Wednesday, January 27, 2010

NEXT ON THE LIST...Patience?

As we go from A-Z on our list of todo's we keep finding things that slipped our mind... so the list gets bigger. Now I really feel for those guys with Hunny do lists... there is just no way they can get it all done... and the time limit... the pressure... my goodness, no wonder they drink!

I have discovered that I am impatient. I am told that this is nothing new. My family is well aware of it but I guess all these years I was just not listening... what do they know anyway... so now its staring me in the face... I am indeed impatient. This has got to stop... I am told that in Ecuador everyone has their own time schedule, and its not necessarily yours. So I have been paying attention to how I react when I am trying to do something from my list... aha... you thought I wasn't going to put it all together didnt you? Hey I don't have snazzy pictures, I have to have something to keep you poor souls entertained!

 Patience! Yes, so I go back to the health department to get my second in a series of 3 Hepatitus shots. They are called Twin something, I forget... but anyway. I think, well now they have sent me to the other window twice now, so I will just start there... so I go to the OTHER window, and the nice lady says ... YES????
I tell her I am there for my shot yadde yaddee... and she politely tells me to go to the ORIGINAL window... WHAT? OK, so I slink back around to the other window, and this younger lady asks me what I am there for, (like she couldn't hear, she is sitting 3 ft from the 1st lady) I tell her my second Hepatitus shot... "do you have an appointment"... well yes...I am a bit early but yes, I do have an appointment. "Well fill this paperwork out"... um... I filled it out last time... "Well ma'am you have to fill out this same paperwork each time you come in".....alllrightythen...so I quickly scribble all the necessary info and check off the boxes (no,no,no,no...yes,no) and hand it back to her in record time. She smiles with the drop dead lady, I have been doing this all day and you are not the first one to get irritated by it...look.. and directs me back to the other side of the building where the first window was, and to take a seat...
I brought a book, I pull it out like I am reading...and being to breathe deaply and do my mantra of ... this is a lesson in patience, it's not all about you Karen, they dont do this to irritate you, you are creating a tense situation.. blahblahblah... and finally I realize they are calling my name..

The shot nurse is friendly and quickly assesses what needs to be done. She is a little too quick on the shot and BAM... a shot in my tense muscle.. oh well, finesse is overrated anyway.

I am now back at the original window to pay for my shot and schedule the third shot.  The third young lady is very happy and cheerful, probably because by now it is 10 minutes until quitting time. As I explain what I am there for she whats to know if she is billing insurance. I say .. no. Well she says, we can its not problem.. we tussel verbally back and forth with why she cant bill insurance and why I saw the NURSE NURSE, and not the TRAVEL NURSE.. before she finally realizes that I have had it, and I just want to pay her my $85 and be done with this place.

As I am leaving I again realize that this all has been a normal day. Nothing out of the ordinary, and that I am going to have to just learn to flow alot better. People are only doing their jobs, trying to be helpful, and not really aligning themselves against me or my schedule. OK, here you go... honest, I get it... ITS NOT ALL ABOUT ME.... yep , I said it.. and I think this lesson is going to be reaffirmed many times over in the days and weeks to come. Lets hope I have it down before I leave for Ecuador or they are going to patada en el culo!

3 comments:

  1. I love this post Karen. You are an excellent writer. I look forward to you posting often. You have talent my friend.

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  2. I agree, you are indeed entertaining with your writing ... well, you are in person too. :)

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  3. Karen you will need a lot of patience in Ecuador so get use to it! But just go with the flow and all will be alright. We too are in the early stages kinda. We been planning the move for 27 years and still are building the same lists!

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