Monday Morning Blog
- Something I've been avoiding for a long time is going to the dentist. I haven't gone to a regular checkup in about 2 years, I think. Part of the reason is because I'm scared of all those drills and stuff. But beyond that, I just don't trust the dental industry in general. It all seems shady to me. I feel like as long as I take care of my teeth normally, I'll be fine, but if I go get a checkup, the dentist will tell me I need all this stuff done when I really don't. Just as a way of making more money off of me or my insurance company, they'll make me get my wisdom teeth pulled or something. Still, I probably should get a checkup anyways, I just need to find a dentist that I trust.
- I guess the dentists themselves are only partly to blame, it's the overall system that is messed up. Since so much of the costs are paid for by insurance companies, the dentists can do pretty much whatever they want to jack them for money, and most people don't do anything about it.
I hate the insurance industry so much, maybe even more so than the advertising industry. The concept isn't terrible, but for normal schmoes like me and you, it really ends up being a lose-lose situation. You pay your insurance company a monthly or yearly "premium" for "coverage", in other words, you're giving them some of your money, and in case something bad happens (i.e. a car accident, you get cancer, etc.), they are supposed to pay to take care of it.
Now, 90% or more of the time, nothing bad ever happens, and in that case, 100% of the money you've been paying stays in the pocket of your insurance company. Which is fine, because that's for the service they are providing of distributing risk between their millions of customers.
The thing that pisses me off is when bad stuff happens and you expect your insurance company to pay up, but you are the one with a headache about collecting. You and your family have been paying premiums to State Farm/Allstate/Geico for years, and when you skid on a patch of ice and hit a mailbox, guess what? You're afraid to report it to your agent because they might raise your premium. Think about that, of all the thousands of dollars you have spent over the years for their "coverage", without ever asking for any of it back, you are now afraid to ask them for a few hundred bucks to fix your fender. Not only do you have to foot the first $500 or $1000 of the bill yourself because it's the "deductible", but within a few months your insurance company will probably have recouped whatever they had to pay, by jacking up your premium. "Like a good neighbor" my eye!
Then there's health insurance. For whatever reason that is beyond your control, you get sick and need all this expensive treatment at the hospital. Instead of gladly spitting back a small amount from their mountains of cash to take care of you, your health insurance tries to find every way it can to wriggle off the hook. They'll dig into your history and if it was a "pre-existing condition", you're on your own. Or they decide to go through your original application with a fine tooth comb, trying to find a technicality that will legally release them from responsibility. So you could be not only battling for your life, but also fighting the hospital and the insurance company at the same time just to get everything paid for. As if you wanted to get sick or something, because it's so fun.
Of course, I'm partly exaggerating, and it's usually not all that horrible. But these things do happen and it's not right. Unfortunately, the way our society works, insurance is a necessary evil, kind of like lawyers. So the way I see it, either you find a good agent and pay up, or just get the cheapest coverage you can, and put the money you would've been spending into the bank as your personal "in-case-sh*t" fund, as Chris Rock would call it. Then "in case sh*t" don't happen, you still got most of your money.
"This sucks! When I had health insurance I could get hit by a bus, or light myself on fire... now I gotta be careful?!" - Joey from Friends
- Observation of the day: The nicest-smelling people in the world are old black ladies. I don't know why, but it's true.
- Between mowing the lawn, being at a company picnic, playing softball, and working on my car over the weekend, my body is a little sunburnt now. It sucks to not be able put on a shirt in the morning without feeling like all my skin is peeling off. I've also got a couple blisters to show for my weekend activities, thanks to a bat with a handle covered with sandpaper-like material, the shakiest lawn mower ever, and trying to loosen the super tight bolts on my wheels. The best part about blisters is when they pop, and my favorite ones are the bloody ones. It must be the best feeling in the world.
- Being at that company picnic made me feel pretty young and out of place. It was supposed to be for employees to bring their families, but more in the sense of "wife and kids", not "mommy and daddy". I was gonna bring my sis, but she ended up not being able to make it. So basically, I went there by myself, ate 2 pieces of fried chicken, drank a beer, said hi to a few people, and left. Unless certain stars collide and I get married within the next 12 months, I don't think I will be going to next year's picnic.
- Friday was Chinese Father's Day. Did everyone remember to wish their Chinese Father a happy day?
