Stupid Teeth Update
Get this. I just got off the phone with Aetna and they tell me that for an in-network surgeon, my deductable is $750.00. Much better, right? Yeah! And on top of that, they will pay 80% of the balance (about $250.00), so that means that when all is said and done, I will have paid eight hundred dollars and they will have paid two hundred. Can someone explain to me again the point of insurance? Because I'm a little confused. I thought it was supposed to be a good thing...? I thought it was supposed to help you pay for medical procedures you can't afford. I guess not. Bastards.

This is crap!
So, I know I've been complaining lately about having to get my Wisdom teeth out, but recently I started to think, once they're gone I don't ever have to worry about them again. And maybe, just maybe, my headaches will stop. It might just be worth it.

Of course, getting a little bit excited at the prospect of having this procedure over and done with has led to the fates mocking me once again.

I just received a call from the oral surgeon who tells me that my dental insurance will only cover the surgery if my medical insurance doesn't and my medical insurance will only cover it if my dental insurance doesn't. Yes. You read that right. They are both claiming to be the secondary insurance provider. Isn't that fantastic?

And get this! If I take my chances and have the surgery done, my deductable is fifteen hundred dollars! That's like car insurance! Who has a fifteen HUNDRED DOLLAR deductable?? Who?

Sigh. So, I canceled the appointment and now I have to start the phone calls to the insurance companies in order to find out how to fix the problem.

Grrr.

A Mathematical Infant
How does a person add 507.45 to 445.81 and get 1381.22? I wish I knew. Unfortunately, I must admit that I successfully added the first two numbers and came up with the third one this weekend. And I even used a calculator to do it. Talk about screwing up the checkbook, eh? Good thing I was a history major and not a math major.

Elvis and Michael, Sittin' in a Tree
I just finished watching Once Upon a Time in Mexico and I have to comment on how much I loved it. Johnny Depp was...it's hard to find words here...incomparable. He was everything the part called for and more. He rocked.

And Antonio Banderas was wonderful as the nameless mariachi out for revenge. Unfortunately, he looked for much of the movie like the love child Elvis and Michael Jackson might have had and that distracted me.

Still, overall, it was a fantastic movie and you should all go rent it now...unless of course you already have. In which case you should go rent it again. It's just. That. Good.

Congratulations and Happy Birthday!
My best friend, Joy, had a baby!! The newest addition to their little family was a girl, and has been named Katherine Belle. Mom and baby are doing fine.

In addition, today is Joy's birthday. What a wonderful gift, eh? A new baby.

I've decided that I'm going to be this baby's fairy god-mother. The duties of a fairy god-mother are strenuous, but I feel that I'm up to the task. Self-appointed fairy-godmother. That's me. So get ready, Little Kate. Get ready for a lifetime of awesome gifts, surprise visits, helpful hints, and above all, complete and total adoration.

Radio Gig
So, one of the comments I got recently was a question about when/where I'll be on the radio. The answer to where is 91.5 WNYE, which is a local NPR station out of Brooklyn. Monday through Friday they have phenomenal morning shows (7:10am-9:00am). Blanco and Blanco are on Monday and Tuesday and James David Jacobs is on Fridays with a show called "Call of the Mountain" (it's my personal favorite).

JDJ also has a Sunday evening radio show called "Sounds Like" that airs at 5pm and this is program that I will be on.

When is a much more difficult question to answer. The show is still in the beginning stages. As we get closer I'll keep you all posted.

I hope that answered the question and I hope you all start tuning in! It's good stuff.

Ass Clown
This man must be stopped. Please click on this link and then send an email to President Bush. Do it for yourself. Or, if you're not a woman, do it for your mother, your sister, your aunt, your grandmother, your daughter, or your wife or girlfriend.

It is completely unacceptable that we live in a society in which Viagra is covered under most insurance policies, but the birth-control pill is not.

A Few Things
As usual, I'm chained to my desk freezing half to death, but I thought I'd post because there are a few things going on worth mentioning.

First, a very good friend is celebrating her birthday tomorrow. In addition, she's expecting her first baby at any moment.

Second, I was supposed to sing karaoke this weekend, but the friend who was supposed to go with me is sick. So no singing for me.

Third, I think I'm definitely going to do the radio thing. I've officially been asked and it's too cool of an opportunity to pass up. So that decision's been made.

Fourth, I should be getting the bound copies of my thesis back from the printer in a few weeks and that means that I can finally start throwing away all the paperwork and drafts that went into the making of it. It's definitely going to be hard to part with some of it, but in other regards I'm so happy that I don't ever have to look at it again.

That's all for now. Go back to what you were doing. I'm done.

Weight, what?
So, I've been going to the gym for almost a month now and my muscles are defintely starting feel changed. However, I weighed myself tonight and it seems that I've put on three pounds. It's all that post-holidays chocolate I've been indulging in at work. Thanks a lot, Howard!

Sigh. Starving oneself is still considered a valid diet, right? Right?

Yeah, she's stable.
Courtney is looking rough these days, folks. But, as long as we're entertained, does it really matter?

Weather update: My dad tells me that next week MN is supposed to warm up to a balmy ten degrees BELOW ZERO. Have somma that.