Under the Weather

What lousy luck. What started as a sore throat a few days ago has turned into a full-blown cold, so now I'm feeling not too well just days before the race. Well, at the very least it's afforded me some time today to lay on the couch finishing the 3rd Harry Potter book. Now it's time to get cleaned up and finish packing to catch my 7AM bus tomorrow.

So Monday afternoon I get the word that I'm finally approved to visit this place for work, so I end up rushing around planning for the trip. It sits north of London so I have to get a hotel. I decide to get one in Guildford and then drive up with a coworker to the site. The less cars to get cleared to enter the better, plus I'd hate to get lost. So Monday night I find myself driving the 2+ hours to Guildford, well after dark. The one thing I will say about driving in England that IS cool is the fact that you can do 90 right alongside everyone else. Hell, at one point I was doing 100, but the crappy little French car I'm driving wasn't too thrilled about that. I made it to the hotel with some time to spare so I took my book down to the lounge and ordered some fish n chips, which turned out to be not so good. Oh well, what did I expect?

The next morning we woke up and got a taste of true London gridlock. I have to tell you, it doesn't have jack on D.C. traffic. We find this place, get the car checked out, and walk by the heavily armed men onto site. I can't say much more than that, but I can say it was the first time I've ever worked inside a shipping container. Literally the gear we were working on was inside one of those big containers you see on cargo ships. You know the ones, they usually have our hero dangling off the side of it, suspended 50 feet off the deck, with our villain cackling wildly. Anyway, that was interesting. Luckily we finished early and I was able to make it back to Guildford to get my car and home by 5PM, feeling absolutely disgusting. The illness had arrived.

So, I called in sick for the next day (today) and took a hot bath, made some food, and tried to relax. Unfortunately, this place I bought my camcorder wasn't making that easy. Seems they won't let me return my lenses b/c of a 10-day return policy. Well, I'm trying to get them to make an exception considering a) I'm out of the country and b) I've spent a ton of money there (it's the same place I bought my new camera). I also hinted that they might not get the future "accessories" business from me either, we'll see.

Well, I finished the 3rd book and have to say I've enjoyed all 3 so far. I have to wait till I get back to the States to start the 4th one since I only brought the first 3 with me on this trip. I've got a long day ahead of me tomorrow getting back to the States, but I'm really looking forward to it, for many reasons, but especially to have this whole marathon thing out of the way. I only hope I'm feeling better by then.

I'll leave you with this funny video about the pains of asking for directions, and this story about how women back in the day were revered for their beer-making skill. You'd think the women of today could at least learn how to POUR a good beer for us. Come on, ladies, do your sacred duty. And maybe we'll revere you for it, too.