Obama Bumper Sticker

From Michelle Malkin's blog....

Attila The Mom's Must Read

I love Attila The Mom and her blog Cheaper Than Therapy.

She wrote a post (Yay!) about her youngest son's high school graduation that is razor sharp.

Her extended family and mine have a lot in common. I don't have any of the EXes, but her ex-FIL is my current brother!

Add her to your Must Read list! She's got a gift, that one!

A Wiki of Dicks!

I was searching for Roger Clemens to be sure I was spelling his name right and you'll never guess what I found!

Roger Clemens - Dickipedia - A Wiki of Dicks!

This is a GREAT site! They've got Political dicks, Entertainment dicks, International dicks, Sports dicks, Media dicks and Miscellaneous dicks! I've known a few of the latter in my time.

This is more fun than the Star!

Check it out! It's like walking down the isles at an organ bank or something!

Kelsey Seybold Sucks! - Medicare Part Two

And I was hoping there wouldn't be a Part Two.... sigh....

I don't know what I'm whining about. Some people don't even have medical insurance. Some people don't even have Medicare. Some people don't even have supplemental Medicare coverage through the employer that their dead husband gave his life for.

BUT it's MY blog and I can whine if I want to.

I've been going to a dermatologist at Kelsey-Seybold for years and years. I recently went to a Family doctor and thought I'd be using him for years and years. I'm waiting for my appointment next week with a OB/GYN also with Kelsey-Seybold.

Yesterday I get a call from some clown representing Kelsey-Seybold and he tells me that he's just following up on the letter(s) I've gotten telling me that KS will soon no longer accept "regular Medicare"...they'll only accept the Kelsey-Seybold version.

I figured him for a salesman or a con.

For Christ's sake he was calling me on his cell phone and we lost connection!

Today I did some checking and sure as shootin', KS will no longer take "regular Medicare" after 1/1/09. I either have to join one of THEIR plans or take my poor old bones elsewhere knowing full well that it's not easy finding ANY doctor that will accept "regular Medicare".

WTF?

I CAN join KelseyCare Advantage Standard Option and STILL retain my retiree/widow supplement, but if I choose to go that route I can't go to my beloved cardiologist any longer. ONLY KS's docs are included in The Plan and they are all subject to change at any given moment. (To wit: KelseyCare Advantage has formed a network of doctors, specialists and hospitals. You can only use doctors who are part of our network. The health providers in our network can change at any time.)

It's a monopoly. Or a conspiracy. Or a private company in it for the dough and perfectly capable of calling all the shots and you can either like it or lump it. Don't let the double sliding glass doors hit you in the rump on the way out, sucker.

I don't recall if I've mention that you get more mail as you approach your Golden Years than ever before in your life. Everyone wants a piece of your Medicare pie. Everybody and his brother want to sell you their plan. After awhile you just toss them all away in disgust. Obviously ONE of those I tossed unopened was the one from KS telling me I was fixin' to be screwed and to just lean back and enjoy it. No cig after though because that's bad for your health.

I'm keeping that appointment next week and the one scheduled for August 20th with the dermatologist (it takes THAT long to see her) and come 12/31/08 I'm bidding them all adieu at Kelsey-Seybold. Next time I need medical assistance other than from Dr. DeBauche I'll just book a flight to Lourdes.

Medicare and Me - Part One

Hopefully there won't be a Part Two!

I turned 65 on April 1, 2008.

I had a couple of doctor's visits in March.

My insurance company keeps bumping back my cardiologist's claim saying it needed a requested explanation from Medicare.

My brand new, crisp clean Medicare card says my Part A and Part B became effective on March 1, 2008.

I thought....figures...it's the government and they got it rong!

Well after 2 months of being jacked around I finally found out today that when one turns 65 on the 1st of the month it becomes effective the month before.

Huuh, sure, that makes perfect sense.

So easy-squeezey, my doctor has to file a claim with Medicare. No problemo. Except for the other doctor who doesn't accept Medicare. She's yet to even bill me or file with my insurance company, but she will. And then I'll have to pay each and every red cent!

I thought I was doing good to book an appointment with her the day before I turned 65 so my insurance would still be in effect. They even asked me when I made the appointment if I wanted to go ahead and find a doctor that would take Medicare, but I said NO.

It's not a big deal until you step back and look at the big picture.

I'm 45 days in my 65th year and they are killing me!

Bureaucratic fine print.

It's too soon to tell and I'm NOT giving in without a serious fight, but I'm beginning to wonder if this sort of thing isn't why people die. They just get tired of fighting the bullshit.

Grumble, grumble.

Shopping For Something Online?

If you need something online shopping is the place to be. It's the way to go! It's the bee's knees!

In fact, if you can't find something to buy online I'll bet you can't find it anywhere!

The best way to buy something online is with NO TAX and FREE SHIPPING. Are we agreed on that?

Ok, let's review:

You want something and you want it shipped free with no tax attached...

Well then this is the place you want to be if SOMETHING is what you need!

Check it out! You can get something for ten bucks with no shipping and no taxes!

How cool is that?

Odds And Ends Of Life In The Fast Lane

It's been crazy around here.

I'm excited about tomorrow because I don't have to do anything! I don't have to go anywhere! I was going to the Astros game, but one of Larry's customers wanted tickets so he gave them away. We're going Thursday and that'll be fun. It's Mother's Day early and they are giving away tote bags to "women 16 and above". Is it just me or does 16 seems awfully young to be a "woman"?

I got to see them play that long ass game Sunday when they pulled it out and went on to beat the Brewers. That was a great game! I've been lucky to see some great games the last few years in person and over the years on TV.

This year is coming along nicely because the bats are alive and well and doing their thing. I love a good pitcher's duel, but nothing spells fun like a high scoring game that ends up with a big fat "W" for the home team.


Today I got my "Welcome to Medicare" physical. I celebrated that by going out for breakfast to The Egg And I. The food was good and tasted even better because I went in after having to fast for 10 hours for the blood work the doctor ordered. I was breaking in a new doctor too. He's a Family Practice doc that works for Kelsey-Seybold. As a rule I hate Kelsey-Seybold, but I felt like I needed a GP for this whole Medicare gig. I played the old card at the Egg place and scored the senior citizen discount! Hot damn, this old thing might be a winner after all! I can just see me going around town holding out my hand for the coot rebates!


I sat around picking fleas off the devil dog this evening. I got 3 of them before she got bored. I have a system. I catch them between my right thumb and forefinger and open those fingers inside of some soapy water that I put in a glass. They sink like stones and drown their little bastard selves. I'll probably end up giving her a bath tomorrow to try and drown the rest of them in one fell swoop. (I had to look up "fell swoop"! I thought it was "feld swoop", but found out that was just my East Texas accent messin' with me again!)


I've worked in the yard a lot more than usual, but that's one of the perks of losing the weight....I WANT to do more and I CAN! I bought some foam "barrels" from Kroger (not cheap!) to put lots of Amaryllis bulbs in. I had lots and lots of bulbs in several pots. Make that too many pots and thought it'd be neat to have a big pot with lots of them instead. I need a couple more foam barrels to put ALL of them together, but for now I'm content with just the two. Only time will tell if I like that foam aspect. They might dry out too much.


I've got a fair amount of comments on the YouTube video. 99.9% are favorable. My oldest bro said it was "vulgar". I took THAT as a compliment considering the source. Most of my relatives are not saying anything! They probably are not that crazy about it but more considerate than the bro. I can't fault him though because I did ask folks to tell me what they thought. My kids were cool and *I* liked it so there. The more I see it the more I'm amazed at what a good job Travis did putting it together. Some of my "scenes" make me cringe, but the dream like quality of the playground stuff is very good. Naturally the times I'm just having fun and cracking up come across as more real than the walking around with my nose in the air stuff, but that's to be expected I suppose.

Two of my friends have said they were "speechless". That's pretty cool because usually they are regular Chatty Cathys! Many just don't say anything. I'm guessing they are speechless too.... haha....


Found out today that I do still have diabetes according to the doctor, but it's well controlled. I figured as much because how could it just go away after being in my life for 15 years? My first born went to the diabetes doctor and she told her that she's seeing people having to get back on the meds and shots after awhile because they think they are cured and start eating like sugar and carbs are no problem. There is just so much insulin being produced and when that's not good enough to do the job it's back on the needle or the pills.

I'm glad I heard about that hopefully before I'm out of control. I've been eating candy and ice cream, etc. and need to step back and evaluate just what I think I hope to accomplish eating junk. I sure don't want to give it all up now! Changing your life long habits and patterns is like a giant game of Mother-May-I.... you take two little steps forward and one giant step backwards if you forgot to say the magic words or, in the this case, eat the magic foods and lay off the bad stuff.

The best thing about life is that until it's over you can make changes and reevaluate your choices. That's pretty empowering stuff! I like the way that works! Thanks, God, that was a good idea You had there!