Racquetball and Domestic Partner Benefits...

I know what you're wondering right now: What the heck does racquetball and domestic partner benefits have in common? Well, I'll tell you--Absolutely nothing! Ha! Seriously though, they don't...Unless of course I injured myself playing racquetball, then I might need insurance through my partner to be seen by a doc, but yeah...I wasn't going in that direction. No, these two things are completely unrelated, but I am blogging about both so bear with me here, okay? Moving on...


Yesterday I went to go play racquetball with Phoenix and her nieces, Little Phoenix and Goofy. I thought yesterday was going to be a relaxing day since we had to go to Phoenix's dad's house to wait for the windshield repair guy to show up to repair her windshield. I'm not sure why her step-mom couldn't have the guy come here, but whatever. It was free through the insurance, so we're not complaining. Plus, we were there to loan her dad the car so he could go to the hardware store.It was a win-win situation for all involved.


Suddenly, as were hanging out at her dad's house, she brings up racquetball and he busts out his racquetball equipment. Do I look excited? Because I certainly don't feel excited! I agreed to go even though my back was aching (I hate being a girl with a regular cycle!) and my thighs were still burning from all the stairs the day before...And please don't get me started on my bad knees. (Why in the hell would I have chosen to be a goalie for soccer as a kid? Didn't I realize that falling on my knees so often would have long-term effects!?) Along the way, we decided to ask if Goofy and Little Phoenix wanted to join us, which of course they wanted to.


We went to some park Phoenix used to go to with her dad, but now, if you want to use the racquetball courts, tennis courts, basketball courts, etc, you have to have a Rec. Pass. These are $10 for adults and $5 for kids (They're good for a year, but still...). Ummm...Yeah, we went to a free park. At the second park, we were able to use whatever we wanted for free. We also got to explain to two children what "stoners" are. Good times. So, racquetball sucks. I am so bad at this game. I was however moving around and this has to count as exercise. I mean, I'm not likely to tell the Fergie-wanna-be from The Biggest Loser that playing racquetball for an hour is a work-out, but I swear it was...Especially since I had a headache and cramps. It was fun though to watch Phoenix try to jump to hit the balls as they sailed over her head and the kids hit the ball all wacky. Trust me, I suck at this game...I played soccer, basketball, and softball. I could even play football if I needed to. I don't play games like racquetball, tennis, or golf. (I've golfed before, but it's not half as relaxing as people say...Well, at least not when you go all Happy Gilmore on a sand trap...) Needless to say, after all that, I slept really well last night...I think we're going to play this more often. Phoenix's brothers play too and really, I'm just hoping they don't ask us to play with them. For one thing, we suck. For another, Phoenix cannot play on a team with me without yelling at me...I can't help it that I'm so much better at games than she is...Or perhaps it's the other way around...Eh, whatever.


So, domestic partner benefits. Arizona had them when their old governor was in office, but then she went to go work for Obama and left Jan Brewer in charge...What a mistake. This is a woman who says that God put her in an authoritative position to help out the state of Arizona with its troubles...I wonder if she means that God is telling her to screw over the gay community along with straight couples who fall under the domestic partnership benefits law. See, people who were in relationships, be it gay or straight, could apply for benefits and get covered if they could prove it was a real relationship. Phoenix and I just got done doing this so that I could get insurance because I haven't had any type of insurance in years...Like over six years now. Kind of scary, huh? Imagine with me for a moment what it's like to not have insurance, but break a toe...Now, if it's a simple break, there's nothing they can do for you anyway, but if your baby toe is say, sticking out at a 90 degree angle, it needs to be set, right? Well, if you don't have insurance, you might end up laying on a couch screaming into a throw pillow as your step-dad grabs it and puts it back in place...Not that I've ever experienced this firsthand, but it could happen, I'm sure. I only go to the doctor when I'm super sick and I haven't had a physical since I was like 22. I was looking forward to getting benefits because there are some things I need to have checked out by a doctor, but now Jan Brewer has decided to save the state of AZ $3 million by cutting domestic partner benefits. She's also cutting the benefits of domestic partners' kids, dependent students aged 23-24, and disabled adult dependents (or something like that). Yeah, I get it...The state is in trouble because it is way over budget, but this is a mere $3 million...I'm sure there are other things she could cut that wouldn't single out a specific group of people, which this does. And if you think I'm being harsh because of the statement I made above about her claiming that God put her in her position, go read the paper. There was an article about her talking to some Lutheran Pastors and that's what she told them. I don't care if people want to have faith in God, Buddha, Allah, or Jehovah, but I do have a problem when they use their religion as a basis for deciding what is good for the masses. What's sad is that most people won't even care about this happening because it doesn't affect them...On the flipside, if she was all, "I'm taking benefits away from all spouses and children of state workers," then everyone would be up in arms, but since this only affects the gays and a handful of straight couples no one really cares. It just sucks. I know one person that will be happy about this though since now Phoenix won't be providing insurance for me. Oh well...Whatever. I just want to send out a big ol' thank you though to all the ultra-conservative people, seriously, thank you so much for pushing your personal religious agenda onto me. I appreciate it.


Until next time...