Hi all,
I hope you had a good week because I have had a terrible week.
I have been working my tail off and been getting home late everyday.
I went to the IJM gala (International Justice Mission) for their annual money raising/awareness thing last night and I couldn't get myself into the magnitude of the worlds problems because I am so wrapped up in my own world.
It is so bad when I can't bring myself to feel sorry for the sexually abused children in Cambodia because I am having my own problems.
I mean my problems are so infantile compared to "real" problems elsewhere.
I can admit that since we have had to let go one of my assistance and my dad and I share three assistance, I have been very busy.
I don't know if it is because we are less efficient but it seems like I get on my computer at 6:45 am and then don't get back to it until 4pm. It is at this time I am suppose to solve all the office problems. I have letters to write. Emails to answer. I have the staff coming to me after work. I have patient needs that I have to address and I have not written a single chart up since Tuesday.
I have a parking lot that is asphalt and it is really starting to look bad. I mean the normal person probably doesn't recognize there is a problem but I notice it and see that we are going to have to do something about it soon.
The floors in our operatories are in need of repair. We have done the flooring in our operatories in four stages. When we renovated the office about 10 years ago we use high grade linoleum on my side(four rooms). Then my dad needed new floors because he had carpet in his rooms (the four remaining rooms). This was about 8 years ago. We had a flood in our side because I was watering a plant and left the sink on all night. MY BAD.
And it ruined the linoleum in two of my rooms. So instead of redoing all the rooms we only did the two rooms that were effected by the water. So we used a different laminate wood in the two effected rooms. Then when we remodeled the reception area we did that with a hospital grade linoleum, this is the stuff that looked like wood that is so primo. 4 different looks through out the office. It looks like crap. Now some of the 10 year old stuff and 8 year old stuff is in desparate need for updating.
We are in the middle of getting bids on all the above and I don't have money to pay for any of it.
But it needs to be done.
What does people in Kenya getting their land stolen have anything to do with me?
It doesn't effect me one bit.
We have a bonus system that is doled out if we have a profit.
So if you hunker down and don't spend money on say capital improvements. If you order less supplies. If you watch every penny, there is a chance you will profit.
If you cut a staff member, there is chance you will profit.
Our hygiene schedule looks like swiss cheese and we have exhausted every angle to get patients in and we are telling our staff how bad it is. We are cutting more hours and people are on notice BUT we made a profit this quarter.
So we are giving a bonus.
Do you see how ridiculous that sounds?
All this is spinning in my head.
Do I really care that people in the Philipians are being held against their will and forced into slave labor?
I don't know if it is stress related but I have been getting nose bleeds lately. I will be driving down the road and my nose starts pouring out blood. I have to scramble and find a tissue and ride down the road with Wendy's napkin hanging out of my nose.
I was on the way to a study club and I had to sit in the parking lot waiting for my nose to stop bleeding before I went in.
My son turns 10 on Monday and I haven't even thought about it one bit.
My daughter is having her year end school party at our house on Tuesday and our back yard looks like poop. And the pool deck needs cleaning.
Remember that study club I said I went to. Well it was a 3M guy and he was saying half the stuff I use is old hat and I should be using their products.
I know he is suppose to sound like this and make me want his stuff and I know only half of what he says is true. But still I sit and wonder for about a week if I am really that out of touch.
Don't tell me about sex trafficking SE Asia. I don't want to hear about it.
My 5 year old is starting kindergarten next year. $8200 for KINDERGARDEN.
(Our elementary school has about 250 students in it and next year they are down almost 20%.
And I know we are not the only private school going through this. )
This will bring my grand total for tuition next year to $24,000 to educate three elementary students.
Don't even remind me about college.
Did I tell you we were having another child in 4 and a half months.
Are you having this kind of week?
Is your poop hitting your fan?
Is your life tearing the life out of you?
Are you spent right now?
Is work not that fun to go to anymore?
Yes, yes, yes, yes and yes.
If you want to feel a little more pathetic then go to IJM's website and see it could be a little worse.
I know, I know, "Don't tell me about this crap....I got my own problems."
Did I just bring you down? I am sorry.
Have a great weekend.
john
ps I just got Rocky III and going to watch it with the kids when I get home...I pity the fool.
3 comments:
I think Private schools are overated. You will spend more on elementary education that you did on college and dental school. Stop and think about it. What is so much better about it. If you shelter the kids too much they won't be able to fend for themselves. If you let them run wild then you have problems too.
So you should rethink some things. Private or no private school vs crown on a endo molar or premolar or no crown.
I do not believe in a bonus that is based on a target number. It motivates the staff for the wrong reasons. Money. They should do a good job because they can and want to. Because it is the right thing to do, not because they want pad the numbers for the month. Certainly you can reward good performance, but the reward should not be expected and taken for granted.
I pay a flat salary period. Whether the schedule is slammed full or empty. So it all evens out in the end. I don't give a bonus based on a production number. And I don't dock their hours when it is slow either. At the end of the year I evaluate everything and see what each individual truly deserves and either play santa or scrouge depending if you were naughty or nice. Knock on wood, lucky for me it seems to work out fine in the end.
Misery loves company. I think you have a lot of company right now. Having to make do is not really in our dental genes. We see all the things that need to be fixed and obsess about them 24/7. I dont have floors to replace, but carpets to be cleaned (Weren't they just clean last week?) garden to be cleaned up (the patients look out over it and so do I on each appt) and feeders to be filled, shy two assistants with three doctors and no plans to replace staff due to decreased production and if all that is not enough, while we are meeting with a publicist (who woulda thunk it, a dentist needing a "marketing person"), we get hail as big as baseballs...no exaggeration....come down to trash all our cars and damage light fixtures and gutters outside the office. I am grateful that no windows broke on the office or cars....scary. Its always something....oh yeah, the pts end at 4:30 but my day no longer ends until after 7:30pm. Have fun!! Cindi
Cindy,
You are a breath of fresh air. I so appreciate your comments.
When your "publicist" gives you a recommendation, let me know what he/she says.
I would be interested in hearing what you have to say about the marketing person experience.
Jgammichia@aol.com
Thanks again,
john
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