I once sat in a doctor’s office while everyone went to lunch. Seems everyone thought someone else had dismissed me. Boy were they embarassed!

It went back to the orthopedic surgeon for a checkup on my collarbone today. I waited for 45 minutes, most of it in the exam room.

And so I read things. Caught up on Twitter, skimmed some emails and so on. If you think about it too much it feels like you’ve been forgotten in the examination room. Fortunately there is that one painting, that one miserable print, for you to contemplate. That’s the one way they’ve left you to pass the time.*

I shot, edited and produced this little video while waiting on the doctor. Still had time to spare. If I’d known I had this kind of time I would have re-shot this to steady it up somehow. I would have brought in a tripod from the car. That wouldn’t have looked odd at all.

They took an X-ray. The doctor spent about five minutes with me. Showed me the X-ray. He pronounced my bones as healing nicely. He said the six screws are hexadecimals. I’ll be sure to pack a hexa-multitool if I ever want to do self-maintenance.

He blew off my muscle spasm issues. I could write paragraphs about them. They are in my left back and shoulder, in the teres minor/infraspinatus facia area. Sometimes it reaches all the way across to the right shoulder. Once or twice it has gotten into my neck. Two weekends ago it somehow got in my head. There is not much up there, but certainly no muscle! I wish this experience on no one.

I blame too much time in the car and not understanding how little exertion I can actually perform. It should seem, though, that after this many months muscle spasms would get better. The doctor has alternately told me six months or a year or Christmas, depending on his mood. A family friend promises this will continue on for some time. These are not the prognoses for which I am looking.

Also, as my mother reminds me: I am not under 30 anymore.

Anyway, the X-rays look good. The doctor says the bones are healing nicely. The heavy wet wool blanket feeling on the front and top of my shoulder has improved recently. I’m pleased with the collarbone.

Nearly — and sometimes entirely debilitating — muscle spasms are a drag. Don’t fall off your bike, kids.

*Also the doctor’s stool on which you can perform wheelies.

For dinner The Yankee and I celebrated with Cheeburger Cheeburger. We read each other trivia questions over our cheeseburgers, laughing and giggling and surely making The Yankee’s student, who was dining a few tables away, think we were perfectly silly.

We walked up the block, where the city had blocked off one of the roads for a downtown festive event. A band was playing. People were dancing, mostly the older folks. All the college kids have skipped town for Thanksgiving, so a special town feels no less special, but a bit less vibrant. It is a great place to be, and so we walked on the sidewalks on a cool November night, looking to harass friends that we might run into.

Finally we walked through one of the town’s two alleys, found the car and headed home. We’re going to watch movies all night. Great night.