Good news from Japan!
Shin's uncle is alive and well! (as is his aunt, but they hadn't assumed her dead yet, so slightly less of a surprise.) When the earthquake hit, his company either assumed or got official warnings of an impending tsunami, and told all the employees to run for the hills. They piled into cars and raced inland, and ended up in a place where they had no communication and were cut off from returning easily to Sendai, but were out of reach of the water.
I don't even know this man's name, but it's a profound relief to learn that he's alive.
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In unrelated news, I got the bill for my tonsilectomy. Question and answer time!
Q: How much does a tonsilectomy cost at the insurance-negotiated rate?
A: Just under $17,000.
Q: How much of that does the insured patient pay?
A: $100. (On my insurance. Probably a lot more on most other insurance.)
Q: What if you didn't have insurance?
A: It would cost a lot more than $17,000, all paid by the patient.
Q: What would you have done in that case?
A: Not had the surgery.
Q: Would that be so bad? You cost your insurer nearly $17,000! What if you had socialized medicine and the government paid that?
A: Then it would definitely be cheaper to pay for me to have the surgery.
Q: Explain.
A: In just the last 4 weeks, we've seen immediate benefits. The most obvious one is that I no longer snore or have apnea, which has led to a generally well-rested Barbarienne.
Q: How does that benefit anyone else?
A: It permits me to be a contributing member of society. Instead of having to go on permanent disability and live off a government stipend, I am able to earn a good living, support myself, and pay taxes and contribute to FICA. It is not in a private insurer's best interest to make this possible, but it is certainly in the best interest of every other taxpayer.
Q: Why is your cat wandering around the apartment, yowling for no apparent reason?
A: Because he is weird.
Q: And why are your downstairs neighbors so noisy?
A: Because they are inconsiderate. Or perhaps they want revenge for the cat yowling.
Q: Maybe the cat is yowling in revenge at them.
A: Oh, if only.
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Had an excellent long weekend, in which I'm fairly certain I consumed an entire week's worth of food in just four days. Thursday: mediocre breakfast and lunch, followed by excellent corned beef dinner. Friday: cereal breakfast, tea+sandwich+meat pie+scone lunch, massive BBQ dinner. Saturday: biscuits and gravy + bacon for breakfast, donuts for lunch, and dinner of stone crab claws, roasted suckling pig, and chocolate Vesuvio cake with raspberry sorbet. Today: 1/5 share of five different muffins, breads, and biscuits; a BLT made with thick, hand-cut bacon; a pot of tea, and a donut. I anticipate dinner will be leftover suckling pig and lamb shank.
I think the cat is yowling because I appear well-fed. I think he wants to kill me and eat me. I will bribe him with the bone from the lamb shank.