Monday, April 09, 2007

Ripening with Age

My mom often teases me for being a true Canadianophile... Like any good cheese or wine, my love for Canada improves with age and experience...

Three things happened to me this week than just served to nurture my burgeoning feelings towards the home and native land:

1) The Canadian Rockies with Snow
I want to start a new sponsorship program. This one brings seperatists out to the Rockies and places them on top of Lake Louise or Sunshine (right at the top of the Great Divide ski lift) on a sunny day in early April. I am willing to spend my hard earned tax dollars just to fly them all out there (and this is hard for me to say seeing as I just spent the weekend filing my taxes... is it just me or did the personal exemption decrease this year... evil tories). I would find it absolutely impossible to believe that after seeing that majestic, awe-inspiring spectacle, that ANYONE could find it possible to want to disassociate from a country that has such formidable and breathtaking natural beauty.

2) Public Health Care
Because I have a new contract with my place of employ, I finally have health insurance. I have been avoiding seeking medical attention for the past 10 months, crossing fingers and toes that I won't get sick or be struck by lightening. Today, I was introduced to my new health care plan (which I still have to pay $150 US a month for). I was the idiot asking whether you had to pay up front out of pocket when you went to the doctor and which health care services did you have to pay a deductible for (like I'm a fricken car). Now I know our system is far from perfect, but the fact that I can walk into my doctor's office, hand over my medicare card, and never fork over a dime, is nothing short of a miracle...

3) Ben Mulroney
Seeing him wait for his bags at Montreal Trudeau Airport at midnight on Thursday night, like any other human being, sans entourage, or red carpet and idol free... was icing on the cake...

... oh Canada...

2 Comments:

At 10:19 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yes, last week was certainly filled with Canada's wonders- from Lake Louise's Back Bowls to (an idol-free) Ben Mulroney. But you forgot one: last week, the best part of Canada was that YOU WERE HERE! : ) XOXOXOX

 
At 3:12 PM, Blogger toujoursdan said...

was the idiot asking whether you had to pay up front out of pocket when you went to the doctor and which health care services did you have to pay a deductible for (like I'm a fricken car).

I lived in Dallas for many years and was baffled by the health insurance system.

If I needed care I had to get approval from the HMO, I would get the treatment going to the "in network doctor", then get an unexpected bill and then have to fight over who was going to pay for it.

At one point, I was told they were going to pay for a series of tests but then found a delinquent account on my credit report later (when I was buying a car, no less) which I had to dispute to take off. The whole thing is insane.

 

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