Blog #9: Medical Insurance, Retired Words, and Blogging

BLOG #9: Medical Insurance, Retired Words, and Blogging

The things that pop into my mind and make a connection to retiring/being retired are often mind boggling and certainly not anything that would have occurred to me even six months ago. Different things cross my consciousness and some keep on going, some go and come back, and some stick like Gorilla glue and I’m off down a rabbit hole chasing those ideas. What’s stuck with me in the last week or so is health-care insurance, words that have fallen out of use in my personal vocabulary, and the profession of blogging.

BLUE CROSS

The other day I was out at the barn chatting to my barn mate, Bill, who was getting his lovely yellow-dun mare, Sally, ready for a ride in the hay field. (Names changed for privacy.) The day was a beautiful, early-winter day in Alberta with a bright-blue sky that is quintessentially Alberta, a nip in the air, and a skiff of snow on the ground. Just the day for a quiet trail ride (hack for British readers) so that a horse in full winter coat and human bundled up like the Michelin Tyre Man don’t get too hot. I was prep’ing my hubby’s Icelandic gelding, Bear, for a ride as a change from my own horse, Hasty. As Bill’s not normally the chatty type, I enjoyed chatting and getting his perspective on life as a retiree.

Bill’s been retired a few years, he’s a few months older than me, and he was ranting in a quite justifiable way about trying to sort out his Blue Cross medical insurance. When one turns 65, Blue Cross picks up the cost of the premiums and the cost of eye exams, but for those who have more comprehensive insurance plans, it appears to mean an adjustment (of some sort) to those plans. There are probably other things I don’t yet know about, but as I no longer have employer health insurance, and as I have a very basic model of Blue Cross coverage, I was particularly interested in what Bill was upset about. What it boils down to is ageism. Ageism in that, while on the phone to a customer service representative, the explanations (slower and louder) became frustratingly simplified once the rep realized that Bill was 64 y.o. Ummmmmm. Is this what I have to look forward to as I process the paperwork when I turn 65? 

I suggested to Bill that once he’s figured this all out he just explain it to me (without the need for a slower, louder, simpler explanation) so I could save myself the hassle of trying to get information over the phone. 

I have a feeling I’m not done with researching Blue Cross and that this topic will make its way into my daily doings again before too long.

RETIRED WORDS

A “retired”  word popped into my mind the other day probably because our newest rescue kitten (who, as I write, is still looking for a fur-ever home that is somewhere other than my place) was being, well, a kitten. Now, to be sure, Cheddar is absolutely adorable (when he’s asleep), and I love his cheeky confidence and his ambitious desire (or death wise) to engage with our three, mature,  been-there-done-it-not-interested-now female kitties.  I surprised myself by calling him a “silly wee moggie.” If you’ve grown up in England you’re familiar with the term moggie. You’ll know that mog, moggy/moggie, and moggies are perfectly respectable terms of affections for cats.  They certainly aren’t terms I use in Canada (except with those friends who also grew up in England). Unless you are a Canadian with cat-loving friends who grew up in England, the terms aren’t going to register with you. Which got me thinking about other words that I retired from my vocabulary when I moved to Canada but which I drag out of retirement and dust off whenever I’m back in Jolly Olde. 

• According to Bing, the term Moggy is used for cats that don’t have pedigrees – essentially a Heinz 57 type of kitty (and that’d be most kitties). 

• According to Merriam-Webster the term Moggy or Moggie was first used in 1911 and the online dictionary suggests that the word might be a diminutive form of Margaret (and M-W would be very wrong). 

• Dictionary.com (my personal favourite for online dictionaries) says that the noun is an informal British term, puts the first usage much earlier than 1911, and says the term was used to describe a baby cow (well, not in my neck of the woods). Dictionary.com puts first use at 1815-1825 with the possibility of a Cockney origin. 
  

Either way, the words Mog, Moggie/Moggy, Moggies are retired words and not used in my Canadian vocabulary.  I do think that’s a bit of a shame, and so I’m now on a campaign to experiment with their use in my everyday conversations.

BLOGGING

In case you’re not aware of it, technology hates me. I’m really one of those people who needs a teenager or a 4 y.o. to help me. I gave up using the VCR years ago, and my newish-to-me iphone has many features that are still a complete mystery to me. My computer truly does use its downtime to plot against me and there are more ways that modern technology can thwart me than you can image. So, it’s often something of a surprise to me that I managed at work with multiple programs and databases at SAIT and things technological that were part of my everyday work. It’s also something of a complete surprise to me that I’m even contemplating a “post-retirement career” as a blogger.

The Dummies type books have been a big help to me in terms of setting up this retirement-themed blog, but I’m now moving into the big leagues on self-help books and starting to learn more about blogging so that readers can find me and so that I can make some money out of blog #2.

Blog #2 will be a blog about older gals and their older horses (although it’s not limited to specific types of readers) and my goal is to make money off this blog – something I didn’t know was a possibility until about six months ago.

So, I’m currently reading The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging by too many authors to list. If you want the complete bib info, please let me know. 

Why I’m mentioning this book is that recently I’ve been chewing on whether or not I’d be happy to make $5.00, $5,000.00, or $50,000.00/ year off blog #2. Where I’ve settled is somewhere between both ends of the financial continuum with the expectation that I’ll be at the lower end.

I also realized (one of those blinding flashes of the obvious moments) that I’m looking forward to putting “Blogger” vs. “Retiree” on the occupation line of my income tax return. There’s a certain satisfaction in having a “real” job title, and I’ll be in the company of some 112 million bloggers world-wide. Perhaps, at some point in the future, there’s an opportunity to put my curriculum specialist hat back on so I can design and develop a continuing education course for wanna-be bloggers.

Here’s a real-fast summary of some information about blogging that comes from the Huffington Post book and that you might not know:

·         According to Technorati, only 36% of blogs are in English; 37% are in Japanese, 8% in Chinese, and 1% in Farsi.

·         54% of bloggers are under 30 y.o. (which means, of course, that I’m in good company as  46% percent of bloggers are older than 30 y.o.!)

·         That there’s an equal distribution of female and male bloggers (yeah!)

·         And that 60% of bloggers are “…less likely to be white . . .”

I was particularly intrigued (and amused) by Item #10 in the Top Ten Reasons Why You Should (blog): “For the opportunity to make an additional $1.65 per week through Google AdWords or the Amazon Associates program.” Well, . . . guess I might be in for a bit surprise then on blog #2.

Professions generally have their own professional organizations. These organizations control membership by qualifications (think degrees and professional designations).  In various ways the organizations also control the behaviours of their members, expect some sort of on-going professional development from members, have means to resolve conflict between members and between members and their clients or governments, and take fees to manage members’ professional lives. Bloggers by their very nature don’t really fit into a “professional” category and, rather like herding cats, would likely refuse to join a professional organization even if one were available. So, now I’m wondering whether or not blogging can legitimately be called a profession. 

Your thoughts?

Herding cats, however, is something I enjoy. Not literally herding cats, but the type of cat herding that, in my recent professional world, was essentially curriculum projects. And in one of those “Let’s leap down a rabbit hole” moments, I’m reminded of that fabulous EDS advert about herding cats: https://youtu.be/Pk7yqlTMvp8

MISCELLANEOUS:

·        When it’s cold and snowy, I can roll over in bed and not worry about driving to work or slipping and sliding down the hill to catch the bus.

·        I applied for a part-time job the other day and realized that if I need to present a resume I have to completely rewrite one as nothing in my current resume is remotely useful.

·        Old-world skills (such as working with horses, riding, driving, etc.) will make me a much-sought-after worker in a post-apocalyptic world when we have no choice but to return to simpler technology. And I can drive a team of horses:  

Medical insurance; old-fashioned, retired words; herding cats; simpler technology; and new professions such as blogging – who’d have thought that retirement could be this exciting!

Cheers, Chris J