had my first appointment at mt.auburn hospital, went to belmont for dinner, did all that without getting soaked in the rain. to be continued...

i had my doctor's appointment at mount auburn hospital this afternoon. i bicycled there, fearing a possible rainstorm later in the day. i'd been there once before last year, when i sliced through my thumb and had to visit the emergency ward, but i'd never been there for a regular visit, and took some time to find where to go.

i checked in with the receptionist, who was wearing a distracting low-cut top. after i paid my $25 co-payment, i had a seat in the waiting area, populated by a handful of people all older than me. i didn't wait long, as a nurse called my name a few minutes later. she led me to an examination room and took my blood pressure and weight. i told her the reason why i was here and handed her my medical record packet. she made sure i understood how the residency program works. my residency doctor is only temporary and after about another 2 years i'll need to get a new doctor. most likely i'll have a different insurance within a year and go somewhere else before that happens.

my residency doctor was a young nepalese man. i had the hardest time pronouncing his las name "koirala" and kept saying "koala" (as in the bear) instead. he was young enough that he reminded me of the handful of premed students i hung out with back in college. he had a kind face and spoke in a very deliberate manner, but i still prefer my old doctor back at MGH, who had a more conversational and carefree style. doctor koirala handed me back my medical packet (i figured they'd want to add it to my files, but apparently they don't) and said we'd do some more blood test to see if i might have hyperaldosteronism. if that's true, i may need to get a CT scan of my torso to get a more detailed look.

the doctor then left for a while to confer with the presiding doctor over my diagnosis. he came back briefly to let me know what's going on, the the nurse returned to take my blood. with that i was done, returning next week for a followup visit.

it was close to 3:00 when i left the hospital. it didn't rain yet, but the sky was overcast. i brought along a poncho in my bag, but with all the stuff i was carrying, the poncho wouldn't zip up and i'd still get soaked. fortunately i made it to belmont without the rain. when the storm finally did arrive hours later, it was brief (although it did bring some thundering and very dark skies).

after dinner i went out into the backyard to check out the new moonflower that had just opened up in the early evening.

i got back home right when my roommate was cooking and the smoke detector went off in the kitchen. she wasn't even doing anything serious, just cooking some ramen on the stovetop.