The doctor points to Type 4 and says "We need more snakes". Come on Doc, what's next, are you going to pull out "Everyone Poops" and read it to me? When I left I remember calling home and saying that I just paid $15 (my co-pay) for the doctor to tell me I needed "more snakes". Kind of a waste of money and definitely a waste of time. Since then I hadn't thought about that trip to the doctor. Two days ago I get an invoice in the mail from those bastards at Aetna saying that of the $244 it cost for the doctor to tell me "more snakes", only $144 of it was covered. Basically they were telling me that I need to pay $100 out of my own pocket before they start covering me in full. As if being asked to pay $15 for "more snakes" wasn't bad enough, now you're telling me I need to shell out another $100 for "more snakes". Are you serious? For $100 I want the doctor to reach in the drawer, grab a lute, and charm one of these brown snakes out of a wicker magazine basket. For $100 I want a cute med student to give me the ol' turn-your-head-and-cough. At least give me my money's worth. I don't know folks, I kind of feel like I'm being cheated here. In Ann Arbor $100 can last you 3 weekends out at the bars. I'm going to pay the $100, obviously, but it's going to take a lot of will power to not send in my check with a Type 3 crackly sausage.
Saturday, December 8, 2007
That Shit Looks like a Snake...oh it is a snake?
All right. We've known each other for a few months now at the very minimum so I can be honest with you, right? Right. When I first got to school I had some run of the mill medical issues that were more a pain in the ass than anything else. What were they exactly...not relevant. But what is relevant is that I'm not feeling any love from my insurance company, and I think there needs to be some revisions as what counts towards a deductible and what doesn't. Doctors, I'm sorry you all need to deal with this regularly. I can't imagine how frustrating it is to deal with insurance companies. So anyway, I go see the doctor, he assess the situation, he has me get my blood tested for a fiber allergy (what?), and then I go back into room. He says, "You need to eat more fiber". Forty-five minutes in the waiting room and that was his answer. And then he says, "Have you ever heard of the Bristol Scale before". Bristol Scale? I'm thinking maybe this has something to do with ESPN or NASCAR. Um, no, not quite. The Bristol Scale is this...
The doctor points to Type 4 and says "We need more snakes". Come on Doc, what's next, are you going to pull out "Everyone Poops" and read it to me? When I left I remember calling home and saying that I just paid $15 (my co-pay) for the doctor to tell me I needed "more snakes". Kind of a waste of money and definitely a waste of time. Since then I hadn't thought about that trip to the doctor. Two days ago I get an invoice in the mail from those bastards at Aetna saying that of the $244 it cost for the doctor to tell me "more snakes", only $144 of it was covered. Basically they were telling me that I need to pay $100 out of my own pocket before they start covering me in full. As if being asked to pay $15 for "more snakes" wasn't bad enough, now you're telling me I need to shell out another $100 for "more snakes". Are you serious? For $100 I want the doctor to reach in the drawer, grab a lute, and charm one of these brown snakes out of a wicker magazine basket. For $100 I want a cute med student to give me the ol' turn-your-head-and-cough. At least give me my money's worth. I don't know folks, I kind of feel like I'm being cheated here. In Ann Arbor $100 can last you 3 weekends out at the bars. I'm going to pay the $100, obviously, but it's going to take a lot of will power to not send in my check with a Type 3 crackly sausage.
The doctor points to Type 4 and says "We need more snakes". Come on Doc, what's next, are you going to pull out "Everyone Poops" and read it to me? When I left I remember calling home and saying that I just paid $15 (my co-pay) for the doctor to tell me I needed "more snakes". Kind of a waste of money and definitely a waste of time. Since then I hadn't thought about that trip to the doctor. Two days ago I get an invoice in the mail from those bastards at Aetna saying that of the $244 it cost for the doctor to tell me "more snakes", only $144 of it was covered. Basically they were telling me that I need to pay $100 out of my own pocket before they start covering me in full. As if being asked to pay $15 for "more snakes" wasn't bad enough, now you're telling me I need to shell out another $100 for "more snakes". Are you serious? For $100 I want the doctor to reach in the drawer, grab a lute, and charm one of these brown snakes out of a wicker magazine basket. For $100 I want a cute med student to give me the ol' turn-your-head-and-cough. At least give me my money's worth. I don't know folks, I kind of feel like I'm being cheated here. In Ann Arbor $100 can last you 3 weekends out at the bars. I'm going to pay the $100, obviously, but it's going to take a lot of will power to not send in my check with a Type 3 crackly sausage.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Wake Up Little Su Zhi, Wake Up
I had a marketing presentation today. Six of us have been working on a project for about 2 weeks and we had to present it to the class. We presented an overview of Chinese sneakers/apparel company (obviously) Li-Ning and a proposed marketing strategy for expansion into the US and/or into India. It wasn't the flashiest and most complicated presentation of all time, but we put some long hours in and we had a solid finished product. The presentation took place this morning in our 8am marketing class. It's not easy to get up for 8am classes, and as I've mentioned in these blogs before, sometimes it takes a good hour until you actually can function like a normal human. In class, I'm one of sixty or so students, and sometimes you have the feeling that the teacher doesn't always notice you. Last quarter I was in a class that had a 40% or so participation factor built in. I hadn't spoken all term so on the last day I went up to the professor and asked him to call on me, and he said "where do you sit?", to which I said to myself, "eff, this is not good". He called on me that class, and he took me to school a little bit, but it was a good experience. I'm not sure how he didn't know where I sat, but my theory was that the top part of the frame of his glasses obstructed his view of my row. I mean, the guy I sat next to fell asleep EVERY SINGLE class. Head bob and everything. Did the professor really not notice?
So fast forward to today, and I'm up there in front of the class. I'm still not the most comfortable presenter, so when I'm up there it's kind of like that time in Old School where Will Ferrell is debating James Carville and Will Ferrell gets asked a question, he takes a deep breath, gives an thoughtful and well-crafted answer, finishes, turns to his teammates and says "What just happened? I think I blacked out".
Will, I think you're ready to be sponsored by Li-Ning.
So fast forward to today, and I'm up there in front of the class. I'm still not the most comfortable presenter, so when I'm up there it's kind of like that time in Old School where Will Ferrell is debating James Carville and Will Ferrell gets asked a question, he takes a deep breath, gives an thoughtful and well-crafted answer, finishes, turns to his teammates and says "What just happened? I think I blacked out".
Will, I think you're ready to be sponsored by Li-Ning.
So the point of the story is that I'm up there and I'm looking into the rows of chairs and there are a handful of people who are just hardcore passed out. Eyes closed. Head tilted. I mean, I was looking for some drool action but I didn't see any. Was I so boring...no...because I was up there talking for literally two minutes so they didn't have time to fall asleep on me.
The worst part was that finally, after talking about baseball, and apple pie, and pilgrims, and fat people, and everything else American for like, four months, finally someone steps up and wants to talk about something Chinese, and I look up and two of the Chinese students are out cold, probably dreaming of the day someone would come in and talk about some Chinese product and ask their opinion so they can really show off in class...oh well.
Back in October there was a 2:10pm class (prime post-lunch food coma time) where someone in the back row was making a point, so the class had all turned to listen to him. When he was finished talking and the professor resumed his lecture everyone in the class turned back around to listen to the professor except one guy, who had literally fallen asleep listening to his classmate speak. Hard not to notice that, you know?
So in closing...there is NO CHANCE whatsoever that if you are asleep in class you aren't noticed.
The worst part was that finally, after talking about baseball, and apple pie, and pilgrims, and fat people, and everything else American for like, four months, finally someone steps up and wants to talk about something Chinese, and I look up and two of the Chinese students are out cold, probably dreaming of the day someone would come in and talk about some Chinese product and ask their opinion so they can really show off in class...oh well.Back in October there was a 2:10pm class (prime post-lunch food coma time) where someone in the back row was making a point, so the class had all turned to listen to him. When he was finished talking and the professor resumed his lecture everyone in the class turned back around to listen to the professor except one guy, who had literally fallen asleep listening to his classmate speak. Hard not to notice that, you know?
So in closing...there is NO CHANCE whatsoever that if you are asleep in class you aren't noticed.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Bowling
I bowled yesterday. This morning my right forearm is totally tweaked and I feel like my left butt cheek somehow detached itself last night, ran 10 miles, and then reattached itself before I woke up. Is this what it's like to be 26? Despite the soreness today, I really enjoyed bowling last night. There is something very satisfying about throwing a strike, turning around and knowing that 30 people just saw you throw a strike. As Bos would say, "It's good for the confidence".
"Finger, tell them. Nobody fucks with the Jesus"
"Finger, tell them. Nobody fucks with the Jesus"
But let me tell you something not good for the confidence. Yesterday, it felt like I was one of three people in the entire MBA1 class not dressed up for recruiting. Between I-banking dinners, a Bain presentation, and a marketing symposium, it seemed like everyone was in jacket and tie or business casual. It got me thinking that maybe I was slacking off or something. I'm doing recruiting my own way, and shoot, if I get the job I want I'll feel pretty good about not having stressed myself out unnecessarily. However, if I don't get the job I want I'll be dusting off the tennis racket and posting fliers in Food Mart. I'm not throwing in the towel yet though. Ew.
Big weekend coming up. A big date...with my couch and TV tomorrow all afternoon for the conference championship games, and then my first hockey game tomorrow night. But now, back to reading about Foreign Direct Investments...
Big weekend coming up. A big date...with my couch and TV tomorrow all afternoon for the conference championship games, and then my first hockey game tomorrow night. But now, back to reading about Foreign Direct Investments...
Monday, November 26, 2007
Endangered Species
A wise Michigan grad said, "If you make it to Thanksgiving without snow, consider it a small victory". Well, we made it to Thanksgiving without snow. However upon returning to the great state of Michigan we've been blessed with sleet, rain, snow, drizzle, shnizzle, and everything in between. The good news is that I think those crows either went South, or they died. I'm hoping the latter. Anyway, I don't remember seeing pictures of people bundled in their jackets walking to class in the Michigan brochure. It's snowing, what are you going to do about it? You can do what the ladies and squirrels do...gather some nuts and a few hundred boxes of Entenmann's and hibernate for the winter, or you can do what I'm going to do which is work out in preparation of a Spring Break trip that may or may not actually happen.
I haven't felt this rested in a really long time. I actually made it through the 8-9:30 part of Marketing without feeling like I was about to fall asleep. That's a first. I'm feeling energized but realize this feeling is going to fade pretty quickly. Oh well.
I have to keep this a semi-short blog today because of meetings and other necessary evils, but I will say this...how many Bambis had to die in order to warm the toes of the Michigan female population?
Oh, how cute...(gunshots)...oh how warm...
The name of the boot above is the "Rainier", which is just a little too close to "Reindeer" if you ask me.
Little Girl: Mommy, why is Santa's sleigh uneven?
Mom: Would you rather have cold feet?
All I know is that everyone and their mother seems to have a pair of these things, and of the hundreds of girls I've seen wearing these boots, I think eight have looked good in them, and I don't wear my glasses all the time so it was probably more like three. To all the girls who wear these baggy sweatshirts, leggings, and boots like the ones above....
Who am I to tell people how to dress though. I just call 'em like I see 'em.
I haven't felt this rested in a really long time. I actually made it through the 8-9:30 part of Marketing without feeling like I was about to fall asleep. That's a first. I'm feeling energized but realize this feeling is going to fade pretty quickly. Oh well.
I have to keep this a semi-short blog today because of meetings and other necessary evils, but I will say this...how many Bambis had to die in order to warm the toes of the Michigan female population?
Oh, how cute...(gunshots)...oh how warm...
The name of the boot above is the "Rainier", which is just a little too close to "Reindeer" if you ask me.
Little Girl: Mommy, why is Santa's sleigh uneven?
Mom: Would you rather have cold feet?
All I know is that everyone and their mother seems to have a pair of these things, and of the hundreds of girls I've seen wearing these boots, I think eight have looked good in them, and I don't wear my glasses all the time so it was probably more like three. To all the girls who wear these baggy sweatshirts, leggings, and boots like the ones above....
Who am I to tell people how to dress though. I just call 'em like I see 'em.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
What I am Thankful For, Factorial.
Current Knicks point guard/modern day romantic Stephon Marbury has been really busy these past few days. Between blackmailing Isiah Thomas and missing games Steph seems to be poised to ruin the Knicks season before the month of November is over. Hey, no worries though, because if basketball doesn't work out he can always teach math...
"If I didn't play the way how I played, I wouldn't have gotten no max contract," he said. "They can talk about whatever they wanna talk about me, because I got maxed. I'm a max player. Don't get mad at me, because I'm telling you what's real. One plus one is two, all day long, and it's never gonna change. And that's factorial."
One plus one is two, all day long, and that is a fact...orial. I am thankful for Stephon Marbury, because as long as he's out there I'll have blogging material.
Below: Chris and Marlo from The Wire...tailgating?
I'm thankful for the few days off from school that I have. I'm sitting at home in CT in the comfort of my living room, computer on lap, football on the TV, with a cold glass of milk. Milk, and sleeping late...definitely will do a body good.
I'm thankful for a lot of things, and I'm thankful that you all keep reading my blog. Have a great Thanksgiving.
"If I didn't play the way how I played, I wouldn't have gotten no max contract," he said. "They can talk about whatever they wanna talk about me, because I got maxed. I'm a max player. Don't get mad at me, because I'm telling you what's real. One plus one is two, all day long, and it's never gonna change. And that's factorial."
One plus one is two, all day long, and that is a fact...orial. I am thankful for Stephon Marbury, because as long as he's out there I'll have blogging material.
I’m thankful for “Z-indicators”. I was talking with a friend last night and came to the realization that any company/product that substitutes a “z” for an “s” basically suckz. For example, Lugz, Hot-Headz, and Zales. Ok, maybe not Zales. Z-indicators take a lot of guesswork out of the consumer experience, which we should all be thankful for. Unfortunately, in Ann Arbor I blatantly ignored the z-indicator and went to a place called Nogginz for a haircut. Twenty minutes and twenty bucks later I walked out looking like a cholo. I’m not sure I understand the allure of having your hairline form a 90-degree angle, but I am sure I’ll never go back there.
I’m thankful for that fact that I don’t live in Detroit. Last weekend I tailgated for the Giants/Lions game and I thought I was on the set of the critically acclaimed HBO show “The Wire”. What can you say about a city that smells like marijuana and hot dog water? It was really sad actually. There were literally entire blocks that were cordoned off by barbed wire. Easily over 50% of the buildings I saw were partially boarded up. A typical one mile stretch is basically liquor store, liquor store, check cashing store/pawn shop, liquor store, Zales, mini-mart. I’m not sure a city like Detroit is ever going to enjoy a renaissance. They have such a long way to go. Ford Field, however, was a pretty spectacular venue.
Below: On location at the tailgate.
Below: Chris and Marlo from The Wire...tailgating?
I'm thankful for the few days off from school that I have. I'm sitting at home in CT in the comfort of my living room, computer on lap, football on the TV, with a cold glass of milk. Milk, and sleeping late...definitely will do a body good.
I'm thankful for a lot of things, and I'm thankful that you all keep reading my blog. Have a great Thanksgiving.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Mirror Mirror on the...floor? God Damn those Shoes are Fly
I purchased a mirror the first week of school and it still sits on my floor, effectively making my changing area look like a Foot Locker, since I have stacks of sneakers and one of those tilted sneaker mirrors. But the point is not about the sneakers, it is about the lack of time and the prioritizing I do here at Michigan. And the priority for this weekend is soaking up all the yummy goodness knows as Michigan vs Ohio State. I came back from the gas station and there were two junkyard cars painted scarlet and grey out in front of the AEPi house. Students are lining up to take sledgehammers and destroy the cars, and best of all, it's sponsored by Domino's. I'm serious.
I hope the Ohio State football team can understand this shirt, considering the majority of them are majoring in geography.
But, yeah, I'm pretty psyched for the weekend, which is also a double whammy, as I'll be going to the Giants-Lions game on Sunday. But on Monday I'll be knocked senseless by my Finance Midterm, so there are definitely pluses and minuses. I'll only get one Michigan-Ohio St game in Ann Arbor while I'm here, whereas I'll definitely be taking another Finance test at some point later this term. Priorities.
As I mentioned in my last post, I'm hoping Michigan wins and it gets so crazy that the Earth opens up and swallows the Big House. Well, I'm thinking this might not be that far off considering the trees right outside my window have become the hangout for hundreds of black crows or grackles or some devilbirds. The apocalypse is upon us. All night long for the past week or so...caw caw caw caw caw caw caw caw caw caw caw caw caw caw caw caw caw cawcawcaw caw cawcaw caw caw caw caw caw. I want to go out and start throwing rocks, by I'm kind of afraid the crows would come down and tear me to shreds. And this really isn't that wild of an assumption...
http://paperfrigate.blogspot.com/2005/05/birds-attack-people-on-sidewalks-of.html
If you want to know how annoying it is, just call me right before you go to bed, put the phone by your ear, and I'll "caw caw" you until you can't take it anymore and you hang up. And then I'll call you back and "caw caw" you some more. Caw.
Watch the game tomorrow at noon and have a good weekend.
I hope the Ohio State football team can understand this shirt, considering the majority of them are majoring in geography.
But, yeah, I'm pretty psyched for the weekend, which is also a double whammy, as I'll be going to the Giants-Lions game on Sunday. But on Monday I'll be knocked senseless by my Finance Midterm, so there are definitely pluses and minuses. I'll only get one Michigan-Ohio St game in Ann Arbor while I'm here, whereas I'll definitely be taking another Finance test at some point later this term. Priorities.
As I mentioned in my last post, I'm hoping Michigan wins and it gets so crazy that the Earth opens up and swallows the Big House. Well, I'm thinking this might not be that far off considering the trees right outside my window have become the hangout for hundreds of black crows or grackles or some devilbirds. The apocalypse is upon us. All night long for the past week or so...caw caw caw caw caw caw caw caw caw caw caw caw caw caw caw caw caw cawcawcaw caw cawcaw caw caw caw caw caw. I want to go out and start throwing rocks, by I'm kind of afraid the crows would come down and tear me to shreds. And this really isn't that wild of an assumption...
http://paperfrigate.blogspot.com/2005/05/birds-attack-people-on-sidewalks-of.html
If you want to know how annoying it is, just call me right before you go to bed, put the phone by your ear, and I'll "caw caw" you until you can't take it anymore and you hang up. And then I'll call you back and "caw caw" you some more. Caw.
Watch the game tomorrow at noon and have a good weekend.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Pot Luck
Oh man, I really have no business writing this post given the amount of work I have to do, but I've been away too long and I miss it. I'm trying not to run into making these weekly posts the "this is what I did last weekend" type of post, but this is what I did last weekend....
Saturday was one of the stranger days I've had in a really long time. I watched the Michigan game with some friends and then went to a pot luck dinner with some of my classmates, some of their spouses and even some of their kids. I remarked upon arriving that this was hands down the most grown up thing I've done since coming to Michigan. I made a cold barley salad with peppers, mozzarella, onions, tomatoes and cilantro. The theory behind my dish was simple, add as much color to it as possible because color is impressive. It actually happened to be pretty good too. When I opened the dish someone said, "Finger, that looks delicious." To which I replied, "It is, and look how colorful it is". It was nice to hang out with people who I typically would not hang out with. One of my classmates was there with her daughter. She's raising a 6 year old by herself, while attending Business school full time. Does someone like that even get phased at being cold-called? For Christsakes, she's had a person come out of her body, everything else must be child's play right? After changing how many diapers, and cleaning up how many spills do you feel like you could step into a ring with Mike Tyson? I don't know how she does it.
So after having a great, and extremely diverse dinner I went home and then went to one of the campus bars to hang out with some friends and consume the Saturday night special of $6 hard liquor pitchers. Full regression was underway as my mentality went from "grown ass man" to "frat boy" in about the span of an hour. But I guess that's part of the charm at Michigan. There's something for everyone, and if you're like me, you can make your two years a "pot luck" and sample a little bit of everything.
Anyway, in honor of the chick pea masala I ate on Saturday night that ended up giving me nightmares (although it was quite tasty), I'm going to leave you with a link to a video I found amusing. I've got to figure out how to embed some of these videos.
This is Safe For Work although it has sound. If you don't like stupid humor you should just skip it.
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/9da8271a25
This weekend...Michigan versus Ohio State. I'm hoping the Big House gets so loud and crazy that the Earth just opens and swallows everyone whole. It's going to be quite a crazy weekend, and quite a busy week leading up to it. Happy Monday.
Saturday was one of the stranger days I've had in a really long time. I watched the Michigan game with some friends and then went to a pot luck dinner with some of my classmates, some of their spouses and even some of their kids. I remarked upon arriving that this was hands down the most grown up thing I've done since coming to Michigan. I made a cold barley salad with peppers, mozzarella, onions, tomatoes and cilantro. The theory behind my dish was simple, add as much color to it as possible because color is impressive. It actually happened to be pretty good too. When I opened the dish someone said, "Finger, that looks delicious." To which I replied, "It is, and look how colorful it is". It was nice to hang out with people who I typically would not hang out with. One of my classmates was there with her daughter. She's raising a 6 year old by herself, while attending Business school full time. Does someone like that even get phased at being cold-called? For Christsakes, she's had a person come out of her body, everything else must be child's play right? After changing how many diapers, and cleaning up how many spills do you feel like you could step into a ring with Mike Tyson? I don't know how she does it.
So after having a great, and extremely diverse dinner I went home and then went to one of the campus bars to hang out with some friends and consume the Saturday night special of $6 hard liquor pitchers. Full regression was underway as my mentality went from "grown ass man" to "frat boy" in about the span of an hour. But I guess that's part of the charm at Michigan. There's something for everyone, and if you're like me, you can make your two years a "pot luck" and sample a little bit of everything.
Anyway, in honor of the chick pea masala I ate on Saturday night that ended up giving me nightmares (although it was quite tasty), I'm going to leave you with a link to a video I found amusing. I've got to figure out how to embed some of these videos.
This is Safe For Work although it has sound. If you don't like stupid humor you should just skip it.
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/9da8271a25
This weekend...Michigan versus Ohio State. I'm hoping the Big House gets so loud and crazy that the Earth just opens and swallows everyone whole. It's going to be quite a crazy weekend, and quite a busy week leading up to it. Happy Monday.
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