Yesterday, Ken and I went to the hospital to provide another blood sample required by my rheumatologist. I was supposed to drive there but my fingers, especially on my right hand, were still terribly inflamed so Ken drove instead. With moderate traffic, it’s only about a 15-20 minute drive from our apartment. Once we got there, it was a rather smooth process, I must say. I think it was because Ken was there. So when we went in, I put my hospital card in the machine so that I could get my itinerary. Then, following this itinerary, I had to visit a customer service window to confirm that I did not have Japanese health insurance. Then, I went to the second floor where blood and urine samples are collected. Went to the counter there, was asked to put my hospital card in another machine that dispensed my ticket number. We waited for a few minutes, then I provided three or four vials of blood. Afterward, we went back down to the first floor, waited in line again at the window so they could process my bill. Finally, I went to one of the payment machines, put my hospital card in, paid for my bill using my credit card, then I received my invoice, receipt, and future appointment ticket for December 21. There were people behind us in line so I was too anxious to take a photo of this process, ugh. As we left the hospital, I encouraged Ken to get Starbucks (located in the hospital!) but he felt bad that I couldn’t drink my favorite white mocha, so he ended up not getting anything. I had mentioned to him that it was okay, that I would just drink vicariously through him, but he wouldn’t have it.