NEW YEARS DAY

And what a lovely New Year's Day it's been. Basically, I have done nothing today but sleep late, talk on the telephone, read, think, and watch the Rose Bowl on TV. Did spend a couple of hours this afternoon with our church webmistress going over our site and thinking of ways that we might make it more useful both to our current members and also to potential visitors who want to check us out -- more and more newcomers are finding churches on-line these days, so it has really become essential to have a top-flight site. And there are lots of things about our site I like quite a bit, but I also know that we can always be better. But a lot of that has to do with content as much as organization, a lot of which falls right back on my shoulders again.

This is also the day that all of my health insurance supposedly shifts over seamlessly from Harvard/Pilgrim to Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Since I was very, VERY satisfied with the service I was receiving from the former, I was really reluctant to change over in the first place, especially since the combination of lower premiums but higher co-pays probably won't end up saving me any money in the long run anyway. But apparently it's a lot better for the rest of the group, and the cost of staying on with H/P as an individual subscriber really was prohibitively expensive. So I just keep telling myself not to sweat the small stuff, and to keep calm and take it easy while everything sorts itself out. The main thing is that I just need to get my new insurance cards and ID numbers right away, so that my treatment can continue uninterrupted. For example, I'm supposed to have a CT scan sometime next week, but I'm reluctant to schedule it until I know it's been approved by my new insurance. Same thing for my prescriptions, new referrals from my PCP to my Oncologist, and (of course) double-checking on my mental health benefits. Think of how much money insurance companies could save there if this all really worked as smoothly as it should!

Watching the Rose Bowl was another real treat. I hardly watch TV at all any more; don't have one in my room, and unlike TV-less times in my past I'm rarely even able to get to a bar any more if there's a game I really want to see. Missed both Oregon and Oregon State's bowl appearances...but knowing that the Pac-10 went 5-0 in bowl appearances this year really makes me proud to have gone to college on the West Coast, as a Dawg as well as a Duck and a Beaver. So it was sweet to be able to see the Huskies new Head Coach Steve Sarkisian in action, and to daydream about how much of that magic he might be able to bring to Husky stadium next year. A lot, I hope. The Dawgs could really use it....