Monday was a busy day. After dropping Rufus off for his round 2 heartworm treatment, I ran to the hospital for my own appointment–no worms involved. Between the appointment and waiting in the lab (for 30 minutes) so that I could hand the receptionist my cup o’pee, I was not feeling like waiting again at the pharmacy.
Fort Benning is a massive post. And the hospital is equally as large. Which means, any time you have new meds to pick up, you should probably just block out your whole day, because it’s going to take the rest of your life.
I skipped out, and said to myself, “you know what makes sense? Come back Thursday. Pick up your new prescription at the hospital, and then head over to the refill pharmacy (yup, that’s right. 2 separate locations, because nothing can be simple), and pick up your refills that will be ready Thursday morning.”
Of course, then Xander decided to get sick at school. Poor Xander. But I was not taking him out into the world. So, it’s fine–I’ll just move prescription pick-up to Friday.
It’s a good thing the people watching is spectacular, because after waiting 10 minutes to get a number, I was handed 355; they’re currently on 276.
I should also add that my kids have a half day, and will be home by 12:30. I planned for a 60 minute wait, but I’m now a thousand percent sure I will be here until midnight.
Thankfully, the people watching is top notch. For one thing, there are always at least a dozen basic trainees. They are usually in varying states of injured–some have masks on, some have crutches, occasionally an arm is in a sling. And then just as many look perfectly fine. One thing that is the same, regardless of their status, is their obsession with food. These boys (it’s almost always boys), they raid the vending machines. It reminds me of the way my kids reacted to the vending machine at my job–how much can we get with this money??
I know nothing about basic training, but I can assume that they are fed. Of course, to see these young men cramming their pockets full of candy bars and soda, you would think that maybe wasn’t the case.
Back when I split my forehead open, I was lucky enough to sit in the waiting room with a dozen basic trainees who were suffering from a stomach bug. At one point the triage nurse came out and went full mom: “are you here with an upset stomach?! Throw that candy and soda away, and put a mask on!” Ah yes, I also like to chug soda and eat snickers when I’m violently puking……no wait. That’s an absolute lie. Of course I also don’t go to the Emergency Room for the pukes.
The other fabulous thing to see–or hear–are the individuals who put their phone on speaker, and then tell the world about every procedure they’ve had done in the last 24 months. You had what lanced and drained?? No no, I don’t want to know about it (just kidding. Talk louder).
And finally, the people I dislike: the friend-makers. Please, if I am reading, don’t sit down next to me and try to be my friend. I’m in my cocoon of anti-social. And I certainly don’t need to hear about what your doctor thinks is wrong with you (ok, maybe I do–but I prefer overhearing to the straight-forward story-telling).
It’s been 30 minutes, and they’ve made it all the way to 289. I better cancel my Thanksgiving plans–I live here now.
