Monday, 17 October:

Well, the weekend didn't go so well. After buying three day passes for the tube, we used them on Friday and haven't been on a tube since. Suzanne had a relapse into her cold, so we spent most of the weekend inside with her resting. We did take a short walk through Hyde Park, which is gorgeous and green. We walked around one of the ponds and were suprised at how lax everyone was about interaction with natural animals. Coming from San Diego, where idiots have turned Children's Pool into a battleground for seal isolationists, (I can't bring myself to call anyone who thinks that swimming with seals is a horrible idea a seal lover) it was refreshing not to see signs everywhere that said not to touch the animals, etc. There were a ton of swans and geese in the pond and on the shore and children were walking within inches of the swans, whom I understand can have a really nasty bite. Suzanne was exhausted after an hour of walking and resting in the park, so we came home and she got more rest. Sunday night ended up being the worst for her, as she started throwing up and couldn't have gotten more than about three hours or sleep all night. Being the loving and caring husband I am, I snored through the entire night and didn't wake up once.

So we tried our hat at the NHS (National Health Service) today. We went to what amounts to an urgent care in the U.S. and they said their computers were down, so it may take a while to be seen. Fine, after a 10GBP taxi ride, I wasn't in the mood to leave and come back, and didn't want Suzanne to miss out on being seen, so I said we would wait. The clerk then took all of her appropriate information and typed it into the "down" computer. We waited for about an hour (typical for most urgent cares) and Suzanne was seen. The nurse practitioner stated that he couldn't find any signs of a serious infection, so couldn't prescribe antibiotics, but that she definitely had the flu.

OK, she definitely has the flu, but no antibiotics... Colds are viral by definition. Antibiotics make no sense whatsoever when someone has a cold. Flus are bacterial by definition... Wouldn't that mean that antibiotics should be just what the doctor ordered (pun intended)? However, I guess it is a good sign that healthcare officials somewhere are not randomly killing the effect of an antibiotic by prescribing them every time someone has the sniffles. The NP did give Suzanne a list of medicines to take that would effectively relieve her symptoms and allow her to rest. All in all, I have revised my opinion of socialized healthcare up slightly but will have to wait and see.

So while Suzanne gets some much needed rest, I figured I would update the blog for all our loyal fans. All both that said they read it regularly anyway. Comments people, I crave comments so that I know you are out there. Don't be shy and don't worry about my feelings. If this blog sucks, let me know. Of course I would also like to know how to make it better, so try and make it constructive criticism.

I am thrilled the Chargers won yesterday! How about that LT?!? Next week will be a much tougher test, as Philly isn't the Raidorks. And we get to travel across country and play them in their house. I may be able to watch the game though, as I think I found a pub that shows NFL games and the game is an early one, so it will be on at 6:00pm my time. I just hope they choose to show the Chargers game.