The Backblogging Begins...

ABOUT TIME FOLKS! Alright, I'm ready and in the mood to backblog, now that I've got some well earnt time on my hands. So here is my Tuesday:

I had slept really well. I woke to hear someone in the other room, which meant that it was Mum getting ready for work, which again meant that it was only 7am. DAMN! But as I checked, it was in fact 11am and Mum had taken a sickie. So we spent the day together (aawwwww!) and went to the new shopping complex that just opened last week. It has that new car smell but it's not a car, it's just new smell. And it was filled with workers from Genesis gym trying to give out free guest passes to the gym. Now after having worked for Fernie, I know the tricks and the endless sales calls that these girls do after submitting your details, so I decided against it. Plus I'm not going to be around for the opening of the gym.

Before we got to the shopping centre, Mum took me into the travel shop and said, "I want to show you something that may come in handy when you're on the road". I walked in and she never said a word: I bought myself a pair of shoes. She and I are a very dangerous combination when it comes to shopping. I rarely go, but when I do, I unleash! I don't need much persuasion and I'm as dangerous with money as Mum is with recipe books. You can't take those away from us even if you tried!

I got back home and was getting ready for my doctor's appointment for my tetanus shot. My friend Oscar is the admin dude and he was able to get the doctor to not charge me for tetanus. So I quickly made the appointment, as I needed to get my vaccinations 4 weeks before being exposed to the environment (It wouldn't have been an issue anyway, as I'll be in Canada and the US first up). Now I've been giving this breakdown of my injection in the last 4 attempts of writing this blog, and after chatting to O, he knows all about it, so he can skip this part. I would also advise that if you are queasy and uneasy with the idea of needles and blood to also skip the next part. I'll tell you when it's safe to read!

I chatted to Oscar for quite a bit before getting to the doctor. I know him through workplace 1 and have known him for over 2 years, but I only discovered a few months ago that he is in fact, Chilean. I thought he was French! So now we always chat in Spanish and we give each other deals on stuff! I had never realised that the doctor's surgery was so close to my house that I arrived 20 minutes early. Met the doctor and he is the best. Very friendly and affable. I told him I needed my tetanus coz I was travelling and he told me that it would be beneficial for me to get 3 other vaccinations as well, preferably all on the same day. I had my heart set on just tetanus, plus I knew Wednesday at work was going to be full on. So while I thought about what I wanted to do, he got prepped for tetanus. Here's the breakdown, reader beware!

INJECTION 1 - TETANUS: He got ready to put it on my left arm. He then tells me to cough for a bit. By this stage our level of rapport was quite good so I obliged. When I ask him, "When will I be getting my tetanus shot?" he said, "You just did". I FELT ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Not even a pinch! I didn't even need a band aid coz I wasn't bleeding. It was the most painless injection I've ever had - and believe me, this year I've had quite a few. And I also knew that tetanus was going to be the worst of the lot, as I do remember getting my tetanus the last time when I was in high school - not pretty. I wanted to go first and I pushed in line, as we were meant to be lined up in roll call order. I would have been last to have been called up and I didn't want to wait that long, so I begged the 1st girl to change spots, and she did. Why am I telling you this? I'm sure there was a point....oh yes, it was a painful shot because instead of keeping my arm active, I froze it completely. So I learnt that the next time I get tetanus, I must keep the arm moving. Now let's get back to Tuesday, shall we: The doctor asked me what I wanted to do with the others. My confidence was sky high, so I said, "Give them all to me now". Which is just what happened.

INJECTION 2 - MENINGITIS: He told me that this was going to be the easiest injection of the lot as it had the least amount of pain and side effects, so he put this one just below my tetanus. Again, he is the master of diversion as he got me to cough. I didn't feel this one either. Once again, no blood and no band aid required. It was all good. Confidence rises a fraction. I was getting ready for the next one.

INJECTION 3 - HEPATITIS A: It was my first Hep A vaccination. He wanted to give the next 2 shots at the same time, just because there is an existing vaccination for typhoid and hep a combined, but he ran out of stock, so these injections had to be done separately. I got my right arm out and he got me to cough and wiggle my toes. Have you actually tried doing those at the same time without thinking about it? Kind of similar to patting your head and rubbing your tummy at the same time. It takes practice. But I did end up feeling this one, but only for just a second and there was some blood. Nothing I can't handle, as I'm pretty good with needles and blood and whatnot.

INJECTION 4 - TYPHOID: The doctor said "I'm going to put this one in straight away to compensate for you getting 4 injections instead of 3". I agreed. I wiggled the toes and coughed, but this one I felt for a good 5 seconds. Ordinarily it would have been fine, if I had not been spoilt with 3 great experiences beforehand. It was still tolerable, but I really needed a band aid as the blood just kept flowing. So it seemed typhoid was the worst of the lot. I was warned that I would be feeling some pain in the next 2 hours, particularly in the tetanus arm. To combat against this, I decided to go to the gym and have an extreme upper body workout. Wise, maybe. I believe it is. Spent 90 minutes at the gym with a strong focus on chest and arm work. They've got these cool chest fly machines - I've seen them before, but these were hardcore and I loved them. By the end my arms weren't that sore, but I knew there was some muscle soreness partly due to the injections/partly DOMS from the workout. It was a good move.

So that was my fabulous Tuesday. I got so pissed off when I tried to share this with you guys and I couldn't post. Damn shame, coz I was wrapped. But the good thing is I can share again on here. I'M BACK BABY!

WEDNESDAY: It was the Jewish holiday so we were all busy, but it dragged on a bit at the end. Too many chiefs not enough Indians....bla bla bla. But we closed early and I grabbed myself a free bubka. I've always wanted to have one since Seinfeld. It's filled with aretery clogging badness that you must have at least 5 times a year. This is my second of the year and possibly last. No worries - it's way too fattening anyway. I stumbled on blogger when again I tried blogging Tuesdays blog with no luck. It was sad to let go of myspace coz all of my goofy comments have now disappeared, but you can't get rid of my goofy mind, so I'm sure there will be more goofiness in times to come!

I'm meeting up with Sachiko for lunch today. Haven't seen her since the beginning of the year when O and I were pretending we weren't together, so it's gonna be one hell of a catch up! Can't wait!

I'm off...see ya later!

QUOTE OF THE DAY (Yes, it's back!): I cross all bridges with joy and ease.