Pricks: Nosy Ninnies and Back to my Past:

Working retail I frequently encounter situation where a particular customer may have an issue that needs to be resolved if they wish to proceed with acquiring an item, either at all, or at the price they so desire.  Ninety percent of the time acquiring it is relatively easy if we actually have it, and ten percent of the time they want a display we can't sell due to its condition being a safety hazard that makes us liable if they use it, and thus legally we can't sell it.  Usually that is because some idiot approved it for refund when it absolutely should have been refused, as in the case of a mixer with a frayed cord, or an item with a battery that was damaged by too much heat or force and is leaking battery acid.  Other times we have people who want a price match or discount on an item for one reason or another and we have to evaluate each of those situations individually.  If it is within a reasonable price difference or otherwise fitting within our guidelines, sure, we'll match the price, especially if it was our fault for the issue.  As well, if something is missing or damaged but not a safety issue, we'll usually reduce the price accordingly, and with our newest discount program we even go further than we used to even for minor damage to the packaging or only a few non-essential pieces being missing.  Sometimes a price match is too disparaging a loss in profit and we have to deny it (and these cases are usually fraudulent, or a misunderstanding in the case of trying to match non-equivalent items), or limit it to one per person.  I remember a few years ago when someone priced a feature of artificial fire logs at the price of each individual log and neglected to open the shipment packages.  We had to give two separate people one box each for the price of a singular log, but wouldn't give them a second one at that price.  All those things are understandable and quite normal in a retail business that does price matching or otherwise is ethical enough to not deny pricing that is their mistake without needing it to be dragged into a small claims court, trudged through internet forums and dragged through the mud of social media and eager news outlets whose target audience already hates said business.  It happens in every retail store, even small businesses, to some extent at one time or another if they stay in business long enough.

When one customer tells another about an issue in order to help them save money as well, the business may not like it, but ethically, morally and legally, they should still honor the price match as per their mistake or policy, even if they are in the process of fixing it at the time it occurs.  It's not something many in the retail business like as for the sake of profit we may wish the second customer was willing to buy the item at the higher price in the first place, but, at the same time, perhaps that customer hadn't considered buying it before being told about the possible discount.  More often than not we in the retail business have a high enough markup on items that while we lose some percentage from those two we had to discount, we still gained more than we paid for the items (as the price baseline is calculated after considering cost, taxes, shipping and handling, etc), and the customer feeling that they have pulled a fast one on us may spend more than they originally intended, or instead buy an additional item worth the value of the discount...  An item which may have an even higher markup and profit for us than the one we discounted percentage-wise.  Price matching may be complicated with the differences between policies and management discretion, but overall it is good for our business and most others that have some manner of price matching, even if it is limited simply to their own mistakes or excluding online pricing and businesses not found in the same city or metropolitan area.  Ethically, intervention to help another customer save more money is actually appreciated by most businesses in the long run, though it may cause some regret at the time it occurs.  Conversely, a customer (rare as they are) who points out another guest of our story attempting to shoplift, or conveniently 'forgetting' to mention the gum in their coat pocket or pop hidden under the coat in the top of their cart, or attempting to get a price match for an item that another customer next to them points out isn't equivalent.  Granted, the customer being intervened on in those cases usually don't appreciate it, but the businesses certainly do when a customer feels enough loyalty to try to prevent someone stealing from us directly or through fraud.

Unfortunately, with customer intervention to help their fellow customers, or to try to help them pull a fast one on a business, some guests either butt in on a situation with information that is false because they misunderstood what happened in their own similar situation before or non-applicable in the situation due to the differences in situations.  Likewise, sometimes they outright lie, or try to rile up an employee to try to get them to make a promise they can't keep, 'catch them unable to keep their story straight', or otherwise try to fluster them.  Myself, I'm consistent and keeping precisely to what our policy dictates and where it is vague, going with the recommendation of past managers, including one of our former market managers' recommendations to every associate of every store within her market, as no member of management had stated otherwise since then, and as those gray areas call for an associates 'best judgement'.  Said managers then tended to either approve the price match because we were too busy to deal with taking the time to explain why and then need to get a disruptive customer escorted out of the store, or they upheld the associate's decision (rare as that is depending on the manager on duty and situation) and requested that the customer and secondary disruptive customers either purchase it at the decided price, decide not to purchase it and continue the rest of their business respectfully, or leave the store if they refused to act respectfully to the business and its other guests.

In addition to price matches, there are other issues that crop up from time to time where a secondary customer feels they have an ethical or moral reason to intervene in a situation they were not involved in, however, such as was the case today, they are completely mistaken in their understanding of law, policy, and personal judgement being applied to either.  Anytime any transaction is done, it is up to the business to not discriminate against a customer based on race, gender, age, ethnicity, spoken language, disability, or other way an individual may be classified and prejudiced upon.  Likewise, it is not required by law that a business make more than a 'reasonable effort' to prevent credit card, debit card, ebt, check or even cash purchase fraud or underage purchase.  It is, however, in the business's best interest as most fraud or underage purchase cases cost the business more in the long run than having a clear policy that they can act consistently with, whether it is publicly available, or even if it is not written in any location but merely passed down from one manager to their employees (though that is usually not good for the business if a suit is taken against them for supposed prejudice as they have no way to prove what their policy dictates).

In the case of our business, associates are supposed to check each fifty dollar bill and hundred dollar bill to the light to ensure it is not a counterfeit bill, as that lets the associate see not only if it is the right type of paper to even have a watermark, but also if it is a washed bill with the front and back of another bill printed on it (as marker tests fail when they are real bills but not the value presented).  Likewise, we are told to ensure checks look right, and at a certain point to the best of our judgement, we are supposed to ask for an ID card for any purchase not made with cash or a shop card, and compare it to the card or check being used for the purchase.  Any.  In the case of a gift card from Visa, Mastercard, American Express or a smaller credit company, many of them may not have a name on them, and therefore once we see that the purchase can continue without further interruption.  The same applies to ebt cards without a name intended for an entire household rather than a singular individual (rare as they are to be approved and given to the individual).  Business checks without a name on them are denied (and almost no business gives out checks or business charge cards without a name on them specifically to prevent theft, fraud by another, or fraud by an employee claiming it was stolen, etc).  Any card with one or more names on it needs to have at least one of the names be the name of the individual using it or have that individual with them and able to present their identification.  Any.  Credit, debit, even ebt.

Today I had a woman and her mother purchasing groceries with her sister's ebt card, which only prompts on our system as being a 'credit' card due to how our systems have classified all card purchases since an update earlier this year.  Silly, but regardless, I asked to see her card and identification and she was surprised, but pulled out the card and explained it was her sister's card, who was not present.  Had the card not had a name on it, and she not told me, she would have been fine to just run the card through with the way our policy stands, and to my judgement I would have had no issue either.  In fact, the woman despite being surprised was more than willing to go leave and get her sister as they only lived 'five minutes away' (a gross underestimation, but she clearly didn't mind).  Despite what started to happen immediately after being told her sister would be needed already beginning to happen, she left to go get her while her mother remained behind.  The two women behind her mother obviously were in a hurry to get their own groceries dealt with, so I was putting the first customer's purchase on suspension (which needs a manager approval in person via key-turn) to benefit the first customer and them as well.  However, despite telling all four this (and the younger woman in the first pair already starting to leave to get her sister and not sticking around for the rest of the nonsense), the second pair insisted that not only had they never heard of such a policy, but that I was being prejudiced.  Because they too had an ebt card (which didn't have a name on it and which they didn't even use in their own transaction) and knew that you have to be on welfare to get food stamps, etc.  I wanted to facepalm so hard, to laugh at the ridiculous of their implication.

For those who didn't know already, I have an older half-brother, a god brother, an older sister, and a younger brother.  My older sister and younger brother were both born at home, helped by a midwife.  I was born in a hospital because the midwife was helping someone else at the time.  My father had taken my sister to see Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home as it was still in theaters and it was far enough past Christmas that they could afford once again to see movies, though not enough to take both my mother and sister at the same time.  They came back to my mother doing her breathing exercises instead of calling the midwife or being in the hospital because...  Well, people who really know my family know why, but suffice to say, I ended up being born without complication to wonderfully loving parents with an older sister who may have been spoiled even at that young an age, but hadn't yet turned rotten.  Avoiding that tangent for another day, my extended family on either side of the family tree has never been wealthy with the exception of one aunt on my father's side and her family, but both sides have been more than content in their lives and the reward of hard work beyond monetary value.  My immediate family right now may have strains and issues, but my father's hard work has more than made up for the times when I wasn't able to have as much father-son bonding activities as some more wealthy families might have had.  Likewise, the activities we did share have reverberated and carried on through even today, as well as some of those shared with my godparents: My love of music in general, my love of reading, writing, comics, video games, books, movies, television, science fiction, fantasy, mystery (though that has diminished somewhat considering being able to see how rather mediocre most are in how little suspense there is and how easy most are to solve, or conversely, how some written in third person still are lacking in details that make the outcome even solvable), horror, action, adventure, swimming, taking photos, enjoying art, philosophy, psychology, debate (though my own desire for debate is rarely on the most popular subjects of religion, politics or criminal cases), science, viewing and being in nature, walking, climbing, and so on and so forth...  Additionally, everything I loved and knew as a child came from a life of limitation.

When my sister was born up until shortly before I turned five, my parents, sister and newly born younger brother all lived in Minneapolis.  Specifically, North Minneapolis, in the late 1980's and early 1990's.  If that itself isn't information enough, we were poor.  My father worked hard, at wages half what I'm making now usually (and even considering inflation wages were still laughably low to people starting their first jobs in this decade), and even that was because he pushed for a higher wage due to the quality of his work.  Needless to say, his employers liked his approach enough to give him the wages and continued to like it as they kept paying it and giving raises.  However, even though he worked hard, we didn't have a lot of money.  One of my favorite cartoons was and has always been the original 1984 The Transformers series put out by Sunbrow and Marvel, a series which ended in 1987.  Now, considering that the internet was in its infancy, many have wondered how a show that ended the year I was born was so important to me when it was already off the air before I was old enough to understand it.  The reason is two-fold:  Firstly, it aired as reruns for a while, and secondly, a local VHS shop went out of business.  This meant that my father was able to purchase a vhs player inexpensively, and with it multiple tapes of The Transformers' first season.  I still have those tapes.  I later ruined that vhs player by using it as a garage for my hot wheels cars.  A different tangent for a different day, but let's just say I had a childhood that amused me to no end then and still does now.  However, living as a poor white family in North Minneapolis also had its drawbacks.  Once my father made a complaint to the police about the noise a neighbor was making because he had already asked them politely to quiet down some as my mother could use more sleep with my brother keeping her up all the time with his kicking in her womb.  Getting police response even then about noise complaints usually was rare to go anywhere significant toward making any difference, however, the next day a brick went through our window.  Between that and the double jeopardy case that let three murderers living across the street get out of jail despite burying a girl my sister's age in their backyard...  Well, my parents were quick to take my godparents up on the opportunity to move with my father still working for the same employer and needing to travel even further, needing to even sleep there many times before between shifts and needing to many more times after we moved, but he still kept working hard.

Up until he became disabled due to work injuries my father always worked hard and enjoyed working.  He had a different employer at the time than the one previously mentioned, one who refused workman's comp and disability claim on the injury, but the State of Minnesota after two appeals finally approved for future benefits and past lost wages.  He didn't take them to court for emotional toil, stress and all the other applicable reasons he should have been able to for two reasons: first, we couldn't afford a lawyer as he couldn't work and thus couldn't pay for them unless the lawyer won the case, and secondly, because he only wanted what he was owed for his wages.  As much as he likes having money to spend on things for himself, usually he's spent it on my mother, myself and my siblings and others if he has had it, and the only times I recall him acting with any sort of desire to get more than he felt owed was during the period between appeals when he was in a very depressed emotional state with many different circumstances compounding.  Even despite that feeling, the only time I'm aware of where he acted on it was a time prior when he was drunk, shaking a claw machine and tipping it to get a few stuffed animals for my sister.  He admitted to what he did the very next day, offering to pay for each one, and instead painted the entire exterior of the West Side Lanes Bowling Alley where he worked at the time at no cost, and went beyond what he was asked in repayment, continuing to work there for quite a while before starting work for the company where he would become injured after several years of work.

My father is no saint, as his own tales of his past would illuminate better than I, but on the whole he's shown nothing but good intentions for my immediate family, extended family, and even strangers who haven't earned his respect but likewise haven't earned his ire.  The example prior about a customer trying to match dissimilar items?  My father did that multiple times, several of which were with a former associate who knew better and was trying to pull a fast one on us.  Between my father and my godparents I learned most of what I know, and especially my work ethic.  Likewise, our desire to stand on our own two feet and repay those who have helped us, even if they say that we don't have to.  When he was appealing his disability case we were on food stamps and unemployment.  Despite his many medical conditions (which have only been added to since with his type II diabetes and other conditions), my father didn't just sit around and try to milk the unemployment and food stamps.  He wanted to work.  He didn't want a handout, he wanted a wage.

Because of the particulars of his conditions, primarily his reflex sympathetic dystrophy, there aren't very many jobs that my father can work where a prospective employer would hire him.  He can't consistently be able to lift fifty pounds without risk of pain.  He has difficulty with his memory sometimes, though less than he used to due to medication changes and his willpower and stubborn Irish genetics driving him to push through the pain more than most people can stand even with medication.  The pain itself had many times driven him to his knees, though less now not only because of medication regulation becoming more precise but because he has learned to tolerate much more than is reasonable for anyone, let alone someone approaching retirement age in a few more years.  He had and still has a fluctuating sleep schedule due to the pain waking him up at times and feeling drained at times from fighting it or not getting enough sleep earlier (and yet despite this he still walks ten miles a day on a treadmill).  He wasn't trained or experienced in more than manual labor and custodial work, and his degree was in art, which he didn't put to use professionally despite his talent netting him prize money in a few contests (including one judged by National Geographic and his snow sculptures for the business he worked at  ending up on three different new channels) when I was younger.  He couldn't work in the jobs he used to which required heavy lifting or speed, and most other jobs available required experience in the field, a degree, both, or had other limitations that he could not overcome despite his attempts.  He hated having to be on welfare at all, doubly-so with the second appeal for disability being the last one allowed per disability case in Minnesota and the possibility of losing even that hated source of income.  Thankfully, he won the second appeal with the thanks of his habit of keeping documents of any importance for a prolonged period of time and the much appreciated work of the lawyer who helped with the case.  That said, even getting disability payments now (which are far lower than his wages were unfortunately but thankfully the medical costs are almost non-existent instead), he still puts considerable effort into things he still can do, including bringing almost surgical cleanliness to any room.

We had to rely on my godparents, our extended family and welfare for a few years while I was in high school.  Even if I had wanted to get a class ring or letterman jacket for my performance on the debate team, swim team, or choir, we couldn't afford it.  I had to take out a student loan which I'm still repaying for the singular year I went (before deciding it was a waste of money considering the way the economy was going even then in any field let alone for an English Writing Major) because we couldn't set aside any money to help out and additionally I wasn't able to put much time into applying for scholarships because my surprise high school graduation gift was chicken pox from someone in my graduating class which, yes, does explain the pock-marks on some of my skin including my face for those who didn't know yet and were too 'polite' to ask.  Everything boiled down over time meant that while we may have had periods of extra income for purchasing more, most of my toys, clothes, non-school books, and heck, even my school supplies were either second-hand or plain and on sale enough to make it possible to afford.

Even now I have to pay my student loan, medical bills if I have more than one doctor visit a year (and even though I'm only doing two a year I should be doing four a year due to my diabetes), the cost of my insulin beyond what my insurance covers, pester Tracfone in order to get an issue resolved over a bloody $20 card (which thankfully did get resolved yesterday satisfactorily finally), have had years of getting used to walking instead of driving to work both for the exercise and cost of gas (and having started before even having a car, and still do not myself have a driver's license, only a permit), are more comfortable wearing longsleeves in winter than turning on the heat (not that I usually do anyways...  My window is open and I have shorts on as it is too warm in here for me currently), bear the heat and humidity of summer almost exclusively with hydration and few layers, and many other considerations that make many people laugh at my self-description of being frugal, saying I'm just cheap.  However you look at it, even with the promotion I had this year and other wage increases, do I splurge more because of it?  Okay, yes, a little bit of splurging is actually cathartic, but something I tend to feel guilty about later.  I mean, I spent $60 on a third-party transformers figure I've been waiting for over a year to purchase ( http://tfsource.com/mastermind-creations/r08-azalea/ ) and am very, very pleased to have it after such anticipation, but at the same time I cringe at calculating out how much interest I could have had on that over time.

I put 6% of my income into my 401k, which is the standard, and I've got a decent amount in there, but would put even more if I could afford to, instead keeping more out for two reasons: Firstly, in case of a circumstance where I could no longer work much like my father encountered or otherwise similar in that regard, and secondarily, because I'm saving up to be able to have collateral down payment on a home mortgage in a couple years.  My friends all rent either apartments or part of a house.  A few of my relatives have homes of their own, though most that do either live in Las Vegas or far from the metropolitan area.  At the end of ten years after purchase I should be able to have a house paid off in full as well as still having money to splurge from time to time, even if I kept the exact same wage I am receiving now through that entire time.  I aim higher than department manager later, but am cautious about overreaching and needing to step down or find alternate employment as I have seen many others do at my place of employment.  Slow and steady and all that, I've turned down dozens upon dozens of promotions over the years and currently despite being understaffed and having even that staff pulled away frequently, I'm still doing a fairly good job, being recognized for it, and helping other department managers and higher members of management constantly.  Despite all the good things that have happened with the promotion, and the bad with becoming diabetic, I have persevered because even though I'm not giving myself tunnel vision over a potential future that might not happen, I'm still able to look back at what I had, where I came from, and see that I'm making progress year after year in the direction I want, and learning exactly what that is in a sea of changing desires and possibilities.

Understanding where I've come from somewhat...  The alternating acidic blood boiling and near biting-tongue numbness from holding back what I wanted to say to the pair of women who were butting in on a situation they didn't understand was near xenomorphic.  I may find it shameful to see others where I have been who I've seen enough to know that they aren't trying to make their lives better, but I don't judge people who have been where I have been or at lower depths than that at first glance.  I don't even at thirtieth glance.  Thirty-first maybe...  I jest, but at a certain point it isn't prejudice but experience with a particular individual, not the supposed group to which they belong.  That pair has been in our store multiple times attempting to do similar when I have been cashiering before I was a department manager and I recognized them even if I don't know their names.  They didn't recognize me, even though I'd checked their own identification before over similar issues and had it twice dealt without issue despite their complaints and twice with complaints ending up in managers approving it simply to get them out of the store.  Additional times dealing with them were below the threshold of asking for identification, but each time I see them I resist the urge to flip off my light because even they deserve to be treated with respect and not as statistics.  At my current position I can only do my best to follow policy and balance that with customer service allowances whether they require a second manager or not, and be polite, courteous, consistent and firm without the use of an ounce of twitch, gritted teeth, or other possible sign of displeasure at their very presence.  The two, who were prejudiced against me for working for wal-mart and said as much in their long tirade and attempt to get the mother in the first pair of customers to cause a problem for me (which she didn't even put a serious effort into doing and was told that I was acting according to policy discretely away from the nosy second pair), accused me of being prejudiced against the first pair.

In all honesty, had I actually been an assistant manager and the business been much smaller than the one I work for, I could have sued them for slander and had witnesses to testify to that.  Witnesses who marveled that I didn't let them rile me, didn't slip up and contradict myself by accident, kept a calm tone, didn't leave the register, and still thanked them for shopping with us and said we appreciated their business as their own transaction was being finished.  Just to further show nonsense of their idiocy, they asked if I wanted to see their identification for the cash they were paying for, even after I had explained exactly what required an identification check and their transaction having their enough items nor a card as part of their payment.  ...  So, to those who read this before Thanksgiving or at all, have a Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanza, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Ramadan, and Happy Holidays to all those celebrating other religions or lack thereof!  I'll be working Thanksgiving, Black Friday and on through Monday, but despite pricks like those two women, I'm enjoying my work and my life.  Especially looking back on it and knowing that I have never once been in a place or time where I have either acted like them or felt the need or desire to do so, and have never been in a relationship with someone like them.

Sugars, Substitutes and Baking:

Differentiate types of sugar and sugar substitutes affect different flavors when cooking, baking or merely using as a condiment flavor.  When it comes to most people, the first issue with common sugars and their use is mostly in flavoring.  Too much and it becomes overpowering.  Too little and other flavors may come to the forefront that are undesired.  Likewise, the second issue is that sugars tend to be high in calories.  Consuming too many sweets, despite how satisfying that may be, packs on pounds and mostly, fat.  That, even if the recipe was devoid of any other fat, is due to the buildup of calories in the fatty tissue to store for energy later as needed.  As such, people nowadays tend to look for diet and other low or no sugar food and beverage choices, not knowing of some of the other effects.  Sugar alcohols, which tend to be stronger than sugar in sweetness ounce for ounce, are either devoid of calories and carbohydrates, or having very little of them.  Sugar alcohols, unfortunately, tend to slow digestion and may cause intestinal distress in various forms others may find embarrassing later, not knowing the root cause.  Additionally, due to their density, sugar alcohols do not expand as easily for purposes such as baking.  This can lead the imaginative home bakers anguish at seeing their meringue fall flat, and the taste may vary greatly as they use too much or too little substitute compared to the type of sugar they are substituting for.  For those that are interested, here are two sites of interest detailing the different types of sugars, sugar substitutes, and alternative options for inclusion of flavors:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/07/130717-sugar-substitutes-nutrasweet-splenda-stevia-baking/

http://greatist.com/health/30-sugar-substitutes-any-and-every-possible-situation

A Treatise to Supervisors and Employers Regarding Planning and Performance:

To whom it may concern:
(I.E. Individuals who have encountered similar situations from either end of the issue in any form of its vagueness, have heard of said situations, or dreadfully worry about even the possibility of said situations)

Insisting something needs to be done by a certain time after the time itself has passed, especially after you have been told that it would definitely not be possible to be completed by that time without altering either the assistance or plan itself, does not change the fact that it was not possible and insisting it needed to be done by that time changes nothing  Having a shocked or worried expression will not make time flow backward to bend to your will, hopes, dreams, wishes, desires, et cetra.  If it was at all possible without altering either the plan or assistance, then those involved would not have said it was impossible without one of those being altered.  If over 60% of the time for a task is wasted through improper procedure planning initially, and it has been reiterated to you that this is the case while those involved are still doing the task in the way they have been instructed, signifies that they are already aware of the time being wasted and have made their case to alter the plan and their suggestion has been denied.  Any failure to succeed in a plan that was ill devised but all parts of said plan were carried out as per instructions properly translates to an error on the part of those making the plan, or at least those who aided in its formation who were unwilling to alter it in any way, shape or form.  It does not translate to an error on the part of multiple people working on the task and still being unable to complete it in the impossible frame of time given.  Even The Doctor would need his TARDIS to do it, and the Flash would need fire-extinguishers on the standby to put out the fires caused by the friction involved with his superhuman pace.  Lacking any adjustment in extending the time, minimizing the amount of steps needed, or increasing the workforce used to perform the tasks, trust the individual who has had to do it before on a smaller scale to proportionally increase the time and workforce needed, especially if one or more have had 2, 4, or gee, even 8+ years of experience in this regard.  They know what they are talking about.

From:
Your skilled and experienced workforce.

P.S.  While those involved may or may not read this and may or may not feel it is directed toward them, this is indeed a general message to any and all who behave in this manner.  If you feel that you are being implied, inferred or otherwise suggested without actual explicit naming or description of your physical being, then perhaps adaptation to a more reasonable outlook, planning and performance would be suggested, though it is just as much your right to ignore said suggestion, pretend it does not in any way actually mean you despite your own initial feelings that it did, and blithely continue through life and employer-employee relations without altering any behavior, attitude, or listening to those who are your best asset when put to proper use.  Perpetual examination of this or other treatises on this or similar subjects, however, typically suggests a conscious or subconscious understanding of a lack in your planning, listening, training or other work-related skills and knowledge base that should be addressed if not with those who are your best asset, then with your fellow colleagues or superiors; Preferably for you, said conversation would be sought out before it is brought to you with unimpressed gazes, scowling vehemence, or utter contempt from those who are either your superiors or higher than them, and therefor in a position to ensure you are dealt with in an unwelcome manner with regard to your continued employment for them.  Thank you for reading however much of this treatise you have gazed at, skimmed, read, absorbed, consumed, or altered your work behavior to accordingly, hopefully in a greater proportion to that which was ignored, passed over, denied, shunned or fled from in sheer terror. 

P.S.S.  To those who have read it who have been on the employee side of the issue, continue on diligently as best as you can, and make it abundantly clear through repeated proper behavior and performance that said employer or supervisor over you in this issue may need to adjust some things when their superior sees your consistent work and questions whether said employer or supervisor over you had more at fault in said situations than you.  It is rare, but it does happen.  Keep calm and be indispensable.

Illness and Blood Sugar:

When one is diabetic or has another issue with their blood sugars rising too high, their diet and exercise needs to be adjusted from what it was prior to their health issue.  One other issue rarely considered by those outside the medical profession, however, is that the body draws sugar into the blood stream when it needs to fight off most infections.  With someone without these health issues, this is normally not a problem, but for one who does, it becomes yet another balancing act.  Eating little while ill will certainly lower blood sugar a little, but at the same time they will be weaker and take longer to heal.  Those who take insulin can and should use it in order to lessen the blood sugar numbers due to the body improperly regulating the blood sugar, though taking too much will make the illness take longer to heal as well.  The best option is to eat low carb foods that are high in nutrients, hydrate properly and with a little more than usual, take insulin as needed to keep the blood sugar within the normal range, and try to avoid activities that will worsen the illness such as dealing with ice, spoiled food, etc.

Bottom-Feeders:

Human bottom-feeders are annoying, poisonous leeches that thrive off of other people's achievements, having no level they will not sink to in their gambits for more power or wealth.  They are so described, because of their similarity aquatic creatures that live in much the same manner.  Catfish, shrimp, crawfish, crabs, lobster, and other bottom feeders live mostly near the bottom of the waterway they live in, feeding off of the discarded waste and unfinished food that other creatures leave behind, or other weaker animals.  As a result, they tend to absorb a lot more heavy metals from sick food that falls down to them, as well as not needing to move as quickly as creatures that swim closer to the surface, growing more fat.  While any aquatic food, especially fish, is recommended to eat in moderation, catfish and other bottom feeders are recommended to eat even less often so as to prevent becoming ill from toxic metal poisoning as well as all the fat.

Fat vs Muscle:

One of the big things that people have issue with when dieting is thinking that because they are losing weight that they are becoming healthier by that alone.  Unfortunately, it's not quite that simple.  Losing weight when one is overweight is always good if the majority of the weight lost is in fat.  Unfortunately, for those who merely cut out calories and don't do more exercise, or worse, do even less exercise than before, they're also losing muscle mass.  Muscle is more dense than fat, and as a result, someone who thinks they are overweight might be mostly carrying muscle with just a little bit of fat, but if they lose weight too quickly they'll lose muscle with it as a result, and barely notice the difference.  By losing that muscle, however, they make it even harder to burn fat.  Additionally, a certain amount of fat is needed for a body, especially when it is in cold weather, for cushioning the joints and general energy available if one is going through periods of starvation.

When considering the average person's height, age, gender and other factors, doctors make estimations on what weight they feel a person should drop down to, and some more specialized than others (primarily dietitians, nutritionists, and trainers) will discuss the Body Mass Index or BMI.  This is a measurement of the amount of body-fat and individual has compared to the rest of their weight.  One way some measure it is to put hold a weight on a scale underwater and compare it to the weight being held out of the water.  The reason this has any effect at all is because fat floats and therefore the individual holding the weight won't be pressing as hard on the scale as otherwise.  There are more modern ways of testing BMI, but that is one of the oldest ways of testing it, and still fairly accurate for those that have waterproof scales available for testing it.  Highly athletic individuals should aim for a lower BMI, but the average healthy person typically should have a BMI score of 25 to 19.  If you're wanting to estimate your own BMI and find what your ideal weight should be, take a look at this chart for reference:

Pricks: Correct Order Information:

Three times yesterday while at work I had to deal with customers who hadn't put in the correct information for their orders, and then blamed us for their problems.  First, a customer who ordered a number of pictures and saw how much it cost, but was surprised to find some pictures with fifty or more copies each.  As the price was the exact same as they were billed, as well as the quantities being different per individual picture, the only explanation is them making a mistake in putting too many on order for some of the items.  The second one place an order for pickup from the store with items being pulled from the shelves...  When they knew we didn't have enough on the shelves, hence why they placed the order online and waited.  However, by placing the order for pickup from the shelves they had to go to a different store to get the excess we did not have in stock, as well as not having their phone number or email address correct on their order so they weren't notified of the insufficient amount of their particular item.  To which both complained about our side of thing being messed up when they had themselves made the error instead of reading the blood website and broadcasts.  The third one was for a photo order being printed still and they hadn't put in their correct phone number for pickup in case of a misprint or lack of the order slip.  Thankfully at least the last one we were able to fix the issue, but it took longer than the customer was willing to wait, so they left in a huff.  The three of these customers all put in their own information incorrectly, and as a result had to deal with the consequences of it, which were far lower than most other businesses would have them do, and as such their prickish behavior became nothing more than a blog post and memories of annoyances.  So, please people, use the correct information if placing online orders or any other order that needs such information.

Carbohydrates:

The word carbohydrate--or 'carbs' for short--gets thrown around a lot not only between diabetics and medical professionals, but also weight trainers, coaches and dietary experts.  Sometimes fad diets come around saying to eliminate carbs altogether, or to mostly eat low glycemic index carbs and very little meat, or many other odd dietary restrictions.  But what are these enigmatic nutritional foods designated as carbs?  What is a carb?

Carbohydrates are one of the three primary ways the body gets energy, the other two being fats and proteins.  Fats, of course, are quite annoying for those trying to diet and lose weight, but are necessary to some degree for joint movement, insulation during winter or in cold environments, as well as helping a body to have more ease floating or swimming in general.  Proteins mostly come from meat, legumes and nuts, and are needed for muscle growth and retention, as well as providing a lot of energy with less side-effects than carbohydrates if the protein comes from lean sources.  Carbs, on the other hand, come from fiber, sugars and other sources.  Now, a human needs glucose for the regulation of almost all of the bodily organs, including the controlling organ, the brain.  Glucose is a type of sugar that the body easily absorbs but takes time to break down, providing steady energy over a long period of time.  Other sugars, sucrose, dextrose, maltose, fructose, lactose and others, are more complex and the body needs to use more energy to break them down, though fructose is easier than most others in this regard.  They do provide more energy, but as a result of the digestion process, most of that sugar gets absorbed too quickly and causes a sugar rush as well as raising the blood sugar levels.  Now, any form of carb can raise the blood sugar levels, but certain types of carbs don't raise it as much.  Fibers, being the third type of carb, are essentially filler, taking a lot longer to digest than even glucose, and sometimes are unable to be absorbed at all, leaving a fullness sensation for longer.  Sugar alcohols, on the other hand, taste sweet without being as risky as complex sugars, but on the other hand are more difficult to digest and may leave some people quite gassy if consumed in large quantities.

Total carbohydrate count is looked at for when a diabetic or dieting person wants to calculate out how many carbs a meal has.  Of course, they should also check the calories for weight loss, but maintaining a relatively stable carb dispersal will keep them feeling full for longer while still providing them the energy they need to perform daily tasks and exercise.  The total carbohydrate count, however, can be lessened when calculating for how it affects the blood sugar.  Fiber, as mentioned earlier, is harder to digest while making a person feel more full.  The amount of fiber in a meal can be cut in half and subtracted from the total carbohydrate count.  Likewise, sugar alcohols are less trouble, but should only be cut into one-third and have that subtracted from the total carbohydrate count.  The average individual should have about 225 to 675 carbs in any given day.  Exceeding or going under this amount is generally not recommended as it tends to shift one's blood sugar levels into hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia respectively.  Technically the total amount should be calculated respective to an individual's weight, height, age and gender (because yes, women do tend to have more difficulty with blood sugar levels, especially during or after pregnancy, due to hormonal shifts affecting insulin levels), however as a general rule of thumb it is best to stay somewhere between those values and look to cut the total calorie count instead of carb count if somewhere in the middle.

False Hypoglycemia:

Before you ignore this post due to thinking it is pretty much the same as the last one, lend me your ear.  Okay, didn't know it was detachable.  Was meant to be figurative, but, well, okay then.  Moving on.  False hypoglycemia is something that I've encountered for two periods in my life, both before I found out I was diabetic and after when my a1c test came back significantly higher than was expected.  Hypoglycemia is, as mentioned in the last post, when the body is receiving too few sugars in the blood stream and has a need to eat in order to balance itself once more.  The problem is, the body adapts to prolonged periods of deviation from the norm.  People who live in areas with extreme cold get used to more mild cold temperature changes much more easily than those that do not.  People who live in areas with high heat and humidity still hate both, but they get used to it much more than someone in a milder area does.  People living at extreme elevations get used to the thinner oxygen levels.  Everything is relative, yes, including your Aunt Georgina with the hairy mole on her chin despite your protestations to your parents.  The issue with false hypoglycemia is exactly that.

False hypoglycemia happens when the body thinks that it is getting too few sugars because it has been getting too many for too long.  Before I found out I was diabetic I thought I was fine and needed to eat more because my body kept wanting more.  After I was diabetic, there was a period I thought I had a good handle on it and started eating a lot more varied foods without testing my blood daily, instead just checking it once every three days.  Some foods I ate were much, much higher in carbs than they seemed though, even though they didn't taste sweet.  That's the issue with being diabetic, it isn't just 'traditional sugar' that comprises the problems with carbohydrates.  It is any form of carbohydrates, though those lower on the glycemic index are less of a problem.  As I felt I was doing fine, I was eating just a bit more as I felt hungry, not a lot and still taking my insulin, but I wasn't checking my blood daily, let alone more often.  It made sense, I mean, the blood strips are expensive and not covered by most insurance companies despite being anywhere from fifty cents to a dollar per test strip depending on the company.  Insane, isn't it?  Regardless, my blood would test fine in a few days because I wasn't typically eating as much the day before, but it was still coming up higher than before when I was testing regularly.  Not significantly enough to think there was a problem, but I should have been curious about that.  Most diabetics and even those who aren't who have blood sugar issues should though.  The issue was that my body was used to the highs more than the lows, and as a result I was consuming way more carbs on the days I wasn't testing and my blood sugars were still elevated a few days later, though not as much as the day after I tested.  My a1c read way too high and I resolved to simply trim out a small amount of carbs from my diet slowly and lower it.  I started feeling even hungrier, even getting the shakes, but I knew something was wrong since my insulin intake hadn't gone up enough to cause a crash.  So I tested my blood.

My blood sugars were still higher than they should be, on the upper threshold of normal.  I took to the internet and found out about false hypoglycemia, something which I had not even considered before despite my knowledge of individuals whose body had adapted to extremes.  My craving for carbs was merely my body crying out to be put back into what it thought was the new normal!  As I ate low glycemic index foods to take the edge off, mostly a small amount of peanuts and strawberries, I steadily fought back against the urges to eat much more.  I've brought my blood sugars back down to the level they should be, though I still have to test regularly in order to ensure I'm not going too far down (which I've been only twice since finding out I was diabetic) or that I'm too high.  Because the body adapts to resist using too much insulin, the only recourse to deal with it appropriately is diet control.  Exercise helps, but little burns enough carbs to make an impact.  Calories, yes, which is still good, but most of what is burned up through exercise is fat, with protein being broken down to rebuild itself stronger.  That's why a balance of carbs and protein is recommended when exercising, leaning more on the lean protein side than carb side.  My next a1c test won't be for a while, but armed with the knowledge of what false hypoglycemia was doing to my body and the ability to test frequently enough to ensure it didn't rear its ugly head again, I'm sure I'll do better on the next one.

Hypoglycemia:

On the opposite end of the spectrum from hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia is an insufficient amount of sugar in the bloodstream, which may also be a problem for diabetics.  In addition to the buildup of fat creating more resistance from overabundant use of insulin, too much causes the sugar levels to plummet.  This can cause dizziness, blurred vision, fainting, coma or even death.  It is just as serious as hyperglycemia and the reason most diabetics carry a few small pieces of candy or glycerin pills with them, the latter tending to be more expensive but easier to take on jobs where eating is frowned upon or outright denied despite this being discriminatory to diabetics under the 1990 ADA regulations all businesses have to follow.  Most jobs will willingly comply to the needs of the disabled diabetic once reminded of this fact, though for obvious reasons they may insist on an understandable give-and-take of simply going into the backroom of such an establishment even if not on break to be able to get a quick piece of candy or the like to raise one's blood sugar.  This is perfectly legal and something I myself have to do at my work from time to time when my blood sugar drops.

One of the reasons that blood sugar drops, especially in type I diabetics is that their body absorbs the insulin they take to counteract the carbohydrates consumed, however the quantity they calculated for is actually lower than anticipated, rather than being significantly higher as is more often the case.  Those with type II diabetes rarely have this issue as their body is producing enough insulin but it is being resisted, however it can still happen to them and those who are not diabetic if an individual does not consume enough carbs in a day, typically something more common for people who are fasting.  This may also lead to diabetes, though more rarely than prolonged hypoglycemic period fouling up their body's regulation of insulin.

Hyperglycemia:

Diabetes is a disability, a condition wherein the body struggles to regulate the absorption of sugar and proper production and absorption of insulin.  In type I diabetes, the kind I have, the body is absorbing insulin fine, but the pancreas is not producing enough to remove adequate sugar from the bloodstream, and is not releasing the sugar properly when blood sugar is low.  The balance of blood sugar is needed because too much weakens the blood cell walls and damages tissue, but too little doesn't give enough energy for daily necessity, especially brain activity.  As such, Hyperglycemia, the over-abundance of sugar in the bloodstream, is extremely dangerous.  As it damages tissue and blood, it increases the risk of stroke and heart attack, as well as seizures.

The unfortunate thing is that taking too much insulin beyond what is needed makes the body build it up as fat, which causes an increase in resistance.  Thus, one needs to not take too much insulin beyond what is needed, or it will be less effective in the future until the fat is exercised off.  As this is more difficult than just eating less, it becomes a necessity to be careful with how many carbohydrates someone with diabetes eats in a day, and if they are type I, how much insulin they use as a result.

Part of the problem many diabetics have with this is loving to eat out, or eat with friends and family, but having no idea how many carbs their meal has.  They can estimate it if they get used to making food on their own that is similar, or by asking friends and family to keep the ingredient labels and such so as to calculate it out, but restaurants typically don't have such things.  The more one tries to avoid eating out, however, the more stigma there is for not eating with friends, family and co-workers, or for turning down free food.  This, in addition to many people disliking the sight of the injections being done or being afraid of needles and becoming queasy, make some ask questions such as why they don't take a pill form, or have a pump instead that is more easily concealed and supposedly makes things easier.

There are no pill forms of insulin as that wouldn't properly integrate into the body with how it is produced, and the pumps are not only more expensive but still require the same amount of regulation as the needles themselves due to needing to know how many carbohydrates are being consumed and then inputting it into the machine for how many units to pump out.  By and large, this takes just as much time as using the needles directly, and yet when explaining this to some people, they just turn their noses at even kindly having this explained to them because someone they know or have heard of swears by the pump.  In the case of understanding after it is explained, that was just ignorance and now it has been replaced with knowledge.  In the case of those who bristle and sneer at explanations, this is stupidity.

Diagnosis 5/25/2012:

On 5/25/2012, I was taken to the emergency room by my father and mother, both type II diabetics, because on a whim my father had decided to test my blood sugar levels for four days beforehand, and each day it was over 250 points.  On the 24th, however, it shot up to 358, then beeped and switched to only displaying HIGH.  We went on a half-mile walk and testing his blood with it showing within the expected range, and my blood after, and it didn't even give an initial point value, just displaying HIGH.  I went to bed and we were planning to test it again before work the following day to determine if I should see a doctor or if it was due to a fluke of what I ate recently.  My father called his doctor who told him to wake me and take me to the emergency room as I could have a stroke or heart attack at any day without warning.  My reading was 383 on the tester that they used and they immediately wheeled me into a room and put me on a saline drip, testing my blood.  The a1c test came back 14.9%, and I was diagnosed with diabetes mellitus type I.

I was 25 years old, and my life changed that day.  Before I just did what most young adults did, I did whatever I want without thinking on the consequences.  I ate a pizza and three scoops of ice cream three nights a week four hours before bed, I didn't do any exercise outside of what my retail job called for, and I hadn't visited a doctor in six years.  True, I had twice dropped 70 lbs in 7 months through careful calorie counting and exercise regimen to lower my weight for vanity and general health concerns, but I was starting to let it rise again slowly, weighing 215 lbs.  I didn't feel any of the symptoms of diabetes except hunger which I just thought was due to days I had worked harder, and excessive thirst, which I had thought was merely due to the bothersome humidity and heat.  I hadn't realized that my pancreas wasn't producing enough insulin, nor that I was at risk for type I as it is generally a juvenile disease, and both my parents had type II in part due to their sedentary disabled lifestyle and eating habits.  The notion that eating what I had always eaten, but at a slightly elevated pace compared to my norm for a month or two, would possibly affect my blood sugar that drastically, that is had been borderline diabetes for perhaps years, never had occurred to me.  I liked food, and so did my body, until the day we silently betrayed each other.

Now I have to test my blood sugar regularly and take two types of insulin a day in order to not only keep myself from feeling hungry and thirsty, I have to use it all in order to balance myself between hyperglycemia, extremely high blood sugar such as I had on admission to the emergency room, and hypoglycemia, extremely low blood sugar, from which I could slip into a coma.  It is a more expensive life, my insulin cost $170 a month even after my insurance covers 3/4ths of the cost, and my test strips being just as expensive, though used taken as frequently as I or my doctor would like due to financial limitations.  It is a life of quarterly checkups being reduced to yearly due to insurance coverage limitations and struggles with financial assistance.  It is a life of a daily aspirin regimen.  It is a life with silent and verbal judgement over an intelligent man falling victim to a 'disease of laziness', over having to use injections and of rampant wide-spread ignorance, even from those who claim to have a friend or two with the same condition.  It is a life of spots on the fingers from all the blood tests.  It is a life with pricks.