HOLY
SHIT!
Boy do we have stuff to talk about this morning!
I was going to lead off with my Group Grief Therapy Counseling Session last night and tell you all about that, but that has to wait now, because when I got home from work this afternoon, I got the mail out of the mail box and noticed a bill from the medical association that I belong to addressed to Mrs. Dragon.  Wondering if this was finally the hospital bill showing up, I opened it and yup, sure enough, that was what it was!  Then I looked up in the upper right hand corner to where it says: 
PLEASE PAY:
And I dropped my fucking teeth!
$54,025.64
Fifty-four thousand, twenty-five dollars and sixty-four cents!!!!  Are you fucking kidding me!?!?  Apparently not!  I was going to call the hospital first, because at the bottom of the bill is a little note that says, “BALANCE REMAINING AFTER INSURANCE – PAYMENT NOW DUE We have been advised that your insurance will not be paying the remaining balance on your account.  If you question this information – please contact your insurance company.” Damn right I question this amount! “Please send payment in full upon receipt of this notice…” Well, you’re gonna have to wait for me to sell my fucking house first! “…or contact Customer Service to take advantage of our zero percent interest payment plans.”  Let’s see $54,025.64 divided by $10 a month is 5,403 months or 450 years and 3 months.  That ought to do it.

So I called the insurance company.  And we had a “What the Fuck” conversation.  Come to find out, they denied the claim.  I said, “Huh?”  Because they were trying to “coordinate coverage” which is insurance speak for did you have any other insurance coverage other than us?  No, I didn’t.  Which I told you guys three times over the last three or four months.  You sent me a letter that said please fill out the enclosed form.  There was no enclosed form, so I called you up and said, “Hey, you sent me a letter that said please fill out the enclosed form and there was no enclosed form and you said oh, we just needed to know if you have any other insurance other than ours and I said no I don’t and you said oh, that’s all we needed, we’ll take care of it from here and that happened two more times and now you’re telling me that my wife has been dead for over four months and now the bill is coming due and you guys STILL DON’T HAVE THE SITUATION FIXED!!!!  Anyway, very long story short, a lovely lady named Kim got the whole thing straightened out and even called the hospital billing department while I was on the phone and told them that they would be processing the bill posthaste and how long it would take them to get their payment.  I’m not sure what my portion of the bill will be, I’m sure at $53K it’s still going to be substantial, but I don’t think I’m going to have to sell the house.

So now, Grief Group.  It was … good.  Interesting.  Not what I expected at all.  There were seven women (ten if you count the three women who were the … leaders (?) of the group) and three men.  One of the men was married to one of the women, but they were the only couple.  Some of the people were there for the second or even the third time.  They were going through this same thirteen week program over again.  I guess that’s a thing.  There is a workbook.  But, it’s not weird doing group counseling out of a workbook.  I thought it would be.  The workbook is more for taking notes during the approximately 45 minute video portion that is on a different topic each week (oh, by the way, each session is two hours long) and for homework that you have each night.  

Well, I laughed, I cried, I got angry, but overall it was good to be able to express myself with a group of people who were going through the same things that I am going through.  The first session, as you can imagine, was more of an introduction to things, but we got into some good conversations.  I really thought it was worth it and I’m looking forward to next week, so that has to count, right?

But, emotionally, I’m feeling a little tender today.  I’m not sure if it’s rebound from the emotions from last night, the sticker shock from the bill I got in the mail (I don’t think it’s that because I was feeling this way before I got home, although I’m SURE that didn’t help) or it might just be Tuesday.  So, what do you say we get to the laughter part of the day and see if we can’t get ole Impish back towards the straight and narrow, or in my case, the wide and twisted.

Going to McDonalds for a salad is like going to a prostitute for a hug.

Oh, by the way, if you are wondering why you haven’t heard back from me or seen a cartoon or a meme that you sent me yet…well, right at this second, I have 756 unread emails that I am slowly making my way through.  The next one up is from Steve and I got it on May 2nd.  So that was only 2 weeks ago.  Damn!

Dammit!  I feel old!

 

How’s the diet going? 

Not good.  I had eggs for breakfast. 

Scrambled? 

Cadbury.

Remember when you were little and you would get in the above ground pool and spin in a circle with all your friends around the edge of the pool?  Around and around and around the edge of the pool until you started to form a whirlpool? And you keep going round and round and the water would go faster and faster and faster? 

Well…dragons like to do that, too.

Me:  Alexa, remind me to go to the gym. 

Alexa:  I have added Gin to your shopping list. 

Me:  Close enough.

Just convinced myself to have a banana instead of a can of Pringles. 

This is now a fitness page.

Our office softball team is doing VERY well this year.

So, I can’t remember if I told you this or not, so pardon me if I’m repeating myself.  I’m feeling REALLY strongly drawn to go back to church.  And it’s pissing me off.  I am NOT a church person.  Let me clarify that point a little bit for you. 

So, for me to say that I’m being drawn back to church, then you know that the end of times are near.
No, seriously, I am a religious person, as we’ve discussed many times before, I consider myself a learned man when it comes to things of a religious nature, and I believe that God and I have a very good relationship.  My problem is, that there aren’t any churches out there that line up with my beliefs.  So, being drawn to go back to church, I went to Catholic Mass a couple of weeks ago (that’s the part that I thought I told you guys before).  Now, having been born and raised Roman Catholic, and having left the Catholic Church approximately a gazzilion years ago (yes, about the same time the Apostles were writing the Gospels.  Yes.  I’m that old) things have changed a tiny bit.  It’s still the same basic format, but they’ve modernized the language some.
Now, the day I went, I do believe my Heavenly Father led me to go to that particular Mass because the Priest had a very special Homily (that’s the Priest’s sermon) that touched me quite deeply.  I won’t go into the specifics, but it was quite meaningful for me at that time.  I wish I could have bopped in just for that 15 minutes, but, there you have it.
Anyway, this coming Sunday, I do believe I am going to try my buddy’s church that is just down the block from me.  He speaks very highly of it.  I’m not sure what flavor of Christian it is, but I am to understand that they serve donuts before the service and if I get there at no later than 0945 I may even lay claim to one of the last apple fritters.  And as everyone who is anyone knows, a dragon can always be enticed and captivated by a fresh apple fritter.  It is one of our few kryptonites.  

HOLY CRAP!!!!

I just got my musician friend a “Get Better Soon” card.  He isn’t sick.  I just think he can get better…

YUCK@

Yup.  That’s the reason.

About time to break out the 25 piece patio set …

1 chair and 24 beers

It was a sad and disappointing day when I discovered my Universal Remote Control did not, in fact, control the Universe.

(Not even remotely.)

And that’s it my friends.  Love and happiness to you all.  May you find a little peace in your life.