To all of you who helped, thank you very much, especially the TWO of you that know who you are, not that all help and good thoughts weren't helpful, but there were two people who wish to remain anonymous who really stepped up to the plate and called in a favor with a Judge friend of theirs.
I've been avoiding posting things on LJ for a while now, because this is the blog where I post my deepest thoughts and most personal things. Within the past 2 months month 5 very significant things have happened to me. ( READ ) So Peg is about to spend her second night in jail and there is nothing I can do about it at this time. I have friends who know lawyers and Judges and they're working their networks, but so far to no avail. I want to get her out , God knows she doesn't deserve JAIL TIME for what she has (or hasn't) done, but I'm still about $2500 short. We just called in for her, which gives us until Sunday to have her out of the cage and back to work, before she has to apply for a leave of absence, which I'm not even sure they will grant for being in jail, although she had already spoken to her supervising manager and he offered to let her take a leave of absence and we actually have a PRESCRIPTION written by my surgeons to allow Peg to take off 6 weeks to be home and care for me while I'm "skinless".
After having at least 50 "Med Students, Nurses, Doctors, etc." looking at my cut off ass I have no shame left. If anyone is able to help in any way, I need CASH, and need it fast.
Every time I've seen a light at the end of a tunnel for 5 years, it's been a train, this time Peg got run over, and it just sucks!
You can email me at my personal email address which is my real name charles.breuninger@cox.net
While the new "possible diagnosis" scares the living shit out of me, it could possibly explain 90 % of my physical and mental ailments, although the symptom virtually match with the symptoms of advanced diabetes.
When speaking with a an MD and a Psychiatrist MD at the same time on Monday afternoon, when taking my thorough medical history both of them stopped me dead in my tracks when I mentioned that my father had died with/from Multiple Sclerosis. They both (almost simultaneously) if I'd had head MRI's since I turned 40, I replied that I hadn't and they said "Schedule one immediately. When I asked why, they told me that a lot of the physical symptoms I have are indicators of Multiple Sclerosis, and while it's not been proved that M.S. is or is not hereditary, they suggest now that anyone whose father or grandfather has/had M.S> you should have a head MRI every year in your 40's and then twice in your 50's. I replied that I was told my neuropathy, retinopathy and stumbling/falling were symptoms of advanced type II diabetes.
They went on to ask about my blood glucose control, and told them that I eat a healthy diet now, and had lost 89 lbs in the past 6 or 7 months, and that worried them even more, since I'm basically bed-ridden, but my Glucose is harder and harder to control.
Long story short, and bottom line, my physical manifestations that aren't pain management related can all be ascribed to BOTH advanced Diabetes, but also are all symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis. This ALSO explains the sudden onset of the severe mental problems such as Agoraphobia, Severe Anxiety Disorder, Deep Clinical Depression, and super high blood pressure.
As much as I DETEST M.S. and as much money as I've raised and donated personally to the M.S. society, I would actually be relieved to know that there is a physiological cause to my mental illness, as I've racked my brain trying to figure out why so suddenly and why me?
I don't really want an M.S. diagnosis, although it would be nice to know what is causing the extremely severe and sudden onset mental problems. I've never been shy in my life, and never met someone I didn't speak to. I used to be in big crowds of people and have run nightclubs with up to 1500 people surrounding me in the DJ booth, and been on stage at "JUNE JAM" in Alabama which was about 200,000 people surrounding me, and was never afraid of people or crows, but now I can't be around a group without being HIGHLY medicated with xanax and still have panic attacks.
While I wouldn't wish M.S. on an enemy, It may give me some real answers to questions that plague me on a daily basis. I don't want to have it, but I'd like to know what's causing the non-diabetic symptoms, since so many of them are the same. At least then I could get some different treatments and if even *some* of the symptoms go away my quality of life would go way up.
Good things have started happening in our lives lately. Peg is being moved into management (supposedly) at Wal-Mart, Rick (after years of working and not being able to find the time) finally got his GED in October and will be starting College at College of Southern Nevada next month. Got the news today that he GOT his Pell grant and is qualified for some other special student loans for single parents under age 21. My health care situation isn't any "better" ,but it's paid for now. My Disability "adjudicator" called with a few simple questions and left me with the impression that my claim will be put through very shortly for FULL Social Security Disability, Charlie, Breanna, and George (my 3 grand kids) are all healthy and growing like weeds, and then TODAY.
For those of you who believe in God We need your prayers. For those of you who don't, it can't hurt to think positively.
As a lot of you know from reading my LJ for years now, right after Rick and Cait got married he had a fairly bad car accident in which he only suffered a sore knee, although his brand new car was totaled. This was about 4 years ago, because I think Charlie was VERY young, if he was even alive and he just turned 4 last week. Well, Rick had noticed over time that his knee pain was getting worse and worse.
He was wearing shorts one day a couple of months ago and showed me what looked like his left knee had completely SHIFTED to the inside of his leg. I thought it must be torn ligaments or something of the sort and he'd been doing some odd jobs including heavy lifting for our landlord so I told him to go to the Dr.
He couldn't get an appointment so he went to the E.R. where they did an X-ray and said he was actually "growing a third leg" so to speak. In other words, the injury he suffered in the car wreck caused a growth plate in his femur to think it needed to change direction. Originally the E.R. docs and the first Orthopod he saw thought it was a baseball sized "calcium growth". Today after another study of it, the Orthopedic Surgeon said that there indeed is a calcium growth, but a possibly malignant Cartilage Tumor. The doc hopes it's benign, but because of the time it has been there and the amount of pain it's giving him wants to make absolutely sure that it's NOT malignant, so he will be scheduled for IMMEDIATE (trying to get him in before Jan 1st) surgery to remove the TUMOR.
The kid is really getting his shit together, is starting College, has a 4 year old son that he's raising without a wife or s/o, and now this. PLEASE, if you have a belief in prayer, pray that this is nothing more than a benign tumor, and the surgery goes well and does not involve any nerves, or major vessels and he's just hobbling on crutches for a couple of weeks before going to School for the first time since finding out after 10th grade was over that he was becoming a father.
Cait got to stay at home and do the Online High School thing, but Rick had to hold down one and many times two jobs to pay for the child. Getting his AA as a Veterinary Tech and then going on to Veterinary Medicine is one of the two career paths he's been dreaming of since he was a young kid, so pray for this tumor to just be excess calcium and cartilage and that he'll be O.K.
Thanks all, and Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a happy and prosperous New Year.
It has been "One hell of a year" and I'll write about that later in the Month, with a full recap of everything that has gone on. I've started spending more time on Facebook and less here and on Myspace. Frankly, I love the interface and the ease of use. The developers are genius and are taking a huge market share by building a better mousetrap. I see that the developers at Myspace are panicking and came out with "profile 2.0" which is clunky and ridiculous, but the one thing I LOVE ABOUT LJ, it doesn't try to "keep up with the Joneses". Yes, it has re-tooled, but its main focus is still just blogging and journal-keeping.
This has been the best tool for me over the past 3+ years in helping me think through my own thoughts by putting them "on paper", digital though the paper may be, and has been very cathartic. I need to come back and start posting daily again, and will after the first of the year.
In the meantime, Yesterday was my TWENTY-FOURTH wedding Anniversary, and guess what? She's STILL with me!!! Why, and how, I don't know. Peggy is my rock. I have a life due to her, my kids and grand kids, but PEG is the reason I'm still around. I love her more than life itself. It may sound sappy, but ya know what, the cynical, untrusting, asshole I've begun to become needs some sap in his life. Just can't turn the sap into syrup, because my glucose level was 220 after ONE small piece of Charlie's 4th B-day Cake yesterday.
Happy Anniversary Peg, I love you.
Happy 4th Birthday Richard Charles Breuninger III, aka "Charlie", sorry we did the following to you, although we've done it every year so far, maybe next year you'll remember and not fall for it.
Charlie meets NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series This past weekend we were offered free tickets to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race here at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and actually had Budweiser Suite passes which we couldn't use, since Charlie could not be admitted, so we sat two rows down from the concourse about 20 yards south of the Start/Finish line. Great seats.
Charlie loved the "600 Series" races which was Legends cars, Thunder Roadsters, and Bandaleros that race on a tight quarter mile which includes part of the front straightaway and the pit road. He really liked those cars. Charlie has sensitive hearing so he didn't need his earplugs for those races and because it was "General Admission" seating for the Truck race, Rick and Peg were able to take Charlie right down to where the action was for those small races.
It was a long day. We got there around 1pm and the Truck race didn't start til 6:30, but even the woman in the row directly in front of us started talking to Charlie and commented on how well behaved and how "into the racing" he was during the truck event. It was a 144 lap race and Charlie made it til lap 125 when there was a LONG protracted caution for a wreck and clean up of the track and drying of some oil, then...Boom Boom, out go his lights, and he was sleeping on the blankets and pillows in our row. He loved it. I'll be adding a photo album as soon as I'm done typing this blog and you can check out Charlie at LVMS.
On other fronts, my medicaid is FINALLY pending so I can get back on track with my Doctor within a week or so and stop paying over $2500/month for my prescriptions. Very good news. I also have my final meeting with the Social Security Doctor on the 9th and should receive my final determination within a month of that date. Believe me when I say, I'd much rather be a productive member of society and paying taxes, but when the body and mind give out, that's why I paid IN all of that money for Social Security, and now it's time to withdraw.
I'm cross posting this blog on Myspace and LiveJournal so those reading on LJ you can go to http://myspace.com/voiceofpoker to find the pictures of Charlie at the races, if you're reading this on Myspace, just click on PICS on my homepage and the album will be there. I'll also be adding a couple of videos from Saturday as well.
Will everyone please send me an email from your CURRENT email addresses to either rick@voiceofpoker.com or voiceofpoker@cox.net . I had to wipe out my C: drive after a virus, and lost ALL of my contacts. I saved them, or so the system told me, and when I went to put them back in Outlook Express every email was virus@virus.com. Whatever you do, don't click on the page my son did, and if your browser tells you a page is not safe. BELIEVE IT.
Even though I haven't caught up on all of my sleep, I did catch up with some after taking a double dose of ambien at 6:30 this morning (after watching the entire first 8 episodes of WEEDS on Showtime, which I thought started NEXT month...d'oh) and wasn't awoken until I got a call from Eric Rosenberg asking who I knew in Tunica, since he and his family are looking for places to go when the "next" Katrina aka GUSTAV. I was very tired and not very helpful, but did manage in my stupor to remember a few names of Poker Managers that may be able to get him rooms, and then it hit me...HEY MORON!!! YOUR SISTER RUNS A CAMP/RETREAT http://harvestcampandretreats.com//index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1 A non-profit Camp, Lodge, and retreat with bunkhouses, cabins and a main lodge about 100 miles N. of the Coast, so I get the two of them hooked up and hopefully she'll have room for Eric, Melissa, Maddy, et al.
Beth and Michael were planning on moving this weekend BACK to the Ocean Springs area (about 10 miles N. of the water) but with it promising to be a Category 3 or higher, they can't move into that house til after the storm, and that's only if the house stays together, I'm hoping it does, since they've moved over half of their possessions there in anticipation of occupying it on Monday. They will be going to the Choctaw Reservation in Philadelphia, Ms where "Silver Star" and "Golden Moon" casinos are located, as Michael's father and other family members live there. He's half Choctaw and half Navajo. So with Family safe, Eric and his family hopefully safe, I can go back to sleep now for another 12 hours...hopefully :)
Today Begins my 2 weeks of sportsmania and sleeplessnes Well, here it is. It has arrived. It only happens once each 4 years. SPORTS OVERLOAD TIME! YEEEEE HAWWW .
With the start of the Olympics I'm glued to the TV and now FREE NBC internet coverage of every event that I can possibly watch for the next 16 or 18 days or whatever it is. I don't ever watch the opening ceremonies, because I think they conflicted with pre-season football and a Padre game but this is my dream month.
I not only have the Olympics, but Pre-Season NFL, MLB, NASCAR (all 3 series), The Knoxville Nationals Sprint races, Pro Boxing, MMA, WSOP broadcasts, and of course the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Built Ford Tough Series two live events, which is 4 broadcasts over 2 weeks. I will be loving life for the next two to three weeks, then I'll take an Ambien every 12 hours for a week after to recover.
Oh, BTW Here is a great new pic of my Grandson Charlie. You can tell he was born in Mississippi. He's wearing a suit, and NO SHOES
I have been to a total of 4 BARGEs. BARGE stands for Big.August.Rec.Gambling.Excursion, which started as 8 people in a hotel room in Las Vegas. This was back before online poker (in its present form existed) and a few people from the usenet newsgroup (nntp) rec.gambling (before the split to the various daughters, such as rec.gambling.poker, rec.gambling.blacjack, rec.gambling sports, et al were spawned).
BARGE has now grown to well over 300 participants in some or many of the tournament events, and has had "babies".
FARGO Foxwoods Annual Rec Gambling Outing (Foxwoods Casino) http://www.fargopoker.com ESCARGOT Extrodinary Southern California Rec Gambling Outing and Tournament (L.A. County) www.conjelco.com/escargot.html ATLARGE Atlantic City Annual Rec Gambling Excursion www.atlargepoker.com MARGE Mississippi Annual Rec Gambling Excursion (Biloxi) www.conjelco.com/marge.html SARGE Southern Area Rec Gambling Excursion (unfortunately as of now defunct, but could be revived) (Tunica, MS near Memphis) TARGET The Annual Rec Gambling Entry Tournament (Held in Vegas, winner/winners (if enough entrants) get the $10k buy-in for the WSOP
This is a group of people who I've grown very fond of and am sad to say I never made it to a SARGE, due to schedule conflicts with Costa Rica Tournaments, ATLARGE which I will attend within the next two years, and TARGET, which a delayed flight cost me an entry to. And even though I'm from San Diego, have never experienced ESCARGOT yet. I want to hit all of them before I'm not able to travel.
If you are Downtown Vegas (Specifically Binions and the GN) this next weekend and see an extraordinary number of what seems to be a GROUP OF FISH WITH DRINKS playing wild games like Binglaha, Chowaha, and about 100+ people stumbling around together downtown to play $1 craps at every Casino that offers it, you will be seeing BARGE
The funny thing about living in Vegas now is that I've been here 3 years, and have only made it to ONE BARGE in those 3 years. Maybe after we move back to Biloxi and my health is better, and finances can handle it, I'll make another one. I will definitely be attending all MARGEs from here on out.
If you are a FUN person, who loves other fun people and wants to have a great time 6 times a year , check out any of the above websites for your regional *arg* event and come and get in on the fun. As Peter Secor Says "There are no strangers at BARGE, Just friends you haven't met yet". I know many of you on my friends list are participants, or have been in the past, so I hope I haven't bored you, but I have many interests and many other friends that may not neccessarily know about these events and since I can't be there this year, I wanted to promote next years event and the "baby" events. GOOD LUCK TO ALL MY CF'S at this years BARGE.
Although it's too late to sign up for this years BARGE, here is the website http://barge.org
I was playing at Fleet Street Games today, which is one of the two FREE sites I play at that give real money away, making it completely legal to play in the U.S. without any gray area. (the other I play at is http://www.prizedome.com). I play at those two because I know principles in both sites.
Fleet Street has a $50k guaranteed tournament for those who have helped beta test the site, coming up in August. I have already qualified, but accidentally signed up and was playing in another qualifer when two people I knew were at the table and started razzing me about being "greedy", etc. Of course, I didn't realize I had signed up for the wrong tourney, so I told "Grizz" and "Diputsur" that I would just post and fold, which I decided wasn't the right way to do it. I then said "on my next button hand, I'm going all in no matter what cards I hold preflop". Everyone at the table seemed to agree that was cool, so I did exactly that.
My question is an ethical one. Was that the RIGHT way to do it, after all there were 89 people in the tourney and I was only giving 9 other people a shot at my stack (which was already double-sized since I had doubled up on the first or second hand). Should I have just played it out, sat out, or was what I did cool?
Just decided to post because I've been so lax in doing so recently.
Peg and I got into what turned into a HUGE argument today over something so stupid it makes me embarrassed to even post about it.
We (as you know) are jumping through the Federal hoops of filing for my Social Security Disability. The man who is in charge of my case called today and said that he needed me to send him receipts or print-outs from the doctors offices and pharmacies that we had used over the past 12 months. Sounds simple enough, right? Well NO. With HIPPA regulations the providers must have something in writing with my signature on it to allow Peg or Rick to pick up the documents, since I don't drive and can't just go get them myself.
I decided that I would go "businesslike" and TYPE the request including all of the info they need, such as my SS #, D.O.B., Address, Phone #, etc. Peg said she would just hand write it on a piece of paper and have me sign it. I totally disagreed and muttered aloud about taking pride in one's work, and how no one seems to care about taking the time to do things correctly anymore. This set her off like the fireworks we just watched over the strip and downtown Vegas just a couple of weeks ago on the 4th.
To make a long story shorter, I used "notepad" (duh) instead of MS Word or Open Office. depending on the project I use both. When I printed out the three pages (that had to go to the three places) the formatting was all fucked up and some of the "one pagers" turned into 3, 1/3 pagers, etc. It was all screwed up.
So I asked Peg to go get me some more printer paper... BAD NEWS. We have ONE page left, it seems our Grandson Charlie had decided to take about 3/4 of a ream and draw on it. So I decided that I'd put it in MS Word, print out one good copy on a SINGLE page that I know will fit and then Peg can make 2 copies on her way to the places she needed them. She went ballistic, she grabbed the 9 semi-sheets, said it was good enough, that she was going to sign my name to them and distribute them. I actually had to YANK them out of her hand and rip them so she wouldn't do that, as I thought it looked "schlocky".
I ended up printing out the ONE page on MS Word, but lo and behold, in my zest to be "right", I forgot to reformat it from notepad to Word and it looked even worse with broken paragraphs, sentences that ended up having 4 spaces between them, etc. So I do the only thing a self-respecting moron would do and reformat it and print it on the BACK of the most recent one. I was happy, I was proud, I had "won". Then Peg tells me there are no places to make copies on the way to the three establishments she needed them for and was not spending $4.25/gallon to go miles out of the way to make two copies. She gave in to ONE request, and would drop off the ONE decent one (although printed on both sides) to Costco Pharmacy.
About 10 minutes later she left, and 5 minutes after that I found the paper sitting on the night table next to the bed, she hadn't taken it after all. I cussed, screamed, slammed it into my side-table drawer, wanted to KILL SOMETHING, then the phone rang.
I answered the phone, it was my SS worker, I told him what had happened, he said, "Ah hell, that's ok... I just needed the providers names, numbers and if you can find them the fax numbers, I don't really want all of that crap on my desk. D'OH!!!
Watchinjg "untold stories of the E.R." on Discovery Health
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Hard to believe it's been 19 weeks since I wrote ANYTHING in my LJ. Well there is too much to catch everyone up on so I'm just gonna let everyone know what's up now and what we're planning.
Peg is now being moved to full-time at Wal-Mart as the "Money Center" cashier, which I guess is a better job than regular cashier cuz it pays more.
Rick has left Pizza Hut, thinking he'd be a great water salesman, however what they told him about having 3 months before a "quota" kicked in became 1 month with the absolutely crappy economy in Las Vegas at the moment. So he will be moving to the position of graveyard cashier at Fabulous Freddy's (a Local full service convenience/gas/carwash/gaming machine joint).
In fact,the Vegas economy is so bad that the normal 95% + occupancy rate of the hotels is hovering between 78-83% depending on which area of town, with downtown being the worst, and last quarter the casinos won less money (adjusted for inflation and time) from the public than in the past 30 years.
My health is a bit worse, but my outlook about it a bit better as I'm now just awaiting my Social Security Disability to kick in and then I'll have good medical coverage and can get things taken care of that have been on hold while we've been without health insurance.
As of the end of March '09 our current lease will be up and we're going to move back to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. This is a move that I was originally totally against, since I really am not a fan of the area, and especially after being in the desert for the last 3 years. I'm a desert rat, not a humidity freak. However, the more I thought about a move to the Gulf Coast the more it made sense. I don't spend any time out of the house to speak of, so what does it matter to me where the house REALLY SITS? Besides, now I'll be able to be around all 3 of my loveable grandchildren and finally get to meet the youngest, George. I've met Bree, but she was so young I'm sure she only recognizes my voice from our almost daily phone calls.
When we get back to the Coast, Peg can transfer from one Wal-Mart here to another there with the same pay and benefits, and Rick already has two job prospects, one that is for sure (that's the back-up to the one he really wants). With the cost of gasoline and our proximity to anything in Las Vegas it only makes sense to move back to Mississippi where gas is a bit cheaper, and EVERYTHING is closer. We are 16 miles from Downtown Vegas, 20 from the Strip, 24 from the airport, and all of the Gulf Coast area we'll be doing anything in is 25 miles from West to East and not too far North.
There, you're all caught up. I will be doing some radio and TV shows with Eric Rosenberg which I'll talk more about later, and I'm now announcing the RETURN OF THE VOICE OF POKER RADIO SHOW in January 2009. It will be live on the web and on a few select radio stations across the Nation. For more info, check out http://www.voiceofpoker.com
“Today is got to be one of the worst days to be a long time charger and Padre thing on. All the Padrez(?) had to do was win against the fucking Brewers(?). The Brewers(?) and they ___ in the play ass but no they hold defeat from the jars of victory once again, let's ___ nothing in the 1st sending ended up losing and now th e charges are being imperous(?), imperous(?) at home, it is just unbelievable that the charges to be embarrassed at home by ___ but they should be beating by two to three touch downs. I mean what happened, what is going on? What is in the water in San Diego? Well the water is not even in San Diego for the Padrez(?) but what is going on with the charges? I guess we need to get rid of all norm, normie(?) baby you suck. Come on, charges play your heads till I get your asses. Padrez(?) you better do the same.”
“Well it's been quite a while since I posted anything so thought, we use to do and audio update. Just to let everyone know that I am alive and thanks to friends the ___ Peggy is still out of work and I have trouble finding descent work. We are not sure whether or not we're moving on November 1st. That will depend on what happens between now and then. Let's just put it this way it's, it could have the ___ sorry lacking but there is no one to blain or us. Let's, were alive we're well and I wanted to start a new video bloc(?) every day and we can wait for that. It will be something kind of of the ___”
Peg's complaints have so far fallen on deaf ears even though there are people who have DIRECT knowledge that she was "let go" because she wasn't going to be around for 5 weeks due to her impending surgery.
We still have to go to the NLRB, but that's not as easy as it sounds or as easy as they make it look to report an abuse. Basically, we're screwed. Peg is going to have to get another job and wait ANOTHER year in order to qualify for FMLA benefits (this is according to the casino).
In the meantime, I've lost my health benefits, which will cause me to not only go without much needed treatment, but possibly DIE due to withdrawal from meds that I'm on for pain management that ARE NOT drugs that are doled out for free by Prescription Assistance programs or the drug company's programs. They only cover my maintainance meds, and that's only if I qualify which can take up to 12 weeks in some cases. We looked through Walmarts "ALL GENERICS ARE $4 program".... ONE out of the 19 drugs the two of us take is covered. So much for advertising, huh?
We are going to look into Federal grants for Peg's recovery time so she can get her 3 year overdue surgery and a monthly check to replace her income while she recuperates, however we still need to pay for the COBRA insurance which we just simply can't afford.
If Peg were to return to work TOMORROW (which won't happen, but could as early as late next week) we'd still need 3 months of COBRA payments at $438, which we can't afford even IF she's workikng. We don't know what to do. We've exhausted every resource that we know of. I'm thinking of a bake sale, but then again, if I spent the money we do have on bake sale items, that's all we'd have to eat for a month, so I guess that's not a good idea.
We thought Katrina was fucked up, and it was, but now we're two years past Katrina and in worse shape than we were then. At least Harrah's paid Peg's salary and benefits for 90 days after that, and through the kindness of my friends and accquaintances we came up with the money to relocate and start over again in Vegas. Well, now we're in Vegas, and in worse shape than we were after Katrina. How the HELL did we let this happen?
I missed out again, but I don't feel badly about it. That's right, I didn't go to the Rio, nor will I. Not because of a boycott, just because I don't feel well enough.
Unfortunately, Peg has lost her job again, this time under nefarious circumstances, I'll explain:
She had told her supervisor that she would be having a LONG awaited surgery on her right arm. She has had severe carpal tunnel syndrome, confirmed by the electrical tests ((twice) She was scheduled to have this surgery right before we were wiped out in Katrina, and then had to go through the horribly painful tests again last month.
One of her supervisors just doesn't like Peg. Now for those of you who know her, I know you'll find that hard to believe because she is very cool, very quiet, and extremely friendly. I don't think she's ever really had an "enemy" in her life. This particular supervisor has had it in for Peggy since she was forced to do a "voluntary" write-up on this supervisor for breaking policy and procedure, and the supervisor had actually been suspended for 3 days on the findings of this write-up.
Fast forward, now this supervisor is Peg's BIG BOSS on her shift (great, huh?) Peg informs the supervisor of the upcoming surgery which was to take place TODAY, after which Peg would be taking her one week vacation and then needed another 3-5 weeks off, and had already cleared that with H.R. under the FMLA and would be receiving her temporary disability insurance payments for the month after the paid vacation week.
Peg's supervisor tried to deny her the time off, but wasn't able to and this infuriated her, so one day Peg goes into work and there is a $30 discrepancy when she counted IN to her drawer (she is a cage cashier) She was assured by this same supervisor that the discrepancy was not real and had "WASHED" with another drawer, meaning she had $30 too much and the other drawer had $30 too little, and they were aware of the situation.
Now here is where I believe Peg made her mistake. Instead of OBJECTING to signing into a drawer that was "over" because she did'nt want to ruffle any feathers with this supervisor, she signed in and went to work as normal.
At the close of shift, Peg counted out and was $30 over. No shock, as they all KNEW that drawer was $30 over before the shift started. All of the sudden, the supervisor lost her memory!!! She wrote Peggy up for the overage, and that was the second write-up Peg had received in a month (the other was a $25 under drawer a few weeks before, write-ups start at $20).
Two days later, after working her whole shift (the same day she went in for her final blood tests for the upcoming surgery) she was called in and the same supervisor put her on SUSPENSION PENDING INVESTIGATION.
Last week, she was FIRED, told she could apply immediately for any other job at MGM-Mirage except cage cashier or any money handling job. Mean time, the surgery center calls and said her insurance had cancelled the surgery. Not only that but now we have to wait for COBRA to send us a certified letter informing us how much it will cost. That letter came today, and Peg is going to pick it up as we speak.
Obviously we won't be attending BARGE, and now we have no idea how we're going to pay for the COBRA, and I'm going to run out of Meds and not be able to see doctors until she gets RE-EMPLOYED and then waits out the 3 months.
So there you have it. I'll post as soon as Peg gets home to let everyone know how much the fucking insurance company is going to charge us so we can pay our (already) outrageous Co-Pays. Meanwhile, Peg can't have her surgery, because we can't afford for her to be off work for 5 weeks, without being able to pay for COBRA, and of course the income.
Basically, we're fucked physically, and monetarily. I hope they have medicaid for 43 year old fuck-ups. That's all I can say.
As most of you know I "self-boycotted" the WSOP last year due to their ridicuous "new" press policies. I'd covered the previous 4 for my company http://ww.voiceofpoker.com, did some work for Barry Shulman at many tourneys and also covered the WSOP for http://www.pokerupdates.com http://www.liveactionpoker.com as well as "stringing" for a Canadian Radio station in Toronto and writing for a few newspapers around the country with daily updates from the WSOP.
I feel "homesick" for the WSOP, and the most ironic of all is I live approximately 20 miles (or less) from the RIO, while in the previous years I lived in Mississippi and traveled here each year to cover "The Big Dance".
I used to salivate for two weeks before each trip yearly to get to Binions for the WSOP. My mouth is starting to water again. I don't have a bankroll anymore, so I wouldn't be going to play (not even satellites, which I have always played while covering the events) but I feel like I HAVE to go down to the RIO to see my friends, new and old, and "sweat" those friends who are playing in the events.
I'm torn. I don't like what Harrah's has done to the Series, I don't like the fact that there have been "barrings" of people like Richard Brodie, I don't like seeing the "fleecing of the masses" (the juice in tourneys, the prices of food, etc) but I feel a really powerful urge to go down and put all of my reservations aside and "hang out" for a day or so.
I guess we'll see which side wins out, but I'm guessing that I'll at least make an appearance.
Man, I don't know what is going on in my head. I know my body is failing on me slowly but surely, but now I can't even think straight half of the time. I forget things easily, I stay in this constant state of fogginess. I just plod my way through each day, seemingly without purpose. I can't really explain how I feel. I know a lot of it may be prescription drug induced, but I've been on the strongest prescriptions you can get (without actually being in the hospital getting them IV) for so long that I can't really blame that. I just don't know what my job is anymore, I don't mean monetary job, I mean my *job* as in life, my place in the family, in the neighborhood, in the community, in the World. It's just very confusing.
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adb_davoice's journal
depressed
confused
cheerful
contemplative
