First and foremost, my expos about the whole Tricare bullshit has been put off for too long, so here it goes. Back in June, I received something in the mail about having payments made from my Social Security payment to cover Medicare. Thinking this was duplicate coverage to my Tricare insurance, I called and had Medicare discontinued. The next month, I called Tricare's offices, thinking that I had a payment due. When I called, however, my Social Security number wouldn't work in the automated payment system, and was transferred to an agent to figure out the issue. It turns out, I find, that Tricare, despite existing long before Medicare was even discussed, is dependent on my Medicare enrollment, and opting out made me ineligible for Tricare.
I'm glad that there was a soft landing spot for my phone, as it vaulted from my infuriated hand and into Anabel's couch.
I set to work immediately, tracking down Social Security office to get this righted. Thankfully, Anabel's mom was more than understanding, and willing to help me get to these places. I just feel bad for her wallet, as waiting for me for the several hours I spent in the office must have cost her a great deal in parking meter fees. At least I was able to get Medicare reinstated, and since I used a military ID to identify myself, it was reinstated without and loss of coverage time.
Now it was time to set right the issue with Tricare. I figure that since Medicare hadn't "officially" lapsed, it'd be easy as picking out a Goth in Alabama. No dice. It seems that the minute my Medicare stopped, my Tricare vanished, requiring a quest to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon to get things reversed (I'll spare the details, since it involves a bunch of military jargon that even I barely understand).
Now, onto some other matters.
The Wednesday before Dragon*Con, I was in an accident during my errands. My first stop of the day was to the post office, in order to drop a few things in the mail for my dad. I slowed to a stop and looked down the road before making my left turn. An old man was just starting to turn onto the street. Surely, I have plenty of time to make this turn. Nope. About halfway through the turn, I look back that way see him just before he slams into my front passenger side.
When things finally settled in my car, I stepped out to make sure I was still able to stand. Once I established that, I reached into my car to fish out the mail I was supposed to drop off, stumbled over to the drop box, and slipped it in. You can't say I'm easily deterred from a task.
It's a shame, since they want me in court on the Friday that I was supposed to get more work done on my tattoo.
Oh, and a word of advice. If you're ever in an accident, make sure to call your girlfriend after all of the legally required calls. >_>
Then there's Dragon*Con. It was a blast. Despite having fewer and fewer of my friends attending each year, I still enjoy going. I spent most of my time hanging around the Crxshadows booth, since a) they hang around their booth and talk to the fans, and b) Jen, their keyboardist, was impossibly kind to me last year when I nearly passed out in front of their booth last year, and I thus have this little crush on her. >_>
I wandered around, took some photos, bought a crazy pair of wings (since I was talked into being one of the CXS fairies), and heard some music. I was in the first row for the Crxshadows show, so I got some awesome pics of the concert.
There was a strange personal truth revealed to me during the con, though. I've learned that, despite my best efforts, I can no longer deny myself the label of Goth. I was able to get away with calling myself a "pseudogoth," since I was really too lazy to really go all out. However, considering I dressed the part of my own free will during the con, spent most of that time hanging out with a Gothic/Electronica band, and even sat in on a panel called "Bleeding into the Mainstream: Goth in Popular Culture," I don't think I really have any excuses left. I guess I have more poetry to write.
I'm glad that there was a soft landing spot for my phone, as it vaulted from my infuriated hand and into Anabel's couch.
I set to work immediately, tracking down Social Security office to get this righted. Thankfully, Anabel's mom was more than understanding, and willing to help me get to these places. I just feel bad for her wallet, as waiting for me for the several hours I spent in the office must have cost her a great deal in parking meter fees. At least I was able to get Medicare reinstated, and since I used a military ID to identify myself, it was reinstated without and loss of coverage time.
Now it was time to set right the issue with Tricare. I figure that since Medicare hadn't "officially" lapsed, it'd be easy as picking out a Goth in Alabama. No dice. It seems that the minute my Medicare stopped, my Tricare vanished, requiring a quest to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon to get things reversed (I'll spare the details, since it involves a bunch of military jargon that even I barely understand).
Now, onto some other matters.
The Wednesday before Dragon*Con, I was in an accident during my errands. My first stop of the day was to the post office, in order to drop a few things in the mail for my dad. I slowed to a stop and looked down the road before making my left turn. An old man was just starting to turn onto the street. Surely, I have plenty of time to make this turn. Nope. About halfway through the turn, I look back that way see him just before he slams into my front passenger side.
When things finally settled in my car, I stepped out to make sure I was still able to stand. Once I established that, I reached into my car to fish out the mail I was supposed to drop off, stumbled over to the drop box, and slipped it in. You can't say I'm easily deterred from a task.
It's a shame, since they want me in court on the Friday that I was supposed to get more work done on my tattoo.
Oh, and a word of advice. If you're ever in an accident, make sure to call your girlfriend after all of the legally required calls. >_>
Then there's Dragon*Con. It was a blast. Despite having fewer and fewer of my friends attending each year, I still enjoy going. I spent most of my time hanging around the Crxshadows booth, since a) they hang around their booth and talk to the fans, and b) Jen, their keyboardist, was impossibly kind to me last year when I nearly passed out in front of their booth last year, and I thus have this little crush on her. >_>
I wandered around, took some photos, bought a crazy pair of wings (since I was talked into being one of the CXS fairies), and heard some music. I was in the first row for the Crxshadows show, so I got some awesome pics of the concert.
There was a strange personal truth revealed to me during the con, though. I've learned that, despite my best efforts, I can no longer deny myself the label of Goth. I was able to get away with calling myself a "pseudogoth," since I was really too lazy to really go all out. However, considering I dressed the part of my own free will during the con, spent most of that time hanging out with a Gothic/Electronica band, and even sat in on a panel called "Bleeding into the Mainstream: Goth in Popular Culture," I don't think I really have any excuses left. I guess I have more poetry to write.