Question

You know, I've been hearing/reading the past few days about how pro-equality folks are trying to "force" acceptance of same-sex marriage. What I want to know is how are we doing that? No one has to accept it; just tolerate it. You can tell a gay couple that their marriage is "fake", just like you can tell a mixed-race couple that their marriage is "fake". (Just don't be surprised if either couple tells you what you can do with your opinion.)

I haven't heard much about pastors and other religious people in Canada and other places being arrested for speaking out against homosexuality lately. (A few years ago I read about that.) There's a reason I don't think that will happen in the U.S., though... you see, there's a little thing called "freedom of speech" in our Constitution, which I'm not sure is included in the constitutions of other countries. This means you can say just about anything you want to about anyone without being arrested. (That does not mean there won't be other consequences, as many folks have already discovered.) But haters will still be allowed to hate; bigots will still be allowed to be bigots, and things will go on pretty much as they always have (except there will be more people getting married).

As for incest, polygamy, bestiality, etc.... we may have to redefine marriage to include two unmarried, unrelated humans. (Of course, we all know why children and animals can't get married... neither of them can give informed consent. In the animal's case, it can't consent at all. At least not in a language humans can understand.)

Oh, and as far as.crazy people who claim to be "married" to the Eiffel Tower or the Empire State Building (inanimate objects)... *snorts* just let 'em. The Eiffel Tower and the Empire State Building didn't consent, either.

Looking for a place of my own

Well, I won't be moving in with my friend after all. So if and when I get my DAC benefits, I'll be saving up to get my own apartment. There's a place right down the street I'm considering called CityVue, and I plan to stop by the leasing office next time I'm out and about to ask about them.

I'll also consider a townhouse if I can find one for $500-$600/month. I wouldn't mind moving up north of here, say Plano, if I can find an inexpensive place. I'll have to get an apartment guide and see what's available. Of course I could move out to Irving too. Or move back to Ft. Worth/Richland Hills. I can ride the TRE back and forth to visit my friends here.

Or I could save my money and find a place out of state. My friend Nessa lives in New Orleans; maybe she could help me find a place there. I've always wanted to visit. It's such a beautiful old city, rich in history and culture (those parts of it that weren't destroyed by Katrina, anyway).

Or I might could go to Chicago. Yes, the winters are brutal, but still it's a lovely city, and I've been wanting to go there (to visit) for quite awhile, too. I do need to research the cost of living where ever I decide to go... don't want to live anywhere that I'll spend all my money just on expenses.

All this is just pie in the sky fantasizing at this point, though... I don't even have my appointment to file my claim until Tuesday. And even then it could be months before I hear anything, and even then I could be denied. (If I am, though, I'll appeal it.)

We'll just have to wait and see...

Finally have an appointment

with Social Security. It's on Tuesday of next week (phone appointment). I am sooo relieved! I think it'll be a few months before I find out if I've been approved or denied, but in the event that I am denied, my attorney is willing to take my case all the way to a hearing. That's a huge relief, too.

Can it be next Tuesday now? lol

On the phone w/ SSA

I'm trying to schedule an appt to apply for my benefits, but there's not one to be found.  :'( I did find out that the normal length of time between filing and the decision (approved or denied) is approximately four months (for SSDI). For DAC, it will probably be shorter, thank goodness... unless, of course, I'm denied, lol. I do need to find out if my lawyer will be willing to handle my appeal in the event that I'm denied. If not, I guess I better start thinking about who I want to be my new lawyer...

Well, that's all for now. I have my appt for my X-rays on Monday, and then on Wednesday I have to see my PCP to get the results of my labwork and find out if I'm diabetic or not. (What fun!) I need to make sure my lawyer has all her (doctor's) info so she can get my medical records from her (I am so glad my lawyer's getting paid on a contingency basis; I shudder to think how much this would cost me per hour! I'd be paying for years to come! lol)

So as of now, the waiting game. I just hope I don't have to wait too long, though...

I'm still very "up" today

I am a little bit sore, though. We walked from the mall to a Target not far away, and I don't know why, but I was just hurting all over when we got there. We picked up some stuff to eat and sat around catching up for an hour or more. We did some browsing and found some cute kitchen appliances that she liked. Then we went back to the mall and browsed a bit through a furniture store, took some pictures, talked a lot, laughed some, and generally had a wonderful time. We talked some about setting up savings accounts. A household account for home maintenance/repairs, and one for emergencies, like in case one of us has to go to the hospital. We'll both be on Medicare, but unlike Medicaid, that requires a co-pay for medications (don't know about hospital stays or any procedures/surgeries). She also suggested setting up advance directives and making each other our emergency contacts, which makes sense. Neither of us are particularly close to our families, so we'll know more than they do about each other's medical issues and needs.

Out of $1,300/month (I'm still going to try to put at least $500/month into savings), I'd like to put $50-$100 into both joint accounts (household and emergency).

I found out last night when I checked my email that I have to redo all the forms that my lawyer sent me because they misspelled my last name on the first batch. Oops!  :-) But I don't mind; I'm used to people not being able to spell or pronounce my name. lol (I've thought about changing it partly for that reason. Ciana Douglas (the name I use on forums) is a little easier to spell and say. Besides, I happen to think it's a beautiful name.)

So that's what happened yesterday. I'm hoping to get together with her again soon, maybe at the end of the month, providing it's not cold and rainy like yesterday.

Update

She's trying to set up a telephone appointment for me to apply for my DAC benefits. She spoke to someone earlier who took my information, and their going to do what they can on their end to speed up the process. I imagine I'll still need to get my medical records from the joint yOureserve base (formerly Carswell Air Force Base) and the doctor who did my back surgery 25 freakin' years ago. I'd hate to be whoever has to go through the archives to find my records. I just hope like hell they still exist.  :-(

Not much else is going on. I'm still busy decorating the new house, lol. (My roommate and I haven't even gone out looking at houses yet. She's been getting on me a little bit about "putting the cart before the horse", which I admit freely I am. I'm just so excited! I've never had a roommate before, so this should be interesting. And as I've said before, it'll be good for Alaska, cause she'll have other dogs to play with, plus a much bigger living area. We really want a two-story house with four bedrooms and a large (I insist on fenced in) backyard. (I don't want to risk Alaska getting out and maybe running into the street and getting hit by a car.)

I also would love walk-in closets. I'm a huge clothes hound, and I'd love to be able to go shopping and buy nice clothes that actually fit well. I'll probably end up doing a lot of online shopping (Amazon, Lane Bryant, places like that). When you buy alot of stuff and don't have a car, it's just easier to get it delivered. I can take a taxi if a store is close, but not if we don't live close to a mall or something.

I'd like to start saving up for a car. I don't drive, but I'm hoping my roommate knows how. That would be a big help. We could go places we couldn't get to on the bus. I'd like to explore the city, but my knees are getting pretty bad. (Arthritis) Of course, exercise would go a long way in easing the pain, I'm sure. I have a doctor's appointment on Monday, and I'm hoping to get a knee brace. (Hopefully they'll also have the results of my labwork back and can tell me more about what they discovered last time.)

Well, it's half an hour until NCIS starts, and an hour and a half until NCIS: L.A., so I'll end here. Chris O'Donnell directed tonight's episode of L.A., so I'm eager to watch it. I'll probably be tweeting all through it. Might even post on Facebook about it.