Princesa of the Fun

Ah, yes! Today is the day when I will finally share all of the fun stuff that I’ve had stored away to share. Okay, so I haven’t really had it stored away. I collected it all on the 23rd, but I haven’t had a chance to get it together, e-mail it to myself, scan it into my computer...you get the picture. (Get it, picture? Because they’re pictures! Oh boy.)

There’s a few things I want to say first, and then I’ll get on with the fun picture. Promise.

I had the best day today. (Edit, this was originally written on the 27th.) I decided last night that I would have a Princess Protection Program party and my puppy, Greta Hayley, could host it. Yes, I am nuts, I realize. I also realize that my dog can not host a party in all technicality, so I guess I take back saying that I’m nuts. There’s still a little girl inside of me that likes to have good, innocent fun, and this is what I wanted to do with my day. Besides, I had been waiting for P.P.P. to premiere since I saw the preview for it way back at the end of December, so I was psyched.

Today my mom and I took Greta to the pet store, picked out some things for the party, and then I ran in Wal-Mart to get some more things for us humans, as well as another special treat for the dogs, while she played with Greta.

I made my special Paw Print Puppy Popcorn Peanut Butter bones, and they were a hit. My mom made some treats off of a recipe that we had gotten from the shelter where we adopted Greta. They were also a hit.

I am glad to announce that the movie was super cute. I was concerned that I had gotten my hopes up for no reason, as the last two movies that Disney premiered on their channel this year, I was not thrilled with. They could have been cute, but something threw them off, which was disappointing considering all their movies that were done for the channel were always really, really cute.

P.P.P. definitely stood up to the standards that I’m used to them having, and if I’ve never mentioned it before, I LOVE Selena Gomez, who starred in the movie along with Demi Lovato. Selena is just the most adorable thing, so that made the movie ten times better. You can’t go wrong with anything that she’s in!

I’ve also decided that Princesa is just an awesomely cute name for an animal, and would be a great nickname for Greta Hayley.

Also, to politely sum up the whole SSI story, I spoke to the woman who was my caseworker. Basically, she did not pull all of my medical records, made assumptions on her own without the proof, and admittedly has no idea what happened to a whole group of papers that I physically took into the office for her to have, not to lose. Instead of calling me when those papers went missing and getting new copies, or calling around to all of the doctor's offices and getting all of my medical records, she simply made a decision based off the fact that she wanted to get me out of her way and move on. I’m sorry, but without all of my medical records, there was no way she could have made a fair and honest decision.

There’s several reasons that this is true, but other than the obvious, there’s the fact that three separate doctors have filled out paperwork for me stating that I absolutely can not stand for any period of time, bend, lift, carry things, or drive. These papers were filled out for the state for my health insurance coverage through them, and these are the papers I copied and physically took in to her. If she would not have lost them, she would have known this about me. This information was also in my medical records with those doctors. If she would have pulled those medical records, she would have known this.

Instead, in the extremely ignorant and aggressive letter I received, it stated that since I was able to stand for any length of time, bend, lift, carry things, and drive, that I needed to go out and get a job. Obviously, there’s just a whole lot of stupid going on here. I don’t know how else to put it. If she would have done her job, it is written in my records that I can not do any of these things, not a one. I have copies of these records in my own possession, so if I have them, she should have them, too, especially when I made copies and physically took them into the office for her.

I could tell she was uncomfortable speaking with me about my case. Many things I asked her she did not have answers for, and simply became quiet. Other times her only response was, “I made my decision.” She was very nice, but that’s really not the point here.

Also, in the midst of our conversation, she claimed she had no idea I had doctors appointments coming up. This is untrue for several reasons. First, I received two separate phone calls from her asking me when all of my doctors appointments were. I had appointments booked into October when I spoke with her on the phone those two times, and the second time she called was only because she “misplaced” the information I had given her the first time. My upcoming appointments were scheduled months before she even pulled my medical records, meaning, if she would have pulled them all, she would have seen that I had follow-up appointments coming up in the records as well.

I also contacted her two times to alert her of any new appointments I had made, since I knew I was supposed to do so. Again, I had appointments the entire way through October and she was aware of all of them. I have a witness to these conversations, and for her to say that she did not know about my appointments is absolutely untrue.

Thinking back, she had called me one time to ask me who I lived with. Not only had she called me three days prior and asked me the same question, but I was asked, and answered that same question more than once on the paperwork I filled out for SSI. Maybe I should have realized there was a problem then. Between that and her calling me to re-ask me when my appointments were, I should have most likely seen this coming.

In talking to her, I also brought up that she had collected my records off of a doctor that was not my doctor. She proceeded to tell me that, even though he was not my doctor, he worked in the same clinic as my doctor, and she retrieved the papers off of him. She assured me they were definitely my papers, as the birth date was correct. This wasn’t so bad until she told me that she also had a talk with this doctor about my treatment and medical history. This was infuriatingly confusing, to say the least. I have never heard of this doctor, far more ever even so much as had a consultation with him, so I am unsure of how he could have a conversation with her about my health. He should have thrown the conversation over to the doctor I was actually seeing, as it really wasn’t his place to speak on a patient he’s never so much as laid eyes on. This also happens to be the doctor who is in trouble with the medical board. Gee, I wonder why.

As for the whole “mental health disorder,” apparently in one of my files the doctor mentioned that there was a possibility that I had some anxiety. Well, yes, let’s be honest, everyone has anxiety from time to time. I am unsure of what doctor said this, however, when I asked, she absolutely refused to tell me. I will be going through the medical records in my possession to confirm this information.

Beyond that, though, if my “anxiety” was a real problem, I would have been sent to a psychologist and medicated. I brought this up to her, as she told me that their doctors had reviewed my files. They should be smart enough to figure out both of these things. I’m neither on medication for it, nor have I ever seen a psychologist, which means I have never been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. Simply saying in passing that I have some anxiety does not mean I have a mental health disorder. She was completely and absolutely out of line, and fabricated this piece of information without any solid proof, or a diagnosis.

(Edit: In going through my medical records, I found a little gem that most certainly needs to be shared, as it makes this part of the story just ten times better. I had actually forgotten about this, as it it such a minor, non priority in my current health situation, that it ran fast and far from my mind, allowing it to focus on the situations that were being thrown at me left and right.

A good six months ago, I had gone to a lung doctor for my breathing issues. While we were talking, I had expressed to him that sometimes I could not breathe correctly for a few hours at a time, and when this happened, after about an hour, I found myself getting edgy, as not being able to breathe correctly for that amount of time is, no doubt, a scary thing.

In order to find out if these moments of edginess were panic attacks or anxiety, or if they were just caused by the pure fact that I couldn’t breathe correctly and was not getting the total amount of oxygen to my brain that I should be, as well as this just being damn scary, he gave me an anti anxiety pill to try. They ended up doing the exact opposite of what they should do, putting me more on edge, and actually making me anxious and unable to sleep. This is how we proved that I indeed did not have any kind of anxiety disorder, and these brief moments were caused by me simply not being able to breathe correctly. These moments also never occurred outside of these specific circumstances.)

I have spoken with several people prior to this chaos who told me that when I ran into issue with SSI, and I would, to go to a certain local state congressman. Apparently, this specific person is just absolutely wonderful to work with when it comes to SSI, and he has gotten many people SSI when other problems have arose. I am going to go to him, taking the medical records I have in my possession, and a copy of the papers I filled out to show all the doctors I had listed in which to retrieve my medical records from. I will also take the note I got from SSI, this way I can not only show him that they did not pull the records from all of my doctors, since the note states which doctors they did pull them from, but also, with medical records in hand, show him that my medical records directly contradict what is in the letter.

I think it’s important for him to know what is happening down at the SSI office, and particularly with the caseworker I had. I do not wish her any harm, nor do I want to be mean to her, but it is as simple as this; she did not do her job. She is being paid to obtain all of my medical information and not lose my files, but she did neither of those things. It needs to be known that this has been going on, because honestly, how many people could she really be hurting because of this? A lot.

I also want the congressman to see how unprofessional, ignorant, and aggressive the note I received was. Again, this is not a personal thing, but a professional one. The lady who wrote the letter had absolutely no right to assume things, use the language and verbiage she used with me, and offend me the way she did. Her job is simply to tell me that I was denied SSI and why. It is not to tell me in so many words that I am completely lazy, trying to live off of the state, and need to go and get a job, among other things. It is uncalled for. If my doctors can vouch for me being sick, she has no right to tell me I am not. She is not a doctor.

I am going to leave that as is for right now, but I’m sure I’ll come back to it later. I probably won’t get a meeting with the congressman for a few weeks, but I am not upset over this. I am confident that everything will work out, especially now that I know what really happened, and have the absolute proof to show the decision made was not based on what my doctors have said, but on the half assed job my caseworker did. I will also post pieces of the letter, as it is kind of a hoot if you're not me, once this gets further straightened out.

Okay, and now that I am done with all of that, on to the fun. I have several pictures to add to this blog, so I am super excited. I will start with the pictures I took on the 23rd, and then get into some interesting family photos.

The first picture up to bat is simply one of my grandma’s door display outside of her apartment. It’s not funny, but I thought the fake flowers arrangement was adorable, and I wanted to show it off. I will get to the funny right after this. For now, take a moment to notice how absolutely cute that is. I had to take a picture. I could not resist.

Next up we have the infamous Koala that Aunt Bev named Wendell after a man she used to go to church with. I just knew I had to eventually get a picture of Wendell to share. I apologize that the picture is so blurry and icky, but the lighting sucked and the only camera I had with me was the one on my Blackberry, so the resolution wasn’t the best, but you get the hint.

The next pictures are very close to my heart in the way that they make me laugh. I don’t know about all of you, but passive aggressive signage just amuses me. I am a huge fan of it, as well as the Passive Aggressive Notes website. I don’t come across a lot of notes to share with people, but I found two just in my grandma’s building alone, so I had to share.

This first one isn’t so much aggressive, I guess, as it is just plain ironic and funny. I will lovingly entitle it, “The Keys That Went Home With Somebody Else.”

Here’s a closer view, just in case that one isn’t very clear for everyone.

This sign is really a gem for several reasons. Let’s just begin with the fact that everything is in capital letters. This makes an otherwise friendly and suggestive sign, aggressive. The lack of proper punctuation and the like also helps to win it an award in my book.

What really throws it over the edge, however, is the irony. The person who lost their keys did not lose the keys to someone else’s car, but to his own. It would have been understandable if he had lost someone else's keys, considering the cars and the keys to them were moved around during the process of the car wash. He instead lost his very own keys, which really wins because those keys stayed stationary. For them to up and take off is a real mystery with a lot of talent behind it, no doubt.

For the record, my grandma also told me that this sign is rather old, meaning the car wash was not “yesterdays,” and to this day, they have yet to find the keys to said car.

Now we shall move on to the second sign. I don’t even know where to start, so I will not. I will just let you all read this sign before I comment. I call this one “When Granddaughters Do Your Bidding.”

In case you can’t read it well, the bottom says “Clean as a whistle keep it that way!!!” It’s written exactly like that, lack of punctuation and all. I was unable to get a better picture of it, because it is written really small.

What really makes this sign is that it was obviously crafted by a child. The story behind it is that the lady who lives in this apartment is a complete neat freak. Apparently her granddaughter visits often, so she had her granddaughter make a sign for the door thinking that it would be less aggressive if it was obviously done by a child. I hate to tell the lady this, but it is not less aggressive, and possibly more offensive seeing as she had a kid write this. I believe my grandma said the granddaughter was five. Gees, they really teach them young these days.

Now we’re going to move onto a section of, let’s just say, “special” family photos. They really carry that certain sizzle. These were given to us by my grandma on the 23rd. All of these are pictures she’s carried with her through the years. I do not know who most of the people in the pictures are, so I apologize, but really, once you see them, who they are isn’t as important as what the heck they were thinking in the pictures. I will help you all figure it out.

Let me just start out with the cute picture first. This picture isn’t funny in any way, shape, or form, except that no one can figure out whose cat this is, and the picture isn’t even all that old compared to some of the ones I'm going to share.

But seriously, isn’t this just the most aww inducing thing ever? I mean, the color, the way it’s laying, the fact that it’s a cat. I had to add it for all those reasons alone.

Next we will head right over to the second newest picture in the bunch, which isn’t saying a whole lot. This picture is of my great grandfather, but unless you were the one who took this picture, or knew whose residence that was, I doubt you’d know that, because for whatever reason, it was necessary to take the picture from this angle.

Oh yeah, isn’t that special? I can’t help but wonder if there was supposed to be a point to this picture, or if Great Grandma thought this was funny, being as I would assume she was the one who took the picture. Ah, great grandparents. It doesn’t get any better than that.

The moment I saw the next picture, I knew it had to go onto the internet somewhere along with snazzy little talk bubbles that would extend to you just what they were thinking. Although I decided against the talk bubbles, I will still share their thoughts below the picture. Now keep in mind that these aren’t their actual thoughts, but just what they look like they are thinking.

Before I get into what they’re saying, let me just tell you who the people in the picture are, so this makes more sense. This is a four generation photograph. The little girl is my Aunt Diane, the woman is my grandma, the man on the right is my great grandfather (yes, the one whose ass you looked at in the previous picture, just in case you were wondering what his face looked like) and the man to the left is his father.

The crowning jewel in this picture is really the look on everyone’s faces, thus warranting some pretty fun mock thoughts. I imagine the thoughts in their head to be something to this effect. Also, on a side note, this picture is about fifty two years old, give or take a few years.

Aunt Diane: I have to pee. I really have to pee. I asked my mom if I could pee ten times, but she insisted I take this picture first. I don’t see how this is fair, because I have to pee. How in the heck am I supposed to smile when I have to pee so bad? This is the best smile she’s getting. I don’t care if it looks like I’m scared and I have to pee, because I really HAVE TO PEE! (If you knew my Aunt, you would know that this description fits her perfectly.)

Grandma: Wow, that light is really bright! Did anyone else notice how bright that light was from the camera? It damn near blinded me to death. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to see again. In fact, stars are forming! I hope you can’t tell just how deer in the headlights I am in this picture. Wow, the shock, the horror, the sheer and utter wide eyed glory! (My grandma does swear, so I promise I’m not insulting her.)

Great Grandpa: Seriously, we just had to take this picture today? I have other things to do. Church is over, there’s a game on, and someone somewhere is cooking. Can’t we just hurry this up? This is the look I am going with, and it’s the best look you’re getting. I will not straighten my tie, because if I do that it will only take more time and I have better things to do today than stand here. (In all reality, great grandpa was one of the most calm, endearing, and gentle people you would ever want to meet. Most likely the look on his face in this picture was nothing more than his lack of excitement that he calmly carried with him wherever he went, but then again, this was after church and he did like his food.)

Great, Great Grandpa - I am so bored. Nothing could be more boring than standing here until someone finally puts their little finger on the button and snaps the picture. Bored, bored, bored, and unhappy about having to stand here. Did I mention that? Maybe I’ll go to sleep. Ahh! Bright light! Well, at least my eyes were open for this picture. (I've never met great, great grandpa, so I have no idea what he was thinking. I just thought he looked awfully bored and unthrilled by the whole situation.)

This next picture is funny for very obvious reasons. I’m not even going to try to explain it first. I’ll just post it and then give you all a minute with it.

I’m not really sure who this person is, but I’m not blaming them for this picture. How can I? They’re obviously not the one who snapped the picture. Of course, for all I know, maybe the woman chose that particular pose behind the bush because she thought it was just so snazzy and so 1950’s mod. This is something we will never know, but it makes for a pretty good humor piece on the blog. So, to whomever decided to take this picture in this specific pose, thank you. And I also want to thank that bush for just being there. Bravo! Your performance is award winning!

The last three pictures are from a set that I’d like to call the “photo bomber pictures.” I think everyone knows what a photo bomber is, but for those who don’t, it’s someone who isn’t the subject of the picture, but somehow ends up in the picture and wrecking it whether it's on purpose or by sheer accident. They simply become the subject of the picture through their wrecking. These pictures have nothing in common except for the photo bomber tendencies of the (un)suspecting background creepers.

This first picture goes with the last one I posted. Apparently, someone was really into taking pictures of people behind bushes. I don’t know if the photographer was the same person or not. No one does, but I still can’t help but wonder if I missed something. Two pictures of people behind bushes! TWO? Gosh! Everyone, is there something I should know?

In this picture, what really gets me, though, is the photo bomber quality. If you look past the main woman in the picture, the one attempting to hide behind the bush and failing to do so, is someone who is failing even more at hiding behind the beams of the porch. She’s peeking out in such a creepy way that I have to wonder if she was purposely trying to photo bomb the picture, or, because of the way she’s positioned just so, if she really does suck that bad at hiding. My mom and I have had a conversation about this, and we really don’t know which it could be. It could go either way. Ah, little mysteries. If only you could have conversations with the dead.

This next photo bomber picture, at first glance, doesn’t even seem like it would go into the photo bomber category. Go ahead, take a good look at it and see if you notice the said aforementioned bomber, as I didn't at first either. I was so into the oddness surrounding this picture, and yet somehow, considering the times, it’s not odd at all. It’s freakishly adorable, even if I do not know who all these people are.

Anyway; the photo bomber.

Did you spot him? No, you didn’t? Look just behind the small child on your right hand side. Still don’t see him? Look closer! He’s there. Still nothing? Click on the picture to enlarge it. He blends right the heck in with the background, which really, I would call him a true photo bomber, as it takes talent to blend right into a background of a picture that you’re not even supposed to be in, in the first place. I have to wonder, did the photographer know he was there?

And last but not least, we have this little gem.

Obviously this is the newer of the pictures, but what really makes this picture is not just the way that no one seems to be paying a bit of attention to the camera, but the way that the photo bomber seems to be doing an exceptionally good job of not paying attention. He is so oblivious, in fact, that he just keeps walking like there’s really awesome, yet a somewhat boring flavor of ice cream that he needs to get to.

But the real win, my absolute favorite part of this picture, is not just that he’s unaware of the camera, or the picture being taken, but that he’s also unaware of the entire group of people standing just feet from him and talking. I have asked and this picture is from a small family reunion. He was indeed part of the family, but I guess he wasn’t real big on talking to the woman folk and gaggle of older gentleman.

And there you have it; the super fun blog that I had promised. Up next, I have an even more fun blog, and although it does not include pictures, I have several small, but fun stories to share, including one about my favorite obscurely random person, Aunt Bev, along with her faithful debauchery filled companion, my mom. The next blog is filled with so much fun, in fact, that I’ve even taken notes in not one, but two different places, people! I’m even thinking about finally getting around to reviewing not only New Moon, but Eclipse as well, as I’ve now finished both.

On the same token, please give me a little bit of time. I was taken into the ER early Wednesday morning - so early that it was still dark out - for TIA symptoms. This was not the first time I’ve had a TIA. Unfortunately, as is my life, the doctor in the ER is an old arch nemesis of mine, and we even went to my regular hospital over an hour away where all of my medical records are in an awesome computer system just to escape this particular guy.

He was a physician I used about five or six years ago. I stopped going to him because ha had a knack for not listening to what you were telling him was happening, and then prescribing you a bunch of pills for things that you weren’t even complaining about. I found out that I was not the only one with this complaint about him, and he also used to work at a nursing home where my great-grandparents were, and they also had the same issue with him. He was the only doctor in duty in the ER on that particular morning, and it was good to know nothing has changed with him. And by good, I mean I wonder why he’s still practicing medicine.

Long story short, he dismissed pretty much all of my symptoms. When I told him that I had a TIA previously and that it was diagnosed by not one, but three doctors, he looked at me and said this exactly. “You never had a TIA. You’re not the right type.” He hasn’t seen me in five or six years, three of my doctors I’m seeing now have diagnosed me with this, but suddenly he felt he was the expert on my health. He also did not pull my medical records which were accessible through the hospital computers, and then tried to medicate me for symptoms I was not having, as well as with a pill that actually makes me very sick.

Had he pulled my records or listened to us, he would have known that. I was checked out of the ER because obviously, I didn’t need to end up more sick by taking a medication that makes me extremely ill, as well as having him diagnose me AGAINST everything my current doctors are saying. That in itself was quite scary. The situation could have been really bad had I stayed and let him continue to go against my current doctors and their diagnosis of my health. Who knows what else he would have tried to give me in his overconfidence and want to push pills, or if he had continued to treat me without looking at my medical history. I will be writing a letter to both the hospital and my insurance company to let them know what has gone on.

What really got me, though, was that he walked in the room, took one look at me, never even asked me what symptoms I was having, and immediately diagnosed me. You can not diagnose someone without asking them what is happening with their own body. He also never gave me a physical exam, or attempted to touch me except for listening to my heart. My entire right side was numb, including my face, and yet he still ignored all of these symptoms.

Also, I was bleeding out of my nose and mouth, which he completely dismissed. I have talked to one of my current doctors about this and we found that I have a loose blood vessel in my nose. Since I will be having surgery to correct a deviated septum on both sides of my nose in just a few weeks, the loose blood vessel will also be corrected at that point in time. We’re still working on figuring out what caused the TIA.

I could probably rant about this, as I’m still pretty upset, especially considering I’m not feeling much better and am now struggling to figure out what is causing this to happen. I will hopefully be up and ready to lick the world in the next couple of days, but at this point, I’m nowhere near that. I already had ninety percent of this blog typed up for about a week now, hadn’t had time to post it, and really just wanted to get it finished and posted today. It has taken me all day. So my apologies, but I promise I’ll be back and kicking soon.