Saving My Airline Miles…for a Trip which Will Never Happen

When I was in medical school, I accumulates airline miles because I had to fly back and forth between the medical school campus and where I spent my semester breaks at my parents’ home. When my health declined and I could no longer attend medical school, I diligently saved my airline miles. The process was complex. I had to have activity on my airline miles account once a year to prevent the miles from expiring. I began jumping through hoops.

The airline had a credit card, but the card was not free. It cost $99 a year for the credit card, but for the first year, they would waive the fee. So, I would take out the credit card and immediately make a purchase of $1 or more. Sky miles were credited to my airline miles account, and my miles remained active.

At the end of the one year period, I made another purchase for $1 or more. Again, a few more airline miles were credited to my miles account. I then had to quickly cancel the credit card to avoid being billed $99 because after the first year, the credit was no longer free.

Next, I waited about 10 months. I hoped I would receive a credit card offer in the mail asking me to come back, and once again, the first year fee of $99 would be waived. So, I applied for the card, prayed it would arrive quickly, spend $1 or more and hoped the sky miles were credited to my miles account before one year lapsed from the last time I had airline miles added to my account from the credit card.

I did this process because I wished to one day visit a dear roommate from medical school. I thought what better way to use miles I had accrued in medical school than to use them to see a med school friend. I had enough airlines miles to afford a round trip ticket if I flew at the most inconvenient times.

Recently, a family member was trying to book a flight. He only needed a one way ticket. He refused to fly economy, but he also did not want to pay over $500 for a first class ticket. I checked with the airline. I had just enough airline miles to purchase my relative’s ticket. However, I could not do it. I could not give up these airline miles.

Thankfully, my relative discovered he had airline miles on another airline carrier. He was able to book a first class ticket using his own airline miles.

I decided I should use my airline miles and just be done with trying to keep my airline miles alive. I decided I should go visit my medical school friend this fall.

Shortly after making this decision, I received an email from my friend. She informed me of some “big news”. She was immigrating back to her native country. Her home was sold, and she was packing up the last few things. She was going to be moving very soon.

Tears cascaded down my cheeks. I could not believe the words I was reading. How could this be? I wanted to visit her this fall? Now, I will most likely never see her again. How heart-breaking.

Well, I guess this trip is not going to happen. I feel slightly guilty. Perhaps, I should have been kinder and allowed my relative to use my airline miles. With my miles used up, I would not have felt so gutted that my roommate was moving.

I ponder now what I should do with my airline miles. I cannot go any place too expensive because I do not have that many miles. Also, I only have enough miles for an off-peak, early morning or late at night flight. Perhaps, I can contact another medical school friend and visit her.

Why are people confused?

At the beginning of June, I began posting videos about a trip I took to Europe. Since I only post one video a week, the time it will take to publish the entire series will be 14 weeks. The last video I hope to upload on September 4. When I became sick and needed to be hospitalized because I had sepsis and a fungal infection in my brain, I did not think it would matter if I posted my hospital visit (and subsequent medical care I received) on my other YouTube channel. I thought it was very clear that my cruise videos started to be published to YouTube a number of weeks before I was sick.

Apparently, I was completely wrong. People have contacted me and have inquired how I could go to Europe if I was sick with an infection in my brain. I have explained over and over again, the Europe videos started to be posted at the beginning of June. My hospital visit was not published until the middle of July. Clearly, I went to Europe and returned home BEFORE I became sick.

As with all things, I try to learn lessons from my experiences. I think the lesson I learned is people get confused. They cannot rationalize that if a video series began weeks before a hospitalization, then the video series must have been filmed before the hospitalization. I will try to not make that mistake again. If I am posting a video series, I will make sure videos on my other channel are generic videos, which do not reference a place or time.

But, perhaps, that is futile too. If someone wants to hate another person or cast a person in a bad light, they will find a way to do it.

I realize this post is a negative one. I am trying to be more positive. So, let's end on a happy note. If you think someone is contradicting himself/herself, give the person the benefit of the doubt. You may have misunderstood the situation or not have all the necessary information to understand the situation. Love the person and move on with life.

How to Not Win Friends at the Store

Today was a big day. I was going to go to Kohl's to spend money a relative had given me. I had $5 in Kohl's Cash, a $5 off coupon and a 20% off coupon. I do not like shopping. So, I made a plan. I was going to look at skirts. I could really use a skirt which fits me. Many of my skirts were given to me, and the waist is too large. I have to tuck the waist band of the skirt into the waist band of my compression stockings. If the skirts would be made from cotton, I think this trick would work. However, since the skirts are polyester (and my compression stockings are polyester), the two slippery materials seem to repel each other. (Yes, my skirt has fallen down in public. It was not too embarrassing because I was wearing waist high compression stockings.)

Upon arriving at the store, I did not find any skirts to my liking (or price range). I then ventured off to the clearance racks. I looked for skirts there. I did not find any. I did find a beautiful black and gold dress. I really wanted to buy it, but where would I wear such a fancy dress? I continued on.

As I was looking through items, I stumbled upon a very pretty long sleeved top. An idea popped into my head. Yes, I could buy some tops to wear for my YouTube videos. My wardrobe is pretty slim. Moreover, some tops I have do not look good on camera. I then began looking at tops.

I found a couple really nice sweaters. Since it is summer, the sweaters were discounted down to $12 each. I grabbed a couple and headed for the changing room. One sweater I really liked, but the top was very tight. I would look GREAT on camera, but I would only be able to wear it while filming. The arms fit snugly. Since I have a PICC line in my arm, I avoid tight sleeves. The PICC line gets caught on the sleeve. If I move my arm, the PICC line gets pulled on, which causes pain and/or can pull out the line. I moved on.

In the end, I found one long sleeved top and two sweaters. One sweater I definitely wanted, while the other sweater was a maybe. I am not sure how the one sweater will look on camera. If it does not look good, there is no reason for me to keep it.

When I got to the register, I gave the cashier everything--the clothes, coupons and Kohl's cash. As the man was ringing everything up, a thought popped into my head. If I decide to return the one sweater, the Kohl's cash and $5 off coupon would be partially refunded. I would get about $1.50 back on the Kohl's cash and $1.50 back on the coupon. I would not get the full refund. I would be forced to buy something else to use up the $3.

During this thinking session, the man asked if I wanted to use my Kohl's Rewards. My relative has two phone numbers she uses. I entered the first number. The machine stated that number was not linked to a Kohl's Rewards account. I tried to enter the second phone number, but before I was able to punch in all the digits, that screen disappeared, and a new screen telling me the amount of purchase appeared. I told the man I was not able to enter the Kohl's Rewards phone number. The man punched a few buttons on his computer. It took some time, but eventually, I was able to enter my relative's phone number. And hooray, that phone number had a Kohl's Rewards account attached to it.

After completing the transaction, I decided I should only buy the two items I wanted and use the $5 off coupon, 20% and $5 in Kohl's cash on those items. The sweater I was not sure if I wanted I should buy separately, using the 20% off a second time. That way, if I decided to return the sweater, I would get a full refund because the Kohl's Cash and $5 off coupon would be applied only to the sweater I wanted and the long sleeved top.

When the man was handing me the receipt, I said, "Can you void this transaction? Can you just put this sweater and the top on the receipt?" Well, those words were not the man's love language. From the man's reaction, you would have thought I smashed into his car. Calm, joy and tranquility had left the building.

The man hastily returned the items and muttered incomprehensible words under his breath. To repurchase the sweater and top, it took the man quite a bit of work. He had to re-scan all my coupons. I tried to enter my relative's phone number into the key pad, but once again, before I was able to do so, the screen changed and now told me my total. I told the man I was not able to enter my Kohl's Rewards information. The man told me it did not matter. I was paying with a Kohl's credit card. I would automatically get credit for the purchase. I was incredulous about this information because I know from experiences at other chains, a person always has to enter his rewards number in addition to using the store's credit card. I gave the man the benefit of the doubt. I inserted the credit card and moved on to my second transaction.

I had the cashier put the sweater I was undecided if I wanted on a separate receipt. This time, I was able to input my relative's phone number into the keypad and hit enter before the screen changed. I inserted the credit card. When the transactions were completed, I left the store.

Upon entering the car, I saw on the bottom of my second transaction, the receipt thanked me for being a rewards member. Then there was information which stated how much rewards money was generated from the purchase and the new rewards account balance. I looked at the receipt from my other transaction. None of this information was on the receipt. I immediately knew what the cashier had told me, "Don't worry, you are using the Kohl's credit card, the rewards number is automatically added," was not true. 

I decided, "Well, I am already completely exhausted from this whole ordeal. I mind as well go for the gold."

I went back into the store. God was very kind. Although there had been a line at the registers, now there was no one in line. I was able to go directly to the register and said, "Excuse me sir. I need you to redo this purchase. You told me my rewards number would automatically be entered if I used a Kohl's credit card. That is not true. As you can see, on the bottom of the second receipt, the one where I was able to enter the number, it states I received rewards money for the purchase. But on the first transaction, that information is not there. I did not get rewards credit for the first transaction."

The man's face became a collection of rage and frustration. Thankfully, a female supervisor was standing next to the man. She told the male cashier, "Don't worry. I will handle this."

The female employee went into the male cashier's computer. She pulled up the transaction and voided it. She typed something into the computer She then told me to input the Kohl's Rewards number. I did so. She then had me pay for the purchase. I was given the receipt, and the Kohl's Rewards information was at the bottom.

I smiled and thanked the woman. I told both of them to have a great day. The male cashier stayed turned away from me and did not acknowledge my words. 

As I was exiting the store, I looked at the bottom of the receipt. If I decide to keep the second sweater, then my relative has now earned enough rewards to qualify for a $5 off coupon next month. I was so delighted that I had decided to go back into the store to get the rewards credit.

When I got home, I told my relative about the whole ordeal. The relative was very excited to hear he now has $5 to spend next month at Kohl's. I told my relative, "I know the perfect cashier you should visit with that coupon..."

The Perfect Parking Spot

Yesterday, I had to go to a doctor's appointment. Since it was a 3:30 p.m. appointment, we decided to stop at the grocery store before the appointment because I would most likely not get out of my appointment until around 5 p.m. At that time of day if we tried to go to the grocery store, we would have to fight traffic and lots of people at the store. It was very warm yesterday. (It was so warm, my sweat was sweating.) So, I brought along a cooler and ice packs to keep our groceries cool, and we picked up groceries before my appointment.

Parking at the doctor's office in the afternoon is always a challenge. There are many doctors and other medical services in the building complex. There are plenty of parking spaces. However, since all the offices are only one story tall, there is only a single row of parking stalls near each office's entrance. For my doctor's office, this means there are only about 10 parking stalls. If any additional parking is needed, a person has to park behind the building and then walk around the building and up a small hill to the office's entrance.

With that all being said, I hoped we would be able to park near the doctor's office. To my shock, directly across from the doctor's office, there was a parking space AND it was in the shade! A small tree was growing in front of the parking stall. Its leaves and branches provided complete shade for this one parking spot. On the right and left of the stall, the tree provided only partial shade. We gleefully took this close, shaded space.

As always, the medical provider was running late. By the time I got out of my appointment, it was a few minutes after 5 p.m. I hoped it was not extremely hot in the car. I hoped our groceries were still good. To my absolute delight, when I entered the car, it was warm, but not hot inside. The shade from the tree did an amazing job protecting our car from the sun and prevented our car from heating up.

When we arrived home, I was thrilled the ice packs and coolers kept our groceries cold. I profusely thanked God for His abundant kindness. Out of the hundreds of parking spaces at the medical complex, the perfect spot was waiting for us--close to the entrance to my doctor's office and in the shade. What a blessing.

Happy Ninth Anniversary! How Things Have Changed

Nine years ago, I was at a turning point in my life. My best friend, Milly, had passed away from complications from Mitochondrial Disease. Milly had a YouTube channel. I thought about starting a YouTube channel in her honor, but I did not have a computer with a camera. 

Furthermore, I knew NOTHING about creating YouTube videos. Instead, I decided to create a blog. What I could never have imagined is how instrumental starting a blog would be for my (future) YouTube channel. Every week, I looked forward to posting on my blog. I thought long and hard about the words and stories I wished to tell. I wrote and re-wrote many posts. Writing my blog was my mission and my passion.

Surprisingly, my blog reached an audience far and wide. At one time, I counted people from over 70 countries had visited my blog. Not too bad for a blog I did not promote or advertise. In 2020, after being dared by my mom to post a YouTube video, I switch my time from writing blog posts to creating YouTube scripts. I thought, perhaps, having this blog may have been a waste of my time. But, as time progressed, this blog became a HUGE asset. 

Many things happened starting in August 2016. For example, at the end of August (2016), I began having severe difficulty breathing. And from there, I began my adventures trying to medical treatment for my respiratory failure. 

I have read and re-read some of posts to get an understanding of the emotions I was feeling and also the things I went through. I have used many of my blog posts as the basis for a number of my YouTube videos. One video in particular, someone accused me of "not remembering events correctly" because it happened a few years ago. I chuckled because the entire script for that video was almost an exact copy of several of my blog posts, which were written immediately following the events. 

This blog never turned out the way I had imagined it would. I dreamed this blog would create a huge following and would be a blessing to people all around the world. This blog never attained a massive following. However, my YouTube channel has. I wish I had more time and energy to devote to my blog, but I end up spending almost every free moment I have doing something related to YouTube. 

As my YouTube channel has grown, more people are visiting this blog. I have told myself over and over again, I will post more on my blog, but so far, that has not happened. (I actually have posts I really want to publish. I just forget to come on here and publish them as the days speed by.) 

To all those who have supported me on my blog, thank you so much. This blog means a lot to me...and hopefully, I will be more diligent to post more in the future. (I mean, you-all should be proud of me. I am getting this post published on time!) Happy Birthday to this blog. I hope everyone has a great weekend.