healthcare.gov

Arthur hasn't had a single nice word to say about the site. Bad language (even a basic pass by an editor would fix so much - some of the questions state the opposite of what they actually mean), terrible UX, and just a lot that downright doesn't work.

He's been trying to apply for weeks. Kept getting into a cycle where it told him he needed to fill out x before submitting, but every time he clicked on x, it skipped him to the end of the application and asked him to click submit.

So now after deleting and reapplying 3 times (because when something didn't work, that's what the people on the phone told him to do), we finally got to the stage where we received our eligibility statement and a list of options. Rather expensive options that aren't any better than what we have now.

He finally went and saw a human, and it turns out that the latest problem is that we make too little money to qualify for the subsidy - instead, we qualify for the Medicaid expansion. (Which we assumed we wouldn't, since students aren't eligible, but that's one of the things the expansion changes.) Except many states have been rejecting the expansion, so the site can't tell you that you qualify because maybe it's not actually an option for you. At the same time, despite making $60K less than the maximum for subsidies, it won't quote us any options with the subsidy.

Turns out Michigan has agreed to the expansion, but it won't be available until April.While annoying, it's better than it could be because my current plan decided to be nice and drop the pre-existing condition clause on January 1 even though they didn't have to (because the plan was grandfathered in).  That doesn't help me too much, since I have such a high deductible and haven't spent a cent against it yet since everything I have has been a pre-existing condition. And it's highly unlikely that I'll reach my deductible before April.

But it's decent emergency coverage in the interim and knowing that I will have affordable health care again in a few months makes it easier to plan. Although I was definitely hoping to have the coverage kick in January 1 :(

Oh Modern Technology, What Would We Do Without You?

For all our gripes and grumbles, Facebook is a wonderful thing. It's a way of still feeling connected to people back home even though we don't see them for months at a time.

While that's true of the Internet in general, sometimes it really is the mundane day-to-day posts on Facebook that are the most comforting. These are the posts people scoff at and dismiss as silly, but for a homesick person far away? They are the warm routine of a familiar life. Crazy Boston drivers; snow falling over the Charles; a disappointing baseball season... these are all, simply, Home.


What's great about Facebook/Twitter/LJ etc. is that these were ways we were keeping in regular touch with people before the move. With the craziness of work, and friends having babies, and just life in general being hectic for everyone, we rarely saw most people in person more than every couple of months. But with LJ and social media, we were in frequent contact. I know that so-and-so has a new job, or that cute-toddler is now walking, or that so-and-so is sick and could use a chicken soup drop-off. It's not a replacement for in-person communication, but it suffices for the time between in-person get togethers. And so many of our friends are long distance to begin with; phone and email were already the primary form of contact.

And so this move is less isolating than it would have been, say, 10 years ago. Sure, 10 years ago there was email, but one of the things I like about social media is that it is reminiscent of Usenet - group conversations. I can read a conversation, or participate, or start one of my own. Especially with blog spaces, it feels like I can write something once and post it once, instead of having a dozen independent email conversations with a dozen different people about the same thing.



It's not that I don't miss people. But I know I'll be home for Christmas, and see people then. And there is the good old-fashioned telephone when we need to hear someone's voice.

What's been difficult is adapting to the new reality with people with whom social media hasn't been a part of our regular routine. It's similar to the layoffs last year - seeing someone every day for years, and then bam, they're not there, is really difficult. Tossing a showtune over the wall, and catching its return. Baked goods at a weekly team meeting which always involved lots of laughter. Plotting evil April Fool's Day pranks for the website that we were always too nice to actually make. The abrupt departure of this team and our interactions was really painful.

This move wasn't abrupt in the same way, but it is similar in that I'm adapting to new ways to communicate with some people. Neffie and Neecey, for instance. Obviously they are not on Facebook (yet - just give FB time to find a way to safely monetize children!). And while their parents post cute photos that I eagerly "like" and smile at, it's not the same as playing hide and seek or dancing to the Muppets.

But we're starting to Skype with Neffie, and I'm finding it helps immensely. It's certainly not the same, but having them dial in while we're singing happy birthday to Arthur feels like maybe we're not missing everything. (Granted, it also helps that Neffie is now old enough to talk, even if he's still shy over Skype. His little Mahna Mahna performances crack us up.)



I've used phone and Facebook to catch up with former cow orkers. Again, people that I sat with every day for years - so nice to just chat once in a while. Or exchange political humor with my old boss. It's a way of feeling normal. Like I'll see her next week.

One of the other transitions was the absence of YankeeFan. Right before we left, he had to leave the country unexpectedly. So he was offline for over a month. And I was so used to our random text messaging that being cut off from that became quite noticeable. In fact, it was the return of the text messages that made me reflect on communication styles and draft this post in the first place. (The return of the text messages made things feel "normal", like my communications network was complete again. It was the last incomplete piece.)

It's definitely the people with whom Facebook/LJ isn't our primary form of regular correspondence that I miss the most, and I didn't realize that until one of those other forms was restored. We are *so* *used* to being able to talk to anyone, anywhere, any time in this day and age. Thank you Internetz! We are so spoiled. But when that's taken away? Or isn't relevant? Then I feel the distance. Then I feel homesick.



Of course, all that being said, it's been a long semester and it'll be great to see people in person when we're home. But in the meantime, I am glad that we have a plethora of communication technologies and we each have our own preferred methods.

Geeking out (digital technology edition)

So we get here, and what's the first thing we do? File trouble tickets.  I gotta say, UM Housing maintenance needs a better ticketing system.  Their email confirming your case number doesn't include the area, subject or description of the problem. No email when tickets are closed.  No way to see your open tickets.  So for now, I'm focussing on writing a ticket I'd like to see: describe symptoms, not a diagnosis; provide steps to reproduce whenever possible; ... what have I become?

After expecting to place out of the intro to GIS (Geographic Information Systems), I was told I still need to take UP 406.  This could be a good excuse to learn multiple mapping systems and solid ways to document and script my work.  (For example, TIG: I'll be learning a fair bit of Python.  Rejoice or despair as you will.)  Unfortunately, by the time I worked this all out, UP 406 was quite full.  I'll know within a week or so if I can sqqeeze in.

There are three-prong outlets _everywhere_! *happy dance* The lights don't even flicker when the laser printer spins up.

We're in Northwood, a University-owned housing development.  This year they migrated from phone/DSL to cable for everything ("triple-play").  Our landline comes out of the back of the cable modem.  I am happy to report that voice-over-cableTV technology works, with the exception that the bedroom extension is now disconnected from anything.

I'm less happy with the signal strength of the HDTV channels though.  Both TiVo and the TV intermittently report "searching for signal", and the TiVo frequently records artifacts/jaggies.  Anyone have an idea on how to isolate this type of problem?  I checked all the connections I could find downstairs (the splitter for our apartment and for the apartment downstairs) and they looked secure...

There are 25 wireless networks within earshot.  We're all getting our bandwidth from ITS.  There's got to be a better way.  (I've been meaning to see how they're allocated across channels in the hopes of avoiding once-a-week signal dropout, but that's probably a lost cause.)

Still working out how/how much to use laptops for note-taking in class.  I took a MacBook Air with me from work "as is" because it was overheating and discharging its battery quickly.  I had hoped it wouldn't take much more than compressed air and software fixes to set it right, but no such luck...it's started refusing to charge sometimes. (Resetting SMC hasn't helped.)  In any case, I figure I'll probably end up with digital notes for most classes, and paper notebooks for the more graphically-oriented ones.