Because We Probably Ought to Know.....?

Alarming Tax Increases What does this mean? Americans probably should know. We're being taxed to death now so what is coming? For me, it is probably going to mean bad things.  

It's Done Good? Bad? Or Ugly?  I knew this was coming. And I've already experienced the first wave. Welborn Health Care will no longer carry health insurance because the changes involved under new laws make it financially impossible to provide the same level of services. This is an HMO, one of the cheapest insurances plans out there. My company just renewed with them for about the 10th year. By January we have to get a new company which will cost even more. We expect cuts in benefits and increase in costs to the employee from this alone. This affects not only my company but the School Corporation here. So a few thousand people. I believe you will see more insurance companies stop carrying health insurance. The cost to everyone will rise as choices and the quality of care decline. Pay attention to this paragraph: 

Starting in 2015, doctors will get paid for keeping patients well, not necessarily for every test or procedure. That means, in theory, that a doctor will get paid the same by Medicare or Medicaid whether she gets a patient's blood pressure down by prescribing drugs or by persuading him to lose weight and exercise.

Here's how I read it: Doctor thinks:  "So, since I'm not going to recover the cost of this test anyway, I'll just say it isn't necessary and tell them to diet and exercise. So what if this problem is caused by something else. No test, no proof. My educated judgement is all this form needs. If they die, well they should have taken better care of themselves."

Can't happen? Says who? And if you think you can't afford it? Think again, you will be taxed in addition to paying for health care for those who don't get health care. So, you will pay double for a single person. Will it force employers to carry  you? No. I already know of a couple of companies who say the penalty is cheaper to pay than it is to insure their employees. My sister's company just went to a cheaper play because of the coming changes. Her plan went to a $5000 deductible on medical treatment PLUS $5000 deductible on prescriptions before the insurance will pay a dime. This means my sister has to fork out $10,000 a year for her deductibles AND maintain a medical savings account with a minimum of $300 and pay her premiums for it! She makes $7.25 an hour. If she worked a 40 hr week, she would gross $14, 790. She doesn't get 40 hours a week. She gets more like 32. So... she has less than $4000 to live on a year if she pays all that. Her rent is $3600 a year.... Her medicine is $2500 just for insulin. So, her solution? Don't buy her insulin. Don't buy enough food. And if she chooses to drop this plan due to the astronomical costs? A penalty tax is coming for her. Brilliant. 

Makes sense. Too much light is not good for you, particularly electronic light.  After dealing with a sleep disorder for years, I know that the evenings I watch t.v. or play on the computer late, the more trouble I have sleeping. If I limit it to a few hours in the early in the day or early evening I do much better. 

Have a nice day.

An Enticing Tuesday

I have said before that I hate Mondays. I do. But I really hate it when Tuesday is seductive. A cool breeze caressed my face and arms this morning and sunshine kissed my cheeks from a smiling blue sky. I desperately wanted to stay home. I didn't feel well to start with. Not enough sleep probably. I got up at 6:30 and went back to bed at 7:00, fully dressed. I dozed until 7:30 when I got up, brushed my teeth and combed my hair again. My clothes weren't mussed as I simply lay on the bed but I fell just terrible. Still I have to work so here I am.

The huge window at my desk taunts me.

I am supposed to have phone duty today. That means I'll spend three hours answering the phone and greeting clients and answering questions. I will get no real work done. I'm taking my 15 minute break now so I can write this.

My online writer's group met last night in a G+ hangout. There were only three but we had a nice time talking. It is amusing in a way. We do talk writing but it seems much more fun than it probably should be.

I'm really struggling with my thinking. Fibro fog has been really bad this whole month. In fact, for the last three months it has been really bad. I am barely able to concentrate at work and when I get home, forget it. I'm mostly in a . . . well, a fog. Not even reading a lot because it takes so much effort to concentrate. This disease is a curse. It robs you of time.

All right, back to the mine. Not sure what the rest of the day will be like.

Running Down To Friday

It has been a long week. Not much going on at my house as it is too hot to do anything outside. Inside, I've simply sat around and read or watched movies. I've had Sarah a couple of nights this week for a few hours. She's always fun to have over and that time belongs to her.

Writing? Here and there. I'm not fond of anything at the moment. I thought I'd get another Mist chapter done but I'm once again assailed by the fact that I don't really like the story. It needs so much work even if I were done with it and to not care about it makes it that much harder. I think it shows in places that I'm not vested. There are some  parts I really like but overall, it isn't a story I really wanted to write. Like all exercises, it hasn't really been fun. 

I've got some more ideas for Simon's story and want to get them down soon. I also have a bit for my church ladies story. So, I have stuff to do.

Biggest problem is the exhaustion. I've been simply buried under it. I've been going to bed progressively earlier this week to see at which level I feel most rested. Someone posted a chart on FB this past week that showed all the effects of Fibromyalgia. I have most of them. /O\ Not good. Anyway, it is the litteral mind numbing tired that is worse than anything else I deal with. I'm barely functional by the time I get home. 

David started a new job this week. He's installing television and internet cable for a local company. It is minimum wage to start and then goes to commission afterward. He thinks he'll do well with commission. Hope so. It will be by the job then. 

That's about it for now, I think. I hope everyone has had a good week. If you have any spare rain, please send it our way. It is so hot and so dry here. Beautiful blue sky with fluffy white clouds and unbearable heat.  Rain would be lovely.

Morning Aches

I had intended to go to church this morning and take Sarah with me. She spent the afternoon here and was going to spend the night. She was up at 3 a.m. and wanted to go home. I don't know what the problem is. She said I snore but I doubt anyone snores louder or more terrible than her dad and she sleeps in their room! She used to spend the night a lot on weekends but just stopped. 

Anyway, I woke up to a bad headache, my back felt wrapped in a vice, neck hurts, and walking was difficult. I'm going in a moment to get a hot shower to see if it will loosen things up a bit. I so wish I had someone to rub my back. That "locked" feeling is the worst thing. All the muscles simply won't move without resistance. 

It has been miserably hot, so much so that you can't be outside. No rain again for days. What little we got has simply evaporated. I need to water the flowers but going for the hose is misery. I'm thinking of moving the sprinkler into the front yard and simply turning it as needed. Whoever cuts the yard can simply move it around. That would save me a bit of effort. 

I'm still meeting with my writing friends online in the g+ hangouts. That works so well! Very much like getting to meet face to face without all the bother with deserts and special clothing. Well, we do wear clothing but I can simply slip on my most comfortable PJ's and I'm ready. I've enjoyed these hangouts a lot and if you haven't tried one, you should. 

OH! Forgot to mention. I bought an HDMI cord for my computer and can now link it up with my television. It is very cool really. I can watch all sorts of videos on my television now via Youtube, Hulu, Netflix or any other source. Mike and I use the same Netflix account and I pay half so that helps him. I was doing HULU but most of the content that I got was the same thing as nonpaying. Only difference was I could put most of it on the t.v. The content was still very limited. Netflix has much more content and so far everything can go on the t.v. 

I'm going to watch the season 4 finale to Dr Who (David Tennant), The End of Time. I haven't seen it. I'm dreading it a bit as I just adored him as Dr. Who. The reviews I read about it say it was a very sad show. I just spent the last several weeks watching all the seasons he was Dr. Who. I  used to watch them when they were on but for some reason I stopped. I think it was the night it came on was a conflict for me. Anyway, I'm going to see the finale today. It is 2 hrs long! May have to watch in parts.... You know that death stuff really upsets me and this is a favorite character. 

All right, got sidetracked and now an hour has passed and I'm still aching. I'm going for the hot shower now. 

Meandering Saturday

Yes, it has been a while. I am sitting in my living room with a turban on my head and telling myself I need to get up and get moving. I've had coffee and a breakfast of sorts. I had a hard time waking up this morning. I mean I simply could not get roused. I kept hitting the snooze button for about half an hour. I finally decided I needed a shower to get me going. So, I showered and washed my hair and . . . well, here I am. I still feel tired but I'm vertical... sort of.

It has been a busy few months. Work, I think I mentioned, has been a killer of all things fun. I did get a new sidewalk, thanks to help from my children. We had a lot of fun doing it. There was a vacation and holiday in there somewhere. I vaguely remember them. I need another one but I'm waiting until my finances recover from all this spending.

I've been writing a bit on a couple of things but nothing earth shaking and certainly not on my Primary Project as I am supposed to do under the terms of my WRoE challenge to myself. Nuts. Must rethink my rules, I think. If they are too hard for me to follow (they aren't really I'm just making the usual excuses) then I may need to reevaluate them.

Today my house is clean and there is no yard work that I must do, although there is some I'd like to do. I've found I like it better if someone is here doing it with me. It seems more fun. Jerry and I used to work outside together and we liked it. He got to the place he could barely cut the grass and we just gave up on the yard. He'd be thrilled at how things look now. He wanted it to look like this.

I really have been absent from here, at least posting stuff. I do come an read up and I posted things I was watching and reading. Just none of my original content that I know is thrilling. I'm sure you all were bereft by my absence.

Not.

I plan on getting the accounts in order this morning but I think I want the afternoon to myself. I need some decompression time I think.

This is rather short and pointless, I'm afraid. I don't know what is wrong with me. I have no profound wisdom or rant to share. I've made blogging a daily habit for years now and suddenly, I am without anything to say.

Surely I can't have said it all!