Weekend with Uncle Z
Dining on Whining
This afternoon was a rocky start to my spring break, so I just read over some of the advice I posted yesterday to help me keep my current frustrations in perspective. And here they are:
1. Our health insurance company Southern Health will not give out billing codes for us to file our own claims for midwifery services that we already know they don’t cover (but we can’t appeal that, apparently, until we’ve been denied a claim, which we can’t file without the codes, although we can send a letter of complaint, which would make us sound like whiners when what we really want is a policy rules exception based on sound reasoning). And the lady’s supervisor did not call me back as promised. Phooey on Southern Health for being a bureaucracy that doesn’t support common sense. We’re gonna find the codes on our own little own, doggonit. Advice #14: Go big and don’t bail!
2. Points.com has for weeks claimed that they are “unable to process” our attempts to redeem air miles. Customer “service” wrote suggested, “Can you please contact AAdvantage to verify the format of your name? Some part of the information entered cannot be registered.” Umm, they asked for name and address and phone number, all of which I entered according to the registered format. Advice #25: Never kick a porcupine with bare feet.
3. So when we called American Airlines’ AAdvantage customer “service,” the lady said we would probably have to check with points.com, and then she transferred us to an exceptionally rude “tech help” person who taught us how to click on links to find what we’d already good and well found, and then he told us the phone number for points.com (416-595-0000) and hung up. Literally. Advice #7: Never argue with an idiot. They will bring you down to their level and then win with experience.
4. If you keep track of the “numbers” section along the left panel of this blog, you noticed that the “cow escapes onto our land” figure jumped from 9 to 19 today, accompanied by more shoddy fence repairs from the farmer tenant. At what point does our garden deserve police protection? Advice #10. Don’t eat yellow snow.
All the Pretty Colors
N explained her artwork today as being “all colors of people that I drew … and they’re all mixed up … and dancing and hugging and clapping”:
Ash Wednesday
During a local Ash Wednesday church service, N dug around in the hymnal racks and pulled out the blank welcome cards. The pencil scrawl on one struck me as rather lonesome:
Name: “No name”
Address: “No Address”
City/State/Zip: “Washington”
Phone: “No phone”The following checklist–turned by the presumed visitor into a true-false quiz–struck in me a melancholic chord, too:
I would like to learn more about [this church]: “false”
I have recently moved into the area: “true”
I am visiting the area for a short time: “false”
I am a student at a local university: “true”
I am a member of a church: “true”
I would appreciate a call or visit: “false”Email from N
On most days I leave for school before N wakes up; today was no different. Sometimes she asks to talk on the phone, so M emails me, asking me to call; today was no different, except that the email I received was from N (as dictated to M):
Dear Papi,
I’m gonna tell him that he’s gonna come soon. And I love you that you’re gonna eat supper and then we’ll play. And Mami will cook supper. And I will love. You. All. The. Time. Love, Daddy. And. Then. I. Want. To. Go. Outside and do laundry. And then the supper’s gonna cook a long time. Love, Daddy.Musical Exposure
Believe it or not, it was only the other week that I began to appreciate Michael Jackson. I was learning a couple songs for a school event, and came across these videos:
And then there were others also refreshing:
Sweet Moment
Shameless Commerce: Oh Sheets!
They’re shiny, they’re sort of silky, they’re all cotton…and they were free, since I got them for review.
Thanks to the CSN Store beddingsets.com, M and I were able to toss a tattered sheet set to the rag bin and luxuriate between Pointehaven – 400 Thread Count Stripe Sheet Set that fits our queen-sized mattress snuggly but comfortably and makes us feel as though we’ve slept ourselves from bumpkin-hood to sleek, ivory-colored cosmopolitan living, right here in the comfort of our country home.
Unbeknownst though it would be to astute readers of the sheets’ online description, the set includes two pillowcases, of equal size, that now encase our pillows. The fitted sheet’s elastic band is sharply formed to grip and hold, and the fine thread count of 400 guarantees us many nights of Pima-inspired multiculturality that is even close to Egyptian revolution.
Before actually going out and purchasing any goodbadi-reviewed item, please email goodbadiblog@gmail.com to confirm that the reviewed item’s features include longevity.
Sacrifice and the Bible: Sobering Relevance
My recent post Sacrifice and What’s So Great about the Bible suggests the text’s openness to the reconsideration of its literal accounts and their interpretations.
That certainly is not to say that just because I think Abraham was off his rocker when he nearly murdered his son, we should not read such stories. While Abraham is not one of my heroes, the Genesis stories, when read critically and actively, can help shape meaning into–and question–modern existence and practices.
In my testimony sharing this morning (I recently transferred my membership to our new church), I plan to refer to our recent thematic studies by saying, “I’d never sacrifice my child on a pile of sticks.” Of course not. But: Would I sacrifice time-demanding connection with my own child in order to pursue a career or finish a house project or sit at the computer and blog?
The Bible? Soberingly relevant to my own obsessions.
Joy to the World
