Today after work I’m leaving for Houston to visit my sister and even though I’ve been working working working like a busy little bee, today is still dragging.  So I give you Friday Randomness, something I haven’t done in a while.

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AE lost his first tooth yesterday!  It took a little assistance from my fingernail (much to the horror of his squeamish father), but since AE said it didn’t hurt that means it was ready to come out.  It was really weird (read:  GROSS).  The permanent tooth was already coming in and pushing the baby tooth forward instead of up, so it was tearing through the front of his gums.  YUM.  Hope you weren’t eating.  Anyway, I was able to pop it right out without tears from a child with zero pain tolerance, so all was well.  And the Tooth Fairy even remembered to visit.

Now, what the hell am I supposed to do with a tiny little baby tooth?

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Yesterday we received a notice from a collections agency, stating that the bill from N’s kidney stone debacle had been turned over to them.  I of course freaked out, since I’d sent the hospital a payment within two weeks of receiving the original bill from them.  Not to mention, it has been less than two months since he had the kidney stone in the first place, and isn’t that a little soon to be sending someone to collections?  Particularly without, I don’t know, sending A SECOND BILL or a warning or SOMETHING?  Especially when a payment has been made already?  So after wigging out about it when I opened the mail, losing sleep over it last night, and freaking out about it again this morning, I finally got in touch with the contact person at the hospital.  The conversation went a little something like this:

Linda, the long-suffering billing representative:  Hello, this is Linda.

Me:  Hi, I’m calling about an issue I have with my account.

Linda:  Yes?

Me:  Well, it says that we’ve been sent to collections.

Linda:  Yes, I know.

Me:  …

Linda:  That’s our patient account company.

Me:  Okay?  But it says they’re a collection agency.

Linda:  They ARE.

Me:  Um.  Well, why was it sent to collections?  It’s been less than three weeks since I received the original bill and besides, I made a payment!

Linda:  They aren’t a collections agency for US.  They’re a collections agency for other businesses.  We just use them as a third-party billing service.

Me:  But the letter says-

Linda:  I know.  I’ve asked them to change the wording on the letter when they send it out to our patients.  But they won’t do it.  I spend half my day answering phone calls like this one.

Me:  Really? 

Linda:  Yes, unfortunately.  Don’t worry.  It’s not showing up on your credit report or anything, but try and pay it as soon as you can otherwise they’ll just keep sending you bills repeatedly. 

Me:  O-kay?  Thanks for your time.

Linda:  No problem, sweetheart.  Have a good day!

Here’s a question.  WHY would a hospital choose to use a billing company that repeatedly panics its customers?  And if Linda truly spends half her time answering phone calls like mine, why don’t they switch companies?  Or why doesn’t Linda leave an explanatory message on her phone?  Or perhaps the biggest question of all, how was Linda not the biggest raging bitch in the whole entire world?  Because sweet fancy Moses, I sure would be.

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N and I watched Wanted last weekend and had um, a significant difference of opinion about it.  The difference – of course - being that I actually liked it, and he thought it was the most horrible movie ever inflicted upon mankind.  And that is why we rarely watch movies together, the end. 

It was kind of weird, the plot was thin, it obviously ripped off several other action movies, and it was definitely not even remotely believable.  But you see, those things are all fine with me.  As long as there is plenty of action, I’m good to go.  Plus, I always like Morgan Freeman, and Angelina Jolie was wicked awesome.

So, to sum up:  if you like some intelligence in your movies, avoid it.  But if you will cheerfully watch two hours of pointless gunfights, knife battles, and hand-to-hand combat, this is the movie for you.

Then the next night we watched Secondhand Lions, and for once, we actually enjoyed a movie together.  I KNOW.  I was shocked too.  I don’t usually go in for heart-warming type movies (obv) but oh!  It was SO GOOD!  I don’t want to give the plot away or anything, but it’s just a really sweet story about a shy kid who is forced to live with his two reclusive great-uncles for a summer.  I laughed, I cried, it was wonderful, you should see it.  I just can’t rave enough.

And on that note, I better wrap this up.  Happy Friday, everyone!