Just finished reading this.
09 May 2020
08 April 2020
31 March 2020
Remembrance of Things Past
There have been many conversations about the current virus situation and a previous similar situation four decades ago. I wonder whether I will have cause to write a similar article about the new virus as this one I wrote in 1988 about that virus. [Open in new tab, and click image to enlarge.]
22 March 2020
05 March 2020
03 March 2020
2020 Super Bowl Adverts
It’s a little late, and I’m sure you are all just dying to know the answer, but here is my list of the very best Super Bowl commercials for 2020.
Love Takes Action / New York Life Insurance
There are indeed many forms of love.
All People Are Tax People Remix / TurboTax
So fun! People should dance about all kinds of things – especially taxes.
Let it Go / Audi
A surprise from me seeing how much I loathe this song. Love the young woman singing and her attitude. Car? Whatever.
Before Alexa / Amazon Very funny take on how things have changed through out the years. Especially loved the newsboy part.
Love Takes Action / New York Life Insurance
There are indeed many forms of love.
All People Are Tax People Remix / TurboTax
So fun! People should dance about all kinds of things – especially taxes.
A surprise from me seeing how much I loathe this song. Love the young woman singing and her attitude. Car? Whatever.
15 February 2020
12 February 2020
Tomorrow Might be too Late
You always hear people say that they look at a major event in their lives (cancer, heart attack, etc.) as a wake-up call, as their chance to change how they live their lives, to have a better appreciation for people and things and life in general. It didn’t work that way for me.
See, I was diagnosed with a heart defect in 2014 and had surgery to correct it in 2015. I was then diagnosed with incurable cancer in 2015. Not once have I thought “Well, here’s my second chance,” or “I’m going to appreciate things now,” or “I’m finally going to live life to the fullest.” You know why? Because I’ve always appreciated the good things in my life, I’ve always tried to live my life to the fullest, and I don’t really need or want a second chance.
But, something did change for me.
After my heart surgery, when I was fifty-five years old, I started noticing when people died younger than my age. I would think “Wow! I’ve lived ten years longer than that person,” or “I’ve had five more years in my life than that person had.” I don’t know why I started noticing that, but there you are.
Now, even that has changed.
My husband (of twenty-five years) came really close to dying of a heart attack on 20 January 2020. We reacted to his symptoms right away, got him to the hospital where he received a stent, and he’s back to almost-normal. But now, whenever we do anything, I think “This wouldn’t be happening right now if he had died." Like, when we went to the cinema to see “Parasite,” when we sat together and watched the Oscars, even mundane things like going to the grocers.
I’ve always loved doing things with my husband: he’s fun, smart, cute, comes up with all kinds of ideas of things to do. It’s literally never a dull moment with him around. I’ve always appreciated doing things with him. Maybe now, I’m noticing those things more and appreciating them even more than before because it’s quite possible there will come a time when we won’t be able to do things together ever again. That would be sad.
So, yeah, life can change that quickly. Don’t wait for a “wake-up call.” If you don’t already, start appreciating what you have – and what you might lose – right now.
See, I was diagnosed with a heart defect in 2014 and had surgery to correct it in 2015. I was then diagnosed with incurable cancer in 2015. Not once have I thought “Well, here’s my second chance,” or “I’m going to appreciate things now,” or “I’m finally going to live life to the fullest.” You know why? Because I’ve always appreciated the good things in my life, I’ve always tried to live my life to the fullest, and I don’t really need or want a second chance.
But, something did change for me.
After my heart surgery, when I was fifty-five years old, I started noticing when people died younger than my age. I would think “Wow! I’ve lived ten years longer than that person,” or “I’ve had five more years in my life than that person had.” I don’t know why I started noticing that, but there you are.
Now, even that has changed.
My husband (of twenty-five years) came really close to dying of a heart attack on 20 January 2020. We reacted to his symptoms right away, got him to the hospital where he received a stent, and he’s back to almost-normal. But now, whenever we do anything, I think “This wouldn’t be happening right now if he had died." Like, when we went to the cinema to see “Parasite,” when we sat together and watched the Oscars, even mundane things like going to the grocers.
I’ve always loved doing things with my husband: he’s fun, smart, cute, comes up with all kinds of ideas of things to do. It’s literally never a dull moment with him around. I’ve always appreciated doing things with him. Maybe now, I’m noticing those things more and appreciating them even more than before because it’s quite possible there will come a time when we won’t be able to do things together ever again. That would be sad.
So, yeah, life can change that quickly. Don’t wait for a “wake-up call.” If you don’t already, start appreciating what you have – and what you might lose – right now.
29 January 2020
Another installment in our show “Fun With the Insurance Company”
You know I need chemo pills every day. I get a prescription filled each month. For January, this happened:
I called my supplier 1C (as usual) and started the monthly process. 1C called me THREE WEEKS LATER and told me they no longer have a contract with my insurance to provide my chemo. Told me I had to call supplier 2A. I called them to start the process.
The next day, 2A called and told me I needed to have 1C call them and give them a verbal transfer of the prescription. Called 1C and asked them to call 2A and give them verbal transfer. 2A said it is against federal drug laws to give verbal transfers for chemo drugs. They said to call my doctor’s office and have them send the paperwork to 2A. I did that.
The next day, my doctor’s office called to tell me 2A no longer had a contract with my insurance and that he was trying to figure out what to do. Doctor’s office called back and told me that he was told that supplier 3A would now provide my chemo. The next day he called to tell me that 3A said they no longer have a contract with the drug company to sell their product and that I would have to get my drug filled with company 1C (remember them from almost a month earlier – the company that no longer contracts with my insurance?).
As of today, doctor office trying to figure out where I can get my drugs and who will pay the $31,000 monthly cost. Keep in mind that I start my chemo cycle the first of every month which is currently three days away and the drugs have to be shipped to me from wherever in hell they come from.
I called my supplier 1C (as usual) and started the monthly process. 1C called me THREE WEEKS LATER and told me they no longer have a contract with my insurance to provide my chemo. Told me I had to call supplier 2A. I called them to start the process.
The next day, 2A called and told me I needed to have 1C call them and give them a verbal transfer of the prescription. Called 1C and asked them to call 2A and give them verbal transfer. 2A said it is against federal drug laws to give verbal transfers for chemo drugs. They said to call my doctor’s office and have them send the paperwork to 2A. I did that.
The next day, my doctor’s office called to tell me 2A no longer had a contract with my insurance and that he was trying to figure out what to do. Doctor’s office called back and told me that he was told that supplier 3A would now provide my chemo. The next day he called to tell me that 3A said they no longer have a contract with the drug company to sell their product and that I would have to get my drug filled with company 1C (remember them from almost a month earlier – the company that no longer contracts with my insurance?).
As of today, doctor office trying to figure out where I can get my drugs and who will pay the $31,000 monthly cost. Keep in mind that I start my chemo cycle the first of every month which is currently three days away and the drugs have to be shipped to me from wherever in hell they come from.
07 January 2020
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