.

.

8/25/2013

My job, and other things

I have fallen in love with my job. My 90 day mark was this past Wednesday, and though absolutely unbelievably busy, I'd much rather have that than be bored to death at work.
A lot of people who come in to the office ask me if I get bored just greeting people, or if "they have me doing other stuff to keep me busy" HA! One downfall to the job is having the appearance of a receptionist, even though being one is about 8% of what I actually do. So yes, I sit up front at the St. Luke's business and administration building, a building of almost 600 people. I am the only "receptionist", but there is so much more!
Here are my responsibilities:
I receive bankruptcy notices for patients, and have to set accounts into bankruptcy status. This includes updating those accounts when they are "discharged" or "dismissed". You would be shocked at the amount of bankruptcies, and that is only in St. Luke's patient base. I also download these huge reports that list bankruptcies and deceased and have to put them into spreadsheets, then complete those.
I receive death certificates and deceased lists from the hospitals, and make sure accounts are fully in deceased status. Along with this I sometimes receive requests for "claims against the estate", and have to fill out this very official looking form saying how much the deceased person still owes, and mail that to several people.
I receive billing requests from attorneys needing bills for their clients in personal injury law suits. After verifying everything is legal, I compile those bills and send them to the attorneys. I try to create the best relationships with the attorney's and their paralegals because you do not want to get on their bad side. They can be no fun to deal with.
I mail out county assistance bills for the county department. Basically people that can't pay their bills and fit other qualifications can apply for county assistance, and there is a huge long process which includes their bills being sent to their county. There are a LOT of bills....
I order supplies for my group of about 20 ladies, from office max. I have definitely developed a "thing" for office supplies.
I submit maintenance requests for people all throughout the building, whether it is for a leaky faucet, or a hornet's nest. I guess along with this, I really have to know everything that goes on in the building, which is so much easier typed than done. I am constantly getting information on the goings on, and it is sometimes a nightmare to keep track of!
I get all returned bills and address changes. This pretty much could consume my life. I have hundreds and hundreds of addresses I have to change, and people I have to investigate to try to find their correct address. That is one thing I feel like I can never catch up on!
Then there are my receptionist duties. I greet patients that come in with questions about bills, and get reps to help them. I notify people when meeting attendees and interviewees arrive. I make coffee and cocoa for the front lobby, and people turn in Financial assistance packets to me.
If this seems like a lot, it is. It's really a two person job, but I have been alone for almost 2 months. I have changed a lot of what my position does, and I feel really good about it! I'm all about efficiency, and it has been quite the puzzle to iron out some of the processes.
BUT I love it. Even though sometimes I feel like I am drowning, I do love it. I finally fell comfortable with people at the office, especially my department (patient financial services). I am trying so hard to learn as many names as possible, which is quite the feat. I love most of the interaction with patients, I meet so many interesting people every day.
This job has really helped me meet myself if you will. I have a lot of responsibility, and I've gained a lot of confidence in what I can do. I've never really felt that before, and it makes me think "what else can I do?" Something I've never thought before. It is a great feeling to realize what you can be capable of. Also, as a side note, in high school I always said I wanted a job where I had to dress up pretty every day, and I got it! It is so fun to dress "businessy" :)
People really are wonderful though. On Friday, there was a huge meeting in one of my conference rooms, and it was catered. The lady so graciously brought me and absolutely delicious and beautiful lunch, and even though it was delicious, it was so nice to be thought of.
So that is more than you probably ever wanted to know about my job, but this is for me too! Years down the road I want to remember what I did :)
Other things from the week, I FINALLY finished my first crochet blanket that I started back in April. I pretty much didn't crochet at all in May, so really it took me about 4 months, only crocheting a little at a time. The sucker is HUGE though! I don't know what I was thinking! It is bigger than our queen size comforter! here is a picture. Disregard the poorly made bed, I just put it there to show the size and the pattern :)
Lastly, our friends Shea and McKay just bought a house, and moved in Friday night! Jared helped them move (I was going to, but I have stress fractured my foot! Long story....but sometimes it is slightly hard to walk on it...) But yesterday I wanted to do something fun for them to congratulate their home ownership, so I made them a "welcome home basket". It included a fleece blanket I made, a decorative "R" for Rogers (their last name), a candle, hand soap, and some goodies from World Market (I ADORE THAT STORE!), all in a pretty basket. They deserve more! We are so excited for them!

8/21/2013

Garage freezer

I got a new toy. I haven't been this excited about something in a long time. I found a little beat up freezer on craigslist for $75, and I snagged it. I am SOOOO excited for this garage freezer. Every time I opened my freezer above my fridge I would want to beat someone up, and this feeling would only get stronger after I had to dodge frozen bags of chicken from falling on my feet because the stinking tiny freezer was overflowing. So now I can STOCK up, something that truly warms my soul.
 In other news, along with paving roads and laying plots behind our house, they laid the foundation for the house right across the street from us today. I feel so bad for the guys working in this 100 degree weather, but this house will be up before we know it. They sure work quick!

We have had a great time hanging out with our friends lately. It is so nice to be settled here and though we don't have family, to have people who we love here! Our friends Shea and McKay and their daughter Penny are very close to our hearts, and Jared adores little Penny. Just check out these pictures and see how Penny feels about Jared.
Look at her caress his face!
 In other news, I have been doing a skin challenge, put on by my favorite lady Cara from the blog Maskcara. You have to drink 1/2 gallon of water a day, wash your face every single night, and moisturize morning and night. See the whole here: Soapbox Challenge. I've already noticed a little difference in my skin, and it's nice to stick to a routine.
Also we are doing fruit and veggie bingo through my work. Each week they send out a bingo sheet, and you eat a serving of the foods, and mark them off, and report your "bingos" at the end of the week. I really love my job.

Though, at my job, in the past week, two different people were carted off in the ambulance. A lady had what she thought was a heart attack last week, and today, I had to call 911 for a different lady that was having severe abdominal pain, and both times the paramedics and firemen storm into my lobby, and it was all very intense. 
We are loving life, but mostly loving each other, we just wish we had more time together! McKay calls us "DINKs" Double Income No Kids. Which is true, and nice, but working 10 hours a day each sure keeps us busy, and exhausted.

8/04/2013

July

A couple of weeks ago we were able to go to a BBQ for all of Jared's company. I was kind of hesitant to go, it was on a Thursday night, and it was about 105 degrees, but I went to support Jared, and we ended up having an awesome time! The food was good, and we hung out with our friends Shea and McKay and their darling daughter Penny, who Jared is especially in love with.
Then last week Ross and Chelsey got into Boise, to stay!! Woo hoo! So we, plus another couple Jeff and Kailee went to the Boise music festival. It was so. stinking. hot. but it was fun. We got frozen lemonades and listened to Carly Rae Jepson sing call me maybe, and vanilla ice sing Ice Ice baby, and then Chelsey and I pushed up almost to the very front of the crowd for Jason Derulo, who actually put on a super entertaining show, and I knew all the songs!
 This past week, I was able to watch one of the babies that used to be in my class, little Austin boy, who even though I haven't seen him in two months, and he is only 17 months old, when I walked into his class Thursday afternoon, he dropped his toy, ran up to me, and gave me a big hug. I may or may not have cried. He came home with me, and spent the night with us, and he did awesome, and I miss those kiddos!
Finally, we have gotten so much done with our yard, and I haven't gotten pictures up! We finished the bar around the grill, we filled in the patio with rocks, built a brick step, and yesterday we got a SMOKIN deal on a huge set of gorgeous patio furniture in perfect condition for $75, that retails for over $500. It came with a table, 6 chairs, two foot stools, and an umbrella. I am in love with it!
(Also see if you can spy Shannon in her bright blue robe in one of these pictures.... jeez louise)