may 30

yuko was feeling sick today, so i went to the hospital with her.

12:55 - we arrived at the hospital.

12:57 - she finished the half page of paperwork while they took her temperature.

1:01 - the doctor called her back.

1:02 - i started to read my book in the lobby while i waited for her.

1:06 - she came out with prescription in hand. paid roughly $32, left hospital.

1:07 - we went in the building next door to the pharmacy.

1:11 - left pharmacy with cold medicine, paid $20.

this little afternoon trip of 16 minutes and $52 got me thinking, how would this have gone in las vegas..............

12:55 - enter hospital.

12:56 - approach over weight over worked under paid grumpy nurse at desk. she hassles me for not having insurance. take stack of paperwork, go to seat.

1:15 - finish paperwork. re approach counter. seems to be a half dozen mistakes. try again.

1:21 - re re approach counter. things seem to be in order. re re take seat.

1:32 - start looking around the room at who came in before me and after me trying to calculate the order of assistance and how long it should take. a guy with his arm broken so badly that the bone is actually sticking through the skin walks in, im bummed because that probably bumps me back a spot in line.

2:04 - another underpaid over worked nurse open a door that could hold back a level 4 avalanche, "Ion, Ion Smith", i pan the room annoyed at this Ion asshole for taking his sweet ass time and meanwhile wasting mine. the second i realize I'm Ion, i head over, partly angry at me for not knowing better, partially her for having the literacy of a 2nd grader, and a little at my mom for giving me a name that can be botched so easy. she shows me to an empty room. puts my chart in the rack on the door.

2:13 - another nurse enters, takes my temp, blood pressure, asks me about my drug, sex, cigarette habits. looks in ears, nose, "say ahhhhhh"............ leaves.

2:30 - enter dr. so and so, pulls my chart off the door as he steps in, takes a glance, looks me in the eye for .074 of a second, removes pad and pen from his coat pocket, scribbles, "ian your going to be just fine, take two %*&#&# twice daily for the next week", the only reason he says %*&#&# is because he just happened to be golfing with the rep from %*&#&# last sunday, and that seems to make the best sense to him.

2:31 - walk back through lobby on the way to the cashier, broken arm skin blood guy is still waiting patiently, kind of bothers me morally, but glad they didn't bend the rules.

2:33 - arrive at cashier, get hassled again for not having insurance. tell them i have no money and that they can send the $416.57 bill to my mailing address, they might as well just sent in straight to collections for me.

2:54 - enter pharmacy, give them paperwork, get hassled for not having insurance, wait...

3:46 - pick up prescription, pay $48, would have had them bill my address or collections if it were an option.

3:55 - think im feeling better already from the sheer passing of time.

(yuko didn't have insurance either, if she did it would have been $9 for the dr, and $6 for the pills)