Paging Dr. Godot

So I'm finishing up work, IMing with a friend (multitasking, right?) when all of a sudden I am staring at a blank screen. Lights out. House quiet. We hardly ever lose power here, but hardly ever is not never.

I can't wrap up work. I can't work on my school assignment. I go downstairs, light a few votive candles, and play my guitar. The candles aren't for atmosphere, although they do pretty well in that department. It's kind of grey and gloomy, and since it's almost 3 o'clock, the house is getting dark. I'm trying to learn some lyrics, including those to a song I just wrote, so I need to read. (The song needs a bridge. Anyone got a bridge?)

I see a firetruck pull up in front of the apartment building across the street. I'm not sure how widespread the outage is. I think maybe some nefarious activity in the building having to do with cultivation or chemistry has caused the problem. But the firetruck leaves in a few minutes, and still no power.

Then I realize I need to go out to do some errands. I don't know if power is on over where the stores are, but I figure I'll get outside anyway. Rubber boots and all, because it's raining. Leave it to Vancouver to make rubber boots chic. Mine have a pretty pattern on them.

When I get to the park, I see that the traffic light to my right is out. But I can see lights on the other side of the park. So it seems the outage is very local, probably a blown transformer or something like that. I walk across the park and up the street and start doing errands: buying rolls to go with lentil stew tonight, checking on a prescription, getting some money out of the ATM.

I'm about to go into the supermarket to pick up a few things when I notice that there is no one in chairs at the clinic next door. I've been meaning to get my flu shot. Before last year, I had never gotten one, but two years ago I contracted H1N1, before there was really any talk about it. I felt like complete poo for three weeks. Last year I got my first flu shot ever, and I was well all winter. So I'm back for more.

I tell the woman at reception that I'm there for a flu shot. She tells me I shouldn't have to wait long because there's only one person ahead of me. There seems to be only one doctor on duty, and they have no nurse. So I sit down, and sure enough, it's only a few minutes until I get escorted to a room.

Where I wait. And wait. I don't have a book. I hadn't planned on doing this at all. I wait some more. I can hear the doctor with someone in a room next door. I stick my head out the door. I notice one door has a "do this one next" sign on it. I am sorely tempted to move it to my door. I'm not supposed to have my mobile phone on, but I fire it up and call Sweetie. She's busy and only partly sympathetic to my whining.

It's getting close to an hour. Srsly. I usually get Zen about waiting, but I really need to do that school work, not to mention make supper, assuming the power is back on. The doctor finally pops in. She's very nice, an older South Asian woman. She says, "Oh, you're just here for a flu shot! If I'd known that, I would have come here first." Great. Nice scheduling, front desk! The doctor is done with me in literally one minute. I wait an hour for a one-minute flu shot. But once you start, once you've wasted enough time for it to feel like it's been too long, you don't want to bail.

I should not have done this on a day when I didn't have time to spare. I should not have allowed myself to be lured by the sight of an empty waiting room. Shit happens. Murphy was an optimist.

I'm finally out the door. I get my groceries. I pick up my prescriptions. I head home as quickly as possible. The power is on again. It was out for about an hour. The hour I'll never get back. Oh well.

At least I don't seem to be having much of a reaction to the flu shot. I just need more sleep. Yes, I did get that school work done.