Medi-Truth

There are a ton of misconceptions about Canada that get spread around in the US, equally as many as the ideas we have about Americans. The more time I spend south of the border, the more the opportunity rises to speak to friends and family about "what it's really like" on the other side. Hands down, above all else, they want to know the skinny about our Universal Health Care system. I quickly began to realize how little I actually know about the Canadian system. Truthfully, I don't think most of my peers know much either. 

What really needs to be known? 

We get sick, we go the hospital, we get treated, we go home.

We do pay for our health care though. How much? 

I have no idea. I let the government do the math. So far my taxes haven't prevented me from buying groceries or paying the rent, or shopping at Banana Republic.  

Obviously paying for health insurance through my taxes hasn't hindered my lifestyle.

Before I met Matthew and before I was spending months at a time in the US, I really took our Universal system for granted.

This last trip back to Canada though, I almost opened my wallet and kissed my Health Card. 

Possibly, this is the biggest difference between Americans and Canadians. 

Not that we are friendlier or smarter or that they are fatter or more war hungry (my time in Minneapolis has definitely disproved some of these myths) but that Canadians are possibly healthier. Statistically speaking we do live longer and have a lower infant mortality rate. That must stand for something. Or maybe we just have one less thing to worry about.

One less very big thing.

The US has an excellent level of health care, that I know for sure.

It boasts some of the best doctors and medical technology in the world . Wether or not someone like myself or Matthew could be treated by those doctors, I'm not sure. Even with insurance. And that's the shocker. 

Anyways, all this to say that I'm on a personal mission to get some straight facts. Yes, I do believe that Universal Health Care is the way to go, but I'm open to hearing the downside of it as well. 

I know it's not perfect.

I know that it has been abused. 

I know that some Canadians want something better or different. 

But I don't think we are about to turn to the US for suggestions. 

I found this on YouTube, which was incredible, because there were so many people spewing Wikipedia facts on there justifying the American Free Enterprise system, but none of them were medical officials. 

This was the only medical representative that I could find who had real research and experience under her belt that I really trusted.

The Saga Continues

Most Toronto friends know that I'm back in town prepping for my Green Card interview that is coming up in a couple of weeks. I'm back for a little over a month because Matt and I decided it was better that I come home as soon as possible and for as long as possible.  I have never been turned away from entering the US, but the last couple of crossings have been rather intense and one officer let me know that I was getting 'dangerously close' to being turned away.  That's their way  of saying that 'You haven't broken any laws, but we still don't like you'. Fair enough. I appreciated their warning and took it seriously, so I'm home a bit earlier than necessary.

The last week or two has been spent gathering a few documents that I was missing for my Green Card Interview. The interview will be held in Montreal, and I will need to provide lots of paperwork that proves our marriage is legitimate and that Matt makes enough money to support us both. Part of the process requires that I have a medical exam done. This is no ordinary medical. You can't go to just any doctor. It has to be one commissioned by the US government, and there is only one such doctor in Toronto, and maybe four across the whole country. The medical is done to show that you don't have any dormant plagues living in your body, like Tb or Syphilis. I'm not sure why they care, because unlike the Canadian government, the US has made it clear that they aren't paying for any of my medical bills. Every man for himself, I guess. 

I had my medical a couple days back. The whole experience was like being put on a broken assembly line. You show up at 7:00am and you sit in a packed-like-sardines waiting room for 40 minutes before they call your name and steal $275.00 from your wallet. Apparently this medical is considered 'elective', even though you have no choice but to take it, so you pay out of pocket for it. Then you wait. Then they call you again. Chest x-ray. Wait some more. Sign this permission form. Draw your blood. Wait. Sit naked in the doctors office with one of those embarrassing, backless paper robes on for 20 minutes. Answer a series of quick medical questions. Look in your mouth. Listen to your heart. Breast check. Quick look down under. Done. I walked out of there at about 10:30am, meaning I spent 3.5 hours in that office, but really only about 20 minutes being inspected. 

20 minutes of US approved medical care = $275.00. 

Thanks, but I much prefer the Canadian system of waiting around and paying nothing for it. 

I pick up my sealed results next week, and with that my Green Card Application will be complete.

 The only thing left to do is head to Montreal and face the music. 

Facebook vs. Blogger

I have royally sucked at keeping this blog updated, and I fully blame Facebook. 

It has sucked all the creative writing out from my frontal lobe and replaced it with Digi-Pet feedings, virtual Scrabble and list upon list of 25 Top this or that or the other thing.

So, it's decision making time. I told myself today that it was one or the other. 

One of them had to go. 

Blogger vs. Facebook. Tough battle. 

I thought I could make Facebook something more meaningful by deleting all my 'friends' who probably wouldn't notice if I deleted them (if that's you and you've actually noticed, well that's what you get for never 'liking' any of my profile comments). 

In any case, it still doesn't feel intimate enough. It just feels sort of mindless and very detached from my real friends. 

Plus, I miss getting real emails, with details in them, and full sentences. 

So, much to my own surprise, I will finally be liquidating my Facebook page.

I have not decided on a specific end date, but it will be announced soon. 

Suggestions are welcome.

If you are reading this, make sure to bookmark this page and take note of my email address in the info section of Facebook. Maybe you could even ask for my phone number and we could call each other! 

That's a novel idea. I still have a landline, so it will be an even more authentic communication experience. 

I know, I know. I've promised before that I would be a better blogger, and I've failed you with months of silence and the occasional empty diatribe.

But that was because Facebook was in the picture. I swear!

It took me falling for Facebook (again) to realize how stupid I was to let such a wonderful thing go.

I'm a changed woman.

This time it's really over.  

This time I'm all yours. 

Promise.

-The Industrious Ant.

Yesterday...

...was Christmas!

And I turned 29. Woohoo!

But really, I don't feel much older than 17 years old. Mentally I think that will be my age forever. 

It has come and gone. Quick as usual.

Morning gift opening was fun. Very much like being a kid again, and I think I surprised Matt with all the gift shaking and guessing I did. 

A big 'THANK YOU' to everyone who got us gifts (namely our parents) even when we told them not to. I particularly liked my moms hand made scarf and hat and imagine that it took quite a bit of time to finish. It's very snazzy and I will wear it proudly. 

I must say  that the most interesting gift we received was from my in-laws. Glenda and Walter truly out did themselves. They gave us steaks. That's right. Red Meat. Wow! Is this not the coolest gift idea or what!? Who knew that you could have animal parts shipped to someone in the mail? They are supposed to arrive sometime in the next week or so in a box of dry ice. I am so excited! This gift possibly ranks in my Top 3 All Time Gifts Ever Received list. First place obviously goes to my mom and dad for my Care Bear Cousin (Swift Heart Rabbit) the best childhood doll a kid could have. Next would be the wedding ring that Matthew made me with his own two hands. And then would come the steaks. Yep...my doll, my ring, and my steaks. 

We spent the rest of the day lounging around the house, reading books, baking a pie and preparing a cornish game hen dinner (which according to Wikipedia is not a game bird at all, just a young farm raised chicken). I finally managed to make a non-lumpy gravy, a good way to start year 29. Perhaps all my cooking endeavors from now on will be closer to perfect.

We head out to the cabin/cottage tonight to spend the weekend with Matt's family. I'm looking forward to it. Sounds like Walter might be breaking out the Snowmobile! Good times for everyone!

M.

Tomorrow...

...is Christmas. 

It is incidentally also my birthday. I turn 29.

The last year of my life in my 20's. I'm not sure how to feel, but there is an overwhelming sense that I need to make this one worth it. My 20's need to go out with a bang (a year long bang). 

I'm not sure how I'm going to do that. I don't think I really do need to know how, but i'll be sure to let you know when the epiphany hits me. If I don't figure it out, Matt will. Being married to Matt is one big adventure anyway. That boy has a enough dreams for the both of us, and I'm pretty sure that by August we will find ourselves some place where no one speaks any English and the food is generally unrecognizable. 

Also, a few random interesting bits. 

a. I have a sore developing right under my nose. It hurts like hell and looks like it's only getting bigger. I blame winter because right now winter is to blame for everything.

b. Matthew chipped his tooth the other day. We are debating our plan of action, which will probably include a trip to the dentist and an exorbitant bill. It's that, or returning to the ways of our great grandparents and just living with a chipped tooth.

c. Watched the weirdest movie EVER last night, with Mick Jagger in it. It's about hippy rock stars, gangsters, nudity, drugs, bookies, velvet and guns. I would call it Psychedelic. If you are brave, check it out. It's called Performance.

d. I'm addicted to Bon Iver's song Skinny Love and play it about 5 to 20 times a day...in a row... You should listen to it to. You can find it on my Facebook. Go listen and join in my addiction.

e. Today's Headline Reads: "Consumer Spending Down!"

Noooooo!!!! Really???? Who knew an Economic Downturn would do such a thing?!

I hate headlines these days. They are so redundant and meaningless. If they aren't stating the obvious, they are adulterating the truth (a la Fox Network style), or trying and scare the crap out of you (a la CNN style). As an aside, I personally think that it's a good thing that consumer spending is down. Less crap going into our land fills and maybe helping people differentiate between what they 'want' and what they 'need'.

Sorry the blog is so random and boring these days. The truth is, when winter hits the Midwest, you basically seal yourself into your apartment with as many canned goods and limes as possible and wait for it to be over. In short, there isn't a heck of a lot going on right now. It's hard work making something out of nothing, but I do my best. I'll try and get more photos posted sometime soon as well.

Merry Christmas people!

Lots of love from us to you!

xo.

Stupid Cold is Right!

I am slowly turning into a pile of dust.

My skin is beyond dry. I need one of those special pack sacks that carry only water...the one that has a tube running from it straight into my mouth. 

This death-by-skin-dehydration is pretty common for me during the cold months, but this year it's so much worse. My body must think that since I spent last winter on a beach, this year I deserve twice the cracked and flaking skin. 

I forgot how much winter sucks. 

The daily degradation of my skin paired up with the lack of insulation in our 100 year old apartment and the suspense built around wether or not Matt's car will start every morning, is a very cruel reminder.

I don't think Matthew will ever let us live in the midwest another winter. He's practically filling out the paperwork himself to make me a permanent resident of India, which apparently I can do because of my genetics. One passport at a time my friend! I haven't even got my US Green Card yet.

For those of you that are interested, the Green Card thing is still keeping us in a tight holding pattern. 

Nothing will move forward until I get my Police Check in from the RCMP. When that finally arrives (God Knows When!) then it will be about another month until I have an interview with at the American Embassy in Montreal.

This waiting game we constantly play with various government offices is tortuous. 

I'm convinced that the system is set up this way, with endless wait times for documents, cryptic instructions on how to fill in your application forms, and expensive fees, purposefully to deter people who are either not determined enough to go through with this demented process or who are too poor to afford an immigration lawyer. 

We are close though. I can feel it. And even though we have no lawyers, and we have no money, soon I'll have a Green Card that will let me work in a country that apparently has no jobs...and THEN...THEN it will all be worth it!

Yeah for me.

Staying Healthy in Minnesnowta

It's late and for some reason I can't sleep. 

Could be the half bag of licorice I had just before dinner that is keeping me up. 

Plus the muffin from the batch I just baked tonight.

And of course the handful of chocolate chips I downed while making them.

In short, I'm a bit wired. Also, I have a tummy ache that echoes vague memories from my childhood after a binge at the local candy store. Hopefully I will be a fully recovered adult tomorrow.

Winter has officially hit Minneapolis, and apparently it's early.

When I say 'officially' I mean that the snow that has fallen is obviously not going anywhere. Unlike Toronto, the Minnesota variety of white stuff does not melt or become slush. It stays white and fluffy or it compresses into ice, but it does not go away. My footwear has been reduced to a single pair of water resistant hiking shoes insulated with the purest wool socks around. I've also started to habitually wear long johns underneath all my jeans without even bothering to check weather reports or peek outside my window. After it drops below -10 Celcius it doesn't really matter.

It takes me about 15 minutes to PREPARE to leave my home as I attire myself in full winter protection. Gone are the days that I would run outside without a scarf or hat on (cause it just wasn't cool back then). Now I refuse to even open my front door without two sweaters on, my massive MEC coat, mitts, toque and mom-knit neck warmer. Matt has started calling me 'Grandma' because of all the knit wear that has made its way into my wardrobe. Well, that's 'sexy grandma' to you!

In other news...

Matt and I are doing our best to reduce some of our costs of living. It doesn't have as much to do with the ever popular Economy Crisis which is seemingly the reason for many peoples woes right now. No, it has more to do with the fact that we have started making Health Insurance payments here in the USA. It's such a weird concept for me. Don't get me wrong, I'm completely aware that Canadian Health Insurance is not free...I know that I pay for it through my taxes. However, I couldn't help but feel ripped off when Matt brought home his paycheck one day and it had been cut by about $150. He finally passed the 3 month mark at his job which qualified us for Health Insurance. It was a bittersweet occasion; celebratory because I could finally stop obsessing over some inevitable freak accident (like spontaneously spraining my ankle) that would consequently cost my unborn grandchildren a lifetime of hard labor to repay the doctors that fix me up. On the flip side, it was a big downer because it means every month we lose $300 out of Matt's income. 

$300.

$300!!!

That's just slightly over our monthly grocery bill. To have the cost of health care spelled out like that in one swooping blow was a bit of a shock. And what's worse is that it's shitty health coverage (or at least I think so. I'm sure that it's not that normal to have full dental and soothing massages included in an average health plan.)

In any case, at least we have something. Something is better than absolutely nothing, even if that something sort of sucks. Aside from my candy binges, we are keeping as healthy as possible on illegally smuggled Cold Fx (can you believe they don't have it here!) and lots of orange juice. 

This also brings me back to the cuts our budget is taking. Last week we did a big grocery shop and I made an important resolution: To stretch out the food we bought for as long as possible. 'As Long As Possible' has turned out to be just under 2 weeks for a $90 shop. Not bad if I do say so myself.

This has been made possible by a few factors:

1. Less Meat.

Matt maybe hasn't noticed, but i've been cutting our meat portions and increasing the vegetables. Actually, I'm sure he's noticed, but he's just being nice.

2. Insane Pizza Deals.

You can buy 5 frozen medium pizzas here for $10! So weekends have become 'Pizza Weekends where we dine like kings on $2 pizzas. So not healthy, but oh so good.

3. Eat Everything.

Tomorrow we need to go shopping again. How do I know this? 

Because we are down to 1 egg and a half container of yogurt, and because Matt would disown me if that was what I put on the table as our next meal, it's officially time to restock. 

I'm not sure how much money we will save this way, but it's worth experimenting with for now. It's definitely not as much as we need to offset the cost of our health care in the USA. If I really wanted to do that i'd have to crack down on the amount of beer and wine we drink every month. Hey, when you're living through a Minnesota winter you have to keep warm somehow, right?!