Today I underwent oral surgery under general anesthesia. The procedure was the removal of my two lower wisdom teeth which were impacted. This procedure is uncommon in the US for people my age (27). Usually people get their teeth removed in their teens even if there aren’t any complications.
The clinic I have chosen was within short walking distance from my home and I arrived there in less than half an hour:
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Before the procedure, I had to pay the bill. Due to my insurance I had to pay only a 20% co-pay, and that amounted to “only” $238, which I paid and proceeded to read the book I brought with me.
Later, I was called in, hooked to an IV and got some oral shots. The procedure itself went smoothly, and in a split-second (from my point of view) I was in recovery.
Due to the anesthesia, I could not walk back home. The clinic strongly recommends having someone drive you home and look after you. I could not find anyone who was willing and able to do that for me, so I had to stay for a few more hours in the clinic for recovery and then took a taxi home.
At home, I took some pain meds and antibiotics, as the doctor ordered and contacted my friends and family onine. Now I can’t talk, and have trouble drinking. Hopefully this will pass in the next few hours so I could have dinner tonight.
July 21st, 2008 at 22:57
Posted by
epsalon |
Daily Life, Health, Personal |
one comment
Just days after my first police ticket, I had my first two-vehicle car accident, and it wasn’t even my fault! I was driving down a small residential road (Newell), and the other driver was driving out of the public library parking. However she did not see me and continued right past the stop sign right in front of my car, even though I had the right of way. I stepped on the break but it was too late and I ran into the side of her car.
I sustained no injury in the crash and both cars were drivable. I took some photos for insurance purposes (you can see one of them over here (this is the front of my car).
I have also created an illustration of the accident scene (thanks to Google street view):
July 1st, 2008 at 00:20
Posted by
epsalon |
Daily Life |
3 comments
Last Saturday, I went to the Vertical Challenge Helicopter Show at the Hiller Aviation Museum San Carlos airport. The show included admission to the museum and an exhibition of military and civilian helicopters. The main event included helicopter aerobatic demonstrations, RC Helicopter presentations and a search & rescue demonstration by the US Coast Guard.
After the show, I came back home, realized it was really hot, in spite of the fact I’ve ordered a fan off Amazon the day before. It seems fans don’t really work before they are delivered, and this particular Amazon order would take two weeks to arrive. After checking the options of faster shipping, I suddenly recalled a different way to get products: Retail. A Home Depot was less than 5 minutes from my home, at I verified online that they indeed stock fans. A short trip back and forth and a fan was in my possession. A few minutes later, it was assembled the room was significantly cooler.
Later this week, on my way to Stanford, the police have suddenly stopped me. The officer explained that I was driving 40 in a 25 zone (this is MPH, so it’s actually 65 in a 40 zone in kilometers) and gave me a ticket. The officer was not able to say how much the fine was, so I will know that only when I get the ticket in the mail.
Upon reaching Stanford I had a positive surprise. My laptop, that I’ve ordered two months before, has finally arrived and works great. I took it home to complete the installation and it will soon replace my old one. Expect being able to video-chat with me any time day or night (assuming I’m online and you have skype).
This weekend features Paul’s boardgaming extravaganza and BAP’s games day. Next weekend is the 4th of July, aka Independence Day. Stay tuned.
P.S. Thank you all for purchasing stuff via the DealExtreme links in my last post. I got more than 20 points already. If you did buy anything, please comment and tell me what you got. Thanks!
June 28th, 2008 at 02:00
Posted by
epsalon |
Stanford, Daily Life, Bureaucracy, Leisure, Tech stuff |
no comments
I have recently discovered an amazing website based in Hong-Kong selling tech gadgets at amazingly cheap prices: cables, adapters, and any type of USB gadget you could think of all in ridiculously low prices and free worldwide shipping. On the first day I ordered 7 different products in 6 separate orders. On the next days, I ordered 13 more items for a total spending of $89.
The name of the website is DealExtreme. And the things I bought are:
I hope you all enjoy this amazing site, and if you do buy something, please click on my links, as I get referral points.
June 21st, 2008 at 09:28
Posted by
epsalon |
Daily Life, Tech stuff |
no comments
The story starts nine months ago, on my first arrival to the United States. From the start I knew I have to get myself a cellphone and thus I have bought an iPAQ and a T-mobile prepaid SIM card. However, the SIM card was sold without the PIN code required to make changes to the account. This was not a problem for me, as I could still use the phone and add minutes.
Three months ago, I decided that I will spend more than a total of $100 in a year and thus I could load up to a $100 immediately and get extra benefits: 15% more minutes, and the minutes expire only after a year. Assured of my new “gold” status, I did not buy any more refill cards.
And then, suddenly, yesterday I discovered that my balance of more than $50 became 0. I called customer service and they explained that the 1-year expiration applies after the NEXT refill after I qualify for gold, but she agreed to credit my $50 back. All she needed was to confirm my identity with the PIN I did not have. She said I will have to identify myself at a T-Mobile location and get a new PIN before I could get my minutes back.
As I neeed to make a call right away, I added $10, immediately losing 35 cents for not buying the card as Safeway, and decided I’d go to a T-mobile location the next day. At the T-mobile location, I asked to confirm my account, but they said that my ID must match the name on the account. After several minutes of asking for help, I asked them to check whether or not my name is on the account. It turns out it was, and new PIN was assigned. Now all I had to do was call customer service and have them credit my minutes.
Well, in case any more problems will arise, I decided to call customer service from the T-mobile store. After a short wait, the rep told me that they cannot credit my account since more than 48 hours have passed since the balance expired. I asked to speak with a manager, they complied, leaving me on hold for at least 30 minutes. While on hold, I called them back from my cell phone and got the same reply from two additional reps, asked to talk to the manager, and got disconnected, and then tried again.
After more than 30 minutes of waiting, the final rep managed to get their supervisor to credit my account. An amazing waste of time and money for just $50 that were rightfully mine. Once I deplete my balance I will seriously consider switching to another provider.
T-mobile and the color Magenta are registered trademarks of Deutsche Telekom.
June 20th, 2008 at 05:31
Posted by
epsalon |
Daily Life, Bureaucracy, Tech stuff |
no comments
Today I underwent oral surgery under general anesthesia. The procedure was the removal of my two lower wisdom teeth which were impacted. This procedure is uncommon in the US for people my age (27). Usually people get their teeth removed in their teens even if there aren’t any complications.