I raised my head above the sea of report cards long enough today to go to the doctor in New Westminster for an appointment. I haven’t had the luxury of extra time to go for longer rides lately and, frankly, the west coast weather has been very wet coast lately.
I have been scooting to school regularly, however, and thought Id take advantage of the appointment to make a longer ride.
Luckily the rains held and I had a nice ride into New West, making good time with surprisingly few close calls on the Mary Hill Bypass. The weather was fairly nice, dry and I was wearing the correct number of layers. The 3/4 helmet with it generous face shield kept my head nice and warm.
I arrived a bit early for my appointment and had time for a latté at Blenz coffee, my favourite alternate chain to Starbucks. Yes, I know I'm Canadian, but I don't like Tim Horton's coffee at all!
I then strolled up to the doctor’s office and walked in, maybe 2 minutes early. The two receptionists looked up strangely as I strode over to their desk and announced my name (Why is it that this doctors' office has at least two receptionists for two doctors?). They looked at each other and then one of them said, “There’s no doctors here. They’ve left for the day.”
I stared at her for a few seconds and then showed her my appointment slip. She apologized - albeit half-heartedly - and then booked a new appointment.
At that point I stared at the large poster announcing that any missed appointments would incur a charge of $50. Remember, this is Canada, and we’re not used to paying money where health care is concerned.
I should have said, “Excuse me, but since you missed my appointment, I’d like a cheque for $50!” or something like that. Instead, I just growled.
But here’s the scooter thing. I left the office, got onto my scooter, and left New West. By the time I was by Riverview (I took the longer way back, avoiding the Mary Hill) all of my frustration and being ticked off dissipated into the wind.
I returned home feeling quite content - happy, in fact!
Still could have used the 50 bucks, though...
