I made another Kiva microloan today to Nino, who lives in Georgia, in the Caucasus region of Eurasia, so she can finance her second semester toward earning a bachelor's degree.



When the loan is eventually repaid, I can reloan the money to another deserving student or entrepreneur seeking to improve their life.

Women in other countries just don't have the same opportunities as we do. Helping someone complete their education is probably one of the best uses for my charitable dollars.

I greatly admire the Kiva organization. A year or so ago, I applied for a volunteer editor position there. Lo and behold, I got a note from them recently asking me to take a little test measuring my ability to read and review some sample portfolios. If I am offered a position and then undergo their training, I'd be expected to work at least 2 hours a week for them for at least 6 months.

Tomorrow I begin a free 10-week course at a local public library on "Mastering Aging." It covers the whole gamut, from Social Security and retirement saving to issues surrounding housing and social aspects for people approaching retirement age. I'm looking forward to learning more and am hoping it's not too basic and that it holds my interest.

I also volunteered to write an article for the local newspaper as part of an Earth Day series of stories; my article will focus on sustainable shopping. This Saturday is the group's first litter cleanup of the season. I'm happy to be getting busy with this group, although I still, for the most part, won't likely be able to attend many of their meetings since I usually work late on the nights they meet.

This Friday I may also attend a youth climate march in Westchester County. I think it important to demonstrate, with numbers of bodies on the streets, support for stronger action in the area of climate change.

I have a relatively new neurologist I'm seeing; last year, I had to leave another doc I'd been seeing for about 20 years because they were no longer in network with my insurance. But I discovered today that my new doctor expects me to see him every 3 months, even if I'm not having any problems. My old doc, in comparison, only required me to come in once a year, and then he would renew my meds for an additional 12 months.

On the face of it, it would seem the new doc is just trying to generate extra income for himself, but for me, the additional 3 annual visits would mean paying $200 in copays each year instead of $50.

What's more, his staff would not renew my meds, which need to be refilled, until I go there to see the doc. They don't know I have a small stockpile of meds to cover me in just these kinds of situations, but it really bothers me that they think this is OK. The appointment is scheduled for next week, but they still won't renew the meds, so they're basically holding me hostage until I see him.

This complicates my life, so I called my old doc and learned that he now has office hours at a certain center one day a week, and that med center, at an area hospital, accepts all insurance, including mine.

However, that location is less convenient, and since i work on the one day he's there, I'd have to take off from work, which I don't like to do because I can't easily make it up.

For the time being, I'm planning on keeping the appt with the new doc for next week. If he insists I see him quarterly, as his staff did, I may try proposing twice a year, instead of once a year, as a compromise. But 4x a year when I'm doing fine seems a little excessive to me, and I'm not sure my insurance would even cover 3 so-called "follow-up" visits? If he insists, I will probably stay mum, to make sure he doesn't renege on refilling my prescription, but then not return to him and go to my older doc instead, next time around.

I would probably just make a point to always schedule an appointment with the old doc 1st thing in the am to minimize time lost from the job. I start work later than most people, so this is mostly doable, although I'd be driving in 2 totally different directions...not ideal, but quarterly visits kind of irk me. There is also the risk that the old doc, who is now working at this MS center, might have to follow certain protocols of that center, and maybe he would no longer let me slide with once annual visits. I guess I may just have to find that out.