Ok, so my Oscar picks were way off. Well, 13 of them were, anyway, which is not exactly comforting.
Time for something new! Today I shall be waxing lyrical on overseas travel, as I am soon to embark on the same. Yesterday I went to ask people to jab me full of vaccinations and learned that a) whatever your expectations, tetanus injections are going to hurt, and b) the same goes for rabies. Mmm. Rabies. There's a conversation stopper. What I find more disturbing, however, is that if I happen to get scratched by an animal at any time, I need to go have two more rabies injections immediately! Woo!
While I was waiting to be jabbed, I was sat down with six or seven big, burly policemen in overalls, the kind that the Police Force sends to public relations events. Good heavens. All I wanted from then on was a high pitched scream to come from one of their vaccination rooms.
Why is it I'm so afraid of needles? It's only a tiny piece of metal, after all. And some chemicals. And it's going into your arm in 3...2...1... It's the anticipation, I think. You know, when they hold it up and flick it to get the air bubbles out and you remember why they're doing it and what air bubbles can do to a person, and the idea that you know that in a moment something is going to hurt you, and that you're going to let it. Your various systems argue with each other: the brain tells you to stop being a wuss and take it; your muscles get all tough and tense; your stomach has a sort of vicarious nervous reaction and your nerves are backing away going "Hey hey hey, I remember this! Get that thing away from me!"
I still wonder why, with all that modern science can do, they haven't invented oral vaccines for all of these things. Seriously. I mean, thanks for penicilin and bubble wrap and ipods and everything, but come on...is anyone thinking about the vaccines? Are you just going to give up and say "well, we've got that far--who wants ice cream?"
Meanwhile, the day of departure advances, with a worrying sort of too-soon inevitability. Am I ready? Do I have everything I need? Can't someone else do all this for me? The answer to all these questions is, regrettably, "no". I still need boots, documents, phones organised, itinerary sent, doctor's letters assuring the people I'll be staying with that I'm of sound mind...that sort of thing. Hmm. I've travelled quite a bit for someone of my age, I suppose, and on my own, so I should really be used to all this by now. But really what it is, is that somehow it all seems to come together ok.
I think I'll choose to find that optimistic.
O
Time for something new! Today I shall be waxing lyrical on overseas travel, as I am soon to embark on the same. Yesterday I went to ask people to jab me full of vaccinations and learned that a) whatever your expectations, tetanus injections are going to hurt, and b) the same goes for rabies. Mmm. Rabies. There's a conversation stopper. What I find more disturbing, however, is that if I happen to get scratched by an animal at any time, I need to go have two more rabies injections immediately! Woo!
While I was waiting to be jabbed, I was sat down with six or seven big, burly policemen in overalls, the kind that the Police Force sends to public relations events. Good heavens. All I wanted from then on was a high pitched scream to come from one of their vaccination rooms.
Why is it I'm so afraid of needles? It's only a tiny piece of metal, after all. And some chemicals. And it's going into your arm in 3...2...1... It's the anticipation, I think. You know, when they hold it up and flick it to get the air bubbles out and you remember why they're doing it and what air bubbles can do to a person, and the idea that you know that in a moment something is going to hurt you, and that you're going to let it. Your various systems argue with each other: the brain tells you to stop being a wuss and take it; your muscles get all tough and tense; your stomach has a sort of vicarious nervous reaction and your nerves are backing away going "Hey hey hey, I remember this! Get that thing away from me!"
I still wonder why, with all that modern science can do, they haven't invented oral vaccines for all of these things. Seriously. I mean, thanks for penicilin and bubble wrap and ipods and everything, but come on...is anyone thinking about the vaccines? Are you just going to give up and say "well, we've got that far--who wants ice cream?"
Meanwhile, the day of departure advances, with a worrying sort of too-soon inevitability. Am I ready? Do I have everything I need? Can't someone else do all this for me? The answer to all these questions is, regrettably, "no". I still need boots, documents, phones organised, itinerary sent, doctor's letters assuring the people I'll be staying with that I'm of sound mind...that sort of thing. Hmm. I've travelled quite a bit for someone of my age, I suppose, and on my own, so I should really be used to all this by now. But really what it is, is that somehow it all seems to come together ok.
I think I'll choose to find that optimistic.
O
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