Well that was totally uncalled for. Sal and I look like puffy red pigs - as our eyes are thick, swollen and totally red. It looks... not like two guys just coming home from a vacation. We look ridiculous, in fact.

I on top have my lungs of fire, cough heavily with a scraping sound, and fever which has climbed to +38.3°C. Again, totally unexpected - because... well, I don't know, why this happened. I mean there was no direct event i could tie that to... Unless of course there is a pattern I have no thought of yet.

Strong winds & Pollen (in Catania ?)

Anyway. The eye issue is likely due to heavy pollen penetrating our eyes, in those fierce winds we had on the day of our departure in Catania. A cold front had passed at midnight, and the next day it was really very windy. I remember that when we sat at an outdoor café, i had to switch seats, because one of my eyes was constantly tearing - so i changed my position, so that the wind would face my back instead.

I have never had literal pollen issues, really. But apparently this is possible. Paola, Sal's daughter spoke about that she too had it some time ago in Southern France, during fierce winds. Somehow the combination with pollen, strong winds, and dry air, drives the pollen deeper into the eyes, which then can get very inflamed and react.

Both got piggy-puffy, totally red eyes

So, we believe that this is what happened. After all, Sal got the same issue as I got 12 hour earlier. He sent me a photo from work today... - and i felt really sad for him, because you could tell how puffy the eye lids look like. In the mean time we are often rinsing the eyes with eye fluids, easing it a little bit, in the hope that it will pass after a while.

.

No clue

Now, why i got this sudden high fever - i do not know. I normally don't react like this after a journey. On the other hand, I haven't traveled for a whopping 4 years - and perhaps my body wasn't used to the sudden shifts in temperatures. Travel always means a certain amount of stress to the body. Some people use before, during and after a flight, liposomal Vitamin-C in order to give the body immediate extra buffer, to take care of the consequences of stress (= inducing inflammations) in the body.

I didn't do that. Nor did I take any vitamins during my stay in Sicily.

Regardless, it is what it is - and it was best to call in sick. The stupid thing however is, that i already been sick in the end of March 2024, so now i am again sick a second time. That kind of sucks - and I don't like it when that happens like that.

But it isn't an issue. It's just annoying, that's all.

I kind of looked forward to drive th subway tonight.

Because i would have had a wonderful schedule particularly this weekend, and of course, to see my colleagues again!

As of now there isn't much steam in me *LOL*. I slept tons of hours - and seem to dive in and out of sleep constantly, trying to rest extra much. Well, now I don't have to feel stressed about work, and just make sure that i recover in the next days. Where the fever is heading, I can't tell yet. So far, it has steadily risen since yesterday evening when it was 37.5°C and now 38.3°C (which i can clearly feel that something more than usually is off).

One thing is a pity; when you return from an awesome, wonderful journey - there is this strong sense of presence i call Magic. It lasts around 3 days after you return home. And while I had this feeling for a couple hours after we entered out home (which looked a bit estranged, for unknown reasons, almost as if visiting a "different life"). But once i started to get sick, it takes away that special magic that normally dwells a couple days after a return.

Oh well.

It is what it is, and there is nothing more to it.

Converting RAW files into DNG

I already converted all Canon RAW files into Adobe DNG - and boy did that go FAST with the Mac Studio M1 MAX computer. I had around 2650 RAW files. And those got very quickly converted. With the old computer (MacPro 2009/2010 Quad Xenon 3.46 Ghz) it would have taken likely 3-4 hours or more.

Now it was like less than 20 minutes or so ? (I didn't take the time exactly).

It just felt cool fast, indeed.

40 years in Sweden

On 17 April 2024, I have been exactly to the day, living 40 years in Sweden. I arrived with a military sailor bag with my stuff - nothing else. Landing at Stockholm Arlanda Airport - which back then felt like landing "in the middle of nowhere", as there were only trees visible and i wondered where on earth are we landing ?!

It was the 17 April 1984, with the Interflug Airline, which was the East German / DDR airline, much more affordable compared to the western airlines tickets. The lakes over Southern Sweden still showed plenty of (rotten) ice.

Those were the days.... Daisy.