Smooth-ish Sailing

Got through my MRI yesterday. In fact, it went pretty smoothly. One down, three to go.

This is the first time I’ve been to MGH since mid-March – mebbe the longest I’ve ever gone between visits. The first thing I noticed as I came though the front door – all the long tables with scrubs and mask wearing personell standing by. What up with that?

I checked the website.

Effective Monday, April 6, 2020, all patients and visitors in any clinical setting will be supplied with a procedural or surgical mask, which must be worn as part of our continued efforts to protect our health care workers, our patients and to combat any additional community spread.

Oh, so maybe these were mask stations?

Also,

Until further notice, NO visitors will be allowed in the hospital due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with very limited exceptions.

Jen was allowed in – she was pushing my wheelchair. WHY was I in a wheelchair? YOU go without coffee, take two Lorazepam tabs and, by the by, have both balance nerves severed/kaput/banjaxed and see how well you walk!

No one stopped us – we both had masks on and looked like we knew where we were going. We did – Ellison 2 MRI. Possibly my favorite of all MGH’s MRI departments. Warum? It’s a smaller department than the one in the Yawkey building – more boutique-y, the lighting’s subtly dimmed – like an upscale, Newbury Street coffee bar and the staff is wonderfully gracious (the Yawkey staff totes rules as well, by the by).

I kept waiting for my OH-NO!-DON’T-PUT-ME-IN-THAT-TINY-TUBE freak out to begin but the Lorazepam (plus a wee glass of Pinot Noir) did their mega important, magic job. OK, the deep breathing exercises and visualization schemes helped too. What was I visualizing? New paintings. I still need to place a Utrecht order so’s I can finish my last Medusa selfie (needs more snakes and neon color) BUT I’ve enough acrylic to lay down the underpainting on my new BIG idea. There’ll be angel wings, lizards, possibly some bats, flying nudes and shit. Yeah, think big or go home.

Oh wait...my studio IS my home PLUS, being all locked down and shit, it's not like I can go out anywhere. That phrase should mebbe be think big at home.

On that note, with Ten now on the West coast, I’m alone, during the day, apart from Coco. Mind you, she’s LOVELY company but she DOES have a nasty tendency to nod off just when we get to the good part of our ongoing debate about Descartes.

To fill my meager socialization needs, Janice has suggested setting up Zoom dates. Ya know, I could coffee klatch with Cindy in Vermont or Jenny in Phoenix, have a bit of the grape with Della in Berlin, mebbe talk trash over Jamo with Michal in Idaho or Hillel in Newton?

Have I mentioned that I RILLY miss the pub? Now, I’m not much of a drinker but I DO like sitting on a stool, leaning on a nice wood counter, bitching about sportsball on the telly and people watching.
Jen and I had an epiphany this morning – we can deck out her kitchen with dark bar lighting, put a picture above the sink (some random baseball nonsense), break out the martini glasses and set up a screen with the cantina scene from Star Wars on perma play (for my people watching needs OBVS!).

There! Prob solved! Now all we need are cheap crackers in little bowls and an asshole screaming coaching advice at the "teevee."