Health Accountability

I had the same primary care doctor in Tracy for the 19 years we lived there.  I liked him. He had a good vibe, was encouraging and always did whatever he could to help with whatever was wrong health wise.  In all the time I saw him, he never once scheduled a follow-up.  Not once.  Just did annual blood work, reviewed the results and called it all done.  I never felt 'cheated' 'cuz I never expected anything else.  He is a busy doctor and expects his patients to do what they need to do. 

Today, I had a follow-up appointment with the Physician's Assistant I've seen a few times since we moved here.  The reminder call on Friday sort of threw me 'cuz the appointment wasn't on my phone calendar - but I confirmed I would be there.  Set an alarm this morning - hard to do after months of no alarms needed - and got there but told J. as I was getting ready 'I'm not even sure what this appointment is for.  I think he wants to follow-up on a new medication he prescribed for my arthritis'.

He followed up on that - and did a finger blood draw for an in-office A1C to check on my diabetes.  I'm doing well - very 'under control' - but considering I rarely test myself and often forget my morning medication, I felt like I got lucky. 

A 'doctor' who follows-up and wants his patients to be accountable.  That's sure new.  He makes me want to do better - test my blood every couple of days, take the medication regularly and 'try to walk a few times a week'.

I wanted to say 'technically, I do walk a fair amount - frequenting casinos results in lots of walking - really, my Fitbit confirms it!'.  But I don't.  I'm sure it counts but....a 20 minutes walk around the neighborhood or hiking up the hill at dusk a few nights a week would be a good thing to do.

I dreaded the alarm most of the night - every time I'd wake up to go to the bathroom, I'd do the math of 'only [enter # of hours and/or minutes] until the alarm goes off'.

When it went off, I was in a vivid dream state - so I remember the dream completely and was looking forward to finishing it.  But I woke up wide eyed and ready for the day so that was good.  Made a cup of coffee, settled into the study with the door closed and eased into a Monday.

Maybe setting an alarm isn't a bad thing when it gets your day started a couple of hours earlier than usual.

J. is playing golf tomorrow, the additional window shutters we ordered for my bedroom (to cover the three high windows which let in way more light than I like at a 4:45AM sunrise) will be installed on Wednesday.  I will do a free play trip to Atlantis on Wednesday and we'll go together on Saturday for free play and a meal.  We have $3450 in comps - not a typo - and since most of my play these days are on comp multiplier days, they are accumulating pretty darn quickly.  I'm going to cash in some to use for free play at some point - $1,000 in comps = $500 in free play.  Totally worth it considering we have no idea how we would ever use all the comps we have/earn.  We could totally get rooms at Atlantis for any visitors who want to stay in Reno vs. our house in Carson.  And spa days - we could do spa days weekly for a few months, I guess.

Heading out to the backyard to clean and refill the bird baths - we've seen birds using them during the day and when I was at Atlantis on Friday evening, J. saw tons of jack rabbits congregating by our back fence and we're pretty sure they might be using them during the night.  That's the idea - providing a fresh water source to assist wildlife.  I know I might feel differently when those same rabbits end up eating my garden in the future but for now, they can come visit anytime.  

Highs and Lows of Slot Play

What a weekend! 

I hit this on Friday night. 

Followed by this on Saturday night.

Lots of other smaller wins throughout the two days - too many pics to post. 

On Saturday, J. went with me - we've recently discovered that he also gets the weekly Saturday free play offer and we're not leaving free play un-played!  I went in mid afternoon and he came later - took both cars to the car wash in Reno (monthly free car wash courtesy of Atlantis) then we went to dinner.  I almost ALWAYS have issues leaving a machine - and that day was no exception - chasing a $5500 Major (unbelievably high) and a $20.5K Grand (also incredibly high) - but I was able to hold the machine for a two hour meal break so figured what the heck.  Coincidentally, I was playing with an acquaintance and he was locking his machine (same bank of machines with same jackpots) so as the slot attendant finished his, she also locked mine.  A lady came up to play the machine in between our (now) locked machines.  We joked 'you will probably hit it - 'cuz we're going to take a break'. 

J. and I enjoyed a nice dinner at the sushi/Japanese restaurant - always fun to spend time together - and the food was (as usual) delicious.  We love sitting at the bar where the steam pots are - watching the chefs create a myriad of dishes using pots that use hot steam to warm food.  Watching them put in ingredients, adding seasonings, etc. - it's fascinating and makes it so fun to enjoy not only the meal but the crafting of meals for people. 

I headed back to the machine and my friend was already back - and he said 'hey, look' - and sure enough, someone had hit the Major while I was at dinner.  I asked if it was the lady who played the middle machine and he said 'it was on the middle machine but it wasn't her - and she won it on a $1 bet'.  Damn!  I said 'I'm out, then' - he said 'but you could still win the Grand' and I said 'the odds on that or so slim, I'd rather go try something else'. 

Time with hubby is way more important - truly - but damn!  I hate it when that happens.  (This isn't the first time a dinner with family has resulted in me missing out on a big pay off but oh well). 

So....I played my fave Dragonlinks and hit a Major - surprised me very much because I had switched down from dime denomination to penny denomination and I won the jackpot on a $1.50 bet!! 

J. headed home around 7:30 and I stayed - both Friday and Saturday nights were drawings for prizes starting at 6PM and ending at 9:30PM - every half hour. Three names win $250 in freeplay, 4th name wins $500 cash and 5th name wins $2,000 cash.  In June, I spent the night both nights - free room offer is part of the event.  But this month, I just wanted to be home.  The amount of play time involved in a two night stay is not worth the 'expense' of fun money - so I drove to/from both nights. 

At the 9:30PM drawing, my name was the first to be called - I won $250 in freeplay!  I had just played a machine on the same bank I won the hand pay on in 2017 (my largest win ever) and turned $100 into $600 - I was super excited to have won and promptly turned the $250 in free play into an additional $500 cash!  Woot woot.

I was WAY up for the weekend.  Headed home super happy!

This morning, I returned - the machine I played on last was at $9,667 and has to hit by $10K.  I'd hoped to try it again - but....I should have known - the machine had someone on it.  A man with a 'man purse' - he was betting $25 a pull (way more than I would ever bet) and it was pretty clear he was going to stay there until it hit.  It was at $9,880 and climbing.

(I honestly often think there are 'syndicates' who watch for machines like that one and send people there to just play until it hits.  I've seen this happen many times before - sometimes for a jackpot with a 'must hit by' jackpot or often just hitting banks of machines betting huge high limit amounts, winning and leaving as quickly as they arrive.  In Vegas, I saw a lady using a tote bag to put the funds she was cashing out and as soon as she'd hit a win on every machine in the bank (betting $1 or $2 denomination, $10 - $50 a pull), she bolted for the door). 

I was stupid to go back this morning for that machine.  First rule of gambling:  don't chase after a specific jackpot.  A machine with a 'must hit by' formula will cycle through that again - over and over and over.  The play I had last night was lucrative - and the $250 free play that led to another win was the icing on the cake for a stellar weekend - I should have just moved on. I actually did hit the Minor progressive - a dollar sign 'spins' on the screen and you wait to see which you've won - the Major (which would have been $9,667) or the Minor (which was $397).  I won the Minor - and was ecstatic to win that - on free play! 

(I was 'glad' that I hadn't kept playing last night - thinking it would hit the Major any time - because when I went back this morning, it sure hadn't hit and I could have plowed a ton of play ($$) into the machine for 'nothing'). 

I tried my usual Dragonlinks - betting pretty darn aggresively since I was so far up - but no joy.  It dropped the $850 Major three times but sadly, didn't have enough orbs to win it - takes 6 and would drop 4-5.  Grrr. 

Came home down for the day (way down)....and had to just remind myself  'you lost money you had to lose because you won HUGELY this weekend - so don't beat yourself up.  It is what it is.' 

Gambling is a 'hobby' that creates a lot of self-loathing.  No matter how far up you are, the losses feel crushing at times. 

On Saturday morning, I 'shared the wealth' giving each of the boys a little cash as a 'gift'....both were incredibly appreciative.  When I win, I like to share the wealth - if they were here, I'd hand them the amount in cash and maybe we'd play slots together - but with the distance, I am happy to make a surprise transfer into their checking accounts so they have unexpected money to use for whatever.

H. will use it as a cushion since he's been off work for a few weeks and B. will likely invest it - he is on a path to be a stock mogul.  

It's a quiet Sunday afternoon - I used my daily (Friday - Sunday) food credit to get us lunch at the Manhattan Deli and brought it home.  J. went to hit a bucket of balls and make a quick stop at the grocery store for a few things we need - he'll be home soon. 

We get a $15 food credit (each) Tuesday through Thursday - and Friday, Saturday AND Sunday, we EACH get a $15 food credit each day - if we earn 1 tier point - about $5 in play.  I joke with J. 'we could basically eat courtesy of Atlantis 4 days a week - only 3 days left we'd have to feed ourselves.  Hello Fresh is 3 days a week and we take a periodic break every 3-4 weeks to use what we have on hand before adding more meals to our stock. 

I joke 'we can live like Kings here' and it's pretty darn true. 

Comps and Other Stuff

Casinos in the area are providing pretty enticing free play offers to get folks to come back.  Atlantis is no exception - and I'm a sucker for free play.  There are also regular events and while living here means I don't need to participate in an event to secure a hotel room, there are some that I still participate in regularly.  The monthly prize giveaway at Atlantis is one of them.  Last month, I won some additional free play in the monthly drawing - worth going.  I stayed at the hotel two nights for the monthly drawing event last month - but I'm going tonight and tomorrow night from home this time - too much play time when I'm there for 48 hours and I also just really prefer sleeping in my own bed.

Especially now that my bed is only 25 minutes from Atlantis!

They are also scheduling slot tournaments again but so far, I'm not participating in those.  The timing of checking in and the scheduled play slot you get means I'd be hanging out at the casino for a good chunk of two days - and I definitely could do that if I wanted to.  Lately I'm happiest timing my casino jaunts around the free play events, participating in the monthly drawing and letting those activities be my casino time.

It seems to be working - I hit a hand pay last week - not a huge one but still a good bump in the fun money numbers - so I've played a bit more the past week or so.  There was (is - may still be there - will find out later today) a row of some of my favorite machines with a Major >$4K and a Grand >$20K - so I've been playing a bit to see if I can hit one of those.  It's a long shot but...worth trying.

We have a call scheduled with our financial advisor and I'm always running numbers before these calls in case he says 'you need to lower your monthly draw'.  I doubt he will ever say that - truly, ever - but...I still run the numbers to be prepared - to know what we could adjust if we needed to.  I'll be Social Security eligible in under two years and we will have one car paid off in February and will likely double down on paying down the other car.  Still have life insurance (both of us) though technically, we could do without that as well.

There's always something we could modify.  While feeling reasonably confident we'll never have to.

Nightly storms roll in providing some rain, thunder and lightening. Sort of like monsoons in Arizona. It's nice to have the heat taken down a notch and watching the storms roll in has become a 'fun' part of the summer days.  The cats get in on the excitement, too.  Head for the windows and watch the rain as closely as they can.

Every storm reminds us we need gutters.  Gutter installation requires the landscaping to be done 'cuz the landscaper is going to pull the drains where they need to meet the gutters so...it's always one thing requires something else. 

Someday, the house will be 'done'. Right now, there's a whole lot of 'work in process'. 

We've had multiple incidents of the smoke alarms going off - one was this past Sunday when it literally said 'FIRE' and shrieked the siren for about 15 seconds.  It was the day J. was having his vertigo issues - so I jumped out of bed, went out into the hall, went to his room - he had heard it but didn't get out of bed.  After about 15 seconds, it stopped.  Scared me silly. 

He informed me there have been two other small 'shrieks' but not enough to trigger all the alarms in the house (which is what happened Sunday).  We have contacted the contractor's Superintendent because we are pretty sure it's an electrical issue.  We've also noticed the lights flicker every time the AC turns on.  Hopefully, that will be looked at ASAP because it is really scary in the middle of the night. 

Time to get moving - J. just left for a walk and when he gets home, he's heading out to run some errands before the finance call.  I'll be heading to Atlantis around 3 today and stay until the 9:30PM drawing names have been called.  Wish me luck!!  Thanks in advance for the luck!

It's Been FOREVER

Close to a month from last update - holy cow, time flies these days.  Yes, I most definitely am one of 'those' retired people who ponder how they ever worked.  Days just fly by.  Routines have become 'the norm' and before we know it, another day has passed.

Sometimes feels like retirement is one medical appointment after another.  Finding healthcare and getting everything set up has been a challenge - a huge shortage of doctors here.  I've actually never met my 'primary care' doc - I see her Physician's Assistant instead - and I see him virtually since he doesn't live anywhere near Carson City.  But he's great - thorough, listens.  He actually suggested trying a medication for my spinal arthritis that seems to help quite a bit.  I've seen a gastro doc and will have the every five year procedures done at the end of August.  And at sixty, am finally being tested for gluten sensitivity.  Actually (again) didn't see a 'doctor' - say his PA - and she said 'gluten sensitivity is an easy blood test so let's do that.  If the blood work shows sensitivity, then when they do the procedure, they can actually take a biopsy of your colon and test for sensitivity there, too - that may be the answer and eliminate a lot of the symptoms you're having'.  I've had IBS symptoms forever - would be nice to figure out what's triggering most...if not all. 

H. has been sick for a couple weeks - not COVID, thank goodness.  Seems like a combo of a bad cold along with some mental health stuff.  We've had some good discussions and I think he's realized that the mortgage job doesn't truly interest him - he was pursuing it because he knows he has to find a job that pays better - but he really wasn't sure he wanted to do the mortgage job and I think he made himself sort of 'sick' fretting about all of it.  He's applying at warehouses again - pays well and it's work he enjoys - so fingers crossed he'll find something soon.  He's been off work for two weeks and isn't on the schedule for this week, either - and I'm a little confused how/why all that happened.  He actually asked me about taking a couple weeks off - to do the class, supposedly - but....then he didn't do the class. 

He needs a job with medical coverage so he can get some medication for his anxiety and get some counseling for his psyche. 

B. had a heat stroke last Thursday - pretty severe from what we heard.  He was 'out of it' for many minutes and ended up having convulsions.  The nearest hospital is 45 minutes away so his squad members did everything they had to - poured water on him, got him in the van and back to the hotel and in an ice bath ASAP.  He was better after that with a bad headache that lasted a few days.  Scary.  But the team is trained for what to do and they did it - so kudos to them for taking care of him. B. is who informed us - bless his heart.  Hard telling your Mom - my Mom-ness kicks in pretty quick.  But he's doing better and that's what's most important.  Damn Texas heat and humidity. 

Earlier this week, we had a designer come out from Laz-y-Boy - she took measurements of the rooms we're updating, got ideas of the colors we like and the art work we're using as focal points for the Great Room and prepped some ideas and sketches.  We spent a chunk of time there (at the store in Reno) yesterday and ordered three rooms of new furniture.  Also a couple rugs, accent pieces and three barstools for the island.  It was more $ than we were thinking but...everything was 30% off and we get zero interest financing for 36 months.  We don't use credit much but when financing is free, it's something we will do.  Put 30% down to get the order going and now we'll wait 8-12 weeks for everything to arrive.  They make every piece when it's ordered which is kind of cool - made in the USA!

It's exciting to see the house start coming together -

Next up will be finalizing landscaping plans and getting that work on the calendar.  The company we're using is doing homes all over the place in our neighborhood so we just need to confirm our ideas.  We're thinking about doing a labyrinth - nothing super complex.  I was so excited to find a company that sells kits - kits that start at $3500 and go up into the $20K-30K range.  Cancel the 'kit' approach - we'll figure it out ourselves.  Hopefully, our landscaper (who hasn't heard our idea yet - he's heard lots of our ideas, but the labyrinth is 'new') will say he's built one before and be all in to help us with the design. 

In the mean time, we bought two lilac plants in a pretty purple that will be a focal point in the backyard somewhere.  We also put our two bird baths in the yard - fill them with water daily and have had a couple doves use them for drinking.  We'll have those baths in the garden somewhere, likely surrounded by stones.  Stones are a huge part of landscaping here.  I'm trying to adjust. 

J.'s had a week of health stuff - some tests that required him to be sedated.  He took three Xanax (as directed) which resulted in him being completely out of it (of course) - it was hard to get him to the car and scared the crap out of me.  He had zero balance and trying to get him to move where he needed to go and not fall in the process whilst also not making me fall with him was challenging.  Everything went fine once he was there and got him home and in bed - he slept for hours and was much better when he woke up.  I told him any other tests, he's to take only TWO Xanax and save the third for when we're getting him into the building for the procedure.  It was scary - an eye opening experience on aging together. 

Today, he's had Vertigo for much of the day - something he's had before only he doesn't currently have any medication for it - I went to Walmart and bought OTC meds - he is better now and was already improving even before I got home with the meds.  He's been vertical for a few hours now so fingers crossed he's on the mend.  He has a host of appointments this week so one of the docs he's seeing will hopefully be able to prescribe the medication he needs to have on hand for this issue. 

He's scheduled to play golf with his men's group tomorrow - here, on our 'home' course' - but he'll see how he's feeling in the morning. 

It's super hot these days - we're used to the heat.  Carson City is so much like Tracy in many ways - it's super windy - though CC winds make Tracy winds look mild - we have winds so strong that you watch the speed limit signs move violently and plants at all sorts of weird angles.  That's true in Tracy, as well, but the winds are considerably stronger here.  It's a beautiful place - we are really enjoying nature around us and the quiet is awesome.  We've been going out nightly to look for C/2020 F3 NEOWISE - and seeing the comet is just so amazing - it's a nightly treasure hunt that always takes my breath away.  It's moving quite a bit nightly so it's interesting to hunt it down. 

That's a synopsis of the haps since last post.  We continue to work on unpacking, organizing, continued culling and general settling in activities.  Cats are blissful and happy - lots of birds to watch and they mostly sit in a window and pass the day away. 

Feel so blessed to be here.