Wednesday, October 29, 2008

While He Was Gone

While Jeff was gone I had the truck and was able to get all kinds of "fun" stuff done - doctor's appointments. I also met up with our friend David for a dive - a crappy 11 minute dive in conditions similar to Puget Sound.
While he was gone I saw pigeons in the back of a truck...horses in pickups on highway 2...goats in the back of a truck. I also went to Ponce at 8:30 am and got my number -37- and then waited until 1 o'clock to have a needle stuck in my thyroid. Oh, but I had to wait for half an hour for them to try to figure out if they would take our insurance or not. Wait a minute! This has been arranged for over a month. What is it they were doing from 8:30am -1. Also we know they DO take our insurance but just don't want to call or believe us. Well finally after my being distraught they agreed to "bill" me ($450) and went ahead and did it - goody. Oh, and did I mention that they had to do a sonogram so they could locate the needle and the sonogram doctor DOESN'T TAKE ANY INSURANCE! How can that be? So at least I got it done. Horrid day. On the flip side I had a bone density scan and walked in, waited 5 minutes, no insurance problems, had it done, walked out all in under 1/2 hour. Both these scenarios wouldn't happen on the mainland! So on the drive home from work the night before Jeff left the truck overheated. Overheated to the point where he had to stop and let it cool and fill it with water to get it home. We got to the airport in Mayaguez just fine. Jeff thought he should get there an hour early for his Cape Air Flight to San Juan. We got there and nothing was open! This airport looks like an airport but no one was there except security guards. Then in half an hour a guy shows up and parks in the yellow curb area (like all Puerto Ricans do), goes behind the building and disappears. Another passenger shows up, the guy comes out and asks if they are ready to go! So off he went. While he was gone we talked every night until the phone stopped working. Well it didn't stop exactly, it just became a one way phone. I would call Jeff and he could hear me but I couldn't hear him. On the off chance he could hear me I told him to email me and were able to talk about things (like when I should pick him up and how the truck wasn't working). Sigh. So I can't hear Jeff on the phone. I assume he is on his way to the Mayaguez airport since he called. So I hop in the truck but it won't start! I have done errands a couple days a week for two weeks now without problems but now, when I need it it won't start! Lucky for me my neighbor Amparo knew I was having possible truck trouble and let me use her car to pick him up. So I am driving her little putput car to the airport and every intersection has a zillion cars along side the road with fake SIRENS, honking, salsa music blaring from gigantic speakers on top of cars, and huge amounts of flag waving. Cops are posted at every intersection but typically no sirens, just blue lights. Election crap. I get there and pick him up and he was quite surprised to see me in Amparo's car! So we are on the way home. Jeff is eating his sandwich and we make our way back past the political stuff and salsa music when highway two comes to a halt just past Ricominis bakery. We are having trouble seeing what the problem is. It looks like a couple people are pushing a van down the highway - it is dark and 8 at night. Wait, those aren't PEOPLE, someone actually has a COW tied to the tow hitch ball thing on the back of their van! A Fricking COW is walking behind a van on highway 2 going where? Who knows. Sometimes living in Puerto Rico is like living in a movie.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

You forgot to add how many new cats showed up!

Jeff

Fran and Steve said...

Life in SW PR sure is interesting! At least you can retreat to your garden paradise. Sorry you had so much trouble with the medical system. I hope the shot at least helped. Would it have been better if you spoke Spanish? Not that I think you should have to. Health care workers are supposed to be bilingual. Sounds like you really missed Jeff! Fran

Anonymous said...

Fran - I wish it were a shot - it was actually them sucking out some bits. A needle in the neck, twice, isn't comfortable. I think our insurance is the root of all evil -the language barrier is a problem unless we are repeat visitors or go in ahead to muddle through. This one was stressful though. Speaking Spanish wouldn't matter, it is the get a number and wait all day thing that is bad and it is mainly with specialists. We have found a lab and a place for sonograms, xrays, mammograms and other tests where you don't really have to wait. We have a regular doctor you don't really wait for. So sometimes it is far easier here and other times a NIGHTMARE! Overall though I am very pleased - I have had this problem for a bunch of years most likely and they found it here when I went in for something else entirely! And yah, I missed him. katrina

HawaiianDane said...

ugh the medical system....blah. One really good reason I like Hawaii better!

I always told myself I should make a PR scrapbook - take pictures of all those silly things - mopeds with blasting music, trucks with speakers in the bed, horses in the bed of a truck, people riding horses to the bar.....HA HA PR is eventful!