Cacophony of Canines

I left work early today to go to see my orthopedic surgeon. I might as well have stayed a couple of hours longer, since that’s how far behind they were running at the clinic. Actually, when I got there they told me he was 40 minutes behind schedule. An hour passed, then another half hour, and then finally fifteen minutes after that they called me back. That’s where I sat for another fifteen minutes waiting to go to X-ray, but at least I got to finish the article I was reading in the office copy of Motor Trend about the “new” Ferrari FXX. I say “new” because the magazine had a cover date of January, so it likely came out last November, but that’s OK since I’d not heard of the FXX before today. I’d want one, but the cost just under $2mil, and they only made 29 to sell (and at press time, they were all already spoken for).

They took me back and took my x-ray, and while I was sitting there waiting for a technician to take me back to my exam room (yeah, like I don’t know where they all are by now), I got to try – with limited success – to convince the small boy waiting his turn for x-rays that they don’t hurt a bit. I don’t know if I got though to him at that point, but I saw him and his mom on my way out, and he was all smiles.

My doctor came in apologizing profusely about the wait (which most doctors wouldn’t bother with), and proceeded to poke around at my shoulder while we talked about cycling in general (and how we need to see each other more on the trails than there in his office). Here’s the rundown of the exam results: I’m free to do whatever road biking I want to do (which is a good thing since I’ve been at it for two weeks now), I’m free to start running again, he wants me to go another two weeks to PT (Boooo!), and he confirmed what I figured about me not getting back on the mountain bike until at least September (and maybe mid-September, depending on how I feel about it). Sorry Wally – no Tuesday Night IC King rides for me for a while longer.

Due to my wait at the doctor’s office, I was a bit later getting home than I’d figured I would be. I thought I might be home before my normal time, but it turns out I was over an hour after my normal time. I opened the garage door to hear a raucous chorus from all three dogs (usually it’s just one, maybe two) that lasted until I got all three of them outside and then fed. I don’t think they like it when I’m late. If I’d known how late I’d be, I would have asked my parents to stop by on their way through town (going home from vacation), but c’est la vie, I guess. At least the dogs are being quiet now…at least until they finish their dinner.
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Two favors I'd like to ask of the general public:

1. If you are a woman, and if your gut sticks out further than your chest does, please do not wear midriff babydoll t-shirts, at least not out in public. I'm glad your self-esteem is high and you're comfortable with your body, but there are some things a lot of us would just rather not see.
2. If you are driving along in your car and there's a convertible (like I was driving today) or a motorcycle or a cyclist behind you please refrain from doing things like flicking lit cigarettes out of the window (which you shouldn't be doing anyway) or using your windshield washers that are aimed just a little too high and end up christening the person behind you. Within a half-mile today I had a cigarette bounce off of my windshield - complete with a shower of sparks - and (thankfully) over the passenger compartment, AND was nearly drowned (well, maybe that's a little bit of hyperbole) by an SUV trying to soak the entire top of their car, and part of mine apparently, with washer fluid. If both had happened at the same time, maybe I wouldn't have been bothered by the washer fluid part...