Paging Dr House

It was great to meet up with the eldest over the weekend and get a glimpse into his new Melbourne life.

He’s loving university, working on his art in the on-campus studio and the independence of living away from home.

On Friday night I took him out for a cocktail and dinner, then on Saturday morning I checked out his apartment and we had lunch together.

I didn’t choose either venue particularly well.

I’d seen an article in the Qantas magazine about cool pubs and it was very complimentary about a British-Indian “gastropub” in the CBD.

I think it must have downgraded its offering since the review.

The pub was in a buzzing part of town but was half empty, with a row of bain-maries in one corner. Not a good start. The menu aside from the curry buffet was limited and all the fun stuff I’d been expecting – like pizzas with Indian-inspired toppings and Porterhouse steak with “cafe de Bombay butter” was gone.

The food we ordered was tasty – samosas with chaat, vindaloo sausage rolls and a wacky chicken Parma with butter chicken sauce – however, the vibe was a bit off.

It was also weird to walk through the busy CBD streets past drug deals openly taking place and also security guards stationed outside department stores in bullet-proof vests.

I may be getting too old for city life.

Over dinner, the eldest mentioned he was using a frying pan to boil water to make cups of tea and toast bread due to not having a kettle or toaster.

That didn’t sound like much fun, so I ducked to MYER the next morning and picked up a set on sale. The eldest was very excited to unpack them and followed up with a text that night saying they were “rlly cool”.

Who would have thought 21 year olds would get so excited about small appliances?

Lunch on Saturday was at a pub a block away from the eldest’s place. Good burgers but also a bit quiet. Afterwards we walked to the next suburb for coffee and it was fascinating to wander the unfamiliar streets checking out the shops and cafes … and another drug deal.

As we walked DD mentioned he had a problem with his finger.

Ah, said Dr House, that looks like trigger finger to me.

DD surreptitiously looked up “trigger finger” and announced a short time later that Dr House was right!

Trigger finger, also known as stenosing tenosynovitis, is a condition where a finger or thumb can get stuck in a bent position and then straighten with a snap or click due to inflammation and swelling of the tendon sheath.

I came across it while trying to self-diagnose my sore thumb joint. In that case, the Dr House diagnosis in my case is tendonitis caused either by overwork or my estrogen levels falling. I haven’t had time to get an expert opinion because I’m too busy with work and sorting out child and pet medical emergencies. Though I am making time today to see a physio about my vertigo.

What’s hilarious about my trigger finger diagnosis is that I did my medical training on Google Search, while DD went to university to train as an actual doctor. He said he must have missed the trigger finger lecture.

All too soon it was time to head to the airport, but I left feeling glad to have made the trip and see the eldest happy and settled.

We regretted not staying an extra night to relax, but DD has an overseas business trip this week and he needs some home time in between.

We are both knackered when we landed in Sydney and I was very happy to crash in my own bed on Saturday night. I was less happy to be woken before dawn by the sound of Charlie the Moodle barking.

He was letting me know he was crook with vomitting and diarrhoea. Joy. So I blearily cleaned that up then headed out for a belated birthday breakfast with my friend Alice.

It was at a cafe I’ve never visited before and I got such a nice surprise when I walked in, as my all-time favourite barista Will was there. He used to work at my local but quit for a job in The Rocks. I went to his new cafe a few times and never found him.

We gave each other a big hug and details of his new cafe shifts were delightedly exchanged.

I followed my 8am breakfast by popping into a cafe in the next suburb to say hello to my sister after her boxing class, then lunch involved another cafe visit with my neighbour Karla.

Phew.

In between were more clean ups for Charlie. I considered yet another vet visit, but he seemed really bright and eager to chase balls so I’ve adopted a wait and see approach.

I need another weekend to recover from the last one.

Hope you had a good one.

Song of the day: The Fray “How to save a life”