It's lingering around the corner like a stalker that just won't get the hint - 30! Who would have thought we'd actually survive all those stupid things we did as kids? While a number of my friends have tangoed with 30, there are many of us counting down the days or months until that big day. Of course, with everyone turning 30 this year, I'm not sure I can handle all the big celebrations. I am getting "old" after all.
In the spirit of big birthdays, a friend's friend decided to compile 30 wishes from 30 friends. I think it's a touching and brilliant idea. However, what do you say at 30? My trusty friend Google gave me a couple quick ideas. I specifically liked this quote by Bob Dylan, "may you stay forever young." Slightly corny and maybe even a bit cliche, though it embeds everything I hope to accomplish as the years progress. "Adult" life can jade us. We forget that you work for more than the paycheck. Sometimes we have bad weeks, bad months, even horrible years, but with everything there's a reason (philosophical, I know). I hope to remember to have fun. While I may never have another time in my life where I don't have a care in the world. I hope to remember that age is just a number and youth is a feeling.
Not too long ago, my fiance and I painted pottery at a local studio. I made a "Cheerios" bowl - bright yellow with a red heart and "o's" inside. The outside read, Cheerios. But of course, the kid in me couldn't let the fact that I wanted paw prints and the color purple on my bowl, so I painted the bottom purple (can only be seen if you flip it over) and put paw prints on either side of my "Cheerios" signage. Perfect. As I washed it this evening, all I could think is that I'm just a big kid. It's moments like this where I feel youth.
So to my friend:
May you stay forever young. - Bob Dylan
30 is by no means the end of journey, so may this year be just one in a long string of fantastic years. Happy Birthday Miss 30! Rock it. Big hugs, Paige
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Planning 1,2 3!
Wedding planning – a never ending job. There's always something else on the list!
Every trip to San Francisco since September (there's been five!), has had back to back meetings and events. I'm excited to announced that many of the the wedding big-ticket items are done.
Venue – check.
Photographer – check.
Florist – check.
THE DRESS – check.
Bridesmaid dresses – check.
Engagement photos – selected, but need to be ordered.
Catering - check.
Invite list including addresses - check!
Ceremony musician - check.
Save the dates - in transit to Chicago...
Wedding website - almost done.
Wedding hotel blocks - booked.
On one hand, I review the list and feel accomplished. There's 7 months left before the big day. However, there are a number of other items I want to get done and I know those 7 months are going to fly. With 7 weddings to attend, next year already has a number of busy weekends. Plus, I'm in 4 of the weddings (including my own), which means, bachelorette parties (wee!!) and bridal showers (yay). It's going to be an expensive year.
My other fear is that now I need to get into the details. With spreadsheets, I'm incredibly detail oriented, but centerpieces are a completely different ballgame. Is it important to me to have one silverware design over another? I have no idea. Plus, now I need to think about the little things that just make the event pop...hmm.
Still on the big list:
Alcohol - started discussions with the venue.
Limo – haven't even started looking.
DJ – waiting for a response.
Photobooth – investigation needed.
Bachelorette party list – in process.
Linens and table settings - meeting scheduled.
I know I'm missing something(s), just not sure what they are right now.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Polar Heart Rate Monitor
I'm absolutely stoked! I finally purchased my Polar flowlink, which will link my fancy FT60 to the internet.
During the holidays I was asked what I wanted for Christmas. Let's be honest, I would not consider myself needy by any means. I am quite fortunate to be able to buy what I need or what I want with a little financial planning. So given the blank check of a request for a Christmas wish list, I was stumped as to what should be included on it. After careful thought, I decided that the Polar heart rate monitor that I have been contemplating for months could be the perfect holiday gift. It fits that you stuff yourself during the holidays with great food and then need to reverse those actions by optimizing your workout. ;)
I was given the heart rate monitor and ever since I set it up, I've been completely entertained. There are some activities that while I feel extremely tired, are anaerobic in nature and thus, my heart rate never goes much above 85 bpm. In addition, I've noticed that when I'm on the treadmill, my heart rate shows on the side without having to hold the handle bars. It's all because of my fancy heart rate monitor.
In the end, there are reasons for everything and I'll be honest, my reason for selecting a heart rate monitor is because my health insurance company incents me to submit verified workouts to earn points, which can then be used on goodies. If I'm going to workout, I figured I might as well get credit given that my gym is not "in network." The benefit of the flowlink is that I can now upload the data from my monitor to the internet, leading me to earn my points.
Sometimes it's the little things in life. Off to Vegas this weekend... :)
During the holidays I was asked what I wanted for Christmas. Let's be honest, I would not consider myself needy by any means. I am quite fortunate to be able to buy what I need or what I want with a little financial planning. So given the blank check of a request for a Christmas wish list, I was stumped as to what should be included on it. After careful thought, I decided that the Polar heart rate monitor that I have been contemplating for months could be the perfect holiday gift. It fits that you stuff yourself during the holidays with great food and then need to reverse those actions by optimizing your workout. ;)
I was given the heart rate monitor and ever since I set it up, I've been completely entertained. There are some activities that while I feel extremely tired, are anaerobic in nature and thus, my heart rate never goes much above 85 bpm. In addition, I've noticed that when I'm on the treadmill, my heart rate shows on the side without having to hold the handle bars. It's all because of my fancy heart rate monitor.
In the end, there are reasons for everything and I'll be honest, my reason for selecting a heart rate monitor is because my health insurance company incents me to submit verified workouts to earn points, which can then be used on goodies. If I'm going to workout, I figured I might as well get credit given that my gym is not "in network." The benefit of the flowlink is that I can now upload the data from my monitor to the internet, leading me to earn my points.
Sometimes it's the little things in life. Off to Vegas this weekend... :)
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
To Generic Drug or Not?
Working for a healthcare company can by incredibly interesting. There are more moving pieces than many people see and the government, federal and state, is always changing the rules. It means that nothing is set in stone. One aspect I don't like about the industry and company in particular is that I'm blamed, in a sense, for all the decisions the industry/company makes. Not to mention, people, my family included, feel the need to tell me their thoughts and feelings regarding the company's decisions. Most of those decisions are out of my control.
My dad, who has recently moved to Colorado and can't seem to pick up the phone to say 'hi'
(that's a different post), sent me a text today about the fact that he dislikes that my company is now requiring him to be on the generic drug for Lipitor as opposed to the brand drug. Furthermore, he felt the need to follow up my return text with an email stating that his insurance company should not be the one making his healthcare decisions.
I get it. Healthcare is an emotional and personal part of life. It is very hard to separate that feeling from any decision that is made, especially one that was seemingly made without you. In addition, many people outside the healthcare insurance industry simply think decisions are financially driven (which dad did point out). While I'm not going to tell you that decisions are not made with some financial incentive, I do want to point out some facts.
1. Healthcare costs in the United States have been rising and rising and rising
2. Generic drugs, while not identical, are bioequivalent to the brand
3. Many people have taken generic drugs with no complications
4. A generic drug is typically a fraction of the cost of a brand drug to both the individual and the insurance company
5. The decisions, while made in light of financial incentives, are not always for pure profit
So why does this matter? Lipitor, arguably one of the best blockbuster drugs of the 20th century, went generic in Nov 2011. My company made a decision, which I can say included medical expertise, to require members of fully insured plans to take the generic instead of the brand as of Jan 1, 2012. The decision, while saving money, is a way to push the common person to use generic drugs. Most generic drugs affect people the same way the brand does. And should a person find that they respond differently or adversely to a generic, healthcare companies are apt to make exceptions for people to use brands or another alternative. This is often known as step-therapy. They try to find the cheapest alternative that will get the job done. I recognize that that might not sit well with a consumer, but here's another side.
First a little insurance 101. Health insurance is supposed to be a means of spreading the risk of a catastrophic case over a number of people instead of having to bear the risk solely, much like car insurance. However, in contrast to car insurance, Health insurance has become a full maintenance plan where the average American believes a company should cover everything. The problem is, someone has to pay for the services. Generally, everyone pays a premium (often covered in part by an employer). As healthcare costs rise, the premium rises. The premium is set mostly to pay medical/ pharmacy costs. It is possible that if you are a healthy individual, you do not use your "fair share" of the medical costs. Contrarily, someone who has a heart ache or surgical complications may rack up hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars in medical bills. With the appropriate insurance, the bulk of those costs are covered and subsequently, an individual has a slightly more affordable bill (I do recognize there are varied circumstances and I am generalizing a lot.)
Back to Lipitor. Lipitor is a top 10 drug, which means, if you were to look at spend for the top 10 drugs per year, Lipitor would sit in that category, comfortably. Lipitor's sales were roughly $7.8 billion last year in the US (http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2011/12/08/how-much-money-will-generic-lipitor-save/). Now that Lipitor is generic, as much as $4.5 billion annually can be saved by 2014. This savings is transitioned into premium pricing for health plans around the country. Should people not actually switch to the generic, the assumed savings basically becomes an underpricing of a health plan. Consequently, in the subsequent year, this premium discount may be repriced to better reflect the actions of the population. Much like any business, an insurance company wants to make money. Though the profit margin baked into group premiums is not nearly as much as people think. After broker commissions, sales commissions, administrative costs, and medical costs, the profit is typically 2%. That money is often reinvested into the business to make IT improvements and acquisitions among other things. Fact is, there are many moving pieces and while some hit home harder than others, we're all trying to balance cost and reward. Healthcare is personal and don't think that we or anyone else making decisions doesn't realize that.
My dad, who has recently moved to Colorado and can't seem to pick up the phone to say 'hi'
(that's a different post), sent me a text today about the fact that he dislikes that my company is now requiring him to be on the generic drug for Lipitor as opposed to the brand drug. Furthermore, he felt the need to follow up my return text with an email stating that his insurance company should not be the one making his healthcare decisions.
I get it. Healthcare is an emotional and personal part of life. It is very hard to separate that feeling from any decision that is made, especially one that was seemingly made without you. In addition, many people outside the healthcare insurance industry simply think decisions are financially driven (which dad did point out). While I'm not going to tell you that decisions are not made with some financial incentive, I do want to point out some facts.
1. Healthcare costs in the United States have been rising and rising and rising
2. Generic drugs, while not identical, are bioequivalent to the brand
3. Many people have taken generic drugs with no complications
4. A generic drug is typically a fraction of the cost of a brand drug to both the individual and the insurance company
5. The decisions, while made in light of financial incentives, are not always for pure profit
So why does this matter? Lipitor, arguably one of the best blockbuster drugs of the 20th century, went generic in Nov 2011. My company made a decision, which I can say included medical expertise, to require members of fully insured plans to take the generic instead of the brand as of Jan 1, 2012. The decision, while saving money, is a way to push the common person to use generic drugs. Most generic drugs affect people the same way the brand does. And should a person find that they respond differently or adversely to a generic, healthcare companies are apt to make exceptions for people to use brands or another alternative. This is often known as step-therapy. They try to find the cheapest alternative that will get the job done. I recognize that that might not sit well with a consumer, but here's another side.
First a little insurance 101. Health insurance is supposed to be a means of spreading the risk of a catastrophic case over a number of people instead of having to bear the risk solely, much like car insurance. However, in contrast to car insurance, Health insurance has become a full maintenance plan where the average American believes a company should cover everything. The problem is, someone has to pay for the services. Generally, everyone pays a premium (often covered in part by an employer). As healthcare costs rise, the premium rises. The premium is set mostly to pay medical/ pharmacy costs. It is possible that if you are a healthy individual, you do not use your "fair share" of the medical costs. Contrarily, someone who has a heart ache or surgical complications may rack up hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars in medical bills. With the appropriate insurance, the bulk of those costs are covered and subsequently, an individual has a slightly more affordable bill (I do recognize there are varied circumstances and I am generalizing a lot.)
Back to Lipitor. Lipitor is a top 10 drug, which means, if you were to look at spend for the top 10 drugs per year, Lipitor would sit in that category, comfortably. Lipitor's sales were roughly $7.8 billion last year in the US (http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2011/12/08/how-much-money-will-generic-lipitor-save/). Now that Lipitor is generic, as much as $4.5 billion annually can be saved by 2014. This savings is transitioned into premium pricing for health plans around the country. Should people not actually switch to the generic, the assumed savings basically becomes an underpricing of a health plan. Consequently, in the subsequent year, this premium discount may be repriced to better reflect the actions of the population. Much like any business, an insurance company wants to make money. Though the profit margin baked into group premiums is not nearly as much as people think. After broker commissions, sales commissions, administrative costs, and medical costs, the profit is typically 2%. That money is often reinvested into the business to make IT improvements and acquisitions among other things. Fact is, there are many moving pieces and while some hit home harder than others, we're all trying to balance cost and reward. Healthcare is personal and don't think that we or anyone else making decisions doesn't realize that.
Monday, January 09, 2012
Great Things About 2011
While it's cliche, the end of the year is always a great time to reflect. It helps put the next year or the one after into perspective. The couple of years, I've completed a year in review. It's fun to remember all the great experiences I have had and know that even better ones are on the horizon. Here are the Great Things About 2011:
1. July 16 - Darden friends in town, engaged to my best friend and a fabulous engagement/birthday celebration to cap off the night
2. Derby 2011 (where my brother was engaged after the 6th race)
3. Great American Beer Festival (Why did I wait so long to go?)
4. Wedding dress shopping (Definitely found "the one")
5. Moving to Chicago
6. Charlottesville reunion weekend
7. April '11 - Cubs game followed by Uberstein and Art of Pizza
8. Monday nights at Tokyo sushi (I miss those!)
9. Vegas soccer tournament (still one of my favorite weekends every year)
10. Cooking Fools pasta making class
11. Q101 Jamboree Concert
12. Getting our Pottery Barn couch
13. Discovering Pilates
14. Humana Race to Taste (with an awesome race time!)
15. Brazil (Belo Horizonte, Iguassu Falls and Rio)
16. Sergio and Maria’s wedding in Brazil (absolutely amazing!!)
17. Volunteering for Boo-Palooza Wicker Park (little kids + Halloween costumes = adorable!!)
18. Brook’s 60th Birthday Bash in the Bahamas
19. Picking a caterer for our wedding (it’s going to be YUMMY!)
20. NYE 2012 @ Ana Mandara
21. Wedding Weekends: Christine and Scott, Sarah and Brian, Melisa and Chris, Madeha and Moshan, Angela and Nick
22. Brett goes skydiving!
23. Greenbrier (and shooting clays)
24. Mom’s successful Masquerade Ball in SF
25. Attending a show at Second City
26. Soccer!
27. IMAX: Transformers 3, followed by an amazing dinner at Japonais (all with great company)
28. Joe’s Seafood Engagement Celebration
29. Our engagement party
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Office Cheer
It's a funny thing… office holiday cheer, also known as sweets, treats and sugar. Sometimes I think I would have a "healthier" day if I just worked from home. Early this week, I managed to spend an entire day walking by the cinnamon-sugar pound cake and didn't have even a bite. That said, it was half demolished by 11a. For the last three days, someone has so graciously brought in donuts. That's another treat that while they smell good, I feel horrible after eating them, like a rock just hit my abdomen.
We work in a cube environment and each cube has a bit of storage space with a flat top. You're not supposed to put anything on the top, however treats or other miscellaneous food items seem to be the exception to the rule. Maybe the thought is that these items won't be there long enough for anyone to be scolded. On one of the nearby storage tops was a set of brownies this morning. They looked homemade, so I asked who made them and took one as a morning snack (I was missing my 10a snack after all). I thanked the baker via IM and was promptly informed that she baked the brownies at 5:30a. WOW! Frankly, I'd rather be sleeping. To her, she was just spreading the holiday cheer.
While the office always seems to have goodies that magically appear, lately it has been far worse than normal. I can't quite figure out if people want to share the holiday spirit or if they feel less guilty when someone else indulges with them. Working in health has made me incredibly jaded about the decisions individuals consciously make. In a country that has an obesity rate around 30%, I shouldn't be surprised by all sugar filled snacks. I am one of those people with a bad sweet tooth. I just choose to indulge in moderation and hope that you think about doing the same the next time the office fills with free food. And if I don't indulge in moderation, I really should be running an extra couple miles at the gym. Maybe today is worth 3 mi. ;)
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Thoughts on the End of a Chapter
I wrote this in October. It seems I never finished it or posted it.
Some moments, I breathe with ease. Other moments, I struggle to keep the wells at bay. It's hard to comprehend how we got here. Divorce. You would think at an age of understanding that this would be easier. I find myself over thinking the actions and reactions of the two "adults" that I call mom and dad. It is weird to think that now there may be a negotiation on where Christmas is held. Not to mention that while I myself am not married yet, I already feel like my family has doubled in size. And with that, so have the obligations.
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