Wet Weather

So, I have already been commenting about the weird weather we have been experiencing in Lubbock. It continues.  Today, there were some scattered showers, and it would be raining in one place in town, and you could be feeling the rain, but seeing the bright sunshine and white clouds in another part of town.

This morning, the weather caster I was listening to said she swore someone was holding an umbrella over the rain gage, because it had rained hard, but there was no rain in the rain gage.  I no longer have a rain gage, but I heard the heavy rain, but the few places in my backyard where the rain collects were minimally wet!  

One of the effects of this weird weather is in communications.  I have long said at work that if it rains, or the wind is high, our phone and computer communications are affected.  Now, years later, there are many other people at work who agree with that, or advance that as their own observation.

Usually, my home is not affected anymore.  Years ago, when I used the land line phone, when the weather was wet, I could hear "shadow conversations" when I used my phone.  When I complained to the phone company, they insisted there was nothing wrong with the lines outside of my house, so they would have to come in and rewire my house at great expenses.   Since I could not make out the actual words of these "shadow conversations" I chose not be held hostage by the phone company and let them charge me for what I knew to be their problem.

Sometimes, though, I have observed that when the weather is wet or windy, my network connection is inconsistent.  As I was playing Words with Friends tonight, sometimes when I tried to play a word, I would receive a message that my network connection was not working.  Usually, although not always, when I hit "play" again, the word went through.  That happens when the weather is wet or windy, it just is what It is. 

The Community Engagement Task Force

I went to the Community Engagement Task Force meeting tonight http://lubbockonline.com/filed-online/2016-09-01/lubbock-mayor-police-chief-face-tough-questions-community-forum#.V8j19o-cFxI.  I met some nice people, saw a few people I know, and listened to the comments of others. I made no comment.  I was just honored to be able to participate in such a forum. I want to watch for more.

Cat Language

Taki wanted something tonight.  I can tell, when she uses her claws on my knees.  But when I got up to check on her, she did not move. She just sat there.  So, I could not tell what she wanted.  I picked her up and held her briefly, but that was not what she wanted. She got Haiku, who insisted she wanted something.

Haiku led me to the kitchen. Her food dish had treats in it, but Taki's did not. So, I gave Taki some treats, and they both settled down to eat. It was that simple, but Taki did not know how to show me. But she knew how to get Haiku to show me!

Taki Has Some Learning Deficits....

But I do not think language is one of them.  Almost every time I am in the small bathroom, Taki joins me, even if she was (presumably) sound asleep.  I think this stems back to her very first days with me.  I would feed her into the night, and check on her first thing in the morning.  If she seemed to be asleep, I would get on with my morning, which started in the small bathroom.  Barely able to see, she would drag herself to the small bathroom crying, letting my know she was hungry. I think she was attracted by the noise. So of course, I would feed her.

So, I think that might the source of her affinity to my being in the small bathroom. 

Taki has a hard time with the door. She can push it open from the outside and get into the bathroom. If I keep the door barely cracked, she rubs her cheeks on it. But sometimes, she is trying to open it.   I have several times how to open it with the right front foot, pulling it toward her.  I actually did it with her right front foot.  More than once.  But she tries to pull it open with her left front foot, and is actually trying to move the door jamb which is to the right of the door.

Most recently, she has seemed stymied by her attempts to open the door, and I actually took her right front foot and showed her how to open the door again.

Since that lesson, the last couple of mornings, I would tell her, as she kept rubbing her face on the door, to use her foot (if I say paw, I get no response).  She then uses her left foot on the door jamb. I tell her to use her other foot, and she does!  So, is it language?  Is it remembering what to do from before?  I do not know, but I do know, if I do not verbally prompt her, she does not get the door open.

Cell Phone Coverage

I have just about convinced myself it is time to get a smart phone.  Interestingly enough, the last time I decided that, I had coverage problems with Sprint.  That was the second time I had coverage problems with Sprint.  The first time was the Thanksgiving week from hell, when I did not have cell phone service at home, and the battery in my car was going away, and I could not count on the car to start when I used it.   That was November 2013.   Additionally, my back was hurting, so I could not walk to where I could use my phone.  I could not convince Sprint that there was a problem, and it took a week of complaining before they responded.  And, when they did, they found the problem.

The next time I had that problem, I got a customer service representative who was very good, told me how to reset my phone, clean off the battery connections, and he called me back when he said he would to see if that worked.  It did.  He reported there was a suspected problem in my neighborhood, and Sprint acknowledged to me that there was.  They took care of me the second time. Much better service.

Tonight, as I drove home, and I turned into my neighborhood, I could hear my phone searching for a signal. I could not remember how to reset my phone, but I cleaned off the battery, so that took care of the problem.

I think I will wait until April to get a smart phone:  Sprint has a contest where I could win one.  I doubt that I will, but I see no reason to buy a smart phone if I could win one. The contest lasts about 6 weeks.  I can wait.  Who knows.

I Want Something

Taki and Haiku like to sit in the computer room with me.  Usually Haiku sits on the tray or the folding chair.  Taki usually sits on the floor.  Actually, lays on the floor, spread out behind and a little to the right of my chair, so when I swivel around to get up, I have to be careful not to step on her.

Often, Haiku will cry when she wants something: typically treats in the kitchen, or to go to sit in the garage.  Sometimes, she wants to be held, or to move to sit on the sofa.  She can sit on me or closer to me on the sofa. She does not like to sit on me when I am sitting up at the computer chair.  If we are on the sofa, I am reclined, and she can stretch out on me. 

Taki sometimes grabs at me. Because she is being a pest and picking at me with her claws, and not talking, it took me a long time to realize that when she grabs at me, she, too wants something.  She grabbed at me tonight.  The cats had been fed, so I could not figure out what she wanted.  I brought in some grass and that satisfied her. I am learning her language.

I Think I am Addicted!

It was not a particularly bad day, but just a little frustrating.  The biggest frustration is that I am in pain.  I was not in pain until last Wednesday. Until then, I was taking Celebrex and doing the exercise regimen that I learned in physical therapy, including going to the Lifestyle Center http://www.covenanthealth.org/Our-Services/LifeStyle-Centre.aspx 2-3 times a week to do the pool exercise regimen that I started at physical therapy.

In August, my insurance company, United Health Care http://www.uhc.com notified me I was in the "step therapy" program, and I had to try medications other than Celebrex, as they would not cover the cost of Celebrex.  I went to my doctor, got a prescription for meloxicam, which I started last week. The first day I took it, I could tell I was not getting the pain relief I was getting with Celebrex.

I waited a few days, and matters only got worse.  I am very frustrated.  I had worked hard to do physical therapy and follow up on my own to not lose the strides I had made at pain management.  It was thrown into the trash by my insurance company.

I was also frustrated trying to communicate with my doctor's office.  Rather than call me back as I requested, so we could discuss this, they just ordered a new prescription. The insurance tells me they did not request a pre-authorization. If I do not follow instructions from my doctor, they get upset, but they do not follow instructions from me. So, I got upset.

This is the kind of stuff, when I am in pain, that can set me to tears. It is manageable. It is fixable, it is not life-threatening. But it takes more time and energy than I think it should.  If people did their jobs the way they are supposed to, this would not happen. 

I understand the insurance dance.  I do not always agree.  In fact, I think managed care creates more costs to consumers than it manages costs.

I am a firm believer in "if it is not broke, so don't fix it."  But it seems corporate America does not believe in that (Coca Cola http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Coke.) And, as we have learned, my insurance company is included in this.

Yesterday, a coworker reminded me that my muscle spasms may be due to low potassium.  I think she was right: I had been eating bananas, but had not done so for about 10 days, until yesterday.  Today, I woke up without the muscle spasms I had been having, but still had some of the other pain.

So, anyway, I went to the Lifestyle Center tonight after work.  It was like magic. I got in the water, and it felt like my stressors and pain melted away.  And they did.  I did my regular routine (actually I have several variations of a regular routine) which takes a little more than an hour. 

Although I still have some discomfort, it is greatly diminished tonight.

A colleague who has been going to water groups at the Lifestyle Center for some time told me she felt it was very relaxing and helpful as a de-stressor.  I got it tonight. I was really looking forward to my time in the pool, and it was just so soothing and calming.  I am hooked!

PBS Fundraising

It is that time of year, faithful viewers, fund raising on your local PBS http://www.pbs.org/ station. My local station is KTTZ http://kttz.org/channel-5. It is affiliated with Texas Tech University http://www.ttu.edu/, after a brief and, and in my opinion, stupid dissociation. 

Tonight is music night:  we saw big band programming, and now we are getting "malt shop" music programming. Sometimes I call in to make a pledge, to get a promotional gift, since I know I am going to probably spend the money, anyway.  But mostly, I just watch the show.

I send a monthly donation to both PBS and NPR http://www.npr.org/. I do not usually pledge.  For a couple of reasons.  I work for Texas Tech, and once a year, my employment "contract" from Tech indicates it is not a guarantee of employment, should funding become unavailable.  So, I figure why should I make a commitment to Texas Tech when they cannot make a commitment to me?  The other reason I do not pledge is because I am going to send money, anyway, so I do not need them sending me paperwork to remind me.

A few years, after the fundraising period, I would get a pledge notice, even though I did not pledge.  I would return it to them and tell them I send a donation regularly, but if they do not leave me alone, I will stop sending a donation. It feels like they are being greedy by sending me a pledge notice when I do not pledge.  I think that is poor customer service. 

The thing about pledge week is that the programming excitement and quality is at a higher level than most other weeks of the year  But, over the :years, I have found myself watching more and more PBS programming.  I admit it, I am hooked on "Downton Abbey" http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/downtonabbey/ or http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2720864/It-s-Downton-confidential-Fresh-scandals-new-secrets-s-sneaky-peek-Series-5.html.  I like Doc Martin  http://www.pbs.org/programs/doc-martin/, also.

Years ago, I become hooked on Masterpiece Mystery http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/mystery/index.html , especially "Hercules Poirot" and "Miss Marple."  Some of the others did not do much for me. But I did like Helen Mirren in Prime Suspect http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/primesuspect6/. 

I am not so enamored of no commercial interruptions:  some times I need the break.  But, I have the TVs set so I can move around the house and keep up with what is happening.

So, the point of this is to also encourage you to donate to PBS if you watch their programming.

"In The Cathouse"

So the title reference is to being "in the doghouse."  But I do not have a dog and sometimes, I do things that upset my cats.

Today was one of those days.  I misjudged my time.  I washed the linens, but did not get the bed made before I went to the concert in the park, and then ran a quick errand.

So, when I arrived home,  about 9:40 PM, I was met at the door by Haiku, who gets upset when it gets late and the bed is not made.

She sulked around in the bedroom until I did finish putting up the laundry, and made the bed.  I am not sure why it upsets Haiku so much when the bed is torn apart, but it does.   I try to be cognizant of that and not let the bed be unmade for too long, but sometimes, things happen.

Haiku complains about so little. Yet, she has such a plaintiff cry, sometimes it sounds like she is complaining when I do not know what she is complaining about. She is such a low maintenance cat that I am afraid I overlook her sometimes. 

On the other hand, Sake has been doing very well recently.  And, she has been asking for fresh food in the middle of the day. This means I will be going home for lunch as much as possible while she is still eating good.  I just want her to do well. She is grooming herself and letting me groom her more.

So, when I got home tonight, she was sleeping on the dining table.  She was really sleeping.  I could tell because when I turned on the overhead light, she blinked a lot, and grimaced, so I shut off the light.  About 10 minutes later, she woke up enough to ask for some chicken, which I provided for her.  I am so thrilled she is eating well.

Taki had no complaints today, but I almost had to put her in time out. I was doing my physical therapy exercises.  Take and Haiku joined me.  Haiku just watched, and later joined me on the bed for the exercises I do there.  But Taki kept attacking my feet.  I told her "no" but that did not help.  I gently pushed her away several times.  She came right back.  I threatened to put her in time out, but did not.  If this happens again, I will put her in time out. (One of the cat stroller cages.) I hate to do it, but I cannot have her attacking my feet while I am trying to exercise.  Last time I was doing physical therapy, I did put her in time out while I was doing the exercises, and after a while, she learned to not attack my feet.

I think it was a tough day to be a cat in my house today.

Spell Check and Typing

So, I am not the most accurate typist there is.  Many of my typos are "dyslexic," meaning that I interchange letters.  Most word programs correct that for me, and I have become lax with spell checking, although I try to remember to spell check these posts before I release them

The problem is, I used to be a very good speller, but now I am a lazy speller.  Especially for words that were always questionable to me. For example, I can never remember if occasion has 2 c's and 2 s's or 2c's and 1 s or 1 c and 2 s's. Well, I used spell check so I have it correct here. But that has always been a problem word for me.

The other thing I do is put spaces in the wrong place.  So "the neat man" might become "then eat man." Which of course, makes some or little sense.  Depending on the word program I am using, it might point out the syntax is incorrect, it might not.   

The point is, spelling is a skill like so many others.  If you do not use it, you lose it. I read a lot, so that helps me with my spelling, but I have to work on consciously being aware of my spelling.

Helping Each Other

I am convinced that my cats help and communicate about each other. This evening, Haiku wanted to be in the garage. When I have a cat in the garage, I try to remember to leave the light on which will remind me that there is a cat in the garage.  And, I try to check on that cat periodically so the cat can come back inside the house proper.

So, tonight Haiku wanted to be in the garage. No problem. I checked on her a couple of times.  Just recently, Taki came to me and wanted some attention.  I followed her to the kitchen, and realized that Haiku wanted in from the garage.  So, I let her in.

Depending where I am sitting, I can hear the cats pounding on, or climbing the door between the kitchen and the garage. But I cannot hear that in the computer room. Which is why I try to check on the cat(s) in the garage from time to time. But sometimes, I do not check frequently enough. And one of the cats in the house will let me know the cat in the garage wants in.

Isn't that cool?

Being Connected

I live alone. Since I have lived in Texas, almost 37 years, I have lived alone more than I have lived with someone.  When I was in a relationship, and it was going well, I did not mind living with someone.  But I really like living alone.  My schedule is set by work, but outside of work, my schedule is set by me.

When I had a dog, we walked regularly. Sometimes in the morning before I went to work. Always in the evening when I returned from work.  I built my social life around walking the dog. And, we walked Saturdays and Sundays, usually in the morning, sometimes a second time in the evening. 

I have cats now, and I feed them twice a day: in the morning before I start the rest of my day, and in the evening.  I try very hard to plan my social life so I have time to feed the cats before it is too late in the evening. They may not be hungry, but I want the food to be there for them.

Other than that, I set my schedule for me.  I eat when I want and what I want. I read, watch TV, am on the computer, do yard work or house work all on my own schedule. I attend activities based on what I want to do. 

I have said for years that I attend activities for two reasons: 1) Because it is something I want to do or 2) to be social.  I tend to attend activities because it is something I want to do more than to be social. If it is an activity that I really want to attend, I do not want to be distracted by someone who wants to visit or socialize during the activity.

I may invite others to attend the activity with me.  But I will attend the activity whether or not someone joins me.

Earlier tonight, after I listened to the Lady Raider Basketball game, I was feeling I needed to connect with someone.  But not strongly. 

There are people I can call or reach out to if I feel the need to connect. But I did not feel that need tonight.

I have never been comfortable connecting by phone. I do not know why but I do not.  I think that there are a lot of people who also feel that way, which is why texting is so popular:  You can connect, but at your own time and space.  It is not immediate.  You control the timing.

Anyway, my sense of needing to be connected dissipated.  

Computer Frustration and Then Some

Okay, so Sunday night, as I was working on the computer, I got a pop up that told me my computer was at risk and did I want to run the virus scan. Well, I use a Microsoft anti-virus program, and it usually runs on Sunday night, and it usually asks me if I want it to run, and this looked like a Microsoft virus scan program, so I clicked on it.  And it ran, then it told me I had to pay for the virus scan to complete its work.  So, I knew I had been scammed, and I shut the computer down.

Monday morning, I contacted the IT help desk at Texas Tech, because as an employee, there are somethings they can do to help staff. They could not resolve my problem.  However, in the course of trying to help me, the technician copied the address book addresses I needed, for NASW, in case I had to have the hard drive re-formatted.

Well, they referred me to a commercial resource who might could help me.  I was impressed, because the  resource said they would start on the service right away. My past experience with computer technical services is that they put you on a waiting list.  It took this technical service a couple of days to fix the computer, and I did not get it back until Wednesday morning, but I was pleased to get it back and ready to use.

So tonight, I was working on some NASW stuff, and I did something, and lo and behold, a file of NASW addresses disappeared. Because the technician had saved that file, I was ultimately able to find it and import it back into the address book. I will need to ultimately refigure it, but it is useable, and I have not lost all of those addresses, as I did the last time I lost the address book.  I am not sure what I did to lose this address book, as I am not sure what I did last time to lose the address book. But, at least, this time, I can recreate it, as nothing has changed since the tech saved it for me on Monday.

I am not sure why I am having all of these technical problems.  I am thinking, especially, that someone younger and more technically savvy needs to be recruited to help us with our NASW computer communications. 

I will continue to do what I can to help my local NASW branch with communication.  I hope I am truly up to the task. 

Premium TV - We Did it To Ourselves

When the "premium channels" for TV came out however many years ago that was, people bought into the idea.  They could get new movies and special programming for an additional fee. So, they paid.  Maybe the mentality was that it was like paying for going to a movie.  I remember that mentality. We did it a few times when there was a special sporting event in the late 70's or early 80's.  We would generally have a party, and everyone chipped in to cover the fee.  We did HBO for a while, but found the selections too limited for the price.

So, more and more, many of the sporting and special events on TV are on premium channels.  You have to subscribe to the "sports level package" or the higher than basic satellite package. Or some other subscription service. The NFL channel. The Yankee channel. The NBA channel. The MBL channel. And, stupid, we do it. 

What would  happen if people stopped paying for these extra premium channels, and said, "No thanks, I'll stick with the basic, and when you do not offer quality programming, I will turn to alternative entertainment: board games (not online premium games), card games, dominoes,  books, music, conversation, or hobbies that do not involve media.  Or, I will go to a movie at a movie theater. Or a local concert. Or play. Or, whatever.

Well, of course, this will never happen.

I often question if I really get my money's worth of the Cable service I use.  I like the access to NASCAR events, which, so far, do not require a special network access, and the Weather Channel, the programming of which has gone done hill, now that they do not offer continuous weather but they offer canned programs (yuck).

I blame the consumer.  The supply is out there, and we watch this schlocky stuff instead of tuning out and finding something better to watch.

I am as guilty as the next person.

Over the last 8 or 9 years, I have become more discriminatory about what I watch on TV. I do not have the TV on for background noise, as I used to do many, many years ago.  I use other media including books (they are media) CDs, DVDs, and because I have a good turntable, vinyl, for my entertainment.

The Third Person

I had a return visit to the optometrist today, and it went well from my perspective. People were much more explanatory and communicative, and personable than the last visit.  I signed in as I was supposed to but did not get taken to my appointment in a timely way. The nurse I was to see came looking for me:  the front desk was so busy, they never told her I was there.  She understood the problem.

Something happened that disconcerted me, and I am embarrassed to say that I did not speak up, but should have. At one point the optometrist and his nurse were reviewing my record and talking about me in the third person as if I were not present.  I understand this phenomenon. I try not to do this when I am talking about a patient with another provider, but it is an easy mode to fall into.  I did not feel comfortable enough to say "Hey, I am in the room, talk about me as if I am present."  By the end of the visit today, if that had happens again, I would have felt I could say that. 

Before today, my last visit was as had been on a previous visit to this optometrist: I felt like I was treated as a number, a case, a non-entity.  Today, largely because of the personableness of the nurse who did my field of vision test, I felt as if I was being treated as a person, an individual. She even offered me a drink!  Wow!

Anyway, they repeated some tests that they did last time. Last time, one attendant put me in front of a machine that had me sitting in a very uncomfortable position, and although I complained to the attendant (she may be a nurse) she just blew me off. This time, she made a point to ask me if I was comfortable.  The other test they repeated that I had a problem with was frustrating. Last time, the same attendant just "powered me through."  This time, after having dealt with the really good nurse, I asked for time to rest my eyes between session, and asked for the machines to be adjusted better.  I still flunked the test.

Even the optometrist this time was more personable, and talked to me as if I was present, instead of talking over me or talking at me.  I cannot say he talked with me, but he did better.

I am reminded of a situation that I was in some many years ago at my current place of employment. We were in treatment team, which involved a variety of different professionals: social worker (me), psychologist, medical provider, nurse, security and probably some ancillary therapists meeting with a patient.  The patient was Spanish speaking and we had a certified interpreter present. As the meeting progressed, I talked to the patient when it was appropriate for me to talk, and the interpreter did the interpreting. Part way through the session, the psychologist said something that maybe I should have said but did not.

The psychologist said that we were not using the interpreter appropriately, that we all should be talking to the patient and let the interpreter do his job.  That we should not talk about  the patient with the interpreter as if the patient were not present. He also said that he suspected that the social worker in me caused me not to confront my colleagues about the fact they were not behaving as they should, but I just continued to model appropriate behavior so the rest could figure it out for themselves.  You could have heard a pin drop.  Everyone in the room apologized to the patient that they were not talking to him.

I have to wonder how long that lesson lasted with the professionals in that room.

I am reminded about that session because of the way the optometrist and attendant behaved today. I am determined, when I go back for my 6 month follow up, if they behave that way, that I will speak up and say do not talk about me as if I am not in the room, talk with  me and to me.

Cell Phone Service

I have been a Sprint Cell Phone customer since 2003, and generally have been pleased with the service. Until recently.  Some months ago, I did not have cell phone service, and contacted Spring on their website.  They acknowledged, after a lot of back and forth, that there was a cell out in my area, and they anticipated it would be repaired in 2-3 days, and gave me credit for the down time.

Tonight, once again, I am without cell phone service. When I got on line to report it, the technician I contacted tried to talk to me about upgrading my phone, and intimated that it was my phone that was the problem, not their service. But, when I asked about upgrades, the technician could give me no details. This person tried to send a SMS through, and it took three tries, and finally I got all three, but could not respond. After going back and forth multiple times, the technician finally agreed to contact engineering to check on service in my area, and said they would call me back tomorrow. What good is a call back if I do not have phone service. These people are nuts.

My phone is old, and while I hate the idea of planned obsolescence, I have had to deal with it before. As in when Suddenlink, my cable service, upgraded their service, and my modem became obsolete. Of course, if I rented a modem from them, they would have provided a new one. But, in the long run, buying one is cheaper than paying interminable rent.

So, tonight, I will hope that I am safe without a phone.  This makes me think I might want to investigate bundling a land line, just for emergency purposes if the cell goes out. 

Well, technology is nice when it works.

Cellphones on a Plane?

I have a cell phone, and I use it in public.  I used to have a hands free device, but it stopped working and I never replaced it. Sometimes, I use the speaker phone when I am on the phone. Mostly, I talk into the phone.

I do not like listening to other people's conversations in public, and try hard not to subject the people around me to a serious conversation.  I might call someone and ask about a purchase, for example, or call someone to give them an update on my status, such as "running late for our meeting."  But I really try to keep my phone conversations private.

I do not fly much, but recently took a trip by plane.  Getting on or off the plane, people were bonded to their cell phones. I heard lots of person information that I really did not want to hear.  I understand calling about status updates:  the plane is getting off late, the plane just landed late, etc.  I get that, it makes sense.

But I do not want to hear your business problems and orders. I do not want to hear your personal problems. I do not want to hear your romantic trysts, your lover's arguments, or your parent-child interchange.  

I for one, hope that airlines do not allow cell phone usage while we are flying.  Or, better yet, do not allow cell phone conversations.  If you want to text or send email, and I do not have to hear it or read it, go for it.  But no conversations.

Spying

So, if I understand what I am hearing and reading in the news, the United States has been monitoring private communication not only of its enemies but of its allies. And monitoring personal communications such as email and phone calls.

This is very distressing. No one wants their privacy violated. I do not. Do you?  And, we are all allowed to express ourselves openly and freely.

Having said that, what have I said lately, that I would not want my mother to hear? What have I said that would offend someone? What have I said that was treasonous?

Personally, if my communications have been clean, I will not worry.

I like what the Catholics say:  "To avoid sin, avoid the near occasion of sin."

South Plains Branch of NASW Communications

I have been a member of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW)http://www.naswdc.org/ for about 20 years.  Although there are several professional organizations for social workers, this is THE professional organization, especially because it is all inclusive, but has subgroups for specialty practices. Most of the other professional organizations for social workers are organized around specialty practices.

When I was a senior student at the College of Our Lady of the Elms, one of our classmates contacted NASW so we could join as students.  It was months later when we heard back from them, and the information was basically you are no longer students, you can no longer join at student rates. And the professional rates, given social work salaries, were ridiculous. So I blew off NASW.

When I worked at Catholic Family Service of Lubbock, some of my coworkers were members, and at their urging, when I could, I attended the monthly meetings. Years later, after I joined, I railed against the exclusive, secretive attitude of the local branch leadership, and the prohibitively high membership fees, as well as the unethical billing practices that add on all kinds of extra fees, as if they are required for a member.   In spite of my regular protest, the billing practices have not changed.  The membership fee structure did, to encourage bachelor's prepared social workers to enroll, at a lower rate than for masters prepared social workers. Still I think the price of membership is too high for most social workers, masters or bachelor's prepared.

Eventually, as a member,  I volunteered for a couple of committees: the education committee and the membership committee.  I worked in the early 1990s and have continued to work on the committee that produces the yearly ethics continuing education workshop. I have endured some difficult political situations because of hard feelings and misunderstandings on this committee. Over the last 4-5 years, we have settled into a routine regarding what the committee members do, and we work quietly, consistently and well together to plan for and execute the yearly ethics workshop.  Sometimes there are bumps in the road, but we all accept that each individual is human, makes mistakes, but works to their best ability for the project.

My other role with the South Plains Branch of NASW has been as communication liaison. I started off sending out post cards for the monthly meetings. But as we have become more computer savvy, the regular communication has been done by email.

I have developed an email network for social workers, members of NASW and non-members, so they not only receive information about the monthly NASW activities, but also other area activities.  I send out information about some community activities, CEU workshops, job announcements and requests for help for clients.  Over the years, I have collected a lot of email addresses that allows me to send out a large number of emails to many social workers in the region.  I have had requests from non-social workers to be included in this network, so if an announcement is not social work specific, this group of other interested professionals also receive information.

I have a dedicated email address for the NASW correspondence. The NASW steering committee gives me guidance about what announcements to send out and what not to send out, if there are questionable announcements. The members respect the fact that sending out these emails takes time and represent the South Plains Branch of NASW. 

This has become a community service I do for the social work community of West Texas.  I am glad to do this. I hope the social work community appreciates it.

Hot Damn!

I do not know when I started using the exclamation "Hot Damn" but somewhere along the line, I did.  The internet gives us this insight into the explanation or definition of "hot damn" :  or http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hot%20damn  and http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/Hot+damn!.  My sense is that I used to use "Hot Damn" long before the internet existed.

I just know that when I see something that I really like, especially in a sports venue "Hot Damn" works for me.

What is your favorite expletive?