BUY LESS & LIVE MORE

Black Friday - US
Saturday after Black Friday - International
Or a whole week or a random day
BUY NOTHING DAY

Reality Check
Recognize the Problem
The Earth suffers
Revolutionize the way you think 
Reach out to those in need               
Recycle and promote Sustainability
Reduce unnecessary spending
Reinvest your time and money
Rethink your lifestyle
Recapture the essence of giving
Reconnect with Family and Friends
~Jess Confer~

72 Selinsgrove teacher salaries top $73,000

Speechless....When a teacher will NOT help my child when he asks for assistance after school and the teacher says, " no, I have a life after 3:00PM'. or a they state they are teaching a class that they did poorly in while in school. I soaked in the teachers at the open houses at school and not so sure about most of the teachers. I tried to look into each one but a blank within me came out. I have my regrets.

A teacher needs to shine down on our children and make education a life long pursuit of enrichment. Where is the passion to teach our children? The beam of enthusiasm has to pierce like a bolt through forward flips or even an occasional throw of a desk. It is important to have an inspiring teacher because our children are in the school system more hours a day than waking hours with their parents in a given school year. Tsk Tsk..I have no pity and this does not include their full paid health insurance, pension, and other benefits. In this small district area, this is an excess $50/hr 8hrs/5days/wk (normal work week) for only 9 months!!! If you are salary, then you are expected to do 10 hr days for the same price. Yes, summers off and certifications are minimal. Perhaps it should be tougher to get a public education degree. One better be a damn good teacher and what I have seen they are few and far between. I do have several educators in my family, so no bias here.

Pay based on merit (complex arena)- but why should a slacker teacher get paid the same as an extraordinary teacher?

A teacher should be working out of passion and not monetary pursuits.

WOW! 72 Selinsgrove teacher salaries top $73,000 (neighboring school district)

Views of my current situation

This is my ponderment view from the couch.

Went(no, I did not drive) to Big Turdles(aka Big Earls Bike Shop)to pick up a bike.  The young, rosy cheeked, menno fella knew I was going to be out of commission until next Spring/Summer.  He gave me a DVD to watch while recovering - 50 video tips to get you rolling - Ok, it is the thought that counts in his view to help me recover. Yes, I would love to see America's Landscapes......

Microfracture Surgery Day

Arrive with Al at Evangelical Ambulatory Center prior to noon for my 2pm surgery, wait for 10 minutes, until my lightup beeper vibrator feels me.

My nurse takes me back to my cattle stall bed. I see Margy(another favorite nurse) in passing back and forth. I am given the routine of allergies, fall risk, and wait for the anesthesiologist and my othropaedic knee surgeon, Dr Furia. Heck Yeah!!! I am a Fall Risk...I have the "4 stars" and "fall risk" bands!!!! One never knows, when, you may go down.

A nurse in passing glance at me then my chart, she was chuckling and looking at my chart, "OH MY, you are a frequent flyer!" The other nurse said, Yeah, "this is her 12th visit here at Ambulatory Surgery." I was asked if I had a lot of colonoscopies and I said, I haven't had one yet. My chart is ALL BODY PARTS!
Yes...my body is getting thoroughly used up! It IS quite painful and sucks.

IV did not like my left hand, which I knew and I warned the nurse. I was always told that it will go in well on your dominating side. I think I have given enough gallons to know!

Anesthesiologist Don comes and goes over my chart. He is surprised also how many times I have been there.

Lull.....I get my camera out. I am not suppose to have this pesonal belonging with me. I take some pictures. Whoops...hear nurse pittering down the hall. I set off the finger beeper while trying to bend over to take a pictures. Time to behave!

Dr Furia reassures me that this surgery will not hurt as bad as the others. I was making sure if there was a need for a stronger rx than Vicodin.

Another Anesthesiologist came over and went through my chart. He is the one that will be doing the work in the OR. I think he was trying to come up with the perfect concoction based on previous surgeries. He looked at each one and I told him what I did or didn't like about each one. Ask me how I was with Tramadol and I said, "I've heard that word before."

And away I go to the OR clocked in at 13:52....feeling lalala and out go the lights.

In Recovery, slowly trying to wake up and see clock at 15:18. Cocktail was wonderful Mr Anesthesio! Knee hurt a bit and progressed, then the nurse put a shot in my IV and gave me Vicodin.

Ship me home........

Elevate Buddy!

Stayed tuned for the knee TRIO surgery!!

Chondral Injury

Scheduled for surgery, Wednesday, October 13 for Knee Arthroscopy, Debridement and the huge rock band.... MICROFRACTURE MICROFRACTURE! I heard his words of grade IV chondral lesion, bakers cyst, Osteochondritis Dissens (OCD), and a new knee - which he received a wide eyed, lipped NO from me! Boy, originally it was thought to be a fraying PCL ligament.....still hope not, since this is where the pain resides.

Went to Evangelical Ambulatory to get my bloodwork done. Again the nurses know me, I have been there for 5 OR procedures in the last year plus some other stuff with pain management. I get a hug and we go back. Blood drawn and EKG. The nurse was wondering why I was not to see my family doctor for clearance. The surgery nurse said that the surgeon will clear me? This could also be the reason I got in so fast before he goes away. I was told by the one nurse, "You are so funny when you are here!" Hey gotta have some humor all the way to the OR room and I usually do up until the fighting moment of lalala lando!

Hope my shoulder and neck hold up to 6-8 weeks of non-weightbearing with crutches! WAWA body falling apart!

What's on my mind!

Yogurt, granola, cheese, bread, wool socks, saw frozen venison, tissues, vitamin C, cold medicine

I am going to track my progress with this MICROFRACURE. Chondral Flap of a grade 4 and pits. It sounds like a rock band.

It all started around the third week of July when my SS daughter, Kelsi came home from college and we went for a ride at RB Winter State Park. I wanted to show her the trails Dagny and I were on weeks prior. I had new SPD bike shoes and they do not ride well on top of my Time pedals. Threfore I hyperextended my foot several ties for soe reason. During this ride my spokes also were broken. I wanted to walk back to the vehicle because I did not want to damaged my wheel with thoughts of Beau Daciuos tacos. Also, my knee was immediately swelling as I walked back to the car. I love going to the woods.........

Help me I have fallen off my Blog Ship!

Please excuse me, but my Motivational Speaker, PRO (Pre Retarded Ostrich)Coach, Training Plan says, I can't blog! Fingers are a necessary accessory for the handlebar grip and I need to prepare for my up and coming cycling blasts of energy! I pay him $5,677.06 for his services to rule my world. I worship his ground, therefore his thoughts are embedded in my brain when I can pee and poop and drink and eat and pick my nose and sleep and freakin' move upbeat of one bpm, and oh I forgot, ride, but that is an extra 2 cents! Go For It! And..I live in a van down by the river........

Loss of my beloved and humorous brother, Keith




June 2, 1964 - May 6, 2010

 My youngest brother, Kirk, summed up the events leading to Keith's deat quite well and I can't express any differently:

Obituary

Kirk Bidelspacher To all - Keith was born with 3 heart defects. To have met Keith during his best years, which were most of them, you would not have known this by his appearance. He outlasted what life expectency many doctors had given him...even those of ones when he was a kid, so we are glad to have the 45 yrs we did. Despite this we are all naturally sad for our loss. And even with knowing that he had been having more and more complications particularly over the past couple of years: like congestive heart failure and receiving a pacemaker...among numerous other issues, we were all saddened further at the suddeness of his passing. We were not (and I believe not even Keith was) fully aware of how dire his most recent circumstances became as they had been masked by very recent severe back pain and perhaps a lack of consistently taking some key medications. During his pain very late on Tues 5/4, Keith had gone to the ER with our mom. While there he received painkiller shots after which he felt better. After mom returned him to his place very early morn Wed 5/5, he went to bed and never woke up. We have been told that there were no signs of distress and have first hand info that he was lying peacefully. Keith appears to have had a heart attack in his sleep. Fortunately, with the painkiller shots he was no longer able to feel the effects of one, which is what Keith would've wanted. He would've never liked to have known that he was dying. So he got his last wish and we got ours...... that he would be able to finally rest without pain.



Lookout....Body is going to burst steroids

Trigger Point injections today. Dr asked, are you "Flighty"? I said, "No". I guess that warrants an allowance to drive myself home. I got seven shots (5 to the left & 2 to the right) to the posterior side of my neck in muscle spasms, one of them near my trapezoid. Dr and me are the only ones in the room. She applies pressure to my contraction nodules and marks with a purple x. I have to let her know as the needle is going in when she hits the spasm, I give the ok, then she releases the lidocaone and steriod into the muscle area. There is a pain pressure, especially to the ones on the side and direct back of the neck. MF(&$#*%G! No breaks.... I can endure the little needle of pain infliction. Enduring pain for many years. I have had much worse joint injections, in the cervical spine, shoulder AC joint, knees and feet.
I guess these are to last a few weeks...hopefully will be kosher for the 5 Boros Tour in NYC. Next appointment could turn to drugs..........
Update: During the early morning my injection areas became really sore. I feel like I got hit in the back of the neck with a 2 X 4. It could be because I am to rest for 24hrs but I got the broom and hose out and cleaned the front porch most of the evening.

I FELL at a mountainbike race........................

Descending the shale road.
Gunnar's head turns around to see if I was coming.
Rolling the outer edge of the rubber footing on the shale jaggers.
Oh no, slow moe, going down.
Crapola, brain takeover, did anyone see me?!!!
Hit elbow, lightly grazed knee, and hand pads.
Layers, layers, layers helped the impact.
Smooth erect jack-in-the-box up and turn to line of vehicles.
No one in sight to the front or back. aaah solo.

Later...

Me: "I FELL!"
Deb: "Where were you?"
Me: "A mountainbike race, Michaux Mash."
Deb: "Oh wow... a fall off the ole bike!"
Me: "I was not racing, no bike....me trying to walk!"
Deb: "Dork girl, you can't be going down."

I went down to volunteer at FFRP promoter Zachary Adam's race - Michaux Mash . He is doing a fine job. Never been there before, it was a different crowd than I was used to seeing. Impressed with Alex Viana on a rigid SS who just started mountainbiking....with a love twist of crits on the next schedule agenda. Or maybe it was the handlebar moustache! As always, good to see a few familiar faces...feel better Tim....I am CLUTCH! A young one's recent words....I thought it sounded, hmmmmm - I won't say!

2010 Michaux Mash results