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LOL Thanks for the memories or should I say nightmares. Does anyone remember the old dreaded

Posted By: Spice on 2006-02-02
In Reply to: The good old days were not so good for me. sm - vtmt

erase pencil with an eraser on one side and a brush on the other, with the black or blue carbon paper?!!! I can't believe 27 years have flown by so quick LOLLLL!!!


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Boy, you brought back memories. I remember crying too and thinking I'd never get it that first y
x
oh, the dreaded blank

I always do much better filling in the blanks if I don't stress too much over it, finish the report, and go back and listen again after the report is finished.  So often the blank can be figured out with the context of the rest of the report available. 


oh, the dreaded blank

I always do much better filling in the blanks if I don't stress too much over it, finish the report, and go back and listen again after the report is finished.  So often the blank can be figured out with the context of the rest of the report available. 


oh, the dreaded blank

I always do much better filling in the blanks if I don't stress too much over it, finish the report, and go back and listen again after the report is finished.  So often the blank can be figured out with the context of the rest of the report available. 


My IRS nightmares

Perhaps somebody on here can give me some advice......Back in August 2004, due to my husband losing his job, we were forced into Chapter 7 bankruptcy.  At that time we provided our attorney with copies of income tax returns dating back to 2000.  At that time, we were on a payment plan to repay taxes from 2000 (roughly $1300.) We had just filed 2003 taxes and only owed a few hundred dollars.  Most of this underpayment of taxes was due to extra jobs my husband worked as a police officer.  Anyway, we were told not to pay the IRS anything as the debt from 2000 and 2003 would probably be discharged.  Bankruptcy was discharged in January 2005.  We never received any correspondence from the IRS letting us know that we owed anything from those years.  We ASSUMED that it had been discharged.  We took another hickey in 2004 (they year we filed BK) as my husband had to cash-in his retirement since we lost our house and had to find a place to live...that check was in the amount of $25,000.  Though we did have income taxes taken out when we received the check, I guess it threw us into another income tax bracket and that year we owed a little over $3000.   When I filed my 2005 taxes last year, we were due a refund of over $4000 as my husband still is not working from the severe depression of losing his job and I am the sole breadwinner for the family.  Long story short, the IRS took the $4000 I owed and spread it out over the the taxes that we previous owed for 2000, 2003 and a little of 2004.  Their method of dividing the tax refund was odd as instead of wiping out the oldest debt first, they wiped out the 2000 debt but left a couple hundred of the 2003 and took a little off the 2004 debt.  UGH!!! 


After numerous phone calls to the IRS in May to determine what the heck was going on with the refund as I expected to get back a little of the 4000., they advised me it was tied up in the bankruptcy division.  I talked to 3 different ladies at the IRS and all of them were extremely rude to me, no matter how polite I was to them.


Here comes the worst part.....yesterday I get 4 certified letters from the IRS, 2 addressed to me and 2 to my husband...informing us of intent to levy due to unpaid taxes.  I called the IRS yesterday and once again explained the situation that we were unaware that we owed money from years prior to the bankruptcy and that I had also submitted a request to work out a repayment plan.  The IRS rep, another rude woman, got snippy with me when I was trying to explain to her the reason why I could not get a loan to repay the tax today.  She promptly told me, "No is a sufficient answer....I don't need to know the reason why."  When I told her that since my husband is not working and I have the only income, I could maybe eek out $50 per month.  She said, "Oh...that's not enough.  That won't work at all."  She also said, "You don't want the IRS to put a levy on your property (which I don't own anything for them to garnish, other than my wages.  She then tells me she needs to transfer me to another department to work out a special circumstances repayment plan.  Of course, I was on hold for 20 minutes and nobody came to the phone; then we were disconnected.  I've been trying to reach the attorney that handled my bankruptcy to ask his advice and see what to do about the IRS.....That IRS customer service rep made me feel like a criminal and she spoke to me in a threatening tone.  They wait 2-1/2 years, never bother to send a notice to say that we still owed for the prior years and now they're making my life miserable for an amount of less than $4000.  Oh, and I told the lady that I had filed an extension for 2006 taxes but now had all my paperwork and would be working on them this weekend.  I further stated that I felt pretty sure that I would be getting another large refund since I'm the only one working.  I swear, I don't think the ding-dong heard a word I said.  Truly amazing they come after my pittance when there are rich people out there that owe 10 times what I do.  What really scares me is my parents just gave me a 2001 Toyota Camry that is easily worth $7000 or $8000 dollars.  I really need that car and now I'm afraid to get it titled in my name for fear they will take my transportation!!!  Not to mention what they could do to my bank account....and I have 2 teenagers I'm trying to raise.  Maybe this will force my husband to get off his rump and do something besides odd and end cash jobs that don't pay anything.  I had major depression a few years ago and I know it is bad but he kept telling me to get over back then.....I'm trying to turn the other cheek, but I can't do this alone either.


Has anybody out there been through anything like this that can give me some advice.  Sorry for rambling!!


The dreaded carpal tunnel

My doctor (neurosurgeon) thinks I need carpal tunnel surgery.  I went to him for back pain and during neuro checks, he said my thumbs were "dead."  He is sending me for an EMG.  The only thing I have noticed is that I wake up in the night with "numb wrists."  I don't have any finger/hand symptoms at all.  I have always knocked on wood when anybody said "carpal tunnel." 


Has anybody out there had carpal tunnel surgery? And how did it turn out?  BTW, I am 51 and have been an MT since 1984. 



There goes my NM with nightmares again, has a mind of its own. NM
z
Sorry the word is nightmares.
made me make a typo because my hands were shaking at the thought of the whole idea!
I've had that dreaded phone call twice before. Once was
a lab error, and the other time was precancerous but was resolved with in-office cauterization (painless), and that was 20 years ago!!!  So, don't worry - very small odds of anything really bad. 
EEKK!! Cant access Google, get the dreaded
x
Great advice, thank you! nightmares
z
Ooops, my NM stands for nightmares in my expander, NM
z
My insurance paid for my reduction, nightmares
z

So funny!! Nightmares! The world of expanders! NM
nm
wow... sorry then... my memories are nothing like that. sm
Granted, I'm only in my early 30s, so maybe I don't go back to the 60s, but still... I never walked away feeling over-indulged. However, my parents worked hard and if they went on vacation, they took us, too... it's called being a family. We're not talking about going out to eat once in a while by yourselves... we're talking about a vacation. And, yeah, if my parents had taken off to Florida for a vacation without me, I'd have felt slighted, too. And, yes, I take my kids on vacation with me. If I go, they go. And you know what? I enjoy taking my kids. They're great people. Maybe if my kids were total snots, then I'd consider going without them, too. But I've raised my kids the right way... I respect them and they respect me. Sounds like maybe the original poster has been a little over-indulgent with her kids... not in terms of giving them too many vacations, but maybe not enforcing rules and respect....
Yes, wow, memories...sm
I used IBM Selectrics at most all jobs in the late 70's/early 80's.  I remember transcribing for a clinic and there were about 40 girls in 2 big rooms.  At that particular job, the "computer" was introduced and they replaced our electric typewriters (gasp, how were we going to get our work done?)!  The "computers" were big, clunky things that were very scary looking.  After being on them about a week, everybody loved them and we all felt our production improved tremendously.  Just look at our computers now!
memories
My last real vacation was renting two condos along with my sisters and their children and my parents on the beautiful Gulf of Mississippi and New Orleans in 2000. This was the last vacation with my father (Died 10/15/00 of cancer) and Katrina blew away Long Beach. So glad I went. Actually argued about the trip. I wanted to go to Stone Mountain outside ATL. I am so glad we did this family trip. The memories are priceless.
The memories she will have (sm)
are the most precious things. Remember that through it all as you juggle this. You are giving her something money can't buy.

Oh, such lovely memories of you
I like the way you sign your name "my goodness" makes me think of the other night when you went to take a toke of my stogie you said the same thing "My goodness, Frank, you are are......" you know the rest my dear.
Thanks for the memories, RadGuy!
Need to find my Diablo disk.
Oh the memories! haha nm
x
I have fond memories of transcribing on sm

Selectric typewriters with 6 carbons, all of which had to be erased if there was a typo or, more likely, a dictator's changes.  If a doc's dictation stumped us, he (very few females then) would get a tug on his sleeve, asked to listen to what he said and explain.  Having worked in a teaching institution, these doctors were more than happy to impart their knowledge to anyone who would listen. 


Then came the mag card machines, then computers. 


The dictation I listened to on IBM belts, then tapes, was a lot clearer than most of the digital dictation I'm subjected to now. 


And no MTs worked on Sundays and holidays, and certainly not every Saturday.


 


 


 


Man did you bring back the memories for me

Mine was silver with a black vinyl roof.  I paid more for the wheels and tires then I did for the car!!!  Had it re-painted and LOVED it.  Only girl who could drive a stick and was proud of it.  teehee!  Them were the days!


Memories...EDiX did that to my hospital. SM
My family came upon some very hard times when I went with EDiX, but that's not to say Spheris is the same way.

Don't count on your line count being the same. It sure wasn't when I transitioned.
This brought back some memories...
I was once approached in a Barnes & Noble AND a laudromat! LOL
Now that brings back memories!! (sm)
Yes we have come a long way since pre IMB electric typewriters. Seriously I use to use a manual carriage return. That is how far I go back... Scary though. I really do like the progess we have made. Although we worked then!! No office chit chat, no line counts, no productivity standards, you just typed your 8 hours and clocked out. There is something to be said for that.
POLL: childhood memories

Remember mickey mouse ice cream bars?  They were shaped like mickey's head and the face was vanilla ice creame with chocolate ice cream for eyes and mouth.  His ears were chocolate covered.  I don't think they make them anymore.  What treats do you miss that you can no longer find? 


 

Broken tape memories
One of my docs about 15 years ago broke a tape and he spent more time putting the tape back together than it would have been if he had redictated. Another time, the same doc walked in my office and handed me the tape while I was running a finished tape through the little erase box and I immediately took it out of his hand and erased it right in front of him. I almost died. He always dictated on half speed to get more on a tape. What would you have done if you did that?
Because people have short memories. - sm
In order for anything positive to ever come out of this, then the subject of the AHDI ripoff of American workers has to be brought up and re-brought-up again and again and again and again, until we are finally able to drive it home, not only with ALL MT's (not just the few who don't have their heads in the sand), but also with the lawmakers in this country. If the issue begins to affect THEM, then they might finally listen. But the message has to be repeated incessantly in order to get anyone's attention.
This old babe says Babs by 100-fold! The Way We Were, Ave Maria, Memories, Enough is Enough..nm
s
Brings back memories! I had a computer fan that sounded like a mini helicopter! Kept
calling my company and having them "listen".  They weren't concerned. It did actually blow up one day - a little mini "poof" of fire, 2 seconds of light smelly smoke, and she was dead!!  A goner!  Never heard it before, never heard it after, but one did make noise and it died a month later!
just please remember that....

science is a GOOD thing :) If anything, the ultimate gift of God. IMO


(shuttin up now)


OKAY, BUT REMEMBER
Remember, maybe your current employer would pay you a penny more a line (MAYBE), but what about the next employer. Things in this business change quickly, and just because your current employer may up your pay, the next one might not care.
Do you remember>>bet I'm
How about those HUGE transcription machines bigger than a desk>>>>I gravitated to MT from KEYPUNCH school...REMEMBER THOSE KEYPUNCH MACHINES!!!!!
I remember
I learned to type on a manual typewriter.  I actually won a county typing contest on one of those, when some of the contestants had brought their electric portables with them.  I won because I relaxed, thinking I did not have a chance on a manual, and had only two errors.  They counted off words for each error.  I got my A.S. in HIM, only then it was Medical Records Technology.   My first job was in a small physician's office, where I had an IBM Selectric.  Dictation was on this little thing with belts.  After that was a machine with small little discs that looked like film, that never came out of the machine, just stacked up like a juke box.  After that came tapes.  My references were a big Dorland's, a Taber's and a PDR.  Of course, like another poster said, I had the chart.  Even with all the bad things about the business, I don't think I would want to go back. 
ek, remember ET...


AND REMEMBER
Oct. 1 if you are ME, you get the "reward" of 20% decrease in pay.
just remember

remember
They used to think that about male nurses too.
I believe so, but can't remember what it is! nm


Don't remember where I was

I probably found out about it at night, when the newspaper arrived. It didn't phase me at all.  

In terms of my age at the time ... 27.


How do you ever remember them all?
That's my problem
Remember When? SM
I posted last evening and spent time this morning just chuckling over what people have written. I still have the red book, "A Syllabus for The Surgeon's Secretary." It is all beat up and the spine is broken but I will not part with it. Let me quote, "Only when a satisfactory degree of proficiency has been achieved should a student be given actual work assignments. She thus learns by POSITIVE TUTELAGE as contrasted with the outmoded method of trial and error." The 2nd edition, January 1965 is the date of publication. We had no electronic dictionary or medical speller. Everything we wrote had to be correct or it was literally "thrown back at us" to retype. We had to use our "Dorlands" or "Tabers" and one PDR for the use of the whole office. Believe me, these "one of a kind" books were tattered and torn but we used them or else. We "had" to get it right, no excuses. What a wonderful way to start the New Year. Somehow it seems all worth it now, sore back and tired fingers and all. Happy New Year, Everyone. Mary Mc
I remember when...

As a child;


Movies were 50 cents. We went at least every weekend...


We got cable TV...wow, more than 3 or 4 channels!


Our first VCR had a remote...with a cord running across the floor!


 


As a teenager;


Let me just say...leg warmers!


Big hair!


Wham! Boy George! Flock of Seagulls...


Those were the days...


I remember
as a child

Combination TV and record player. The record player could play 33-1/3, 45's AND 78's

Stores were closed on Sundays.

As a teenager

White lipstick

Rolling hair up on orange juice cans.

Cash registers without scanners.

Wishnicks (lucky troll dolls)

Don't let the trolls get you down.
i remember those
I'm old enough to remember standing at the meat counter with my mom watching the butcher weigh out the meat and wrap it and if she wanted a special cut he would step back to a table with the meat saw and cut it.

I also remember long trips on Route 66 before the interstates- getting car sick because I was sitting with my knees on the seat looking out the back window watching the stripes and telephone poles go by- my cousins had a Rambler station wagon and that was really cool cause they got to sprawl out in the back it had a luggage rack on top - oh, boy am I really telling my age
Boy am I old. I remember......
when I was a child, and there was no TV, we actually had one of those big floor model radios, and we actually sat around it and listened to it.  Wow.  When I was a teenager, gas was about 18 cents a gallon, and we used to go out on a Friday night and get a dollar's worth.  I also remember our first color TV.  Everything looked bright pink, bright blue, and bright green.  Probably my most significant memory as a teenager was being on my senior class trip in Washington, D.C. when Kennedy was killed.  We saw the White House flag being lowered.  Car radios were on all over town, people gathered around cars crying.  That was back in the time when everyone was kind of "innocent" - things like that just didn't happen.  Wow, what a memory. 
I remember when...
Michael Jackson was "normal" and very cool. I remember when we only got three channels out in the country. I remember being in love with Erik Estrada from CHiPs! Ahh, nostalgia. I remember when Ricky Martin was in Menudo. OMG, so cute! When I need a nostalgia fix, I watch "13 Going on 30". She was my age exactly then! Loving those layered polo's and plastic necklaces! I remember watching NEW episodes of "The Cosby Show". Oh, can't forget "The Facts of Life"! Woohoo! Good thread idea. I'm smiling now! Thanx!
WHAT I REMEMBER

When we waited for guys to call us now girls ask guys out (I have two daughters).  When you would not be stuck with one guy and would go out with several. When College was an option because jobs were more plentiful. Now College is a must.   When TV had the good shows like Different Strokes, Facts of Life Etc, when Kenny Rogers was as hot as Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney.  When TV was a little more sensored than it is now.  When there was more little corner stores and not a variety of  supermarkets.  When you only had one brand to choose at the store and not a million.   When Sundays were a day of rest and not work(stores were closed).  The only time you could get donuts was on Sundays at the corner stores. 


I remember when...

Milk used to come in glass bottles with cardboard tops. Bread was wrapped in waxed paper with a label on each end.  Kids had to be inside as soon as the street lights when on.  Everyone ate dinner together, and you had to ask to be excused from the dinner table.  All 3 of us kids waited in the back seat of the car while mom did grocery shopping, and we actually believed she could see us.


 


As a teen I remember city buses took us everywhere, or we walked.  I remember bleeding madras shirt, tight cut-off kakhi-colored jeans (but I'm not sure kakhi was a word then), boys with bleached blonde surfer haircuts, and penny loafers without socks.  I remember circle pins, letter sweaters, and Aqua-Net. 


 


Thanks, fun!


Just remember

were you were only four days ago.  You posted on this board "bawling your eyes out" and having no idea what to do.  I am very happy for you, please understand that.  But I have been where you are right now.  I am not trying to dampen your spirits or get you down, I'm just trying to give you a little bit of reality.  I didn't respond to your original post because I felt that you had enough people putting their two cents in.  I left my husband over four years ago.  It took a lot of courage and it was a very scary thing to do.  He was a very emotionally abusive man who had taken away every ounce of self-esteem I had.  But I got me and my son out. 


I do want you to be happy and excited about the steps you are taking, but I don't want you to forget where you were just a few short days ago.  It is very easy to fall back into the same old routine.  I heard many, many promises from my ex, and I stayed with him only for things to always go back to the terrible.  If you hang on to where you just came from, you won't allow yourself to go back there again.


Good luck.