Where Am I?

So, after two weeks of vacation, I am home. It's very disorienting: I've got jet lag; I'm back in the states; it's cold here; I have mountains of work; I have mountains of laundry; I'm failing at getting my new computer set up; and I have a terrible head cold.

First of all, let me just say that Windows Vista SUCKS. I will spare you a lengthy rant about how much I despise Vista and just say that I am really disappointed in this dreadful operating system that NOTHING WORKS ON!!!! I have wasted a good portion of the evening trying to get my old programs and files on here and I swear, giving a bath to a dozen feral cats all at once is probably less painful and easier than this is.

My frustration is only exacerbated by one of the worst head colds ever. Or maybe what I've been suffering from is the flu. It wasn't much fun to be sick while climbing Mt. Etna as the change in atmospheric pressure made my head want to explode. But holy cow, Mt. Etna was gorgeous. It helped me temporarily forget about how sick I was.

I haven't posted all my vacation pictures yet on flickr, but you can view the photos of my travel companions, Ross and Maggie. Ross took that photo above. I have dozens just like it, because it seems impossible to take a bad picture on top of an active volcano covered in snow. Maybe I'll get to posting the rest of my vacation pictures tomorrow. I miss being on vacation: crazy cab drivers, Gozo, Siracusa, the opera, Mdina, and the seafood. Oh. My. God. The seafood in Sicily is amazing. The best I have ever eaten. Tuna Tartar. YUM!!!!

But my cold is killing me. I have been taking so many drugs over the past few days: antihistamines, decongestants, cough suppressants, and pain killers. It was absolutely terrible on the flight home. My ears still haven't popped since the plane took off from Catania yesterday morning. During the flight from Milan to Philly, the pressure in my ears was so intense and hurt so much, that I was writhing in my seat. It doesn't hurt as bad as it did on that flight, but it feels like I have in ear plugs. Today, my hearing was so bad that I almost got run over by a motorcycle because I couldn't hear it approaching. I called the 24-hour Blue Cross Blue Shield nurse hot line and was told that I should regain my hearing in a few weeks. FEW WEEKS!?!?

Anyway, I am currentlytrying to get this darn new computer setup because I have work to do. I thought I would be happy with a brand new computer, but it's been somewhat of a letdown. My printer doesn't work with it. My Ipod doesn't work with it. Maybe I should've bitten the bullet and gotten a Mac.

Returning from vacation always sucks.