Saturday, May 4, 2019

May the 4^th be with you!

I got up twice during the night, once at 4:45, again at 6:45, finally getting up at 7:30.

I left the apt at 9:15 and walked down the hill to Avenida Las Vegas where I soon caught a bus to Monterrey mall.  Outside the mall I picked up a free Adn newspaper.  I went upstairs and at the first shop I saw there was a young lady standing outside; I told her I was looking for a Logitech H390 USB Computer Headset.  She went inside and talked to a young man and he made a quick call and told me it would be 119,000 pesos - I had figured something around 100,000 so I agreed.  The young lady walked across the hall and soon came back with one.  The store didn’t take credit/debit cards but the guy wrapped it up and gave me a receipt with a 12 month warranty.  The young lady took me downstairs where I stopped at a Davivienda ATM and withdrew 320mil and gave her 120mil and told her to keep the change.

I walked outside and across the street where I took a Metro bus up to Parque Poblado.  It looked like they were setting up poles to hold tarps for the upcoming construction.

At Envios Market I paid 39mil for my May rental and picked up an envelope from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.  It showed I had no Medicare Part B claims processed from January 9^th to April 9^th, 2019 – duh!  (I cancelled my Medicare 6 years ago.)  Then it went on to show that Medicare denied my claim for payments I made for my elective eye surgery with the Kraff Eye Institute back in 2012.  And I have met my Part B deductible of $140 for 2012.  Lol.  I threw the junk mail away.

I took a bus to Starbucks where I ordered my usual drink.  Just ahead of me was a young lady, blond with very white skin and 6’ tall.  You don’t see that here everyday!

I read some and then walked down a block to Oviedo where I tried to withdraw 800mil from a Banco Caja Social ATM but it only allowed me to withdraw 400mil.

I had to wait 5-10 minutes for a bus back to Envigado.

I arrived at the apt at noon and Teresa had already left (probably about 11am) for the finca.

I left the apt at 1pm and walked up to Jack & Root for a burger.  Again there was a line out the door and around the corner.  I returned to the apt and picked up my little popcorn bucket.  At Cine Colombia in the mall I bought a preferred seating ticket to The House that Jack Built for 12,500.  I went up to Sarku’s where I had their chicken teriyaki with a glass of water for 18,500 pesos.  Back at the theater I entered the platinum area and sat at a back table.  I saw one of the ushers tell Natalia that I was there.  She came over and we chatted a bit about how busy they have been with the new Avengers movie.  I told her about my own problem with the lines in Vazcaya last Sunday.

Just before showtime I bought a small Coke and had my little bucket filled.  I easily found my seat in the back row.  The movie was very graphic and at a particular disgusting part about 90 minutes into the movie I had had enough and I left.

Back at the apt by 5pm Teresa was still out.

I watched The Big Short (7.8) on Netflix.

Teresa came back at 7:30 and reminded me we had leftover ribs from yesterday.  She said she didn’t get the water tank installed but at least it’s been purchased and delivered and she has to go back tomorrow morning because some neighbor is putting up fencing and JJ wants to make sure it is done correctly.

I found the following article in my May Reader’s Digest: “The prostate tends to grow over time, causing about a third of older men to experience weak urine flow, a frequent need to urinate at night, and other symptoms.  Until recently, these men had to live with the condition, treat it with medication, or have surgery.  But a relatively new option involves shrinking the prostate with a few quick blasts of hot steam administered via a tiny needle in a doctor’s office.  The outpatient procedure takes about 15 minutes and carries a low risk of lasting side effects.”

A quick google search found this:

A new five-minute steam treatment for an enlarged prostate has been hailed as a breakthrough by NHS surgeons following tests on British patients.

The simple procedure was found to shrink glands on average by 36 per cent - but while the result is similar to other treatments, it has far less severe side effects.

The process, conducted by surgeons at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in London and Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust on 150 men, involves injecting an enlarged prostate with jets of steam without the need for surgery.

Current procedures, while effective, can lead to loss of sexual function, bleeding and incontinence with patients kept in hospitals for days at a time.

It was reported that health watchdogs are ready to give it the green light for NHS use.

Two million men in Britain have been diagnosed with an enlarged prostate. However, half of all men over the age of 50, and 60 per cent of those over 60, are thought to have it, studies have suggested.

The steam treatment, called Rezum, involves having steam is injected at 1cm intervals, killing enough prostate tissue to shrink the enlarged gland.

Professor Hashim Ahmed, a consultant urological surgeon at Imperial, said other hospitals are poised to roll out the treatment as soon as they get the okay from health watchdog Nice.

"It frees up huge NHS resources because you need much less theatre time," he told the Daily Mail. "You are also opening up tens of thousands of days of bed occupation around the country."

8,468 steps today.

Joke of the day

Husband and wife had a tiff. Wife called up her mom and said, "He fought with me again, I am coming to live with you." 

Mom said, "No darling, he must pay for his mistake.  I am coming to live with you.