Monday, August 07, 2006

Equilibrium is not a drug, but it sure feels good

Rant Reconsidered
My equilibrium is restored. It seems I cannot maintain negativity very long (which I view as a good thing). The particular problem that sent me spiraling into a rant of epic proportion in my last blog – Medicare’s enormously screwed up prescription program - resolved enough to make the difference in my attitude.

I discovered that if I bought my prescriptions every month instead of every three months, I could break the costs into more manageable chunks. Also, the insurance company I use for Medicare Part D – Humana – built some price breaks into the price I have to pay, so my end cost proved to be somewhat less than the pharmacy had quoted me. These two things helped a lot. The spill-over costs I will either have to charge on a credit card – which I really LOATH doing – or forego the medications. I am considering giving up at least one of my most expensive drugs – Aricept - although I am not happy at the possibly of losing some of my mental acuity. That’s another discussion though.

One other thing. The doughnut hole is not as big as the pharmacist told me. I do not have to spend to $5,100 before I get coverage again this year; I just have to spend to $3,200. That means that I may get to the virtually free zone before December 31, 2006. We’ll see.

Regardless, I am still angry with the Congress and Senate for enacting such bad legislation. There must be many people out there who are far worse off than I. What are they going to do?

I feel another episode of ranting come on, so let’s leave that topic behind for now.

Computer Happiness
My computer runs so slow, it makes me crazy. I alternate between screaming at it and despairing about it. I began to avoid sitting at my computer even when I needed to do work there.

I tried everything I could think of or read about, to no avail. Then, tonight, I looked up one of my error codes on the internet - an access violation code. Lo and behold, I discovered registry errors. And I discovered that I had an enormous number of them, over 500. After investigating recommended software, I purchased a program and ran it. Voila!! My computer is running very fast and steady. I feel wonderful. If this proves to be reliable, I will tell you more about the problem, product, and process in a future blog.

Ciao!

P.S. I realize this entry is a bit unfocused, but I felt that after my monumental negativity earlier this week, I needed to at least reassure you that I am not stuck there.

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