Friday, February 19, 2010

Today's Mood Is...


Today has been a day filled with suck. I had an appointment for an MRI (at Advanced Radiology in White Marsh. Why am I calling them by name? Because they are one of the most suckiest things that ever sucked a sucky thing, and I want them to get all the credit they deserve) today at 10AM. My parents got here by 9 (since I am not allowed to drive right now), and we arrived at the appointment by 9:30. I was told at that time that they were running 30-45 minutes behind, which meant a good hour of sitting there.

At 11:15 I went back up to the desk to ask what was going on, and I was told that it would be another hour. At this point I tried to convince my parents and wife that they should go get something to eat, since it was going to be a while, and if I got done early I could text/call them. They decided to hit the snack shelf of the pharmacy in the building and wait it out.

When it hit 12:45, I asked again, and was told 30 minutes. At this point I didn't believe them, but I had no choice, since I needed this test before my appointment on Tuesday and I had no way of getting back there (not that they offered/mentioned that as an option).

It was around 1:30 that The Apologist came out and told me what was going on (yes, 3 and 1/2 hours after I was supposed to be seen, I was told what the delay was) and that it was going to be 15 more minutes. It seems that someone who had an earlier appointment came in late, and American Radiology in White Marsh has a policy that no patient can be turned away. But in what can only be described as a BRILLIANT BUSINESS MODEL, they also have the policy of shoehorning the late person in as quickly as possible instead of making them wait for an opening or reschedule. So that is part of why I did not get taken back until 1:55. The other part is that the late arrival kept having episodes of "I'm trapped in a tube!!!11!!", which made them restart his test OVER and OVER and OVER AGAIN.

Also, they gave me noise reducing headphones, but didn't have the ones that play music, so I had no escape during the whole uncomfortable ordeal.

And so I and Wifey finally returned home after my parents took us on a quick trip to Costco (but we didn't do much shopping because my father had limited trunk space and there are no places right now on our street to park that are not filled with giant piles of ice or random pieces of furniture. So Larry and I are going shopping after rehearsal tomorrow.

But then, just as we get home and try to start unwinding/dulling the pain, Wifey gets a phone call from Momm-o in law. Nothing major, mind you, just that she had a mini stroke and is in the hospital ER waiting to be admitted.

Parents are gone, no one is around, I can't drive, and Wifey just took some pain pills and needs to lie down because she (like me) got almost no sleep last night.

Pardon my coarse language, but yah-fucking-hoo.

Larry is on the way home to come get Wifey, take her to Momm-o in law's apartment to get her some personal items, then take her to the hospital to see Momm-o and get her valuables. Next we have to figure out tomorrow. But just in case we needed the reminder, we have to take care of today first.

Take care, y'all.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Today's Mood Is...


This didn't actually happen to me, but it wouldn't surprise me if it did. For a dog that seems to think that 70 degrees is cold and that water is he mortal enemy, she sure as hell loves to play in the snow. It's bizarre, really.

Most of you know of (and have probably been living through) the insane, mind (and toe) numbing blizzards that have hit the mid-Atlantic this month. Being unable to drive, basically snowbound, I have been fighting some cabin fever (to give you an idea, I was outside on Thursday February 4th, right before the first big storm. The next time I stepped outside it was Thursday February 11th. Because of the ongoing foot issues I was basically useless and unable to do any shoveling or salting. Thankfully Wifey is strong like bull (but pH balanced for a woman!), and she along with Larry the Upstairs Neighbor dug the house out as needed.

**I am going to post some pics of my poor, poor truck in a moment, just to give anyone who isn't living through this crap an idea of the carnage**

This morning I went out back with Wifey and the Ball of Ultimate Evil (the dog). The dog had to do her dirty, sinful business and the truck needed to run for a few minutes since it wasn't being driven. This is the third time I went outside (I took a cab to the local grocery store yesterday because we were in need of some supplies. We weren't going to go all Donner Party if I hadn't, but it was pleasant enough to replenish some of the perishables and it afforded me a chance to get the sausage needed for the pancakes and sausage for Shrove Tuesday dinner (yay!!!!).

Now if only I could get Wifey to go to bed before 4 or 5 in the morning. I am beginning to think that she is a Vampire Robot Cylon. So light a candle for me, wouldja?

Pictures of my poor, poor, trapped truck...




with any luck, I'll be able to get her out of there by mid-April...