Follow the money

Well, that was certainly different; I had an MRI last night to see if that might help the doctors to determine where the sciatic pain has been coming from. Fascinating. And definitely noisy. I had heard about that and wasn’t surprised when the technician gave me some earplugs to wear. But I was surprised to hear that I would have to stay in the ‘tube’ for about twenty minutes. So once I was inside, I closed my eyes and tried to let my mind enjoy the experience. Odd; with my eyes closed, it felt as if I were moving ever so slightly, sideways. Back and forth in rhythm with the amazing sounds that came from the machine. I wasn’t moving. I opened my eyes a few times to verify that fact. And the sounds changed from time to time. First I heard a repetitious dahdahdahdahdah followed by, I swear, laptoplaptoplaptoplaptop. The finale was a grand nononononono overlaid with a faint but sibilant yesyesyesyesyesyes. Ain’t’ technology grand? And noisy.

And speaking of technology; there is a good chance that just as soon as the technician reviewed the image files created by the MRI, they were sent by T1 lines to consultants in India to be read overnight. Why not. Doctors in India are awake at those hours and you get results that much faster. Intercontinental consulting; I love it!

It had certainly been a different day, yesterday. We started off with a visit to the local Nissan dealer to look at an Altima hybrid. With tools from the internet to work with, buying a car is so much easier these days. Use Edmunds.com before you shop and everyone, you and the dealer, knows the ultimate price of the car. The high pressure salesman doesn’t exist anymore. OK, he’s still around, but you can foil him with your knowledge of the right price for the car. Knowledge is a wonderful thing! And no, we didn’t buy the car; we’re still undecided as to color and options. Back in the ‘good old days’ you could choose your options from a long list of items. Today, you can only choose ‘packages’. Very much like cable or satellite TV. Frustrating. “I’m sorry, tires only come with the Technology Package.” And “Windshields are part of the Convenience Package.”

And later, after we exited the MRI factory last night, we decided to stop for dinner at Big Al’s hamburger joint. We had heard that the malts were amazing and the burgers good. OK, the burgers are good and the malts are thick, but the staff was surly and the place needs cleaning and painting; lots of it. We’ll take In-n-Out burgers anytime. Yes, it’s a chain restaurant and I usually avoid those like the plague, but it’s a chain with a difference; they pay their employees quite well. And it shows.

And, being a couple of Introverts, we sat in a corner booth at the back of the dining room to avoid any congestion around the cash register. There were only a few people in the dining room and there were plenty of seats available. Lots. But what’s this? Three people come in and decide that sitting right next to us is their only option. Did we look lonely? Are these people raised by wolves?