A Journal of My Mid-Life Crisis

11 October 1998 - Oh, Brother!

Well, I managed not to kill my brother. But it was damn tempting.

What heinous crime did Elliot commit? He didn't pay the premiums on my COBRA coverage (i.e. my medical insurance). The premium for October was due on September 1st and he just stuck the envelope with all the other stuff for me to look at. So now I have no medical insurance until I go back to work. Admittedly, it's just a few weeks, but it's not impossible for some emergency to arise.

And, I have to say that overall I am not remarkably impressed with his handling of my affairs. I know I can't expect everyone to be as compulsively organized as I am but he was particularly chaotic. He used to be a lot more organized about his own stuff and seems to have deteriorated significantly, probably as a result of Ramona's bad influence. Sometimes I marvel at the fact that we grew up in the same household, considering the differences in how we approach financial matters. Oh, well, I will recover from all this I suppose.

But I'm still annoyed at Elliot. And, to add insult to injury, Fina (Elliot's cat) peed on some of my clothing!

On another subject, I drove back to Los Angeles on Thursday. A tedious drive down 101, but tolerable, and I got to L.A. in time to grab a sandwich for dinner and get to Community Storytellers. Which really made me feel like I was home since so many of the usual folks were there - Katy, Audrey, Greg, Kane, Michael, Kathleen, etc.. The only two people who I really expected to see and didn't were Leonard and Penny. (I did talk to Penny on the phone over the weekend and it turned out that she'd come for the second half, while I had left at the break since I was too tired and didn't want to get to Lonny's house too late.)

I should also mention, since I complained about Robert's mention of the subject, that Katy mentioned my weight loss in a way I liked. Instead of saying something directly, she said that I look "strong" and that I've obviously been moving. Much better than Robert's awkward attempts at complimenting me.

So I am sort of settled at Lonny and Lauren's until I find a place, but apartment hunting is always a pain. I looked at a few places on Friday and concluded that I can't afford the Marina (as if that was a surprise). I'm considering Park LaBrea but the commute concerns me. And, I am actually thinking about the South Bay, since there are lots of affordable places in Redondo Beach. I like Manhattan Beach a lot, but probably can't find anything there I can afford. Typical dilemma - live somewhere interesting and spend a fortune or live somewhere dull and cheap. I've gotten so bad at decision making lately. But, again, it has to be done and I shall survive.