its a new day...

 

haha! yep that was me at 7 o'clock...I woke up with a horrible headache ... and thought about it...seriously.

However, I logged in, took 3 ibuprofen and that took care of the physical headache.  The work headache was still there...boss calls me though and we discuss.  I know she is working on trying to straighten out things which will take some time coz this place is such a disaster.  Today, I am getting hit up on IM by people as I am supposed to be the point person on Tuesdays/Wednesdays..which means anytime the client needs a file they go to somebody who in turn contacts me to see who can get that file done in QA and get it back to the client...so much for my production today.

Ask me if I care.  :(

Airing a few more grievances ...

Okay so here goes ... read or not ....

As a person who has been in this medical transcription business for nearly 20 years, I have learned quite a bit.  I have never seen management so poor as it is right now.  The entire workload is not distributed fairly; some people work some accounts, some work others, some work on different platforms, some work the 'cushy' accounts only proofing one or two accts at best while some of us have to proof numerous accounts on a daily basis...and they want to bitch about production too? (being able to proof and upload so many files per hour).  If I work on the same 'cushy' account everyday or maybe just two accounts,  you can bet your sweet patootie my production numbers will be excellent and why wouldn't they be? You're not having to stop every file and pull new acct instructions to review, read and make sure you've crossed your Is and dotted your Ts (ha!); however when you put me working 6 or 8 different accounts daily, and having to stop to pull instructions and specs for each one and review before, during and before uploading to ensure I've done everything right, and constantly switching from this account to another account, to me its rather unfair to expect production from somebody working numerous accounts in comparison to somebody working on just one or two accounts per day.   

Some pull jobs to proof by utilizing a poolscript which doesn't include all the client accounts on the system ... others are assigned files by management people (too many hands in the fire), or some have admin privileges, like myself to self assign files if something is going late or is already late because if I use my poolscript it won't pull half the stuff that's on the system but rather pulls other stuff that is not out of turn around time when there are some clients files on the system sitting there late. Its such a mess.  All QA should work all accounts on the system, it shouldn't be you work on this account ... you work on that account.  The poolscripts need to be adjusted and fairly for everybody.

If a late file comes on the system, the mentality is currently that if you've never worked on that account then find somebody who has worked on that account (which means you have to know the QA's schedules to see whose on and who to assign the file to?), heaven forbid give the file to a willing and able QA person who has the time to get it done and can help ... OMG!.  We'd rather have 20 late files assigned to somebody who has done the account before rather than spreading the love to all the QA staff who can help jump in and get documents back to the client.  To me its just more efficient.  Value your team.  There are spec sheets on every account, open them up and do the damn file for critey's sakes.  Cross-train your people so when others are on vacation or just throughout the course of a normal day, the workload will be managed and there is adequate coverage.

Let's not play the I don't do that account game ... These new QA people this management brought in are a little spoiled I think ... but if I have my way and I know my boss sees it my way ... I'm hoping this shit will change.

QA State of the Union from the desk of ...

well, lets not mention that...shall we...

As I was reviewing and plotting the schedules/platform, one thing became apparent in trying to determine primary coverage for all applications to ensure we have 24 x 7 coverage.  We have quite a few of you that have been able to enjoy a Monday through Friday work schedule; however, this has negatively impacted our weekend coverage.  Going forward, for the month of May, I am going to require that all QA team members that have a Monday through Friday schedule now include a 4-hour increment on the weekend.  I would ask that all full-time employees look at your schedule so that you are able to take the 4 hours off during the week and then provide "So&So* the hours that you will be committing to on the weekends as we want to avoid overtime at all costs.  This will need to be completed by this Friday, April 28, 2017.  For part-time staff, this will be in addition to your weekly hours.  For the independent contractors, we would welcome you to provide us with your services as well.  This will be effective immediately starting with this upcoming weekend and will go through the weekend of June 3-4.  I will be able to ascertain if this is still necessary towards the middle of May and can update at that time based on staffing, proofing load, etc. 

okay now ... start messing with my leisure time ...  You want me to take off 4 hours during the week so I can give up 4 hours on my weekend to work because you fired 11 QA people without thinking of the consequences ... well FUCK that!!!!!!!

emails are flying today ... QA staff are not happy campers! I told my boss that expecting all QA staff to work every weekend in the month of May is absolutely ridiculous and unfair considering the weather is warm and people are making plans to visit family, vacations, etc...not to mention the mess we've been in for months now as far as management we need and deserve a weekend off without interruption ... we already have to accrue vacation starting the new year before we can even take it, earning so much time with each paycheck so its months into the year before anybody can even plan a vacation...so if you wanted to go to the Caribbean in February to escape the winter forget it, you haven't accrued enough vacation time...now take the whole month of May too?  If I remember correctly last year it was practically overtime for months on end about this same timeframe but now they don\t want to pay us overtime at all ... this place is getting on my very last frickin nerve.  I told my boss if something else could not be done that I would be willing to work 2 weekends a 4 hour shift but that was it, not 4.  Next thing they'll start changing people's schedules just for the hell of it and say work it or you're fired!!!

oh nooooo!

 ... not the singing doctor again...this guy is a neonatal intensive care unit doctor and he sings the entire report about his newborn patients... especially at the end of a sentence ... periiiioooddd! either in high octave or low octave!  He also does this in some parts of the sentence before he reaches the end of a sentence!

OMG this drives me nuts.  Others like him, I can't stand this...

Sunday evening...

How is everybody?

Well the neighborhood is still intact...no bullet holes or casualties.  As far as Brandy, my alcoholic neighbor, she went to spend the night last night with the guy she wanted to throw in jail but is in love with, so  I guess all is well; she came home today, bragging she only had one beer, and then proceeded to ask me if I had a "shot."  I told her if she wanted a "shot" I had a few dishes that needed tending to...and so it was done.  She knew she need more "fix" so she invited a guy friend she knows over who brought in a case of beer and they've been out on the porch next door drinking for a couple of hours so she's happily drunker than a monkey's uncle.  She quit her job so she doesn't have to get up early, the reason is because the State of TX was going to take money out for back child support she owes them. She has talked about getting her respiratory therapist license back and getting her kids back but its only talk.  I wished she had enough faith in herself to know that she could obtain that but she is lost in her own world of addiction and dysfunction.  I think she's planning on staying local when her daughter, grandson and mother are moving to Michigan, in hopes that she will live with her boyfriend, they fight like cats and dogs, not a stable relationship.  Her life is mess. Oh well, none of my biswhacks. My life by no means is perfect so I try not to judge.

As far as myself, I have had stye on the inside of my right eye for a few days, been using eye drops hope that clears up.  As far as the headache from hell, I've OD'd on Excedrin and took a few sinus pills, so far so good ... knock on wood ... but I can't speak for all this rumbling going on in my gut. Things are a-brewin' and sure to start spewin'...blech!  so its going to be a long night I believe up and down...if I'm too tired by the morning, I might just call in a day's sick leave.

I can't imagine its nearly Monday again after I've spent the whole weekend feeling pretty icky. no fair.

OMFrickin'Gawd

 

or a pair of vice grips are holding my head hostage.  This dull ache right in the middle of my forehead started yesterday before work ended and just kept on getting worse... Ibuprofen did not phase it.  While I'm nursemaiding this headache by lying on the couch, I get a text from my nextdoor neighborhood 30-something alkie who needs her fix ... the same one who texted me at lunchtime telling me was having chest pain to which I responded go to the ER.   She is the sweetest person, used to be an accomplished respiratory therapist, who spiraled downhill years ago, got into drugs and now her choice of poison is alcohol.  She came to live with her mother a year ago here nextdoor.  She drinks to excess 90% of the time, and her behavior can become obnoxious ... heaven forbid if you are the target of her anger ... watch out...there are no holes barred!  I can hear her from the porch going off.   Yesterday she wanted to call the cops on her boyfriend because he sells pot ... all because he ignored her yet ... he fucks her; they've been going out for 7 months.  She said he was coming over here to shoot up the place too, that's kind of scary.  She, her mother and sister will be out of here the 1st of the month, moving to Michigan.  She wanted to stay with her boyfriend whom she says she loves, but its obvious he doesn't want that, not that I can blame him.  He wants her to stop drinking and wanted to help her and I told her she needed to think about getting into some type of rehabilitative program for her alcoholism but she just puts it off.  

So after all her drama, I went to bed early cause I just didn't feel good from this headache, and just my luck to wake up this morning with this headache from hell! AGAIN! its worse than yesterday.  I think I'm going to try some Claritin D and go get some Excedrin Migraine or something...anything...it must be an allergen, all kinds of creepy things flying around; my car has a green coating! maybe the rain will calm things down or you could just shoooooot me Bloggers, and put me out of my misery! :(

nice warm weather...

 brings in the potential for insect/bug bites.    Recognize this one?



if you think the foot looks like a bullseye, it does...

I got small grandkids so I usually give them a good look over when I see them.  Tay had ringworm from playing in the dirt last year. Ringworm looks similar to this actually.

so if you develop this bullseye rash, or your kid does, see a doctor, cause its a tell-tale sign you've been bitten by a tick!

the Methadone game

Little did I know when my daughter came home that I would find out she and her hubby on this little pink liquid called Methadone.   I knew things weren't quite right, and when cleaning up the bedroom I saw some pink liquid in a bottle on the bed alerting me to that fact.  

They've been gone for nearly 2 years, leaving here addicted to heroin and still playing the methadone game.  She told me she was clean but I don't call being on Methadone clean.  To me, a drug is a drug is a drug regardless.  I have never seen my daughter in such horrible shape physically ... all compliments of methadone ... weight gain, craving for sweets, dental issues, joint pains ... insomnia (she never slept seemed like) ... she was a mess.  It saddened me so much cause I know her heart.  I know how much she suffers not seeing her babies.  Also her mental state was not what I had anticipated from the many phone conversations we had since she moved.  

They, as a couple, wanted to get healthy and have a 'normal life' so they moved to California to do this, he had job offers and works, however it appears they still struggle everyday.  The biggest blow came when they lost the parental rights to their own son, once that happens none of us have rights to even see him so its a loss for all of us.  They packed up and went back to California staying here only a week.  I told her to please get her health under control, see a dentist, do whatever she could to get herself back to some healthier state because one of these days her kids will come home to her.    

She calls and tells me that she would need an upper plate and $3500.00 and her gums split open for infection, and wanted me to use my credit for her to obtain dental work.  I told her that I could not do such a thing, that she and hubby made this mess of themselves, so they would need to work out a plan to put so much money away for just that purpose.  If I had money laying around God knows I would help her but I do not unfortunately.  All of those thousands of dollars spent on orthodontics for her to have beautiful teeth, now just a waste as she suffers such pain over it.  What a shame.