ah...the smell of bureaucracy...

in the morning? SC's morning, that is.

we're visiting the states in august. i figure i'll use my time wisely to take the littlest one to her pediatrician. BUT her pediatrician can't give the DT shot-she doesn't get pertussis vaccine. which means i have to go to the health department to get the shot she CAN have. which necessitated a phone call to that delightful entity.

a lady answers the phone. i tell her most of the littlest's life story. she says "oh, let me transfer you". oops. i get connected to a very polite young lady who takes all my information down but informs me that she is only a "fill-in" in the office & must double check with the nurse to be sure that they can give that shot. cause, you know, i'm doing something outside the blindly led norm. belie the fact that the littlest's info is IN THEIR COMPUTER. and the one and only time she has been to the HD, was to get the shot that is now in question. ugh. ms. polite comes back & confirms my appointment but would like to know why, exactly? does the littlest not get that vaccine? cause the nurse told her to ask. and i bite my tongue & manage to inform her of the familial (but she heard familiar, apparently) allergies & leave off the part about THIS IS MY BABY, NOT YOURS & NO ONE CAN MAKE ME DO WHAT I DON'T WANT TO DO WITH HER. but then i still have to speak with the nurse. i guess to confirm that i am not, in fact, one of the stupid unwashed masses with no critical thinking skills & yes, thank you very much, i have thought this decision through & (last but not least) if you think that i'm going to put this baby through what the middlest went through with that horrid vaccine, you've got another think coming & make it quick before my head explodes.
"ring, ring" and the nurse picks up but all i hear is someone saying "she must have hung up" and then a click. hello, hello? sigh. dial the number again.
"ring, ring" yes, i need to speak to nurse shirley? oh, yes, i'll transfer. and nurse shirley answers & we have the same conversation about FAMILIAL allergies & apparently i'm on my way to confirming to her that i'm not a complete idiot when the phone cuts off. are you kidding me? sigh. dial the number AGAIN.
"ring, ring" yes, nurse shirley again. and the phone rings thirty eleven times & the hold music comes on & then it rings nineteen more times & ms. polite picks up again. huh? how'd i get you? and i ask for nurse shirley again & get transferred again & thank goodness my head hasn't exploded yet b/c then my kitchen would really be a mess. and finally nurse shirley answers again & is all chipper, haha and why not? her morning has just started & she has no way of knowing that i sat in a 1600 square foot apartment all day with rain pouring down outside & a 14 month old who won't. stop. screaming. ARGH. and i finally convince her that please. i just want a DT shot. for my baby. and HEY check your computer, you gave her one of those a year ago so i think it will be fine to do it this time, too, ya know?
but i guess her computer is about as up to speed as her telephone is b/c then she proceeds to call the littlest...you know, the one with tons of hair bows & barrettes & a tutu & sparkly pink shoes & a daddy who has decreed that she wear dresses all summer long..."he". i know littlest isn't standing in front of her and all but really? you can look at the name that the littlest has & still call her a he? i can't imagine someone naming a little fella that name. no freakin way. and this is the option i have for injecting my babe with that garbage? ugh. please. between now and august 6th, kindly remove your head from your butt before sticking a needle in my baby. that's all i ask. please.