The Best of the Best

A productive week and a very productive day.

On wednesday this week I was able to get my medical forms for New Zealand Immigration mostly filled. Then today I went to get my x-rays. The x-ray offices were really nice. If you've had to go to medical offices in New York some of them are not very pleasant you will know. Quest Diagnostics has some of the ugliest offices I've ever been to. Though to be fair, their office in Forest Hills was pretty nice. The nurse that took my blood in that Quest was really good too. I have the veins of mystery, nurses/doctors can never hit them the first time when trying to draw blood. So, I am always turning pale as they dig in my arm with the needle trying to find a vein to drain. I have never been a fan of needles, why such a curse?

At any rate, I get the x-rays taken and they tell me I am done. I say, well, I have a form that I need filled out by the radiologist. Oh, I don't believe the radiologist is in. Hmmm, when I called I said that I had a form that needed filling out by the radiologist and was told that would be no problem. Well, let me find out where/or when the radiologist is expected. Me sez, "OK."

Luckily the Radiologist was found and my forms are complete. I still need to get a signature from my main physician but my medical forms are just about good to go.

The other thing i did today was get my fingerprints taken so that i can request my background check from the FBI. That was a pain becuz I had been told that I would be able to go to any NYPD precinct and have it done. One phone call told me they would also have the forms I needed. So, this morning I go to my local precinct office and am told that not only do they not have the forms, but the NYPD does not do FBI fingerprinting. Oh? Really? Well, who does? Nobody seems to know.

Back to the apartment goes I. Look up the main number for the NYPD and call up to ask what I can do. Luckily, after being transferred a few times, I am told that I can indeed get my fingerprinting done by the NYPD, I just have to go to an office in downtown Manhattan.

Being lazy and afraid of humidity as I am, I choose to drive back in to Manhattan (I had already driven in for the X-rays). Now it is a bit late (it was around 7:30 am when I drove in earlier) and the traffic is nightmarish. I thought I would miss rush hour traffic at it was after 11, I had forgotten that all day is rush hour in NYC. It took me awhile to even get near the office. When I got close I realized that the streets in the entire area are reserved for officials parking only. Not only that, I'm not really used to lower Manhattan and there area a lot of little streets that go nowhere and it is a bit confusing.

After far too much time I finally find a parking meter, not horribly far away from the police station. I drop a couple of quarters, my last, into the meter to realize that one only gets 10 minutes per quarter and decide that i will just have to risk it. Luckily the finger printing was relatively painless once I got into the office. Of course, it being what it was it still took about 40 minutes. They do the fingerprinting electronically now so no ink stains to show for my effort. The machinery is pretty cool though.

My luck held out and as I walked back to the car I saw no ticket in the window. PHEW!

Then, back home came I to eat thai food, ice cream and then take a nap. Ahhhhhh.