The waiting game has begun. I saw my PCP a week ago, and am waiting for my bariatric surgeon referral approval (Not approval but referral approval. BlueCross has to approve referrals, then they send the approval to you in the mail. *sigh*). They say it takes 7-10 days for referrals to go through so I keep checking my mail every day.

The bad news is, according to my doctor, I may not get a choice about what bariatric surgeon I get. I will most likely be referred to a Cedar-Sinai surgeon since I belong to the Cedar-Sinai Medical Group. I know that they all have a good reputation, but I sure wish I could choose the surgeon. I already had him picked out. He is an expert in laparascopic surgery. I do know the Cedar-Sinai bariatric surgeons have done 1000s of weight loss surgeries with few deaths, or so they tell people. So I guess I shouldn’t worry. (How does that prayer go? Oh yes, now I remember: …Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change…).

I guess you could say I’m getting used to riding the bus, but that would be inaccurate. I now know where all the mentally ill and homeless people have been hiding. On the bus and at the bus stop.

When you drive a car, you have no idea how much harsh reality you are being sheltered from. Now I know.

The good thing is I’ve been asked out twice since my car broke down, once by the guy who towed my car, and once by a guy who followed me while I was switching buses. I haven’t been asked out since I weighed about 40 lbs. lighter, and even then I have very rarely been asked out.

Bad news is I wasn’t attracted to either one, and the guy who followed me to the bus station, I believe, was trying to pick my pocket. Ah! The joys of public transportation! Fortunately I pretended I was getting on one of the buses and he walked away and didn’t come back (even though I didn’t get on that particular bus).

Yes, crime is one of the harsh realities of Los Angeles which I was sheltered from while driving a car. I drove a 17-year-old car (hence why the brake hose and radiator broke, causing engine damage), so I didn’t have to worry about car theft or car-jacking. (That’s right! There are actually advantages to driving a sh*tbox.) I will have to be extra careful while taking the bus. I no longer wear my jeweled fancy hair pins and don’t even bother to check my makeup before leaving work. Don’t want to look too attractive to the criminals.