This time for a sad occasion. Someone in our family has pancreatic cancer. This is four years after my father passed away from that same horrible disease.
Off To The East Coast
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Monthly Archives: February 2008
A Whirlwind of Things
There are so many things going on in my life right now, yet I am not overwhelmed. I can thank my Coach for this for helping me see everything in perspective.
It seems many people, at least around me have gone through a rough month of February. Many people got the flue at the same time, some had very difficult weeks, problems at work, communication issues and just general hard time. I don’t know what the stars did, but something looks out of whack.
On the business side of things, I am going through an interesting time. I am dropping clients. Yes, incredible for someone who is starting a practice, I am picky. Some people, despite their abundance of words are just not motivated enough to do the work. I can’t take on someone who can’t do the work it takes to move on. It simply means, they are not ready.
I still have this collection agency hassling me over the phone. I will write more about the legality of that system later when everything is settled. A few things though, collections agencies cannot call you over the phone once you have requested it. They cannot hassle you at work. Those are federal laws. My insurance rejected my Dr.’s three years and three month old claim stating out of network services. I feel my doctor has put me in a very uncomfortable situation after given me her professional assurance I would not be liable for a scan, I have a collection agency calling me.
I am struggling with the following; fight it and have her pay the bill according to her professional advice or just bite the bullet, settle with the agency and take one for the team?
The problem, as I see it is we already have too many people who take little responsibilities in life and too many who let the other half take advantage of a system already overburdened. As a business owner, I can’t say how many times I paid up when I made a mistake in the interest of moving forward and keeping clients happy. It’s not only the ethical thing to do but the right business decision. So do I just bow down and pay for the mistake my doctor made or do I stand up and ask her to do the right thing? To also keep in mind, I don’t have the finances to pay this bill, have never agreed to it and I am starting a business.
This last point is what came out of my coaching sessions. Coaches can really help you get a vantage point of view. Winston got me to think of alternatives, such as a good coach should. Do I want to spend the time and energy fighting an unfair situation and have it impede the time and energy I could spend building my practice? Or just I just pay and get two clients who will provide me the financial means to settle this debt?
Ultimately, life is a fair mistress. What you wish for, no matter how matter how unaware you are, you will get. I am sure I attracted this situation because of my heightened sensitivity to injustice and probably feeling my life was too peaceful before. Ultimately, the choice is mine. Either way is fine. I will most likely do what I normally do, chose the middle path.
Life really tests you when you finally have made up your mind. It wants to make sure you are serious about it. It wants to know how motivated are you, how strong is your faith in it and yourself.
Few Thoughts On Mexico
I’m reeling in with everything I experienced in Mexico. It has a wonderful eye opener.
When we think of Mexico, I feel we see the immigrants who work here. They work hard but there is no real contact. What I saw there was wonderful. I saw a nation happy to be together. I didn’t get a sense of patriotism that can blind people and be manipulated. I felt a sense of common culture. I felt a bond between them and we were invited. It was fabulous.
One thing I missed there was that there are no Alfa Romeos in Puerto Vallarta. But the weather was mild, the people friendly. Besides the abundance of loud tourists and shops you would find anywhere here, you can still escape them. Because after all, isn’t it what we do when we go abroad, leave everything behind and submerge ourselves into another culture? Watching, seeing, listening, smelling, feeling how other people live who function in a society with completely different norms than ours. Would I want to see McDonald’s there? You can still escape those shops and wonder the windy little streets and chance into little stores and streets adorned with beautiful homes.
I had a great time there and it reminded me of something we have lost in most parts of our society, that family feeling, that family bonding.
Gizmo Not So Prime Time
I had to use my Gizmo account in order to be in on a teleconference.
I bought some credit before the call and over an hour later, the credits haven’t come through. I was kicked out of the call. I guess we are just too used to modern technology and we are still at the dawn of using it correctly.
The strange thing is that I had to go through Google Purchase. How long does it take to run a credit card? It’s fast if you do it at a store, it takes well over an hour online. What gives?
I learned my lesson. I will not use them for Any serious calls until the forum are unanimous. Oh and just missed a great call…
Grumble, Grumble, Flying Back!
Grumble, flying back. It’s never fun flying but even more after such a beautiful setting and vacation spot.
Come to think of it, we rarely vacation. Having parents from Nice and Savannah means you rarely vacation elsewhere! Boy, what a tough life.
Nonetheless, flying Delta after having been in such an environment is… hum, what’s the word?
Viva Mexico
Our stay in Mexico has be very pleasant.
We took this boat ride yesterday, went snorkeling and stopped at a beautiful exotic beach. On the way there we saw at least 6 if not 10 humpback wales. They were eating with their calves. I saw some exotic fishes snorkeling the size of my head. I even saw a blowfish below. I was the attraction of this Mexican couple as I dove down to the bottom. The water was cold but I can never pass the opportunity to dive.
What was surprising was to see how friendly and how “together” the Mexicans are. There was music on the boat and the ride back was transformed into a giant party. People were singing, dancing, laughing, drinking. It was amazing to see so many strangers gathering and having fun together.
I think this is what I enjoyed most about the culture here. People are together. There seems to be a great sense of family. Mexicans are wonderful with babies which was important considering we had our 1 year old niece. They really gave me a sense of bonding and togetherness. I hadn’t felt that since my younger years in the south of France. In many regards, there are lots of similarities.
Today we will go and visit downtown Puerto Vallarta. I am eager to walk the streets and get the feel of it away from tourists. There are some strange things. Amongst the run down homes and cars, you will see proudly standing WallMart, McDonald’s, BlockBuster, Gold’s Gym and William Sherman? I wish we had other things to exports than that. But it should be fun.
Health Insurances Problems, How To Deal With…
I have always heard how horrible insurance companies were and seeing their growth numbers over the past decades with the poor service they provide is good proof that something is fishy.
Insurance companies have been posting record growth numbers while hiring less and less. Sounds like someone is cutting corners.
A few years ago, as I mentioned earlier in this blog, a doctor ordered a scan with serious medical concerns. A few weeks ago an unknown company demanded I pay $744 and threatened me with collection. Three weeks later I have a collection agency calling me.
Here is what I found so far. I contacted the Department of Justice, the Department of Consumer Affairs, the California Department of Insurance, the Federal Trade Commission as well as local legal help foundations. I started filing complaints against the collection agency. I have gathered a lot of information on what can happen and what insurance companies just cannot do.
My insurance company fancies itself more competent than my doctor. They over-ruled my doctor’s professional concerns, never paid the scanning company who turned to me. The scanning company having waited three years to get paid only gave me three weeks to resolve the matter. According to the California Department of Insurance, insurances are state regulated. This is something not a lot of us know about. You can file complaints about your insurer if they did not provided the service they should have. I haven’t gone that far and are letting them resolve their mistake.
Collection agencies are not state regulated but are bound by federal laws. According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, they cannot hound you over the phone once you asked them to stop calling. Have EVERYTHING in writing.
As far as the seedy scanning company, I will give them a chance to recall the collection agency and make sure my perfect credit score isn’t smudged. If not, there are plenty of recourses from filing complaints with the BBB, to filing a complaint with the FTC and or the Attorney General to taking the matter to lawyers. I assume there is also a medical board I will report this to.
Frankly it is sad one has to go to such extremes in order to be protected from companies who exist to heal you. On a karmic level, I can only imagine what the poor being who threated me from the scanning company will have to go through one day. No matter your philosophical or religious beliefs, one constant is what goes up must come down. Wow, wondered what I asked for? Oh, yeah, to experience life down here 
I can say the same of the insurance companies. Finally, I found the local government to be very helpful despite their aversion to giving legal help. It’s just sad to have to get to those extremes to insure normal procedures. Definitely, it is high time for a change in this cruddy industry.
Bank Of America Numbers For January
Bank of America’s numbers are in and nothing shocking.
Affordability is still having positive impact on traffic. BofA’s traffic index increased to 37 in January from 28 in December, as agents noted improved traffic as a result of the sharply lower mortgage rates and further declines in home prices.
“Affordability tends to drive sales activity; mortgage rates are critical. We believe that affordability is the key determinant of sales and that the downturn in sales activity since mid-’05 was driven by the lack of affordability as home prices and mortgage rates both increased and limited the pool of potential buyers. We think the improving affordability will translate into better sales activity as the year progresses, but acknowledge that it is significantly dependent on mortgage rates.”
Pricing pressure continues as a result of high inventory levels. BofA’s price index increased modestly to 20 in January from 18 in December (readings below 50 indicate sequentially lower prices). “We think these price declines are likely to continue throughout ’08 based on the high level of existing home inventory, but think the better affordability may help to limit the declines.”
Inventory rising as would be expect seasonally; lack of construction should help to cure inventory glut over time. Agents in 34 markets noted rising inventory, not surprising as inventory typically rises in January. We think the significant curtailment of construction (new single-family construction permits down 62% from peak) will help to work through the inventory.
Taking It Easy in Mexico
I wanted to tell you what I was doing today…
Life is tough. I mean really tough. I decided to go on the roof top section of the house. There was a hammock with my name on it. I brought my nice headsets, mu iPod and my ACP homework. I wanted to relax first before studying. I wanted to listen to a song or two and Pink Floyd’s Fat Old Sun accompanied by Echoes on the Meddle album seemed perfect for the setting. Check out the links to the lyrics. That’s how I spent my morning eventually, dazing in and out of slumbers.
Music has always been a huge integral part of my life. Pink Floyd has always been in a league of its own. I love the Stranglers, The Pixies, The Psychedelic Furs and all, but Pink Floyd has always been in a nebula of its own. It’s outside of time. It’s aural architectural mastery. They are like fine crafters of feelings and images. They are beyond any other bands in their own ways, fearless
This is a beautiful part of the world.
Off To Mexico
We have been invited to go to Mexico all expenses paid. Feels good to get away from things and get a different perspective.
You remember that seedy Beverly Hills company that was threatening me? After waiting for three years to get paid, they called me and gave me two weeks after unleashing a collection agency against me. I am in shock. As far as I am concerned, my Doctor told my insurance that scan was crucial. the insurance passed the buck to that company who passed it down to me. What a messed up system we have.