The Wimpy Nurse Reports . . .

OMG!  I'm such a wimp.  I use to go to work sick or well.  If I was sick I just secluded myself and worked on reports, etc. behind closed doors.  This cold/ flu that hit me on Sunday is a really making a woos out of me.  So, without further ado, I'll copy some thoughts I've come up with in the last three hellish days . . .

Tuesday morning.

My last full day at Betty’s; this morning a large group of campers went shopping in Abbeville and New Iberia.  Since I succumbed to my first cold in about 4 years yesterday I didn’t make it to Happy Hour yesterday and didn’t know about the outing today.  I wouldn’t have gone anyway, as I still feel yucky.  I also want to get some Valentine and Mardi Gras packages mailed to grandkids today and am beginning to prepare for take off tomorrow.

It’s always interesting to me that I think about 'all that needs to be done' for days and days; but, actual preparation is really no big deal.  Guess I’ll have to go through cupboards and refrigerator to make sure items are securely stowed.  The outside compartments are all in good shape – neat and locked for travel.

Yesterday, even though I was starting to feel pretty lousy, I spent most of the day getting stuff done on my computer:  I wanted to download OS X Mavericks from the Apple Store, and, as often happens, one thing leads to another and another and . . . 

First, I had to be close to Betty’s cable and router; that was accomplished with my recent move, doing the Betty’s shuffle, which put my rig right next to her building.  I’d tried several weeks ago to download Mavericks but found that it’s not possible using my Verizon Jet Pack.    I’ve known for quite a while I’d have to move and it’d be closer to the connection so I waited.

Well, I jumped through the hoops to download Mavericks; then, when I clicked to install it I got a message that it wouldn’t support my version of Microsoft Office (2004).  I spent over an hour with the tech support at Apple generally cleaning up my HD – and will need to rewrite the notes I jotted down for future use.  One issue the tech support told me is that I do not need Norton Antivirus since I’m no longer dealing with medical record numbers and private patient information (which was the reason I bought it in the first place).  He assured me that most antivirus protection is specifically designed for PCs.  Norton automatically ran a scan once a month since 2010 when I bought the computer – there’s never been a compromise found so far.  Anyway, I turned it off and need to contact Norton to not renew my subscription when it expires late in 2014.

The next project was to talk with Microsoft about a newer version of Office; I bought that and the tech support (in the Philippines) stayed with me to download it, assuring me that all my hundreds of Word and Excel documents would be available on the new version (2011).  I’m sure one of the reasons I’ve never become truly comfortable with my home computer is that, until recently, I’ve never had the incredible amount of time necessary to go through all the processes, one thing leading to another.  Finally, last evening at about 7 I was ready to see how things were working.

NOT!  I can’t get on the Internet, either using Betty’s (four lines showing on my computer) or my Verizon Jet Pack.  I can’t even get the Jet Pack to show up on the drop-down menu.  I had had a similar problem with Verizon last month and the tech walked me trough an entire process to bring it back up.  I kept notes and tried the process several times – no luck.

I cannot open ANY Excel or Word documents; so I’m out in the cold with spreadsheets and documents I access daily.  I did open the new version of Word and was able to write this post; but I can’t post it – no Internet.  Back to the telephone!!!  I’m sure I’ll have more news later.

Wednesday afternoon – Sam Houston Jones State Park, Lake Charles, LA:

I had a good night’s sleep last night but still woke up feeling lousy.  So, because I couldn’t get back to sleep I went ahead and started ready-to-roll-out preparations.  Even though I’ve driven out a couple of times for gas, etc., I’ve been at Betty’s for just under two months; so I used my algorhythms for Petunia and Floribunda checks.  I’d told folks I’d be leaving at between ten and 10:30 – I was rolling out about 9:30; pretty good for me.  Lots of folks in Betty's Web braved the cold miserable weather to send me off with good wishes and luck.  Wow, what an experience this has been.

We drove west on I-10 towards Lake Charles and exited to go back to Sam Houston Jones State Park as I’d liked it here last time.  The ladies in the office remembered Lacy and were happy to see her.  My British Colombian friends, Doug and Nancy (blog:  Running Away with Doug and Nancy) have been here since Monday.  They were anxious to get a calendar that their daughter had made with their grandson, Gus, as the star.  It had been mailed to Betty’s even though they knew they couldn’t stay there ‘cause they’re traveling in a Eurovan and need shower and restroom facilities.

By the time I got here about 11:30, I was on borrowed steam; so we greeted one another and I left to go to bed.  I’ve been sleeping most of the afternoon, and still feel wiped out.  They’d invited me to share dinner with them but I had to refuse.  This is about all the concentration I can muster – for now.  I’ll add more later.

Thursday:

Yikes - Day almost 5!  I still feel like I've been hit by a Mack Truck, my head's in a vice and somebody keeps getting in here to rub my skin with Brillo pads!  I slept another 12+ hours last night and thought I was on the mend; but, about five minutes after I got up I was wiped out again.  I gave Nancy and Doug the keys to Petunia and told them to enjoy themselves for the afternoon.  When they got back I told them they can probably use Petunia again tomorrow.  I did take a shower and wash my hair - quite an undertaking requiring about a two hour nap afterwards!  I also ruptured a capillary in my left eye - probably from coughing so I look really great too.

Enough - I'm publishing this and hope you can't catch anything reading this trash!