Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Trapped in Ottawa
I have been home for the holidays for a very, very long time. Please do not take this the wrong way - I thoroughly enjoy visiting my family and friends, and when I feel alone I even crave it. But truthfully, I can't sit still for this long. I'm desperate to be busy, even inundated with work, and I can't wait to have that feeling of drowning in business. I honestly thrive on it. I have my laptop here, so I can work, in theory, but it's very hard to focus. I feel like Fredericton is getting going again and I'm still here.
Prior to my flight back to Fredericton, I became quite ill with a form of pre-pneumonia, that is, would have become pneumonia had we not caugh
t it so early. I was having some difficulty breathing, so my dad insisted that we go to the emergency room, and six long hours later they prescribed me an antibiotic. I'm always very wary when it comes to antibiotics since I'm paranoid about doctors prescribing them for viral infections. Antibiotic resistance scares me more than it should, probably because when I think about it, I picture the flesh-eating disease. I think about that about once a day, which probably isn't healthy, considering that that's about how often I think about sex.
t it so early. I was having some difficulty breathing, so my dad insisted that we go to the emergency room, and six long hours later they prescribed me an antibiotic. I'm always very wary when it comes to antibiotics since I'm paranoid about doctors prescribing them for viral infections. Antibiotic resistance scares me more than it should, probably because when I think about it, I picture the flesh-eating disease. I think about that about once a day, which probably isn't healthy, considering that that's about how often I think about sex. Shortly after beginning to take the antibiotics, they had the desired effect of lessening my fever so I could get going on my recovery. I have been lying on a couch for a week, so it's no wonder that I feel so restless. I've had a lot of mindless time that I devoted to getting through the Voyage of the Beagle, finally, since this book will haunt me to the end of my days if I don't plow through it right now. I have about 40 pages to go, which is thrilling. To be fair, I'm giving this book less credit than it deserves.
Although I understand the importance of this book, Darwin does devote a little too much time to discussing the same topics over and over again, making the read more tedious than it needs to be. I enjoy his descriptions of flora and fauna of the places he visits most. His lengthly geological theories are painful, though, and his "anthropological" discussions are even moreso, although the latter always made me chuckle. A genuine effort is made to understand the indigenous cultures that he visits, although his description usually ends up comparing the culture to that of englishmen. I suppose that although this would be frowned upon nowadays, we all do it. Be honest, our favourite hobby involves judging each other, and not favourably either.I have resolved to become less apathetic and to act upon things that I feel are important. To this end, I am making an effort to educate myself regarding human rights issues and advocacy. I plan to begin small by letter-writing and the like. I already would encourage you to look at this link regarding discriminatory laws against women in Iran. Many women are persecuted there for self-defense crimes, whereas a man would not be treated so.
I plan to enjoy my last few days in Ottawa. I have some work to do, for sure, but I'm hoping to visit my nana tomorrow and spend some quality time with my family, of course. Besides, there will be so much to keep me busy upon my return.
