I went to my doctor today, and I described my symptoms to her.
"It sounds like you might have too much stomach acid. Some of the things you describe can also be attributed to stress, so we're gonna take a blood test on Friday morning to see what's going on. I'm gonna prescribe some medicine for you. Take them every day for 2 weeks. If it doesn't improve, we're extending it to 4 weeks. No fatty foods."
So there you have it. I'm officially on medication until things improve. I was right about the blood test, so hopefully it'll shed some light on why I have random moments of dizziness and nausea.
My blood pressure is good, so that's always something, I guess..
For the past few days, I've been feeling less than optimal. Nausea, headache and dizziness, so I've spent most of my time indoors.
Today is the first day in a while where I haven't been nauseous, so that's a plus! I'm still gonna hold my doctors appointment for Monday, so I can get fully checked out. Blood tests and everything. I want to know exactly how my body is doing and if I need to get more tests done.
A part of me fears what I'll be admitted to hospital, but another part of me goes "I'm sure my doctor's only going to draw some blood and send it off". No matter what happens, it'll be nice to know why I felt so awful a few days ago.
I will also tell my doctor about my trip to the mall a few days ago, where I got a minor panic attack, due to the shooting in Copenhagen. I don't know what will happen, but I hope for the best.
I know I am very early with all this planning, but it doesn't hurt to be well prepared.
So far, I have three things planned: The first thing is transportation from the airport to my accommodation. My friend is picking me up from the airport, so that's a plus! That saves me money on an Uber or a taxi.
Second: Places to eat! I am visiting one fast food place, one restaurant and one street food place. I have the fast food locked in, which is Wendy's. I will decide on a restaurant and a street food place later down the line.
Third: A visit to a mall. I want to visit a proper American mall, with lots of shops and food options. If the weather is good, I might go for a stroll along a waterfront.
Once my accommodation is booked, I will apply for an ESTA.
For now, more planning.
I know, 302 days, 14 hours and 51 minutes until departure, but still!
Now that my ticket is booked, I need to start preparing for what I'm supposed to do and see whilst I am in the USA. There are the obvious things, such as doing some sightseeing. Alexandria is very close to Washington D.C., so I'm definitely going there, to see some stuff. The United States Capitol, Lincoln Memorial, The White House and the Washington Monument are all on the list. I'm also going to do some local sightseeing around Alexandria.
Then, it's time to figure out what places to eat. I figure, that seeing I'm gonna be in the land of fast food, I'm gonna visit a few and try them out. Wendy's, Popeye's, Five Guys and some other chains that I might find. I'd also love to go to a restaurant.
I'm also going to go to a department store, just to check it out and possibly find a bargain.
Over the next few months, I'm gonna get a more detailed plan together. Will I stick to it? Probably not, but it doesn't hurt to have one
I did it. I booked the flight to Washington today. The price? 3658 DKK, which is about $515. For that price I am in economy, which is fine. It's what I'm used to, anyway. I'm flying with an airline, that I have never flown with before. Lufthansa.
The flight schedule is as follows:
Copenhagen to Frankfurt, with a 2 hour and 35 minute layover in Frankfurt. On that particular flight, I'm flying with an Airbus A320neo. I've been in one of those before, and it's comfortable. This flight is about an hour and a half.
Then it's time for the longest flight I have been on. From Frankfurt to Washington Dulles, which is a 9 hour flight.. Nine hours..I don't even know what I'm supposed to DO for nine hours in a metal tube in the air.. Anyway, this flight will be with an Airbus A330-300, a plane that I have no experience with, at all. I have heard good and bad things about it, so I'm excited to see how it really is.
One week in the USA, and it's time to go home again.
The flight schedule home is as follows:
Washington Dulles to Frankfurt in the Airbus A330-300, and from Frankfurt to Copenhagen in an Airbus A321.
"But Philipsen, how are the seating charts on the planes?", I hear you ask. Well! It's your lucky day, because I looked it up, and it's all VERY exciting!
The Airbus A320neo is in a 3-3 configuration, while the Airbus A330-300 is in a 2-4-2 configuration. Finally, the Airbus A321 is in a 3-3 configuration. Yes, I have been watching travel vloggers just to get a sense of how the planes will be.
All in all, I'm super excited to travel to the USA. Hopefully I will actually be able to go this time. The last time, a pandemic ground my trip to a halt.
Now begins the fun part: Saving up money and also booking a place to stay for the trip. I can't wait!
BTW, if anyone have flown with Lufthansa, please tell me how the flight was! I'd appreciate it!
The last time I was on a proper holiday was in 2010 where I went to London, England, for an extended weekend break. Yesterday, I decided to finally book a holiday out of the country. My destination? Virginia, USA. When? May 2023.
Flights are cheap now. From Copenhagen to Dulles, with a layover in Frankfurt, and from Dulles back to Copenhagen, with a layover in Munich: $377.. Economy class, so nothing fancy. I will worry about booking a hotel later, right now I'll book the flight and start saving up for some spending money. I'm thinking about $800 should do for a week.
The trip itself is with Lufthansa, an airline I have never flown with, however I have heard good things about them. The flight to Frankfurt is with an Airbus A320neo, which isn't that exciting. The more exciting thing is the flight from Frankfurt to Dulles: A 747-8! A plane I have been wanting to fly on since I was able to walk.
The flight home is with an Airbus A350 to Frankfurt, and an Airbus A320 to Copenhagen from Frankfurt.
But yeah, a $377 return flight to the USA from Copenhagen is VERY cheap!
I can't wait! Hopefully they won't cancel it like my trip to New York back in 2020..
I have been focused on work these past few weeks. So much so, that I'm exhausted on a Tuesday evening. Today was a very hectic day.
30 minutes before we were due to be done with the orders, we had 13 orders left to pack. These orders ranged from a tiny piece of party item to a full on USA party. Combine that with a screaming kid in the store, and you had the type of environment that I tend to avoid. High stress and a screaming child.
Nevertheless, we finished at 10 minutes past 4, so we were only 10 minutes late. I hope tomorrow is going to be slower. On a positive note, I'm super tired, so it's bedtime in a bit.
I still love it where I am, so I am not going to quit anytime soon!
This work week is over, and what a week it's been! Long days, a new coworker and not a lot of sleep, but I wouldn't change anything about it! Well, maybe one or two things, but in general, it's been quite a good week.
My next day at work is on Tuesday, because we have a public holiday on Monday, so I am guessing work will be rammed with orders. It usually is, the day after a public holiday, but I'm ready to face it head on.
The new coworker is a young woman. She's in the store section, but she often comes down to the packing area, just to say hello or to find an item that a customer needs. She's super nice, so hopefully she'll stick around longer than my previous new coworker did.
So now I'm just gonna enjoy having three days off in a row!
Ten days ago, I started feeling weird. Rapid heart rate, dizziness and nausea. I narrowed it down to too much caffeine. I then began a caffeine detox, and two days ago, I felt the effects of the detox. I woke up Wednesday morning feeling the best I have ever felt in a week. I am drinking a lot more water than I used to to, and I am eating a lot healthier. No deep fried foods, and no food with a high fat content. A lot more salad as well, and my body loves it.
So I'm back to feeling 100% again, and I love it! I can now concentrate on work.
I also asked my coworker if she wanted to go to the cinema one day, to which she said no. I went "Oh, okay, I'll just ask someone else", and went back to work. I didn't get defensive and ask "Why not?". A no is a no, which is final.
I might ask K if she wants to go..
I will never ever get tired of saying that! I am employed. Like, actually working somewhere, and getting paid to do so! It's absolutely fantastic!
I started out slowly, along with another new hire, a young girl. For the first few hours, her and I did everything together. The first task was to pack an order. We were shown how to properly pack it, and then it was our turn to pack. A few hours in, we were up and running, packing orders on our own, while asking questions if we had doubts about anything.
Thursday went well, and then Friday came about. That went well too. Our last task of that day was to take inventory of the three pallets that had been delivered. We decided to stay a bit longer to finish the assignment, an we were commended for that. It was good karma that we stayed longer, and it would help the staff on work during the weekend.
Then today came. Our first proper week there. Given that there are no packing and shipping during the weekend, meant that the orders were piling up. 209, in total, were sent out, in a span of six hours. That's around 35 orders every hour. Not bad for two brand new people, who have only been doing the job for two days.
This week is a short week, since I am off on Friday! That just means more to do on Monday.. But I'm ready for it! Bring it on!
Note: Yes, the new girl is single. No, I'm not going to make any moves on her. We're strictly coworkers
Today was the day when I was set to go to that job interview. I had another lined up on Friday, if this one failed.
I was up early, around 8. That's early for me, during my unemployment phase. However, I have no trouble getting up at 6 am, if required. I left the house 45 minutes later and took the bus to the company.
I decided to be my natural self - a very bubbly, extremely eager and very friendly person. I even wore my hygge shirt, which is a black hoodie with the word "Hygge" on the front. When I was on my way to the interview, I decided to play some Party Cannon, as a good luck charm.
The interview went great. I had experience in everything they looked for in a new hire. They asked about the salary, and what I was expecting. I explained that the last warehouse I worked in paid me 143 DKK an hour (about 20 USD and EUR 19,22), so around that hourly rate would be what I expected. To put that into perspective: I get 58 DKK per hour on benefits, so I get almost triple paid as an employee, if that salary was accepted by the company I applied for.
Fast forward about ten minutes. The interview was over, and I was given a tour of the facility. I had a good feeling about this, but I have had that about all the other places I applied for, where I got rejected. We shook hands and parted ways. I was told I would hear back during the week.
Twenty minutes later, my phone rang. It was a number I didn't know. I picked up.
"Hello?"
"Hi, this is *interviewer* calling. I'm calling you now, instead of having you wait in suspense. We would love to hire you. If possible, can you start tomorrow at 8.30 am?"
"Hello. Yes, that's definitely possible! That's fantastic!"
"Great. We'll see you tomorrow!"
Wonderful! I am officially hired!
I recently applied for a job at a warehouse in a city called Skovlunde, which is about an hour away from where I currently live. Yesterday, I was minding my own business by watching The Big Fat Quiz (a real show), when I got an email. The headline read "Job interview", which made me pause the video I was watching and sit up straight.
It was from the company I had applied for. They want to see me for a job interview on Wednesday at noon.
Oh boy, here we go! The chance for me to get a full time job!
I have a lot of experience at warehouses, and it's one of the few industries I feel most at home in. That might sound weird, but it's true. I love walking the aisles of a warehouse, picking orders for people. The last warehouse I was at was a dream to be at. Nice coworkers, good food and the hours weren't bad. The salary wasn't bad either. We're talking the equivalent of $1000 every two weeks.. Sadly I wasn't going to be able to stay there, since it was through a temp agency. But not I have the chance to be employed full time in a warehouse, picking orders for people, while getting a decent salary as well. On average, the monthly salary for a warehouse employee here in Denmark is the equivalent of $3533 per month, depending on how long you've been there, the hours you work, if you work day or night and how much experience you have. I have pretty extensive experience, so hopefully I will earn a salary where I can maintain my current lifestyle, which isn't that expensive. So far, I have spent the equivalent of $232,37 on food and drinks for the entire month of May. I am not going to spend any more on food at the moment, because my freezer is PACKED. No, seriously.. I can't get any more in it. I will have to empty it out before I buy more food.
Speaking of emptying out.. One of the tenants here moved out the day before yesterday. I had the feeling that she had moved, because one day she just stopped coming home. She had also moved herself from the official house Facebook group. Yes, we have that here. It's a good way of relaying information to other people. Anyway.. She is back in her home country, because she had to sort some stuff out, so she had her New Zealand friend come and pick up the stuff she had here. Nice guy. Anyway, he forgot some things, so I wrote her and said "Your friend forgot these things", which I was told to keep. So now I am the proud owner of some tiger slippers that are way to small for me, and a bathroom scale. I am not sure what size those slippers are, but I know she has super tiny feet, so I am definitely not sure that I will be able to fit in them. I will try, but no high hopes. I also said that I hoped it wasn't because of any of us in the house, that she moved out. I think it's because she experienced the death in the house back in February. I think she never really felt comfortable living here after experiencing that. It was a brutal experience. She just moved in, and then someone dies. It can knock out even the best of us.
Other things that happened last week: I might be sick again. It's weird.. During the day, I feel fine, but when it comes to sleeping, I get extremely uncomfortable. Sometimes my heart just races, while other times there's nothing. It might just be something that passes by itself, but if it continues, I will contact my doctor. I should have contacted her sooner, but I don't want to sound like a hypochondriac.. "Hi, yes my heart is racing and I have an upset stomach help please".. If I have to go to the doctor, it has to be so severe that I fear for my health. However, I am not at that stage yet. We'll see what happens.
For now, I will make sure to get the job tomorrow.
This is a list of Philipsen's Blogs. Click here for Philipsen's Blog List
Philipsen Blog (556)