is the word 'diary' better than the word 'blog'? probably not.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
can't buy me love.
Is there a word for giving a ridiculously huge amount of money to someone for a service and then consoling yourself that at least you don't feel terrible about the job that person did? I need a sniglet here, people.
Just paid $600 to see a doctor. And my feeling is similar to when I paid roughly $2000 to the broker who was in charge of the apartment I rented in Brooklyn. On the one hand, I just don't have the money to do such things. But on the other, such things need to be done. So at least I can say that the broker really did his job. Drove me around all day looking at places. Talked to the management of the apartment when they were worried about my credit-worthiness (I was moving to NY with a huge raise but the job hadn't started yet, and you know I'm not independently wealthy, and so on). So he "earned his money," as they say. And yet....
It's not quite the same with a doctor. A good doctor is far more "priceless" than a good broker, even in New York City. And this doctor is awesomely excellent. She is the absolute opposite of the doctor from last year, whom I can best describe as "made undead by a sarcastic zombie." I was at the new doctor this morning for 1.5 hours, discussing every weird thing about my medical history. She asked lots of questions, ordered all my records. She did an exam and a procedure. She discussed all my options at length, and then printed out some extra information for me. She told me she'd call me in a week with results and then again when she had my records to discuss more options, AND she said she wasn't going to have me come in to the office again just to talk about stuff unless that was warranted. And so on. I'm sold. And I paid.
I'll get some of the money back from my insurance company. But I know a bit about my insurance company, and I'm guessing what I'll get back is half or less, even though I've already paid my deductible for the year. Oh well. You can't put a price on health, can you? Oh, wait. You can. Today it costs $600.
That reminds me of this: when I was a young kid watching campy Batman episodes, there was once a plot where someone had stolen some "priceless jewels." (For some reason the phrase "priceless jewels" always calls up in my visual memory the technicolory picture of an elephant bedecked with jewels, from that episode.) I couldn't figure out what the big deal was if the jewels weren't worth anything. I mean, if they have no price, why are they worth so much? My dad laughed.
Clearly, on one level, I was missing the point about how money doesn't quite cover some kinds of worth. But on another I was tapping into what is false about claiming "priceless" in a capitalist economy. Everything has a price, even what's priceless. Everything can be compensated for with money. Or so say the insurance companies and the courts (who then will nickel and dime you down to the lowest common denominator of compensation). And that is often how we walk through the world, as if money could take care of things.
Money does make things easier, the lack of it so very much harder. But it leaves a lot of things uncovered. You know this. 'Tis the season.
Which reminds me. Today in a crowded elevator in the Graduate Center a graduate student was COMPLAINING and COMPLAINING about how many parties she was invited to, but she had all this work, and what was she going to do, and oh how such a thing sucks! I usually stop myself from commenting on anything in elevators. But I couldn't help myself. After she got off, I said, "it is really terrible to be invited to a lot of parties." And everyone LAUGHED AND LAUGHED. It was just like when Kenneth was telling jokes in the elevator on last week's episode of 30 Rock except that, as far as I know, there were no narcissistic TV stars in there with me, veiling their jealous anger at my stealing the show from them.
In other news, tonight I am off to see ZACH GALIFIANAKIS with Todd! My man Zach is so funny that it is WRONG. And so is Todd. And so I predict that this evening will be fun and funnier. And it only costs $12. Unless you count the two glasses of wine or beer I'll probably have while I'm there. In which case it costs more like $35. But the fun and funnier part? Priceless.
1:45 p.m. - December 10, 2008
sduckie - 2008-12-10 21:55:14
Well look at it this way- you just invested $600 in a very special part of your anatomy. The next time a guy gives you a compliment on it, you can say, "Thanks- I take it to Dr. So-and-So, she really is the best."
-------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
