Weekly Ephemera #62

• This week, with the help of Mom's stepsons, we sold Mom's car.   It was probably the easiest thing we've ever had to do for Mom.  Things just fell into place.  She got a good price for her 2004 car with only 36,000 miles (57,936 km) on it.
• I didn't walk this week due to the medical issues I mentioned last week.  I did go get a CT scan of my abdomen.  I am happy to say that there was no evidence of cancer or infections.  Still doesn't explain the issues I'm experiencing.
  
  Speaking of the CT scan.  When I was checking in at the hospital they gave me a quote of $1,988 - that's after insurance pays up.  This amount only covers the hospital facilities, not the radiologist who interprets the CT scan.  The receptionist checking me in asks me if I heard about getting a discount for paying in advance.  She texted me a link to a service the hospital contracts with that takes upfront payments in full.  How much was it?  $738.  Not only that but that amount covers the hospital facilities and the radiologist's interpretation.  WTF?!?  Insurance is such a ripoff.  The receptionist also suggested I call my insurance and try to apply the amount I paid to my deductible.  There is paperwork I have to fill out and I am assuming it will take so long to get the credit (IF I get it) that the deductible will roll over to next year.  The US medical system is totally FUBAR.
• On Thursday I turned sixty (as you already know if you read Homer's Travels).  The Wife was the second person to wish me a happy birthday.  The first was the Radisson Blu Hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  They have one hell of a customer service representative.
  
  We were visited by the Wife's niece and her two kids.  They brought me a bag of Chips Ahoy! cookies.  In the afternoon we went to one of the twenty plus splash pads in Omaha so the kids could play in the water.
  
• 
  We had a visitor on our back deck.  A squirrel.  It's been visiting our bird feeder for a while.  This time it was on our deck chewing on a clay pot.  Based on the missing pot rim I'd guess it's been doing so for a while.  I didn't know squirrels ate pots but I figure it may have a mineral deficiency.  I guess squirrels have something in common with some Peruvian people who mix clay in with some of their food as a mineral supplement.
• I finished "Silo" this week.  It is a good adaptation of the books but, naturally, it deviates from the books a bit.  I think it's more for dramatic effect.  I'm looking forward to the second season.  Now I can get back to the last seven episodes of Columbo.