...I think I have finally assimilated into "the country life" 100%, because it didn't even freak me out to hear that irritating *nibble* sound coming from under my fridge. I whacked the side of my Whirlpool a few times, figuring it would scare the intruder into the open (thus affording me a clean shot with the broom, ha!), but no luck. My cat is worthless in this department; she is declawed, uninterested in anything beyond 9-Lives tuna with egg, and usually asleep on my office chair.
I went back to the living room to consider my next move, and I'll be damned if the gnawing hadn't moved to the stove...wtf? That was it! No rodent--regardless of how tiny, hungry, or scared it might be--is going to take up residence in my kitchen! I had a bagful of snap traps from the last incident in August, so I set them along the wall carefully (thinking, he/she is prolly giggling like mad at me). Waited another hour...again, no dice. Time to call in the big guns.
My friend James is such an animal lover...I mean, I love animals too, but he is literally a modern-day Dr. Doolittle! After I was successful with glue traps in my previous extermination, James begged me to use my quicker, more humane snap traps. I have to admit, it sure was hard to dispose of the glue trap with the furry little bugger squirming so much, his eyes wide with fear. Still, mice are filthy little critters, and I am a lunatic about having a clean kitchen. Against J's wishes (I swear, I could hear him chastising me from Louisiana!), I laid a glue trap near the stove, another behind the fridge. The nibbling continued, and I wondered what the fuck this mouse could be eating...a stray dog kibble, perhaps?
Then it dawned on me. I opened the food bin, and removed two nuggets...embedding one in each of the glue traps. It didn't take but 10 minutes for my unwelcome guest to find himself wearing a glue sweater, betrayed by his undeniable hunger. I placed the tray inside a white plastic bag, then walked it outside to the garbage cans rather quickly.
The guilt pangs arrived shortly afterward....dammit, I'm such a Catholic.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Sick of being sick, dammit!
I'm fed up. Fed up with not having access to decent, AFFORDABLE health care.
My job offers three choices: two "Swiss cheese" plans, and one premium plan. The first two options don't offer much in the way of coverage until I shell out a few thousand of my own dollars, and the more luxurious plan would literally take 1/3 of my net income...as a single woman, it's simply not do-able. I could find a better-paying job, or one with adequate health care, but I love what I do (independent living caretaker for 3 mentally disabled gentlemen) and it would break my heart to leave my position. It's the first job I've ever truly enjoyed...it makes me feel I am doing something meaningful with my life. I shouldn't have to walk away from that because the agency I work for doesn't value their employees enough to offer decent medical coverage (meanwhile, we've gone public, and the shareholders are smiling widely).
I looked into private Blue Cross and found basically the same structure in place...the cheapo plans don't cover jack, and the comprehensive plans are priced out of my reach. The state doesn't offer any help unless one has children under 18.
I've been shoving various low-level maladies under the proverbial rug for a while now, in the hopes that affordable coverage would eventually wander into my life...all that has accomplished is to allow sporadic health issues to become recurrent ones. I woke this morning with my usual volcanic heartburn (WalMart's $4 version of Zantac isn't much help), shortness of breath (guess those $38 albuterol inhalers aren't as effective as they used to be), and a muscle cramp in my left calf that had me bathed in sweat and screaming to beat the band. The last time I went to a doctor to find the cause of the chronic cramps, it cost me $60 for the office visit and $520 for a 20-minute sonogram...a year later, I still have no clue what's behind these occurrences. I continue to make payments on the hospital balance, however.
Certain little things are becoming more noticeable as well...serious fatigue, muscle spasms in my face (jawline) and hands, a raw throat that comes and goes, back strain, and even a tingly or numb sensation in various body parts. The symptoms are still manageable at this point, but what will happen when the day comes that I HAVE to seek medical care?
If I came to this country through a hole in the fence, I'd have the Cadillac of medical coverage...instead, as a law-abiding, tax-paying, hard-working (25 years now) citizen, I am told there is no help available for me. This pisses me off to no end. It's difficult enough to live on near-poverty level wages, but I always say my job pays off in other, more important ways...and it's a trade-off I've made willingly, because I believe in what I do.
Still...should I have to sacrifice my health, too?
What the fuck?
I'm sick of being sick, dammit. And I'm furious at being one of the millions of middle-class working people who have fallen through the cracks of health care.
My job offers three choices: two "Swiss cheese" plans, and one premium plan. The first two options don't offer much in the way of coverage until I shell out a few thousand of my own dollars, and the more luxurious plan would literally take 1/3 of my net income...as a single woman, it's simply not do-able. I could find a better-paying job, or one with adequate health care, but I love what I do (independent living caretaker for 3 mentally disabled gentlemen) and it would break my heart to leave my position. It's the first job I've ever truly enjoyed...it makes me feel I am doing something meaningful with my life. I shouldn't have to walk away from that because the agency I work for doesn't value their employees enough to offer decent medical coverage (meanwhile, we've gone public, and the shareholders are smiling widely).
I looked into private Blue Cross and found basically the same structure in place...the cheapo plans don't cover jack, and the comprehensive plans are priced out of my reach. The state doesn't offer any help unless one has children under 18.
I've been shoving various low-level maladies under the proverbial rug for a while now, in the hopes that affordable coverage would eventually wander into my life...all that has accomplished is to allow sporadic health issues to become recurrent ones. I woke this morning with my usual volcanic heartburn (WalMart's $4 version of Zantac isn't much help), shortness of breath (guess those $38 albuterol inhalers aren't as effective as they used to be), and a muscle cramp in my left calf that had me bathed in sweat and screaming to beat the band. The last time I went to a doctor to find the cause of the chronic cramps, it cost me $60 for the office visit and $520 for a 20-minute sonogram...a year later, I still have no clue what's behind these occurrences. I continue to make payments on the hospital balance, however.
Certain little things are becoming more noticeable as well...serious fatigue, muscle spasms in my face (jawline) and hands, a raw throat that comes and goes, back strain, and even a tingly or numb sensation in various body parts. The symptoms are still manageable at this point, but what will happen when the day comes that I HAVE to seek medical care?
If I came to this country through a hole in the fence, I'd have the Cadillac of medical coverage...instead, as a law-abiding, tax-paying, hard-working (25 years now) citizen, I am told there is no help available for me. This pisses me off to no end. It's difficult enough to live on near-poverty level wages, but I always say my job pays off in other, more important ways...and it's a trade-off I've made willingly, because I believe in what I do.
Still...should I have to sacrifice my health, too?
What the fuck?
I'm sick of being sick, dammit. And I'm furious at being one of the millions of middle-class working people who have fallen through the cracks of health care.
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