The Best Use of Email

Email has a ton of great uses.  But the best so far?  Emailing your doctor.  The world of online appointment scheduling and emailing my doctor has just arrived in my corner of the world.  I don't just like it, I LOVE it.  A person always feels their worst on the weekend or at night when the office is closed.  To be able to log in and see if there is an appointment available for the next business day is consoling.  To be able to log in and send an email saying, "This is my deal.  Call me back." is even better.

Yes, yes.  One can call and be on terminal hold until someone answers and tells you there isn't anything available for a week -- oh, but you feel really bad?  Let me leave a message with your doctor's office.  Then you wait for the doctor to call you back.  This way, it goes right to the doctor -- or, rather, his nurse and she takes care of calling you back and doing what needs to be done while you do the other things that need to get done when you aren't feeling well -- like sleeping or those urgent work emails.

Sunday, February 17, 4:15pm:  E-Mailed Dr:  Here's my problem.  I'm going out of town for a week.  Any way you can beam a prescription to my pharmacy before I have to leave town on Monday afternoon?  If you can't get it to them before I leave, this is where I'm staying and this is the closest pharmacy.

All the information is there -- no rolling my eyes while the nurse has to write it all down.  I'm sure she appreciates not having to write it all down, too.

Monday, February 18, 2:26pm (which is about the same time I would have heard back if I would have called and sat on hold and then been transferred to talk to the nurse):  Call back from Dr.'s Nurse.  I talked with the doctor.  We didn't get the prescription to your local pharmacy in time.  We're calling the one you gave us the info for in your email.  Also consider 800mgs of ibuprofen for this matter.

Monday, February 18, 4:07pm:  Prescription in hand.  Problem going to go away this week instead of next week.

Bing.  Bam.  Boom.  Best use of email.

The Reluctant Tampon Shopper

He just wanted to pick up some candy canes to give out at work during the past Christmas Season.  Mr. Man asked me to accompany him to Walmart.  He knows I hate Walmart.  I know that's un-American, but my father frequently tells me I'm a communist because I don't like:  brussels sprouts, pie, Jeopardy (Aaron Rodgers likes Jeopardy), or fishing.  Basically anything I don't like that he likes means I'm a communist.

Anyway, we went to Walmart and I worked to control my hyperventilating.  Mainly, I don't like Walmart because it's usually merchandised in such a way that the shelves are stacked high and very close together which makes me claustrophobic.  If the shelves are not close together, they seem flimsy and like they are going to topple at any moment.

While he went in search of someone to help him with the massive number of candy canes he wanted, I went to see if Walmart actually had my brand and size of tampons.  See, in December 2010, my brand of tampon (ob) experienced a 'temporary supply interruption'.  It was four months of bitching and complaining -- Mr. Man was sympathetic, but sick of hearing, "You don't use a brand of tampon for 25 years and just switch!  It's inhumane!"  The only reprieve he had was the two weeks succeeding the Packers' win of the Superbowl.  It was the Great ob Tampon Shortage of Winter 2010 (or was it 2011 -- I don't know what it's supposed to be when winter straddles two years).

Buy Yourself Some Flowers!

This started as, "Ten Nice Things to Do for Yourself" when I snuggled into my bed for a nice nap yesterday afternoon.  I was looking at the vase of roses on one of my nightstands and thought, "Awww...  That would be a good entry."  Then, as I thought of more things, I realized I sounded like a Cosmopolitan article.  So, instead, I thought I would share my thoughts on buying flowers for yourself.

As I've discussed, Mr. Man is not a Valentine's Day guy.  So, on Thursday, when I found myself in the grocery store to pick up some cheesecake for the two of us to share later, I was amused by the number of men lurching through the store clutching cellophane wrapped flower arrangements.  Their eyes were bugging and confused as they looked for something else to add to the Valentine's Day offering that was going to be given in the hopes of getting laid.

I decided to indulge myself.  Why not?  I like flowers.

ALERT! Tomorrow is RAK Day!

What in the heck is RAK Day?  It's 'Random Acts of Kindness Day'!  That's one of those made up holidays that I can get behind -- though we should strive to do something randomly kind every day.  There's actually a  whole non-profit organization dedicated to Random Acts of Kindness.

They have tons of resources and ideas to perform kind acts every day.  Can't hurt, right?  Consider each act a deposit in your Karma Bank.