SWEEP SKETCHING

When you show up for your appointment, half an hour early, because you know you still have to register at the front desk (登記處''dang gei chü), there will likely be a vista of elderly people before you who don't really want to be there. Because there are restaurants nearby, they can mentally hear the clickity-clack of chopsticks and smell the fresh dim sum. What with being a stubborn old coot of Dutch extraction whose idea of breakfast consists of coffee and smoking the first pipe of the day -- before or after doomscrolling on my computer, because I'm flexible that way -- the allure of a crowded teahouse or bakery did not tempt me. I showed up nearly an hour early altogether, and was quite happy to be there.

And yes, thank you Miss, I alreay know my way around. The radiology department is second floor basement level (放射科係地下，二樓 'fong se fo hai dei haa, yi lau'). I think one of the reasons I like heading over to the hospital is because if you show up on time or early for any business there, understand the routines and the reasons for what will take place, and are reasonably courteous and polite, they are incredibly warm. Being on-time, well-informed, and reasonably courteous are not, strictly speaking, a key characterisitic of the demographic. Which in this case is grumbly or worried elderly Cantonese who often find it hard to the point of impositional being anywhere on time for anything at all.

A few years ago I waited patiently behind an old couple who were extremely upset that the nurse could not find them in the system. They were there! Why was she so ineficient?

Mrs. Tam, your appointment is in a different department on a different floor at 11:30 AM (not 9:00 AM, on Wednesday (two days hence), and not today. I'm so sorry. And don't forget to sign in at the front desk well before then. On Wednesday. Thank you.

So anyhow, I was down in the "Imaging Department" (放射部 'fong se pou') getting an MRI scan (磁力共振掃描 'chi lik gung jan sau miu') of my chest area at the appointed time. It didn't take long at all. When I see my doctor again we'll review the good or bad news.
And I feel fine, so this was mostly precautionary.

Ended up directing an old gentleman to the elevator, and then redirecting him so that he could escape to the outside world afterwards. Yes, truly, hospitals with very large clear signage at the right spots in both languages are frightening places.
Who knows what can happen if you're there!

Actually, your doctors, the helpful staff, and smarty-pants Dutchmen who compulsively use the internet for information and entertainment do. The last mentioned can also prevent you triggering the fire alarm accidentally.

[Fire alarm: 火警、警報 'fo ging, ging pou'.]



Note: magnetic resonance imaging is more formally called 電腦斷層掃描 ('din nou tuen chang sau miu'), meaning "computerized cross-sectional sweep-sketching", rather than 磁力共振掃描 ('chi lik gung jan sau miu') which means "magnetic force shared excitement sweep'sketching".


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