A long, strange trip

Someone needs to explain something to me. I was just at the pharmacy, refilling my prescription for the pen needles for my insulin. I got charged full price for the needles, with no help from my health insurance. Why? Because they gave me what they (and my doctor) say is a 30-day supply on Aug. 29. Insurance companies do this, apparently, to ensure that prescription drugs are used in FDA-approved amounts and to keep people using said drugs healthy. Excuse me, but it's a box of 100 pen needles. Which I need to use at least 4 times every day. Last time I checked, 4 goes into 100 25 times, not 30. Considering that you're not supposed to re-use needles, if the doctor wants me to be healthy, shouldn't he have prescribed me 120 pen needles, so I can, I don't know, afford to buy the medicine he's putting me on? And don't even get me started on the test strips for my glucose meter. A box of 102 (six vials of 17 strips - don't ask me where they got that number) is o

How exactly does one become a private investigator? And why would you advertise your need for a private invcestigator on Craig's List ? Then again, I can't comprehend seeing job ads for doctors, lawyers and other high-paid executives on Craig's List. I mean, these are places that should, conceivably, be able to pay for job ads on reputable websites that advertise these positions, wouldn't you think? Has the economy crumbled that bad that the law firm of Dewey, Cheetum and Howe needs to find a free place to search for a prospective new shyster? It makes searching for jobs on Craig's List and other places, like Career Builder, difficult when I have to sift through all of these jobs that I, as a writer/editor, are in no way qualified for. And it makes me a little sad. Because it's Day 257, as the title of this post points out for you. How many people have joined the ranks of job seeker in those 257 days? And how many of those have found new jobs and have started wo

It's been 256 days since I've had a job. On Jan. 9, I walked out of the Berkshire Eagle offices. The next day, I was told that my resignation was accepted. Since that day, I have: - Moved out of my apartment in North Adams and brought all my stuff back to my parents' place in Malone, NY. - A week later, I moved in with my girlfriend and her brother in Palatine, Illinois. - Got hired as a sales rep for a place that went business to business selling AT&T. - Quit that two days later when I realized it was in no way a job I would enjoy doing. - Gone on a dozen or so interviews, with no luck. - Was asked to be a writer for a web series about Furries. Got creeped out and didn't follow through with a treatment. - Signed on to a Congressional campaign, but financial issues made me back away. - Did some freelance work for a construction business to business magazine that did not hire me as a features editor. Twice. - Quit smoking and drinking diet soda. - Got sick and ended