Outcast With Dogmas Forged Below--Seared and Beaten Banished from Where I was Born

So,

I had a birthday a few days ago. It was nice.

38.

I am now officially too old to be signed to a long-term sports contract.

I would maybe get a 3 year deal, max.

I could really rant here about our new goddamn medical insurance billing issues,
but I don't want to open that can of horrid beans again.

Yes, I do.

We signed up with a new insurance plan, on June 28th. We paid them (well, they took their money) on July 7th. Then, they took more money on July 30th.
And then they took more money today.

So, I call them, to find out WTF... Why have I paid $935.83 for something that is supposed to cost $311 a month, and I only signed up a month and a half ago...

and get it all broken down for me, as I am an imbecile, evidently.

The money that they took today, covers us until September 19. (OK)
The money that they took on the 30th of July was to cover July 18 until August 18 (OK, yes,)
The money that they took on July 7th, covered us between June 18, and July 18 (No---wait)

I said "Why do I have to pay for that time, I wasn't a member yet--I don't think that is right"

So, then, the tables turned, as I tried to 'splain to her that I signed up on the 28th of June, and surely shouldn't have to pay for the period before I was insured...and how can they charge people for retroactive health-care??

I could FEEL her blank stare through the phone.


In fact, I wrote a haiku about it:

Stupid fucking bitch
Hoping I will stop yelling
Not saying a word

Or this one:

I felt cheated and
Continue to feel cheated
By Assurant Health




I was SO inspired, that I even wrote a limerick:


There once was a man from Nantucket
My fucking medical insurance company sucks
I yelled on the phone, and didn't feel better
I am not good at writing limericks.


Yes, I know that wasn't very good, but, limericks aren't really very good to begin with.

On the Edge of Darkness--You're Trapped--You're Gagged--You're Silent

So, it has been more than a month since I posted anything.

That is so typical of me. When I started this blog, I was all "I'm gonna post every day, at least one dumb thing, I am not going to let it lapse" et c.

And then like 2 months into it, I see something shiny, and lose focus.


So, I was right about the In Flames show. They were the best act at the show (bearing in mind that we did not stay for Megadeth, and I suppose that there is some small, teeny, tiny chance that they put on a better show, but I also would assume that they played a whole lot of "Megadeth", and therefore sucked, IMHO) but Job for a Cowboy was nifty, too, only the vocals were WAY too loud, and were making my one ear (I am pretty much deaf in the other) feel like it had an epiglottis attached to it, all shaky, and loose, like my ear was gargling...probably not good for ears at all.

Here is a fun fact about Houston:

It is a really smelly city.

As soon as we pulled off of I-10, an odor like anything old and swampy made us both wince, and glare at one another, accusingly. Our hotel lobby smelled like the ghost of a million cigars, farts, onions, and mustardy pickles. The elevator was even worse. It smelled like an eggy bird-cage.

And then the venue itself...smelled like a swampy,gassy bog.

We seemed to be the only people there who were aware of it. Nobody else seemed disturbed, or distressed, despite the obvious olfactory biological warfare. I guess it is the oil refineries that make it stink, but it was like going to someone's house, who has a really smelly cat, that they can no longer smell, and after a little while, you can't either. Except I could still smell it. Hell, I could almost taste it.

We took a drive to this little town called Palacios (which is pronounced puh-lashes) that I had found a few houses in, that we wanted to take a look ("Have us a look-see", in local jargon) at and just kind of poke around town, and see if it is some where we might want to live.

It is.


So, unless we win the HGTV dream house sweepstakes, we will be moving to Palacios.

Now, of course, I HAVE already put a lot of my eggs in the "sweepstakes basket"...but I am truly mentally, and emotionally primed to win something. Now would be a perfect time to win, logistics-wise.

It is all a part of my (new) 5 year plan, that is based largely on winning shit.