Health Care - What's Going To Happen?

Gosh, I wish I knew.

I heard a story on the McNeil-Lehrer news hour tonight on the way home where senior citizens were being told that they all were going to be visited by representatives of the government to be asked how they wanted to die. Now, to me, this sounds like undiluted horsepoop for several reasons. First, how would the government have so many representatives to fulfill this task. Second, would the same rule that we have to abide by when talking to government representatives (ask three times and see if you get the same answer) apply in reverse? And third, it's just plain ridiculous.

One of the stories I've heard floating around is that you should get more input in how you want your long-term care to be managed if you have a terminal illness. If that's a true story, I think it's a good idea. Because I would want hospice care. My grandmother suffered a stroke in 2003, and when it was determined that she would not be getting any better, she was transferred to a hospice facility (this one was inside Baylor-All Saints Fort Worth) where she (and my family) received wonderful care during a very difficult time. It barely seemed like a hospital at all, and the nurses were there to make sure that not only was my grandmother able to face her final days with as little discomfort as possible, but that my family had the support necessary to deal with this impending loss. I wouldn't want to spend the rest of my days on life support.

At one time, I thought that socialized medicine would be the way to go, but now I don't think it's the best option. I've heard reports from other countries where government-run health care doesn't necessarily equal quality health care for all.

Can they identify why the health care costs keep rising here and why it is so hard for so many adults and families to afford even basic health care coverage? My brother, for instance, works full time at his job in retail. I'm not sure what he makes now, but I know it's a struggle for him sometimes, and retail jobs do not like you to work overtime. He is having to really look at the coverage offered and the costs involved to see if it's something he can afford, because the coverage is very expensive and would take a big chunk out of his hourly wage. Fortunately, Shane is only 36 and is healthy, but I know he wants to have some kind of health coverage. We all want him to do this. Part of the issue is that his company is not such a large employer that they can command such low benefits for their employees. Small businesses -- at least, the ones that offer benefits -- really struggle to provide this for their employees.

One of my Facebook friends posted some thoughts about letting the free market help contain costs. Sounds like an interesting idea. The power of choice is mighty. In today's economy, so many businesses are struggling because there's so much competition for the reduced amount of dollars floating around. Would insurance companies be fighting to hang on to their customer base? And for that matter, would doctors?

Gosh I miss this show...

I LOVED The Nanny!

Becoming a Eulessite?

This weekend, Karen and I went looking at apartments, and we stumbled across a very nice complex in Euless. Previously, I had never really given Euless a sustained thought. I drive through it every day on the way to work, and I remember the old Hiney Wine commercials from the early 80s. Hiney Wine was supposed to have been, um, bottled in Euless. At least, that's what I recall from the radio commercials. But come September, unless something goes awry in the application process, I will move to Euless and bid adieu to Lewisville. Fortunately, this complex is right at 360 & 183, so it should be an easy drive for me to get to Garland to spend time with Robert. And it should cut my work commute in half.

Update: The application was approved. We take possession of the apartment on 9/26. :)

Love via Facebook

OK, I'm just as surprised at this as anyone. But I fell in love via Facebook, and I'm damn glad that it happened. And I'm also surprised that I'm like a giggly teenager whenever my boyfriend and I exchange text messages throughout the day. Life is full of surprises -- some are horrible, and some are wonderful, and some of them are middle of the road. This happens to be one of the wonderful ones.

Robert and I actually met on Facebook several months ago. I had created a Facebook profile, and a doctoral student from Texas Women's University had spotted me and began to pursue me. He was a nice guy who was incredibly intelligent, but he was coming on in such an intense way that I immediately began to backtrack. I was checking out his Facebook friends list and noticed Robert. I thought Robert seemed like a nice guy who was really damn cute, so I sent him a request to add me as a friend. Robert accepted, and we began chatting with each other. The person who had contacted me from TWU eventually got frustrated with both Robert and me and de-friended us both, but Robert and I stayed in touch. I found that he was great to talk to, and that we shared many common interests. After a while, I started to flirt a bit with him, and he seemed like he was responsive to that. After all, I still had a little crush on him. Finally, I worked up the nerve to just ask him out, and he said that he'd love to meet me. We went out on June 17 and had an incredible evening. We had some follow-up dates very quickly thereafter that confirmed my initial feeling, which was that I had found someone truly special. Fortunately, he felt the same way about me, and we've begun spending as much time together as we can.

He is a sweet, wonderful guy who is beyond cute, and I'm looking forward to seeing where this adventure is going to take us. I'm not seeing anyone else besides Robert, nor do I want to. I've canceled all of my subscriptions to dating sites. He has captured my heart. This all happened very quickly, I must say, but we're both completely fine with this.

Now that I'm thinking about him again, I'm turning into a giggly teenager again. I didn't really get to do this when I actually was a teenager, so I'm enjoying it now.

So, you're 39?

When my mom called me on Friday to wish me a happy birthday, I could hear my dad in the background saying, "Tell him he's working on 40." Well, I guess I am. Though I prefer to say that I'm sitting under the shade tree of 40. I'm saying the same thing, but taking the Southern prerogative of expressing it a bit more lyrically. Today, I went to my aunt's and uncle's for a family cookout. She and I have birthdays that are fairly close together, and I think we had some other events to celebrate, but it really doesn't matter too much. What matters is that we got to eat hamburgers and hotdogs off the grill! And Mom made me a birthday cake! How cool is that??

Actually, I think 39 is an interesting age to be. I'm still young enough to have goals and dreams, yet I'm old enough to have -- hopefully -- learned from my past mistakes. I have a friend who turns 56 this year. She and I are most likely going to be roommates come September, but to me, she seems ageless because she's always up for new experiences and is always looking to broaden her horizons. I hope I can age that gracefully. They say life begins at 40. But isn't 60 the new 40? So, do I have to wait for 60 for my life to begin? I think life begins when you want it to begin.

I'll have to get used to saying I'm 39 now, after finally getting used to saying I was 38. Do you know what I think? I think it would be really cool to get in awesome shape and say that I was in the best shape of my life in my 40s. By the time I'm 40, I will have finished one graduate degree and possibly started another one, so I'm expanding my mind as well as my student loan debt.

So, I guess the point to all of this reflective mish-mash is that I'm perfectly okay with turning 39. And I'll be okay with turning 40. I'm curious to see what's in store for me each year that I'm here.

Stingy With Napkins

If I were Greta Garbo and if I were visiting my local Subway sandwich shop for my early afternoon sandwich of choice, I might say something along the lines of:

"Gimme a turkey sandvich...
Extra napkins on the side...
And don' be stingy, babee"

Movie buffs will recall Garbo's first words on-screen in Eugene O'Neill's Anna Christie (1930).

I don't know if it's a 'think green' thing, or a 'think cheap' thing, but I've been displeased to note that fast-food places have become rather stingy when it comes to napkins. I don't know about you, but I need a few napkins when I eat some meals. For instance, when I get my favorite turkey breast sandwich from Subway, it invariably falls apart at some point and the light mayonnaise tends to get everywhere. When I eat at the new Subway downtown, they give out one napkin per order unless you specifically ask for more, and you can only get them from the people at the counter. One time, I was feeling rather reckless, and right when I was handed my change at the Subway counter, I reached around past the cashier and snatched an extra napkin or two, and I thought she was going to slap my hand. She had that look in her eye and I swear I saw her hand twitch. I've noticed the same thing at Taco Bell. They'll give you an entire sack full of hot sauce, yet just one or two napkins. And the napkins and sauce are in their own little plastic sack, as though they were prepackaged so employees couldn't get napkin-crazy and just pass them out willy-nilly. Maybe it is a good way for them to cut costs, but jeez... would one or two extra napkins really hurt anyone? If so, I think they should make the food less sloppy.

A Return to Silliness

To celebrate my dear friend Cristy's birthday -- not that she asked me to do this -- but I'm going to return to silly, entertaining blog posts wherever possible. I've lot some of my zing with this blog and I'd like to get it back. So, hold on to your socks!