Miscellaneous thoughts

------------------------------------------
I absolutely LOVE Secret Spineless whines...especially when relevant to my life.

Can I copy this one and hang it on the bulletin board at my office?
------------------------------------------

Nearly one in five of the uninsured – 8.5 million people – live in rural areas.
Rural residents pay on average for 40% of their health care costs out of their own pocket, compared with the urban share of one-third.
In a multi-state survey, one in five insured farmers had medical debt.

Hard Times in the Heartland; Health Care in Rural America

I find this interesting given the popular representation of those needing help with medical care as typically being the urban poor.
------------------------------------------
I have spent this past week catching up on blogs I haven't read in weeks, months, and (in some cases) years. In fact, I completely forgot I subscribed to Google Reader for a while and there are a whole bunch of blogs I just don't read anymore. It was weird...kind of like catching up with old friends...kind of like being a peeping tom.
------------------------------------------
I am not a confrontational person. I know...funny stuff for a lawyer. But I try to avoid confrontation as much as possible. So some uncomfortable confrontational business with the Board of Directors I am a member of has got me out of sorts. I'm in the position of telling someone some news they will find unpleasant. It's nothing personal for me...just business. But I KNOW how these things work and I'm terrified of the fallout. (deep breath) I really need to grow up, don't I?
------------------------------------------
Sam: "Some people believe in a lightning Jesus."

Me: (choking on my pecan pie) "What is a lightning Jesus?"

Sam: "A Jesus who throws lightning bolts down through your house like a weapon."

Me: "And who told you this?"

Sam: "Ms. C read it to us from the book she was reading."

Me: "What book was that?"

For the record, the book is I Can Read About Thunder and Lightning, by David Cutts, David Davidson. And the EXACT quote is...

"Long ago, people thought that thunder and lightning were caused by the gods. The ancient Greeks believed there was a fire god who hammered thunderbolts and lightning streaks on his anvil in the heavens. Then he gave them to Zeus, the king of the gods, who hurled them at his enemies."

Sounds about as plausible as all the other stuff I've been taught over the years.
------------------------------------------
Dear co-worker:
Your friend who is beaten by her rich boyfriend but "keeps going back to him because he's rich" and because "she seems to like drama in her life" is a victim of abuse. Instead of condemning her choices, why don't you break out of your own comfortable little life and really help her make better choices. Simply telling her to call the Victims of Crime office is like spitting on a raging forest fire.

Oh...and get a freaking clue...you work in a PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE! You should know better.
------------------------------------------
Actual email received at work...

Attached please find the May Risk Management meeting notice. The topic for May is Employee Safety and Violence Prevention, presented by G.... G....., an instructor on Anger Management.

------------------------------------------
And another actual email recieved at work...

I thought everyone may be interested in this information for subsidy on electing health insurance after a posibile lay-off.

Thanks,

L (Human Resources)