This week I had to say goodbye to my dear friend, Sedgwick. He was a faithful computer for one short year, but simply could not withstand a heavy blow that was delivered to him by a bigger, badder Mac who decided to body slam him by jumping off of the bed and onto Sedg.
So long, Sedgwick…hello, Prosper, the Macbook Pro!
This speech is so worth while. It ignites me, inspires me and makes me want to change the world, one student at a time.
Have you seen Sicko? We started watching it last night and with every passing scene, I got significantly more nauseous. Finally, I had to stop watching. I’m not sure why, in that particular moment, that movie affected me so, but it did. The health care crisis in this country is devastating to me. It makes me ashamed of America. It makes me sad to the core that big business and greed rule this great nation. It makes me feel a little hopeless. It makes me want to run. And then, while sliding down that slippery slope of feelings, I start to think about people in my own family, people I am close to, that really believe that a national health care plan is NOT the solution. They believe it. They have arguments (some of them good) about why it won’t work and they are just as passionate as I am about the other side of the debate. And then I lose heart again. I think to myself “if these people that I love, that I KNOW are good people, will not fight for this…then it will never be fixed.”
In 2009, I spent almost $10,000 out of pocket on health care expenses. That includes my ridiculously high premiums (for a healthy single woman..and withOUT a pregnancy plan because that is another $200 a month) as well as paying my ridiculously high deductible on one x-ray and one MRI. Did I mention that I am COMPLETELY HEALTHY? I took a bad spill down a mountain skiing, waited 2 months to go to the doctor (because I was out of the country and did not want to pay a fortune with only a small emergency travel policy) returned to the U.S., had tests run, had a confirmed fracture in my tibia and then was sent home. Sent home. They did NOTHING. N.O.T.H.I.N.G. And the bill? Well, the bill that I had to pay= over $4,000…on top of my insurance. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. If I would have gone overseas, I would have only paid around $2,000 out of pocket. It is just absurd.
Now, wait. Please do not get me wrong. Thank God I have a good job and can afford to have insurance and am totally healthy. But, geesh, $10,000 in one year on NOTHING? What about the people who actually have something wrong with them? I worry about my parents, my aunts and uncles, the baby boomer generation who could be totally wiped out by one bout with cancer- physically devastated and then financially devastated. It just makes me sick.
I have applied for Swedish residency and have been interviewed by the Consulate and am now awaiting a decision. Part of me feels guilty about possibly becoming part of another system, one that works. Part of me feels completely relieved at the thought of not having to worry about health care. Yes, I know that what works in Sweden would not work in the U.S. due to the fact that we have 290 million more people here. However, something has got to give.
Please, let something give.
Alma from Rodrigo Blaas on Vimeo.
Last Friday night, a super cool event took place in Ft. Lauderdale. We put together a show that was comprised of Lovewell songs from throughout the years. The idea was to have this event and to raise money to publish the first ever Lovewell Songbook to be on shelves sometime in the summer of 2010. It was a great success.
The Board of Directors join in on a song- “Chain of Change”
“Home In You” from the 2007 Ft. Lauderdale workshop- About Face.
Shawn Snyder sings “Wisconsin” from The Lovewell Theatre Project’s The Book of Phil- Chicago 2001.
“Don’t Let Gravity Get You Down” from the Lovewell Theatre Project’s The Gloaming
“In Good Hands” from The Blue Moon:
We were just taking a little stroll around the streets of New Orleans…
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Last night I had an insane dream where I was some sort of super human fighting off the evil of the world. During that said dream, I proceeded to attack the enemy, using moves to destroy them and then punching myself in my face…for real…waking up with a bloody lip. HAHAHA!
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Nippe and I decided it was a good idea to drive my old, crippled car from Salina, Kansas to Kansas City, MO…then to New Orleans, Louisiana, then to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Although it seemed insane, the trip was completed with no hitches what-so-ever.
I had never been to New Orleans before, so what better way to see a city than to explore it with a dear friend. Katy Hawley grew up there with her extended family, so it was an instant rockin time complete with a night’s stay at an old hotel, meeting her grandfather and brunching in style…
On the drive- sky on fire…
The hotel served PB&J every night. We, of course, missed it. Nippe read about it, at least.
Might as well play music in the street?
I made Jamie an apron for Christmas. Isn’t she sassy?
