What a Week?!

Wow, 10 days have gone by since my last blog.  So much time has passed by that I'm not sure where to begin.  Let me first start by saying that if you have your health and you have friends, family, a lover, that loves you, then take a few seconds and thank God for that.  This week has been one of the biggest trials I have ever faced and to have to do it in a foreign country without my mom and dad was really difficult.  I know, I'm almost 30 and shouldn't really be needing mom and dad at this point in my life, but there are some times in your life when it seems that only they can make things better.

Most of last week was uneventful until I got to Friday.  I had a doctor's appointment at 9:30 AM (again) to test my urine once more.  There were red blood cells in the last sample so my doctor suggested one more go at it before I had to see a specialist.  Then I had a job interview with a local catering company and I thought it went really well.  There are two positions available, one with an easy description and good, set hours.  The other is going to be very challenging but a prestigious and more creative role.  I'm leaning towards the latter.  After that, it was our traditional "Friday night out" so I met up with my friend S. from Austria (she's the long time girlfriend of one of my Aussie's university friends) at The Ivy and then the rest of the boys showed up later.  It was a fairly early night.  We were all home by 11 PM as my Aussie and I had to head to Bathurst the next day.  We were throwing his mom a surprise 60th birthday party and family and friends were coming in from Newcastle and other areas.

So Saturday morning my Aussie heads off to play cricket around 8 AM and I pack up all our things, take Bailey on a long walk and then we head out around 1:00 PM to start our drive.  Bathurst is about 2 hours away and up through the Blue Mountains.  It was a pretty scenic drive and Bailey was loving all that fresh country air coming through the windows.  It was nice to have my Aussie to myself for a couple of hours.  It was our first road trip in a long time.  Once we got into town we had to scramble to get wrapping paper, a birthday card, a birthday cake and candles and then deliver all of that to the restaurant before we went to his mom's house. (If I were in charge, that would have all been done of course.)

His mom's house is lovely!!  It sits on top of one of the largest hills in Bathurst so you can see down into the town.  It's postcard perfect, like something out of Pleasantville.  Some of the properties we drove by have sheep in their front yards for crying out loud.  It was so beautiful.  We chatted for a bit with his mom before his brother and his girlfriend showed up.  We all got ready and then headed off to Chicane for the big surprise.  The hostess brought us to the table and his mom was definitely surprised.  We had a lovely dinner and I met a lot of his family.  They all chipped in to buy his mom an iPad which she was thrilled with.  And a travel set of the Perfect Push-Ups.  She can do 30 push-ups already (not the girly kind either).  Here are some pics of us at dinner:

Me and my Aussie

My Aussie and his older brother J.

My Aussie's mum (very happy about the iPad)

The next day we had breakfast with the family at this trendy little restaurant in downtown Bathurst and then we headed back to Sydney.  On the way home, we stopped off at "the farm" so I could see it.  The farm is where my Aussie and his brother grew up before their parents divorced.  It's about 30 acres of land in the hills with ponds and sheep and a big farmhouse.  It's really quite amazing.  Granted there are about 15 old and broken used Volvo car bodies scattered around along with 4 or 5 old rusted tractors and everything is kind of overgrown and in need of some serious maintenance.  But my Aussie has the vision that the place could be great and an amazing vacation home someday if he can get his hands on it.  We'll see.

For the drive home we decide to go a different route and take the Bells Line of Roads which is this incredibly scenic drive through the mountains.  It has lots of steep climbs and declines and it cuts through these amazing little country towns with stands on the side of the road for fresh peaches, honey, produce, fresh baked pies, U-pick farms and the views are absolutely incredible.  I was so disappointed because I didn't have the right shoes to go "pickin'" but I will be back for sure.  It's only about an hour outside of Sydney and would be so much fun to make a day trip out of.  Here are some pics from one of the photo op stops:

 Me and Bailey

 Me and my Aussie

Monday rolls around all too soon so my Aussie heads off to work and I go back to the doctors to check on the results.  Everything is actually all clear of red blood cells and proteins, HOWEVER, there are some bacteria present indicating I'm getting a UTI.  I knew this, I'd been fighting it since last Thursday with insane amounts of water, cranberry capsules, vitamin C, you name it.  I thought I could beat it naturally but apparently not.  So she prescribes me antibiotics and tells me to come back on the 24th and we'll test everything again.  Medibank, the office I'm using to perform my health check for my visa application requires a perfectly clean health check so all of this I'm going through is mandatory.  Anyway, after that I took the bus from Edgecliffe to Bondi Junction.  I received the pre-paid international envelope in the mail from my mom so I decided to go get fingerprinted at the Waverley police station.    

I get to the police station, fill out the paperwork and head back to the fingerprinting booth.  They have this nifty machine that scans all your prints so no more ink-stained fingers or botched prints.  The constable fires it up and tries to put in his password and it doesn't accept it.  He tries four more times, then another constable tries it (4x) and then another constable tries it (4x) and then the IT constable tries it and declares its on the fritz.  "Come back in 45 minutes, maybe grab a coffee or something, and hopefully there won't be a line and we can get you in quickly."

So I walk down the street to the nearest bus stop, sit down, and have a good long cry.  I'm getting that "Oh, no" feeling like the day is already gearing up to be a real low-down shit show.  I've had this feeling quite a few times in the last month I've been here.  My lower back is throbbing and it's hot and humid but I get up and take the constable's advice.  I see  a cafe on the corner so I walk in and order a soy cappucino and chocolate brownie.  They have the current edition of Easy Living Australia on one of the tables so I flip through getting some good ideas on decor for me and my Aussie's new apartment (which we don't have yet but hopefully will by the end of February).

So 45 minutes later I head back to the police station, there is no line thank goodness and I head back to the booth.  We start the process and attempt to start taking prints on my right hand.  Unfortunately, the machine is very sensitive to sweat.  (For those of you that know me, I've battled sweaty appendages all my life and then to add a 20 minutes stroll in the 85 degree humid weather, after drinking a hot beverage to that.... well, you get the picture).  So after 1 AND 1/2 HOURS and multiple hand-washing and hand-drying (I went through about half a roll of paper towel), I finally finished my prints and mailed all of that crap off to the FBI. Woohoo!!

By the time I get home, I'm feeling pretty miserable though.  My lower back is killing me, I'm exhausted and hurting all over.  I lay down on the couch, drink about a gallon of water and try to feel better while I watch Kung Fu Panda.  My Aussie texted me a couple of times to let me know he was going to be home late, and then even later.  I'm starting to panic a little because something doesn't feel right.  I can't walk, sit or lay down with any comfort.  Bailey needs to go outside but I know I can't physically handle it.  One of our roommates comes home, P., who is a chief radioligist and has some medical background.  I explain that I have a UTI but now it feels like it's worse.  Is there a point where it can go to far for the antibiotics to help, and that I might need to go the hospital?  He calmly analyzes the situation and decides that yes, we are past that point.

So my other roomie F. pulls out my car, P. helps me pack a bag because he thinks I might have to stay overnight, and we head off to the ER.  I'm a crying mess because I called my Aussie twice and he's not answering.  P. finally gets a hold of him while I'm in the ER and he rushes there pretty quickly.  There are 5 people ahead of me before I can even talk to a triage nurse.  They are pretty quick though about getting me some painkillers and that helps.  Three hours go by and then they call me in to put in an IV to draw blood.  I have to give a urine sample as well.  They give me some more painkillers and then another three 3 hours go by.  It's about 1 AM now.  P. went home a long time ago.  My Aussie is still in his work suit, the poor thing, and I'm exhausted.  I finally get called in to see a doctor.  They decide to keep me overnight and do a slow drip of saline and antibiotics.  I take another round of painkillers, put on my iPod and pass out. 

I vaguely remember nurses coming in to change the IV bag, someone brought in breakfast at 6:30 AM but I just went to sleep at 3 AM and food is the furthest thing from my mind.  Around 9 AM my Aussie wakes me up.  It was the nicest sight to see first thing and what was even better was that he told the office he was coming in late so he could sit with me a bit and walk me home.  The nurse came in to check on me and told me the doctor would be with me soon.  Meanwhile my Aussie brushes my hair and puts it up in a ponytail (because I can't move my left arm with the IV in it) and then goes to get me a breakfast sandwich.  I submit one more urine sample by hobbling to the toilet rolling my IV drip with me and then an hour later, I am released with some serious antibiotics. 

I've pretty much been laying low since then.  I can't really do a whole lot of physical excercise.  I love taking 1 1/2 to 2 hour walks with Bailey usually but I can go for about 30-45 minutes and that's it.  I did a lot of laundry yesterday and went to the grocery store.  I cooked breakfast for dinner for the boys last night.  This was something totally different for them, and my Aussie didn't think it was a good idea, but they loved it!!  Homemade whole wheat pancakes, scrambled eggs with spinach, mushrooms, and cheddar, grilled sausages (for the meat-eaters) and fake bacon for me, sliced organic tomatoes and they actually had imported Florida navel oranges at the market so I scooped those up.  It was quite the feast.

The latest good news is that I received a call for an interview for event planner at a nearby golf course.  That's scheduled for next Tuesday at 9:00 AM.  Hopefully something clicks soon otherwise I'm going to have to tie on that waitress apron one more time to bring in some cash.  We've got some big expenses coming up with renting a new apartment and paying for my visa application.  Not to mention the debt we have to get out of that got me and Bailey here to begin with.  But that's life, you know.  Anything is possible and everything is acheivable with good health and the love of your family and friends.  Thank God for that.