u/allistar34

Planning to be in Dublin in October - there's only one true Hyatt property (Centric The Liberties) and there's The Alex, and The Mont (both MMS). There are limited reviews on this sub, wondering if anyone can give their two cents. Thanks!

Last weekend I redeemed miles for a LGA to BGR flight in October (8k miles for a $264 main fare, pretty proud lol), AA 4488. It was scheduled for the morning (9am). My friend went to purchase the same flight right now and now it’s nowhere to be seen on AA’s website.

It appears they scheduled a new nonstop (AA 4343) that is at noon. Only nonstop of the day, and the flight I initially booked was the only nonstop of the day. This means the flight I initially booked is canceled, right? I only believe this because 4343 is the new daily nonstop. Does this mean I’m being moved to the new flight?

AA hasn’t told me anything. Am I jumping the gun here? When will I be notified? CS was useless.

Going to Amsterdam in the fall. Been a while since I’ve gone across the pond so I’m a bit out of the loop. Seems like my options are Aer Lingus, Iberia, Finnair, and British Airways. Seems like all of them suck according to the internet hahaha.

BA certainly has the most options but I’ve heard horror stories about connecting through LHR.

If all of them suck that much, might just do Delta/KLM nonstop.

I have status with AS (and thus OneWorld status) but not with AA. I have only flown AA a handful of times, and the most recent time was about a month ago. I had an awful experience and they gave me 10k miles as compensation.

I just redeemed the miles for a flight I just booked and it didn't let me enter my AS Atmos # (I know this is standard practice for award flights), so now my useless AAdvantage number is attached to it. I don't really care about earning AS status points, more so I need to check my bag on this flight and want it to be free. Is there a way for me to attach my OneWorld status to the reservation?

I saw my PCP this morning to do a skin check. She basically just asked me what spots are bothering me and she took photos of them for my chart. She sent me to telederm right after to take more photos. I got the results this afternoon. Everything they took photos of is benign (5 different lesions, which I was told was the max dermatology could evaluate…)

My PCP sent me to telederm about a month ago when I first brought this up to her. The lesion I’m most concerned about was ruled as eczema the first time I did telederm. I was not satisfied with that answer. Mainly because my lesion isn’t dry or itchy at all. Second time (today) it was ruled as a dermatofibroma. I have dermatofibromas elsewhere on my body, this spot is not even raised and looks nothing like the rest of the ones I have. So even several dermatologists (I asked for a second opinion on the first telederm results, they also concluded eczema) can’t agree based on photos. I am highly suspect that it is a less common type of basal cell carcinoma.

I’m really lost on what to do next. I’ve asked my PCP FOUR times now that I want to see a dermatologist. This was all through messaging so there is documentation of me asking. Tried to ring all the alarm bells too - lesion changed in size, parents have a history of skin cancer. None of that helped.

What are my options now? Should I call the advice line? Is it time to file a grievance? Should I switch PCPs and try to get a referral again? Go to urgent care? That seems extreme but I swear if they just tell me to go to telederm again I’m gonna rip my eyes out. I know this is the process for Kaiser but I feel like I’ve pushed back enough times.

I also want to acknowledge, of course, I hope I am wrong that it is skin cancer. But my instincts are telling me something is not right. If I went to see a private dermatologist, and they biopsy it and it turns out to be cancerous, I’m guessing there is no recourse for reimbursement from Kaiser?

This would be my absolute last resort (seeing a private derm). I am low income (for Bay Area standards) and do not have the money to see anyone outside of Kaiser. I know it would be hundreds of dollars to biopsy and I would much rather that money go toward my deductible/OOP (which are both relatively low).

I think it’s tough because I just switched to Kaiser in NorCal recently (used to be in SoCal) and I don’t have a well developed relationship with my PCP. If I did, I feel like this wouldn’t be a problem.

I’m looking for a currency exchange in Oakland that carries the Pacific Franc (CFP/XPF). And before people say just use an ATM when I get there, it’s for a gift so I need the cash… by this weekend. I was going to go to Mechanics Bank in Berkeley (where I’ve exchanged cash many times), but found out they closed the currency exchange a few years ago.

I also called Heng Long in SF and they don’t carry it, and they don’t order it either. I don’t really want to drive all the way to Milpitas/Palo Alto/SFO for this but that might be my only option. 😭

OR if anyone happens to have this currency laying around, let me know! I will take it off your hands.

My friends are getting married this Friday (evening) and then they're having an after-party on Saturday in the afternoon (4pm).

I'm making letter-shaped doughnuts for the Saturday party for the display table (that spell out "Congrats ___ & ____"). I'm trying to figure out the timing because obviously I won't be home basically all of Friday night and I'll have limited time on Saturday morning.

My thought is to make the dough (idk when yet, maybe even tomorrow), do the first rise either at room temp or overnight in the fridge, then roll and cut them and then immediately freeze them.

On Friday night when I come home, I'm going to take them out and leave them on my counter to defrost + do its final proof overnight. (I've done this many times before - my house runs cold and I know they won't defrost in the fridge overnight). That way, on Satuday morning, I can just fry and glaze.

Is this the best approach? I shouldn't let them rise when they're already cut and THEN stick them in the freezer, right? Because that would mean I would have to get up at like 4am to let them defrost on Saturday morning... (but not rise cause then they would overproof).

I have multiple skin lesions that present like basal cell carcinoma. White, waxy, translucent (this is the key) with visible blood vessels.

I tell my PCP this and all I can schedule with her is a virtual appointment. I sent some photos to her so she could review and she prescribes me hydrocortisone. I already know this will not help (and it didn’t), but I do the two week apply twice daily just to prove to her it’s not some simple skin condition. After that didn’t work, her office sets me up with an in-person telederm appointment.

They took regular photos and then hyper magnetized photos. I got a message today that says the determination was ECZEMA. I know for sure it is not eczema. How tf so I see an actual dermatologist? They prescribed me some cream that I also know won’t help.

I don’t want to pretend I know more than a doctor but the only way to properly see my lesions is in-person. The lesions are white/translucent so they blend in pretty easily to my skin, so I’m not surprised they don’t show up well in the photos. However, up close, they look so abnormal to the rest of my skin that no photos will do them justice. And of course, lighting and all that affects how something looks in a photo. It doesn’t help I was in a windowless room with the fluorescent lighting.

Can I flat out deny trying the prescription and demand I see a dermatologist? The cream they prescribed is for dry skin, and the lesions are not dry at all. I know there is a shortage of dermatologists and dermatology in general at KP is abysmal, but at this point I’m getting frustrated.

Currently flying to HNL on Hawaiian from SFO - seated in Premium. I asked if the bottled cocktails were free and FA said no. So I got the free punch everyone gets. Who’s right?

EDIT: I leaned forward and she saw I was in extra comfort so she clarified it was free and went to get the one I wanted. 🙏