Whachu Talkin About Glenda?!? A Little More from This Morning...

Welllll, it's coming up close to the end of the day...When  I published this morning, I had every intention of going on to write a review, but I was still agitated and was afraid I would not do the review justice with my mind roaming...

I immediately decided I needed to get out of the house, so I called my sister and we were out most of the day, having lunch and getting groceries...

But I realized that I kinda threw the pitch this morning to some of you who may not have known what I was talking about....

It's been over 10 years since I retired. Several years before that, I got to a point, due to quantity of work plus poor communication between myself and a new supervisor, that I broke, with an inability to stop crying. While I was still working, I knew that my mind was suffering when, in a meeting, I blacked out for a second or so and forgot what I was saying.  One of the people there told me that it wasn't too noticeable, but I knew it had to have been since I was the one speaking... At that time, I was Interim Director of Facilities Planning and Management at West Virginia University.

First I had taken the opportunity to see a psychiatrist as provided for employees...While they understood what was happening, they went through every possible way to deal with it through channels and we agreed that they couldn't help me within the two visits permitted. I also signed up for an anxiety testing that was being offered... When I got there, they immediately saw my condition and asked a few questions... They declared that what I was experiencing was not anxiety..just overwork...and they could not include me in the study... In fact, it was that group that arranged for me to take advantage of the two counseling sessions available.

I had talked to quite a number of other officials, so I felt I had tried every avenue for me...By the time I "broke" and called my pastor, there were no options except to go on a medical leave...

One of the after effects of the move into clinical depression was that, as long as I am on medication, I live a stable normal life; however, when ANY type of disturbance occurs, because of inefficiency or just plain negligence, I begin to have nightmares of past work... For instance, I gave up a year of my work life to clear up financial problems in project management afters those responsible had failed to keep good records...To this day, I cannot bring myself to immediately handle my own bills, oftentimes procrastinating and having to pay a fee...I'm aware I'm doing this, know it's stupid, but I can't bring myself to be forced to use time I want for something else to again handle financial matters. In my mind, I seem to want to balance out the year I lost by making somebody else wait for me this time...

When I first retired and was on a different medication, I dreamed quite often. Since my employment had earlier included clerical functions, I might spend the night copying a report due the next day...over and over...putting covers on, etc., and never getting the job done before I would awake. Even then, I would remember the dream and work to figure out what had caused my emotional flashback the previous day. It was almost always something to do with some business transaction about which I was upset... Any business transaction places me in my former business situation where ultimate control was out of my hands, of course...

I had planned on writing a book, Emotionally Damaged:The Results of Job Burnout since I knew of many individuals then and now who are being placed under extreme mental, emotional, and, thus, physical pressure at their workplace...

And, they, too, didn't know where to turn. Until very recently, however, I haven't been able to even talk about what happened to me except to a few close friends...So, if you have any concerns about what is happening to you on your job, feel free to share with me and maybe I can help you work through your options... 

As time permits and my mind wanders...I'll probably be writing more about what actually happened... One woman with whom I worked, who had a responsible position to know what was happening to me remarked one day something I will never forget...

"They Used You; They Abused You...Now They've Thrown You Away..." 

Hope this helps explain what I was sharing this morning...Feel free to ask any questions you may have...

Still irritated though the day out has helped...But I still don't know whether I'll fight the system...or... What would YOU do?

"They Can't Do That To People" - A Flashback to Loss of Control...to Bureaucracy... This Timen PA Turnpike!

I had one of my "nightmares" last night...

Caused by the PA Turnpike... Here's the flashback scene I went over and over...

When I realized that I needed help that morning--I couldn't stop crying--I first called a close friend from my church and when she didn't answer, I called the Pastor...

He and his wife came immediately and when they got to my living room, I dropped to my couch and cry, "pray for me..."
Which they did...

But, I could not stop crying...and saying over and over..."They Can't Do that to People." "It isn't right!" I cried and talked but it seemed that I was watching the entire episode from somewhere else...I knew some part of my mind was realizing that I was going to get the help I needed...

They did two things: they had no hesitation to tell me to seek medical help immediately...And, later, they gave me a tape of quiet worship songs on a disk... I was unable to interact coherently with people...

I had Burnout! I couldn't deal with the actions that I'd been asked to do for so many years... My doctor told me it was my job or my life... I did not go back to work for many months having been immediately put on a medical leave of absence...

.....

So what caused this particular flashback?

I had had a run-in with a PA Turnpike employee regarding a bill I had received...

I violated the law, it seems, and I was being charged for going through(?) a turnstall without paying...

I did do that... Let me tell you why...

My sister and I had started toward a local discount store, Ollie's to look for a grass trimmer...However, since we hadn't been out that way for months, we were confronted with a lot of new roadways that had been constructed. Neither of us had any idea where to go...no signage...no directions...nothing...so I tried to get out of there quickly since I could see the older part of town I knew. I turned and went up a little hill and was confronted with a lone toll booth! There had been no notice that I was heading for the turnpike! Nor did I want to get on to the Turnpike since I was heading for a local store!

 Nope! No signage, no roof...not anything like where I was

 Nope! No signage, no open sign, nothing about but one booth!

 Nope! No signage, cost info. Stop Sign...Not This booth either!

CLOSE. The toll booth stood alone, all by itself...but no signage and certainly no nice man to help! Must I go take a picture to prove this booth should not have been operational?!!!

We sat at the toll gate...if we put money in, where would we be headed? We couldn't tell! There was nobody in the booth to ask or seek help...It was a toll booth sitting out in nowhere--it nevertheless wanted $1.35...for what? to leave a turnpike I had not been on? to go forward to a turnpike I didn't want to go on?

It wasn't the money that was the issue... My sister and I were totally psyched out... What the??? So I cut off to the side to an old road, to get away from that booth! Can you blame me?

Then the computer eyes caught up with this criminal owing $1.35 for not agreeing to pay to go nowhere...

Now that wasn't bad enough--I'll just make a call, since the cost was now  $26.35! And clear this thing up because that was a toll both in the middle of nowhere, seemingly...

Jessica was her name...She told me that another, black car sitting next to me was able to pay and go through...so I was in violation, noting smugly that I had a red car, right?

Which I never said I didn't do it... But...she went on...

"I'm sitting here watching you and you have a red car and there is a black car sitting next to you and going through at the same time you are..."

Now, I couldn't help it; I told her she had to be lying because there was only one booth and it was out in the wilderness with no other cars (which I could have gained help from, I would have assumed) around when I was at that booth and the picture of my license plate was taken...

She smartly told me there was no use arguing with her...

Now my computer brain went to work--after I had already called my sister and we went over what happened...She verified, no other booth...no black car...

The only thing I can think of is that the system sorts on the time...so if I was at this lone booth with nobody or cars around, then if there was a black car...it was at another booth, somewhere in Pennsylvania, going through some other booth...
But Jessica had smugly said the black car sat beside me at the next booth... I was getting angry...and mad...and you wouldn't like to see me in that condition...because I start to cry in frustration and that makes me angrier! Damn bureaucracy which does not make mistakes!

Sooooo, I hope you can understand why I had the dream...

"They Can't Do That to People! We were two senior citizens heading to a discount store, now confronted with the PA Turnpike saying we had entered and then left the Turnpike without paying.... and of course our still not knowing where we were...

As soon as we found a store, my sister went in and inquired for directions to Ollie's and told the man who worked there what had happened.  His response, "There's a toll booth near here?!!!

Can you believe this? It happened...

The telling story...My sister was talking to our cousin yesterday and told her why I had called upset...She explained that the same thing had happened to her...Only she paid the full amount, because she didn't want to get in trouble or go through the hassle of the bureaucracy we all have to go through with something like this...

Latest, my niece said the same thing happened to her co-worker...She also chose to pay the full fee/fine!

Soooo, my sister calls our State Police Barracks which is located close to the "scene of the crime..." Apparently he understood totally and indicated that I should call the Commission in Harrisburg if I felt the employee had been rude...

I explained that it wasn't the rudeness that bothered me...it was that I believed she did indeed have a computer sitting in front of her that told her what she was saying...

And we knew it was wrong...when I told my sister she said, well, then, it had to be doctored! My guess was that what she was seeing is what the programmer had given her to see...she had been given proof that "falsely" showed something that did not exist...It still boggles my mind to wonder...on purpose, or pure stupidity??? And I tend not to think about stupidity when confronting computer problems/glitches... Computers are only the tool of people, after all... It was either done by accident or cunning...or lack of training of the employee managing the system...

Now I know how Pennsylvania is building their roads...by hook or by crook...

But do I fight or pay the damn bill...I'm so sick of this type of crap... America has changed...greatly...and not for the better...

Would you pay the $26.35, the full bill including "administrative costs," the $1.35, or call the Commission as suggested by the State Police? What I know is that my depression is back...I can't deal with crap like this anymore...

Good thing I have good books in which to escape! I'll go tell you about one right now...

EBook Prices...Ebook Versus Paperback Cost...My Personal Thoughts

As Shared from https://www.facebook.com/Dawn.Carter.Author?fref=photo


I don't know about you, but I am waaaaay bothered by the range of costs for e-books!

First, too many are being given away in my opinion...I've seen comments that they are being given away because they are self-published and they're selected purposely for giveaways...

In my opinion, an author should only give their product away on special sales... and they should make a point of including the real cost for the book...i.e., what is being saved...during the sale.

I just went to a book that I'd like to read...it was $8.99! Hey, (1) I can buy paperbacks at that price...and (2) I would prefer reading a paperback any time! and (3) That's about the same price that top authors are selling for...

Hey, if I was not willing to pay $8.99 for a book that I can't hold in my hands written by Norah Roberts, James Patterson, and all the rest of my favs...I sure wouldn't purchase a book by an unknown writer...

Let's face it, if an ebook is a full-size book, it still should be less than a paperback...What do you consider a fair price for a book that, because of copyright, I normally just delete because I can't even give it away to charity???

And what about short stories?! Yikes! I'm seeing stories at as little as 13 up to 99 pages being sold for $2.99...Ok, the simple math... if I can get a full novel for $2.99, why should I pay that much for a short story?!

What is the value of your work? Most authors need to think about that more often... And why oh why only go the e-book route instead of either/or print if you want to sell your book at a higher price...at least you give the reader a choice to pay for a book they can hold in their hands...and easily keep or share...

Yeah, I know, I know...I get most of my books free...So what, I've spent years building up a reputation for my reviews so that I am always overwhelmed with requests...

But guess, what, I still buy books...paperback and ebooks if I want to read and consider the price fair...I make a point of not pointing out on my blog which books are which, because I don't consider them any different for purposes of my reviews...

But writers...something has got to give! I've seen books on Amazon with thousands of reviews! Does that mean that they gave their book away free? If so, is it worth it to you, the writer, to have thousands of reviews...and no income from that book!

Think about it...make Getting Reviews a part of your marketing plan and made your time, money and reviews all count!

What do I mean by that? I mean, use those few reviews to your benefit...Share them socially in an ongoing fashion to get more readers catching the postings! Or to remind them that your book is still available!

'Nuf said...cause this is, of course, Just My Personal Opinion!

Professional Concealer Camouflage Makeup Palette by niceEshop

About the Product

15 colors Professional exquisite Concealer Camouflage Makeup Palette in retail box package
An extensive range of 15 multiple vibrant concealer colour with different skin tones
Provide total camouflage for almost any skin problem (blemishes,scars,birthmarks and black circles)
Perfect for professional salon,wedding, party and home use

I was surprised to go on line and see that, seemingly,  this same product is being sold under many, various names and prices. While I would not normally comment on this, I do want to mention it as a courtesy to readers...

First, with much credit going to Pond's Luminous Clean Wet Cleansing Towelettes which I discovered here on Amazon, I am thrilled to point out that my skin is beautifully flawless...

except for two issues: bags under my eyes and remnants of rosacea on my nose...

When I opened the box of concealer, I first saw an array of colors...there was no guidance...is everybody supposed to know what colors to use for their skin?

Then I noticed there was no brush or sponge to use...so my finger had to do...Oops, on one particular dark color (the last in the box), the color ran down onto my cheek, even though I was only putting it under my eyes... Yikes!

But, while it was fun for this review to play around with mixes and various colors, I found that, for a product that is bought to conceal, there was NO need to have this variety as a personal user.

In fact, using multiple colors did little to improve the concealment. Let's face it, either a concealer conceals or doesn't. All colors I tested on the rosacea nose covered it adequately when recognizing that makeup would cover... None of the colors concealed satisfactorily on my eyes. In fact, I have purchased a much cheaper stick concealer at Walmart and got a better job than this product.

Bottom line, individual use of this product is overkill. Find out what works as "your" color to conceal your issues and stick with that... Save your money for actual makeup where multiple colors can be effectively used by an individual...

I recognize that this product probably works well for those who are professionally applying the product...just not for the rest of us daily...


GABixlerReviews

Have Trouble Opening Cans? A Bartelli Can Opener Might Help... Updated 8-25-16

I'm very sorry to report that as of this month, when I've been trying to continue to use this opener, the can opener is no longer functioning... Less than 4 months use!

• Innovative no-squeeze cutting mechanism automatically locks onto the can and cuts around the side leaving no sharp edges on the can or lid
• Features a no-squeeze single handle design, a large easy to turn knob, and a built-in bottle opener
• High quality stainless steel blade quickly and effortlessly opens cans of any size, no strenuous squeezing required
• Perfect for individuals with arthritis or hand pain, no strenuous gripping and squeezing required
• Creates an easily re-sealable lid with a safe smooth edge, great for keeping food covered while preparing a meal

I've only used this product for a few days but I find it responsive to my needs. I have tried many types of electric openers and never found one quite satisfactory, so I switched to the old manual ones for better control.

The main issue for me is that I have arthritis in the joints of my fingers and I have a hard, frustrating time getting any product open due to my lack of finger dexterity and strength.  

The metal can opener I've been using are hard for me to use, but at least I could gain some type of control with my whole hand holding the opener. I was therefore pleasantly surprised when I fiddled a little to figure out how to hold and use the Bartelli opener...yes, there is a small instruction sheet to get you familiar with the parts.

The first thing I noticed was the product material; i.e., it is plastic, but it feels soft to the touch and fits comfortably in your hand. My first test was a small can of cat food, of course, since there are always cans for cat food opened daily!

The metal to connect to the can is simply inserted under that piece and the screw-type handle is twisted. At first, as it was new, I was still thinking I was screwing it on to attach it when all of a sudden it stopped and the can was open! No noise and for this size can there was absolutely no tension to my fingers in using the product... I next tried it on a larger can, something like a soup can, but containing cat food, LOL, On this one I found that I needed to put more pressure to turn the screw, but I was easily able to do so...

'Nuf said... I found it to be exactly what I personally needed for dealing with cans with my arthritic fingers. Hurray! I recognize that this is my personal evaluation, based upon the condition of my hands/fingers, but I do recommend it highly for your consideration. (Had no use for the can opener so ignored...)

GABixlerReviews