(no subject)

I've been waiting (and waiting, and waiting) for this computer to finish booting as a professor across the way in a semi-enclosed classroom lectures on color in design. She's saying things like "When they're three years old, girls start liking bright Barbie-pink," and "You shouldn't make a building bright fuchsia unless you want to attract three year old girls to your business," and I'm trying so hard to restrain myself from walking over there and saying "No, no, no, no. You are WRONG, and you are perpetuating stereotypes. STOP IT!"

I got up three hours early today for a meeting. Two of the four students weren't there, and fifteen minutes after the expected start time, the two of us in attendance found out the professor had car problems and wasn't going to make it. I'm going to work on a paper instead.

And call a doctor to see if he takes the coverage I have and is seeing new patients. I called the HMO enrollment specialist yesterday and he told me that, as a single adult, I can't enroll in an HMO until July 1st. Until then, I can see anyone who will take Badgercare. I continue to be confused by this entire process, but whatever.

I found a family practice doctor (which seems to be the same as a general practitioner, but nobody seems to want to call themselves a general practitioner; maybe it's bad marketing or something) who also does sports medicine. Maybe, given all the bicycling I do and the knee pain I've been having, that might be the way to go. I'll try there first and see how I like him.

Health Care Again

I called the number for the doctor I was thinking I'd go with and got a reception-type-person at Aurora, the hospital/clinic where he practices. I said that I wanted to make an appointment to see a doctor since I hadn't in about four years, and confirmed that they take Badgercare. Zie told me that the next available apointment was next year, April.

That's "bullshit", says my dad. I'm inclined to agree, since they also suggested I go to Kenosha Community Health Center, which is the sliding-scale place that I had originally thought I'd go to before I found out that I have coverage via Badgercare. He suggested I just go to the walk-in clinic at Aurora and tell them my symptoms, and that they'll probably assign me a doctor.

As I've noted before, my country has some of the best health care in the world, if you can afford it.

Also, I tried calling the sliding-scale place three times through the course of the day. Each time the voice-mail system tried to transfer me to various places, then said it couldn't because the extensions were busy and I should call back later.

Meanwhile, the mild but annoying symptoms that I've had for six or eight months but the campus clinic has been unable to diagnose continue to get very slowly more bothersome.

I need to get this figured out sooner than later. I just wish I wasn't dealing with the end of the semester at the same time.