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G5052

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  1. Gosh, I don't know of anyone in my area using a waiting room. The norm is that you call them when you arrive, and then they call you to come in.
  2. I hadn't been to the dentist in a year because they cancelled my March preventative appointment. However, in October I had a crown fall out with significant pain. They were able to schedule me the next day to have it replaced and to have x-rays and a cleaning which I felt that I needed because I had another tooth wasn't feeling right. Sure enough, the other tooth needed a filling. So I got it all done. I decided to delay my mammogram which was due this month. I've had ten years of clear ones and no family history. I also decided to delay my annual eye exam, and my annual skin exam at the dermatologist. I go in for blood work and a doctor visit twice a year because of blood sugar and one medication I'm on. I'm not going to skip that. I chose to schedule a 7am appointment when the facility is supposedly clean from the night before and only two doctors are on duty. Even prior to COVID, I liked those appointments because almost no one was there. I think you have to be wise about it but everyone is a little different of course.
  3. Yes, that was the situation in the case I cited. The parents said they wouldn't consign for another $100,000+. When I was trying to figure out if we'd have to borrow for my youngest to finish her degree, we were looking at around $25,000 total which is very doable given that her field generally starts at 2-2.5 times that.
  4. Yes, I use it for dog supplies and certain staples that I can't buy locally.
  5. Completely their choice, but one of my son's friends graduated with six figures in loans and then wanted to go to law school. Even living at home and taking the train in, it would have been another six figures in loans. Last I heard he was saving up because the parents said that was too much debt for someone who was leaning towards a career in government or politics. Our family's estate lawyer borrowed for law school but then lived with her parents while paying her loans off. She said that some people in her firm looked a little askance at that, but it worked for her.
  6. Yes, I hear you. Most of the local groups in my area have shut down. I do have female friends that I talk to a lot during the week, but I wouldn't mind having a more mixed group to do things with. I think if it ever happens for me, it will be because of a long, slow association. My young adults live with me, but I need my own friends and adult conversation. I also know people who have married through the apps, but I also know people who did it for awhile and said NEVER again. Too many weirdos and people trying to hide things!
  7. We did Embark for our mutt two years ago. We were really tight that Christmas, and my kids said to make it a priority, so that was our family gift for 2018. The rescue said she was a beagle/German shorthair pointer. Nope. She's a spotty mostly beagle/boxer which makes a lot more sense. She has the neck and shoulders of a boxer and is bigger than a beagle, but her face and scent hound behavior is very beagle. She's more compliant than most beagles. I took the results to our vet, and he said that the science is still developing, but he had the tech scan the results for her record. There was one minor genetic flag that he said he watches in all beagles and beagle mixes anyway.
  8. We're ordering smoked turkey breast from a barbeque place, and then we're doing just a few of our favorite sides and one pie. Several people invited us, but I'm wary of group situations because of raging COVID in our area. I have two friends who are sick right now with it. We've done the big Thanksgiving with friends, and a small family celebration like we are this year with just immediate family.
  9. We had some money put aside but ended up having them start at the community college. In my state the community colleges are very well thought of and have solid guaranteed admission agreements with competitive four-year schools. My older one got scholarships at the community college that paid most of his tuition. My younger one did not get scholarships, but it was very affordable. Then they transferred to a competitive four year that they were commuting to when COVID hit. Both went Guaranteed Admission, one into a very selective field that would have been hard to transfer into without that. Then my finances took a nosedive when I became a single parent, but for various reasons I couldn't get need-based aid. My oldest was leaning towards the Army National Guard and decided to join up. They pay nearly all of his tuition, and he made up the rest with his bonus, his Guard pay, and another job. He's been very happy with the Guard overall and got selected for an elite regional unit with good leadership . FWIW, being in the National Guard is a good resume-building choice because it shows discipline and teamwork. That freed up money for my younger one. I thought that we might have to borrow for the younger one this fall which wouldn't have been too bad, but I'm able to cover her tuition now. She covers all of her other expenses with a job. So we did it with no loans with a combination of community college, commuting to a four-year, and the Army National Guard. I did have some financial resources put aside, but not enough for anything but what we did.
  10. I'm not going to share the details here, but I've had occasion to hire multiple lawyers in the last few years for family issues. All told I've worked seven in the last five years including four who were nationally ranked attorneys in major metropolitan areas. All were complete professionals and had good paralegals, FWIW. But GOSH, they are assertive, speak-their-mind people. I'm a professional educator, and it's a different set of skills to work with an attorney, particularly a high-powered one. They want quick responses and decisions. They have strong opinions and need to be argued with if they aren't taking everything into account. One of them was a well-known litigator, and I had to tell him repeatedly that I wanted to settle out of court until he stopped asking about that. He was respectful, but he knew how to ARGUE. He was also a persistent negotiator, and we were successful with getting a good out-of-court settlement. Thankfully! In my younger days, I think I would have enjoyed that field if I was working with someone who maintained a level of mutual respect with me. But being older, I'm sticking to education (smile). I think you'll be fine.
  11. A consideration for those looking at colleges now and those of us with kids in college. https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/11/17/higher-ed-job-loss/ Mine are home, 100% online. They drastically cut back operations at the placement office, and my graduating senior has largely been on his own for job hunting. My younger one has a job with the college writing center that seamlessly moved online. Otherwise we haven't observed any changes. I'm an adjunct at a different college with higher priority than many because I have 20+ years in the state system. Before the pandemic, they were routinely giving me full load without crossing the ACA line, usually 4-5 classes during the school year and three in the summer. No benefits. They told me in April that I likely would have nothing during the summer, and then I ended up with three. Then they said in July that the majority of the adjuncts would have nothing in the fall, and I ended up with four classes. The majority of the adjuncts I've been teaching with over the last few years are not on the schedule. So I just peeked, and I have three in the spring. We have a department meeting Friday, and I'm guessing that they're going to be talking about the budget. So interesting times!
  12. It really varies a lot. In my cohort in graduate school, most were going for an M.S. and a few for a PhD. I decided to get just an M.S. after a major showdown with my dissertation advisor. The head of the graduate program tried to convince me to switch to him, but I just took my degree and went off on a paid sabbatical that I lined up. I ended up staying there and never went back to my original employer. Everyone else going for a PhD finished. All of the M.S. people finished, and one who got their M.S. took off a few years and then went back and got their PhD. For me, getting an M.S. was plenty. I was burning out in research and went into policy and program management. Now I teach at the community college level. That's really all I needed.
  13. I was looking for an update and glad to see that he's at least getting interviews. I aggressively looked for over a year, using mostly LinkedIn and Ziprecruiter. I had some good interviews, but no final offers. In every case where I was in the top 2-3, they hired someone who had previously worked for them. In one case they gave me a verbal offer, and then hired someone who applied the very day I got a verbal offer. It was someone who had interned with them some years before. What can you do? I ended up doing mostly contract work like you are which has it's downsides, but it's income in a field that I enjoy. I have steady work now and am planning my retirement. So it all worked out, but it was sure painful to get turned down so many times. IMHO age discrimination is alive and well, but that's another post...
  14. I'm sorry that you lost your mother and are having to make these tough decisions. I agree with others that you have to look at this as a big picture decision, not just what you would do in pre-COVID days. We went to a funeral last week, figuring that they were not going to be careful. They were not. My younger one and I both have asthma. We went masked to the visitation only and then left at the same time as a family friend was headed out because they also were uncomfortable. None of the family members of the deceased were masked at all. My oldest stayed for the service and then was a pall bearer, masked the whole time. He said the family remained unmasked the entire time. He left then and did not go to the reception. Friends who went to the reception said that nearly everyone who went took off their masks and didn't put them back on. My friends said they were one of the few who put their masks back on after eating. We of course pray that it doesn't become a spreader event, but people will do what they will. I think being careful is both wise and considerate of others.
  15. Yes, we've been looking. I told the realtor "around" 2000 sq ft. My college kids live with me in a rental house that size, and I don't anything bigger. I also want my bedroom, the living room, and the kitchen all on one floor. I'm figuring that one or both will be gone in the next 1-3 years. There are houses like that in my area, but they don't come up on the market that much. So we're waiting. This is likely the last house I'll ever buy, so we want to do it right.
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