If you aren't familiar with the term "Blog", it is basically a way of easily posting articles to your website.  Many people are starting to do this as a way of expressing their interests and other things that they run into in their life.  An example of it Brad's (Frogboy) at: www.joeuser.com

So, this thread should be used as a "blog" of whatever you want to bitch about.....

So, I was thinking about what I would put in a blog if I had one (which I don't since I don't have my own web page).  And I decided that it would be my two current gripes in life:
1) the post office
2) the medical industry

OK, so the gripe about the post office.  Why do I have such a problem with them?  First, they have annoying ads trying to get people to continue to use the post office to mail things.  I can see why this is.  First, how many people still use the post office to ship things?  Why would you?  A trackable method with insurance through them costs as much if not more than UPS and it takes longer.  Do many people still write letters?  No, most people chat online now.  So, what ends up in your mail?  Bills (unless they are electronic), checks (unless you use auto-deposit) and JUNK....the equivalent of mail SPAM.

So, I mainly get 3 bills (which don't have an online payment option) and my husbands check in the mail (because he was lazy and never set up auto deposit) and piles of junk.  So, there are really 5 valid things a month that they need to deliver (3 bills + 2 paychecks).  But, can they do that?  Of course not!  My husbands check became MIA a week ago.  Yesterday we got an envelope in the mail from the post office.  It contained a shredded check half and a note that basically said "you're lucky that you get the rest of you mail because we process so much stuff that we don't care...have a nice day."  However, my junk mail was delivered unscathed.  Beautiful work.

OK, on to the medical industry.  I have had a long term illness since I was a teen.  I have a thyroid that has decided long ago that it wants to kill me.  At 18 I had my first operation on it followed by 90 billion Dr. visits and 10,000 gallons of blood being drawn.  I am an expert at thyroids now. 

So, about 5 months ago the thing decided that it wanted to make my life a living hell.  It decided that I really didn't like swallowing or that I didn't like being able to breathe while I sleep.  So, I call up the DR. and say that I need to be seen and why.  Sure, they can get me in as soon as possible.....which is 6 weeks later.  get to the appointment thinking that they will do something...which they did.  It was called "pass the buck to an endocrinologist".....5 weeks later.  So, 11 weeks after this things decides to kill me, I see the Endo.  I say "this is an evil thyroid that wants to kill me.  It needs to be eradicated immediately!"  They agree and set up a time to meet the surgeon....4 weeks later.  I tell the surgeon that I can't sleep more than 45 minutes at a time.  They say "This is bad..this needs to be removed immediately"....which is 5 weeks later. 

One week pre-op.....the surgery coordinator calls and informs me that me surgery has to be rescheduled..... At this point I am thinking that "home surgery" is the best idea.......They really don't care that it already took 5 months of suffering to get to that point.  That you had to schedule work around it, plus have your husband schedule work so that he can take you to the hospital or that you have to have your Mother in law schedule work so that she can watch your 4 year old so that she doesn't know that Mommy was in the hospital.  They simple don't care.  Why should they?  They know that people need to have this done and will wait since there is no other option.

Yet, they keep telling people that they should see Dr.s and make sure that they take care of themselves!  Hmmm...I *did* try to take care of myself....5 months ago!  

On the plus side, I have noticed that things work better now that I'm in an HMO.  Since the Dr. gets paid pretty much the same if they see you 1 time or 100 times a year, they seem to actually want to "fix" things instead of "waiting and seeing" what will happen.

So, hopefully, you will not see me from the 14th until about 2 weeks later.  (Unless the surgeon decides that golfing or something would be better than showing up for work.........)

signed,
Angie the ray of sunshine  
...and don't even get me started on the fact that my town decided to break tradition and have fireworks on the 3rd instead of the 4th (when fireworks *should* be).....