Oh goodness! That was a typo- it was "one-time meetings"!

I never really have had much problems wearing a bra, except this rash, while mostly gone, has left me able to feel EVERY SINGLE THING that touches my skin. It isn't really itchy, just prickly and uncomfortable and makes me want to be naked. I can't even sleep with a fleece blanket on me, it is too scratchy. I can stand the sateen weave sheets, however. But I feel like the Princess and the Pea.

I don't get the logic of taxing the purchasing employee. It sounds like there isn't a mechanism to recognize that the purchase is not personal.

I think this is it, because later on the same document seems to say that if you want to buy the employee a gift, either you are taxed, or you process an extra compensation payment for the employee in the amount of the gift and have them pay you back. It isn't really clear and asks me to see a policy that I can't find.

All white people want corsets.

Corsets made of muffins?

Tom, you could do a prepared slideshow or you could take candids throughout the party and pull your slideshow from that. Or make a website later. ETA: Seriously, hiding behind a camera is a great place for an introvert at a party.

The receiving employee is taxed for any spot bonus's processed through payroll and any gift certificates received.

At one of my former firms, they calibrated spot bonus payments so that the taxes were accounted for. So if you got, say, a $100 bonus, you would get a check for that amount, but what showed up on your paystub was $132.47 or something. Nice.

we could not buy food or coffee for "standing monthly or weekly meetings"

No coffee! That's like saying you can't provide water.

No coffee! That's like saying you can't provide water.

Here is the crazy part- for our staff meeting the members of the staff committee take turns paying for the coffee!!! And I found out that our Christmas party is also paid for from the pocket of the staff committee.

Meanwhile, at the theatre, all the food and wine for the opening night party, at the director's house, is paid for by the department.

Mark Boreanaz?

No coffee! That's like saying you can't provide water.

Ha! We have a specific policy that we are not allowed to provide bottle water. It's supposed to be an environmental thing, but I suspect cost has something to do with it.

A case manager nurse called me from my insurance company. I guess that's inevitable, and I guess--a long time coming.

She opened with "I think you might not want to talk to me." No, I didn't, but I'm not sure what she thought her angle was. Her takeaway from the conversation was that I am currently working on my health issues, and have been for years. I have answers to all the questions she could ask, and there's a licensed professional working on or testing everything she could suggest. And they're not the first guys I started off with--I'm on my third or fourth in each category since the stupid flareup started years ago.

I didn't tell her I didn't want to talk to her. I asked her what she thought she could do for me that no one was doing now.

Nothing, she concluded.

Then, I said, I was okay. Thanks. And if this is going to happen after every hospital visit, we'll be talking a lot. Cheers.

Man, I wish I had it in me to take a walk at lunch. And by "had it in me" I suppose I mean "had a pair of large frame sunglasses so I could". Because mine are all pretty small, because I don't like things on my face. I need to work out a balance between exacerbating a headache and not exacerbating a headache, if that...that doesn't make sense.

Case managers from Anthem call about Grace all the time. I always ask them how to help me secure therapy or smooth appointments or if they will do home visits and recommend home health. They always decline and say, "Oh it sounds like you have this covered. Her asthma sounds like it's being handled."

Asthma? You mean chronic lung disease and trache-related issues? BAH.