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Sometimes I'm Salty

@heatherisanerd

Get over it

blackkklansman was a feat of storytelling, acting, cinematography, and beyond, and it got robbed because the academy doesn’t know how to interact with movies about the insidious antisemitism and racism that existed in 1970s and still exists today.

I feel like I should make a post about this because it’s not something that’s very well-known, and that Americans in particular may need to know about given the uncertain state of our healthcare system at the moment. I’ve wanted to write this out for a while, It’s kind of a long post, so sorry about that!

If you have an emergency and have to go to the hospital, you’ll owe the hospital a lot of money. (I got into a car wreck and broke my ankle and my arm. My hospital bill was around $20,000)

You’ll also owe the ambulance provider, if you need one. (My ambulance bill was about $800)

You may get separate bills from the anesthesiologist or surgeon. (My anesthesiologist bill was $1,700)

You may need follow-up appointments. (My orthopedic surgeon billed me for the appointments and his surgery together and it was about $1,000)

You’ve also got to pay for medical equipment you need afterward, like crutches or a walking boot. (Mine cost about $75)

Altogether, I ended up with almost $24,000 in medical debt from one car accident. That’s a really scary number for someone like me who makes $10/hr at a 12 hour a week job.

I got my debt down to $1075 by making some phone calls and submitting some paperwork.

The first thing I did was contact the hospital. They don’t make it easy to find, but many hospitals (perhaps most hospitals?) have financial assistance programs for people who can’t afford medical bills. I don’t make a lot of money, and I have bills to pay, so they were able to help me. I called the billing department and asked if they had any assistance programs for low income people who can’t pay their bills. I had to call multiple times, and I got transferred in circles by people who didn’t know what I was talking about. Finally, I got an appointment with someone in “Eligibility Services” (I don’t know what other hospitals call it, if it’s something different). I had to bring my pay stubs and copies of all of my bills. When I got to the hospital for the appointment, nobody knew what I was talking about so I had to wander a little to find where I needed to go. I spoke with the guy in Eligibility Services, and I waited for a decision on how much of the bill they would forgive. A month later, I got a call telling me it was totally forgiven.

I did the same thing for my ambulance bill and my anesthesiologist, but the process was a LOT easier. I just had to mail some paperwork and it was totally forgiven.

I didn’t bother with the medical equipment suppliers, since the bills came from separate companies and I didn’t feel like going through the process twice for $75. I was assured at the hospital that they had similar programs for debt forgiveness, so I could have probably avoided paying that too.

The only thing I couldn’t get taken care of was the surgeon/follow-up appointment cost, but they were able to put me on a no-interest payment plan.

Medical debt is scary because it’s something that can come from stuff that’s already really scary. I didn’t need the burden of $24,000 in debt on top of trying to get around on a crutch with a broken arm (it’s not easy, believe me!).. but I can’t imagine what it would be like with a bigger debt or a more severe medical emergency. I see lots of people in even worse trouble than I was in, both financially and medically. Please know that there are options for you when that GoFundMe doesn’t do enough. Even if your income is higher than mine, it’s worth a shot even for partial debt forgiveness.

I am about 900% sure there are people who don`the know this. 

PLEASE READ THIS IF YOU LIVE IN AMERICA AND HAVE MEDICAL BILLS

I had to do this once as well and I can ABSOLUTELY confirm that this is true.

Get in contact with the hospital. Don’t just…sit there and let the anxiety grow and panic and then ignore it in an effort to find peace.

high school theater tropes

-freshman boy who did theater in middle school and had no idea what he was getting into

-girl who is taller than all the boys including her dance partner

-someone who does theater with a company outside of school and takes every possible opportunity to tell you about it

-upperclassman boy who tries to hook up with freshmen

-girl who does ballet and gets dance captain

-shy alto who doesn’t actually sing audibly

-someone who got a bad part and refuses to take the show seriously because of it

-girl who knows how to do eyeliner and has to help everyone in the cast with theirs

-popular person who is the reason any students come to the show at all

theatre things

  • every show you dread leaving and know you’ll miss your cast forever
  • but then the next show you form a whole new family with the new cast
  • and then your heart is just full of Cast Families and it’s perfect
  • “if you can see the audience, the audience can see you”
  • “pROJECT”
  • “I changed the cue”
  • “LINE?”
  • “QUIET IN THE HOUSE”
  • “QUIET IN THE WINGS”
  • “QUIET BACKSTAGE”
  • “QUIET”
  • all the weird-ass inside jokes you have with your castmates
  • (longest running for me rn is “queen gelato”)
  • the excitement of seeing your costume for the first time
  • the combined pride and stress of being dance captain
  • your director being a loud, aggressive, impatient asshole who is somehow also the kindest person in your life and you would do anything for them
  • character shoes
  • that one person who needs to be on the other side of the theatre asap and just come zooming past you backstage looking mortified
  • that feeling you get as the show’s about to open:
  • a combination of stress, excitement, dread and pride
  • the feeling of seeing a full house and just thinking wow this is it
  • trying to be incredibly lowkey as you scan the audience for friends & family
  • “don’t touch other people’s props”
  • being eternally grateful for tech/crew because WOW WOW WOW look what these people are DOING
  • the pressure of quick-changes
  • constant musical references
  • the celebration after opening night
  • just knowing your theatre family is the only family you’ll ever need.
  • feel free to reblog and add more!

musical songs that will 100% get stuck in your head during exams

master of the house - les mis

popular - wicked

never ever getting rid of me - waitress

turn it off - book of mormon

four jews in a room bitching - falsettos

sincerely me - dear evan hansen

roxie - chicago

take me or leave me - rent

take a chance on me - mamma mia

elegance - hello dolly

without love - hairspray

do re mi - sound of music

its a hard knock life - annie

carrying the banner - newsies

lifeboat - heathers

I’m

⚪️straight

⚪️gay

⚪️bi

🔵 neurotic, he’s neurotic they’re neurotic, we’re neurotic bitch bitch bitch bitch funny funny funny funny

guide to singing along to musicals alone

Be More Chill: sing along to ALL the instrumentals.

The Book of Mormon: passionately yell the lines. Then glance out the window awkwardly to make sure no one’s listening. Then resume passionately yelling. Awkwardly go quiet when you hear people passing your door. Repeat.

Dear Evan Hansen: two modes: either humming the songs peacefully to yourself or jumping to your feet, perfectly executing the “Sincerely, Me” dance and also doing all of Ben Platt’s physical tics and waiting for your Tony.

Falsettos: *singing along happily for hundredth time* *abruptly stops* What does that line even mean

Hamilton: there is literally only one way to do it: singing along to all the parts at once and incorporating all the furniture in the room for maximum effect.

The Last Five Years: have a hundred tabs open with the lyrics. It would be one of the easiest musicals to sing along to alone if there weren’t so many goddamn words.

Les Misérables: reconcile yourself to the fact that it’s physically impossible to sing along to all the parts. You gotta just pick a character to sing with. Which is actually fine, because most Les Mis fans have this one character that’s “their” character. And there’s probably only one character who’s in your range, anyway. I mean, you can try to sing along to all the parts, but prepare to get absolutely slaughtered in “One Day More.”

Newsies: whatever you do, just don’t try to dance along. Please.

Next to Normal: *singing along happily for hundredth time* *abruptly stops* Whoa. That line is really clever/weird/sad/beautiful.

The Phantom of the Opera: AHHHHH aaahhhh ahhhh ahhhHHHH SING MY ANGEL OF MUSIC AHHHH ahhhh ahhh hahhhHHHHH sing mY ANGEL ahhh hahhhhhhh ahhhhHHHHH SING FOR MEEEE AHHHHH HHHHHHHH HAHHHHH HHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHH SING MY ANGEL HHHHHHHH Ś̹̗̝̠̫I͓̻̰̲N̢̠͕G̦̬͟ ̲F̳̫̦̜̭̰O͙̹̪͕̞͉͟R̩̭̦ ̛̠͚̰M̫͍̬͇͈̖EE̖̙̬̳̞̞̹È̖E͈EE͏E̗̞̲͍̰̕E̗̙̬̻̭Ḛ̫͉̗̜ aaʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰ

Rent: ALL the air guitar.

Spring Awakening: *forgets lyric* 🎶 lonely grass purple horses hay bale 🎶

Waitress: wait until “I Didn’t Plan It” and “She Used to Be Mine,” and then let out YEARS of pain and sadness

Wicked: *searches on YouTube* how to belt