Hitting the Deck!

So it’s looking like my stay here in Germany is just about coming to an end. I have been informed by management that, although he is trying to arrange things so that I can continue working through the end of June (as planned), it looks like getting clearance to work with the new (still rather confidential) technologies might not be easy for us (Jon and myself). That being the case, it’s looking like my contract work may no longer be needed past the end of the first quarter (end of March).

It’s a bit of a shame that I will most likely be missing out on another three months of pay; however I really must admit that I am looking very forward to heading home – if I’m lucky enough to survive until then…

I’m slightly concerned about a couple instances that have recently occurred. I mentioned earlier about passing out in Stone’s Café (Amsterdam) and bruising my tailbone rather badly – that injury seems to be just about healed now. Last night, however, instance number two occurred. I got out of bed around 1:30 to “drain the main vein”, climbed up my spiral staircase, used the facilities and then headed back to bed. I remember starting the decent down the spiral staircase although I do not remember finishing this trip – the next memory that I have was coming-to lying on the floor with a bloody nose wondering “where” as well as “who” I was.

It’s obvious to me that I must have somehow passed out while descending the stairs. I have no idea why I passed out (perhaps I need to eat a bit more than I have been) but I sure as Hell can tell you that coming-to with your face planted in the floor and your legs (complete with several new rug burns) sprawled up a spiral staircase is absolutely no picnic. I apparently planted my face rather forcefully into that floor (or possibly smashed it into something else on the way down – I really don’t know…) as my head felt like it was going to explode, I was sweating bullets and my nose was bleeding like a stuck pig. Add to that the trauma of not knowing where you are and having to come to grips with suddenly waking up and having an up close and personal view of your shoes that appear to be stuck on a large wall (the floor) and I think you can understand that last night was a rough night for me…

It actually took quite a bit of effort for me to figure out what had happened and successfully move my torso back to the bed – the pain was rather overwhelming. I probably should go visit with a doctor however I really don’t see that happening. I have absolutely no medical insurance and it appears to me that I’ll survive. I’m in a bit more pain than usual but I guess I’m just going to have to “man it up” and let my body repair itself in its own time…

Oh well, I guess nothing ever goes smoothly with me – this new habit of randomly “hitting the deck” is something I’m going to need to pay attention to. That one rough trip down my spiral staircase will hopefully never be repeated again. It could have ended up much worse (necks tend to break in situations such as that). I’m going to start eating more food (stop skipping meals just to avoid the awkward situations that assuredly arise when one doesn’t speak the local language) and will hopefully be able to put this habit of passing out behind me. Wish me luck…

bis später,

Coriolis