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Post by edindetroit on Jul 24, 2024 19:11:17 GMT -5
I looked on my phone about 7pm (break time) to find out that MRI got canceled about 6:30 pm today (Tuesday). High migrant populace in the area. Get treated first and foremost. It is disgraceful here.
What keeps you there?I wonder how the freestanding ER here manages to stay in business. Both times I went there I could pretty much tell I was the only patient there. I wish there were ERs around here like that. So tired of spending hours there.
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Post by sneakers (Metro Houston) on Jul 24, 2024 19:49:14 GMT -5
I just got a text from a place where I am going to have an MRI on Wednesday. I am told to be prepared to pay an estimated copay of $146.00. I am going to pay the amount when I get a bill in the mail. Nobody pays estimates. When I had my EGD back in 2020, the hospital offered a discount if you paid your copay in advance instead of waiting for a bill.There has been fraud by many medical places as far as stealing debit card information, altering checks, etc. but I will be paying by a money order. I just need receipts. I cannot tolerate the medical world and never thought I would get as sick as I am now. Many medical places in Taxachusetts. Not in Texas. And we have people elsewhere on the Internet who say the medical system is good there and they leave Texas for care.
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patty7841
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Post by patty7841 on Jul 24, 2024 19:50:36 GMT -5
Souxted: Hundreds if not thousands of migrants and illegals are in taxachusetts now. There are several families in a prison (let the criminals go free) down the street from where I am. The state took the barbed wire out that surrounded the building. The criminals are out and about and the migrants moved in (some are illegals). I went to the post office today and there were 4 members of a migrant family a short distance from the door sitting in lawn chairs. A male was holding a big cardboard sign stating we are in the USA. Help us! No one went near them. There were no babies or very young children there. I wanted to tell the man to get a job. They will hire illegals. I have seen ads. No, I never talk on the phone when I am with a customer. Once I was waiting for a call from a doctor. There were 2 registers open at that time. When my phone rang, I asked the person on the phone to hold, finished with the customer and took my call away from the counter.
Sneakers: The healthcare is awful here. You cant believe everything you read or hear. There are 7 hospitals in taxachusetts that went bankrupt (Steward network) due to some company in TX who let the hospitals go bankrupt. Some of the hospitals are in deplorable shape. The medical supplies are being shared between hospitals. There are traveling nurses as they lost sooo much help. It is disgraceful. You wait several months to up to a year to a year and a half for an appointment. I heard primary care doctors are leaving for retirement, going to Urgent Care facilities or leaving the state. I would like to come to TX for care.
lorando: I have my mother's cane and will be using that. I have fallen twice and thank God I did not get seriously hurt. But I really have issues that I hope can get resolved. I have an MRI at another place Friday night at 9:15 PM. They are open until 10pm. There is no discount paying a copay right then and there anywhere that I know of. They demand it. I called my insurance company today (Wednesday) and she was very helpful. She was a mature person who called the MRI office for me today and stated she would discuss the copay of $146 - $360 with the person in charge of billing. The insurance person told me to give her about a 1/2 hour and for me to call the MRI place to find out if I could make payments on the copay. I will be able to do that. If it was not for the insurance employee I would have no place to go for an MRI. The MRI place demands payment right then and there.
Have a good rest of the week Everyone!
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Post by sneakers (Metro Houston) on Jul 24, 2024 23:07:54 GMT -5
Went to bed a bit after 10:00 PM last night.
Woke up about 3:30 AM this morning. Social Security Retirement was in my main checking account. So, I went out and bought a big order of groceries at HEB. They delivered them about 10:00 AM when everyone else was awake and able to carry in groceries. What I got: Two loaves of HEB Super Duper Butter Bread A box of Shake 'N Bake Extra Crispy chicken coating mix Four two-liter bottles of regular Dr Pepper Four 89-ounce bottles of Gold Peak Zero Sugar sweet tea A ten-slice package of HEB Colby Jack cheese A ten-slice package of HEB mild Cheddar cheese A ten-slice package of HEB Monterey Jack cheese A ten-slice package of HEB Provolone cheese A ten-slice package of HEB Swiss cheese Two one-gallon jugs of HEB 2% milk A nine-ounce package of HEB rotisserie seasoned chicken breast lunchmeat A 1# round of Oscar Mayer sliced cotto salami A 1# round of Oscar Mayer sliced bologna Two seven-ounce packages of HEB uncured beef pastrami A 1# combo pack of HEB mesquite smoked turkey breast and ham A box of six HEB strawberry banana frozen fruit bars A box of four Marie Callender's frozen chicken pot pies Four large size single size boxes of Stouffer's Meat Lovers' Lasagna A box of a dozen HEB Sweet Treats ice cream crispy bars Four Red Baron Brick Oven Meat-Trio frozen pizzas A box of six HEB strawberry frozen fruit bars A 3# chub of HEB ground beef chuck, 80% lean A package of HEB chicken leg quarters (about 4#) Eight eight-ounce cans of Dole pineapple chunks in pineapple juice A 32-ounce bag of General Mills Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal Six 8.25-ounce cans of HEB sliced yellow cling peaches Four 7.3-ounce boxes of Betty Crocker scalloped potatoes Two 8.25-ounce cans of HEB fruit cocktail A 32-ounce bag of Malt-O-Meal Fruity Dyno-Bites cereal
Dozed off to the ABC 13 morning news. Woke up when it was nearly over and switched to the FOX 26 morning news.
When the news was about over, the groceries arrived.
Had a mail-order prescription drug shipment get held up because they tried to charge it to a credit card that was nearly maxed out. Gave them my debit card number that had plenty of money on it. Turned on CNBC until eleven o'clock, then I saw the routine weekday news broadcasts.
Got up and got my lunch. A can of Dole pineapple chunks and two sandwiches. HEB Super Duper Butter Bread, HEB Uncured Beef Pastrami, and HEB Swiss cheese. For dessert, I had two HEB ice cream crispy bars.
Amazon finally got me the disposable diapers I had ordered the first day of Prime Days. They went all over the country thanks to Crowdstrike.
Got my E-statements from Verizon Wireless and HEB Signature VISA. Verizon Wireless had changed their response timeout from two to three minutes. I had trouble responding fast enough before.
HEB delivered my antibiotic prescription from Monday night's and Tuesday morning's trip to the ER.
AJ went to Andy's Food Store for a couple of packs of smokes. He was out of money so I bought them for him.
AJ had heard me complain about my hair being way too long. The previous haircut was October 26, 2013. So, he shuttled me over to his barber. His barber spent an hour on my hair and beard and he kept wanting me to put my head in an uncomfortable position. AJ wanted to get his hair done but we ran out of time with the barber before he went home. My neck was sore for a while from all the repositioning.
On the way back home, we went by McDonald's. AJ was hungry and got a $5 value meal. I was thirsty and got a large Diet Coke.
Got home and turned on the Astros game. They lost bigtime to the Oakland Athletics, a team with a considerably worse record than they have.
Turned to KPRC Channel 2 afternoon news. Watched it to about 6:05 PM and the cable glitched out. So, I switched to music on Alexa on Sirius XM. Listened to that until about 6:55 PM, then I switched to the FOX News Channel to hear President Biden's speech. One pundit said he slurred his words but I didn't notice that he did. Switched back to music from SiriusXM until a few minutes before nine o'clock.
Michelle had cooked a pork roast in the Crock-Pot with carrots, onions, and potatoes. I had a plate of them. The carrots were my favorite.
Watched the 9:00 PM CW 39 news, the 10:00 PM KHOU Channel 11 news, and then to ABC 13 for Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Tomorrow, I need to catch up on my check register spreadsheet and pay bills.
Planning to take my bedtime pills and head for bed soon.
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soutxed
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Post by soutxed on Jul 25, 2024 8:14:19 GMT -5
Sneakers--The Urgent care is usually busy, depends on the time of day. Went on a Saturday night and the parking lot was full. Decided I could wait and went Sunday morning. There were two patients, a younger man and me, both with bad colds. Drove by yesterday and there were several cars in the parking lot. I tried to avoid mail order drugs. One presciption was sent all over the place before it arrived thanks to USPS. No Crowdstrike back then. One year the school district had a medical insurance that require mail order for refills. I complained to the representative that I didn't want drugs sitting in mailbox on a hot day and we were having theft from mailbox. Argues with the rep until an assistant principal told me to let it go and call them. The phone rep said to have pills sent to school. I asked what about holidays when the school is closed. Luckily, I never needed a refill then. Still have issues with USPS. Once ordered something from Publisher Clearing House. Got the overdue bill letter before I get the package. Another package took until after Christmas. Told PCH to drop me from their mailing list as I would not order is they continue to use USPS.
Patty--Sorry to hear about the migrants overwhelming the medical facilities. Were they bussed in by our governor or they came on their own? It seems like you need to find a way to get out of there.
Lorando--Glad you got the waxing done. I haven't waxed our cars. Probably need to do it to the 2001 pickup. Astros finally won a game over Oakland. Now they have a 3-game set with the Dodgers.
Ed--There are numerous Mexican restaurants here as you could imagine. One chain that makes the best tamales was shut down yesterday by the FBI. In October a local station revealed a lawsuit by employees who are illegals that most of their employees are illegal. Finally, they are getting investigated.
Gym time. Met a former student there. Asked if she is a regular but she was in town visiting family. Lives in San Antonio. Another one who is better looking as an adult than she was as a student.
Went to lunch and met a family we haven't seen since I worked with the Whitewings.
Finally got some good rain last night.
Trying to print a form for caretaker sister but the printer stopped working. Spent an hour trying to get it to connect to laptop, phone or anything. Finally gave up and went to bed.
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Post by lorando (NW PA) on Jul 25, 2024 8:33:57 GMT -5
Good Morning, Sneakers. Not sure if it just takes longer to get things done in retirement, or if I just get distracted and head off in another direction, but you're right, 168 hours/week isn't enough. I watched the Mets/Yankee Subway Series game until it got out of hand in the 8th inning. Don't know how the Yankees are only 1.5 games out of first after a month of shoddy baseball. I've been watching some of the Guardians & Pirates games this year too, which are free on broadcast tv. I see the Astros are right where they are supposed to be.
Hi, Patty. Wow! It sounds like your insurance company's customer service reps go above and beyond. That's refreshing to hear. And MRI appointments at 9:15 at night! I don't think there are any places like that in my area. Do they read the results immediately or send reports to your primary care doc? Let's hope you get some solid information that they can use to get you back on track.
Howdy, soutxed. Hope your day is off to a good start. Looks like a promising day here, with a high of 76° and a mix of sun & clouds. I had some good luck yesterday. About a month ago I lost a ring I've had for over 50 years. There was nothing that special about it, except I bought it my first year out of college. I remember taking it off and putting it in my pants pocket so I could wash dishes at church last month and then it disappeared. I retraced my steps which included the church, the gas station and Walmart where I stopped on the way home. Also scoured the house, the car and the church. Anyway yesterday I went to put some coins in the loose change jar and there it was. I must have reached into the pocket after the Walmart stop, grabbed the ring along with the change, and tossed it into the jar without looking. It may be old and beat up, but I'm glad to have it back. Hope you have some good luck today as well.
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Post by sneakers (Metro Houston) on Jul 25, 2024 11:47:19 GMT -5
Sneakers--The Urgent care is usually busy, depends on the time of day. Went on a Saturday night and the parking lot was full. Decided I could wait and went Sunday morning. There were two patients, a younger man and me, both with bad colds. Drove by yesterday and there were several cars in the parking lot. Friendswood has several urgent cares, I have used the two closest to me that take Medicare. Thought they did a pretty good job but they are somewhat limited in what they can do. At least once, they have sent me to an ER.I tried to avoid mail order drugs. One presciption was sent all over the place before it arrived thanks to USPS. No Crowdstrike back then. One year the school district had a medical insurance that require mail order for refills. I complained to the representative that I didn't want drugs sitting in mailbox on a hot day and we were having theft from mailbox. Argues with the rep until an assistant principal told me to let it go and call them. The phone rep said to have pills sent to school. I asked what about holidays when the school is closed. Luckily, I never needed a refill then. I get some of mine mail-order and the others from HEB Pharmacy in Friendswood. I'm tempted to change them all to mail-order because I don't drive any more and AJ I can tell gets tired of going to pick up pills. At least I can prepay for prescriptions from HEB online so I don't have to worry about AJ having money.Still have issues with USPS. Once ordered something from Publisher Clearing House. Got the overdue bill letter before I get the package. Another package took until after Christmas. Told PCH to drop me from their mailing list as I would not order is they continue to use USPS. USPS is good in Friendswood. Sometimes, the carrier will bring a package that won't go in the mailbox to the door.
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Post by sneakers (Metro Houston) on Jul 25, 2024 12:10:28 GMT -5
Good Morning, Sneakers. Not sure if it just takes longer to get things done in retirement, or if I just get distracted and head off in another direction, but you're right, 168 hours/week isn't enough. It takes a while to get things done. I printed my list of transactions on my debit card about 4:00 AM this morning and they're still not incorporated in my check register spreadsheet. Some of that time was spent nodding off and some of that time was spent elsewhere on the Internet. I also spend time watching the stock market. All three of my holdings switched to being profitable today.I watched the Mets/Yankee Subway Series game until it got out of hand in the 8th inning. Don't know how the Yankees are only 1.5 games out of first after a month of shoddy baseball. I've been watching some of the Guardians & Pirates games this year too, which are free on broadcast tv. I see the Astros are right where they are supposed to be. Don't get to watch the Astros again until Saturday. Thursday is a day off, and Friday the game is going to be on Apple TV. Not important enough to see the Astros to get Apple TV.
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Post by sneakers (Metro Houston) on Jul 25, 2024 15:21:46 GMT -5
All three of my stocks in my taxable brokerage account closed profitable today.
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Post by edindetroit on Jul 25, 2024 21:32:29 GMT -5
AJ had heard me complain about my hair being way too long. The previous haircut was October 26, 2013. Ain't no way you went 11 years without a haircut! You must mean 2023.
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patty7841
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Post by patty7841 on Jul 25, 2024 21:45:04 GMT -5
Good catch Ed!!!!
Dread having the MRI at 9:15 pm on a Friday night. It is a ways away from where I currently reside. Not at all fun. It will be 11pm before I am back to the residence here.
Thanks Everyone for stopping by.
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Post by sneakers (Metro Houston) on Jul 25, 2024 22:37:19 GMT -5
Wednesday night, I went to bed a little before midnight.
Only slept four hours, and that was interrupted by comfort stops.
Got up, went in the business room, and fell asleep to the ABC 13 morning news after printing out the status of my main checking account. Later on in the day, I incorporated transactions that were not in the spreadsheet into the spreadsheet. Also went through and balanced my main checking account.
Switched to CNBC after the morning news was done. Stayed on it until 11:00 AM. Had an hour of ABC 13 and an hour of KPRC Channel 2. When "Jeopardy!" came on, I went in the kitchen and got a glass of water to wash down my morning pills.
Lunch today was an eight-ounce can of Dole pineapple chunks. I had trouble opening the can, the pull ring popped off in my hands. I was able to pry it open with the fork I had to eat the pineapple chunks. I also had a large single size serving of Stouffer's Meat Lovers' Lasagna. John was in the kitchen and got the lasagna out of the microwave oven. (I told him it was "in the oven" and he went to the wrong one first. Which was surprising because he also does his Stouffer's Lasagna in the microwave oven.) He also gave me a fork, and when I said I wanted to eat it with a spoon he got me one. He even put the box in the trash but I usually put the empty tray in the box and throw it in the business room trash can.
I didn't notice the LLV going through the complex but Michelle did. She went out and got the mail. Two pieces of junk mail for me, one possibly important letter for AJ. Looked at Friday's Informed Delivery. A survey from the Houston Methodist Hospital asking what I thought about my stay two weeks ago is the only thing. It was all fine except pooping the ICU bed after missing the bedpan and having a left-arm IV fastened down with Coban. I still can see a mark on my arm.
I switched back to CNBC. Watched it until the market closed. Taxable brokerage account was up 1.14% today, all three stocks I currently own have made me a paper profit.
Watched KPRC Channel 2 from 3:00 PM to 6:30 PM. After that, I turned off the TV and set Alexa to playing SiriusXM. Patty will be happy to hear that I heard "Hitch A Ride" from Boston.
Michelle fixed a Shake 'N Bake chicken leg quarter, scalloped potatoes, and mixed vegetables for supper. I ate everything but the peas in the mixed vegetables. Ate the green beans and carrots.
Listened to SiriusXM to 8:55 PM. Made a trip to the bathroom where I had difficulties going. Got a stretched rear end now.
Watched the CW 39 nine o'clock news and the KHOU Channel 11 ten o'clock news. Plan to go to bed soon after the news is over. Want to get up at 8:30 AM tomorrow.
Friday, is trash day so the trashbag will go out. At 9:00 AM, Krista the home health nurse will come by to take my vital signs and rebandage my foot. After that, I will pay some bills. Got more than half of my Social Security Retirement payment left to do that.
Just swallowed my "every twelve hours" pills and my bedtime pills. Will proceed to bed after the news ends.
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soutxed
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Post by soutxed on Jul 26, 2024 7:47:28 GMT -5
Lorando--Seem this is the week to find something lost. I see your point about the Yankees. Wonder how the Astros started so bad and now in 1st place. Not complaining. Today will be cooler as high is expected to be 90° more or less. Was supposed to be raining hard this morning but as the line of rain got close to us it fell apart. Brownsville is hosting some kind of sports event with multiple activities for young people (35d-12th grade). I thought about helping out on scoreboard for basketball, baseball or softball. They had basketball covered and the baseball/softball games were rained out as fields are unplayable.
Sneakers--Mail service in the 785 zip codes is not good as the McAllen sorting PO had some automation taken out by the Postmaster General. But Harlingen PO seems to have high turnover. Some Urgent care centers in the valley do not take Medicare. Stock Market up until day before yesterday. With all the issues Boeing is having I wonder how their stock is doing?
Patty--Glad an insurance person could help you. I was not surprised at a 9:15 PM appointment. When mom was in the nursing home, she had a 8 PM appointment for a mammogram. The nursing home took her, but the hospital was running behind and she didn't finish until after 9PM. Wife was there but had to take her back. Since mom was in a wheelchair and the nursing home was across the street, she just pushed her back.
Stayed home most of yesterday. Made a trip to Target but wife couldn't find a certain type of OTC. Already tried Walgreen and Wal Mart. May have to get it from Amazon, but the OTC isn't accepted there.
Watched "The Long Game" on Netflix about the HS golfers who were not allowed to practice at the Del Rio Country Club in the 50's. Wife could relate to the discrimination of Hispanics back then. Caught a few things like HS girls wearing blue jeans at school. In the 50s, girls and female teachers had to wear a dress or skirt and blouse.
Will try to go to gym depending on weather. Also attend Harlingen "Art Night" and event who haven't attended since Covid.
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Post by lorando (NW PA) on Jul 26, 2024 11:14:01 GMT -5
Good Morning, Sneakers. Success this morning at updating the Garmin maps in the car. The worst part was waiting for them to download from the computer. The download speed when I ran a speed test was 316 MB/min., but when actually downloading the maps it read 6MB/min. But I'm glad it's over for another year. One more free update and then I'm not sure what the Garmin rate will be. Looks like a great day for the Stock Market, at least with 4 hours to go.
Hi, soutxed. Too bad the fields were soaked in Brownsville. Southern states with large sports complexes must do a great business hosting all kinds of tournaments year 'round. I know Panama City Beach has built a second complex since the last time I was there. Every year the wetlands get smaller and smaller, as the town grows inland. It's a beautiful day today. When I went to Walmart around 7AM, it was a cool 55 degrees.
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Post by sneakers (Metro Houston) on Jul 26, 2024 11:29:25 GMT -5
Sneakers--Mail service in the 785 zip codes is not good as the McAllen sorting PO had some automation taken out by the Postmaster General. But Harlingen PO seems to have high turnover. Louis DeJoy was a Trump appointee who Biden decided to keep.Some Urgent care centers in the valley do not take Medicare. The one closest to home does not participate in Medicare, but the ones affiliated with HCA and Memorial Hermann do.Stock Market up until day before yesterday. Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 727 points (1.81%) today and the S&P 500 index is up 1.30% today.
With all the issues Boeing is having I wonder how their stock is doing? Boeing is up 2.50% so far today, on a day where the market is doing great. My taxable brokerage account was up 1.02% when I just checked.
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