Day 2: Mister T changes continents. Jet lag ensues.

My eyes opened and I knew that was the end of my sleep. Within seconds I was wide awake. "Please let it be 5 am. Not 4 am." I turned to the clock.

Clock: "1:00"
Me: "You must be kiddin me."
Clock: "No. Just doing my job. Deal with it."
Me: *sigh*

Jet lag was hitting hard. Now if that was the only effect, then I could be okay with it. According to Mr. Wiki, you can also suffer from headaches or dizziness, so ... fingers crossed. Mr. Wiki also said the best thing is to stay in bed and force your body into the new rhythm. OK. Where are the sheep?

I had hours to spend in bed. Enough to let your mind wander. It didn't go far, staying with my body instead. Is that a sore throat? Undeniably, yes. Hmmpfh. Is that a headache? Yup. Could it be, and I could be going out on a limb here, that your long awaited cold is finally coming to catch you?

I had been expecting this. I mean, come on, the last time I had had a cold must have been around February. Usually, I get a cold twice a year: first when it gets cold, and then when it gets warm again. (Which really sucks because weather finally starts to get better and I'm usually spending some days in bed.) Now ... I skipped Cold #2 2009. There was so much going on, quitting my job, emptying the apartment, seeing friends in Germany, a quick trip to Paris, final preparations for Project Canada 2010 ... no time for a cold there, eh? But your body does not forget. As soon as pressure subsides, you go down. And down I went.


Business as unusual

Still, I couldn't let that cold interfere with my Big Master Plan. I took some tablets against the sore throat at 2 am and waited for sunlight. "I'm spending too much time in darkness. My vitamin D levels must be down by now." (Hey, who's that talking?)

I finally got out of bed at 7 am, took a paracetamol to lower the fever and get rid of the headache and had breakfast down in the lobby. I had tea, orange juice, eggs, cereals with milk, waffels with syrup, an apple and a yoghurt. That should help it ... need a healthy breakfast, even though the ship goes down. Especially when the ship goes down.

After a quick shower I took the SkyTrain, withdrew big cash again, returned to the hotel and picked up the other half of the money and went Downtown, heading straight to the Apple Store. Bought a MacBook Pro 15", a sleeve and the printer for free. Wait, not for free. You pay first, then you fill out a form and get a rebate later. Hmm, didn't expect that. Let's see ... how much cash do I have on me ... UUUH! Close call! I could pay, alright, but if it had been ONE more dollar I wouldn't have been able to pay! Wowza! Lucky me! :-)

Now this printer ... it's ... not exactly ... lightweight. Man, I got a fever already and now I got to carry this damn thing all the way?!?!? FFFFUUUUU ........ I made it. In one piece. Without being robbed. It's one thing to carry $2k with you, concealed in your jacket, but another to carry it with you in hardware, right on display. I figure my pretend-Karate-moves wouldn't have helped me in a case of emergency.


Time Machine – a blessing

Booted up the MacBook, connected my Time Machine backup HDD and within two hours I had my system and data up and running, just the way it was before I cleared my iMac. And you know what? Get this: even the clipboard contained the text I had last copied! Respect, Apple. Respect.


Supplies for a Zombie, or: Where's the Dude?

When a cold hits you, you need to have the stuff necessary to make it as bearable as possible. So out I went again ... grocery shopping. There's a Canadian Superstore ... YES! Just what I needed, a grocery store. And a big one, too. And again a Just-Like-In-The-Movies moment. I expected the Dude to come around the corner, milk in his beard, with that Zen smile of his.


Loaded with camomille tea, mandarins, apples, bananas, water, and a ready-made sandwich, I trodded back to the hotel. Sandwich for dinner ... why not. Why spend money in a restaurant when everything you eat tastes like paper anyway?

I made a pot of tea with my room's little coffee machine. Took hours, but better than nothing. The fever had come back and I was cold. My nose was running and my throat was stuffed with razors.

And then a thought entered my dazed mind: What would T the Zombie do on New Year's Eve, feeling like this?