Dear insurance company,

I never thought I'd say, think or write this to you (except in a sarcastic tone) but here it is: THANK YOU.

When my doctor's office attempted to charge me $170 and I called you, you graciously told me that I wasn't responsible for that payment. I must say, I was shocked. How often has an insurance company told anyone that they DID NOT have to pay?

Then I went to the doctor and they again attempted to charge me for that which I was not responsible. I called you again asking for help. And you performed a miracle: you volunteered to call them and get the charge removed from my bill. AND THEN YOU DID JUST THAT. I must say, I nearly fell out of my chair. When I recovered, I did a happy dance. You, my insurance company, which heretofore has been the bane of my existence, has now made me a very happy person.

Thank you, thank you. I shall not forget this.

Your grateful member,

Elisa

I've been waiting to have some time to write about it, so I might as well do it right now while I'm spending a lot of unnecessary time on the comp.

this is a tiny bit graphic so if you're squeamish, you might not want to read it.

when i went in for surgery last friday, I wasn't nervous at all. but the surgery suite has glass walls so you can see right in and they have a tv screen that broadcasts the eye currently being worked on. Ok so i didn't really need to see the corneal flap creation or replacement process right then. i promptly got a knot in my stomach.

I chilled out until I walked into the suite. thank goddess for deep breathing--it helped get me through the procedure. It really wasn't bad at all though. they put the numbing drops in your eyes and then you lay back on the table so they can do the procedure. they tape open one of your eyes (and use one of those metal brackets to hold it open ala clockwork orange) and put a patch over the other. after that, the whole thing takes about 2 to 3 minutes per eye. you just feel some strong pressure while they make the corneal flap and then a bit of vibration while the laser is working. but no pain and no real discomfort besides the nervousness. I really can't believe how short it was. the whole thing took less than 10 minutes from when I stepped in to when I stepped out. and you can see right away. its blurry and stuff, but you're certainly not blind. then you go home and take a nap.

i slept for about 5 hours and when i got up, viola! sight! I've been pretty badly nearsighted for a while so waking up and being able to actually see the time on the VCR across the room was amazing. i almost cried actually. its a pretty powerful thing.

things are going really well since. i've had some problems with my eyes being dry, but thats normal. and my eyesight fluctuates hourly and daily, which is also normal. it will take up to 3 months for it to totally stabilize. i do have some really bad glare and halo--walking into the metro station is particularly difficult. the combo of dimness and tons of small lights (who noticed the metro had that many damn lights!) renders everything all fuzzy for me.

anyway, i'm so happy i had it done! $4000 well spent for sure :) next up on my large purchases list: down payment for a house or condo.

Exciting: t-minus 3 days until lasik surgery!!! After friday I shall be liberated from glasses and contacts foreva!

Annoying/frustrating: still can't get over the fucking allergies. was feeling better, but today starting to feel worse again. really tired and 'cloudy' ala stupid claritin commercials. will get shot tomorrow in an attempt to control my own body's revolt.

surprising: just had a pleasant interaction with my insurance company in which they informed me that i DON'T have to pay a bill I was sent by a doctor. wow! I love not having to pay for something i've already paid for.

I'm stress eating. shit!

I am so close to getting Lasik eye surgery, I can almost smell it (assuming, of course, that A) one could smell Lasik and B) that I had a sense of smell, which I don't) but still!!!!

I went for my yearly exam today and confirmed what I pretty much knew: my eyes are in pretty good condition and ready to be poked and prodded with a laser. I can't wait! :) Seriously, it may sound crazy to someone who hasn't worn glasses/contacts for most of their life, but the freedom it entails would be amazing. i'm so excited to not have to carry contact eye drops everyone or constantly be cleaning my glasses or god forbid, not have access to either and be totally blind.

really, i don't care how much it costs. its probably going to run me $3000 to $4000, but that is fully worth not having to deal with vision correction again (ok, ok, I'll still have to use reading glasses, but STILL). i'm taking my entire savings to cover this and for me, its worth it. I can build my savings again quickly and the money I'll save over the next 30 or 40 years (minimum) not having to buy contacts, solution, cases, glasses, lenses, frames, eyedrops, etc. is well worth it.

yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*ahem*

I've been blogging for my organization for the last few months. I'm actually really enjoying it. I'm still able to rant about somethings, though I am forced to make it somehow relevant to the nonprofit sector. at least here I can just complain for no good reason :)

Here 'tis if you're looking to waste sometime at work: http://www.nonprofitcongress.org/growup.

Jon Swift posted up a hilarious blog entry about John McCain and the NYT article about his possible dalliance/influence peddling with a telecom lobbyist. Thank you Jon Swift for bringing it all home yet again. If you want a good, regular dose of satire and conservative skewering, Swift is the man: http://jonswift.blogspot.com/2008/02/new-york-times-report-on-john-mccain-is.html.

Even though waiting in line for almost an hour was annoying (and completely unnecessary--thank you incredibly inefficient Arlington voting officials), voting always gives me a really good, fuzzy feeling. And since my vote will count this primary season in a way it never has before, its even better!

I miss you LJ and reading everyone's friends entries. Now that I'm getting smarter about using all these fun Web 2.0 tools, I am determined to reintegrate LJ into that mix and mesh it with what I'm already using. To wit: my google reader and Jott!

Have you heard of Jott?? I just found out about it and its awesome. You can call Jott and essentially send yourself (or anyone else) an email message about something using your voice. This might not be cool for others, but its really good for me. I look at my email constantly, whereas I avoid my VM like the plague. And I always have my phone with me, so its easy to call. On top of all that, the time when I have my best ideas or think of tasks or want to write LJ entries is when I'm away from a comp inevitably. Now, I can post to LJ right through my Jott account! Yes! You're like, with a paying acct, you can do that too. But someone else has to listen and transcribe. So far, Jotts transcription has been really good and I don't have to pay for either.

Ok, so that was my plug for the day. apparently I haven't updated in 16 weeks, so some people probably kicked me off their friends list. I don't blame you. but hopefully i can now catch up. ;)

ok seriously, i can only handle one emergency situation at a time. and the fear of looking like an idiot in front of the nonprofit blogosphere is choking me right now. guess its a good thing i had those two large cups of coffee this morning. or not.

Some lessons you have to learn continously for the rest of your life apparently. Like, always, ALWAYS, go to the bathroom before you sit down to eat lunch. You may not have to go while you're microwaving the food or when you're actually walking to your office with it, but as soon as you start to tuck in, you'll have to go. So just go beforehand. For the 1,000,000th time!

Sometimes even very old, buried pains can tug at you. Thankfully, its been so long that it doesn't hurt anymore really. Just pulls your mind down into a well of memories so you can swim for a little while. coming up...just a little bit damp...

Friday Random 20--very Madonna-y today!

1) Paradise (Not for Me)--Madonna
2) El Chupa Nibre--Danger Doom
3) Who Makes you Feel--Dido
4) Proud Mary--CCR
5) (I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea--Elvis Costello
6) Impressive Instant--Madonna
7) Yes Yes Y'All--Will Smith/Camp Lo
8) Turn My Life Down--Jefferson Airplane
9) Way Back Home--Jomamma and the Soultrain
10) I Don't Want to Wait--Paula Cole
11) Mercutio's Death--Romeo and Juliet Soundtrack, Volume 2
12) East of the Sun (and West of the Moon)--Billie Holiday
13) I'm Back--eminem
14) Upside Down--Diana Ross
15) Ain't that Lovin' You Baby--Jimmy Reed
16) Waterfall--Jimi Hendrix
17) Cherish--Madonna
18) The Way--Fastball
19) Turn On Your Heartlight--Neil Diamond
20) Runaway Lover--Madonna