2007-08-08 - 10:02 a.m.

I've been back over a week now but I've virtually done nothing. I managed to pick up a cold/flu- either on the plane or as a result of changing climates. I seem to recall feeling fine on the day I got back (I was wide awake at first, then slept for a few hours in the afternoon, then had a couple of drinks with Nathan and then had dinner and wine at the Greek place down the road), but by last Wednesday I was starting to feel it a bit. Incidentally Tuesday and Wednesday were work days on my roster but they were part of my holidays (just for a frame of reference for me). And then Thursday everything decided to go wrong for my first day back at work. For starters I wasn't 100% and I knew I'd be feeling the cold more after a week in New York, but I figured I'd be getting changed into work gear soon enough so I was just wearing a short sleeved t-shirt and jacket to work. And then halfway to work I noticed the thermostat on my car was pretty much off the scale. A similar thing happened last year when I was driving home from work with Kellee (it never got that high but Kellee noticed the thermostat was creeping up) and it was due to a burst water pump and a cracked radiator- this time it turned out to be a leaky radiator cap. I was sure it couldn't just be that I'd been slack topping up the water- it wouldn't have been so sudden. Anyway I did the sensible thing and called the NRMA rather than just trying to fill it up with water and drive it to work- and had to wait in the cold (even in my car it was cold) for an hour.

All the NRMA did was fill it up with a shitload of water, but I was worried that it could be a head gasket or something- and they followed me for about 5kms afterwards to ensure the engine didn't overheat (ie that the water was staying there) so we were pretty confident it was OK. But I didn't want to take chances, and I tried to get the car to my lazy Kurnell mechanic during the day but he said he could fit it in the next day, but bring it by after work for a quick look over. And then he was already gone when I came by just after 4pm. And didn't get there until after 9am. So I added more water myself- and wasn't confident it wasn't leaking, so I left the car in Kurnell and got a lift home.

By this stage I felt terrible- like shivering and feverish, so I got myself some panadol and some takeaway seeing I didn't feel like cooking and went to bed before 8pm. I would have taken the next day off work but I was doing one of my presentations and I couldn't find anyone else to cover at short notice. In any case going to bed so early seemed to do the trick- as I felt pretty good the next morning (even though I had to catch a train to Kogarah and get a lift to work with Nathan). The presentation/course was one of the better ones I'd been involved with- I was suitably impressed with my co-presenter even though we don't always see eye to eye when we're doing our respective jobs- and it was a simple fix for my car (a new radiator cap and no problem with the head gasket or damage to the engine after it overheated).

I knew I still wasn't 100% but I wasn't prepared for the flu to come back with a vengeance. I should have stayed at home on Friday night but I had plans to catch up with Steve since I hadn't seen him in ages, and nobody had any plans for anything other than a sensible night. Steve came around after work, we went down to the exchange and had a couple of beers. Nathan met us at the exchange and we went across the road for dinner. Nathan gave us a lift up to the Townie where we met up with Phoebe and a couple of her friends. I only had two more beers and was home by midnight.

The next day I was helping my sister move, and I was unprepared for the cold morning wind (after a couple of quite nice days). She's moving from Stanmore to Hornsby, but I was only helping on the Stanmore side since I had to work in the afternoon. I was starting to think about having the Sunday off sick, but when I got to work on Saturday afternoon and discovered that somebody else had a planned day off on Sunday, while we were all there Saturday and there was nothing happening I decided to go home and rest so I'd be okay for Sunday.

As it turned out I felt even worse on Sunday- coughing and spluttering and sneezing all over the place (sorry Lucy!) so I had to take the day off sick anyway (they survived without me). Not only did I not leave the house on Sunday but I pretty much spent the entire day either on the couch or in bed. Monday I felt a little better, and wandered down the road to get some groceries for that night's dinner, but I still had a nap in the middle of the day and went to bed at a sensible hour.

Yesterday, which was technically my middle day off, I was at work for a Team Leaders' workshop, and while I was feeling a lot better that night, I still went to bed at about 8.30pm out of boredom. On the plus side, it meant I was up brigh and early today, and it means I can actually have a constructive day off for the first time since I got back from New York.

Sometime this afternoon I plan to do some proper grocery shopping to cover my next cycle at work. I'll put a load of washing on when I finish writing this, and maybe tidy my room a bit. I feel like I've got a massive to-do list between now and when Jo is here next month for my birthday, but I probably won't give too much thought to that today (although I think I should call up the Exchange and find out if they definitely are booked on my birthday, and if so it should be full steam ahead with the Warren View). I'm sure there's more but I don't need to write it all down now.

And with that, I'm up-to-date.

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