Healthcare – Seriously?

I made an appointment last month for yesterday to see a doctor at an organization that bases it on your income – it isn’t a free clinic. I have no insurance because I can’t afford it and working at a pizza place obviously doesn’t help provide anything for its employees. So, I had to go to this place. I’m not going to say its name to bash them because they probably do want to help people, maybe. I’m also still pissed about my experience from yesterday, but here is how it went…

I arrived 30 mins prior, like they said to fill out paper work. My appointment was at 9:30. Not that many people were in the waiting room and there were 2 doctors there, so I didn’t think it would take too long to get in.

They call me back to take my blood pressure, weight, more medical history, etc. Then they sent me back to the waiting room where I waited for at least an hour. Then they call me up to – fill out another paper medical questionnaire. Hmm, okay? I didn’t get sent back to the little room to wait for the doctor for another good 30 minutes. I waited in that room for at least half an hour too.

I didn’t see the doctor until around 11:30. I’m quite perturbed by now too. He BARELY looked at my “questionnaire” I filled out. He didn’t listen to me when I talked and if he did, he didn’t respond 80% of the time. Oh and since celiac disease is “rare” (in his words) he "probably" doesn’t think I could have it, even though most of the symptoms I do have and the doctor I saw before that treated me for IBS didn’t do anything same with “acid reflux” and other things. He didn’t even look at the rash I have that could be the itchy skin rash too. Then, he heads to leave when I’m not even done talking! Seriously?!? How is this guy a doctor? Then to top it off he says he’ll prescribe… and walks out. I didn’t even hear what he said (if he said anything) and he’ll be back to bring the prescription in. Um.. what? 15 minutes later I hear him walk into another patient’s room while I’m still waiting – again. I open the door and find someone who works there and ask why I’m waiting so long on a prescription I don’t even know what it is. She explains the nurse (or someone) is working on it and something about labs. What labs? He didn’t even say anything about that?!? My irritation level is about to explode. Oh, and I hadn’t eaten anything yet because my Mom said not to if I get blood work done.

Finally the prescription is ready and the person walks my Mom and I over to the lab area. I didn’t have to wait there for too long to be called back. I had to wait in the blood-drawing area though for at least 20 minutes and for what? I wasn’t told. I didn’t even know what tests were going to be ran with my blood – I had to ask the lab tech lady. Apparently he ordered 3. One general one, one for thyroid and another for how I digest things, I guess?

I told the lady before I need the small needle and I have rolling veins. It isn’t fun to be stuck multiple times in each arm and I’ve passed out before. Honestly, it is NOT fun. Well, guess what almost happened? That’s right! I almost passed out because she didn’t get in the vein or something after the 3rd time she poked me. Ouch! My Mom came back there and helped walk me out.

Apparently I could have eaten before the tests and that would have helped with the blood work. So, we go to eat lunch and come back and guess who is not there? The lab tech lady is the only one who works in that area and she is now at lunch. So, we have to wait for her and 2 more people to go through. Not fun, but that is fine because the pharmacy people aren’t back until 2:30 – talk about a long lunch hour!

This time the blood is drawn fine because she gets it from my hand and warmed it before. I’ll have to remember that the next time it ever needs to be drawn.

After waiting for the pharmacy people to get back, I’m just told that they are out of one of the prescriptions which would cost $70something and generic version at that and the other is $50something with their discount. I said no thanks!

We were at the medical center from 9am to 3pm. Talk about ridiculous!

So, we went to Wal Mart’s pharmacy to see what their prices are for those. Both are in the $30s. I’m going to pick one of them up today and not get the one for IBS because it never helped me before and I tried a few different ones for that so why waste $30?

I also do not plan on ever going back to this medical center. I’m going to call for my results and then cancel my “follow up” appointment next month. I don’t want to waste another $20 on a quack doctor who doesn’t even listen to his patients.

If this is anything like what the Obama healthcare reform will be like, people will seriously be beyond pissed. Sadly, it will probably be even worse than this.

Save Big by Elisabeth Leamy

Cut Your Top 5 Costs and Save Thousands

Who doesn’t like to save money? Not anyone I know that’s for sure.

Elisabeth Leamy is one of the experts in the field of saving BIG money. Maybe you’ve seen her on TV, she is a Consumer Correspondent for Good Morning America. She doesn’t go for the small savings that most people suggest like cutting out lattes or canceling magazine subscriptions. She goes for the savings of thousands of dollars – anything less than that didn’t make the cut in this book.

The BIG savings in this book target on our top five costs: houses, cars, credit, groceries and healthcare. Leamy says, “The key is to identify the areas where you spend the most money, because that’s where you can save the most money.”

Here are some examples of how to Save BIG with Leamy’s tips:

HOUSE:
• Fight junk closing costs when you buy a home and save $2,530.
• Refinance into a shorter mortgage. Save $103,536.
• Appeal your property taxes and save $1,265 a year.

CAR:
• Buy a “dark horse” car instead of the most popular make and model and save $ 6,814.
• Pay cash for your car and save $2,608.
• Exercise a “secret warranty” where the dealer fixes flaws for free and save $1,400.

CREDIT:
• Ferociously guard your credit score and save $2,916 a year on your mortgage.
• Undergo rapid rescoring before finalizing a mortgage and save $72,000 over the life of the loan.
• Negotiate for a lower credit card interest rate and save $1,272.

GROCERIES:
• Price match using simple online tools and save $4,628 a year on groceries.
• Stockpile and save $5,772 a year on groceries.
• Master creative couponing (Click don’t clip!) and save $7,956 a year.

HEALTHCARE:
• Raise your health insurance deductible and save $2,700 a year.
• Take the over-the-counter version of a drug instead of the identical prescription version and save $1,763 a year.
• Hire a medical billing advocate to fight hospital billing errors and save $6,858.

Save BIG is a tremendous source of savings for you, the consumer. I learned many things from reading this book on how to save BIG rather than save small. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking to save thousands or possibly millions in a lifetime by just some simple adjustments to what you do.


* Thank you to Wiley for providing me with a copy to review.

Snow Pictures and Video!

Here are some of the pictures I took yesterday when it was snowing. We didn't get 3 inches, but we had several snow flurries and it stuck around for awhile.

Now it is just icy mostly. There are quite a few places in our yard that are still covered in snow though. Our road is also pretty undriveable with the ice too, so again no work for me today. It hasn't been above 25 degrees here today I think.

Anyways, here are the pictures - enjoy!





Here is some short video of it falling down by my car... I would have gotten better footage but it was hard to catch falling down with other backgrounds. Enjoy the first video I posted on here that I've taken myself!

Alabama – 2009 National Champions!

Anyone else watch the college football National Championship game last night? It is a big deal here in Alabama. My whole family are Alabama fans and most of the area I’m in are too. There are some Auburn fans (the other team in the state of Alabama) but who counts them really?

The game was great and Texas put up a good fight for awhile, but Alabama won 37-21. Here are some highlights of the year with the Ala Freakin Bama song playing!



Roll Tide Roll!

Photo Copyright Scammer

While going in and checking over the comments to be published on here I came across two that screamed SCAM at me.

Dawn (who did not include an e-mail address or correct “blogger” profile on the comment) apparently thinks I infringed on some copyright with a lily image that I badly blacked out. She didn’t say it good grammar though.

Here is what she said (on a page which had nothing to do even with flowers) “please remove the photo of mine that you posted in contravention of copyright law on your flickr site--it's the one of the lily that your (badly) removed the black background from.”

Okay “Dawn” what image are you talking about? I don’t recall ever placing such image on my Blog and furthermore, I never even posted a single picture on a flickr page.

Then there is another comment (which I won’t approve either) but she says this “You posted an image of mine in contravention of copyright law on your Flickr page and a few others pages--please remove it immediately. Please note a formal complaint has been filed with Flickr and Yahoo.”

Again, no Flickr so what are you talking about? You can’t scam me.

Anyone else having issues with little scammers like her (or him, or it, whatever it is)?

Update: "She" e-mailed me and said same stuff. I responded stating that she needs to only contact person she thinks stole the image, not any random person who uses Blogger. Waiting to hear back now. Unbelievable!

I Wished For It… So What If It Is AYear Late?

Perhaps you remember all my posts last year about how I wished it would just snow already. It gets cold here, where it could snow. However it rarely ever does. Maybe that is a good thing because a little snow in the south makes people crazy and shuts everything down. No exaggeration there.

Much of the nation is in winter weather or cold/freeze advisories this week. Alabama is not excluded. In fact – we’re even getting snow today!



We’re having snow flurries right now where I live. I’m excited. The weather people are saying that we are going to get 1 to 3 inches of snow!

Not only do I love snow, but now it is also going to get me a free day or two out of work. I live on a very long, curvy, mountainy road along a river. It isn’t the best road in normal weather, so add in snow and ice and well nobody should be driving on it. Plus, our normal roads even aren’t equipped to handle snow/ice. Therefore… I can’t get into work.

Hazardous driving conditions don’t make for pizza delivery. I think our store will either shutdown (not likely) or go to carryout only during this weather. Honestly though, if someone wants delivery they are insane. If they wouldn’t drive in a certain weather type they should never call and ask someone else to do so either.

On other news, I was able to squeeze into another class this semester. Now I’ll be taking psychology and biology. I hope that I am able to get A’s in both. I’m going to study really hard. My job also is cool with the new hours change for me and days of availability so that is a relief too.

I’ll post pictures of the snow and stuff later today or tomorrow – assuming we don’t lose power or anything (::knocks on wood::).

I’m A College Student… Again…

I’m moving forward in the right direction with this year and my life. Today I enrolled at the local college here and am going to become a registered nurse. I applied late though so I’m only able to take one class most likely this semester. One is better than none and now I’m enrolled so I can apply for scholarships and financial aid for later in the year.

I have a B.S. Criminal Justice and minor in Sociology yet I can’t find a decent job. I tried going back to school for journalism but they really wanted to screw me over, so I only went for one semester there. At least most of those general education courses needed for the nursing program will transfer just fine and I’ll only need to take a couple. After that it will be all nursing classes.

My hours/days at work will need to be adjusted so I hope that they are understanding and work with me. If not, I’ll have to find somewhere else to work because I am going to put this above that job for sure. Hopefully it won’t come to that though. I will also still be able to do some freelance writing to help cover some expenses.

Overall I’m rather excited. Going back to school for this isn’t just a thought anymore – it is a reality.

Words to Live By

I love this quote for many reasons.

This year I am going to do more things than previous years.

I’m not going to care about what others think.

I’ll have no regrets.

Hopefully along the way I will discover and explore areas of myself and the world I never knew.


What does this quote mean to you?

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a fun and safe New Year’s Eve and day. I had to work so while I can’t say that I had much fun I at least made some money!

2009 was not a very good year for me. I really hope that 2010 is going to be better for me and from what I know of mostly everyone that reads this, better for you too.

I need to work on editing my “Vision Board” for 2010. For now though… here are my top 10 things that I want to see happen in 2010 for me:

1. Get more paid writing assignments (hopefully more travel ones).
2. Finish the novel I started writing last year.
3. Go back to school and become a RN.
4. Lose weight and be healthy. Goal is to lose 5 lbs a month.
5. Pay off at least 1 credit card. Credit cards are evil I tell you!
6. Make some real, honest and loyal friends.
7. Meet my special someone and fall in love.
8. Go on at least 1 very cool vacation to somewhere I’ve never been.
9. Read more.
10. Do more artistic things like painting, drawing, photography, etc.

You Tube Fun

Who doesn’t love youtube.com at least a little? I’m not one who visits everyday for hours by any means. I’m more of an occasional video surfer for particular things I want to see.

While browsing it this month I came across some cool and funny things I’d like to share with you all. Enjoy!


Dog Saves another Dog in Traffic in Santiago, Chile
This is just amazing! Who says dogs aren’t caring animals?



The Twilight before Christmas
You know I love my Twilight and parodies so why not add the two together for a Christmas themed one? Love it!



So You Think You Can Dance – Ashleigh and Jakob dance to “Whatchya Say”
I can’t believe I forgot to add this routine to my favorites of the season…



So You Think You Can Dance – Russel and Kathryn dance to “I Can Transform Ya”
Congratulations to the winner, Russel – he is an amazing hip hop dancer!



Swine Flu + Justin Bieber Parody of “One Time”
It isn’t the best, but it is pretty funny.



HBO 2010
Looks like HBO’s series are going to be great in 2010… I can’t wait for True Blood though. More Eric Northman please!