Tis the *@$%)&!)(@L#!! Season

I'm cranky.

It's not really about Christmas time or anything, although I feel a bit overwhelmed with it all this year and I'm not exactly sure why I feel this way. It is enough that I KNOW I feel this way that is keeping me tied in knots. But that isn't why I'm cranky.

I have a tooth ache and while I ignore the pain a realization came to me today. A realization that disgusts me. A realization that makes me believe that human beings can sometimes SUCK!

I guess I should say ... not all human beings SUCK but I believe we probably have all sucked at one time or another. I believe we have all done something that is pretty shitty sometime in our lives. Fess up! Come on! You know that there is at least one offensive thing you have done! Most of us, can laugh about it now. Most of us have seriously minor infractions.

I'm looking at my new identification cards for my new dental insurance plan and it frustrates me. My tooth hurts and I know it's gonna cost me money and probably some serious pain.

I had a incident with a dentist some time back and it left a really bad taste in my mouth. Simply put, a dentist seriously took advantage of me and my lack of knowledge of the insurance industry (THIS IS WHAT PISSES ME OFF!). I don't ask for other people to know about my job and my technical lingo ... but be warned ... if you don't know everything there is to know about dentists that ACCEPT insurance versus those that PARTICIPATE you could receive a bill for $500 in the mail for fillings in BABY TEETH (white ones of course, because silver ones are completely covered for baby teeth ... the white ones are not). The insurance company paid over $300 for these fillings and I had to pay close to $500 ... $800 to fill 3 baby teeth which took less than 2 hours in total. Yep. No wonder this particular dentist lives in Upper Saint Clair.

That was several years ago and it pisses me off because I asked the correct questions I just didn't use their technical terms and because I didn't I was responsible for the money.

Today it rushes at me because I have to call my dentist and possibly others to find one that PARTICIPATES in my new dental plan. If they merely accept my insurance it means they ACCEPT the money that the insurance company sends them BUT they can BILL me for the remaining cost (at their discretion). If the dentist PARTICIPATES in the insurance plan, this means they must accept the payment that the insurance sends them as payment in full (excluding whatever copay you have with the plan).

If all people were decent and kind - I would have understood this concept BEFORE I was sent a bill for $500; but this is the only way for this particular dentist to afford his luxury home in Upper Saint Clair you see ...

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Merry *@$%)&!)(@L#!! Christmas everyone.



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I guess it's all about perspective.

Look at these images if you are feeling a bit out of sorts ... it will put you back on the right track.

The Best of Photojournalism 2006 (Enterprise Picture Story) and then go back a level for even more pictures with a story to tell.

Yep, that'll do it for sure. My gripings hardly compare to what others endure.