My new car

  

My new 2012 Chevy Equinox - Twilight Blue. My 2007 tan one was totaled as a result of a hit & run incident on the 9/13. This is my 3rd Equinox and my fourth Chevy. The difference in technology between my old car and this one is leaps and bounds. I had to gas it up Tuesday night for the first time and couldn't find how to open the gas cap without reading the huge manual. It's the LTZ model 4 cylinder with on board navigation, OnStar free for 6 months, XM Radio free for 3 months, chunky rubber mats, trunk privacy cover, cargo net, cross rails, heated seats, rear view camera, parking assist. The longer I drive it, the better the gas mileage gets. I was used to 24 mpg with my old six cylinder, but already this has got 27 mpg after 300 miles. And yeah, it's got that new car smell. And the best part is I bought at the dealers cost because I walked in with approved financing from my credit union.

Cheap Trick Concert 9/23/11

Free tickets to see Cheap Trick play Dream Police in its entirety? Hells yeah. It has some of my favorite Cheap Trick songs, so I couldn't pass it up. I won the tickets from a manager of Wahoo Fish tacos. This was actually the second show I've been to where the artist/band performed their album. The first one was Judas Priest. I guess this goes to show you we're all getting older. Minus the technology glitches (video screens weren't working well during the first 30 minutes), the show was excellent. And I loved the venue. I had never had a reason to go to The Greek Theater before this show. It's located in Griffith Park. I had to drive on Vermont through Koreatown in Los Angeles to get there.

This Week in News

Monday - I had a dentist appointment. After three shots in an hour and a half, the numbing agent didn't work. I have temporary fillings on my lower right side.

Tuesday - I was the victim of a hit & run auto accident on the 405N while driving to work. The force of the impact pushed my car into the one that was stopped in front of me. It also left a reverse impression of their license plate on my rear bumper. CHP called to say they caught the guy. The bumpers are bashed in. Cass was at work and could only provide comic relief.

Wednesday - Productive, uneventful day at work. I'm moving 10M moutains and getting mole hills in return. MERS is on target. Went to Fresh & Easy for provisions then made steak burritos for dinner. Their Salsa Verde is delish. The insurance claims adjuster called to tell me I have a $500 deductible.  I'm still paying for storage for my mom's crap. I feel like I just keep throwing money down a hole I am never getting back.

Thursday - I have a dentist appointment today before work. I have a happy hour UYE to attend in El Segundo after work. It's also Farmers Market day there and I need bread.

Friday -  Claims adjuster appointment today. To fix or total, that is the question. At this point, I probably owe as much as it's worth. 115,000 miles. My work wants to get me into an auto loan.

At the dentist office...

At the dentist office today for my 9:30AM appointment, I was greeted, seated in treatment bay #1 and then shot up with a numbing agent three times in an hour and a half and I didn't get numb. How weird! I've never had that happen before. I remember my dad telling me stories about that happening to him, but he was 6'4" 250 lbs. I'm 5'1" and about 120. I tolerated the pain long enough to be able to get a temporary filling into my tooth. Then I was done until Thursday. I drove to work and by the time I got there, it was Noon and my tooth was throbbing. I took two Aleve to smash the pain. Then I got a freshly brewed hot coffee. All day while at work I was thinking about how I felt the last shot going into my neck. It was the strangest feeling. And then I was thinking if the numbing agent didn't go where or do what it was supposed to do, where did it go in my body? I know it eventually wears off.

I wasn't hungry until I got home from work. I decided to stop by the Asian market in Irvine since the one by my house closed to pick up some stuff to make udon soup. Something soft to eat so my temporary fillings don't fall out. I have to eat soft food for another day and then I go back to the dentist.

I'm trying out the new blogger interface this afternoon. I have to say it's a lot cleaner, but doesn't do anything extra than the old interface does other than adds a location. The cleaner interface is probably a good advertising point for people who are new to bloging and that may make blogging from mobile devices easier... I don't know. I used the mobile site for blogger and it's OK.

I'm loosing respect for doctors.

I'm loosing respect for doctors. Here's why:

1. When I went in for my annual check up with my OB/GYN, she charged me a co-pay for an office visit and $20 for using insurance instead of paying with cash. That is utter bullshit. Then the prescription and/or the software that she uses now to write up prescriptions electronically did not transmit to my local Walgreens correctly delaying my refill. I didn't find out until I went to pick it up.

2. When I went in to get my swollen left foot looked at, the doctor told me nothing to take the swelling down and instead sent me to take x-rays and blood work. He thought it was gout. It wasn't gout. I figured out it was new shoes. I talked to a friend about it who suggested arch supports for my new sneakers. Problem solved. I paid two $20 co-pays for chatting with my Dr. Arch supports from Dr. Scholls were $12. Also picked up epsom salt for $5.

3. My son said he had a cyst on this inner thigh. I tried to get an appointment with the Dr., but it seems as though my PCP only practices two days a week now due to old age and it booked up solid for the next two weeks. When I asked about going to urgent care, they gave me an address of a location I used before. Two hours later, urgent care performed no treatment. Said it wasn't bleeding so it wasn't an urgent issue and sent him home. I paid a $20 for nothing.

4. I asked for a referral for a GI since this is the required procedure in order to see a specialist when you have a HMO for medical insurance. The nurse left a message on my voicemail I couldn't understand. Shouldn't important information like that be mailed to you? You know, with their affiliate information, subscriber code and if they are open to new patients? Hrmm.

How I spent my summer vacation 2011

My summer vacation blog entry has been postponed until October. One day will be about burying my mother's ashes next to her parents in Red Hook. The rest of the time is mine to do what I want. I'm taking two weeks off work.

JetBlue.com states that with a 2 hour layover in Seattle, I will get to Boston 2 hours eariler than if I flew directly to JFK. O.K., I'm game because the experience of flying with JetBlue is supposed to be nice. So then I'm an hour away from my cousin Debbie. Since I'll be landing at about 9:30PM east coast time, and having flown all day, I'll pick up my rental car and stay at a hotel in Boston. Sunday morning, I'll drive to Debbie's house meeting her after church. Family time. I want to do as much "meet & greet" with family as well as geneology research as I can while on the east coast, so coordinating all of that has been a big part of my plans. I'll be visiting MA, CT, and NY.

There is something weird going on with my aunts and I'm not quite sure what it is. Tressa and Grace talk but not to their oldest sister, Jane. Tressa was written out of her mother's will. Grace took care of my grandma until she passed away and was buried with grandpa in Red Hook and that's where my moms ashes are going to be placed because that was my mom's wish and she was a heir. I'll be dealing with that drama while there. I also have to do a speech at the event which I'm not looking forward to. I realize no one really knows me and I can say anything I want, really. It's more for them than for me. If they only knew some of the crappy things my mom did to me and my brother when we were kids, but now that she's dead, does it really matter that much? I have a theme and I think I'm going to read from the bible psalms 34 since that was the year she was born. What the hell.

The day after the remembrance, I'm flying on JetBlue again from Newburgh to Orlando to go to Disneyworld/Epcot. I'll have a day and a half there and then fly home on Jet Blue for the 3rd time Saturday. I've got to have some fun while on vacation...

Yahoo! News Story - S&P replaces president with Citibank exec after U.S. downgrade - Yahoo! News

Personal message:

I'm not surprised by this. Citi execs...

S&P replaces president with Citibank exec after U.S. downgrade - Yahoo! News

http://news.yahoo.com/p-president-sharma-stepping-down-report-011516843.html

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Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/

Yahoo! News Story - Deutsche Bank knew mortgage co it bought lied: Justice Dept - Yahoo! News

Personal message:

I left DB in April, 2003.

Deutsche Bank knew mortgage co it bought lied: Justice Dept - Yahoo! News

http://news.yahoo.com/deutsche-bank-knew-mortgage-company-bought-lied-u-015111581.html

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Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/

Yahoo! News Story - Nixon's Colossal Monetary Error: The Verdict 40 Years Later - Yahoo! News

Personal message:

Financial History Lesson

Nixon's Colossal Monetary Error: The Verdict 40 Years Later - Yahoo! News

http://news.yahoo.com/nixons-colossal-monetary-error-verdict-40-years-later-140035743.html

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Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/