Ever since we adopted Daisy, our lovable puggle girl, we have been more observant of the other dog owners in our neighborhood, especially where those dogs and their owners come into contact with us. Most of them are wonderful folks whom we most likely would not meet and get to know, if not for our common love of dogs.
Then there are the idiots. One home in our neighborhood is home to 2 rather large breed dogs, what looks like a boxer and also some sort of St. Bernard mutt, who is really lovable looking, in a droopy eyed goofy sort of way. For the last 2 + years, we have not had any concerns at all about this home and the dogs living there. The owners are responsible young men who care wonderfully for these dogs. Take them for frequent walks, always on a leash and usually one of those leashes with the muzzle, although that never seemed necessary. I feel bad that these townhomes are so small for such large dogs, but otherwise, these are good folks.
But now they have a new roommate. A young woman who moved in with her beagle maybe a month ago. The beagle seems sweet enough, and I would probably let Daisy play with her once in a while if not for the fact that the woman who owns her is a complete and total moron. And I don't even mean a little bit stupid, I'm guessing she doesn't have 2 brain cells to rub together for warmth. Last night she was out walking all 3 dogs, but only one was on a leash, and that was the smallest one - the beagle. The other 2 were off leash (illegal in Montgomery County) who proceeded to accost the little puggle who wanted nothing more than to take her nice long evening walk with my hubby, do her business, and curl up for the night. Hubby warned this new neighbor last night if he saw them off leash again, he'd report her to our complex.
This afternoon I get home a bit early as I had a dental appointment and decided to do my 8 year old's chore for him and walk the dog. Daisy and I set off down the sidewalk and I notice the main door to the home where these 2 dogs live is open, but the outer storm door is closed. The 2 large dogs are sitting calmly inside just watching us walk by, so I didn't think anything of it, just kept on walking. One moment we were fine, the next moment both of these dogs had pushed open the door and were on their way toward us at top speed. I believe I yelled "No!", which was all I had time for before these 2 dogs were on top of little Daisy, who is all of 18 pounds, and had her down on the ground between them. I reached down and picked her up to head back toward our home and after that things get a bit hazy.
All I know for sure is I turned to walk back and the next thing I know I'm completely off balance with Daisy in my arms and then I'm down on the ground, screaming my fool head off "Get off my dog! Get off my dog!". All I can see from my vantage point flat on my face is two dogs who easily weigh between 50 and 80 pounds have Daisy pinned to the ground between them. I manage to push myself to my feet and pick her up to get her out of the way and start to walk again. By now the woman who lives in this home has come around the corner with her beagle and is walking toward us saying "Ma'am please stop and let me get them."
WTF? Are you serious? Stop and let them jump all over me and knock us down again? Yeah right. By this time I'm so pissed off I can't see straight and so scared I don't know where to put myself. I'm not sure which emotion was first - probably pissed off. I'll be more scared later tonight once my hubby gets home. Hell, by then I'll probably break down and sob like a 2 year old. But right now - still pissed.
I get Daisy inside and look her over. She's scared - tail between her legs - but thank God unharmed, just wet and filthy. I'm covered in scrapes, mud from all the rain today, some sort of seeds that fall out of the tree near the sidewalk and God help me, dog pee. I'm not sure which dog pissed on me at this point - probably Daisy. I sure as hell don't blame her. If I hadn't just used the bathroom before we went outside, I most likely would have pissed myself too.
Off Daisy and I go upstairs for a bath and shower, respectively. She's now clean, fluffed, well fed (including several treats) and asleep by my feet on the couch. I'm sure I'll pay for all those treats tomorrow when I have to pick up her poo, but for tonight, it's worth it.
Right now I'm trying to calm down and decide what to do. I really have no problem with the dogs down the street or their owners. As I mentioned above, we've lived here over 2 years with no problems. It wasn't until this twat moved in that all the problems began. And believe you me, she is one lucky woman that it was me walking Daisy and not my son. You cannot even begin to imagine the 7 levels of hell I would have visited upon her life if this had happened to the 8 year old. At this point I'm going to wait for the hubby to get home and then maybe the 2 of us will walk down and try to talk to the young men who have lived next door since we moved here. We honestly have no desire to stir up trouble with the neighbors, but this irresponsible behavior on the part of their roommate needs to end. Today.
/rant
Showing posts with label Evilness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Evilness. Show all posts
Monday, April 20, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
Doctor's Billing Departments and other evil institutions
You know, today had been a pretty good day. Got a few things accomplished at work, nothing major came up to monopolize my time. I attended my first T'ai Chi class at lunch time, which was more enjoyable than I had thought (more on that in a moment) and I got to exchange several fun emails with my chat buddy Nicki. Even the commute home wasn't too painful. Picked up the 8 year old from day care with minimal fuss and made it home before 5:15. Not bad. Then I went to get the mail.
Now normally I really enjoy picking up my mail. It's like getting presents 6 days a week. You just never know what might be in that box! Even the bills aren't too bad, mainly because as a household we tend to live within our means and don't have trouble paying them. But oh ho, the surprises in store for me today!
I sorted the mail, threw out the junk and then set to opening what needs to be dealt with, mainly the bills. I started with a bill from my husband's orthopedic surgeon. Nearly 2 years ago he had surgery to repair a burst disc in his neck - can you say OUCH? He amazes me to this day with his ability to deal with the pain that he was in all day every day for 2 months leading up to that procedure. But the surgeon did an amazing job and he's completely healed today. In January he slipped and fell in our icy parking lot and broke his wrist in 2 places. He had it looked at by an ER doc who strongly recommended he have it seen by an ortho specialist.
Our first thoughts - let's go back to the doc who did such a great job on your neck! Great! Appointment was made and kept - more x-rays taken. Yep. It's broken. Time for a big 'ol itchy cast. Damn. We were hoping for a splint. But hey, it'll be fine in 6 weeks or so. This is a good doc! Then the hubby gets to the reception area to take care of his co-pay. Here's where the story gets fun.
Lo and behold, as of 1 January 2009, they are no longer participating with our insurance company! Excuse me? Say what? But not to worry, the doc wants to hang onto as many of those patients as possible, so he'll work to "take care of you". Well, at this point it's too damn late anyway. The treatment is done, the cast is on, we're in this for the long haul. But hello? Could someone have told hubby about this when he made the appointment? Oh, by the way, we don't accept your insurance anymore, are you sure you want to be seen? Or even a letter at the beginning of the year letting us know about the change in status.
But no, not a word until he had already been treated and we were on the hook for the bill. Assholes. But hey, I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe the doctor really will take care of us. Hubby had been a patient for over a year.
That bubble was completely burst today when I opened that envelope. Please pay immediately, $1,146.45. WTF?! Seriously? OMFG! That is not "taking care of us", that's screwing us sideways for daring to walk in the door without an accepted insurance plan. Holy Jesus Christ on a Stick! Unfortunately, we're pretty sure we have absolutely no recourse in this. We do have an annual deductible we need to meet before our insurance will cover out of network doctors at their promised 80%. But hubby will make some phone calls tomorrow anyway. I'm not holding out much hope. Again....assholes!
I called hubby to vent for a bit, but probably should have just saved it until he gets home from work, because now he's all stirred up too. Meh, misery loves company.
Right about now I'm contemplating trying out the warm up and relaxation techniques I learned in T'ai Chi earlier today. I think I need them. I know I need them. Which brings me back to T'ai Chi. I think this class is going to be really good for me. I need to find ways to reduce my stress (who doesn't right?) and this seems like a good way to do it. Up until now I've trained in 4 different styles of martial arts: ATA Tae Kwon Do, Traditional WTF Tae Kwon Do, Shorin Ryu Karate, and a free style Karate / Tae Kwon Do the whole family is currently studying. All together, I have about 5 years of martial arts training, even making it to 1st Degree Black Belt in ATA Tae Kwon Do. But don't ask me to do anything more advanced that a side or front kick, as that was nearly 6 years ago.
T'ai Chi is opposite of all those styles. Where they focus on speed and short, powerful punches and kicks, T'ai Chi focuses on flowing, fluid movements and softness that ultimately builds to a fair amount of power, but in a totally different way. I'm looking forward to balancing my martial arts training with this new addition and hope to learn how to relax and flow, both in body and mind.
I still need to blog about the 17th C. artifacts and remains son and I saw at the Museum of Natural History last month. Maybe tomorrow. Right now I need to find my happy place.
Now normally I really enjoy picking up my mail. It's like getting presents 6 days a week. You just never know what might be in that box! Even the bills aren't too bad, mainly because as a household we tend to live within our means and don't have trouble paying them. But oh ho, the surprises in store for me today!
I sorted the mail, threw out the junk and then set to opening what needs to be dealt with, mainly the bills. I started with a bill from my husband's orthopedic surgeon. Nearly 2 years ago he had surgery to repair a burst disc in his neck - can you say OUCH? He amazes me to this day with his ability to deal with the pain that he was in all day every day for 2 months leading up to that procedure. But the surgeon did an amazing job and he's completely healed today. In January he slipped and fell in our icy parking lot and broke his wrist in 2 places. He had it looked at by an ER doc who strongly recommended he have it seen by an ortho specialist.
Our first thoughts - let's go back to the doc who did such a great job on your neck! Great! Appointment was made and kept - more x-rays taken. Yep. It's broken. Time for a big 'ol itchy cast. Damn. We were hoping for a splint. But hey, it'll be fine in 6 weeks or so. This is a good doc! Then the hubby gets to the reception area to take care of his co-pay. Here's where the story gets fun.
Lo and behold, as of 1 January 2009, they are no longer participating with our insurance company! Excuse me? Say what? But not to worry, the doc wants to hang onto as many of those patients as possible, so he'll work to "take care of you". Well, at this point it's too damn late anyway. The treatment is done, the cast is on, we're in this for the long haul. But hello? Could someone have told hubby about this when he made the appointment? Oh, by the way, we don't accept your insurance anymore, are you sure you want to be seen? Or even a letter at the beginning of the year letting us know about the change in status.
But no, not a word until he had already been treated and we were on the hook for the bill. Assholes. But hey, I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe the doctor really will take care of us. Hubby had been a patient for over a year.
That bubble was completely burst today when I opened that envelope. Please pay immediately, $1,146.45. WTF?! Seriously? OMFG! That is not "taking care of us", that's screwing us sideways for daring to walk in the door without an accepted insurance plan. Holy Jesus Christ on a Stick! Unfortunately, we're pretty sure we have absolutely no recourse in this. We do have an annual deductible we need to meet before our insurance will cover out of network doctors at their promised 80%. But hubby will make some phone calls tomorrow anyway. I'm not holding out much hope. Again....assholes!
I called hubby to vent for a bit, but probably should have just saved it until he gets home from work, because now he's all stirred up too. Meh, misery loves company.
Right about now I'm contemplating trying out the warm up and relaxation techniques I learned in T'ai Chi earlier today. I think I need them. I know I need them. Which brings me back to T'ai Chi. I think this class is going to be really good for me. I need to find ways to reduce my stress (who doesn't right?) and this seems like a good way to do it. Up until now I've trained in 4 different styles of martial arts: ATA Tae Kwon Do, Traditional WTF Tae Kwon Do, Shorin Ryu Karate, and a free style Karate / Tae Kwon Do the whole family is currently studying. All together, I have about 5 years of martial arts training, even making it to 1st Degree Black Belt in ATA Tae Kwon Do. But don't ask me to do anything more advanced that a side or front kick, as that was nearly 6 years ago.
T'ai Chi is opposite of all those styles. Where they focus on speed and short, powerful punches and kicks, T'ai Chi focuses on flowing, fluid movements and softness that ultimately builds to a fair amount of power, but in a totally different way. I'm looking forward to balancing my martial arts training with this new addition and hope to learn how to relax and flow, both in body and mind.
I still need to blog about the 17th C. artifacts and remains son and I saw at the Museum of Natural History last month. Maybe tomorrow. Right now I need to find my happy place.
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