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I confess...this is totally ad-like.

When I was a kid, my ears often hurt. My mom, being in the speech field, always took ear complaints seriously and trotted me off to the pediatrician. I remember quite well sitting there while he looked in my ears, said they were fine, and told me they did not hurt. When I was about 14, I switched (due to a whole other story) to my mom's doc. She was doing a routine checkup, looked in my ears, and said (w/o prompting) that they must hurt quite often. I nearly fell off the table. Something about all my allergies and sneezing and such as a kid throwing the natural tubes off.

So, I don't respond right away to ear pain but after a month of discomfort and a "full" feeling, it was time to just make sure. I am a bad patient and do not have a primary care doc (I do have multiple gyns...) and always find it tough to go in anyway. So we tried the CVS MinuteClinic last Saturday. They only arrived in MA fairly recently but I know other states have them. I had zero wait and saw a very nice nurse practitioner. She said that I had a lot of fluid in my ears, no infection yet but one might be forthcoming so she told me to get Sudafed and gave me a prescription nasal spray to clear things out.

Anyway, I highly recommend the MinuteClinic experience. It obviously only works for pretty discrete issue...nothing requiring long term management...but it was fast and easy. I did NOT need to use CVS for the prescriptions themselves. Co-pay was only the standard $10 office visit (w/o insurance, would have been $62ish). Great alternative for busy folks and I bet great for parents too given the type of ailments kids come down with frequently. As Jason noted, it can hopefully become an alternative for people who use the ER as a primary care. The concept is derided by people pushing the value of a true primary care doctor. I appreciate the sentiment (and know I need one myself) but think they are a great resource used properly.

wherein i am politically incorrect

I confess...I feel guilty about some of my less-than-PC observations. But shall share some anyway (many T-commute inspired):

• Asian women have an odd penchant for perching right on the edge of train seats
• Men in general will take up more room than they need, often by spreading their legs wide. This is especially true of African-American men. Noticing the racial disparity makes me wonder if there is any sociological reason ("marginalized" group trying to stake a claim, need to "look tough"). Asian men rarely do this...though they also tend to be much smaller in general which may be part of that.
• There are two different trains that are on my home-bound track. I can tell which of the trains I just missed by the racial make-up of the crowd.
• White men and women seem the most likely to reek of cigarette smoke.
• The only people I've seen with chew on the train are young (late teens) white men. Is there a group trend? Who DOES that stuff?
• I often see Indian families where the woman is dressed traditionally and the man is in jeans. It fits the image of women as the carriers of culture and history. Which is interesting since (across the board, not speaking of a specific group), both are a bit rougher on women.

Now I'm pondering my own pondering. I call these observations politically incorrect because they are group stereotypes with racial and gender-based lines. Is just observing something and noting it a politically in/correct act? I certainly don't assume EVERY African-American male will push his knees over to my side of the seat line nor expect every Indian woman to wear a sari. Am I a bad liberal for noting the trends???

green-eyed monster (well, brown-eyed)

I confess...that I'm totally jealous.

• I'm jealous of people who don't have my intense (unhealthy) love/hate relationship with food.
• I'm jealous of people with a normal internal thermostat. I'm usually cold but then get randomly overheated. Then I get sweaty. Then I'm cold AND wet.
• I'm jealous of people who have a real passion for something. Other than a sexy movie star.
• I'm jealous of people who KNOW what they want to be when they grow up. Yes, even dedicated five-year-olds.
• I'm jealous of people who can't eat when they are stressed/down/emotional. Not that that's healthy either, but it is easier of both the waist and the wallet than my response.
• I'm jealous of people who truly enjoy the actual workout, not just the results and the feeling of accomplishment.
• I'm jealous of people who don't constantly transpose letters when they type.
• I'm jealous of people who fall asleep when their head hits the pillow and stay asleep till morning.
• I'm jealous of the really well-dressed lady on the T whose clothes are simple but always so put-together. I totally missed that part of the girl gene.
• I'm jealous of people who know what to do with their hair. Missed that part too.
• I'm jealous of people who don't have to make 25 outgoing calls every day. Evil phone.
• I'm jealous of people who aren't jealous.