Last week, in Marblehead, Massachusetts, a couple received a water bill totaling $16,222. This bill was outrageously higher than their previous water bills, but they were forced to pay it, regardless, for fear their water would be shut off. The couple had plumbers come to the house to check for leaks and the town validated the accuracy of the water meter.
For my kids, ages 5 & 7, the most exciting thing about going off to school was riding the bus… until they discovered the school cafeteria. Being able to make their own choices and independently buy their own food was amazing to them.
The holiday season has long been established as a time of celebrated excess. As I sat down to write this entry, I thought to myself, “who am I to swoop in like a Scrooge (or a Grinch or a Heat Miser) and try to convince you to scale it back this year”.
We bought our house eight years ago this October. It was not quite a “fixer upper”, but we initially put a lot of effort into updating the inside, not even thinking about what was happening outside. It was winter, and it was snowing – a lot. Our driveway is long and more importantly steep.
For as long as I can remember, I have always been someone who has had disposable water bottles at my convenience. Whether it was grabbing water on my way to exercise, class, or to work, I have always made sure to take a bottle of water with me before heading out the door and I always seemed to accumulate a pile of half empty bottles in my car.
Skiing has been a part of my life since I have been able to walk. People think I’m crazy when I tell them I’m excited for winter, especially after the record snow that New England received last year. Now that I am working and in “the real world”, as many people in their early 20’s like to say, skiing is a little different because of the price tag attached.
The other day, my husband came home with the wrong paper towels. A lot of people may not care about this –not as important as something like toilet paper – but I find paper towels so wasteful that I want to spend the least amount of money on them as possible.
There are many parents today who can closely relate to the term “Divide and Conquer”. This moment in time (most likely on the weekends) typically happens when two parents, who are often outnumbered by their own children, are forced into going separate ways to deliver their children to all of their weekly sporting events, activities, birthday parties, sleepovers, etc.
Over the past Halloween weekend, I was asked by a neighbor what I did for work, so I rattled off my pre-packaged: “Our group has produced a tool that combines data analytics and clinical best practices to analyze supply utilization trends in specific categories within healthcare organizations in an effort to identify areas for savings.”
