Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Nuclear Testing

So the doctor who promised me last week that he would sign off on my surgery called me Friday and said I needed to get a nuclear stress test on my heart before he would sign the damn paper. I was annoyed...as usual. Keep in mind, I've never had any problems with my heart. NEVER!

Make the appointment. Two days of testing, two hours each day. Went for the first day today. Shot me with some radioactive isotopes and then sent me off to eat something fatty for an hour. Went to Mimi's Cafe since it was close. Half a patty melt and some fries and I head back. Lay on this machine like and MRI machine and have this camera slowly rotate around me taking pictures of my heart. Very uncomfortable since I can't lay on my back like that for long and my hip started hurting like a mother.

Got to go back tomorrow for another shot, more eating I think, then an I.V. and more pictures. THEN...I have to wait another week to see the heart doctor to go over everything.

This is just tedious.

Funny thing about today was the Heart Group is in the old Peaches Records & Tapes building in Altamonte. Which got me thinking, I started working at Peaches on Colonial 20 years ago this week making $3.50 an hour. JESUS! Twenty years ago. I also started working in the registrar's office at UCF the same week. That one didn't last. Christ I hated that job. But I stayed at Peaches for 5 1/2 years. That was a great time of my life. Lots of new stuff and priorities, but still just a kid at 21.

Which brings me to something. Twenty years ago was probably one of the best times of my life. But I have no need to relentlessly try and recapture it by ONLY listening to the music I did then or trying to live my life like I did then. I find it pathetic when people do this. Unfortunately I see this constantly working at the club. And, I guess that's how the club survives. But this is why I don't like to play old music. A track here and there is fine, but centering on only old stuff is just ridiculous to me. And those who want that just cannot evolve. It's truly sad. It's like by constantly listening to the same music they can magically be transported back to a time before all their dreams died when they ran into a wall of mediocrity and banality.

These are probably the same people who got pissed off at their parents for making fun of them for the music and trends they liked 20 years ago and now they do the same thing to today's youth. Their music is stupid, they dress stupid. Play The Cure so I can dance to it for the 1000th time.

Yes, I really loved my early 20s, but what I do now is what will define me. What I do now is infinitely more important. The future is good, evolution is good, progress is good. Step out of that narrow-focused little bubble YOU put yourself in 20 years ago and do something now.

It's 2008...
GROW THE FUCK UP, PEOPLE!

Oh yeah, and there's a Barabarella Reunion on the 25th. [cough]

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Monday, May 5, 2008

For christsakes!

I'm going to start keeping a written record here of the bullshit I've been going through to get this damn surgery back on track.

April 15th:

I saw the anesthesiologist and got final approval from him for my surgery. There were some concerns about my neck and rheumatoid arthritis. When he finally explained it to me it made sense why they needed to check things out. Only problem is, no one explained anything to me up to that point. He's in the same office as my surgeon so I thought it would be handled quickly and I'd get a new surgery date.


April 25th

I still haven't heard from the surgeon. So I call and find out they're still waiting on clearance from my medical doctor concerning my blood pressure. Ten days later and no one had fucking called me to tell me this. So I immediately fax over the papers to my medical doctor.


May 1st:

I call the surgeon's office to find out if they ever got the approval from my med doc. They still have yet to call me.


May 5th:

I call my med doc and ask the nurse what's up. She tells me there is a note in the computer from my med doc that says I have to see one of two other docs for an evaluation for my blood pressure. This again, is 10 days after I initially faxed the papers to him. And again, NO ONE contacted me to tell me this. The nurse tells me it was up to me to call. NO, you assholes!, you get paid a ridiculous amount of money, you call me. JESUS!

So I make an appointment for the 8th. This, theoretically, should be the last step. But I've been saying that a lot and it never is.


This whole thing has been one huge nightmare. Everyone covering their asses because no one wants to be culpable if something goes wrong. Basically so the surgeon can point fingers. And it also seems like everyone is trying to get others in on the take. Spread the money around to more buddies. I realize this is a very cynical look at this, but I bet there is some validity to it.


GRRRRR.