TGIF. It's been another long week. That being said, the weeks have flown by.

I made it to the dentist during the work week without it really impinging on my work time. I love not having to be at work til 10:30 am. It really helps me get stuff done.

Along the same vein, I realized I could go back to dropping off my trash during the week, avoiding the mad Saturday rush there, by stopping there in the morning and just driving to work via the interstate instead of back roads. Since it's after 9 am, the traffic is just the usual kind of traffic, nothing crazy.

So that will mean one less chore to cram in on my Saturdays and it will be quicker and less stressful to do it this way.

I also decided to see if I could return the $40 composter I bought from an area group, for a refund. A few people were asking if there were anymore to buy at the workshop I went to last weekend, and I began having buyer's remorse after purchasing it, thinking about the mice it would encourage to stick around. It was a difficult decision becus composting is the kind of thing I've been interested in all my life and it aligns with my interest in the environment and being self sufficient and so on, but I began to think that overall, I'm trying to simplify my life a bit, and going out in winter to stir the compost is maybe not what I want to do. I initially jumped at the chance to do this as a way to simplify my life in another way, by avoiding having to make one less stop at the transfer station on Saturdays when it's a zoo there zigging in and out of long lines of cars.

But since I've decided/realized I can go back to weekday drop-offs, dropping off my kitchen organic waste at the special bin reserved for this won't be a big deal. I can still get free compost each spring if I want. I really didn't use the compost I got last spring. I'm doing only container gardening and just didn't need that much.

I have a phone interview scheduled for next week with a well-known Connecticut bank. I think I'm lacking some of the skill sets this particular job (digital content strategist) calls for, but the sheer volume of experience I have working at banks and other financial services companies no doubt made them decide to at least give me a look-see.

Open enrollment started Nov. 1. There are just 2 insurers in CT exchange and bronze plans ONLY. Most affordable one I could find was $765 a month. Scary to think I may have to do that. In any event, there is now a generic Copaxone with a different pharma company, and it's 30% cheaper than Copaxone. I will switch to the generic in any event. This pharma company also offers a patient copay assistance program, so as long as you have private insurance (Medicare doesn't allow discounts) you pay $0 for your copays.

You may think this is a good deal, and while I do benefit personally, discount programs like this one (there are many for the very expensive drugs) don't help the country get a handle on healthcare expenses, becus the patient copay assistance encourages patients to keep using expensive drugs instead of generics. The new generic for my drug just got FDA approval. Meanwhile, the company that makes my Copaxone raised the price of Copaxone 3 times in the past year, simply becus they could get away with it and they knew the generics were coming. I hate corporate greed.

Today I ran a bunch of errands, met dad for lunch, and treated myself to a stop at DSW. Wound up buying a very comfy chair of brown suede shoes. When I got home, I decided to squeeze in a little yardwork, something I've neglected really since 2015. I didn't do that much, just blew the leaves off the driveway, pulled out some bittersweet and put plastic fencing around some rhododendrons so the deer don't eat them this winter. I have one more I forgot about.