Wednesday, May 02, 2007
On Strike
It finally happened. My body fell apart. I knew it would. My body is a train wreck after years of wrestling, not to mention heavy drinking and being overweight. And so this weekend, my body finally decided it didn’t want any part of this triathlon. So it went on strike.
Right now I’m dealing with a wildcat strike in my right shoulder. It’s been pretty bad for as long as I can remember. Generally, if I leave it alone, it’ll stop hurting. But every time I try to do something physical, it’s just a matter of time before it starts hurting. It’s so bad that I can’t throw a ball for long. And forget about bowling. Not because of my shoulder, but because of how boring it is. I mean, literally, forget about it. Maybe if we all do, it’ll go away.
My feet, on the other hand, have walked out on the job years ago and they’ve been replaced by scabs. And, frankly, the scabs aren’t pulling their weight. I hurt them years ago playing basketball (yes, you read that correctly) when I was pretty overweight. I was told at the time it was plantar fasciatis. And maybe it was. But they’ve been bothering me ever since then. For the past two or three years, my feet have been hurting me pretty much every day.
So after years of lingering injuries and pain, I’ve decided to finally do something about it. I’m writing a blog entry, hoping that’ll stop the pain. Actually, I’m going to the doctor. Or rather, I’m going to doctors.
My company started a new health plan this year, called a consumer-driven health plan (CDHP). It’s all the rage now. Here’s how it works. It covers all basic stuff like physicals and whatnot. But you pay for anything non-basic up to $2800. After $2800, the health plan pays for EVERYTHING. No co-pays, no deductibles, nothing. The idea of the CDHP is that you’ll be more responsible if it’s your money at risk. And for the first $2800, that’s probably true. But we had a baby this year. And so we blew through the $2800 by the time she was born in March. So now it’s free money. Why NOT go see a podiatrist about my feet? And if I need orthotics? Okay. Don’t cost me a penny. And why not see an orthopedist about my shoulder? If I need surgery, it’s completely free. Hell, we’re going to rack up thousands of dollars in claims this year. I’d say the CDHP was a rousing success!
I don’t know where this leaves me for the triathlon. Right now, I can’t run because of my feet and I can’t swim because of my shoulder. I probably shouldn’t ride my bike because of either. I’m hoping that my feet are an easy fix and my shoulder can be rehabbed in the short term. I really want to do this triathlon, but right now I’m not optimistic. Which is really annoying because I was almost ready to buy some smaller pants. If I can’t work out, I might just have to keep the fat ones around a little longer.
Right now I’m dealing with a wildcat strike in my right shoulder. It’s been pretty bad for as long as I can remember. Generally, if I leave it alone, it’ll stop hurting. But every time I try to do something physical, it’s just a matter of time before it starts hurting. It’s so bad that I can’t throw a ball for long. And forget about bowling. Not because of my shoulder, but because of how boring it is. I mean, literally, forget about it. Maybe if we all do, it’ll go away.
My feet, on the other hand, have walked out on the job years ago and they’ve been replaced by scabs. And, frankly, the scabs aren’t pulling their weight. I hurt them years ago playing basketball (yes, you read that correctly) when I was pretty overweight. I was told at the time it was plantar fasciatis. And maybe it was. But they’ve been bothering me ever since then. For the past two or three years, my feet have been hurting me pretty much every day.
So after years of lingering injuries and pain, I’ve decided to finally do something about it. I’m writing a blog entry, hoping that’ll stop the pain. Actually, I’m going to the doctor. Or rather, I’m going to doctors.
My company started a new health plan this year, called a consumer-driven health plan (CDHP). It’s all the rage now. Here’s how it works. It covers all basic stuff like physicals and whatnot. But you pay for anything non-basic up to $2800. After $2800, the health plan pays for EVERYTHING. No co-pays, no deductibles, nothing. The idea of the CDHP is that you’ll be more responsible if it’s your money at risk. And for the first $2800, that’s probably true. But we had a baby this year. And so we blew through the $2800 by the time she was born in March. So now it’s free money. Why NOT go see a podiatrist about my feet? And if I need orthotics? Okay. Don’t cost me a penny. And why not see an orthopedist about my shoulder? If I need surgery, it’s completely free. Hell, we’re going to rack up thousands of dollars in claims this year. I’d say the CDHP was a rousing success!
I don’t know where this leaves me for the triathlon. Right now, I can’t run because of my feet and I can’t swim because of my shoulder. I probably shouldn’t ride my bike because of either. I’m hoping that my feet are an easy fix and my shoulder can be rehabbed in the short term. I really want to do this triathlon, but right now I’m not optimistic. Which is really annoying because I was almost ready to buy some smaller pants. If I can’t work out, I might just have to keep the fat ones around a little longer.
