Suddenly I find it is already nearly a week since I last posted. I’ve been pretty preoccupied with thoughts of business ventures and taking care of the mounting list of tasks. Plus, Missy has been following me all around the house, purring and meowing and otherwise grabbing my attention whenever she can. So, I leave you with a clip of a jetstream left behind by some plane… a glimpse at what I do when I travel! Something like this could entertain me for minutes, since there’s not much else to see on the plane.
Posts Tagged ‘travel’
Where did the days go?
Health issues
Wow, this has probably been the longest between posts that I’ve ever had. Between getting my wisdom teeth removed and getting sick, I haven’t had much energy to get up from the couch. Ever since the afternoon after the wedding, I had been a bit sniffly – I think because I’m not used to the weather out here. By the time I decided to bundle up, it was a bit too late and I was already sick. Things would get better and then I’d fall ill again the next afternoon.
On Tuesday, we tried to go get my wisdom teeth removed, but the x-ray machine at my aunt’s hospital wasn’t working. By the time we figured out it wasn’t going to work, it was already 3:30 in the afternoon and not much gets done here after 4-5 PM. We rushed over to a special dentist building but they told us they don’t operate after 3, so we went back the next morning. I got my top two teeth pulled and was going to return to get one of my bottom ones removed today (Friday), but then I fell sick with a fever Thursday afternoon. I had barely recovered from my fever Wednesday afternoon, so this time my grandma decided to take me over to my aunt’s for an IV drip.
Apparently my veins are small, so I couldn’t take a heavy flow. We tried to increase the drip rate, but my wrist and forearm would hurt a bit, so the process took over three hours when it usually would have been closer to two. When I was done, we went back to my aunt’s to rest for the night. I woke up a few times feeling overheated and sweaty, so I slept in a little more to get extra rest. When I was ready to get up, I had a quick breakfast and went back to have one more drip done. This time I was pretty tired and fell asleep for most of it. My aunt got me some more medicine to help with my sore throat and runny nose, so I’m doing pretty well now.
Initially we thought my fever was brought on by the strain of getting my teeth pulled, but it seems that I just happened to get sick on the side. The first day, it was a bit tough to breathe since my gums would leak a little bit of blood here and there and I had phlegm stuck in my throat too. I wasn’t allowed to spit or lick my gums and my mouth was a bit swollen so I couldn’t close it all the way. For the first two days, I also wasn’t allowed to brush my teeth or gargle mouthwash, so that felt pretty uncomfortable. By the second day, I had basically stopped bleeding and was able to chew some things and I’m pretty much all healed now.
All in all it’s been quite a battle all week, not just for me but for my grandparents and aunt, who have had to take care of me. Earlier in the week, my other aunt and my mom also got sick, so it’s been quite the reunion this time around. Either we all caught something or we’re just not used to the environment here anymore.
Away we go!
After a whirlwind run three days in LA, it’s back on the road now and off to Beijing! I just spent the entire day waiting around SeaTac and now I’m finally on the plane! Soon enough I’ll be in China attending my cousin’s wedding. 🙂
Catch up later!
East coast driving, oh my
Philosopher and I have been on quite the whirlwind road trip! From D.C. to NYC to Boston and everything in between, we’ve seen quite a bit of the east coast. Along the way, this is what we learned:
- Toll roads – there a LOT of these! Trying to avoid them means some extra driving and countless small roads, but after getting hit with $3, $4, $6, $8.80, $0.90, and $12 from Maryland to New Jersey, we were pretty scarred for life. On our way back, we detoured through Pennsylvania to make sure we minimized any tolls and it turned out great! It only cost us $1 as we entered PA.
- Left exits – there are also a ton of these, for whatever reason. It definitely threw me off a few times as I merged right to prepare to exit only to find my exit was on the left. Thankfully traffic generally allowed for these mistakes and it was easy enough to get back into the left lane. I’m guessing there are more of these because the terrain is harder to work around.
- Honkers – plenty of this going on. Is it just us or are east coasters (particularly New Englanders) more impatient and horn-happy than most? We kind of expected it from New Yorkers, but Bostonians too? I don’t recall hearing so much honking when I used to go into these cities.
- Speed crazy drivers – I thought LA drivers drove fast, but then I watched as cars zoomed by me going 75 in a 55 zone, and nearly 90 in a 65 zone. It seems that less people get caught so they are far more brazen.
- Full service gas stations – I went to my first one of these ever, only because we had been looking for a gas station for ages and this was the only one that came up. It was weird to sit in the car and talk to some high school kid to let him know how much gas and what kind we wanted. As I later found out, this is the law in NJ – what a weird state.
- We hate NJ. On our way to New York, we made the mistake of taking the New Jersey turnpike. Not only was it the most boring stretch of road ever, there were only like two exits within the first 30-40 miles! Not being able to exit if I wanted made me feel strangely claustrophobic. There was no escape!!!! And when we finally did exit they pounded us with a toll charge. Great.
This was the first time I’d driven long distances on the east coast, since I moved right after learning how to drive 10 years ago. A decade later, I found I was basically a complete stranger to the way of the roads around here. It was madness, but definitely a rich learning lesson (actually lesson upon lesson upon lesson) and we came out with a lot of stories/anecdotes to share and reminisce on. Oh, and I was also constantly reminded of how spoiled I had gotten with automatic doors and windows. I kept forgetting my key didn’t have a button to lock the doors of the rental car we had, so I’d close the door only to have to open it again to manually lock it. And I kept trying to roll the window the wrong way. What a trip!
Ice cubes
Riddle me this: why are ice cubes on airplanes circular? I mean, calling them “ice rings” or “ice tubes” might be more appropriate. It makes me wonder how the ice is molded that way. Perhaps a tube with a pole in the center rather than the traditional trays we’re used to in our homes. Or maybe strange trays with round openings and something sticking up out of the center of each.
A quick search online led me to some interesting results and I’m inclined to believe that there is a scientific reason, like it’s faster to freeze them that way. However, that then makes me wonder why it isn’t a more widespread shape used for commercial industries. I generally get flat, thin pieces of ice at restaurants and I can’t recall an occasion where they used these types of ice cubes.
Maybe it has to do with the elevation or cabin pressure or something wacky I can’t even think of. Whatever it is, I wouldn’t mind seeing more tubular cubes (haha that sounds funny) – after all, they’re fun to play with! I even heard the kid behind me say, “Look dad, check out my ring!” No doubt she was able to stick her finger through one for some entertainment. I’ve always been a fan of having fun with your food. 😛
Last night
It’s my last night here before my adventures start! I can’t wait to be flying around a bit and finding a rhythm to work in. As soon as the dust settles, I’ll need to start tackling the goals I laid out. I’ve been spending a lot of time with my precious Missy, who is just so fun to play with. It’ll be sad to wake up without her, but hopefully we’ll be reunited before long. I’m looking forward to change and that’s about all I can think about now.
Larkspur Landing luxury
I stumbled upon this hotel chain when looking for a last-minute place to stay back in the fall. It turned out to be the best discovery ever! Not only was it a good deal, it had the most amazing and comfortable bed I had ever slept in. Plus who doesn’t love a place with free internet, breakfast, and gift basket of snacks? I even wrote a rave Yelp review.
Low landing
Last time I was leaving Dulles Airport, Panda and I saw a plane coming in really low for a landing. It seemed like it might brush the trees on the way down!
Images of DC days
Wisdom teeth
My wisdom teeth started to bother me today and now the back of my mouth is sore. I think it was because I decided I wasn’t brushing well enough back there so I gave them a good scrub. They definitely weren’t used to all that action and I think my gums got inflamed. I’ve been holding off getting them pulled because it’ll cost a pretty penny, but I’m really getting tired of the crowded feeling I have in my mouth.
Back in China, I was going to have them removed, but then I changed my mind when I realized I might not get to enjoy the food there if I went through with it. I thought it’d take a week or so to recover, but as I later found out from my parents, it could have been fine after a day or two. Oh well, it’s too late for that now! Unfortunately they’re bothering me these days, so I really want to get them out. I’ll have to review my coverage and see if it’s worth it right now.
I’m very tempted to find something to prop my jaw to help ease the tension, but what is there? I tried using gum for awhile and also putting food on that side of my mouth to chew so I couldn’t accidentally bite my cheek. Those solutions proved too temporary for my needs. Maybe a night’s sleep will reduce the swelling and make me forgetting about those annoying buggers. Why didn’t I have them removed long ago?? I’m regretting that now. 🙁
