Quickie. Not What You Think

 

I follow a lot of expats on social media and whenever the content creator is a person from the US who lives abroad, or a European who lives in the US, the topic of the absurdly expensive and incredibly complicated system of medical insurance in the US inevitably comes up at some point. Usually it is a comparison of costs for things like calling an ambulance, giving birth or having your wisdom teeth pulled. Whenever the UK comes into the equation the bottom line is often, well, the NHS is free, but you might have to wait for months to get the treatment you need. 

I was reminded of this topic when I decided to make a visit (without having an appointment) to a centre for orthopaedic doctors in the city centre of Vienna that I had visited before after a few days of neck pain and headaches (meanwhile, these have been replaced by an excruciatingly itchy scalp, but that's another story). I was prepared to have to wait for quite some time, but really wanted to have this looked into before the weekend: I left the countryhouse at 2 p.m. (Highflyer dropped me off at the train station), headed straight to that centre where I was surprised to find hardly anyone in the waiting room, was able to see a doctor 5 minutes later, got an injection in my neck and left with a referral for 2 different x-rays, another one for physiotherapy and a pharmacy subscription for muscle relaxant as well as an appointment to come back to discuss the x-ray results a week later. Since the place where I usually go for x-rays and ultrasounds was only a 5-minute walk away, I decided to chance it and ask if there was any chance of getting it done that day without an appointment. The friendly lady at reception told me I might have to wait for at least half an hour, but just as I had peeled myself out of my jacket and scarf on the floor where x-rays take place, I was already called in one of the changing rooms. I was back at the country house pretty much exactly 3 hours after I had left it, having popped into a pharmacy to get my prescription near the bus terminal from where I took the direct bus back to the village. Other than the EUR 7 and some change for the pills I did not have to pay anything out of pocket.

Yes, I was very lucky with the waiting times at both places and this might not have been the case on a different day, but I was still very amazed and extremely thankful that I live in a country where public health insurance covers such a good and efficient service. Complaining is our national sport, but sometimes it is in order to take a step back and show some appreciation for how good we have it, really!

Push and Pull

Last Friday was Valentine's Day and I got these beautiful flowers from Highflyer, together with a mug and card. More than anything I was happy that he remembered the day as I'm usually the one to remind him of any important dates, appointments and things to get done. It's not at all about having lowered the bar, but about being 100% comfortable in a relationship and feeling appreciated without having to nudge, drop hints or nag. Highflyer often points out how I "did everything right" in the early days of our relationship in the sense of not pushing him or wanting too much too soon and every time he says that I think back to my younger self, in particular to that decade post leaving Mr TD when I didn't do myself any favours by wanting too much from men who were not willing or able to give it to me and feeling incredibly disappointed when I didn't get what I expected when I expected it and even got accused of being needy and dependant, which in hindsight I was...both. 

When Highflyer compares me to his (last) ex who he felt cornered by and forced to do things he didn't want to commit to, I always feel sympathy for her because I definitely have been in her shoes, half-aware of this "wrong person, wrong time" scenario myself, but half deciding to block it out and soldier on anyway. I'm probably going to come across all self-help book, but it really seems like we push people away by wanting too much too soon from them, only realising when it's the RIGHT person that no pushing needs to be done at all and they are more than willing and eager to pull us to them without any strategy or effort needed on our part. Some people already learn this in their twenties, others only in their late forties, but better late than never, I suppose.

 

Following Suit

I worked at the Firm for a decade and until recently considered it the one employer I felt most loyal to. I still use and recommend its products and consider my time there as incredibly rewarding, both inancially and as far as personal development is concerned. Recently I was shocked to learn that, as an American corporation, it more or less threw its core values overboard overnight and, judging from headlines, not only pressed the "stop" button on DEI initiatives, but pretty much sold its soul to the devil aka the new US administration. Maybe I was naive to assume that ethics > opportunism, but I definitely was shocked and disenchanted when I realised to which degree not only this company, but so many others flipped the switch to a new normal that seems like the worst of the 1950s.

 

Hasty Judgement

Long-time readers know - most likely from my Empress-appreciation-post - that I tend to make hasty judgements and more often than not end up reversing them months, or sometimes years, later. Case in point, my most recent manager who has now left the company with the end of January. While I took an instant dislike to her after first meeting her and she and her leadership style almost made me leave the company myself, pre-Pandemic, she really grew on me over the years and I think the feeling was mutual. I often complained about her and eyed everyone who praised her with suspicion for years, but in the grand scheme of things and my retrospective ranking of all the people managers I have had in my career she doesn't score so badly at all. Our team's new manager should be announced within a few weeks and I am now curious whether history is about to repeat itself or whether the opposite might be the case, i.e. that I initially like them and then change my mind and end up despising them. We shall see.