The last several days have been a struggle against an unrelenting cold.
My constant friends have been cough medication, nose spray, and paracetamol.
In the Netherlands, simply making an appointment to see a doctor is useless effort.
'Your symptoms aren't serious enough,' the receptionist says in a familiar tune—a skilled dismissal.
A doctor's visit is not worth considering unless you have a fever of forty degrees Celsius, frequent vomiting, or trouble breathing.
Instead, I've been following the standard advice: paracetamol, expectorants, plenty of fluids, and rest.
And also the advice to sprinkle black pepper onto my food.
This cleared the blockage in my head.
Golden advice, from my "schatje".
If my symptoms persist after a week, I'll try again.
So, my bedside table is now a mini-pharmacy, stocked to see me through this ordeal.
Apart from the physical discomfort, I have also been conscious of my general health.
A balanced diet depends much on fruit, hence I try to eat at least one piece per day.
To be really honest, I have not always been successful.
The last several days have been very demanding, emotionally as much as physically.
One upsetting event has rocked me.
In the middle of the night, my neighbor across the street broke her window with which I just exchange polite greetings.
I have always kept a distance, wanting to avoid any dispute, even though I have heard bad rumors about him from other neighbors and seen worrisome behavior myself.
Apparently, he had a different plan.
I believe his actions were likely fueled by alcohol or drug use.
The incident was captured on camera, so I've filed a police report.
I'll also be pursuing compensation for the damaged window.
Replacing the high-quality insulating glass required in Dutch homes during the winter will be costly, likely between €400 and €500.
To enhance my sense of security, I've purchased a second security camera to install near my house.
This will provide additional surveillance, allowing me to monitor activity around my property.
A connected app will send notifications for any movement detected, and a light will illuminate at night.
While these measures won't completely eliminate my concerns, they offer some peace of mind that my kids are a bit safer.
A side note: I've noticed that my watch isn't always syncing correctly with the Actifit app, which means the step count might be a bit off.
For example, my watch recorded 6728 steps yesterday, but the Actifit app only shows 4664. This is likely because I don't always have my phone with me.
Wishing you all the best in life and much health.
📷 Photos: Owned and shot by me with an iPhone 14
🔡 Text: Translated from Dutch to English using DeepL.com
This report was published via Actifit app (Android | iOS). Check out the original version here on actifit.io
