Worrying is a waste of time

On Friday I received a letter from my insurance company saying that my doctor will no longer accept my insurance, so I need a new primary immediately. My doctor, in other words, was no longer my doctor. Oy.

I love my doctor. He's a guy who treats me respectfully while really fixing my problems. I think of him as a miracle worker. And he's not a drug pusher. He usually comes up with a non-medication-based solution to my problems. I love that! (As to the "respect" issue, I've had trouble with anti-gay doctors who treat me dismissively. Tattoos are also something that can freak out white doctors and make them think you're a drug-mad biker -- even though you never ask them for a pain killer. Oy again.)

There was also a good chance that I would lose all my doctors, since they're part of the same medical practice that I was being told wouldn't take my insurance. And I'm just about to begin a long period of allergy treatments with one of them. And again, I love this doctor. She fixed my severe breathing problems in two short visits. Another veritable miracle worker -- and now I can't see her either?!

Okay, so that's the background. You'd think I would worry all weekend, what with this prospect blowing in the wind. But I didn't think about it at all. Not even once. My take on life is that you don't worry about anything until you're really, really forced to address the issue. So I had a lovely weekend. Even painted my nails candy apple red. Fun!

This morning, I remembered and called my doc's office. They said further negotiations between the medical practice and my insurance company resolved the issue. I can stay with my doc(s).

There was no need to worry. I find this is usually the case. The moral is this: don't worry until you have to. It's often a waste of time and energy.

2013 World Baseball Classic -- and language

Okay, so there's a global baseball championship going on. It's called the 2013 World Baseball Classic (a dumb name, with the "classic" moniker, which makes you think it's a repeat). There are games every night. Mexico, Puerto Rico, Italy, US, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Australia and more -- all the countries with baseball teams are included.

But it makes no sense. The "Italian" team is made up of Italian nationals and a whole bunch of American players. Same for all the other "national" teams. Apparently, the competition is being run like religion, where you simply drift to your preferred affiliation. Feel Catholic? You're Catholic. Same here. The players go to whatever team they feel aligned with.

How does that make any sense? Last night, Italy played the U.S. and I found myself rooting for Italy because it had more American players that I really like. Go Italy! And if some country wins, what would it mean? It's a U.S. win, no matter the country name. If this is a global competition, then let each country mount their own team. If you don't do this, the competition is a joke.

Okay, now to language. One of the broadcasters kept using a phrase I haven't heard in years. He'd say stuff like, "He didn't know he'd be playing with the likes of Carlos Beltran tonight!" He did this over and over, talking about the likes of this player and that player. I hadn't heard the phrase in ages, so it really struck me.

What I realized is that this phrase is always a value judgement. Looking around the net, I bumped into many uses of the phrase, For instance, "Oh, Shakespeare is much too intellectual for the likes of me." In this case, it's a put-down. And yet you'll also hear, when a revered politician dies, "We'll not see the likes of him again in our lifetime." I never noticed this. The phrase is all about judgemental attitudes. Just thought I'd point this out.

PS: The "classic" is decimating spring training. The spring training games were great and I was enjoying the hell out of them -- and suddenly they were preempted by these meaningless exhibitions. Sigh. Baseball is run by idiots. But then, that's nothing new.

The All-Star Game. Sigh.

I guess I'll watch the All-Star Game. I figure I have to, what with my guys being in it, and all. But it's a waste of time, particularly because it's on Fox. That means major idiots as announcers. Yes, I'm talkin' Buck and Bozo. Anyway, I'll put the game on, push Mute, and put on some Jeff Buckley or Nick Drake. I hope my guys do well tonight, but really it doesn't matter at all. And that's the problem.