One of the final steps in getting prepared to go abroad is getting a physical. Now really all your doctor has to do is check a box that says you're not crazy or sick or disabled, and you're good to go! Unless of course you're me. Now, I'm not crazy (at least not clinically), nor am I sick or disabled, but for some reason this has been the hardest requirement for me to complete. It all start 3 months ago when I decided to wait until I was done with school before I got my health clearance... afterall, it's not due until June 25th! Plenty of time! If 14 days is your idea of plenty of time.
My first appointment was set for last Friday, and it was just perfect, my brother was in town, we were going to go to the beach after; super quick and easy! Until we hit traffic on Highway 17. A typically 45-50 minute drive suddenly became a 2 hour drive (perhaps suddenly isn't the right word). So, there went that appointment... Spent sitting in the car, in scorching heat, with no A/C and no iPod. But remember, I still have 14 days at this point.
Fast forward to today... In light of lat week's excursion, I head down to Santa Cruz 3 hours before my appointment, just to be sure, after all, now I only have 7 days! And wouldn't you believe it! There was no traffic at all, in fact the whole drive took my 40 minutes! So I killed 2 hours with friends, catching up, etc, then headed to my appointment. This is where it starts getting painful. For some reason, the only record I have of my immunization records is on my high school transcript, which is likely completely inaccurate, but when traveling abroad for an extensive amount of time doctor's like to make sure you're all caught up on your shots! I apparently was not.
My doctor wouldn't sign my form until I agreed to get new shots, and so I caved in a got them (none are covered my insurance, I'd just like to add). And so I received, not one, not two, but three shots! All in one sitting, within a span of about 90 seconds. Now, this may not come as a shock to some of you... But I never get shots, and as much as my 12 piercings and 2 tattoos may fool you, I hate needles! I have an irrational fear that the needle will hit my bone and cause excruciating pain, so of course I asked if they could do the shots in a less bony part of my body (use your imagine here kids), but the nurse refused to. So I got 2 shots in my left arm, and 1 in my right. Each shot got progressively more painful... I could even feel a burn as the liquid was injected on the last one.
10 minutes later, after they'd established that the 3 substances they had injected in me weren't going to have a drastic effect, I was sent home. And let me tell you, there is nothing quite like driving on Highway 17 with T-Rex arms. Or that the pain is getting worse and I'm slowly becoming even more T-Rex like. but, for Germany, I suffer these pains :)
An accurate portrayal of what
I look like right now
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