still unable to obtain a malaria Rx. my travel clinic is unable to write one, so i made an appointment with another doctor (unable to accept my insurance, but will to accept a large sum of cash for a consultation) who MAY be able to write me a Rx. i have even gone so far to ask my ob/gyn for a Rx - she'll be calling back today. (her receptionist said the doctor would write me one if i were pregnant. thanks for rubbing in my lack of love life...AGAIN, people!) i have looked online for "black market" pharmacies. i have considered contacting my EX for a Rx. i now have a coworker asking his aussie friends if i can buy the stuff on the island, once i arrive.
let's just face it. i'm heading into a malaria infested country without protection. that's gross.
thanks dr. brown! and by the way, i totally filed a complaint against his unprofessional ass. die berkeley hippies!!!
and the sobering reality of this adventure is i am ultimately spending more money on pills and shots than i am on hotel rooms during this trip.
ok...serenity now. where's my crystal?
24 April 2008
23 April 2008
i hate doctors
ok, so this claim is backed up by more than the fact i just finished dating one. (never again.) here goes...
me living in my "efficient" world amidst people with some capacity for intelligence led me to believe i could be "efficient" when it came to scoring my travel meds. so i put off the adventure until the last minute. how difficult can this be? schedule an appointment with the doc, take a little time off work, then throw a copay his way so he can scribble down a Rx for lariam and then direct his nurse to shoot me up with a hep A shot. or so i thought.
i arrive at the office of my "hippy doctor in berkeley" -- bear in mind this doctor actually called me on my cell phone to make sure i was not lost prior to my first visit with him a couple months ago. (should have been my first clue: you think he has a hard time retaining patients and doesn't want them to escape? hmm...this was before he warned me that ALL men cheat.) i show up, do the copay thing, get directed to a room, and then i wait. and wait. and wait. i hear him yelling on the phone outside my door regarding some lawsuit he's involved in. then 45 minutes after my scheduled appointment, the doc proceeds to start his consultation with a patient who got there before me. great. do i get to bill for this shit? me sitting around that office all day means i get to spend all evening at work. uh, no. so i get a little impatient. i ask the nurse if she can just get him to write down that Rx and then take care of the shot (easy!) and i'd be out of their hair. no go. the doc wants to see me. so i wait. an hour after my scheduled appointment, the doctor walks in and tells me he wants to see my lab. i'm like, huh? he said, you never got your lab results done like i asked you to last time, and i'm not prescribing anything until i see them. i tell him what i told him last time -- i got stuck on 100% travel for like a month and couldn't get in, and besides, my work takes care of labs for me every year. my last labs are still good, and he can check them out and see i'm perfectly healthy. now give me a shot, damn it. he argues. i argue back. he throws another lab form at me and says he won't prescribe anything until i get him the labs or fax him my other ones. asshole!!! this is not efficient!!! the next morning i opt to fax over my labs from work and say, here, check these out. i'm good. please send the Rx to longs drugs, and i'm coming in for my shot. he says no.
ok, so the gist of the story is, i go to longs and he ultimately called in an Rx for super-powered diarrhea pills, a diarrhea antibiotic, a general antibiotic, and a typhoid vaccine to apparently appease me. but where's the lariam?! i didn't ask for this other stuff! i call him back and he says, have you gotten a tetanus? what the?! JUST GIVE ME LARIAM AND A HEP A SHOT! I AM RUNNING OUT OF TIME!!! he wants to know why i refuse to get a tetanus. he then says, VERBATIM, "gina, you are very polite and sweet, but you are also the most contentious patient i've had in twenty years. you are lucky i keep you as a patient because most doctors wouldn't fuck with you." WHAT?!!! did my doctor just say that to me? i end up complaining to my co-workers (well, they couldn't help but notice me screaming at a doctor over the phone in my cube and obviously got curious), and they say to go to a travel clinic, one block from the office. one phone call and the gal's like, sure, come on in. we'll get you a hep A shot, a tetanus shot, and hook you up with a Rx for lariam in one fell swoop. are you kidding? she doesn't even want my labs. hallelujah!
now for the funny part of this story. i actually started to think i was the crazy one here. turns out we had a fire drill at work and while we were waiting to head back into the building, i tell a co-worker this story because he asked about my travel meds -- he's done a lot of travel to bali. turns out this co-worker had the same doctor and had to fire him because he had problems with him, too, and highly recommended i report him. i am not crazy! sweet!
me living in my "efficient" world amidst people with some capacity for intelligence led me to believe i could be "efficient" when it came to scoring my travel meds. so i put off the adventure until the last minute. how difficult can this be? schedule an appointment with the doc, take a little time off work, then throw a copay his way so he can scribble down a Rx for lariam and then direct his nurse to shoot me up with a hep A shot. or so i thought.
i arrive at the office of my "hippy doctor in berkeley" -- bear in mind this doctor actually called me on my cell phone to make sure i was not lost prior to my first visit with him a couple months ago. (should have been my first clue: you think he has a hard time retaining patients and doesn't want them to escape? hmm...this was before he warned me that ALL men cheat.) i show up, do the copay thing, get directed to a room, and then i wait. and wait. and wait. i hear him yelling on the phone outside my door regarding some lawsuit he's involved in. then 45 minutes after my scheduled appointment, the doc proceeds to start his consultation with a patient who got there before me. great. do i get to bill for this shit? me sitting around that office all day means i get to spend all evening at work. uh, no. so i get a little impatient. i ask the nurse if she can just get him to write down that Rx and then take care of the shot (easy!) and i'd be out of their hair. no go. the doc wants to see me. so i wait. an hour after my scheduled appointment, the doctor walks in and tells me he wants to see my lab. i'm like, huh? he said, you never got your lab results done like i asked you to last time, and i'm not prescribing anything until i see them. i tell him what i told him last time -- i got stuck on 100% travel for like a month and couldn't get in, and besides, my work takes care of labs for me every year. my last labs are still good, and he can check them out and see i'm perfectly healthy. now give me a shot, damn it. he argues. i argue back. he throws another lab form at me and says he won't prescribe anything until i get him the labs or fax him my other ones. asshole!!! this is not efficient!!! the next morning i opt to fax over my labs from work and say, here, check these out. i'm good. please send the Rx to longs drugs, and i'm coming in for my shot. he says no.
ok, so the gist of the story is, i go to longs and he ultimately called in an Rx for super-powered diarrhea pills, a diarrhea antibiotic, a general antibiotic, and a typhoid vaccine to apparently appease me. but where's the lariam?! i didn't ask for this other stuff! i call him back and he says, have you gotten a tetanus? what the?! JUST GIVE ME LARIAM AND A HEP A SHOT! I AM RUNNING OUT OF TIME!!! he wants to know why i refuse to get a tetanus. he then says, VERBATIM, "gina, you are very polite and sweet, but you are also the most contentious patient i've had in twenty years. you are lucky i keep you as a patient because most doctors wouldn't fuck with you." WHAT?!!! did my doctor just say that to me? i end up complaining to my co-workers (well, they couldn't help but notice me screaming at a doctor over the phone in my cube and obviously got curious), and they say to go to a travel clinic, one block from the office. one phone call and the gal's like, sure, come on in. we'll get you a hep A shot, a tetanus shot, and hook you up with a Rx for lariam in one fell swoop. are you kidding? she doesn't even want my labs. hallelujah!
now for the funny part of this story. i actually started to think i was the crazy one here. turns out we had a fire drill at work and while we were waiting to head back into the building, i tell a co-worker this story because he asked about my travel meds -- he's done a lot of travel to bali. turns out this co-worker had the same doctor and had to fire him because he had problems with him, too, and highly recommended i report him. i am not crazy! sweet!
18 March 2008
hey stranger!!!
at least i feel like one. i've said it once, i'll say it again...i SUCK at this blog thing! at least now i have a reason to write more, or at least gear up to write. i am going to bali for three weeks in may. true, life has not ended with my job, although my boss was less than pleased to hear i wanted that much time off. OH. MY. GOD. the world will explode without me being there! quite a compliment. :)
so yeah, bali. strange how this one developed. some of you may recall my time at nanosolar, back in 2003. i was less than a pleasant human being during that stint. i was dating a surfer when i started work there, so i obviously became more interested in the sport like any young, smitten girl who wanted to spend more time with her beau. fortunately, this was an interest that benefitted ME, and i really grew to like it. i purchased a surf magazine here and there so while i was relaxed in my warm living room, i could relive my time spend out in the cold, winter ocean. hmm. one day, i came across a picture of a surfer riding a perfect left break in bali. These breaks are rare in santa cruz, so this picture made me drool. the photograph was in sepia color, i recall, which made the image seem even warmer, cozier. just a feel good picture overall. i tore out this picture and hung it at work on my filing cabinet. at first, i would look at it every now and then, not taking too much time out of my day to dream because i was actually interested in my job. there were fun projects to work on, research to be done. however, as time moved on, the projects became less fulfilling, the management became even more cranky (it's all about "perception," he says!), and i wanted out...but of course, like a good little american worker bee trying to partake in the rat race, desperate for a pay stub, i stayed and TOOK IT. that photograph became my best friend, my escape from work. i would close my eyes and imagine being that surfer. and naturally, i began to look at that photo more and more and more with each passing day. i swore to myself that i would go to bali. ALONE. i wanted to experience that wave with no interference from anyone. COMPLETE SOLITUDE.
and then you know what happened next. that's right...life happened! i didn't make it to bali like i promised myself. i became a bartender and went to grad school. now i work as an environmental consultant, and i've hit that 6+ month period so the gig is not as exciting as it used to be. BUT, i now get to go to bali! for some reason, the trip just presented itself to me, on a platter no less. it was too easy! chips were falling into place left and right. it was if i could not be diverted from purchasing the ticket, like the stars were aligned, like i was being beckoned to this little island in asia. i won't question it. fortunately, my california tax return EXACTLY matched the cost of the plane ticket. ironic? so, in six weeks from today, i will be on a plane, destined to ride that wave i have been staring at for FIVE years. life is hilarious.
not to mention this is the first time i have ever traveled alone outside north america. i am a little nervous, but i feel like this is something i have to do RIGHT NOW. i absolutely feel like this trip has come along at this time because it is going to present challenges to me that i must face before moving onto something else that awaits me in my future. it's like a sort of spiritual preparation for something, where many lessons will be learned...which is a very, very strange feeling.
that being said, i plan to update my blog while i am there. stay tuned, and feel good. :)
so yeah, bali. strange how this one developed. some of you may recall my time at nanosolar, back in 2003. i was less than a pleasant human being during that stint. i was dating a surfer when i started work there, so i obviously became more interested in the sport like any young, smitten girl who wanted to spend more time with her beau. fortunately, this was an interest that benefitted ME, and i really grew to like it. i purchased a surf magazine here and there so while i was relaxed in my warm living room, i could relive my time spend out in the cold, winter ocean. hmm. one day, i came across a picture of a surfer riding a perfect left break in bali. These breaks are rare in santa cruz, so this picture made me drool. the photograph was in sepia color, i recall, which made the image seem even warmer, cozier. just a feel good picture overall. i tore out this picture and hung it at work on my filing cabinet. at first, i would look at it every now and then, not taking too much time out of my day to dream because i was actually interested in my job. there were fun projects to work on, research to be done. however, as time moved on, the projects became less fulfilling, the management became even more cranky (it's all about "perception," he says!), and i wanted out...but of course, like a good little american worker bee trying to partake in the rat race, desperate for a pay stub, i stayed and TOOK IT. that photograph became my best friend, my escape from work. i would close my eyes and imagine being that surfer. and naturally, i began to look at that photo more and more and more with each passing day. i swore to myself that i would go to bali. ALONE. i wanted to experience that wave with no interference from anyone. COMPLETE SOLITUDE.
and then you know what happened next. that's right...life happened! i didn't make it to bali like i promised myself. i became a bartender and went to grad school. now i work as an environmental consultant, and i've hit that 6+ month period so the gig is not as exciting as it used to be. BUT, i now get to go to bali! for some reason, the trip just presented itself to me, on a platter no less. it was too easy! chips were falling into place left and right. it was if i could not be diverted from purchasing the ticket, like the stars were aligned, like i was being beckoned to this little island in asia. i won't question it. fortunately, my california tax return EXACTLY matched the cost of the plane ticket. ironic? so, in six weeks from today, i will be on a plane, destined to ride that wave i have been staring at for FIVE years. life is hilarious.
not to mention this is the first time i have ever traveled alone outside north america. i am a little nervous, but i feel like this is something i have to do RIGHT NOW. i absolutely feel like this trip has come along at this time because it is going to present challenges to me that i must face before moving onto something else that awaits me in my future. it's like a sort of spiritual preparation for something, where many lessons will be learned...which is a very, very strange feeling.
that being said, i plan to update my blog while i am there. stay tuned, and feel good. :)
21 February 2008
HB to me!!!
how many times have i said i'll get better at this blog thing? hmm...
so, uh...today's my birthday! i'm 32. i feel so much older and sophisticated overnight! not really.
so quick update. (really, i want to get better at this blog thing.) i am working as an environmental engineer. i never ditched the "engineer" title. i think that's a sign or something. i must remain an engineer...but of what? an engineer of productive field days? an engineer of feng shui?! an engineer of happy thoughts! that's what i'll be. so...new job today. well, the job that actually pays the bills is going well. i spent a lot of time in the field. it's fun and satisfying, but hella tiring. i am also getting involved with a few litigation cases which involve big name players. i am so bummed i cannot tell you about them! very exciting. i essentially get to stick it to some dirty corporations. :) what else? i learned to knit. my sister is a master knitter, and she taught me. i've completed one scarf and working on another. after my third, i'm moving onto beanies. i am also exploring green investments these days...trying to walk the talk.
so, uh...today's my birthday! i'm 32. i feel so much older and sophisticated overnight! not really.
so quick update. (really, i want to get better at this blog thing.) i am working as an environmental engineer. i never ditched the "engineer" title. i think that's a sign or something. i must remain an engineer...but of what? an engineer of productive field days? an engineer of feng shui?! an engineer of happy thoughts! that's what i'll be. so...new job today. well, the job that actually pays the bills is going well. i spent a lot of time in the field. it's fun and satisfying, but hella tiring. i am also getting involved with a few litigation cases which involve big name players. i am so bummed i cannot tell you about them! very exciting. i essentially get to stick it to some dirty corporations. :) what else? i learned to knit. my sister is a master knitter, and she taught me. i've completed one scarf and working on another. after my third, i'm moving onto beanies. i am also exploring green investments these days...trying to walk the talk.
12 August 2007
home...for reals
i never thought i would be able to say this, but i LOVE my job!!! i just finished my first week. i have projects...MEANINGFUL projects...that interest and challenge and satisfy me. i have great coworkers. my hours are not overly demanding. in fact, i am salary up to 40 hours/week, and then i get 1.5x for anything over 40 hours. wow!!! flex time. benefits. fieldwork. a view of san francisco from my desk?!!! my desk/computer was ready for me on the first day. i got a paycheck 4 days into the job. i drive 4 miles to work. speaking of...i also LOVE my new pad!
i now live in an utterly charming one bedroom "cottage" (ALONE) near Lake Merritt in north Oakland. i have dark hardwood floors, a working fireplace (red with cute as hell details), old fashioned BIG windows, a cute patio out front, a gas stove...there's even an old icebox in the kitchen that's been converted to cupboard space. uber cute place, and i have big girl furniture now, including a red suede papasan chair (which i've wanted forever!!!), so it's comfortable and cozy and homey and all mine!!! i leave music playing in the background most of the time, and my crystals in the window provide me with a fantastic display of rainbows (i.e. good chi!) at least once a day. i also have friendly neighbors who like to mingle (just got back from a sunday afternoon champagne feast with them all - made friends with the local alterations lady, painter, judge, and bartender. :) my closest neighbor is the marketer for title 9 who wants to hook me up. no joke. and she has a three-legged 14 year old dog named deliliah who likes to chill on my front porch. when i look out the window i see trees, flowers, and bushes (or delilah)...feels like santa barbara without the freaky people. hurray! i am walking distance to the lake (one block away), a bazillion restaurants (including ethiopian, thai, dim sum, sushi...anything you can think of), a new wine bar (which i checked out with the Fostinos last night), tango/salsa/ballroom lessons, my laundromat, the gym, two florists, at least four coffee shops (one of which is GOTH...omg!), the grand lake theater and parkway theater (where you eat pizza and drink beer while watching cheap movies), mini marts (and yes, they all have ben & jerry's - put in a request last night for b&j's peanut butter cup flavor), and whole foods and trader joes are coming in within the next couple of months. i live in the best neighborhood in the world!!! i even live near some of my grad school peeps, and have incredible access to all freeways that lead directly to san francisco, san jose AND tahoe...kirkwood is only a 3 hour drive, which is icing. the ONLY bad thing - no morning dove lives near me. :(
but overall, my life rules. never thought it would happen. no chaos - i actually feel settled for the first time in my life. my car runs. i am stocked with coffee beans and a new espresso/coffee machine (but then we have peet's coffee at work in the unlikely event i run out of beans at home). i have loads of clean dish sponges under the sink and don't have to worry about roommates leaving behind an empty roll of tp (or shit on the toilet seat). i cleaned my place yesterday and it's still clean! i am back near the bay area bike trails (rode skeggs yesterday with the old crew), gearing up to explore the easy bay and marin trails with some new peeps this week - i posted an ad on craigslist for mtb buddies. i can go on an on...but i'll stop. am i making you sick?!
ok, now a quick recap of how i got to this point, since i am soooooo good at updating my blog. i left santa barbarba june 2 - graduation was june 15, but i left early for too many reasons. my interview was june 10 in berkeley, which is the day my company offered me a job. then i immediately drove north and spent the next two months visiting family and friends in WA and TX. i spent a weekend in austin with the girls, lots of time in seattle, 5 days in colorado (3 spent camping/biking in crested butte...which ROCKED), and then there were various trips to random locations which i don't care to recall. i saw some wicked thunderstorms and became accustomed to running in disgustingly humid weather at 6am...that and biking at 10,700 feet. i experienced wildflowers in boulder and discovered a lush texas. i also got the chance to truly close a painful chapter in my life and move on.
i now live in an utterly charming one bedroom "cottage" (ALONE) near Lake Merritt in north Oakland. i have dark hardwood floors, a working fireplace (red with cute as hell details), old fashioned BIG windows, a cute patio out front, a gas stove...there's even an old icebox in the kitchen that's been converted to cupboard space. uber cute place, and i have big girl furniture now, including a red suede papasan chair (which i've wanted forever!!!), so it's comfortable and cozy and homey and all mine!!! i leave music playing in the background most of the time, and my crystals in the window provide me with a fantastic display of rainbows (i.e. good chi!) at least once a day. i also have friendly neighbors who like to mingle (just got back from a sunday afternoon champagne feast with them all - made friends with the local alterations lady, painter, judge, and bartender. :) my closest neighbor is the marketer for title 9 who wants to hook me up. no joke. and she has a three-legged 14 year old dog named deliliah who likes to chill on my front porch. when i look out the window i see trees, flowers, and bushes (or delilah)...feels like santa barbara without the freaky people. hurray! i am walking distance to the lake (one block away), a bazillion restaurants (including ethiopian, thai, dim sum, sushi...anything you can think of), a new wine bar (which i checked out with the Fostinos last night), tango/salsa/ballroom lessons, my laundromat, the gym, two florists, at least four coffee shops (one of which is GOTH...omg!), the grand lake theater and parkway theater (where you eat pizza and drink beer while watching cheap movies), mini marts (and yes, they all have ben & jerry's - put in a request last night for b&j's peanut butter cup flavor), and whole foods and trader joes are coming in within the next couple of months. i live in the best neighborhood in the world!!! i even live near some of my grad school peeps, and have incredible access to all freeways that lead directly to san francisco, san jose AND tahoe...kirkwood is only a 3 hour drive, which is icing. the ONLY bad thing - no morning dove lives near me. :(
but overall, my life rules. never thought it would happen. no chaos - i actually feel settled for the first time in my life. my car runs. i am stocked with coffee beans and a new espresso/coffee machine (but then we have peet's coffee at work in the unlikely event i run out of beans at home). i have loads of clean dish sponges under the sink and don't have to worry about roommates leaving behind an empty roll of tp (or shit on the toilet seat). i cleaned my place yesterday and it's still clean! i am back near the bay area bike trails (rode skeggs yesterday with the old crew), gearing up to explore the easy bay and marin trails with some new peeps this week - i posted an ad on craigslist for mtb buddies. i can go on an on...but i'll stop. am i making you sick?!
ok, now a quick recap of how i got to this point, since i am soooooo good at updating my blog. i left santa barbarba june 2 - graduation was june 15, but i left early for too many reasons. my interview was june 10 in berkeley, which is the day my company offered me a job. then i immediately drove north and spent the next two months visiting family and friends in WA and TX. i spent a weekend in austin with the girls, lots of time in seattle, 5 days in colorado (3 spent camping/biking in crested butte...which ROCKED), and then there were various trips to random locations which i don't care to recall. i saw some wicked thunderstorms and became accustomed to running in disgustingly humid weather at 6am...that and biking at 10,700 feet. i experienced wildflowers in boulder and discovered a lush texas. i also got the chance to truly close a painful chapter in my life and move on.
13 June 2007
toodling around
so...i got a job! it's with malcolm pirnie, "fiercely independent" environmental consultants, in Berkeley. i am stoked! (and this is after missing the first phone interview due to a misplaced phone number, my shirt splitting in the back while dressing for the interview, sweaty armpits, and arriving late for the in-person interview due to bay area traffic...totally jinxed and i still got it. unbelievable!) i'll be working as an environmental engineer, saving the world. really, this gig rocks. the company culture is ideal. the actual work is ideal. the compensation is really good. this office even has a "FUN committee"...yes, capital F-U-N...AND they have giant basket of chocolate when you walk in, which includes dark chocolate. priorities, you know? can't wait to get going with my new career! (wow, am i really looking forward to a j-o-b?!) i start mid-August, so will toodle around until then. still trying to figure out what to do with that free ticket. still really interested in visiting Marcy and Zach since i don't know when i'll have another chance to head over. AND Sean's in Italy for the summer, and traveling with him is always an adventure. seems like an ideal time...but i need to decide soon.
at the moment, i am in WA. chilling with the pugs. jazzy now howls like a werewolf. actually just drove in a few hours ago. such a looooooooong drive. ugh. my parents are in the middle of packing up and putting everything in storage. i am really, really homeless. it's a weird feeling. i have no permanent address. i am sleeping amidst boxes. everything in my life is so unsettled now. i spent the past week in the bay area, at the Fostino's. it was fun! they had a graduation party for me, so i got to see everyone.
life is awesome. i was riding fremont older last week and thought back a bit, specifically three years ago which is almost to the day when i left nanosolar. i think about everything that's happened since then. it's a long list: traveled for a couple months in europe/africa, learned to bartend and then actually bartended for real cash (on the beach, no less!), got my graduate degree, worked at the US EPA (my dream), finished a master's thesis that's made a great impact, fell in love and got my heart broken for the first time, reconnected with a number of family members, and raced my mountain bike...AND learned to downhill. i also tried online dating, lived in santa barbara and santa cruz, took an avalanche/snowpack course, and gained a lot of focus. i've become intrigued with feng shui and nearly obsessed with myspace. scary. i've met a ton of new people, somehow managed to grow the relationships with my oldest friends, and SWORN OFF ROOMMATES FOR LIFE.
at the moment, i am in WA. chilling with the pugs. jazzy now howls like a werewolf. actually just drove in a few hours ago. such a looooooooong drive. ugh. my parents are in the middle of packing up and putting everything in storage. i am really, really homeless. it's a weird feeling. i have no permanent address. i am sleeping amidst boxes. everything in my life is so unsettled now. i spent the past week in the bay area, at the Fostino's. it was fun! they had a graduation party for me, so i got to see everyone.
life is awesome. i was riding fremont older last week and thought back a bit, specifically three years ago which is almost to the day when i left nanosolar. i think about everything that's happened since then. it's a long list: traveled for a couple months in europe/africa, learned to bartend and then actually bartended for real cash (on the beach, no less!), got my graduate degree, worked at the US EPA (my dream), finished a master's thesis that's made a great impact, fell in love and got my heart broken for the first time, reconnected with a number of family members, and raced my mountain bike...AND learned to downhill. i also tried online dating, lived in santa barbara and santa cruz, took an avalanche/snowpack course, and gained a lot of focus. i've become intrigued with feng shui and nearly obsessed with myspace. scary. i've met a ton of new people, somehow managed to grow the relationships with my oldest friends, and SWORN OFF ROOMMATES FOR LIFE.
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