The Fantasy and Reality of Assisted Living

          

This movie portrays residents in assisted living accurately.

          First, let me say that this is not a criticism of the company I work for. Rather, they are mere observations of things I didn't expect to see.
          Remember how I was gushing about getting this job after experiencing a 2 hour preview (http://aboutlifeandrunning.blogspot.com/2014/05/an-easter-present-or-bust.html)? Well, there were certain things I wasn't shown during that preview. Can one call it a bait and switch? Having finished 3 shifts of orientation (or shadowing as they call it) and a couple of weeks being given my own assignments while working the evening and overnight shifts, the reality of what really goes on in assisted living as opposed to what's presented and advertised in public and what I learned through the online "university", is setting in. And the difference is glaring. No, not in the care of residents. That remains top notch as far as I can see. After all, their families are paying an inordinate amount of money for that care. The ideal and model of the company is highly admirable and every day my perception is that the caregivers strive to achieve that ideal despite the compensation not being proportionate to the amount of work they do. I guess that's the kind of salary you should expect when just about anybody can walk off the street, come in, apply, and be hired as long as you are able to verbalize or show compassion for frail senior citizens.

          Some of the things I learned during computer orientation: Beer and wine can be served to the residents just like home. The culture of the company and their approach to compassionate care for seniors. A lot of the lessons touched on dementia because they have a dedicated "neighborhood" for those residents. We are not supposed to say a resident is incontinent but use a more positive "needs continence care". And some residents who need help feeding, normally called "feeders" in a hospital or nursing home, should be called 'residents who need assistance in feeding". All part of the aim to preserve dignity because regardless of their condition, they are still individuals with the same wants and needs as shown by Maslow's hierarchy of needs, even though they may not be able to verbalize them anymore. The computer orientation emphasized that regardless of what department you work for and/or what kind of care you are providing, everything goes back to the Principles of Service, and that all team members are caregivers.

          After seeing what was portrayed on the computer, I was excited to get started in this new job and apprehensive at the same time because I was the NKOTB (new kid on the block). After just a couple of days, I realized that I would have to deconstruct my previous training and learned reactions in psych units, because the approach in taking care of residents is much different from what I've been doing for the past 3 decades. Different techniques are required to redirect behaviors that in psych units would normally warrant psychotropic medications. For example, both sundowners syndrome, agitation, and echolalia were dealt with medications in psych units. And in psych, there has not been too much family involvement, while in assisted living, the designated caregiver is in direct communications thus having more interactions with the families who are very involved with their loved ones.

          During the 2 hour preview with a lead caregiver, and before accepting the job offer, this is what I observed with the residents I followed, which is the FANTASY part: they were all able to bear weight on their legs and stand up, needed little direction to change their clothes, were able to brush their teeth and comb their hair when given a toothbrush and comb, were able to walk to the dining room for breakfast, and still had some mental orientation left (to time, place, and person). That created a false impression that all residents were like this, fairly easy to take care of, and probably didn't need too much supervision. Another thing they didn't show was a separate "neighborhood"  at the end of one hallway that had a smaller number of residents with much worse mental and physical deterioration. They are what we call in hospitals as requiring total care. And this is where REALITY starts. I didn't find this out until I started my orientation on the overnight shift. I was surprised to see Hoyer lifts, hospital beds without side rails, cushions on the floor beside the beds in case a resident falls off, and lots and lots of continence care and feeding. I found out about the contractures and decubitus ulcers later. When I started "shadowing" or unit orientation, what I saw during the preview suddenly looked different even in the main dementia (it's called memory care) neighborhood. No, not the behaviors of persons with dementia, I expected that, but rather how much more physical care they required. This included assisting them with showers, continence care, clothes changes, ambulation, protection from falling off beds by using wedges and body pillows, use of chux (bed pads), and diapers (we have to call them briefs, pull ups, or wraparounds) and doing laundry 24 hours a day. The evening shift also served dinner, cleaned up, and did dishes. Another thing that was unexpected was the extraordinary amount of housekeeping especially on the overnight shift. After doing continence checks at the start of the shift, we had to give the dining/kitchen area a thorough cleaning - disinfect tables and chairs, clean fridge inside and outside, set tables for breakfast, wash clothes, kitchen linen, and aprons, pick up the trash in all areas, and prepare coffee for the next day. I already touched on those in this blog entry: http://aboutlifeandrunning.blogspot.com/2014/05/my-new-duties-responsibilities-in.html . I have a similar list for the evening shift which I have to update and have not yet posted. I found out from another caregiver ad on the internet that this is called the Universal Worker Model. So in short, the work is very, very physical, and because I move a lot when I'm on shift, I actually am losing weight. Might I add that the work is almost non-stop for 7.5 hours other than a lunch break and two 10 minute short breaks? Having finished all my orientation, I had to deal with reality - having my own residents to take care of. And despite one evening shift and two overnight shifts of orientation, I still felt unprepared to work independently. The lessened flexibility of my brain as I get older may partially have something to do with that.

          The difficulty I'm currently having while I'm new is this: since the residents don't wear wrist I.D. bands, I'm finding it hard to connect the name with the face, the type of care he or she needs, and how the residents prefer to be helped since what may work for one may not work for another. Or even what worked yesterday for a certain resident, may not work again today or maybe even a few minutes later. I look at the assignment sheet, add my own notes based on what I ask the other caregivers, or read the Individualized Service Plan (treatment plan). Another difficulty I'm having is locating the belongings of a resident in his or her room - where is the underwear, the blouse, the nightgown, the toothbrush, denture cup, continence care products, etc.? So I'm fumbling that too and it takes me longer than the regular staff to do it. Heck, I can barely find my own stuff at home much less doing it for 8 to 14 residents whom I don't know yet!

          As time goes on and if I can adjust my brain, then I believe I'm going to like it there. I'm just getting unnecessarily anxious due to the fear of failure. I have to give myself a chance to do the job, maybe fail in some aspects as long it doesn't harm the residents, then learn from them.  I hope my co-workers will be patient and understanding because they may have gone through a similar experience when they were just starting out. I too can do this eventually and hopefully sooner than later! To my co-workers, please don't hesitate to ask me if I already did this or that, or tell me what else needs to be done if you notice I haven't done it. That way, I can learn from you. Because even though I tried to take copious notes about what to do and how to do it, what I interpreted as what you said may differ to what you meant. So please bear with me and thank you in advance.

          Which leads me to the questions: why are there so many caregiver agencies? Are more seniors preferring to stay at home and just have a companion (basically an hourly paid housekeeper)? Is it a very lucrative business? Is home care the new nursing home? Or maybe these businesses have been there all along and I was just not aware of them? Perhaps it's just a cheaper version of a CHHA (certified home health aide) without the certification so they can be paid lesser.

Other random thoughts on this topic:

·         *They call shift report a handover and it's only between 2 lead care managers (CM). Other than the lead CM's who work 8 hour shifts, the rest work 7.5 hours. Which begs me to question why management is giving people a hard time when they clock out more than 5 minutes after their shifts? After all, they don't get paid overtime until it's over 8 hours for the shift.

·        * Are the unsuspecting workers being given the old bait and switch based on the glaring difference between the preview and the reality? What's the difference between an RCFE (residential care for the elderly)and a SNF (skilled nursing facilty/nursing home)? Perhaps it's the ability to pay exorbitant fees out of pocket for rent and caregivers vs. paying with personal assets and governmental assistance for nurses and nurse's aides. But you get excellent care given by underpaid caregivers.

·         *The fantasy and the harsh reality - I truly admire and have absolute respect for people who do this for a living, me excluded because I'm still learning and have to achieve even an iota of their skills. I'm afraid my co-workers are going to say "he's not good at this job, he did a bait and switch on us too based on his resume". And by the way, a similar job in the Philippines, you might be called a maid or house servant. Maybe 8 months of unemployment has made me soft.

·         *If there is one thing I'm getting out of this job, it's that I'm learning to smile more, being more compassionate with residents because that would be me in a few years, and more appreciative of what the caregivers do.

·        * The residents of assisted living and I (well, mostly me) were singing along while watching The Sound of Music before dinner one afternoon, and despite their dementia, they were enjoying it. Too bad I had to leave the TV room to set the tables in the dining room. That movie is shown several times a week by the way because they like it so much.The interactions with the residents I enjoy, the showers and diaper changes, not so much.

·         *When we were signing our hire papers, we were reminded by human resources that stealing is a basis for termination. I asked her if that included stealing someone's heart (more specifically, the resident's hearts). She said I can steal those as much as I want.

·        * Maybe, just maybe, if euthanasia is an option when I get to the stage where some of the residents are in, that's a decision that could be made. In short, when I get to that condition, please off me if that's my wish.

·         *The work is hard but the food looks and tastes great, and we are allowed to eat with the residents at their table. Although there is so much wasted because the leftovers are just thrown away.

·         *On my birthday, 6 of the 7 residents I was taking care of at the area behind closed doors gave me special presents when my night shift ended, but it was not of the pleasant kind, and came in all shapes, sizes, and textures. The first initial of this present is a B, and the second initial is an M. Yes, it was a BIG MESS!

·         *And yes, I do love the pets where I work (^.^)

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My New Duties & Responsibilities in Assisted Living

Example of Assisted Living Dining Room

Sunrise NOC Shift Duties (first orientation with: Bertha, Paula, & Alicia)

*Upon arrival, check for area assignment (1 or 2), pick up walkie-talkie, pager, keys, maroon apron.

*First rounds (Q hour for fall risk, Q2 on others), diaper and Chux underpad checks, change as needed. Products in resident's locked cabinet. Encourage others to use bathroom. Check bathroom floor for wet areas. Place dirty clothes in laundry bag and wash if scheduled after providing care. After washing clothes - fold, put away by hanging in closets and drawers (socks and undies).

*For residents who have them, check portable bed rail, body pillows, bed wedges, cushioned floor mats, and reposition as needed.

*Chores (must be done by 0530): clean up dining room area - using chemical spray and small towels, wipe down tables, chairs, baseboards, countertops, window sills.

*Clean kitchen cabinets. Clear dishwasher of dishes and place in cabinets. Fill sugar caddies with sweetener choices and 3 crackers.

*Set table for breakfast: placemat, pyramid napkin, big and small glasses, 2 forks, 2 spoons, 1 knife, coffee cup, flowers.

*Check on residents then return to chores - Wash and clean coffee pots, thermos, yellow pitchers. Also clean salt and pepper shakers.

*Steam table trays - drain, spray and wipe, fill large bowls with water and rinse. Open bottom cabinet & turn orange lever to the right to close drain. Fill each steamer with 2 bowls of water. Disinfect around steam table.

Clean and replace tray items (***what tray items?). Oh, the brown tray at right edge of kitchen countertop, LOL!

*Prepare coffeemakers, fill pitchers with water for hydration (watch out for the cat drinking from the pitchers).

*Set out tongs, slotted spoon, slotted scoop, small yellow bowls on 2 placemats on right side of steam table. *Set yellow plates in steam table trays. Place bags of brown sugar and raisins on the side.

*Fridge - clean thoroughly, check dates on food, write dates on stickers, dispose food or send to kitchen after 3 day expiration. Leave 1 pitcher of juice in fridge and send the rest to kitchen. Clean microwave oven.

*Refill syrup caddy. Rinse trash can lid. Set out 2 pitchers of water beside steamers and bring 1 each to living room and corner of dining room with a glass later.

*Popcorn machine clean up - use wet paper towels. Unplug/remove popper bowl. Wipe inside machine, bottom, disassemble bottom tray and wipe those areas, wipe outside. Wash bowl in sink, keep cord dry. *Reassemble bottom tray and popper bowl.

*Straighten up dining area & put away items like CD's, etc. Clean & remove clutter from snoezelen, bathtique, TV room (organize movies) & restrooms. Put away community towels and other linen in bathtique. Straighten life skills station making sure all items are in place.

*Check on residents. Sign off ISP's. Take collected trash downstairs at 0530 (leave inside if no security, to dumpster if escorted).

*Check residents with wander guards & make sure they have them. Write in maintenance log if anything needs repair. Report to lead care manager any unusual issues. Last resident check at approximately 0430.

*Make coffee for residents and pour in thermos, replace coffee filters and put in new coffee for day shift.

*Clean laundry room, floors, and wipe down all equipment. Clean kitty litter and sweep the area. Replenish cat food, water, & litter. Sweep patio and empty trash can. Clean, sweep, and organize casemanager's office and take out trash.

*Miscellaneous: Edna's place - most are total care, some Q2 hour repositioning, hospital beds (lower after giving care), cushioned floor mats. Washer - open cabinet for bleach/detergent, press right button then left button. Respond to pager as needed. Make sure all linens & and 5 each of green & maroon aprons are clean and ready for next day & wash as needed.

Wow, a lot of the housekeeping I hardly even do during spring cleaning! Now I only have to learn which resident is which and what care they need, and with 1 evening shift and 2 overnight shifts of orientation, I haven't quite caught up yet. This new job has caused some anxiety due to its unfamiliarity, so it's going to be quite an adventure and I hope my new co-workers will be patient with me and give me a chance to learn.

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An Easter Present or Bust?

         No, it wasn't a pastel colored egg. It was better. In mid-afternoon on Holy Thursday, I received a call I was waiting for all day. In fact, it was the kind of call I was hoping to get the past 6 months. Can you believe that it's been that long, and just about the time my unemployment benefits were supposed to run out? Other than my brief jaunts to Pechanga and Las Vegas, it has been an extremely boring 6 month staycation.

          I've probably sent out close to 50 resumes and applications and only got 4 interviews, 2 of which appeared like automatic rejections because they own the hospital I used to work in. Because I wasn't rehired by the company when they took over last year, it's almost implied that I had done something wrong, thus never given a second look. It had been a frustrating 6 months and I was getting desperate because the unemployment checks were about to stop coming.

          Someone from my walking club suggested that I check out the jobs section of Craigslist.com, so after our Saturday morning walk, I got on it and found something interesting almost immediately that I thought matched my skills. One hitch though - they required me to send my resume via fax. I mean, who still uses fax machines nowadays? I had to sign up and use a free internet fax conversion website to submit my application, which after a few clicks and keystrokes, sent my resume successfully.

          The place I faxed the application to, which I was sure I didn't have a chance of even getting an interview because I didn't have any kind of certification for the position, called me the same day and asked me to come in for a group interview. REALLY?! What a surprise invitation! I showed up on Tuesday morning and despite having sent in my resume, I was asked to fill out a regular application form, which is not unusual. What made it different was that there were a whole bunch of applicants in the facility's lobby filling out applications too, thus making me less likely to get a job offer. After a few minutes of waiting, about 20 of us were ushered into a dining room and were seated around a table. To me, it resembled a cattle call, or like an American Idol audition to find out who is going to Hollywood. That presented an unusual and nerve wracking situation. Thus began the group interview: introduce yourself, what is your experience, how did you hear about us, and why do you want to work here? So each one tried the sell themselves, and me being not comfortable speaking in public, became highly anxious and almost walked out of the room and building. I had to remind myself to take a deep breath and just try to remember what was written on my resume. I waited so long to open my mouth that I was the second to the last person to speak. Well, the 20 people in that room were applying for different positions. Still, I felt like the people who were applying for the same position as I was were more qualified. All I had going for me was work and life experiences.

          After the group interview, we left the facility and I didn't expect to hear any more from them. Imagine to my pleasant surprise when I got a call merely a few hours later inviting me for a 2 hour "preview" where I would shadow a regular worker to see what they do, to find out if the job really interests me. I accepted the offer and reported at the designated 7 a.m. appointment. That in itself was a challenge since I haven't reported for any kind of job in the past few decades that early. I showed up and reported to my designated contact, M. She oriented me to the surroundings, then we went to each one of her assigned resident's rooms where she woke them up, changed their clothes, made their beds, brushed their teeth, combed their hair, shaved the men, and set them up in the dining room for breakfast. Pretty much the same routine I'm used to in psychiatric hospitals. I posed a lot of questions to M because there was a glaring difference with how they took care of residents compared to what I did in a psych unit. That being - the least amount or even absence of restrictiveness being given to the residents. This, in spite of their supposedly confused mental state. However, this mental state I observed did not even come close to what I've experienced in my previous jobs, where when we get these residents, they have already reached the worst stage of the disease. Another observation I had during the preview was the absence of male staff and a surprise female visitor in a male room whom I thought was his wife (let's just leave it at that). However as a caveat, I was only there for two hours so it's difficult to make a full assessment in that amount of time. But from what I saw, felt, and breathed in, I was immediately impressed and wanted to work there. Heck, I would even want to live there if I can afford it in retirement, but this is a very classy and expensive joint where the funds come completely from the families of residents. After the 2 hour preview, I was escorted back to human resources and asked what I thought by the business development and assisted living managers. I told them my first impressions about how I liked the place, how the residents were treated, how clean it was and didn't have that nursing home feel and smell. Finishing my preview, I left feeling good and with much hope that they would offer me a job. I changed into my running clothes and ran in the area, enhancing the high I was already feeling from my observations of the staff and residents of S.S.L. Besides, how can you not love a place with its own dog, whom (which?) I met before the group interview? The place was like walking into a hotel for seniors or the set of the movie Cocoon.

          Reading through their website afterwards made me teary eyed because of how it described how they take care of their residents. Of course anyone can use superlatives to sell their products, but during my preview visit, I was able to observe first-hand how they apply it in practice.

          Early afternoon of the same day, I got a call from the assisted living manager asking if I was still interested in working there. I exclaimed that not only would I want to work, but live there as well! The next day, I was back to sign the employment papers and to get a physical exam, drug test, x-ray for TB, Livescan fingerprinting criminal background check, and reference checks. The turnaround time from submitting the resume via fax to the day I was offered the job was an astoundingly quick 6 days!

          After the initial euphoria, things slowed down considerably while  waiting for the results of the background check. I was beginning to think that they changed their minds about me and I began feeling sorry for myself. Two weeks from the date of the physical exam, the call finally came. I was to report for orientation on Cinco de Mayo!

          I'm grateful for the job offer and will do my best to live up to the culture of the company (whose name I shall not mention for now, but which I already "LIKED" in social media). I was so stunned by being offered a job that I forgot the questions I was going ask such as - is it a full time position, are there benefits, and what shift do they need me. Granted, the offer was only for a part time position which I hope will turn into a full time one down the line. And the pay is lesser, much, much lesser than what I was earning in my last job, and only slightly over the unemployment checks I've been getting the last 6 months to sustain me financially. But at this point in my life, sometimes it's not so much the pay as the satisfaction I think I may derive from this job. It's the mental sustenance that I need more of.

          So tomorrow, Cinco de Mayo, a new journey starts and I shall keep you updated on the experience. It should be good. For now, I'll be dancing a jig to Pharell's "HAPPY"!

          p.s. -  I don't know if I'm jumping the gun when I post this, but hopefully everything works out at the new job and I'll let you know if my initial love for the place from my first impression continues. It's time for me to continue helping others as I have for the past 34 years, other than the recent 6 month break.

Lord, please lend me your compassion and equanimity so I may do my new job well, for I may have become jaded through the years. On the day of Jesus Christ's resurrection, I experienced a career resurrection which I consider my Easter present. Thank you for the blessings.

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Impromptu Run at Signal Hill

          For the past 3 years or so that I've been doing the Saturday morning walk at Signal Hill with the Long Beach and Palos Verdes Peninsula Walkers Meet Up group, I've either just walked the whole course, walked and ran it random intervals, walked with a 20 pound backpack, ran just the uphills, ran just the downhills, or ran just the flat portions. I even did a time trial walk last year which I wrote about here: http://aboutlifeandrunning.blogspot.com/2013/07/signal-hill-time-trial-walk.html.  But I never ever ran the whole course until last Saturday, April 12th.

          I don't know what got into me. At the spur of the moment I decided to try to run the whole 6 mile course that we normally walk. It must have been all the sitting around and eating all week that made me feel the need to do this. The conservative plan was to run at least the first 30 minutes regardless of what part of the course it might take me, then walk the rest of the way. Except 30 minutes turned into 35, which in turn got extended until I finally decided to just keep on going since I was getting close to the finish anyway. My guesstimates on how many minutes it would take me to climb the hills were pretty spot on, and the downhills and the flats were run at pretty much the same pace as the uphills since I can't really stretch out my stride anymore without injuring myself. Familiarity with the course helped a lot in the pacing. There were 6 major climbs on the course.

          I knew the course to be exactly 6 miles based on using my GPS watch several times in the past, but which I did not bring last Saturday. Nevertheless, when I finally clicked off my chronograph at the finish, I was surprised to see that it took me exactly 1 hour and 12 minutes which meant 12 minutes per mile. Not bad for a hilly course from an occasional runner. I knew for sure that I would pay for it the next day in the form of delayed onset muscle soreness (D.O.M.S.), but as I write this about 30 hours later, it hasn't happened. Perhaps because the pace was too slow and I wasn't bounding downhills which creates most of the muscle damage. Better still is that my bad ankles survived it.

          On that day when I was invited to a church to celebrate the 40th day memorial for a relative who passed away too soon, I dedicated this impromptu run since I wasn't able to make it to the 8 a.m. mass.

Other notes about walking at Signal Hill: A few weeks ago I went to Kmart to look at the 20 pound weight vest they were selling. It was too wide and thus too loose for my torso. I also felt that the small sand bags had the potential to be torn open down the line due to stress fatigue or perhaps continuous rubbing against the pockets they were inserted in. So, I finally placed the sand I bought from Home Depot weeks ago inside plastic bags reinforced with duct tape, and placed it in my backpack to substitute the 20 pound weight plate I usually carried in it. I walked with the group and felt slower than usual, so when I got home, I weighed the backpack on a bathroom scale and saw that it was 24 pounds. I felt every extra ounce of those 4 pounds while walking up and down Signal Hill. If that wasn't bad enough, the following week, while putting the backpack in the trunk of my car, I pinched a nerve on the right side of my trapezius muscle, which radiated down my chest. If it wasn't on the right side and didn't feel muscular, I would have thought I was having a heart attack because of the radiating pain. I may have to switch back to the weight plates and be more careful when I mount the backpack on my back next time.

          Feeling thankful for being able to run a hilly 6 miles :-)

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Grocery Walk (Shorter Version)

Out the door, out on the street, into the grocery store, through the park, then back home. An incredibly boring video of an errand walk through my neighborhood.

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LAS VEGAS Random Notes

          This is a delayed follow up to my post about my first time in Las Vegas. The past week has been quite busy due to a couple of résumé writing workshops, researching dialysis companies about education and job opportunities, and the sad internment of a relative. The first part of this entry can be found here: http://aboutlifeandrunning.blogspot.com/2014/03/what-happens-in-vegas.html

          Just about everybody and anybody I know has gone to Vegas but not me until a couple of weeks ago, so immense gratitude is in order for Uncle Oscar and Auntie Ditas De Las Penas, along with Eduardo Tay and Elizabeth Tay, who after all these years of inviting me, I finally relented.

          There were 8 of us sharing the accommodations and I'm not used to being in that situation anymore, having lived by myself for most of my life. The trick for me was to get things started early (like using the toilet), get out of the way and let them do their thing, then follow the leader afterwards, doing what they wanted to do and following where they wanted to go. It felt nice not having to make any decisions on what to do next.

          Regarding the accommodations? I'm not used to staying in such luxurious surroundings since I live a pretty Spartan lifestyle.

          The dry air of Las Vegas made my skin dry and made me itch for a few days. Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. 

 One thing that Pechanga does better than the casinos of Las Vegas is that their air scrubbers seem to decrease the smell of cigarette smoke better.

I was finally able to make use of my 3 year old AREC bag. I first tried a suitcase(too big), then backpack (too small) and found the gym bag to be in the Goldilocks zone (just right). 

          I might be one of those rare people who goes to a casino, doesn't really win, and still goes back home with a net gain, because I only gamble a little bit, walk around to explore the place, play a little bit more, then it's time to go home. The net gain is usually a result of "balato" or cash gifts shared by relatives from their winnings (thank you all, for your generosity). Due to my meanderings, sometimes I fail to gamble the balato away.

          My relatives also found ways to save. Due to their experience travelling, they already knew ways to cut on expenses like bringing home cooked food (kulma, tinola, adobo, daing na bangus, etc.)and not ordering anything from the hotel room. And of course the free accommodations helped a lot.

          Canadian cousin Harold pretty much recouped all the money he spent shopping for pasalubongs (presents to take home) by winning a few hundred bucks at the baccarat table. What a lucky guy, eh? :-) 

Lest one thinks I'm gallivanting on the government's dime while collecting unemployment benefits, lets me assure you that this trip was courtesy of Uncle Oscar and Auntie Ditas who won the free hotel accommodations through a raffle. I have to admit that I'm not used to that kind of luxury because I live an almost Spartan lifestyle (like I mentioned earlier). Remember the American Express ad where the spokesperson said "membership has its privileges"? Well, unemployment has its advantages as well in the form of free time. I did have to reschedule my résumé writing workshops though. I haven't minimized my job searching, but I had to jump at what may be a once in a lifetime opportunity. The irony of the situation is that I finally made it to Las Vegas at a time when my earnings have stopped due to being jobless.

          To travel light, I brought casual multi-purpose clothes that can be worn in public during the day and evening,  then worn again in the early morning for working out, before being considered dirty laundry. Another way of travelling lightly but in a different way, was to limit my fluid intake before the road trip so don't have to pee on the road. Otherwise, woe is me with the small bladder!

          About the way I gamble - I limited myself to pennies, ventured to quarters sometimes, and even tried a dollar once hoping for a "big" one time jackpot. Perhaps next time I get the opportunity, I'll head directly to the video poker machine where I can at least make some choices rather than making the slot machine make all the choices. 

On our last night in Las Vegas, I woke up at 2 a.m. Tuesday and couldn't go back to sleep, and remembering our GPS/Hooters misadventure from the day before,  I downloaded NavFree USA, a free GPS app to see if it worked on my tablet PC without an internet or data connection. Surprisingly, other than being a battery hog, the app worked very well when I tested it on the road while on the way home. 

After the Pechanga and Las Vegas trips, I still don't consider myself a gambler, although at LV at least I knew what to expect in the casino already because I've downloaded a few casino game apps and have been practicing at home without losing any money.

Although I can say that I may never go to Pechanga again, I may want to return to Las Vegas because there are more things to see and experience.

          Having said all that, it took me a few days to recover and get my balance again after our alleged or imagined debauchery in Las Vegas. 

Good memories :-)

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What Happens in Vegas ...

... doesn't necessarily stay in Vegas, especially when things don't happen like the Hangover movies. Having a few days off from work, I was finally able to make it to Sin City, thanks to a timely invitation from my Uncle and Aunt, which coincided with a visit by a cousin from Canada whom I haven't seen since 1989. Wait...I've been off all day every day since the first week of October 2013 so any time is a good time for me! Unemployment does have its advantages in the form of being available to go anywhere albeit on someone else's dime. You know I don't get out much and since this is my first time to make it to Las Vegas, which is a reasonable progression after having gone to Pechanga in early January, I just had to share it with you. I'm sorry that I'll have to defy the oft quoted TV ad slogan "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. First things first. No, I don't mean the gambling but how I got the invitation. My uncle and aunt won a raffle for a 2 day/2 night stay at Wyndham Grand Desert Resort which is a time share, and my Uncle decided to take advantage of it while my Canadian cousin was in town with his son. The roster included Uncle Oscar, Auntie Ditas, Uncle Ed, Auntie Beth, cousin Harold, a.k.a. Jojo, his son Paolo, and I. We were a group who communicated in English, Tagalog, and Tausug, and sometimes a combination of all three at once, and not to forget Paolo who also speaks a little French.

Barstow Rest Stop

We departed Cerritos about 9:00 a.m. Sunday and pretty soon we hit our first rest stop...a mile away from home to have breakfast at McDonalds. Then we settled in the van and the real road trip began. In a couple of hours, we arrived at the next rest stop which was Barstow, where we saw a lot of people also on their way to Nevada or going back home after a weekend of sin and debauchery. Jojo bought some souvenirs and Auntie Ditas bought a funny t-shirt which said: RETIRED -  NO PHONE, NO ADDRESS, NO BUSINESS,NO MONEY, TOO OLD TO STEAL, TOO LAZY TO WORK. Wow, kinda sounds like me! We also contributed $2.00 each to buy lottery tickets perchance to win big in the Mega Millions or Super Lotto. It was the last opportunity to play the lottery in California before we crossed over to Nevada.

Pretty soon we were on the road again surrounded by desert, but in a little while we could see Las Vegas in the distance. The van exited the freeway upon reaching the city and we began looking for our hotel. Uncle Oscar likes to fly off the seat of his pants so he didn't exactly get definitive directions and to add to that, the GPS he had wasn't working well. Cousin Jojo managed to get it up and running and in a few short blocks we made it to the hotel. While Uncle Oscar and Auntie Ditas checked in, I turned on my tablet PC to look for a wi-fi connection. There was one but I couldn't connect. We were later able to do so after asking for the password. The Wyndham Grand Desert resort comprised of 3 buildings and we drove a few hundred feet away to find ours, then went up to our room on the 12th floor. Our living room quarters had 2 rooms but I immediately had first dibs on the living room couch. We settled in and hung around the room, then had a late lunch/early dinner.

Outside Bellagio

Bellagio Lobby

Then it was time to finally cruise the famous Las Vegas Strip. Down the street we went, made a u-turn and proceeded the opposite way, until we reached the Bellagio and parked there. We entered the building, took a few pictures in the lobby, then went outside to watch the dancing fountains. Afterwards we went to the casino where things became more interesting. As I said before after our Pechanga trip with the same group minus the Canadians, I am not a gambler, but it's nice to try playing the slots and video poker especially now that I know what to expect, having been oriented by my Uncle and his daughter to the games while in Pechanga. We went our separate ways sitting at our own machines of choice. I first played penny slots but was having no luck, so I switched from one machine to the next. I stayed put at one which was making me lose lesser, and pretty soon was joined at the next machine by a very attractive young woman. I acknowledged her presence but we didn't talk and just kept on playing. She left shortly and Uncle Ed came by and told me she might have been a hooker looking for a customer. Due to my naivete, I never even thought about that possibility even though I knew that hookers abound the city, Nevada being a state with legalized prostitution. My question is: why a possible hooker would be scouting me on the slot machine or perhaps it was a slut machine, and not only that but why she would do that to someone playing penny slots instead of someone playing bigger stakes, thus possibly having more moolah to spend, even perhaps for her services. It defies logic, thus the reason why there is a doubt that she was really a lady of the night. And if she was, then I'm flattered that she even thought of me as a possible "john". After an hour or so of gambling, we returned to the hotel minus the very attractive young woman.

The next morning, I was up bright and early ready to explore the strip with cousin Jojo. Unfortunately he had a trying night because Paolo was coughing so he was catching up on sleep. I bid Auntie Ditas goodbye and told her I would be back in about an hour. I started jogging towards the strip and reached it in about 6 minutes, so I estimated to distance from the hotel to be about 6/10ths of a mile (I later found out via car GPS that it was 1/2 mile, so close enough). I turned left from Harmon Street and jogged all the way to Mandalay Bay then turned back. Little did I know until I checked the map while writing this blog that I had reached the end of the strip on that side. That made for a 40 minute turnaround which was not bad for someone who doesn't run anymore. I actually tacked on another 5 minutes at the end.

We had breakfast upon my return then went looking for a Filipino grocery store at another part of the city to buy food. We searched for the store on the GPS and failed to find it, so we resorted to a paper map and made it there. After shopping, we again relied on the GPS to guide us back to the hotel and this is where another misadventure happened. The GPS sent us down the street where the University of Nevada - Las Vegas was located which happened to have a lot of traffic, then proceeded to send us to Duke Ellington Way. When we turned left on that street, we ended up right smack-dab in front of... wait for it... HOOTERS! The GPS with the female voice must have had a male mind! Not that the men in the van minded it too much, but the situation was too funny. Hotel...Hooters...at least four letters matched. What a hoot! At least the GPS didn't take us here: http://www.chickenranchbrothel.com/ (beware: adults only link), which Google says is only about an hour away from Las Vegas. Maybe I should check that device to make sure it didn't miss by a letter: HPS (Hooters Positioning System). Anyway, we made it back to the hotel after recognizing a street without the benefit of the GPS. Aunties Ditas and Beth stayed behind with Paolo, while the guys headed for Hooters, well actually the Las Vegas Outlet Mall, but on the drive there and back, we again passed Hooters. We scouted the mall, went back to the hotel to have lunch of freshly cooked tinola soup, then all of us went back to the Outlet Mall so Jojo could shop for pasalubong (gifts) to bring back to Canada.

After all the shopping, we drove back to the Las Vegas Strip and went to Hooters, no, I meant Harrah's Casino. No time to waste as Auntie Ditas had been itching all day to hit the slot machines where she apparently had a history of doing quite well in that particular casino. We claimed our own machines while Jojo went searching for the baccarat tables which he also played the previous night at the Bellagio with much luck. More on that later. I took a few spins at slots betting quarters but was having no luck so I switched to video poker in which I did better. After a bet of a dollar made it all the way up to $15, I walked away because as Kenny Rogers said "you gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em". I went exploring inside the casino then went outside where I saw the minions from the movie Despicable Me. Paolo happened to have seen them the night before and was asking about them. I looked for Jojo to tell him about it and saw him at a baccarat table, but I let him be, not wanting to spoil his luck. When I saw him again later, I told him about the minions and he was able to take photos of Paolo with them (for tips of course), thus making the kid's  trip memorable (in addition to finding a black car from the movie CARS which he wanted to have so much, in the Disney Store at the outlet mall). I played more poker and subsequently gave $5 back to the casino. By the time we left Harrah's that evening , no misguided hooker had seated herself beside me. Maybe the one from the night before passed it along to her social network (Assbook), that I wasn't a potential customer. Back at the hotel, we had a late dinner of kulma, rice, and toast.

Gambling at Harrah's Casino

Early next morning, Jojo and I made our way to the compact hotel gym. We both mounted treadmills but mine didn't work so I settled for the recumbent bike. After 20 minutes I found a working treadmill and did another 30 minutes there. Wow, that's 2 days in a row of running! Then it was back to the room to shower, change, and check out, but not before learning some sad news that a relative had passed away suddenly the night before. So with utter disbelief and heavy hearts, we headed back to L.A. and after a brief stop at Whiskey Pete's for a last chance at winning (or losing for that matter),where I bet a whole dollar on slots instead of the usual penny but no dice as usual, we were back in Cerritos about 3:30 p.m. Thus ended three wonderful first time days in Sin City. No riches in winnings, but brought back some wealth of experience.

Final gambling stop at Whiskey Pete's

Since this is too long already: EPILOGUE TO FOLLOW.

As promised, here is the second part of this post: http://aboutlifeandrunning.blogspot.com/2014/03/las-vegas-random-notes.html.

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Walking with Weights (again) Plus Some Jogging (again)

          The past couple of months, I've been walking consistently with the Long Beach Area Walking Club at Signal Hill every Saturday morning at 7 a.m. I started using my weighted backpack again, the first time with a 15 pound barbell plate. I've been doing this to slow me down and equalize my pace with the rest of the group because I was getting bored and lonely walking alone up front. The following week, I added an extra 5 pounds and that made a huge difference in the intensity of the walk. In short, the extra 5 pounds kicked my butt and I even got chicked on the way up Stanley St. hill by two ladies. Nobody has ever passed me going uphill, ever.

          What do the weights do exactly other than slow me down? They help me resist the temptation to run so I don't injure myself, while still getting a workout intensity similar to running. As an added benefit, I can socialize with the other walkers by matching their pace.

          So it got me thinking about getting one of those weighted vests again but every time I shop around for it, the cost deters me from getting one. You will not find a 20 pound weighted vest for less than $40, and that's money I can't spare while being jobless. One of the people I walk with, Paul, suggested sand and more particularly, wet sand which is very dense and heavy, instead of the barbell plates which I'm afraid might rip my backpack any day soon. I pondered this for a few weeks not knowing how much a bag of sand might cost at a building supplies store. I checked out the Home Depot website and it showed a 50 pound bag of all-purpose sand for $2.44. So a few days ago, I finally went to Home Depot and was surprised to see how many types of sand there was other than the all-purpose type. Well, I picked up the cheapest one even though it was more than I needed because it didn't come any smaller. I'm planning on replacing the weight plates with sand as soon as I can find a separate bag to divide it and to find a way to accurately measure 20 pounds, which I hope will fit in the backpack and adhere to its shape in contrast to the weight plates which bounce around while I'm walking.

          Fearing that my backpack was about to rip due to the weight plates, I have been walking without it the past two weeks. I've been able to do some short jogs again (after injuring my left thigh trying to run full stride) and besides I found somebody with the walking group who could keep up with my pace. On the first day of March when rainstorms were hitting the Los Angeles/Long Beach area, I monitored the weather forecast and upon awakening that Saturday morning seeing no rain, I decided to show up at Signal Hill, not knowing who else was going to be there. The girl who was able to keep up with me wasn't there and I was relieved to see another walker who braved the weather. Well we lucked out because the rain, wind, and thunder didn't come till afternoon. The significant thing that happened on this walk was that I was able to jog uphill and downhill for 55 minutes non-stop, and that was the most I have done in the past several months, which was mostly on flat terrain. My initial plan was 30 minutes, but I kept adding 5 more minutes until I figured 55 minutes was enough. The rest of the way, I walked and jogged until I completed an hour and a half. At least I found a good excuse for running so slowly: going uphill, then using recovery as an excuse for running slowly downhill. Also I figured, if Obama and Biden can jog that slowly around the White House, I could do as well up and down hills.

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Losing Internet Connection Plus the Need for Instant Gratification

          My internet connection felt sluggish a couple of days ago so I turned off the modem for about 30 seconds like I have done countless times before (powercycling in tech speak), then turned it back on. The internet light never turned on and after half an hour of waiting, I finally called tech support. Edgar tested the line on their end and it looked fine. He had me power cycle the modem again, change the cable, and try another phone jack, to no avail. He started writing a ticket for it so the phone company can check the phone line the next day, but he encountered a problem on his end. He said they were going to troubleshoot the problem further and get back to me as soon as it is fixed. The phone call lasted an hour. In the meantime, I started to get anxious while felt like withdrawal symptoms from not being able to get my internet fix. I even considered asking some neighbors if I could connect to their wi-fi temporarily for the night until the DSL provider fixed the problem.

          After a couple hours without resolution and to wait for the effects of the wine to wear off, I finally decided to head to Walmart to check out how much a new DSL modem costs. I figured something must be wrong with my 2004 vintage modem or worst it was at its last legs and ready to give up the ghost. Walmart didn't have a plain DSL modem but only had a combination modem and wireless router. So I walked over to Radioshack a couple of hundred feet away, but they were already closed. Back to Walmart I went and checked the price of the modem/router on a scanner. I was shocked to find out it was $90.00 plus tax! I didn't have too many options considering I had to have my internet fix for the night. I was still hoping my old modem would start pulling the internet from the phone company's line. Sure enough, when I returned home, the internet light on the modem was lit. I opened a browser and some websites just to make sure, and reconnected my VoIP Magicjack phone. I was back in business and felt immediate relief. I imagine that's how a heroin addict would feel after shooting up. So first thing the next morning, I'll was back at Walmart returning the product. Whew, saved myself $98.00! The addiction must have been really bad because I hardly leave the house past 6 p.m. and there I was at Walmart at 9 p.m. Well, I jumped the gun because what I wanted was instant gratification. I got back home from Walmart with my credit card a little lighter and after apologizing to the cashier for returning the product. It remained unopened.

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How I Reduced My Property Taxes

          I don't know if you've noticed that there has been a marked decrease in my posts and this is a result of being unemployed, ergo, bloggable moments have come few and far between.

          When one is jobless, every little decrease in expenses helps and that's what happened to me on February 25th at a hearing. No, not a criminal, or civil, or divorce,  or small claims court hearing, but a property tax assessment hearing. Last year, I applied for a reduction in my property taxes because I noticed that in my depressed area of the city, the property values were going down in contrast to the other parts. Sure enough, when I checked the comparable sales in just my condominium building, I was being assessed as much as 40% more. So I filled out an online application from the Los Angeles County Assessor's Office and sent my appeal with the links for the comps that  found. A couple of months afterwards, I received a response in the mail saying that to proceed, I would have to report to the community building of Chace Burton Park in Marina Del Rey for a hearing with an appeals officer. I had to bring along evidence in the form of 3 comparative sales in my immediate area. I found some of these comps from the Assessor's Office website itself, but relied on a realtor friend, Nancy D. (Ask me if you have a property to buy or sell and maybe I can refer you to her. And yes, she is the same Nancy D. who drove me to and from my colonoscopy last year.), to provide me a more professional presentation.  I printed out the requisite 3 comps and was ready to face the music. Big thanks to you for all your help, Nancy!

          I planned on at least an hour drive from Long Beach to Marina Del Rey based on a 42 minute estimate by Google Maps. I also programmed the destination on my Tom Tom GPS as a backup, then left home at 8:45 for my 10:30 a.m. appointment. Based on past experience with GPS where it didn't send me on the most direct route, I followed Google's suggestion first and took the surface streets. I went through Long Beach, Carson, Gardena, Manhattan Beach, Culver City, LAX, and finally, Marina Del Rey. Everything worked well until I started looking for Mindanao Way which I couldn't find, and was quite ironic since I come from the Mindanao area of the Philippines, hahaha! That's when I had to rely on GPS which correctly guided me to my destination in the last couple of miles.  Having checked out the Chace Burton Park Website beforehand, I was able to find the parking area quickly, and even though the website said that there was a $5.00 fee, I didn't see any signs indicating it nor did I see an automated ticket dispenser or any parking lot attendants. I parked hoping that I don't see a ticket when I returned. My arrival time was 10:10 a.m., so it took much longer than expected.

          I walked the short distance from the parking lot to the park's community center and my first order of business was to find the nearest bathroom. Woe is me with the tiny bladder! Next was to find the community room and I correctly assumed that the one full of people was it. The lady inside asked for my appointment card then proceeded to swear me in, you know - to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God. Then the waiting began. I turned on my tablet to read the news and before it can even boot up, another lady called my name and asked me to follow her. I actually had her verify my name to make sure I was whom she called because I was there before the 10:30 appointment. We approached a table where another lady was waiting. I started to present my evidence then was told it wasn't necessary because they had already done it for me. All they asked me was if I agreed with the new assessment which I originally presented to them in my application months before or if I disagreed. Well of course I agreed!  The second lady signed off on it and bad-a-bing, bad-a-boom, that was all there was to it! 5 minutes waiting and talking, tops! I was escorted back to the front and was given a copy of my new assessment. What's supposed to happen next is that the assessor's office is going to make the change and that I will be refunded part of the taxes I already paid. Next year, if there are further reductions in the comparative sale in my area, I will have to apply again. Assumptions: the first lady was probably the hearing officer and the second lady what the assessor's office representative.

          One more bathroom use for the road then I headed back to the parking lot. Luckily, no ticket. I checked my Google printout and my GPS, then I was outta there. The drive back home took me half an hour quicker. What I can say about driving to and from the park is that it's always good to have a backup system, and it helped that I was already familiar with the area having lived in Torrance in the 80's and ridden my bike on the bike path to Marina Del Rey.

          Was the almost 2 hour drive back and forth worth it? Definitely so. My only question is - wouldn't it have been more efficient to have done it by email or mail since the process took such a short time? I was expecting myself to beg and plead in person to reduce my taxes. Instead, all I was asked was if I agreed. I guess I needed to be there in case I didn't agree. Again, I should only been asked to show up if that were so. Not an efficient system in my opinion and a waste of gasoline, but gratified for the reduction in taxes. Two decades ago, I also appealed for a reduction using old fashioned paper sent in the mail and got approved without going anywhere as long as I had filled out the application and provided comps. Don't computers and the internet take care of that nowadays?

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Technical Support From The Bored and The Jobless

          Apologies to the soap opera "The Young and The Restless".

          I posted the following on HP's Facebook page: I upgraded from Windows 8.0 to Windows 8.1 and HP Solution Center stopped working for my printer. Despite following the instructions in the solutions area of the HP website, it hasn't worked. Reading through the forums, there were no answers that worked either. Finally, after looking for something similar to Windows Fax and Scan, I found something that can be used an alternative to the HP Solution Center so you can scan to PDF (which Windows Fax and Scan does not offer). The solution is a free HP Windows 8.2 app called HP Scan and Capture. I hope whoever encountered a similar problem with HP Solution Center finds this helpful.

          In other tech support issues, my Uncle called me about being unable to print out all pages of a document and I found out he was trying print it out from his email instead of opening the file in Microsoft Word. After showing him how to do it over Teamviewer then trying to print it out, only blank paper came out of the printer. A good guess was that it was out of black ink. As a workaround, I adjusted the document color to dark blue instead and was able to print it out. Then another minor complication came up: the pages cut off at different parts that were not the same as the one onscreen. Since it was a legal document, I figured that it was on legal sized paper. My Uncle said he was going to buy some black ink and legal size paper the next day. Problem solved. Actually, 2 problems solved since I was able to find a workaround for the HP Solution Center problem too. I know my Uncle appreciates my help and I hope HP does too, especially since it was free.

Want tech support for free? Call me...

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Budgeting While Unemployed

Stretching The Buck

          Forcefully retired - what a nicer way of saying that I am jobless without much money. Maybe untimely retirement sounds better. If not for the unemployment checks, I'd already be in deep doo-doo by now. Never mind that the unemployment rate has been going down, a lot of people still cannot find adequate jobs and not for lack of looking. I've sent numerous applications online but nary a call for an interview. My resume at Caljobs.ca.gov hasn't been viewed by even a single employer. Here's one of the reasons why I'm still not employed: no CNA credentials (certified nursing assistant). In the last few decades, I've fallen into a type of job which didn't require it, but now employers in psych units are beginning to prefer that you have a CNA. My CNA certification expired years ago even though my card does not have an expiration date. I already checked with the Board of Nursing several years ago about my status and was told I had to retake the whole course again. It's hard having been a jack-of-one-trade all these years.

          I'm beginning to find out that merely filling out applications and sending your resume online is not enough because software filters those applications using keywords and even when your resume passes those filters, a human may take their good old time sorting through the hundreds they probably receive daily. It would be better to find the actual hiring person and talk to him or her and they might look for your application. If not, well, at least you now have a contact person in the company.

          So how does one survive this situation I'm in? You tighten your belt...a lot, until you almost turn blue. Budgeting - something I thought I was good at. Through the recession, cut backs on our salary for three years, sending money to my mother, increasing cost of food and gasoline - I survived them all, but that was because I had an income. The unemployment checks are helping a lot but that will end in April and after that I will have to dig into my retirement nest egg. Out of the checks, I pay homeowner's association dues, electricity, heating gas, internet, cellphone, car insurance, health insurance, dental insurance, real estate taxes, and income taxes. My goodness, so many bills!

          For the amount of cash I used to withdraw from the bank every week for  food/gasoline/daily expenses, I have now managed to make it last for 10 or 11 days instead of 7. So instead of withdrawing that amount 4 times a month, I do it just 3 times a month. My last withdrawal from the ATM may even last me two weeks, but that's probably going to be a rare occurrence. I started using cheap shampoo to wash dishes again because they are cheaper than dish soap, thicker, lasts longer, and smells better. This was my blog post from April 2010: http://aboutlifeandrunning.blogspot.com/2010/04/experimenting-with-dish-soap.html.  My gas bill more than doubled last month because I like to keep the temperature around 78 degrees. Well, that bill was too much so I decided I could just wear warmer clothes indoors and keep the temperature to about 70 degrees. My gas bill this month fell to more than half. Not having to drive to work has helped with my gasoline bill because I now only have to gas up about every 6 weeks or so. Another thing that helps is that I don't eat out. Because my income has decreased a lot, I qualified for small discounts on my electricity and heating gas bills. Every little bit helps at this point.

          As if being unemployed wasn't bad enough, this is what happened after I received my first unemployment check - someone guessed the numbers on my EDD debit card plus the security code and charged $2.00 in Illinois! They were probably probing to find out if they guessed correctly. A few days later, the bank credited it back after they replaced the card. One advantage of applying for the funds online is that you get the money quicker. I fill out the application on Sunday, then get an email from the bank when the EDD check is deposited on Monday, then 2 days later I get another email from the credit union that it's been transferred to my private account.

          I thought I had to pay income taxes for 2013 because despite being laid off, my income increased due to my 460 hours of vacation time being cashed out to me by the previous employer. Thank goodness after using tax software and filing electronically,  I was surprised that I'm getting a refund. That may allow me to last another month after the unemployment checks stop coming.

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