Yippie

I'm feeling inspired to knit! I'm going to finish Zoe's baby blanket in the next couple of weeks. I'm also going to knit some cute baby stuff for my friend Catherine whose expecting in May and my cousin Jen whose expecting in August. They both have decided to not know the sex of the baby until they're born so I've got some really cool ideas for unisex stuff.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

You have got to love a novel that begins like this -

The idea of eternal return is a mysterious one, and Nietzsche has often perplexed other philosophers with it: to think that everything recurs as we once experienced it, and that the recurrence itself recurs ad infinitum!

I’ve been feeling down the past few weeks. Nothing concrete, just a general sense. It’s the sense of lightness that Kundera talks about in the first chapter – a kind of “what’s the point” lightness.

For me Nihilism has two sides; it can free you from the rules you've created in your mind or it can send you into despair. Even though I’m not usually a proponent of this philosophy I have a tendency to slip into its logic games when I’m feeling down. It flows easily when you feel that there are major forces in your life that you have no control over. So I’m going to put this book back on the shelf until I can get this thought monster under control.

Declined Again

Golden Rule you've forced me to add you to the SUCK list. Today I received a letter from you telling me that I still don't have health insurance. The reason for denial - they were unable to obtain my complete medical records. (They wanted my complete transcripts from my psychiatrist - Healthcare Insurance Update)

Grrrrrr

Sunset

After I posted these photos I saw that tornadoes hit 5 southern states. This must have been the same storm system.

There is one good thing that I can say about Texas - you get some amazing sunsets down here. Last night a rain storm came in right as the sun was setting. I didn't alter any of these photos so that you can see the brilliance of the cloud colors. There was more pink in the cloud that didn't come out in the images, otherwise this is what the sky looked like.

Eastern sky
If you look closely you can see a rainbow. It's under the clouds between the roof of the apartments and the tree.

Eastern sky

Northern sky
Southern sky...

Programming Language Inventor or Serial Killer

Can you tell the difference? Take the quiz here. I got 9 out of 10. I got lots of practice with all my mom's boyfriends.

Skip Noah Art Blog

Skip now has an art blog. Very cool. Check it out.

No Sleep Till Brooklyn

It's late and I can't sleep again. I've had insomnia every night for the past week. I'm so exhausted that I can barely think.

BUT, there is some good news. Have I mentioned before that I have the best husband ever? He is treating me to a week in NYC for my 30th birthday.

I was planning to have my birthday dinner at my favorite restaurant Zen Palate in Union Square, but I just did a search and found out that the Union Square location is closed. Arg. I love that place. We'll probably go to Gobo's instead.

I can't wait to see all my east coast friends :)

I did not know that....

My wonderful (and well-connected) cousin Jen introduced me to her friend who works with health insurance companies. I learned all kinds of things that I didn't know before.

She let me know that there are a few things against me right now. First, I get my meds from a psychiatrist. Why is that a bad thing? In the state of Texas health insurance companies are required by law to cover related health expenses (up to half a million if my memory serves me) if the person has a major psychiatric problem. Depression doesn't fall into this category, but bi-polar does. A psychiatrist can change your diagnosis at anytime. Although a MD or OBGYN can give you an RX, they can't change your diagnosis.

The second strike against me is that I've had depression for many years. For some reason that's bad.

She also said that GoldenRule is a good choice for me because they will usually include a mental health rider, which basically says that they won't ever cover any mental health related costs. Whatever. That's fine. I use want health insurance. Hopefully, I'll hear back from them soon.

However, if I get declined again I have the option of becoming part of the Texas Health Insurance Risk Pool, insurance for those who can't get insurance. There are only two catches - they don't cover your pre-existing condition for 12 months and the premium is through the roof. If I were to go this route, my monthly premium would be $430 with a $2500 deductible (and did I mention that that doesn't include prescription coverage). Thanks Texas. I appreciate the help.