lillilah | Projects, Projects, and Crazy Projects (Reply)

Today, our class schedule was different than usual, which means that my food schedule was messed up, which means that I ate all kinds of random crap (none of which violates the diet, because I don't want to die) and am having trouble focusing. So, instead of doing the things I probably should be doing, I'm doing whatever I can that will keep my attention. Here are some of the things we are working on.

Insurance: The world of medical care is different in Russia than in the US. A lot different. We have had minimal insurance that we bought through the university for the past three or so years. We have never used it, because it is for stuff I'm not going to use, like doctor's house calls. I know that this exists here and used to exist in the US. We even had a farm animal vet come to our house for one of the chickens, and it was awesome. However, I don't want a doctor coming to my home. I can't tell you why, but I'm not interested in that. Anyway, when I have gone to a doctor, I have paid my money at a private clinic. It worked well, and I'm comfortable with it. Recently, Joel went to see a doctor and realized that our school insurance had expired. The big question is: should we get more?

I contacted the insurance company, and they will sell it to us, which was the big question at first. Back when we didn't have residency, they couldn't figure out what to do with us. The nice person who responded to my email send us a list of policy options, and it looks something like this:

Very cheap policy: covers 1 hospitalization, up to 15 days
Reasonably priced policy: covers hospitalizations, plus seeing doctors at home and at some clinics
Kind of expensive policy: covers hospitalizations, plus seeing doctors at home and at more clinics
Very expensive policy: covers hospitalizations, plus seeing doctors at home and at tons of clinics, including the clinic that we go to

The problem is that we have no frame of reference here. In the US, you must have insurance, because paying out of pocket for medical care, especially hospital stays, will literally bankrupt you. We talked to our teacher, and she said that even with insurance you have to pay for a lot of things at the hospital, including operations. If we are combining "you are going to have to pay anyway" with "you are unlikely to go to a hospital unless some part of you that belongs on the inside is sticking out" (in which case, we want to be sure that we are getting good medical care), it seems like the cheapest policy would be not enough and the reasonably priced policy would cover stuff I don't need and would probably still not be enough for the hospitalization. We're going to keep talking to people who can then talk to their older female relatives who probably will know best.

Cowl: It is cold here. Not miserably cold yet, but it will be. So, I'm making a cowl. The problem is that everything I make is kind of strange. I think that part of this is because I choose things that are practical but not at all fashionable or were fashionable about 1000 years ago. (Amusingly, I get complements on my heavy winter coat from older Russian ladies, while one of my younger, stylish friends always says that the coat is so weird and not attractive. She is in her 30s and wears a fur (and is very nice).) I decided to make one of the cowls with animal ears, because that kind of silliness is okay for women in Russia. Right now, though, it mainly looks like a crocheted medieval helmet. I'm putting scalloped edging on it, which will help, and when I get ears on it, it will be better. I'm kind of wondering, though, if it would be better with scalloped edging all over it, like this dragon scale cowl, as the cute cowls are loose, but loose isn't practical for when it is -30° C and windy. If I add some puff to it, it might look more cute. Or more weird.

Heraldry: We have a big closet, and it is badly organized. It has shelves, but they are very deep, which is impractical unless you are storing boxes (IMO). I thought that I could make some crates to go in there (like this one or this box from Dragon Age: Inquisition, where I do all my furniture shopping). These are simple crates, and the one from DA:I has a nice-looking marking on it. I thought that it would be cool to have a simple banner/crest (like this) to stencil on our crates. However, we're having trouble coming up with the actual heraldry. We think maybe that it could include a tipper (the two-headed drum stick that Joel uses to play a bodhran (an Irish drum)), some stars (because Joel says that I'm like a "space princess"), and a book (because books are awesome, obviously). It could also have a caribou or two. They should definitely have their tongues sticking out.

Now, in my opinion, most coats of arms are too busy. The best one ever is the royal banner of Denmark, although the shield of the city of Perm in Russia is a close second.