Whateva

Today started out well with me over sleeping so I kind of figured it was going to be "one of those days." Well it turned out it was.

I had to go see the pulmanologist today to have my twice yearly check that I'm compliant with my C-Pap machine. I had one a few years ago and they found me non-compliant and took it away and I fought hard to get it back. Well I got up, had 2 cups of coffee and got dressed in record breaking speed for me and was waiting outside for the cab to come get me. I even called the company to find out if the cab would be one time and they said yes he will be here at 8:45 which was my pick up time. Well after sitting on the steps where I could watch traffic to see the van for 10 minutes (without him showing up) I called the company again and was told the driver would be there to get me in 5 minutes. I had to tell the dispatcher that if the driver was following a GPS's directions it wouldn't bring him to my building and gave him the directions on how to find it. I sat there for another 7 minutes till I say the vehicle that I was told to look for and walked to the parking lot. Of course the driver went right past the entrance to the parking lot and I had to walk up and flag him down when he turned around. Why can't anyone realize that if the building is at the end of a parking lot they need to pull in and drive down towards the end of it. My building faces the main street up here where I live and I am always having to walk to the main street to get in. I don't walk to well and it's uphill to get there which makes it harder.

Well after getting in the cab (12 minutes late) we started up to Worcester. On a good day to get to the doctors it takes 20 minutes so we were going to be late to start with and this doctor tells people to be early so they can fill out paper work and go through the check in process. If one person is late it screws with the whole schedule. I was supposed to be the doctors second patient of the day today. We got almost into Worcester and the driver got a call and the next thing I knew he was getting off the next exit and going back the way we came on a surface road. I asked him what was going on and told him I was going to be late for my appointment and in typical Russian he said don't worry he just had to go a little way to pick up someone. Well after traveling the whole town of Auburn he managed to pick up the person he was sent back to get and guess what? I was late for my appointment. By the time he got me to my doctor's it was 15 minutes after my scheduled time. I decided to see if they would still take me anyway and stood in line to check in. The woman at the front desk was in a really good mood and after I explained that I knew I was late but was at the mercy of the cab company she went to the back to see if they would indeed see me today. When she came back she said they would but I would have to wait a while. I immediatly got on the phone to MART to let them know that 1) The driver was not only late picking me up but turned around when he was almost to my destination to go all the way across town to get someone else and 2) I wouldn't be out at my scheduled time as I was going to have to wait to be seen because of reason 1. The woman I spoke with is someone I have spoken with many times and when she hears my name I think she cringes. They have a complaint line set up for things like this and I use it when ever the cab companies screw my rides up. Some weeks when I have a lot of appointments I end up calling in on every one. Either the cab isn't there when they should be or they don't come back to pick me up. I don't usually call till I have called the company and been told a few times that the cab is on it's way. (Ufomism for we forgot you and I'm scrambling to find someone to get you and no one will be there for half an hour or more) If I'm told the cab is 5 minutes away I wait and as soon as 6 minutes has passed I'm on the phone to MART. Some times I make 3 or 4 phone calls to the complaint department because the cab doesn't show up.

I was told to call the company 5 minutes before the appointment ends and they would send someone right away to get me. Well who of us knows how long your going to be in with the doctor or what the doctor may want you to do after he (or she) sees you. I have waited hours to see a doctor and had him come in and 2 minutes later the appointment is over. I ended up calling the cab when I was waiting in line to check out and got a voice mail so I left a message with my cell number asking them to call me to tell me when the cab would be there to get me. Then I headed down the hall to the bathroom. I got a call back from the dispatcher saying it would be 5-10 minutes before the driver would be there so I headed outside after my bathroom break. There wasn't anywhere to sit outside so I gingerly lowered myself onto the curb to smoke a butt and wait. I also had a book I was reading so I dug that out. Before I finished my cigarette this car came whipping into the parking lot and this guy hangs his head out the window asking if I was waiting for transportation. I noticed on his back window it was the name of the company I was waiting for and said yes but also asked him if he was taking me back to Oxford. He said he was the driver and as I put my butt out  and pulled myself up off the curb (not an easy thing to do for someone who has bad knees and back mind you) he says I didn't have to butt the cigarette as he and the other passenger were smoking as well but I'd have to use the front window to flick the ashes out of.

I had to get in the backseat of this little car and that's not easy either. Thank goodness the driver didn't have the front seat back any further than it was or I never would have been able to get in but I had to get in on the drivers side and that for some reason is hard for me. I don't know if it's because I carry my pocketbook on the right side and the cane on the left and I'm off balance when I try and get in the left side of a car or what. The passenger was someone coming from the methadone clinic so all he was thinking about was getting home and keeping his buzz going so he wasn't going to give up the passengers seat. What a jerk. At least when I told the driver where I lived he knew it and even got off the right exit. The trip home was great but the rest of the day was tainted by what happened first thing in the morning.

I think I will go to bed now and see what happens tomorrow. I'm going to sleep in to 7am and hope it's a better day. Good night all.