A Crazy, Gun-Toting Month

We entered a posh looking building in the Flatiron district and asked the guy on the door timidly, "We're looking for Westside Pistol Range..." It was 10.45am on a Saturday morning and we were heading to the basement to do some shootin' - followed by some dim sum, 'cos you know, that fits. 

There were five of us who eventually signed up. The group size had waxed and waned for a few weeks. I had been fairly up for it, but the closer we got to the date, the more worried I became. What if I decided to go on a kill crazy rampage once they put a gun in my hand? The Boy wasn't entirely thrilled when my response in the class to the question, "Why are you nervous" was "I don't know what might happen..."

It wasn't as bad as it might have been and was all pretty safe. Honestly, I did cack my pants for the whole two hours, though perhaps the last round of shooting, I did perhaps aim a little. The first round was just emptying the rifle of bullets so I could sit back down. 

The instructor was your stereotypical gun lover; big, I mean really big, and bald with questionable views on gun ownership. I repeat his phrase verbatim: 'If you leave New York City and go beyond Pennsylvania or New Jersey, you'll get to a place called America where they let you have fun with guns." Quite incredible, really.

Overall, this has been a crazy month. We went on a last minute, four-day ski trip up to Vermont as well as another trip locally in New York; we went out of town to catch up with A & J and their comedy kid, who just cracks me up; we had a Sunday session - I'd missed those - and ended up going bowling, which reminded me of being back in Japan; I'd had a crazy, last minute proposal due at work, which meant I had to change my annual leave days; and I also interviewed for another job (yes, I'd kept quiet about that), but didn't get it. What a month!

In amongst all this, I navigated the US health system for the first time. For a Brit, it seems crazy to have customer service when it comes to seeing your family doctor. Can you imagine not having to call up at 7.59am so you're the first in the queue for the day's appointments or not having to call for 30 minutes until you get a human being and not an engaged tone? Trying to choose a doctor is facilitated by online scoring and review systems so you know whether you're getting a good egg. 

I had hurt my ankle the first time I went skiing back in February, but just carried on using it and had been getting worse. It was pretty bad timing really, as we had just switched insurance providers, meaning that I'd have to pay out of pocket and get reimbursed. I'm still waiting for the bill now, but imagine it's going to be hundreds of dollars. 

Anyway, it's been a while since I had to deal with anything bureaucratic and it's always stuff like this that makes you remember that you're living abroad in a system that isn't quite familiar to you. Gambarimasu!