Things I would tell young people

6-30-11 advising brain
Even at my age, I’m still learning many things about life and some things I wish I would have learned sooner.

Part I
Wednesday I had an early morning Dermatology appointment. This was a result of an itchy back, and while Greg was scratching it for me, he noted a mole that could be “suspicious”…. Since the mole was in the middle of my back, he took a picture of it and then I could make an assessment myself.

Signs of abnormal moles are:
A- lack of asymmetry
B- boarders are irregular
C- color variations
Also any mole that changes over time you might what to get checked.

The Dermatology assistant took 5 seconds to look at my back and said it was normal, then spent maybe another 30 seconds looking at my face, arms and chest…. All normal- and I swear I was out the door in less than a minute!

It will be interesting to see what this doctor’s appointment will cost me!

Any guesses? We could make it a contest and I’ll report on it after I get the insurance paper work. This appointment will cost me money out of my own pocket since I have a $1,200 deductible on my insurance.

Young People: please use sunscreen NOW…. not only to avoid cancer, but to avoid doctor bills, and avoid wrinkles which will start to bother you when you get to be my age!


Part II
Today I was curious to look at my paycheck. I get paid monthly and feel after working for 27 years for the University I actually make a decent salary. Well, actually it’s about “median” income for people living in Des Moines, I recently learned from a news article.

My gross pay looked adequate…. Surely I should be able to live off that. BUT the interesting number to note is the NET pay, the amount which actually gets deposited the bank account.

Young people: Know your NET pay, and calculate out your daily pay, and your hourly pay. This knowledge will help you make choices when buying things. For example, it will take me 10 minutes of work to buy this Chi Tea Latte. Is it worth it?

Since I was up at 5:30 AM on Wednesday morning, the answer was Yes.