In Week 43 of 2024, I finished my tour of Japan and flew back to my home in Spain.
Monday, 21st October.
Today, I left Tokyo and began my long journey home to Spain.
Tuesday, 22nd October.
I landed back in Madrid today after a very long journey back from Tokyo. After spending all morning in Madrid airport, my flight to Alicante left around 3:15 pm. When I arrived in Alicante, my friend June was waiting for me and drove me home, dropping me at my apartment. I took my luggage inside and dumped it in a corner. I got a big glass of water and sat in my armchair. I was asleep within minutes.
I woke up around 8 pm, and my eyes were very sore. I looked in the mirror, and my eyes were red. It looked like I had gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson. I got some more water and went to bed.
Wednesday, 23rd October.
I woke up around 8 am. I got some water and took my tablets. The cold I seemed to have brought back from Japan has given me a headache, blocked my nose, made my eyes sore and swollen, and given me black bags under my eyes. I check for emails on my computer and struggle to do the Wordle puzzle online.
Around midday, I had woken up enough to make a journey to the pharmacy. I got on my disability scooter and went to the pharmacy, where I bought my regular tablets and some Ilvico tablets for my cold. I then went to the Dia store and got some milk, cereal and a couple of croissants. I went back to my apartment, got a coffee, took my tablets, and sat at my computer. When I got home, I had some cereal and a few hours later, at around 3 pm, I cooked some ribs, which I had for my lunch.
I spent the afternoon and early evening downloading all the photos and videos I had taken on holiday to my computer to work on during the next few weeks. I had the croissants I bought with a bit of ham for supper, and I watched a bit of TV. I fell asleep at about 6 pm. I woke up about an hour later and watched TV until I could no longer stay awake. I went to bed at 10 pm.
Thursday, 24th October.
I woke up around 5 am, used the bathroom and went back to bed, waking again around 8 am. I felt better than I did yesterday after a good night's sleep. The cold tablets seemed to have worked quite quickly, and I will take more of them today. I got some cereal and a coffee and sat at my computer. I did the Wordle puzzle before starting to update my journal and writing the journal about my holiday in Japan on my website.
I worked on some of the photos I took in Japan, choosing some to use on my website. By early afternoon, my eyes were very sore, red and swollen again, so I stopped work. I tried to stay awake as long as I could to get my body used to being back in Spanish time. I took some more cold tablets and eventually went to bed around 9 pm.
Friday, 25th October.
I woke up around 7 am this morning. I got up and got myself a coffee before checking for emails and doing the Wordle puzzle online. After doing the puzzle, I began to work on my holiday photos, getting some of them ready to put in my website's Japan photo albums.
As I was working, my friend Jim messaged me and suggested we meet for coffee at Buena Vista restaurant, and just before 10 am, I walked around to the restaurant to meet him. We sat chatting for an hour and had breakfast. After we had finished breakfast, we agreed to meet again next week, and I went back to my apartment.
When I got home, I rang up the Nationwide Building Society in England. I received a new PIN code for my card reader, which should have allowed me to do my online banking, but when I tried to use it, the card reader told me the card had been locked out, and I couldn't access my online banking. When I spoke to the Nationwide help department, it turned out the man who sent me the PIN code should have sent me a new card and new PIN code, which would work together. The lady I spoke to told me she would send both out immediately but that it would still probably be another two weeks before I receive anything and be able to reaccess my account.
I spent the afternoon adding photos from Tokyo to an album on my website. I stopped work around 6 pm and had two beef burgers on toast with melted cheese. It was the only food I had out of the freezer, but it filled a hole until I got to the grocery store. I also sent an email to Fain as the lift in the apartment block isn't working. It works until you try to go to the garage, and it will not go down that far, which means I have to walk to the car garage door to go down to the garage for anything.
After I had my meal, I went on to the Amazon website to place some orders. For a while, I have needed some new bed linen. I measured my bed and ordered two new fitted sheets to replace the old ones that I have, which are worn and ripped in places. While I was in Japan, I nearly slipped over a few times because the rubber end of my walking stick had worn away to nothing, so I also looked for new rubber ends for the stick. I was surprised to find that the rubber ends were only a little less expensive than buying a new walking stick, and as the stick tubing had been damaged and the rubber had worn away, I ordered a completely new walking stick from Amazon.
My shopping didn't finish there. I had wanted a new saucepan for a while, so I ordered a new casserole pan with silicone handles that I had picked out a while ago. I also ordered some tapioca pearls to make myself some deserts during the colder weather. To finish my shopping, I ordered some more toilet rolls. I get my toilet rolls from Amazon because buying them in bulk makes them really cheap, and I can store them in my spare room until I need them.
The Amazon shopping will be delivered over three different days, but the thing I need the most, the walking stick, should arrive tomorrow. This evening, I did some more work on my website and watched TV. Before I went to bed, I put my disability scooter on charge in the garage so that it would be ready in the morning and I could use it to get some groceries.
Saturday, 26th October.
I woke up around 7 am today. I felt a bit better but still had a few sniffles. I got a coffee and did the Wordle puzzle before putting some of my washing in the washing machine. I haven't done any washing since I got back from holiday, and it will take me all weekend to catch up. I had another coffee and then went out on my disability scooter in the hope that I could get my shopping before my deliveries arrived.
I was soon home and had put my groceries away. As I sat down, my door entry system buzzed, and when I looked, it was the man from Fain who had responded to my call about the lift not working correctly. I let him in, and he tested it before coming to see me because it looked to him as if it was working. I showed him that it wouldn't go down to the garage, which you need to have a security key to get to. When he saw this, he said he would take a look at it and come and see me afterwards. It only took him about 20 minutes, and he came to tell me he had repaired it and took me to the lift to show me it worked. He told me that it had just been a loose connection inside the lock. I tested it, thanked him for the quick response, and he left. I was pleased I would be able to get down to the garage without walking outside the apartment and around the building or walking up and down stairs.
For lunch, I had a burger, and just after finishing my burger, my delivery from Amazon arrived. I first put the bulk buy of toilet rolls away in the spare room and then looked at my new walking stick. I was delighted with it. It will take a little while to get used to it being a dual-hand stick rather than a left-handed one, but it did seem comfortable. Next, I opened up the last parcel of my new fitted bed sheets. I put one set on my bed and was delighted with the fit and the colour. The second one I put away in a drawer. Now that I know that these fitted sheets are a good fit, I will order matching sheets and pillowcases to go with them.
This afternoon I watched the Brentford vs Ipswich football match on the television. I picked this game to watch as I had made a Brentford player, Bryan Mbeumo, my Fantasy Teams captain, this week. He didn't let me down, and the game was a great one to watch, with the score finishing Brentford 4, Ipswich 3, and Mbeumo scored twice.
This evening, I did some administration on my family tree on the Ancestry website. They provided me with some tools to spot duplicates or possible errors in my tree, and I used them to correct some mistakes and merge duplicate people. My eyes were still very sore, and I was still tired, so I went to bed at about 9:30 pm.
Sunday, 27th October.
I woke up a few times during the night but was able to get back to sleep. I finally woke and got up at around 7 am. I got a coffee and some cereal, sat at my computer and did the Wordle puzzle. I have found the puzzle difficult since coming back from holiday. I was doing between 2 and 4 guesses before I went, but I am struggling to get it done in 5 or 6 at the moment. Hopefully, when my body gets used to this time zone, I will be a bit more alert. The good news was that my cold seems to have gone.
After eating breakfast, I put some more washing in the washing machine and put my dishwasher on at the same time. I got myself a second coffee and sat back down at my computer to work on my website. I had noticed since I got back that it was a bit cooler than before I went on holiday. I will wear a cardigan or jumper to keep me warm, and I hope it warms up a little so I don't have to put the heating on.
While I was working on my website, I noticed a noise, and when I looked, it was pouring with rain. I looked at the square outside my apartment and saw big puddles of water lying on the ground. It must have been raining heavily for quite a while. At around 2:30 pm, I stopped working on my website and got myself some chicken and salad for lunch.
After lunch, I worked on my family tree research until the Chelsea vs Newcastle football match started. I watched the game and then got ready to watch the Arsenal vs Liverpool game. I was not confident Arsenal would get a result because Liverpool are the team to beat at the moment, and Arsenal have a few injuries in the team. Arsenal got off to a good start and went into a 1-0 lead, but Liverpool equalised a short time later. Just before halftime, Arsenal scored again and led 2-1 at halftime.
I was so nervous about the result that I couldn't watch the second half. I turned the channel over and just flicked back and forth to see the score. Liverpool did equalise and the game finished 2-2. Unfortunately, Arsenal had another injury and lost Gabriel Magalhaes. I hope taking him off was just a precaution, as Arsenal have a challenging game against Newcastle next week.
This evening, I watched TV, staying up as long as I could. I went on Amazon and ordered the extra bedsheets and pillowcases I wanted and then went to bed at 11 pm.