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Home > Archive: April, 2011

Archive for April, 2011

Medical mysteries & garage doors

May 1st, 2011 at 12:20 am

Sorry, the two subject items are not related (certainly would be interesting if they were).

I may as well start with the mystery. Its not medical, in that I am not sick, but the more common one now a days. That is: What the F*** is this bill I got from a hospital I never went to? Seriously, what is someone to think when they get a bill from a hospital they didn't go to, for a service that comes under the name of "Pathol/Hystol"? Actually, I have an idea what this is about, though it really is a surprise. On the "day of service", I had a cyst removed at a doctor's office about 30 miles away from the hospital. Could this be some test of what was removed? Perhaps, but the doctor didn't tell me that was going to be done, they never informed me of any results from this mystery test, and the hospital never informed me of any results of this mystery test. I won't get into my opinion of having these mystery providers bill you seperately instead of through who you went to see in the first place. I have a number to call if I have questions (and I *WILL* be calling).

Assuming what I am guessing above is correct, would I be out of line to insist getting a copy of the results otherwise not paying? This is why I want to stay in the best shape possible - crazy F bills appearing out of nowhere for who the F*** knows what. GRRRRrrrr.

I can afford it, but thats not the point. Are people supposed to pay every crazy bill that appears when there is no explanation for the bill? Sorry, but my brain doesn't work like that.

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As for the garage door, I can't open it right now. I don't know about you, but I see that as a bit of a problem. (Thankfully my car was outside the garage when this happened) My door has these extra large springs to give an assist when opening - well one broke this week. It was probably the 1960 issue door spring that came with the door. The door is solid wood and super heavy. Oh boy. I know they sell replacements (I should go tonight and get it), but raising and keeping the door up by myself is going to be a challenge (I know - I had to repair the pulley system 2 years ago)

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Another house payment is in the books. Now the total in my savings (not CDs, just savings and checking) is a match to my mortgage balance. I would pay it off, but I have car insurance payment this month, then a property tax payment in July, so its better if I keep some money liquid for a few more months. Still, its crazy to my mind when I compare my savings to my mortgage. Its like there is a mistake, it can't be right.

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Participated at a local church / community yard sale today. It was very disappointing - I probably brought in $60 for the day. I've done better doing it in my own driveway, and the prep work was much less. At least it was a wonderful day weather wise.

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And last (and in no way least) my relationship is still going great (ergo the change in my personal info). There have been a few rough spots, but each time we seem to work it out and make things even better. This is the part that is truly encouraging. The communication has been great, both of us have been trying to not let anything slide, but instead we let each other know what we're thinking about absolutely anything. That was something I never could get out of my ex, and it is really refreshing. We don't always agree, but we make sure to resolve it by communicating.

Hmmmm, I should go get that garage spring (and use my coupons that expire today at the grocery store). OK, gotta go!

Life is getting so much better

April 13th, 2011 at 02:44 am

I never knew it was so hard to blog when things were going well. Nothing to complain about, no struggles, I kinda like this. Having nothing to struggle with makes any post boring. Sorry.

With that said, what has happened in the past month?

I have scheduled another large mortgage payment for the end of April. After this one my balance will dive under $10,000, and my savings after that payment will be a close match. It'll be so weird without that taking a huge chunk of my earnings every month.

Yard sales have finally started. Last Saturday I was going to go buy a lawn mower after my rounds, instead I found a nice walk-behind mower. A couple of years old, it was a bit of a mess when I got it home. I needed to tighten all the bolts holding the wheels (they were wobbling awful) and the handle was at a height for someone under 5 ft. tall (really, what was the deal with that?). Once I figured out that reinstalling the handle backwards would fix this, it was a 5 minute fix. Self propelled craftsman model (not that I care), runs nice, all for $30. Nice score.

I got another $5 gift card (for Burger King) from the local phone company. All I had to do was call and listen to them for 5 minutes. I love easy free money.

Two of my stocks in my Roth IRA had huge jumps (~40% each) this past month after earnings were reported. Super cool! Of course the others are basically flat (but nice dividends!), at least overall they're going up.

And my biggest (and nicest) shock is I reconnected with an old flame from college, and we've gone from just talking to a relationship that is way better now than it was then. I'm trying to keep my expectations in check, but this had made me believe in life again.

And not that this is my ultimate goal, but I've increased my daily workouts and I'm down to "fighting weight", if you will. Basically a match to what I weighed in HS, only now there is lots more muscle. I don't cringe when I look in the mirror any more.

Life ain't perfect I suppose, but it almost feels that way right now. I really have nothing to complain about (ok, I need a new car, but I can survive my current one for a little while longer). And spring is here.

Life is good.