Homer's Travels: Ephemera Of The Week #3

Sunday, January 23, 2022

Ephemera Of The Week #3

I'm renaming this recurring series from "The Week That Was" to "Ephemera Of The Week".  I think this is more descriptive since rather than being a weekly summary these posts are a collection of often overlooked ephemera.

  • I tried to walk this week but things got in the way.  I walked 10.45 miles (16.8 km) on Monday which included a slip on an icy patch that resulted in me hitting the sidewalk pretty hard.  No permanent damage except for a bruised ego.  My Wednesday walk was preempted by an eye doctor appointment.  My Friday walk was a victim of a lack of will more than anything.  I could feel Thursday evening that I didn't want to walk on Friday.  The wind chills were also an impediment.
  • On Wednesday, as I mentioned above, I had my annual eye appointment.  When I got to the office I discovered that they'd lost my appointment but fortunately they could fit me in.  In fact, the waiting that inevitably accompanies doctor appointments was not any longer than usual.

    They did the usual tests, including the dreaded field of vision test, with positive results.  No problems were found and test results were similar to last year's examination.  My eyes were dilated so they could take pictures of the cupping in my optic nerve (A common symptom of glaucoma but, in my case, is the result of extreme nearsightedness I had pre-lasik).  I drove home blinded by the light all the way.
  • Since I decided not to walk on Friday I visited Mom.  She seems to be doing well but I think she, like many of us, are suffering from cabin fever.  When it gets warmer we'll do more stuff out and about.
  • On Friday I also picked up a letter from the post office. It required a signature to pick up.  The letter was from the water utility and was concerning coming to our house to swap out the water meters.  Emblazoned on on corner was FINAL NOTICE.  It turns out that I'd been notified twice before by email.  Neither of these emails had the utility's logo.  When I called the number on the email I got a recording which did not clearly say it was the utility answering service and the voice was heavily accented.  This screamed scam to me so I hung up and ignored the emails.  The letter I signed for did have the utility's logo and when I called the number this time I actually talked with someone who acknowledged, after I asked, that they were from the utility.  They will be here in early February to change out the water meter.

    Why this didn't start as a mailed letter on letterhead in the first place and why their telephone messages sounded so scammish I do not know but it would have made this whole scheduling process much easier.

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