Will it never stop?

The rain continues, hard and without ceasing. Well, that's not true. The rain comes down really hard and then eases up almost to the point where you think you have seen the end. Then it comes back.

John spent most of the day doing errands. He had the start of a sore throat and so got some Strepsil throat spray. After that, he went to the supermarket and got some cereal and milk, some juice and kleenex. Then he trudged back up the hill home in the pouring rain. He has had some nice conversation with Michael, Cathy's flatmate who is a playwright, actor, research assistant and many other skills and they continued their conversation.

Cathy called to ask John and Michael if they wanted to go to a dinner with the ASCILITE executive in downtown Auckland at a trendy restaurant called Mezze http://www.mezzebar.co.nz. Michael said he had been soaked enough for one day already and declined while John (not knowing any better) agreed to go. It was a good decision in many ways because he met some super people from Australia and New Zealand.

Part way through the evening John started to feel a little ill, coughing and so on, and decided to take the ferry home. Cathy, who has worked with these friends for a number of years, decided to stay on.

The rain was pouring down and drenching and John got soaked to the skin, through his Columbia waterproof jacket. When he laid down to sleep he started to feel really bad. He felt he had a temp, a bad cough, aching all over. Thoughts like ,"It could be the swine flu" raced thrugh John's head.

When Cathy came home, John said that he should go to a hotel but she said if he had the flu she and Michael were already exposed and that would do no good. She did suggest he move to a more comfortable bed in the living room rather than the hard one in the bedroom. John accepted gratefully. She also offered to take John to the doctor if he wanted but he said that he would prefer to wait to asee if he felt worse before going. Cathy said that most 'blokes' are like that and don't go to the doctor soon enough. She made him a manuka honey and lemon tea drink and that seemed to soothe cough somewhat.

The next morning he awoke feeling a bit better. The aches and slight fever were gone but he still had a headache and as the day wore on he felt even better. He still had the tickle in the chest that caused him to cough a little but it surely does not look like the flu. He went back to bed and woke up nearer to noon.

As the afternoon approached, John even did a load of his washing. Cathy said that if it rains some moew that will just be the final rinse. The weather outlook is calling for some sun and partly cloudy. John even thinks he will go to a dinner with his copresenters (Cathy and Josephine from the University of Hong Kong) tonight.