Fadedwords

First day at the new job wasn’t so great.

It had me missing my old school… not the atmosphere created by administration or any of the other issues, but the people.  A whole lot.

I know it was just the first day and that it takes time to build friendships and all that.  I’ve just never been somewhere and had people not include the new people in things to help them feel welcome.  It was extremely upsetting, and I found myself texting friends in Plymouth just to remind myself that I have some good friends out there.

I’m sure it will get better, and that it was worse today because I got zero sleep last night.  Right now it just feels lousy.

You know, as I went through college I was consciously thinking about how important it was to get my degree and find a job that would offer me decent benefits.  Most importantly, especially as I went through graduate school, I was thinking of health insurance.  This became even more crucial to me after I underwent my thyroidectomy; I knew that I would be on medication for the whole of my life and that good medical coverage was of vital importance.

After working in New York State and being covered under their state employees medical plan, I felt very secure about working in the field of education and getting state coverage pretty much wherever I went.  NYS has very comprehensive coverage.  When I had a serious horseback riding accident and needed to go to the emergency room for a  bad concussion, the cost to me was minimal.

I didn’t expect anything different when I moved to North Carolina, but I was sorely mistaken.  The state employees health plan is minimal at best.  Granted, since I moved here there have been a lot of medical issues that popped up unexpectedly.  First there was the spider bites, then the issues we thought were ovarian cysts, then there was my injured back, and then the problems with my eye.   Most recently there was the emergency appendectomy.  So I realize that I’ve been kind of medically deficient since I moved here.  The fact that I am still paying off the trip to the ER for the spider bites though, is distressing.  The fact that I had to stop going to the doctor about my eye before I figured out what was causing the scarring, simply because I couldn’t afford all the testing and office visits is appalling.

The most distressing thing, however, is that for a procedure like an appendectomy that was completely mandatory, the insurance didn’t cover all of it.  Even with insurance I am being left with a $1703.04 balance at the hospital, a nearly $200 bill with the anesthesiologist, and I still haven’t received a bill from the surgeon.  That is nearly $2000 that I will have to find some way to come up with.  I understand that the insurance plan covered the vast majority of the cost… and believe me that’s wonderful and I’m thankful.  But quite honestly, what the hell is the point of being insured if you’re going to be left with extremely high medical bills after a necessary procedure?  Bills like this are monumental to me, as I know they would be for virtually any other normal person.

Long story short: I’m feeling frustrated and disappointed with health care in this country.

It’s been a beautiful year and a half.

Thank you Jake, for all you do.  I love you.

I’ve noticed myself becoming somewhat of a blog slacker which is incredibly unlike me.  No post in four days?  Anyone who knows me is probably wondering if I’ve met an unfortunate end.  I haven’t… I guess I just haven’t had too much to say lately.

This weekend I went to Plymouth again.  There were several reasons, the main one being that I needed to close my bank account.  There are no branches of the bank up near the house, so it required the 2-hour journey.  After talking with friends I decided that I might as well have some fun while I was down there.  The only bad thing about moving up here is that I do miss my friends.  Thankfully they are the kind of friends that invite you to visit, and also make efforts to come see you.  They’re the kind of friends I know I will always be able to count on.  We had a very low-key Friday night… dinner and movies at Courtney’s with Paul and ‘Phil’.  Saturday Courtney and I went to the farmer’s market in Washington, to lunch, and to Walmart.

I have a new reason to love Walmart.  We ran into the payroll person from Washington County (my former employer) and she stopped me.  She said that she had just sent me a check for about $400 less taxes.  When I asked why she explained that it was for my participation with AVID.  This was incredibly good news; getting that money will finance some new work clothes!  I suppose I would’ve gotten the check anyway, but hooray for being at Walmart and hearing about it there.

Saturday night we had a party.  Our other friends Kristen and Aren came, along with Jeff (Kristen’s hubby) and Nicole (Aren’s friend).  ‘Phil’ was there, and of course Paul and Courtney.  It was a ridiculous night full of much drinking, laughing, and laying around looking at stars.  I got to know both Kristen and Aren better, which was awesome.  Friends are a wonderful thing.  We were up until 6am on Sunday though… and that did take its toll.

I got home last night at 4, made some dinner, and by 8pm I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore.  I passed out until 7:45 this morning… so apparently I’m all caught up on sleep.  This is my last week of ‘freedom’; I go back to work on the 20th… and begin to figure out how things are and what I’m doing at this new school.  It’s an exciting and terrifying prospect.  I want to get my hair cut at some point, along with a couple new outfits this week.  I have much to look forward to this week as well.  Courtney, Paul, Aren, ‘Phil’ and I are going to see Rascal Flatts on Sunday.  I am incredibly excited and can’t wait to go have a good time.

Moving to North Carolina was difficult, because I left so many good friends there.  It’s been nice, developing strong, supportive, wonderful friendships here.  Three cheers for my P-Town Homies.

As is the case all over the country, it is hot here. Like, Satan’s realm hot. I had to go out today to get a few things at the grocery store, because Jake and I are still perfecting our grocery shopping and we’ve yet to actually get everything we need when we go. It’s getting better though. In any case, I had to go to Food Lion. I didn’t want to go; just looking outside was enough to make me sweat. But I showered, tossed on shorts and a T-shirt, and headed out.

Thank God my car has air conditioning.

I left at 10:45 and it was already 94 degrees outside, with a heat index of 108 (according to the news). When I came out of the grocery store it was up to 96… and I was only inside for about 20 minutes.

When I got back from the store I unloaded the car of all the groceries, and finally brought in the two duffel bags that were still there from when I moved in a month ago. After that was done I made myself fill both the bird feeder and bird bath, so my feathered friends would have some sustenance and water to keep cool and hydrated with. By that point I was sweating, which isn’t a normal reaction from bringing in groceries and feeding the birds. But it feels like 108 outside. I forgive myself.

Merlin thinks this weather is ridiculous too. He spends about an hour outside in the morning, walking around the back yard or laying in the grass. Then, when he’s had enough, he comes in and gets a drink before going into the bedroom and laying down on the bed under the ceiling fan. I want to just say that he is only allowed on the bed during the day; if it’s remotely near bed time he’s not allowed near the bed. (Yes I am justifying my dog’s spoiled and pampered life). Yesterday as we were sitting here, the dog went into his crate and lay down. We heard him drinking from his water bottle, which he usually only does if he doesn’t have water in his dish. I got up to check, and his dish was full. He would have nothing to do with it, though, until I emptied and refilled it. Apparently my dog is a yuppie and only drinks Evian. Good to know.