What is wrong with people? There is a Facebook page called "Lost Pets of Omaha Area." People who have lost or found pets post photos and contact information. The ONE CONSISTENT factor on all these posts: no collars and no tags. Sometimes the pets have collars and no tags. WTF? Why have a collar and no tags? I said that out loud and hubby said, "So they have a place to attach the leash."
Here's my problem with this...it's irresponsible. Dogs dig under fences, people accidentally leave the gate open, cats charge the door whenever you open it, cats go outside but don't stay in the yard and get lost. These are totally normal, common events that you can expect to have happen. Some pets break their leash to take off after a squirrel. Some dogs, like pugs, wiggle out of their collars or harnesses. It happens - everywhere, every day. It is so common, that you should EXPECT it to happen at least once per pet.
So, what's the best preventative medicine: collars, tags and microchips. Even if you are a scofflaw and don't have your pet licensed, at least get one of those tags at the pet store with your name and phone number on it. They are not expensive. Both PetsMart and PetCo have the machines to engrave the tags right there in the store. How can people not take this one simple precaution?
To be fair, registering a microchip is actually a little pricey. I had cats for several years before I discovered that their microchips weren't registered with the Humane Society. I totally didn't hear, or didn't understand, the instructions when we adopted our cats. But tags...tags are easy. With a microchip, you have to take the animal to a vet or the Humane Society to be scanned, and then call the company to find out the contact information. There is an annual fee. There is more than one company. A tag is right there, right now. Call owner. Pet returned. Why, in a million years would you not have a collar/harness and tag on any pet that goes outdoors?
Excuse one: It bothers him/her. It does at first. Give them a week or two, and they'll get used to it.
Excuse two: They itch it constantly. Some pets are allergic to nylon collars. Use leather or other material.
Excuse three: The license and ID tag jingle and drive me crazy. My Dad used to put a piece of duct tape on the backs of the tags so they wouldn't jingle. Nowadays, the tags from PetsMart came with a little piece of rubber tape to put on the tag for exactly that reason. Excellent. :-)
Excuse four: The collar smashes down his/her beautiful fur. You are whining. Get over it. Isn't it worth it to have your pet returned to you safely?
Excuse five: He/she wiggles out of their collar. I've tried several types. This is a legitimate problem. You will need to use a harness instead of a neck collar.
Excuse six: My dog pulls at the leash when I walk him and chokes himself, so I took it off. You will need to use a harness instead of a neck collar. And a few classes at doggy obedience school (also PetsMart and PetCo) will solve that problem. I read about how to train my dog to walk on a leash from a book. Only cost a couple of bucks. You just have to do it.
Excuse seven: I don't allow my cat out of the house. Yeah, mine either - intentionally. But damn if she didn't charge the door every time I opened it. I don't believe for a second that I would have been able to catch her if she didn't want me to. Indoor cats know nothing of cars or navigating their way in the big, scary world. When they get lost, then hungry, they will go to the first door or people they find to get fed. "No tags? No microchip? Mine now." Or worse, they get abused by people who don't like cats, or attacked by dogs or other animals.
The first cat we ever owned, Princess, was listed as a "stray" at the Humane Society. Stray, my ass. She was somebody's spoiled house cat that got out and got lost. The third day we had her, we found out how she got out. She pushed on screens until she found a loose one. Hubby saw her do it. All the window screens were reinforced the next day.
Our boy kitty, Felix, wants nothing whatsoever to do with the outdoors. But when we moved to a new town, he got a collar and tags. My girl kitty, Mittens, greets people at the door, and tries to get out. She's had a collar from the start. They are both micro-chipped and registered at two places. I am in no condition to be trying to chase and capture a cat. They have each gotten out into the hallway of the apartment. Scared the hell out of me. Fortunately, they were able to be herded back to the apartment. I would be beside myself with grief if one of my babies got outside and got away.
My husband has a coworker whose little dog slipped her leash and got lost. She had tags and a chip. She was returned to her family by that evening. Why can't everyone else see that?
Sunday, December 14, 2014
Friday, December 5, 2014
Internet Advertising
This is one of those things in life that I'm just supposed to suck up and deal with because there's nothing that I can do about it.
When reading articles printed on paper, I could just turn the page and ignore the advertising. Now, with the internet, I click on an article that I want to read and I have to wait for almost 45 seconds (f-o-r-e-v-e-r!) for all the fucking video advertisements and commercials to load. The article that I want to read comes right up - 3 seconds, as it is just text. But the "Jake from State Farm" commercial, a survey, a car video, some sort of shock value article about some starlet's big boobs, and an ad about this "new skinny pill has doctors alarmed" bogs down my ability to scroll down the page (until after all this shit loads). Aaaaaand, there's at least one large size pop-up that blocks the article and has the little "x" to turn it off both very well hidden, and the last thing to load, so I can't just flick it away like a bug and get back to my article. I have to wait for the entire fucking thing to load before I can do anything. I can't close it, move it, see around it or see through it until it is damn good and ready to let me.
What really happens about half the time is I get pissed at being fished in, and I close the whole page without reading the article. I often get the feeling that I'm getting spam, spyware, malware or viruses loading themselves onto my computer by how much the computer sounds like it is laboring under the workload of trying to open the page.
If I were looking at Hollywood gossip or porn or some shit like that, I would deserve to get viruses and spyware, but this morning I was trying to read a legitimate newspaper article about some recent NASA satellite photos of Alaska, and what they revealed about global warming.
http://www.seattlepi.com/national/article/Why-NASA-s-latest-photo-of-Alaska-is-freaking-4612565.php but that newspaper is so bogged down with crap that I gave up.
Then, I Googled the subject and went to the source. Here is the NASA website link which includes the first part of the article and photo that was on the other site:
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2534.html#.VIH3f9LF-So but it doesn't discuss the aspect of global warming.
And yes, I have pop-up blockers and virus protection that includes spyware/malware blockers. Modern advertising programmers have figured out how to get around them. Sometimes the ads are programmed in such a way that if your pop-up blocker gets in their way, they won't let you read the article at all.
Another one that pisses me off is the ad that pops up on EVERY YouTube video that I've ever tried to watch. It says "Update your Windows XP Drivers." It blocks part of the screen. I have to click the "X" but if the video has an embedded link to subscribe (or something) then trying to turn of the pop-up activates the link. Then I have to re-watch the first 5 or 10 seconds of the video to see what I missed while I was dicking around with the stupid banner ad.
And furthermore, anything that I look at or search for ends up being the "star" of all the pages that I normally go to FOR WEEKS. I bought a Bissell spot clean carpet scrubber. The ad for that is now EVERYWHERE I go. I was searching steering wheel covers on Amazon, now they are everywhere. There are advantages and disadvantages to the whole "Big Brother is Watching" thing, but this whole "Marketing is Following You" thing is starting to piss me off.
When reading articles printed on paper, I could just turn the page and ignore the advertising. Now, with the internet, I click on an article that I want to read and I have to wait for almost 45 seconds (f-o-r-e-v-e-r!) for all the fucking video advertisements and commercials to load. The article that I want to read comes right up - 3 seconds, as it is just text. But the "Jake from State Farm" commercial, a survey, a car video, some sort of shock value article about some starlet's big boobs, and an ad about this "new skinny pill has doctors alarmed" bogs down my ability to scroll down the page (until after all this shit loads). Aaaaaand, there's at least one large size pop-up that blocks the article and has the little "x" to turn it off both very well hidden, and the last thing to load, so I can't just flick it away like a bug and get back to my article. I have to wait for the entire fucking thing to load before I can do anything. I can't close it, move it, see around it or see through it until it is damn good and ready to let me.
What really happens about half the time is I get pissed at being fished in, and I close the whole page without reading the article. I often get the feeling that I'm getting spam, spyware, malware or viruses loading themselves onto my computer by how much the computer sounds like it is laboring under the workload of trying to open the page.
If I were looking at Hollywood gossip or porn or some shit like that, I would deserve to get viruses and spyware, but this morning I was trying to read a legitimate newspaper article about some recent NASA satellite photos of Alaska, and what they revealed about global warming.
http://www.seattlepi.com/national/article/Why-NASA-s-latest-photo-of-Alaska-is-freaking-4612565.php but that newspaper is so bogged down with crap that I gave up.
Then, I Googled the subject and went to the source. Here is the NASA website link which includes the first part of the article and photo that was on the other site:
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2534.html#.VIH3f9LF-So but it doesn't discuss the aspect of global warming.
And yes, I have pop-up blockers and virus protection that includes spyware/malware blockers. Modern advertising programmers have figured out how to get around them. Sometimes the ads are programmed in such a way that if your pop-up blocker gets in their way, they won't let you read the article at all.
Another one that pisses me off is the ad that pops up on EVERY YouTube video that I've ever tried to watch. It says "Update your Windows XP Drivers." It blocks part of the screen. I have to click the "X" but if the video has an embedded link to subscribe (or something) then trying to turn of the pop-up activates the link. Then I have to re-watch the first 5 or 10 seconds of the video to see what I missed while I was dicking around with the stupid banner ad.
And furthermore, anything that I look at or search for ends up being the "star" of all the pages that I normally go to FOR WEEKS. I bought a Bissell spot clean carpet scrubber. The ad for that is now EVERYWHERE I go. I was searching steering wheel covers on Amazon, now they are everywhere. There are advantages and disadvantages to the whole "Big Brother is Watching" thing, but this whole "Marketing is Following You" thing is starting to piss me off.
Saturday, November 29, 2014
The Holidays
I've been trying very hard to keep up my spirits and not be a grumpy old lady. Lately, however, I'm feeling decidedly grouchy. I think it's the holidays. I hate the whole holiday season. Halloween and Christmas are for kids, either being a kid or doing for a kid. Not having kids, I find it really unpleasant to watch all this greed. I refer to it as "American Retail Christmas." It's all about gimme, gimme, gimme.
Jewelry store commercials are the worst. They brainwash men into believing that they are bad husbands, boyfriends, sons, fathers and brothers if they are not handing out jewelry to the women in their family every Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and Christmas. It's bull shit. Worse, they are teaching women that jewelry is the expected norm. Do you really want the men in your life to put themselves into senseless debt just because of your greedy expectations? Do you really want a boyfriend/husband that's so financially irresponsible that he would put himself into ruin because he's been bullied by the media to give you jewelry every stupid holiday? How often can you really wear all those diamonds anyway? You can't wear them to work. They'll get damaged, lost or stolen. Do you really dress up enough to justify all that jewelry? Then, you have to get extra insurance to cover it all. I am a very pragmatic person, and this is impractical in my book. It's just stupid to me and pisses me off every season.
Christmas is supposed to be a celebration of the birth of Jesus. Not in America. Not any more. Jesus is practically being outlawed. It's not a religious event any more. It's about the celebration of greed by the retailers. You simply HAVE to have the latest electronic thingamajig....that costs hundreds of dollars...that will be obsolete in four months. Kids go back to school and ask all their friends, "What did you GET?" "How did you make out?" How much of that stuff are they still going to be using in two months? Next time you take a load to Goodwill, notice how much of it is stuff that came into your home as a Christmas gift. You think you want all this stuff, and then when you get it, you find that you have no practical application for it. You set it aside and get on to wanting the next thing that the commercials tell you that you can't be happy until you have one now.
Before I understood marketing, it didn't bother me as much. I was a sheep being herded just like everyone else. Now that I know how it works, I find it insulting and degrading. I resent being manipulated on every level. The advertising around the holidays make me feel like I'm strapped to a metal table with electrodes attached to my skull, and the input has been cranked up until it physically hurts. Picture the scene from "A Clockwork Orange." Merry fucking Christmas.
September 2016 edit: My favorite book author, Richard Paul Evans addressed this topic in his blog. He is very PRO Christmas. So, in the interest of equal time, I'm including his post here: http://www.richardpaulevans.com/index.php/2015/12/03/stop-whining-that-christmas-is-too-commercial/
Jewelry store commercials are the worst. They brainwash men into believing that they are bad husbands, boyfriends, sons, fathers and brothers if they are not handing out jewelry to the women in their family every Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and Christmas. It's bull shit. Worse, they are teaching women that jewelry is the expected norm. Do you really want the men in your life to put themselves into senseless debt just because of your greedy expectations? Do you really want a boyfriend/husband that's so financially irresponsible that he would put himself into ruin because he's been bullied by the media to give you jewelry every stupid holiday? How often can you really wear all those diamonds anyway? You can't wear them to work. They'll get damaged, lost or stolen. Do you really dress up enough to justify all that jewelry? Then, you have to get extra insurance to cover it all. I am a very pragmatic person, and this is impractical in my book. It's just stupid to me and pisses me off every season.
Christmas is supposed to be a celebration of the birth of Jesus. Not in America. Not any more. Jesus is practically being outlawed. It's not a religious event any more. It's about the celebration of greed by the retailers. You simply HAVE to have the latest electronic thingamajig....that costs hundreds of dollars...that will be obsolete in four months. Kids go back to school and ask all their friends, "What did you GET?" "How did you make out?" How much of that stuff are they still going to be using in two months? Next time you take a load to Goodwill, notice how much of it is stuff that came into your home as a Christmas gift. You think you want all this stuff, and then when you get it, you find that you have no practical application for it. You set it aside and get on to wanting the next thing that the commercials tell you that you can't be happy until you have one now.
Before I understood marketing, it didn't bother me as much. I was a sheep being herded just like everyone else. Now that I know how it works, I find it insulting and degrading. I resent being manipulated on every level. The advertising around the holidays make me feel like I'm strapped to a metal table with electrodes attached to my skull, and the input has been cranked up until it physically hurts. Picture the scene from "A Clockwork Orange." Merry fucking Christmas.
September 2016 edit: My favorite book author, Richard Paul Evans addressed this topic in his blog. He is very PRO Christmas. So, in the interest of equal time, I'm including his post here: http://www.richardpaulevans.com/index.php/2015/12/03/stop-whining-that-christmas-is-too-commercial/
Friday, November 21, 2014
Product Marketing
I have allergies - a lot of them. When I use a product, it is because: a) I'm not allergic to it, b) It does it's intended job, c) It is reasonably priced. (I have been known to pay more for something to get those first two features, but I'd rather not.)
It really pisses me off when a product that I use, and have used for years, changes it's packaging and/or formula. I understand that product marketing people want to attract new customers. I get it. But what they don't seem to get is that if you radically change the packaging (and especially the name), you are likely to lose your existing customers.
I go to the store to get more of something that I use all the time, example> Pert Plus Dandruff Control. I don't see it in the usual place. (Don't get me started about store Plan-O-Grams). I stand there for ten minutes looking for my item because I know some asshole has justified his job by changing the box/bottle, size, color, font, logo or name. There for awhile Pert Plus was changing the bottle color and shape about every four months. This gripes me for several reasons:
1) I can't tell whether they've changed the formula of the product, or just tried to make the packaging pretty to younger shoppers. If they change the formula, then it's not the same product. I don't know whether I'm not allergic to it. So I buy it, take it home, try it and maybe, just maybe I can continue to use it, or it makes me sneeze, wheeze, or break out in a rash.
2) Making the product difficult for your existing customers to find puts you at risk of losing those customers because they give up and pick something else. Not everyone is willing to stand there and read all the labels of the 200 brands of whatever to find the one that they like. If they don't have allergies, they are likely to grab whatever is cheaper and be on their way.
3) If I can't find the one that I like, then I have to try to find something new. I hate doing that because once I've opened it and used it once, I can't return it. It goes into the trash. Less personal things I can give away to neighbors and co-workers.
Case in point: deodorant. I can't use antiperspirant because I break out in a wicked rash within two hours. Deodorant-only has gone out of style. Nobody but me wants it, and I'm not enough to support a product line. I was really happy with Right Guard original scent. I can not use the spray type because of my asthma. Surprisingly, that stuff still exists. Go figure. Anyway, they changed the name to Right Guard Sport. I wrote to Gillette. They assured me that it was the same stuff, different packaging. Then the original scent was discontinued. After lots of sniffing in the store, and failed trials, I settled on "fresh" scent as being the least offensive. Then they changed the name to "24/7". Fresh still existed, so I used that. It worked. It lasted longer. It didn't make me wheeze. Good. Then they discontinued the deodorant-only formula. All their Right Guard versions are now anti-antiperspirant/deodorants.
Once again, I am on a quest to find a deodorant that meets the criteria from the first paragraph. But, wait - there's more. You may be thinking, "Just get the hypoallergenic, unscented, organic deodorant. There are several." I've tried them. They don't work. I sweat a LOT. I stink pretty highly by 3:00. Those products crap out on me by noon. And they're expensive. I tried one that is based on organic sea salt that's supposed to block/kill/prevent bacteria that causes odors. It was $8.00. Was supposed to last a year. Didn't work worth a shit, and I threw it away. I've tried Burt's Bees, Jason, Arm & Hammer, Crystal, and Tom's. All went into the trash. I'm not allergic to them, but they don't get the job done. I made the mistake of trying the "fresh scent" of Old Spice - sneeze and wheeze. I gave it to my husband. Back to the store. I've been settling for Speed Stick, which is only okay, it's not great. It gives up about 3:00, but now that I'm retired that's not so awful as it was when I worked. I'm still searching. What a pain in the ass.
Conclusion, changing the packaging of existing products is a pain in the ass to the long time customers who use it. I don't know the statistics, but it seems to me that if you lose 2 customers to gain 4, you're not accomplishing much. There is something to be said for keeping your loyal customers happy.
It really pisses me off when a product that I use, and have used for years, changes it's packaging and/or formula. I understand that product marketing people want to attract new customers. I get it. But what they don't seem to get is that if you radically change the packaging (and especially the name), you are likely to lose your existing customers.
I go to the store to get more of something that I use all the time, example> Pert Plus Dandruff Control. I don't see it in the usual place. (Don't get me started about store Plan-O-Grams). I stand there for ten minutes looking for my item because I know some asshole has justified his job by changing the box/bottle, size, color, font, logo or name. There for awhile Pert Plus was changing the bottle color and shape about every four months. This gripes me for several reasons:
1) I can't tell whether they've changed the formula of the product, or just tried to make the packaging pretty to younger shoppers. If they change the formula, then it's not the same product. I don't know whether I'm not allergic to it. So I buy it, take it home, try it and maybe, just maybe I can continue to use it, or it makes me sneeze, wheeze, or break out in a rash.
2) Making the product difficult for your existing customers to find puts you at risk of losing those customers because they give up and pick something else. Not everyone is willing to stand there and read all the labels of the 200 brands of whatever to find the one that they like. If they don't have allergies, they are likely to grab whatever is cheaper and be on their way.
3) If I can't find the one that I like, then I have to try to find something new. I hate doing that because once I've opened it and used it once, I can't return it. It goes into the trash. Less personal things I can give away to neighbors and co-workers.
Case in point: deodorant. I can't use antiperspirant because I break out in a wicked rash within two hours. Deodorant-only has gone out of style. Nobody but me wants it, and I'm not enough to support a product line. I was really happy with Right Guard original scent. I can not use the spray type because of my asthma. Surprisingly, that stuff still exists. Go figure. Anyway, they changed the name to Right Guard Sport. I wrote to Gillette. They assured me that it was the same stuff, different packaging. Then the original scent was discontinued. After lots of sniffing in the store, and failed trials, I settled on "fresh" scent as being the least offensive. Then they changed the name to "24/7". Fresh still existed, so I used that. It worked. It lasted longer. It didn't make me wheeze. Good. Then they discontinued the deodorant-only formula. All their Right Guard versions are now anti-antiperspirant/deodorants.
Once again, I am on a quest to find a deodorant that meets the criteria from the first paragraph. But, wait - there's more. You may be thinking, "Just get the hypoallergenic, unscented, organic deodorant. There are several." I've tried them. They don't work. I sweat a LOT. I stink pretty highly by 3:00. Those products crap out on me by noon. And they're expensive. I tried one that is based on organic sea salt that's supposed to block/kill/prevent bacteria that causes odors. It was $8.00. Was supposed to last a year. Didn't work worth a shit, and I threw it away. I've tried Burt's Bees, Jason, Arm & Hammer, Crystal, and Tom's. All went into the trash. I'm not allergic to them, but they don't get the job done. I made the mistake of trying the "fresh scent" of Old Spice - sneeze and wheeze. I gave it to my husband. Back to the store. I've been settling for Speed Stick, which is only okay, it's not great. It gives up about 3:00, but now that I'm retired that's not so awful as it was when I worked. I'm still searching. What a pain in the ass.
Conclusion, changing the packaging of existing products is a pain in the ass to the long time customers who use it. I don't know the statistics, but it seems to me that if you lose 2 customers to gain 4, you're not accomplishing much. There is something to be said for keeping your loyal customers happy.
Thursday, November 20, 2014
From Bellevue to Omaha
As my illness progressed it became apparent that we were no longer going to be able to stay in our 3 bedroom, 2 bath, split level house. Those stairs were becoming impossible, and I couldn't maintain the house in the way that it should be. So, we moved to an "Over 55" apartment literally across the street from the hospital where my husband works. That cancelled a 30 minute commute one-way for Joe every day, a huge monthly gas bill, and wear and tear on his truck. This is a good area as far as everything we need is all around us EXCEPT the quality isn't good. I miss Bellevue.
Everything I needed was within a mile of my house - bank, doctor, movie theater, grocery store, hardware store, pharmacy, dentist, optometrist, pet store, veterinarian, etc., etc. Except for the severe lack of a good Italian restaurant, I was really happy with the quality of service and care that I got at all the stores and services in Bellevue. (Actually, restaurants of all descriptions are lacking in the service department in Bellevue, but there are enough good restaurants in Omaha to compensate for it.) I didn't realize just how happy I was with those stores and services until I moved away from them.
The service at ALL the nearby restaurants is just badly managed and poor quality. There are about 8 eateries of various types in this immediate area, and they all suck. The Target store lets me down on a regular basis. They either don't have what I need, or their God damned, poorly maintained, piece of shit electric scooters break down on me in the middle of the store. That's happened three times. So I sit there and wait for an employee to walk by so I can have them go get my rollator from the service desk so I can leave. The Baker's store often doesn't have what we need. The stock in Bellevue is different from the stock in Omaha. That means my poor husband has to go to FOUR OR FIVE different stores to get everything on the list. That's BULLSHIT. As I get sicker, the demands on his time and effort are increasing. He has to do all the shopping, cooking, laundry and errands now, with no help from me. And those stores aren't right near each other, either. We're talking miles of travel to go to the pharmacy, dry cleaners, bank, grocery store and vets (to pick up meds for Felix, the Cat). An errand list that used to take an hour and a half now takes three. Both of our banks were in the grocery store (or parking lot) of the Baker's that was literally at the end of our block in Bellevue. AND my bank was open until 7:00 PM M-F, plus Saturday and Sunday hours. I loved that. Having your bank open 7 days a week is wonderful. The only ATM that I know of around here is not a drive-thru. I have to get out and go in. The harder it is to walk, the more you love drive throughs.
Latest example> Every year the Bellevue Baker's gets in a pallet load of boxed Christmas cards, and builds a display at the front end of the seasonal items aisle. Every year for 22 years, I was able to get three boxes of 20 cards per box at a reasonable price, starting right after Halloween. The other day, I tried to go to Target to get Christmas cards. I got all bundled up (25 deg F) and drove my wheelchair in the snow toward Target. I got 3/4 of the way and had to turn back because of sidewalk construction. Joe offered to get them for me. He went to Baker's, Hy-Vee and Wal-mart...nothing. No boxed cards of any kind. He walked all over those stores, and even asked for help, and they just didn't have them. He found some small packages (6 cards for $6) and got five of those, but he was seriously tired and frustrated by the time he got home. I felt bad for him. Don't the people in north-central Omaha send Christmas cards? (Because I waited too long, it's too late to order them online - I tried.)
The only store that carried Pert-Plus dandruff control was Walgreens, and they stopped carrying it. I now get it online. The Bissell carpet shampooer that I bought online is normally carried in Target and Wal-mart stores, but not around here. Pepsi One was carried at Baker's and Hy-Vee, but PepsiCo discontinued it in Omaha. The only store that still carries a diet cola made with Splenda (Diet Coke) instead of Aspartame is Hy-Vee. Baker's, Bag 'n Save, and No Frills, Target and Wal-Mart no longer carry the Pepsi One, Diet Coke w/Slenda or the Diet RC Cola (made with Splenda.) The ShopKo doesn't have motorized carts. The Hy-Vee only has two, and they are crap. The ones at the Baker's on 90th aren't too bad. They've only died on me once, and that was while in line, so no biggie. I'm afraid to try the scooters at Wal-Mart. That store is waaaay too big for me to walk back if I get stranded. I tried a local dentist, but there was no handicapped access (old building), and I had to climb stairs. I won't be back. I didn't try a local Optometrist. I drove to Bellevue, something I'm no longer really safe doing. She wants me to come back for a procedure. There is snow on the ground. I'll have to get Joe to drive me. The people at the bank branch are rude, and their parking lot is stupid. Hard to get into or out of. The gas station in Bellevue where you can use your Baker's Plus fuel points had a car wash. The one in my new neighborhood does not. The car washes we do have around here don't work very well. I really loved the Bellevue Animal Hospital. Great people, lots of terrific vets, great care, 5 minutes from the house. The vet we've got now is 15 minutes away, and the are okay. There is one vet at the PetsMart near our house. They are not accredited, and I'm not all that sure that I want to try him.
And there is no wildlife. I miss my critters. There are a couple of hawks in the neighborhood that I see when I go out, but not from the apartment. I had bird feeders by my window, but they attracted mice, so the apartment manager made me get rid of them. No birds. These apartments are new, so all the trees are babies = no squirrels. I saw a deer run across 72nd Street once.
On the plus side, Carrabba's Italian Restaurant on 140th an Maple is now close enough to eat at regularly. They are awesome. It was a 45 minute drive from Bellevue. Still, I miss Bellevue.
Everything I needed was within a mile of my house - bank, doctor, movie theater, grocery store, hardware store, pharmacy, dentist, optometrist, pet store, veterinarian, etc., etc. Except for the severe lack of a good Italian restaurant, I was really happy with the quality of service and care that I got at all the stores and services in Bellevue. (Actually, restaurants of all descriptions are lacking in the service department in Bellevue, but there are enough good restaurants in Omaha to compensate for it.) I didn't realize just how happy I was with those stores and services until I moved away from them.
The service at ALL the nearby restaurants is just badly managed and poor quality. There are about 8 eateries of various types in this immediate area, and they all suck. The Target store lets me down on a regular basis. They either don't have what I need, or their God damned, poorly maintained, piece of shit electric scooters break down on me in the middle of the store. That's happened three times. So I sit there and wait for an employee to walk by so I can have them go get my rollator from the service desk so I can leave. The Baker's store often doesn't have what we need. The stock in Bellevue is different from the stock in Omaha. That means my poor husband has to go to FOUR OR FIVE different stores to get everything on the list. That's BULLSHIT. As I get sicker, the demands on his time and effort are increasing. He has to do all the shopping, cooking, laundry and errands now, with no help from me. And those stores aren't right near each other, either. We're talking miles of travel to go to the pharmacy, dry cleaners, bank, grocery store and vets (to pick up meds for Felix, the Cat). An errand list that used to take an hour and a half now takes three. Both of our banks were in the grocery store (or parking lot) of the Baker's that was literally at the end of our block in Bellevue. AND my bank was open until 7:00 PM M-F, plus Saturday and Sunday hours. I loved that. Having your bank open 7 days a week is wonderful. The only ATM that I know of around here is not a drive-thru. I have to get out and go in. The harder it is to walk, the more you love drive throughs.
Latest example> Every year the Bellevue Baker's gets in a pallet load of boxed Christmas cards, and builds a display at the front end of the seasonal items aisle. Every year for 22 years, I was able to get three boxes of 20 cards per box at a reasonable price, starting right after Halloween. The other day, I tried to go to Target to get Christmas cards. I got all bundled up (25 deg F) and drove my wheelchair in the snow toward Target. I got 3/4 of the way and had to turn back because of sidewalk construction. Joe offered to get them for me. He went to Baker's, Hy-Vee and Wal-mart...nothing. No boxed cards of any kind. He walked all over those stores, and even asked for help, and they just didn't have them. He found some small packages (6 cards for $6) and got five of those, but he was seriously tired and frustrated by the time he got home. I felt bad for him. Don't the people in north-central Omaha send Christmas cards? (Because I waited too long, it's too late to order them online - I tried.)
The only store that carried Pert-Plus dandruff control was Walgreens, and they stopped carrying it. I now get it online. The Bissell carpet shampooer that I bought online is normally carried in Target and Wal-mart stores, but not around here. Pepsi One was carried at Baker's and Hy-Vee, but PepsiCo discontinued it in Omaha. The only store that still carries a diet cola made with Splenda (Diet Coke) instead of Aspartame is Hy-Vee. Baker's, Bag 'n Save, and No Frills, Target and Wal-Mart no longer carry the Pepsi One, Diet Coke w/Slenda or the Diet RC Cola (made with Splenda.) The ShopKo doesn't have motorized carts. The Hy-Vee only has two, and they are crap. The ones at the Baker's on 90th aren't too bad. They've only died on me once, and that was while in line, so no biggie. I'm afraid to try the scooters at Wal-Mart. That store is waaaay too big for me to walk back if I get stranded. I tried a local dentist, but there was no handicapped access (old building), and I had to climb stairs. I won't be back. I didn't try a local Optometrist. I drove to Bellevue, something I'm no longer really safe doing. She wants me to come back for a procedure. There is snow on the ground. I'll have to get Joe to drive me. The people at the bank branch are rude, and their parking lot is stupid. Hard to get into or out of. The gas station in Bellevue where you can use your Baker's Plus fuel points had a car wash. The one in my new neighborhood does not. The car washes we do have around here don't work very well. I really loved the Bellevue Animal Hospital. Great people, lots of terrific vets, great care, 5 minutes from the house. The vet we've got now is 15 minutes away, and the are okay. There is one vet at the PetsMart near our house. They are not accredited, and I'm not all that sure that I want to try him.
And there is no wildlife. I miss my critters. There are a couple of hawks in the neighborhood that I see when I go out, but not from the apartment. I had bird feeders by my window, but they attracted mice, so the apartment manager made me get rid of them. No birds. These apartments are new, so all the trees are babies = no squirrels. I saw a deer run across 72nd Street once.
On the plus side, Carrabba's Italian Restaurant on 140th an Maple is now close enough to eat at regularly. They are awesome. It was a 45 minute drive from Bellevue. Still, I miss Bellevue.
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Power Wheelchair Lift Van Difficulties
One main disadvantage with having a power wheelchair vs. a manual one is that you can't just fold it up and throw it in the trunk and go somewhere. It requires a van or an SUV with some sort of lift because they weigh at least 300 pounds all by themselves. There are a variety of options.
My "brilliant" plan was to trade in both of our cars on a minivan that has been converted. My reasoning was that the trade-in value of the 2 vehicles + $1000 down payment - the amount that I still owe on my car would equal monthly payments on the van that were no more than $300 per month. My car cost me $17,000. It is the most expensive car I've ever owned. Conversion vans (ten years old) are at least $24K, and can easily be $50K. I don't want to buy something more expensive than we can safely afford.
The real problem is that you can't buy wheelchair vans at a car dealership. You buy them at a wheelchair lift dealer. They are all about the lift, not the condition of the van that was traded in by the family of someone who died and didn't need it any more (read: not well maintained). Many lift van dealers are internet national companies that will ship your vehicle to you from wherever. Remember the last time you bought a car? I want to see it, touch it, smell it, drive it and make sure it's been maintained. I am very uncomfortable shelling out over $24K for anything sight unseen. The local place will let you drive one that's similar, but that's not the same thing as kicking the tires of the real one. Then, I have to take it to a car dealership to have the mechanic check it over to see if it is worth the amount that the lift dealer is charging. I don't have a relationship with the car dealers in Omaha. I did in Bellevue. (There will be a separate post about the Omaha/Bellevue thing.)
The rest of "the plan" was that we would put the new van in both of our names, since I'm expected to die in a few years, so that Joe would already be half owner and that would be less of a problem. (That's my theory. I don't actually know if that's the case.) I would make payments on it, but he would drive it, and I would ride in my wheelchair. Once we get the van, I would no longer drive.
The problem stems from the fact that we are not actually sure what kind of van/ramp/lift/SUV we really want. I am still able to drive on good days in dry weather (I am no longer safe to drive in dark, rain, snow or ice.) Moreover, Joe really loves his Honda, and with good reason - it's a great vehicle. It's given him ten years and 150,000 miles of great service. It has 4-wheel drive. (Minivans have front wheel drive.) It handles great in all kinds of weather. It gets reasonable gas mileage. It has a huge cargo area. But, do we really want to have a lift attached to it that might cost more than the value of the vehicle? How many more years will this Honda continue to give good service before the maintenance repairs start to exceed the value of the truck? My Subaru wagon will not be able to handle the lift.
Other considerations: a lift on the back of an SUV calls for me getting out of the chair, getting into the passenger seat, Joe driving the chair around to the back of the truck and either using a winch to lift it into the truck, or parking it on one of those rear-mounted platforms. With a conversion van, I would drive the chair into the van and Joe would secure me with straps and go. CBD, like ALS, is progressive. Just because I can do the above scenario now, doesn't mean that I will be able to next year. We need to plan for the worst case scenario. We know what it is. I won't be able to walk, and Joe won't be able to lift me.
It looks like everything is on hold until the spring. I have been able to drive my chair to the doctor and to Target. Yesterday, I took it out in the snow. I tracks well in an inch of snow, but now my wheels are muddy, and we have light colored carpet. I didn't even get to the store because the sidewalks are tore up for sewer maintenance. I don't like to use their electric carts at Target because they are crap, and have three times died and stranded me in the middle of the store, and then I have to walk back to the front. It looks like I'll be staying in for the rest of the winter. It's not fair to Joe to have to push me in the Transport wheelchair through snow. It's hard enough to push my fat self on dry pavement. I looked online for the Moby Van information. Their application is 22 PAGES LONG! And, I have to get it signed off by the doctor certifying that I really am disabled, and that I didn't just buy this wheelchair to get cheaper door-to-door taxi service. I printed it out. I'll get to work on it this week.
So, we wait for Divine Inspiration. All things happen when they are supposed to. Apparently, it's just not time, yet. When the time is right, I will know it. I always do. *sigh*
My "brilliant" plan was to trade in both of our cars on a minivan that has been converted. My reasoning was that the trade-in value of the 2 vehicles + $1000 down payment - the amount that I still owe on my car would equal monthly payments on the van that were no more than $300 per month. My car cost me $17,000. It is the most expensive car I've ever owned. Conversion vans (ten years old) are at least $24K, and can easily be $50K. I don't want to buy something more expensive than we can safely afford.
The real problem is that you can't buy wheelchair vans at a car dealership. You buy them at a wheelchair lift dealer. They are all about the lift, not the condition of the van that was traded in by the family of someone who died and didn't need it any more (read: not well maintained). Many lift van dealers are internet national companies that will ship your vehicle to you from wherever. Remember the last time you bought a car? I want to see it, touch it, smell it, drive it and make sure it's been maintained. I am very uncomfortable shelling out over $24K for anything sight unseen. The local place will let you drive one that's similar, but that's not the same thing as kicking the tires of the real one. Then, I have to take it to a car dealership to have the mechanic check it over to see if it is worth the amount that the lift dealer is charging. I don't have a relationship with the car dealers in Omaha. I did in Bellevue. (There will be a separate post about the Omaha/Bellevue thing.)
The rest of "the plan" was that we would put the new van in both of our names, since I'm expected to die in a few years, so that Joe would already be half owner and that would be less of a problem. (That's my theory. I don't actually know if that's the case.) I would make payments on it, but he would drive it, and I would ride in my wheelchair. Once we get the van, I would no longer drive.
The problem stems from the fact that we are not actually sure what kind of van/ramp/lift/SUV we really want. I am still able to drive on good days in dry weather (I am no longer safe to drive in dark, rain, snow or ice.) Moreover, Joe really loves his Honda, and with good reason - it's a great vehicle. It's given him ten years and 150,000 miles of great service. It has 4-wheel drive. (Minivans have front wheel drive.) It handles great in all kinds of weather. It gets reasonable gas mileage. It has a huge cargo area. But, do we really want to have a lift attached to it that might cost more than the value of the vehicle? How many more years will this Honda continue to give good service before the maintenance repairs start to exceed the value of the truck? My Subaru wagon will not be able to handle the lift.
Other considerations: a lift on the back of an SUV calls for me getting out of the chair, getting into the passenger seat, Joe driving the chair around to the back of the truck and either using a winch to lift it into the truck, or parking it on one of those rear-mounted platforms. With a conversion van, I would drive the chair into the van and Joe would secure me with straps and go. CBD, like ALS, is progressive. Just because I can do the above scenario now, doesn't mean that I will be able to next year. We need to plan for the worst case scenario. We know what it is. I won't be able to walk, and Joe won't be able to lift me.
It looks like everything is on hold until the spring. I have been able to drive my chair to the doctor and to Target. Yesterday, I took it out in the snow. I tracks well in an inch of snow, but now my wheels are muddy, and we have light colored carpet. I didn't even get to the store because the sidewalks are tore up for sewer maintenance. I don't like to use their electric carts at Target because they are crap, and have three times died and stranded me in the middle of the store, and then I have to walk back to the front. It looks like I'll be staying in for the rest of the winter. It's not fair to Joe to have to push me in the Transport wheelchair through snow. It's hard enough to push my fat self on dry pavement. I looked online for the Moby Van information. Their application is 22 PAGES LONG! And, I have to get it signed off by the doctor certifying that I really am disabled, and that I didn't just buy this wheelchair to get cheaper door-to-door taxi service. I printed it out. I'll get to work on it this week.
So, we wait for Divine Inspiration. All things happen when they are supposed to. Apparently, it's just not time, yet. When the time is right, I will know it. I always do. *sigh*
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Some Background
I used to be strong and healthy. I used to work hard physically from about age ten. I used to be able to do the same amount of work as a guy of my same height and weight. I used to be 5'6" and weighed about 155 lbs. I did 14 years in Air Force Base Supply. I held my own. I rarely asked for help. The men respected me for not being a burden. I got the job done, and I did it well and on time. After the Air Force, I still worked in various areas of Supply, and I was one of the guys that everyone could rely upon. I worked in the yard. I took care of the house. I got the job done.
Then, in 2007, my right pointer finger started to shake. Then, it spread to my whole hand. The hand shook so badly that I could no longer write, type or use the computer mouse. "Improvise, Adapt and Overcome." I switched to my left hand and pressed on with my work. Then my right leg started to drag. My left hip had hurt for years before that. I have Degenerative Joint Disease in my left hip. It shows up on a standard x-ray. But now, I had a pronounced limp as my right leg dragged. Then my toes curled tightly into hammer toes. Then shoes started to hurt. Doctors, doctors, tests, tests, MRIs.......all normal. "The good news is that all of your test results came back normal. The bad news is that all of your test results came back normal. We have no idea what's wrong with you." Mayo Clinic refused to see me. They felt that the local doctors had run all the necessary tests.
Then, the fourth Neurologist told me about a Neuro-Muscular Movement Disorder Specialist at the University of Iowa. She referred me. It took nine months to get into see him. There is one in Omaha, but the waiting list to see him was a year. (Last month my doctor said that Omaha now has three such specialists, and the wait is down to two months.) My husband drove me to Iowa City. The doctor knew what it was: Corticobasal Degeneration (CBD). Also known as Corticobasal Ganglia Degeneration. It's a cross between Parkinson's Disease and ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). In short, part of my brain that controls movement is deteriorating. Do a Google search, or go here: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/corticobasal_degeneration/corticobasal_degeneration.htm and read the list of symptoms. It's very rare. Only about 10,000 people in the country have it. There is no known cause and no known cure...and it's fatal. CBD patients die from pneumonia caused by aspirating fluids (food and saliva). I've had it for seven years. Most people die after five. I figure I've got two to three years left to go. Speed of progression varies. Mine has slowed a bit this year.
I was diagnosed Dec 11, 2012. I retired from the working world Dec 31, 2012. On Jan 9, 2013 I submitted my application for Social Security Disability (through a law firm that specializes in only that). I was approved on the first try. Social Security has a list of diseases that if you have something on that list, and you've got the documentation to prove it, you are very definitely disabled - no argument. CBD is on that list.
I have canes, crutches, walkers, a transport wheelchair, and now (this summer) I have a power wheelchair. My insurance covered the whole thing, minus my deductible. It's a $7000 wheelchair, and can be upgraded to tilt and recline later, as my condition progresses. We live across the street from a hospital. I drive my wheelchair to doctor's appointments.
I have good days and bad days. On good days, I can walk around our (very small) apartment hanging on to walls and furniture. On bad days, I use whichever (of those mobility aids that I listed above) meets my needs. I can't use the walker or wheelchair in the apartment. There isn't room. I could get a 3-wheeled walker, which is smaller - and I probably will later - but it will be one more thing to store in this already too full apartment.
So, in summary, My right foot turns in and under, and my toes on that foot are curled. This makes my foot and ankle hurt a lot like a bad sprain. My right leg also shakes and spasms. My "good side" has a bad hip. My right arm shakes, twitches and spasms. My arms and legs ache but, fortunately, a medication controls that. My fingers curl into a fist. I have to manually open them or they dig into the palm of my hand. I tried clutching a small stuffed toy, but it gave me tendinitis in my wrist. My foot and hand have both lost a half inch in length, and both are always swollen. They are also frequently cold because of poor circulation. I'm in my third year of menopause, so I have hot flashes all day long. I'm either sweating or freezing. I am rarely comfortable. I injured my left shoulder muscle 12 years ago, and it's never healed. So my areas of pain, in order of severity are left hip, right foot, left shoulder, right hand, lower back (arthritis). Something is always either shaking, twitching, aching or in spasm. Right now my ribs hurt on the left side. I've lost a full inch in height, and now I'm up to 200 lbs. I saw my reflection at the vet's office yesterday. I look like a beach ball with legs. Welcome to my world.
Then, in 2007, my right pointer finger started to shake. Then, it spread to my whole hand. The hand shook so badly that I could no longer write, type or use the computer mouse. "Improvise, Adapt and Overcome." I switched to my left hand and pressed on with my work. Then my right leg started to drag. My left hip had hurt for years before that. I have Degenerative Joint Disease in my left hip. It shows up on a standard x-ray. But now, I had a pronounced limp as my right leg dragged. Then my toes curled tightly into hammer toes. Then shoes started to hurt. Doctors, doctors, tests, tests, MRIs.......all normal. "The good news is that all of your test results came back normal. The bad news is that all of your test results came back normal. We have no idea what's wrong with you." Mayo Clinic refused to see me. They felt that the local doctors had run all the necessary tests.
Then, the fourth Neurologist told me about a Neuro-Muscular Movement Disorder Specialist at the University of Iowa. She referred me. It took nine months to get into see him. There is one in Omaha, but the waiting list to see him was a year. (Last month my doctor said that Omaha now has three such specialists, and the wait is down to two months.) My husband drove me to Iowa City. The doctor knew what it was: Corticobasal Degeneration (CBD). Also known as Corticobasal Ganglia Degeneration. It's a cross between Parkinson's Disease and ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). In short, part of my brain that controls movement is deteriorating. Do a Google search, or go here: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/corticobasal_degeneration/corticobasal_degeneration.htm and read the list of symptoms. It's very rare. Only about 10,000 people in the country have it. There is no known cause and no known cure...and it's fatal. CBD patients die from pneumonia caused by aspirating fluids (food and saliva). I've had it for seven years. Most people die after five. I figure I've got two to three years left to go. Speed of progression varies. Mine has slowed a bit this year.
I was diagnosed Dec 11, 2012. I retired from the working world Dec 31, 2012. On Jan 9, 2013 I submitted my application for Social Security Disability (through a law firm that specializes in only that). I was approved on the first try. Social Security has a list of diseases that if you have something on that list, and you've got the documentation to prove it, you are very definitely disabled - no argument. CBD is on that list.
I have canes, crutches, walkers, a transport wheelchair, and now (this summer) I have a power wheelchair. My insurance covered the whole thing, minus my deductible. It's a $7000 wheelchair, and can be upgraded to tilt and recline later, as my condition progresses. We live across the street from a hospital. I drive my wheelchair to doctor's appointments.
I have good days and bad days. On good days, I can walk around our (very small) apartment hanging on to walls and furniture. On bad days, I use whichever (of those mobility aids that I listed above) meets my needs. I can't use the walker or wheelchair in the apartment. There isn't room. I could get a 3-wheeled walker, which is smaller - and I probably will later - but it will be one more thing to store in this already too full apartment.
So, in summary, My right foot turns in and under, and my toes on that foot are curled. This makes my foot and ankle hurt a lot like a bad sprain. My right leg also shakes and spasms. My "good side" has a bad hip. My right arm shakes, twitches and spasms. My arms and legs ache but, fortunately, a medication controls that. My fingers curl into a fist. I have to manually open them or they dig into the palm of my hand. I tried clutching a small stuffed toy, but it gave me tendinitis in my wrist. My foot and hand have both lost a half inch in length, and both are always swollen. They are also frequently cold because of poor circulation. I'm in my third year of menopause, so I have hot flashes all day long. I'm either sweating or freezing. I am rarely comfortable. I injured my left shoulder muscle 12 years ago, and it's never healed. So my areas of pain, in order of severity are left hip, right foot, left shoulder, right hand, lower back (arthritis). Something is always either shaking, twitching, aching or in spasm. Right now my ribs hurt on the left side. I've lost a full inch in height, and now I'm up to 200 lbs. I saw my reflection at the vet's office yesterday. I look like a beach ball with legs. Welcome to my world.
Introduction - and Warning
Hi. I'm Dallas. On Facebook I try to keep my posts and sharing friendly, upbeat and fun. I do this to help cheer up my friends and family, many of whom are having a variety of difficulties much worse than mine. If I've made someone who is feeling down smile or laugh, then I've done a good thing. The thing is, sometimes I want to bitch, piss, moan, groan, whine, bellyache or complain. Also, my Facebook friends are polite mixed company (grandmothers, preachers, school teachers, etc.), so I have to watch my language. In person, I have quite the potty mouth. Always have. Sometimes I want to cuss and bitch from the highest rooftop about whatever has frustrated me today. I don't have anyone, or any place where I can really do that. So I'm going to try this. I have no idea whether anyone is going to be interested in anything that I have to say. This may backfire horribly in my face and cause people that I've gotten along fine with for years to turn away from me. I hope not. So, this is a warning. If you don't want to read anger and frustration laced with profanity, go no further. This is not the blog for you.
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