I'm Studying You

Insurance companies and Atmosphere

OK for starters, I HATE snow. I have a healthy dislike for all precipitation, but snow...inspires hate in a whole 'nother level. Especially combined w/ wind and/or single-digit temperatures. It's enough to change a man's constitution. Add to that the fact that I haven't been able to work since the end of September, haven't been able to drive since the end of October, and I've been a little more bitter than my usual onery badself is lately (depression isn't good when you've also come down w/a worse case of seasonal-affective disorder than in years before). Hell, I'm amazed I even showered today, let alone got out of bed and made it out of the house (those have been minor miracles lately). Enough whining about that.

So I've been receiving disability insurance from a 3rd party company through my employer. And I thought getting it from the state was bad...no, this is worse. They make you jump through hoops for awhile, then snowball you (no freaking pun intended): first, they call you to tell you that they've extended your disability (after first calling you to tell you you need another note from your doctor...I guess they're too lazy to call them); second, they send you a LETTER confirming what they've told you over the phone (instead of sending the check); finally, after much hair-pulling, scambling and scrounging, you get the check...and it's usually the day the mail comes late, everything's closed, and you're stuck another day without cigarettes and holding a worthless piece of paper. It is NEVER a simple, convenient process.

Whew. OK that's off my chest. Onto the good news...I implore EVERYBODY to go out and get the latest, newest free downloadable cd on the internet. I'm still kicking myself that I didn't get Radiohead's "In Rainbows" (one of my all-time favorite bands) when I had the chance, but I didn't miss this one thanks to my good friend Nicole. Indie hip-hop group Atmosphere has a new release, "Strictly Leakage", on their website http://www.ryhmesayers.com/atmosphere and burn yer fancypants a freebie. It's not bad, it's got a lot of their typical old-school beats and bombast. Not as good as their last (and best) proper full-length, "You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having", but it still blows away everything out there today. If you want to check out some of their stuff first, Atmosphere has songs on their myspace and youtube pages as well. But check it out after you've finished raiding my port (hehe)...and as a sidenote, visit my cheapskate, slacker lazyboy forum, "Invalid Item" , and say hi and let me know you're alive. Thanks and peace.