Today was day 3 of my half-days work week, and I can’t say that it went as well as the first two, when I managed to make it nearly a full half day before having to go home from the pressure that built up in my back after sitting upright for 4 hours. I even thought yesterday morning that the back actually felt a little bit better when I woke up, but it deteriorated pretty quickly throughout the day to end up with no obvious progress by the end. Today, on the other hand, I only made it through an hour and a half of work before I began experiencing extreme waves of nausea from the back pain and absolutely had to go home. Worried, I rescheduled my doctor’s appointment for this afternoon and spent all my time before the appointment laid up in bed. The back’s still feeling significantly worse even though I’m lying down, which is why I’m blogging at midnight–the valium and heat packs still haven’t managed to relax my muscles enough to allow me to sleep.

The doctor obviously knew it wasn’t good because I was coming in earlier than expected, and he immediately set about trying to get me on another course of treatment that will hopefully start improving my back. It was definitely worth the try to get back to work and to normal life, but that obviously wasn’t working so I’ve been ordered not to go back to work for the rest of the week. On top of that, I’m going to physiotherapy tomorrow, which I am really hoping makes a difference. I will be realistic though and figure that after the first treatment, I’ll probably hurt worse, but I’m hoping it will help me make great strides in the long run. I’d like this because it’s looking a bit doubtful that I will be able to get on the plane in what is now a week and two days, since a valid point has been made that I only have one back and sitting on a plane for 20 hours might do it much more future harm when it’s already in this state. Not good. I just have to wait and see what the physio does and what the doctor has to say during my next appointment on Monday.

Until then, I’ll be lying in bed reading The Great Hunt and hoping my back doesn’t implode when I visit the physio tomorrow. Also, there’s been more good news about the car situation–it looks like I’ll just be getting back what my car was worth rather than having to go through the hassle of finding the same car when there are very few new ones left in Perth. As much as I’d like a new Ribena, I think it’d just be easier to save the money and wait until I’m in a better place (ie not about to depart for England and not with a mangled back) before I get a car again.

I think I have to count this weekend as one of the longest I’ve ever had. I wanted to get out of the house so badly, but it’s sadly obvious that I can’t do that very well. Just being cooped up for the entire week had me feeling a little stir crazy on Saturday, and it really didn’t help that the weather was just beautiful…it was like the oasis in the winter of constant rain. Besides that, I was having trouble concentrating on absolutely anything inside the house, since my attention span has been reduced to that of a 3-year-old’s. I do one thing for five minutes, get bored, move to something else, tire of it just as easily…which is sad really, because I have a great book series that I’m currently working on (book 2 of 12) and I just can’t get myself fully into it. I’m finding myself reading the same sentences over and over again and am just not getting very far at all.

Inspired by the weather, I decided to set out on a little walk down to the local tennis club that I was planning on joining until a couple weeks ago. I felt bad that they had nominated me for membership and then I’d disappeared off the face of the earth, and I figured a little walk to stretch my back wouldn’t go awry. I took my camera along for the walk so I could take random pictures and keep my mind occupied–plus it gave me something to fiddle with later on the computer–and did manage to make it to the tennis club, albeit in slightly more time than it normally takes. Even though I don’t know the people at the club all that well, it was good to see them and have a chat/cup of tea during their break between matches.

I think I did overdo it going to the club though, because on the way back my back became quite stiff. It especially wasn’t a good idea to try to lean over and get a few flower shots on the way there, but I tended to become stuck on the pavement before I realized that I was being stupid. Next time I’ll just have to be a little more sensible, but I guess sometimes it’s good to be reminded of your limits.

I just feel so completely flat at the moment. Luckily, a friend (Chris) from work came over yesterday and cheered me up some with various TV series and a trip to see Kung Fu Panda (again, anything to get out of the house!) but I feel lethargic and brain dead. I feel exhausted just from walking up and down the stairs because something’s just constantly there in my back. I feel lonely because all of my family is so far away; thank goodness for phone cards and the internet, but what I wouldn’t give just to have a hug from one of them right now.

The only thing really to do in my case is hope that it gets better, and quickly. I went back to work today in an attempt to work a half day. I did manage about 4 hours, but by the end of it, I was in much worse pain than I’ve been in a while. I managed to pilfer a tall chair that gives me enough support, but I just don’t think my back’s used to the pressure of sitting up for such a long period. Hopefully each day it will get a little stronger and I will work back up to a normal work day, since I feel like I’m such a whinger, talking about my bad back when so many other people have it so much worse in car accidents. I’m trying my best though, and I hope that people can see that.

In other news, I talked to the Honda dealership that I got my little Ribena from today. Apparently there are very few Jazzes left on the lots in Perth as they are clearing them out to bring in the new models. There aren’t any “misty violet” ones at all, but there are a few other choices other than canary yellow, which is good…Now it’s just a waiting game to see whether they are all gone before everything with the insurance gets settled.

I got a call from the insurance company yesterday, telling me that Ribena’s officially been written off. They didn’t state exactly what damages caused her to be written off–I’m sure I’ll find out eventually–but it was probably just too much to fix with her being smashed in from both ends. Plus, the assessor pointed out that I probably wanted her to be written off to begin with since she only had 92kms on the clock (and I picked her up with ~65kms!). I was really happy to hear this, since earlier in the week they called and told me she could be repaired, but after I talked to a bunch of people, I was given a list of things that needed to be double-checked before I took her back–things like the engine mounts, the seat belts, the front seats in general…The list was getting too long to remember and I really feel like I would have felt uncomfortable driving her, wondering what would happen if some other person decides that his hood really needs to be wedged under my back bumper.

Since the car has been written off, my insurance policy states that I will get a brand new car of the same make and model. This sounds easy enough, but I think it’s going to be a real hassle. I ended up in a constant back-and-forth of calls between the insurance and the bank where no one could come to any agreement. It left me nearly at the point of tears because I had to be at work on my day off, struggling to even sit in the chair to make all of these calls. I’ve faxed what I can to the insurance and they said they’d try to do their best to get things done, but it’s likely it won’t all be finished within 2 weeks so I’ll have to appoint someone to sort it out while I’m in England.

On the injury front, I’m doing okay. I’m trying to move around some rather than lying about all day, because 1) I’ll go crazy if I just sit/lie here constantly, and 2) because it can’t help my back to be completely immobile. I went back to the doctor on Thursday night for a checkup, and he said that my neck’s much improved (which I’d noticed) and my lower back’s gotten a little better. The problem area is still my upper back, which the x-rays show actually has a bit of scoliosis, which could be caused by the mangled muscles on either side pulling it back and forth. He just said that I’m lucky I’m young because this sort of injury doesn’t heal in older people, but that he really doesn’t have a timeline on when it’ll get better. He’s recommended half-days of work for next week, since neither of us thought it would really be possible for me to sit in front of a computer in a desk chair for 8 hours right away. Luckily, all of the people at work have been great and have told me that I can take as much time as I need to get over this, especially in light of the fact that I’ve been waiting for training for 4 months and absolutely must be my best to get on the plane in two weeks’ time.

Yesterday was a bit difficult, even before I went into work, because I managed to pop something in my back just trying to get out of bed. It seemed like it undid any of the good effects that resting and medicating had already done, and it took me a while to even struggle out of bed after that. It’s just tough when things seem to be getting better and then one wrong movement sends you back to square one. I’m just going to have to take things as they come and just hope for the best.

I hope that you all aren’t sick of my complaints yet, but I’m trying to be as positive as possible in the circumstances. At least I don’t have to worry about Ribena being possibly broken while I am driving, which is a definite upside. I’m just hoping that the same colour is available (which is unlikely, since I got her at an end-of-year sale when they were trying to clear the lot of the last of the ’08s) because I got a bit attached to the “misty violet”! If anything, I just really really hope I don’t get a canary yellow Jazz (one of the other 5 colors the car is made in), although at least people would be able to see me and hopefully avoid hitting me (but then again, isn’t that what brake lights are for?).

Also, thanks to all that have sent along well-wishes. It’s really helped to get a few cards in the mail and to see messages online. It’s been a difficult time out here in Perth so far and things like this make me feel even more isolated. My friends here have been fantastic and have really kept me buoyed up, but what I wouldn’t give just to get some hugs from family right now! At least I’ve got a shining light at the end of the tunnel: James will be here in a week. While we definitely won’t be doing the driving holiday weekend we planned, I still can’t wait to see him get out of that taxi cab…

Here I am, lying in bed at 10.30am on a Wednesday morning. Yes, at this time, I would normally have a computer in front of me, but I’m generally dressed in something other than PJs and sitting in the office with Henry. But then again, this week hasn’t been normal.

I mentioned in my last post that, while I walked away from the car accident, I was still a bit injured. My neck was burning and slowly turning into full-blown whiplash, but the doctor that I visited on Friday told me that there was nothing I could really do, and that it was just going to get worse before it got better. Over the weekend, this injury just got worse. Sitting in the rock-hard seats at the Wallabies game didn’t help, but they certainly didn’t cause any extra damage–if anything, they showed me that sitting in anything less than the high-backed seat I had in the theatre for the Dark Knight (which was a great film, by the way) on Friday would cause me serious pain…which wasn’t a good omen for work.

I went to work on Monday morning and was pretty promptly sent home and told to get myself looked at because the pain had spread from my neck down about 2/3 of my back. I couldn’t walk properly and pretty much every movement was painful–getting out of a chair, opening doors, etc, etc.  I decided that it would probably be good to get a second opinion, so once the taxi dropped me off at home, I called the closest doctor’s office. It turns out that you have to register as a patient IN THE OFFICE before you are allowed to make an appointment, so I had to walk (luckily, only a few blocks) to get there and show them my driver’s license. You’d think they would know that someone wanting to make an appt is probably not in the state to get to the office for a short visit, go home, and then come back later for their actual appointment…

But I digress. My appointment was made for 6 o’clock that night. After describing the exact circumstances of the accident once again to the doctor, he got me to stand up and started poking and prodding at my back and neck. I jumped quite a few times, especially when he found a spot right in the middle of my back. I swear I jumped about 3 feet! He also wanted me to try to bend over and touch my knees, and I barely got past my waist before I got completely stuck.

This doctor was a lot better than the previous doctor I went to, because he actually examined the injury in depth and then explained everything he thought was going on in my back and neck. He even got out a model of a spine and demonstrated what happened during the accident during the rear and front impacts. He said that he was pretty sure that I didn’t have any fractures in my back, and that it was just “significant soft tissue damage” in the muscles around my spine from my neck all the way down my back. This obviously causes swelling, which was causing the prickly feeling I got occasionally all around my back, especially during the one time I tried to play MarioKart. Apparently the swelling pushes on the nerves going out into my back and makes them tingle like that.

For the pain, he gave me cortizone tablets to take for the next 5 days, plus valium to help my muscles relax so I could finally get a decent night’s sleep. The valium’s definitely helped me get slightly more comfortable so I can sleep, but I haven’t noticed much improvement on the cortizone. However, the pain’s stopped getting worse, so that’s definitely a positive.

Even though he was pretty sure that I didn’t have any fractures, he was still on the fence about whether I should get x-rays or not. The thing that tipped him over the edge was the fact that I am heading to England in 3 weeks’ time, and he didn’t want me to go abroad with any undiagnosed injuries. I went and got those x-rays done yesterday, which took quite a while since they had to do about 10 different ones to get my neck all the way down the length of my spine. Fortunately, the results came out good–aside from a bit of scoliosis that was already there, there is no other obvious bone damage, although they said that if I keep having pain I should go back and get a bone scan.

On top of all this, the doc said it would be a terrible idea to get into a bus, since every time they stop and start they simulate a whiplash-like motion. So, I’m essentially banned from using them, and it’s not a good idea for me to be on the road at all if I can help it. Plus, he didn’t think it would be good for my back or neck to sit in a chair all day, so I’m not going to work for the entire week. I’ve pretty much just been lazing around the house, doing a few chores until my back starts really complaining and then going back to bed. Luckily, Chelsea introduced me to the Wheel of Time series, which consists of 12 books (one as yet unpublished) that are all about 800 pages each. It’s fantasy that’s similar to the Lord of the Rings, and I’m really enjoying it. I finished the first one yesterday and have plowed straight on into the second one. It’s definitely helping time pass, as is LibraryThing, a new web 2.0 application I found that lets you catalog all of the books you’ve read. It’s sadly addictive.

I’ve also spent quite a lot of time on the phone talking to concerned friends & family. Thanks so much for calling and chatting–it definitely makes a world of difference!

Other things keeping me occupied: Flickr, especially browsing random photos and checking on the insane number of comments the flower picture I posted at the top of my last post has received. Funny, for a picture where I just stuck the camera under some flowers and hoped for the best! Also, it’s given me time to get my IgoUgo up-to-date, but mostly picture-wise since I’m not in much of a state to write at the moment. This blog will hopefully have a lot of things added to it in the next few days as well, including my library from LibraryThing and a new format for my Igo travel journals. All in all, thank God for mindless ways to spend time on the internet!

Also, I got a call from the insurance yesterday saying that the damage on Ribena looked a lot worse than it was, so she’s going to be repaired rather than replaced. I just hope she comes back in perfect shape!

My entry entitled “A Fantastic Time in Byron, Part 2″ is still half-written, and is going to remain that way at least until this post is finished, since l’affaire Ribena is a much more pressing issue for me at the moment.

After some deliberation on whether I needed a car in Perth or not, I finally decided to go out and have a test drive or two a couple weeks ago. I figured that a car would give me much more freedom than I currently have to explore the city of Perth and its surrounds, since I may not be here forever and I’d like to see what I can while I’m here rather than just sitting around the house all weekend!

I wanted a small car that had good fuel economy, since I only needed it for puttering around town and wanted to save as much on skyrocketing fuel prices as possible. I ended up narrowing it down to a few choices–mainly, the Honda Jazz and the Toyota Yaris. I found a demo Honda Jazz on some online listings that had a good price and a very low number of kilometers, so when Chris offered to drive Henry and me around in his new Civic Type R during our lunch break and Henry suggested that we drive to the dealership so I could test drive the Jazz, I jumped at the chance. When we got there, they told us that that car had already been sold but that I could have a new car for that used price. I was dumbfounded that the “bargaining” would be that easy, but it turns out I just got there at the right time, meaning it was right at the end of the “end of financial year” clearance.

We all went for a test drive in the new Jazz, which was great. It drove smoothly and the engine was so much quiter than my Accord at home. Also, according to the guys in the back, it was very roomy. After we got back to the dealership, the salesman demonstrated all the ways the seats can be moved around (which was quite a lot) and I noticed that even my bike would fit into it–and it’s a tiny hatchback! All of that combined with my great experience with Hondas had me sold.

Flash forward to two weeks later–last Tuesday. It had taken the dealership what seemed to me to be an interminable time to get the car ready, but apparently they were very backlogged with the end-of-year sales and just couldn’t get it to me sooner. At least it gave me time to get my loan and insurance sorted out. It was a very rainy afternoon when we arrived at the dealership to pick up the car, with me clutching more money in checks than I’d ever held before. The salesman took me on a quick drive to the service centre to get me acquainted with everything, and then I was on my way.

I was so excited to get my little Jazz, which as you can see from the pictures is…purple. The dealership called it “misty violet” or “blackcurrant”; I hooked on to “blackcurrant” just to make it sound a little less goofy. But hey, all of the guys that saw my car agreed that it was not an obnoxious purple at all…most actually found it quite nice. I know I was turned off by the thought of a purple car but it really grew on me. I liked it even more once James came up with a name for the car…Ribena. For those of you in the US that haven’t had it before, Ribena is a purple-coloured blackcurrant juice drink sold in the UK, Australia, and NZ. It was such a cute name to go with a cute little car. People at work even wanted me to get personalized plates that said RIBENA.

Then, Thursday night happened. Paul wanted to go get a few things for his room, so I offered to drive him to IKEA. I can’t say I ever pass up a chance to go to this massive warehouse of a store, and I certainly would have found a reason to go driving that night even if Paul didn’t need a laundry basket. It was a rainy night, although it was only drizzling for most of the ride. Just before the IKEA exit, traffic started building up as more cars pulled into the left lane so they, too, could take care of their housewares needs. On top of this, there was a fender bender on the shoulder, which was a perfect opportunity for some people to rubberneck. I did not, but I had to quickly brake as the cars in front of me came to a halt. I stopped in time and had some space between me and the car in front; this gave me time to look in the rear view mirror and start screaming as I saw the car behind me’s lights coming up way too fast. Fortunately, Paul didn’t know what was about to happen, so he didn’t tense up as I probably did. The inevitable smash came, which pushed Paul, Ribena, and me into the car in front. I don’t remember anything after that–it’s just a complete blank. I know I was screaming and I know I somehow got out of the car, although I don’t have any idea if I checked for cars before getting out on the shoulder or what. I just remember being on the side of the road completely freaking out while Paul and the lady in front tried to calm me down. At least everyone got out of their cars in one piece.

Ribena, on the other hand, was in shambles. The back was obviously smashed inwards where the car behind had hit; in front, the hood would not close and the grill was damaged, implying to me that something could have been smashed internally as well. When the tow truck driver arrived, he confirmed the worst–I could not drive Ribena home. She would have to be towed away, possibly for me to never see again. He wasn’t sure about the extent of the damage but said that at least the radiator was damaged and leaking. I was devastated. It was only the third time I’d even driven her! Both of the other cars in the incident could be driven away.

I’m just so happy that Paul was there with me to help out. I’m unhappy that he had to experience the accident with me, but I’m very very happy he managed to get out of the car and that he helped to calm me down. I finally managed to get all of the information from everybody, after a few frantic phone calls to the other Paul, who was also a great help. Chris from work was fantastic and immediately came over to pick us up when the tow truck driver dropped us at IKEA.

I said before that everyone walked away from the accident. I don’t know about the other two drivers, but I know that Paul is physically fine; I, on the other hand, am not quite so. The ankle of the foot that was on the brake is possibly sprained and a bit difficult to walk on (but the x-rays the next day confirmed there was no break, hairline or otherwise), and I have a pretty bad case of whiplash. I’ve spent most of the weekend in bed because it’s just uncomfortable to not be lying down. I’ve ventured out a few times–to the Wallabies game that I’d already bought tickets to (and the Wallabies won, beating the Springboks–the world champions!) and out to the front yard to take some pictures of flowers–but that’s about all. It’s going to be rough having to sit in a computer chair for 8 hours a day, since sitting up for even a short period of time gives me pangs all up and down my back, as well as a prickly sensation every once in a while.

Friday was a really long day, what with having to go to the doctor, get x-rays, file a police report, file a claim with the insurance, go to the pharmacy, etc, etc, etc. I was feeling absolutely run ragged when I arrived home around 4pm. I noticed something tipped over on the doorstep (there were gale-force winds that day) when the taxi driver pulled up, and to my surprise, it was a vase full of orchids and a box of chocolates, from James. I can’t describe how much that gesture meant to me. It really brightened up my day to see such beautiful flowers waiting for me. Now I can just hope that I don’t manage to kill them before the remaining blooms open up! The flowers also inspired me to go out yesterday morning and take pictures of the purple African daisies growing along the sidewalk in front of our house. It was good to do this because it got me out of the house so I could enjoy the day without actually having to go very far or move my body around too much. Plus I got some pretty decent pictures!

So, life doesn’t seem to get any easier. Hopefully it goes up from here though! I haven’t heard about what will happen to Ribena yet–whether she can be repaired or will be written off–but I hope I do soon as I am going to England for training in just under 3 weeks’ time. I just don’t want to be mired in paperwork from half a world away!

 A week and a half ago, I flew over to the east coast for another weekend away. Even though I do like Perth, it was great to get away for a little while, especially since I got Monday off…so I didn’t feel quite so much like I was getting off a plane just to get back on another one!

While I was of course very excited about being able to see James after about 6 weeks apart, the other main reason for flying across was because Chelsea and Chris–the only other girl in my year of comp sci and her boyfriend–were on the east coast as well. They were traveling up and down the coast scuba diving and surfing for a 3-week graduation trip, and I couldn’t pass up getting a chance to see them. Since they weren’t making it as far up the coast as Brisbane, James and I drove down the coast to meet them in Byron Bay (which was much better than Brisbane anyway!).

 My flight landed quite late on Friday night/Saturday morning. We were delayed by about two hours in Perth because of mechanical problems which meant I didn’t land until 1.30am; therefore, we didn’t make it down to Byron until lunchtime. We checked in to our room at the Belongil Beachouse–and the guy at the checkin desk even moved us to a room with a balcony for no extra cost! I really liked the beachhouse. Even though it was a hostel, it was nice and clean. I thought it was really just a cute place in a great location and Chelsea agreed. Can’t really ask for more than that!

We ended up having yum cha (or dim sum) in Byron Bay before getting ice cream from a local ice cream shop called Baskin Robbins Again, what could be better than strolling down the beach eating ice cream with friends? Sure, it could have been warmer, but we can’t have it all.

 One of the highlights of the weekend happened after we finished our ice cream and loaded back into James’ car. We climbed to the tip of Cape Byron and found a parking space next to (how stereotypical) a caravan with a hairy hippie man hanging out of it. As soon as we got out, we saw white lines appearing everywhere in the ocean–and not from the surf, since it was dead calm. The lines were actually from whales that were breaching all over the place. We could see at least ten whales all around us just having…dare I say it?…a whale of a time. James was thrilled because he’d never seen a whale breach before, and the rest of us were just generally thrilled because you don’t often get the chance to see that many whales just hanging out and having a good time. The only downside was that my good camera–with 18x zoom that would actually be able to capture the whales in action–was left sitting on the bed in the hostel!

 We managed to eventually tear ourselves away from the whales and moved up to the lighthouse, and the thing we were much more fascinated with–the geodetic marker. Besides the fact that we had no idea what it was trying to geodetically mark, we were clueless as to why it had clearly been moved four feet (hence the confused picture of Chelsea and me!). It turns out that geodetic surveys are done periodically (which I really should have known, having dealt with them a bit at my job) and markers have to be moved to match the new survey. We just thought it was funny that they had clearly went to a lot of effort marking sure the pavement circled a certain spot that had then been covered over in concrete.

Since Cape Byron is actually the easternmost point on the Australian mainland, we had to make sure we walked to the very end of it. James and I visited the lighthouse three years ago and made it downhill past the lighthouse just far enough to see the sign stating that we were at the “most easterly point of the Australian mainland,” but then we couldn’t be bothered walking down all of the stairs to sea level and the rocky outcrop that is actually the easternmost point. This time, we couldn’t let Chelsea and Chris miss out on what could clearly be the highlight of their trip, so we walked ever downhill until we were as far east as the barriers would let us go. If we had set foot off the path, we would have just contributed to the erosion of the peninsula, possibly causing it to drop off and no longer be the easternmost point. Ahh!

 We watched the sun set over the mountains behind Byron Bay before suffering from what Chelsea best described as “stair-induced cardiac arrest.” On the way back to Belongil, we made an urgent stop so the guys could get a carton of beer for the night. I managed to completely fall over myself without having anything to drink at all just outside the grocery store. It must have looked hilarious to James and Chris, who were sitting in the car. One minute, I was walking towards them, the next there was a big “thunk” and I was nowhere to be seen! I just happened to not see the gutter and ended up landing in it on the side of my ankle and completely ate it. Fortunately I didn’t hurt myself like I normally do in these situations!

The rest of the night was great fun but doesn’t need to be explained in too much detail here. Suffice it to say that Chelsea and I had a box of Reisling wine that she needed to get rid of before she left Australia! We had an awesome night and it was sad that Chelsea and Chris had to head back to Sydney the next day to catch their flight back home. It was just great to see people from home after being away for quite a while.