Waiting

Waiting Rooms

"You're a little early. It might be a bit of a wait." The receptionist at the veterinary hospital seemed truly apologetic this morning when I checked in for Guido's annual exam.

I think I managed to keep the satisfaction out of my voice when I replied. "Oh, that's okay, I brought things to do."

Truth be told, I was hoping they were running late. They have a completely separate large waiting room for people with cats, with two armchairs and two couches. (And a television, but that's easy enough to switch off.) There's hardly ever anyone in there, because far more dogs come in to the practice than cats. It's perfect.

So I pulled out my laptop and wrote for 20 minutes until it was time to go into an exam room. It was great! (For me. Guido, who was less enthusiastic about having his morning nap interrupted by being shoved into a carrier, thought it was a lot less great and told the world about it repeatedly.)

I miss just being in different places, especially now that it's colder and I'm only heating my office. I like my office, but it's still just one room. One of the minor inconveniences of the last 21 months is not being able to just spend time somewhere else. A couple of years ago, I used to go to the local coffee shop and spend a few hours most weeks. Now... not so much. 

I haven't gone back to the coffee house partially because of the pandemic — even now, it still seems kind of stupid to risk getting sick just so I can go sit on someone else's uncomfortable couch. But mostly because I went from having an income to, well, let's just say that my goal was to break even on my writing this year and I'm pretty close. But spending money like that isn't in the budget.

So I showed up a little early for Guido's appointment.

Obligatory Pet Picture

If a strange cat walks up to you when you're outdoors, you have to take its picture. Sorry, those are the rules.