I made it to Georgia.

Left HK in the middle of a Typhoon 8 (IDK what it was, but they started cancelling Monday flights, so it sounded pretty serious). Reached Istanbul on time as per schedule.

Istanbul was redoing their airport last time I came through here in 2022. It is the headquarters of Turkish Airlines which services a large chunk of Eastern Europe and Western Asia (and Africa, and all the major world centres).

It's freaking HUGE. And shiny. And new. But there are not enough seats, signposts, or information about what to do and where to go and what needs to be done. And nobody could tell me if I was too late to make my flight, so I didn't really have time to look at everything, although I really wanted to...

Sometimes I have to remind myself that almost everything I can get in a major airport, I can find back home in Sydney, home-made and better quality.

Made the flight to Georgia, got off, met the driver who took me to the place where the tour group was today.

( after 36 hours in Georgia )

I feel like I was better at this when I was younger.

Got a big dent in my self-assurance right now, and struggling: tired and a little anxious after this setback.

*sigh*

Next flight up in 18 hours...

Something with a bit more humour, because this always makes me laugh:



I first saw this on social media, but most recently I saw conuly post it.

The funniest part is the very deliberate way the announcer says "Chicken Jockey" almost like she can't quite believe what she's reading. (Or, it might just be the Minnesota inflection. I can't tell!)

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Amusing point: We are five days into September and I have already written over half of what I wrote in August. August was absolutely a MISERABLE month for writing.

I spent most of the day in the room, listning to an irregular rumble that never quite seemed to stop...

..around 5:30pm, I realised that it was the elevators.

I called down to the front desk and they promptly moved me...to a room at the back corner which smelled like it had previously housed a smoker. You're not allowed to smoke in the rooms, sure. But someone who smokes like a chimney had inhabited that room not too long ago, and I could smell it.

I called down to the front desk, they sent up housekeeping, who sprayed perfume through the room. Not helping! And then they moved me yet again - about four rooms along and there's no smell and no elevator rumble...

What a drama. And I'd slept pretty well last night. It was just during the day that I was listening to that rumble and thought at first it must be construction work, only to realise after hours that, no, it's probably the elevators.

Bad design, as my dad the architect would say.

At any rate, I'm moved again.

NOW can the drama be over? Please? Pretty please?

I'm feeling better still - more energy, but the slightly congested nose and throat again. I stopped taking the phenylephrine after last night. And looking through the drugs the doc gave me, there's an anti-histamine, and an anti-inflammatory, and when I tried taking the metformin (another anti-inflammatory) last night...let's just say it got unpretty.

Tonight and tomorrow is to make sure I'm back to (near-)fighting fit. I should have been in Georgia, by now, meeting the rest of the tour...

*sigh* Okay, no dwelling. Just resting.

I've found somewhere to stay for the next three days and moved there.

( there was a bit of drama )

Hopefully this marks the end of the change-in-programming part of my trip.

I mean, I've done this before. I've worn it and managed it. But it puts me off. And with my health in the mix, I'm anxious. And tired.

I need to have something to eat. Take my medication, and go to bed. Friday and Saturday await, and at least I'm somewhere I don't feel guilty about being in someone else's space (where I was before, although she was very nice about me being sick).

Still feeling not-great, but ( medication is a wonder of the modern world and nobody can persuade me otherwise )

It's COVID.

Took a RAT, saw a doc and got a medical certificate written and some medication to treat the symptoms - they don't have free antivirals as of six months ago, dammit.

I'm vaxxed up to JN.1 (whatever the most recent version is) and that's good, because it hopefully means it'll be mild. But it still sucks.

Still trying to work out what I need to collect on the travel insurance for medical situation causing disruption to travel plans.

Probably a PCR and that's going to be the tricky part around here.

--

Had taste and smell (well, relatively, other than blocked nose) up to this afternoon. Mostly I'm feeling fluey - and tired.

--

Things I did not need: the eastern european friend who has a tendency to be upbeatedly-depressing telling me she hopes I don't get Long COVID like she did 8 weeks after she got COVID... I mean, I hope I don't, too, but I didn't need something else to think about...

Ugh. Alas, for I have caught a bug. Virus. Thingy. Whatever.

Runny nose, blocked ears, exhaustion, sore throat.

Luckily, I had some antibiotics to take for it, so that's made things a little easier, but I suspect it's one of those longer-running, harder-hitting viruses.

Going to ask the halfbro for thoughts on a medical centre that I could maybe get seen by a doc and possibly get some stronger antibiotics? Also take a test, in case what I have is one of the worrying ones.

Probably doesn't help that I'm in Hong Kong (and was in Singapore) where it's very hot and humid, and so I start sweating like crayz when I'm not standing in a breeze. I mean, that was likely anyway, but the feeling of my eyes and nose and ears and sinuses all being stuffed up is not fun.

I'm also vaguely worried about the next leg of the trip which is two booked tours where they'll exclude me if I'm not healthy.

So, mostly rest while here in HK. That's the plan. It's just hard because it's so hot and blech and no respite. But the air con wasn't great in Singapore - it just felt cold and hard and sharp in my throat. So what with one thing and another, it's all a bit much.

I've been sick while traveling before - ironically, I was also on a tour that time. But it was pre-covid and people didn't worry quite so much about pandemics.

I've been vaxxed - covid 6 months ago, and flu more recently - but it's just the stuffiness that's not feeling great right now.

Per the dw_news post regarding the MS/TN blocks, we are doing a small code push shortly in order to get the code live. As per usual, please let us know if you see anything wonky.

There is some code cleanup we've been doing that is going out with this push but I don't think there is any new/reworked functionality, so it should be pretty invisible if all goes well.

Sometimes I feel like I am the only person in the world who fills up on water, however temporarily.

Right now, I'm sitting at a table with an entire bottle of sparkling water, and I'm not going to manage to drink it all in one sitting.

Singapore has been beautiful, but also tiring and hot. I have mostly stayed in the hotel, where my room has an absolutely ridiculous view. With the exception of today, when I went out to meet a friend and we walked through 30C heat-and-humidity, fit to broil me in sweat. I was sincerely slick across the skin by the time we reached the place we were going to lunch.

I'm happy to report that Singapore isn't entirely given over to the modern, flash, and fancy. In a little street of restaurants and bars, we found a place that doesnt look like it's changed its decor since the eighties. And I don't mean bright and tawdry neon; I mean lino floors, melamine tables, and the old 'Chinese' paintings and ideographs on the walls, framed beneath glass.

Chin-Chin runs a brisk and cheap business with an extremely simple menu - the height of the 'if you're good at it, ride that train all the way down'. That said, most westerners wouldn't dare eat there for fear of food poisoning - it's got that look about it. Although honestly those places generally have the best food. We had a meal for two, it was filling, and it cost about the same as one meal would have cost elsewhere. Which, on this street where the buildings look like they were built during Singapore's early years of colonisation by the British - complete with wooden shutters - probably means they own the shop and space outright. Because the rent on that street would be absolutely RUINOUS.

Granted, to get there, we had to emerge from the modern, flash, and fancy shopping centres that...sincerely? Look like something straight ouf the Australian 00s (possibly the American 90s) - bling and lights and colours and EVERYTHING IS FOR SALE.

UGH.

Anyway, it's been an excellent couple of days. Even if I've been battling this damned virus. That, or the air-conditioners are drying out my throat something ferocious.

Tomorrow, I wake early and fly to Hong Kong where I will be seeing my half-brother and the niecelets.

And dealing with Dad, who I suspect has an "offer" of a business proposition.

And I am busily reminding myself it is not up to children to fulfil their parents' dreams.

I wonder if I'm going to run short of sleep for the entirety of the holiday.

IDK. Maybe I could have a rest on Tuesday? Theoretically speaking.

Damn. I had half a post typed out and now it's all gone.

The holiday has crept up on me super-fast, and rather stressfully.

Most things are booked and sorted, I need to set up tours in Portugal and in Toronto, but otherwise...I think I'm set. I hope I'm set.

Today has been a change in the weather, occasioning runny noses and sore throats. At least, I hope it's the weather, cause I'll be absolutely furious if it's COVID or a flu.

I've been called in for Jury Duty in the middle of my holiday. I've submitted my flight details, which have been booked since April, but which were rebooked in August - luckily beforfe they sent the notice of the Jury summons. Ugh.

I suspect at some point, though, I might have to use the work situation as a defence against being called up.

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It's now just past 11pm and I think I've managed to pack all the things I have to pack. PHEW.

A couple of things I haven't managed to do - update my will, and get my power of attorney sorted.

Just sent the itinerary.

Okay, time for a wash and bed. And hope this sore throat is just the weather. UGH.