Damn Tick

Today I went to Bab-Alshargi with Nahida. As we were approaching the main street to catch a taxi to go there we heard a not so loud but a very close-by explosion. When the mainstreet became in sight from the alley that we reached, one of the residents said that's the seventh time that an IED has been planted in that gap in the meridian.

Nahida and I decided that it would be best that we walk in the opposite direction into the alley that runs somewhat parrallel to the mainstreet, ofcourse all the traffic would be diverted that way. The cab we caught told us that it happened infront of him. He said an Iraqi Army convoy was driving by and that the IED blew after the first vehicle passed it which according to the taxi driver is why he thinks it was detonated remotely. Nobody was injured. Nahida went on to remark that it's not so much the IED that was scary but the way that the Iraqis randomly shoot afterwards. Every explosion is followed by some gunfire, the point of which I still wonder.

Another example of anti-government violence was given to me by my internet provider, who told me about the checkpoint setup at the beginning of the main street that kept being shot dead by a sniper. Several times they put up the checkpoint but they kept getting shot by the sniper. They looked for the sniper but couldn't find him. Eventually they just gave up putting a checkpoint there.

Anyway, I'm really glad I went to Bab-Alshargi today. It really helped me break that fear that people around me keep on building up. Bab-Alshargi is supposed to be dangerous but the truth is it's a very active market during the day, next to it is Betaween. Betaween is a really weird neighbourhood, it's probably one of the most densly populated parts of Baghdad. Now I can't for the life of me remember why these neighbourhoods are condsidered so dangerous.

I got a couple of games for my Nintendo DS there, I was hoping to find Tetris but with no luck. Instead I got Lego Star Wars II and Worms. Worms was a waste of money. There were a couple of other games like the Tamagotchi that I wish I had bought. I could try popping by there another day later this week. I don't why in the world I was so being so frugal. I bought Lego Star Wars II for 12 bucks! and Worms for 10. Lego Star Wars II would cost over 40 bucks in the UK.

After I got home I went to see the same dentist that I saw just before leaving 4 months ago. His clinic was closed. We asked a secretary in one of the other clinics in the building about him. The secretary told us that he hasn't showed up since Ramadhan. I've got a broken filling he told me I should have fixed, and I don't know of any other dentists that I trust. The one before him did a well botched up job.

Well there was another building filled with clinics down the street, so I at least got my teeth polished. Whether I want to get that woman to do my filling I'm not sure. She looked pretty cheap.

So the docs and dentists are on the run, how bleeding convenient... I went to Sweden in September to see Hans. So along with Kiko we went mushroom picking together. We came back covered in ticks (I had over 15 on my body). One of them got past me and stuck around sucking above my ankle for a couple of days until I accidently scratched it off. It was fat with my blood much unlike the small ones that I had plucked out the day of the mushroom picking.

A couple of weeks ago I noticed that same area all swelled up after it began getting itchy but I didn't think much of it and thought it'd go away but it's not. I've just been reading about how I could possibly have Lyme's disease. And oh my gosh I'm scared, what worries me is that I don't think we have the disease here so it'd be quite exotic to the average docter. I hope Hans is okay, he had one on his balls, but he got his from wearing the same unwashed trousers he wore the day we went mushroom picking and so the tick probably didn't have the chance to infect him.

Now I've got to find a doctor to deal with this. I'm not sure what kind of doctor I should be looking for. There's this one dermatologist who's good (the only one out of 3 doctors who diagnosed my psoriasis correctly). I saw before leaving 4 months ago too, and he was all upset that day, I think his son might been kidnapped or something of the sort. I'd bet he's out of here by now too. I'm considering going to a pharmacist and just asking him for some antibiotics. Maybe I should go to Medical city with Od. My laziness really got me this time, I could have had it diagnosed and treated in the UK with peace of mind if only I wasn't so lazy.

I'm falling asleep after every meal, it's pretty annoying. I don't know what's got into me. Maybe I'm still recovering from the sleep deprivation I suffered on my way here or maybe it's the humming of the air conditioner.

I was hoping to go to college tomorrow, to at least get this year's handouts and warm up Arabic reading skills. But they had to make tomorrow a no driving day the bastards. I also need to go to the other side of town to get some shopping done. The two good convenience stores that regularly go to near my home have suffered alot. Most important of all one of them stopped stocking Starkist tuna. My fridge is so empty. This kind of decline is no good. You could take it all, but the food is sacred. There's a third shop in the neighbourhood that I never go to that should give a try now that my first two choices are so weak.

And so tomorrow I've got nothing to do, maybe I should start tidying up.