I had a busy day yesterday, well, busy is relative when you’re retired, but busy for me. I got up early and went to the gym to work out. Dale and I gifted ourselves gym memberships this year. I try to get there a couple of mornings a week and we go to evening classes three or four times a week. Anyway, I got up, dressed, washed my face, put my hair into a ponytail and drove to the gym. There were only a few people there. I got onto the elliptical machine, put in my headphones, selected my fitness playlist and got moving. The first song was “Paradise by the Dashboard Lights” by Meatloaf. The best! I had set the screen on the machine to a hike in Yosemite National Park so I enjoyed the view and the music and I got sweaty. After a mile I got off and went to the stationary bike. I biked through the city of Reims for two miles then cooled down for three minutes. my short workout completed, i grabbed my stuff and left.

At home I made my breakfast and settled down to watch my morning talk shows. Later I showered, styled my hair and dressed for a trip to the city. I had an appointment with a rheumatologist in Vancouver. I had been checking Google maps obsessively ever since getting notification of the appointment. The easiest route to West Broadway seemed to take between 36 and 42 minutes, depending on the time of day. I didn’t believe that. My appointment was at 3:00, I left at 1:00. Okay, so I have a pathological fear of being late. Consequently I am always early. Often it means sitting in my car until someone arrives. I am almost always the first person to show up for an audition or a rehearsal. I need to get over that. But I figured if I was early for this appointment I could sit and have a cup of tea and people watch. So that’s exactly what I did.

I got to the location in about 38 minutes, okay, so Google maps was right. I found a great parking spot and used an app to pay for it. That just amazes me, that I can open my phone, select an app, put in the number from the parking meter and pay for parking! It’s amazing that that technology exists and that I’m technologically savvy enough to use it! I walked to the location, just to make sure I knew where it was and then I walked back to a lovely little tea shop I had passed. I ordered my tea and went to a table by the window. My tea came and I as I waited for it to steep, I checked out the people going by.

I was close to the hospital so I saw a lot of people going by in colourful scrubs, with hospital IDs on lanyards around their necks. Most people were dressed in casual clothes, although a few people in business attire went by too. I saw some families go by. One family had a little boy who was carrying a plastic dinosaur. He dropped it a couple of times so his dad picked it up and kept walking. The little boy sat down on the sidewalk, crying for his toy. The dad kept walking. The mom tried to convince the little boy to get up. Finally, with a look of frustration directed towards the dad, she picked the little boy up and carried him. I wondered how long they had been walking. I hoped they were almost at the car, everyone seemed done.

I saw an older lady walking with two other women. The sidewalk was uneven and she was walking tentatively, leaning heavily on her cane. She must have caught her foot on an edge and she fell. The women with her immediately went to her aid, but so did the people around her. She was fine, a little embarrassed, but fine. It was nice to see people cared enough to get involved, although there were some young people sitting on the sidewalks with signs asking for money. Most people were ignoring them.

I went to my appointment a little early, figuring there would be paperwork to fill out. There was. The office was very efficient. I was taken into an office for a chat with a nurse first. After a short wait the doctor came in, right on time. He asked some questions and then examined my knee and my hips. We discussed pain management and the next steps. As a rheumatologist, he couldn’t really help me with my osteoarthritis, except that he could give me an injection that my doctor didn’t feel comfortable giving me. He gave me information about it and I was on my way.

The drive home took much, much longer. The traffic was heavier and I had to go through some construction zones that I didn’t have to go through on the way in. At one point the traffic was moving very slowly, as three lanes merged into two and then into one through the construction. There was a left-turn lane that was free and of course, some a$$h@le drivers would speed down it and then merge right. I had to shake my head. Did they think all the other drivers were too stupid to use all the lanes? And did they think the left turn arrows painted on the road and the left turn signs were just suggestions? I also shook my head at the drivers ahead of me who changed lanes constantly. It really didn’t help them get further ahead, although the traffic in the far right lane was moving better because they weren’t dealing with the drivers in the left lane trying to get back in. I was happy to see that everyone cooperated at the place were the two lanes merged into one. We played onesies, you go I go, just as we should. Getting frustrated in traffic is an exercise in futility. I just sit and listen to the music. I stay in my lane and yes, I let the a$$h@les who boom down the left lane in.

I got home in time to make and eat dinner before rehearsal. On part of the drive there I was behind a driver with long hair. I’m going to say it was a man. Suddenly he started shaking his head violently, his hair whipping around. Of course, his car reacted. He went back and forth in his lane, forcing the drivers on either side to react. He did this several times. At first I though he was bopping to the music but after a while I wondered if there was a bug or a bee in his hair. Thankfully, he didn’t cause an accident. I fell back and lost him in the traffic.

The drive home was also was a little hairy, sorry I couldn’t resist! A big black truck pulled up on my left at a red light. When the light turned green and we started to move through the intersection he drifted towards my lane. I honked my horn, he corrected and sped off. The same thing happened at the next light. However this time he didn’t speed off, he stayed beside me, drifting into my lane until finally I fell back. He didn’t signal but he moved in front of me, into my lane. He stayed in front of me for a bit then sped off. Maybe he couldn’t see my bright red car on his right from his seat up so high. But he knew I was there. Maybe he thought I really was a bug and thus not worthy of his notice. Whatever. A$$h@le.

After my traffic ordeals I decided I needed chocolate. Thankfully stores in the city stay open late. I quickly shopped and went home. I made myself a cup of tea, had a couple of squares of a giant Cadbury fruit and nut bar and then had a bath. The day started and ended well, and the a$$h@le drivers didn’t really have that much of impact but they provide good fodder for blogs.