Well, I ended up only being at work for an hour longer than usual, a pleasant surprise. \u00c2\u00a0But before I got that far, I had a less pleasant surprise that made me wonder whether I could work at all.<\/p>\n
On my way through the city, I started to feel bad. \u00c2\u00a0I was short of breath and got a dry cough. Going up the stairs to my office, my heart was hammering much harder than it usually does for such a modest exertion. \u00c2\u00a0And after I arrived, I kept getting rapidly worse. \u00c2\u00a0I started to shiver and feel queasy and out of it, not exactly dizzy but kind of foggy. My heart was beating as if I were running, even though I just stood there.\u00c2\u00a0 It was as if all major parts of my body were starting to malfunction at the same time. \u00c2\u00a0I must admit I thought that was what happened, that I had somehow fallen victim to sepsis, “blood poisoning”, an infection spreading throughout the body. \u00c2\u00a0But how? \u00c2\u00a0The loose tooth does harbor a disgusting mix of bacteria, but they have no obvious entryway into the bloodstream, and I have no infected sores that I can see. \u00c2\u00a0I was confused. \u00c2\u00a0But as I kept rapidly getting worse, I thought about going to the emergency room. \u00c2\u00a0(You know what happens if I do that, or even go to a doctor – somehow when it is finally my turn, I am healthier than the doctor and nurses. \u00c2\u00a0I really should get myself a job at a hospital, since I seem to absorb the healing aura of the place in some mystical way!)<\/p>\n
Before I came that far, however, I had some sudden and uncomfortable bowel movements to take care of. After this, I felt very tired and spent 10-30 minutes in something between meditation and sleep in my chair, doing nothing but letting the nanomachines repair my body. Which evidently they did. \u00c2\u00a0After some earlier episode, I carry an electronic fever thermometer with me, and according to it my temperature peaked at 37.5 C before that rest, and fell back afterwards. \u00c2\u00a0That is about one degree C higher than my usual morning temperature, but well within normal human range. \u00c2\u00a0Most children and many young women are naturally that warm.<\/p>\n
I still don’t feel perfectly well, so no mowing today. \u00c2\u00a0(Besides, the sun was already setting and that means the mosquitos are out.) \u00c2\u00a0As midnight approaches, I have trace of headache, but my heartbeat is back to normal. \u00c2\u00a0It was a bit of a scare, though. I still don’t know what caused it, which is the worst part of it. \u00c2\u00a0Will it be back tomorrow? \u00c2\u00a0Or in the middle of the night? \u00c2\u00a0I have no idea.<\/p>\n
One other thing bears mention today. \u00c2\u00a0As I went to the bus stop, there stood a car parked there, a small pickup. \u00c2\u00a0There was no one in it or nearby. \u00c2\u00a0This is unusual, but I just observed it. \u00c2\u00a0The bus had to stop out in the street, but I got on alright. \u00c2\u00a0Two bus stops later, we picked up a couple more people. \u00c2\u00a0This time there stood a lorry (truck) in the bus stop. \u00c2\u00a0I did not see if anyone was in it, but it is not that unnatural. \u00c2\u00a0We drove on, and I spent the time thinking about other things, if at all. \u00c2\u00a0But as we were approaching the city, we stopped again, to let someone off I think. \u00c2\u00a0I noticed that there stood a large car parked in the bus stop. \u00c2\u00a0Then I looked out the window to the other side, and there stood a small passenger car parked on the shoulder of the road, not even at a stop. \u00c2\u00a0It was completely empty and there was no one around.<\/p>\n
I decided to check the Internet for clues as to whether the Rapture had occured during the night or morning. \u00c2\u00a0It certainly looked as if a number of drivers had just had a few seconds notice to park their cars…<\/p>\n
But whatever it was, I really doubt the Rapture will be a local phenomenon to the Kristiansand area, although some of the small churches here might be less surprised if it were. \u00c2\u00a0The south coast is Norway’s “Bible belt”, although the religion is dying out even here eventually.<\/p>\n
(I don’t know for sure whether the Rapture will be a literal, physical event, but I don’t see why not. \u00c2\u00a0It will probably seem very natural though. I mean, the Jews returning to their lands flying like doves was a literal, physical event that must have sounded utterly magical and unrealistic for most of the time it was written in the Bible, likewise the prophecy that they would make the desert bloom. All of this came to pass and hardly anyone lifted an eyebrow.)<\/p>\n
But if there is a literal, physical “alien abduction” of Christians at some future point, I think it is pretty sure that I won’t be among those disappearing. \u00c2\u00a0I no longer have that kind of simple, childish faith. Whether that realization was part of what made me feel sick to the bone, I don’t know. “One event following after another does not always mean that the first event was the cause of the second.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sudden sickness at work! I survived this time. Continue reading