Remember those days when you were in fifth grade and you would go out to the playground and it would smell like a horse had died?  Or rather that a horse had had the morning to use your beloved playground as a toilet and it made you wish that your sense of smell was dead?  Usually it would be in the springtime when the weather was balmy and marvelous and life was otherwise perfect.  Let’s go out and play tag.  Whoops!  Let’s not!  Let’s go inside and put on our oxygen masks! Landscaping mulch has always been able to evoke deep visceral memory recall for me, and maybe for you, too.  Mostly because our sense of smell is linked to our sense of place, which is where everything happens.

Well, consider this: what if you could remember all the joys of your youth without having them tainted by powerful aromas from the compost pile?  Landscape mulch has come a long way in the last few decades of civilization.  With the advent of recycling industries, smart people have figured out how to transform recycled tires into a variety of products, not limited to, but including. . .flower pot holders, clothing, bags, trashcans, and last but not least: playground landscaping material.  One high quality rubber landscaping mulch, trademarked as Rubber Bark^TM, is dominating the market.  Their stuff looks a lot like the wood chips of old, but is a lot more durable, ecological, and termite resistant.   They process the chips to make sure that no harmful metals or allery-inducing nylon remains from the rubber’s past-life as a tire.  Their chips are also some time coated with brightly colored non-toxic dyes, for those with more adventurous landscaping tendencies. Rubber mulch doesn’t absorb water (so that 100% of it goes to your plants), it reduces weed growth by as much as 86%, it’s dense, so it doesn’t blow away.

What the heck?  You live in California don’t you?  You live amongst the stars, only traffic keeps you apart no?  While you drive to Whole Foods do you see Cameron Diaz slip into Erewhon like I do?  It’s a wild world, I’ll say.  That in one universe people of all shapes, and by that, I mean facial symmetries might live in the same time-zone, and geographic location. . .That’s crazy.  Back in time, that being, history, they used to keep lepers on a colony so that they might not infect the others.  Wouldn’t it be something if you wanted to be a starlet, you had to commit to being in 2-D for the rest of your life? 

That said, I think film screenings los angeles can contribute to one’s sense that the stars are merely figments of light.  To be so perfectly formed, and so perfectly lighted seems a far cry from daily life, but not all of it.  There are moments when life becomes in its own way, cinematic. free movie screening passes might have something to do with it, but in a less sought out way, sometimes we find ourselves driving down the rolling freeways of Southern California, into Montrose to meet up with a new man-friend, and our mind is percolating the possibilities of relationship success and failure, our parents’ marriage of complicated devotion. . .and then all of a sudden, the curtains pull back from our eyes and the free movie preview screenings of heaven starts rolling before our eyes.  Mountains majesty, humble and grey and giant and fog lit and lilting against the highway’s horizon – silent and mighty and serene. 

Residing in California, everybody is aware of the socially produced disasters of traffic and drought. Everyday cars pile into the streets during the morning and evening commutes and when the rubber rolls on the street, you can say it rolls out lots of pollution and smog. However, there is a company known as Rubber Bark processing the countless tires retired each year. In 2001, a husband and wife couple, recognized the tires these were recycling at their place of work, might be better converted into mulch along with other creative gardening items. The result of their labors is eco-friendly, and made from 100% recycled tires. Recycled rubber mulch looks the same as wood or rock and it is fade resistant. Most importantly, the stuff is available in blue, green, and pink and their color-process is non-toxic.  For those artistic persons hoping to creatively engage with their surroundings.

Additionally, are you aware that wood chips fade with time and prolonged exposure to sun along with other weather conditions?  A rubber landscape  is 12x as fade resistant as wood mulch and doesn’t decompose and deteriorate like wood does. Whenever you water your mulch, 100% from the waters should go to your plants, with wood chips, the water tends to be absorbed into the fibers and then evaporated into the atmosphere, while plants wait thirstily for the sprinkler systems to activate again.  Rubber mulch doesn’t suck in so much water.  And weeds highly dislike the stuff, so much so that you’ll probably notice unwanted weeds decrease in the time span of less than a month.  Wood eating bugs tend. . .to eat wood, not rubber. It’s heavy enough it will not float or blow away in a gentle coastal wind. Also it looks good! You will be adding entrance charm and cost for your property by using these items. Playground rubber:  Innovation you will be glad to bounce on.

Many people fail to realize there are different types of eating disorders. The eating disorders most people are familiar with are anorexia nervosa or bulimia. There a lot of eating disorders and many are stereotyped and misunderstood and all lumped into the same category. People assume anyone with an eating disorder is extremely thin and is a girl, however different eating disorders have different body effects. Not every person struggling with anorexia is extremely thin. Many have normal body weight or may even be overweight but still struggle from anorexia.

Other popular eating disorders that people are still unfamiliar with are compulsive eating, orthorexia, night eating, body dysmorphia, and more than you may have never known existed.  However, the important thing to realize is that there is recovery from each of these eating disorders. There is more than just anorexia treatment, bulimia treatment, but treatment for every type of disorder. Many treatment centers offer dual diagnosis, which helps them treat not only the eating disorder, but also a mental illness or substance abuse that can often accompany them. These patients not only receive one on one therapy and group therapy, they also get education and learn to love their body. Eating disorders stem from psychological issues, so it is important to address those issues from the root before any type of eating disorder ca be healed.

            Absurd and complicated science has a lot to do with codes. Either they need to be made or broken, with the ramifications usually having some weight in the medical field. Codes produce breakthroughs, but there is a different kind of medical coding that requires some discussion. Specifically, medical coding and billing services are on the rise and for good reason. The insurance industry has made it a trend, or even common practice, to make claims and coverage difficult in the lives of individuals who need it most. These are incredibly unfortunate circumstances, during incredibly tough economic times, and this really shouldn’t be happening. But, medical coding websites can provide affordable options, when it comes to breaking insurance’s code book.

            Obviously, the majority of people will not want to incur more cost when facing medical bills that are unaffordable or unwarranted. This is a common human reaction. But, let me remind the naysayers that they most likely seek the comfort of friends, when dealing with a social problem. So, it is safe to say that this mentality can extend to billing solutions. Face it, the average person does not have the knowledge necessary to work within and understand insurance’s system of billing and coverage. They shouldn’t be expected to either.

            A medical coding and billing specialist is trained in being able to draft documents and formulate claims that ensure a higher chance of insurance coverage. If they cannot do this, they will let the client know, before they pay for any services. Their work is outside of any particular insurance company, so they have no affiliation. Clients can rest assured knowing that their primary concern is them and no one else. If a metaphor is needed, one can think of these services as the doctor to the patient, or lawyer in the courtroom.

When people in the process of getting acquainted, they have to go through a sequence of interactions in order to become familiar with each other.  There is an embedded process in socialization that we must not overlook.  Personal details begin with the disclosure of one’s name, whereby we make ourselves distinctively known from the unidentified masses.  The process of friendship invariably involves the following: introduction, interaction, affirmation, interaction and so on so forth, until a relationship is form.  Whether you find out someone’s name via seeing an employee of the month plaque or through lapel pins custom built by an overzealous relative,

In the workplace, employee plaques serve multiple functions.  First, they recognize superior service or performance on the part of the person whose name is being inscribed on the bronze plate.  Second, they communicate to those passersby or customers that the business they are patronizing has some interest in quality of service and good human resource management.  Thirdly, it gently proposes to the customer, a personal quality in the transaction at hand.  If the party delivering goods and services is both identified by their proper name and associated to a high level of performance, consumer experience is likely to be enhanced through the simple impact of being privy to more information.

Create the opportunity for the personal touch in the workplace.  The ability for people to forge bonds over the simplest things begins with being to address each other as individuals distinct from their business function.  Any establishment is embodied by a team of people, who need to be made known to passing observers, in order for a positive impression to develop.

Someone special has given you something special made out of a fine chiffon or silk.  Someone special has also enrolled you for a marketing seminar for good-looking people.  You go there and find out that you’re surrounded by people wearing veterinary name tags and real estate name badges. You think to yourself, well, this is irritating.  What’s up with the un-represented demographic of really good-looking people as promised?  The veterinarians look you up and down, blowing stray cat hairs off their upper-lips.  The real estate agents stare at you between the eyebrows with a gaze, both focused and alienating.  You realize in due time, that your fellow conference goers don’t know what to make of you.  Are you a model?  A animatronic statue?  A woman of questionable intent and motivation?  Who’s to say?  You have no nametag.  They seem at a loss for how to address you.

One attendee bumps into you at the morning reception table.  A bagel almost affixes itself to your skirt.  “Hi.  Excuse me,” he says, adjusting his name badge nervously.  You notice that he’s a rather attractive man with enormous hands and feet.  At that moment, you promise yourself that you will return to your hotel room and use the complimentary wi-fi to research your options for identifying yourself.  You pour yourself a glass of chilled white wine from a frosted bottle in the mini-fridge.  You shift in your computer chair.  Your chiffon blouse sticks to your skin.  As you scroll through the options presented to you via Google search, you find your solution. Magnetic name tags for clothes at a site called Tag-UR-it.  Witty, you murmur to yourself and nod approvingly.  The nature of the nametag mechanism has something to do with a well-placed magnet inside the clothes.  You approve and click, CHECK-OUT, and think, yeah, check me out.

The world is made up of strangers who through the normal course of introduction, interaction, and consistent engagement become our dearest friends, family, or worst enemies.  For the purposes of this reflection, we will pass over the latter, but consider the requirements of that initial ice-breaker, whereby a thing or person in the scheme of many things becomes distinct as an entity to the beholder.  Without a name, phenomena just passes us by. We do not know how to differentiate between elements that comprise the unity and cohesion of lived experience.  Sense apprehends, but cannot dissect.  A throng emerges from a building with stained glass windows. Church name badges make the crowd more than a crowd.  The identities of individuals are secured with the symbolic place-holder of a name.

Applied to commerce, if one wishes to do business with others, one mimics the rituals of friendship in order to enact a financial transaction or trade of services, whether for tangible or soft commodities. Engraved name tags might be a bit of a stretch for most people to consider a worthwhile investment when accessorizing with their business or casual-wear, but maybe not.  Carrying around a customized plaques in order to shine one’s credentials at a local diner might seem a bit much,  but a tastefully appointed, elegant nametag might prove to be just the conversation starter you never knew you needed.  An obnoxious friend might say, “Why the hell are you wearing a nametag at McDonald’s?  You don’t work here, ya idiot,” scoffing at your forward-thinking approach to social engagement.

Get rid of him, and wait for. . .

“Hi. . .Joel?  What a nice name.  That’s a beautiful nametag.  What’s your number?”

The world is made up of strangers who through the normal course of introduction, interaction, and consistent engagement become our dearest friends, family, or worst enemies. For the purposes of this reflection, we will pass over the latter, but consider the requirements of that initial ice-breaker, whereby a thing or person in the scheme of many things becomes distinct as an entity to the beholder. Without a name, phenomena just passes us by. We do not know how to differentiate between elements that comprise the unity and cohesion of lived experience. Sense apprehends, but cannot dissect. A throng emerges from a building with stained glass windows. Church name badges make the crowd more than a crowd. The identities of individuals are secured with the symbolic place-holder of a name.

Applied to commerce, if one wishes to do business with others, one mimics the rituals of friendship in order to enact a financial transaction or trade of services, whether for tangible or soft commodities. Engraved name tags might be a bit of a stretch for most people to consider a worthwhile investment when accessorizing with their business or casual-wear, but maybe not. Carrying around a customized plaques in order to shine one’s credentials at a local diner might seem a bit much, but a tastefully appointed, elegant name tag might prove to be just the conversation starter you never knew you needed. An obnoxious friend might say, “Why the hell are you wearing a nametag at McDonald’s? You don’t work here, ya idiot,” scoffing at your forward-thinking approach to social engagement.

Get rid of him, and wait for. . .

“Hi. . .Joel? What a nice name. That’s a beautiful name tag. What’s your number?”

When it comes to matters like addiction, rarely does it ever occur on its own.  Oftentimes, it has been found that people who suffer from addiction also suffer from another condition, such as an eating disorder, depression, anxiety, and so on.  People have concurrent conditions that weigh equally heavy on them and pull them further and further away from recovery.  Having two or more conditions at the same time is called dual diagnosis, and it is possible to enroll in a dual diagnosis treatment facility to address these issues.

                Drug and alcohol rehab in New Mexico and other states are able to treat individuals with dual diagnosis.   However, if you do prefer to go into a more specialized center, you can enter into a dual diagnosis facility.  They are also readily available for anyone who needs to seek help immediately.  One big part of these treatment centers is counseling.  These counseling sessions are mandatory.  They help you confront and address all your deep rooted issues that have led you to addiction in the first place.  By addressing issues that have been plaguing you for so long will help you to feel like a burden has been lifted off of your shoulders.  There are also group counseling sessions.  At these sessions, it helps you realize that you are not alone.  There are many other people who experience and feel the same exact things as you.  These people are your support system in the program and once you are back in the real world.  They truly are empathetic and understand everything you say you are going through personally.