Quick addition

So, the ER just wanted to let me know that one of my patients seems to be gone.

Me: Gone?
Nurse: Yeah, I checked the bathrooms, but she's not around.
Me: Is her family around?
Nurse: No, they're gone too.
Me: Huh.
Nurse(helpful tone): She did say she felt better.
Me: Huh. Well, let me know if she comes back.
Nurse: Will do!

Derailed

I logged on, eager to write. The thoughts rolling around in my head begged to be brought forth into the light.

And then, I forgot. No clue what I meant to talk about. Maybe because it's after 4 AM. Maybe because I'm annoyed that the ER paged me just now, less than 10 minutes after I asked "You guys need me for anything?"

Damn it.

Social Security, Ponzi, and Friends

Exactly what prompted my original train of though earlier today, who can say. I'm not financially savvy in general, and I primarily keep myself out of trouble by recalling the general rule that, if something sounds too good to be true, it's not. Stories of the Madoff Ponzi scheme have been all over the news, however, and I have spent a bit of time reading over the basics of what happened.

It was only today, however, that it occurred to me that social security basically amounts to a government sanctioned Ponzi scheme. Again, cut me some slack, I'm not an expert here. However, doing a little bit of searching online brings up some interesting info. Estimates as to when SS will start running into deficits are, of course, dependent on the state of the economy and work force, but from what I've gathered in a quick run through of searches on economic articles, it sounds like the first hits are going to come around 2017 or 2018, and then exponentially worsen by around 2040. So, by currently "investing" into the current system and planning to work until retirement age, I'm basically funding the earlier investors in the system with a very questionable possibility that the favor will be returned.

Granted, SS never promises huge returns to begin with (unlike a Ponzi scheme), but you are theoretically putting this money in with a promise of guaranteed retirement income, and it seems questionable that you can't opt out of it even with the knowledge that it's likely an empty promise.

So. That sucks. I mean, I've known for a long time that social security is not something I'm going to rely on in 40 years or so. It just kind of bothered me that, with all the talk of pyramid schemes and such currently in the news, this seems like much the same, except a legal version that the working public has no way of avoiding.

Gotta say, Chile seems to have a good thing going. Can someone in charge please talk to Mr. José Piñera?

Belize it or not

The other day, I walked out of the hospital at some ridiculous hour. I stepped out onto the garage roof and was embraced by a cool breeze on an otherwise humid, fairly warm night. Is it really January? It threw me off so much that for a second it reminded me of a night in Belize at Matachica. Oh, wait, except for the fact that, in Belize, I wasn't frustrated, tired, and standing in a parking garage at midnight. And there was an ocean. Right.

Spaghetti and shrimp dumplings

Often, I'm filled with wonder at the beauty of the world, and I wish I could find a way to pour my heart out in my writing. I wish that I could write something truly thought provoking, that sheds a light into the deepest recesses of my consciousness.

Instead, I'm going to talk about spaghetti.

Growing up, we didn't often have normal spaghetti. We had Chilean spaghetti (which is pressure cooked cuts of steak with carrots, black fungus, and bay leaves over spaghetti), spaghetti with garbanzos and parmesan, and spaghetti in a delicious homemade pesto sauce mixed with fresh farmers cheese to accompany apanado (beaten cuts of thin cut steak which is then breaded and fried). I liked normal spaghetti, it just didn't start appearing at our house until I was well into my teens.

At restaurants, I never understood people who used spoons to eat spaghetti. Seriously? Isn't that what the plate is for, to provide a stable winding surface? The use of knives to chop up spaghetti also baffled me, as it seemed to remove one of the best parts of having spaghetti - an interactive dining experience (I'm not sure if that gets my point across very well - eating, after all, involves you interacting with your food no matter how you do it - but I digress).

Defining a relationship

Ah, so much truth here.

Going up

I'd never really thought about it before, but it seems that I intermittently have an overwhelming compulsion to entertain random strangers on elevators.

I know that it happens with frequency at work. I've been known to start performing turkey calls and dance routines while moving throughout the building. And singing, of course. But it seems to happen a lot in my apartment, too. Sometimes it's just idle chit chat, on occasion I've busted out a random joke, and often it's just a random observation.

Don't know for a fact, but pretty sure some of my neighbors think I'm a bit odd. Sometimes people just ignore you, kind of "If I pretend I didn't hear anything, perhaps she'll stop." Sometimes you get a polite laugh or "Oh, really?" But the best times are when you end up laughing in earnest on the ride up, even if it's just one floor.

You've gotta take the little pleasures wherever you can, I suppose.