Well, I'm back
1. Still have not watched last night's Supernatural - Mom and I will probably watch it today. Have not seen Chuck or Castle from Monday, because - surprise - Dad sucks when it comes to setting up recordings. Castle repeats on Sunday, luckily. Mom is really glad I'm home, and my ability to figure out a system for recording all our shows is an honest part of her appreciation for me being home.
2. Remember the fanficrants thing a while back about where Anna Milton lived, and how it might have been my Nephilim'verse that inspired that? Well, Nephilim'verse might have struck again. And I never would have known, except that I follow metaquotes, and the Internet angel line *is* funny.
3. So, the health care reform bill passed. With absolutely no support from the Republicans. Remind me again why any concessions were made during the development phase? I may not agree with everything in the bill, or how it was put together, but we've been waiting decades for reform and quite frankly if it takes the Democrats strong-arming it into passing, then I'm okay with it. It's not like the Republicans haven't done the same in the past. I'm a little surprised to see that Washington state has joined the list of states challenging the mandate, but I understand that their attorney general is a Republican, and it's also important to note that, like Oregon, the vast eastern side of the state is much more conservative than the west. The west, like in Oregon, tends to be very liberal, overpowering the conservative votes, due to the sheer population of the big cities.
4. Speaking of which, I of course have lost my insurance from school thanks to graduating, and have been denied by two of the three insurance companies I applied to. One of the two has already let me know why: my BMI is too high, and I have PCOS. Apparently insurance companies don't like PCOS. However, the denials qualify me for the state high risk insurance pool and Dad and I went and talked to an insurance broker yesterday and filled out the application. It's as much as twice the price of a normal insurance policy, but at least it's insurance that covers pre-existing conditions, and will do so immediately because they'll credit the coverage I had at school. The other option was a cheap catastrophic policy, which Dad was keen on until I listed six things that could go wrong with me that were pre-existing conditions and had the potential to cost more than just a few hundred dollars. He apparently hasn't been paying attention the last ten years and thought that, aside from a few medications, I was perfectly healthy and only had to worry about breaking a bone or my appendix bursting.
5. Boy!Kitty and Younger!Boy!Kitty are very happy to see me. Girl!Dog is excited to have a new human in the house.
6. I'm nearly ready to start sending out my CV.
7. Food recommendations:
Sacramento, CA: Opa! Opa! (Greek) - we had their variety platter and the grilled lamb. It was all excellent, but Dad was particularly thrilled because the gyro lamb on the platter was seasoned exactly like his Croatian relatives in Tacoma used to do it. The dolmathes were the first ones that I actually sort of liked, and the falafel was surprisingly good - we'd never had it before.
Redding, CA: Gironda's (Italian) - it's small and cozy and the service was good, and the food - though it took a little long to arrive - was excellent. I had the sun-dried tomato ravioli in the tomato-cream sauce, Dad had the seafood alfredo (they added scallops on his request, which made him really happy), and Baby!Brother had the cioppino on linguini. The bread was excellent - they bring a mix of "Italian bread" and foccaccia to the table, with oil (and balsamic vinegar?) for dipping - and I'm not usually a fan of balsamic vinaigrettes on salads, but their dressing was surprisingly good. Baby!Brother had the soup of the day, which was something with steak and orzo and he loved it.
Medford, OR: Kaleidoscope Pizza (pizza, salads) - I was a little disappointed that they didn't have more variety in their non-pizza items - I kind of expected maybe some pasta dishes - but the number of pizzas they offer is staggering. They also do not have personal-sized pizzas, but you can get single slices of pepperoni, cheese, or pizza of the day. Dad and Baby!Brother shared what I think was a "Pepperoni Supreme"; I wasn't feeling too well, so I ordered their mixed greens salad with the house vinaigrette and chicken, and it was good. It was also huge (entree size), so I ate about half and finished it the next morning for breakfast (we had coolers in the car and luckily there was room!). Since it's Spring Break, the place was full of kids, and it's a very colorful and fun space - they have Grateful Dead posters everywhere. Service could have been a little better, but they were packed, so I really wouldn't take our experience as the norm.
8. Oregon is very cold.
2. Remember the fanficrants thing a while back about where Anna Milton lived, and how it might have been my Nephilim'verse that inspired that? Well, Nephilim'verse might have struck again. And I never would have known, except that I follow metaquotes, and the Internet angel line *is* funny.
3. So, the health care reform bill passed. With absolutely no support from the Republicans. Remind me again why any concessions were made during the development phase? I may not agree with everything in the bill, or how it was put together, but we've been waiting decades for reform and quite frankly if it takes the Democrats strong-arming it into passing, then I'm okay with it. It's not like the Republicans haven't done the same in the past. I'm a little surprised to see that Washington state has joined the list of states challenging the mandate, but I understand that their attorney general is a Republican, and it's also important to note that, like Oregon, the vast eastern side of the state is much more conservative than the west. The west, like in Oregon, tends to be very liberal, overpowering the conservative votes, due to the sheer population of the big cities.
4. Speaking of which, I of course have lost my insurance from school thanks to graduating, and have been denied by two of the three insurance companies I applied to. One of the two has already let me know why: my BMI is too high, and I have PCOS. Apparently insurance companies don't like PCOS. However, the denials qualify me for the state high risk insurance pool and Dad and I went and talked to an insurance broker yesterday and filled out the application. It's as much as twice the price of a normal insurance policy, but at least it's insurance that covers pre-existing conditions, and will do so immediately because they'll credit the coverage I had at school. The other option was a cheap catastrophic policy, which Dad was keen on until I listed six things that could go wrong with me that were pre-existing conditions and had the potential to cost more than just a few hundred dollars. He apparently hasn't been paying attention the last ten years and thought that, aside from a few medications, I was perfectly healthy and only had to worry about breaking a bone or my appendix bursting.
5. Boy!Kitty and Younger!Boy!Kitty are very happy to see me. Girl!Dog is excited to have a new human in the house.
6. I'm nearly ready to start sending out my CV.
7. Food recommendations:
Sacramento, CA: Opa! Opa! (Greek) - we had their variety platter and the grilled lamb. It was all excellent, but Dad was particularly thrilled because the gyro lamb on the platter was seasoned exactly like his Croatian relatives in Tacoma used to do it. The dolmathes were the first ones that I actually sort of liked, and the falafel was surprisingly good - we'd never had it before.
Redding, CA: Gironda's (Italian) - it's small and cozy and the service was good, and the food - though it took a little long to arrive - was excellent. I had the sun-dried tomato ravioli in the tomato-cream sauce, Dad had the seafood alfredo (they added scallops on his request, which made him really happy), and Baby!Brother had the cioppino on linguini. The bread was excellent - they bring a mix of "Italian bread" and foccaccia to the table, with oil (and balsamic vinegar?) for dipping - and I'm not usually a fan of balsamic vinaigrettes on salads, but their dressing was surprisingly good. Baby!Brother had the soup of the day, which was something with steak and orzo and he loved it.
Medford, OR: Kaleidoscope Pizza (pizza, salads) - I was a little disappointed that they didn't have more variety in their non-pizza items - I kind of expected maybe some pasta dishes - but the number of pizzas they offer is staggering. They also do not have personal-sized pizzas, but you can get single slices of pepperoni, cheese, or pizza of the day. Dad and Baby!Brother shared what I think was a "Pepperoni Supreme"; I wasn't feeling too well, so I ordered their mixed greens salad with the house vinaigrette and chicken, and it was good. It was also huge (entree size), so I ate about half and finished it the next morning for breakfast (we had coolers in the car and luckily there was room!). Since it's Spring Break, the place was full of kids, and it's a very colorful and fun space - they have Grateful Dead posters everywhere. Service could have been a little better, but they were packed, so I really wouldn't take our experience as the norm.
8. Oregon is very cold.