Suebob's Red Stapler

Nablopomo is a tough master, y’all.

Today’s first: hand made noodles.

Good night.

What I did today:
Took Uber for the second time in 2 days, my first trips. Had a nice conversation en español with my Honduran driver.
Went to Maryland for the first time
Had tapas lunch with my longtime blogging friend, Laurie
Visited the Freer museum and saw Whistler’s famous Peacock Room
Went to the National Press Club for a Toastmasters meeting
Whew. Massive earache. Time for bed.

Been on a plane all day. Here are some highlights.

There’s a reason I still love to fly.

People asked the Occupy Wall Street protesters, “Why do you hate corporations? What are you wearing Nikes for, then? Don’t you drive a car? Huh? Huh?”

Here’s my answer. I don’t hate corporations. I work for a Fortune 500 company. I’m proud of my work and proud of my co-workers and extremely happy to be employed at a job I like. Every bite of food that goes in my mouth, every month’s rent, is thanks to that. I’m also glad to have a car and telephone service and food and electricity and all the lovely things corporations bring to me. I’m not ignorant of all those things.

But I do have a few issues with corporations. I expect them to obey the laws just as I expect my fellow citizens to obey the laws. I also expect them to be punished when they don’t.

I have heard that publicly held corporations have a duty to provide value for their stockholders. This is generally held to mean money. They need to do the thing that provides the most money to their stockholders.

Defining value only by money is like defining the worth of food only by calories. So if a corporation were a mom feeding her kids, she would be applauded for feeding them fried mozzarella sticks and shamed for feeding them broccoli. Sure, she’s providing the maximum caloric value, but what about other important, perhaps less easy to quantify values like health and longevity?

I have one suggestion. Corporations should stop trying to provide value for stockholders, and start providing value for stockholders’ children.

Instead of making sure stock values go up, make sure that everything they do contributes to a better life for the next generation. Make sure they pay their fair share of taxes so education and infrastructure will be good. Make sure they keep the environment clean and safe so the next generation won’t be sicker than ours. Create manufacturing processes that use renewable energy and resources. Provide high quality jobs with humane working conditions, so their parents will be able to provide for them.

That’s my simple, stupid suggestion. Stop thinking about the stockholders. Start thinking about the children.

I used to have a blog called Linkateria. I used it just to share links I liked. Now I have the same blog, but it is called “Facebook.”

Remember yesterday when I told you to go read Jenny Lawson’s embarrassing moments post? There are more today.

I was at physical therapy today, lying face down, getting ultrasound on my inflamed achilles tendons. I started reading the update and was soon shaking.

“Are you crying?” asked the physical therapy aide.

“No, laughing” I said, then read her some of the posts.

In the spirit of Jenny, let me share one of my most embarrassing moments with you.

I worked at a place where we had to either wear a turquoise t-shirt, turquoise polo, or turquoise apron. For eight years. No, I will never voluntarily wear turquoise again, thank you for asking. One day, I wore a beautiful green silk shirt and black skirt. I thought “Damn it, I am not ruining this outfit with a blue apron.” I was in my office when the owner of the company stopped by (a rarity). I opened the door and he was standing there. He gave me a long slow look up and down.

“Crap,” I thought. “He is so pissed about me not dressing in company colors.”

I fled to the darkroom, where I held my head in my hands. Looking down, I saw what he had been looking at. Somehow, my shirt had unbuttoned itself, revealing a bright purple lace bra.

He never complained about my lack of a turquoise shirt, as far as I know.

Sorry about swearing on the blog yesterday. I was upset because I felt like my mom wasn’t being treated very well in the hospital. It was very crude of me.

After today, I just want to say: double fuck hospitals.

Mom was in the hospital from 3 pm yesterday to 3 pm today. In that time, she got no sleep, no water, one stale turkey sandwich complete with decomposing lettuce, a scoopful of canned mandarin oranges, and a small juice box.

This is a woman who, under normal circumstances, gets thrown off if lunch is 15 minutes late.

By the time she got home, she had started to hallucinate.

Good work, hospital. Another day and you might have actually killed her.

Forgive my mood. I know part of it is hormonal. I started crying today when I realized that disgusting, media-destroying Rupert Murdoch had bought National Geographic magazine. It’s only a matter of time before they start publishing articles about how Muslims are evil and maps of Obama’s Kenyan hometown.

I’m trying, though. I spent part of the day trying to find a decent affirmations app for my phone. Could NOT find one, though there are many out there.

Note to self: learn app development.

If you’re sick of my whinging already, go read Jenny’s post about embarrassing moments. Pure gold.

Ok, folks, that day is in the can. Goodnight.

Me at the Dia de los Muertos celebration, about 10 seconds before I honest to God broke the tree of life. What does it mean?

I don’t swear a lot on my blog, but seriously, fuck hospitals.

Mom went in to the emergency department about 4 pm with some jaw pain and arm pain, which was a concern because the last time she had a cardiac event, those were the symptoms.

She’s 89 1/2 years old. She has 2 stents, heart failure, arthritis, osteoporosis and doesn’t see or hear well.

She has been there since 4 pm and has not had a sip of water or bite of food.

Fuck hospitals. In hospitals as they exist now, data matters more than people.

Nurses skitter around with laptops on wheeled stands before them, never meeting the patient’s eye because they are so busy typing.

No one explains anything to the patient. No one knows anything.

God, I’m just so pissed. How is this HEALTH CARE when the patient’s comfort is last on the list of things people think about? How is it care when you don’t offer a 90-year-old woman a bite to eat or anything to drink for five hours? Do you really care when you leave a nasal cannula in that makes her so uncomfortable and you don’t even bother to connect it to an oxygen line?

I’m not blaming the nurses. They are just dragged downstream with the current.

But here’s what I want to know – where is the care in health care? Where?

Mom seems fine. Pain is gone, all the all-important numbers are good. I hope she can get some sleep.

Good night.