The Panda Bear on Election Stress, the Middle Ages and Health Insurance

This year the election has been stressful.    As this blog is intended as a relief from the stresses of life The Panda Bear will attempt to be nonpartisan.    However, the Panda Bear is saddened by the deteriorating nature of the American political system.    In fact the Panda Bear thinks the American political system is increasingly sounding like pre-Enlightenment European politics.    In these ways the Panda Bear thinks American politics looks more and more like pre-modern politics.

1) The election is more about the candidates rather than political issues.

2) This election resembles a war.    In the Middle Ages governing was about brute force, power and alliances.    In this election one feels the winning party is the one that can impose his/her will on the rest of us by a display of massive strength.    Rule of law does not seem to matter.    The candidates try to win alliances with certain groups.

3) It is election it one is seen as a traitor if one supports the opposing candidate.   The idea seems to be gone that one can be patriotic and loyal to this country but have differing world views.  The demonization n of the opposition is used to justify this warlike nature of the elections.

4)  Religion has become a key issue for both of the two dominate parties.   The Panda Bear grew up in the seventies where she was taught that in the United States after John Kennedy people did not vote for candidates based on their religion.    She also was taught Christians were trying to resolve their differences and become more united.   In this election, the Panda Bear has heard both Trump and Clinton state proudly that they were mainstream Protestants.   The Panda Bear thinks this is a step backwards for both political parties in terms of religious toleration and commitment to secular government.  The Panda Bear thinks the religious tome of this election resembles something of out 1600 not 2000.   

Meanwhile in her personal life, the Panda Bear will be starting a new job next week.   It is twenty hours per week.   The Panda Bear does not need the money from full-time employment.   To her the greatest luxury is an afternoon off.   More importantly, the Panda Bear does not need health insurance from work.   For the past twenty years the Panda Bear has gotten health insurance through Mr. Panda.    

Some people think it was an accident in US history that health insurance is employment based.   The Panda Bear knows of many people who work mainly for the health insurance.    As the Panda Bear hears of more people embracing the idea of Medicare for all, the Panda Bear realizes that this idea would be a revolution not just in the world of health care but in the world of employment.    It would be a drastic change in the nature of employment if people did not have to get their health insurance through work.    Probably this change would benefit small business.    However, the Panda Bear thinks this effect of Medicare for All on the workplace needs to be examined.

The Panda Bear on Pain Killers, War and High Unemployement

The Panda Bear apologizes to her readers for not posting for a month.   Right now the Panda Bear aims to post twice a month.   Mr. Panda had a kidney stone and was in a lot of a pain for about two weeks.  Hopefully, he has passed the stone out.  

For a while Mr. Panda was on different kinds of narcotic pain killers.    He was not himself on the pain killers.   The Panda Bear noticed that his judgment was effected but he was not aware that his thinking was effected so he got quite irritable when things did not get done.   The Panda Bear thinks her judgment has been effected when she was on pain killers.   She got extremely talkative on them which is not her usual self.   She has heard from other people that when they are on pain killers they have become have also become more talkative.   The Panda Bear wishes to advise her readers that people can act a little tipsy on pain killers and the people on them may not realize their thinking has been effected by the medication.

This week President Obama gave a speech on foreign policies.   As readers of the Panda Bear Blog know, the Panda Bear wants the US to immediately get out of Afghanistan and for the US to end all military involvements that aren’t directly related to its self-defense.   She was very disappointed to hear that US troops will remain there 2016.     While the Panda Bear truly feels sorry for the kidnapped girls in Nigeria, she thinks some of the interest of the US in Nigeria comes from it being a big oil producing country.   

To those critics who say it makes the US weak not to get militarily involved in other countries the Panda Bear wishes to say:

1. She does not care.   She would rather have Americans be safe, healthy and cowardly than dead and brave for wars that are none of the US’s business.
2. The US would not be in the position of being seen as backing down from foreign conflict if it minded its own business in the first place and did not threaten other countries with wars over concerns that don’t involve the US.

The Panda Bear remembers the Vietnam War.   She remembers hearing that terrible things would happen if we pulled out of Vietnam (also wasn’t it supposedly a security threat for us to leave Iraq?).  The Communists would think US was weak and take over the world is what the supporters of that war said.    When the US left Vietnam the Communists did not take over the world.    Instead in the long run the cold war ended and the influence of communism declined.

Of course what made the former Soviet Union collapse was serious economic problems.   However, the US has serious economic problems.   Do those who want the US to fight abroad consider the security threat to the US coming from its own economic collapse?
\Though the US is not an empire in the traditional sense of the word, look at all the great empires that have risen and fallen.    One theory about the collapse of world powers is that these world powers overextended themselves.   The Panda Bear thinks that over commitment is a potential security threat to the US.

Of course, the present high unemployment in the US aids the US war effort in that it gets and keeps people in the military.   While the US has no formal draft, high unemployment creates a greater financial incentive for people to join the military.   The Panda Bear is sure that the military would have more recruitment problems if the job market was booming (in contrast, wars can provide a distraction for problems at home).

The Panda Bear thinks Americans are being too passive in demanding that US government and business do something about high unemployment rates.   In future posts, the Panda Bear will discuss other segments of society that can be “benefiting” from a high unemployment rate.

 

  

The Panda Bear on Lying Dogs, and Health Time

The Panda Bear is taking a break from household chores and tending to her cold to write a blog post.

The Panda Bear never has had a dog as a pet.   However, the Panda Bear keeps on reading that they are very loyal and true to their keepers.   The Panda Bear's mother grew up with a dog her appears to have knowingly deceived her parents(though one can say the dog was trying to be nice to Mother Panda).    When Mother Panda was a child her family had a dog.     The dog was forbidden by Mother Panda's parents to sleep in Mother Panda's bed because he had fleas.    However,  the dog slept in Mother Panda's room.    Every night Mother Panda's parents would put Mother Panda  to sleep and the dog would appear to be going to sleep in his dog bed in Mother Panda's room.   Then as soon as the house quieted down for the night and Mother Panda's parents went to sleep, the dog would jump into Mother Panda's bed and sleep for the night.   In the morning, when the there started to be noise in the house of people moving around and getting up the dog would jump out of Mother Panda's bed and go back to his dog bed.    When Mother Panda's parents came to wake Mother Panda up, the dog looked like he had been sleeping in his dog bed all night.   The Panda Bear thinks the dog knew he was deceiving Mother Panda's parents and make them think he was in his dog bed all night where he knew he should not be.  However, in the dog's defense one can say that he was trying to be nice to Mother Panda.   Mother Panda liked him sleeping in her bed.    She grew up in a war torn and occupied country.   So it was highly comforting to Mother Panda to have a dog in her bed.

Since the Panda Bear has had a cold she has been thinking about different companies sick policies.   She has been aware of there being movements to require companies to have sick time for their employees.    However, the Panda Bear thinks companies should also be required to have "health" or personal time where people can take work time for medical appointments and other health matters and workers be paid for their time.   Employers benefit greatly from having health employees and they should be willing to give some work time for matters involving worker health.    It burdens employees discourage people from going to medical appointments on work time and the time for mostly all health matters is on the employees own time.

The Panda Bear on Medical Appointments and the Terror of House Repairs

The Panda Bear has been enjoying the longer days.   It makes such a difference going to work in daylight and leaving in daylight.   It makes the Panda Bear feel that there is a life after work.   

Things have been going slightly better for the Panda Bear at work.   The superior section at work no longer seems so superior and they are having problems of their own.   The Panda Read this inspired article about following one’s passions on the nights and weekends and the Panda Bear has resolved to follow this suggestion.

However, the Panda Bear’s nights and weekends have been taking up recently with medical appointments and home repairs.    Her employer prefers that the Panda Bear schedules her medical appointments after work. This time of year is the time of year where she has her various annual physical exams.    A lot of the Panda Bear’s “free time” is being spent on lab tests, mammograms and various yearly doctors’ appointments.  These annual exams always remind the Panda Bear of her own mortality.   She hears the Grim Reaper saying “if not now, eventually I am going to get you.”   In addition, she needs to see her dentist, acupuncturist, dietician, and psychologist on an ongoing basis.    Also, the Panda Bear needs to maintain her diet and exercise routines.   The Panda realizes that she is fortunate to be able to have all the services available to her.   She also realizes that she is lucky to be blessed with good health.    However, as she gets older the Panda Bear can understand that many people feel they are too busy to look after their health in the best manner possible.   The Panda Bear thinks the US culture will need to change to make a dent in the amount of illnesses caused by poor lifestyle.

Last Sunday, Mr. Panda was very upset at the Panda Bear for not going with him to the YMCA swimming the way they usually do.   The Panda Bear wanted to clean the condo because the Panda Bear anticipated repair people coming in during the week.    She was afraid of them seeing a dirty apartment.     While the Panda Bear is fearless in confronting the corrupt oligarchy that is running the United States, she trembles at the thought of someone coming into her place and saying “this apartment is dirty.”    The Panda Bear admits her apartment is not as tidy as it should be.   It would take all the Panda Bear’s free time away from work to maintain the apartment the way it should be maintained and the Panda Bear hates domestic chores.      Her goal is to have her apartment in some order for at least a few days a year before it becomes a messy again.

Though the Panda Bear was glad to see her kitchen cleaner than it had been in a while, she found out that she may have been too hasty in getting her apartment in order for the repair.   Yesterday the Panda Bear found out she needed to get the condo association’s approval to do her bathroom repair. Therefore she and her contractor quickly had to complete forms and send them to the condo association for them to approve the work.   It may take them a couple of weeks to approve of the work.  Therefore, these repairs have temporarily been postponed.

However, the anxiety is getting to the Panda Bear.  Dealings with the condo association have not always been pleasant.   What will the condo association say about the repairs?    Also there has been some damage to the Panda Bear’s bathroom floor underneath the tiles.   The tiles will have to be taken out to find out the extent of the damage.    These uncertainties are setting the Panda Bear’s nerves on edge.

From what the Panda Bear sees of building, it seems to be a very changeable industry.   While she knows there is some reality TV shows about home repairs, the Panda Bear thinks a fictional TV series about real estate/contracting could be very successful.   Some of what goes on can be quite dramatic and the main characters could be people in all walks of life (i.e. painters, lawyers) so they could have wide audience appeal.

The Panda Bear on Yahoo, Lack of Leisure, and the Diet Project

The Panda Bear has read about Yahoo's decision to stop allowing people to telecommute.    The Panda Bear has not read about the details of this decision but just from the headlines this decision rings about everything the Panda Bear dislikes about modern leadership in organizations.    It does not treat people like individuals-good workers loose benefits because of the incompetence of others.    Rather then go after the bad workers, the organization punishes everyone.   Secondly, the Panda Bear strongly believes that the CEO of Yahoo will be telecommuting some of the time.   Modern leaders seem to feel they don't have to follow the rules they set for us peasants.      There are very few people in leadership positions that the Panda Bear respects.

The Panda Bear is an office worker but she does not telecommute.    Her job is still very paper based and it would be hard to do at home.   However, the Panda Bear dreams of flexible work scheduling.   The four day work week or the four and a half day work week!.  To have greater freedom on how one works their forty hours.  How nice not to be charged time off for going to a physician's appointment,   The Panda Bear believes that the five day work week is both for her personally and her work extremely inefficient.  

The Panda Bear's supervisor was in the kitchen and she was asking the Panda Bear and other coworkers why people don't like to work.   The Panda Bear said sometimes it wasn't the work itself but the fact people feel that their lives are restricted because of long work hours.   People don't live by work alone.

The Panda Bear Blog is a blog that believe work and fun go together.   Of course, the Panda Bear has become more critical of her work environment in that "fun" means eating high caloric food in a job that involves sitting at a computer all day.    She told the heads of her organization at a group meeting that many people in offices need watch their weight-the office should be more diet and exercise friendly especially since the organization is self-insured(Overweight employees increase healthcare costs).

Seriously, while the Panda Bear confesses she has ate many and  has enjoyed office sweets, she feels she would be a healthier person if there was less food available in offices.  Also the Panda Bear (unfortunately) has body type that does not require a lot of calories.  She can't eat most of the food in offices without gaining weight.    The office has been a source of junk food for the Panda Bear that she does not eat at home.   It has reinforced Panda Bear's tendency towards emotional eating. To increase her diet resolve, the Panda Bear tells herself that she is not a dog-she does not work for a food reward.   The Panda Bear reminds herself that offices used to reward people by giving cigarettes;it might be fun to smoke and sociable to smoke at work but it is an unhealthly pleaure

Therefore, the Panda Bear has began the Diet at Work Project.   She has vowed to go 365 days without eating any food at an office event except food that she brings.   The Panda Bear feels it would really be a blessing if the office never fed her again and showed their appreciation in other ways.  

The Panda Bear on Early Voting, Employers and Healthcare Reform

The Panda Bear has been busy with the election season.   Actually, she has begun burn out over the upcoming elections..   She will need to read a light novel in addition to her studying up on the election issues.   There will be two major debates this week that the Panda Bear would like to see.   The Presidential debate will be on October 3, this Wednesday.  Today on October 1, there will be a debate between the two candidates for US senate. This election seems very close and probably will where the Panda Bear's vote will count the most in the fall election.

It seems deeply unfair to the Panda Bear that in many states they have early voting which is starting now in some battle ground states.   People can vote even before the presidential debates and well over a month before people in Massachusetts are able to vote.

The Panda used to be more a Democrat than a Republican.   However, in Massachusetts the Democrats control almost all offices.   There is a lot of corruption in Massachusetts for which the Democrats have done nothing.   The Panda Bear is thinking of working for a third political party; she thinks reform is badly needed. She found this website called isidewith.com and found out she really like the third party candidates (Gary Johnson, Jill Stein) for president and the party she liked most was the Green Party.  Actually, The Panda Bear is thinking about finding out more about the Massachusetts Green Party.

Today, The Panda Bear was reading about the many preventative services that will be covered in full under Obamacare.   However, the Panda Bear wonders if employers will give workers the time off to use these services.

The Panda Bear believes the government needs to educate and/or mandate employers are what they need to do to maintain their employee’s health.   Many workers have to use all their “vacation” time for physician appointments.  

Today the Panda Bear was feeling blue at work.   She has read exercise and stretching can improve mood.   However, many supervisors want people to sit and their desk continuously which is not necessarily the best for employee health.

The Panda Bear on her Office Forest and 3 Stress Management Rules

The Panda Bear has started a plant collection on her desk.   A recent office move has given the Panda Bear more desk space.   She and other office workers have started to decorate the office with plants to make it prettier.   The Panda Bear has put a lot of different plants on her desk.   When people come up to her desk and ask her if she wants to create a forest on her desk, the Panda Bear says yes; her goal is to make her desk a beautiful garden of tropical plants.   On her computer at work, she listens to recordings of forest sounds.   The goal for the Panda Bear is that whenever, she is stressed or bored at work she can look at her plants and pretend she is in the woods.   She spends forty hours a week at that desk.   She feels her desk should be beautiful.

The Panda Bear has found this link about how stressful jobs are today.     The Panda Bear has learned to better deal with job stress.   All of Panda Bear’s jobs have been high volume/high stress jobs.     Here are some general tips the Panda Bear has found useful in dealing with all kinds of stress both work and personal

.

1) Stress is a fairly universal problem of modern times.   As individuals we all have to find a way to deal with stress.   Many factors that cause stress in modern times are out of an individual’s control.   You are only one individual and can only be expected to do so much.  

2) Stress is not a helpful reaction.   It does not help getting things done.   In fact, the Panda Bear slows down under stress.    Stress simply creates psychological and physical wear on the person.  It can lead to health problems.   If one gets sick from stress, one accomplishes nothing.

3) No one cares if you are stressed out.   Maybe because it is such a common condition but when someone complains about stress it can sound like whining.   No one has changed anything or modified any practice for the Panda Bear because she has complained about stress.   It is up to the individual to learn how to cope with stress and find ways to relax.   Often ways of reducing stress for individuals will be unpopular with others because it may mean curbing certain activities to reduce one’s stress load. However, the Panda Bear believes that dealing with stress involves learning self care skills since modern American society does not provide people with much opportunity to relax.

The Panda Bear on Viral Infections and Vacation Time

The Panda Bear has not forgotten her readers.   She wants to share this link The Atlantic which states that there are studies that show that workers are more productive at work with time off.   The Panda Bear thinks more managers need to read this article.

The article states that the average American gets about 16 "vacation" days and uses about 14 of them.   This sounds correct to the Panda Bear based on her experience in the work force.   However, the Panda Bear thinks of the 14 vacation days the average American uses, probably only about half are used on genuine vacations with the rest of the time being used for the many chores and errands people can't do because they work during the week. For the Panda Bear "vacation" time includes, time off for physician appointments, looking after sick relatives, preparing for the holidays and taking time off from work due to bad weather.      

Many Americans take their "vacation" to visit relatives who live far away. While the Panda Bear is all in favor of seeing family, visiting family can be stressful and the Panda Bear does not consider this to be a true fun relaxing vacation.

For the past three weeks, the Panda Bear has had a virus infection (cold) with a sore throat.   The Panda Bear felt very tired, she took one "vacation" day off from work to rest.   The sore throat lasted about two weeks.   The Panda Bear gets many colds that aren't bad enough (fortunately for her health) to use company "sick" time but they are not true vacation days either.   The Panda Bear was hoping to be able to take a long winter vacation.   However, the Panda Bear believes her body is telling her to slow down when she gets colds so she is taking some Fridays off for the summer.  She will be enjoying the outside fresh air.   (The Panda Bear thinks too much time inside buildings causes viruses to spread).

Therefore, while the Panda Bear may be doing shorter posts during the summer, you the dear reader are still foremost in the Panda Bear's heart.

The Panda Bear on Coffee, Yogurt and the No Holiday July 4th

The Panda Bear was feeling stressed out during the week.   She wondered what she could do to make herself feel better.   Some of the Panda Bear's healthy habits have fallen to the wayside this year.   The Panda Bear's coffee consumption has gone way up to over three cups of coffee a day.  Too much caffeine makes people anxious.    She needs to cut it down to one cup(some of the Panda's physicians feel she should drink none).   The problem for the Panda Bear is that small amounts of coffee make the Panda Bear feel extremely good and happy.

The Panda Bear also found this interesting story on NPR stating that eating yogurt could make people feel more relaxed.   There is speculation that there is a gut-mind connection that means that the good bacteria of yogurt that is in the stomach could help the brain relax.   The Panda Bear was always liked healthy bacteria in yogurt particularly since there is some speculation that these bacteria could help fight colds.

These healthy resolution gave the Panda Bear a revelation.    The reason Americans in some ways are ahead of Europe in terms of health care in terms of lifestyle(i.e. healthy diet, less smoking) is that  when we Americans feel tired it is harder for us to get time off from work than Europeans.    Instead of taking time off from work when we feel stressed , Americans try exercise, take vitamins and change eating habits in an attempt to make themselves feel better.   Actually,the Panda Bear believes in healthy living-but she still thinks the reason Americans always complain about being tired is that they are not getting enough rest.

Last week, was the no holiday, holiday of the 4th of July.   Americans are supposed to be celebrating their independence from the British.   The Panda Bear did get the day off from work.   However, nothing was done at work was done to celebrate the 4tjh of July; the leaders of Panda Bear's organization made no mention of this great day at work;

Nowadays most stores are open in the United States for this holiday.   Some people were surprised to hear that the Panda Bear and her husband went to the YMCA to exercise and then went to the stores; some Americans don't realize that now in the USA the only time the country shuts down now is for Christmas.

If the stores were closed, the Panda Bear and her husband probably would have seen friends and done something to celebrate the 4th of July.   The Panda Bear definitely feels there is a down side to stores and other organizations being open during the "holidays".   Employees of these places have to work and puts everyone under more pressure to do chores.

While the Panda Bear is a patriotic American and glad the US won its independence from Great Britain, she still can't help but wonder that if the US had stayed a part of Great Britain would American have now more paid holidays.   Is this the kind of freedom the Founding Father's of the US wanted-everyone feeling pressured to be busy all the time?

The Panda Bear on Sick Time and Volunteering

The Panda Bear Blog is a blog about not having it all. It is a blog for stressed out average people who feel the “experts” somehow just don’t get the average person lives.

In a previous post, the Panda Bear was complaining about how even when she does not feel well, physicians won’t write her sick notes for work and her employers want them if she is out more than a couple of days. (Please note the Panda Bear on the whole has been in good health and the longest time she has been out sick from work in twenty-seven years has been a week).

The Panda Bear had maligned her present employer. After taking two days off from for an upper respiratory infection for which her physician said she could return to work, the Panda Bear’s supervisor said she could have taken a third day off. The supervisor said she would not require the Panda Bear to get a note for up to five days taken off for illness. The supervisor told the Panda Bear that she would rather the Panda Bear be out and not spread her germs at work. The Panda Bear thanked her supervisor and told her she had worked for two organizations where all time taken off for illnesses lowered a person’s attendance ratings.

The Panda Bear’s apartment is a mess because for several weeks the Panda Bear only had the energy to work and come home. The Panda Bear feels varying energy levels and illness is something that much time management theory ignores. The kitchen table broke this morning. The Panda Bear and Mr. Panda will now have to get unexpectedly a new kitchen table this weekend. Something always seems to happen to foil the best laid time management schemes. While at work, this week the Panda Bear was listening an show on NPR called  Radio Boston where some professors of business from such excellent schools such Yale and Wharton which claimed that people who volunteered felt like they had more free time than people who worked that did not volunteer. These professors said the act of volunteering gave people the illusion that they had more free time.

Now the Panda Bear is all for volunteering.She has done volunteering while has she worked full-time. In addition, the experience the pleasure of working for what the Panda Bear feels are good causes, the Panda Bear has experienced other personal benefits. She has developed new skills and met new people. It has lead to contacts that have provided her with references for paid work. Volunteering can be a much nicer experience than paid employment because people know that one would only do it if one was not being nicely treated.

However, the Panda Bear does not feel that volunteering has made her feel that she has more free time. The Panda Bear has question several of her friends about whether their volunteering increased their feeling that they have more free time. Everyone said no. While volunteering may have some positive benefits, it did not make them feel like they had more free time. The Panda Bear feels that these college professors have no idea what it is to work on a time clock which the Panda Bear does. Furthermore, volunteering shows how American workers have less and less free time. At one time many companies had programs where people could volunteer on work time. Even if companies did not provide the actual work time, they supported employees efforts to volunteer because they thought it made the organization look good. Now most organizations want total commitment from their employees.

The Panda Bear on Layoffs, Northanger Abbey and the Rest Cure

Before the Panda Bear goes into the main topic of her post, the Panda Bear wanted to discuss what she heard about a local company's plans to layoff some workers.   The company was going to outsource some of the behind the scenes operations to India.   Presumably, the customers would not know that some of the backend work was being done in India.   Also none of the workers knew which of them would loose their jobs because of this outsourcing (some of the workers would be kept).

The Panda Bear wanted to share three observations regarding this situation.   1) It is almost impossible for Americans to tell what products and services are made in the US and what products and services are made abroad.   A lot of things are sent abroad unknown to the customer.  2) What is causing layoffs in the US is not always diminished demands for goods and services but outsourcing the work to foreign countries.  3) The work atmosphere in this company must be terrible as workers compete for diminishing number of positions.  It probably makes for an intensely competitive as as opposed to cooperative work environment.

The Panda Bear likes reading the classics; they know how to tell a story.   The Panda Bear thinks there is something to a good book that totally pulls one in as one reads it.   Since she has gotten her eReader, she can get many of the classics for free.   Furthermore, the Panda Bear has read in The Atlantic the A Slow Books Manifesto stating that reading literature was good for one's soul.

Anyway, the classic book that the Panda Bear just finished reading was Northanger Abbey  by Jane Austen.  With the success of the Twilight series, Northanger Abbey seems modern in that it makes fun of Gothic novels and "women's" fiction.   The Panda Bear thinks that some writer could become famous by writing a good satire of the vampire love story.   The Panda Bear has resolved to read some of Anne Radcliffe's Gothic novels.  They might be fun to read and she had a lot of influence as a writer.

There is one aspect of many old novels that the Panda Bear finds interesting.   They make reference to a "rest cure" which apparently existed in the old medicine and which the Panda Bear dreams of making its return   Northanger Abbey starts off with a man being "ordered" by his physician spend six weeks in Bath.   This man does not seem to be that sick.   Moreover Bath seems to be a fun place with lots of social gatherings. 

In many old novels and biographies she will read when a patient complains of being nervous, worn out and tired the physicians "orders" the patient to take a long journey to some place interesting for a year for one's health.   These are the physicians that the Panda Bear loves and admires.  The Panda Bear things she and alot of people are overworked and would love it if someone told them to take it easy.   It does not have to be six weeks; just to get a week off for some health problem would be wonderful.

Even when the Panda Bear feels tired and sick the physicians are always sending her back to work.   They act like the school nurse always wanting to send her back to class even when she does not feel well.   On some levels the Panda Bear feels they are in league with corporate American to make sure everyone goes to work as scheduled.   Sometimes the Panda Bear feels there is a lack of communication between physicians and employers around when people are sick enough not to be at work.  For example,  one time the Panda Bear had to be a crutches for a week.   To get to work, she had to take walk a short distance, take two subways and a bus.    The physicians would not write her a sick note saying she should not be at work on crutches saying there was not reason for her not to take the subway to work.   The Panda Bear made it to work but she was in tears.   Most people at work felt that the Panda Bear should stay home but she could not because her job would be in jeopardy without a sick note from the physicians.

Another time that the Panda Bear gets annoyed with her physicians is around her colds and viral infections.   The Panda Bear has a tendency to gets colds that can drag on for weeks.   Alot of the time she will feel very sick and run down.   The Panda Bear has learned to slow herself down and get rest which she feels does help.   She can call in sick for one or two days at work but beyond that she would need a physicians note which the physicians won't give her even though she is still considered infectious.

The Panda Bear things probably alot of health problems are a result of overwork.    In future posts, the Panda Bear will ask what is needed to be done to bring back the rest cure.

The Panda Bear on Preventative Measures

Life has returned pretty much back to normal after the hurricane scare in the Boston, Massachusetts area. The Panda Bear and her husband still have to take down the masking tape from their windows. The few people who don't have electricity are shortly expecting to have their power back.

However, on the radio in Boston many talk show hosts were making fun of the intense publicity surrounding the hurricanes and stating that it was politically motivated. Granted hurricanes hardly ever make it to Boston area and the Panda Bear has lived through several false hurricane alarms. However, the Panda Bear believes that it is better for government officials to err on the side of caution. To the people who lost the electricity everywhere as a result of the storm and to the people in New Jersey and Vermont where the flooding was heavy the tropical storm Irene was a crisis.

Many times steps are taken as a precautionary measure even if the chance of something actually happening are relatively small. The Panda Bear has lived and worked in buildings where the fire alarm would go off for trivial reasons a few times of month during certain time periods. It would get to the point where the Panda Bear would be tempted to ignore these fire alarms. When this happened the Panda Bear would tell herself that the one time she ignored the fire alarm would be the time the building would burn down.

Cancer screenings are another example of precautionary measures. Women are advised to routinely have to have pap smears and after a certain age mammograms. There is a certain level of anxiety that is involved with these tests. There have been other times the Panda Bear has had have to have additional examinations and procedures done to make sure that whatever was wrong with the Panda Bear was not cancer(even though she was told the possibility of its being cancer was low).

These tests can be frustrating and stressful even though the Panda Bear is very glad that they are around and available to people. (Incidentally, the Panda Bear believes that African Americans still don't have the same access to health care access to health care as Caucasians. The Panda Bear knows of a few African Americans who were at a risk for cancer who did not get offered these extra tests that the Panda Bear who is Caucasian got offered and who was at a lower risk for cancer than these African Americans.).

The most annoying of these tests is the colonoscopy. As readers of the Panda Bear Blog may know the Panda Bear recently had a colonoscopy. The test itself is not bad but the prep is difficult. The Panda Bear had her first colonoscopy May of 2011. It could not be completed because the prep did not work. Therefore the Panda Bear had to have a second colonoscopy done which was done in August which had a more extensive preparation. For this preparation, the Panda Bear had to be both on a liquid diet for two days and take laxatives during those two days. On the second day of the liquid diet and taking this awful tasting laxative the Panda Bear was feeling that medical treatment had not made any progress from the Medieval times when they did purges and did amputations without anesthesia(Seriously, probably some cancer patients feel that their medical treatment is in some ways quite inhumane even if done in the modern medically correct manner).

Fortunately, the colonoscopy turned out well and and the best part is that the Panda Bear won't have to have another one for ten years. She even lost some weight that she wanted to loose. She thinks the weight loss from the gas they put in during the procedure which caused the Panda Bear to loose her appetite for a while.
This routine cancer preventions tests have caused the Panda Bear to take about five days sick leave. Fortunately, the Panda Bear does have work time to do this(in part because she never goes anywhere or does anything exciting).

The point is is the prevention can be an effort and perhaps is not always necessary in hindsight . However, the Panda Bear knows several people who died of colon and cervical cancer who had access to cancer screening but for what ever reason did not feel it was necessary to have them. Probably these some of these people and their families regret these people not taking these tests. The Panda Bear used to work in the insurance industry where there was a saying that insurance is a waste of money until you need it.

The nature of preventative measures is that one can't always judge ahead if they are needed. Often they may be a waste of time. However, if on the small chance something does happen one is glad to have done them.

The Panda Bear on Mindfulness and Bully Proofing

The Panda Bear wants to let her readers know that her Internet TV appearance on August 26 has to be rescheduled.   She will not be on August 26.    She will let her readers know when she will be on closer to her her new date.

It is getting to be towards the end of summer hear in Boston, Massachusetts.   Even though the weather is still nice here some people at work were saying they were getting sad because the days are getting shorter and cooler reminding people that winter was coming.   The Panda Bear thought here was an example of where it was beneficial to practice mindfulness(being focused on the present moment rather than the past or future).   It really extends the winter to worry about  winters past and future when the summer is still here.  Simply enjoy the summer while it is hear.  The concept of mindfulness is central to many relaxation/mind/body practices.   This article is very good on showing the positive benefits of living in the moment on a very practical day to day level.     This website  has  a more in depth approach to the concept of mind fullness(which is helpful even though some of the information is local to Boston, MA).

The Panda Bear could have used the practice of mind fullness when she was younger.   She was upset about being bullied as a child long after stopped.   The last peer episode of being bulled happened when the Panda Bear was fifteen yet the Panda Bear worried fairly intensively about being bullied until she was about thirty even though it was not a present reality.   

In a previous post, the Panda Bear said in her adult life she found two people who transferred out her elementary school because of problems being bullied.   She has through Facebook has come into contact with another elementary school classmate who remembers some very cruel things going on in elementary the school.   FYI, the elementary school the Panda Bear went to was considered to be a very good public school.    However, it becomes more and more apparent to Panda Bear that adults knew the bullying was going on but did nothing to stop it.
In Massachusetts, where the Panda Bear grew up, there now have been laws made requiring schools to come up with anti-bullying programs so school bullying is being discussed alot.   However, the Panda Bear recently read a publication from the Massachusetts town where she grew up about a course given to children from seven to ten on "bully proofing" themselves so they won't get bullied.     The problem is that small  children really have very little control of their lives.    One friend who was bullied said children made fun of her for the clothes she wore that her parents picked out for her.  The Panda Bear feels that there is probably very little children who are bullied can do to protect themselves without adult support.   

The Panda Bear on Diana, Medical Doctors and Dentists

The Panda Bear is continuing to feel lazy(please keep in mind she has a nine to five job).  Therefore, she will have a short blog post.

As readers of previous posts may know, the Panda Bear does not yet have a working DVD player for her  television. She could watch movies on her computer but somehow that does not seem like fun.  Like many people nowadays who use the computer for work, computers are associated with work.   However, she has won a free rental from redbox.com so she might try it to see how it works.   The Panda Bear and some of her friends find it frustrating that people are constantly being forced to upgrade their technology and the Panda Bear has not seen many new movies for the past several years because she only has a VCR.

Recently, a lot of speculation has come out what Princess Diana would be like at fifty.   The Panda Bear speculates that Diana may at mid-life have found more personal happiness than she did in her younger years.   However, as they say victors write the history, the Panda Bear is concerned that the survivors from the royal family are writing the ending story of Diana's life.   If one reads Kitty Kelley's book, The Royals, one finds that Diana was a real thorn on the side of the side of British Monarchy and it was very convenient for them that she died(however, the Panda Bear does not subscribe to any conspiracy theories about her death).   Diana seems to have felt hurt and used by the royal family.  Charles's and Diana's problems hurt the image and public standing of the British Monarchy.   The Panda Bear thinks if Princess Diana were still alive she would still be in conflict with Charles and the other Royals.  She would stay in Great Britain enough time during the year to claim it as a home so as not to be loosing any of her rights.   She would not quietly fade away.   The Panda Bear thinks the only thing that might make Diana less argumentative with the Royal family is consideration for her children and wanting  them to get the throne.

In previous, post, The Panda Bear on Healthcare, the Panda Bear stated the she preferred seeing her dentist to her medical doctors.   Since this post, the Panda Bear has met several other people who say they prefer seeing the dentist over the medical doctors; Physicians make people very nervous.  Modern physicians seem very cold and technical.   While the Panda Bear does not question their medical knowledge or ability, they seem to have a very limited medical scope.  Their function seems to be:
1) Perform medical tests that are uncomfortable
2) Make diagnoses
3) Give prescriptions(are the being bribed by the pharmaceutical industry?)
4) Give medical directions that seem to have no connection to reality.

The Panda Bear found this quote on a friend's Facebook page:

Some doctor on tv this morning said the way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you have started. So I looked around my house to see things I'd started & hadn't finished, then I finished off a bottle of Vodka, a bodle of Baileys, a botle of wum, a pock of Prungles, 1/2 chesecke an a boc a choclez. Yu haf no idr how bludy fablus I feeel now. Plaese sned dhis orn to dem yu fee ar in ned ov iennr piss.

The Panda Bear is feeling a little sarcastic in her description of doctors.   She is sure they are very competent in what they do.   Life expectancies are going up.  However, she still thinks it hurts medical care that people are finding going physicians uncomfortable. 

Mr. Panda had to go to the dentist this weekend(The Panda Bear and her husband use the same dentist).  While at the office, the dentist said he had put up his web site.   Mr. Panda said told him about the Panda Bear Blog.  The Panda Bear said she had mentioned in her blog that she preferred the dentist to the doctor and she would put his information on her blog.  Her dentist Robert Hutner of Brookline.   Click here for his website.

The Panda Bear on Suing her Town, Part One

In the United States, it is Memorial Day weekend, a three day weekend where some Americans will honor the war dead.  It is also considered to be the first weekend of the summer.

The Panda Bear is trying to be upbeat and not mind that so much of the weekend will be catching up on chores.   She and Mr. Panda got their hair cut and they went to a thrift store and bought some second hand clothes(The Panda Bear is Ms. Cheapo and can get some good buys second hand clothes).   Clothes shopping is something that the Panda Bear sees as a chore since she feels her free time is limited but might enjoy it if she were retired and had money.

However, let us get to the main object of the post.  As some readers may know, the Panda Bear broke her wrist on slipping on the ice this winter.   This winter was very bad in the Boston area and the Panda Bear knows at least five other people who injured themselves because of the snow.   Interestingly enough these injuries occurred very near where the people lived so traveling long distances was not an issue in causing these injuries.    The Panda Bear on February 1, slipped on a hill when she was leaving work on a bad snow day.  Her work did not let the work out early but because she lived in the town where she worked she believed the commute was not an issue.  

The hill she fell on is very heavily travelled, very slippery and hardly ever plowed for the snow.  The Panda Bear found out after she fell that this strip of land was maintained by the town.   She has gotten a lawyer to make a monetary claim against the town for a slip and fall accident and she will sue the town if they refuse to come to a settlement.

The focus of this post  will be on the pain and suffering issues around falls and injuries(In fact, the Panda Bear will be shortly discussing with her lawyer her pain and suffering and trying to come up with a monetary amount of her suffering).   Though the Panda Bear is doing better and out of both a cast and a splint, she feels she is still recovering from the injury.  She has gotten used to working at a slower pace and still feels it is as still an effort to do certain things.   She has a new respect for people who have experienced more difficult traumas and difficult the work can be to recuperate to recover from an injury.   The Panda Bear is fortunate in that she was able to go back to work(though on a reduced schedule) and not lose any pay.

Her injury impaired her ability to do things at home and prepare food.   She was surprised how moody she got during her injury but the being in a cast effects the ability to eat, sleep and exercise.   She is used to going to the YMCA to swim and do Yoga but she was not able to these activities and her overall fitness level and energy has declined.  She has found that many people who injury their wrist, arm, or shoulder injury their good side form overuse.   The Panda Bear developed trigger finger in both of her thumbs from overuse(fortunately,it getting better).   The Panda Bear is not asking for her readers sympathy but for them to feel that there is some human suffering when public safety is not properly maintained.

The town where the Panda Bear lives and works is not poor.   The town requires both residents and business to shovel the walk areas in front of their areas and enforces these regulations with a heavy hand.  However, the town does not follow its own requirements.  The hill that the Panda Bear fell is a very heavily trafficked area.  The Panda Bear knows of one other person who fell and slipped on that hill on the ice in a previous winter who also broke her wrist.

In her next post on Monday(she will post on another matter on Thursday), the Panda Bear will ask why does government get away with imposing rules on people but does not follow them itself.  She will discuss the apathy and fear she has found in getting the town to do its job of proper snow maintenance in a country that supposedly is the freest country in the world.

The Panda Bear on Healthcare

4/14/2011
The Panda Bear went to see a physician today.  She does not like going to the doctor.  The emotions around going to an MD are similar to what many people feel about going to a dentist.  She feels that going to a physician is like having an encounter with the grim reaper.   The physician seems convey the thought that one day the Panda Bear will experience terrible illness and death-if not today definitely some other day.  Fortunately, the Panda Bear is in good health.

Ironically, the Panda Bear likes going to the dentist.  The dentist makes her feel cared for and alleviates her pain.   She feels taken care off as he works on her teeth.

LATTER SAME DAY

As though to prove my point, a temporary crown fell off the Panda Bear’s tooth and she called her dentist and he said to come right away to have it fixed.

Her reaction to going to the dentist-feelings of warmth and of being taken care of-her emotional reaction about going to the medical doctor-dread, fear and disappointment.

In the future posts, the Panda Bear will offer her ideas of how physicians can improve their image.  She believes that physicians need to realize that just making people healthier and live longer does not necessarily earn them high emotional regard