Free Money!

Well, not exactly, but it sure feels like free money.

You know the feeling when you discover a twenty in a coat pocket? Yes, the money was always yours, but because you'd forgotten about it, it's like a free bonus. Well, I have the same experience whenever I visit the dentist. The policy at my dentist's office is that the patient (in this case, me) pays them, and then they bill the insurance company so that the patient may be reimbursed. Invariably, I forget about the expense incurred at the office and am pleasantly surprised when I get my insurance check.

This happens to me every time. You'd think I'd wise up, but I never do.

Well, wouldn't you know it, I had a dental cleaning and x-rays on December 14th. And even though I had to confirm with my insurance company just about a week and a half ago that I have no other dental coverage, I still managed to forget all about the cash I had coming my way. So how nice was it for me to open my mailbox yesterday and find a check! My dentist is a little pricey, and my insurance company sucks, so I only recovered about a third of what I'd spent on the appointment, but still. It's like a gift from the universe. I think I'm going to treat myself to some high end hair products and some final going-away cocktails with Jack tomorrow night.

Remember I told you it was Schleevin's birthday yesterday? Well, all I did was send him a Hallmark e-card and call to wish him well, and this is the little thank you note I got:

Be a better friend. Try it. I defy you. Not possible. Thank you so much, Sassy, for my hilarious card and my super sweet message. You're the best, plain and simple.

How cute is he, gushing over an e-card and a phone message? Maybe all of his other friends forgot about him. Admittedly, the e-card I sent him was pretty funny. It was an animated screaming banshee's birthday party. That sounds dumb, but it had me laughing out loud. And my phone message might have been a little over the top. Instead of just saying "Happy Birthday," I asked if he was aware that yesterday was National We're Thankful Schleevin Was Born Day, and I went on to describe all the celebrations. What can I say? I like birthdays.

I also like old friends. I've probably mentioned before that I've known Schleevin for about 25 years... since the fall of 1981. He's one of several childhood friends with whom I'm still in active contact; the others being Anne, Kristie, Omar and Gabriella. I've said it before on this space, but it bears repeating: there's something so comforting about people who have known you for a long time. It's like having extra siblings, but you got to choose these people. I also have several friends from college I keep in touch with, but with the exceptions of Paul, Denise and Kara, they all live far away, so I tend to talk to them less frequently.

Speaking of Omar, he and his wife Diana had a wedding reception in New York last night. Sadly I couldn't go because I work weekends, and oh yeah, I live here in San Francisco, but I bet it was fun. They actually got married in Colombia back in October, and now they're expecting a son. That's super weird to me because I still think of Omar as my high school classmate and drummer of our band (well, I was only in the band a few weeks).

These people and their grown up lives. Why can't they all be stunted and permanently stuck at 25 like I am? It's fun here, believe me.