Traveling with my toy again; on the train; just to New York.
This is my first trip since I returned from Japan and I really wasn't prepared
for it. I had a very hard time packing last night. I still haven't found a
couple of the things I put away before I sublet my apartment, including the bag for
toiletries I always took with me that has now become useless on airplanes.
I'm sure I didn't toss it, but I have no idea what I did with it.
The last time I was on this train, almost a year ago, I
spent the entire trip contemplating my mortality. This was just before the
pacemaker, and I had no idea what was wrong. I am finding I have a little
trepidation about repeat visits to the places where I was sick. I'm sitting on
the other side of the train, looking left into the train; that seems to make it easier. Not too much deja
vu.
Another place I was sick, but never talked about it, was San
Francisco. I don't think we are going again this year. I'd like to, but I also
have mixed feelings about it.
BTW, the doctor changed one of my meds. He wanted to just
double it, but would have had to get authorization from the insurance company,
so he changed to something comparable—both generic. Would someone please
explain to me why the insurance company needs to bless my medications? I don't
blame the doctor for not wanting to mess with them, but of course, it leaves me
wondering whether the new stuff will do the job as well as the other one. The
good part is that I can easily reach the doctor by cell phone and get a new
perscription filled wherever I happen to be—one of the few blessings of having
the same services all over the country.
Yesterday, as I never spoke to Robin all day, I thought
about how cell phones have changed our leave-taking. Going away was a big deal.
Everyone got together to say goodby, sometimes making a going away party. Then
that phony long distance call on arrival, assuring the folks at home you made
it. Today I can call her from the train, or from New York, or wherever. My cell
phone is actually a New Jersey number: so is hers. We never bothered to change
it. Before I left I forwarded my home phone to my cell—a long distance call
each time. All of these are services are payed for on a monthly basis, whether I
use them or not, so essentially free. What a different world this is. What I
really want now is a satellite internet service, so I could surf the web from
the train. It's out there—I just can't afford it.
100 Books Before I Die 
I have the same thing happen to me about the hesitancy to revisit places that something unsavory happened…usually health wise. I think it is just self-preservation kicking in from the physical level. As to meds…I always just pay for my own…but I know not everyone can do that. The person paying for something gets the final say on what they pay for, I guess. I think that is what worries me about socialized medicine. I don’t want my medical decisions left to people that ration out services without a medical degree. But I don’t know what the answer is either about not being able to afford medical care. I think it has something to do with being a hybrid of private/public care that makes medical care astronomical. That and the drug companies. And insurance companies. What a disaster. How is the medical system in Japan? I know in Singapore it was fantastic and affordable. I had to go to the emergency room for food poisoning. They kept me for the day, with I.V.’s and gave me medicine to take when I got home. It cost me $100.00 total. For a day in the E.R. And the hospital was nicer then any I have been in here in the U.S..how do they manage it? I think we should look to India/Singapore and other Asian models instead of the European model. My 2 cents…
Thanks so much for the note. Yes, I doubly missed my old job this morning when I saw folks I knew on the front page of the paper. Then again, I wasn’t bone tired when I woke up either.
Yes, going back to NY will be easier this time knowing what went wrong last time. If you feel off this visit, you can call your doctor right away. That is there as a safety net too.
Yes, insurance companies are saving money on your dime. If it is expensive, they won’t approve it and you won’t get it. Even if it is best for you.
Have a great trip. We will be here checking in.
I think revisiting these places is a good sort of deja vue – coming full cycle to replace a less-than-stellar memory with a better one. (That’s been my experience, anyway.)
So, are you missing your blogging class this week then? I thought of a question that occurred to me recently. Can you explain pingbacks? Mainly I just want to know if there’s any reason not to allow them as I currently do. I find many of them are for other bloggers, mostly commercial, but figure that it’s no big deal since they always connect back to me anyway, so if anything they increase rather than thwart readers. Can you clear some of the mystery for me sometime even if you don’t cover it in class? Btw, have a great time in NY. I wish I could go for a short visit myself.