Ever tried flying when you are just developing a cold and your head is full of snot? And, at the same time, you realised that all the wax in your ears have transformed into tiny singing birds and that, your eyes are about to pop right out of their sockets and your nose has somewhat turned into a belligerent trumpet while you are thousands of feet up in the air?

That was me last week, thank you very much. Not very fun, I must tell you.  

Yes, I caught a cold and I should not be allowed to get on a plane. But work beckoned and I had to travel out to Singapore on a last minute notice with my flight booked pretty much on the day before I flew out. Rather unfortunately, the continuous sneezing started (uh-oh!) in the late afternoon and I knew I was going to be a miserable git on a flight. 

The moment the plane ascended, I lost all my sense of hearing. White noise engulfed my full-of-snot head, rendering me incapable of catching any snooze on the plane. When the plane started descending, my head felt like it was about to explode. The only thing I could smell was the snot and phlegm stuck in between the passage of my nose and my throat.

It reminded me of a trip to Egypt a long while back and I was just recovering from a cold. My ears had hurt like hell throughout the entire 8+ hour journey and while we about to descend, a kind Egyptian man who was sitting next to me decided that he was going to be extra-nice to me . He started giving me tips on the places I should go to when we land, and he kept on talking. Soon enough, he started pointing out to some of the sights of Egypt which we could see from high up above, telling me what they were.  His timing was impeccable;  the ears hurt the most while the plane was descending. I remember wanting to swat him in the head and telling him to shut up… if only he knew how much my ears hurt and about to explode at that time! It was bad, and my ears had only “popped” hours after we landed. 

There wasn’t anyone I had wanted to swat in the head this time, fortunately. The pain, though, was just as bad. It didn’t help that I have been exhausted for many weeks already and about to have 3 full-on intense days of discussions that would go late into the nights. Having a cold was the last thing I needed, and when we landed, the air in Singapore was covered with a very unhealthy dose of haze from the forest fires in Sumatra.

The whole city was pretty much covered in thick smog. So much so that there wasn’t much of a view beyond a few buildings from the 17th floor of our hotel room.

 

 

It did not take long before the haze got to me and having to walk outside the hotel to grab lunch or dinner caused me much misery. My head got woozy, my eyes teary and my breathing heavy. If I was miserable on the plane, I was feeling utterly wretched while we worked in the hotel room. The only consolation was that I could take a 10 minute power-nap in between con-calls and discussions. No local comfort food could whet my appetite with the way I felt that few days in Singapore. Pity.

At least work was productive. Despite me not being a 100%, we managed to do the things we set out to do. I also managed to see my parents briefly, cast my vote on election day, and got my hair done before I got on the plane for my flight back to Bangkok to experience yet another excruciating tiny, waxy birds tweeting rudely in my eardrums. 

By the time I got home, I was beyond exhaustipated with the things I needed to do. I was rendered useless. By Sunday, I developed acute sinusitis which further threatened my well-being for the days to come. The kids started to show some signs of a cold too..stuffy noses, coughs and the works.

On Monday night, we’ve got both kids in our bed – a rare occurrence. Spud has accidentally wet her bed and it was too wet for her to sleep in it, while Squirt developed fever in the middle of the night and wanted to be with me. Although it was kind of nice to be flanked by little bodies and get all cuddly (only Squirt, as Spud doesn’t like the cuddles), it was also bye-bye sleep for me as Squirt remained restless, talkative (!) and was burning up like a furnace.

Squirt has missed school for 2 days. He spent his first morning watching Cars on the couch and, in my opinion, not looking too miserable. Me, on the other hand, fell asleep right next to him and did not even hear the Nanny come in. I managed a little snooze and after certifying that Squirt was only a little feverish with energy left for play, I dragged my ass off the couch and reluctantly went to work even though I would very much like to cuddle with him on the couch!

 

This morning, Squirt was still running a little fever; another excuse for him to stay home although he pretty much would like to go to school. He was already bouncing around, completely oblivious to the slight fever he had. My heart sank when he asked, in earnest, “Mama, can you stay home with me?” 

Oh! I wanted to. I really do! 🙁

Last week has taken my sleep-deprivation to a whole new level. Just when I thought I could catch a tiny, weeny, little break, something else happens. It’s like a test. A test of resilience to see how much harder one can push oneself under tremendous amount of pressure and obligations. A test of will of how much one could take before one breaks. A test of patience and sanity.

Although I’m completely bummed for not being able to be with my child, I’m really grateful that we have a nanny to watch over him whilst we are at work. At least, his fever wasn’t so dire that we have to be there all the time, but! the moment I get a phone call from the Nanny that he’s getting worse, I’ll pack up and leave. Meantime, it’s business as usual.

Me? I’m still nursing my dreaded sinusitis and it will take a while more before it goes away. Sinusitis sucks! The pressure from the sinus makes my gums throb like hell, my teeth feel like they are about to fall off and my face hurts.  But I’m still standing, I just have to.