So I don't have much to blog about really. And I hate being one of those people who blogs about everything from what they had for lunch (unless they made it and have pictures that make me drool -- I LOVE food blogs) to the size of my toe nails. But I'm kind of thrilled to have free wi-fi at the Hong Kong airport, and feel like it would be a waste to not take advantage of it. Actually, its very sad. I remembered the free wi-fi at the HK airport from the last time I passed through here 6 yrs ago and must have told G about it at least a half dozen times. Maybe you're seeing a bit of a technology-freak trend going on here? I mean, yesterday, it was my phone, today the internet. What's even more awesome is that on this trip, I have my little lap top with me, so I don't even have to wait in line at the free computer station like I did last time. Seriously sad, I know. But it sure beats my other HK memory which is of people walking around in face masks because SARS was spreading like wildfire the last time I was here. Hmm, actually, there are lots of swine flu signs now, and what do you know, people walking around in masks. Curious coincidence? Or the price I have to pay for free wi-fi?
Anyway, so we've endured the 14 hour leg of the plane ride. We have a four-hour layover here in HK and then another 5 hours to Chennai. G keeps reminding me that its even longer than our trip to Thailand, and even made a little spreadsheet documenting the difference during a slow day at work. So definitely he's ready to be there already. And I hate plane rides in general, so sooner the better for me too.
But I gotta say, as far as 14-hr miserable rides go, this wasn't half bad. Not sure, the seats felt a little less cramped. And the on flight entertainment was actually kind of awesome. They have almost like a DVR-type set up with a whole bunch of movie and tv selections. No waiting for the next movie to start. No missing stuff cuz of bathroom breaks, cuz you can just pause. And actually the selection was almost as good as our DVR at home, which is saying a lot, especially with how crazy G gets with that thing. Though after 3 movies, several sitcom episodes, and a couple of Project Runway re-runs, I'm beat.
The food wasn't bad either. But they made us wait 9 hrs between meals!! Between lunch and dinner, too, wasn't like we were supposed to be sleeping or anything. We were starting to wonder if they'd forgotten about it, or if maybe all the flight attendants had overslept or something.
Also, I was kind of amazed by how many old people were on the flight. The guys with the wheelchairs were working overtime getting everyone on the flight. And a lot of kids. So it was a good thing we had a long layover, cuz we were sitting in the back and it must have taken about a million years to get out. A lot of old Indian people actually, so I guess HK is a popular layover destination. So that was the other thing that sucked about it -- a ton of people got the veggie meal. G ordered it too cuz he's always a little bitter when my food comes out first and he has to wait til they serve the rest of the flight. But guess it didn't do him much good on this flight seeing as how half the flight ordered the same meal, and we were in the back. The couple next to us got a different special meal (there were about 30 options to choose from, I think, when we booked), and they must have gotten served a full hour before us. So especially when we were dying waiting for that second meal, it didn't help to keep looking over and smelling their food. By that point, it could have been dog food probably and still would have smelled good.
Ok, I have nothing else to ramble on about.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Going dark
Ugh, today was definitely a crazy day. It's late, and I'm tired, so I'm not going to get into it really. Except to say that I was busy at work trying to finish up before I took off for two weeks. I snapped at an annoying co-worker. I was busy at home packing and running errands. And to make life fun, I had a doctor's appt this afternoon that I was 25 minutes late for. So late that they told me that I'd probably be waiting for over an hour, so I might as well reschedule. Except that I can't reschedule since I'll be gone. And I forgot my phone, so I was running around late all day but no way to communicate to anyone. Not to the doctor's office, not to G. I ended up rescheduling for their last appt of the day and then tried to run a couple of errands in Gilroy while I waited. I had to call G using a PAY PHONE. Can you imagine the trauma??? I barely knew how to use it, and I'm pretty sure it took advantage of my confusion and stole more money from me that was necessary. Either that or pay phones or more expensive than I remembered. Man, when did life get this way? For a long time I didn't even have a cell phone. I was one of the last hold outs. But here I am, completely useless and lost without one.
Oh, you know what was even better? I was running errands in Gilroy and hit SO much traffic that I was AGAIN late for my appt by almost half hour. By the time I got back to the doctor's office, the whole place was dark and pretty much everyone had gone home. Fortunately the doc was still there and agreed to see me. But only after some begging. Sounding like I was about to start crying might have helped also.
Anyway, life's much better now. And speaking of being incommunicado, I'm going to be out of touch for the next two weeks while I'm in India. Seeing as how I can barely handle a day without technology, I wonder how a couple of weeks will be!!!! I'll try to blog whenever I can, but I doubt it'll be more than every 3-4 days or so, if that. But hopefully I'll have some good stories for y'all when I get back.
Oh, you know what was even better? I was running errands in Gilroy and hit SO much traffic that I was AGAIN late for my appt by almost half hour. By the time I got back to the doctor's office, the whole place was dark and pretty much everyone had gone home. Fortunately the doc was still there and agreed to see me. But only after some begging. Sounding like I was about to start crying might have helped also.
Anyway, life's much better now. And speaking of being incommunicado, I'm going to be out of touch for the next two weeks while I'm in India. Seeing as how I can barely handle a day without technology, I wonder how a couple of weeks will be!!!! I'll try to blog whenever I can, but I doubt it'll be more than every 3-4 days or so, if that. But hopefully I'll have some good stories for y'all when I get back.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
SEX SEX SEX SEX SEX SEX
Bet that got your attention, right?
So I have to admit to a somewhat guilty pleasure. No, I don't mean THAT! Dude, get your mind out of the gutter. I mean, sure, there's definite pleasure there too but nothing guilty about it. But moving on to business . . . I know it’s a bit odd but I love advice columns and call in shows. Loveline with Dr. Drew? To this day, if I happen to be driving kind of late on a weeknite, I'll flip over to see what kind of sex advice the good doctor is doling out. Any paper with an advice column? I'm there. (right after the comics). And I'm not above looking for Ann Landers columns online now and then. Actually, more than the advice itself, I like hearing/reading the questions. I don't know, there's something about getting a glimpse into some one else's life and problems. . .
Lately, I've been able to add to my addiction a bit. There's a new talk show on the radio called "Sex with Emily." I don't actually like it that much. Mostly its this chick rambling on about sex-related topics, but ocassionally they have listeners call in with questions. And of course, those are the parts I like. If I'm bored at work, I'll download an episode now and again to my computer and have it running in the background while I work (with headphones on, of course). And there's an advice website that I discovered recently called "The Mouthy Housewives" that I'm liking a lot too. Its usually people writing in with questions about parenting answered by one of several different women, depending on who's up, I guess. They're all pretty funny, so I find it entertaining even though I don't have kids. And they do branch out quite a bit. Last week, they had a very enlightening response about what to do when your dog gets poop hanging from her butt and can't seem to get it out. Clearly, this has happened to me before (several times with Mia!), so I was interested in hearing about the proper protocol.
Anyway, my fascination with this stuff has recently brought a very disturbing fact to light. Are there really that many people out there that don't like sex or don't have good sex? On Emily, a lady called in and had a fairly lengthy question about her boyfriend. They had been together for 8 years. They didn't have good sex. For 8 years, she'd been holding out, ready to be married. And he didn't seem to be there yet. Etc. Etc. During her rambling, I was confused about why she wasn't more concerned about the sex part. She actually threw that in as a little bit of an aside. Really, her question was about how long she should wait before giving up on him and moving on. Is it just me that cringes a little at the thought of marrying some one you don't have good sex with? I mean I'm not saying its more important than any other quality, but isn't it part of the package? To me, if there's no chance of there being any magic in that arena, I'd give some pretty serious thought to marrying that person. And if you do happen to already be married when you discover this unfortuate fact, wouldn't it be the first thing you work on? Is that me being naïve or idealistic? Fortunately, that was the first thing the therapist on the show picked up on, too. And no matter how much the caller (and the annoying producer who kept telling the caller she shouldn't nag her guy too much) tried to go back to the getting married issue, the therapist stayed on point and insisted that the couple need to first have a talk about the sex.
Also, check out this recent question on Mouthy Housewives. Again, I'm so glad the response focused on what I think to be the most disturing aspect of the question. Really? You want to bitch cuz you don't like when you have sex? And not because you don't like having it in the first place? Does anyone else see the bizareness of this? Aside from the fact that I also find it completely insane that a couple that's been married for any length of time can't just openly talk about when they want to do it.
On a more positive note, that episode of Emily also had a caller who was in her 60s. And her question had to do with how to help her husband who has recently started having physical difficulties with that aspect of their relationship. All right, I'll just say it. He couldn't keep it up anymore, if you catch my drift. And he was embarrassed and didn't want to see a doctor. It was SO encouraging to finally hear from some one who clearly had a healthy and comfortable sex life. Who knew to ask the right questions and have the right conversations. But honestly, lately, I'm wondering if she's the exception rather than the norm. Maybe I'm just running in the wrong circles or something. Or maybe the problem is that I'm basing my ideas of the cultural climate from people who call into radio shows.
So I have to admit to a somewhat guilty pleasure. No, I don't mean THAT! Dude, get your mind out of the gutter. I mean, sure, there's definite pleasure there too but nothing guilty about it. But moving on to business . . . I know it’s a bit odd but I love advice columns and call in shows. Loveline with Dr. Drew? To this day, if I happen to be driving kind of late on a weeknite, I'll flip over to see what kind of sex advice the good doctor is doling out. Any paper with an advice column? I'm there. (right after the comics). And I'm not above looking for Ann Landers columns online now and then. Actually, more than the advice itself, I like hearing/reading the questions. I don't know, there's something about getting a glimpse into some one else's life and problems. . .
Lately, I've been able to add to my addiction a bit. There's a new talk show on the radio called "Sex with Emily." I don't actually like it that much. Mostly its this chick rambling on about sex-related topics, but ocassionally they have listeners call in with questions. And of course, those are the parts I like. If I'm bored at work, I'll download an episode now and again to my computer and have it running in the background while I work (with headphones on, of course). And there's an advice website that I discovered recently called "The Mouthy Housewives" that I'm liking a lot too. Its usually people writing in with questions about parenting answered by one of several different women, depending on who's up, I guess. They're all pretty funny, so I find it entertaining even though I don't have kids. And they do branch out quite a bit. Last week, they had a very enlightening response about what to do when your dog gets poop hanging from her butt and can't seem to get it out. Clearly, this has happened to me before (several times with Mia!), so I was interested in hearing about the proper protocol.
Anyway, my fascination with this stuff has recently brought a very disturbing fact to light. Are there really that many people out there that don't like sex or don't have good sex? On Emily, a lady called in and had a fairly lengthy question about her boyfriend. They had been together for 8 years. They didn't have good sex. For 8 years, she'd been holding out, ready to be married. And he didn't seem to be there yet. Etc. Etc. During her rambling, I was confused about why she wasn't more concerned about the sex part. She actually threw that in as a little bit of an aside. Really, her question was about how long she should wait before giving up on him and moving on. Is it just me that cringes a little at the thought of marrying some one you don't have good sex with? I mean I'm not saying its more important than any other quality, but isn't it part of the package? To me, if there's no chance of there being any magic in that arena, I'd give some pretty serious thought to marrying that person. And if you do happen to already be married when you discover this unfortuate fact, wouldn't it be the first thing you work on? Is that me being naïve or idealistic? Fortunately, that was the first thing the therapist on the show picked up on, too. And no matter how much the caller (and the annoying producer who kept telling the caller she shouldn't nag her guy too much) tried to go back to the getting married issue, the therapist stayed on point and insisted that the couple need to first have a talk about the sex.
Also, check out this recent question on Mouthy Housewives. Again, I'm so glad the response focused on what I think to be the most disturing aspect of the question. Really? You want to bitch cuz you don't like when you have sex? And not because you don't like having it in the first place? Does anyone else see the bizareness of this? Aside from the fact that I also find it completely insane that a couple that's been married for any length of time can't just openly talk about when they want to do it.
On a more positive note, that episode of Emily also had a caller who was in her 60s. And her question had to do with how to help her husband who has recently started having physical difficulties with that aspect of their relationship. All right, I'll just say it. He couldn't keep it up anymore, if you catch my drift. And he was embarrassed and didn't want to see a doctor. It was SO encouraging to finally hear from some one who clearly had a healthy and comfortable sex life. Who knew to ask the right questions and have the right conversations. But honestly, lately, I'm wondering if she's the exception rather than the norm. Maybe I'm just running in the wrong circles or something. Or maybe the problem is that I'm basing my ideas of the cultural climate from people who call into radio shows.
Monday, August 17, 2009
racial stereotyping at its finest
On Fri, I was coming into work when I heard yet another comment on the Henry Louis Gates thing. You remember, that story that went down last month about a black professor getting arrested in his own home by a white police officer? And then President Obama unfortunately commented on it during his big health care speech. I thought it was all over, and that everyone had made nice with a beer at the White House a couple of weeks ago. Because you know, nothing ends racial strife like a beer. Though I personally would have assumed a few more would be necessary. You know, after about 15 beers, people stop seeing color anyway, right?
Anyway, this time, it was a perspective by a local civil rights attorney, who I gathered is black. Or African-American? What's PC these days? Anyway, he noted that the whole incident was just typical of being black in America. Being pulled over for no reason, searched without cause, all these things were daily occurences for your average black man.
But hearing him talk about this, I started to feel the uncomfortable feeling that I always feel when I hear people sounding off on this subject. Really, does everything have to be about race? Why can't the Gates incident (or other similar incidents) be exactly what it seems. A neighbor hears some one trying to break into a home; calls the cops; guy gets a little belligerent; the cop gets fed up and arrests him. Honestly, when I first heard what happened, that's exactly what I assumed it was. I hate that we assign racial motivations to EVERYTHING. Is that just me being naïve? And is it bad that after everything that's been reported on the event, I'm still inclined to read it for what it seems like. Without any evidence to the contrary, why start seeing boogie men around every corner?
Maybe it has something to do with my own upbringing. For my dad, it was always about race. So the attitude isn't a new one for me. Or unique to African Americans. Growing up, if my dad's luggage got searched at the airport, it must have been because he was brown. He didn't get a promotion? Of course not, when there were other white guys that wanted it also. I remember we got pulled over once. We were all in the car. And I guess my dad was driving too slowly. Of course it was because we were brown. Never mind that we were caravaning with friends (also Indian, but driving the speed limit), and they didn't get pulled over. So I think I started to develop a distaste for what seemed to be nothing more than conspiracy theories.
This isn't to say, however, that racism never exists. For example, there was a particularly heinous incident a couple of years ago where a couple attacked an Indian man and his friends in Lake Tahoe. It was very definitely racially motivated -- the couple called them "Indian sluts and whores" and accused them of being related to Osama bin Laden. And then the lady held the man down while her husband kicked him. The case dragged on in court for a while, and then the Superior Court decided to drop the hate crime enhancements that the couple had initally been charged with. Fortunately, the Attorney General's offices decided to pursue a federal indictment, including hate crime enhancements. It was a huge deal, particularly in the South Asian Bar community. So of course racism happens. But I just hate to look for it under every bush.
And I'm not even saying that when it happens, it has to be something big like the Tahoe incident. I bet it happens everyday, in all kinds of ways, big and small. But I just wonder how people live with the constant outrage. Doesn't it get draining after a while? And at what point do you start to lose focus so that you can't even tell the difference between random unfortunate events and a racial injustice?
Actually, the whole Gates incident reminded me of my own run in with the cops a few years ago. I was visiting my parents in Oregon, and sleeping in as I usually do. It must have been about 9 in the morning. My parents had left for work or where it is they were going. I wasn't even sure at the time. And all of a sudden the doorbell rings. I never answer the door at my parents' house. The last time I had - also in the morning, and also when I had been asleep -- it was a couple of Jehovah's Witnesses that seemed surprised when I shut the door in their face and went back to bed. The were my family's regular Jehovah's visitors, because my parents didn't have the heart to tell them that they would never in a million years convert. So they came, month after month, with the hopes of releasing my parents from their heathen existence. In fact, I believe they were in the middle of telling me how well they knew my family (and rattling off my brothers' names) when I shut the door. But that's another story for a different day.
Anwyay, I ignored the door, until I heard, "Police! Open the door!" So I dragged myself out of bed and opened the door. Turns out that some one in our house had dialed 911, and they were responding! I had to tell them that I had no idea what was up, but definitely I wasn't in any danger. I tried to find some one else at home, but it was at that point that I realized everyone was gone. The officers assured themselves that everything was ok. And then one of them said, "Are you sure maybe that some one didn't dial 911 by mistake? Maybe when they were trying to dial an international call?" Um, maybe, I don't know. But I remember my feeling of outrage (well, not really, I was still half asleep). But how dare they, right? How dare they assume that just because we were foreign that of course we must have been dialing an international call, and of course, we didn't know how to use the phone? I remember telling a friend the story later that morning and saying exactly that. The officers gave me a little lecture - my parents should be more careful, and if they do dial 911 by mistake, they should stay on the line and explain instead of hanging up. So there it was, racism rearing its ugly head, at my front door, no less! No doubt its incidents like this that have people like Gates up in arms. Though I guess he got arrested, so the stories aren't at all simiar.
Plus, when my parents got home, I heard their side of their story. Which was this: they didn't know what had happened, but they had been dialing India and must have misdialed. The India country code is 9-1, so they must have dialed another 1 by accident. Doh! So is it still a racial stereotype if it ends up being true?
Anyway, this time, it was a perspective by a local civil rights attorney, who I gathered is black. Or African-American? What's PC these days? Anyway, he noted that the whole incident was just typical of being black in America. Being pulled over for no reason, searched without cause, all these things were daily occurences for your average black man.
But hearing him talk about this, I started to feel the uncomfortable feeling that I always feel when I hear people sounding off on this subject. Really, does everything have to be about race? Why can't the Gates incident (or other similar incidents) be exactly what it seems. A neighbor hears some one trying to break into a home; calls the cops; guy gets a little belligerent; the cop gets fed up and arrests him. Honestly, when I first heard what happened, that's exactly what I assumed it was. I hate that we assign racial motivations to EVERYTHING. Is that just me being naïve? And is it bad that after everything that's been reported on the event, I'm still inclined to read it for what it seems like. Without any evidence to the contrary, why start seeing boogie men around every corner?
Maybe it has something to do with my own upbringing. For my dad, it was always about race. So the attitude isn't a new one for me. Or unique to African Americans. Growing up, if my dad's luggage got searched at the airport, it must have been because he was brown. He didn't get a promotion? Of course not, when there were other white guys that wanted it also. I remember we got pulled over once. We were all in the car. And I guess my dad was driving too slowly. Of course it was because we were brown. Never mind that we were caravaning with friends (also Indian, but driving the speed limit), and they didn't get pulled over. So I think I started to develop a distaste for what seemed to be nothing more than conspiracy theories.
This isn't to say, however, that racism never exists. For example, there was a particularly heinous incident a couple of years ago where a couple attacked an Indian man and his friends in Lake Tahoe. It was very definitely racially motivated -- the couple called them "Indian sluts and whores" and accused them of being related to Osama bin Laden. And then the lady held the man down while her husband kicked him. The case dragged on in court for a while, and then the Superior Court decided to drop the hate crime enhancements that the couple had initally been charged with. Fortunately, the Attorney General's offices decided to pursue a federal indictment, including hate crime enhancements. It was a huge deal, particularly in the South Asian Bar community. So of course racism happens. But I just hate to look for it under every bush.
And I'm not even saying that when it happens, it has to be something big like the Tahoe incident. I bet it happens everyday, in all kinds of ways, big and small. But I just wonder how people live with the constant outrage. Doesn't it get draining after a while? And at what point do you start to lose focus so that you can't even tell the difference between random unfortunate events and a racial injustice?
Actually, the whole Gates incident reminded me of my own run in with the cops a few years ago. I was visiting my parents in Oregon, and sleeping in as I usually do. It must have been about 9 in the morning. My parents had left for work or where it is they were going. I wasn't even sure at the time. And all of a sudden the doorbell rings. I never answer the door at my parents' house. The last time I had - also in the morning, and also when I had been asleep -- it was a couple of Jehovah's Witnesses that seemed surprised when I shut the door in their face and went back to bed. The were my family's regular Jehovah's visitors, because my parents didn't have the heart to tell them that they would never in a million years convert. So they came, month after month, with the hopes of releasing my parents from their heathen existence. In fact, I believe they were in the middle of telling me how well they knew my family (and rattling off my brothers' names) when I shut the door. But that's another story for a different day.
Anwyay, I ignored the door, until I heard, "Police! Open the door!" So I dragged myself out of bed and opened the door. Turns out that some one in our house had dialed 911, and they were responding! I had to tell them that I had no idea what was up, but definitely I wasn't in any danger. I tried to find some one else at home, but it was at that point that I realized everyone was gone. The officers assured themselves that everything was ok. And then one of them said, "Are you sure maybe that some one didn't dial 911 by mistake? Maybe when they were trying to dial an international call?" Um, maybe, I don't know. But I remember my feeling of outrage (well, not really, I was still half asleep). But how dare they, right? How dare they assume that just because we were foreign that of course we must have been dialing an international call, and of course, we didn't know how to use the phone? I remember telling a friend the story later that morning and saying exactly that. The officers gave me a little lecture - my parents should be more careful, and if they do dial 911 by mistake, they should stay on the line and explain instead of hanging up. So there it was, racism rearing its ugly head, at my front door, no less! No doubt its incidents like this that have people like Gates up in arms. Though I guess he got arrested, so the stories aren't at all simiar.
Plus, when my parents got home, I heard their side of their story. Which was this: they didn't know what had happened, but they had been dialing India and must have misdialed. The India country code is 9-1, so they must have dialed another 1 by accident. Doh! So is it still a racial stereotype if it ends up being true?
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Updates
So it's been brought to my attention that I often bring up my various crises without ever telling you what happened after. That's because most of the time, everything seems to resolve eventually, and that part's not so funny. But just so I don't leave anyone hanging (I'd hate for you to lose sleep over my oh-so-exciting dramas), here's a bit of an update on my recent life events.
Tucker: STILL stinks but slowly becoming bearable
Mia: Completely unaffected by her swimming incident
Doggies: Still costing us a fortune -- i forgot to list food on that itemization of expenses, for which we pay about $100 per month. On the plus side, Bandit's cone seems to be less stinky now that we let it air out for a few weeks, saving us that 20-something bucks.
Me: No MS just yet, although this week, my back seems to be particularly painful -- possibly degenerative disc disease?
India trip: My passport actually came in a little over a week!! Yay for the US Passport Service. I called to check on the status on a Fri, one week after they received it just to see if there was anything I could do to speed it up. I thought it was a little bit snide of the agent to make me go through a long explanation of why I needed it in a hurry before saying, "I have good news for you. It's already in the mail and should reach you by tomorrow or Mon." Really, did we have to go through the whole rigamarole of when I was travelling, how quickly did I need it, etc?
So now I'm waiting on my Visa. Yes, we need a Visa even though we're just going for 2 weeks. I sent it in. They seem pretty fast about granting it and sending it back. G's already gotten his and it took less than a week! But with mine, apparently, I needed to send them my old passport with my previous Visa in it. Don't ask me why. Maybe to make sure I didn't start a riot or something on my last trip? Do they note those kinds of things on Visas when you leave the country? To give them credit, they might have stated that several times on their site and in the application documents but I missed it somehow. It wasn't an issue for G cuz he's never had an Indian visa before. So then I had to send that in separately, prolonging the process even more. But it all seems good now, and status updates on their website suggest that they've been moving along with processing and should have it by this week. Just in time!
Various medical/dental issues: Hmm, I guess these ended up being a bit more of a pain. For dental, I was trying to figure out if I should sign up for a separate dental plan or not. My medical covers basic cleanings and x-rays twice a year, and does anyone do anything more than that at the dentist? But its weird. My medical coverage offers a dental indemnity plan. So basically, I go to a dentist of my choice. They submit the bills to my medical insurance company, the insurance company pays some allotted amount for the covered services, and I cover the rest. But here was the catch. Well there were several. First of all, no one I initially talked to had heard of an "indemnity plan" for dental care. Dentist offices asked me if I had an HMO or PPO, I said neither, they got confused and told me they didn't cover my plan. THEN my insurance company was also very vague about how much they actually covered for each of the regular dental services. Apparently, it wasn't a 100%. They decided on what was reasonable and that's all they would pay. Which is fine except that apparently what was reasonable was top secret info that they couldn't release without killing me. So how the hell was I supposed to figure out if I needed additional coverage if I couldn't figure out how much out of pocket I'd be with just my indemnity. To make matters worse, I only had 90 days to sign up for a dental plan if I wanted one, and nobody was making it easy for me to make a decision. I finally opted not to sign up for a dental plan, went with my medical to the first dentist that didn't seem confused by the whole situation, and haven't gotten any bills yet. So hopefully that means its all good and everything was covered. But who knows?
With the vision, actually some of you sent me some recommendations. Thanks so much for that! They were much appreciated. But when I went to check them out, they weren't on my Vision Plan's list of accepted providers. I was already kind of tired of dealing with insurance docs by that point, so didn't feel like calling to find out how I go about seeing an out-of-area provider. I ended up keeping the appt I made with the doc in Hollister, and she turned out to be awesome. The last terrible attempt I made to get contacts, the optometrist - this young high schooler from Wisconsin, I'm positive - told me that they couldn't measure me for hard lenses because I wasn't wearing them. And then they couldn't fit me without my most recent prescription. They gave me the run around for 2 pointless visits! This doc told me all that was a bunch of bull and measured me in minutes. And the rest of our visit was spent fine tuning (hard lenses sit right on your cornea so fit is kind of an issue). It was great. What sucks is that they keep normal biz hours, and my contacts arrived 2 weeks ago, and I still haven't had time to go get them because they're always already closed by the time I get back into town. But otherwise, no complaints! Thanks, J., for your general price guidelines too! They stayed right in that ball park, so I know I'm not getting ripped off.
Tahoe dog incident: Sigh, never needed to write an angry letter after all. The guy backed down after my friend sent the city after him, and they found out he was in violation for the deck spacing AND for having a hot tub on the deck, too. She recently sent him another letter pointing out this new piece of evidence, and he asked her to send over the vet bills.
Idiots and climate change: Still exist. Not long after I posted that note, an annoying co-worker happened to announce that he didn't believe in man-made climate change. He likened it to other "mis-representations" in history and made some random comments about the liberal media. What do you want to bet he doesn't believe in the Holocaust either? And now I'm wondering if this issue is just following me around to annoy me.
I think that's a good roundup, don't you? Let me know if there's anything else that has you hanging on the edge of your seat. :)
Tucker: STILL stinks but slowly becoming bearable
Mia: Completely unaffected by her swimming incident
Doggies: Still costing us a fortune -- i forgot to list food on that itemization of expenses, for which we pay about $100 per month. On the plus side, Bandit's cone seems to be less stinky now that we let it air out for a few weeks, saving us that 20-something bucks.
Me: No MS just yet, although this week, my back seems to be particularly painful -- possibly degenerative disc disease?
India trip: My passport actually came in a little over a week!! Yay for the US Passport Service. I called to check on the status on a Fri, one week after they received it just to see if there was anything I could do to speed it up. I thought it was a little bit snide of the agent to make me go through a long explanation of why I needed it in a hurry before saying, "I have good news for you. It's already in the mail and should reach you by tomorrow or Mon." Really, did we have to go through the whole rigamarole of when I was travelling, how quickly did I need it, etc?
So now I'm waiting on my Visa. Yes, we need a Visa even though we're just going for 2 weeks. I sent it in. They seem pretty fast about granting it and sending it back. G's already gotten his and it took less than a week! But with mine, apparently, I needed to send them my old passport with my previous Visa in it. Don't ask me why. Maybe to make sure I didn't start a riot or something on my last trip? Do they note those kinds of things on Visas when you leave the country? To give them credit, they might have stated that several times on their site and in the application documents but I missed it somehow. It wasn't an issue for G cuz he's never had an Indian visa before. So then I had to send that in separately, prolonging the process even more. But it all seems good now, and status updates on their website suggest that they've been moving along with processing and should have it by this week. Just in time!
Various medical/dental issues: Hmm, I guess these ended up being a bit more of a pain. For dental, I was trying to figure out if I should sign up for a separate dental plan or not. My medical covers basic cleanings and x-rays twice a year, and does anyone do anything more than that at the dentist? But its weird. My medical coverage offers a dental indemnity plan. So basically, I go to a dentist of my choice. They submit the bills to my medical insurance company, the insurance company pays some allotted amount for the covered services, and I cover the rest. But here was the catch. Well there were several. First of all, no one I initially talked to had heard of an "indemnity plan" for dental care. Dentist offices asked me if I had an HMO or PPO, I said neither, they got confused and told me they didn't cover my plan. THEN my insurance company was also very vague about how much they actually covered for each of the regular dental services. Apparently, it wasn't a 100%. They decided on what was reasonable and that's all they would pay. Which is fine except that apparently what was reasonable was top secret info that they couldn't release without killing me. So how the hell was I supposed to figure out if I needed additional coverage if I couldn't figure out how much out of pocket I'd be with just my indemnity. To make matters worse, I only had 90 days to sign up for a dental plan if I wanted one, and nobody was making it easy for me to make a decision. I finally opted not to sign up for a dental plan, went with my medical to the first dentist that didn't seem confused by the whole situation, and haven't gotten any bills yet. So hopefully that means its all good and everything was covered. But who knows?
With the vision, actually some of you sent me some recommendations. Thanks so much for that! They were much appreciated. But when I went to check them out, they weren't on my Vision Plan's list of accepted providers. I was already kind of tired of dealing with insurance docs by that point, so didn't feel like calling to find out how I go about seeing an out-of-area provider. I ended up keeping the appt I made with the doc in Hollister, and she turned out to be awesome. The last terrible attempt I made to get contacts, the optometrist - this young high schooler from Wisconsin, I'm positive - told me that they couldn't measure me for hard lenses because I wasn't wearing them. And then they couldn't fit me without my most recent prescription. They gave me the run around for 2 pointless visits! This doc told me all that was a bunch of bull and measured me in minutes. And the rest of our visit was spent fine tuning (hard lenses sit right on your cornea so fit is kind of an issue). It was great. What sucks is that they keep normal biz hours, and my contacts arrived 2 weeks ago, and I still haven't had time to go get them because they're always already closed by the time I get back into town. But otherwise, no complaints! Thanks, J., for your general price guidelines too! They stayed right in that ball park, so I know I'm not getting ripped off.
Tahoe dog incident: Sigh, never needed to write an angry letter after all. The guy backed down after my friend sent the city after him, and they found out he was in violation for the deck spacing AND for having a hot tub on the deck, too. She recently sent him another letter pointing out this new piece of evidence, and he asked her to send over the vet bills.
Idiots and climate change: Still exist. Not long after I posted that note, an annoying co-worker happened to announce that he didn't believe in man-made climate change. He likened it to other "mis-representations" in history and made some random comments about the liberal media. What do you want to bet he doesn't believe in the Holocaust either? And now I'm wondering if this issue is just following me around to annoy me.
I think that's a good roundup, don't you? Let me know if there's anything else that has you hanging on the edge of your seat. :)
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
a somewhat complicated man :)
On Sat, I helped to organize a friend's baby shower. That morning, I was in the kitchen making food for the event (a pasta salad and arancini, these fried rice ball things that are a total pain to make, but that's totally beside the point). Trying to reach something that was in a really high cupboard, I was standing on a stepladder above the stove. This isn't that uncommon of an occurrence. I'm short, so pretty much everything in our kitchen is too high for me.
But that morning, I was struggling. The pan I wanted was all in the way back, and it seemed like every really heavy pot and pan we owned was right in the way of what I needed. What followed was this interaction between me and my lovely husband, who was in our office working throughout the entire thing.
Clash, clutter, clang.
Me: AAAHHHHHH
Him: nothing
Me: Goddammit! *%#!*&$#$@*!!!!
Him: nothing
Further clanging as I struggled to grab the super heavy pressure cooker with one hand before it fell to the floor (while holding another heavy pot with a precarious lid in the other hand. And doing a hand stand).
Him: nothing
Huge thud as something falls from above my head, hits me on the shoulder and lands somewhere on the floor. At this point, I'm practically falling off the stool trying to figure out what it is while still trying to maneuver the pans.
Him: nothing
Turns out that somehow in the course of all this, I had knocked out the clock from the wall kind of near me, and that was what had fallen, hitting me on its way down. It ended up landing, probably to piss me off even more, behind the refrigerator, just farther than I could reach.
Me: more cursing
Him: nothing
Anyway, it all ended finally. And I managed to survive, but just barely, I think. A few minutes later, I head into the office, where my husband is working away, STILL oblivious to the whole thing.
Me: Dude, where were you? I was really struggling over there! I could have died!
Him: Really? What happened?
I explained. And pointed out that I could have fallen from the step ladder and sustained some pretty major injuries. I could have broken my neck. Or my hip. And then where would we be?
Him: Oh, it would have been fine. I was getting hungry actually. I was heading out to the kitchen in a few anyway to grab some cereal. Don't worry. I would have found you.
Wow. Right? This is the man I live with!!!
All right, normally, I would stop there. Let you savor it a while, maybe encourage you to make sure you call up and check on me every so often, make sure I'm still alive. Just to be sure.
But, it was my husband's birthday on Mon, so I feel a little bad leaving it at that. So in all fairness, I thought I'd also share this other little tidbit. Some of you may remember that a while back, he snuck a camera into my purse as a surprise gift. And I promptly dropped it and scratched it up. Like literally within 5 minutes of discovering it (I was drunk). So I had asked him if he could return it and get me a new one just like it, so that I could keep it unscratched for at least a few weeks, which is my typical record.
So one Wed not that long ago, I came home to find this on our little communication center (sorry my cell phone doesn't do it justice -- but the little magnet in the middle says "Wednesday"):
Sitting on the little ledge below, all arranged in a row, were these cute little suckers:
I picked the aquamarine one. :)
Monday, August 10, 2009
Doh, what is it with us and kayaking?
So yesterday, we thought it'd be fun to take out our kayak again for a quick cruise at Elkhorn Slough in Moss Landing. Some of you might remember our last unglorious attempt to take out the new kayak there over a year ago. Its been a while since then, so we figured we should give it another go. We did pay a few hundred dollars for the kayak after all, and while it looks great sitting in its box in our garage, it did seem like it might be about time to give it another try.
We figured we had everything well planned this time around. We knew how to inflate the damn thing, for one. So that's already a huge jump from the previous time. We timed it well too. We took the dogs with us, and ran them around for a while on some off leash hiking trails not too far away. And then the plan was to let the dogs crash in the back of the truck while we kayaked, arriving just in time to catch the sunset. And then grab some Thai food from this great place along the water on our way back. Sounds awesome, right? And it all started off well. It was a hot day, so we were all pooped after hiking around. The dogs seemed perfectly content to sleep in the back of the truck. They seemed only mildly interested while G was getting the kayak ready.
At first we weren't sure which of them it was. Only Tucker was really even capable of jumping out of the truck at all, but he can't swim. Well, I don't know, maybe he can, but he never does. And he doesn't have a tail, so I don't think he'd make it very far. Anyway, it wasn't him. It was my literally lame ass dog Mia who got excited by the barking, decided we were having fun in the water without her (she LOVES the water), and decided to come after us!!!
We figured we had everything well planned this time around. We knew how to inflate the damn thing, for one. So that's already a huge jump from the previous time. We timed it well too. We took the dogs with us, and ran them around for a while on some off leash hiking trails not too far away. And then the plan was to let the dogs crash in the back of the truck while we kayaked, arriving just in time to catch the sunset. And then grab some Thai food from this great place along the water on our way back. Sounds awesome, right? And it all started off well. It was a hot day, so we were all pooped after hiking around. The dogs seemed perfectly content to sleep in the back of the truck. They seemed only mildly interested while G was getting the kayak ready.
So far, so good. It all seemed to be going exactly as we planned. Until we actually took off.
Sigh, right off the bat, Tucker seemed extremely disturbed by our leaving. He started barking and wouldn't stop. We could hear him even after we were a good few minutes from shore. But whatever, we figured he'd stop as soon as we got out of sight. He's kind of a big baby like that. And anyway, there was hardly anyone at the take off point. He could bark all evening if he wanted for all we cared. But I guess him barking got the other two excited. After another 30 seconds or so, we even heard the other two chiming in every so often.
And then about 30 seconds after that, we heard a splash. And G said, "Oh shit, is that a dog in the water?"
We peered back and sure enough, we could see something splashing around, heading in our direction. Dude, so one of them had jumped out the truck and decided to follow us out!!!
At first we weren't sure which of them it was. Only Tucker was really even capable of jumping out of the truck at all, but he can't swim. Well, I don't know, maybe he can, but he never does. And he doesn't have a tail, so I don't think he'd make it very far. Anyway, it wasn't him. It was my literally lame ass dog Mia who got excited by the barking, decided we were having fun in the water without her (she LOVES the water), and decided to come after us!!!
She didn't catch up to us or anything, but she was still making a pretty strong go of it as we turned around and met up with her on our way back to shore.
Needless to say, the only sunset we caught yesterday was from the parking lot, as we deflated our kayak and prepared to head home.
Actually, we did still grab the Thai food on our way home, and it was excellent. So I guess the day wasn't a total bust.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Around the water cooler
Said to me yesterday by some one who barely knows me and just started working here: mentioning that she used to bank with Citibank but, "no offense to your people, but I hated calling with questions and always getting some one in India who couldn't speak English." Um, ok. No offense to your people but I can't stand going into those Vietnamese salons cuz those ladies always seem to be talking about me behind my back and anyway the last time I went in for a waxing they totally ruined my face. I mean, seriously, right? I'm not easily offended but how would she know that?
After wondering for a week about who's been dipping into my coffee creamer, a co-worker made me a sign for the next one I bring in (seeing as how the last super large one disappeared in about a week). I showed off the sign to my office mates and ranted for a second about people stealing my creamer. No response for a second before one (same girl as above -- no offense to her people or anything, but I hate how Vietnamese people steal stuff, don't you?) chimed in, saying, "Oh, I grabbed some." Then, my other office mate also 'fesses up too and says he might have been guilty a few times also! Dude, those things aren't cheap, I paid almost $5 for that thing and expected it to last a good couple of weeks. And I'm not here to support everyone else's coffee drinking habit. It was all settled amicably though, and one of them went out during lunch and brought in another one. But here's what I don't get, and what G also pointed out when I told him about it last night. The governemnt does not provide anything for free. Not filtered water, not coffee -- people that want any all chip in together and get it. So never mind first of all that my creamer had my initials on it (and as far as I know, neither of these people share them). But seriously, if something's in the fridge and it wasn't something you brought in, why go near it? When there's absolutely no chance of it being communal property or something bought for us by work? Sounds like G's been having the same issues at work for a while now, including some one grabbing his big container of soup one time (you know those big, kinda expensive ones from delis like Nob Hill?) and ate half. Which we also don't get. Why not just finish it and replace it if you're going to take it? When they finally find me my own office, which I guess is supposed to happen one of these days, I'm bringing in a little college fridge so I don't have to deal with the thieves.
Current Case: a 17yo girl weighing 340 pounds. Reading at a 2nd grade level, math at a 3rd grade level. Records show that she showed up at least once to her doctor for a pregnancy test because she's had unprotected sex, going to show of course that there's always some one out there for everyone. Also, she's already been in trouble with the law for carjacking; I'm guessing she got caught because she couldn't get away fast enough. Or she couldn't fit in the seat in order to drive it away. Said her mother repeatedly during the hearing: "She ain't with me when that happened" just in case someone wanted to blame her for it, I suppose. But get this, wanna know why she wasn't with her when it happened? Cuz she'd been incarcerated herself and her kids were in foster care. You know, lady, if I were you, I'd maybe not emphasize the point quite so much, cuz some how it doesn't really exonerate you as a parent. Not in the way I think you think it does.
Also said to me this week by one of the whitest boys I've seen (the other coffee thief, by the way): "You know, I don't think of myself as white. I never have. Actually if I considered myself anything, it'd probably be Indian." And then he proceeded to do this weird ass head rolling thing that he claimed proved his Indianness. At best, I can describe as some cross between a head shake and a head roll. I suppose it could have been an Indian person, but maybe a really high Indian Bharatnatyam dancer doing a move. He then proceeded to explain to me how Indian people do this all the time and because he could do it, he was Indian. That and he had gone to India. I won't even go into how annoying I'd found his India trip conversations in the past, except to say that I've been the recipeint of numerous knowing nods and comments indicating our close Indian bond, which of course we now share because he knows everything there is to know about my people. No wait, our people, excuse me.
Who says my job is boring?
After wondering for a week about who's been dipping into my coffee creamer, a co-worker made me a sign for the next one I bring in (seeing as how the last super large one disappeared in about a week). I showed off the sign to my office mates and ranted for a second about people stealing my creamer. No response for a second before one (same girl as above -- no offense to her people or anything, but I hate how Vietnamese people steal stuff, don't you?) chimed in, saying, "Oh, I grabbed some." Then, my other office mate also 'fesses up too and says he might have been guilty a few times also! Dude, those things aren't cheap, I paid almost $5 for that thing and expected it to last a good couple of weeks. And I'm not here to support everyone else's coffee drinking habit. It was all settled amicably though, and one of them went out during lunch and brought in another one. But here's what I don't get, and what G also pointed out when I told him about it last night. The governemnt does not provide anything for free. Not filtered water, not coffee -- people that want any all chip in together and get it. So never mind first of all that my creamer had my initials on it (and as far as I know, neither of these people share them). But seriously, if something's in the fridge and it wasn't something you brought in, why go near it? When there's absolutely no chance of it being communal property or something bought for us by work? Sounds like G's been having the same issues at work for a while now, including some one grabbing his big container of soup one time (you know those big, kinda expensive ones from delis like Nob Hill?) and ate half. Which we also don't get. Why not just finish it and replace it if you're going to take it? When they finally find me my own office, which I guess is supposed to happen one of these days, I'm bringing in a little college fridge so I don't have to deal with the thieves.
Current Case: a 17yo girl weighing 340 pounds. Reading at a 2nd grade level, math at a 3rd grade level. Records show that she showed up at least once to her doctor for a pregnancy test because she's had unprotected sex, going to show of course that there's always some one out there for everyone. Also, she's already been in trouble with the law for carjacking; I'm guessing she got caught because she couldn't get away fast enough. Or she couldn't fit in the seat in order to drive it away. Said her mother repeatedly during the hearing: "She ain't with me when that happened" just in case someone wanted to blame her for it, I suppose. But get this, wanna know why she wasn't with her when it happened? Cuz she'd been incarcerated herself and her kids were in foster care. You know, lady, if I were you, I'd maybe not emphasize the point quite so much, cuz some how it doesn't really exonerate you as a parent. Not in the way I think you think it does.
Also said to me this week by one of the whitest boys I've seen (the other coffee thief, by the way): "You know, I don't think of myself as white. I never have. Actually if I considered myself anything, it'd probably be Indian." And then he proceeded to do this weird ass head rolling thing that he claimed proved his Indianness. At best, I can describe as some cross between a head shake and a head roll. I suppose it could have been an Indian person, but maybe a really high Indian Bharatnatyam dancer doing a move. He then proceeded to explain to me how Indian people do this all the time and because he could do it, he was Indian. That and he had gone to India. I won't even go into how annoying I'd found his India trip conversations in the past, except to say that I've been the recipeint of numerous knowing nods and comments indicating our close Indian bond, which of course we now share because he knows everything there is to know about my people. No wait, our people, excuse me.
Who says my job is boring?
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Facebook = Big Brother?
OK, I'm officially convinced that Facebook is spying on me. Or stalking me. Or reading every piece of mail I've ever gotten or something. I don't know, they're doing something dammit. Cuz how else would all these people I've never heard of or haven't seen in like 10 years and have never emailed be suddenly friending me?
So I have to admit that I have some friends on my list that I don't know. Like seriously, I have no idea who they are. But that's my own fault. Back when I first joined, I added everyone that added me, even if I didn't know them. I don't know, I just figured I must know them some how but couldn't remember. Like one girl went to my high school, and for the life of me, I haven't been able to remember if I knew her in high school. But my memories of high school peeps are sort of vague anyway, so I figured it must just be my crappy memory and said yes to her friend request. A year later, I still have absolutely no idea who she is, and we've never exchanged a single message, wall post, or anything.
There's also this random girl who apparently went to my undergrad school and was friends with other close friends of mine. No idea who she is, though she does poke me now and again like we're friends or something. I keep waiting for a click of recognition but so far, nothing.
How do I remove these people anyway? And will they know and be offended if I do? Anyway, this isn't Facebook's fault, its mine.
And every now and then, I get some sketchy looking India guy "winking" at me or trying to friend me. Sometimes multiple times, despite me ignoring them each time. I have a good idea of what they're looking for, and I do ignore them. One was a fat guy with a mustache, looking as slimey as all get out. He was wearing a suit, looking off to the side, on his cell phone like he's on some super important business call. I can almost see the cigarette dangling from his mouth. He was from California City -- is that even a real place? Another was a local, more normal looking dude that I tried to pass off on my friend. She politely declined, but then in some weird twist of fate actually happened to meet him in person a few months later and was SO not impressed. These requests aren't Facebook's fault either - seems more like its just guys who have nothing to do with their time but scour through Facebook profiles looking for potential hook ups.
But lately, I've been getting some more random friend requests that I can't explain. People that I'm perfectly happy to see online but don't get how they could have possibly found me. For example, recently an old roommate added me, and while it was nice to add her, I'm confused as to how she found me. For one, my we have no common friends. Absolutely none. We didn't go to school together. We didn't work together. Also, my email on Facebook is an old one that I rarely use except for stuff like Facebook. Its certainly not the email that people mail me at. So the address she would have had in her address book is not the address I have listed with Facebook. And, I'm pretty sure she wouldn't have searched for me specifically. I'm guessing that aside from a few emails, she hasn't really thought about me since we stopped being roommates. I don't know, she was super sweet and nice, but we were just never really friends. A fact that's demonstrated by neither of us having made a single effort yet to actually message each other even after we added each other to our respective friend lists.
So how on earth would she find me? I can think of only one explanation. You know how you can search through your address books for potential friends? And FB tells you they don't keep the addresses? I'm starting to wonder if they do keep them and use them to pop out those friend suggestions they keep sending us.
Either that or they're taking an awful lot of digging into my ancient history, maybe even hired a private investigator.
So I have to admit that I have some friends on my list that I don't know. Like seriously, I have no idea who they are. But that's my own fault. Back when I first joined, I added everyone that added me, even if I didn't know them. I don't know, I just figured I must know them some how but couldn't remember. Like one girl went to my high school, and for the life of me, I haven't been able to remember if I knew her in high school. But my memories of high school peeps are sort of vague anyway, so I figured it must just be my crappy memory and said yes to her friend request. A year later, I still have absolutely no idea who she is, and we've never exchanged a single message, wall post, or anything.
There's also this random girl who apparently went to my undergrad school and was friends with other close friends of mine. No idea who she is, though she does poke me now and again like we're friends or something. I keep waiting for a click of recognition but so far, nothing.
How do I remove these people anyway? And will they know and be offended if I do? Anyway, this isn't Facebook's fault, its mine.
And every now and then, I get some sketchy looking India guy "winking" at me or trying to friend me. Sometimes multiple times, despite me ignoring them each time. I have a good idea of what they're looking for, and I do ignore them. One was a fat guy with a mustache, looking as slimey as all get out. He was wearing a suit, looking off to the side, on his cell phone like he's on some super important business call. I can almost see the cigarette dangling from his mouth. He was from California City -- is that even a real place? Another was a local, more normal looking dude that I tried to pass off on my friend. She politely declined, but then in some weird twist of fate actually happened to meet him in person a few months later and was SO not impressed. These requests aren't Facebook's fault either - seems more like its just guys who have nothing to do with their time but scour through Facebook profiles looking for potential hook ups.
But lately, I've been getting some more random friend requests that I can't explain. People that I'm perfectly happy to see online but don't get how they could have possibly found me. For example, recently an old roommate added me, and while it was nice to add her, I'm confused as to how she found me. For one, my we have no common friends. Absolutely none. We didn't go to school together. We didn't work together. Also, my email on Facebook is an old one that I rarely use except for stuff like Facebook. Its certainly not the email that people mail me at. So the address she would have had in her address book is not the address I have listed with Facebook. And, I'm pretty sure she wouldn't have searched for me specifically. I'm guessing that aside from a few emails, she hasn't really thought about me since we stopped being roommates. I don't know, she was super sweet and nice, but we were just never really friends. A fact that's demonstrated by neither of us having made a single effort yet to actually message each other even after we added each other to our respective friend lists.
So how on earth would she find me? I can think of only one explanation. You know how you can search through your address books for potential friends? And FB tells you they don't keep the addresses? I'm starting to wonder if they do keep them and use them to pop out those friend suggestions they keep sending us.
Either that or they're taking an awful lot of digging into my ancient history, maybe even hired a private investigator.
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