One of Those Frustrating Moments
There are many times in my life when I have had to take a deep breath, lean back, and grumble to myself that "life should not be this hard". You ever have those? You are trying really hard to get something accomplished but reality simply refuses to stop stonewalling you. A common thing too. Something that thousands of people are attempting every hour. A seemingly simple task.
Today's case in point was scheduling a simple physical and a few inoculations for my Year in Patagonia. Last night, I spent about twenty minutes on the website of my health insurer to find nearby primary care physicians. Wrote down a few numbers and addresses to go through this morning. I figured it would be a couple phone calls explaining what I need (I had a list handy!) and that I was hoping to get it done relatively soon. Health Insurance + Preparedness == Success! Reality slapped me around like the little boy that I am inside.
First, there is an OHSU office of physicians just five blocks up from my house that is there as a neighborhood clinic for family medicine. Seemed amazingly ideal for my needs. Got up early and walked over there right after they opened, hoping to make an appointment. Their website suggested the possibility of same day access and the ability to make an appointment by walking in. Seems not. As a new patient, I instead got handed a card with a phone number to call to schedule an appointment. Call it after 9 a.m. the receptionist said or leave a voicemail so they can back to you.
Walking home, I tried calling the number but the call failed on my phone. Tried a few times at home too, no go. The phone simply failed whenever it tried to make a call. After hearing about it for a couple weeks, it looks like I finally got hit by the dreaded iPhone 3G issue. Infuriating to say the least.
To cut my loses, I decided to move on and get my transcript and statement of good standing from Reed while dropping my bike off at the Bike Gallery for a complete tune up and new chain. Went down to the car and discovered that my battery was dead. Honestly, I cannot really recall the last time I used it. I think it was when Kathryn and I went to the REI gear sale a couple weeks ago. Must have left a light on or a door ajar. With the phone not working, there was no way to call roadside assistance either.
Jumped on my bike and burned off a little frustration on the way to Reed. Going to the registrar was a much needed breath of fresh air. Filled out a transcript form, handed them $5, gave them the NOLS form and they would have it all taken care of it by 3:30 p.m. Surprisingly easy and took less than five minutes.
The phone was not working at Reed either, so I continued over to the Sellwood post office to inquire about renting a box for the five months I was away in another country. Not altogether surprisingly, you can only rent a box if you already have another, permanent address in the state. Looks like I will need to get a friend with such an address to be a co-renter and who can check the mail once a month and clean it out. Who of my Oregon friends do I trust enough to collect my issues of Martha Stewart Living? Who indeed...
While I was at the post office, I checked to see if I could call the OHSU number. It worked and I was sent to a lovely voicemail box that informed me that yes, they were accepting new patients but not until October. A fact seemingly unknown to the receptionist. As I am leaving in October and NOLS wants the health form filled out in the next few weeks that kind of blew huge chunks in my fantasy of a quick solution.
I headed back home, in what was becoming a rather sweat-inducing hot morning, and found my phone still not working despite resetting it. Looking online the general solution was to disable the 3G service on the phone altogether. Ah, magic, the signal returned and the phone worked again! Went down through my list of numbers and addresses. On vacation. Not accepting new patients (the website lied!). No one picked up (voicemail, anyone?). Physician unwilling to do just a physical (what?!). Seems success in this endeavour is rather hard found.
Finally, I found a location that could do it all, but not until September 8th, a bit later than I had hoped. Still, I made the appointment with the hope that I would find something a bit sooner elsewhere. So far, I have not. Tomorrow, I think I might try places a bit farther way, perhaps the OHSU campus itself. Or, I could just drill a screw into my head. Whichever is least painful.
After having my fun on the phone with physicians, I called the road side assistance number and in under an hour they got a rather long lifting truck over here that jumped my car. Tired of biking in the 90+ degree heat, after lunch, I threw the bike in the back of the car and headed back to Reed. Worked out at the sports center, showered in freezing cold water, and got my transcript. By this point the thermometer had inched above 100, so I dropped the bike off at the shop and headed to see the most recent Mummy movie in blessed air conditioning.
That movie was worth every penny. Completely changed my mood around. Went to Hedge House for dinner as it was way too hot to cook, got a stout and tasty sandwich, read the Willamette Week, and chatted with a few people nearby. Still hot, but the heat seemed bearable. Tomorrow is going to be hotter though and I got packing and more phone calls to make. I am sure it will be easier...
Today's case in point was scheduling a simple physical and a few inoculations for my Year in Patagonia. Last night, I spent about twenty minutes on the website of my health insurer to find nearby primary care physicians. Wrote down a few numbers and addresses to go through this morning. I figured it would be a couple phone calls explaining what I need (I had a list handy!) and that I was hoping to get it done relatively soon. Health Insurance + Preparedness == Success! Reality slapped me around like the little boy that I am inside.
First, there is an OHSU office of physicians just five blocks up from my house that is there as a neighborhood clinic for family medicine. Seemed amazingly ideal for my needs. Got up early and walked over there right after they opened, hoping to make an appointment. Their website suggested the possibility of same day access and the ability to make an appointment by walking in. Seems not. As a new patient, I instead got handed a card with a phone number to call to schedule an appointment. Call it after 9 a.m. the receptionist said or leave a voicemail so they can back to you.
Walking home, I tried calling the number but the call failed on my phone. Tried a few times at home too, no go. The phone simply failed whenever it tried to make a call. After hearing about it for a couple weeks, it looks like I finally got hit by the dreaded iPhone 3G issue. Infuriating to say the least.
To cut my loses, I decided to move on and get my transcript and statement of good standing from Reed while dropping my bike off at the Bike Gallery for a complete tune up and new chain. Went down to the car and discovered that my battery was dead. Honestly, I cannot really recall the last time I used it. I think it was when Kathryn and I went to the REI gear sale a couple weeks ago. Must have left a light on or a door ajar. With the phone not working, there was no way to call roadside assistance either.
Jumped on my bike and burned off a little frustration on the way to Reed. Going to the registrar was a much needed breath of fresh air. Filled out a transcript form, handed them $5, gave them the NOLS form and they would have it all taken care of it by 3:30 p.m. Surprisingly easy and took less than five minutes.
The phone was not working at Reed either, so I continued over to the Sellwood post office to inquire about renting a box for the five months I was away in another country. Not altogether surprisingly, you can only rent a box if you already have another, permanent address in the state. Looks like I will need to get a friend with such an address to be a co-renter and who can check the mail once a month and clean it out. Who of my Oregon friends do I trust enough to collect my issues of Martha Stewart Living? Who indeed...
While I was at the post office, I checked to see if I could call the OHSU number. It worked and I was sent to a lovely voicemail box that informed me that yes, they were accepting new patients but not until October. A fact seemingly unknown to the receptionist. As I am leaving in October and NOLS wants the health form filled out in the next few weeks that kind of blew huge chunks in my fantasy of a quick solution.
I headed back home, in what was becoming a rather sweat-inducing hot morning, and found my phone still not working despite resetting it. Looking online the general solution was to disable the 3G service on the phone altogether. Ah, magic, the signal returned and the phone worked again! Went down through my list of numbers and addresses. On vacation. Not accepting new patients (the website lied!). No one picked up (voicemail, anyone?). Physician unwilling to do just a physical (what?!). Seems success in this endeavour is rather hard found.
Finally, I found a location that could do it all, but not until September 8th, a bit later than I had hoped. Still, I made the appointment with the hope that I would find something a bit sooner elsewhere. So far, I have not. Tomorrow, I think I might try places a bit farther way, perhaps the OHSU campus itself. Or, I could just drill a screw into my head. Whichever is least painful.
After having my fun on the phone with physicians, I called the road side assistance number and in under an hour they got a rather long lifting truck over here that jumped my car. Tired of biking in the 90+ degree heat, after lunch, I threw the bike in the back of the car and headed back to Reed. Worked out at the sports center, showered in freezing cold water, and got my transcript. By this point the thermometer had inched above 100, so I dropped the bike off at the shop and headed to see the most recent Mummy movie in blessed air conditioning.
That movie was worth every penny. Completely changed my mood around. Went to Hedge House for dinner as it was way too hot to cook, got a stout and tasty sandwich, read the Willamette Week, and chatted with a few people nearby. Still hot, but the heat seemed bearable. Tomorrow is going to be hotter though and I got packing and more phone calls to make. I am sure it will be easier...
– Thursday, 2008 August 14 @ 10:22 PM | 4 Comments -