5.12.2008 Friday – Blocks and current affairs

Yet another night of torrential rain. I managed to complete my doctor details form and mid afternoon I took it along to the CPAM Health office, which luckily for me is at the end of my road.
The rain was still holding off, so I went into town and stocked up on cereal, tea, bleach and batteries.
Next I went back to my chemists and paid 7.30 euros for some ear drops to try and clear my partial deafness due to bouchons (corks) situation.
If that does not clear my ears within 5 days, its back to the doctor to get them syringed.
I also email my lettings agency to find out why I have not received any electricity bill since taking ownership of the property.
The reply was not encouraging. I will probably have to contact EDF, my electricity supplier, to find out if they have my details and what to do about paying electric bills.
Meanwhile I have now sent an email to the former owners to find out if they passed on my details to EDF when they terminated their contract as the house holder.
I suspect someone has cocked up somewhere, but finding out who and sorting it out, could be a long process. Especially if I cannot hear very well.
I hope that they do not cut my supply off!
Apart from that, everything is just tickety-boo.

28.11.2008 Friday – Down at the doctors

Worse night so far last night. I wrap up warm because although the sun is shining in a blue sky, the computer tells me it is minus 3 outside.
Clutching every document that I think I might need, I walk the few hundred yards to the nearest medecin generaliste practice. I give the receptionist the form that I was sent by CPAM to use to register with a doctor. She gives me my form back and looks concerned. Can you come back at 11am? she asks in French. I say that I can and I set off on the long trek home.
At 11am I am back at the medical centre. Some details are required, Name, address, telephone number, date of birth. That’s all she says, returning to her interrupted telephone call.
What am I supposed to do now? I wonder. Her call finishes and she waves me to a seat to wait.
About 5 minutes later a young man who looks about 23 years old, comes down the corridor behind his previous patient, says my surname. I get up and he shakes my hand. I follow him back to his room.
He ask me for my symptoms and I do the best I can. Who would have thought that to cough would be tousser, but I looked it up before going to the doctor.
Then I have to lie on his examination table and he takes my blood pressure, temperature, peers down my throat, into my ears, then he gets his stethoscope out.
I reassemble my layers of clothing and he prints out a prescription with 8 items listed on it, complete with instructions. He then goes through them all with me so I am sure to take the right number at the right time.
He finishes. What about my gluey eyes? I ask. He had forgotten about them, but writes another line on the prescription.
I give him my carte vitale and I hand over the 22 euros for the consultation.
Then its off to the chemists.
I choose the nearest one, which is just inside the medieval quarter. There is a queue and about 4 people serving. My turn and I hand over my prescription. Some of these are not reimbursable – she says. “C’est la vie” I say and she smiles. She has obviously not heard that one before.
My carte vitale is in her card reader while she scans in the barcodes of the various products. Time to pay another 25 euros or so. How will I pay.
I show her my top up assurance bank card, which is what I am sure I am supposed to use. She has not seen one of these before and disappears. Reappearing she asks if I have the paperwork to go with it? No I say. They cannot use this card. I hand over my carte bancaire. She is sorry as their machine for reading cards is broken. Do I have cash, or perhaps a cheque?
I give her my cheque book, and she processes on which I duly sign, date, and list the name of the town in which I am writing the cheque, as required.
Job done. My drugs are handed over. Goodbye she says. I remind her that she still has my carte vitale in her machine. Almost 2 – 1 to me I think.
I will have to go to my bank to find out what to do with my top up assurance bank card, but not today.
I buy bread and head home.
How does my experience today differ from the English health service.
I would have had to come back the following week to see the doctor having made an appointment whilst at the doctor’s reception. Or I could ring very early in the morning to see if I could get an appointment to come and wait until a doctor could see me at some time during the day.
In the UK I would not pay the doctor for a consultation. I would have been lucky to get a dose of antibiotics. If I could persuade the doctor to write a prescription it would cost me about £8 per item on the prescription.

Back home I number the boxes of medications to correspond with the numbering on the doctor’s prescription, which the chemist gave me a stamped copy of.

I have a throat gargle, eye drops, ibuprofen, nasal spray, I have to put 25 drops of an essential oil / salt solution into a big glass of water and drink it. Yuck! The cough medicine is nice, there is a 1 gram paracetamol effervescent tablet to add to water and drink. By now I am shivering, probably due to drinking all the water. Now the antibiotics.
Just the eye drops to do. I don’t notice that I have not done the nasal spray until I re-read the instruction in the evening.
All except the antibiotics have to be taken 3 or 4 times a day over the next several days. I must be ill!
Bed for the next few days then.

30 October 2008 Thursday – management of change – Rigsby on tour

I wake up at 5am, as the new tenant starts opening his squeaky front door. Why did I not oil it? He seems to go in and out and then finally drives off at 5.15am. Looks like he must be an early to work person after all.
It is lighter than yesterday, but the forecast says rain. Sure enough, at noon, it starts to rain again.
Having downloaded software to work with my phone yesterday, I am no longer able to access YouTube videos. I download the required software; I check that Java is enabled, but no success. I had wanted to watch the film of
“Who moved my cheese”
After an hour of trying out the suggested cures, I have YouTube again. Click on the link above to see it.
The book it is based on is slightly longer than the film and takes about an hour to read I believe.

I should have gone and pulled my wheelie bin back in off the pavement and checked my mail box. I am still waiting for my carte vitale medical card to arrive.

Did you guess the mystery posed in yesterday’s blog? It just goes to show what a small world it is. It is that my lodger and the bee keeper referred to in the choir email are one and the same person!

In the evening, I talk to S on Skype. She has a visit from her neighbour K whilst we are online, so I give K a live tour of my apartment. Then I leave the two of them to their glasses of wine and discussions of crochet hooks.
During the day I received a message from HB, my only official registered blog follower, giving me her skype details. I see that she is online, so I have a chat with her and D, and give them a tour of the flat too.

10 October 2008 Friday – Almost complete

A cool day today. The builders arrive at about 9.45am and start their drilling again. They fit the kitchen cupboards but have problems finding bits of wall without hidden cables. Their wire finding machine keeps beeping all day.
Still studying in the present tense, I am doing reflexive verbs at the moment.
There is still a long way to go in my exercise book.
By half past 5, the cooker (Which has been a cochonerie to wire up) is in place, the cupboards are all installed. The sink is installed but there is no water supply to it yet. The fridge/ freezer is in place and the wall mounted fire has had to be removed to a) get the fridge freezer in and b) allow the freezer door to open.
The kitchen door has been put back in place and as a result, the oven door can only be opened if you close the kitchen door first.
Things are finally getting somewhere. Will I be able to sleep now that the fridge freezer is no longer in my bedroom?
The builder has supplied a small kitchen worktop which is just larger than 2 large table mats placed side by side. It is not conglomere he says, it is wood which is much better. It is untreated wood so this means that I will have to buy varnish to protect its surface from water etc. I also need to varnish the velux window and its surrounding wooden collar.

I have received various correspondence regarding my health cover and health insurance. CPAM has decided to change my social security number already, and I need to send them a photo of myself, fill in and sign another form and send it back to them in the envelope provided making sure to put a stamp on the envelope. I must do this without delay. I also have to enclose a photocopy of something, so I will need to work out what they want. Once they have received and processed my post, I will be sent my carte vitale, which I will need to show every time I need medical treatment, to pay for prescriptions etc. It will be credit card sized and will work just like a credit card.
The bank health top up insurance has also been in action, and there is another card waiting at the bank for me to collect. I wonder if the change to my social security number will cause problems? I will have to remember to take the letter in to the bank to show them. They will also want to photocopy the letter as they seem to photocopy everything.

In the evening S and I succeed in getting Skype video to work.
Another day is done, but not dusted.

25 Aug 2008 Mon - The pipes

Plumbers arrive early morning with a machine to blow smoke. The pipe is quickly located and the plans are discussed again, The velux window is going to be expensive, and supplying the hot water will also be a problem. They will give me their quote for the work before the end of the week.

My next job is to visit the CPAM building. I take my forms, passport proof of address etc along. I am directed to sit in a corner and someone will see me. I am third in the queue.
It is my turn to see the suit. It starts well. I have my forms, do I have a bank RIB with me? Yes.
Do you have your birth certificate? Nope. He gives me all my papers back. I will have to return with my certificate. I walk the few hundred meter home and find the required document. I return to CPAM and am directed to the corner again. There is a young woman there with 2 very lively small boys. They have scattered the leaflets from the table and when they go into the suit’s office the younger one makes a dash for it while the other one starts drawing on the desk with the man’s chained down pen. He gives the boy some paper and he starts drawing. When they leave, without the cash that they hoped to get back, the boy proudly explains that his scribbles are the school children and that is the master.
I hand over my documents and the birth certificate. He takes the certificate away and photocopies it. A signature later and that is it. I will receive something in the post. No problems there then.

The washing machine will not plumb in properly. There is a cold supply but no hot supply. At the Bricomarche I stand in front of the bits of pipe, joiney-bits, and try to figure out what bit I could use to cap off one of the washing machine hoses. It is no use. One of the staff nearby finishes dealing with a customer and I explain what I am looking for. He is not surprised and with an expression of thinly disguised contempt, tells me that I am looking at the gas fittings. I follow him to the plumbing and he gives me a small, threaded metal cap.


Back home it does not fit on to the back of the machine, but will fit on to the end of one of the hoses. I switch on the machine. It will only work on one setting, it is as the booklet suggested, in need of water coming in to both of the in bits at the back of the machine. I will need to brave the Bricomarche again and try to find a Y shaped joint like the book says.