Consider Consideration

Now that the whole social security/background check issue seems to be cleared up, I can go back to all my usual activities; namely, trying to work medical appointments in around my technical training in the lab. Although my intrathecal pump isn't scheduled to run dry for another month or so, I have half a dozen hoops to jump through to be sure I get it refilled before my belly (the alarm in the pump) starts beeping! I mean, how embarrassing would it be to be sitting in the middle of someone's thesis defense and have to explain what that sound is to everyone in the room? At least a cell phone can be answered or shut off if it rings-- the same isn't true for the pump. The only way to shut it up is to fill it.

So anyway, I called Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston, where I had it implanted and did I ever get a rude reminder of why moved out here in the first place! Now, don't get me wrong... I received excellent medical care at the BWH Pain Management Center. My pain specialist in particular, was exemplary and so were all the nurses and support staff in the pain clinic. The records department on the other hand, left much to be desired! Either the woman I spoke with was dealing with a personal crisis of some sort which prompted her to bite my head off at every turn or she was just another person coping poorly with the stressful lifestyle thrust upon most Bostonians in general.

Each day I'm here in Madison, I marvel at the apparent absence of aggression in most of the people I interact with. Maybe it's the fact that we wake up each morning to the sound of birds singing instead of blaring car horns, sirens and construction. Maybe it's the conservation of green space; keeping the concrete jungle of urban sprawl at bay. Maybe it's the contagiousness midwestern courtesy-- uh, scratch that.

Crowded Route 80 Madison Metro bus

As I'm writing this entry from one of the UW buses that circuits the campus, there some loudmouth yapping away on his cellphone, despite the dirty looks he's getting from the rest of us! I guess no matter where you go, there will always be somebody who thinks they're "special" and that the rules don't apply to them. *shoots dirty look over shoulder* Can't this guy take a hint? He's as dense as a neutron star!

Seriously! Who cares?

Okay... Looks like I'll have to try to ignore him. I'm almost home anyway.