Flashdance Flashback Anyone?

Zaga left and me right in our wood and steel class tonight.

Today was supposed to be a big post. After all, I still have something to say about learning as an old(er) person, today was the first day of Spinzilla, and I had a wood and steel class tonight where I used a bandsaw, a spiffy tablesaw, a belt sander, an orbital sander, a mig welder, a metal chop saw, and a right-angle grinder. In spite of all of that--or maybe because of it--I am freshly home from a post-class dinner with my spouse and I am too tired to elucidate. Good thing I'm having all these vitamin B12 shots which boost my energy. I can't imagine how I'd be feeling without them!

One thing I will quickly write about is the bill I received from Travis County EMS for the ambulance ride from urgent care to the hospital. First, it's run by the county and so is a government agency--I assume somewhat paid for by our property taxes, but maybe not. Second, they didn't even turn the siren on. Yeah, they pumped me full of pain meds, but those aren't really expensive. Nevertheless, this bill epitomizes what is wrong with healthcare and the insurance industry in our country. The bill for a 12 mile ride in an ambulance with the siren off billed through a government agency was $1,061. I kid you not. When I was at urgent care for the whole kidney stone mess this summer (having driven myself there), there was no way I could have driven myself to the hospital. I was incoherent with pain by then. So urgent care called the EMS, and they came and took me to the hospital--for $1,000. How did we get to this point?!? I can see a couple of hundred dollars, sure. They pay the EMS techs, they have to pay for the equipment, but $1,000 for 20 minutes and 12 miles? (Which they could have covered faster if they had put the siren on.) It just blows my mind.

Next time I'll take a hydrocodone and call Uber.