I learn some odd things while editing.
Today's surprise: some hyperosmotic laxatives aren't used for colonoscopy prep because fermentation in the bowel means that they carry a small risk of explosion!
Makes me really eager to schedule a colonoscopy for myself. I'll let you go first, okay?
freelance copyeditor copyediting editor editing publishing medical editing EditorMom
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Spring in My Flower Bed
The grape hyacinths in my flower bed always make me smile. They look delicate, but they're hardy, and they're such a rich bluish purple.
spring garden grape hyacinth EditorMom
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Sad Juxtaposition
It's Earth Day today. Professional tree trimmers are cutting down a huge, lovely old maple tree in the front yard to the right of my house (wa-a-a-a-ah!), while in the yard to the left of my house, installers are putting up solar panels to heat the neighbors' swimming pool.Earth Day environment trees solar panels EditorMom
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Get-Ready-for-School Fun
This morning during get-ready-for-school time, Ed and I were teasing Jared about how giggly and silly he was being rather than focusing on the task at hand. I started calling him made-up names such as verteneschniggler ("Stop being a verteneschniggler and get moving!") and eventually threw in a real word, bandicoot, which he thought was both hilarious and made up. So I came up with a photo of a bandicoot to show him.
For your viewing pleasure, and with Jared's permission, here is a photo of the extremely rare Jared subspecies of the rabbit-eared bandicoot (Macrotis lagotis):
He was so pleased with it that he asked me to print a copy of it to share with his teacher. Updated: Jared reports that his teacher laughed hysterically and was happy to be allowed to keep the picture.
bandicoot parenting fun Jared son EditorMom
For your viewing pleasure, and with Jared's permission, here is a photo of the extremely rare Jared subspecies of the rabbit-eared bandicoot (Macrotis lagotis):
He was so pleased with it that he asked me to print a copy of it to share with his teacher. Updated: Jared reports that his teacher laughed hysterically and was happy to be allowed to keep the picture.
bandicoot parenting fun Jared son EditorMom
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Self-Advocacy in Teens with ADHD
This bodes well for the future:
Whichever of us, my husband Ed or me, is up at the god-awful hour of 6:30 a.m. when Neil, our ninth-grader, is getting ready for school reminds him to take his AD/HD and antidepressant–antianxiety meds. At about 7:30 this morning, when Neil was already on the long bus ride to school, Ed realized that after he'd reminded Neil to take his pills, the two of them had gotten distracted with chatting and our son never got around to taking his meds. Ed thought of driving all the way over to the school, in rush-hour traffic, to give Neil his meds there, but he couldn't because (1) I'd then have to be the one to walk Jared, our second-grader, down to his bus stop instead of getting busy working to meet a deadline and (2) Ed would then miss a good chunk of today's half-day continuing-education seminar on formulating special paint colors for spraying cabinetry. So we just let the pill issue go.
Neil arrived home from school about an hour ago, saying yes, he realized that he'd forgotten to take his meds, and he hated the superspacy feeling that he had had to deal with all day.
Here's the cool part: He had the wherewithal to advocate for himself in dealing with the problem! He talked to each teacher as he moved through the day's schedule and let him or her know about the missed medication dose and that he was feeling overwhelmed trying to both concentrate and get his assignments done quickly and completely. Because he is by now such a well-mannered, easy-to-deal-with kid who works very hard in school, all of the teachers cut him slack today, letting him complete just as much as he could in the time allotted and no more, without penalty.
This is astounding because until just about a year ago, Neil wouldn't advocate for himself even if his life depended on it. His social anxiety level was so up there that he never asked for help, for fear of calling attention to himself. I could see how pleased with himself he was at how he handled things today. "And I was even social!" he said, grinning hugely. Yes, his meds help a great deal. But while he's been taking them, he's been focused and calm enough to learn some very handy new interpersonal skills.
Geez, I love that boy. And I know that he'll do just fine when he's on his own one day.
Neil son ADHD attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder ADD depression generalized anxiety disorder mental health medication self-advocacy EditorMom
Whichever of us, my husband Ed or me, is up at the god-awful hour of 6:30 a.m. when Neil, our ninth-grader, is getting ready for school reminds him to take his AD/HD and antidepressant–antianxiety meds. At about 7:30 this morning, when Neil was already on the long bus ride to school, Ed realized that after he'd reminded Neil to take his pills, the two of them had gotten distracted with chatting and our son never got around to taking his meds. Ed thought of driving all the way over to the school, in rush-hour traffic, to give Neil his meds there, but he couldn't because (1) I'd then have to be the one to walk Jared, our second-grader, down to his bus stop instead of getting busy working to meet a deadline and (2) Ed would then miss a good chunk of today's half-day continuing-education seminar on formulating special paint colors for spraying cabinetry. So we just let the pill issue go.
Neil arrived home from school about an hour ago, saying yes, he realized that he'd forgotten to take his meds, and he hated the superspacy feeling that he had had to deal with all day.
Here's the cool part: He had the wherewithal to advocate for himself in dealing with the problem! He talked to each teacher as he moved through the day's schedule and let him or her know about the missed medication dose and that he was feeling overwhelmed trying to both concentrate and get his assignments done quickly and completely. Because he is by now such a well-mannered, easy-to-deal-with kid who works very hard in school, all of the teachers cut him slack today, letting him complete just as much as he could in the time allotted and no more, without penalty.
This is astounding because until just about a year ago, Neil wouldn't advocate for himself even if his life depended on it. His social anxiety level was so up there that he never asked for help, for fear of calling attention to himself. I could see how pleased with himself he was at how he handled things today. "And I was even social!" he said, grinning hugely. Yes, his meds help a great deal. But while he's been taking them, he's been focused and calm enough to learn some very handy new interpersonal skills.
Geez, I love that boy. And I know that he'll do just fine when he's on his own one day.
Neil son ADHD attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder ADD depression generalized anxiety disorder mental health medication self-advocacy EditorMom
How Do You Spell "Relief"?
Pinch me, please—I think I'm dreaming.
Early this morning, I got a call from the case handler at the offices of the bank that holds Ed's and my mortgage saying that after they'd perused the seeming hundreds of pages of financial info that I'd faxed them at their request, they will be granting us a 3-month moratorium on making any mortgage payments at all! (Yes, we will have to pay back that money down the line when our finances are better, so we will be putting money aside for that eventuality.) I felt like leaping through the phone line to hug the guy. He said, "You and Edward are making so little right now in comparison with your monthly [personal and business] expenses that I can't charge you anything at all on your mortgage." Hell, yeah! That's what I've been saying for months—that the economic collapse has mostly wiped out Ed's cabinetmaking business. (And yes, this arrangement with our mortgage-holder will be put into writing very shortly.)
This week I will compose and fax a letter of gratitude to saintly U.S. Representative Tim Bishop for lighting a fire under the mortgage-holder's collective butts. I had also contacted U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, but one of his staff members told me that Schumer couldn't do anything about our situation because the entity involved was a bank, not a federal agency. Obviously, either that staff member or Schumer himself didn't know what he was talking about.
But Bishop contacted the Customer Assistance Group of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Administrator of National Banks (yes, our mortgage-holder took bailout money and [snark]amazingly[/snark] was very recently able to report a highly profitable quarter), and opened a case on our behalf. He even sent us a copy of the letter from the comptroller's office, showing our case number.
Should you need mortgage help—and your mortgage-holder took bailout money, making it a national bank—check out the web site of the Customer Assistance Group.
In our household, I'm the one who does all of the bookkeeping—for the family, for my business, and for Ed's business. Today's phone call means that I can now breathe and focus solely on work when I'm working. (What a rare pleasure!)
And in other good news: Ed has three potential cabinetmaking projects. But we can't count on them yet. He's met with the customers, taken measurements, and gotten drawings from the architect for one of the jobs (drawings that Ed will have to modify because it appears that the architect used specs that won't fly in real space and time), but he must now work up bids for all projects and then wait for the customers to haggle over and then approve the bids.
I share these kinds of things with you because I know that I'm not the only one going through such problems, so I'm providing info that I hope you or someone you care about can use to relieve stress.
And now ... it's a deadline day! Yikes!
mortgage finances economy recession freelance copyeditor copyediting editor editing publishing EditorMom
Early this morning, I got a call from the case handler at the offices of the bank that holds Ed's and my mortgage saying that after they'd perused the seeming hundreds of pages of financial info that I'd faxed them at their request, they will be granting us a 3-month moratorium on making any mortgage payments at all! (Yes, we will have to pay back that money down the line when our finances are better, so we will be putting money aside for that eventuality.) I felt like leaping through the phone line to hug the guy. He said, "You and Edward are making so little right now in comparison with your monthly [personal and business] expenses that I can't charge you anything at all on your mortgage." Hell, yeah! That's what I've been saying for months—that the economic collapse has mostly wiped out Ed's cabinetmaking business. (And yes, this arrangement with our mortgage-holder will be put into writing very shortly.)
This week I will compose and fax a letter of gratitude to saintly U.S. Representative Tim Bishop for lighting a fire under the mortgage-holder's collective butts. I had also contacted U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, but one of his staff members told me that Schumer couldn't do anything about our situation because the entity involved was a bank, not a federal agency. Obviously, either that staff member or Schumer himself didn't know what he was talking about.
But Bishop contacted the Customer Assistance Group of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Administrator of National Banks (yes, our mortgage-holder took bailout money and [snark]amazingly[/snark] was very recently able to report a highly profitable quarter), and opened a case on our behalf. He even sent us a copy of the letter from the comptroller's office, showing our case number.
Should you need mortgage help—and your mortgage-holder took bailout money, making it a national bank—check out the web site of the Customer Assistance Group.
In our household, I'm the one who does all of the bookkeeping—for the family, for my business, and for Ed's business. Today's phone call means that I can now breathe and focus solely on work when I'm working. (What a rare pleasure!)
And in other good news: Ed has three potential cabinetmaking projects. But we can't count on them yet. He's met with the customers, taken measurements, and gotten drawings from the architect for one of the jobs (drawings that Ed will have to modify because it appears that the architect used specs that won't fly in real space and time), but he must now work up bids for all projects and then wait for the customers to haggle over and then approve the bids.
I share these kinds of things with you because I know that I'm not the only one going through such problems, so I'm providing info that I hope you or someone you care about can use to relieve stress.
And now ... it's a deadline day! Yikes!
mortgage finances economy recession freelance copyeditor copyediting editor editing publishing EditorMom
Monday, April 13, 2009
The Credit Crisis, Explained for the Average Person
This video (a bit more than 11 minutes long) makes it very easy to understand how the current credit crisis came to be:
I think that it's very well done. It's part of a graduate student's thesis in media design.
credit crisis recession mortgage finances economy EditorMom
I think that it's very well done. It's part of a graduate student's thesis in media design.
credit crisis recession mortgage finances economy EditorMom
How a Book Is Bound
Here's a cool video—a serious one, not a jokey one—about one method by which a hardcover book can be bound. (It's from C-SPAN, which won't allow the video to be embedded in anyone's blog posts, so all I can do here is provide the link at YouTube.) This is the part of the publishing process that happens after authors, agents, freelance copyeditors like me, book designers, typesetters/page layout professionals, freelance proofreaders, freelance indexers, in-house editors, cover artists, in-house production editors, and printers have done their jobs. Note: The video is 11 minutes long.
freelance copyeditor copyediting editor editing publishing books EditorMom
freelance copyeditor copyediting editor editing publishing books EditorMom
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Talking About a Taboo
I am very grateful for a discussion currently going on on an e-mail list that I subscribe to. It's about suicide—who has ever contemplated it and who has ever helped a friend not go through with it.
I momentarily thought of suicide, to stop the emotional pain and upheaval, when my first marriage was ending years ago. My therapist shocked me out of thinking too long about it by telling me that if I were serious, she would be forced to start a procedure to remove my daughter from my custody, for my daughter's protection. The thought that my ex might have total custody of my sweet child (who turns 26 tomorrow) and that I might not be allowed to see her if I survived snapped me right back into the moment.
It's immensely reassuring to hear from listmates whom I perceive as mostly having everything together that they've been to the abyss too—and survived.
We are all human and vulnerable. I wish for us all a strong inner parent to advise and comfort us. And may more of us learn to act as a sort of foster parent when friends' inner parents temporarily fail them.
suicide EditorMom
I momentarily thought of suicide, to stop the emotional pain and upheaval, when my first marriage was ending years ago. My therapist shocked me out of thinking too long about it by telling me that if I were serious, she would be forced to start a procedure to remove my daughter from my custody, for my daughter's protection. The thought that my ex might have total custody of my sweet child (who turns 26 tomorrow) and that I might not be allowed to see her if I survived snapped me right back into the moment.
It's immensely reassuring to hear from listmates whom I perceive as mostly having everything together that they've been to the abyss too—and survived.
We are all human and vulnerable. I wish for us all a strong inner parent to advise and comfort us. And may more of us learn to act as a sort of foster parent when friends' inner parents temporarily fail them.
suicide EditorMom
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Medical Writing and Editing: Conflicts of Interest
Those of you who write or edit manuscripts intended for medical journals may be interested in the new policy statement, from the World Association of Medical Editors, regarding financial, relational, political, and ethical conflicts of interest that can exist for authors, reviewers, and editors regarding materials prepared for peer-reviewed medical journals.
freelance copyeditor copyediting editor editing medical editing medical writing publishing conflict of interest EditorMom
freelance copyeditor copyediting editor editing medical editing medical writing publishing conflict of interest EditorMom
Friday, March 20, 2009
Which Is More Important: Editing Courses or Editing Experience?
Hey, editing professionals and editor wannabees:
If you subscribe to the Copyediting‑L (CE‑L) e-mail list, have you been following the "certification" thread there yesterday (March 19) and today? If not, I highly recommend that you go read all of the posts, especially if you've ever been on the fence about whether to spend money on classes, conferences, or certification preparation. I've even recommended the series of posts to my mentees.
If you are already subscribed, you can read all of the posts in the thread by going to the CE‑L archives and doing a search. On that page, click the "Search Archives" link. On the page that you're taken to, type in the word certification in the "Subject Contains" box, and then type in "19 Mar 2009" (without the quotes) in the "Since" box. Click the "Search" button. That'll take you to a list of all the posts in the topic. To read a post, click on the hyperlinked numbers in the "Item #" column entry for that post.
Helen S's, Kim R's, and Amy E's posts are especially good. In fact, I liked Helen's so much that I obtained her permission to quote it (with minor modifications) atop the "Education and Certification" page of the Copyeditors' Knowledge Base within my web site.
If you aren't yet a CE‑L subscriber, here's how to become one:
continuing education freelance copyeditor copyediting editor editing publishing EditorMom
If you subscribe to the Copyediting‑L (CE‑L) e-mail list, have you been following the "certification" thread there yesterday (March 19) and today? If not, I highly recommend that you go read all of the posts, especially if you've ever been on the fence about whether to spend money on classes, conferences, or certification preparation. I've even recommended the series of posts to my mentees.
If you are already subscribed, you can read all of the posts in the thread by going to the CE‑L archives and doing a search. On that page, click the "Search Archives" link. On the page that you're taken to, type in the word certification in the "Subject Contains" box, and then type in "19 Mar 2009" (without the quotes) in the "Since" box. Click the "Search" button. That'll take you to a list of all the posts in the topic. To read a post, click on the hyperlinked numbers in the "Item #" column entry for that post.
Helen S's, Kim R's, and Amy E's posts are especially good. In fact, I liked Helen's so much that I obtained her permission to quote it (with minor modifications) atop the "Education and Certification" page of the Copyeditors' Knowledge Base within my web site.
If you aren't yet a CE‑L subscriber, here's how to become one:
- Create an e-mail to listserv@listserv.indiana.edu.
- Leave the subject blank.
- In the message area, type this message: subscribe copyediting‑l Firstname Lastname, where ‑l is a hyphen plus the lowercase letter L, not a hyphen plus the numeral 1.
- Firstname is your first name.
- Lastname is your last name.
- Delete any signature information. This is optional, but leaving the signature will cause the server to generate a somewhat perplexing error message.
continuing education freelance copyeditor copyediting editor editing publishing EditorMom
Brain Celebration!
Happy Friday, all. Here's my final, wonderful update on this topic:
Ed was told by his neurologist this morning that he will need neither brain surgery nor annual brain MRI scans for monitoring purposes!
His colloid brain cyst does not even have any blood vessels feeding it, so it cannot possibly grow, the neurologist said. He added that the cyst was very likely present before Ed was even born, and it has just lain dormant all these years. The neurologist said that it is extremely unlikely that the cyst will ever cause any symptoms in Ed; it's just a tiny bit of luggage he'll carry for the rest of his life (may it be very, very long).
Thanks so much for listening. Today's news is a huge load off my mind. Sometimes having a little bit of medical knowledge, as we medical copyeditors do, can cause much unnecessary stress. And having friends, online and offline, who care has lessened that stress.
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!
Ed husband colloid cyst brain surgery EditorMom
Ed was told by his neurologist this morning that he will need neither brain surgery nor annual brain MRI scans for monitoring purposes!
His colloid brain cyst does not even have any blood vessels feeding it, so it cannot possibly grow, the neurologist said. He added that the cyst was very likely present before Ed was even born, and it has just lain dormant all these years. The neurologist said that it is extremely unlikely that the cyst will ever cause any symptoms in Ed; it's just a tiny bit of luggage he'll carry for the rest of his life (may it be very, very long).
Thanks so much for listening. Today's news is a huge load off my mind. Sometimes having a little bit of medical knowledge, as we medical copyeditors do, can cause much unnecessary stress. And having friends, online and offline, who care has lessened that stress.
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!
Ed husband colloid cyst brain surgery EditorMom
Monday, March 09, 2009
Screwing Mortgage-Holders in Secret
Our mortgage-holder has finally put up an online form through which people in financial distress can apply to get their monthly payments reduced. After you fill it out, you're supposed to get a call from the company to move the process along. My original e-mail requesting just such a call, which preceded the advent of the company's online form, never resulted in our getting a call.
Today we filled out the form after having gathered all of the necessary financial details. After I very wisely created a PDF of our completed application, I clicked the Submit button. The inept or not-very-thorough webmaster didn't set things up so that users get an acknowledgment of their submission, à la Webmastering 101, so who knows if anyone got our application through that form. All I got was a blank page. So I called the phone number listed on the application form, waited through several menus to get to a human, and got a fax number after explaining the problem and despite being assured that if I had indeed clicked the web site's Submit button, my form had been received. Yeah, uh-uh. I faxed over our application. We'll see how fast they move, considering that a large percentage of Americans are going through the same process.
Meanwhile, when I called, I had to input the last four digits of my Social Security number to identify myself. A recorded voice came on to tell me the amount of unpaid principle left on the mortgage, how much in property taxes we paid through our mortgage payments in 2008, and how much our most recent payment was and when it was made. It also mentioned that our mortgage is a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac mortgage, so we will be eligible for help. Fine, but ... ack! Ours isn't a subprime mortgage, and no one with our mortgage-holder had ever informed us that our mortgage was now held at least in part by the very mortgage organizations that have helped cause the economy to fail. I got that info only incidentally, because the mortgage-holder decided to include it as part of the update info given by its recorded voice.
So much cr*p is done to the American consumer in secret. How can we, as a giant group of citizens, ever hope to get at the truth of what goes on with the companies we do business with?!
mortgage finances economy recession EditorMom
Today we filled out the form after having gathered all of the necessary financial details. After I very wisely created a PDF of our completed application, I clicked the Submit button. The inept or not-very-thorough webmaster didn't set things up so that users get an acknowledgment of their submission, à la Webmastering 101, so who knows if anyone got our application through that form. All I got was a blank page. So I called the phone number listed on the application form, waited through several menus to get to a human, and got a fax number after explaining the problem and despite being assured that if I had indeed clicked the web site's Submit button, my form had been received. Yeah, uh-uh. I faxed over our application. We'll see how fast they move, considering that a large percentage of Americans are going through the same process.
Meanwhile, when I called, I had to input the last four digits of my Social Security number to identify myself. A recorded voice came on to tell me the amount of unpaid principle left on the mortgage, how much in property taxes we paid through our mortgage payments in 2008, and how much our most recent payment was and when it was made. It also mentioned that our mortgage is a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac mortgage, so we will be eligible for help. Fine, but ... ack! Ours isn't a subprime mortgage, and no one with our mortgage-holder had ever informed us that our mortgage was now held at least in part by the very mortgage organizations that have helped cause the economy to fail. I got that info only incidentally, because the mortgage-holder decided to include it as part of the update info given by its recorded voice.
So much cr*p is done to the American consumer in secret. How can we, as a giant group of citizens, ever hope to get at the truth of what goes on with the companies we do business with?!
mortgage finances economy recession EditorMom
Friday, March 06, 2009
"Houston, We Found the Brain"
Well, Ed's done with his brain scans for now and is headed off to work for the evening. On his way there, he'll stop back by the neurologist's office for a copy of his scans on CD. How cool will that be for us to be able to see his brain on my computer screen?
He'll have to wait for a phone call from the neurologist to learn about any significant findings regarding his colloid brain cyst.
For now, Ed says, he's just happy that the scans did indeed show that he does have a brain. I'm just happy that it wasn't obscured by all those millions of thoughts that ADHD makes constantly and randomly bounce off the inside of his head. ;-)
Ed husband colloid cyst brain surgery EditorMom
He'll have to wait for a phone call from the neurologist to learn about any significant findings regarding his colloid brain cyst.
For now, Ed says, he's just happy that the scans did indeed show that he does have a brain. I'm just happy that it wasn't obscured by all those millions of thoughts that ADHD makes constantly and randomly bounce off the inside of his head. ;-)
Ed husband colloid cyst brain surgery EditorMom
Thursday, March 05, 2009
"If I Only Had a Brain"
Finally, Ed has gotten a neurology referral.
He'll undergo a full set of brain magnetic resonance imaging scans tomorrow morning (March 6) to get copious baseline data on his colloid brain cyst. I'm sure that we won't hear about the results immediately, but at least our HMO picked a specialist 5 minutes down the road from us—small miracle!—instead of at the other end of the county.
Now I have "If I Only Had a Brain" stuck in my head.
Ed husband colloid cyst brain surgery EditorMom
He'll undergo a full set of brain magnetic resonance imaging scans tomorrow morning (March 6) to get copious baseline data on his colloid brain cyst. I'm sure that we won't hear about the results immediately, but at least our HMO picked a specialist 5 minutes down the road from us—small miracle!—instead of at the other end of the county.
Now I have "If I Only Had a Brain" stuck in my head.
Ed husband colloid cyst brain surgery EditorMom
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
If You Can't Afford Your Mortgage Anymore ...
I'm going to tell you a bit of my financial story not to garner pity but in case you also are having problems making your mortgage payments in this shriveled economy.
I'm sure that some will think that this is TMI, but I've found that when you keep quiet about absolutely everything, nobody gets information that might help them. Plus, silence about life difficulties gives them an unnecessary stigma. If this story bothers you, please just move along to the next blog rather than post nasty comments. I want people to know that being knocked for a loop by the awful economy despite having been financially responsible does not make one a "bad" person.
My husband, Ed, was laid off after 14 years on the job in October 2007. He then started his own cabinetmaking business, taking out two business loans in the process, and had a very healthy income for just over a year. Then the bottom fell out of the U.S. economy and his income pretty much disappeared. I make a very good income as a freelance editor, but editing isn't as lucrative as many other professions. What I earn can't support four people, a mortgage, two business loans, health insurance policy premiums, plus the basic expenses of life in the middle class. (Both of our old vehicles have long since been paid for.) Ed has been working part time for a grocery-delivery service and getting a few small cabinetmaking gigs here and there. Put all of that together, and we're now scraping the bottom of our financial barrel. Yesterday, we closed one of Ed's two IRAs—I have one also—so that we can make our currently due mortgage payment and pay other bills. We're not yet delinquent on our mortgage, but we will be after we use up the other two IRAs.
I just now sent an e-mail to our mortgage-holder telling them that Ed and I want to apply for a "Home Affordable Modification under the new financial stability federal legislation" so that we can keep affording our mortgage.
I asked that they call us tomorrow so that we have time to gather all of the necessary documents (past tax forms, profit-and-loss statements from our two businesses, info on Ed's business loans, etc.) ready. If things work out right, the mortgage-holder, which is required by law to participate because it received federal bailout funds, will likely lengthen the payment period of our mortgage by several years so as to decrease our monthly payments. Lenders are just getting their federal info packets on this program today, March 4.
If you know anybody in the United States having similar problems because of decreased income, let them know that the earlier they take action, the more help there is available. The further behind they get financially, the fewer their options will be, and the longer they wait to take action, the fewer the available assistance funds there will be, so they can't let fear or shame immobilize them. Send them here.
The site may respond a little slowly because so many people are trying to access it. Anyone wanting mortgage assistance of various kinds should use the short questionnaire(s) accessed through the "find out if you are eligible" link on that page. Your answers to the questions will result in your being directed to the correct page for the type of assistance that you are eligible for. For more general information, go to the web site of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Be aware, though, that that site is also getting swamped as everyone remotely eligible for assistance goes there to look for it.
mortgage finances economy recession freelance copyeditor copyediting editor editing publishing EditorMom
I'm sure that some will think that this is TMI, but I've found that when you keep quiet about absolutely everything, nobody gets information that might help them. Plus, silence about life difficulties gives them an unnecessary stigma. If this story bothers you, please just move along to the next blog rather than post nasty comments. I want people to know that being knocked for a loop by the awful economy despite having been financially responsible does not make one a "bad" person.
My husband, Ed, was laid off after 14 years on the job in October 2007. He then started his own cabinetmaking business, taking out two business loans in the process, and had a very healthy income for just over a year. Then the bottom fell out of the U.S. economy and his income pretty much disappeared. I make a very good income as a freelance editor, but editing isn't as lucrative as many other professions. What I earn can't support four people, a mortgage, two business loans, health insurance policy premiums, plus the basic expenses of life in the middle class. (Both of our old vehicles have long since been paid for.) Ed has been working part time for a grocery-delivery service and getting a few small cabinetmaking gigs here and there. Put all of that together, and we're now scraping the bottom of our financial barrel. Yesterday, we closed one of Ed's two IRAs—I have one also—so that we can make our currently due mortgage payment and pay other bills. We're not yet delinquent on our mortgage, but we will be after we use up the other two IRAs.
I just now sent an e-mail to our mortgage-holder telling them that Ed and I want to apply for a "Home Affordable Modification under the new financial stability federal legislation" so that we can keep affording our mortgage.
I asked that they call us tomorrow so that we have time to gather all of the necessary documents (past tax forms, profit-and-loss statements from our two businesses, info on Ed's business loans, etc.) ready. If things work out right, the mortgage-holder, which is required by law to participate because it received federal bailout funds, will likely lengthen the payment period of our mortgage by several years so as to decrease our monthly payments. Lenders are just getting their federal info packets on this program today, March 4.
If you know anybody in the United States having similar problems because of decreased income, let them know that the earlier they take action, the more help there is available. The further behind they get financially, the fewer their options will be, and the longer they wait to take action, the fewer the available assistance funds there will be, so they can't let fear or shame immobilize them. Send them here.
The site may respond a little slowly because so many people are trying to access it. Anyone wanting mortgage assistance of various kinds should use the short questionnaire(s) accessed through the "find out if you are eligible" link on that page. Your answers to the questions will result in your being directed to the correct page for the type of assistance that you are eligible for. For more general information, go to the web site of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Be aware, though, that that site is also getting swamped as everyone remotely eligible for assistance goes there to look for it.
mortgage finances economy recession freelance copyeditor copyediting editor editing publishing EditorMom
Friday, February 27, 2009
A Soap Opera: As the HMO Turns
Here's the latest episode in the soap opera that life around here has become:
You probably remember that Ed has been working part time for a grocery-delivery service because the awful economy has meant that his cabinetmaking clients aren't spending much money. On February 6, while checking out the back of a different kind of truck that he was to be driving that night for the deliveries, he gashed his forehead severely. He went to the local hospital's emergency department for stitches. The physician had him undergo a head computed tomography (CT) scan just in case there were internal injuries. There weren't, but the scan turned up a brain colloid cyst. These cysts are always benign, never malignant. But they are always located just where, if they are large enough, they can block the flow of cerebral spinal fluid, which can result in odd symptoms and even unexpected death because of high intracranial pressure.
Of course we were scared. We tried hard to get Ed's primary-care physician's office to get Ed a referral to a neurosurgeon, which is what the hospital suggested we do. (We couldn't just go back to the hospital and request to be seen by the physicians who treated Ed the night he injured his forehead, because that first visit to the emergency department was a worker's comp issue, whereas this brain tumor is not.)
But as I just now wrote only somewhat coherently to update a friend:
Grrr! Ed's physician's front office is incompetent! The doc looked at Ed's brain CT scan film yesterday, before Ed's appointment with him today, and saw the colloid brain cyst that the hospital emergency-department radiologist spotted 3 weeks ago. Today, the staff can't find the film! Idiots!
Ed was just now at the doc's office now for his postponed physical exam. These staff members are the same idiots who refused our request for a referral from the doc to a neurosurgeon before the originally scheduled exam date of February 18, which they rescheduled for today and said no referral before today, even though I told them it was regarding a brain tumor. If Ed were dying, would they have moved any faster? I doubt it. This is a #(*^$@ HMO.
So now Ed's doc has to call up the hospital to order another set of CT scan films stat, so that he can look at them with a neurologist. He told Ed (who called me during a break during his physical exam) that the cyst is "only" 3 mm and should probably just be watched at this point—no brain surgery to remove it for now—with Ed getting a new MRI scan once a year. But I want to hear this from a neurologist, dammit! The HMO is supposed to call Ed within a couple of days with arrangements for him to schlep halfway across Long Island (sigh—the local HMO practice facility doesn't have a magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] scanner or a CT scanner) to get a series of baseline MRI scans with (radioactive) contrast dye so that it can have plenty of info to compare against future annual MRIs.
I told Ed that if he didn't emphasize to his physician that a member of his front-office staff caused us lots of mental anguish by making us wait for 3 weeks for this appointment, despite my telling her about the brain tumor, that I was going to get on the phone and raise hell. The dimwitted staff member should have at least performed triage by putting me on hold for 30 seconds, telling the doctor about the situation, and then getting Ed in for an appointment before other patients with less scary ailments. Luckily for that staff member, Ed did what I asked, and the doc says that he'll get to the bottom of the situation. You don't let your patients sit around for 3 weeks in an agonizing knowledge vacuum. You just don't.
Anyway ... no brain surgery for Ed as of right now. Thank goodness.
Ed husband colloid cyst brain surgery EditorMom
You probably remember that Ed has been working part time for a grocery-delivery service because the awful economy has meant that his cabinetmaking clients aren't spending much money. On February 6, while checking out the back of a different kind of truck that he was to be driving that night for the deliveries, he gashed his forehead severely. He went to the local hospital's emergency department for stitches. The physician had him undergo a head computed tomography (CT) scan just in case there were internal injuries. There weren't, but the scan turned up a brain colloid cyst. These cysts are always benign, never malignant. But they are always located just where, if they are large enough, they can block the flow of cerebral spinal fluid, which can result in odd symptoms and even unexpected death because of high intracranial pressure.
Of course we were scared. We tried hard to get Ed's primary-care physician's office to get Ed a referral to a neurosurgeon, which is what the hospital suggested we do. (We couldn't just go back to the hospital and request to be seen by the physicians who treated Ed the night he injured his forehead, because that first visit to the emergency department was a worker's comp issue, whereas this brain tumor is not.)
But as I just now wrote only somewhat coherently to update a friend:
Grrr! Ed's physician's front office is incompetent! The doc looked at Ed's brain CT scan film yesterday, before Ed's appointment with him today, and saw the colloid brain cyst that the hospital emergency-department radiologist spotted 3 weeks ago. Today, the staff can't find the film! Idiots!
Ed was just now at the doc's office now for his postponed physical exam. These staff members are the same idiots who refused our request for a referral from the doc to a neurosurgeon before the originally scheduled exam date of February 18, which they rescheduled for today and said no referral before today, even though I told them it was regarding a brain tumor. If Ed were dying, would they have moved any faster? I doubt it. This is a #(*^$@ HMO.
So now Ed's doc has to call up the hospital to order another set of CT scan films stat, so that he can look at them with a neurologist. He told Ed (who called me during a break during his physical exam) that the cyst is "only" 3 mm and should probably just be watched at this point—no brain surgery to remove it for now—with Ed getting a new MRI scan once a year. But I want to hear this from a neurologist, dammit! The HMO is supposed to call Ed within a couple of days with arrangements for him to schlep halfway across Long Island (sigh—the local HMO practice facility doesn't have a magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] scanner or a CT scanner) to get a series of baseline MRI scans with (radioactive) contrast dye so that it can have plenty of info to compare against future annual MRIs.
I told Ed that if he didn't emphasize to his physician that a member of his front-office staff caused us lots of mental anguish by making us wait for 3 weeks for this appointment, despite my telling her about the brain tumor, that I was going to get on the phone and raise hell. The dimwitted staff member should have at least performed triage by putting me on hold for 30 seconds, telling the doctor about the situation, and then getting Ed in for an appointment before other patients with less scary ailments. Luckily for that staff member, Ed did what I asked, and the doc says that he'll get to the bottom of the situation. You don't let your patients sit around for 3 weeks in an agonizing knowledge vacuum. You just don't.
Anyway ... no brain surgery for Ed as of right now. Thank goodness.
Ed husband colloid cyst brain surgery EditorMom
Still Waiting, and Not Patiently
It's Friday—how the heck did this Friday manage to show up so quickly after the last one?—and I'm hoping that our health-care providers have actually done their job.
Ed and I have been waiting for what seems like forever for a referral to a neurologist for him, so that we can get on with the process of figuring out what to do about the colloid brain cyst that a hospital radiologist found on the head computed tomograpy (CT) scans that Ed underwent way back on February 6 when he gashed his forehead at work. The last we heard was that the hospital was in the process of acting on our request to send the CT films to Ed's primary-care physician at the HMO's local group practice.
If he were dying, would the bureaucracy move any faster? I doubt it. It's not the bureaucrats' lives that are on hold.
I'll keep you posted.
Ed husband colloid cyst brain surgery EditorMom
Ed and I have been waiting for what seems like forever for a referral to a neurologist for him, so that we can get on with the process of figuring out what to do about the colloid brain cyst that a hospital radiologist found on the head computed tomograpy (CT) scans that Ed underwent way back on February 6 when he gashed his forehead at work. The last we heard was that the hospital was in the process of acting on our request to send the CT films to Ed's primary-care physician at the HMO's local group practice.
If he were dying, would the bureaucracy move any faster? I doubt it. It's not the bureaucrats' lives that are on hold.
I'll keep you posted.
Ed husband colloid cyst brain surgery EditorMom
Monday, February 23, 2009
An Upside-Down Flamingo in the Office
I have to have my office in my kitchen because there is no other available space in my home. But there are occasional compensations. This was the view in my office midmorning today, just about two feet away from my desk:
That fine physique—though my crude art-program drawing doesn't do it justice—belongs to my husband, Ed, who is never one to sit still or ask others to fix things for him. (If only I'd thought to take some photos using my cell phone!)
I had been editing in a desultory fashion, wanting to find an excuse not to be working today. Our 25-plus-year-old clothes dryer, which we inherited from his parents, obliged. It began squeaking a bit as it was drying a load of clothes. Then it squeaked more and more. Finally it was squawking so loud that I truly could not concentrate. I buzzed Ed on his business phone's intercom (in an earlier incarnation, his wood shop was the two-car garage that is attached to our home) and begged him to come do something abou the awful racket.
He came upstairs, figured out that the dryer's tensioning pulley needed lubricating, got the tools he needed to do the job, lubed the dryer, then assumed the "upside-down flamingo" position, as he calls it, to reconnect the dryer's vent hose on the back of the dryer. There's not enough room behind the dryer in which to stash a long vent hose to make the flamingo position unnecessary, so every time he has to do something to the dryer, he must turn himself upside down to connect the short hose while the dryer is close enough to the wall for the hose not to disconnect itself again.
Here's a side view of the upside-down flamingo in action:
Life is rarely dull when you're self-employed.
freelance copyeditor copyediting editor editing publishing EditorMom
That fine physique—though my crude art-program drawing doesn't do it justice—belongs to my husband, Ed, who is never one to sit still or ask others to fix things for him. (If only I'd thought to take some photos using my cell phone!)
I had been editing in a desultory fashion, wanting to find an excuse not to be working today. Our 25-plus-year-old clothes dryer, which we inherited from his parents, obliged. It began squeaking a bit as it was drying a load of clothes. Then it squeaked more and more. Finally it was squawking so loud that I truly could not concentrate. I buzzed Ed on his business phone's intercom (in an earlier incarnation, his wood shop was the two-car garage that is attached to our home) and begged him to come do something abou the awful racket.
He came upstairs, figured out that the dryer's tensioning pulley needed lubricating, got the tools he needed to do the job, lubed the dryer, then assumed the "upside-down flamingo" position, as he calls it, to reconnect the dryer's vent hose on the back of the dryer. There's not enough room behind the dryer in which to stash a long vent hose to make the flamingo position unnecessary, so every time he has to do something to the dryer, he must turn himself upside down to connect the short hose while the dryer is close enough to the wall for the hose not to disconnect itself again.
Here's a side view of the upside-down flamingo in action:
Life is rarely dull when you're self-employed.
freelance copyeditor copyediting editor editing publishing EditorMom
Heavy-Duty Cell-Phone Clip-On Pouches
If your job keeps you out and about enough that you're not really a desk jockey—or you have a friend or family member who has a very physical job—you would probably like to have a much tougher cell-phone case than is sold to the general public, at least in the United States.
My husband, Ed, is a cabinetmaker who is always on his feet and wears his cell phone on a belt clip. But with the wimpy cell-phone cases that most cell-phone stores sell, his poor phone was pretty much unprotected when it was perpetually knocked against workbenches and other hard surfaces, which can shorten a phone's life considerably. He wears through those cheapo covers faster than small children outgrow clothing. So I searched online and found a web site that sells the kind of cell-phone cases that police officers, firefighters, and other really physical workers like to use.
Yes, the site is ugly, but it sells good items. Ed bought the Amorcase-SP1 (enlargeable photos here) for his small LG flip phone that he'd bought through Verizon. It's heavy-duty nylon, and the belt clip on the back side is very heavy duty. He's happy with it.
Ed is not affiliated with the company and neither am I. He's just a satisfied customer, and I'm just passing along potentially helpful info.
cell phone clip-on pouch technology accessories EditorMom
My husband, Ed, is a cabinetmaker who is always on his feet and wears his cell phone on a belt clip. But with the wimpy cell-phone cases that most cell-phone stores sell, his poor phone was pretty much unprotected when it was perpetually knocked against workbenches and other hard surfaces, which can shorten a phone's life considerably. He wears through those cheapo covers faster than small children outgrow clothing. So I searched online and found a web site that sells the kind of cell-phone cases that police officers, firefighters, and other really physical workers like to use.
Yes, the site is ugly, but it sells good items. Ed bought the Amorcase-SP1 (enlargeable photos here) for his small LG flip phone that he'd bought through Verizon. It's heavy-duty nylon, and the belt clip on the back side is very heavy duty. He's happy with it.
Ed is not affiliated with the company and neither am I. He's just a satisfied customer, and I'm just passing along potentially helpful info.
cell phone clip-on pouch technology accessories EditorMom
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