The countdown has begun!

1 month until surgery. I am officially FREAKING THE FUCK OUT!!! It dawned on me today that I have 1 month to finalize as many tax returns as possible, bill out said returns, and generally get thru tax season crunch time. Doable, but certainly not my most favorite-est month of the year. And yet, I get to ADD to that fun, with the excitement of teaching my 2 co-workers how to do my job, so that they can cover for me while I'm on leave! Yay me!

Yeah, freaking out about all the stuff that has to happen between now and surgery. And freaking out (but only a little, so far) about the surgery itself. That 4-6 week medical leave for recovery? Any chance we could start that early? I could use the break!



In other news - 10 days smoke free! I'm constantly eating, so I really need to stop buying snack-y shit to keep in my desk. My first real non-smoking test is coming this Friday, when the Grumps & I are meeting some friends for cocktails and a night of general debauchery. This group of friends happens to be all smokers. Every last one of them. And did I mention that I'll be cocktailing it up? If I can make it through that night without a puff, then I will be pretty damn confident that this no-smoking thing will stick.... at least for a while.



I go in this Thursday for a pre-surgical IVP. Dr. N wants to make sure that everything is functioning properly throughout my urinary-tract before the surgery. He doesn't suspect a problem, but he wants to be sure.

I have to go to Big Scary Hospital for the test, so el Grumperino is taking the morning off to go with me. I'm not so nervous about the test itself, but more so about finding my way to the appropriate parking lot/garage, entrance, department, etc. I'm a wimp with that stuff.

SPEAKING OF Big Scary Hospital... I got a phone call this morning from their billing department. Apparently, it is standard procedure for them to call - prior to a scheduled procedure - to "discuss insurance coverage and deductible or co-payment patient responsibilities". That translates to them asking me to PRE-PAY my portion of the estimated bill for a relatively inexpensive procedure (they said my portion should be about $175, but $155 of that is meeting my deductible for 2008).

I told the twit from billing - in no uncertain terms - that the hospital could bill me AFTER they bill my insurance, and I will gladly send them a check. There is NO WAY ON GOD'S GREEN EARTH that I am giving them a dime for a procedure they have not yet performed, and one for which she herself told me she could only estimate the charges.

I then got the "My computer talks to the insurance company's computer (literally - in those words), and I'm quite certain that this will be our charge. Additional charges could be lab fees, or fees from your doctor's office." speech. I politely replied that I could also be hit by a bus tomorrow, and not have the procedure as scheduled.

She agreed to make a notation on my record and that the hospital will send me a bill.