Sven's life in Oz

• mild diarrhoea, abdominal pain and indigestion
• tiredness, sleepless and headache
• total loss of any kind of a social life

Turns out, after a week on one set of antibiotics, this bronchitis is far more tenacious than the doctor first thought. “It’s not pneumonia yet” she told me reassuringly. “Next time we’ll start you on something stronger straight away.” Next time? Yet? What does she know that I don’t? She ordered me to take two days off work – she told me to do that last week but I was too busy to stop – and sent me packing.

So, here I am again, holed up in my flat watching Star Trek DVDs and climbing the walls out of boredom. I enjoy my own company and I like living alone, but there are limits! I have made, written, addressed and packed up all my Christmas cards, ready to be sent to the UK for dispersal (it’s far cheaper to send them in bulk to the UK and then get my sister and the Royal Mail to do the rest). I’ve cleaned (again), watched half of Star Trek: Deep Space 9 Season 3, battled my Google Reader down to zero and kept it there for two days!, and read a large chunk of “On the road” by Jack Kerouac. I think I’m beginning to go slightly mad. Oh wait, that’s a side effect of these damn pills, too: “mood swings, depression and general fatigue”.

To add insult to viral injury, I’ve missed out on a trip to Luna Park with work colleagues for a birthday party (I do love the ferris wheels), and tonight, instead of lying on the sofa blogging about my woes, I should be out with Jason; watching Mika in concert. I was so determined to go, it was only when a friend told me at 5pm this evening that I was too sick (and James bashed me by email for even considering it, too) that I was forced to concede defeat. There really was no point in getting out of my pyjamas today.

The one good thing to come of this biological internment is that I finally got around to sorting out my UK proxy server, so I can finally watch BBC iPlayer and 4OD again. Hurray! Last night I caught up on the Gavin & Stacey Christmas special (from 2008) and immediately felt more festive. It was great to be reminded of a cold, dark, twinkly Christmas, just like the ones I used to know. Not that I’m moaning about the 34 degrees and the weekends on the beach, but I miss the festive dinge I used to suffer through in a UK winter. I fell asleep watching Question Time, which made me chuckle because that’s exactly what I used to do in Britain. It was just like being back in Bristol.

Tonight, thanks to the wonder of the internet, I shall snuggle into bed at about 9:30pm and watch The Waters of Mars, then I might give Gracie! a go. (Milo recommended it.) Tomorrow more of the same: pills, television, resting. This weekend, more of the same: pills, television, resting. Looking on the bright side: think of all the money I’m saving. Today was an enforced $0 day.

Gods, it’s dull.

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(For added disgusting-ness, just as I was about to press “publish”, a sneeze caught me by surprise and a viscous blob of snot flew out of my nose, span in the air and landed squarely on the ‘i’ key. Now I really have had enough.)