Fragmented...

[merimask]

I'm thinking in sentence fragments.  Urge to write as such simply overwhelming.

Busy.  Finished the stupid belts.

There they are.  Dumb belts.  That's all I'm going to have time for, too.   Seven.  *shakes head*   Pennsic will just have to fight it out over 'em...I have priorities now & they don't involve accessories.  Still, they did turn out nicely.  I always do my best.

The plaques are coming along...coming along.  I've been at them all weekend.  It's all those tiny LEAVES that are tripping me up...so damn many of them.  Also I started the beading (pearls are simulated mistletoe berries) and the pearls are being hateful & ugly.  They're too irregular...I hate them.  I got as close to round as I could afford, but they still look too potato-shaped to me & so I've ordered some new nice regular glass-core pearls.  They'll be here by Friday so that still leaves me plenty of time to get other stuff done.

The other plaque is also having its share of bead problems (carnelian beads simulating holly berries), because the carnelian was exceptionally orange.  Not much I can do about it; they're a natural stone & sometimes they just look that way.  *shrug*  It's still pretty though.

Crazy stupid weekend.   My daughter wanted to throw a party for her best friend's birthday.  Our yard is small, the neighbors are old & mean, and we have only one bathroom so my Mom kindly volunteered HER backyard.  What a nightmare.  Can you imagine...13 teenagers in a backyard?  I don't know how we managed to survive.  It was too frustrating & exhausting for me to want to revisit the horror by writing it down...let's just say I'm never letting her do that again.  :-/

It occurs to me that teens are like ferrets.  They LOOK cute, & they seem like they'd be great pets...but they're just a few clicks short of wild animals.   They're domesticated only in the broadest sense of the term, they're smelly, & if you don't know how to handle them they can bite.  *sigh*  Really, no fun at all.

Happier stuff:  Look!  Look at what 

moonphased made!   Naruto onigiri, or something like that.  Isn't it adorable?    If I ever get to Tokyo I'm going to BEG her to teach me how to do that.  My sushi is pretty damn good, but that's just freaking amazing.  It's too cute to eat!

Back to glum:  My weight loss is still going really well.  I feel pretty good, my miles during my bike rides have increased (oh yes grasshoppers...even though I'm terribly busy I am STILL making time to exercise.  I'd go nuts without it) , my clothes are getting ridiculously loose.  But.  I have a problem.  My belly is freaking ugly.  :-(  It got like this the last time I lost weight too, only now it's even worse.  Having Charlotte stretched me all out of shape & nothing I do helps worth a damn...it's a saggy ugly thing.  I need a tummy tuck in the worst way.  They cost between 5 & 7 thousand dollars. 

Thing is, insurance sure won't cover it.  Certainly, my HMO won't.  Know what's obscene?  If I was on Medicaid it'd be covered!  Grr!  It's like I'm being punished for having insurance.

Anyway, it's really making me sad.  The more weight I lose, the worse it looks.   :-(

 

By the way, Harry Potter is in da house.  Mom brought over a copy of "Deathly Hallows".  I sure don't have time to read it though.  Charlotte...I'm not sure she even reads anymore.  I think all she does is slouch & sulk & think of new ways to make my hair go gray.  It'll come with me to Pennsic, I think.  I'll catch up on my reading there.

So yeah.  Pictures of all the plaque work coming soon.  They'll be spectacular, I think.

Comments

[zannachan.livejournal.com]

Both systems have their problems, honestly. The American system is fantastic, so long as people have the money or insurance to cover it. But tens of thousands of working Americans have no insurance, nor alternative means to pay for health care, and that to me is a HUGE problem. And I felt that way before I spent 3 years with no insurance (which we should have); I felt that way even before my brother was working his tail off, with 80+ hour weeks, and yet couldn't afford both insurance and rent even when insurance was available.

Socialized medicine isn't the magic bullet, I agree. I've talked extensively to both American and Canadian doctors about the problems with that system. Because doctors aren't paid well for private practice, particularly in small towns, there's a shortage of family physicians. There are long waits for basic services like MRI's because there isn't enough equipment for the need. There are a lot of things that Americans take for granted that are not readily available in Canada.

Another issue with the Canadian system is that while treatment is covered, medication is not, so unless they have supplemental insurance, medication costs can be a real problem. My mom's on medications that costs, literally , thousands of dollars a month (fortunately, she has VERY GOOD insurance)--this would simply be impossible for her to afford without insurance.

On the flip side, when I was stressed about being able to pay for some kind of medical treatment, the Canadians I was with made the comment that they never even thought about it--because no matter their job status, Canadians are guaranteed at least basic health care.

But if you have good insurance, the American system is one of the best in the world.

[kls-eloise.livejournal.com]

There's just no magic bullet anywhere, unfortunately. I was one of the working uninsured for over ten years - my health plan was "don't get sick." That left me feeling that I would rather have a system where I could get what I needed, when I needed it, and sort out the bills afterwards. At least the resources are available. At the very end, I had to go to the emergency room for ultrasounds and all sorts of other fun things - with no insurance and no job. I got all the care I needed, and the hospital worked with me afterwards to sort out the (terrifying) bill. It was a good experience, all things being equal.

Now, had we NOT had insurance when my husband was diagnosed with thyroid disease and we were having thousand-dollar days at the hospital, I might feel differently. But on the other hand, my friend in Canada is having thousand dollar days up there, and is being forced to pay out of her own pocket because they can't offer her care in an appropriate time frame. If I knew the answer I sure wouldn't be working in a cubicle!

One of the valuable lessons that I took from my decade of no insurance was a profound thankfulness for what I've got now. I work for part of a VERY large company that can dictate terms to the insurance company, and my insurance ROCKS. But people who've been here forever can only see how much better it used to be. I think a year with no insurance would do them good. ;-)

[zannachan.livejournal.com]

I don't know which would be worse, not having access to a service on a timely basis, or not having it available but having no means to pay back the costs. Thankfully, I've not yet (knock on wood!) been put in a position where I have needed a medical treatment I haven't been able to, somehow, pay for. In an ideal world, that wouldn't be an issue.

I think socialized medicine could work, theoretically, but only if the government is willing and able to pay for the real costs of providing high quality care--and so far no governments are willing or able to do so. Part of the issue is that people resist the high taxes required to support such a health care system, and part of it is that people with higher incomes, and who pay higher taxes accordingly, resent subsidizing health care for people who don't and can't pay as much for it. But it's a very complicated issue, and there are no simple explanations, let alone solutions.

(By the way, I didn't meant to imply that you felt there were easy answers--it's just an issue that is near and dear to my heart, both personally and professionally).

[kls-eloise.livejournal.com]

Oh my - I certainly didn't take it that way! More of a lament that the situation is so difficult...

It's something that's near to my heart also, just from personal experience. There's nothing like dangling over that insurance-less abyss for ten years to make one aware of the costs. The part that I was always bitter about was that the people who just collect and collect and collect and do *nothing* to attempt to better their lot by their own efforts have an extensive safety net, and the poor slobs who work hard but are say, temping, are hung out to dry. It's just... complicated. And the existing system is corrupt on so many levels that I don't even know where they'd start!

But after ten years on the outside looking in, we've gotten lucky with my job, and it's a blessing I count every single day.

[zannachan.livejournal.com]

I'm glad! I just wanted to make sure--no one on the internet can hear your tone of voice, etc.

We've been without insurance 4 of the 5 years we've been married, and the year we had insurance it was very hit and miss--we never knew month to month if we would be covered, and when we were covered, we had to fight with the insurance company over every single claim we made (nor were they expensive claims--I'm talking basic stuff like a doctor's visit for a sinus infection and the like). Fortunately, I'll be graduating hopefully this spring (finally!) and then hopefully will be able to find a job with good insurance.

I can't imagine being without insurance for 10 years! But I'm glad that you have insurance now, and excellent insurance at that.

And I hear you about being frustrated with people who abuse the system--I have a friend who's a doctor and she gets very frustrated with people who try to take advantage of the system. It's so frustratingly not fair, when I know there are people who are working and really struggling and fall through the cracks.

[kls-eloise.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm thinking good thoughts for you! Hopefully you won't end up in HMO hell - everyone I know who's battling with an insurance company is dealing with an HMO. We have an option for a Point of Service plan. It costs me a little more money, but I think it's worth every single penny to avoid those kinds of hassles.

Hopefully we'll run into each other at the booth. I'd love to meet you!

[zannachan.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the good thoughts--I really would like to have good insurance again. I got spoiled I guess growing up--my mom gets really good insurance from her work, and it covered me until graduate school.

It would be really cool to get to meet you too! We always come and visit Merimask at Pennsic, so it's very possible we'll run into each other there.