osodecanela | I hope his karma runs over his dogma........ (Don't mind me, I'm just venting.)

It's been an interesting week; somewhat frustrating, but interesting nonetheless.

Last Tuesday night after work, I drove south to the city to crash with some friends I'd not seen in a while; I had two days of continuing professional Ed at the conference center near the airport. As classes started at 7:30 a.m., leaving Guerneville in the morning was not a real option. I hadn't realized that Murphy's Law would be in effect, but then again, when isn't it?

I hate driving into an area I don't know well after dark. Street signs are hard to see, but worse house numbers can be next to impossible. I arrived at my friends' place a little bit after 9 p.m., and was a good 2 1/2 blocks past their home, when I finally saw a house number I could read from my car. Turned around, drove back, found the house, and then had to circle around looking for parking for almost 20 minutes. A block and a half away, I found a spot facing east as I drove west, and so I pulled a U-turn and parked. Unfortunately, the "alternate side of the hemisphere" parking sign, was both 3/4 of the way down the block and behind a tree and therefore not visible from where I was. Come morning, I was greeted by a $25 ticket on my windshield.

Dinner with my friends was wonderful. Good food and good company; who could ask for more? After dinner, two of them tossed me onto the massage table, and for the first time in my life, I experienced four handed massage. Thought I'd died and gone to heaven!

I fell asleep quickly once in bed, only to be awakened at four in the morning by my cell phone, which fortunately I was able to answer fast enough before it awakened anyone else. It was labor and delivery letting me know my patient was ready to push. Apparently, the note posted in L&D to call the colleague covering while I was out of town had been ignored. I was 2 1/2 hours south; no way I was going to get there in time. Turns out, even though she was only 15 minutes away, neither did my colleague. After three children, the cervix often has a little sign on that that says "exit-this way out"!

The classes I attended were wonderful. They're intended for the primary care provider, and are co-sponsored by Harvard and the U. of Wisconsin. I brought my knitting. I know better than to try and sit thru a lecture without it. Though it may sound odd to any non-knitters out there, it makes it easier for me to listen and actually pay attention to medical lectures. Note taking for me is only a distraction; taking notes almost always ensures I will likely miss the next comment or concept being presented. I was joined by another doc, a woman who feels the same way I do about lectures. So there we sat, Monsieur et Madame DeFarge. (It was the best of times, it was the worst of times......)

After lectures were over for the day, I hopped in the car and motored over to the Castro intent on seeing a good friend at his new place of business. He's in the process of setting up his own massage practice and has rented a former medical office. Luckily (or so I thought), I found parking in a small public lot right across the street from his office. After only a minute in front of his building, I heard "well, I see a certain bear with long red hair waiting for me!" We went inside, and I have to say I'm very impressed with what he has done to convert this office into a warm, inviting, professional appearing space for massage, and other services. One room will serve both for community health classes (lectures aimed at middle-aged gay men/Bears, provided by one certain bear with long red hair), as well as a location for an acupuncturist. The waiting room is lovely, lovingly decorated, with a very definite Eastern ambience. The massage rooms also have a very calming feel to them.

My friend had used massage table he had no need for, which he gave me. After moving it from his car to mine, I walked him over to the market across the street, so he could pick up some food for dinner. Thereafter I walked back to my car to find, much to my dismay, I'd neglected to lock the car after putting the massage table in the back seat.

In the 10 minutes I was away from the car, someone had rifled through it and helped themselves to a bunch of items in my console, on the floor, in my glove box, and in the trunk. Nothing horribly valuable, and some of them of little value to anyone other than myself, like the syllabus from my medical course! Who the hell went through my car? Some medical student fallen onto hard times?

I collect penannular brooches, a very traditional Celtic form of jewelry. I had two of them in my glove box that I had recently scored on eBay, both of them silver and from Scotland, one of which I had intended as a gift for the oldest of my godchildren this coming Christmas. These were probably the two most valuable things that were taken. There was also the radar detector that I wasn't actually using, and my tire pressure gauge, of all things. I felt really violated; actually, I still do. So, dude who ever you are, I hope this served a purpose for you. Remember, what goes around comes around.

I got back to my friends home for dinner at a more reasonable time, than the night before. Parking however, was just as difficult. I did succeed in finding a spot half way up the block. Every home on their street has a garage and since none of the homes are terribly wide there are very few on-the-street parking spots, unless you're driving a compact car and can actually fit between curb cuts. I was fairly certain I'd found myself a legal spot, but the following morning I came out to find a $75 ticket. It seems the homeowner complained to the police, who dutifully came & ticketed me. Hopefully the pictures I took with my cell phone showing I wasn't obstructing either garage, will be enough to beat that fine. We shall see.

Among the things taken from the car included a small digital voice recorder I use to do dictation for work. Trust me, you don't want to try decifering my handwriting. I had 2 dictaphones, though one had died a week earlier and hadn't been replaced yet. So both Friday & Monday I had to use an older model, which I then had to physically take over to my transcriptionist's place, rather than download onto my computer and them encrypt and email. The software for the older model won't install on Vista. (Thank you, Microsoft.) Just what I needed, a 20 minute drive to Healdsburg, when all I really wanted to do was go home! I snagged a replacement off of eBay on Saturday which mercifully arrived yesterday. I stopped at RadioShack on my way to work Monday, thinking I'd grab a replacement unit there and be done with it, but I absolutely refuse to drop 90 bucks for something, I know I can get for half the cost, if not less, on eBay. Just won't do it. I'll make the damn drive to Healdsburg if I have to. Not that I really want to, after seeing 30 patients like I did both yesterday and today.

OK, vent over. I hope tomorrow is an easier day.