Seattle has had a relatively dry winter.
That is until the past three weeks.
I think we have just about caught up to normal.
Early thoughts about water conservation have given way to stories of the snowpack at the ski resorts.
Today I was scheduled to get my eyes tested and get some new glasses.
This an exercise I have been doing every year or so since third grade.
Actually, there was a hiatus during the time between high school and young children when I could see well enough out of one eye to not need my glasses except for very, very fine print.
Then age kicked in, and my good eye has been marching toward my bad eye’s numbers ever since.
During the exam the doctor put the machine to the new prescription for each eye at the same time, and asked me how they worked together.
I said, fine, as long as you didn’t mind double-vision.
She was a bit taken aback, but recovered explaining that I must allow one eye to take over to avoid this state, to which I replied that my left eye had been doing all of the work my entire life. The right eye is just along for the ride, and the occasional lead when the left eye is covered.
Then it was on to the always fun choosing new frames when you can’t see a darn thing.
Where is Ashlan when I need her?
The woman helping me was nice and did provide some comparison notes between frames.
I chose a pair that is about the same size as the current pair, but works with new super thin lenses (for those of us that need what used to be THICK lenses) that vary from reading to driving vision. The style had apparently just arrived in their store, and they are from Germany, so they will take a bit to get here. And, they are purple. See what happens when I go by myself.
And out to the car for the ride home.
So I wept the entire ride home, with my sunglasses on holding one hand to shield the blasted sun at bay.
Finally got inside the house, and wore the sunglasses until the sun went down.
The glasses expedition was necessitated not by my sight deteriorating below my current glasses, but by the need to make sure I spent that pre-tax money put away for medical expenses (125 Plan). Money that you lose if you don’t use it. By the end of February.
When I guessed the amount to hold out for this year, it included an assumption of a fair amount of visits to a chiropractor.
Earlier in the year, when I started going to this practitioner, the paperwork for the visits was being sent through to our HMO so they could determine what they would cover, and what we would pay (and submit to 125 for reimbursement). Then, for some unknown reason, the chiro stopped submitting paperwork to the HMO. There have been many visits by myself and more by Carl. No paperwork has gone through since March 2013. I don’t know why – we did ask about this a few times. The Chiro practitioner changed, the office staff changed, and why is this so difficult! (this is not the first Chiro office that just can’t seem to process standard health paperwork). So I have been on their case. (Don’t get me started about Chiro plans- I get three different sets of numbers – what we pay, what they submit, what the HMO allows – why can’t they all be at least similar numbers.)
I am so in the dark about what I might be able to claim that I decided to spend some more money that I know will be reimbursed. So I made the eye appointment. And then got a call this AM saying my health coverage did not start until March 1, 2014, so I would need to reschedule.
!?!?!?!?!
I have been covered for more than 20 years. And now they are showing a 2-week gap in coverage?
Two calls to customer service, and our insurance broker, and it looks like somebody made a “typo”.
I don’t think I will be happy about this until we are done dealing with this Chiro.
[Carl has a new Chiro that is very good, gives us paperwork after every visit – that we submit. Yes I am a control freak, but a happy control freak.]
OK – enough ranting. Time to relax.
Raincharm's Weblog 
February 27, 2014 at 6:57 am |
ah – that reminds of my favorite control freak knock, knock joke!!.
February 27, 2014 at 10:07 am |
I got new glasses this year too. I looked at purple frames and teal frames, and even orange frames, but ended up with wire frames. I saw an ad last night for a place where they take up to four pictures of you in new frames, then let you look at the pix with YOUR glasses on, so you can see what you look like! Why didn’t I think of that? I could take selfies while semi-blind, I bet.
February 27, 2014 at 7:41 pm |
I like my frameless transition glasses but they are mighty expensive. Insurance snafus and paperwork are the devil! Trying to untangle them is enough to make one nuts. Did I ever tell you about the time that either the school district or the insurance company got my birthday wrong, but neither one would admit it and neither one would change it? In the meantime, my doctor bills were being refused by the insurance because my “birthday” was incorrect. My blood pressure is going up even writing this!