Gastroenteritis
Don't take this personal
Last night I was supposed to have dinner with my companion and her family. While we were eating the appetizer – an Italian dish prepared by my companion and me – I fell ill. For a few minutes I tried to hide my nausea and I engaged in polite conversation.
Then I whispered to my companion: “Don’t take this personal, but I believe I need to lay down.”
While the other guests were eating their main dish I was throwing up.
My own diagnosis is gastroenteritis.
(When I was fourteen I read Pinter's play "The Birthday Party". [In Gerard Reve's translation] It was a defining experience. This dialogue made a big impression on me:
GOLDBERG. We'll watch over you.
MCCANN. Advise you.
GOLDBERG. Give you proper care and treatment.
MCCANN. Let you use the club bar.
GOLDBERG. Keep a table reserved.
MCCANN. Help you acknowledge the fast days.
GOLDBERG. Bake you cakes.
MCCANN. Help you kneel on kneeling days.
GOLDBERG. Give you a free pass.
MCCANN. Take you for constitutionals.
GOLDBERG. Give you hot tips.
MCCANN. We'll provide the skipping rope.
GOLDBERG. The vest and pants.
MCCANN. The ointment.
GOLDBERG. The hot poultice.
MCCANN. The fingerstall.
GOLDBERG. The abdomen belt.
MCCANN. The ear plugs.
GOLDBERG. The baby powder.
MCCANN. The back scratcher.
Harold Pinter died on Wednesday.
To all others I would like to say: Please, scratch your own back.)
A strawl through the park
I guess when truly ill, no one can fake freshness.Whether personal or not. Hope ypu feel better by now. In London, it's a beautiful day today, so in Amsterdam it must be quite nice as well.
A strawl through the park will probably work quite well today.
Arnon
Have you considered the possibility that someone tried to poison you?My grandmother asked if I had been able to eat something, so I said "Yes, the food was delicious, thank you, grandmother." At home my sister and mother said "Why did you lie. You ate nothing, you're a lousy human being."
At the fondue you organized I didn't know nobody was eating meat so I ordered the vegetarian dish wish happened to be vegan. I'm sorry for this anti-social behaviour but I really did like my food.
Oscar W
Yes,, yesterday I had lunch with my CPA and his boyfriend. They fed me crab, shrimps, eel and salmon. After that they fed me beef ragout. It's possible that they believed that poisoning me would enhance my career.Arnon
Perhaps your illness is due to the fact that you collected a fairly representative sample of the animal kingdom in your stomach.Ha, that is a sentence to remember!
Arnon
This dialogue scares the hell out of meDens
I had the same thing last night, it was in one word 'horrible'I don’t eat meat, and the moments i do, it’s because I didn’t tell anybody, this time everybody knew, so i only drunk champagne.
I ran away after two hours, and finished the night in a complete empty Hilton bar, there were some Germans in the corner, the fireplace was running well and i could see myself reflecting in the window, it was complete.
Oscar W
I though about that possibility as well. Poisoning is more romantic don't you think?Arnon
Maybe this comming year is the best moment to hire somone as your personal 'voorproever'My grandmother tried to poison her unborn child once, but it didn't take so my father got born.
