Saturday, April 18, 2015

Our Office, The Life-Size Petri Dish

My office has turned into a Hot Zone. There are multiple sicknesses going around and people are reacting very differently to the same virus. It's totally crazy! I've suggested multiple times to my boss about shutting down the office for a few days but he wouldn't hear it. 

Here's a breakdown of my office and what everyone has:

Patient 1 - Flu and bronchitis
Patient 2 - Flu, pneumonia, and hospital stay
Patient 3 - Flu (Influenza Type B), bronchitis, and pre-pneumonia
Patient 4 - Flu and bronchitis
Patient 5 - Flu (Influenza Type B)
Patient 6 - Flu (Influenza Type B)
Patient 7 (Me) - Flu (Influenza Type B)
Patient 8 - Flu, bronchitis, and laryngitis
Patient 9 - Flu (Influenza Type A and B)
Patient 10 - Nothing
Patient 11 - Nothing
Patient 12 - Nothing
Patient 13 - Nothing
Patient 14 - Nothing

After three of my coworkers tested positive for Influenza B I decided to go get tested even though I only have a runny nose and a mild sore throat. I went to the same clinic as the others and I told the nurses and Dr what was going on at my office. The nurse was not happy with me. She asked me if my coworkers were stupid. I just laughed. It's hard to call in sick when you work in construction and everyone wants to portray themselves as being strong. It's not their fault. One of my coworkers did call in sick but my boss yelled at him and told him to get to work. So yea... we aren't stupid. We are just stuck in a rough position. 

After hearing my situation the Dr decided to get me tested. The nurse came in, pushed a cotton swap up my nose, and then ran the test. 15 minutes later she came back in and told me I was positive for Influenza B. I thought she was joking. She couldn't believe it either. The Dr started me on Tamiflu and told me not to go back to work for another 48 hours. She also asked me to wear a mask when I was in public. 

I ran to the Pharmacy (with my mask on) and got my prescription, soup, and a big bottle of water. 

I went back to the office and old my boss that I was positive for the flu and that my Dr said I should be around people for the next two days. I even had a note from her. He wasn't buying it. He told me that I needed to be at the office the next morning. I wasn't happy about that. Most of my coworkers are "old" and if they get sick this could put them in the hospital. One of them already WAS IN THE HOSPITAL! 

Things like this make me so mad! The flu is not something to joke about. I take things like this seriously and I believe that it is my civic duty to not get people sick, especially after I have been diagnosed. It's hard to do that when no one else (especially the people who pay you) understands how serious it can get.  

I did as I was told and went into the office Friday and Saturday morning. I opened the door, wiped down the door knobs with Clorox wipes, and then went and sat in my truck and waited for everyone to show up. Once my boss showed up I waved and told him I was going home. He nodded and waved. Good enough for me! 

As of right now (Saturday afternoon, April 18th), 9 out of our 14 people are sick. I'm really hoping that this crap moves on and everyone gets better real soon!

[Doing my duty]

[This makes everything better]

While I've been at home I've been watching a lot of TV. The NBA Playoffs are on. My Lakers didn't make it. Not even close. They finished the season at 21-61. It breaks my heart. I will still watch the Playoffs since I am a fan of the game but I have no idea who to root for. Ugh. Well, baseball season just started. Hopefully my Angels will give me a good year.



Side story, last time I was visiting Josh in IL I went shopping for him. He asked for cheese (among other things) so I ran over to Costco. He sent me this picture a few days later asking me if I needed any cheese. He asked for cheese and I gave him cheese! Good thing you can freeze it, right?! Costco is the best!


Saturday, April 11, 2015

Great Plains Tornadoes in Illinois

Work was called off yesterday for both Josh and I because we had bad weather and there was a high chance for tornado's.

Indiana ended up with some rain, thunder storms, lightning, and strong wind.

Illinois, where Josh is, was hit pretty hard by some huge tornado's and Josh was in their path!

I was aware of the warnings but it wasn't until my TV shows got interrupted that I realized how serious the situation was.


I called Josh, since I knew he didn't have TV, and kept him on the phone while I described what I saw on the News. Most of the storms were in the north but there was a system forming southwest of Josh.

[The southern red area is just outside Ottawa and Aurora is northeast of there]

The News predicted that the super cell/tornado/storm would hit Aurora at 8:55 PM. I relayed this information to Josh and he told me that he was going to go outside and watch it roll in. Ugh. Boys!


Of course these storms are unpredictable and luckily this storm decided to head more east-northeast then the original northeastern path and it barely missed Josh! Phew!

The northern storms ended up being so much worse then they had predicted. Three towns were leveled by a series of large tornado's. The largest one was an EF4 and at least two people were killed. Thanks to modern technology most people were able to get into their basements but now there is a lot of clean up to do.

Friday, April 3, 2015

South America vs. Australia

Josh and I want to go on an awesome-legendary-honeymoonish-trip once we are done with the job I am currently on. It's been so long since I've gone on a huge trip and I have the travel bug big time! We are thinking that we will be done with our projects by the end of the summer and if that happens then we have two options:

(1) South American Cruise with Land Adventure in Brazil


This 32-day "Inca Discovery and South America" cruise (leaving October 7) would have us sailing from San Diego and ending in Bueno Aires. Highlights would include Machu Picchu, the Chilean Fjords, Cape Horn, and the Falkland Islands. After the cruise we would like to fly up to Rio de Janeiro and explore that area for a week or so.


(2) Australia Land Adventure and New Zealand and Fiji Cruise


This 25-day "Pacific and New Zealand Discovery Collector" cruise (leaving November 22) would have us sailing from Sydney, around New Zealand, back to Sydney, and then around Fiji. Highlights include Fiordland National Park, Christchurch, and the Fijian islands. After the cruise we are planning on spending two weeks around Australia. We would fly up to Cairns to see the Great Barrier Reef, Fly to Uluru to see Ayers Rock in the Outback, and spend a few days exploring the Sydney area.

****

Can you see my dilemma?! Both of these trips would be AMAZING! I want to see Machu Picchu SO BADLY but more then I want to see the place where LORD OF THE RINGS was filmed?! What about the Sydney Opera House? Or the Blue Mountains? Or FIJI?! But what about Mexico and Guatemala (MESOAMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES) and the PENGUINS?! BAHH!

I obviously can't decide. I'm torn. Completely torn! I guess we will have to let fate decide. If we are both done with our projects by the beginning of October then it will be Option 1 but if we don't finish until November then it'll be Option 2. That sounds simple enough ;-) 

Either way, I am very excited to go with Josh on his first cruise and out of country experience (Canada doesn't really count, right?)!

So, if you had the choice, where would you go?