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I don't know if this is just PMS or winter blahs or Christmas blues.  I just really feel resentful lately.  It's like I'm spinning my wheels and accomplishing nothing lately.  I'm not happy about anything in my life because I feel like I can't catch up.  The house isn't clean enough, I don't get enough lines in, there's always extra stuff needing to be done.  Every day is the same old, same old.  I'm running from the moment I get up in the morning.  I have to drive my kids to and from three different schools every morning and afternoon.  That takes up about two hours a day between driving and sitting in the parking lots.  We were told our house was on the school bus route before we bought it, but then the school district changed the bus routes from 1 mile to 1.5 miles, 2 miles to 3 miles, etc. 

I work parttime while the kids are at school, which means I'm at the bottom of the totem pole for work.  Sometimes I have to sit and wait for work to come in.  It also means I don't get a formal lunch hour, just a quick snack at my desk.  I can't make enough money, not even with the side job I do on the weekends.  I'm really tired of the strict schedule because some days I can't even get a shower in until right before I go pick up the kids.  After I pick them up, then I have to run errands, clean house, get dinner ready, help with homework, and go to bed just to do it all over again the next day.  My husband and kids help out, that's not the problem.  I just don't ever have time to sit and drink a whole cup of hot coffee at one time, let alone watch a movie or read a book.  I feel like I sold myself out to be chained down to this stupid job, but my peanut paychecks make me wonder what I'm doing it for.

Then I look around at people who are juggling fulltime jobs, hobbies, kids' activities, and everything else, and I wonder why they can handle it all but I can't seem to.  Do I expect too much of myself?

I want to share something my family does in case you're interested in doing something similar.  We live near a military base and every year I call and get the names of a couple of soldiers to invite into our home for Christmas Day.  These are soldiers who are very far from home and not scheduled for leave on Christmas.  We been doing this for several years and it has been such a wonderful experience.  We have made friends that we'll keep in contact with until ... 

We pick up these soldiers up at a set time and set gate on the base.  They have dinner with us and we always give them some small gifts  -- phone cards, note cards, stamps, restaurant gift certificates, etc.  The guys love it when they get a box of all occasion cards with stamps, as most of them say they aren't very good at picking out cards to send back home.  We end the evening by driving around showing them Christmas lights, etc.

Yes, it is generally a bit awkward for them at first, but they always end up getting "comfortable" and enjoying themselves. 

You usually need to call early - they do have to make sure you aren't a serial killer or terrorist.      Often times, they have an office set up where you fill out a form for "adopting a soldier" and that simplifies matters a great deal.

Merry Christmas to all of you!

concerned that by doing this, you are helping yourself out of a job?  What if these companies hire nothing but Indian transcriptionists because they are so cheap.  Won't that put all of us out of jobs eventually?  or am I just being dense.  My company recently asked me if I would "edit"  (aka "train"), and I refused. 

I am currently living in rural Iowa, and my only options for Internet access right now are dial-up (can you say S-L-O-W ?) and satellite.  I know I can get HughesNet and WildBlue.  My questions are:

1.  Are there any other providers I may have missed?

2.  Anyone have experience with HughesNet or WildBlue or any other satellite access for MT work?

I have to make a decision on this within the next week or two, so any help would be much appreciated.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFyFDjnz43Y&feature=related

(don't be shy ... you won't regret it) 

My husband and I are talking about having a baby, but I am an IC and I am looking for a job as an employee with benefits (mainly insurance since he is self-employed also and we have no insurance).  How does maternity leave work with these larger national companies?  Do you get paid if your out for a couple of months? 

Thanks!

I lived there as a transplant for about 10 years -- My answers might be more helpful if you had specific questions and/or what part of the state you are talking about -- e/m me.

Does anyone else have problems with puffy, stiff hands during the hot weather.  Never bother me in the cold but this heat kills my speed and accuracy.  Anybody have any home remedies that helps.   I feel like the Pillsbury Dough boy with regards to my fingers and hands.   Please don't tell me it is old age setting in. 

Thanks.  

From a blog by a critical care nurse:

"Levophed is so powerful that it is almost always the last-ditch drug to maintain blood pressure -- especially in sepsis -- hence its nickname, 'Leave-em-dead'.

I was thinking of testing with DTS America in Nashville and just wondering what anyone knew about them. 

Thanks

out of work?  This has been going on for weeks now.  I thought things would pick up by now?

Hi again,

It's decision time. Just wondering what people think of these companies and what their experience has been like working for them. Thanks.

Jen

A friend of mine is moving to Italy and I am really considering going with her.  Just wanting to know if anyone has lived outside of the US (not necessarily in Italy, just anywhere).

Thanks

do you quickly glance at the report, read it word-for-word, or just cross your fingers and hope you didn't miss anything?

I'm just curious. 

What was dictated:   "He had normal fundi bilaterally."

What I typed:  "He had normal FUNGI bilaterally."

Mental image that conjured up:   Dude with large mushrooms sprouting out of his ears!     

I know someone who has an account that she's had for about 3+ years.  This practice recently went through some changes; one of the main partners retired, they hired another one or two new docs, and now the other partner who was left behind has slashed costs every which way, even to the point of not purchasing letterhead anymore.  They expect their MT to now print their letterhead (oh, and she has to buy the paper now too!!!), and she is consequently using a lot more ink than normal.  She was already printing their letters and not charging them for the ink (on their letterhead that they furnished), but now she has to use their letterhead template on plain white paper, which is going through ink like crazy, not to mention the now added cost of paper on top of that.  How rude is this?  Do you believe it?  I told her she needs to speak up.  She is pretty angry about it, but she is so afraid to say something for fear they'll get rid of her too!  And, in all the years she's been doing their dictation she has not gone up on the price, not one penny.  Any advice out there?   

I have an older transcriber (DAC Model DA-125) and have had it for quite some time now.  I moved my office over the weekend and had to unplug the machine.  Well, my backspace has reset to practically nothing and I can't find my manual on how to reprogram the backspace.  Is there anyone else out there using this phone and if so, how to do reprogram it for the backspace length?

Thanks so much for your help.

Tabatha in Charleston

I've been an MT for 12 years now.  The Drs I worked for used WordPerfect so that's what I used.  Well, new job uses Word.  That's fine except I'm having 1 glitch...I have it set so that the 1st ltr/1st word of sentence is CAPS.  However, when ending a sentence with a number, this doesn't happen.  One of the Drs I now type for uses dates to end sentences ALL THE TIME.  What am I missing? 

Thanks.

Hello,

I'm convinced that my stepdaughter is developing an eating disorder but am having a hard time convincing my husband of the same.  The 15-year-old girl has lost I think at least 30 pounds in the past few weeks and refuses to eat more than a few bites and wants to just drink prune juice to help her poop.   She won't listen to me that you have to eat in order to have something to poop and is obsessed that she's not pooping every day but also says she's not going to eat.  

She was previously overweight but now is what I think is a weight that she looks good.  I'm concerned that she's going to end up ill if she doesn't start eating consistently.  My husband seems to think this is just a fad she's going through.

Any ideas, suggestions, etc? 

I tried a new 'keyboard shortcut' and miraculously not only did it not work, it turned my desktop on Windows sideways.

Any suggestions on how to fix it?

Thanks!

Hi!  Does anyone have a Gear Xport and/or Gear Player they are no longer using and could sell to me?  I thought I'd try and buy used before going new.  Let me know! 

Thanks,

Traci

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