When I woke up in the morning four days ago I wasn’t quite myself. Kind of like a zombie I walked down the stairs and said hello to my mum. She said what I already knew that I wasn’t well. She offered to make me a tea and told me to lay down upstairs. The was no protest coming from me. 

  
I flicked between the available channels finding the ones that work. Something is up with their connection. The rain is falling hard outside and I drift in and out of consciousness in a fever induced coma. My body is telling me to take his time to recuperate. Rain is one of those forecasts that seems persistent here right now. That is all I saw outside and all that was forecast. It felt good to sleep and somehow the comfort of being around my family was very soothing. They kind of stayed away from me so that they don’t catch what I have. It would have been nice to have some productive time with them though. 

  
I don’t have a tv so in my delirious state I just kept flipping through the channels during the commercial breaks. I vaguely remember some moments like the plane catching on fire in Florida. There was some high level meeting between many interested parties to deal with the Syria Crisis. There was that Dr Phil confessional. I tried not to watch it. Is Subway now for ever tarnished? Football and Hockey were on. Vancouver lost the momentum and the game. There were times during that day when I lost track of the day that it was. 

  
I slept and decided to go back to Vancouver on Friday. Have to pay rent and just relax and recuperate. I decided to buy some decongestants and some other medicine to combat my symptoms. I also got some SinuMed to flush out the olde sinuses. I felt much better on Friday but I still don’t feel like I’m out of the woods yet. I had some food at the Dish as they took some pity on my poor self. I ended up having a long Skype chat with b_t_b. It was good to reconnect even though we had an atrocious connection. We are both suffering from not fit for purpose service. I admire his stamina and in my delirium missed out on the events that were going on. We will certainly reconnect over a pint or two. 

  
Sleep is my friend in these times. Whatever I have is still working its way through my system. This is my flu shot. They have been giving those out everywhere around this time. I loaded up on various juices and snacks. Time to hibernate. 

  
I wake up feeling better but still not 100%. Barbs is going to come over and motivate me to do something. That was the plan before I got this disease. I don’t have a fever and the plan turned into cooking a nice big pot of bolegnese sauce. Barbs is busy with things that she needs to finish up and this way we encourage each other’s progress. The walk to the shop in between periods of rain refreshed me a little. Bit by bit I picked out my ingredients and then I prepared them before finally getting to the onions and with tears in my eyes breaking down in an emotional heap. 

  
That was just the thing to break up a moment of relative quiet as drum and bass quietly played in the background and each of us were focused on our tasks. It was kind of funny and exemplary of the kind of conversations both silly and serious that we conveyed between us. We chilled out as we watched the sunset and remarked at the relatively few people dressed up. From what I remember of the forecast a few days ago it wasn’t supposed to be this nice. 

  
We ate the sauce with the pasta after getting back. The sauce will acquire some more boldness as it ages for the next couple of days. That’s when I’ll freeze some of it for future use. Speaking of the future I’ve realized that I’m starting to live a bit more in the present even though right now I am writing about the past. I don’t know if I would have made any sense writing in a delirious state or the types of conversations we had over dinner. I would have been focused more on the task of writing than talking or recuperating. 

  
Fireworks were going off all over the place. We could hear and sometimes see the echo of the blasts as they reverberated around the neighborhood. “Some people really get off on this stuff” I was told. It was only the sound of the downpour that quieted the noise as the sound of the falling rain once again dominated the ambient noise of the neighborhood. There were the occasional squeals as heels pitter-pattered on the pavement in quick succession. Barbs commented on our productivity as she was pleased with her progress in a very important matter that will decide the course of her next few years. 

  
On Sunday I cleaned up and went on a walk that was ill timed as it coincided with a shower. I will use this opportunity to visit the dispensary and then have a hot shower to hearten myself against the bug that is slowly loosing its grip within me. 

  
So as the day grows dark and now comfortable in my flat I reflect on the past four days in quiet as the stream that was playing fell silent and the occasional hum of an automobile passing breaks the background noise. There were two groups of people moving into the building today. What a miserable day to do that. By the looks of it they had no choice and their humor and demeanor spoke to this frustration. I recall these and other images and feelings that passed through me. I want to finish my recollections and respond to the emails that have come from abroad and that I should respond to. There are other nuisance things that I have to take care of that I’m just frustrated with. I didn’t get to some other projects that I’ve wanted to get to yet either and tomorrow the grind starts yet again. I know that I have to take care of myself first and then the rest will follow.