Girdus Loinsus

Todays theme: Preparing for Battle. Also: Caffeinicus Interrupticus.

(After "Bracing" and "Girding the loins," I'm not sure where I'll be going next with this theme, so send me any suggestions. Maybe "Into the mouth of hell" would be good?)

Part I: Two bad films, starting with "Troy"

What a load of absolute crap this film was. I admit, I didn't get more than 10 minutes in. I am so totally engrossed (emphasis on "gross") by the sight of Brad Pitt smashing his fat lips down on some poor female that I'm willing to put up with a LOT of bad acting. [As a probably not interesting aside, this did not tempt me to watch "Mr & Mrs Smith," which would have involved not one but two pairs of smashed fat lips, but that's because I kind of like Angelina Jolie and I grieve the turn things have taken for her lately. And no, I'm not caring one way or the other about the Pitt/Aniston breakup because seriously, who gives a fuck?]

But "Troy" was just plain silly. I think what did it for me was the scene where Helen of Troy unrobed for Orlando Bloom by dramatically unclasping her flowing gown at the shoulders. That and my husband was next to me making stupid comments about how fetching the wee man skirties were. Or possibly the horribly bad script and embarassing things they made Brian Cox say. It was even worse than "Narnia," which I was really really looking forward to and saw this week, and absolutely hated. I sat there rolling my eyes through almost the entire thing, the writing was so bad.

Part II: Battle fashions

We are on the most pinko commie mailing list ever, thanks to a few well-placed contributions over the past year. Since we gave money to more than one group, we can't really be sure which one of them is whoring their mailing list. I am pretty sure, however, that we have to thank some other group entirely for introducing me, finally, to a women's wear catalog that is truly the equal of Internati0nal Male. I used to think that Vict0ria's Secr*t's clothing line was pretty high up on the skanky scale, but the champion has to be B0ston Pr0per. What I like best about this catalog? Is that the models are ALL posed legs apart, in many cases quite wide apart. This stance goes well beyond the slightly off-center, thigh-slimming, angled-to-one-size pose. These ladies look like they're getting ready for some serious battle. I always stand this way after picking up the morning paper, all the better to kick you in the nuts for making me wear this horrible, horrible crap.

Part III: Forms and insurance

I spent four hours yesterday preparing for IVF #3 -- two hours of them on the phone with insurance company from hell. I'm getting them to officially send the authorization forms for the next cycle, but this time they only agreed to send the baseline u/s and day 3 bloods; I have to call back for the rest of the cycle approvals, which makes me nervous. Since we're so close to the start of the New Year, I'm hoping they're not holding off because there's some nasty surprise in the fine print of our coverage starting in '06. I also talked a super-supervisor through manually approving the claims from July for cycle #2, which their computer system has been refusing to pay. She was nice, and competent, was kind enough to ask how things were going, and very sympathetic when I gave her the abbreviated version of the sad ending. She said she'd had an HSG, and knew that this treatment was really an ordeal, but then didn't elaborate beyond. Just proves, once again, that infertiles are everywhere.

Also completed the medication and injection supplies inventory, and prepared instructions to cover every possible permutation of the agonies that our prescription plan insurance* (yes! it is different from the health plan!) could put us through. This is all done to fend off another late-cycle breakdown like the one I had in July when the Walgreens pharmacists went on strike the week I ran out of Progesterone in oil. The bad part? I know this particular effort is for naught. Somehow, some way, there will be medication panic this cycle.

The rest of the time was spent creating a "Cycle 3" folder, and refiling all the old financial and instruction forms, and trying to figure out when I'll be starting what. Best I can tell, I'll have two weeks of BCP, two of suppression, and up to two of Gonal-F. I don't know how the recombinant LH figures in to the schedule, but assuming it doesn't alter it, and that my period comes early next week as expected, I may be triggering some time around the middle of February.

Giddyap.

-Mary Scarlet
Listening to "Can't Nobody Fuck With Me" by Dolphin Boy

*I do want to say, once again, that I know I am incredibly lucky to live in a state that mandates IF coverage. I have some unknown sisters to thank for that. I am aware how fortunate we are. I am pissed that everyone doesn't have this.

Comments

[pixi]

I haven't seen Troy yet, but my SIL & her husband loved it. I'm much more likely to believe your assessment. As a rule I tend to avoid the stuff that they endorse.

Well, I hope things get off to a good start in the New Year, with cycle 3 coming and all. Good luck with everything. I pray this will be it for you.

[DD]

I used to get Boston H00ker as well, which is what my husband kindly tagged the catalogue, not I. They are definitely pimping to trophy wives to the guys who own not just ONE double-wide, BUT two!

And I've found my soul-sister: someone else who thinks Brad Dikk is a...well...a Dick!

[THALIA]

Oh so hoping that IVF#3 does the trick, and that your insurance co ponies up for what they owe you .