And on a random note, I watched the Sicko documentary the other day and am now officially terrified of falling ill in the USA. OMG. Scary!

I just wanted to say that I just spent the entire day reading the 3 sets of Blogshare (I had to do some digging to find 1 @ 2). It was a most enjoyable Saturday wasted.

I do not have a blog, but I regularly read one of the blogs listed (Bright Yellow World - love her) and that’s how I found out about Blogshare.

I’m stepping out on a limb here, and you can completely ignore what I’m about to say, but since it’s really anonymous for me, then I feel like it will be my own little contribution. And quite possibly others would not be willing to say what I’m going to. I’d like to offer what I liked and didn’t like about the posts - don’t worry, I won’t go into specifics, but reading them all at once I really noticed that some were much more interesting reading than others and here’s why:

It was fascinating reading about an actual experience a blogger had as opposed to how they felt about something (such as disappointment over boyfriends, husbands, not being married, being married, etc.)

I was immediately bored if the blogger started out by stating “they had no idea what they wanted to blog about” and then proceeded to blog about something. Just start the post. And so disappointing if the blogger stated they had a great secret but weren’t going to reveal it - what’s up with that?

So interesting if they revealed a true secret, such as the open marriage, issues with bosses, past unusual experiences, whether good or bad, etc.

So annoying if the post was removed by the time I tried to read it - why? why?

For some reason, a lot of the posts followed very similiar themes - I guess we read blogs we can relate to but it makes for repetitive reading. This relates to the “feeling” issue.

Don’t make it too short or too long if you want to keep the reader interested. I got bored 1/2 way on some that were too long.

I look forward to the next submission - please don’t block my IPS and you can do whatever you like with my comment.

Maggie

Were it me, I’d do the following:

1. Call my insurer and insist upon talking to a nurse case manager. An NCM generally has a) much more sympathy for patients and b) much more power than a claims admin.

2. Tell said nurse case manager that an hour trip to the hospital is unreasonable (because it totally is). If you feel comfortable fibbing, tell her that the women in your family have been quick deliverers, and that you don’t want to give birth in the backseat of your car.

3. Add: this is your first child, and you know that false labor is common. Should you wait until you’re sure, risking not making it in time, or should you drive way the frack across town and risk a many-hour false alarm deal?

4. Explain that you’ve developed a relationship with your doctor and are very uncomfortable trying to start over with a completely new provider at this late stage in the game. Reiterate that this is your first child, that you’re nervous, and you can’t go finding a new doctor now, because you’re comfortable with your doctor.

5. Finally, and this is not by any means a legit beef to her, but it helps to round out your case: bring up the fact that any time H has to go pick something up for you, it’s a 2+-hour trip, and that expecting family and friends to travel an hour to see you is crappy.

6. Recap. The timing is bad, the drive is ridiculous, and you’d like to see about getting special permission to deliver at Old Hospital. They CAN do this, it’s just a question of whether they WILL in your case. Make sure you sound super-polite, young, confused, disappointed, and grateful for any help she can provide.

7. Then, if all else fails, worry about finding a new doc.

Anyway, this blows, man. Healthcare in general blows, and I’d be curious to see what the U.S.-to-Canada immigration numbers are, as I see that Rene’s mulling that over, as am I, and a bunch of my friends.

The pathetic health care system in this country is one more reason why when we’re done with our road trip sabbatical, we’re probably going to end up living in Canada.