Medical Bills Continued...

If you recall, I had some bloodwork done in February at a local hospital that cost me $265.

This past week I get ANOTHER bill in the mail for $33 from a pathology lab in Indianapolis. I called because I had no idea why I was being billed and the operator told me that even though I paid for the bloodwork at the hospital, this bill was separate. I am now being billed for the pathologist to write out the results of the bloodwork on a piece of paper to cover costs of 'ensuring quality of each lab test, supervising lab personnel, and directing the medical laboratory.'

I'm half expecting more bills to come in drips and drabs over the next year:

* Secretary fee for putting my bills in the envelope
* Janitor fee for keeping the laboratory spotless and clean
* International fee for analyzing non-American blood


...and so on.

This is my new haircut

Minus the bangs. This ALWAYS happens. I asked for my hair to be BELOW my chin. Somehow that meant 'above my chin'. Also, it's raining which makes my hair curl, so I am now Molly Ringwald.

Things To Look Forward To

I read it on perezhilton.com so it's GOT to be true:

NEW BECK ALBUM IN 6 WEEKS!!

How did I not hear about this earlier? To quote Picture Perfect [with Jennifer Aniston], "I'm so excited I can barely keep my legs together." This album better not sound like the Information/Guero though.

STONE ANGEL MOVIE!!

I realize I'm the only person on the planet who cares, but I recently found out they're doing a film adaptation of my favourite novel The Stone Angel by Margaret Lawrence. Since everyone I know hates this book, I'm sure it will bomb at the box office. How could it not with such honours as being nominated for having some of the worst sex scenes in Canadian literature? However, everyone's favourite Canadian darling Ellen Page is in it so maybe not.

*poof*

*poof*

Security?

Does increased security at airports make us safer? Maybe, maybe not. But they sure do make you feel violated. Let me give you an example.

I started unpacking my suitcase when I got home, and immediately when I opened the bag, I felt that something was amiss. I'm not the neatest packer in the world but my belongings were in total disarray which is bad even for my standards. Also, a bottle of my hair spray had leaked EVERYWHERE despite the fact that I put it in a plastic bag before I left. I looked and the cap was on very loosely. It ruined one of my books, and several other books that I had packed were bent. At first I just assumed things must have REALLY gotten roughed up in the flight.

Then a piece of paper [also soaked in hair spray] fell out of some of the clothes I had taken out of my bag:

NOTICE OF BAGGAGE INSPECTION

"To protect you and your fellow passengers, the TSA is required by law to inspect all checked baggage. As part of this process, some bags are opened and physically inspected. Your bag was among those selected for physical inspection.

During the inspection, your bag and its contents may have been searched for prohibited items. At the completion of the inspection, the contents were returned to your bag.

If the TSA security officer was unable to open your bag for inspection because it was locked, the officer may have been forced to break the locks on your bag. TSA sincerely regrets having to do this, however TSA is not liable for damage to your locks resulting from this necessary security precaution."

Oh really? Now, I must admit, it is POSSIBLE that somehow I didn't tighten the cap on my hair spray and that my belongings were all bent because they shifted during flight. But I flew to Buffalo with that same bottle of hair spray and nothing spilled, and I don't see why I would unscrew the cap for any reason.

Regardless of who or what caused my suitcase to smell like a hair salon, I do feel violated. It's creepy knowing that some stranger rifled through my personal items in my luggage, like some of my financial records from doing my taxes. I had no idea they were searching bags, and I don't fully trust some random TSA agent to go through my things and a) not take anything or b) notice anything fell out.

Apparently others feel the same but lodging a complaint is probably futile.

And I'm Back

Much to my surprise, I didn't die in a fiery plane crash and have safely arrived at my apartment. I was greeted with two surprises, one awesome, and the other...not so much:

1. My dear housematey RC has a penchant for finding obscure vinyl albums and sending them to her sister. I was lucky enough to be the recipient this time. I got The Glamorous Life by Shelia E. This is, in all likelihood, the shittiest album ever recorded. Regardless, the girl can drum.

2. I had 16 messages waiting for me on my answering machine. 'Ooh, I'm so popular!' thought I. Guess again; 13 of them were from a debt collection agency. People in stern voices were demanding money. I frantically wracked my brain trying to think of what bill I haven't paid in awhile, but came up with nothing [although who would be surprised if I did just forget to pay my bills?]. I swear in each message my last name was pronounced a different way. I eventually got to one that explained everything: "If this is Annette R. Bazentine, please call me back, we are collecting a debt." Ah.


Highlights of my visit home:

- Beating Super Mario Brothers 1 and Klax*
- Learning to play drums with Marc. I can now play Live Forever by Oasis [shittily] and Icky Thump by the White Stripes [shittily as well].
- Getting addicted to Rock Band
- Discovering the hidden world of video gamers
- Long chats with old friends
- Teaching my nephew how to ride a bike [shittily]
- Getting addicted to Boston Legal [it has James Spader in it, you knew it would happen]
- Being pantless in London

Thanks to everyone who took the time to hang out with me, I really appreciate it. I'll be back in August but only for a week so I'll try to fit in as much as possible. In the meantime, stay tuned.


* 99% due to G's help.