No Rest for the Wicked

I returned from my “training camp” at Gran Canaria (GC) in the wee hours of Thursday last week. Today I’ve arrived back from Brussels where I spent the night, and in between there A and I have spent two nights down south, in his hometown. I’ve covered a lot of ground in the past week. And now I’m knackered. It’s as if the three weeks of “relaxation” never happened! Fascinating.

Before I set off for GC I went to see a new doctor for a second opinion of my knee issues etc. She had X-rays taken of my knee, and I went to get the results on Friday morning. My physiotherapist had gotten me thinking that perhaps it was actually a problem with the meniscus or something, seeing as I didn’t get at all better during my training. Sadly, it was not. Instead I can now add Osteoarthritis to my list of diagnosed conditions Life is unfair.

After getting this blow, we decided the knee should be drained (as usual), to relieve the pressure. But something went seriously wrong. It’s usually not painful at all. Well, a normal person would find it painful, but I’m so used to it, and know what a relief it is after, so I almost like it. However, I did not enjoy this. I don’t know what happened, and neither did the doctor, but she must’ve been messing with a nerve inside the knee somehow – I just screamed. Right out loud. And my eyes were like fountains. It was instant, the pain that is. The procedure lasted at least a minute, throughout which I continued screaming, and the poor Doc panicked more and more. Unfortunately she couldn’t get to the “pockets” of fluid, so she had to withdraw and enter the knee from the other side as well. By then I was almost hyper ventilating and expecting the worst, but it went well and she drained the knee of 45 ml of excess fluid. Good lord – some morning.

A few hours after my visit to the hospital we set off for Karlskrona – a beautiful town in the south of Sweden, and one that I will come to spend more time in than I’d ever have guessed one year ago. Like I mentioned, it’s A’s hometown. Just how beautiful can it be? This beautiful:

We spent a week there in the summer, but this time we were southbound to celebrate A’s dad’s 60th Birthday. I think I’ve mentioned earlier that I’ve actually known A’s dad for a few years (maybe even as many as four), and therefore it was really great to get to meet his side of the family, his siblings etc. It was especially fun to see their faces when I told them that I in fact knew him before I knew A, and I believe their approval of me grew even stronger when they realized I in fact work with him – their brother. Or at least that’s how I’d like to think it went down.

At the party I was called a “playmate”/toy by one older man, and a guy (my age) who I’ve met several times before said he hoped for my sake the glasses I was wearing weren’t mine. Well, thanks a lot buddy. Asswife. He’s a singer (and a good one at that), but he instantly lost himself a future gig upon uttering those words…

It was a good weekend, but far too short and busy for the, in total, 1100 km we drove for it. Next time we’ll stay a few days longer, over New Year’s, which I hope we’re spending with A’s best friend and his family. We stayed at their lovely new home when we were down, and I hope to do it again!

And now…I’ve spent the last two days in Brussels. No rest for the wicked, eh? I’ve been there for a full-day meeting, that started at 9 am this morning. That’s a too early start for me to make it there the same day (first flight’s at 7 am, getting me to central Brussels at 10 am), so I have to fly the day before and stay over. Bummer. But I get to have breakfast at my favourite place – Tout Bon at Place de Luxembourg – and feel the international atmosphere as well as buy chocolate. And lots of it. Today, about EUR 70 worth…oops. Most at Neuhaus, as usual.

Mm...the best breakfast there is! Can't wait to take A here.

I haven’t been here since February, as two of our meetings were moved forward to dates I wasn’t able to go, so it’s a real treat to be back! It’s such a beautiful city, but in a great way. People were quite rude last night though, and that was a bit unexpected, so I still wasn’t thrilled. Until I got to my hotel which had been renovated since I was last there – very nice!

The City Hall (?) at Grand Place in Brussels

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