Medlab Blues

Ack! 2 months since the last entry... *sigh*

There's quite some catching up to do, I admit, and I'll try to do that bit by bit in the coming weeks. But instead of working my way up to the present, I will keep this blog a bit more up-to-date and insert some past events or trips as I go along.

Today is "Off my Chest" time.

This morning, I left home a little after 9 am to walk to my GP in order pick up a form for some routine tests to be run at a medical lab. Of course, it wasn't ready and I had to wait until the doctor finished the session with the present patient.

I then walked to the lab nearest to the doctor's office, only to realise that I had forgotten my insurance card, and since the doctor's assistant had not bothered to fill in any details on the form, I would have had to pay for the tests myself and then claimed them later from the insurance. So I decided to pick up the insurance card and then return.

Not having eaten since 8 pm yesterday evening in order to be completely sober this morning, and the lab being about 3 km from my home, I decided to take the tram home. It was quicker than walking but still took me close to half an hour.

To save time, I decided to take the car and go to another subsidiary of the same medlab company, only a little over 1.5 km away. I should have taken my GPS system along: of course, there were road constructions between me and the lab and, of course, I misjudged at which end of the street the higher housenumbers were. By the time, I reached the medlab, I had driven more than 3 km, and probably could have walked there in the meantime through Rembrandt Park.

When I got there at 11.35h, number 57 was up on the screen. I got #76...

At 12h h noon, they had reached #67 with blood (and other things) being taken by 4 staff members. Not fast enough, and I went out to pay for 45 more minutes of parking. Only € 1.30/hr, fortunately, nothing like the parking fees in the city center.

And then the board froze. Apart from one staff member, all others simultaneously went on their lunchbreak or home or just vanished into thin air.

At 12.25h, #70 was called. That's when I went to reception and voiced my unhappiness about the slow progress. It seems they are immensely understaffed. I wonder why...

At 12.32h they reached #71 - who had gone home. 3 minutes later, more than enough time to walk the 7 m to the announced cubicle, they called #72...

Not wanting to collect a parking ticket on top of it all, I went back outside to put another Euro into the machine. In the meantime, they seem to have found someone else to help out and when I returned, I saw #75 on the screen.

I just had enough time to get hold of a complaint form and then gave some of my blood. The whole procedure took less than 5 minutes...

I filled in the form and left for home, via yet another detour. Of course.

Lesson 1: walking is faster than driving.
Lesson 2: if there is a next time, I'll go back to the first lab.
Lesson 3: having only water for 17 hours sucks! My brain is still befuddled some hours later...
Lesson 4: Venting really helps!

*****

Lesson 5: Never forget your camera when going on expeditions like this.

To make up for that, I'll leave you with some impressions from recent walks through Amsterdam.

On Herengracht, just north of Leidsegracht, I discovered a button shop with about the largest selection of buttons and jewelry and other objects made of buttons I have ever seen.

Knopenwinkel on Herengracht

The owner wasn't really happy about me taking pictures inside, so here is a view of her shop window in late June:

buttoned-up lampshade

From a completely different part of town, near Mercatorplein, is the following picture:

Hudsonhof gate

The gate was put there about 10 years ago when the whole neighbourhood was renovated and it turns this former part of Hudsonstraat into a quiet area, almost a courtyard.

Right - that's it for today, now it's time to get back to something even more painful than a visit to the medical lab... bookkeeping.