Date: 2007-02-17
To: Prep #79--Gift of Time,Insurance, and Guinea pigs
Miles today: 0.0

Ok, so my title is a little weird, I know, but these are all things that have developed recently. Gift of Time:Just found out yesterday that Rachael's boss is giving her THE ENTIRE WEEK OFF before I leave for my hike!!!!! It's her first paid vacation w/this job and that's super exciting. I was originally asking her to get the 8th and 9th off, because I had planned a little get-away to Cleveland so I could take her to the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame to see Janis Joplin's porsche (Rachael is the Janis' #1 Fan), but after talking to her boss, he suggested she just take the whole week off. He also told her she could come in late the afternoon of the 10th, after she takes me to the aiport where Nicole and I will pick up the car. That way she can have some time to process my departure and pull it together before going to work. I really appreciate this so THANKS JIMMY!!! (Jimmy is her boss, and he told me he's living vicariously through my hike, because he's always wanted to do this...pretty cool he's understanding and appreciative.)Insurance:This is one of those "well duh!" things that I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner. I think it's because I kind of didn't realize it existed, but from reading some posts on Whiteblaze, I decided to check into a short-term medical insurance policy to cover me for this hike. My recent experience w/those hospital bills really taught me how expensive this stuff is. So I called my insurance company that I get my renter's and auto insurance through. They had a pamphlet and mailed it to me. Basically, you can get coverage for up to 185 days. You pick the date it starts, and you get your choice of deductibles, co-pay rates, paying the premium monthly or in one lump sum. No health questions to answer or anything. I ended up getting a $1,000 deductible, because this was the lowest deductible that AFTER it's met, I could choose 100% coverage (let's face it 20% of $80,000 is still A LOT). There were two lower deductibles, but I'd be responsible for a co-pay. I figured the nature of my trip lended itself more towards a catastrophic injury (broken leg, stitches in my head, bear attack, anaconda attack...oh wait..getting carried away again) and I'd rather know that all I'll ever have to pay out of pocket is $1000.00. I got a pretty low daily rate because of my age, but all in all, it cost me a one-time payment of $417.00 for this coverage. You can go to any doctor and the coverage also follows you into any state. So if anyone is interested, the company offering this is called Assurant. I got a quote from Blue Cross Blue Shield and they couldn't touch this deal w/a 10 foot pole. I called Assurant and asked the service rep. about any loop holes or exception clauses. He said there was nothing in there about hiking, only sky diving (damn!) and things of that nature. I feel better (and so does my mom by the way) knowing that I won't be financially doomed if something does happen out there. So check it out peoples and consider it if you're uninsured like me.Guinea Pigs:Ok..so something else that I'm excited about (notice I'm always excited about something? You'd think I was on something, but I'm not....I just love life I guess) I don't think this was fake, but a professor is doing a study on thru-hikers this year. Mainly, he's studying the physiological and physical affects a thru-hike has on the body. Well, I signed up...and he is supposed to be at the Hiker Hostel for a preliminary assessment of my physical state (Oh God....that's going to be bad!) and then we'll be re-assessed a few times throughout the hike and again at the end. I think this is VERY cool, because I'll have information about MY actual body, the changes it goes through, and exactly how hiking affected me. It's also cool because hopefully this data will lead to something that aids future thru-hikers. Apparently he got a huge response from several of us in the Class of 2007, and I hope it all works out for him.I've had a few people email me thinking it was my professor's study. It's not. It's a professor named John Davis, and here's the link to his post on Whiteblaze.net, if anyone is interested:http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=20181&highlight=John+Davis I once guinea pigged myself out in the Marine Corps too (what WAS I thinking?). The study was about inner core body temperature and exercise. (this is no b.s. here folks) I had to swallow a thermal sensor wrapped in this rubbery shell (it was egg-shaped and measured about 1" by 1/2"). I wore this belt w/a small receiver on it and while I exercised, this sensor sent data to the receiver about the temperature inside my body. I got this long print out once it was all over...it was pretty cool. Oh, and what happened to the sensor you ask? I had to "look for it" to exit my body a few days later! haa haa Isn't that hilarious?Well, enough procrastination, I have a list of stuff to do about 10 pages long today. I best get to it. Happy Saturday everyone! 3 weeks from this very moment I'll be on my way to pick up the rental car. It just doesn't seem real....