More bars in more places

Well, I WAS working on that, but now never mind...

This past week or so I was working on checking the lawn mower and
getting it ready. The problems I had were that I didn't know how to tell
if there was enough oil for the motor because the dip stick looks like
it has broken off at some point. The other bit is that it needed gas. I
don't exactly remember if I ran it dry (preferable) or I left a little
bit in the tank.

SO my older sister came up for last week, and instead of leaving the
mower to me which I would have gotten to pretty soon, she just barrels
along and just starts messing with it.

For some reason, there's this red plastic gas "can" that's been around
since the first deadbeat was here. I don't use it because the last time
I did, there was water in it. If there's no gas in it now, I'm going to
toss it. The other gas can is metal, my grandfather used it just fine.
She seems to think some cans are legal and stuff, but this one is just
fine.

Anywho, you can see where this is going. Instead of asking me something
about the mower and said gas cans, she goes and puts whatever was in the
red one into the mower's fuel tank. I had already checked that one, I
know there's water and dirt in there. She never bothered to ask me what
I know, and when she tells me that's what she did, I tell her good luck
getting it started, you'll have to drain the tank now. Her response is
"Well, I didn't know." Well geesus krist, ASK me. You can look inside
gas cans, ya know. And Gas has an Odor to it. The walls of the red
plastic one do let some light through, and that's how I knew not to use
that for anything except throwing it away. I made that mistake 2 years
ago, and the mower had to be cleaned out.

She eventually does get some gas (I hope it's in the metal can) but we
can't get it started. The spark plug might need changed or cleaned, but
the main problem now is finding out where there's still water and dirt
in the fuel and probably fuel line, and the issue of motor oil still
needs clarified.

If it had been left to me, I would have gotten gas in the metal can, put
some in, and it might have started. And if not, I have friends who can
take another look and find out what's going on.

My older sister has a bad habit of thinking she knows everything and
just does stuff with things without talking to anyone. It's a bad habit
she needs to break.

Get it at a pawn shop

Today, I spent time getting my eyes checked and visiting my dad's mom. We went out to eat and during the meal my older sister asks how many TVs there was because she doesn't have one. Trying to take what I'm using? She can just as easily buy one at a pawn shop and it might even have a digital tuner for almost no money! She ain't getting mom's!

An example of how I supposedly have and don't have medical coverage

I hope the recent reforms change this, because right now at the same
time I do and don't have medical coverage. Here's how it works:

Because of my disability, I have Medicare A and B. The Part B premium is
covered by state Medicaid under a thingy called QMBY, so there's no
deduction out of my disability check. However, I do not get Medicaid per
se unless I spend $60 of my own money, while at the same time I have to
deal with Medicare deductibles.

So what this means is if I wanted to get a new pair of glasses, I would
have to spend $60 on the process of getting one and then have the rest
billed to Medicaid. This is what is known as a Spend Down rule. This
sort of thing likely also applies if I need counseling and the like.

What's messed up about this is that I can't exactly afford $60 out of my
pocket every month. I'm barely covering my obligations for the month.
Getting some steady work might help. I wonder what my mom would have
said if she saw how different things are for me. She never had to pay
anything out of her pocket, but then her disability check was just a bit
less than that I get. It's not fair I get screwed.

So while yes, I have Medicare A and B for what they're supposed to
cover, I might as well not have anything anyway because of what I have
to go through to use it. It's not worth my time to figure it out. It's
too confusing.

I hope the health care reforms eliminate the need for a "spend down" as
well as deductibles for what I'm supposed to have.