Happy New Year everyone! After a few months away I am back. I never went anywhere... well actually I did I was in Paris & London in November. BTW, I mean London, England - Not London, Ontario for those bizarre Canadians that think Ontario.
My absence was the fault of the great 'free' medical system we have in Canada. It turns out the reason why I was unable to stay up late writing back in October was that I was sick (which surprise, surprise of course I knew). I went to several doctors and no one could figure out what was wrong. I was told it was a cold then the flu again and again. That really bugged me since I avoid Dr's unless I know something is really wrong. I have seen more than my fair share of Dr's.
While I was feeling terrible I was also working overtime on an Intranet project (that seemed to be going no where). So the second the content was handed to the publishing team, I decided I needed a break from it. So I looked for cheap flights and figured I would head to London and at least get to visit my sister. My friend was in Paris so I was also hoping to get a cheap train ride to visit her there for a few days... turned out the train was way too expensive because they were launching a new station for service from London to Paris. Everyone seemed to want a seat on the inaugural ride. I ended up flying which worked out better since I was only going to have about 5 days in Paris.
As I was preparing to leave for my trip I get a call from the Dr's office wanting me to repeat some tests done a few days earlier so on my way to the airport had to stop to get that done. Let's just say it was not a good start to the trip. On the plane I knew something was wrong... normally it is so cold on overseas flight but this time I had 4 blankets and my winter coat on and was still shivering and shaking.
I spent the next 4 days wandering through Paris in a fog... and of course freezing. It was cold, rainy and miserable. Now I understand why everyone wants to goto Paris in the Spring! Aside all of that I still enjoyed my time in Paris, however by the time I left I had no voice and had not even had the chance to enjoy the French cuisine aside from a croissant (Which tasted exactly like the ones I eat here).
Imagine trying to buy metro tickets, train tickets and clearing customs at Heathrow while being unable to speak. At least the customs agent in the UK had a sense of humour and started whispering when I had to do that. The only problem was with his English accent i had no idea what he was saying. ;)
I enjoyed 2 days in London and Oxford while being unable to speak. Then I spent the next 2 days in bed sleeping until my flight. Honestly I had no idea how I could make to the airport by train, tube and foot with no voice, nor energy but somehow I did.
When I arrived home I went to the Dr's again. The 10th one in 2 months. This one finally figured out that I had pneumonia. No wonder I was feeling so so tired for months. Finally I got some antibiotics and it has taken me about 2 months now to get energy back to stay up and not drop into bed right after working.
I am just glad I do not live in the US to get the bill for those 10 Dr's visits. Although, I am beginning to wonder if I was paying for everything, would it have taken 10 visits to get someone to do something?
