I am back, I am so happy to say that my return journey was upgraded to business class! For me that I have always travelled in economy it was fab! Pity the journey was too short to enjoy a good sleep, but my God, what a difference, the food, the service, the lounge in the airport...
The conference was good, I networked a lot and it may be possible for me to spend a few months sabbatical next year in UC Davis in California. That would be another dream becoming true, I'll try and figure out this week what do I have to do at my university, but this gave me a very nice and important focus work-wise. The weather in Rhode Island was very good, warm but breezy so overall really pleasant. This is the last time at that location, this conference will be moving to Maine in two years time, looking forward to a bit more life and the ocean view! One highlight of the trip was meeting a cyberfriend and her daughter!! Really lovely afternoon with them and the time just flew by.
Health-wise I have had the usual abdominal pain, not good but not worse than normal, I have started joining a few boards on IBS and see how I can tame it a bit.
I don't know if you remember that two years ago I came back to Dublin and Oliver had been admitted to hospital after spiking a very high fever. Well, this year I came back to Martina with chickenpox! Not as dramatic thankfully and the worse was probably over, but the funny thing was that I was collected at the airport by the same taxi driver as two years ago!!
My parents flew back this morning, they had a lovely time and just as well they were here to help between the sickness and the Mike having to work, it was a great help.
Right, that's about it for now, I'll be back soon!
Showing posts with label chicken pox. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chicken pox. Show all posts
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Quiet time
Only three more weeks till the end of college term. Of course there will be exams after but at least the chaos on campus will be over. I had a very good week with two papers being accepted whohoo for me!
We had enjoyed a fantastic weather for a good ten days, I suspect that was our summer! Oh no wait, I'm going to Cali this summer!! So I'm bound to get a bit more sun, right?
Let's see what happened lately.
Oliver went back to the crèche on tuesday after a week of chicken pox. I would say it wasn't very bad but was not a light one either. We had a few rough nights and I was surprised to learn that actually the worst day for itchiness is the 3rd or 4th! We bathed him often which gave him great relief and of course we had all the ointments available of and I think they were also useful. He was off his food and generally quite unsettled but this is also part of the chicken pox virus I hear.
Any time we have a break from the crèche it's like a new induction every time he goes back, but at least this time with the good weather they were out in the yard playing most of the time and he had a fab time.
He's very demanding when at home and a bit of an actor when he doesn't get what he wants...but still sweet and cuddly.
Still no walking on his own really, unless you set him up for it, I suppose crawling is still much quicker, but he is now in love with our kitchen chairs which are his favourite walker...
This morning I bought him a few more toys and packed away the baby ones he's not even looking at anymore, we need to find things to keep him entertained when at home or we are all going insane!
Looking forward to Easter next weekend and the end of my chocolate free Lent!
We had enjoyed a fantastic weather for a good ten days, I suspect that was our summer! Oh no wait, I'm going to Cali this summer!! So I'm bound to get a bit more sun, right?
Let's see what happened lately.
Oliver went back to the crèche on tuesday after a week of chicken pox. I would say it wasn't very bad but was not a light one either. We had a few rough nights and I was surprised to learn that actually the worst day for itchiness is the 3rd or 4th! We bathed him often which gave him great relief and of course we had all the ointments available of and I think they were also useful. He was off his food and generally quite unsettled but this is also part of the chicken pox virus I hear.
Any time we have a break from the crèche it's like a new induction every time he goes back, but at least this time with the good weather they were out in the yard playing most of the time and he had a fab time.
He's very demanding when at home and a bit of an actor when he doesn't get what he wants...but still sweet and cuddly.
Still no walking on his own really, unless you set him up for it, I suppose crawling is still much quicker, but he is now in love with our kitchen chairs which are his favourite walker...
This morning I bought him a few more toys and packed away the baby ones he's not even looking at anymore, we need to find things to keep him entertained when at home or we are all going insane!
Looking forward to Easter next weekend and the end of my chocolate free Lent!
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Outpouring of love and chicken pox (for real!)
You guys are amazing! Thank you so much for all the comments on my last post, it felt like a warm hug and I nearly had tears in my eyes. I LOVE this community, I truly do. Junebug and Alex said something about expanding our readership into parenting blogs (which I have not searched for to be honest, I like to read those I knew from the beginning of the journey) and I think they are right, I will do something about it.
Today is the first official day of Spring and my MIL 73 birthday! She is one amazing woman, after all she's been through she always seems to come out the other end with the same positive attitude. I wish her many more of these days.
This time I do believe Oliver has chicken pox. Yesterday when I picked him up from the crèche they mentioned he seemed to have a few spots in the nappy area but given the previous false alarm they didn't call us and just kept an eye on him. He was in fab form (while we had a few tantrums at home over the weekend) but this morning he definitely had a few more spots...he has no temp so we brought him in but I suspect we'll be called as soon as they change his nappy! Of course I have a very busy work schedule so we'll have to see how we can get through the next few days if we have to keep him home.
Better go, I have labs all day and a lecture in the middle!
Today is the first official day of Spring and my MIL 73 birthday! She is one amazing woman, after all she's been through she always seems to come out the other end with the same positive attitude. I wish her many more of these days.
This time I do believe Oliver has chicken pox. Yesterday when I picked him up from the crèche they mentioned he seemed to have a few spots in the nappy area but given the previous false alarm they didn't call us and just kept an eye on him. He was in fab form (while we had a few tantrums at home over the weekend) but this morning he definitely had a few more spots...he has no temp so we brought him in but I suspect we'll be called as soon as they change his nappy! Of course I have a very busy work schedule so we'll have to see how we can get through the next few days if we have to keep him home.
Better go, I have labs all day and a lecture in the middle!
Sunday, December 4, 2011
The Barcelona pickpoketing business and The kindness of strangers
Since my last post a lot has happened.
I think I had probably just hit the "publish" button when I got a call from the crèche as they suspected Oliver had chicken pox! So off I went and surely he had a few spots on his legs (usually it starts on the trunk but I've read it can be anywhere really) and feet. He was quite in bad form and a off his food (very very unusual). Anyway, as sorry as I felt I still had to pack to go to this meeting in Barcelona on friday. Left very very early and arrived around 10am in Barcelona. Between the train station at the terminal and the central station my wallet disappeared. WTF?? And I've travelled a good bit, I am very aware of my belongings and yet...I don't even know when it exactly happened. Thinking about it, it was probably on the train (which was packed) and a couple asked me some questions as we were about to get off the train. Apparently it's a classic scam.
Thankfully I had my passport and other much more valuable items separate (iphone, ipad, mp3) so I was pissed of course but it could have been worse. But it wasn't easy to get help. Now remember, I was on my own, not a cent in my pocket and not speaking the language (granted italian and spanish are similar but not enough to help you when in distress). I told a security guard at the station what happened (in english), he shook his head and said "police". Right. I know what "police" means, I don't know where "police" is. There was a police car outside the station, after a while I finally spotted the policemen talking to some people. I explained in english what happened and they said "police station". Are you kidding me? I'm a foreigner, with a suitcase, where the fuck is your police station? Point me in the right direction given that I have no money, cannot take a taxi or a bus or the subway! He pointed down a road, and said "15 minutes". Thanks. I found the police station and the experience there was surreal. It was like a window in hall of an anonymous building. Behind the window there was a policeman at a computer. After about 5 minutes of me standing there he lifted his head and said something which prompted me to start explaining what happened. He stopped me immediately and called a girl who was sitting at a desk inside this office reading a book. She was the interpreter. We were speaking english, she gave me the number to block my cards and those people on the phone (in Ireland) were like angels. Really sympathetic, explained I could in fact get emergency money through Western Union, they would arrange that for me as thankfully I had my passport, I could access the money within the hour and of course they also immediately reissued credit and debit cards. I filed a report on the theft. Note that all this took probably just about two hours as in between the phone call, getting the forms and returning the forms I had to wait for this girl who as soon as she gave me the number or form returned immediately to her book and never lifted her head. Every time she had to be called by the policeman (who was dealing with other people). Anyway, at this point I had the info to collect the money and done what I had to do from the police point of view (with the strong feeling that my report went straight to the trash can as there was no interest in really investigating it). I had no idea where a Western Union agency was. This girl wrote two addresses on a piece of paper and handed them to me. As if now I had a better idea. I asked her where these two addresses were and she reluctantly started saying they were very far... right. How the hell do I get there? She started saying I should get a taxi or the subway. Ok. Once again, I have no way of taking any transport, would there be any chance of a unit going out to that general direction and could give me a lift? She said no. Ok. I asked would she have any suggestion of how a foreigner in this situation could find a way to get to this place? She must have took offence as she said "I gave you the forms and address, that's it" and left. Honestly she fecked off. To her book. The policeman 20cm away never once looked up at me. I was shocked. I was left with no way to communicate in the very place that is supposed to help someone who has just been robbed! Shocking. I tried to get the attention of the policeman, who just said in Spanish "I don't understand you". Great. Another policeman came to the window and asked with a bit of english what was the problem. I explained about the interpreter and how furious I was at her behaviour. Apparently your one said I had offended her and she refused to talked to me. I thought "this must be a joke". But sadly it wasn't. In the end, I filed a complaint report against the interpreter (which must have joined the first one on the theft, in the trash can) and miraculously two italians were at the same police station reporting something of their own. I was so desperate at that point I asked them if they could help me communicate with the police (they were both living in Barcelona and fluent in spanish). They were so nice, and must have known the system a bit as they convinced me to just let it go that they would help me. They called me a taxi and gave me money to pay it. I was in tears I was so grateful. They happened to be from Naples and had a pizzeria not too far from the police station. I went there for dinner and returned the money. Pizza was fantastic too.
Needless to say, my 30 hours in Barcelona for the work meeting ended up quite a mess (was obviously late to the meeting etc) but my heart melted at the kindness of these two strangers.
I think I had probably just hit the "publish" button when I got a call from the crèche as they suspected Oliver had chicken pox! So off I went and surely he had a few spots on his legs (usually it starts on the trunk but I've read it can be anywhere really) and feet. He was quite in bad form and a off his food (very very unusual). Anyway, as sorry as I felt I still had to pack to go to this meeting in Barcelona on friday. Left very very early and arrived around 10am in Barcelona. Between the train station at the terminal and the central station my wallet disappeared. WTF?? And I've travelled a good bit, I am very aware of my belongings and yet...I don't even know when it exactly happened. Thinking about it, it was probably on the train (which was packed) and a couple asked me some questions as we were about to get off the train. Apparently it's a classic scam.
Thankfully I had my passport and other much more valuable items separate (iphone, ipad, mp3) so I was pissed of course but it could have been worse. But it wasn't easy to get help. Now remember, I was on my own, not a cent in my pocket and not speaking the language (granted italian and spanish are similar but not enough to help you when in distress). I told a security guard at the station what happened (in english), he shook his head and said "police". Right. I know what "police" means, I don't know where "police" is. There was a police car outside the station, after a while I finally spotted the policemen talking to some people. I explained in english what happened and they said "police station". Are you kidding me? I'm a foreigner, with a suitcase, where the fuck is your police station? Point me in the right direction given that I have no money, cannot take a taxi or a bus or the subway! He pointed down a road, and said "15 minutes". Thanks. I found the police station and the experience there was surreal. It was like a window in hall of an anonymous building. Behind the window there was a policeman at a computer. After about 5 minutes of me standing there he lifted his head and said something which prompted me to start explaining what happened. He stopped me immediately and called a girl who was sitting at a desk inside this office reading a book. She was the interpreter. We were speaking english, she gave me the number to block my cards and those people on the phone (in Ireland) were like angels. Really sympathetic, explained I could in fact get emergency money through Western Union, they would arrange that for me as thankfully I had my passport, I could access the money within the hour and of course they also immediately reissued credit and debit cards. I filed a report on the theft. Note that all this took probably just about two hours as in between the phone call, getting the forms and returning the forms I had to wait for this girl who as soon as she gave me the number or form returned immediately to her book and never lifted her head. Every time she had to be called by the policeman (who was dealing with other people). Anyway, at this point I had the info to collect the money and done what I had to do from the police point of view (with the strong feeling that my report went straight to the trash can as there was no interest in really investigating it). I had no idea where a Western Union agency was. This girl wrote two addresses on a piece of paper and handed them to me. As if now I had a better idea. I asked her where these two addresses were and she reluctantly started saying they were very far... right. How the hell do I get there? She started saying I should get a taxi or the subway. Ok. Once again, I have no way of taking any transport, would there be any chance of a unit going out to that general direction and could give me a lift? She said no. Ok. I asked would she have any suggestion of how a foreigner in this situation could find a way to get to this place? She must have took offence as she said "I gave you the forms and address, that's it" and left. Honestly she fecked off. To her book. The policeman 20cm away never once looked up at me. I was shocked. I was left with no way to communicate in the very place that is supposed to help someone who has just been robbed! Shocking. I tried to get the attention of the policeman, who just said in Spanish "I don't understand you". Great. Another policeman came to the window and asked with a bit of english what was the problem. I explained about the interpreter and how furious I was at her behaviour. Apparently your one said I had offended her and she refused to talked to me. I thought "this must be a joke". But sadly it wasn't. In the end, I filed a complaint report against the interpreter (which must have joined the first one on the theft, in the trash can) and miraculously two italians were at the same police station reporting something of their own. I was so desperate at that point I asked them if they could help me communicate with the police (they were both living in Barcelona and fluent in spanish). They were so nice, and must have known the system a bit as they convinced me to just let it go that they would help me. They called me a taxi and gave me money to pay it. I was in tears I was so grateful. They happened to be from Naples and had a pizzeria not too far from the police station. I went there for dinner and returned the money. Pizza was fantastic too.
Needless to say, my 30 hours in Barcelona for the work meeting ended up quite a mess (was obviously late to the meeting etc) but my heart melted at the kindness of these two strangers.
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