February 29 "is a date that occurs in most years that are evenly divisible by 4, such as 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016." (Wikipedia) So I guess 2008 was the last time.....
I managed to keep my job for two months now. I will definitely be asking for a raise soon. My goal is to make it through the end of June. Then, I will be done, unless they double my pay or something. I think the underlying problem is that I am not that fond of people in general. I would have been much better at dog training than this people-oriented work. In fact, if I ever win the Powerball, I will be a complete hermit in a hilltop mansion somewhere, with a yard full of animals and pets.
I tend to avoid crowds and social situations, given a choice. I believe they call it, "communication apprehension", which is actually defined in Wikpedia, you know, like "ADD". Yes, another doctor-defined syndrome to explain a formerly normal variant of human behavior that gives them an excuse to create and prescribe pharmaceutical drugs.
I'm sure my desire to avoid human interaction is a result of being raised an only child. Regardless, in this case, I am also forced to endure the company of people that I have absolutely nothing in common with, so I have to be an actor all day on the job. I am learning to deal with different people quite naturally though, after being forced into these situations constantly since graduating with a healthcare degree.
It's actually a much nicer crowd than some of the wealthier neighborhoods I've worked in. Wealthy people really suck - actually the inheritors and children and husbands or wives of the wealthy are the ones that suck - it seems they just can't be pleased - so at least this is bearable in comparison.
I now know that the worst people to deal with on a daily basis - if you have to - are the ones that have had everything handed to them. That is why you will never catch me trying to work in a wealthy neighborhood. Oh sure, I'll move to a wealthy neighborhood if I am ever so fortunate to be able to afford it, but I'd rather work with the worst ghetto killers all day than 10 minutes with a bunch of wealthy pricks for clients.
So the pay is okay for now. I can last, even though the town is packed with "geezers and rednecks"- the geezers are soon leaving for the Northerly climate. Although I am approaching geezer status, I'm in no rush to fit in.
I'm amazed how "country" it is around here. It is a complete change from the coastal areas, which are mainly filled with wealthy pricks and the poor minimum wage people that have to service them.
In fact, the town reminds me of the town in the movie, "Road House".
It is interesting that the main industries here - fruit growing and personal injury lawsuits - are booming in this down economy. Real estate was the big moneymaker here for decades, but that's been stalled since 2008.
Orange you amazed by all this fruit?
Personal Injury is Big Business Here
Work is a zoo. The space is only about 900 square feet. There's no private office so I can't get any privacy the entire day unless I sneak out the back door into the 90 degree heat. The only desk is in the waiting room where the marketing/insurance guy sits there doing paperwork and yelling at insurance people on the phone all day. Ah but that's work. It could be worse I guess.
They want to open another office in another town. I think a better move would be to double the size of this office and add another chiropractor. It certainly has the patient volume.
People are so large nowadays too. Some patients can't even turn themselves over on the table to get treated because of their weight. What's with all the extra pounds? I guess they just can't help it. They make me want to open a weight loss clinic, but I don't think anyone would show up.
Today the dry whirlpool bed sprung a leak after a 380 lb patient laid down on it. I guess there were one too many heavy patients that used it. The equipment needs to be about 20% stronger these days.
The Whirlpool-Therapy Bed is Now Out of Service
I can't believe the chiropractic table has held up. It's a Leader 950. All I have to say about these tables is, "tested tough and highly recommended".
Leader 950
Without decent housing most people are going to be unhappy no matter where they live, so I think that's been an ongoing problem with my stay here. I've been living at the Hotel for two months now, but I imagine there will be some okay places to live once the "snowbirds" go back up north.
Invited to Finz in Stuart, FL Saturday night where my buddy who works for NBC was on vacation with all his rich friends from the media industry out of the Northeast U.S. market. A surprisingly good time, although I lost track of their whereabouts as the night wore on. We all got fairly wasted, drinking a few glasses of straight liquor and ice, despite my best efforts to avoid this. Talk about peer pressure! I don't know why, but married guys are the wildest bunch when they get away from home. I ended up sleeping in the backseat of my car in the parking lot until about 4:30 a.m., due to "fear of DUI".
It was nice to get out of the states for 10 days. I did not realize it but there is a lot of daily stress in living here, with the declining economy and the shit-head president pitting groups of people against each other and the constant onslaught of the propaganda-media machine, or whatever you want to call it.
I mean, it's about over anyway, isn't it? The older generations took all they could get and then burned what was left of the American dream. Now all we have left are the scraps of a formerly booming country. It's pretty amazing, the disregard for their children and future generations. I don't think I've ever heard of another generation being so self-centered and short-sighted as this.
I'm sure they have similar problems in other countries too. I just couldn't read any of the Spanish-language only newspapers or understand what they were saying on the TV news. It was such a nice break that, as a result of my trip, I have ceased watching the news since I returned stateside. I mean, why watch the news anyway? It's not like I can make a difference, like I actually count. It's all agenda-driven anyway. It's fake news. There is no real, unbiased news. I'm much happier now.....
I actually was not going to blog about this trip because I felt a little guilty that my ticket was free, but then I figured, what the hell......
So yeah I scored this plane ticket to one of the most southerly major cities in the world. My dear old Dad was kind enough to comp. me a ticket, which he obtained through his substantial business connections. He invited a few other family members too, but his rental place was plenty big for us all.
It takes about 8 hours to get here from Miami, so it's no short trip. Plus you land in a time zone that's two hours ahead of your time on the East Coast, so you will tend to stay up late, but then you will sleep late too, while here.
After a week I'm inclined to tell you that it's probably not worth the trip at market rates. You'd most certainly be better off going to Cancun or Costa Rica, if you're seeking the South American tourist experience. Plus you will get more beach time in those destinations and your dollar will go much further.
At the same time, Buenos Aires has been anything but boring and I would probably jump at the chance to stay here for a year or two, because I know that you can't get to know the true nature of a place during a one week vacation visit. If I were 25, I would make it happen, but I'm a bit over the hill and not rich or connected enough to put anything together.
So far, I am mostly enjoying the visit, except that the language barrier has kept me from making any friends, and the people are polite but not too friendly to strangers - that's the feeling I'm getting, so I'm out of luck socially, but there are plenty of sights to see.
Things that stick out: Young people make out on the street here, not just a kiss but a 15 to 20 minutes or more makeout session-something you would never see on the mean streets of home, that's for damn sure.
Another curiosity I've noticed is that 60's and 70's rock is very popular, often being played in the clubs, bars, passing cars driven by teenagers and even the drugstores and markets, so that I feel like I'm back in the 70's-not a bad thing. Plus there's hordes of beautiful women and young couples around, just like it was in the 70's back in the states. Maybe they're about three decades behind here?
There are dogs everywhere. I'm not sure what's up with that. You have to be careful not to step in fresh dog crap, which is often sitting right in the middle of the sidewalks. I've already stepped in it twice in a week.
I've never been much of a traveler, having been perennially poor ever since I graduated from college in the 80's, so this trip is a real novelty. I didn't have a clue about Buenos Aires before I got here and probably won't bother to research the place during or after my trip, so all I have to offer is the here and now....pictures and links to places I've seen.
Here is a link to my better pictures of Buenos Aires. Buenos Aires 2012. This will be updated daily and probably won't be complete for a few weeks, as I take hundreds of pictures a day and weed out the bad ones.
I will post some links here to some videos I took with my pocket camera, when I figure out how to do that. So far it's not working like it should.
Recent Pix:
Stealth photography....Check out the bikini-babe on the right.
The parks are packed, all day and well into the night
The bars and bistros do a brisk business every night...
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