Since You've Been Gone...

Sing it with me everybody! You know the words... Kelly Clarkson. Don't act like you haven't heard that song and tapped your fingers or toes to it. It was everywhere. Even some of the elder statesmen (and women) have probably heard it, you just don't know it.

That song was blaring in my head as I noticed how I have neglected the Blog. It's about time I sat down at my little iBook and typed away on the keys telling all of you about some crazy adventure I've had or some amazing "Aha!" moment that I have recently experienced... unfortunately, I've got nothin'. Bupkis (I looked that up to make sure it was spelled right).

Uninspired as of late I guess.

You know how when you have a break in your routine it takes you awhile to normalize? Well, that is what the past few months have been for me. Transitions. Sickness. Worrying. Just a ton of changes.

This was the first step. I'm back on the horse...

You cannot stop a Ramblin' Scotzman from ramblin' for too long... you can only hope to contain him.

Buckeye Bug

So I realize it has been quite som time since the last post kiddies, but the Ramblin' Scotzman has been deathly ill for almost two weeks now. Maybe it's something in the crisp, clean Ohio air.

Usually about this time of year Cheryl and I both start feeling the allergic reactions to ragweed, a nasty little bugger. Cheryl has it way worse than I do, but I feel the effects nonetheless. So two weeks ago when I felt that tickle and scratchiness in my throat I thought nothing of it. A few days later I had full blown cold/flu symptoms. Coughing uncontrollably and hacking up all sorts of nonsense. Headache and loss of appetite, just really feeling really horrible.

Cheryl also noticed as she was cleaning in the kitchen the other day that the previous owners had cats. No wonder. I am very allergic, so most likely we'll need our carpets cleaned and our vents and registers cleaned out... bummer.

That night Cheryl picked me up some herbal tea that was supposed to help with coughing. I woke up early the next morning feeling a little better and decided to have a cup of tea to start the day. Big mistake. As I had mentioned, I was not eating very much, so this tea was the first thing to hit my stomach early that morning. Within two hours I was puking my guts out. That continued for about 36 hours. I couldn't keep anything down. Water, Gatorade, not one thing would stay inside my body. I was losing it about every two hours and by Saturday afternoon, I had become quite weak and dehydrated.

I'm sure a lot of you are asking at this point, "Why not go to the Doctor?" Great question and here is the unfortunate answer. Cheryl's new health insurance does not kick in until October 1st. So at the moment we are without a healthcare provider... makes you wish you lived in Canada, eh?

Being the true Scotsman that I am, I would rather feel like death than spend money on something that I can get for "free." Now you understand where the phrase Scott-free comes from... yes, we Scotsman are a wee bit cheap.

Finally, the gentle and loving persuasion of my wife and my own misery forced me to go to Urgent Care. The doctor said he couldn't find anything wrong with me. Figures... He did give me something to help with nauseaand then I had to ask him for something for the cough. All said and done the visit cost us $86... not bad. The perscriptions on the other hand were $90!! What a racket! That's another Blog for another day.

Since taking the medicine, the hurling has subsided, though I have only been able to eat popsicles and jello. The coughing has gotten better too, but it's still lingering a bit. The last attempt by this little plague has been a nice case of Montezuma's Revenge for the past three days... hopefully that is the last of whatever Buckeye Bug I have contracted.

Other than that, Ohio is great!

Just kidding... hopefully I will have more encouraging things to speak of in the not too distant future.