If you knew that you've got to get up much earlier tomorrow morning than normal, wouldn't you go to bed early tonight? The problem with that is that it makes too much sense. Yet, that was my plan. Angie had to go in to the hospital for a 7:15 AM surgical procedure. That meant we had to be at the hospital at 6, which meant we had to get up around 5.
While I had every intention of going to bed no later than 9, reality turned out to be closer to midnight. <...yawn...> So, I'm tired.
When they took Angie in to surgery, I went to the waiting room. When I entered, there were only one or two people. There was a large TV on one wall, so that would probably have done a good job in keeping my boredom at bay. But, thanks to the age in which we live, technology gives us options. The hospital's WiFi means that I can check my e-mail, do some web surfing, etc. All of that is a good-good.
But...
A few weeks ago, A Slingbox came to live at my house. For those who don't know what that is, it is a box that you connect to your cable box/DVR and to your internet connection. Then, you can access it from anywhere in the world, such as oversease, a far-away hotel room, or...a hospital waiting room. Once you access it, you can watch either live TV or anything you've recorded, much like you could if you were right there at home.
The reason I say that it "came to live at my house", is because I didn't buy it. Instead, my sister and brother-in-law bought it. They live in the Netherlands, and miss not being able to watch American TV. Or, when they do see American programs, it is only after a significant delay. (Imagine not being a able to watch the SuperBowl live...) My guess is that they'll be the envy of all their American friends who live there.
So...I tapped into it while in the hospital waiting room. No longer was I stuck watching Headline News...I watched ESPN, and FoxNews, and a little bit of Comedy Central...right on my laptop.
And it's a good thing that I had the option. After I'd been there for about 30 minutes, a man decided to TRY to change the channel. (I guess he didn't like seeing the same 6 stories being replayed every few minutes. Hmmm...maybe that's why they named it HEADLINE News, and not IN-DEPTH REPORTING News <smile> ). The operative word is "try". His did result in a change in the channel over to Nickelodeon (or, as I call it, Nickeload-o-crap). The problem was he wasn't sure he'd done to change it, meaning he couldn't put it on a better channel.
After the lady who was with him (his daughter, I think) helped him, they finally got it turned to ABC's Good Morning America. For whatever reason, that channel was MUCH LOUDER THAN THE OTHER CHANNELS!!! In case you're wondering...no...they couldn't be bothered to turn it down. So, I was doubly-thankful for the Slingbox. (One, that I could watch something of my choosing, and two, that I could pop the earphones on and not have to listen the super-loud GMA.) YEAH SLINGBOX!!!!
As time went on, the waiting room got more and more full. By the time Angie's surgeon came in to give me the good report, there were probably more than 20 people therein. Good time for me to bail out, methinks. It was at that point that I learned what it must feel like to be a mouse in the proverbial maze, looking for the piece of cheese at the end. Oh, I made it to the room where they will bring Angie easily enough, but then I had to go out to the car to retrieve our things. This place (Medical City) is HUGE!!! Plus it has a veritable labyrinth of hallways. It took me about 20 minutes to find the exit for the parking building where our car was. Sheesh!!!
Shortly after I got up to her room to wait, I began contacting various folks with the update. I only called 3 people, and those were familiy members. I notified the others via text and e-mail message. (If you didn't get a call,don't feel bad. It just means that you're not related to us. Even then, I called much fewer family members than I did not.)
A couple of fun facts about her room: it has a DVD player, so we aren't limited just to the small handful of channels they have. It also has a small dorm-style refridgerator. I'd brought a cooler with some snacks and drinks so that I wouldn't have to leave her in order to get something to nibble/drink, so I just transferred those things to our little fridge. Does anyone care to guess what type of soft drink I brought? That's right, it's my favorite: Mountain Dew. I didn't have one this morning, but around 11:30 I needed a boost, so I downed one. Mmmm.......
Angie was in recovery longer we expected; about 3 hours. I guess the anesthesiologist gave her an additional bump of the juice, because she was out for a solid two hours after the surgery. That gave me additional time to chill out. Again, thank goodness for WiFi. Gave me plenty of things to keep me occupied. They finally rolled her into the room around 1:00.
Now that she's here and I don't have to wait on her arrival, I've realized just how tired I am. I'm going to take advantage her the afternoon by grabbing a quick nap. More updates, observations, and ruminations will follow, I'm sure...
Comments