mri

yesterday was an exciting day for this little country boy.
it started around 5:45 when my alarm went off.
i hit snooze.
then i finally decided to get out of bed at 6. i had to leave the house by 6:30. normally i have my alarm set for 6:15, but don't get out of bed til 7, but today was a different day. i had an appointment in lexington. a little visit with a little machine called an mri. i am sure most of you have heard of the contraption. it is a machine my brother in-law danny cannot enter (due to his arvd), my mother in-law fears it, and my wife must avoid it until after jasper is born.
so i drag my body to the shower and quickly clean myself and put on fresh clothes. i am in my car by 6:45. i am running late, but i can make up for it on the road. i can speed and road workers are not at their jobs until 8.
i make it to richmond in less than 45 minutes, but i still have a ways to go to lexington (about 30 more minutes to the hospital). i am tired and i need a pick me up. so i stop by starbucks and get me a coffee with 4 shots of espresso.
i am back on the road in a matter of minutes, but wait.. what is this? i finally hit the interstate and it starts to storm?!
imagine this with me. huge semi's doing 85. my little focus doing 85. pouring rain. lightening flashing. the rain gets harder. i slow down. the semi's do not. they pass me as my windshield wipers try to keep the water off my windshield. the storm gets worse. the cars around me slow down to 45. the semi's flash their lights. i grow a little nervous just waiting for a semi to hit me. finally i make it to my exit.
i arrive at st.joe's a little late. i have a hard time locating the room i am supposed to be waiting. i don't know my BMI (body mass index). why they ask this question, i do not know.
finally i end up in the mri. it is loud and i am having a hard time relaxing. on of the sequences makes my right pec jump with each noise. 45 minutes pass. i am finally out of that machine.
tammy (the tech) comes to me holding a disc with pictures of my brain. i smile. i finally have a picture of my brain.
as i find my way through the maze of the hospital i see my wife's doctor. the man who is going to deliver our baby. his smile freaks me out. i am not sure why. i just don't think a man should smile that much when he is always looking at women's private parts for work.
15 minutes later i find my car. i am in a hurry. i have to find some ear candles for josh and rue, then head to work.
i pull up to the gate.
a recorded voice tells me to pay 50 cents to exit.
no problem.
i open my wallet. i have no cash.
dang.
"please deposit 50 cents."
i begin to search for change (this one sentence caused a lot of baptist to shudder).
i am throwing stuff left and right. finally i find 5 dimes. i put them in the machine. it spits them back out. it takes quarters only!
CRAP!
so i park my car and quickly walk back to the hospital. i pass this large woman smoking and cursing at her child. i smile. she glares. i feel fear build in my stomach as i look at her. is she going to kill me? is she going eat me? is she going to smoke that in front of a no smoking sign?
i run to the coffee shop in the main entrance. i get my quarters. i run to my car. where did i park? 5 minutes of searching. i finally find my car.
"please deposit 50 cents".
i slip the coins in and leave.

i tell this long story to say... i have finished all of my work this morning. i had plenty of time to sit down and right out a long unimportant blog. it's nice to have days like this.