I Ain't Afraid of No Daleks

"And I'm telling you, that it really IS bigger than John Barrowman's!"

and angry, very very angry.

This isn't a case where the office is too busy, this is a case where the Doctor's office just doesn't give a sh*t.

Two specialists were to be scheduled....nothing happened. My provider "forgot."

Tests were done, but my provider didn't look at the results, because she "forgot."

They were supposed to call me to tell me if I was eligible for the iron injections and procrit. The rang me once, last Wednesday, and never rang me back, and NEVER returned my phone calls.

I was concerned because I had become suddenly and violently ill this morning--and some of the symptoms were the same as symptoms of side effects of my new meds...so yeah, I kind of thought it was important that they call me back, and yeah, I kind of got miffed when the receptionist got all blaise about it, and said they'd TRY. These are meds that could kill me, if my body reacts wrongly to it! And I was sternly instructed--got a lecture-- to contact the health center immediately, if I had any symptoms.

Yeah, I'm pretty disgusted with them.

Anyway, I went to the ER, instead---SIX HOURS in the ER--and guess what, the nurse rang me just as I walked in the ER door, and was quite upset that I'd had to go to the ER...doh. What was I supposed to do, pass out on my way walking to work?

Anyway, I was badly dehydrated and got an big IV bag full of electrolytes pumped into me...and a mess of tests.

Thankfully, not the medicine. Either a "weird virus" (the ER doc's words, not mine), or the frozen pizza was bad (someone told me that the frozen pizza company had been involved with a bad food recall, last year--figures).

Oh, and the ER doctor wanted to know if my PA had been monitoring my kidney functions--when I said, "Not yet," he just shook his head. That's not a good sign, is it?

Still, I'm really ticked off an my health provider. I'm switching PA's next month. I hope this guy is a little more on the ball, then the woman I've been seeing.

Okay, I flew off the deep end this morning---likely the illness talking, but...why do some medical "professionals" stay in their field, when it's so obvious that they are so jaded by their jobs, that they really almost don't care any longer?

There's been a lot of water rescues so far this year, and it's not even the height of the tourist season, yet!

Tragically, the latest drowning was right here in Glens Falls, Sunday. A 14 year old boy drowned, while trying to swim across the Hudson River, to reach a rope swing on the other side. Earlier in the week, another young man also got into trouble, swimming in the river...also using a homemade rope swing. Further downstream, a teen lost his life jumping from a cliff into the Hudson, just last week.

Memorial Day weekend, last month, saw two drownings at Great Sacandaga Lake. One involving an intoxicated boater, the other a man with a bad heart, trying to swim from his boat to an island.

And, a few boating accidents involving drink driving---these guys and gals never learn. They just don't get that drink driving on a boat, isn't any safer than drink driving in a car...and in one case, some drunken boater lost a friend, due to this stupidity.

If you're reading this, and you swim or boat---don't drink while boating (unless tied up at the dock), and don't try to swim long distances, or out too far in unfamiliar waters--and most especially, not where there's no lifeguard's on duty.

I hate my health care provider. It was so hard--you have no idea how hard, convincing myself to start going to a doctor again...and I get stuck with a half-baked health centre.

I am on a drug called "metformin," which has recently been increased. I'm supposed to notify my physician's assistant right away, if I think I've got side-effects. Well, at 6am, I got side-effects. (Won't say what, but let's just say I've been seeing a lot more of my loo than I really want to, this morning.)

I realize now that the extreme weakness I had yesterday--and still this morning, is probably from that.

So, I rang up the health centre, and that lovely bored and indifferent receptionist tells me that she'll "try" to get a nurse to call me, "sometime today."

ARRRGH!!!

I'm telling you, America has two very distinct health care systems--and I'm not on the right end of it.

I have to go to work...have the other half of that National Grid bill due on Friday, and if I don't pay the $85 I'm screwed. And, also, I don't want to lose my job over excessive absenteeism. THAT would be a disaster!

Given a choice though, I'd love to just crawl into bed and stay there, I feel so rubbish, right now. My hands are trembling, and I could barely eat breakfast. Nothing for it, tho'. I haven't got the cab fare to travel to the health centre, and I'm not well enough to walk the 45 minutes to get there.

Anyway at least the hot weather's gone for a bit. The humidity was awful--I went to pour my honey-nut Cherrios into my cereal bowl and nothing came out. I looked inside the box, and it was all clumped together, in one big lump. Thankfully, I have an unopened box of honey-nut shredded wheat to have, instead.

Gah--I have to get ready for work in 15 minutes. Wonder if the health centre will actually ring me up, before I leave for work? (Moible's are not allowed to be on, in my office.) Charlie has been following me around all morning. Usually it's Flame who's sympathetic when I'm ill, but Charlie's being the clingy one, this morning, for some reason. Well, anyway, it's nice to know he loves me.

Well, it's only 4 hours, so hopefully I can get through the day alright. Yesterday was so weak, I nearly fell asleep, the last half-hour...very rare for me to do that. Hardly ever, as a matter of fact.

No clue what to wear today, guess I'll just play it by ear.

Yet another boring blog post, ey? Sorry. Have a good day, all.

Well, for the duration, I can no longer access my aol e-mail account. For some reason, aol has decided that my user name and password no longer exist, and it also seems to be refusing to e-mail me my correct password (in case I wrote it down worng)

I've never used aol before, and guess I won't be, ever again, unless aol can get its sorry act together.

Anyone else out there had problems with aol?

Sorry, had a glitch with blog.co.uk, and have to re-post this.

I felt like writing something, so I just now wrote this rubbish poem:

One morning a robin sang in the verdant emerald meadow,
And I stood enmeshed in rapture, and listened with my soul's soul,
as the song ensnared my heart with it's ringing joyful tapestry.

The song was like a lace shawl draped over a grand piano,
Notes rich and full of love and laughter and light, light shot home with stars,
and I heard the stars singing in the robin's voice, and I laughed with joy.

And, I heard they were doing something rather rude in an airport men's room, as well.

So, decided, "Meh...frozen pizza." for dinner. So, just sitting waiting for my one-dollar Totino's meatball pizza to bake in the oven. Listening to internet radio on Pandora, and playing with my cat, Charlie.

SONG TITLE/ARTIST
One Man Band/Three Dog Night
If I needed Someone/The McGanns
Mama Told Me Not to Come/Three Dog Night (
Lonesome Loser/Litter River Band
Role Model/The Proclaimers
Foreign Bedrooms/Matt Pond PA
This is Where it Ends/Barenaked Ladies
Three Blocks from Grove Street/Yo La Tengo
Kiss Your Tears Away/The Smithereens
End of the Night/The Cowlicks
I Lied/Freezer Door
Lighthouse/Runrig
Suit Your Style/Hunters and Collectors
You will Find Me There/Carole King
Doctor My Eyes/Jackson Brown
So You Wanna' Be A Rock N' Roll Star/The Byrds
Friday's Girl/The Anderson Council
Walking Back Home/Deacon Blue
Strange Fruit/Catherine Wheel
A Different Point of View/Pet Shop Boys
Here Comes the Rain Again/The Eurythmics
Ruby/The Kaiser Chiefs
Typical/Mute Math
We're An American Band/Grand Funk Railroad
The Last Waltz Suite (Take A Load Off Benny)/The Band

Here we see an exclusive photo of David Tennant relaxing between breaks in filming. Tennant was caught on camera, hanging out in the BBC Wales designated torch-sucking area.

Just popped in to check some of my friend's blog posts, thought I'd say hullo.

Had a very long nap after lunch, nearly five hour's worth of sleep, actually. Wasn't intentional, mind you. Felt light-headed and went to lie down--before I fell down...next thing I know, it's getting dark outside! I hate when that's happens, but I do feel somewhat better now.

Ah well, guess my body really was trying to tell me something...what, I haven't a clue. No idea what's going on with me, today.

Another outraged David Tennant fan-girl commenting on my DT teasers, I noticed. I have to say, it honestly does boggle me that ANYONE would think that Tennant will ever see these. It just never ceases to amaze me that anyone would presume that Tennant reads my blog--how ridiculous is that? Yeah, right. Like he's going to care!

Well, it's well past dinner hour, but I'm not the slightest bit hungry. Wound up having the same lunch as I had yesterday: Turkey, bacon and mayonnaise sandwich and potato chips (crisps). No clue what to have for dinner. Hovering between some left-over Cajun Chorizo casserole, or some Stouffer's Welsh rarebit on toast, with some broccoli on the side.
Ah well, could just stick a frozen pizza in the oven, and have done with it, as well...decisions, decisions...

Another boring blog post brought to you by playwrite27

One elderly American woman, living the the Berkshire mountain region of eastern Massachusetts, was so in debt from paying for her cancer treatments, that she literally couldn't afford to be buried, when she died. (American funerals can cost thousands of dollars).

What to do? Why, hold a boot sale, of course!

Here's her story, as reported by Capital News 9 television:

Tag sale held to help pay for funeral
Updated: 06/16/2008 07:20 AM
By: Kaitlyn Ross

This story kind of hit home with me. Mum had been forced, at some point apparently, to cash in her life insurance policy. I was unaware of that, and found myself overwhelmed by the expenses incurred during the week following her death: obituaries, the coffin and other funeral home expenses, everything was so high--even the new Presbyterian minister from our former church in the village where I grew up, charged us around 50 dollars just to say some words over her grave--and only that, because I virtually got on my knees and begged her down from the $100 she wanted to charge (another reason why I'm not as keen on going to church as I used to be).

In the end, I wound up having a yard sale in the snow, selling off much of mum's and my possessions, to try and keep my head above water. Medical expenses not covered by her insurance, already cost me most of my savings, and we'd had to give up cable television, internet service, the telephone and were two month's behind in the electric bill, and three month's behind with the propane (heating/cooking gas) bill. The only things we were able to pay, after the meds and equipment we had to buy with our limited funds, were the car payment/insurance, mortgage and lot rent for the trailer home.

Thankfully, the social worker at the dialysis center helped mum with food and most of her medicine money. Between the two of us, the social worker and me, we were able to make sure mum had a good diet and all the medicine she required, thankfully. But, it hurt, seeing mum have to go without television, and worrysome not having a phone, during the last few months of her life---tho' I never told her just how bad things, really were, with the electric and gas.