Ohhhh make these days go away!
Late last night Tina e-mailed to say she’d gone to urgent care and been told she has a sinus infection and bronchitis. She has sounded, for some time, like she has exactly the same thing I have. A doctor there told her that a cold shouldn’t last more than seven days, and if it goes on longer than that, then it’s something else.
Ugh. Mine has gone on for over three weeks.
Of course, there’s NO WAY I’m going to get to an urgent care facility today. The nearest one is a half-hour drive from here.
Well. I suppose if I left right this instant—6:40 a.m.—maybe I could get in there, get seen, get pills, and get back here in time to throw on some rags before running out the door to class. However, that would mean no breakfast and probably not even time to take a shower. And of course, on Wednesday from Hell there’s no time to get lunch, either. So the first time I would eat would be around 5:00 p.m. Very quickly.
I should show up at choir tonight…I’ve been out almost a month, and we have a big shindig this Friday that I’m committed to go to. But there’s no way I can sing: I’m still barking and hacking.
Welp, if a real cold goes away after seven days, that means I’ve never had a real cold in my life. That’s ridiculous. I’ve never gotten free of a cold in less than two or three weeks.
However, you’d think by now this one should be getting better. And it is…at least now I can sleep at night without having to spray a toxin into my nose.
One saving grace: Pup was so well-behaved yesterday, I wondered if something was wrong with him. He’s starting to act almost like a dog!
The only times he jumped Cassie were when she deliberately teased him. (Yes: a great deal of the tup-the-Corgi game is initiated by the Corgi, who thinks it’s great fun to get him in trouble.) When told to “leave it!,” most of the time he left it. He did not dig up the yard, charge around the house like a rocket, drag me back and forth, gouge the kitchen cabinets with his claws, pick up pieces of palm tree litter to chew on, or otherwise make mischief. He was off the leash most of the day.
I hope he’s OK. Assuming he’s not sick, it’s a good sign: it means he’s beginning to get the idea of what it means to live with humans. He’s a bit young to grasp that concept, so I’m suspicious. But…it could be promising.
A stiff breeze blew all night long. Amazingly, there’s hardly any crap in the pool. The wind must have come in from the north, blowing the devil-pod leaves away from the water. Thank heaven for small miracles.
Better get up and get going if I’m gonna get any food or coffee before M’hijito shows up with Pup. Looks like the earliest I can get in to an urgent care facility will be mid-morning tomorrow. I could drop by the place on the way back from the SBA meeting.
Ugh!
I have come across your blog recently and really love reading about your life. You express everything in such an interesting and often funny way. Sorry to hear you have such a nasty cold/flu and I’m even sorrier you have to work so hard through it all.
What really amazes me from an Irish/European perspective is how hard you Americans have to work to keep a roof over your heads and food etc on the table, not to mention the added worry of health care and provision for your old age. I now no longer take our free/partially free health system and good pension rights for granted. Also teachers here(I am a teacher) in Ireland(even temporary ones) are paid a decent salary with good benefits, pensions etc. We also have the reassurance that if the worst came to the worst we wold be entitled to free medical help and free old age nursing home care.
I’m just amazed that an obviously intelligent highly qualified and educated professional as yourself has to work so hard and for so little reward.
I am also dumbfounded by the amount of property tax you have to pay.
@ Ash: Hmmmmm…. Do you folks have any room for aged but still lively American teachers there?
Ireland is quite lovely. My ex- has fallen in love with it, and he and his wife visit whenever they can.
Soo…. Your property taxes are within reason? But aren’t your income taxes pretty high? And I sure do remember what the VAT did to prices in England — do you have a VAT in Ireland? When we were staying in England, prices for the most ordinary goods were extremely high, apparently because of the costs accrued through the VAT. Most people could afford products of a quality available at K-Mart here.
However…that of course meant that folks were less inclined to accrue great piles of junk, of the sort that’s commonplace around here. Also, it meant virtually everyone was willing to shop second-hand, which led to the fantastic open-air flea markets that grace London and waypoints. Even if you managed to restrain yourself from buying some of the wonderful loot on offer, it was always great fun just to enjoy the crowds and watch people.
Ugh – the cold sounds miserable. Hope you’re able to shake it soon!
As far as the pup, do you think your explosion last week drove home the point that, though Mama Human has lots of patience for puppies, it’s not infinite? Poor kid, but much better for him to reconsider his place in the pack and realize that he is not at the center of the universe! (Or maybe it’s just finally penetrated the depths of his puppy brain that you’re sick and he ought to lighten up just a hair…)
Virtual hugs – if you want them – and I hope you are feeling better soon!
There are no property taxes on residences here in Ireland though the government proposes to introduce a new property tax of €100 per year for all househoulds after Christmas.
Yes income tax is high and social security charges are also high and I lose about a third of my salary but I will receive a decent state pension and we do have a free health service.
Schools are funded nationally from income tax and all teachers are on the same pay scale so the standard of schools doesn’t vary too much from one area to the next.
I do however love your country and have friends and cousins living there. You do have cheaper goods, food etc and anywhere I have been in the Us I have found eating out incredibly cheap.
You also have a tremendous diversity of culture, urban setting and landscape which I have enjoyed on my visits to the US.
PS Vat is huge here and in Britain on goods ,21% , and even higher on alcohol and cigarettes. Some services lawyers, vets, hairdressers, car repairs etc have vat at around 13%. Food(except luxury food such as sweets, chocolate etc) is exempt form Vat as are childrens shoes and clothes.
We still accumulate Stuff!
You had some luck the past few weeks; every other one of your posts is bad news :(. Sorry to hear about all that though. Hope for brighter days ahead!