Last Easter (2010), Brad and I took a road trip several hours west to the desert land of Monahans, Texas. Brad needed to take some photos for an art project he was working on, and I decided I wanted to take some photos too.

We visited the Monahans Sandhills State Park to take some photos of the desert terrain. It was surreal watching truckloads of visitors frolicking in the sand as if they were enjoying a nice day at the beach. But it’s at least 10 hours to the nearest coast.

I don’t know why, but I really just want a pair of blue corduroy pants. I have a pair of brown corduroys that I bought at Forever 21 a couple of months ago, and I’d live in them if I could. They are so comfy and fit perfectly. Unfortunately, they no longer carry them. Zara only carries a similar color. And I want blue!

Am I crazy? They look pretty good, don’t they?

So Bonobos is the only place I’ve seen that carries them, but they only have them in boot cut. They’ve got brighter shades of blue, which is what I was originally thinking, but I think I like this color just fine. They are $98 though … and that’s a boat load of cash for a pair of pants.

But they are nice though. And I really like this sweater (Gant Rugger), but it’s $135 (or $126 at Blackbird… still really pricey though).

So I am now in full recovery from last Friday’s surgery. All went well, although the doctor said he had to cut a little deeper than he had planned. And while I do have some internal stitches, I have to be careful because the main incision is on the surface and must be left open to heal on its own.

Today was my first day back in the office, and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be. But by 4:30, I was definitely ready to go home. Recovery’s been OK. I’m not in too much pain, and changing the dressings is only mildly annoying. The worst part, though, is the anesthesiologist caught my bottom lip between my teeth and the metal instrument they used during intubation, and now I have these enormous painful lip cuts from hell.

But it’s over. Hopefully, this means all my health problems will gone within a few weeks. Last month’s tooth abscess seems to have cleared up since I got the root canal, and once this incision heals, I shouldn’t have any more pain or constant infection from the undying cyst. Even my physical back in October reported that my extremely low Vitamin D levels had improved to normal. And of course, I’m still at my ideal weight (even if I’m on hiatus from the gym because of surgery).

Yes, 2010 was all about expelling the ill and trimming the fat… This year I get to focus on the good stuff.

IMG SRC: Cadavre exquis

I have very good insurance, but a high deductible ($5,000). My employer got us secondary insurance for gap coverage on our deductible, which means they cover $4,000 of it — I’m effectively left with a $1,000 deductible. This means, I pay $1,000 for my upcoming surgery. OK. Fine.

But the hospital wants payment up-front. Which means, they won’t wait for my insurance to process the claim, or my gap coverage to pay the remainder of my deductible. So, I have to pay the full amount up-front, sans the $473 allowable on my primary insurance.

Confused yet … or just pissed off?

UPDATE

Well, it’s a good thing I’ve got insurance. Total cost of upcoming surgery is $8,716.31. I am responsible for $1,000. IF I didn’t have insurance, the cost of surgery would be more than $24,000. Tell me, how are low-income citizens supposed to afford healthcare?