Job Update

I am now in the middle of my third week here at my new job and it's pretty interesting.

I haven't really seen that many patients yet, and I'm getting the feeling that I'm not going to have a huge daily case load anyway. Probably around 5-6 patients at the most on any given day will be the max, plus any prior approvals for supplements that I have to call into pharmacies.

That part is probably the most time consuming part of my job right now. A lot of the patients here are on Medicaid or ADAP and therefore require prior authorization numbers if they are prescribed an oral supplement like Ensure or Boost. These charts get forwarded to me, then I have to fill out a form, call the Medicaid automated number, enter all sorts of numbers and then get the prior authorization number. Then I have to mail the presciption, with the authorization number written on the top of it, to the patients' pharmacy. It's not really that hard, just really time intensive.

Other than that, I pretty much just do same out outpatient counseling I was doing in my old job. A lot of education stuff. I'm trying to get all the patients that weren't seen by the previous dietitan here by putting my name on the list to see them when they come in for their doctors appointments. Some come, some don't. Some just want to get out of here as fast as possible. I think things will be a bit easier when I am set up in the scheduling system, so I can schedule my own appointments and/or see when patients are coming back for their follow up appointments so I can catch them then.

Wow, was that boring enough for ya? ;) Sorry but that's how exciting my life is!! hehehe

I was just down in the city though (my first trip down there since I moved) to do Hedwig Friday and Saturday night so that was pretty nice. A bit of drama went down, and I wasn't able to do much else in the city other than the shows since I was so tired on Saturday from the Friday night show, then I left Sunday morning. Hope I can get down there again soon and actually get to do something, hang out with my friends, etc. :)

Until next time, kiddies!! :)

Exercise Exasperation

Greetings from upstate NY!!!

I know I haven't posted a new blog since I moved up to the Capital City of Albany, NY (bad Jenn, bad!! *slap on wrist*). I started my new job last Tuesday (Monday was stupid general hospital orientation crap), and I haven't really gotten much into my job as I have only seen one patient so far at the HIV Medicine clinic here at Albany Medical Center. Hopefully I will see some more tomorrow though.

Now, to the main topic of this post. Before I moved to NYC, a year and a half ago, I had a car. When I moved to the city I sold it, thinking I would have no further use for it. Now, I'm up here in Albany really wishing that I hadn't sold that old clunker!! So my current mode of transportation is Dana's old bike. Things were going pretty well for the first couple of days but then I realized how much I miss having a car!

Let me state for the record that I probably haven't seriously ridden a bike in a good 15 years, and even at that time I was not very good. Most of the scars I have are from that bike. Whether it be falling off the bike, getting caught in the gears or whatever, it is obvious that I am not an expert bike rider. I was placing bets with friends and family as to how long it would take until I seriously injure myself this go around on the bike. So far I have been pretty lucky (knock on wood) and haven't fallen into traffic or anything.

The first side effect I noticed from biking to and from work every day is the big pain in the ass that it causes (quite literally). Even though I got a seat cover to go over the current one, it's still not fun sitting on that seat for close to an hour every day. I guess that's because bike seats aren't really made to be sat on continuouslly, you're supposed to peddle off the seat most of the time I guess. Well, perhaps when I was a kid I had the strength and courage to do this. But whenever I try it nowadays I get all wobbly and sit back down!!

The next side effect comes from the fact that I haven't done any serious exercise in a very long time (unless you count climbing the unlimited number of stairs in the subway stations!) so this biking to and from work everyday has kind of put my body into a state of shock. I know it's only a matter of time until my body gets used to it and I start getting better in shape, but for now it really sucks!! Hills are a complete impossibility right now as my legs turn to burning piles of jello by the time I get up 2 feet of the hill!

Although it's kinda sucking right now, I don't miss having a car when I see the price of gas when I cruise by the stations on my green (literally and environmentally) bike! :)

I think I'll like it up here. The Albany Tulip Festival is coming up and JOAN JETT (!!!!!!!!) is performing so I'm very happy about that. So I think Albany will have enough stuff going on to keep this city girl occupied. And being closer to Miss D doesn't hurt either. :)

P.S. I got myself a kitty cat to keep my company here. Will post pics of the little terror soon! :)

Leaving the Big Apple!!

Well everybody, the time is closely approaching when I leave the Big Apple to move to the capital city of Albany. I will be starting my job as a Clinical Dietitian at Albany Medical Center's HIV Clinic on the 2nd (technically the 3rd, since the 2nd is for orrientation). I found a 3BR apartment for $700, which is crazy to me because that's about what I'm paying right now in Brooklyn for a room in an apartment!!!

I'm very happy to be moving upstate as it gets me that much closer to Dana (she only lives about an hour north of Albany) and once I move up there I'll be able to see her every weekend, as opposed to every 2 or 3 weekends!! But I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a little sad to be leaving the big city. Luckily, it's not that far away that I'm going. Albany is only about 3 hours from here on the bus so I am planning on coming back on a pretty regular basis!! And who knows, me and Dana may end up moving back here some day!



So, I thought I'd come up with a list of the things I will miss most and miss least about life in NYC.

What I will miss most about NYC
All the friends I have made here over the past year and a half
The nightlife
The ability to find anything you might ever need
The arts (theatre, ballet, etc)
The gorgeous views from the subways that go over the Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges
The way NYC doesn't let you get too wrapped up in yourself, it always has a way of keeping you in check
It's the city that never sleeps, what more do I have to say?!


What I will miss least about NYC
Rude people
Late trains and/or getting to the subway platform right as a train is pulling away
Tourists
Poseurs
Hipsters
Roommates (not that I don't like my roommates, it will just be nice to have my own apartment for once!!)
Loud neighbors
Greyhound buses to see mi amor!!


My next post on this blog will likely be from Albany, so stay tuned!! :)

New Job Drama

Who ever came up with the idea of apartment hunting should be shot...repeatedly. Landlords (and ladies) should come to me, begging me to take their fabulous apartments!!

Same goes with changing all the legal/medical shite that goes along with moving to a new job. My new health insurance won't kick in for a couple months, leaving me with no coverage unless I:

#1: Choose to go with COBRA (which is looking more like a pain in the arse than anything else...and expensive...I have to basically continue what I was paying for insurance, $40 every two weeks, plus what my job was paying and I don't know how much that was but I'm pretty sure it's a substantial sum)

#2: Paying out of pocket or

#3: Getting my own private health insurance (which will probably be just as expensive as COBRA, judging by the research I have done on it). Good God, now I know why so many American's don't have health insurance...it's highway robbery!! The private insurance quotes I was getting were in the $300-400 range...for a MONTH!!! Yikes!!

Though it would suck to pay out of pocket especially if something bad happens. Lord knows that I haven't had to go to the doctor or ER in years, but I also know how Murphy's Law works. Once I choose to wing it without insurance, everything in my body will go kaput, and probably all on the same day!!

So, this is my rant for the day. But as hectic and problematic as all this stuff is, it gets my closer to my love so I am more than happy to deal with it! :)

Interview!!

This is a request for everyone that believes in ANYTHING...God, a higher power, Buddah, Krishna, Mohammed, The Flying Spaghetti Monster...to be thinking of me on Tuesday around 1pm as I am interviewing for a dietitian position at Albany Medical Center in the hopes that I can finally move closer to mi amor and get to see her more than just every couple of weeks (though going up for this interview means that I get to be with her for at least one night!!)

The Medical Center is looking for a dietitian to work at their AIDS/HIV clinic, helping the participants with their nutritional needs and what foods to choose. I'd also be helping out at another clinic in Albany for a couple hours per week. It's obviously not a perfect job (but neither is my current job!), but at this point, I'm willing to take just about anything to be closer to Dana!! I'll find out more about the position on Tuesday and hopefully they like me and want to hire me!!

So, anyway. Send me some good thoughts, karma, joo joo and everything else on Tuesday around 1pm!!