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Health Natter: insurance switchover bites me hard: stuff already in progress has bad timing

Because I recently turned 65, there were changes in my insurance.
I now have Blue Cross Blue Shield, which I used to have some years ago before I got switched to a different insurance.
They have now denied a med that is a cornerstone of why I am feeling better and breathing better these days.

The switch happened after my August birthday.
All the other meds are (allegedly, and I do believe them) on the way from the mail order pharmacy (who were good when I used to use them).
This med has been denied by insurance, which is BCBS. Even after special authorization, which they told me I needed, they denied it.

Am almost out.

(Yes, this is the med that the other insurance company kept only filling for one month, despite my doc writing a three-month scrip every frikkin time. Yes, this is one of the things I worry about running out of, because it matters a lot.)

Also you may imagine bitter laughter as various med and scheduling people explain to me that the insurance is apparently requiring the patient, me, go in to meet with the doc. The agoraphobic patient, these days. Though we did get to "virtual visit is acceptable," which is good, before we got to "the first virtual visit possible is a while after patient runs out of meds" which is not.

This stuff is what I was already making calls on and trying to handle before I got COVID. The two together is just a really horrible coincidence.

(Even if we did try to switch me to the insurance that was fine with it before (like Blue Cross Blue Shield was actually fine with it a few years ago when I had it!), there's no guarantee we won't run afoul of some new rule.)

There are options being looked into, for which details will be scant and the passive voice, for the moment, will be employed.

I do not have words that will cover exactly how I feel about this insurance bullshit. However the person just now taking the note to give my doc did write down faithfully that "patient is worried that without this med, she may not be around to keep this appointment," which is at least something I guess.

I am hungry. (I am the king now and I want a sandwich?) Actually what I want right now is soup. I wonder if I can stand up long enough to microwave some. Gotta put some food in or the meds might bounce, and it's meds time.

Grrrrr.

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Skip Day, Autumn Break

Image: sunlight through yellow maples at Afton State Park

Yesterday, Shawn woke up with a migraine. She gets these a lot, but there must have been something about this one because, even though she decided to go to PT, the rest of the day was a wash. The PT was even touch and go. She and I sat in bed a couple of extra hours debating the merits of going or not. She felt that having not quite mastered the most recent exercise meant that she should postpone and reschedule. That sounded valid to me, but then I also asked what would be the benefit in going... and she talked herself into the idea that maybe the physical therapist would have some mini-steps she could practice so that she *could* figure out the exercise.

So, I grabbed a bit of extra coffee for the road, turned off the coffee maker, and we headed out.

I sort of thought that this late start would be it--the end of a nice little break to the rushing, workday routine. But, lately Shawn and I have been taking detours on the way to work to look at the early morning sunlight through the golden, orange, and blazing red maple leaves. At this point, Sunday's wind took down a lot of the showiest displays, but there are still plenty of trees here and there that are in their full glory. At one point, when we were admiring a tree, I jokingly said (as I often do, keep in mind) that if she was feeling poorly, she could just skip and we could go on a leaf peeping adventure. Maybe a drive down to Red Wing? Maybe all the way to Wabasha?

She wasn't sure she was up for that, but then, to my utter surprise, she said, "But how about Afton State Park?"

So we went.

Afton never has really spectacular fall colors, though. Afton is largely prairie, oak savvana, and oak woodland.

oak trees in the fall

Image: The Wisconsin Bluffs from the Minnesota side of the St. Croix River, very oak, much brown.

But it was a really, really lovely sunny morning and the view down on the picnic area's dock was absolutely spectacular.

St. Croix River from Aspen State Park

Image: the azure expanse of sky and river on the St. Croix (from Aspen State Park)

All this touching grass, though? Very much exhausted the migrainer. So, we came home, had a little bit of a lunch and faceplanted until dinner time. I would normally be chagrined to have slept so long in the afternoon, but between the gig last night and the fact that Mason was flying home from Oklahoma City at 12:30 AM (that's in the morning!) I figured it was fine. I was, in fact, able to stay awake until he was deplaning around 1:00 am.

For those of you just tuning in, Mason has a romantic partner, Jas, down in Oklahoma. They are doing the long distance thing very well so far, but they do like to punctuate it with actual togetherness as much as they can afford. Next planned trip is to try to coax Jas up here for... Minnesota WINTER.

Wish Mason luck. I think he's gonna need it.

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About Last Night...at The Bryant-Lake Bowl

Bryant-Lake Bowl (Vee Dang photo credit)

Image: (Photo credit Vee Dang). Me, being dramatic at the show at Bryant-Lake Bowl

First, for those of you hoping to get a chance to see/hear this, I was initially excited to know that Cole usually video tapes and records these. When I asked after getting a copy of it this morning, Cole said that the video cut out about 45 minutes in and the audio has some kind of horrible background hiss. There is some hope for the audio recording, but it's going to take some cleaning up and I don't know how much time/energy/expertise Cole has to devote to that. :-( Sorry, y'all. If I get it, I'll post it. If not, c'est la vie.

Especially since you missed a great show!

Me and Scott at Bryant-Lake Bowl 2025 (Gerriann Brower)

Me and Scott at Bryant-Lake Bowl 2025 (Gerriann Brower)

Image: (photo credit: Gerriann Brower) Me and Scott Keever at Bryant-Lake Bowl.

I have to say that I'm impressed that in both of these shots (taken by different people at different times, obviously,) I am actually looking up from my reading. In Ger's picture, you can see that we managed a decent crowd too, which is impressive given that it was technically a "school night," being a Sunday evening and a lot of folks have work the next morning.

As an extrovert, there's this thing that happens to me when the spotlight hits me and I feel eyes on me. Rather than get nervous, I blossom. As soon as the first laugh come back from the audience, I lose myself completely to the moment. So, the reading went really well. There was only one moment when, looking up from my podium, I accidentally picked a middle distance to stare at that included the spotlight? So, when I looked back down at my page I briefly had to try to read around the big silver "burn" spot on my eye! JFC, what a dummy. I did not do that a second time!

Speaking of missteps, if there were anything I could do over it would be the interview.

Interview - Cole Sarar's SciFi Reading Hour (Ger Brower)

Interview - Cole Sarar's SciFi Reading Hour (Ger Brower)

Interview: (photo credit: Gerriann Brower) From left to right: Lyda Morehouse, Cole Sarar, and Scott Keever

I should have had time to consider my answer since Scott went first, but my mind was fully blank. Cole asks this wonderful set of questions that are based on the idea of "what do you love about yourself or your community?" (and then "how about in 5 years? How about 40?") I wasn't sure which community I wanted to talk about (queer, nerd, gamer, writer?) and so I kind of nattered on about the writing community that I've cultivated over the years and I kind of feel bad about making a joke at

naomikritzer 's expense about how I hoped "people in my life" would stop winning so many awards so I could stop being jealous/envious. And, I didn't mean to put her on the spot and I certainly didn't want to make things awkward, but I kind of maybe did? I don't know what entirely possessed me. My only excuse is that I was fully exhausted and unprepared for this interview. (And to be clear, Universe, I want my friends to win ALL the awards, all the time!)

What I wish I'd talked about instead? How LLM/AI are going to affect the writing/creative community in the next five years. I mean, I don't know the answer as to how we are going to be able to save what we love in the face of AI/LLMs, but it would have been 100% LESS AWKWARD.

Ah well, live and learn, I suppose. [Insert joke about how at least I didn't randomly bring up Hitler!]

I was super-prepared for the show--though at least two people asked me very specifically if we'd rehearsed. The second time I had to ask, "Did it seem like we didn't??" But I think people were actually responding to how polished we were--at least that's what the second person implied. If anyone has ever been to one of my readings, they'd have known I rehearsed because normally I can't help but editorialize. I managed only one aside. So, that should tell you everything you need to know! We definitely rehearsed! Three times, actually!

Anyway, it was great fun. 10/10 would again.

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Health Natter: COVID: Jelly Turtles from Spain

Still have COVID.
Still continuing.
Still resting like potatoes.
(With the caveat that I do get up and sit in a chair for a while each day, because my body needs that for some things.)

Today's things included talking on phone with multiple people at new insurance/pharmacy/et cetera.
Cried twice.
This is harder than it actually needs to be.
Told them, when they asked if med was medically necessary, that I like breathing and wished not to give it up.
(I DUNNO, WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU GUYS THINK, IS A MED THAT HELPS WITH MY ALLERGIES AND MY ASTHMA POSSIBLY IMPORTANT WHEN I AM IN ACUTE COVID RIGHT NOW? WHY COULD THAT POSSIBLY MATTER, RIGHT GUYS?)

Paxlovid mouth-taste is evil.
Only have to get through tonight and tomorrow and however long the aftertaste lasts.
Am combating it with gummy candies.
Decided why the heck not.
About to open bag of jelly turtles that tells me they are from Spain.
O jelly turtles from Spain, I put my hope in your benevolent tastiness.

Thank you all for being here.
Good words help a lot. Maybe tell me something good from your life today?
I like hearing about good moments.

I do have plans.
They are not vengeance unless vengeance is making really good art.
I just have to get well enough to realize them.
Meanwhile, jelly turtles from Spain, and also some weird blueberry planets that are freaking huge.
And you all. I like you people. Hello, people!
I may be slightly giddy again.

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(no subject)

After several days in a row of being able to walk more than is now typical for me, and also doing PT, yesterday my ankle hurt enough that I stayed put as much as possible. I took a naproxen around lunchtime, which made no descernible difference.

I'm doing significantly better today, in terms of ankle and other joint pain. I didn't go for a walk, but did go outside to take out trash and spend a few minutes outdoors during daylight, and then started on what has turned out to be a lot of PT exercises. We're back on standard time as of this morning, meaning the sun set in Boston at 4:35 (we're near the eastern edge of this time zone).

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health natter: "rest like a potato!"

The "rest like a potato!" protocol continues
and so do we.

(no subject)

The new medication make me sleepy or not sleepy depends on the day, but my skin is healing up-

Orycon was the last, and its done. sigh.

Just been overwhelmed by many things up to and including getting my van bumped last night by a person making a right turn on red while I was transiting the intersection. seems to be minor damage but I cant open my passenger door, I think I have part of her bumper jammed in there, stuck behind my fender guard. Well part of one of her running lights. I will see when I get back outside and can see the damage in daylight. Now the joy of the electronic file circus.

Have a sleep study scheduled for next month on a take home device, but, they want it back the next day between 8-10am Which is not going to work, because for me to do that I have to stay up ... so no sleep.. sigh.. I am going to negotiate with community care about a late fee I will be hit with if I try to do it my way, otherwise its going to get cancelled.

too many little things breaking my back as it were.

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Health natter: Still COVID, still restine LIKE A POTATO

Juan and I still exist. We are still resting like potatoes, as the delightful advice I was given has it.

Paxlovid is quite something, and I see how people are tempted to overdue activity once it kicks in. Me, I will be sitting up long enough to have breakfast (my wake-up time had precessed around to 2-3 p.m. anyhow), taking morning meds including the aforementioned Paxlovid, sitting up for my body to do things that being upright facilitates, and then I will go back to assiduously RESTING LIKE A POTATO.

Still funny every time.

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books,
meme

Memery

shewhomust asked about my version of the Book Sin meme, so here is my reply.

Lust (books I want to read for their cover)
I can be swayed by a cover if the plot sounds good, but otherwise this isn't my kind of sin.

Pride (challenging books I've finished)
Oh, gosh, everything I ever had to read for English Literature courses. I generally didn't want to read them, let alone analyze them, but I certainly like being able to say I have read them. Have I ever reread any of those books? Other than Austen, Brontë, and Alcott, no.

Gluttony (books I've read more than once)
Everything by Patrick O'Brien, Georgette Heyer, Katherine Addison, Caroline Stevermer, Kerry Greenwood; I reread fantasy novels and historical fiction a lot for comfort and because I often get something new out of the experience.

Sloth (books on my to-read list the longest)
I still haven't read The Anglo-Saxons by Marc Morris, published in 2021. Why did I buy that? I don't care about the Anglo-Saxons. Well, not much. Not enough to read a fat history of them, I guess.

Greed (books I own multiple editions of)
Three versions of Georgette Heyer's romances: hardcover, paperback, digital. Same for Sherwood Smith's Inda series.

Wrath (books I despised)
Despised is a strong word, but of the zillions of books I've read I complain most about Middlemarch, Lolita, and Even Cowgirls Get The Blues.

Envy (books I want to live in)
Jo Walton's Lifelode, a domestic fantasy set in a high-magic world. I loved that novel. Almost any Georgette Heyer romance novel where I get to be rich; I think The Masqueraders would be my first choice.

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Nov 1 - National Author's Day

Happy National Author's Day! Shout Out Your Favorite Author!

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bookses precious

Books read, late October

Philip Ball, The Water Kingdom: A Secret History of China. A history of China through its rivers. And other water, but really mostly rivers. Gosh they're important rivers. Some of it was more basic than I hoped, but the part where he talked about the millennia-long conflict between the Confucian and the Daoist views of flood management--that's the good stuff right there. That's what I need to think over.

Lois McMaster Bujold, Testimony of Mute Things. Kindle. A neat little murder mystery fantasy novella, earlier in the Penric and Desdemona timeline than most of the others in the series. I really like that Lois is feeling free to move back and forth in the timeline as fits the story she wants to tell.

Traci Chee, A Thousand Steps Into Night. Demons and time loops and complicated teenage relationships with oneself and others, this was a lot of fun.

Max Gladstone, Dead Hand Rule. The latest in the Craft sequence, and hoo boy should you not start with this one, this is ramifying its head off, this is a lot of implication from your previous faves bearing fruit. I love middle books, and this is the king--duly appointed CEO?--of middle books, this is exactly what I like in both middle books generally and the Craft sequence specifically. But for heaven's sake go back farther, the earlier Craft novels are better suited to read in whatever order, this has weight and momentum you don't want to miss out on.

Rebecca Mix and Andrea Hannah, I Killed the King. A fun YA fantasy murder mystery, better as a fantasy than as a murder mystery structurally but still a good time with the locked room and the suspects and their highly varied motivations. Are we seeing more speculative mysteries? I kind of hope so, I really like them.

Lauren Morrow, Little Movements. This is a novel about a choreographer who gets a chance to work slightly later in life than would be traditional, of a group of Black artists who deal with insidious racism, of a woman who has miscarried and is trying to put her life and identity and romantic relationship back together. In some ways it's a very straightforward book, but also it's a shape of story I don't think we get a lot of, the impact of being all of the people in my first sentence at once. It's a very intimate POV and nicely done.

Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan, Our Dear Friends in Moscow: The Inside Story of a Broken Generation. The authors were journalists in Russia early in the Putin era and had a front row seat to watching people they respected and trusted become mouthpieces for Putin, and this is that book. Unfortunately I think some of the answer to "how could they do this" was that many of them--as described by Soldatov and Borogan!--were already those people, and Putin gave them the opportunity to be those people out loud. I was hoping, and I think they were hoping, for more insight on how someone could become that person; what we got instead was insight into how some people already are and you don't necessarily know it clearly. Which is not unuseful, but it's not the same kind of useful. Anyway this was grim and awful but mostly in a very grindingly mundane way.

Serra Swift, Kill the Beast. Discussed elsewhere.

Amanda Vaill, Hotel Florida: Truth, Love, and Death in the Spanish Civil War. Amanda Vaill does not like Ernest Hemingway any better than I do, bless her, but when she picked her other subjects in writing about a group of journalists and photographers in the Spanish Civil War, she was apparently kind of stuck with him. Did that mean she learned to love him? She sure did not, high fives Amanda Vaill. Anyway some of the other people were a lot more interesting, and the Spanish Civil War is.

Jo Walton, Everybody's Perfect. Discussed elsewhere.

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(no subject)

Happy Spooky Season from us at Wiscon!

( cut for image )

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Health natter: COVID: REST LIKE A POTATO

Well, it was a good run. I managed to avoid getting the damn thing for more than five years. But it got me.

Am doing sensible things, and have a virtual visit with my GP (or I guess they call 'em PCPs now),and we shall see what she says. Meanwhile, my favorite advice from friends is REST LIKE A POTATO.

Juan has it too. And he was already disabled with Long COVID.

OK, heading towards sleep again.

Good wishes very much appreciated.

Current Mood: weird
Current Location: [redacted]

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fandom,
random

SCP Toaster

Someone was curious, so I'm posting this.( Read more... )

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New Worlds Theory Post: Real Biology Is Stranger Than Fiction

It seems fitting for Halloween that the traditional fifth-Friday New Worlds Patreon theory post should focus on weird critters -- but in this case, real ones! Let's talk about drawing inspiration for science fictional and fantasy species from the aliens we share a planet with: comment over there . . .

(originally posted at Swan Tower: https://is.gd/HJO91g)

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Kumoricon 2025, Day 0 – Thursday

Kumoricon 2025 Registration Hall
Oregon Convention Center
Thursday, October 30, 2025
iPhone 13 mini photo

I have Kumoricon badge pickup down to a routine, with a preferred driving route from Barnes/Burnside to Everett/Steel Bridge to street parking underneath I-405. I left home at 2:30 pm so that I could listen to Marketplace on NPR during the drive – and fed Parking Kitty at 3:10 pm. I did a WAG and requested 45 minutes of parking time.

This morning we received an email from Kumoricon saying the Ginkoberry entrance was closed this year and that we could use the Holladay street entrance instead – which is what I did. I headed straight to Exhibit Hall E. Unlike last year, there was a long line which fed shorter lines in front of each of the badge stations. The wait in line this year was longer.

At the station, I presented the volunteer with a printout of my QR code and my photo ID. The volunteer was delighted. “You’re a Pro!” Apparently it’s much easier for their scanners to read paper than smartphones. And a lot of people don’t have their photo ID ready. I said I didn’t know if I was a pro or not, but she reassured me I was. She directed me to the program guide, lanyards, and clips, and I took one of each while she prepared my badge. She asked if I wanted a Day 0 ribbon, and I declined. “You’re the first to decline one!” Honestly, I don’t see why advertising that I attended Day 0 was cool in any way.

After leaving the station, I stopped to assemble my badge/lanyard, and then I walked back to my car. There were five minutes remaining on my Parking Kitty, so the round-trip Shizu-to-Shizu was 40 minutes. Unfortunately, it was now rush-hour, and I used one of my Lloyd-to-Home rush hour patterns so that I didn’t get too bogged down in traffic. Still, I didn’t get home until 4:35 pm.

Anyway, I’m now equipped for the convention tomorrow. I’ve already used Guidebook to plan a schedule. I’m not particularly optimistic for photography, as candid photography is nearly prohibited nowadays. 😞 I’ll set expectations low and hope to get one or two keepers over the three-day event. I’d actually like to skip Sunday if I could.

One bright spot is guest seiyuu Kikuko Inoue! Belldandy! (And a zillion other well-known characters.) I don’t know if I’ll stand in line for an autograph, though. 🤔

Kumoricon 2025 Pocket Guide and Badge

Current Mood: pleased

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Library Update #18: Bookwall, Completed

Bookwall

Yesterday (Wednesday), the remaining bookshelves were delivered, and in the evening I shelved the books that I had staged. I wasn’t exactly sure how many shelves would be available, so I left some extra room. Books keep coming, though, and there’s no such thing as too much empty space.

At any rate, I’m happy this wall is finally done. Work on the library continues, with new furniture arriving next Tuesday. My own office furniture won’t return until several days after that.

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Library Update #17: Discards

Culled From the Library

Due to my not rigorously checking the design of the bookwall, I figure I lost about 10 linear feet of shelf space. That’s unfortunate, as I could have saved many of the above books that had to get cut so that I’d have enough space. Ah, well. Everything has to go at some point in time. These boxes of books will get taken to The Book Corner, run by the Friends of the Beaverton City Library.

I’ve also filled my recycle bin with more odd items. I wasn’t going to devote time to see if any could find a home. The recycle bin gets picked up tomorrow morning.

( Recycle Bin Fodder, Below This Cut )

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landlord,
quotidian

building heat

I had to call the management company about the heat again today. I and I think at least one other neighbor called in a problem Monday, and they sent someone who made a fix that he said might be temporary, but also said he had ordered parts for a longer-term solution. Tuesday was OK, but by the time I got up this morning [Thursday] the heat clearly wasn't working again.

The management company sent someone over fairly quickly. He first knocked to let me know they were here and thank me for reporting the problem, then came back to tell me they had to look at a sensor in Adrian’s room. So she hurriedly put on her bathrobe, the three of us masked, and I invited them in, with a warning about not letting the cats in. They looked at it, and came back a while later to replace it—apparently there was something wrong with the thermostat, and they replaced the sensors in each apartment, because they couldn’t be sure of which one was the problem. The heat came back on within the hour, and we’re OK for now.

Adrian and Cattitude both thanked me for being Speaker to Landlord on this one.

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Two Different GM Styles

...and now back to the subjects no one cares about (but me.)

I've spent the last couple of days preparing for my D&D group. One of our players has to have gallbadder surgery the day before our planned game and since his character is critical to that plot (we're rescuing his sister, who he also plays,) I'm running a micro-campaign, something to be one and done in three hours. The basic set-up is that in some time between adventures (we skipped a level between our first campaign and our second, so it's probably going to take place in those years? months?) Because many of my players read this blog, I won't tell you anything about it other than to say that I'd (long ago) bought a module with this adventure in it, so whole plot has been laid out for me, along with treasures and stats and such. This has not stopped me from spending an inordinate amount of time creating my own twists and flavors to things as well as inventing a reason for my players to have all gathered in this town--and a whole-ass town (not to mention designing a whole new part of my world, complete with mythology.)

Meanwhile, I have stopped prepping for my Tuesday night Thirsty Sword Lesbians game.

Other than keeping track of the story so far (and having all of the locales and NPCs in my large, sprawling document--much of which I randomly work on when I'm feeling in a cyberpunk mood,) I just show up and start playing pretend with my players. I think in the last session, we maybe rolled the dice four times, tops. That group is just generally great fun. I off-handedly had them run into a pair of stoner boys in a stairwell the session before last and these two dudes invited the lesbians to "Bob's Party." An event I literally pulled out of my brain. Sure enough, my players remembered Bob's party and now we have a whole subplot involving Bob and the things we learned at that party.

And it's all just rolling out of my head in real-time.

Tons of fun.

But so is the game I prepare DAYS in ADVANCE. I think the reason RPGs are so popular is because they're almost always a surprise. Players and GMs can try to plan ahead, but dice rolls and improv are what ultimately shape the game. I just find it kind of funny that I'm both kinds of GMs. I over prepare and I'm also 100% winging it. I mean, that's probably true for a lot of GMs?