I took a break at work and checked out airfares real quick for this trip. I checked Orbitz, Travelocity, Expedia, Priceline, Hotwire, and aa.com. I saw that prices were climbing above the $600 mark for tickets for the days I needed to fly (Wednesday and Sunday). Priceline had one ticket left for a price of $525 round trip which I attempted to book. When it was processing my transaction with my credit card number it came back as saying that the price changed and it was now over $560 or so. Travelocity was still listing the same itinerary for $526 with one ticket left so I gave it the college try and my order went through. Here is my itinerary in case anyone cares:
AMERICAN AIRLINES 1643 BHM
Birmingham Wed 01 Jul
06:55 AM DFW
Dallas/ Fort Worth 08:53 AM Q None
AMERICAN AIRLINES 575 DFW
Dallas/ Fort Worth Wed 01 Jul
10:10 AM MTY
Monterrey 11:44 AM O None
AMERICAN AIRLINES 604 MTY
Monterrey Sun 05 Jul
09:25 AM DFW
Dallas/ Fort Worth 11:14 AM O None
AMERICAN AIRLINES 1412 DFW
Dallas/ Fort Worth Sun 05 Jul
03:20 PM BHM
Birmingham 05:00 PM N None
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Airfare
So my grandma was very nice and sent me a check for the airfare which at the time (last Thursday) was $500. I received the check in the mail yesterday and put it in the bank this morning. I have a look at the airfare this morning and it jumped to $556! That extra $56 is a lot of money to me. Hopefully by some miracle, the prices go back down some between now and tomorrow. Hell, they did when we all booked our tickets to get to my sister's wedding. More to come...
Monday, April 20, 2009
Passport applied for
While I was out getting an oil change and getting my tags renewed, I made a pitstop at the post office to apply for my passport. Since I filled the form out online and brought the printed copy with me. It was pretty easy and fast. The post office did the pictures and converted my money into a money order for the State Department. The only possible glitch is that the clerk thinks that since my passport was from the County Clerk in Michigan versus the Michigan Department of Vital Statistics that the State Department is going to have a problem with that. According to everything I read on the State Department's website, my birth certificate should be fine but we shall see. All in all, after the money order fee and pictures fee, I'm out $116 today.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
First Post
I started this blog to document the events that will lead to me going to Mexico for Lapband surgery. As anyone who's known me for a long time has known that I've always been overweight. I progressed from cute and chubby as a kid to an obese adult. I felt I was in decent shape for someone my size back when I was studying martial arts and later playing lacrosse in college. Then getting married, divorced, and moving to the South led my weight to get really out of hand.
When my grandmother offered me the opportunity to get a Lapband installed, I jumped at the chance. For the past two months, I've been researching my options and doctors. At first, I decided on a doctor in Tijuana but with the escalating drug violence taking place there and after reading a couple bad reviews on the doctor, I decided to look further. After talking to a lot of prior patients, I decided on Dr. Roberto Rumbaut in Monterrey.
You all must be thinking: "You're insane to get surgery done in Mexico!". Well, I was somewhat apprehensive but after the research and talking to people who've done it, I am no more concerned as I would be if I had it done in this country. The cost savings and lack of bureaucracy makes getting the surgery done in Mexico very appealing. Everyone knows the US health system and insurance system is broken and bureaucracy would make the Soviet Union blush.
Last week, we set a date for my surgery, July 2nd. I will be spending Independence Day in Mexico but it was the best time for me since the work holiday means one less day I'm off from work and it'll be slow at work so I was able to get the time off. This week, I will have to apply for my passport and book my airfare to Monterrey. Here is what I have to do before the surgery:
- Before two weeks before surgery: mail $500 deposit to surgery coordinator
- Ten days before surgery: start pre-op liquid diet
- Five days before surgery: switch to clear liquid diet
- July 1: fly from Birmingham to Monterrey
- Later that day: pre-op tests like ultrasound, blood work, etc.
- July 2: surgery
- July 5: fly back to Alabama
- July 6: Return to work - no physical labor!!!
- Four to six weeks after surgery: get first Lapband fill
When my grandmother offered me the opportunity to get a Lapband installed, I jumped at the chance. For the past two months, I've been researching my options and doctors. At first, I decided on a doctor in Tijuana but with the escalating drug violence taking place there and after reading a couple bad reviews on the doctor, I decided to look further. After talking to a lot of prior patients, I decided on Dr. Roberto Rumbaut in Monterrey.
You all must be thinking: "You're insane to get surgery done in Mexico!". Well, I was somewhat apprehensive but after the research and talking to people who've done it, I am no more concerned as I would be if I had it done in this country. The cost savings and lack of bureaucracy makes getting the surgery done in Mexico very appealing. Everyone knows the US health system and insurance system is broken and bureaucracy would make the Soviet Union blush.
Last week, we set a date for my surgery, July 2nd. I will be spending Independence Day in Mexico but it was the best time for me since the work holiday means one less day I'm off from work and it'll be slow at work so I was able to get the time off. This week, I will have to apply for my passport and book my airfare to Monterrey. Here is what I have to do before the surgery:
- Before two weeks before surgery: mail $500 deposit to surgery coordinator
- Ten days before surgery: start pre-op liquid diet
- Five days before surgery: switch to clear liquid diet
- July 1: fly from Birmingham to Monterrey
- Later that day: pre-op tests like ultrasound, blood work, etc.
- July 2: surgery
- July 5: fly back to Alabama
- July 6: Return to work - no physical labor!!!
- Four to six weeks after surgery: get first Lapband fill
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