Me

Let's talk about me. :-D

I have had a rough ... month, I guess I'd say. Unemployment mind-fuck, kitten death, aunt-in-law death, other stuff... Doing better now, but still feeling kind of like I'm in an emotional cocoon. Not sure when I will come out. But I wanted to say something, because there are several people I feel like I should e-mail and say, "Sorry I haven't been in touch, but I'm just not myself right now." I know I won't send those e-mails, so this blog post will have to serve. ;-) I appreciate those of you who opt to bear with me in life. You are the pier that survives the tsunami; I am the unmoored boat that is always floppin' around and crashin' into stuff. :-D

Speaking of tsunamis: Let's talk about this motherfucking earthquake in Japan. This has JARRED. MY. PEACHES. Y'all know we live in NORTHRIDGE, pretty much ON THE FAULT that blew in '94. It's been eeeeeerily quiet since then, so I think it's safe to say everyone here in the SoCal is on edge because of what's happening in Japan. When I'm not fretting about those poor people, I'm fretting about what ultimately awaits us here in SoCal... I hope everyone in a quake zone has an up-to-date earthquake kit. I do not. But I WILL.

That is all I have for you at this juncture. I hope everyone is well. xoxoxoxo

Stowaway!

Do you see her there on the left?! She's in there! Then she pops her little head out! She almost turned herself into a Goodwill donation!

2011: The Year of Losses

We just found out that my husband's beloved aunt Lois passed away.

We lost her husband Marshall just a few months ago, and she was in failing health, so it was not a surprise, but, still... These things are never easy, are they. You're never as ready as you think you are...

Lois was a lovely person and I feel so lucky to have known her.

I'm especially grateful that Ev got to meet both her and Uncle Marshall.

We'll miss them so, so much...

Being 45 is AWESOME!

Can I just tell you people how much I'm *loving* being 45?! OMG, it is SO awesome.

I think my favorite thing is the proliferation of liver spots on my body. Oh, yeah. They're EVERYWHERE! My hands, my arms, my thighs, my FACE! Where's my Esoterica?! Do they still make that?! ::cry::

I also have developed a WADDLE! You know, that poochy skin that hangs right beneath your chin! But it's different from a double-chin -- it's a WADDLE! AAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!!!

And finally... Abe Vigoda eyebrow hairs. Yup, Even if you've had normal eyebrows your whole life, all of a sudden, you hit a certain age, and BAM! Abe Vigoda eyebrows! The hairs are twice as long as normal hairs, wavy, and often gray. Oh yeah, Baby -- they are HOTT!

Srsly. I had adjusted to the gray pube hairs and the belly pooch that my late 30s had brought me.

But this shit is JUST. TOO. MUCH.

This gave me a chuckle...

Healthcare Clusterf*ck, Cont'd...

Oooh, you guys! I have another lame-ass health-care story! Check this out:

Last week, I called my GYN's office to get him to switch my birth control. As I may have lamented previously, my NuvaRing Rx had gone up to $50/month under my Aetna health insurance. So, okay, fine, I thought. I'll just have him switch me to a pill, and that'll be cheaper. Insurance companies always seem to charge alot for NuvaRing (probably because it is easy and convenient for women).

First of all, I had to wait 48 hours for someone from my GYN's office to call me back. By this time, I had already refilled the NuvaRing and shelled out the $50, because it was obvious this would not be the quick & easy switch I'd hoped for. Secondly, the nurse I ended up talking to was giving me attitude over the phone. She's all, "Well, what do you want to be switched to, exactly?" and I said, "Just something other than NuvaRing, which is really expensive under my insurance." Her reply: "It's not OUR job to know what your healthcare does and does not cover." (Did I say it was? No.) I say, that's fine, just call in an Rx for a pill. "What pill? I don't know what pill to give you." (For crying out loud! Do I need to go down there and do her freakin' job for her?!) I politely say, "Whatever pill has a dosage comparable to NuvaRing will be fine" (thinking, naively, that any standard birth-control pill will have a comparable generic). She agrees to call something in to my pharmacy.

Alrighty. Half an hour later, my pharmacy peep Teresa calls (I'm the Walgreens mayor on Foursquare, so Teresa *tewtally* knows me, LOLz), and says, "Your GYN's office just called in a $50 birth-control Rx for you. Do you want that?!" BWAHHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAH! I love it. They managed to find the one pill for which there is no generic. I thank Teresa for calling and let her know that I do not want the $50/month BC pills.

Welp, you bet your sweet bippy I'm not dealing with the office girls anymore. I'm gonna go down there and talk to the doc himself, tell him exactly what I need, and get him to write it out for me then and there.

But srsly. This should NOT be this hard, people. And there is no need to talk to me like I'm an idiot.

::sigh::

Furthermore: Why on EARTH, under ANY health plan, is birth control for women $50/month?! Do they WANT this 45-year-old woman to get knocked up so they can pay for THAT instead?!?! ARRRRRGGGGHH!!!

/ rant

Luna Siegel, 6/13/10 -2/26/11

Goodbye, sweet baby Loonz.

We loved you so much.

Vazquez Rocks

Yesterday, it was a beautiful if chilly day here in the SoCal, so we opted to take Miss Pupps & The Tween out to Vazquez Rocks for a hike. This is a beautiful park about an hour north of the San Fernando Valley, featuring unusual rock formations caused by its proximity to the San Andreas fault. So unusual is the terrain, the park is often used as a stand-in for other planets in movies and TV shows -- most famously, Star Trek. (See: Kirk v. Gorn.)

It made for a lovely morning outing.

Please enjoy these snaps!

More Healthcare Clusterf*ck

So, as most of y'all know by now, we had to switch health-insurance companies at the end of last year, moving from Blue Shield to Aetna. We've had Aetna before and were pretty happy with them -- as happy as one can ever be with an HMO. We were all able to keep our old doctors, so that was a relief. The costs of everything went up, but that's okay -- we expected that. No more cushy state-subsidized healthcare for us. ;-)

One of my first orders of business was to switch my prescriptions to the new plan. Since the cost of everything had gone way up (can you say $50 for a Nuvaring?), I was motivated to set everything up via their mail-order pharmacy. I went to my doc, got the scripts, and submitted everything, easy-peasy.

After awhile, I received a letter from Aetna, saying there was a problem with one Rx, and it had been delayed. I knew which one it was -- my anxiety med. A very basic med, I'm on a low-dosage, and there is a generic available. But I had requested to have the dosage reduced by half, in the hopes of eventually weaning myself off of it. I would, however, need to continue to take 2 per day, until my body adjusted to the lower dosage.

Aetna didn't like this. To them, on paper, it looks like I'm just taking double the number of pills for no reason. Their costs go up, so they put the kibosh on it.

From what I can piece together, they tried to talk to my doc about this; I dunno whether he talked to them or not. He hates HMOs and has advised me that he will soon be affiliated with none of them. I don't blame him! Who wants to have your every move questioned by a paper-pusher?! The order was cancelled altogether.

This leaves me running low on this medication that I've been on for years, and which has a NOTORIOUSLY bad cold-turkey withdrawal. Now, I will have to go BACK to my doc, and get ANOTHER Rx that won't be questioned by Aetna. I guess I'll ask for the half-dosage, once a day. That should fly. And if I have to take extra to combat side effects... Well, I dunno what will happen then, because I know they won't like that. Their rules don't allow for people's differing reactions to medications, or the lack thereof. Their rules aren't about PEOPLE. They're about MONEY.

Good thing I'm unemployed and have time for this bullshit, huh.

But seriously. This is insanity.

I'd like to see ALL state/federal/government/military workers -- but most especially POLITICIANS -- have to deal with these HMOs. Because only then will "certain people" in power recognize that this is ridiculous, embarrassing for America, bad for society, bad for people's health, and COSTS MORE IN THE LONG RUN.

I will also point out to Aetna... when your customers are social-media whores, this stuff IS NOT GOOD FOR YOUR PR. #sorry

Lunch at a cemetery?! I'm SO there!

Today, I went over to Westwood to have lunch with my delicious girlfriend Jessica. We decided to meet at the cemetery that's just off Wilshire. Most people don't even realize it's there! Jessica brought us some yummy Thai food and we sat on a bench in the shade.



I made sure to get a pic of Jessica with the cemetery's most well-known occupant.



I was especially happy to see that Don Knotts has gotten a new grave marker! It's gorgeous! For comparison, I've included a photo of Mr. Siegel with Don's previous marker -- that photo was taken in 2009.




I love Jessica. I love cemeteries. I love beautiful southern California days. I love Thai food.

So, I guess it goes without saying that I loved today. :-D

Simi Puppeh Park

Every now and again, we like to change-up our dog park routine. Today, we went out to Simi Valley (the Birthplace of The Katerz) to take advantage of THEIR lovely dog park.

It was a GORGEOUS morning! Kelsey loved it!

Thank you, Simi!

My Minnesotans (and a Monrovian)

Some years ago, I picked up a bunch of bizarre women on the internet. Most of them turned out to be from Minnesota -- go figure! Anyhoo, I've had the pleasure of meeting a few of them in person, and this past weekend, I got the pleasure of meeting TWO MORE! And their creepy spawn!

I do not know what I did in life to deserve friends like these... but whatever it was, I'm so glad I did it. These ladies have changed my life. They are so kind and loving and supportive! What a difference it makes, in the life of a parent, to have other like-minded parents (and/or professional nannies) to talk to.

Oh, and Kelsey likes 'em, too. :-D

My Top 25 Songs of the Decade

For reasons unbeknownst to me, out of the clear blue sky, I recently decided that I simply HAD to craft a list of my Top 25 Songs of the Decade. (This is what happens to you when you're unemployed.) I further decided that this list would encompass the years 2000-2009, as the 2010 songs have not had a chance to gel with me yet. And so, I sat down and started compiling.

This was no easy task. It wasn't easy to remember all the songs that have grabbed me over the years; I studied "Hot 100" lists for each year to help jog my memory. (Not a GREAT method with my personal taste, but a method, nonetheless.) My criteria for inclusion was simple: These are songs that GRABBED ME BY THE THROAT and would not let go. Songs that affected me viscerally. Songs that I really, REALLY loved, and in many cases, STILL love.

Some of these songs, I love simply because they're good, or great, or fantastic, or amazing. In other cases, I love them not only because they're good, but because they spoke to me at a particular time in my life, or they remind me of a great moment in time. (The inclusion of the Donald Fagen song is an example of the latter, as it reminds me of one of the best concert experiences of my life -- the "Morph the Cat" tour in 2006 at Santa Barbara's Arlington Theatre.)

If you think I've forgotten something, please, mention it in the comments! Even as I was typing this up, another song occurred to me, and I had to bump something off the list.

And so, I give you, in no particular order, THE SONGS!

(Please let me know if you encounter bad links.)

1. Linkin Park, "In The End" *

2. Evanescence, "Bring Me To Life"

3. Eliane Elias, "Running" *

4. Toto, "Falling In Between"

5. Simply Red, "Sunrise"

6. Death Cab for Cutie, "What Sarah Said"

7. Keane, "Bend and Break"

8. Drive-by Truckers, "Puttin' People on the Moon"

9. Michael Penn, "Walter Reed"

10. Dixie Chicks, "Not Ready To Make Nice"

11. Death Cab for Cutie, "Brothers on a Hotel Bed"

12. Coldplay, "Lost"

13. Iron & Wine, "Flightless Bird, American Mouth"

14. Liz Phair, "Extraordinary"

15. James Blunt, "1973"

16. Duncan Sheik, "Days Go By"

17. Art Garfunkel, "The Thread"

18. Sun Kil Moon, "Lost Verses" (possibly the most beautiful song on the list)

19. Midlake, "Branches"

20. Coldplay, "Fix You"

21. Death Cab for Cutie, "I Will Follow You Into the Dark"

22. Donald Fagen, "H Gang"

23. Sara Evans, "Born to Fly" (a holdover from my hardcore C&W days)

24. Vienna Teng, "Whatever You Want"

25. U2, "Beautiful Day"

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Maia Sharp, "Home";

Taylor Swift, "Love Story" (if you heard my child sing this at the top of his lungs, you'd love it too);

Jem, "They";

Duffy, "Mercy";

Midlake, "Roscoe";

The Ting-Tings, "Shut Up and Let Me Go"

* These might be my theme songs for 2010.

Placerita Canyon

Today we decided to head up to Placerita Canyon. It's been a long time since we were there! They've been working on some improvements, and the place is really looking great.

Sadly, the recent rains have rendered the main trail from the Nature Center to Walker Ranch impassable, so we were not able to hike that route. Out of necessity, we discovered a new, beautiful trail and hiked it instead. As an added bonus, the local firemen were also hiking this trail. HA!

It was a great morning! I can't wait to return in spring and see all the wildflowers which will undoubtedly have sprouted.

This red-tailed hawk is just one of the creatures that lives at the Placerita Canyon nature center. There's also an owl, some tortoises, and more! This fella is a real beauty, as you can see.

Euro-visitors

I was excited to see I had a whole mess o'new Euro blog hits! Then I realized people were landing on my blog when they searched the late Gerry Rafferty. ::sadz::

Hopefully people weren't too terribly disappointed in my flimsy little blog post which did not remotely begin to do Gerry justice... :-\

Another interesting tidbit: as you can see at the bottom right in this image from Feedijt, 47% of my blog visitors in the countries shown were visiting expressly for the Gerry Rafferty post. In the U.S., only 8% visited for that post. #TheMoreYouKnow

Wine

For many years, the words "Katerz" and "wine" were virtually synonymous. I LOVED wine and everyone knew it. I drank it; I talked about it; I studied it; I read about it. For YEARS, I did this. It was my second biggest hobby, after voracious music consumption. I visited wineries all up and down California. I subscribed to Wine Spectator, and was not remotely intimidated by what I read there. (Now THAT's hardcore.)

Then one day... it just stopped.

About a year ago, I realized that I was just not feeling well after having wine, or alchohol of any kind. It was as if my body couldn't process it anymore. It made me feel ever-so-vaguely sick, like I had a touch of the flu.

Undaunted, I kept trying. I was NOT giving up without a fight! HA! I'm IRISH, for Pete's sake! My BLOOD is 10 proof! :-D For a time, I was still able to drink white wine, but I was definitely off the reds. But that didn't last. Eventually, I had to admit that I just could not drink wine anymore.

I'm used to it now. But it still makes me sad... It's like I lost a part of myself. That probably sounds silly to people, or overdramatic. To those people I say: YOU DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVED WINE!

I still hope that one day, I'll be able to enjoy it again. Especially because I'd still like to crack open the 16-year-old BV Georges Latour Private Reserve cab I've been saving for a special occasion...

Blogger is Buggin' Me

I am struggling so much to get Blogger to post stuff the way I want it to post (see my last blog entry) that I'm considering bailing on this blog. The fact is, I don't have as much to say as I used to cuz I get everything outta my system via social media.

But at this point I'm not WANTING to post here at The Siegel Files because every post is a struggle.

I guess I'll consider whether I have enough to say to warrant a new blog. Or maybe I should just start a Tumblr or something...

I dunno. ::shrugs::

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

One of our many winter-break activities was paying a visit to the Natural History Museum in Exposition Park. They recently opened an "Age of Mammals" exhibit, featuring a full mastodon skeleton found just a few years ago nearby in Simi Valley! They also have a cool new DinoLab exhibit, which allows you to watch scientists while they work on items in the collection. And of course there are the old favorites, like the dated but specimen-packed Gem & Mineral Hall.

But one of my VERY favorite things about this museum is the architecture. The original center-section of the building was constructed in 1913, and is GORGEOUS. It's the kind of place where you're missing out if you don't take the time to study ceilings, tiles, and wainscotting.

And once you're done there, you can visit the Rose Garden, or take in an IMAX over at the nearby ScienCenter.

Exposition Park definitely makes for a great family outing for LA peeps and visitors.