Random 5 for February 10 – Running late, phones, messages, foxes, accidents

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Here is a picture of my pond frozen over except for the bubbler hole (taken during the arctic freeze). 

Winter pond — I always post pond pictures when everything is blooming and pretty. Here it is in the deep freeze. This is a simple kind of beauty. You can see animal tracks on the snow where they climb down for water.

No patience, no patients – I had a doc appointment with a new super-duper specialist. I waited 1-1/2 hours. I closed my Kindle, got up off the chair and grabbed my coat to leave (I had enough of the waiting) when the doctor came in. This is the second strike for the practice. The first time, someone had written the wrong date on my appointment card so I appeared on the wrong day. I have a follow-up in six weeks. I am researching to make sure this doc with his super powers is worth it.

Speaking of no patience – I’m not a phone person. In fact, I hate it. Email me, text me or dang it, use snail mail but don’t make me talk on the phone. Especially not for a long time. (My teenage self is totally stunned!) This week I had two lengthy calls. One from an old friend (which I get) but the other was from someone who I had a business relationship with. She gave me 30 seconds of information but prattled on and on, reiterating it and seeking affirmation. I’m thinking of billing her for therapy. Between the two calls I used up two hours of phone patience. That’s all my body can stand for the whole year so don’t call. I’m all out.

On the subject of telephones – Do your ever get strange messages? We do. This past week someone called to ask (in a rather frantic way) where their tobacco was. They had paid but haven’t received shipment. This was a phone message that was preceded by a cheerful (?) message that identified the beloved husband and me as the phone owners. No business. Just a family residence. Sure hope the lady gets her tobacco. Maybe that was code for “funny” tobacco.

Slurpy – Morgan (the cat) had the sneezies this week. My computer looks like it was caught in the rain. I suspect the windows have spritz marks about a foot from the floor. More stuff to clean.

So how was your week?

103 thoughts on “Random 5 for February 10 – Running late, phones, messages, foxes, accidents”

  1. I also am so not a phone person. As for patience, well, I don’t have patience for negative people who seem to have a problem for every solution. (been dealing a lot lately with people like this) what is my solution? ignore.. ignore.. ignore. (if they refuse to take sound advice, and go into a 50 million page detailed story as to WHY they won’t listen, best advice? walk away. can’t help those who refuse to help themselves.)

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      • Yep, and its my personal experience that negative people never really want a solution. They’ll do it their own way, or the highway. So, let’em. I give up trying, its cost me too much. I just walk away. I don’t give advice anymore either.

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  2. Me too on the phone thing! I hate it. I think it’s because of all the personal business and business business that I have to do on the phone. I get so irritated to be stuck on the phone. I call my mother and once in a while my uncle and my kids. I’m sure my friends hate me because I won’t talk on the phone to them but I just can’t anymore feels like such a waste of time. When I want to talk to people I want to be right with them.
    My new pet peeve is that every person I talk to on the phone about business such as the bank the insurance company you name it makes a stupid mistake with the name or address or an amount and causes all kinds of problems for me. Sorry for the no commas but I had to switch to Siri.

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  3. Boy, one look at your pond suggests just how cold it is back there. As for having patience with your doctor—hope he doesn’t turn out to be a quack. I hate getting on the phone too—why I ignore it until I hear a message that actually interests me. Morgan, he’s obviously found out how fond you are of Lysol. Maybe you try Simple Green, Kate. 😀

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    • Most teens can’t stay off the phone. Good for you for not being on it like most of the people your age do. If kids would read more, get out more and exercise, do things with family instead of putting their faces in the phone, and being on the computer, they’d be a lot happier, believe me. Go the the library, get a good book, play games with family, go for a jog, run, hike, bike ride, anything but put the face in the phone. Healthier activities can make you live longer, and benefit you mentally, and spiritually. Making time for yourself and family is far better than being glued to a computer, and phone. 🙂

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  5. Love the picture of your pond! It definitely is a scene of quieter beauty 🙂
    Hope that Dr. office shapes up. Especially if they are a specialty you have need of. Love the weird messages too – I think people must just not listen to the VM message. Or there was already some “special” tobacco involved!

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    • I don’t have minutes on my cell, only data and text. I don’t give my cell # out because I often don’t have it with me. I have noticed though that it’s getting sales call but fortunately I don’t pay for them unless I answer and I never answer.

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  7. I was sorry when my doctor retired, even though I was always waiting at least 90 minutes. It was incredible to have to wait like that, but when he spent so much time with each patient that I understood. I think it’s part of your personal “cost/benefit” equation, and only you’ll know if he or she is worth it! Your pond is amazing to see. I am always so impressed that after a freeze of this duration it will return to such beauty and life in the spring! I’m sure you can’t wait!

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    • My breast cancer doc was like that. He was so good and his staff always recommended calling ahead to check on the wait. I don’t want to do that with all my docs though. My PC gives me a lot of time (to whine about aging) at my annual but his staff books for it.

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  8. An hour and a half wait is ridiculous. I understand things sometimes come up but some physicians make a habit of it. That’s just not right.

    Some people just like to talk and regurgitate the same thing over and over again. Makes me crazy.

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  9. Winter garden pictures have their own beauty (Ice: one reason we won’t live on a sailboat in cold climates…otherwise the lure of lovely shores and waters to wander would be enticing….maybe a few years ago, there’s not a sailboat I can afford with enough warm dry rooms now. HAHA)
    That’s a great cat poster. Real life.
    The docs here have no control over their schedule: some Hospital/med corporation phone bank in a distant location stuffs in – I mean, makes their appointments. Seriously, everyone knows if you make 4-6 appointments per hours, it’s not going to work – except for system accountants. Up until now, we’ve had the back room phone numbers for the docs/head nurses as we’ve been going to them for year, but they are retiring – UGH. The future isn’t going to be good if recent appointments with their replacements is any indication….
    (Oh, sounds like you got one of those current scam phone calls authorities are warning people here about – it seems the caller hopes some nice/elderly person will want to help by telling them they have the wrong number – but what happens it the returning phone call get routed offshore with costs a ton of money per long distance minute while the stall and keep you on the line – your phone company then adds the scammers’ billing charges to your account. It’s always something – sigh

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  10. The doctors office, ugh. The only place I don’t wait is at my gyn, where I’m in and out so fast I don’t know what to do with the rest of my day. 😛

    Ahh, cats and dogs. You’ve got the cat sneeze on your screen. Those of us with dogs call the crusty splotches on our windows, dog-nose art. 😀

    We’ve got a rough weather week ahead here, starting tonight. Stay warm over there in PA.

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  11. Your pond is definitely in a deep sleep! I am not good about leaving a Doc appointment if I have been waiting in the office forever because usually I have waited FOREVER just to get the appointment.
    I now prefer an email or a text instead of a phone call. Phone calls to Doctor offices are the worst. I try to take care of things through the patient portal. I am tired of Doctors and their offices. I want to go back to one Doc appointment a year which happened about 40 years ago!

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    • I know! I’ve always been fairly healthy and more than one appointment a year was rare. Now it’s almost monthly. If it’s not medical it’s dental or eyes or something! I use the portal too. I love when I can communicate directly with the docs that way. Even if they have one of their staff respond it has saved me an office visit or at least a phone call. This past appointment took 6 weeks to get and the one for the follow up procedure is 6 weeks out. Does that mean he’s good? I sure hope so.

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  12. I like your pond picture. And I love that cat searching for his inner peace. (No need to work at it. Cats are experts at relaxing.)

    My sister, my cousin, and one of my daughters like to have long phone conversations. I go along with it out of love for them, but I do have to walk around and take care of other things to keep myself happy.

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      • They sure are Kate. When I still worked on site, I had a Plantronics headset and I had pretty good range with it. The only time I couldn’t answer the phone was when I went to the building mail boxes in the basement and in the ladies room. My boss was out of the office more than he was there and often dictated on the road, so I would constantly be balancing the phone on my shoulder while typing … or he’d call enroute to the office just to talk. I called my mom every day to break up her day and check on her and ate my lunch the same time.

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  14. I actually had to go looking for this blog today. I knew you do a random 5 on Sunday, so when now (7:30) it was not in my email nor on facebook, I went looking for it. Wonder why I can’t get them. Arrgh!
    Not only is waiting for a Dr an imposition of your time, but the stress of being there is just tripled. One goes to a Dr b/c they need some care. And if you don’t know why you need that care, it is made worse as my imagination takes off and I will have every known disease to mankind. And I figure I will be the first with some new diagnosis!!! I do understand emergencies come up…but it is just wrong to stick you in a room and leave you there….just wrong.

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    • My fault! With new security protocols in place, I have to manually upload to Facebook myself (rather than have WordPress do it) and I forgot today. I still don’t know why you can’t get notifications. You do more doctor visits than I do (I’m including your hubby here) and I admire your patience. The doc apologized but it didn’t have feeling and I never got an explanation or a reassurance that it isn’t the norm there. So I’m not happy. My next appointment is for 7:45 a.m. He better not be late for that!

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  15. I’m definitely not a phone person. If I HAVE to speak to a long-winded friend (I have two who love to blabber on the phone) I usually just put them on speaker and go about working on my computer. They get to talk and I get to not listen. Win-win.

    Once, I waited for over an hour to see an OB-GYN. I could clearly hear her talking to a pharmaceutical rep in the room next door. I got dressed and left, but not before telling the receptionist why. Never went back.

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    • 🙂 My last primary doc before the one I have now (who is wonderful) had a bizarre staff. I had to have blood drawn and I could do that without an appointment. I told them I would be there at 9 (when they opened). I got there at 8:55 and the door was locked. There was another very much older woman on a walker waiting for them to open the door. We had to stand out in the cold while we could hear them laughing and giggling in their coffee room. They wouldn’t even let us into the waiting room. I left that practice.

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  16. I am with you on dumping doctors who only expect their patients to be on time. I once had a 3pm apptmnt, was kept waiting til 4, then put in an airless room til 5. That was the end of it for me but not until I told him off.

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  17. I loved the photo of your pond.

    I don’t like talking on the telephone, either. Luckily, no one calls to waste time. There was one person who said she’d like me to call her, and I felt obligated to do it. I called her three times, leaving a message. She didn’t respond. It has been three blessed years since I have talked to her.

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    • I had an 11:30 a.m. appointment. The first time I came at 4:15 p.m. (the wrong day) and the waiting room was jammed so I tried for a morning apt. Luckily my next one is the first in the morning. Fingers crossed. He travels from a large city 1-1/2 hrs away.

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  19. Lately, I’ve had good experiences at medical appointments with little or no waiting time. Of course, I’m probably jinxing myself of a medical procedure I’m having tomorrow. We’ve gotten rid of our landline, but I get a lot of calls on my cell from people wanting to buy our house…so annoying.

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  20. I wondered how your pond fared during the polar vortex. I guess you can’t really tell the outcome until spring. I hope all your fish/frogs survived OK.

    I don’t love talking on the phone either. I am a big fan of email and text. I used to think it was because I have worked in call centers most of my life, I associated phones with work and/or stress. But I’ve noticed that lots of people have this. And what is worse is that people who work in our call center don’t like to answer the phone. It’s their job and they delay answering hoping someone else will get it, preferring to work the email. I think the phone avoidance is a common thing these days.

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    • Phone conversations are more difficult in some aspects. If it’s your bestie you can rattle off your data and get theirs. With more casual friends there seems to be a social protocol and the closure gets more complicated when the other person isn’t picking up the “wrapping up” clues. That’s what happened on my one call. I got the info I needed but the caller ambled. Can’t imagine working in a call center is I wasn’t a people person (which I am not).

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  21. I read your doctor waiting part twice to make sure I understood, but it appears you were already in the examining room. Dear G-d, that’s a really long time to be sitting there. All things being equal, I think I’d actually prefer to be in the waiting room for that long because I get claustrophobic. Ugh.

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  22. Water features feed the soul equally as well as lush garden images, if not better. I’m so jealous you have that view. The closest I can come is watching snow melt in the bird bath. Just not quite the same as an actual pond. I agree with you on the phone thing though my preference is email. Hopefully the ‘sneezles’ won’t last long. Extra cleaning of surfaces is just not fair.

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      • When the city foxes use to inhabit my ‘hood (before the density developers gentrified everything) they would dash down the storm sewers for cover. I woke up to couples ‘frolicking’ in the night outside my bedroom window. I miss them, though I’m sure the hoodlum squirrels are most grateful they’re gone now. Email is such a godsend, I even prefered it to speaking directly with my last boss.

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        • In back of our yard is a water retention area (that rarely has any water) with a storm pipe and they scurry through there to get from one area to another. Our yard is fenced but they either go under (I think this is what they do as the one I saw was rather large) or they go between the posts (the smaller ones can do that). Our yard was fenced to keep deer out and it’s not “dog proof.” Anyone with a dog would need to add some buried chicken fencing at some spots.

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            • There is a technique to it all because they can jump. It has to be at least 6′, 8′ is better and you have to block the view on the other side. They don’t like to jump high if they can’t see so shrubs are necessary. Also we have a very steep drop for most of the fencing which would make it very difficult (the leap would have to be at least 15′). Even with all this we have 2 vulnerable spots where the gates are but so far they haven’t jumped. It’s been 4 or 5 years now. I have a 6′ fence around my garden (which is outside the back yard fence) which is jumpable but they haven’t gone in. They did eat all the lower peaches off the peach trees instead. Boogers. Love them. So pretty but so destructive. We put the fence in when our camera caught them swimming in my itty bitty pond. They can rip liners.

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  23. Waiting at the doctor’s office can be so frustrating. One time, after waiting in the waiting room for a good while, (I was the only one) they brought me back to the room in which the doctor actually visits. As I sat there I heard nothing but silence in the halls and began to wonder if the doctor was even there. I must have waited 45 minutes when I stood up, got my purse and walked out. The receptionist was very annoyed with me, but offered no explanation as to why the wait was so long. I never went back!!!!

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    • I was seconds away from that experience. It was a super specialist but there is another one in the area. Although the doc apologized it felt insincere. I’m just afraid it happens too often. They need to schedule more appropriately if the doc needs more time.

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  24. At the OB-Gyn, there’s often an an emergency that keeps the doctor. After waiting over an hour once, I finally demanded to reschedule. So now the minute I walk in, I always ask, “Is the doctor on schedule?” And if she’s not, then I reschedule.

    I get it, she’s the best OB-Gyn in the area, and having had multiple emergencies when I was pregnant, I know they happen and the doctor has to go. But it would be nice if they’d call and warn you. That way, those of us who are more flexible can reschedule and those who aren’t would see her.

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    • For both my gyn and breast cancer doc (who was worth the wait) I always called before leaving work. This was a morning appointment and it was an eye specialist so I wasn’t anticipating such a long wait. I doubt he takes eye emergencies but he comes from a distance and maybe there was a commute issue. You can be sure I’ll be calling first in the future although my next appointment is at 7:45 a.m. First one. Hopefully he won’t be running too late.

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  25. The telephone has its uses . . . and its misuses.

    I like chatting on the phone to “catch up” with my nieces and nephews, siblings, and friends . . . fun details shared that would never make it into a text message or e-mail. I don’t like talking on the phone to casual acquaintances because there is too much “beating around the bush.”

    I thought your message might be referring to funny tobacco too! 😆

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  27. I have had a number of interesting conversations re late appointments. My position is that my time is just as valuable as their time. If I miss an appointment, they charge me … so if I show up and waste an hour or so, I should be charging them for my time. They usually give an agreeable smile, but then I tell them that I am perfectly serious … and the smile goes away fast. 🙂

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  28. You are so much more patience than I am – waiting 90 minutes! My upper limit is 45 minutes and long before I get to that point I’m starting to squirm. When I was working, I would call first to find out how far behind the doctor was before I would leave the office. I’m afraid that over time my tolerance level for waiting hasn’t improved at all.

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    • I did the call ahead when I worked too. It was like a restaurant! I had asked if the doctor runs late when I made the appointment and was told “not usually.” I also asked again when I left that day and was told it was unusual. Not sure if that’s true or they are programmed to say that. My poor husband, in the waiting room said not many people came out so it’s not like there were 10 people ahead of me. Maybe someone had an unexpected problem. (That’s the good side of me saying that. The bad side only has bad words.)

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  29. Don’t get me started on phone messages. Mine usually start with a company wanted to sell something.
    I’ve come to rely on texting so much. What takes an hour to say on the phone consists of two lines in a text message! Hope Morgan feels better this week. ~Elle

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  32. I like emails and such as well, but the phone is essential to me, especially for new clients. People who want to hire me via a text message for pet sitting make me a bit crazy. How do they know anything about me, and how can I know anything about their pets and whether we are a good fit without some old-fashioned conversation?? But I promise not to call you, so no worries!!

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    • For true business, phone calls are the best. I wouldn’t hire a pet sitter without a phone call and meet up. After that, I’m good. In the old days, I had them call me the first day I was on vacation to make sure they got in and all was well. This was before texts. It was nerve wracking because I ended up tethered to a phone. Now there are cell phones and texts. It’s so much easier although if something went wrong, I’d want a call.

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      • We would always call if there was any kind of concern – that’s what a good pet sitter does. I’ve had people try to hire me just sending a text wondering if I was available and what the cost was. My feeling is that these aren’t our clients if that’s all they care about.

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        • I am neurotic about pet sitters (I had bad experiences with “friends.” Never let a friend pet sit!) The saddest story locally was that a pet sitter got a friend to do a pet check and the dog got out. (Anyone filling in MUST be trained in not letting sneaky pets get out.) They couldn’t catch the dog. The more they chased the faster and farther the dog ran. They spent the week trying to find it (they had contacted rescues that specialize in lost pets) but never called the owners. The dog was never found. The owners came home to find all the drama and no pet. All local pet owners were in arms. For months we were all on the lookout for the dog.

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  33. I left a doc’s practice for the reason you mentioned. On the last visit I waited over 2 hours, saw the doctor for a nanosecond, and walked out that place forever. No doctor is that great that he or she can be that disrespectful of his or her patients. Just saying…

    Also, not a telephone person. Put it in words, written. Not words, babbled.

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    • Many years ago I left my gyno because of that. Always a wait. The last time, after waiting over an hour (which required taking time off from work), they came out and said that they had to reschedule because he was called to deliver a baby. He was in a group. Why have someone on delivery duty when they had appointments! It was definitely babylonia week here!

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  34. GP appointments here are a joke, as you already know. Hubby had to make an appointment to see his GP as per instructions from A&E for a referral. No appointments in the sit and wait, so he sent an email, giving them details of hospital appointments already scheduled. They gave him the day he returns from his overnighter with the GP who cancelled his appointment as a no show when he was sitting outside her office for 2 hours.
    Hope Morgan is over the sneezies.

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