September 30, 2007 at 21:33 · Filed under Health, Personal
At 4 a.m. this morning, my future brother-in-law took himself to the hospital after closing the bar because he felt extremely ill. He errs on the side of safety because he’s barely 30, past scans have detected a heart irregularity, and my future mother-in-law had a quadruple angioplasty last year. Heart disease is genetic. Add to this he smokes like a chimney, doesn’t exercise and eats poorly.
He has IKA but decided to go to a private hospital here in Athens at which he previously had a good experience. It claims to be associated with an Ivy League medical school.
With his medical history, he believed it was best to pay out of pocket and enjoy a higher standard of care with immediate attention, rather than waiting hours in a state hospital that may not have a specialist on call.
The doctor performed a heart scan, which came back with poor results. He did another just to make sure and got the same results. Feeling alarmed and panicked by what he saw, he went ahead and told my future brother-in-law to have bloodwork and other tests run. Two hours later, all of these tests came back normal.
Baffled by this contradiction, he did another heart scan. This time it’s OK. The doctor does another. Now it’s not OK! He does another. It’s not OK.
Finally it’s revealed that the heart scanner is malfunctioning and needs maintenance.
There’s nothing like a little unnecessary stress from your heart doctor to aggravate a heart condition. At least he didn’t have to pay…well, not in euros, anyway.
Related posts
“Greece vs. EU and USA: Health care”
“Greek residents at mercy of unevaluated doctors”
“Clinics cheat insurance fund”
“IKA covers prescription medicine”
Photo from cityofpuyallup.org
* Although I also had a poor experience with the hospital in this post, I cannot give its name for legal reasons. Readers are encouraged to share stories without direct references to the medical facility.
September 30, 2007 at 21:03 · Filed under Where to file complaints
September 26, 2007 at 18:12 · Filed under Personal
I don’t know how many male models I’ve dated, but yesterday I added another to the list. My fiancé has been chosen to do some sportswear ads running this week. *Sigh*
Working in the industry during my late teens and early 20s, I’m familiar with the lingo and politics of fashion. But I gave it up because I hated all the primping, prodding and obsessing. i.e. My agency wouldn’t send me on go-sees for a week after gaining a pound from cake and alcohol on my 21st birthday. I simply didn’t care or have the commitment at that level.
The first male model I dated was Ronnie. I like men who are genuinely nice guys with some brains, and he fit that bill but there’s something strange about dating someone with the potential to look prettier than you. At least I knew that up front.
The others I remember were underground. After years of friendship and months of dating, I inadvertently outed Giorgo as a model when I called in the middle of a runway show. He explained it as, “You know, it’s just a party where I’m wearing some clothes and walking around for awhile.” LOL! All the guys got on the phone, and we had a good laugh. He’s cute as pie.
After meeting Panagiotis in a NY trance club and being back in Athens full time, he never once mentioned his side profession. One morning as I was going to work, my bus stopped at a signal and I looked up to see Panagioti’s face plastered on the back of every bus and trolley in Athens. This was followed by a Peggy Zina video, Coke ad and Glou commercial. He poo-poo’d it off, saying it was nothing and I kind of liked that about him.
Now my fiancé.
He didn’t know his pant or shirt size when they called to collect the info, so he asked me. I also cleaned up his eyebrows, but not in a feminine plucked “Joey” way (if you’ve seen the Friends episode). He called me before the shoot to talk about clothes, during the shoot to talk about makeup, and after the shoot to tell me it went fine.
Arriving home, he proclaimed “the camera loved me!” I offered my congratulations and was happy to see him enjoying a moment in the spotlight. Perhaps I deserve some credit for grooming him? Nope. Showing him how to position himself and smile after he ruined 90 percent of our vacation photos last year with his weird poses and cheesy smile? Nope.
“I was the best one! The camera loved me. I’m going to be on the cover,” he said. Whether or not that’s true, he’s already slacking in his newfound status, leaving dirty clothes all over the house and not washing the dishes last night. He’ll hear about it later.
Being a cover boy just doesn’t cut it around here. 
Related posts
“Conversation with my fiancé”
“Three guys, two girls and a hamburger joint”
“No smoking in the house!”
Athens
52°
Kat on 
Gowmukhi on 
Νικ on 
mary on 
FMS on 
Claire May on 
