physical exam

follow the arrows:

this way to x-ray:

potato sack x-ray smock:

this morning, i went to the seoul medical center to get a physical exam. it's part of the job, you know, they want to make sure i'm not cracked out on anything or about to croak any time soon. i checked in and was instructed, in korean, to go upstairs--that much i understood--then the rest of his words blurred into incomprehension. so i followed what i knew. i went upstairs. to floor number 2. fortunately, there was an "information" booth at the entrance of the second floor, and i asked the nice lady, in korean, "excuse me, can you please tell me where to go?" and pointed to my sheet, where the room's name was written. she told me, "go straight and turn left." i thanked her and repeated the directions in my head. go straight. turn left. go straight. turn left. hmm? turn left where? i'd decided that i'd keep going straight until the only option remaining was to turn left. luckily, that stream of logic proved to be right! (ha, get it? right, left, right?) while walking down the hall, i noticed the floor was decorated with different colored lines, blue, white, yellow and red. what was up with those lines?

in room number 1, my height was measured by an automatic machine. i stepped onto the device and after about 5 seconds, a level touched my head and disappeared. my blood pressure was measured, as was the health of my eyes, hears and color-blindness. then, my chest was measured. i don't know the reason why a chest measurement was part of the exam--do they prefer instructors with bigger or smaller chests?--and was told to go to the x-ray room, just down the hall to my left. i looked down the hall to my left and in bold letters, it said X-RAY. sweet. so i changed into this funny looking shirt, sort of like a potato sack shirt, only heavy cotton and not itchy burlap, thank goodness. i held my breath, the x-ray was taken, presto, change-o. next, on the checklist: blood work. "where do i go?" i asked the technician. guess what he said! "follow the red line!" so what did i do? i followed the red line, which pointed exactly to the place i needed to be. such smart koreans!

my blood was drawn, i peed into a cup, and i was done. nice work, chong.