First visit to doctor in more than two years — and not bad news
Milestone for me yesterday: I made my first visit to a doctor in more than two years. And the news I got was not really bad.
Last week, there was a free stroke screening clinic at a local hospital about four blocks from my house. Since starting this full-time freelance adventure in 2007, I have not had any sort of health insurance. And, frankly, my freelance income has lagged behind what I had hoped. Bottom line: I haven’t so much as had a medical checkup since the summer of 2007, so I went to the stroke screening event.
They thought both my blood pressure and my blood sugar were a bit elevated and urged me to see a doctor. I explained that I had no insurance, little income, and not really even a way to focus on over-the-counter weight loss products or much in the way of nutritional supplements — certainly not $100-$200+ for a non-insured physical exam.
The good news is, there’s a “sliding scale” clinic with great services located not that far from our house. I went there yesterday for my first medical exam in years. Very surprisingly, I actually lost about 12-15 pounds in the last couple of years. It surprised me because I haven’t really focused as much as I should on better eating and regular exercise. But I won’t turn that down!
Also, the blood sugar and elevated blood pressure are not an issue, the doc said after a thorough exam. He suggested I can tweak both levels acceptably with a bit of work on my diet and some regular exercise and didn’t prescribe any medication.
Good news all around, and a cheerful start to my weekend.
If you’re in a position similar to mine regarding insurance and health care, I urge you to look around the community. Maybe yours has some reduced rate and/or free clinics you can use. Worked pretty well for me.
Have you been hit by housing market melt-down?
We’re constantly having to work or get work done on our old house. (I’ve talked about the house before, I believe. It was built in 1907 or 1911, I forget which.) But the good news is, we’ve not been smacked around by the declining housing market in our area. (Most areas, I guess. I just visited a website earlier listing Outer Banks foreclosures in beautiful North Carolina — a region that calls itself “America’s Beach.”) If I had stable, job-type income instead of freelance income, I’d be tempted to refinance right now, but all things considered, we’re doing all right in the old house for now.
I guess the good news is that the housing market may have stabilized from the outrageous free-fall in values and rashes of foreclosures of the last year or two. Of course, the bad news is pretty bad, still — if you were hit by foreclosure or other home ownership stresses, the recent improvements may not be much help to you.
Have any of you been hit hard by the housing market melt-down? How have you coped with it? Leave us a comment if you wish and let us know how things are going for you.
Can you be a blogger and NOT be a book person?
I guess the title of this post is sort of a rhetorical question, but it’s worth thinking about nonetheless. Can you be a blogger and not be a book person? How is it possible to blog or do any other sort of writing, if you aren’t a reader who loves books?
To me, reading and writing are inseparable. I would not dream of writing anything, from blog posts to novels to even textbooks, if I weren’t also an avid reader.
I remember some years ago when an old friend of ours who’d watched out kids grow up congratulated us on their academic achievements (the kids’ achievements that is). She said something like this: “Well, sure, we knew they’d do well in school. They grew up in a home that’s practically a library.”
Yes, I confess, our home is probably still more library than workshop. A cluttered library, to be sure, with books strategically kept in stacks (okay, short stacks; okay, maybe piles) near my recliner and the sofa, but certainly a library.
For what it’s worth, here’s my advice for you today: Take time to read more. Turn off the old television if it dominates your household, and spend more time reading. And if you have kids still at home, read to them, read with them. Just read more!
‘Real Subliminal’ products
