Some Bumps in the Road

Um, so I took the GPS back. It was a piece of junk. The interface was very nice, but the functionality was a little shady. I used it to drive to the dance party last Tuesday, but when I started it up to go home, it wouldn't acquire the satellites. It took 2o minutes to find them, by which time I had already gotten lost and then unlost by dead reckoning. No thanks to the GPS, I finally got home some 1/2 hour late. Harman/Kardon should stick to making sound equipment and stay away from GPS.

The dance party was super fun! I was a bit nervous at first, but once we got into it, it was a blast. We learned the hustle, cha-cha, rumba, electric slide, and cuban shuffle. A few guys tried the "Soldier Boy" routine. ;-) I was able to do most of the dances with only a few limitations because of my knee. At the end of the night, I was feeling a bit sore, so I called it quits. It was very enjoyable and I'm glad I went. Part II is tonight...I'm looking forward to it.

Speaking of my knee, the news there isn't so great. I went to the doctor/surgeon on Wednesday and he thinks it's both a meniscus tear and an ACL tear. I actually had an MRI yesterday. It was almost comical listening to him messing with my knee and saying, "Oh boy....oh boy." So my options are really to just do physical therapy and hope it gets better naturally or to pursue the surgery route (likely outpatient arthroscopic). The doc doesn't think that (based on my condition) I will regain full mobility taking the non-surgery route, so I'm probably just going to bite the bullet.

I'm so glad I have insurance now. The MRI alone was $1,100. I racked up about $250 from the visit and X-ray last week. The bills will only continue to pile up as the process continues. Fortunately, my deductible is only $1,000 (a benefit of a high premium), so after that magic number (which I've already reached in the last week), I only pay 20% of my in-network expenses. Praise the Lord for health insurance!

If I do need surgery, I'll probably wait until I get back to WA. I'll have my family around to help take care of me, as well as a month away from work. I just hope that recovery time is quick and that I regain full mobility afterward. I want to get back into playing soccer and football again. It's been so long...I can't wait to get back on the field! :-)

Also last Wednesday, I left for Galveston, TX for a miniature vacation. What a nightmare my trip was. I'm never flying Delta again, if I can help it. They got me to Atlanta, then promptly cancelled my already-overbooked flight to Houston, thereby overbooking all the other flights to Houston! They then stuck me in a hotel room, paying for a whopping $10 of it and leaving me with the other $65. Meanwhile, they sent my bag on to Hobby Airport in Houston and sent me on to George Bush Airport in Houston the next day. Lovely efficiency. So I showed up 16 hours late, without my bag, and $65 poorer. They delayed my flight on the way home too, so I just said, "No more." Ugh.

Beyond that unfortunate travel experience, the trip was great! It was awesome seeing Casey, Josh, Milan, Sarah, Chase, and of course Kelly again. Kelly really does live in a nice area. When she and John (her boyfriend) picked me up from the airport, I was kinda surprised....I had always envisioned Texas as this brown, dusty place with tumbleweeds blowing across the road. No, it was actually very green and beautiful, if a bit chilly! The people where not the backwards, southern-drawling, cowpokes I envisioned either...they were down-to-earth, surprisingly modern, and amazingly friendly! Downtown Galveston is a nice place too....very touristy, and the beach front is quite the attraction. I was very impressed, all in all. Kelly has some nice friends from there too.

Thursday night was a bit odd...we had a crawfish boil! I'd never seen that done before. It's definitely a southern thing. I think the weirdest thing was that the crawfish were still alive when they went into the pot....

On Friday, Kelly's dad (who owns a fishing charter service) took us deep sea fishing! That was amazing. I'd never been out to sea before, so I was kinda excited, kinda nervous. We all took dramamine before we left, and I didn't get seasick at all. Poor Casey and Josh both did. Chase and I were just naturals at the boat movement, I guess....even Kelly lost it once, but Chase and I slept in the cabin for a lot of the trip out and never felt even slightly nauseous.

We went about 20 miles out and tied up to a natural gas rig. I caught a ~ 12-inch red snapper. Those fish were practically leaping into the boat, but we couldn't keep them because it wasn't their season. We did catch four redfish, which we blackened up for dinner that night. Chase took the big fish prize with a 29-inch redfish.

I left on Saturday with Josh, Chase, and Milan. It was definitely a whirlwind vacation (less than 48 hours), but still worth it. Praise the Lord for good friends! :-)