For me, last August was the most hectic months I've had in a long time. I went through a lot of pain, physically and financially. But in the end, it seems like it worked out for the better and I learned a few important lessons along the way. It all started with a job interview... [cue Wayne World-style flashback fingers]
Lesson One: Don't Wear Old Contact Lenses
I wanted to make sure I looked as presentable as possible for my interview, so I wore my contacts.
The thing is, I hadn't worn my contacts... in a long time. Like, so long I'm too embarrassed to say how long it actually was. But it was in the months range.
I had done similar things before, so I thought nothing of it. I just had clean the lenses as thoroughly as possible and slap them on. I'll be fine, right?
Wrong. WRONG.
I was fine for the interview and only had a little irritaiton. But by the end of the day, my one eye was bothering me so much, I had to take my contacts out. Normally, taking off my contacts would stop the pain, but this time it didn't. My eye became so scratchy, painful, and red that I couldn't even keep it open.
Apparently, I had developed something called a Corneal Ulcer, which in layman's terms means, ow my eye hurts a lot for a couple of days. Basically, the dirty contact lens I wore cut my cornea and filled it with dirty bacteria which started eating my eyeball. Corneal Ulcers can lead to blindness, which isn't as fun as Korean drama parodies make it out to be. Luckily, I opted to go to the emergency room pretty quickly, which made it something much easier to deal with.
So lesson #1: Don't wear dirty contacts. They rape your eyeballs. Older contacts makes you 10 times more likely to develop a corneal ulcer than new contacts.
It's cheaper to constantly buy new contacts then risk wearing old ones and paying for a hospital bill. Which leads me to my second lesson learned....
Lesson Two: Hospitals are Expensive.
Okay, I know this isn't a revolutionary discovery, but it's always worth reiterating: doctors drain your wallet. Especially if you're uninsured :(
After going to the ER, I had to make two visits to an opthamologist to make sure my eyes were healing up properly. During those two visits, I got about 10 minutes of face time with my doctor and had to pay $225 in total for it. Holy cow.
I later received my ER bill, which came out to $900 ($600 for the stay, $300 for medicines/shots).
And just when I thought it was over, the ER doctor sent me a bill for $220! What?!?! Doesn't the hospital pay him? Isn't that what the ER bill was for? Apparently not.
Needless to say, I was flabbergasted and my bank account cried itself to sleep that night.
Lesson Three: If You're Poor, the Government Can Help You.
This is the point in the article where things start looking up. Seeing as $1300 is not really affordable for me, I felt pretty screwed. Luckily, I remembered a lesson I learned while interning for my congressman: if you're poor, the government will help you out. Seriously, cynical people think the government only steals from you, but the truth is you can make it work for you.
Because I'm uninsured and make very little money, I applied for the state-run Charity Care, which is the New Jersey Hospital Care Payment Assistance Program. They are there to pay for some or all of your hospital bills if you cannot afford to pay for it yourselves. All you have to do is fill out an application that verifies your income and makes sure that you've been living in the state for three months. The process is fairly quick, as bureaucracies go, and extremely helpful for people like me. For more information about Charity Care, visit their website or call 1-866-588-5659.
I just recently gave in my application, so all I can do now is wait. Hopefully, I'll have learned all my lessons for a lot less money than expected!
Here's to more adventures, government assistance programs, and life lessons!
Monday, September 8, 2008
[Feature] Lessons I Learned in August
Friday, September 5, 2008
What Are You Doing This Weekend?
Forecast
Fri: 90°/70°, Mostly sunny
See
Bangkok Dangerous (starring Nicholas Cage, Shaun Delaney, and Steve Baldocchi)(ed. yep, summer blockbuster season is very much over.)
Events
Free Gym Class Heroes Concert
LG is hosting an unsigned band competition today at 5:00 pm with special guest Gym Class Heroes. They'll be at the South Street Seaport, so it'll be a great chance to listen to some new music and get to see Gym Class live.
Free Museum Weekend
As previously mentioned, Bank of America card members can get into select museums for free on the first weekend of the month. A day at MoMA, New York Aquarium, or Liberty Science Center is a great way to spend a rainy Saturday.
Attack of the Sequels: Monster-Mania!
In a past feature, I wrote about how Hollywood seems to be running dry when it comes to the original movie department. Last night, while talking politics and such with a friend (talking about Sarah Palin jokes, how Jamie Lynne Spears sent Palin's 17-year old pregnant daughter some baby gift), we were talking about how great of a movie Juno was, and how it was the only movie we could both think of that had a great trailer, and how the movie met our expectations. We discussed how for most movie trailers, they either make us not want to see the movie, or how movie trailers usually exceed our expectations for the actual movie (which usually end up sucking). Oddly, we then came to the conclusion that the reason why Juno might've been a great movie was because it was original, compared to the many remakes and sequels of the recent years.
And of course, more classic movie series are being sequel'ed:
Who You Gonna Call?
Columbia Pictures is getting serious about scaring up a new installment of its blockbuster "Ghostbusters" franchise. The studio has set "The Office" co-exec producers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky to write a script for a film designed to bring back together the original cast of Harold Ramis, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson. (variety.com)
Guess Who's Coming To A Screen Near You?
Platinum Dunes partners Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form have been set by New Line to relaunch the movie series centered on the iconic killer [Freddy Kreuger], who haunts the dreams of teenagers and kills them in their sleep. The trio will create a new franchise based on Wes Craven’s 1984 film “A Nightmare on Elm Street.” (variety.com)
Free makeup!
A sweet deal in anti-trust settlement
This is kind of old news, but I forgot to write about it, so here it is. As part of a massive settlement from a class-action suit filed in 2003, millions of consumers (ie, YOU AND ME) will be eligible to receive free makeup and perfume from department stores in January. The department stores named in the suit include Macys, Bloomingdale's, Filene's, Lord & Taylor, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, and Saks Fifth Avenue, and they were accused of violating antitrust laws and conspiring to fix prices. All the defendents are of course denying any wrongdoing, but nonetheless, they are agreeing to give away more than $175 million in products to consumers who purchased specific brands of makeup, moisturizers, and fragrance products at their stores between May 29, 1994 and July 16, 2003.
I think it's safe to say that in those 9 years, most of us have bought a cosmetic product or two at those stores. The best part is that you don't even need a receipt as proof that you had purchased something during those times, all you have to do is visit http://www.cosmeticssettlement.com/ and register to receive an email when the products are being given away. Or you can also call 1-877-604-5776 to receive your notification card. It can't get any simpler than that.
Happy News of the Day: Sonic's in New Jersey!
You know what has always bothered me? Watching those hilarious Sonic commercials, seeing their delicious food and frozen treats, and knowing that there isn't a single Sonic nearby where I could show my appreciation for their creativity by giving them money.
Well, it seems like things are changing, because according to the PressofAtlanticCity.com, there has been a push to start bringing Sonics to Jersey:
The franchise, headed by CEO Daniel Reyes, is planning a dozen new locations in Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland and Gloucester counties.
It doesn't change much for me as a Bergen County resident. But I bet that if the new locations do well, there will quickly creep up north.
PS. I couldn't resist putting another funny Sonic ad. :)
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Sports Recap: What's Going On?
Tennis (US Open)
I have bet on Roger Federer twice already this year and lost twice. You'd think I'd learn my lesson. Nah uh. I'm picking him to win the US Open. However folks, if Wimbledon is any indication, there are no losers in a Nadal vs Federer final. Well, two. Roger and I. I'm so sure he'll win I even decided to demo the more forgiving version of his racquet, the K-Factor 95. Despite being easier to use than the one Roger uses, it is as forgiving as a charging rhino.
Baseball
I knew there would come a day when the Yankees wouldn't make the playoffs. Honestly, I'm not as upset by their horrid play this year as I thought I'd be. And yet...all it takes is one month. One month of greatness can make the difference. You don't want to be like the Knicks do you?
Football
The Giants season opener is tonight against the Washington Redskins. Republican National Convention? No chance. Let's go G-Men! Other than winning the Super Bowl the best thing that Eli has done this year has been the following commercial.
2008 New Jersey's Best High Schools Ranking
New Jersey Monthly Magazine's latest issue has their biennial "Best High Schools in New Jersey" list. Their rankings are based on criteria such as teacher-to-student ratio, SAT scores, AP scores, graduation rate, and many other statistics.
In total, 316 schools were ranked (some technical, special, and vocational schools were not included), with Milburn, McNair Academic (Jersey City), and Tenafly high schools making it to the top of the list.
Check out the full list to find out where your high school ranked. You know, to give yourself some school pride (or shame :x).
For example, my Alma mater, Palisades Park ranked 118th. OH YEAHHH!! WAY TO MAKE IT INTO THE TOP 40th PERCENT TILE!! GO TIGERS!!
