Now, I am aware that it's tres non chic to value capitalistic aspects of the holiday season. HOWEVER. . .gift exchange is a very old and dear tradition in my family. It has never been an extravagant tradition, nor have us kids ever been so unlucky to have been utterly spoiled by it. It has never ever been an exercise in blatant soulless materialism. It's just something we've always done for the warmth of giving and receiving. I also know that this does not make my family unique in our tradition. I do, no matter how much or how little I am able to provide to this tradition, always make a heartfelt effort to come through with somthing for everyone.
This year has brought some changes in the professional and financial aspects of my life. Being that I have recently become quasi-self-employed not only am I responsible for (among a great many things) attending to my own personal tax liabilities, I am also in the position of having to provide my own health insurance. Very generally speaking this would not be much of an issue to the vast majority of the population (though not to diminish the plight of the 40+ million uninsured Americans - of whom I was once one). My options are slim. Not only because I'm self-employed but because I also have what is called 'a preexisting condition' (that's insurance-ese for 'another reason to either charge you an outrageously inflated premium with an outrageously high deductible OR - more likely - not cover you AT ALL). Okay, my point: I don't get to 'enjoy' the 'benefits' of health coverage until I've already given the company over $4000 over the first eight months of the year, at which point I have the extremely good fortune of ONLY having to pay between one third and one half of my total medical costs (not including my $200+/month premium that increases by between 11 and 13 percent at the beginning of every year) for the remaining four months of the year. Okay, my REAL point: this is all coming into focus as I begin to take 'advantage' of my coverage to start seeing a new and very expensive doctor who will be prescribing my very expensive drugs, all of which I will be paying for 100% OUT OF POCKET!! If this was June - well after taxes and no major commercial holidays in sight - it wouldn't be that big of a problem.
Huh? Oh yeah. My point. I won't be providing my usual participation in my family's tradition of modest gift exchange. Instead, I will be providing the wives and children of insurance and pharmaceutical copmpany executives with diamond earings, Malibu Barbie beach houses, and Sony Playstations.
Merry Christmas, fuckers. Sorry, family.
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1 comment:
I liked the first incarnation of the header, you know, the tires chocked and etc.
Also, Sam, I have something for you.
Something special.
.......C.........
Give it to your ins. company, with love, from me.
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