Migraine Headaches

I went to see my doctor today about my increasing frequency (and severity) of headaches.  Now, I'm not insured because I am unemployed and cannot afford to pay for my own insurance.  The doctor visit was supposed to be $75.00, but she was kind enough to charge me only $35.00, but I could only pay $20.00, which they happily took and said they would bill me for the rest.  Anyway, after examining me and asking a bunch of questions, Dr. Cynthia Sainsbury (a plug for her; she's really good) diagnosed me with migraine headaches.  I told her, too, about my memory which has been getting noticeably worse, but she said I needed to go to a neurologist, which is out of the question of course.  I also saw her for horrible tendonitis (or bursitis) that I get in my shoulders.  My left shoulder is so bad right now.  She asked if I wanted a shot of cortizone but I had to decline because I couldn't afford the shot.

For my headache she prescribed for me the generic form of Imitrex, which is supposed to be a very good medicine.  When I took it to the pharmacy and told them that I am uninsured and that I need a price, they said it would be almost $200.00!  So I can't get that med., and my doctor won't prescribe any pain meds such as percocet because of my history of abuse (I am an addict).  Taking over-the-counter pain medicine such as Excedrin Migraine or the tension headache one is bad for my liver because it contains the stuff in tylenol, and I have gastric varices (or something like that) and have a problem with ibuprofen.  So I am screwed unless I can find someone in my family who has prescription pain medication and is willing to part with some.

I am luck at the moment because I haven't yet gotten a headache, but I've been getting one every day for the past two weeks so it's just a matter of time.  I'll have to take my chances with the over-the-counter stuff and hope that my liver can take it.

It sucks very much being sick and having no insurance.  For 19 years I have been working as a software engineer making great money and having great benefits, but I've not been able to find work on a year and a half and it is making me so depressed, and I don't know what I will do.  I don't want to think about anything extreme at the moment.  Oh well.  This is life.

Some of My Artwork

I have just uploaded some of my sketches and doodles to my art blog.  Check it out.

Crappy Customer Support and Stupid Warranties

On behalf of my wife's Dell XPS M1530, I have the unhappy task of calling Dell's crappy customer support whenever something goes wrong, and something is always going wrong with the thing.  Last night we discovered once again that the AC power adapter burned out.  I called Dell support of course, and after being bounced from one department to another I spoke to someone who told me that despite having the extended warranty, only a one year manufacturers covers "consumables", which of course means the AC power adapter--something I didn't know, but who the hell reads the warranty info?  I screamed, yelled, pulled out a few strands of hair and just hung up.  My wife was upset of course that Dell sucks so bad but also with me for failing to negotiate a free adapter.  I had to call today to purchase one for over $90.00 because I wanted it shipped ASAP--we use it for our business.

Now compare this to Apple's customer support.  Apple's support is far better.  No stress, no hair pulling, no screaming and yelling.  It's almost a pleasurable experience.  Just make an appointment at any Apple store and stop in with your computer.  Oh how happy I am that I bought a MacBook Pro instead of a piece of crap Dell.  My wife will no longer be shopping at Dell...ever.  But she will need a new laptop and so the question is what will we buy this time.  Certainly not a Dell.  No fucking way.  Assholes.

The moral?  Well, read the warranty info and then avoid Dell at all cost, unless you're okay with having to call customer support every four months when something on it breaks.  And no, they won't replace it.  They simply keep replacing parts until, in the end, you wind up with a mostly refurbished one anyway.

Watercolor Christmas Card

My wife has tasked me with creating a watercolor Christmas scene so that we can create Christmas cards. The problem with this is that I've only begun exploring watercolor.  A secondary problem, and one that has always plagued me, is that I have no idea what sort of Christmas scene I ought to create.  But what's good about this is that I can at least write the verse for it (assuming she wants that as well).



I have been looking online for watercolor Christmas scenes and cards, as well as other media (e.g. pastel, acrylic, oil and even photographs.  I'm sure I'll come up with something, but we'll see how well I create it.  I'll post it here if it doesn't suck.  Or maybe even if it does.

Huge Weekend Sale Saturday, October 24 and Sunday, October 25 Only!

This weekend only at Scrapbooker's Dream we have a huge sale going on.

First we have a great deal on select papers: Buy 20 Sheets for $5.00

Next we have a red ticket sale where all items marked with a red ticket are reduced 50%.

And last we have a color ticket sale. When you see the following colored stickers on select products you'll save:

So come on in this weekend and check out all the cool deals! How can you afford to miss it!

New Official Scrapbooker's Dream Apparel

We have updated our official Scrapbooker's Dream apparel!  Check it out:

buy unique gifts at Zazzle

Harvest Dollars at Scrapbooker's Dream

Our store, Scrapbooker's Dream, has something new this year: Harvest Dollars!







Starting Tuesday, October 20, 2009 to Sunday, November 22, 2009, stop in and for every $15.00 (pre-tax) you spend you'll get one Harvest Dollar. For example, spend $15.00 get 1 harvest dollar, $30.00 get 2 harvest dollars, etc.  During the Thanksgiving Week (Monday, November 23 to Wednesday, November 25 and Friday, November 27) you can redeem your harvest dollars, each valued at $1.00. So come in, buy often and save!