How’s everybody in the Bay Area handling the smokey air conditions? AQI reached the 180s yesterday (read: unhealthy), and it’s hovering in the 150s so far today. Thanks a lot, wildfires burning up in Oregon! I haven’t worn a mask outdoors since the early days of the pandemic. Remember those days? In hindsight, it was rather needless to mask-up outdoors. So was wiping down packages and bags with disinfectant.
The horrible air quality did not stop people from exercising outdoors. I saw plenty of people working out at the Marina Green yesterday. And all I have to say is, “Why!?” I can’t perceive any net benefit whilst breathing in this bad of air. This is what indoor gyms - with proper air filtration - are for.
Our health is too important, and so is having quality health care. It’s open enrollment period at my work, and it’s a good annual reminder how fortunate I am to have health care paid for by the employer. It’s the good stuff, too: my friend and I are both with Kaiser Permanente, but her emergency room deductible is $150, while mine is just $50. This low deductible tier do not come cheaply: my employer pays over $960 a month for the privilege (that’s $11,520 a year). I can’t imagine having to fork over that much money myself. Good thing the healthcare mandate, part of the Affordable Care Act, was struck down in court…
I can totally see why people stick with a job they may not like too much, all because of maintaining healthcare coverage. In America we sadly don’t have universal healthcare like rest of the first world. Our healthcare is dependent on employment, or being so abjectly poor that you qualify for government assistance. It adds degrees of difficulty for those wanting to take a leap of faith in pursuing the arts, or going freelance. Especially so if you’ve got dependents relying on you having health insurance.
It would be fantastic if there were universal healthcare. Instead of paying Kaiser $11,520 a year, my employer can pay that money directly to me instead. That would be lovely.
Free candy.