Getting Health Insurance

This will probably be less 'interesting' and more 'informative'. Air quotes. This is also a lot longer than I had intended. I guess I'm really detailed.

March 15 was the last day of my job in NYC because soon I would be starting a new adventure in (way too) sunny Southern California. Once you quit your job, you have health insurance until the end of that month unless you strike up some kind of deal to keep it. My deal would cost me over $200 a month so that was a big fat hell to the no. I'm still pretty young and fairly healthy so I thought "What's a few months without health insurance?". I'll just get a job and get health insurance through them. Somewhere between April 12 and April 15 - when I flew from NYC to Houston to Dallas and then drove from Dallas to El Centro, CA - I got hemorrhoids. *cue dramatic music*

If you don't want more details on that, skip this paragraph.

Hemorrhoids aren't the most unpleasant of diagnoses but they are quite uncomfortable. The pooping blood was a little alarming at first but it's mostly the infrequent bowel movements that can ruin a day. What would most often happen is after I would wake up and throughout the day I would have to suddenly use the bathroom. I was (and am still) going about 4-5 times a day. At night there is always the sensation that I have to go. It's not a strong but it's strong enough to keep from being able to sleep soundly. Some days I thought I could just endure. Others I knew I wouldn't be able to work a job while this was still going on. I was barely sleeping and my sleep schedule has become way to erratic.

Back to health insurance.

I believe it was April 22, one week after arriving into CA, that I was doing extensive research on health insurance. I found a few suitable options. Since I had no income, I was able to apply or something called Medi-Cal. I spent the rest of the day filling out all of the forms, gathering the necessary documents, and researching health insurance. That Sunday, I received an email saying that I did not qualify for some form of health insurance. "Ok. Whatever. I already knew that..." It also said that someone would contact me if they needed any additional information. I believe it was Wednesday or Thursday that I still hadn't heard back from Medi-Cal so I decided to look up who I could call and I found some agents. At this point, I was ready to pay for one of the $50-$100 a month options that I saw so that I could just get my issues resolved and wasn't sure why I was already jumping through so many hoops.

I chose an agent at random because I didn't think one would really be better than another. I called. No answer. Figures. I called back later and his secretary/assistant/someone that works for him answered. She said that he was with another client and that he would call me back. I waited until Friday and still hadn't heard back so I chose a different agent and called. She picked up right away and was very helpful. Unfortunately, all she said was that agents were just there to help someone fill out the online forms. She also said that it would take at minimum (MINIMUM) two weeks for the information to be filed depending on the social worker's case load and how backed up they were. She said to wait another week or so and maybe give them a call to help ease it along. Fantastic.

I got a call that Monday, May 2, from my social worker stating she had received my paperwork and was wondering if I was still interested in the process. Yes! Yes! Yes! (Side bar: turns out I had received a letter in the mail with info the week before but since we had just moved there we weren't exactly privy to checking the mail regularly yet.) I spent that week playing phone tag with the social worker and gathering all the materials I needed to turn in to complete the process. She never answered when I called but she did always call me back which was nice. That Friday, I thought I needed to make an appointment so I called early to try and set one up. She never responded so I thought I should probably just go hand in all of the paperwork anyways to get it rolling. Turning in the paperwork was almost exactly like waiting in line at the DMV. You go to the counter, you get a number, wait for the number to be called, do your business, leave. And, of course, as soon as I got home I realized I forgot to turn in my proof of residence. But it was a Friday afternoon. I was exhausted. That could all wait until Monday.

That Monday, May 9, I got a call from my social worker at the earliest time in recorded human history - 8:22am. She was out on Friday and returning my call. How nice. I still don't have a job yet so you can bet that I'm staying up late and sleeping in. It was a good chance to check in though. I told her I turned in the information and that I would be stopping by later with my proof of residence and she said that now I would just have to wait to receive information in the mail. Ten days later I received information about healthcare and that I was approved and that I would have to choose one. I called my social worker terribly confused because I wasn't sure what I was choosing or even how to do that. The next day I received the holy grail. My health care packet with all of the information I need! It gave info on health care, where to find more info, how to choose, what benefits, etc. The part I was supposed to mail in to choose which health care plan was all in Spanish but besides that it was all good. Plus, somewhere in the packet it said I could just call so I wasn't too worried. But at this point, it was already Friday afternoon and the office was closed so I spent the weekend reading the material.

Monday, May 23, I call to choose health insurance. It's very quick. They are very friendly and helpful and answer all of my questions. I had to choose a Primary Care Provider (PCP) so I chose one that was close that's main focus was Internal Medicine (and cosmetic surgery??). The representative said it would take about 7-10 days for me to get my insurance card and it would come with more information. Since the following Monday was Memorial Day, I figured (hoped) I would get it in the mail on Tuesday and push the ball further on Wednesday.

Everything arrives on Tuesday as planned except my PCP is listed as someone completely different than who I chose. Not wanting to put up a fuss (especially since nothing else has really been smooth) I went with it. Wednesday morning, June 1st, the day my insurance is set to begin, I call to set up an appointment. The receptionist informs me that this doctor only takes Molina insurance (the one I chose) on Monday mornings and Tuesday afternoons. WTF??? That's sketch... But she said that I could go and fill out the new hire paperwork. I went to do the paperwork and she's looking up my insurance and apparently it isn't activated yet. She can't set up an appointment until I have insurance. Ok. Fine. I go home, call the insurance, and try to sort it out. They let me know that there was some kind of hold but it should be fixed now. I call the doctor but it's still not fixed. So, I ask when the next appointment would even be and they tell me it's early July. Hells no. Good-bye. I call the insurance again to switch my PCP. Apparently it was set up to be automatically assigned which makes no sense. They were helpful and switched and I was like "Yay!". I call the new doctor to set up and appointment but they can't give me an appointment until my insurance says this doctor's name... But the good news is there is an opening the following Monday. I'm exhausted so I wait until the next day, set up the appointment, and then go about my business.

Monday, June 6, the day of my appointment. It's been 45 days since I signed up for health insurance... I can only imagine a scenario in which I have less money and/or my symptoms were worse. My appointment was at noon but I arrived early because I had to run some errands. I walked out at 11:58am. The doctor was very straight-forward and quick. I was prescribed some meds and I was on my way. I didn't know which pharmacy to choose so I chose Walgreens because I'm at least familiar with it. An hour later, I go to pick up my meds but Walgreens doesn't take Molina. What? And they made it seem like they wouldn't even give it to me. They said I could transfer my prescription to the Rite-Aid across the street. I called the Rite-Aid at least 10 times that day to get it transferred. Of the 10 they answered maybe 3 and finally the last time they said it would be handled and I could pick it up later that day. I would receive a text letting me know it was ready. It was late, I had no text, and so I just waited until the next day. I called about 4-5 times and finally got an answer. The last time I called I was heading out the door to go anyways but they let me know it was ready. I picked up the meds (which cost $0) and my journey was finally complete!

Takeaways:

• Ask a lot of questions. You can never ask too many questions.
• Confirm your doctor, pharmacy, and anything associated with your health uses your insurance. If not, ask what kind of insurance they do take. You can never have enough info.
• Start the process early especially if you aren't fortunate enough to have a job that provides health insurance. You never know what could happen.
• I'm sure there are more.

Welcome Back

Oh, hey.

It's been about four years but I think I may start this up again. I'd love to go back and fill in the pieces I've missed but I don't think it would be as authentic or genuine since I likely don't remember and would flub details. Also, I just moved cross-country so it seems like a fitting time to start writing about my new adventures. So, let's talk about how I got here.

I left NYC on Tuesday and moved to El Centro, CA yesterday. I was in NYC via DC via Miami. Tuesday before I left, I had breakfast with my good friend Stacey (we went to grad school together). After, I had second breakfast with my former roommate (Ana) and her boyfriend (Graham). We watched some Parks and Rec and I finished packing. Then I got into a Lyft, went to the airport and flew to Dallas. Exciting.

My current roommate's (Angelica/Gel) parents live in Dallas and, since she was in training in Georgia, all of her stuff was there. So, I met her in Dallas so we could drive all her stuff (and us I guess) to CA. It's was as exciting as an 18 hour drive sounds. We left at 2pm CST and arrived at 9am PST. So, with stops and everything, our 18 hour drive was 21 hours. It wasn't all terrible. I tried to take some pics but most of the trip was in the dark. We passed these huge windmill farms, an oil refinery, and lots of solar panels. I saw the sunset and the sunrise. I think I slept for a total of 3 hours. It was exhausting.

We get to El Centro (EC) and unpack all her stuff and we are both nearly dead and so we try to nap. Didn't last long because some contractors arrived and then Gel's brother (Mikael) came. So, we all hung out and went grocery shopping. Soon after Gel's girlfriend (Ashley) came and we drank and watched TV. We decided to play games but, since we didn't have any, Mikael and I were tasked with going to Target and getting some. We stopped at Gamestop first but my gaming systems aren't here yet so we thought it pointless. Then we went next door to Coldstone and shared some ice cream. Next door to Target was a 99 cent store so we went there instead. Ended up buying a lot more than a deck of cards but it was all hella cheap so who cares. And Mikael ended up paying for the ice cream and the other stuff anyways. He has a crazy big butt.

We get back with the cards and drink more and play drinking games. Ashley and Gel went to bed early but Mikael and I stayed up watching Netflix. It was barely 10pm and we weren't ready for bed yet so we decided to see what EC nightlife has to offer. Spoiler alert: not much. We got into an Uber and went to some bar that was inside a Denny's/hotel. We played some pool and drank a bit. My lack of sleep was finally catching up and I was a bit delirious. Then we went to Denny's (OMG I'M SO HUNGRY AND I JUST REMEMBERED I HAVE FOOD FROM LAST NIGHT.) and finally came home. Now I'm up fairly early because I guess I'm still on East Coast time. But my stuff arrives today! I can play video games!!

Now you're all caught up.

tl;dr - I moved from NYC to El Centro, CA.

Ready to Leave

Well, my celibacy didn't last too long but I honestly think it will stick this time.

Friday night, I was about to go to bed when I get a message from Kyle asking me to go out with him and a friend. Sure. Why not? So, I get ready and meet them at Buddy's. He introduced me to his friend Mitch (terrible name) who was pretty cool. The club was insanely hot and the music was pretty bad so we decide to leave and go to Kyle's place. Candice, her boyfriend/husband/whatever, Tim, and her cousin, Lisa, were all there. All of which were very annoying. Mitch seemed to be the only cool one so throughout the night he and I were talking and such. People are drinking and doing cocaine, neither of which sound appealing to me. After a while, I'm pretty tired (considering the sun is rising) and for about an hour or so we keep discussing what we are going to do in terms of sleeping. Kyle kept insisting that either me or Mitch could sleep/lay in his bed, but not both of us. Because he didn't want us having sex. As if.

I finally just say I'm going to take a cab home and Mitch agrees it's a good idea. I live on the way to his place so he was just going to stay the night with me and then go home in the morning. We go back to my place and  figure out the sleeping arrangement. It ended up with me and him cuddling in my bed. We start to talk and it turns out we have a bit in common (even though he does drugs) and I'm a top and he's a bottom. So he have sex for a bit but since he's done drugs there is no way he's getting off. How do I find these guys?

We finally go to bed around 8am and wake up a little after noon or one to go to the mall. He lives near there and he has to go there to pay his phone bill. We spend the entire day at West Edmonton Mall and it was actually a pretty good time. Finally at 8pm, we go our separate ways and I head home to meet up with Lindsay who is going out with me to a club later. We're drinking, watching Dexter, watching YouTube videos, talking and getting ready. It was a lot of fun. We decide it's time to leave and the two of us head off to Flash.

I kid you not when I say every single person I've pretty much met or fooled around with was there that night. In my head I was thinking "Oh, I haven't seen Fatah yet." I turned around and he was walking in. What a complete night. At Flash, we meet up with Mitch and his good friend/"older brother", Rahil, and the four of us have a pretty good time. They want to leave to wait in line at Y After Hours before it gets busy.

Cover was $26. Fuck that. Mitch was nice enough to pay for me though and I gave money to Lindsay to help her. The club was so bad. The real reason Mitch and Rahil wanted some E. So, they get their fix and after an hour or so we leave. Rahil insists on driving Lindsay home. Barely even ten minutes into driving, Rahil starts tweeking out really bad and Mitch has to drive. Lindsay gets home safely and the two of them end up at my place. Rahil is a fucking mess. He's really antsy and sporadic and I'm really not sure how to describe it. After several hours, I finally evade them and go to sleep in my room while they are in the living room.

I wake up maybe one or two hours later to the sound of two kisses and my name. I go to the living room to see what's up and Rahil is naked putting on his clothes. Mitch is in the bathroom going number 2 which is usually an indication that he just bottomed. So I confront Rahil asking "what were you guys up to?" "What does it look like?" I finally got him to say that they had sex. So I confront Mitch and he denies it saying that Rahil only wanted him to ride the dick and Mitch said he's not a cowboy so he wasn't going to do it. There were three empty condom wrappers and a piece of a broken condom and lube on my table. I think it's pretty obvious what happened. I'm upset at this point but I'm not even mad. I guess deep down I expected this to happen.

They decide to go to the River Valley and invite me along and plead to try to get me to go. I can't believe how serious they are. Several hours later after a nice day of rest, I called Mitch to ask what he was up to and I really wanted to talk to him sober. He said he had just gotten to the River Valley. Apparently when they left they got pulled over and Rahil hit a sign when getting over. So they dealt with that and then went to a gas station to sleep it off. Mitch says he doesn't even remember leaving my place or much of last night. So I asked him if he had sex with Rahil and he said he didn't know. I told him that he did, several times, and that I hope he has a good life. I was strangely polite about everything...

I just honestly can't believe I keep finding myself in these kinds of scenarios. It seems like every gay person in Edmonton does drugs. Most gay people here are such low-lifes. I am ready to leave Edmonton and be back in Miami with real, true, high quality friends. One of the worst parts of Edmonton is just how alone I feel. I can't call any of my friends. I have no friends here. The people I've met outside of work are just generally shitty. It's just a pretty miserable existence.

12 more days until I leave Edmonton.
16 more days until I'm back in Miami.

Celibacy

Not to be confused with cell-ibacy where I was without my phone for four weeks. :(

On Sunday, I cammed with a guy from Costa Rica, Francisco. We've been talking for months now (not exactly sure how we met but he does visit Miami occasionally). I know he really likes me. He's told me so. He's really cute and he's a dentist. If he worked out then I'd probably be head over heels. He told me he hadn't had sex in a really long time because he was waiting for me. A notion I'm sure is not entirely true but I guess it was kind of sweet nonetheless. He also told me he loved me. English is not his first language...

It really got me thinking. If he is waiting for me then why should I not wait for someone special. I should wait for something substantial. I'm becoming more tolerant of people's petty flaws. What once annoyed me can now be overlooked. And I'm getting to a place to where I can have sex with someone and still want to see them again. For once in my life I really feel as if I could find love and be able to hold on to it.

Later that evening, I texted Mario and his initial response was asking when we were going to hang out. I met Mario at a club early into the summer. He's a very attractive guy from Ecuador. They were playing some Latin songs in the club, me being from Miami, him from Ecuador, we were the only ones that seemed to know the music. So we naturally bonded and started dancing together. We chatted for a bit but then he had to go. About a month later, I saw him at Edmonton Pride and we started chatting again. We exchanged numbers and what not. So we decided to hang out and I thought this would be the perfect time to practice not hooking up. On Monday, we went to Mongolia Grill and to Marble Slab. I had a really nice time. I felt we connected really well. I want to surprise him by taking him to the roof of UofA's tallest building to watch the fireworks on Canada Day.

Yesterday, Binh texted me after having not spoken to me in a couple of days. I told him about going out on Saturday and his only response was asking if I met any cute boys. This kid who barely knows me seems to think that's my sole purpose for going out. I shrugged it off and mentioned I had hung out with a cute boy (Mario) the night before. He then called me a slut. (He actually called me a 'sloot' which was a mildly amusing typo). He then asked if I wanted to go to the mall with him later that afternoon. I agreed to go but in hindsight I'm kind of glad I napped through it.

I've never really complained about being called a slut before but something about this person I've barely known for two weeks assuming that's how I spend my free time really upset me. I think what upset me the post was how just on Sunday I decided to reshape my lifestyle and now just two days later, this. He claims it was a joke but isn't that what everyone says? Yes, I will admit, I've had my share of sexual encounters in the past but I don't think it's ever justified to be called a slut. It's not an empowering word and I don't think people are trying to 'take it back'. I've actually been told that some people just automatically assume it about me because of how I look. Which, in my opinion, doesn't really make sense either. 


So, I'm really going to try and lead a sex-free lifestyle and maybe this will help my reputation. It'd be nice if the world were a little less judgmental. 

Your Love is My Drug - The End

When I woke up, I thought I had been asleep the entire day. It was only 9:30am. Damon got up and left and we moved into Rico's bedroom. It was pitch black in there which definitely made it easier to sleep. So, we laid around all day. Lazy Sunday. Talked a bit when we weren't sleeping.

Then suddenly...

I woke up to being kissed. It was a pretty nice feeling. We made out for a bit. Got hot and heavy. Then sexed. Afterwards we talked about what we liked sexually and about other things. We talked about how I wasn't going to look for any other guys and how he wish he could show me all the love he had to give to me. It was really sweet. Then we sexed again. Somewhere in all of that we walked to Subway. Then came back and sexed a third time before I headed home.

That night, he went to the gay club with his friends. He later told me that he danced shirtless with some guys and ending up making out with one. I wasn't upset but he thought I hated him and so he deleted me from Facebook. The lowest of the low. We've been arguing/bickering all week. He came over last night and we tried to be friends but he likes me too much and now things are just awkward. He left his necklace (because we sexed again) and I returned it today, probably the last time I will ever see him.

It was nice to know you, Rico.

And scene.

Your Love is My Drug - Day 2

However, as soon as I lay down to sleep, I start hacking up a lung. I hadn't eaten in a really long time so I knew there was nothing to throw up. I get over it and just go back to bed. I don't know who the fuck does construction inside of a residence hall on a Saturday, but i wanted to beat the people in the room next to me. Throughout the day a large drill would sound making it nearly impossible to sleep through. Around 2:45pm, I get up and try to get my life together.

After I showered, I just felt really alone and wanted to talk to anyone I could. Naturally, no one responded. After a time, Chevi responded and we decided to go get some food since neither of us had eaten. We went downtown to Earl's and drank and ate some. After, I had him drop me off at Rico's work because I wanted to talk to make sure everything was ok. Bistro was closed. Rico skipped work... So I just went across the street back to my friends. We had a going away party in a couple of hours. I got ready before hand so I went to his place to nap.

The time for the party comes. We go to the restaurant and it's hot as balls. It was Pink and Black themed so everyone was dressed up. After, we went back and drank before going to the club. It always takes this group seemingly forever to get ready and go out. Jackie (who looks exactly like Ke$ha) and I were a little annoyed so we start to just leave. Others follow and eventually we are all out the door. However, no one knew where the club was. Rico was at Buddy's again and I considered joining him. Well, Rico was behind Buddy's with Damon drinking and doing more yayo...

We make our way to The Commons and there is a line to get in. No one particularly wanted to go. Sebastien (the party host) and Starr (the girl leaving) finally show up. I tell them that I'm going to Flash to meet Chevi. A little heated argument and Sebastien asks Starr to go for a walk and they never return. I leave with Chevi and walk to Flash. Stephen texts me asking me to wait. I thought he wanted me to come back but it turns out the group wanted to walk with us. We walk into Flash and everyone is already there because they had cabbed. Poor Jackie was left at The Common because we thought she was with Sebas and Starr :(

Stephen gets pretty hammered (his birthday was at midnight). Our group decides to leave. We drop Stephen off at home and proceed to a house party. It's on the same street as Rico's house so I call Rico and meet up with him and Damon but not before doing a line real quick... I meet with them and we walk around the block a few times. Rico's roommate is asleep so we can't do much but watch movies on mute. Damon goes to lay down and Rico and I wait for his roommate to leave. Around 6:30am, the roommate leaves and Rico and I lay down to sleep. Even though his apartment was also hot as balls.

Your Love is My Drug - Day 1

My weekend = love, drugs, and Ke$ha.

I met a boy, Rico, on Friday and we hit it off pretty well. He works at an internet cafe and it's usually pretty chill so he suggested I stop by. Since he literally works across the street from my friend's house (where I was stopping by after), I obliged. We chatted for a couple hours and really hit it off well. He was supposed to come over after work and we were going to cuddle and watch movies but I'm unnaturally good at convincing people to go out to clubs. So, I go to my friend's and Rico meets me there and the two of us go to Buddy's.

We dance for a while but Rico had to get some money from his work to pay someone back. In hindsight it seems a lot more sketchy than I originally thought. We return to the club and my other friends are no where to be found. Rico and I decide to go outside for some fresh air and he sees an 'old friend' who slips some yayo in his pocket. We talk about it for a bit and as Rico is about to give it back I suggest we just do it. We go to sit on a bench and finish the bag. After that, I suggest we just go home and we begin the walk back.

Word vomit ensues. I'm telling Rico everything about my entire life and he's sharing intimate details about his. My heart is racing. I'm out of breath. But it was my mission to just make it home. We get home and after the walk I just feel an immediate connection to Rico. Nothing like I had ever felt before. I'm convinced it was the high but I liked where I was. We stripped to our underwear and played some of our favorite songs and just danced and cuddled. He was incredibly sweet. He wanted nothing more than to take care of me and be there for me. Apparently the only way to sleep after is to drink but I had nothing. Conveniently, his ex now turned friend calls. Soon after, I have a another guest in my room.

I can't say I entirely wanted this third person here but he was nice enough. I really just wanted to be with Rico and talk and cuddle and do whatever people do when they can't sleep. Damon brings over booze and Dexedrine and we are just sitting around talking. The next part annoys even me so there won't be full details. Rico starts to freak out because he realizes I'm leaving in just a month and we had already formed this connection. Damon convinces him to just soak up the good moments. And I am sitting there listening to both of them talk about me as if I'm not. Still having a freak out, Rico insists on just going home. They both leave and it's 9am and I think it's time for bed.