Palm Springs

[drscott]

My mother appears to have had a kidney stone Sunday. Off to the ER again in an ambulance. Her doctor seems little concerned about how her dementia is making her medical issues worse; it looks like she isn't drinking enough water, since a few weeks ago she complained of dry mouth. The doctor does not return my brother's phone calls or do anything pro-active; the nurse who had been coming twice weekly was pulled off when her wrist cast was removed, so even though she is not capable of following medication instructions, she's getting no help now, and it's getting worse.

So I think she needs a visit to help her find assisted living, and definitely a new doctor. I'm awaiting a callback from a private home healthcare franchise with an office nearby -- just someone to look in once a week and help her organize her medication should hold her for a few weeks until I can get there.

I've been in Palm Springs since Saturday night looking at houses.Thousands of second homes and vanity mansions sit empty, foreclosures conitnue at a fast clip, and while I think we might see another downward slide in prices for higher-end homes, things are pretty cheap now -- much is available at below cost of construction. We're supposed to see rootbeer1 and qbear this weekend; they have been looking similarly though at a lower price range. Paul's thought is to buy a place we'd be happy retiring in (we're tired of moving!), so we've been scoping out larger houses than we'd need as a vacation home -- 4 beds or more. I've toured more than ten houses, and we have two we're going to consider when Paul gets here -- one far south, one in Old Las Palmas. Values are better in Rancho Mirage and points east, but I want to go to the World Gym, since that's where "everybody" goes now, so don't want to be more than 15 minutes away from it.

I haven't had time for much socializing; had dinner at Wangs in the Desert with Eric Jannke, who used to live at Douglass and 20th but ran into a series of reverses that led him to PS to conserve his money (a very common story here.) Had a nice massage yesterday after visiting a high-end architect's house which left me cold -- claimed to have spent $3 million constructing it, but the investor friend of our agent who was along commented he wondered where $1 million of it went. It's all so very Southern Califronia-ish. I keep running into people who say I have great "energy" and I want to check my battery compartment.

Then there's the ipad story; Made a special trip to the Apple store in SF, waited in line, was told I'd get an email telling me to come pick iy up in 2-3 days, which would have been Thursday-Friday before I left. Nothing by Tuesday, so I found the last remaining iPad in the Caochella Valley at Best Buy in Palm Desert and bought it. That evening I got an email from Apple telling me to come pick up my 3G iPad. I don't think not having 3G will be a big issue since I have the iPhone for that, and unless on the road I'll use this iPad mostly to read at home.

Comments

[excessor.livejournal.com]

Can I have your iPad 3G then?

[dr-scott.livejournal.com]

Already let it go, sorry. We should get a proper laptop as the next thing anyway.

[pklexton.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear about your Mom. I like that Old Las Palmas neighborhood.

Keep up the great energy. :)

[dr-scott.livejournal.com]

I think it's just an LA way of saying "you look nice today," or something equally innocuous.

OLP is leafy and cnetrally located....

[arkanjil.livejournal.com]

i passed on the 3G model too,but there are times I do wish it could do wireless, either directly or via tethering. For now, i trimmed back the number of apps that require connectivity, so i default to the phone as needed...

And for the record, you do have very good energy- we don't have good words to discuss such issues as chi and WA, but at the base, its something you can feel with some people, and your personal focus makes your physical presense... hmm. Strong?

Ah, work it while ya got it, je?

[dr-scott.livejournal.com]

Well, thanks. I seem to scare some people, better it's seen as a positive. :-)

I think tethering via iPhone is already available, once jailbroken; but I haven't looked into it yet. The thing is too large to carry normally, and I see it as useful for work at home or in hotel rooms.

[foodpoisoningsf.livejournal.com]

I don't really remember where you're mother is- but these people come highly recommended http://www.kendal.org

My mother was planning to move to their facility in NY but then chose a similar one on Long Island.

[dr-scott.livejournal.com]

I love the idea of a Quaker-run facility -- a little prim but efficient. But they are only as far west as Chicago so far, and my mom is in KC. I'll try to find her a place near all her current haunts so she can still see her friends and be picked up for evenings out by her two boyfriends....

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

What kind of square footage are Paul and you considering in a home in PS? Are you looking for newer construction or is vintage good, too? Have fun with rootbeer and qbear!

HUGS!

[dr-scott.livejournal.com]

As Paul said, "large enough for a non-VTOL aircraft to land." We love Mid-Century Modern (but not the problems of actual mid-century construction), so we're looking at one almost-new modern place and one complete rebuild from 1948.

[omero-hassan.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear about your mother, and about the iPad -- in that order. Hope the house-hunting isn't too exhausting. Seems like the kind of thing you might find tiring.