Mental Health Thread #4 -- Fall/Winter

[cbg]

We've been pleasantly surprised. We've just recently, like, last week, announced a change to how employees become eligible for post retirement health benefits. We're not changing the benefit at all or even the eligibility rules for existing employees - just how much is subsidized and (for new employees) when they become eligible. We expected a huge outcry but we can count the calls on fingers.

Maybe they're just not reading the mail?

 

[cynthiag]

Maybe they're just not reading the mail?

That would be my guess. I recently sent out a memo about our health insurance renewal, along with a summary of benefits I got from the insurance company. I didn't realize that some wording in the summary made it sound like we'd dropped our dental & vision (it just covered the medical part of the plan). After I realized it was a bit confusing, I expected to hear from a bunch of people, but I think only five contacted me.

I chalked it up to the fact that people just don't read what I send them. I told the few who did contact me that they'd passed my little "test" that I set up to see if people were actually reading what I sent out!

 

[cbg]

My first year here, we made some major, major changes to the investment options for the retirement plan. They were to be effective in November - we began sending out the notices in August. Our retirement vendors also sent out notices about the planned change.

In February, I got a call from an employee who had JUST noticed that, since he had not responded to the notices of how to redirect their money to the fund of their choice, they had been switched to the default plan. He insisted that he had never been notified of the change. In the VERY NEXT SENTENCE he told me that he never read the stuff we sent him, anyway.

My response; Well, sir, the notices you say you never got were in the packages you just told me you never read.

When the project manager and I prepared duplicate notifications for him, the package of notices was one half inch thick. That's a lot of notice to ignore, not to mention a lot of trees killed.

 

[Betty3]

A person doesn't mind so much if someone calls because they don't understand something in the info sent but when they just hadn't read what was sent & later call about what was sent - aaargh!!

 

[Betty3]

Cardinals 9, Dodgers 0 - 6th inning! Go Cards! Let's win the NLCS in game 6 for #6 Stan the Man Musial!!

 

[Betty3]

Cards win!!! Cards win!!! Way to go Cards!!

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Congrats on the Cards win. That was quite a finale, a total championship level drubbing which is a nice way to ride into the World Series.

 

[Betty3]

Thank you. I'm glad they got 9 runs & Dodgers 0 - it made the game not so stressful & I'm glad they did it in 6 games.

 

[cbg]

Gonna be a Red Sox - Cardinals World Series!!!!

 

[Betty3]

Yes, it is!!

The Red Sox & the Cardinals tied for best record in major league baseball in regular season games - they each had the same win/loss record. They should be in the World Series!

 

[txls]

Looks like we'll be taking over two of the grandkids (again) untill Mom can get a job, a car, and a place to live.

 

[Betty3]

txls, you asked for prayers for your family previously. I hope things are getting worked out/get worked out for you all.

 

[txls]

Thanks Betty. In addition to all of the drama with the grandkids and dealing with their mother, we recently lost one of my nephews at age 28. Very devastating to our family, and he has a 2 yr old daughter. I am blessed to have her live near me and I get lots of time with her, but it's also hearbreaking when she asks about him.

 

[Betty3]

How sad. I'm so very sorry, txls.

 

[Betty3]

A Happy Halloween to one & all.

 

[cbg]

I bought two bags of my husband's favorite candy. Since we rarely get more than a few kids, I think we're covered!

 

[ferretrick]

We are supposed to have torrential rains and 30 mile per hour winds tonight. Several neighborhoods have or are considering cancelling trick or treating.

 

[cynthiag]

We are supposed to have torrential rains and 30 mile per hour winds tonight. Several neighborhoods have or are considering cancelling trick or treating.

Wow, sounds like our normal late-October weather.

This year has not been normal for us, weather-wise...we are currently having 50 degree temps and sunshine, so at least the weather for trick or treating will be pleasant. I told my 8-year-old granddaughter that we'd take her out (the kids love splitting up and one of them going with their parents and the other going with us) so at least it shouldn't be cold and wet and miserable while we are out getting trampled by little ghosts and ghouls.

 

[txls]

We have quite a few places that do the trunck of treats so we don't get a lot of kids going door to door. So yes, we bought the kind of candy that we like, and I've been hiding it from my husband.

 

[cynthiag]

We have quite a few places that do the trunck of treats so we don't get a lot of kids going door to door. So yes, we bought the kind of candy that we like, and I've been hiding it from my husband.

We have a trunk or treat in the parking garage of my office and there's one area of town that really makes a big deal out of all the houses being decorated and they block off the roads from car traffic so most of the kids go there, but we still get a few door-to-door in our neighborhood. I bought a few small bags of candy bars last weekend and I should have hidden it. I noticed last night that the bowl is now down to about half. We won't be there most of the evening, but there's still bound to be a few kids, and now we'll have to ration carefully or we'll end up having to hand out doggie treats or something!