Brief Interlude

Due to circumstances beyond my control, this is a brief interlude in the travels. 😂 Mid- March, I headed back to Phoenix Arizona. I played my version of ping pong time zones, going from MT with DST to a layover and hour earlier PST in Seattle then back over to MT but without DST. I also went from 40 degrees to 78 degrees. Ran around Phoenix from Tempe to Scottsdale to Payson near Tucson. I didn't take many pics this week.

My hotel was decent but loud. Apparently they host lots of kids sports teams. Tons of pre-teen boys literally running up and down the halls at all hours and shouting at each other. Oh joy. Not much rest here as I'm sound sensitive. It did prompt me to finally order ear plugs. LOL. The weirdest things were all the warning signs around the parking lots. I had a good laugh. It's the little things when you travel.

My colleagues and I drove up to Payson, AZ for a demo. It's a beautiful drive but we were talking too much and I forgot to take pictures. Lots of cactus. 🌵 LOL. Seriously, I promise to do better on pics. I signed up for an iPhone photography course online so I can up my game and because you can never have too many projects going at one time. Right?!😜

Hmmm, the end of the week proved me wrong. I got sick Thursday. Friday was an incredibly miserable 6 hour trek home (layovers, time zone ping pong in reverse). I wore a mask to protect everyone else. I thought my ear drums would burst at one point. Rolled my suitcase in the door late Friday night and spent the rest of the weekend in a fever haze in bed. Apparently, I caught the flu and an ear infection. Everything is muffled and the head is congested. Apologies to anyone I've spoken with if I croaked too loud this week. I have no idea how loud I am because everything sounds like it's underwater. It was really fun trying to reschedule all the appointments I had this week.

On the plus side, however, I am finally navigating the healthcare system post Covid as a new patient. It's eye opening when you don't work for a healthcare system anymore. I now have to navigate from the outside in. I waited several months for a new patient appointment with a new PCP and then was told not to come in due to my fever. Huh. Luckily, I found a great Urgent Care less than a mile from my townhouse. This is why patients lie now. The system is forcing it. I'm seeing both sides now. And honestly, there aren't easy answers. It's like the Hunger Games. "May the odds be ever in your favor"

Next week I'm off to Sacramento, CA to prep for my final staff review at end of April. Hope y'all stay safe, healthy and happy.

As always, thanks for reading.