Dextromethorphan dreams....

Jeebus! expateek had a harrowing experience early the other morning.

She was traveling again. Or she was still traveling, perhaps. Just one of those things for expateek, doncha know. The travel simply never stops.

Anyway, she was transferring from the station to the shuttle bus, laden with all her usual travel bags. She'd managed to get an extra thing (an original painting!) through security at Heathrow, so even though that was a sweet victory, having to tote an extra thing around was proving to be something of a mixed blessing. Still, as is her habit, she counted her bags and items at every change-over (2 duffles? check! one cabin-sized roll-on? check! one overstuffed Longchamps tote with laptop and documents? check! purse? check! one original painting? check!) and it all seemed to be going quite smoothly.

The shuttle stopped and everyone disembarked to wait for the small-gauge railwaycar to arrive. As expateek boarded, and counted her bags yet again, she realised, DAMN, she'd left her laptop behind on the shuttle bus! And the roll-on suitcase, filled with all her family's important documents (birth certificates, on-line banking passwords, foreign currency, etc, etc.)

Panicked, she begged the conductor to stop, but naturally, you can't back up a train, so the staff helpfully suggested she return on the next trip to retrieve her stuff.

expateek was sweating blood. She'd carried this stuff everywhere, all the way from Poland! Through England, Scotland, and on to the USA. How the heck could she have left behind two different bags (1/3 of the total!) in the flippin' shuttle bus?

It was awful.

She realised that her coat was no help. She struggled to take it off, but couldn't peel the sleeves off her arms, because she was so sweaty and upset. She twisted around in her seat in the railway car, but no dice, she couldn't get free.

The refreshments cart was going by, and she smelled coffee. Perhaps a jolt of caffeine would sort her out. She twisted in her seat again, more and more tangled up in her coat and scarf, and she thought...

"This just isn't right. Something is seriously out-of-whack here! Have I lost my mind?"

And expateek realised at that moment that her eyes were closed. Of course! Easy to leave bags behind when your eyes are closed! She opened one eye.

And there was a steaming cup of coffee on her beside table, provided by the ever-thoughtful Mr D. And the sheets were wrapped around her neck, and her feet were tangled in the nether covers, and it was all due to the evil effects of Tylenol Cold, and its dreaded active ingredient, Dextromethorphan.

IMG_6724, originally uploaded by ehdindigo.

Also known as a dissociative hallucinogenic drug if taken to excess. Which expateek didn't by the way, but there you are. expateek is a rather sensitive soul.

Dextromethorphan. Guaranteed to provide horror-filled, panicky dreams for the likes of a seriously jet-lagged expateek.


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