Sunday, June 16, 2013

The Concensus is this is a Bad Idea

After speaking with Harry just now, I know all the more that he and his family are very special people. I see all the time people on Facebook talking about being Christians but Harry doesn't talk it, he lives it.  I know Lotho and his family would get along with him very well indeed.  Some may have thought it was hypocritical of me to go to the Easter services with his family but I don't see it that way at all.  That was a very beautiful time for me and it sure as hell wasn't some tourist excursion just to look at the quaint Greek church.  In fact it is quaint but that wasn't at all why I went there as that tiny little church was more full the spirit of life than any suburban megachurch will ever be.

I'm not going to detail the things we talked about as I don't cover what Cat and I talk about either.  Of course the relationships are not at all the same but there's still no reason to blab stuff all over the Internet.  As has been made abundantly clear recently, every up-skirt pervert from Washington to the NSA data center in Utah is watching.

I can tell you this much that Harry's advice is to go slow and think it out before rolling.  This is exactly the same thing Cat has said.  If I wait another day or two or a week doesn't matter as there is no turning around once I roll out.  The biggest frustration is the Internet but you don't need to see another report on that.  While getting online after I'm on the road will be difficult, it won't be the same frustration but the nuances of that don't need any particular detail either.

What's important to understand in this is I have not had medical insurance in over four years.  Going back to America will not make any difference as the Veterans Administration cannot support the workload.  Write your own editorial on American priorities.  As a UK citizen with the right to domicile I can get NHS insurance which is for real full coverage medical and dental which, actually, is better than I had when I was working in the U.S.  Plus they don't cut you off because some asshole clerk (e.g. Todd Rosenberg of Liberty Mutual) cuts you off and destroys your life.  What is also important to understand is that with NHS I would also be covered anywhere in Greece whereas the farce of the VA is so difficult as to be almost impossible.

Harry said he can find a tent for thirty or thirty-five euros that you shake out and it pops into shape.  To stow it you twist the thing and it folds back down again.  This sounds ridiculously cool and I will see him tomorrow about it.  So I won't roll out tomorrow and, Internet permitting, I will get to attend the performances by James Corachea and lefty Unplugged tomorrow night.

Harry also said he has a sleeping bag somewhere that he can give me and I tell you again that he and his family are very special.

Something I had not been considering was to come back to Greece in August as Harry said there's an apartment in Pyrgos where I can stay.  This might be a good thing as I have no clothes for surviving the Winter in England or Germany and the rent on the apartment is much cheaper.  However, I am not going to skip going to Germany as that is very important to me for a great many reasons.  Employment is probably not any more likely in Germany than Greece as making Web pages is a joke and the only other serious option is to go back to the big league in mainframes.  However, that is soul-sucking stuff as I would get money but it would eat my life.

This is not waffling but rather thinking.  You can easily see this is a high-risk ride as London via Mount Etna is three thousand kilometers and thinking now is crucial to surviving it.  Nevertheless, I need adventure (laughs).

10 comments:

jsmn said...

think you have to look closer at nhs, as it's for uk residents. so i guess it won't work if you're not planning to stay there for a certain period of time.

Unknown said...

This isn't a tourist application as I have full UK citizenship, right to domicile, etc, etc. I was a member of the Commonwealth long before I had anything to do with America.

Anonymous said...

It might be that the key lies in whether or not you plan to take up permanent residence in the UK. This is what I found after a brief Google search: "Hospitals are responsible for checking who should pay for NHS hospital treatment. The hospital will ask you for evidence to prove that you intend to live in the UK permanently. The documents that you provide will depend on your circumstances.

Examples could include:
- documents showing the sale of goods or property overseas
- receipts showing shipping of goods to the UK
- evidence that you’re looking for work
- evidence that you have bought property in the UK or have rented a property
- papers that show you’ve applied for benefits
- evidence that your children are attending school in the UK

The hospital will also ask you for evidence to prove that you’re legally entitled to live in the UK, such as:
- your British passport, or
- permission from the Home Office

[found this on http://www.nhs.uk/chq/pages/1087.aspx?categoryid=68&subcategoryid=162]

jsmn said...

it's not about being an uk citizen, it's about being a uk resident. you can get nhs, if you're planning to stay there.

Unknown said...

This is all quite useful information, thank you!

As to applying for benefits, do you suppose that means applying to get on 'The Dole' and get free money? That seems a bit ambitious when I have never worked there! I never even applied for unemployment when I could legitimately do it in the US so that will be a bit awkward. If I can get free money then that strongly argues toward really staying there and making that my base instead of Greece.

The passport is my primary document as that proves citizenship and the right to domicile. You can be a UK citizen but not have a right to domicile but, fortunately, that isn't a problem. No way I could afford to buy property but it would be legal if I did.

Anonymous said...

Get with your niece about a website on Xhibit. I will pay for an operational website on Xhibit. I got her abadass Canon. And she has her porfolio digitized and catalogued.

Anonymous said...

Maybe I didnt publish. Talk to your niece about an Xhibit webpage. I got her a badass Canon to digitize her catalogue. That is done. I will pay for a working website

Unknown said...

Cool! I will talk to her

jsmn said...

hehe, no, there is no free money from benefits. and there is to free health care for all british citizens all over the world.

Unknown said...

In a previous comment it mentioned that I needed to apply for something beyond NHS and it's not clear what that would be. In any case, I won't be 'all over the world' but rather I'll be in London and there is some discussion going on about locating an inexpensive flat there.