laughter is the best medicine

When you get an email that states “we have 99 patients due in today” do not reply with ”…. and a bitch ain’t one!”

Last night, I was attempted to purchase my commuter train ticket with my pre-tax commuter check (now in card form), but I was denied. I tried again with a lower amount and was still denied. I tried calling the third party vendor (TPV) but their offices had closed an hour earlier as they run on Central Standard Time.

I checked my work email from home and saw the excuse as “amount not warranted” or something along those lines. I was confused as I have a incredible high pre-paid amount on my card from my previously monthly contributions and from the days I didn’t come to work either due to vacation, holidays, or sick days.

My first thought was that my management were attempting to fire me and had already started the paperwork, which you may be taken aback by but keep in my mind that my employer is being sued for labor law violations and I am one of the original petitioners. I tried not to analyze it too much and spent the rest of the night in my study session.

This morning I called the TPV on my walk to my commuter train. The rep told me that there was a new federal regulation in place (active the first of this year) that caps the monthly withdrawals at $125. I was perturbed and asked about my previous balance.

“Yes, all [censored] is still on your card.”

“And I can only access it $125/month at a time?”

“Yes, but you can stop contributing until your balance gets closer to zero then restart your monthly deposits.”

Great idea! I’m not being sarcastic - it was a great idea - as I despise the idea of having money taken out of my check for commuting purposes then being told I can’t use it.

My question is why are the feds so concerned about regulated commuter check versus regulating the market, banks, credit bureaus, or the 1%? Seriously, when did my paycheck raise any red flags?

The abuse of the word “never”: I never heard back from you; You never want to go out; You never return my calls; etc. I believe you need to use the word “didn’t” or “don’t” (depending on context) because if you never heard back from me we wouldn’t have an email chain of correspondence between us; if I never went out I would not have a social life of some sort or have met you; and if I never returned your call you wouldn’t know the sound of my voice.

Seriously, you can say “up til present day, Earth has never been engulfed by the sun” - that’s an appropriate use of the word never.

I have a song I sing to myself at work. It’s to the melody of the “My Buddy” Doll jingle and it goes “hand holdin’ / hand holdin ’ / hand holdin’ by me”.

Should not give you a 100% guarantee that a treatment or surgery will cure everything and that there are no risks or side effects. Most stable-minding, ethical providers will debrief you mostly on the risks and will discuss alternative treatments, and anyone who will render services like injections or surgery without evaluating you physically should be avoided (not counting emergency surgery services from ED or Urgent Care/Urgent Surgery). When you’re discussing treatment with your provider there should be a conservative and an invasive treatment option, and the pros and cons of each should be reviewed extensively.

Why am I bringing this up? We’re watching the Dr. Echland segment on “60 Minutes” and I want to give an insider (within administration)’s perspective of what a legitimate medical document should be. There should not be phrases like “medical miracle” or over-embellished guarantees of successful treatment; if there are then you should have a medical professional you trust review the paperwork.

There are exceptions like in cases of infection beyond antibiotics that requires amputation and other similar extreme cases, but TYPICALLY no provider will tell you “yes, this is your only option and I guarantee it’ll be the best”. We’re talking about medicine not Men’s Wearhouse. If you feel a provider is bullying you into a treatment, you have the right to say “no” and seek another opinion.

Last note, if a provider trying to give you an experimental intervention does not have clinical practice and no laboratory or research experience with that [treatment], but tries to excuse their lack of practice with it by saying “I’ve read articles about it!”, then you should call the state medical board on that provider and run away.