Who I am........

Back when I had more curl in my hair.....

And was cuter......

With no idea what the world was gonna throw my way.

My parents had some issues.  My Mom was desperate to get out of the rural Pennsylvania farm she grew up on.  My Dad was desperate to get out from under the thumb of his domineering, abusive father.  Oh, yeah, my Dad's Dad (good ol' Grandpa) was pretty awful.  I was scared of him when I was 9, when he dragged Grandma halfway around the country to see us, during which time she was on her way of dying of breast cancer, because she believed in faith healing instead of Dr's.  I was in my Grandfather's company only a few times, and even as a constantly optimistic kid that I was, I knew he was not a good guy.  He passed away a long time ago.  I hope the alligators ate him ~ he was living in Florida somewhere near the Everglades.  

My Dad never graduated from high school.  He enlisted with the Air Force, and they ended up in Bosier City Louisiana, where the base there is most likely the only thing that keeps the city going.  I've seen pictures of the base housing ~ yowza.  The house looked like a box, and probably had asbestos siding.  After my little sister was born, Dad was transferred to Okinawa Japan.  I guess the Air Force sent so many people to Okinawa that we lived off base, as there wasn't any housing available on it.  So, I played with the kids in the neighborhood, and quickly learned how to speak the language (which I promptly forgot when we came back to the states because my parents never learned more than a few words, and my sister forgot faster than I did).  We traveled and visited gardens and shrines, and it was really pretty charming to me.  I looked up some photos online, and realize that it was a very poor part of Japan for many.  Here's a few that show what I mean.

Of course, I don't remember it like this at all, and unfortunately I don't yet have the slides out of storage yet ~ my sister is supposed to get them to me soon, since she had to get the Christmas decorations out of their storage pod.  

When we moved back to the U.S., my parents purchased a new car and apparently it burned up in Colorado.  I bet my Mom totally freaked out.  Stuck in the backwoods of Colorado with two little kids and a burned out car?  Yeah.  

We did end up in San Antonio, Texas, where Dad was a drill sergeant (you have no idea how appropriate that job was), and Mom worked on base in the legal department.  I spent at least 3 days hiding out in houses that we under construction instead of going to school until a neighbor found me and ratted me out.  And so it begins...........

More later.  

Love, 365 

It's the silly season......

Mmmmm, cookies.  (Google images)

Before I write on my blog, I read all the unread posts of all the blogs I follow.  I suppose I just want to catch up with everyone else's news before I write my own, and sometimes I get ideas of what to write from them as well.  I like to start at the bottom of the list and go up.  I do this because the most prolific writer I read on a regular basis is at the top of an alphabetical list.  For those of you that have let 10 months go by without a post, I will probably take you off of my reading list just to avoid the disappointment.

This year, as Romeo is unemployed during the same time frame as I was last year, we have again cancelled Christmas.  Last year Romeo insisted I decorate anyway, which I did.  I've noticed that he isn't insisting this year.  I'm not saying anything, in hopes we can skip it.  In fact, I'm rather enjoying the freedom of not having to worry about gift buying (although I do need to buy something for the office party).  I just might have to make this a habit...although I suppose that we will continue to decorate.  Maybe.  

Me Mum is going home today.  Apparently there has been a mad rush to have a hospital bed set up and be there for the delivery of a lift chair.  My understanding is that since she was not making any progress, she might as well be at home.  The only thing I don't understand is why this decision was made near the last minute.  Perhaps because it is Friday.  I am clueless.  My sister and I had quite a talk about Mum yesterday, and it seems that we both believe that within 6 months (or less) she will probably have to go into a nursing home.  I understand that she is afraid of falling again, but I don't understand how someone would fail to put forth some effort to stay home.  I really hope I'm wrong.

I had a meeting with an adviser today at UNM, and after a discussion about a class that I really want to take, she suggested that I e-mail Prof. *** and ask if I could take one class and have it substitute for another.  Turns out there are TWO Prof. ***'s, so I had to e-mail her back and ask which one it is. Or, I might just e-mail both and ask the one it doesn't pertain to "please disregard if you are not in the anthropology department".  :-(  

Well, that's about all I have.  Nothing exciting.  Nothing earth-shattering, or otherwise interesting.  Just the usual day to day bullshit.  Yep.  It's my life:-)

Love, 365

It's fall, because the leaves are falling???

Scotland castle

Last weekend I went to visit me Mum in the rehab hospital.  She fell and broke her hip and ended up with a partial hip replacement.  She has been in the hospital or rehab since Sept. 23rd, or maybe the 27th.  She had to have 3 surgeries ~ the main partial hip replacement, the surgery to remove infection from her incision, and the surgery to remove the drain from the incision repair.  She moved to the facility she is in on the 20th, and was informed by the case manager at the new facility that she will be discharged on Dec 7th because the insurance (Medicare) simply won't pay anymore.  I have 2 thoughts on this: 1. It will motivate her to really work with the physical therapists to make the most of the time she has left there, and 2. because she still has a lot of mobility problems, it might be a really big mistake.  I suppose that there must be some limits, but I think discharging someone who might very well fall again because they simply aren't strong enough is asking for trouble.  Truthfully, I am very concerned at how she will handle being at home with just J*, her care giver.  There will be in home rehab until she is strong enough to actually go to the facility.  She is very lucky to have the money to pay for a nurse aide to come several times a day.  I suppose we will just have to see how it goes.  She may go home, but I have serious doubts that it will work.  I have a feeling that she will end up in a nursing home, and then discover that she wished she had worked harder to stay home.  I hope she proves me wrong.

We had a very nice Thanksgiving with Mom last Sunday.  I had called my sister about 3 months ago and suggested I come the weekend before Thanksgiving to have it with her a week early...all before she fell.  Since I really needed to go see her anyway, we stuck with this idea, and it went really well.  It is tough though, to see her so fragile.  I need to do some research on renting or buying a hospital bed and check into the home health care situation.  

This is the point where I feel overwhelmed with guilt that I live so far away and my Sis ends up with all the hard stuff.  Not that there is much I can do about it.

Our own Thanksgiving was delicious.  As son #2 usually gets a turkey from work at Thanksgiving, I opted to have ham, and save the turkey for Christmas.  I like turkey, but don't really want to roast 2 in 4 weeks, and what to do with all the leftovers?????  

I hope you had a wonderful time with your family and friends!

Love, 365

Flying the "friendly" skies.........

 

In less than 48 hours I will attend the cattle call line for boarding my flight to San Antonio.  I thought I had scheduled the flight to take off at 8:20, but it's 7:20.  Oh, that's am, not pm.  Yesterday Romeo and I had a little pillow talk and discussed when I need to be at the airport.  And asked me if I wanted to be there 2 hours early.  I strongly stated one hour before is enough for me, thank you very much.  The sad part is he was serious.  Sheesh.

I may not have mentioned that I have suffered from motion sickness since......forever.  The first time I went to a dental convention with my previous employer, I became so sick I thought I might never recover.  It was truly horrible.  They even took me from the plane to our van in a wheelchair.  And yes, I still feel sorry for the person I was sitting next to when I had to use the barf bag (which I always check to make sure I have one when I fly....sad huh?).  I haven't done it since then, which was nearly 18 years ago.  I now take meclizine starting 24 hours prior to the flight, and make sure I drink some ginger ale (the only thing I drink on an airplane).  I don't anticipate getting sick.  But, what is interesting is that I now have injectible migrane medication, which would help me if I do get sick.  The tricky part is that it is injectable, and because I don't want to spend more time than necessary in the security check, it looks like I will put it in my checked baggage.  I tried calling the airline, then they directed me to the TSA...where I was left on hold for over 20 minutes and hung up in frustration.  The box doesn't have a printed Rx on it, and although I have the print out of the prescription, I worried that it would be confiscated, although it probably wouldn't....just the idea of losing $85 of medication makes me want to cry.  Although certain none of this worry is necessary, it just gives my life a sort of preverted meaning....lol.

Stupidly, I have to go to Phoenix from Albuquerque to get to San Antonio.  Once I had to fly to Las Vegas from San Antonio to get to Albuquerque.  And yet it sure beats 10 hours of driving.

Love, 365

I think it's only Thursday......

Yeah, all us dental receptionists look like this......not.   Sheesh.

After Ami invited her readers to list what they did on the average afternoon (go here), I wrote a rather long comment and she mentioned I should write more about work.  Which is rather a slippery slope in some ways.  If you've been reading my blog, you know that at my previous job a patient found my blog, by stalking me on the internet....then I received a scathing talk down from my boss asking me "Did you say this" ~ "yes", repeat 5 or 6 times, etc.  Surprisingly I didn't get fired.  Anyway, my current position is wonderful, so I suppose I won't exactly be the same.  Lol.  

I was thinking today about how much I enjoy my "new" job - I guess it's still kinda new, since I've been there 9 months.  Because I don't have any sick leave or vacation time.  Or pension options.  =sigh=  

Any who, I still am amazed that most ~ probably over 85% of patients just don't have a clue about thier insurance.  And that's sad, because dental insurance is a lot easier to understand than medical (still mulling over the Cobra option myself, lol).  So, when you have that third dental cleaning, please don't call the office and yell at someone because you have to pay it yourself.  Here's just a little dental insurance primer:

PPO ~ preferred provider organization: you have a lower copay for stuff IF your dentist participates.  If your Dr doesn't participate, you would have a higher copay.  For example when you have a filling done, it could cost a little more (like $10), or a lot more (like $100).

Maximum ~ represents the total amount of $ they will pay out for your dental care in a 12 month period.  Which could be a calendar year or a benefit year (like 7/1 to 6/30).  Sometimes your exams and cleanings aren't part of the maximum, but most times everything is is paid out from your maximum.  If you don't know what your maximum benefit is, you might want to pull out the paperwork and actually look at it.  

~Sorry, but it does get old when I ask if you have insurance, you say "yes" but then have no idea what company it is.  Most people don't get cards for dental like you do with medical.

Deductible ~ This is an amount that insurance will subtract from the first claim submitted when you have some kind of treatment, like periodontal or filling or extraction.  It could be $25 or $50, all the way up to $250.  95% of the time it is $50.  

There is a lot more....but please!  Don't yell at me because your company opted for a crummy insurance plan.  Or, worse, because you had three different levels of coverage and chose the cheap one that doesn't cover root canals or crowns.  I suppose it's the ol' "don't shoot the messenger" issue.  

Well, gotta run.  I hope I enlightened you a little bit.  Next time you're at the dentist, remember that we truly want to help.

Love, 365

Of prescriptions, Cobra coverage and living without insurance......

I you want to know more, go here.

     This Friday I had an appointment with our new family physician.....I had waited 3 months for it, and of course as you may already be aware, Romeo was laid off 2 weeks ago and our insurance expired at midnight of his last day of work.  I discovered that his employer did not take the insurance premiums out at the front end but the back end.  I suspect it is to prevent a flurry of Dr's appointments and lab work ~ exactly what I did, assuming we had coverage until the end of the week.  

     I still had not heard anything about the Cobra plan, and armed with the knowledge that I would pay $95 for the visit, headed off to discuss a more direct treatment for the occassional debilitating migraines I get.  You know, the kind where I have to call Romero or our son to come get me because I can't drive...I also was so out of it I couldn't even explain where I was on the UNM campus.  

     The Dr. is a very nice man, and quite understanding.  The nurse asked me a bunch of questions about my health, then announced she was putting in lab orders for blood work, which I promptly explained I would not get because I currently don't have any insurance.  She looked at me with disdain.  I should have said that I would be happy to get the recommended tests if she wanted to pay for it.  Ha ha.

     Together we decided on an injectible treatment, which he said might be rather expensive, but he looked online and said he saw an option for $65, which I agreed I could manage.  However, when the pharmacy called to tell me it was ready and I asked how much it was, they said it was $175.00, and after some rather boring back and forth discussions with someone at the Dr's office, they finally offered that I could print up a coupon from Good Rx that would discount the medication to $85.  To say that I was skeptical is an understatement.  But, I took the coupon I printed and did get it for $85, which really beats the pants off of $175.  I hope that Good Rx can keep up the good work, because otherwise I could not (or would not) pay that much more two doses of migraine medication.

     The Cobra info came in on Friday afternoon, and it looks like it would cost $850 for 3 months, and apparently is not quite the same as the previous coverage.  I need to find out more about what is covered, and also check with the folks who did my mammogram and ultrasound for the total cost.  I doubt seriously that the vision coverage would be included as part of the medical, but I need to ask that too.  

     My Mom is doing better, and sounds much more her normal self on the phone.  While enjoying happy hour with a friend, I mentioned the Sundowner syndrome Mom experienced following her pain medication treatment and anesthesia, and she immediately said "Oh, she has dementia"...which I had not recalled being part of her diagnosis.   I have read that experiencing the symptoms following surgery is generally a temporary affair.  Truthfully I was quite taken aback with her quick diagnosis....but to be fair, her husband has early onset alzheimer's, and she knows a lot more about tha than I do (and ever hope to).   Still, given my experience with Mom ~ albeit from a distance ~ I would say she is not suffering from dementia ~ at least not now, which I am thankful.

     Now I want you to ask me if I've been working on my research paper.  My answer: not at all.  :-)

Love, 365

Sleepin' in.....

Google images.......

If you'd like to read a funny and well written article on the "fall back" time change, go here....plus it includes bacon, and who doesn't like bacon????

I am sitting in the living room watching Bill Maher being interviewed on Sunday Morning ~ one of my favorite shows, although Romeo isn't much of a fan.  

Daylight savings time is very controversial in some circles.  Some discuss the waste of time (ha ha, bad pun), but I would say that the  majority opinion of my friends is that we should keep DST all of the time.  Then there's Arizona, that collectively opposes DST, and does not participate along with the rest of us.  So, when you're flying in, it can take a minute or two to figure out what time it will be when you arrive in Phoenix.  

For myself, I enjoy DST.  I like having more light in the evening for walking the dog, or doing a few chores in the yard.  I don't enjoy losing that precious hour of sleep though.  It must take me a week to feel my normal self after the "spring forward" time change....so when the "fall back" comes around, I'm enjoying retrieving that hour.....no matter that I waste it sleeping.  Of course, I won't enjoy coming home Monday night and have the sun setting as I drive home.  But as I have so recently re-experienced, along with the sweet must come the bitter. 

Love, 365

Okey dokey.....screwed again.

Polariod transfer....

In my last post, I had listed the Dr appointments I rushed to, in hopes of getting things done before the insurance expired.  Turns out I was incorrectly informed.  Apparently the coverage ends on midnight on the date of termination.  So, all I accomplished was increasing the $$ I will owe for the tests and contacts (the only thing that ended up covered was the flu shot and shingles vaccine since I did those on Monday).  One of my coworkers asked about cobra coverage, and I asked Romeo about it ~ and then we promptly got into a fight about it.  I told him that we might at least get it for a month to cover the tests I had done, not to mention coverage for the upcoming visit for my migraines.  

Truthfully, I am a bit upset with Romeo.  He didn't ask any questions about stuff like insurance.  And I'm totally incensed with his employer for not providing him with the cobra information, which they are supposed to do, by law.  Or, they did and he was so freaked out that he didn't pay any attention to it ~ which I understand.  He does not react well to stress.  

And I think they should have told him that the insurance (and any other benefits that qualify) would end on Monday, so that we could make informed choices.  Plus, it just makes sense to me that he had paid for the benefits through the end of the month.....so they should have kept them active at LEAST until the 31st.  

One of my coworkers was trying to make me feel better by pointing out that there are many people in worse shape.  And of course I realize this already.  However, I was not comforted by the thought that there are many other families that are worse off.  Is it just me?

Love, 365

As the world turns....

Prickly times......

Because our lives were apparently becoming too comfortably consistent, the powers that be decided that we needed something new to stress out over.  So, after 15 years, Romeo's company decided to lay him off.  This happened Monday, as I was coming downstairs for the morning, he walks in and tells me what happened.  So, ratchet up the stress, and freak out.  With not much of a "severence package" that consists of 6 weeks of pay, and the loss of our medical insurance by the end of the week.  ~sigh~

Luckily, Romeo had recently had his physical and stuff, so he was all caught up on medical stuff, whereas I had kept putting it off and putting it off....& so on.  

Monday ~ flu shot and shingles vaccine.

Tuesday ~ visit the optometrist and order new contacts..refill Romeo's Rx.

Wednesday ~ have the lovely (& really painful this time) mammogram and ultrasound.

Thursday ~ gather up all receipts for expenses and fax to the company that processes the FSA stuff.  And hope that there aren't any problems that they will then use to deny paying out on.  

I wish I could have made it to our new family physician's office to discuss my migraines, but that's not until next Friday, which is November something, so probably won't have any coverage then.  Romeo wants me to keep the appointment, but if the out of pocket costs are over $100, I'm not going to do it.  I can't even imagine how much the Rx would be for the shots/nasal spray I was hoping to get.  I also have an appointment for my pap smear & gyn exam, but that's just going to have to wait until such time as I have insurance again.  Romeo is old enough to qualify for Medicare, but I'm not.  So, depending on what goes on, I might have to go to the "market place" and look for a plan.  Problem is, I have had breast cancer, and to get that covered, I'd probably have to pay a fortune, or agree to do without cancer coverage so I could actually afford to have coverage.  Seems pretty sucky.

Well, I feel all stressed out just writing about it.  Gonna go meditate or something.

Love, 365

Let's study the plague ~ just for fun....

Map of the spread of the plague, Google.

I have always been fascinated by the plague, it's spread, and the economic changes in the aftermath of a devastating wave of death.  David Herlihy's book "The Black Death" explores this subject in terrifying detail, and even compares it to the AIDS epidemic, although I'm a bit surprised he did not mention Ebola or Lassa fever.   If you are morbidly interested as well, you might want to check it out from the library, although I purchased a copy for a pittance (less than $5) from Amazon.

In other, less terrifying news, I was saddened (but not surprised) that my anthropology professor announced that he intends to retire at the end of next year.  I really don't have a fixed age for him, but I do know that he is less than 80, but by how much I've no idea.  He is truly a dedicated educator.   His wife is termially ill with stage 4 cancer, and has been going through chemo every 2 (or 3?) months, and he mentioned that she is one of the longest survivors of this particular form of treatment.  They want some time to do some traveling and other things "before something happens".  Which I find very interesting, since many of the people I know ~ that are near my age ~ worked only until they figured they could retire, apparently because they disliked what they were doing.  This man loves what he does.  I plan to take classes with him as long as I can.  I think he feels a bit out of the loop with his contemporaries, thinking that his ideas are passé, but as a fan, I must say I think his ideas are refreshing and down to earth, logical.  

Me Mum, who recently had a partitial hip replacement, had to go back for more surgery, as her incision became infected and opened up (all the way to the bone, shudder).  So, now we are waiting to see how well the healing progresses.  If all goes well, she'll be discharged for further physical therapy in a week to 10 days.  ****I love her, she is quite unique, but like so many of her generation, excersize is not a high priority.  Her situation would not exist if she had stuck to a routine of some sort.....such as the original excersize, walking.  She had lost so much of her strength, the fall was catostrophic.  

Well, that is all for now....enjoy your week!

Love, 365

**Just let it go......**

(see the full cartoon here)

Road rage strikes again.

This week, I decided to take a different path home, hoping to shave a bit of time off of my commute.  So, instead of going right, I went left, as I have done other times, but usually only if I need to stop at Target, or some other retail establishment.  

Instead of going my merry way (la la de da), I had unintentionally become part of a huge backup.  I didn't really know what was going on, but had no choice but to move with it.  

Traffic was moving very slowly.  It's boring, right?  So, what do we do when we are bored?  We check e-mail, or texts, or something like that.  I was doing the same....and when I looked up, I noticed that a woman in a Hyundai mini van had nudged her left bumper between me and the car in front of me.  Seriously, there was probably only a foot between us, and now this woman's bumper.  

She is forcing her way in.  She didn't have on a turn signal, or indicated in any way that she was hoping to move into my lane.  For me to move forward, I would have to hit her vehicle.  My only choice was to let her in.  I have seen this happen before in a traffic jam, and it never fails to make me incredulous at the brazen audacity of idiots.  Of course, I laid on my horn.  She turned towards me and gestured she wanted to move forward ~ duh.  Then, when she had managed to pull in front of me she waved ~ I assume a "thank you!".  I resisted the urge to flip her the bird, since she had kids in her vehicle.  

I found this little article on driving etiquette......

Should you ever insist on the right of way?

The driver should never assume that other drivers will start or complete any maneuver and should never insist on the right of way nor attempt to force their way into traffic. Drivers should try to anticipate other driver’s actions as well as yielding whenever needed or required by law. Giving up the right of way to other drivers also helps to avoid crashes, as does gaining eye contact with all operators of motor vehicles that come directly into conflict with you. Drivers should attempt to be both courteous and conscientious toward other drivers.

If she had put on her turn signal and waited, I would have let her in....but I wasn't given that opportunity. 

I was totally enraged, and trying desperately to "let it go".  I did manage a lively little dialogue, that fortunately, she didn't have to hear.  

Worst of all, I had to listen to Romeo (who's inability in the past to "let it go" is legendary) lecture me on "letting it go".  

From here on out, I'm turning right.

Love, 365