Random Friday Notes from the Sandwich Life

I've been battling Typepad this week and so have lost several posts....including a halfwritten one just moments ago.  GRRRR.  I am obediently using the help desk's suggestion of a different browser so we'll see if I can get this on written and online.  And I find it's Friday....huh....how the fuck did that happen?  Some random notes from the week:

1.  David Olney blew me the fuck away (what's with all the swearing?  I don't know....maybe my brain does sense it's Friday after all) on Music City Roots on Wednesday evening. He and Sergio were ON!  Well, all the guys actually---Dan Seymour and Jack Irwin as well.  Start this video at about the 1:04:00 mark and sit back and enjoy….

2.  Reading the audit report of the whole State of Illinois health insurance procurement mess makes me livid.  I can feel the knot in my stomach that I felt almost a year ago while testifying about it all.  As I read some of the findings out loud to my colleague the other day she looked at me and said, “that’s just shameful.”  And it is indeed….and the perfect word I might note.  When I read it I can hear a roar in my head of “shameful, shameful, shameful” and feel as though I need to shake myself hard, like a wet dog, to get the dirt off....

Some of the findings about the Department of Healthcare and Family Services: 

• Failed to include all relevant information, including scoring evaluation criteria, in the RFPs.

• Utilized a consulting firm to have a major participation role in the procurements even though the firm had business relationships with all the firms that proposed on the two State procurement opportunities.

• Failed to ensure that all members of the evaluation team had all needed materials to score the proposals.

• Failed to comply with policy by not having the evaluation teams meet during the evaluation process.

• Allowed 10 of 12 evaluators to violate the evaluation procedures by not providing appropriate comments.

• Failed to address major differences in scoring by evaluators, a violation of evaluation procedures.

• Within the period of one month, March 7, 2011 to April 6, 2011, had developed and the Director had signed two different recommendations to award the State healthcare contracts.

• The Department awarded BCBS 20 counties it did not even bid on. Also, network documentation showed that BCBS had zero primary care physicians in 24 counties that it was awarded.

 And the review of the procurement process found the Executive Ethics Commission: 

•Had staff review and approve the RFPs without ensuring all relevant information was included.

• Had staff that did not question lack of compliance with evaluation procedures.

• SPO did not approve the awards until after the awards were publicly announced.

• Utilized a protest review process where the protest officer basically rules on the procurement process that his staff guided and approved, a process that lacks independence.

• Failed to develop policies and procedures for the activities of its staff that oversee procurement functions.

 Freaking shameful.

3.  My cooking has been wretched of late but last night I recovered a bit.  Ernie and the boys are down with colds (I’m saying this is a new one but perhaps it’s the same one they’ve had forever).  I browned some chicken thighs in my beloved Le Creuset pan.  In a separate pan I heated a can of light coconut milk, some green curry paste, a bit of brown sugar, some soy sauce (out of fish sauce) and some Sriracha.  I poured off the  rendered fat from the chicken and poured the sauce and a can of chick peas on top.  I covered it and let it braise on top of the stove for about 25 minutes.  Then I took the lid off and simmered the liquid down a bit before adding cut up asparagus and covering it for a few more minutes til that was done.  It was simple and perfect if I do say so myself.

 4.  We spent part of Wednesday afternoon at the Cancer Center.  Here is Ernie getting his infusion and telling Owen that yes, he can go on a bike ride with a friend, but no he can't stop at Huber's for a sucker.  When we got home Leo had a suspiciously blue mouth.  Ernie looked at Owen and Owen quickly explained that he gotten Leo a Ringpop the other day and he just had it.  Ernie just quietly asked Owen how his sucker had been and Owen was highly offended.  That boy.  Last night I took his dinner plate and commented that he hadn't eaten any of his sugar snap peas.  He quickly told me that he'd actually eaten 4 or 5 of them.  I just stared at him and he amended it to, "well, I had three bites of one....it was 3/4 of it."  I looked down at the plate and mused, "well, I wonder where the 1/4 is?"  He asked me what I meant and I held the plate in front of him and said, "if you ate 3/4 of one then there would be 1/4 left, right?"  He looked down at the plate for a minute and then looked up and said, "well I guess must have eaten it all."  Lord I love that child.  He was wise enough to grab a pea and eat it up.

5.  They line the windows of the infusion suite with some drawings by children.  This one was my favorite but I couldn't decide whether it made me happy or depressed me.

6.  Owen is planning to make dinner for us on Saturday night.  Last night he drew up a menu so we could make our choices.  As he explained, it’s kind of like making a reservation.  I believe the final choices were his famous grilled chicken with a side of kale and chickpeas.  For dessert we chose vanilla ice cream.  Sprinkles are optional.

 7.  Was it really only a week ago that Peter Cooper and Eric Brace were here?  Oh, and by the way our friends Tim and Amy now have a gorgeous baby boy.  I’m so glad he waited until after the house concert!!!  There's a good note to end on!