Everybody has their medicine

I recently found out that our mechanical engineering expert has been
maintaining his own digestive system regularly by taking anti-bacterial
medicine twice a month for a week at a stretch. He says that he always
does this when overseas (he divides his time between Ethiopia and Burma
throughout the year). "Just breathing in the dust, or picking up germs
between washing your hands and sitting down to eat. You touch something,
right? Even the little bit of water from a freshly washed drinking glass
or brushing your teeth... it all adds up. So I take these pills, which
are rather mild, and I've never had a problem." Apparently he has a good
relationship with his doctor, who will prescribe these meds in large
enough quantities for him. They are supposed to flush out the "bad
bacteria", and by only taking them half the time, I suppose he doesn't
grow dependent on them. I don't think most other consultants I work with
do this, but you never know. Another consultant told us last night over
dinner that his health regiment includes drinking six beers at dinner to
relieve stress. When everyone else looked a bit surprised, he added that
he makes sure not to drink whatsoever at lunch or in the mornings, even
on the weekends, so he doesn't become dependent. However, another
consultant chimed in, appropriately, "Well, people usually don't drink
in the morning and afternoon." Standing firm in his convictions, Mr.
Six-pack responded, "In France they do, and wine has a higher alcohol
content." For my part, I didn't tell anyone that I blog to relieve
stress, nor that I sometimes do it in the morning and afternoon. But I
am thinking it's not such a bad idea to take anti-bacterial meds
semi-regularly while I'm here.