Friday

Another thing crossed off the checklist: today I headed to the company medical unit to, at long last, finish the vaccination series I started back in DC. I'd met the doctor before and I really like her. She's a busy, talented woman in a white lab coat, and she isn't inconsistent with those often constructed notions of science versus the social graces found in bad books. Her very earnest and fetching mad scientist-ness puts me at ease, like slipping into the comfort of pulp fiction. But the doctor was busy today so I worked with the company nurse for the first time. I like her, too. She's not inconsistent with my real-world experience with nurses: wryly humorous on the inside with a carefully straight-faced outer shtick. For my own part, I played the cliché left to me: was my bluff joking a front for doctor's office nervousness? The nurse hustled around constructing my disposable syringe, getting the final vial of Hepatitis A stuff out of the fridge. I talked her into going ahead with my Hep B shot today, too, telling her I wasn't walking all the way down here for just one measly shot. Meanwhile, the doctor stole in for a minute to convince us both to also immunize me with this year's influenza cocktail, so I convinced the nurse it was time for her own rabies booster. All I can compare this scene to: three standard archetypes engaging in some medical Mexican standoff--holed-up in a white room daring each other to inoculate. Sadly, I had neither the experience or charm to give the nurse the shot myself, but I walked out of there with a satisfying feeling of influence just short of actual revenge. I also walked out of there wearing three brand new band-aids. [Cavin]