Weekly Ephemera #64

There were a few big things this week ... 

• I finally got to my doctor's appointment.  He performed a Cystoscopy.  The results from that, along with all the other tests I had leading up to the doctor's appointment, ended up with the diagnosis that I had expected (though my brain often took me to the worse case scenario).  My issue is caused by my enlarged prostate that was diagnosed late last year.  The doctor  gave me three treatment options: drugs, surgery, or do nothing.  All three have issues and potential long term side effects but the surgery seems like the lesser of the evils.  I told him that I would do the surgery.  It's not an emergency so I asked to have it sometime in late November or December after our fall travels.   Still, I am going to request more information about the options from my doctor.  I doubt I will change my mind but it's probably a good thing to do my due diligence before saying "final answer".
  
  I need to have surgery anyway as I have a kidney stone that needs to be removed before it can become its own problem.  The stone removal and the prostate surgery can be done at the same time.
• I mentioned the fall travels.  Until Thursday this was referencing our trip to Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia in October/November.  As of this weekend it now includes a week-long stay in Rome, Italy.
  
  One of the Wife's students is being ordained a deacon on his way to becoming a Catholic priest.  The ordination will be at the Vatican and the Wife and I were invited to attend.  Included with the ordination will be a ticket to Pope Francis' monthly audience.  While an audience with the Pope sounds exciting it will be us and probably a thousand other people.  We are turning the three day event into a week-long visit to Rome to see some of the sights.  Flights have been booked ($$$) and a place to stay ten minutes walking from the main entrance to the Vatican (and a block from the Vatican Museum) and close to a metro station has been reserved.  The Wife is working on the itinerary.
• I took my car in for a cooling system service that was advised the last time I got the car serviced.  I also wanted them to check on a slow leak I had in one of my tires.  After $300+ I discovered I had a leak in a radiator hose and a leaking water pump.  Oh ... and the front two tires needed to be replaced due to excessive wear.  The cost of the hose and water pump ... $1,500+.  The parts are on order.
  
  The crazy thing is the price for two tires ... $500+.  I said hell no to this and went to Sam's Club and ordered two tires there for $185 which includes installation and alignment.
  
  I gave the Toyota service three stars on their online survey.  I soon got a call asking why my rating was so low.  When I explained the excessive cost they apologized and gave me a $30 credit.  Yeah ... a 2% discount will really help. 🌵

... and a few smaller things.

• This week we resubscribed to Netflix for the month,  I started with the sixth season of "Black Mirror".  The anthology series is usually centered around science fiction and technology with some Twilight Zone-ish twists.  This season two of the five fit that theme but the other three are more horror/thriller themed which felt out of place in "Black Mirror".  The stories were interesting but just felt wrong for the show.
  
  After finishing "Black Mirror" I moved on to season eleven (the last season) of "The Walking Dead".  Even tho it's getting long in the tooth I still enjoy this series.  While some just consider it a zombie series it is more about the corruptibility and fragility of our civilization.
• This week I think I'll restart my walking again.  Wish me luck.