I saw a doctor

I can count the number of times that I've been to a doctor since I left high school on one hand. Twice since college. They managed to convince me that insurance was a waste of money. I mean, I give them 1/3 of my salary and they give me ... the finger. That's pretty much been my experience.

And I've been a supporter of the point of view that if you're not sick then you're not sick and thus don't need to go to the doctor.

Well, my pay has gone up a bit since I last had insurance. The bite isn't nearly so big.

I've put on another 13 years so something is more likely to go wrong. When that happens it's better for the doctor to have a nice healthy baseline to work from.

I got insurance briefly from my last contracting agency. I used it to go to the allergist and find out my peanut allergy is gone. But, I had to go from a contractor to a government employee in order to keep my job. Sure, the government is supposed to give employees insurance. But, you have to have this computer card in order to access the websites that let you sign up. And you have to sign up in the first 3 months or during the 1 month of open enrollment. It took them 5 months to get me my card. By then I'd missed all my windows and had to wait another year.

I got my insurance back in December and found a doctor. I had to wait 2.5 months for an appointment, but I got one. Of course, with this winter, my appointment was snowed out. I got rescheduled for yesterday.

The list of things that could have gone wrong was pretty impressive. If I was feeling cocky about how good my health was before then his questioning was leaving me downright arrogant.

I got the glove and finger for the first time. I'm 38, so it is time. The urge to quote "Fletch" was almost uncontrollable.

"Moooooon River.... Whew. Tell me, Doc. Ever do any time in prison?"

I was there for quite awhile. It was an initial diagnostic session, after all.

Next stop is the dentist. That visit isn't going to go as well.