Working with such a huge file is the biggest frustration at work at the moment. The computer is constantly running out of memory and the screen frequently freezes. On one such occassion, today, I knocked on the screen and asked the computer to "wake up". That got a few laughs from my coworkers and put me in good spirits for lunch.
My relationship with my boss is much better. I think I have figured out how to work with him. I keep busy with what I need to do and just make sure that he is kept up to date with my progress.
He is letting me take one of his computers home. I can't find anyone to drive me to s'Hertogenbosch (and back) to collect it all in one go, so I will have to take it home, piece by piece, by train. (Katrijn has offered to give me lifts to and from my house and Tilburg train station). It will take at least three such trips. It will be good to have a computer at home because I can compose my diary entries and e-mails ready to be copied online when I am at work. I am also going to investigate how much it costs to actually have the internet at home, but I get the feeling that the cost will be prohibitive for me. (There isn't even a phone line available yet).
posted by James 7:05 pm
Screw! I forgot to take something out of the freezer for dinner! This is the third day in a row I have done this. (Maybe I should leave myself reminder notes in my room?) It looks like I will have to find something at the supermarket on the way home.
posted by James 9:33 am
I actually really hate riding my bike at the moment. My bike always seems to be four bikes deep in the garage and it is a big hassle to get it out. Also, it takes me only ten seconds before I go into "coughing overdrive". Sometimes I feel as if I will regurgitate my stomach and other internal organs. If it weren't for the fact that the train station is so far away, I would walk instead.
posted by James 9:30 am
Being at home for the past week has given me a new perspective about money. Now, I am less concerned about saving it, and more concerned about making sure that I have what I need. For instance, I am buying plenty of food for lunches and lots of juice for drinking with dinner (and for "flu" reserve). It's late night shopping tonight, so I'm going to look for a second pillow. (It feels like I'm playing "Monopoly" and I am buying a second house for my property. I wonder what the equivalent of a "hotel" is?)
posted by James 2:10 pm
This cough is more annoying than I first thought. I sensibly went to bed at 11pm last night, but I couldn't get to sleep because I would have a coughing fit every 10 minutes. The walls at my place are fairly thin, so I feel sorry for my housemates. I was also coughing for 90% of the time on the bikeride to the train station this morning. Everyone keeps telling me that this is a benign cough, but I'm not sure how good all this coughing can be.
posted by James 9:42 am
The past week has been the worst of my traineeship, so far. I have been at home the whole time, with the flu.
It may seem difficult to believe, but I have never had the flu before. (This is probably due to how well I was looked after, at home, by my mother). I found the flu to be totally debilitating. Each day, I would wake up and spend the day feeling absolutely exhausted, even though I wasn’t doing anything. My body ached all over. I felt cold even though the central heating was on high. (The highlight of each day was standing under a hot shower and, from time to time, increasing the temperature by adjusting the cold tap). I found it difficult to eat/drink most things. (One morning, I tried to eat a Kit Kat Chunky, but it was just too much work!)
Aside from these obvious symptoms, the worst aspect was being confined to home for such a long time. Thursday and Friday were the worst days, as by then I had read through the books that I had brought from New Zealand. On Friday afternoon, Lia and Katrijn brought me over a Discman which was my saviour for the weekend. I ended up listening to every CD I have.
The cause of my flu seems obvious. On Tuesday, I was still getting over the sore throat that I had the previous weekend. Then, I rode the distance from my house to the train station, in the rain, twice. And, while on the train, I had inadvertently sat in the smoking section.
Although, during the week at home, I began to wonder how much of my illness was caused by what I was going through with my life, generally. I have heard that if you don’t properly deal with mental (or spiritual) issues, then your body will eventually respond physically (usually a headache, but here, much worse). Was I depressed because I was ill, or was I ill because I was depressed?
I felt much better on Friday night when I called my Mum and chatted with her. I needed to know that I was doing the right things to make me better. Vanessa called on Saturday morning and that was a wonderful surprise. (Unfortunately, I really only had the energy to listen, rather than speak too much).
My favourite drink has been tea with large amounts of lemon and honey. Sometimes I would have six big cups of it in a row. I also experimented with hot water with a spoon of sticky stroop stirred in.
So, I’m back at work. I still have a cough, but it’s not the sort of thing that will keep me from going outside. (When I can sing a song without coughing, I will know that I have fully recovered).
posted by James 6:16 pm