You may recall that I mentioned a query that I was considering sending to Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine. My parents subscribe, so while I was at home over the holiday I got several recent copies to read in preparation. It turns out that my idea was very well suited to the magazine, so much so, that someone else already wrote it and they published it in the July issue. So, I guess it is a good news / bad news situation. Apparently, I was on the right track regarding what they would be interested in publishing. I just have to come up with an idea and get it to them before someone else does.
In other exciting news, I came home from Nacogodoches to a very warm house and water leaking from the air conditioner overflow which is located upstairs. It was coming through the ceiling in the kitchen. Hopefully, the problem didn't start until a few hours before I got home. I would hate to think that on top of everything else, the A/C had been running for 48 hours non-stop. But if I were a betting person, I would bet that the problem began as soon as I left on Tuesday. That's just sort of the way things go for me.
I am writing this a little after 2:00 a.m. because for some reason, even though it isn't as hot as it was last week when the air conditioner bit the dust, it seems to be hotter in my house this time. For the record, I don't think it is hotter. I think that it is all in my mind. But my mind is making it very difficult to sleep.
Now it is 8:24 a.m. I finally went to sleep last night a little after 3:00 but for the record it actually is hotter in the house this time. When I woke up this morning it was 87 degrees inside and 82.5 degrees outside. That is just stupid. I think this time, unless the guy shows up at 9 sharp to fix the A/C I will go buy one of those portable air conditioners that you can move from room to room and does not need to stick out of a window. Even if he fixes it, I would still sleep better if my bedroom was cooler. So, it might be a good investment.
Okay, I have to quit dwelling on heat, so this is something I have been wondering about since yesterday afternoon. I got a call from Blue Cross Blue Shield because I am trying to get medical insurance through them and they had a few more questions for me before they could send my application to underwriting. The guy who called said he was a doctor at BCBS. He asked me a few questions about my knee injury that I had almost two years ago and then read some legalese that I had to answer yes or no to.
So do you suppose this guy is a full fledged doctor with a medical degree from a real school with medical student loans that have to be paid back??? If so, is BCBS really paying him enough to make all of that medical school seem worth it? I can't imagine that if you became a doctor because you wanted to help people that you are satisfied with making phone calls and asking which bone a stress fracture was in and if it still hurts. This guy just recorded the answer and read a legal statement that I had to respond to and said he would send it to underwriting for approval. He doesn't even get to make any decisions. That is being done by some jerk without a degree.
After I hung up the phone, I was trying to figure out what sort of situation would result in a doctor doing this job. Either he went to some Caribbean medical school and then couldn't get a job in the US when it was over. Or maybe he went all the way through medical school and then discovered that he faints at the sight of blood. Maybe he is a doctor from Canada and isn't licensed to practice in the US but moved here for some reason and this is the only job he can get. I say Canada because I didn't detect an accent at all. Or maybe BCBS just throws so much money at doctors that they take the job because they can't afford not to.
I just can't figure out why it was necessary for a doctor to call and ask me the simple questions that he asked. The only one that required any medical knowledge whatsoever was "which bone was the stress fracture in?" My response was "I can't remember he name of the bone, but it was the big one in the lower part of the leg at the head of the bone under my kneecap." If I had a diagram in front of me and someone gave me that information, I could write down the name of the bone with the stress fracture. I don't need a medical degree to look at a picture and figure it out. Anyway, I just thought it was weird that they would pay a doctor to perform this duty when they are probably turning down claims that they consider to be frivolous left and right in order to make money.
After I finally went to sleep last night, I dreamed that a certain someone who is the resident god at the former employer (who shall not be named) threw a big party for the remaining associates and only six people showed up. I went along with a friend as a guest and he spoke to me since I was one of only six people there. He thought I was a genius and asked me if I would ever consider working there. I answered that yes, in fact, I had considered it for 30 years and then I turned around and walked away. I woke up very happy. Hot, but happy!
No comments:
Post a Comment