September 18, 2010

• The Coming of the Tempest…

  I guess it’s a good weekend to be laid up sick on the couch.  I tried to pull through the week without having to take a day off for being sick, but by Thursday night I was really feeling like death warmed over.  I went to see a doctor who proceeded to check out everything I was complaining about.  All Taiwanese doctors of course have to know English for studying medicine, but most don’t keep it up, so to find one as chatty as mine is rare.
  
  When he checked my temperature which was a wonderful 38.6, he said ‘Oh, not good’.  When he listened to my lungs as I breathed in and out for him, he kept saying, ‘Eww, bad.  Very bad.’   And when he checked my stomach and side for pain and I told him of my stomach problems for the past week or more he said ‘Geez, not good for you‘.  So in the end he figures I have a Type B flu (is that worse than A or better?  I still get first and second degree burns mixed up), and I also have a bronchial infection in my lungs as well as a sinus blockage which is causing the headaches.  So, from the knees down, I’m okay.  But from the knees up (Farmer Brown…) I’m falling apart.
  
  He told me to take a few days off, which being a Thursday night, basically meant Friday off plus the weekend.  Fine with me (although I hate losing a day’s pay since we are paid by hours and not salary), but I needed it.  He told me the pills would make me tired, which I already was, so I laughed and said that wouldn’t be a problem at all.  I got home about 8pm that night, took my pills, fed Mouthy and the next thing I fully remember was it was 5am on Saturday morning.  I have small flashes of calling work in the morning to tell them I wouldn’t be there, partially backed up by the fact that in the afternoon I did wake for a few minutes and I was sleeping in my computer chair instead of the bed.
  
  I guess I fed Mouthy as there was an old can of food soaking in the sink and a new one opened in the fridge, so unless she has finally figured out how to feed herself, I did manage to take care of her needs.  Of course I was only awake enough to start watching a show on TV I borrowed from a friend, only to fall asleep again until around noon.  I’ve been dozing off every few hours, here and there, but I have managed to read about a quarter of Amityville Horror as I relax, and I went for a walk to stock up on a few things since there is a nice Typhoon coming in as I type.  I actually need to go to the supermarket if I can to get a few more things, but I’ll wait until later as it will be crowded with people both stocking up for the typhoon, and the Moon Festival on Wednesday (another day off). 
  
  From the look of things right now, Monday may be a Typhoon day where they will close the schools and give everyone a day off.  Not bad for me to rest up with, a four-day weekend, then one day back, then a holiday, then two days before a weekend again.  I was tempted to go to the video store near my work and get some of the older DVDs they have there, but I walked to the comic shop down the road where I have free rentals and got Clash of the Titans and Repo Men to try to watch later when the pills aren’t killing me. 
  
    So from the satellite view, the typhoon is going to cover the whole island pretty soon, but the center will hit lower that Taipei, but we will still get washed out.  Typhoon days are fun, but annoying since almost everything is closed and if you don’t have food at home, you are kinda screwed.  I have some things here, but I will make a run to 7-11 if needed, or to the supermarket if the rain isn’t too bad later on.  Of course now I have a craving for some night market food, but there is no way they will be there and if they are, it would be stupid to drive there and get even more sick from the weather.  It’s a damn good thing I stocked up on peanut butter when it was on sale last month.    Now all I need is some bread to go with it and I am set!
  
  In case you can’t see it, Taiwan is the little island to the left of the swirling vortex about to be covered up…

  • 6:31 am
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