Then & Now.

11:17 am  •  12 April 2012  •  2 notes

(Source: lunatic-on-the-grass)

3:41 pm  •  6 April 2012  •  134 notes

Dougy Mandagi of The Temper Trap on Flickr.

Last night!

12:18 pm  •  1 April 2012  •  8 notes

districtofchic:

red brogues

(Source: topshop)

8:17 am  •  28 March 2012  •  352 notes

jayparkinsonmd:

Obama’s plan started with good intentions. But in the end, it ended up being a compromise that essentially puts the medical industry on life support. It’s prolonging the death of a completely unsustainable industry. Let’s look at the average cost of yearly health insurance premiums over time:

2001: $4,918

2009: $10,743

2019: $28, 530

These numbers are an undisputed fact. By the end of the decade, premiums will be, on average, just shy of $30,000. Obamacare does very little to control costs. Remember, almost everything about this Act is a compromise with the incumbents to maintain the status quo as much as possible. And that status quo is unsustainable. Even with Obamacare, the premiums are still going to rise to nearly $30,000 by the end of the decade. 

I think now is not the right time to put a dying industry on life support. We need to think long term. And the only long term sustainable solution for the medical industry is a single payor healthcare system. There is simply no way, in a country as large as ours, to link profitability to sickness. And Obamacare, by mandating us as individuals to purchase healthcare from a private industry beholden to it’s shareholders, simply prolongs an unsustainable industry.

I think healthcare reform, and I mean fundamental reform, can only happen when everyone’s feet is held to the fire. And that’s going to happen toward the end of this decade, when individuals and companies en masse, realize they can’t afford even the average premium. And that’s the right time to fundamentally change the entire business model of healthcare in America. When people aren’t under the gun, compromise is the easiest way out. But compromise amongst industry insiders won’t solve the fundamental problems we face trying to take care of the health of our population. Trial by fire is probably the only way.

We need a completely different system— a single payor that profits off wellness, not sickness. We’re simply not going to get that by placing a broken and unsustainable system on life support. If I felt that Obamacare was a good first step toward a sustainable system, I’d support it. But the shit is going to hit the health insurance premium fan in the next 7 years, and I have no faith that more compromises amongst industry insiders will get us toward a sustainable single payor system. 

I think the real “success” of our modern American leaders is giving all of us, especially minority groups, just enough rights to shut us up. That’s what’s happening with healthcare too. In seven years, they’ll look out at the population and tout stats that say we’re better off. But, in reality, over the long term, we’re worse off. The leaders deciding my long term health and financial status will be dead and gone when our healthcare system is beyond bankrupt. And their selfish focus on short term compromise instead of long terms gains makes me furious. And for that reason, I’m not a fan of Obamacare and I hope SCOTUS overturns it and lets us have a trial by fire in seven years, hastening a much quicker transition from a medical industry to a single payor, sustainable healthcare system.

8:14 am  •  28 March 2012  •  67 notes

Photo credit: Bebe Besch (aka: bebegun)

10:25 am  •  16 March 2012  •  4 notes

Last night at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. Jack of Bombay Bicycle Club standing next to my awkward self.
“I bought us all shots of whiskey…but I’m going to have to sip mine due to my medical condition.” -me to him

12:51 pm  •  4 March 2012  •  5 notes

Hi

8:35 pm  •  29 February 2012

(Source: gnarly, via prettyclothesiwear)

3:51 pm  •  21 February 2012  •  763 notes

I stopped blogging/journaling a long time ago due to lack of time, forgetfulness, writer’s block, and loss of interest. 

But sometimes I just need to write things out, so I will right now. And since not many of my “real life” friends know my tumblr, I think this is safe. I may delete this post…

—

I am a little distracted right now. I met someone here two months ago, and imho, I think we have an unnatural amount of chemistry. For the first time in a long time, I am emotionally available to be WITH someone since I spent the last 3 or so years (post-my first long term relationship) very focused on my academic goals, in and out of the country, and in and out of love with two people overseas.

I now live in New York, and this will be my home for an indefinite amount of time. I am mentally and emotionally ready to be monogamous and have a normal/healthy relationship in the same country/state/city. Timing has not been on my side. I am slowly moving on from someone in Seattle whom I became very fond of before moving here. 

Anyway. I think it’s really difficult to meet someone here. My program at NYU is basically 90% female, my extended social network doesn’t allow me to meet many straight or single men, and I find the men who I have met here very shallow and unapproachable. That said, I really like this new person who recently appeared in my life. We’ve spent a lot of time together in a short amount of time, and I like him more than I want to. Can’t really control what I’m feeling, so I’m trying to accept it. 

This person and I do very relationship-type activities, and it’s confusing/sweet/suggestive. But this person does not want to be in relationship right now as he just got out of a long term relationship (very recent). He feels it is important to move on from his ex before moving forward with anyone else, and doesn’t want to use me as a catalyst. I agree and respect this decision. But this person also believes that he needs to date other people because he has spent most of his life in one relationship after another. And this is where we differ in our dating experiences. I’ve had the long & short term relationships, flings, dates, foreign affairs, casual hook-ups…I am trying to respect this person’s decision to want to continue seeing me, but the idea of him seeing other people kind of makes me sad. Although it hasn’t happened, he wants the option of doing so. I am not asking for a commitment, but I think based on how much our relationship has developed over the last few weeks, I feel like this isn’t really fair to me. I don’t see the point of me meeting new people, if I already feel a connection with this person. And I also don’t want to compete against other potential women. I just feel like I either have to accept this or stop seeing him before I get myself too emotionally invested.

Thanks for reading this long winded post about possibly the most generic situation ever. 

9:36 pm  •  12 February 2012  •  1 note