JenP & Jesse -- Oh, that's reassuring, thank you. I'm all sleep-deprived and pissed-off and bleh. And I feel bad even asking for assistance when I have not been here much lately, on account of being too sleep-deprived and pissed-off to participate.

I should probably go sleep now. And see if I'm still pissed tomorrow, and if so what my actual questions are. I know I don't earn enough now to quit the day job, but it's a "if I quit the day job and had more time for other jobs, how much would I need to do to pay for health insurance & such?" issue. And there's math there, and I'm rambling, so, yeah, I should sleep before trying to think about that.

Pardon my venting.

Oh god, health insurance. Is the Freelancer's Union national, or just in New York? I'm pretty sure that's a good source for group rates for individuals.

I got kicked out of a Rio Grande once. Well, my whole party did. It totally wasn't my fault.

Good sleep to you, Strega. And everyone gets to vent, man. No pardon needed.

Strega, when I went freelance, I joined NASE and got health insurance through them. (The provider is MEGA Life & Health.)

They sent someone to my house who sat down with me and walked me through all the different options I had (HMO, PPO, etc., plus dental and life insurance options) and what they would cost.

Having a Tasty Kake for breakfast isn't a really bad thing, is it? Especially when you wake up feeling extra-special gronky...?

What started out as an attempt to get my TV recycled turned into an unmitigated disaster, with the plastic shell of the TV shattered into pieces in the lobby of my building. (Thankfully, the tube stayed intact). So the TV isn't going to get recycled, but at least it's out of my apartment now.

TV is bad for you!

In defense of American Girls: While they may be corny, overpriced and have nicer clothes and furniture than I do, I'm happy to buy my nieces something they love and that isn't all about boobs, boys, make-up and wearing short skirts. The eight year-old gets enough of that!

I had something else, unrelated, but I doubt I'll remember until I get through this cup of coffee.

TV is bad for you!

Only if you try to break up with it.

yoiks! dropped TV = scary.

I'm happy to buy my nieces something they love and that isn't all about boobs, boys, make-up and wearing short skirts.

ITA. Outside of the extreme expense, I sort of like American Girl stuff. I'll never be able to afford it for Grace (or Noah... to be all equal opportunity about it) should either of them them have interest in it. Though if they wanted the 1974 doll, I'd be all wigged because that seems to young to be history!

I like American Girls in theory, but they're kind of like the Bugaboo strollers of the doll world to me -- yes, the quality is high enough to justify the price, but on the other hand there has to be a better way to spend that much money. I wouldn't object to getting either as a gift, but I can't ever see buying one myself.