Since it's my question, I felt I should answer this one. And maybe explain why I asked it in the first place.

First of all the question started when I saw a commercial with a certain celebrity on tv.... this commercial was for make up - and I thought to myself, that's fine and dandy but what does it do? Why should I trust this celebrity first of all, and why should I buy the makeup. Does the celebrity normally endorse great products, does buying the product help someone?... and when I say help I don't mean "just on the surface" help like more people will have jobs - because let's face it, wherever I choose to spend my money, will have the same effect.

I figured, if I were a celebrity I'd want to be really careful. about the products I'd endorse because of the mere fact that there could be recalls, there could.d be some iffy things going on in the company, or maybe it's just a bad product.

One thing I do know is that I wouldn't endorse any type of fast food, cigarettes, alcohol, plastic surgery, or pretty much anything that would do harm to someone's health. I really don't think these products should be advertised the way they are anyways. I know I know, there aren't many celebrities that actually do endorse these products, but dig a little deeper here for a minute: When you see the Sex & the City stars with cosmos in their tv show and movie, is that not an endorsement? I'm sure you could argue that but I know quite a few people who said "Hey I want a cosmo! That's what they drink on Sex & the City, I wanna know what it's like... must be good!" - OR - think about someone who endorses covergirl or wet n wild, or any makeup product.... do they actually use these products?? probably not, they probably use the high price stuff and whatever is best for their skin - so are they lying to us? My answer is yes. And I know I wouldn't want to do that, so I guess I wouldn't be a very good endorser... or maybe I'd be the best - I'd only endorse the products I thought were right for people, the ones that wouldn't harm them and the ones that were reliable.

So maybe you'll agree or maybe you'll disagree, but that's my answer.

I just answered this Featured Question, you can answer it too!

Sorry I haven't been on lately. We found out what was wrong with my sister... it turns out that she has Lupus like my dad.... and she also has a cyst on her liver. So the next plan of action: She's going to a specialist to get the cyst on her liver checked out, she will be on constant medication, she will go to monthly hospital appointments and she has been put on a kidney transplant recipient list.

I've been really depressed lately. Not obviously so. But, I noticed that I get offended over trivial things... and I know it's related to what has been going on. I feel like everything is going wrong and changing. I want to take control but I can't - there goes my stupid control thing again. Well one positive thing that I decided to do is raise money for Lupus research and care. I'm going to participate in "Walk for Lupus Now" - Los Angeles. I got together a team consisting of me (captain) and a few of my friends that have shown support. I am trying to raise $2,000 or more and haven't received any donations yet... but I'm hopeful. If you want to check out my site, the address is at the bottom of this entry.

I think that this will help the morale of my family most of all, and show my dad and sister that they are not alone - not to mention assist in funding for Lupus research and care... for those of you who don't know: Lupus is an incurable, autoimmune disease that can effect various parts of the body (joints, vital organs, skin, etc.), and that roughly 1.5 million Americans suffer from. If you want more information on the actual disease, I suggest going to the Lupus Foundation of America website (www.lupus.org).

Ironically today is "World Lupus Day" and May is "National Lupus Awareness Month".

My fundraising website is: http://walkforlupusnowla.kintera.org/atellez

Does anyone else think it's a little weird that Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon were dating in the first place? I mean, besides the huge age gap I don't really see a personality match. But hey who am I to say that? Then they go and get married after dating for about... a minute.. it's just weird to me. What about the insane similarity between his first fiance's engagement ring and Mariah's ring? well who cares. But it's weird. lol.

Are you insured through your parents? Are you on your own? Employee benefits? maybe Medical? Medicare? or something like Blue Cross? Maybe you're lucky enough to have universal health care. Personally I'm uninsured. I used to be covered under my parents, through Medical or some employee program... I don't really remember. I never had health problems when I was younger and sadly I was like a lot of people I know - I wasn't sick so I didn't think of it. Well when I went off to college, I knew I was still under my Mom's insurance and was under the impression that I would be until I was done with school... yeah didn't quite work that way. My 21st birthday came around and I started feeling this pain in my stomach. I just thought it was "womanly pains"... because it was in that area.. only this felt a little different because it was specifically on the left side localized to a 3 in. diameter. So I waited a week without thinking about it, but it didn't go away, and once it actually brought me to my knees. So then I knew something was wrong. I called my mom to see what doctors were in the area and she said she would find out and call me the next day.

When she called the next day I specifically remember that I was grocery shopping at a local discount store. I answered the phone and while walking down an isle in the store, she explained to me that I had been "kicked off" her health insurance when I turned 21. I remember asking, "Why didn't they send some kind of warning letter?" and "Did you know that this was going to happen?"

I was instantly upset and worried. I really didn't know what to do, so I researched my symptoms on the internet for a few weeks as the pain changed and saved money. I noted all my symptoms and found that the localized type of pain I was feeling seemed to be associated with Ovarian Cysts or Ovarian Cancer. I had applied for health insurance when this all started and answered every question that they asked honestly. Because I answered a question similar to this: "Have you felt stomach pain for over one week?" I was denied insurance, even though I was willing to pay around $200/month. Now, even more worried, I began calling doctors and writing down price comparisons on office visits and ultrasounds. The average cost was around $400-$600. I didn't have many resources at the time so I went to one of the cheaper places. The doctor gave me an ultrasound and told me that I had an Ovarian cyst, but that "it was nothing." At first I was comforted by this, but the more he repeated the phrase, the more uneasy I felt. I was confused and left the office that day without any type of "medical records" or information on my condition.

As soon as I was home, I reapplied for health insurance with a different company but I received the same response. I realized that no one (no private insurance) would come to my "rescue" as long as I had a preexisting condition of any sort. I was scheduled to go back to the first doctor in a month to watch the development of the cyst. As I waited, the pain got worse and never went away even for a second. I was constantly haunted by the sense of "not knowing".  When I came in for my second visit with the first doctor, I felt like I was having dejavu. He told me the same things: that it was "nothing" and that we should watch and wait to see what happens. I had already spent about $800 on check ups with no real answers and I became frustrated. I was ordered not to exercise or to consume anything "disruptive" such as alcohol or anything containing caffeine or high acidity. After going on like this for four months or so, I sought the help of a second doctor. I went to this doctor who was the surgery-forward type, being a surgeon in addition to a gynecologist himself. He showed me that I had not one but two large cysts and possibly more. He explained to me, as I had tears in my eyes, that it is something to be concerned about but not to get ahead of myself because the cysts seems liquid filled which was more likely than not, an indicator of benign cysts. Both doctors advised me at this time that it was better to have surgery than to wait any longer.

I went to the local hospital (that shared the same complex as the first doctor and very close to the second doctor) and tried to see if I could get Payment Assistance for my surgery. They informed me that they only provide payment assistance with emergency incidents and not scheduled surgeries. I check my eligibility for all the government programs (ex: medicare, medicaid, medi-cal, Family PACT, etc.). I was eligible for only the Family PACT program which I was told only provided assistance for reproductive health. But wasn't this reproductive? They told me it was unrelated. So, I found that I somehow fell into the cracks. I was in the exact life circumstance that seemed to prevent me from receiving any help. I have no children, I was 21 (now almost 23), not married, not covered under my parent's insurance.

With the help of family members, I reluctantly decided to go ahead with the surgery, paying for it out of pocket. An action which also guaranteed lack of any type of government assistance for at least a few years. I decided my health was more important than money. When in surgery the doctor found that I had between 20-30 cysts, most of them were small, a few were large.... and surprisingly, the cysts were on both ovaries, mainly on the right side  -despite the fact that the pain I felt was on the left side.

Things I want to blog about in the near future and don't want to forget:

Recurring Dreams

Body Image in general

PCOS

My Family

Last Wishes

What is the word "die"? Death as a recurring subject.

Skin Cancer

Health Insurance & Government Policies

Best memories of my life: Fishing w/ Dad, Reunited after the earthquake, Time at my Grandma's, My Grandma's goodbye, Meeting in RI, Kindergarten play, Venturing out (RI), Hilarious car hit

Worst memories: Falling off the truck, Car accident 360, Cancer?, Infertility?, My Dad, Everything is changing

Unsupportive people

Best friends

Goals