A NICE, BUT UNNECESSARY, DRIVE
Due to the July 4th holiday, Quest lab was closed and I was scheduled for Tuesday morning. I realized over the weekend that the kidney transplant folks might not get results in time to make our Thursday clinic visit meaningful. So I emailed our nurse practitioner, Sue R., and asked if it might be better to come early Thursday and do stat labs at UCSF. Of course she wasn't in until Tuesday so I went to Quest and did the labs that morning. After another email and a call about coming to The City early on Thursday, she did reply "Go TODAY."
Still unclear if she meant Quest or UCSF, Cherie and I reasoned that she must mean UCSF. So I uncovered the S2000, dropped the top, and scooted off to SF. I have never taken that car, since I did not want to burn out a clutch on the steep hills. But with my newly-rediscovered driving skills, I confidently attacked those grades, and rather successfully.
I approached the lab "reception" desk, and said that kidney transplant had sent over an order for me. After going through an unbelievable stack of (antiquated) paper, I was told "no dice" by the cheerful (NOT) "receptionist". I called Sue R., and she said "Where are you?". My heart sank when she told me "I meant Quest". So, I took it philosophically and decided to savor a nice ride home, with no bitterness (remember this is RJM Version 3.0 here) so that is what I did.
UCSF VISIT TWO
Our clinic appointment was at 10:45 am on Thursday, so we figured it would be safe to arrange a visit afterwards to the De Young for the Birth of Impressionism exihibit. This is a collection of famous paintings from the Musee d'Orsay in Paris. I made our reservation for 2:00 pm, allowing us time to enjoy a relaxed lunch on the way to Golden Gate Park.
Incredibly, we have apparently forgotten the Curse of UCSF Scheduling; particularly surprising due to the dozens of delays we encountered for the last six or seven years. As you might be imagining, things went quickly South. Dr. V arrived in the exam room at 11:30. He had old labs, from like June, but the nurse was able to somehow get the ones I had just done here in town. Then he said I would need a series of infusions to treat the BK virus, and I would need labs to determine the level of medication needed. He said we should go to the lab and get it done now, since it only involved a blood draw, and only one tube at that.
Checking my Rolex (yeah, right) it still looked pretty possible to get everything done in a timely manner, with perhaps a small modification to the lunch plan. Transplant patients usually have priority at the lab, but since these results were not needed immediately, you can guess the outcome...yes, we waited ONE HOUR before my number came up on the board. And then I got a very talkative phlebotomist who wanted to kibbitz and talk about Oscar Grant, the weather, the Giants etc. etc.
So now we were in serious trouble. Lunch would have to wait. Then we realized we knew where the De Young is (I could see it from several of my hospital rooms), and we knew how to enter the park, but the exact route inside the park? Why, no, not really. We outsmarted ourselves and missed the entrance, having to go way down Oak to make a u-turn at Masonic and get in from that direction.
We followed the signs and the tour buses to the museum. Some very close and trusted friends had answered my paranoiac question about parking; "parking is easy, no problem". Maybe it was when they went, but it was anything but easy on Thursday, with the entrance to the parking garage actually blocked off with a sign announcing "Full". So our problems were compounded by a long walk to the entrance, still somewhat of a struggle these days due to our foot/back issues, but remarkably doable all the same for the first time in years.
We did make it, and were told we could start our tour as late as 2:30. So it was off to the De Young Cafe for a quick grab 'n' go lunch, then to the 2:30 line for the exhibit. Needless to say, despite the crowds it was spectacular (Had my face mask on the entire time in that milling crowd, btw). We each got the audio tour headphones, which were an excellent way to learn a bit about many of the paintings and the lives and times of the artists. So it was well worth it, despite the horrific traffic we encountered at Prime Time both at the Bay Bridge and 580 from Pleasanton to Liverman City.
A MOST ENJOYABLE FRIDAY EVENING
We enjoyed a very memorable get-together with our dear friends Chef Alison and Hubbie Kevin. Again driving the S2000, it was a perfect time for open-air motoring. We met up at Sasa in Walnut Creek, a relatively new place featuring sushi and Japanese-style small plates. It was quite a (somewhat noisy) young person social scene, with many groups of mainly females eating, drinking, and shrieking happily. Food and service were terrific, and the (shouted) conversation was most enjoyable. If the Transplant Trib did restaurant reviews, this would get an enthusiastic 4.5 chopsticks (out of five). It's not cheap, though, but actually worth it.
Once again I have hogged too much of your valuable time. So until later, so long,
Bob/Irv
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