Monday - 2008-0602-0700 - Rain - Palace Pompidou, Paris; To the Clinic - Upper Respiratory and Severe Urinary - (Wednesday, May 21, 2008); Tibetan Medicine - Urine; Tibetan Medicine - "Sky Burial"; Rest of the Day; "MI-5" / "Spooks"; Rupert Penry-Jones

Rain - Palace Pompidou, Paris Larger Image A shot of Paris in the rain at "Beaubourg Rain - Paris," Palace Pompidou, Paris, France by Teresa Neptune, Fine Art black-and-white photography of Paris and the US Southwest. The image can be found at ""LOVE LETTER TO PARIS", Thumbnails & stills" - second column, second row.

In the past couple of weeks, I've muttered about not feeling well and being overcome by stark depression. One of those sensation in which even the slightest comment irritates me.

A fortnight or so ago, I'd noticed an intense lower abdominal pain. My first thought was gastric upset, so I started on a regimen of Prilosec. And the symptoms did improve. But for the last few days, I'd notice an unusual smell to my urine. Something that I'd never experienced before.

You may be weary of hearing about these perpetual aliments, but not as weary as I am in having to endure them.

I started to go back to bed, but then I thought, "OK! Something is not right, and I need to visit the clinic."

I chose the scenic route which takes me across the reservoir embankment from which I can see sea gulls and egrets. And cone-shaped spouts of water. And a verdant swampy area that glows in the sunlight.

My waiting room wait was short, and the nurse gave me a chose of physicians. Something that was new. I was also maneuvered back to a wing that was also new to me. As the nurse took my blood pressure, her body language told me it was higher than normal. In the process, her body became more rigid, and she seemed to be taking longer than usual, as though to double check the reading.

I went through my standard routine about the upper respiratory business, and almost as an aside mentioned the request for a urine analysis. Quoting the unusual smell, and the fact that a urinary tract infection can mimic many other symptoms. I provided the urine, and then tried to figure which room I was in.

When the doctor came in, he said I was right to have a Urinalysis because I had a fairly severe infection with blood in the urine. (I didn't realize "Urinalysis" was one word. I've been using urine analysis for eons.)

On the upper respiratory front, I indicated that I was fairly certain there was fluid in the left Eustachian tube, and that the nasal turbanates were swollen. As he examined me, he said I was right on both counts.

He prescribed Levaquin for the infections. I also mentioned that between the two problems, I was experiencing terrible headaches that were so bad that I had trouble standing up and was having to cover them with other drugs such as Alprazolam - Xanax, Clonazepam - Klonopin and Acetaminophen, and I still had problems.

He wrote me a prescription for APAP-Butalbital - combination of acetaminophen, caffeine and butalbital. Occasionally, it makes me feel a tad wired, but it the single best medicine I've ever encounter for headaches. The effect kicks in within 15 - 30 minutes. (It also comes in a variant with codeine, but I think that's the Canadian version.)

In the process of kibitzing with the doctor, I mentioned that I read an article years ago about the importance of urine in Tibetan Medicine. I learned this from an article in "The New York Times Magazine". I have a very vivid image of a cover photo showing a very distinguished Asian man in a physician's white coat obviously sniffing a glass beaker of urine held a few inches from his nose. (Notice in the article, the comment: "Normal urine doesn't reveal any smell or may have a slight odor." As someone pointed out to me, normal urine is sterile, this no odor. A concept, so obvious, that I'd never thought of it.)

The doctor in return mentioned that it was also a technique used by the ancient Greeks, including the tasting of the urine. Try articles at < a href=" http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=urine+ancient+greeks+&btnG=Search">urine ancient greeks.

On course, in my garrulous manner, I mentioned the disposal of corpses in Tibet. Consider that "in much of Tibet the ground is too hard and rocky to dig a grave, and with fuel and timber scarce, cremation is not an option.

So as a matter of practicality, "a human corpse is cut into small pieces and placed on a mountain top, exposing it to the elements or the mahabhuta and animals – especially to birds of prey." The ritual is known as "Sky Burial".

The doctor voiced surprise as this practice as being at odds with their religious beliefs. "The majority of Tibetans adhere to Buddhism, which teaches reincarnation. There is no need to preserve the body, as it is now an empty vessel. Birds may eat it, or nature may let it decompose. So the function of the sky burial is simply the disposal of the remains."

I returned via the Reservoir. This road is on the land size of the embankment. So you deprived of a water view. But you do get to pass a swamp-like area of magnificent cypress trees. And on the section that crosses the spillway, you can observe the large number of fishers along the water's edge and in lurching metal boats.

First stop was CVS to fill the prescription. Next was lunch at Ichiban. And a chance to down the headache medication. The rest of the day is a haze.

I do remember watching "MI-5" in the evening on BBC America. "MI-5" has become one of my favorites.

The Brit version is called "Spooks". Also see "Spooks. "The title derives from a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 intelligence officers at Thames House. In the United States and Canada the show is aired under the title MI-5, due to the racial connotations of the word "spook" in those countries.

If it were about the phone book, I'd watch it to ogle Rupert Penry-Jones. Semi-nude photo available at Rupert Penry Jones from the 1999 film "Virtual Sexuality". (In Monday - 2008-0602-0700 / Out - 2008-0602-2230) This entry was written in multiple settings.

Pax! Erin go braugh! Je accuse...