Aging Gracefully is Expensive

How I see things now

Oh, the fun things that happen when I turned 60. 

Overall, not much different than it has been for the past 25 years. I don't get sick much. I only have to check off at most 3 to 4 issues whenever I fill out health profiles at the dentist's or doctor's office. I did go through a bout of bronchitis in the early 2000's. Once I was prescribed an asthma inhaler in addition to my allergy pills and nasal spray, it keeps my respiratory system pretty much in check.

Health providers in the United States recommend adults begin colonoscopy screenings at 50. Not me. From 2010 to 2013, I wasn't working. But after 2015, I procrastinated big time. No excuses, I simply didn't set aside the time.

No more stalling.  I completed my first colonoscopy in July.

Next colonoscopy is due in 5 years.

Major dental work since 2014: 2 implants + 2 crowns

I currently have 3 implants + 3 crowns. The total cost of said dental work is about the same as a new Toyota Corolla.

Next venture, cataract surgery.

I began to notice last year how much harder it was to see the computer screen, street signs, bowling pins, and most importantly, driving at night. 

After an eye exam late summer 2019, the optometrist suggested I see a specialist for possible cataracts. In denial, I got my optometrist to change my contact lens prescription instead. I got toric contact lenses with a stronger prescription. As the months went on, I had to acknowledge what the eye doctor said. The stronger vision prescription would help slightly, but not fully correct my nearsightedness (which is quite bad).

In September, I asked for a referral from my primary care provider. I contacted the ophthalmologist's office the next day. I was excited to find out the ophthalmologist has an office at Stonestown, across the street from where I live. Three weeks later, I spent 2 hours with them taking a lot of tests. Walked out with 2 dates for surgery, one eye at a time. In preparation for surgery, I have to visit my primary care provider, get COVID tested and stop wearing my contacts. I've set aside 4 vacation days for the surgeries.

First surgery is scheduled on Election Day. Second surgery is a month later. Based on the options available, I'll likely choose toric monofocal lenses. Monofocal for distance, toric for the astigmatism. I'll probably need to wear glasses for reading (I'm OK with that). For me, this is LASIK and cataract surgery at the same time.

Ophthalmologist says my quality of life will improve significantly.

I have no doubt it will. Not expecting to have 20/15 vision as I did when I wore contacts at 17.  I only want to be able to see the fourth line of letters on an eye chart again.

Rampant Robocalls

Photo on this post is my phone log from yesterday. Got 7 consecutive robocalls in the last 24 hours all with the same cell phone prefix as mine. I get probably 8 to 9 times more robocalls than legitimate, non-solicitous phone calls.

I haven't answered a single call thanks to a relatively new feature on my iPhone. If you haven't done this and don't know how, go to:

Settings -> Phone -> Call Silencing and Blocked Contacts -> Silence Unknown Callers

Most that try to call will leave me a voice mail message, text or email.

Now if only the FCC and Chairman Ajit Pai can do something about these getting rid of robocalls once for all.  They've been annoying us for too long.

 

Labor Day 2020 - Sunday Hell

For the first time in 8 years, I am not in Reno bowling at the Chinese-Japanese Labor Day Invitational. It's just as well. I haven't bowled since June. Team event this year is a 5-person team bowling on a single lane. This is to maintain social distancing due to COVID-19. I don't have a lot of patience bowling on 5-person teams. 

More than anything else, I don't trust pandemic hotel cleaning protocols where their primary source of revenue is gambling.

San Francisco broke temperature records today hitting the thermometer at 100F. In my neighborhood, Lakeside, it got as high as 93F.  The neighbor's dog has been barking non-stop for the past 3 hours. 

Thankfully, it's dropped 10+ degrees as I write. My food delivery arrived early. The dog stopped barking. 

My front door and windows will stay open for most of the evening.

Labor Day's forecast is drop into the high 70's. When it's hot like this, I wouldn't complain if asked to come in to work. In an air conditioned office.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Xfinity vs. Everyone Else Digital Download Pricing

After 7 seasons, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. came to a very satisfying end.

As a fan of the Marvel movies such as Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and The Avengers, I watched Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. from the beginning.

Admittedly, I was a fan, but not a fanatic devotee. Until this year's series finale and a character brought over from Agent Carter, a spinoff from the Captain America films. Marvel's Agent Carter aired for 2 seasons on ABC from 2015 to 2016.

His name: Agent Daniel Sousa (portrayed by actor Enver Gjokaj). A sweet and funny relationship developed between Sousa and Agent Daisy Johnson (original cast member Chloe Bennet).  Because of him, I found the series much funnier with a more playful tone than in any of the previous 6 seasons. It certainly helped that Agent Sousa was easy on the eyes, too.

Like many other fans, we definitely felt the sparks between them develop slowly. When the series came to an end, I wanted so much to see this again. But my Xfinity On Demand account would only permit me to watch from episode 9. If I wanted to watch earlier episodes, I'd have to buy it.

For Xfinity, that's $2.99. To buy the entire season, it's $26.99.

Pulled the trigger. It's only 3 bucks and I was determined to watch episode 3 again. But it didn't sit with me very well.

So I went to Google to look up prices. Almost everybody that doesn't require a subscription charges $1.99 per episode.

So I went into my Amazon Prime account to confirm. Sure enough, it is $1.99 per episode, $14.99 for the entire season. Plus a $2 credit from Amazon for opting later delivery dates on previous purchases.

My total cost for the ENTIRE season, $12.99.

That might not seem like a big difference. But it is. 

My YEARLY Amazon Prime membership is $119. 

My MONTHLY Xfinity subscription for cable and internet is $165.

Shame on you Xfinity. 

When We Use Delivery Apps

GrubHub email promotion

Make no mistake.  I love delivery apps. There are lots of days I come home from work and let my thumbs on a phone screen fetch dinner.  My primary go-to's are Grubhub and UberEats.

Easy, fast, convenient, accurate. I can order from most places at the restaurant's menu price. As an American Express Platinum cardholder, I am given a $15 monthly stipend through Uber. If I don't use the stipend for the month, I lose it. Because I'm not in frequent need of rides these days, I apply the $15 toward an UberEats order. 

What you may not know is that most restaurants that offer food on these apps have to pay 15% to 30% fees to the delivery apps. 

Many restaurants are small, owner-operator or family businesses. In order to keep menu prices down, restaurant profit margins in general are razor thin. 

I am fully aware drivers need to make money too. When I do use the delivery apps, I tip 20%. However, as a child of restaurant operators, I make a conscious effort to order from the restaurant directly (call, walk-in, or if they have one, their own website) as much as possible. 

So the next time you want take out or delivery, try ordering from the restaurant directly. And, while we're still in this pandemic purgatory (and can afford to do so), please tip them generously too. 

Cloverleaf Bowl - Closed Permanently

source: Cloverleaf Bowl

Sad news. Due to financial issues related to the pandemic, another San Francisco Bay Area bowling center is gone. Cloverleaf Bowl closed their doors permanently as of July 24.

Here's the Facebook announcement from Mike Hillman.

Longtime bowlers will miss the family friendly atmosphere and outstanding hospitality the Hillman family provided.

Pandemic Life since March 2020 - The New Normal

I completed another orbit around the sun on June 30.  

Celebrated with a Zoom call with friends and family. What was originally scheduled as a birthday and family vacation to Columbus became a "staycation".

Because of the risks of transmission with COVID-19 still a distinct possibility and non-stop flight to Columbus changed to a stop in Chicago O'Hare, I cancelled the trip. Got a voucher which is valid until 2022.  Booked another trip for August, then cancelled again 2 days ago. It is still not safe.

While I don't miss the traffic and crowded stores before  the pandemic, these are the activities I miss most:

1. Bowling - Exercise with social interaction is one of my most fulfilling activities. I bowled for the first time in 3 months this past week. With a mask. I’m all for safety and fully understand but I hate it. While it doesn't hinder my mechanics, it's stifling hot. I am grateful to be back doing it. For the past 8-9 years, I bowled 3 times a week. For the past 3 months, zero. As a result, I've gained 6 pounds. Gotta cut back on the burgers and fries.
2. Watching movies in a theater - Buying assigned seat tickets online is one of the best conveniences ever. I can plan ahead to sit where and when I want and not have to leave an hour early to grab a decent seat. I enjoy watching movies at home, but a theater with a big ass screen gets my undivided attention.
3. Dining out - I miss this so much. Whether it's by myself or with friends and/or family, it's a ritual most of us take for granted. A feast for all five of our senses.

It's not likely what I did before the pandemic will return. I'm OK with that.

I'll be a lot better when it wanes and see this life changing event end.