A novel experiment here, I am trying to write during Stella’s nap. Another novel experiment, I am writing this on my computer’s hard drive, to be later put on the internet, as our connection has been so unreliable.
A nice day out here, breezy, not too hot, sunny. This is what I want out of a springtime and I seem to be getting it, which makes me happy.
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The job hunt continues, it’s hard out here for a pimp. Okay, I joke, I am in no way a pimp of any stripe. But it is hard out here. I wonder if the economy is really getting poised to take a long, slow slid down the rabbit hole sometimes, as I see few reasons to think there will much growth to come. Unemployment is rampant, consumers are in debt and have little access to even get credit. And if they did get credit that would only lead to more debt. The housing situation remains bad, and is getting worse, as the government’s $8,000 bribe, I mean tax credit, for first time home buyers has expired.
The fact is homes are still too expensive even now. Yes, prices have come down a lot in many places, but they need to come down still more everywhere. There is no way to justify any vestiges of bubble-era home prices when salaries have been at best flat over the past decade. When you adjust for inflation salaries have almost certainly taken a dip over the past decade.
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But honestly what I'm feeling is headachy. I've got some kind of sinus infection that starts to throb at about 3:00 p.m. and stays throbby for another two hours or so. It's been like this for three days. It totally lays me out. Randi was sweet and bought me some nasal spray but what I need is nasal decongestant. I've never had anything quite like this before, my entire eye socket is throbbing and painful, and it hurts to do just about anything. Mostly when this kicks in I try to lie down, and take it easy, I also take two Advil, but they don't seem to do all that much.
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Here's some crazy stuff about our health care system. We had to take Stella to the ER in April because we were afraid she had swallowed a hair beret (sp?). It turns out she didn't. We got some x-rays, and saw a couple of doctors. It was thorough and took about an hour. Now I learn the total hospital bill is $1600, and the portion we have to pay, after insurance, is about $480.
I do realize that we got good treatment, and am grateful that everything turned out well. I am happy we got x-rays, and so thrilled that the various doctors we saw were helpful and professional. I was still a bit shocked that after insurance kicked in we still owed almost $500.
We would still have gone, of course, because we were scared, and our doctor told us that in situations like these you have to go.
I will call the hospital and see if there is any way to break the payments down into segments, or if there are any options to reduce the sticker shock of this bill.
Another crazy thing: I got a pair of medications last month that totaled $180. This month I got the generic versions and the total was ... $20! The name brands were nine times more expensive!
Again, I do realize the pharmaceutical firms pay a lot of money to develop these drugs, but I was stunned that the generics were so, so much cheaper.
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I guess that's all. I've got a throbbing head, so I will talk to you some other time.
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