Welcome to Hell...

...a.k.a. the Two Week Wait, or for those of you who have had to put any extra effort into getting knocked up: the 2ww. I got a positive OPK on Sunday, 6/15/08, so Brad and I have made like bunnies, as per the doctor's orders. I go for blood work on 6/23 to confirm that I did actually ovulate, and then more on 6/30 for a pregnancy test. Now I am in the phase where I am stuck waiting for two weeks to find out if I am pregnant. It sucks. I am a worrier, and very impatient, so this feels to me like marking time (for you non-band-nerds, that means marching in place) in the hot Texas sun, while sweat trickles down my back. It's miserable.

Speaking of heat, this is turning out to be one of the hottest Junes on record. We have been remodeling, inside and out, and the exterior of the house only lacks a few pieces of drip-edge flashing, and a paint job. But it has been too damn hot to go outside to finish it up. This morning at 10am it was already 92 degrees out there. Even after dark, it's uncomfortably hot. It's comparable to being on house arrest. And I can't imagine that it will get any better any time soon, as we still have 10 days left of June, all of July, and August, and most of September before we typically get a break in the heat around here. We are already in a drought, and no rain in sight.

Like I said, welcome to Hell.

A Whirlwind Day

We went to the initial consult at the fertility clinic today. It was storming and traffic on MoPac was at a standstill. I was only 10 minutes late, and I got chastised by the doctor for it, because she and her other patients do *not* like to be kept waiting. She will from here on be known as Dr. Punctual (unless she does something to merit a different name). There wasn't a soul in the waiting room, and when I tried to call to let them know that I was on my way, but running a little behind, of course I couldn't get a real human to answer the phone. She either needs to give lessons to other doctors in punctuality, or pull the stick out of her ass. I'm so used to waiting for long periods of time in doctor's offices that I didn't think it would be a problem. So anyway, we did the interview/consult, and here is the tenative plan of action: I have to get Brad in to the doctor for a checkup on his diabetes, cholesterol, and blood pressure. He will also have to have a semen analysis, and he will have to quit smoking. Dr. Punctual wanted me to have a couple of labs drawn, to start with, and to make sure I am not pregnant already. Then I will start taking Provera to start my cycle, then 100mg of Clomid, since we already tried 50mg with Dr. Adonis. She will monitor me for a good response, and if the response is not satisfactory, I will immediately start Provera again, and move to 150mg of Clomid. If the response is good with either dosage, we get ovulation predictor kits, and make like rabbits. If the response is just mediocre, we consider higher dosages or extended dosing times. If there is no response, we move on to injectable stims. It sounds like a reasonable course of action, with acceptable expediency. Speed is definitely a factor, since I will be off during the summer, but when school starts again, it will be much harder to do all of this.
After we got through with the appointment, we went to St. David's for the lab work. We had to wander all over to get to the lab, but once we got to the lab, I was in and out within 10 minutes or less, and the service was exceptional and friendly.
Then went to the Social Security Administration, at 9th and San Jacinto. I was so proud of myself to have remembered where it was. We walked in the door, only to find out that the SSA moved about three years ago, and is no longer at 9th and San Jacinto. How annoying. It moved up near I-35 and St. John's. I will say one thing, the new building is a huge improvement from the old one. Gone are the two little service windows and wall fans to try to blow away the odor from the crush of humanity. Instead, there are 24 service booths (with chairs, even) to serve your needs. There is modern air conditioning, adequate seating, and color television, all topped off with a pleasant feeling of cleanliness. I still had to wait for 45 minutes, but that's better than 3-4 hours in the old location. I officially got my name changed (almost 2 months after the wedding), and I didn't have to argue with a single person. The man doing the change was even friendly.
After that we went to the building supply place that once was Calcasieu and got a quote for the materials to replace the fascia boards on the outside of the house before we paint. They were mostly knowledgeable, and completely friendly. The quote was for $600. Then we went to the bank and got a check for $600, with which to purchase said materials. The bank was efficient as well.
Then we went to DPS and I changed my name and address on my driver's license. I even got fast, friendly service there.
Last, we went to my bank and deposited some money in my account. Hopefully my employer will deposit some money in my account tomorrow, and then the government will deposit some more money in said account on Friday.
Overall, we had a whirlwind day, in which we accomplished much, received exceptional service from all parties involved, and nobody pissed me off. Talk about a success. About the only thing that would make it any better would be for the fertility clinic to call and say, "Stacy, all of that was for nothing. According to the lab, you're already knocked up. Go ahead and schedule an appointment with your regular OB/Gyn." Wouldn't that be nice? But knowing my luck, I'll just have to settle for the pint of Blue Bell in the freezer.

Personal Service

For the past few months, there has been a radio ad playing that is an advertisement for car insurance with "personal service." In this commercial, someone is trying to sell the insurance to a guy based on this personal service, and the guy responds with something like, "Well, I don't really like service, and especially not *personal* service." It is supposed to be funny, and on the surface it is, because everybody wants personal service, right?

Well, today I figured out that I really don't like personal service all that much. I had been looking for a specific kind of paint at the local big-box home improvement store, and I couldn't find what I was looking for, so I went to two different paint stores. At both, it felt like they were trying to sell me a new car. Most of the things they had out on display were just accessories and specialty items. For regular paint, you pick a color, tell the salesman what finish and use you want, and they sell it to you without you even seeing a can of paint. Now, I understand that most of these stores are designed for the average joe-blow consumer who doesn't know his asshole from Jesus, but that's not me. Possibly because I have a higher IQ than a radish, or maybe because I am the queen of indecision, I actually want to evaluate all of my options, without some car salesman standing over my shoulder. I don't have a problem with somebody greeting me when I enter the store, and asking me if they can help me, but when I say I'm just looking around, I want them to go away until I request their help. If I want to compare labels for an hour, then I will. Because I am a very tactile person, I like for stores to have everything out on display, so I can see and touch all of my choices.

It's the same at shoe stores where they have one of each type of shoe displayed, and the salesperson will bring you the correct size. I don't really like having to wait for somebody else to get things for me, and I don't like people to be waiting on me to make a decision. Maybe I grew up middle-class enough to not really shop at stores where you get personal service, and so I can't get used to it. Who knows... All I do know is that I'll stick with the big-box stores and their crappy service. After all, who really wants personal service, anyway?