valeriesbookofme

When I went to see the Nurse Practitioner a couple of months ago because I get so very tired--think I wrote about it in an earlier post--she suggested I go to see a cardiologist and gave me a referral. As is usual nowadays, I didn't actually "see" the cardiologist yet, I have to go through several tests beforehand. I suppose that minimizes the time that the cardiologist actually has to spend with a patient, less expensive, etc.  Anyway, I had an electrocardiogram a a few weeks ago and the cardiologist's nurse practitioner said there was a small "something"--to do with heart impulse voltage, something like that--that suggested to her I should have an echocardiogram and a stress test before I see said cardiologist. In case anyone isn't familiar with heart procedures, the electrocardiogram is kind of like a lie detector type test that just graphs heartbeats but the echocardiogram is, well, Wikipedia explains it well:  "An echocardiography, also known a...

  Our overnight excursion to Phoenix almost got scuppered when Quinn had one of her stomach migraines about 30 minutes into the drive. She started feeling sick so I pulled off the highway and she and Laurie got out. She retched several times, poor kid. Then they got back in and we drove to a Fry’s (supermarket) that was not too far away so that Laurie could get some things she felt might help. Quinn gets these “stomach migraines” every few months. Quinn and I waited out in the car while Laurie and Mercy trolled the aisles and then queued at the checkout counters (early morning Saturday shopping in this heat brings everyone out at once). I confess I kept the car running for the a/c because it was already over 100 degrees. I wasn’t sure whether we’d turn back or not. With a less determined soul than Laurie, we might have, and I was already wondering if I’d be able to get any money back on our hotel reservation. However, my daughter is steely when it comes to traveling and by the time...

 I went for my so-called “pre op” appointment this afternoon. The person, Maria, was simply an admin who handles the surgery scheduling and talks about the lens choice. She knows what she knows and no more, know what I mean? So when she said that the “better” lens would cost $3,500 per eye, that was that. Couldn’t tell me how the lens would improve my eyesight because she doesn’t know how myopic I have become and what I used to be able to see. Heck, I understand, only I really know and even I don't know what "normal" eyesight is.  She couldn’t even tell me what my insurance was actually covering. She was formal and slightly condescending. Maybe she gets a lot of flak from people who find out how much money they are paying out of pocket. Maybe she's used to people who have loads of money or better insurance plans. Whatever. We did agree that I would have "some" kind of lens and I would have the surgery so she got busy scheduling the surgery and the appointmen...

In order to answer that, let me explain how my work experience evolved. My very first job, a summer job as an au pair, was when I was 17. Before that I babysat for neighbors. The latter jobs were for extra money: my parents were generous in giving me a weekly allowance but my mother thought it would be good for me to get a sense of earning my own money. I grew up in a family where there was always ”enough” money for nice clothes, for books and movies and two week summer vacations. We had a car, a house, more than most of my school friends had. So I never had a driving need to want more ”money.” It’s interesting though that my sister, who was 10 years older than I, did have a driving need to have more. I’m not sure where it came from; if she were still alive we’d certainly have interesting conversations because we were so, so different from one another. A true instance where nature seems to have been more powerful than nurture.  Still we were similar in one thing: neither of us were...

That was the question posted by a 50-something journalist for The Atlantic, the title of which I have borrowed for this blog. At least I think he's a 50-something, could be 60-something I suppose as he talks about buying his first smartphone device, a Blackberry, in 2000. Ahead of me, I think I bought my first Blackberry after I moved to the US permanently, around 2008 or so. At any rate, his article centered around how he doesn’t remember what he did before he had his smartphone and does that mean what he did wasn’t worth remembering?  The article is a riposte to those people who are negative toward smartphone use. Quoting the article: “Answering this question seems important, because smartphone use is supposedly deleterious. Extreme use is  often blamed  for contributing to anxiety, depression, and compulsivity—and almost everyone seems to use these devices to extremes. Smartphones are also said to disconnect us from the world and from one another. Instead of enjoying l...