To anyone reading this through Peace Corps Journals, my apologies. I didn't realize until last night that it was still linked there. So, while you are free to continue reading my entries, I'm sure by now you are aware that very little of it pertains to my time in Turkmenistan. Though, every once and awhile a tid-bit will arise.
It's been raining. A lot. We had a few days of reprieve earlier this week, but otherwise it's been quite wet. And muggy. The temperature still gets up into the high 70's, low 80's, most days. This particular storm started yesterday afternoon, ( I think it's due to another hurricane, but I haven't checked,) about the time I wanted to run to the Red Cross office to volunteer. On this mornings dog prance, it rained hard enough to soak through my London Fog trench coat. Or maybe that was the sweat underneath? It's still hanging up to dry, causing the house to smell kind of musty. (Actually, the smell is coming from the dog leash.) All of the windows have condensated, and everything feels damp to the touch. I'm sure my hair will still be wet when I wake up in the morning.
Today's adventure has to do with finding a private insurance policy. The PC is nice enough to offer health insurance to all former volunteers for up to 18 months after their close-of-service. Which should be more than enough time for any competent person to find a new job with benefits. Particularly a nurse. But alas, not for me. My policy runs out on the 15th of October. Sure, Karl has a job with benefits, but they only include 'spouses' not 'domestic partners'. And yes, we are planning on getting hitched, but we weren't planning on having a shot-gun wedding. Besides, he doesn't have enough vacation time to run off to Vegas yet.
(This is becoming increasingly difficult to type, due to the humidity causing the beer I spilled on my keyboard to become sticky again. Particularly the 'M' key and the space bar.)
Back to my problem. I started with the CorpCare website to see if they offered any further insurance, say a short term policy, or a COBRA plan. They do, but it won't cover pre-existing conditions, i.e. my meds. So I went online to look into Blue Cross. Before I had benefits at St. Joes I used to have a Blue Cross policy. While going through the questionaire I was asked if I had at least tried to get a COBRA plan, so I looked into that. Googled it, and found what I thought was a legitimate website. I was wrong. It was designed to sell your info to other 'insurance' companies. Middle-men. I received at least four phone calls this morning trying to sell me insurance. They admitted that they got my information from that website. Rrrrgh! One wanted to meet me to discuss policy options, one wanted to know if I was able to pay for a policy today. They both plan on calling me back tomorrow. The second one told me I couldn't get a policy for less than $150. That's odd, Blue Cross quoted me $74. Guess that's the brokers fee. I think I'll be filling out that Blue Cross app tonight.
So much for the new government health care plan helping us poor, unemployed, voting, citizens out. Actually I think they were on the right track, but congress is really good a screwing things up. I won't even get started on that one. Just watch The Daily Show. They're able to put my thoughts into words. And video.
In other news, I've just about finished decorating for Halloween. Yes, I know October doesn't even start until tomorrow, but Halloween is way too cool to cram into one month. Especially now that Christmas has started creeping into the picture. Monday I told Mom it was had to think about Halloween in 85 degree weather, today's rain feels just about right. Except for being muggy. I have stuffed the scarecrow and he is diligently waiting in my arm chair until the rain stops. Maybe the rain will make the ground soft enough to stake him into the ground. I couldn't find overalls last year for him, so he has kid-sized pants. Sitting here he looks like he has bilateral below-the-knee amputations. Bayram is confused. Of course, he's always confused.
And, I finally made an outfit for my mom's old baby doll. I've been meaning to for years. Well, she still needs pants, but the teddy bear shorts are working for now. It's a cute crocheted sweater and hat, but my pride and joy are the booties I designed, all by myself. I did write the pattern down, so if I ever get around to downloading the pictures off my camera, I'll post it. To give back to the community I'm regularly stealing ideas from. Though don't worry, I never sell the stuff I make, and I'm sure to give credit where credit is due. That said, you can do whatever you want with any patterns I may post here. I really don't care, because I think with a little thought, anyone can design the same things. I mean, there are only a few basic stitches and everything is built up from there. Nothing is really 'new', some of us may just not have thought of it yet. Or in my case, didn't know how to begin.
Take çeşka (cheshka) for example. The slipper socks everyone in T-stan has a million pairs of. I brought a couple home myself, but just by looking, I can't reverse engineer them. Luckily, someone else has. Curious as to what I'm talking about? Check out the "Caspian Sea Socks" on knittingdaily.com. And even though I couldn't figure out how to make them toe-up, I did make them top-down. I suppose I should post a picture of them, too. They're really cool, and way more comfortable because I didn't use the super cheap acrylic yarn only found in T-stan.
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