters to her. It really makes me want to be rebellious, take off on a trip, or put her in a position that if she trys to get a hold of me at the last minute that she will have to really give some thought to me not always being there to bail her out.

This brings me to a oonversation that I had with a friend yesterday. She said that maybe I was playing the role of a victim. That I had it in my power to change things. She may be right. But I don't see it. I see any solution as one that hurts someone I love.

In your caregiving duties do you ever feel like you are stuck in neutral? Do you ever think you are playing the role of a victim? If you are not a caregiver do you ever think you are stuck in neutral? Where you would like to move ahead with your life but there are no left or or right turn signs in front of you and there is that big red stop sign in front of you?

Fear, Prayers and Good Thoughts. State of Play. State of Journalism.

When I started this blog among the many reasons that I started the blog was not only to offer a place where caregivers could come to, to vent, receive support and ideas but also to offer support to people with elderly parents everywhere. It doesn't matter to me if I have never met someone or don't really know them, if I read that they are going through some trauma with their relatives I add them to my prayers and good thoughts. I don't really know the hostesses of a blog I often go to but what I do know is how hard it is to have a parent with a serious injury or illness. I also know what it is like to not be able to get an elderly parent on the phone and have a premonition that something terrible has happened. There was a post yesterday at http://satellitesistersblog.blogspot.com/ telling about the sisters' mom falling on public transportation and breaking her hip. Like many parents their parents not wanting to be a burden didn't call any of their children to let them know they were going to the hospital. Apparently one of the sisters had tried to get a hold of them and couldn't. On the way into a Bruce Springsteen concert she had a premonition that something terrible had happened, left the concert, and went on a mission to find her parents. Can you imagine the fear that young woman felt? I've been there, called couldn't get a hold of my mom or dad, knew something happened and went on a mission to find out what was up. The fear is absolutely excruciating. Your whole body becomes a stress magnet. It doesn't get any better when you find out your fears are justified. OK, this is a real supportive group here that has done marvelous things with prayers, good vibes, good thoughts. I think it is time to send prayers, good thoughts, good vibes in the sisters' direction. Please say a prayer for the sisters, their parents, their family, and add a special note for the sister with the esp. If prayer isn't your style then muster up all your good thoughts and vibes and send them the sisters' direction. I'm sure if you posted a supportive message on their blog at http://satellitesistersblog.blogspot.com/ under the post "Liz: Family ESP" or sent them an email at sisters@satellitesisters.com letting them know you are thinking about them I bet they would appreciate your support.

STATE OF PLAY is a very good movie about journalism. The movie reminded me in many ways of ALL THE PRESIDENTS' MEN. Starring Helen Mirren, Rachael McAdams, Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, and Jason Bateman. Directed in excellent style by Keven MacDonald of THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND fame, the all star cast was in great form. The movie's plot turns will keep you interested and on the edge of your seat throughout the movie. Helen Mirren was marvelous in her role as editor-in-chief and boss of reporter Russell Crowe. Crowe was in full form as was Ben Affleck as a handsome politician and boss of his murdered researcher that he was having an affair with. The weak link in the movie was McAdams who just couldn't keep up with the amazing abilities of the stunning cast. Five footballs for this movie. One each for Mirren, Crowe, Norton, MacDonald, and a special fifth football for the question that it has me asking myself when I left the movie.

That question was "What in the hell has happened to the Fourth Estate?" Could have this kind of story ever been discovered in the media environment that now exists? The environment where news is no longer news but entertainment. Where journalists are no longer investigative reporters but instead promoters of the same people they are covering. MSNBC isn't really on the air to investigate stories, they are more on the air to be promoters of the Democratic Party. FOX news isn't really on the air to investigate stories, they are more on the air to be promoters of the Republican party.

I see a lot of danger in co-mingling politics with journalism. I also see a lot of danger when what used to be sources of good journalism becomes entertainment. Today's assignment is to tell me what you think of today's media? Do you prefer news as entertainment? Or would you rather have news go back to being news? Do you even watch the news anymore? If you are a news junkie where do you go for hard news?

I'm Back

And on Update Day too! The regular posters and readers know the drill. It is Update Day. Tell me your secrets, your concerns, your joys, vent, ask questions of the regulars or myself. If you are a new reader or a long time reader that hasn't posted we would love for you to post an introduction. You will not find a better group of folks anywhere on the Internet then you will find here. This is a chance for you to make new friends!

Most of my update concerns work. I really discovered a lot about myself on the job that just completed. I truly never worked that hard in my own business. Because I've been in my own business since 1981 I didn't honestly know what kind of a co-worker or employee that I would be. I also didn't know what my attitude would be towards the work and clients. Would I do as well for the clients of the firm as I did in my own business even though it wouldn't be as financially rewarding? Would I be a nine to five goldbricker?

I usually don't brag about myself but be prepared because today I am going to brag because I'm damn proud of myself. Sorry but I am. I turned out to be a damn good employee and co-worker. Even though I really didn't like the work, I loved the people there. And that is what I will really miss, the people. Not the work, the people. It was something that had been missing from my life for a long time, interaction with people at work. And I treated the clients like me own. I worked hard for them. When I said good-bye I was stunned at what the co-workers said. One of my favorite people at work was Tom J. Married with a daughter. He walks his daughter to the bus stop every day. He sat the closest to me. He was also one of the reviewers so reviewed some of my work. Damn I really enjoyed him. On April 15 he came back and he told me "I was thinking on the way home from work that it just isn't going to be the same here without you." When I left later in the afternoon he hugged me. WOW. Then there was K. one of the office pool worker, that probably didn't say twenty words to me the time I was there. She recently lost her Mom. When she came back, I said "K., it was nice working with you" She turned and said "You are a real gentlemen, that is so rare today. Thank you for your patience." Patience has never been used to describe me before! A. the replacement receptionist, gave me her card (she sells real estate), hugged me, and said "You are the sweetest man." The female partner said "Everyone enjoyed your fun nature. We needed that." Last night at dinner the male partner told me if I wanted to come back to work to work on files come ahead. B. one of the reviewers, my favorite person at work to laugh with, told her husband last night that I was going places and going to be a very sucessful standup comedian. I really was stunned at how open these folks were about how they felt about me. Patience and fun-loving have never been words used to describe me. I really was on cloud nine when I left work. Just think if I would have liked the work!

Leaving work on cloud nine when a I got home I finally got the hospital bill from when I had a concussion the first day of work. I was prepared to have to pay a couple of thousand dollars. When I opened the bill I was stunned. Stunned seems to be the word of the day but my usually crappy insurance paid most of the bill and I ended up only paying a couple of hundred dollars.

Now it is your turn. Today we are going to add a feature to your updates. Brag about yourself today. Tell me what co-workers and others say about you. I know what I would say about you. You are the best posters on the Internet. Good supportive friends. OK, your turn.

Who Are You?

I love Dona's suggestion. Here is is:

"Ok Ladydr, a small suggestion to give Bill a chance to have a few more days to finish and recover. He does a lot to listen to us whine/complain and takes the time to respond to each of us. So, what about if all of us posters sign in again with who we are, where we are from, how we know Bill...etc? Maybe give some Lurkers/newbies a chance to say hello and give us all a chance to welcome them?

Just a thought.

I am mostly out of ideas at the moment, which is why I can't seem to come up with a post on my own blog! :)"


Who wants to go first?

Hang In There

With me. Only three days to go before I go back to my favorite occupation of future lottery winner. That occupation gives me a lot of free time and certainly enough free time to start posting regularly on the blog again! Thanks so much for your patience with me!

May you all be future lottery winners!

It's Friday!

And Good Friday! May you all have a great holiday weekend, whether it be Passover or Easter. So what is on your plate for the holidays? I'm getting up early Sunday morning and taking mom to church. Aftwards we will go out for an early brunch. Then I will head to work.

As for the rest of the post for today, the regular posters and readers know the drill. It is update day. Tell me your secrets, your concerns, your joys, vent, ask questions of the regulars or myself. If you are a new reader or a long time reader that hasn't posted we would love for you to post an introduction. You will not find a better group of folks anywhere on the Internet then you will find here. This is a chance for you to make new friends!

My update is two things: work and a solution for next tax season. The guys that bought my business are just working way to hard and we have had initial talks about me working twenty hours a week for them next year. In those twenty hours I can make almost as much as I'm making now and have more time for my own health and my own thing. I'm also in the initial stages of looking for tax practices for sale in Seattle and the Los Angeles area. This would be more of an investment where I hire a person I trust to manage the office for half the profits and I just act as a mentor and a one or two day a week reviewer. I decided this would be a better route than a franchise route because I will be more free to put my personal stamp on the practice.

That is is from Oregon. It is now your turn to post anything you damn well please!

Guest Bloggers and Clothes

DR offered to write a guest entry on my blog. If any of you want to write a guest entry on the blog email me the post to williamjdahn@aol.com and you can get readers' comments about your writing. DR is going to be a tough act to follow. Here is her entry:

Do Clothes Make the People? (Ghosted for Bill)

I'm not big on clothes. I don't have a large wardrobe and much of it is from garage sales and consignment shops. Still... one wonders.

I have a couple of standby outfits, feel good outfits, that I don whenever I feel some need for extra confidence. I suspect we all do. There's an outfit that is perfect for facing the bank and stockbroker. The ones that are just right for dealing with Ollie luncheons or the rare meeting. A couple that are donned to deal with doctors, when I know there may be confrontations or negative issues to deal with. Bill's sister buys him clothes, but he knows which ones he needs for specific situations. He had some great confidence outfits for his comedy classes.

I've now discovered there are clothes with "attitude" and that "attitude" takes over. I love it! I want more of it!

Last Saturday, on our first garage sale foray of the season, I found a pair of jeans. Lowriders. Form fit until you get to the bottom, where you can unzip about six inches and get a flare. Too long to wear with tennies, but just right with dancing "flats" with a 1" heel. At line dance, they contributed to dancing with an "attitude" that added to enjoyment and form. Stopping at Staples and doing the grocery shopping, they made me feel I could do nothing wrong and people were there to "help and serve. Best of all, coming home and finding a somewhat testy msg from a sib, my response was very different from what it usually might have been. I had "attitude." I looked good, felt good and knew that I was in charge and on top of the world. Himself had told me, when I left for line dance, I looked terrific and the jeans were a perfect fit and look. I was ready for anything! The attitude seemed dto be put on with the jeans. (Okay, he just told me a bit ago I needed to take off the jeans and get in my housecoat and decompress )

Clothes don't "make the man" but I'm pretty sure they can sometimes affect your attitude. After having to downsize to live in an RV for almost a year, I learned that you can do with a lot less clothes, but there are those that make you feel good, put you in charge and lift you above the pettiness of the world. And I've learned that if they don't do that, they need to go to charity, be it Goodwill, a local mission or a woman's shelter, because they may make someone else feel in charge and give them an "attitude."

Any one else found this to be true? I think our basic personality/persona/values remain the same, but sometimes clothes can give you the confidence or attitude you need to accomplish certain functions or just make you feel more in charge and positive. Is this totally narcisstic? How do you feel about your clothes? And, if you have no feelings at all, related to your clothes, do you need to find some that give you some confidence or aggression or an attitude?

Where I've Been

At Mom's house. The caregiver got sick AGAIN. That women gets sick more often than anyone I know. Perfect time of the year for her to get sick.

This has been my schedule since Sunday:

Up at 5.

Read paper, eat breakfast, shower, make and set out breakfast for mom.

Off to work at 6:30, get there by 7 a.m., work until lunch at 12. Lunch hour used for grocery shopping, banking, get and take dry cleaning to cleaners, going to the post office to mail bills, going home to pickup mail, etc.

Work until 6:30, get to mom's by 7:00, fold back her bed, get her water and snacks next to her bed. Being diabetic she needs that stuff by the bed in case she gets a sugar low. Eat, brush teeth, work on my own clients, go to bed at 11.

Get up at five the next day and start over again. There just hasn't been any time to post on the blog. My nephew is coming tomorrow night so I can head home but he will only be there three nights and as inconsistent as the caregiver is I might be doing this all over again next Saturday.

Truthfully, I've never worked this hard in my own business.

I am going to ask for the posters here, the readers here, the new visitors here to have some patience with me. After next Wednesday my schedule eases up and I can post regular posts again. I'm sorry for being so hit and miss with my posts. Do know, however, when anyone posts a message I get an email and I read each and everyone of my emails. So your posts are never ignored.

May you all not be to busy to smell the roses!

The IRS, News Stories, Hot Dreams, and Weird Thoughts

Some news about the IRS, according to smart.com:

Think your data is safe with the IRS? Think again. With a new computer system there has been a 48% increase in the number of breaches in security at the IRS from 2007 to 2008.

What does the IRS use to make sure you file your tax returns and pay your tax return? Fear. And the general public buys into it. 2.2 million taxpayers a year overpay their taxes by an average of over $400 per taxpayer. They fear an audit so much that they fail to claim deductions they are entitled to or they report income that isn't taxable. You being afraid of the IRS costs you and helps them.

Just because the IRS bills you doesn't mean you owe it. Ninety-Eight percent of IRS notices just need clarification not a check, yet taxpayers frequently just write a check to clear an IRS notice rather than questioning the notice themselves or calling their tax professional for help.

News Stories:

NYU recently sent out 489 acceptance letters to various applicants. The problem is that the students they sent the acceptance letter to got the wrong letter, the students were the ones that should have gotten a rejection letter. This really bothers me can you imagine a young student going from the elation of an acceptance letter only to find out later that it was an error? No student should have to go through that.

Homelessness is a bad thing. Oregon made it official by passsing legislation saying that homelessness wasn't good. The only problem with that is with the economy and budget cuts there is little financial aid in the State Coffers for the homeless.

Six years for manslaugther. A 49 year-old woman in Shasta County, California was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to six years. She was text messaging while driving through a construction zone, hit a line of cars waiting for a flag to change, and one of the drivers in the line of cars was killed. Prior to hitting the line of cars she had paid sevaral bills while driving by hooking up to the internet.

Hot Dream:

This is not a joke, this is an actual dream I had last night. I can understand dreaming about getting it on with Heather Locklear but what I don't understand is why was it in a movie theatre? And way was Alec Baldwin in the front row watching?

My Weird Thoughts:

There I was in the line at the Post Office and they sold me forever stamps. Now I always wanted a relationship that would last forever. But I was sort of hoping it would be with something besides a postage stamp.

AIG paid their executives billions to get into the mess they got into and pretty much destroy the country's economy. I could have saved them a ton of money, I could have screwed their company and the economy just as badly as they did and I would have only asked for a million dollars.

Does the IRS scare you? Do any of the above mentioned news stories bother you? Any hot dreams lately? And what do you think my dream means? What are some of your weird thoughts?

Inquiring minds want to know.

You Know What Day It Is?

My favorite day of the week, Update Day. The day I turn the blog over to you, where you talk about anything you want, tell me anything you want, ask questions of the posters here, ask questions of yours truly, update me on what is going on in your live, tell me about special events or projects you are involved in, pretty much post what ever you damn well please! Every week I offer an invitation to new posters and/or readers that haven't posted here to take a shot and post an introduction. That invitation is open any day but this is the day that gets the most hits and you could make the most new friends!

My update: work, eat, sleep.

Mom has been a real trooper and I know it is hard for her to be alone and not get out as much as when my schedule isn't so hectic. But it was her idea to not have me take her out so much until after April 15. It is the way she can help me and she is really doing it and doing it well. It does help. I am taking her to dinner tonight after work. An out of town client is in town and they love mom and want to spend time with her. So we are all going out for dinner and then I will discuss their taxes after dinner.

The only special events on my platter is April 15. And the firm dinner April 16.

Your turn! Tell me all your secrets! Vent! Share! Say Hi! Ask me anything!

What's In, What's Out

The Oregonian did a list today of what is in and what is out due to the different economic times we live in right now. You can read The Oregonian at Oregonlive.com and this list appears in their "How We Live Section." I paraphrased the following list and changed some entries to make them more national.

What's out: Organic mibcrobrew made from locally grown hops.

What's in: Six pack of PBR.

What's out: Satellite Dish.

What's in: Recycled rabbit ears.

What's out: Store bought cleaning supplies.

What's in: Vinegar and water.

What's out: Private Schools.

What's in: Public school.

What's out: I-Tunes

What's in: Free music podcasts,

What's out: Killing weeds with herbicides.

What's in: Killing weeds with boiling water

What's out: New Seasons (Whole Foods type Store)

What's in: Grocery Outlet (Discount Store)

What's Out: Cable TV

What's in: Hulu.com

What's Out: Shopping for clothes at department stores.

What's In: Shopping for Clothes at Goodwill

What's Out: Lattes

What's In: A thermos of Folgers.

What's out: Buying air freshners.

What's in: Opening the window.

What's out: Taking the kids to Hawaii.

What's in: Taking the kids to Noho's Hawaiian Cafe

What's out: Oregon pinot by the bottle

What's in: California wine in a box.

Again you can read the whole list at oregonlive.com. How has the economy changed what is in and out in your area? What is in your life now and what is out in your life now?

May you all be "in" today and the rest of your lives.

Perfect Square Day

I haven't got a lot of time to post a long post today as it is getting crunch time for CPAs and I just can't think of any appropriate April Fool's jokes to post today. In person maybe. But on a blog? They would come across as to serious.

So what I thought I would post today is a math problem (quirk) that we won't see again for 4,007 years. A perfect square day. Next one happens in 6016. Multiply 2003 times 2003 and see what the answer is. It might tell you what today is!

Hope this day is filled with fun and appropriate jokes for all of you. Laughter for everyone!