i really hate the health care industry. i inquire about fees at the doctor's office, & they say, "we can't tell you. it depends on your insurance plan" & won't even tell me their flat rates. i call the insurance company, & the rep. says, "we can't tell you the costs because it depends on the doctor's fees." both sides try to obfuscate the information in order to discourage patients from asking about costs. they want us to pay as we go without questioning the charges! one rep. at cedar-sinai says it costs $32,000 to have a baby there but added that the cost was arbitrary... what?! do doctors & hospitals charge diffferent amounts depending on the insurance company? i think i miss kaiser...
we're healthy people with no medical problems. we just want to find out how much it costs to have a baby. why is the information so difficult to find?
Friday, September 25, 2009
Hospital fees
Hmmm...
It looks like delivering at Cedar-Sinai Hospital in Beverly Hills cost twice as much as delivering at UCLA-Santa Monica Hospital, even though UCLA-Santa Monica Hospital houses a brand-spanking-new maternity ward.
How do we make sense of that? Is it the convenience of having a NICU (neo-natal intensive care unit) in Cedar-Sinai that raises its cost? Is it its location and its supposed service to Hollywood movie stars?
Although we love our current OB, we may have to jump to a third one (!!) in order to avoid delivering at Cedar-Sinai.
Plus, we just found out that adding a dependent on Anthem Blue Cross will cost over $500/month. Ridiculous!
All this health insurance research gives me a daily headache!
It looks like delivering at Cedar-Sinai Hospital in Beverly Hills cost twice as much as delivering at UCLA-Santa Monica Hospital, even though UCLA-Santa Monica Hospital houses a brand-spanking-new maternity ward.
How do we make sense of that? Is it the convenience of having a NICU (neo-natal intensive care unit) in Cedar-Sinai that raises its cost? Is it its location and its supposed service to Hollywood movie stars?
Although we love our current OB, we may have to jump to a third one (!!) in order to avoid delivering at Cedar-Sinai.
Plus, we just found out that adding a dependent on Anthem Blue Cross will cost over $500/month. Ridiculous!
All this health insurance research gives me a daily headache!
Monday, September 21, 2009
Two full-time students & a baby on the way...
"I'm so glad you didn't wait until you finished school! You're so OLD! You can do it! We did it when we were young..." were Jeanne's mom's words right after they announced their oncoming addition.
So the impending due date is in mid-February, though there's some discussion & vagueness about the fetus's age. Our first OB did not do an ultrasound & calculated the age with the first day of Jeanne's last menstrual cycle. &, apparently, measuring the top of the head of the fetus in order to determine age is not as accurate measuring the belly & femur. According to the diameter of the top of the head, the fetus is 19 weeks old. But the other measurements indicate that Jeanne is now 17 weeks. A big difference, apparently.
Robby is back the PhD office, playing racquetball twice a week, sitting in on his advisor's class on the video-game industry, & TAing a basic communication theory class. He loves teaching & wishes he had two sections instead of one. At home, he plays Counterstrike on the Christian server, so when he turns on the speaker, Jeanne gets to hear, "God bless" & "Jesus is the answer to everything! What's 1 + 1? JESUS!" The players on the Christian server do not curse or disparage one another, like players do on other servers, so Robby enjoys playing with them, though he remarked recently that late night when no one was monitoring players' comments, he heard some heftily misogynistic statements. But, he gets to ask lots of questions about Christianity while shooting the terrorists and counter-terrorists in the game.
Jeanne has started a Doctor in Education program at USC. She is currently taking an Educational Psychology class called Learning & a Diversity class. Ed psych is completely new to her, but Diversity is more familiar, & she is weekly inspired by her Diversity professor. Even though she is only a month into the program, she finds herself closer to forming a dissertation idea. It feels good to be in school again.
Today, we're sitting at a secret place in Santa Monica - a community center in part funded by the Annenberg Foundation & city of Santa Monica. We've got a patio that overlooks a 1920s marble swimming pool, a wide beach, & the Pacific Ocean. It is so breathtaking here, but we can't but feel like we're intruding on the lives of the rich & famous. We were brought here by buddies Patrick & Michelle, our favorite Canadians. Unfortunately, the employees here locked the outlets so we don't get the "phat" power that Patrick claimed they got previous visits here. It seems that they don't want people like us sitting here all day lounging with our laptops. As if they can't afford the electricity pumped out from a few laptops!
It's beautiful in Los Angeles this time of year, especially at the beach. We don't come to beach nearly as much as we should. The intense summer heat has passed & our apartment is no longer sweltering. Our beta fish Three (or Practice Three) is a happy new member of the family. We talk to Three all the time & he responds by swimming around ferociously.
It's wonderful.
So the impending due date is in mid-February, though there's some discussion & vagueness about the fetus's age. Our first OB did not do an ultrasound & calculated the age with the first day of Jeanne's last menstrual cycle. &, apparently, measuring the top of the head of the fetus in order to determine age is not as accurate measuring the belly & femur. According to the diameter of the top of the head, the fetus is 19 weeks old. But the other measurements indicate that Jeanne is now 17 weeks. A big difference, apparently.
Robby is back the PhD office, playing racquetball twice a week, sitting in on his advisor's class on the video-game industry, & TAing a basic communication theory class. He loves teaching & wishes he had two sections instead of one. At home, he plays Counterstrike on the Christian server, so when he turns on the speaker, Jeanne gets to hear, "God bless" & "Jesus is the answer to everything! What's 1 + 1? JESUS!" The players on the Christian server do not curse or disparage one another, like players do on other servers, so Robby enjoys playing with them, though he remarked recently that late night when no one was monitoring players' comments, he heard some heftily misogynistic statements. But, he gets to ask lots of questions about Christianity while shooting the terrorists and counter-terrorists in the game.
Jeanne has started a Doctor in Education program at USC. She is currently taking an Educational Psychology class called Learning & a Diversity class. Ed psych is completely new to her, but Diversity is more familiar, & she is weekly inspired by her Diversity professor. Even though she is only a month into the program, she finds herself closer to forming a dissertation idea. It feels good to be in school again.
Today, we're sitting at a secret place in Santa Monica - a community center in part funded by the Annenberg Foundation & city of Santa Monica. We've got a patio that overlooks a 1920s marble swimming pool, a wide beach, & the Pacific Ocean. It is so breathtaking here, but we can't but feel like we're intruding on the lives of the rich & famous. We were brought here by buddies Patrick & Michelle, our favorite Canadians. Unfortunately, the employees here locked the outlets so we don't get the "phat" power that Patrick claimed they got previous visits here. It seems that they don't want people like us sitting here all day lounging with our laptops. As if they can't afford the electricity pumped out from a few laptops!
It's beautiful in Los Angeles this time of year, especially at the beach. We don't come to beach nearly as much as we should. The intense summer heat has passed & our apartment is no longer sweltering. Our beta fish Three (or Practice Three) is a happy new member of the family. We talk to Three all the time & he responds by swimming around ferociously.
It's wonderful.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
We've started school & we're pregnant!
Robby and I have finally started our first week of school at USC.
The weather is in the unbearably 90s. An oppressively warm breeze flows through Culver City, which means that the air sits still on the USC campus, which is at least 15 miles inland. The stifling heat is intolerable, so I seek cooler temperatures in Doheny Library & the Annenberg building. But the air conditioning is so cold, that I end up getting the sniffles. Ugh, my body is not good at regulating temperature.
Despite the horrible summer temperatures, I'm very happy to be starting the Doctor of Education program at USC. Everyone has been SO nice.
Robby is also happy to start the new semester. He has a new set of impressionable undergraduate minds to mold, and he needs to start his dissertation soon. Plus, he's a 4th year & closer to being done!
Also, WE'RE PREGNANT!
We found out Japan at the end of June. We went to a pharmacy & Robby performed a funny pantomine of a pregnant woman.
A few weeks ago, I went to the USC Medical Center thinking I would just pee on a stick to get a confirmation. But after twirling her round calendar, the nurse practitioner pulled out the ultrasound machine and VOILA! I could see a little fetus with a big head & tiny heartbeat. Wow. I also saw its butt, spine, & toes. It was quite emotionally overwhelming. I wish Robby had been there. He probably would have teared up, like me.
Robby made a cute magic video for our parents. In it, he hosts a magic show that turns into a baby announcement. iMovie is awesome! We showed my parents first, then waited for Robby's mom & stepdad to wake up in Germany so that we wouldn't wake them up at too obscene an hour. Robby's dad & stepmom saw the video in the evening. After the parents & family members were told, we unleashed the video on facebook. You can watch it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulp8LsTuWOs
Luckily, I have not experienced any morning sickness. Thus, I've been denying the pregnancy for the past three months. I simply haven't felt ANY changes in my body since conception. I thought my slight weight gain came from traveling & eating too much in Japan & New Jersey (like that chili hot dog at Prestige Diner). Actually, fatigue is my only symptom. Phew! I don't mind sleeping.
Oh, we've decided not to call IT a "fetus" but a "guppy". Fetus is too scientific, & though IT probably doesn't look like a guppy anymore, we figured "guppy" was cute enough.
The weather is in the unbearably 90s. An oppressively warm breeze flows through Culver City, which means that the air sits still on the USC campus, which is at least 15 miles inland. The stifling heat is intolerable, so I seek cooler temperatures in Doheny Library & the Annenberg building. But the air conditioning is so cold, that I end up getting the sniffles. Ugh, my body is not good at regulating temperature.
Despite the horrible summer temperatures, I'm very happy to be starting the Doctor of Education program at USC. Everyone has been SO nice.
Robby is also happy to start the new semester. He has a new set of impressionable undergraduate minds to mold, and he needs to start his dissertation soon. Plus, he's a 4th year & closer to being done!
Also, WE'RE PREGNANT!
We found out Japan at the end of June. We went to a pharmacy & Robby performed a funny pantomine of a pregnant woman.
A few weeks ago, I went to the USC Medical Center thinking I would just pee on a stick to get a confirmation. But after twirling her round calendar, the nurse practitioner pulled out the ultrasound machine and VOILA! I could see a little fetus with a big head & tiny heartbeat. Wow. I also saw its butt, spine, & toes. It was quite emotionally overwhelming. I wish Robby had been there. He probably would have teared up, like me.
Robby made a cute magic video for our parents. In it, he hosts a magic show that turns into a baby announcement. iMovie is awesome! We showed my parents first, then waited for Robby's mom & stepdad to wake up in Germany so that we wouldn't wake them up at too obscene an hour. Robby's dad & stepmom saw the video in the evening. After the parents & family members were told, we unleashed the video on facebook. You can watch it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulp8LsTuWOs
Luckily, I have not experienced any morning sickness. Thus, I've been denying the pregnancy for the past three months. I simply haven't felt ANY changes in my body since conception. I thought my slight weight gain came from traveling & eating too much in Japan & New Jersey (like that chili hot dog at Prestige Diner). Actually, fatigue is my only symptom. Phew! I don't mind sleeping.
Oh, we've decided not to call IT a "fetus" but a "guppy". Fetus is too scientific, & though IT probably doesn't look like a guppy anymore, we figured "guppy" was cute enough.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Japan in Culver City
Yesterday, Robby & I rode our bikes past downtown Culver City into the artsy gallery district that surrounds the ever-so-popular Father Office (gourmet burgers without ketchup for $14; we've reviewed in it in a previous blog entry). On Washington Blvd., we rode by a Japanese-inspired gallery & cafe called Royal-T. All sorts of creepy vinyl dolls were displayed behind big windows, so we decided to stop and explore the gallery a bit. The large gallery had modern art of modern materials (plastic, vinyl, acrylic paint, figurines, etc.). The gallery works generally had a superhero theme: photos of aged superheros (a dejected Wonder Woman standing outside a mobile home...). The cafe stood in the center of the gallery and the waitresses were dressed up as maids. Maids! Just like the ones in the maid cafes in Tokyo! The first thing I thought was, If I were a gaijin opening this Japanese-inspired gallery, the first thing I would bring is a maid cafe. We Americans love novelties, especially ones that take the form of adolescent, submissive Asian women in pigtails and French maid outfits. There were about 4 parties there, all cool looking young people, not the way-cool, too-cool-to-make-eye-contact-with-you hipsters in Hollywood or Silverlake, but cool for Culver City.
It was a weird but pleasant reminder of our time in Japan.
It was a weird but pleasant reminder of our time in Japan.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Another quick recapitulation of our recent activities
Where to begin?
Robby & I have been settling back into life away from family. We're starting to cook again. We've been more adventurous in exploring our surrounding areas, like venturing to the Whole Foods in Santa Monica. It's an expensive supermarket, but Robby likes the healthy options. We have been riding our bikes around town for the past three days, meandering through unfamiliar neighborhoods and finding short cuts to our favorite places. It's amazing how much more one notices when she is on a bicycle.
What else?...
Movies! We love movies. Here are a few movies we've seen in the past month:
1. Public Enemies: BOOOOOO. It's a typical movie that glorifies the gangster, like Al Pacino's Scarface. Unfortunately, positive reviews in the N.Y. Times and New Yorker led me to suggest this movie. The cinematography is gorgeous, the costumes & 1920s setting are consistent & detailed (this is what the critics loved most about the movie), but the story & characters were flat.
2. Persepolis: I'm a big fan of the graphic novel. The film is very good; I cried a few times. It's tragic, humorous, dark, somber, touching. Plus, it's educational. I highly recommend it.
3. (500) Days of Summer: Zooey Deschanel is absolutely charming! This humorous break-up film is unconventional compared to the cookie-cutter Hollywood romances. It's a romance that is bound to topple. As a viewer, you see the signs early on, but since the film is from the point-of-view of the sappy, romantic male protagonist, you have to spend a few hours watching him step closer and closer to the epiphany that his girlfriend doesn't love him & does whatever she wants. It's got a fabulous soundtrack. & I love Zooey Deschanel's 1950s wardrobe.
4. Funny People: This is a serious movie about stand-up comedians. It's funny, but it's more serious than funny. I think that's probably why it received mediocre reviews in the N.Y. Times; it doesn't quite fit into a specific genre. Like all Apatow movies, the female roles are rough and shallow sketches of possibly complex characters. The male characters are given much more depth and sympathy. Seth Rogen is a likable actor, whereas Adam Sandler will never come across as down-to-earth and sincere. We were impressed that the opening footage of Sandler's crank calls were done when he and Apatow were roommates. All in all, I give it a B.
I think that's it for now.
Robby & I have been settling back into life away from family. We're starting to cook again. We've been more adventurous in exploring our surrounding areas, like venturing to the Whole Foods in Santa Monica. It's an expensive supermarket, but Robby likes the healthy options. We have been riding our bikes around town for the past three days, meandering through unfamiliar neighborhoods and finding short cuts to our favorite places. It's amazing how much more one notices when she is on a bicycle.
What else?...
Movies! We love movies. Here are a few movies we've seen in the past month:
1. Public Enemies: BOOOOOO. It's a typical movie that glorifies the gangster, like Al Pacino's Scarface. Unfortunately, positive reviews in the N.Y. Times and New Yorker led me to suggest this movie. The cinematography is gorgeous, the costumes & 1920s setting are consistent & detailed (this is what the critics loved most about the movie), but the story & characters were flat.
2. Persepolis: I'm a big fan of the graphic novel. The film is very good; I cried a few times. It's tragic, humorous, dark, somber, touching. Plus, it's educational. I highly recommend it.
3. (500) Days of Summer: Zooey Deschanel is absolutely charming! This humorous break-up film is unconventional compared to the cookie-cutter Hollywood romances. It's a romance that is bound to topple. As a viewer, you see the signs early on, but since the film is from the point-of-view of the sappy, romantic male protagonist, you have to spend a few hours watching him step closer and closer to the epiphany that his girlfriend doesn't love him & does whatever she wants. It's got a fabulous soundtrack. & I love Zooey Deschanel's 1950s wardrobe.
4. Funny People: This is a serious movie about stand-up comedians. It's funny, but it's more serious than funny. I think that's probably why it received mediocre reviews in the N.Y. Times; it doesn't quite fit into a specific genre. Like all Apatow movies, the female roles are rough and shallow sketches of possibly complex characters. The male characters are given much more depth and sympathy. Seth Rogen is a likable actor, whereas Adam Sandler will never come across as down-to-earth and sincere. We were impressed that the opening footage of Sandler's crank calls were done when he and Apatow were roommates. All in all, I give it a B.
I think that's it for now.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Back in Los Angeles
I know, I know. It has been awhile since we've updated our blog.
Since the last entry, we've...
1. celebrated our one-year anniversary by watching Johnny Depp's Public Enemies (boo!), having a sushi dinner at our favorite restaurant in the Peninsula, Momoya on Shoreline Blvd. in Mountain View, rented Clint Eastwood's 1964 Fistful of Dollars because we were disappointed with Public Enemies, took bites of our freezer-burned wedding cake (gross! Robby took at least three bites!), & exchanged gifts; read the first three Twilight novels in three days & neglected my childcare duties; hated myself for being unable to stop reading those trashy novels;
2. babysat my 3 nieces with my mom. Their parents were in Japan, so I helped take & pick them up for school, send them to swim class, etc.;
3. flew to Philadelphia & spent three days with Uncle Tom & Aunt Pat. Ate in the Little Italy area of Philly & toured University of Pennsylvania & the Annenberg School for Communication;
4. hung out with Karen's kids, went to a farm to pet some animals, and walked along a creek to catch toads, frogs & crayfishes;
5. attended cousin Patrick's wedding reception at Patti's sister's house in Bucks County, where most of the houses hang a big bronze star outside their door. Out of the 160 guests, we were 2 of 4 non-white people, so we got some curious looks. I was complimented in the strangest way: "You're like a glass doll, a little glass doll that you find in the 99-cent store!";
6. spend a week in New Providence, New Jersey, with Robby's dad & stepmom: went to the diner (of course), visited Robby's friends, watched Bruno, went to the city to visit Flo, Sima & Nina. Hung out with Flo's kids, had dinner at Sima's with Nina, Joe, & Robby's parents. Explored Brooklyn's Prospect Park, Botanical Garden, & Park Slop neighborhood. Was compared to the perpetually stoned Asian girlfriend in Knocked Up (who looks NOTHING like me). Met a few of Sima's lovely lawyer friends. Went to the anomalous, too-cool-to-be-here Van Gogh's Ear Cafe in Millburn;
7. flew back to San Francisco, helped with the nieces, & bonded with the one year old. Watched (500) Days of Summer with my cousin Jennifer & shocked the the reviews from the New Yorker & the N.Y. Times are completely opposite;
8. and drove back to Los Angeles sans Robby, who is still in New Jersey right now. Tried to temper my use of air conditioning as I drove through 100-degree weather on the 5 highway. Settled back into our Culver City apartment.
All the while thinking about our wonderful trip to Japan, recalling Japanese toilets every time I walk into a public restroom.
Since the last entry, we've...
1. celebrated our one-year anniversary by watching Johnny Depp's Public Enemies (boo!), having a sushi dinner at our favorite restaurant in the Peninsula, Momoya on Shoreline Blvd. in Mountain View, rented Clint Eastwood's 1964 Fistful of Dollars because we were disappointed with Public Enemies, took bites of our freezer-burned wedding cake (gross! Robby took at least three bites!), & exchanged gifts; read the first three Twilight novels in three days & neglected my childcare duties; hated myself for being unable to stop reading those trashy novels;
2. babysat my 3 nieces with my mom. Their parents were in Japan, so I helped take & pick them up for school, send them to swim class, etc.;
3. flew to Philadelphia & spent three days with Uncle Tom & Aunt Pat. Ate in the Little Italy area of Philly & toured University of Pennsylvania & the Annenberg School for Communication;
4. hung out with Karen's kids, went to a farm to pet some animals, and walked along a creek to catch toads, frogs & crayfishes;
5. attended cousin Patrick's wedding reception at Patti's sister's house in Bucks County, where most of the houses hang a big bronze star outside their door. Out of the 160 guests, we were 2 of 4 non-white people, so we got some curious looks. I was complimented in the strangest way: "You're like a glass doll, a little glass doll that you find in the 99-cent store!";
6. spend a week in New Providence, New Jersey, with Robby's dad & stepmom: went to the diner (of course), visited Robby's friends, watched Bruno, went to the city to visit Flo, Sima & Nina. Hung out with Flo's kids, had dinner at Sima's with Nina, Joe, & Robby's parents. Explored Brooklyn's Prospect Park, Botanical Garden, & Park Slop neighborhood. Was compared to the perpetually stoned Asian girlfriend in Knocked Up (who looks NOTHING like me). Met a few of Sima's lovely lawyer friends. Went to the anomalous, too-cool-to-be-here Van Gogh's Ear Cafe in Millburn;
7. flew back to San Francisco, helped with the nieces, & bonded with the one year old. Watched (500) Days of Summer with my cousin Jennifer & shocked the the reviews from the New Yorker & the N.Y. Times are completely opposite;
8. and drove back to Los Angeles sans Robby, who is still in New Jersey right now. Tried to temper my use of air conditioning as I drove through 100-degree weather on the 5 highway. Settled back into our Culver City apartment.
All the while thinking about our wonderful trip to Japan, recalling Japanese toilets every time I walk into a public restroom.
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