Yes, I’m back.
Yes, I’m sitting here watching “Bladerunner” (the director’s cut) in my underwear and a t-shirt because that’s COMFORTABLE.

I was actually back late on Monday night, but the 9-hour flight filled with a chorus of wailing weeping colicky children (it was like they were singing a canon - one would pick up where the other left off… but it wasn’t nearly as calming as Pachelbel’s take) left me more than a little tired.

Thus, I was in a semi-somnolent state on Monday night until about 4:00 in the morning, when I awoke and struggled to get back to sleep until 6… I watched the Weather Channel. Then I fell asleep and got up at 8:30 so I could buy some hair color to correct the effects of chlorinated water + salt water + sun on my hair. It had turned a most unattractive shade of coppery orange. It wasn’t THAT bad, but it was bad enough to merit immediate action.

So I am now a fairly dark brunette, which complements my slightly tanned skin rather well, methinks.

There’s an ass-load of catch-up to do. I will just make this a really long entry to start, and then as things pop up in my mind/memory, I will relate anecdotes in future entries. A blog need not be entirely linear. Heavens no.

If you’ll recall from my last entry on May 25th, I was in Warsaw, dealing with a stomach bug. I now recognize this bug to have been food poisoning from airline food simply by process of elimination. I continued to be sick on the way to Tunisia. It was only a three-hour flight, but it was on a little 737 plane (I think that’s the smaller size) which had ONE restroom for the entire plane. I waited in agony, my stomach playing Twister, while some woman sat in there for 15 minutes. I asked the flight crew if there was another restroom to use and they informed me there was not… and joked, “I hope she didn’t fall asleep in there!” I grimaced and continued to wait.

FINALLY, the fuschia-haired freak emerged, releasing a billowing cloud of cigarette smoke into the plane. THe tall, bald, mean-looking male flight attendant came after her (his stride was full of purpose) and gently but firmly reprimanded her for smoking in the plane. Since she was Polish and he was speaking English, French or Arabic, I doubt she got the whole thing - but body language and tone explain a lot. I hope she felt badly about it. I had the stinky smoke-filled bathroom free and no sooner had I sat down when a frantic knocking started on the door. I replied in 3 languages that it was occupied and the knocking continued. Since I’m not that good of a polyglot, I had no more ammo for responding (nor did I have phrasebooks in the toilet with me) so I got out as soon as I could and received a death stare from a mother with a toddler.

Honestly, her child had the diaper option. I did not. I felt justified and wanted to give her a dirty look - but I was in too much pain to care at that point. I returned to my seat, slept for the remainder of the short flight, then hit the restrooms as my first action in Tunisia. We had a two-hour bus ride to the hotel in Hammamet from the airport in Monastir. I slept. We got to the hotel - I ran back and forth between the bathroom and the bed. I did this for the entire first day and the entire second day we were in Tunisia… my father and sister went out and did things while I ran my little marathon, slept, read, or watched BBC World.

The afternoon of day 2, my father and sister popped down to reception and asked about available drugs. They were advised to pick up a French/Tunisian antibiotic called Ercéfuryl 200. The pharmacy was only open at night (Pharmacie Nuit) and so I had to wait until 8:00 at night to receive this drug.

It is the new miracle drug. I took the first dose at 8:30, and by midnight, I was feeling better. By 6am the next day, I was in perfect working order, though a little weak, a little dehydrated and more than a little tired.

However, time was not going to wait for me and days 3 & 4 were already scheduled for a trip my father signed us up for on day 2… this was a two-day excursion into various parts of Tunisia.

Part 1 was a visit to El Jem, site of the 2nd largest Roman coliseum and amphitheatre in the world, barring the actual Coliseum in Rome. Here’s a little view from the outside.

OK - you know what? More of the story tomorrow. I’m posting up a gallery of photos on Snapfish that interested parties can check out here: My Snapfish Gallery.

Stories to come tomorrow. I’m just tired as hell right now.