Insurance

So... I still have all of my teeth. It turns out the "emergency" appointment I had at the oral surgeon on Monday was a consultation.

(I'm still not quite sure what the point of an "emergency consultation" is, but I'm trying to present facts and not whine or complain or be huffy. What good is that going to do?)

Anyway, during my consulation, I learned that my bottom two wisdom teeth are impacted. The doctor says that he needs to take out the top two as well, since they continue to grow if the bottom ones aren't there to stop them. He also said that the standard for the procedure is to knock me out under IV sedation.

...and then the doctor left and they pointed me toward the scheduling desk. The girl there informed me that the insurance company has to approve the extractions in advance, and that the approval process takes 6-8 weeks, and that my insurance won't cover the top two teeth or the IV sedation.

(I'm still trying to present facts and not whine or complain or be huffy. What good is that going to do?)

I guess I really don't see the point of having the doctor take out perfectly healthy teeth, expecially if I have to pay for it. It's not that we can't afford it, I just really don't understand why it's medically necessary. Does anyone have any insight on this?

I took my last amoxicillin tonight with dinner. It really knocked out that infection. In fact, I'd say the pain is about 90% gone (I still get a twinge when I poke it with my tongue or if I smile too wide). I have an appointment with the real dentist at the end of September for a cleaning/check-up, and I anticipate the whole wisdom tooth thing happening some time in October.

This concludes the entry in which I tried to present facts and not whine or complain or be huffy. After all, what good would that have done?

600

Scott's birthday present (aside from the cake and balloons and the TV) from me was a 600 thread count sheet set. Sadly, they were white. But I guess clearance sale beggars can't be choosers. Almost immediately after opening his gift, Scott had thrown them in the washer so that they could go straight onto the bed. We put them on yesterday afternoon and as soon as my head hit the pillow I was in love.

It's not so much that the sheets are unbelieveably soft (we'll blame Scott's brain fart and lack of fabric softener for that). They're thick. And they just feel so luxurious. Yeah - luxury - that's the word.

In case anyone out there was wondering, it took trips to 3 separate pharmacies to find one that could fill my pain pill prescription. And did I mention that Panlor SS isn't covered by my insurance? It's a mild version of Tylenol with Codeine. WHY would that not be covered??? Well as soon as I got my prescription filled, I popped one of those suckers.

Never take a new prescription when you're out and about and you don't know how it will affect you.

We were on our way to Epcot for dinner when I took the pill. And it kicked in right about the time we were being seated. I started to feel a little shaky, like my blood sugar had dropped. And then I just felt drunk. The pain never really went away, but I didn't really care anymore. Of course, I had worn flip flops and (who didn't see this coming?) had blisters between my toes. That pain didn't go away either.

After dinner, as soon as we got out of Epcot, I took my shoes off for the walk back to Boardwalk. And of course I came home with black feet. Well I certainly wasn't going to put those black feet on my brand new white sheets! (oh my GOD! the story has gone full-circle!) So I filled up the tub with about 3" of soapy water and did my own imitation of that I Love Lucy grape-stomping episode. I scoured my feet on the astroturf mat in the tub for almost 15 minutes. And though my feet still aren't completely foot-colored (even after today's shower), no black came off on the sheets. Hooray for me!

Weekend Assignment

Weekend Assignment #126: What is the most interesting thing about where you live? "Thing" in this case would be a famous landmark, a famous current celebrity or historical personage from your home town or county, a notable celebration or sports event -- basically, anything that makes where you're from interesting and unique.

While the actual town I call home isn't famous for much of anything, you don't have to go far to be swept up in a little bit of magic, a little bit of tacky, and a whole lot of tourists. I live 10 miles from Walt Disney World, and every day I drive past some of the most ridiculous landmarks around (turn left at the giant wizard? it works!).
These pictures, though not my own, are all of shops that I pass on my way to work. They are on Route 192 in Kissimmee, west of WDW. 192 is the Route 66 of Central Florida. This is where you go for generic "Florida" merchandise like beach towels and shot glasses and bags of oranges to mail home. I've lived up this way for 5 years, and have never set foot inside any of these crazy gift shops. Why? I guess I just don't need 5 t-shirts for 5 bucks!

Most of these icons have been around since the early days of Disney. Nowadays, the tourist-centric places are painted with waving US Flags and favor big LED signs to crazy sculpted entrances.

So in closing, I guess the "most interesting thing" about where I live is that it's the most popular tourist destination on the planet. I think that's pretty interesting!

Extra Credit: Are there any books that feature your home town (or someplace nearby) in any way?

Hahaha.... this one is just too easy! Here's a short list on amazon.com. Of course, the long list has 208 titles!

SURPRiSE!

What's that? Is that a birthday cake with Mr. Incredible on it surrounded by millions of little "30" confettis?

I so lied to Scott and took today off from work. I ordered a cake earlier in the week without him knowing, drove around in circles today without him knowing (sadly, the dentist appointment was not a lie). I picked up a cake and balloons and loaded them all into my car and decorated his office without him knowing.

Actually, he must have known, because I can not keep a secret. But I didn't tell him. But I still think he knew somehow.

Of course, ultimately I think I got more out of the deal. I got the ultimate pleasure of watching his co-workers sing Happy Birthday to him... at least 5 times!

I also took those little confettis and put them all over his desk. It's nice that I can walk into the Investigations office and say "I'm here to trash Scott's desk" and no one gives me a second glance. hahaha

Anyway, of course my darlin' isn't really 30 until tomorrow. But I figured this was my chance to bring him a cake at work and celebrate his birthday with a proper embarassment. Isn't that what birthdays are all about? So here's a picture of Scott on the last day of his 20's. Try to go easy on him tomorrow!

*************************

As for my mouth, it still hurts. The dentist gave me a prescription for a pain killer, a prescription for amoxicillin (why oh why can't I have the bubble gum liquid anymore?), some anti-something mouthwash, and a referral to an oral surgeon. I filled the antibiotics, but the Publix pharmacy didn't have my pain killer in stock.

I have an appointment to get tooth #32 extracted at a different office on Monday morning. And I have a plain old dentist appointment in a month. And then I'm sure I'll see them regularly for the next 6 months. That's just a hunch... but I bet $1 I'm right!

Working Through the Pain

It hurts to laugh, but I had to share this Disney statement regarding the demotion of Pluto:

Despite Planetary Downgrade, Pluto is Still Disney's 'Dog Star'

In reaction to news today that Pluto was demoted to the status of "dwarf planet," the Seven Dwarfs issued their own short statement:

"Although we think it's DOPEY that Pluto has been downgraded to a dwarf planet, which has made some people GRUMPY and others just SLEEPY, we are not BASHFUL in saying we would be HAPPY if Disney's Pluto would join us as an 8th dwarf. We think this is just what the DOC ordered and is nothing to SNEEZE at."

As Mickey Mouse's faithful companion, Pluto made his debut in 1930 – the same year that scientists discovered what they believed was a ninth planet. Said a white-gloved, yellow-shoed source close to Disney's top dog, "I think the whole thing is goofy. Pluto has never been interested in astronomy before, other than maybe an occasional howl at the moon."

Bzzzzzzzzz

I have a dentist appointment on Friday morning.

I think I have an impacted wisdom tooth. It's basically been sore for the past 48 hours.

I think I also have a couple of cavities.

It's nice to feel like you're wanted... even if it is because your mouth is going to put the dentist's kid through college!

Needs

Perhaps need is too strong a word, but I've once again come upon a goofy t-shirt site online, and they have two shirts that I need.

The first one says "I HAVE THE BODY OF A GOD," and of course accompanies a picture of Buddha.

The second says "VIVA LA STEWART," with an image of John Stewart. I would totally buy that shirt and wear it on every election day. Why? Not because I want John Stewart to be President (although I don't think he could do a worse job that GWB), but because I think he's right about a lot of the crap that goes on on politics.

Speaking of politics, I got my sample primary ballot in the mail last week. I need to research the candidates and decide who to vote for. Although there's someone named Morley running for judge. I'm voting for her because we're like name cousins or something (they're so close...c'mon!). Of course, she's running against a guy named Scott, so I'm really torn there as well.

Mirror Mirror on the Wall

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Take a photo that shows you with your camera. A mirror or other reflective surface would probably help here.

Also, tell us a little about your camera, and how you use it. (This isn't a sneaky marketing survey, incidentally.)

Now this is a Photo Shoot I had a lot of fun with. And Monday nights are the best time for me to weird camera things, since Scott isn't home to point and laugh (incidentally, I'm not dogging Scott here. but if YOU saw me taking pictures of myself in the mirror, holding another mirror, balancing the big mirror on the bathroom doorknob, YOU would have laughed at me too).

This is my official entry into the Monday Photo Shoot. I took it pointed over my shoulder at the wall mirror in the bathroom. I had the full-length mirror from the bedroom balanced on the doorknob, hoping for a fun house tunnel of mirrors effect. And it worked! You can see the beginning of the Jamie Infinity going on. (and you can also see our cool Finding Nemo shower curtain)

It's the simple things in life that make me proud.

Sadly, one of our bathroom lights is burned out, so the picture was a little too dark. And umm... my hair is supposed to be BLONDE! I'm a little distraught that in this picture it perfectly matches the tortoise shell clip.

I took another picture that came out pretty cool -- it's almost a picture-in-picture. I took this one while holding a small magnifying mirror that used to hang in our shower.

Ack! Twins! And they both have unfortunate frizz and the red nose of an alcoholic!

As for my camera, it's a Vivitar ViviCam 3750. I love it because it's small enough to fit in my purse to capture weird moments driving down the road. It takes great pictures, as long as they are outdoors with plenty of sunlight. My next camera will have a manual focus and a real optical zoom, even if I have to revert back to 35mm to afford one. I don't want to someday have my hypothetical children going through their baby books and saying, "mom, why was I blurry and green-tinted when I was a baby?"

By the way, did you notice my t-shirt? I wanted to show that my camera and I are both Penn State fans and football season is almost here! (and I just happened to be wearing that shirt today)

Evolution of a Living Room

I'm sorry to say that I neglected to take a picture with the old couch before the boys lugged it out of here (I did help, by the way -- I threw cushions down to Scott and I held the door for them). Anyway, here's a couple pictures of the living room in transition:


And what entry about furniture would be complete without a picture of Milo modeling said furniture?
For a mere loveseat, it's surprisingly roomy. I sprawled out on it last night while watching Stepford Wives. I guesstimate that it's about 5 feet long, judging by how much of my legs hang off the end. And it's pretty smushy. Not to mention, this thing has such a high back that Milo loves to perch up there. It's as tall as the back of the man-chair, but without that pesky rocking motion.

I think we'll keep it for a while.

potLUCK

Wow... my lucky streak continues. First we got a free leather loveseat delivered to our door (more on that another time), and then I walked smack into a pot luck at work today. I feel bad, since the chefs sorta forgot to tell me about it until today and I didn't make anything. Of course, what could I have possibly made to compare with the stuff that the chefs of a 5-star restaurant bring to a pot luck??

Oh, the pork stir fry... the home made 3-bean salad... the hot, fresh empanadas... the scalloped potatoes... the flank steak... the bruschetta...

...the heartburn!

Actually, I blame the heartburn on the grilled cheese I had for lunch. And considering all of the options there, I didn't have that much. Only half of a plate of food. Of course, later on my favorie sous chef brought me another menu item to taste. This time I got to try the "gorgonzola potato crouton" that the filet is served on top of. It was quite tasty - small enough to fit on a bread & butter plate, but the biggest crouton I've ever seen! Basically it's mashed potatoes with cheese in the center deep fried. Of course, gorgonzola is an awful lot like blue cheese, which I hate (they fall into the "stinky feet cheese" category). And even though I wouldn't order one as an appetizer in another restaurant, I can totally appreciate how amazingly well it would compliment a nice Angus filet.

Scott says I don't deserve my job, because I didn't expect gorgonzola to taste like stinky feet. I think he's half right. Sure, I'm no foodie. I openly admit that. But although I don't know a lot about food, I do love food, and I love learning about it and watching how the kitchen is run (I'm pretty sure the Chef touches every plate before it goes out in the dining room). I really like supporting a restaurant.

I've tried writing a closing paragraph three times now. I didn't mean to get all philosophical about my job. I really just wanted to brag about the pot luck. I think I need to go to bed. I woke up early this morning... I think I deserve it.

Couch

I'm sitting here getting all misty over my couch. (OK, maybe I'm getting all misty because I lost an hour of sleep, but work with me here!) Today Scott and I are disposing of the second piece of my old sectional.

I got the old sectional back in 2002. I got it from Matthew, who only had it for a week (or something short). He had gotten it from Wayne, and his girlfriend threw a fit because she didn't like it. Wayne, father of 5, was getting rid of the couch because it was old and stained. But it was comfortable, and I didn't have any furniture.

Sadly, the sectional didn't fit in my studio apartment. It lived pushed together like a pit of cushions. And after Kilo peed on my bed, I slept on it for a few months.

We threw away half of the sectional when we "inherited" the man chair, the blue chair, and the ugly brown chair. The half that we still have has been peed on (in this house? no!), clawed up, and generally abused. And now it's going away to make room for a leather love seat that we're getting for free from the other Scott.

Goodbye, old stinky couch. Thanks for being free when I needed furniture.

Picture-y Goodness

I cleaned off my camera this morning. Here's what I found:

Giant Grasshopper Attacks Florida!
OK, giant grasshopper attaches itself to our livingroom window, driving Milo crazy for a good 5 minutes. Sadly, I didn't get a picture of Milo attacking the glass. But I did get two pictures of Milo sitting on the blue chair.

Is there ANY doubt he's the prettiest kitty in the history of mankind?? I think he tolerates my photo-taking because he knows that his beauty must be shared with the world. Beautiful and thoughtful. Could it get any better? Hardly!

Finally, I wanted to share my latest mis-adventure in cooking. I started jonesing for Irish Potatoes a few days ago, and found a recipe with ingredients that seemed pretty close to the ones I remembered from my childhood:

1 (16 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
1 lb. box 10X sugar
1 can Baker's coconut (opt.)
1 sm. jar or can fresh ground cinnamon

But here's the tricky part: 1 average brick of cream cheese is 8 oz. So I bought 1 brick. And then guesstimated the powdered sugar. And we also got a bag of Baker's coconut instead of a can. So I guesstimated that too.

The resulting mixture was so sticky and slimy I had to keep putting it back in the fridge to harden up so that I could work with it. The end result, while not quite the consistency I remembered, was quite tasty. And they look like Irish Potatoes are supposed to.
By the way, you can see last night's other treat in the top-left corner of the picture - a bottle of Banfi Rosa Regale - my favorite wine. How could I not love anything that's pink and bubbly?

Grateful

Two days ago, John sent me his weekly Saturday Night Trivia e-mail. It made me miss the Call Center. Any fleeting thoughts of "I miss that place" just flew right out of my head when I saw an article in People.com about the upcoming season of Dancing With the Stars:

The show, which kicks off with a two-hour season premiere on Sept. 12, will also feature actor Harry Hamlin (husband of Dancing season-two alum Lisa Rinna), Kill Bill star Vivica A. Fox and Saved by the Bell actor Mario Lopez.

Other celebs who will compete for a mirror-ball trophy include MSNBC news anchor Tucker Carlson, talk-show host Jerry Springer, Monique Coleman from the Disney Channel's High School Musical, country singer Sara Evans, pop star Willa Ford, onetime teen idol Joe (formerly Joey) Lawrence and NFL champ Emmitt Smith.

What's the correlation between this show and the Call Center? We used to be inundated with calls every night that DWTS ran an elimination show. People got really attached to their favorites, and got really angry when one was voted off... or even didn't get as many votes as people thought they should. And when you get angry at reality TV, who do you call?

The upcoming season actually has a few "stars" that I might enjoy watching - Vivica Fox and Mario Lopez for actual potential talent, and Tucker Carlson and Jerry Springer to make me feel graceful! I got into last season because it was always on when I took my lunch break. Even Scott got into it, voting for Jerry Rice every week.

I'm glad that this year I won't be talking to the crazies, and that I won't be stressing over the spike in call volume. I gladly leave that to John and the rest of the gang.

...I might even call to complain if Mario gets voted off!

A New Blog?

You know, if I didn't already maintain (ok...have...I don't so much maintain the other two) three blogs, I'd totally jump all over this.

Janette and I have been e-mailing eachother torturous clips of David Hasselhoff's music videos and other appearances. The last one she sent me had the headline, "Hoffmocking." That could be the best blog title EVER! Wouldn't YOU want to go to a place where you could watch clips of the Hoff and make fun of him to your heart's content?



OK, secretly I love this video. I don't really love it because of the Hoff... more because it looks like a really good high school TV class project. And it's funny.

Tongue-Tied

What do you get when you think you want to say "family," but change your mind and decide on "party" instead?

You get "farty."

On someone's answering machine.

At least it was the end of the message. I don't think I could've held off the giggles through an entire message.

"Thank You"

I got a thank-you letter in the mail this week from the Biloxi Public Library for the books I donated. I thought that was nice. But when I actually read the letter, I was pretty shocked...

"We were thrilled to receive Time and Again, The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide, and Frankenstein and can hardly wait until we can put them back on the shelves at our library. These three very different classics will certainly enhance the library's collection."

That letter was not only personalized with the books that I chose, but someone actually took the time to come up with that last sentence. Honestly, with the number of books that they have received, I would've been happy to get a generic "thank you for your support" letter. But I thought that was especially cool.

Time for work!

Ice Cream Memories

It's been a while since I participated in Scalzi's Monday Photo Shoot, but I couldn't resist this week's topic:

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Cool down with a photo that in some way involves ice cream. Other frozen treats such as Popsicles, frozen yogurt, ice milk and sherbet are also entirely acceptable. If it's sweet and it's frozen, it qualifies.

Sadly, I didn't have my camera with me yesterday when Cat and I stopped at the A&W drive-in for rootbeer floats. Luckily, I've been eating ice cream for about 25 years, and in that time many pictures have been snapped. I couldn't decide between these three, so I'm posting them all:
Cake & ice cream at my 3rd birthday party. You can't tell from the picture, but those are Sesame Street party hats, and a Strawberry Shortcake cake. And yes, I did know non-blonde kids. Honest!

Hey mom, do you know where this picture was taken? I believe that might be your hand attempting the bunny ears. I was obviously too engrossed in the frozen creamy goodness to notice.

This picture was taken the summer after my freshman year of college. At Epcot. Know what that frozen delicacy on a stick is? That's right - vestiges of a Mickey Mouse ice cream bar. No trip to Disney is complete without one... and no discussion of ice cream is complete without one.

Want some ice cream now? The best ice cream ever is WPSX Coffee Break, made by the Penn State University Creamery. You can order it by following the link above. And who doesn't want mail-order ice cream??

The Quest

Anyone who has ever lived in the Northeast U.S. knows that you just can't find good Chinese food, bagels, soft pretzels, cheesesteaks, or pizza south of New Jersey.

It just can't be done.

So when Scott and I decided to try the little Italian restaurant next to the crappy transmission place, we expected to pay too much and be disappointed.

WRONG!

We each had a bowl of soup (wedding soup for me, pasta fagiole for him), I had a cheese calzone, and Scott had a stromboli. The food was made fresh -- like I watched the guy in the kitchen scoop out ricotta and dump it into my calzone. The soups were delish (and did I mention $3 each?). And, although I didn't really like the marinara to dip (not chunky enough), it was by far the best pizzeria-style food I've eaten in the past 6 years at least. Our bill came to $23, which sounds like a lot for lunch, but we ate a LOT. Seriously, my calzone was $5, and I saved half of it for dinner tonight.

Their pizzas seem to be on the pricey side ($10 for a 14" cheese -- $16 for a 14" white), but you can bet your buns we'll be trying one at some point down the road. C'mon - a real white pizza with ricotta, mozzarella, and provolone? **drool**

I hope this place does a good business and sticks around for a while. I'm giving the New York Pizza Club JJJJj out of JJJJJ for the best el-cheapo italian I've had in Florida.

Not Quite Alone

My manager decided this week that we work in an OFFICE, and that people walking by on their way to the cafeteria hootin' and hollerin' (my words, not his) were a distraction. So we are now keeping the door closed. He even took the doorstop and hid it after two people in a row opened the door and immediately propped it open.

I'm buying a little desktop fan this weekend so that I don't suffocate in there, but that's not my point.

Now that the door is closed, I've noticed something strange about the people who walk by: They don't know we're in there, and they act like they are alone. Yesterday, my two managers and I were sitting in the office (which rarely happens), and we were all doing quiet work (which never happens), and all of a sudden, the sounds of Gregorian chanting were coming through the wall we share with the cash room. Seriously. Actual chanting. This guy was going to town!

Have I mentioned that my office is part office, part storage? Ask Scott - he was shocked when he saw how ghetto it is. Well, we got a new shipment of coffee yesterday (yep - we have our own custom blend), and guess where it is? That's right - in my office. And now I think I'm getting caffeinated on the fumes alone!

Anyway, work is going pretty well. And today is my friday. But I still have to wake up tomorrow, because we're taking Scott's car to the dealership for his turn at "let's spend lots of money on our cars." Hopefully this will be our last big expenditure for a while.

Shopping Spree

I've been having some foot problems recently, most likely brought on by the hours of standing I do each night at work in my Wal Mart dress shoes. And so I set out yesterday to find a simple pair of black flats with lots of sole, preferably ones that didn't click when I walk on the tile. (I prefer to be stealthy)

I'll admit it - I don't really think that either pair is 100% sensible. What you can't tell from the picture is that both pairs are slides. Yes, they're 'legal' within the dress code, but I'm still not sure how much walking I can do in them. I do, however, think that they are both fabulous!

The pair on the left are like mary janes, with a strap across the top. They also have a funky rubber sole that looks a little like a golf shoe (only not...). And they were on clearance for $25. The pair on the right look like they'd hurt, but the tops are stretchy. This is the closest you'll ever see to a pointy toe shoe in my wardrobe. And they look awfully cute with jeans! They do have a bit of a lift to them, which will probably limit the amount of time I can spend in them over the course of a day.

Scott also indulged me with a trip to the Old Navy outlet in the same shopping center. I came out with two plain t-shirts (kelly green and white) and two spaghetti strap tanks (for layering/sleeping) for less than $20.

And then we went grocery shopping.

And then we came home.

And tonight we're going to Hoop Dee Doo. All is right with the world.

F

This morning at 8am, sign-ups opened for Candlelight. They take the first 300 people to sign up for each vocal part. Last year, soprano filled up in 16 minutes.

...what are the chances that this year it won't have filled up in the first 4 hours?

Yeah, I forgot to set my alarm, and didn't wake up until noon.

F F F