I have a telephone interview with the hospital today. They are just checking basic information that they already know from a questionnaire I mailed into them. But they needed to hear me say it in person, so away we went: can you say your name, your street address and your birthday? I gave excellent answers to all three of these questions. The interview was long and in fact they have events that I had forgotten in their computer, and yes, they were part of my medical history.
When she came to the part where she said, “It says here that you have never smoked, used alcohol or taken recreational drugs?” I was suddenly overcome with a negative emotion about how narrow my life has been.
I said to her, “Sounds like I am a pretty boring person, doesn’t it. I can’t believe I have never done any of those things and now it is too late to start.”
She went on the next question.
Before answering her next question, I took a moment to think about my life and my continuing perception that in reality I have had a pretty interesting life, and in fact, never having done any of the above, I have put myself in a very good position to have surgery at my age.
On the question of what people do in the last decades of their lives, if they are so lucky to have them, Rebecca said of me to me, “We are going to a conference tomorrow and you are going to get to do what you like best. Take notes about a small subset of information that no one cares about, but you will be happy doing it, if it is the last thing you do."
That made me laugh. She is right.
We are in Vancouver, waiting for a conference to start. I don’t even know the name of the conference. Rebecca is speaking at one of the sessions and as part of the deal, her registration is waived and she can bring a companion.
That will be me.
Waiving the registration is a big deal. At least to me: $1,000 plus GST and other fees – so $1,250.
You bet I will be taking copious notes on something I probably can’t understand.
We are on the 14th floor of the Rosedale Robson Hotel.
When I came into the room, I went right to the window and opened the curtains.
No claustrophobia in you, she said.
She opened the window out to the moist Vancouver air when she heard a siren.
Sure enough there was a white sedan with flashing lights and then an ambulance behind it which pulled up in front of the hotel.
Within minutes there was a second ambulance and another sedan, white with the red cross on the top of that car as well.
Not long after there was a red fire truck came out of the hotel parking lot. The fire truck said Medic on it.
I’d only watched the stretcher being taken into the hotel. It wasn’t for me, I just gave up on watching for it to leave.
And this endeth our first night at the hotel Rosedale on Robson.
Arta
When she came to the part where she said, “It says here that you have never smoked, used alcohol or taken recreational drugs?” I was suddenly overcome with a negative emotion about how narrow my life has been.
I said to her, “Sounds like I am a pretty boring person, doesn’t it. I can’t believe I have never done any of those things and now it is too late to start.”
She went on the next question.
Before answering her next question, I took a moment to think about my life and my continuing perception that in reality I have had a pretty interesting life, and in fact, never having done any of the above, I have put myself in a very good position to have surgery at my age.
On the question of what people do in the last decades of their lives, if they are so lucky to have them, Rebecca said of me to me, “We are going to a conference tomorrow and you are going to get to do what you like best. Take notes about a small subset of information that no one cares about, but you will be happy doing it, if it is the last thing you do."
That made me laugh. She is right.
We are in Vancouver, waiting for a conference to start. I don’t even know the name of the conference. Rebecca is speaking at one of the sessions and as part of the deal, her registration is waived and she can bring a companion.
 |
| ... the view from Rosedale on Robson, 14th floor ... |
Waiving the registration is a big deal. At least to me: $1,000 plus GST and other fees – so $1,250.
You bet I will be taking copious notes on something I probably can’t understand.
We are on the 14th floor of the Rosedale Robson Hotel.
When I came into the room, I went right to the window and opened the curtains.
No claustrophobia in you, she said.
She opened the window out to the moist Vancouver air when she heard a siren.
 |
| ... the second ambulance and accompanying car ... |
Within minutes there was a second ambulance and another sedan, white with the red cross on the top of that car as well.
Not long after there was a red fire truck came out of the hotel parking lot. The fire truck said Medic on it.
I’d only watched the stretcher being taken into the hotel. It wasn’t for me, I just gave up on watching for it to leave.
And this endeth our first night at the hotel Rosedale on Robson.
Arta
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