I’m so frustrated this morning. We SWITCHED labs, AND I’ve started reminding the nurse when I call that a test kit needs to be sent as well, and we STILL arrived at the lab this morning to find no test kit. Furthermore, the lab technician said, “Yeah, I saw that when the lab orders came. I was like, We can’t do this without the kit!” What I wanted to say was “AND DID IT NOT OCCUR TO YOU TO CALL ANYONE, ANYONE AT ALL, TO MENTION THAT THERE WAS NO KIT OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG.” Because of course it DID occur to her. But it was not her fault and not her job, and so she chose not to, and what would I expect her to say in response to my question? “You’re right! Next time I’ll do that!” No. She is not going to say that.
ARG.
Then, the gas light was on in the car, so we stopped for gas, and as we were leaving it occurred to me that the price had been more than double the number of gallons—but it should have been LESS than double, at $1.79/gallon. I checked my receipt, and it says I chose the highest-priced gas, which was $2.47/gallon. I have NEVER made that mistake before, NEVER. I nearly drove back to the gas station to check the buttons, but Edward was going to be late for school so I just went on ahead, but I can’t believe I paid 68 cents/gallon more than I should have, and naturally with a nearly-empty tank so it was 18 gallons. That’s over $12 wasted.
A guy who was leaving the gas station the same time as me was texting, and first he pulled out right in front of me without glancing up, and then he drove right through a red light. WHAT IS THIS MADNESS. As I was waiting in the line to drop Edward off at school, I was idly watching all the cars leaving, and SO MANY PEOPLE were texting while driving. WHY. WHY. So many times when I’m out driving I see another car weaving or repeatedly veering over the line and I think, “What is going on, are they drunk or something?” and then no, they are texting. And they MUST be unaware that they are repeatedly crossing the yellow line, or else SURELY they wouldn’t do it. But HOW are they unaware? They MUST be thinking they are driving JUST FINE. It is LITERALLY AGAINST THE LAW now to text while driving, but people are STILL DOING IT and THEY THINK THEY ARE DRIVING JUST FINE WHEN THEY ARE LITERALLY RISKING OTHER PEOPLE’S LIVES ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
The texting while driving thing makes me insane. INSANE. You can sit at an intersection and just watch multiple people NOT LOOKING WHILE DRIVING. Just staring at their laps for extended periods of time while pressing the accelerator like this is totally ok. I think it should be a license revoking offense. I’m not even kidding.
I agree with you.
I call 911 and report them if I see them weave over the line more than twice.
For a long time I thought “Texting while driving” meant, like, checking your texts/sending a text while stopped in your car at a red light or something. Which is not a good idea, but I felt guilty because I have totally checked my texts while at a red light, and I once responded to an email while stopped waiting for the LONGEST TRAIN EVER to go by and I felt very surreptitious and naughty about it. I was shocked to find out that “texting while driving” meant texting while your car was MOVING FORWARD ON THE ROAD. I know it should have been obvious that this is what it meant, but it was not obvious to me because HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE? Can people text without looking at their phone? I am legitimately confused as to how people do this. I can’t imagine someone thinking that looking at the road while they are driving a car is an optional part of the process, can you? It makes no sense at all to me.
AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. I very much hope your day gets better. Also, the speaking up in the lab type situations, while scary, is very freeing in reality. I recommend it. (actually, I recently spoke up on a plane to a jackass who was making off color jokes loudly to the whole plane and he was a jackass and it changed NOT A THING about him, I’m pretty sure he’s exactly the same now, with the added benefit of feeling self righteous that I spoke to him. However, I feel pretty good that I said something and my 6 year old daughter saw that it is not ok to say rude things, couched as jokes, about flight attendants, Jewish people and women in general)
Bravo re: speaking up on the plane!
Ahgghhhhhrwueyrtqe I just did that with gas a well. I am convinced that the gas station SWITCHED the order of the pumps because I have also NEVER done that and I use this gas station frequently and ARGH NO I WOULD LIKE A DO-OVER GRRRR.
This is all HORRIBLE. I feel hand flappy. Because there is no recourse! You are doing everything right! Going out of your way to remind the nurse/etc to do something they should remember anyway! AND YET! And the texting thing! WHAT CAN WE DO? Not drive? Even if YOU don’t text while driving AND are an impeccable defensive driver YOU ARE IN DANGER! It is all horrifying!!!
Deep breaths. Deep breaths. WILD FLAILING!!!
This, exactly! Little in life riles me up more than this. Because horrible things can happen when people don’t follow the rules, I follow the rules/laws. Every time. All the time. Rules are there to protect the population and they are meant to be followed. AND YET not everyone does this. Hand flappy indeed. ARGH.
One time we were driving on the freeway behind a dude who was swerving like crazy while looking at his phone in his hand. It must’ve been more than reading/sending one text because it went on for like five minutes (Candy Crush, maybe??). Finally we called 911 to report it thinking, “Eh, I’m sure they won’t catch him, but at least we’ll feel better about doing our part to stop this.” But then, like three minutes later we see a police car cruising onto the on-ramp. He approached the swerving guy from the left lane, waited a minute to see the swerving first hand, and then lit him up and pulled him over.
It might have been the most satisfying moment of my life.
This is amazing. I oftentimes call in dangerous driving (for instance when someone was swerving BAD and then opened the driver’s side door and threw out a BEER CAN in 5 o-clock traffic ON THE HIGHWAY. As you can see, I haven’t quite calmed down from that one.)
This is GREAT
Is there any way you can get the test kits yourself? Maybe the doctor could write a presciption for them or something? There has to be SOMEBODY in this whole process who is willing to do above the BARE MINIMUM of their job requirements to help you out, but whoever it may be has to be aware of the problem first.
This is a solution I’d totally try for if it’s not too expensive or difficult.
“Oh you don’t have a test kit?” *whips one out of my bag* “I THOUGHT that might happen!”
I’d feel so triumphant!
I recently took a defensive driving course and since that day have barely even acknowledged my phone’s existence when I’m driving. Ok, exaggerating. But I pull off the road now to read/answer text messages. One of the statistics quoted during the class was that it takes X number of seconds to read and respond to a quick text. At an average speed, you have traveled the length of a football field without looking up. Of course, I forget the specifics, but that visual stuck with me.
We were able to buy my dream house because the woman who lived here before us was texting and driving and was killed in an accident. I don’t text and drive but if I were ever tempted, it would totally stop me not to be the second person living in this house to do that. I can’t imagine how angry my (grown) children would be after all the lectures I’ve given them.
I’m so sorry about the lab. Clearly ordering the kit isn’t somebody’s job, so by default it’s nobody’s job. Do you feel like you have exhausted the local options?
The Werner Herzog PSA films with “it can wait” are so good. They should be mandatory to watch for everyone getting or renewing a license. I think so many people think that OTHER people are terrible at texting and driving, but that they are special snowflakes and they can check this ONE text this ONE time and they’re fine. I’m guilty in that I get anxious and want to grab my phone whenever I hear a text, so I say out loud “it can wait” a few times a day, just to remind myself of what matters. And I go absolutely berserk if I see the person behind me is texting because of the number of times I’ve been rear-ended by a distracted driver. At the stoplight, I turn around, try to look the person in the eye, and pick up my phone and throw it down on the seat, yelling “STOP USING YOUR PHONE” the whole time. It’s worked a grand total of once.
This video shows learner drivers trying to text while driving, it’s brilliant https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HbjSWDwJILs
The texting madness has to stop. Everyday I watch near misses and it ALWAYS involves texting.
I feel such rage on your behalf about the lab! You need to make that lab worker your ‘buddy’. Get her name, and then before you plan on coming again, call and ask for her specifically. Then say, “Hey, Gwen, It’s me, Swistle. Remember me from last time? I’m coming in again, could you check real quick for my kit?” It forces her to take ownership of the problem, because you are going to be asking for her when you come in. I know you hate phone calls, but I think it would still be better than repeated failed visits.
The lab thing is unacceptable. I know you already ugly cried at the other lab. Do you feel up to doing that again?
Re: Texting and driving. I do not do this. But it’s cited as one of the reasons self-driving cars are looking viable in a way that they just didn’t 10 years ago. 10 years ago, people were unable to imagine giving up control of their car, and now they WANT to have someone else drive so they can mind-meld with their phone.
I’ve always been a member of Team Please Let Me Read or Knit, so it’s fun to see the rest of the world join me.
I feel like I am going crazy with the texting. I drive a lot, gathering up various children, and I see it all the time. Mostly on the highway! Where we are all going 75! Sometimes I beep my horn – BEEEEEEEEEP! I really lay on the horn, and I think that will snap them out of their reverie and they NEVER EVEN NOTICE WTH? It’s awful. AWFUL.
Re that lab thing, have you spoken with the lab manager about this. Not by phone but in person? Sometimes it requires seeing the patient in person before someone is willing to do something. I hope I am never in your position because I would be the annoying one to my lab after all of this.
OMG my nephew just got a DUI due to texting and you know what his response was: “I would have made it home if I didn’t text”. WTH, no ! No texting and driving and No drinking and driving
Yes! There are always SO many people texting and driving. It makes me crazy.