An Unexpected Unpleasantry.

Well, I've officially had the most awful day ever.

It started out nice and early this morning at 5:00 a.m. I had got up that morning with the intent of getting bagels for the clarinet section (because I conveniently missed sectionals last time). After my shower, I was getting dressed, when I started to cough. If you've been round me recently, you know that my “coughs” are more like thunderous bellows in which you can hear the crackle of mucus that has lined my lungs. It's been going on like this for quite a while, so when my cough explosion started, it wasn't very out of the ordinary. Until, that is, I felt a big pop near the bottom of my rib cage. It felt like I had coughed so hard that something had moved. This is when the fun starts. After buckling over in pain, I called for my Mom to help me back into bed. I explained my dilemma, and continued to writhe in pain. This went on for a good ten minutes, until my Mom gave me some Advil. She then arranged for me to see Dr. Myint. With a lot of luck, I was able to fall asleep. When I woke up, my Mom helped me get out of my bed and into the car. (It's ridiculously painful to move my torso muscles, or cough). When we arrived at Dr. Myint's office, I had the pleasure of sitting in his waiting room. Remember, I'm still in excruciating pain, and every time I cough, I twitch, and whimper, and everybody looks at me as though I have the plague. I then was half-carried into the examination room by my Mom, and weakly laid down on the table. After the nurse checked my temperature, and pulse, Dr. Myint came in and proceeded to check my lungs, liver, kidney, etc. He obviously noticed my flinching and wincing when he tested my ribs, but when me pushed on my kidneys, it caused an unexpected sharp, stabbing pain. But since it was clear the pain was centered around my ribs, he kind of ignored that. He told my Mom and I that we should go get an x-ray, and go from there. My Mom filled out what seemed to be an eternity of paperwork, and then we were on our way to get my x-ray. While in the waiting room for the x-ray at the hospital, I overheard a rather loud conversation about Microsoft computers:

Technologically Incompetent Secretary (TIS): Hey, David, I'm thinking about upgrading my computer. What do you think is the best one to get.?
Conveniently Present Guy Who Happens To Be A Computer Salesman (David): Well, that depends on if you're running Vista or XP.
TIS: Uh... I think my computer is something called Windows 98 or something.
David: Oh, well, then you're going to want to upgrade.
TIS: Upgrade what?
David: Your Operating System
TIS: What's that?
David: It's the main.. thing on your computer. You know when you start up your computer, and it says Windows 98, or whatever?
TIS: So, if I upgrade my Operating System, will my computer run better.
David: Yes, theoretically.
TIS: Ohhh. Okay. Well, what should I upgrade to?
David: That depends on whether you're using your computer for business, or just as a home computer. If you're using if for business, I would go with XP, because they haven't made many programs supported by Vista yet. But if you're just using it for a home computer, I would go ahead and buy Vista, because there isn't a huge difference between Vista and XP aside from the software.
TIS: Well, I guess I'll be using it at home. That means I have to get XP right?
David: ...No, I said you should get Vista.
TIS: Oh... Can you add extra memory to Vista?
David: ... Well, you can add extra memory to your computer.
TIS: Okay, good. Is Vista really like the commercials? Do I have to “authorize” everything?
David: Well, you can change the settings so that it doesn't if you don't want it to.
TIS: So like, if I go to Myspace, and I tell it to authorize, will it stay authorized, or do I have to authorize it every time?
David: Uh, no. It only asks you to authorize things on your system, like if you put in a CD, it asks if you want to install it.
TIS: Well, I wouldn't have put it in there in the first place if I didn't want to install it.
David: Well, there could be other options, like it could be a music CD, or a blank CD, and it would ask you what you want to do with it.
TIS: Okay... So, how much would a computer that would work well for me be?
David: If you really want a nice upgradable computer that will run well, I'd say about between $800 and $1000 dollars.
TIS: WHAT?!?!?
David: Well, I mean you can get a lower end computer that doesn't run as well for about $400.
TIS: But I can add memory right?
David: Sure.. but...
TIS: Is it easy to add memory?
David: Um, kind of...?

Then my name was called to go get my x-ray.

That was possibly the most aggravating conversation to listen to. That stupid secretary kept asking about adding memory, as if that would somehow help her, and make her look smarter. And that poor man. He was just trying to help this lady be knowledgeable about computers, and he got trapped in this monstrosity of a dialogue.

Anyway,

I changed out of my clothes into a glamourous hospital gown, and stepped into a scary x-ray room. Larry, the guy doing my x-ray, seemed really irritable, and persnickety, and talked to me as if I was senile. After the x-ray, we were led to a room with a phone, which the radiologist was supposed to call when he got the results. My Mom answered the phone, and the radiologist told my Mom the most annoying results ever: Nothing. My x-ray was clean.

I was mad at this point. I had to go through all this pain for... nothing? I mean, I figured that it would at least be fractured or displaced or SOMETHING. But no, now it just looks like I'm making the whole thing up.

So I'm convinced all my ribs are broken, and the x-ray didn't pick it up. (Rib cage things do have a hard time of being recognized.)

In the mean time, I'm supposed to take a shitload of painkillers, and keep heat on my side.

Which leaves me here, ranting about the worst day ever.

It's just a bunch of malarkey if you ask me.