My foray into socialized medicine

I don't like going to doctors or hospitals, and tend to try to cure my ailments with "Eastern remedies" as john would call them.  This can mean herbs, vitamins, acupuncture, a serious anti-oxidant diet, or really just letting the old immune system do its job, even if I have to wait it out. (Note to reader, never try this with an aching tooth.  Your immune system will not "fix" it.  And you will find yourself crying in an oral surgeon's chair begging him to rip it out.) Generally, my health is pretty good, and managed to dodge some medical land mines when I went home (flu, colds, poison oak).

I can't remember going to the doctor when I was young, except to get my ear pierced. It's not that I dislike doctors, I just have very rarely had decent medical insurance, and it semed like more of a hassle to go to one than to just stay home. Sometimes, though, the garlic/spinach/eye-of-newt concoctions I whip up at home just can't crack the problem, and so off to the doctor I go.  

This was my first time using the socialized medicine that the Military so graciously offers its active duty and their dependents.  I called up at 7am, said I'd like to see a doctor.  "Ms. Preston, how does 8:40am today sound?"  Sounds like good service to me.  Within an hour I was out, on my way to get my prescription (in the same building).  I asked the pharmacist how much I owed him for the little brown bag, and he says "surely, Ms. Preston, you must be new.  Your medical care is our first priority, it's all on the house!" Imagine that. Medicine that is timely, free and doesn't drag a sick person through the mud in order to just get in her car, drive home and go back to bed.

Okay, I left one little part out.  When I was waiting for the MD to come in the little room, a "tech" (not a nurse, but a very early 20's young lad) had to run down a list of my medical history with me.  Typical questions: 

Q: Are you a smoker?  

A: Not for a year now. (yay!)

Q: Do you drink coffee? 

A: Not for about 5 months now. (another yay!)

Q: Do you drink alcohol.

A. That would be a yes.

Q: How many drinks would you say you have a week?

A: (let's see, one while making dinner, one while eating dinner, a few at the club, a beer at the beach....boy am I glad I quit drinking for New Years) "I'd say ten.  About ten."

Q: I'm going to go ahead and put down 3.  3 is a much more acceptable Air Force Number. 

Excuse me? Acceptable Air Force number?  What exactly does that mean?  I have visions of being summoned to AA meetings by John's commander. Who exactly sees these records anyway? Does HIIPA even apply?  What about doctor-patient confidentiality?  Who is this kid anyway, he doesn't even look old enough to work here.  Is there a camera in this room?  I start to glance around. What if my illness is directly related to the number of alcoholic beverages I consume weekly, and because you are trying to shield me from Big Brother, the doctor might never find the cure for me.  This is how episodes of House begin.

All in all, I'd give socialized medicine an 8 out of 10.  Especially when I think of the various times in my life when I did not have insurance. Yes, the Big Brother aspect of it creeps me out. But it's better than sitting at home sipping that stinky garlic tea waiting for my immune system to kick in.

Back to school, back to school

I started classes again today!  Tonight's class was contemporary Foreign Policy with Dr. Bosworth, who is a really great teacher and all-around interesting guy.  I went to Coffee Casa, a Japanese coffee shop about a block from my house to start my reading. Reading "Rise to Globalism" by Stephen Ambrose & Douglas G. Brinkley.  It's highly readable and a good recap of the last 70 years of US military actions.  It seems the more I read, I feel like the less I know. How does one accumulate so much knowledge that they feel like they can speak authoritatively on a subject?  I was thinking that today when Dr. Bos was teaching - granted he's got about 15 years on me, and an PhD.  But will I ever get there? I read one author and think - yeah, that argument totally makes sense, and then I read another author who disagrees with author number one, and think - no wait, he's right, clearly.  Being "smart" used to mean acing tests. Smart it a whole other thing now.  Sometimes the smartest people are dead wrong (also reading Halberstam's the Best and the Brightest re vietnam). How can I begin to have an opinion that would be worthy of writing something scholarly (which I will have to soon) when I am still so unsure of my own opinions? I'm in this class that is pretty much 90% active duty military officers.  Wouldn't they clearly know more about foreign policy than I? I guess I'm just taking it all too seriously tonight.  That and because we dealt with the Spanish-American War tonight - an event that mysteriously escaped my 18+ undergrad history classes. Sigh.

So anyway, I was in Coffee Case, a lovely wooden cafe, drinking some tea, listening to an American Jazz compilation on the speakers, and reading an interesting book.  I got this swell of happiness that I have not gotten since 1. I returned to UCSD to graduate; and 2. I was studying at Dartmouth.  It is a warm contentment that is better to me than even Christmas Bonus Day (basically, I can't buy it).  I love being a student.  I love using my brain every minute that I'm a student.  I love hearing theories and trying to disprove them. I love the freedom of a student - instead of having to have my derrière in a seat 8 hours daily even if my mind is turned off.  I'm so lucky right now that I can be a student while still having this incredible overseas adventure.

Cortney's BF is in town, so john and I are going to go over to her place tonight for som e zesty beverages.  She's trying to break my new years resolutions, but I will not be broken.

Happy 2009!

Wow, 2009 already! We are sitting around just lounging on the couch today, contemplating New Years resolutions. Here are some photos from yesterday...

Gunner bunner and me.

A typical weekend morning pose.

Last night at the New Year's eve party

Sadie, my friend and trainer - can you believe she's 5 months pregnant?

Becca, Jen, John and Cortney

Packing....

...on my way to my California Tour 2008!  I leave tomorrow, and can't wait!  I am leaving John and Gunner and Deuce Fishalo Fish Gigolo (our beta) for Thanksgiving and am feeling very guilty about this.  John already has about 6 invitations to various holiday parties without me.  I've also heard him make secret plans to have Guitar Hero parties with his friends which will involve beer, pizza boxes and couch-sleeping.  

It's about 70 degrees today which is a great deal colder than it has been (November?  I thought it was still August.) I'm looking forward to a crisp clear San Francisco trip and am packing accordingly.  Can't wait to see all my friends and family!

The Power of Words

In 1971, Archie Bunker lit up television screens with what would now be seen as shocking political incorrectness.  His views stemmed from his experience, from his hard life, from what he knew. He was liked by audiences - thought of as a decent man, if not somewhat misguided.  A product of his times.  

Watching "All In The Family now," in 2008 - the jokes don't even seem that funny.  We've left that dialog behind... it doesn't resonate. From the Greatest Generation to the Boomer Generation, to Generation X, Y, Z (Can't we do something noteworthy already?) the discriminatory language and animosity against other races has faded.  Political correctness has won the day.

And everyone makes fun of political correctness, but I'll tell you what I think it's brought.  It allowed a black man to receive 62 Million votes today.  9/10 people polled at the booths said "race is not an issue".  How is that for the power of kitchen table conversation?  Because my parents and their parents would not tolerate racism or any talk resembling racism in their homes, my brothers and sisters and I didn't blink at the thought of electing a black president. And because millions of other homes around the country did the same, we've made a seismic shift in less than half a century.

Only 40 years after MLK was shot. Whether you voted for him or not, that is something that should give us pride.

Halloween

The Japanese kids LOVE the trick or treat holiday. Oh boy.  With pitch perfect English, these midget pumpkinheads and witches would ask "Trick or Treat?" and say "Thank you!" Not a one needed to be prompted on the "thank you." So adorable. So very wee. 

From what I understand, Okinawans don't celebrate Halloween, but because there are so many Americans here, the kids get into the spirit. Not every one of the houses in my neighborhood were giving out candy last night, but apparently word got out that C-17 (ours) was flinging bags of M&M's like it was goin' out of style (and we were).  At about 6:30 pm, I had to leave to pick up John from the office.  I walked over to my car in the driveway, and out of no where comes a pack of two-wheeling 5 year olds, biking past all the other condos, then promptly flinging their bikes on our doorstep and furiously knocking on our door.  They didn't even notice that the mistress of the house was standing 5 feet from them.  The word on the street was "C-17's got the goods!" and that's all they needed to hear.   

After several rounds of this dance (me trying to escape my own driveway, then going back in to get candy) I finally got John and we went to Gordie's for the evening.  Gordie's is a hamburger joint in the neighborhood run by a lovely Okinawan couple. It's pure 1950's hawaii, complete with surfboards and palm leaves.  Limited menu, but the best onion rings in town. Even some of the tables are made from 1950's school desks.  You can count on hearing the Beatles, Elvis or oddly Jack Johnson (Okinawans are obsessed with Jack Johnson, it seems).  John had arranged to have Gordie's play Ju-on, the Japanese version of the Horror movie "The Grudge".  They have an outside deck complete with projector and huge screen.  It felt like we were at a drive in.

The scariest part of all was the bats.  They flew overhead the entire movie.  I'm always afraid one is going to dive-bomb me. Two nights ago we were standing underneath a giant tree just infested with bats.  We had flash lights, and we would try to illuminate them.  They are more monkey than bird - they have these creepy little hands that climb through the branches like monkeys, trying to find the perfect branch for upside-down hanging. Up close their faces even resemble frightful little monkeys, with blonde goatees that stick straight up when they sleep upside down. How fun to have a Halloween complete with herds of bats flying overhead!

Happy Halloween!  I tried to carve an elaborate pirate pumpkin and it ended up as pumpkin soup.  Oh well. 

John got a defense verdict this week!  Yeah!  He's so much fun to watch... I try to go to his trials when I can.  I feel like I'm back working in a law firm, sizing up the jury, etc. 

I finished this session of bootcamp today - 5lbs and 3 inches trimmer.  It is still 85 degrees here if you can believe it.  I am just so excited to come home for Thanksgiving.