So, Week 0 approaches inexorably. It looms over the horizon, a massive wave of maths and queer and debating and university and life and stuff and things to do. SO MUCH STUFF.
After trying to be manly about my illness (read: stupid), I decided to actually get medical advice. Incredibly painless, actually. They have a walk-in clinic. Opens at 8:30. You walk in, they take your name, and then you wait your turn to be seen. I waited about 5-10 minutes to be seen.
The doctor listened to me breathe, stuck things in my ears, made me say "aaahhhh", had a good look all over me, mumbled "39" and "bronchitis" and "here you go". I now have a course of antibiotics and instructions to have paracetamol every four hours to keep my fever under control. Apparently, 39 degrees is too hot for a grown up to be. In fact, it's too hot for anyone to be. (And I thought I was hot because of my parents' ludicrously warm house...!)
In total, this week, there have been four working days. I have worked four hours of these four working days. Grand total of £20 there. Spent a third of that on antibiotics, and probably spent the rest on soup and mouthwash and Ribena (I am drinking A LOT of Ribena.)
However, there are some upsides. For example, I have discovered Wogan's Perfect Recall. I quite enjoy this quiz show, actually. It's hosted by Terry Wogan (long term childhood crush, blame Eurovision) and the format is that you start of with 4 contestants, and the number whittles down in each round. Now, the answers are the same in every single round; it's the questions that change. So, if you can remember what the answers were, then you'll do quite well. Obviously, you need to be quick on that buzzer, etc.
I've taken to have two showers a day now. By the time it gets to about 2pm, I've been sweating so much that I just want to take another one (I take my first at 7:30). So, I'll be doing that. I think I'll wash my hair too. I'll make sure I dry it very very well, don't want to get even more sick.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Bleeding!
So, some of my Facebook friends have developed a curious corollary to follow the "I went to the shops" type status. Something along the lines of "I'm having a period and I don't like ittttttt."
What am I supposed to say in response to that?
"Ibuprofen, you dolt."
"Wait a few days, then you'll be fine."
"Cut your womb out. It'll hurt less... oh wait."
I'm not ashamed of my body, and its willingness to provide me with varying amounts of icky and pain. I don't like it, but, it's my lot, and I accept it. I don't feel the need to tell everyone about the state of my ladyplaces. Frankly, I don't think anyone particularly wants to know.
On top of that, telling everyone on Facebook you're on the rag and as such will be irritable is like saying "I'm in a bad mood, and I refuse to do anything to make it easier for people. I'm a bit of an ass."
Lots of women suffer much so much more than you. For example, I read once that when women undergo female genital mutilation of the most "complete" kind, the whole area is basically sewn up bar the tiniest little hole. So, there's all the usual womby contractions, then on top of that, there's the risk of infection, and the pain of that little hole. There's also endometriosis (Noelle from Cycle 3 of ANTM has it), which does generally suck pretty bad, and gives you a good chance of infertility too.
Healthy Western women are so lucky. We can basically ignore everything going on apart from approximately half an hour each day, when you pop a paracetamol or go to the bathroom. Just stop whining, take a painkiller and go for a walk.
TL;DR - Man the fuck up.
What am I supposed to say in response to that?
"Ibuprofen, you dolt."
"Wait a few days, then you'll be fine."
"Cut your womb out. It'll hurt less... oh wait."
I'm not ashamed of my body, and its willingness to provide me with varying amounts of icky and pain. I don't like it, but, it's my lot, and I accept it. I don't feel the need to tell everyone about the state of my ladyplaces. Frankly, I don't think anyone particularly wants to know.
On top of that, telling everyone on Facebook you're on the rag and as such will be irritable is like saying "I'm in a bad mood, and I refuse to do anything to make it easier for people. I'm a bit of an ass."
Lots of women suffer much so much more than you. For example, I read once that when women undergo female genital mutilation of the most "complete" kind, the whole area is basically sewn up bar the tiniest little hole. So, there's all the usual womby contractions, then on top of that, there's the risk of infection, and the pain of that little hole. There's also endometriosis (Noelle from Cycle 3 of ANTM has it), which does generally suck pretty bad, and gives you a good chance of infertility too.
Healthy Western women are so lucky. We can basically ignore everything going on apart from approximately half an hour each day, when you pop a paracetamol or go to the bathroom. Just stop whining, take a painkiller and go for a walk.
TL;DR - Man the fuck up.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Letters and numbers.
When I was applying for university, I had to write a personal statement, detailing how absolutely perfect I was for academic study. I started mine off like this:
I used to adore Countdown as a child. It was my favourite thing to watch. I remember being extremely small, perhaps 4 or 5. I would wake up very early on a Saturday morning, 6:30 or so, and I remember watching Barney (yes, the purple dinosaur) and Countdown.
Richard Whiteley was like a father to me. Obviously, he was only around for an hour or so on a Saturday morning, but he was so smart and kind and led the show so well. And, there was Carol. I really wanted to be Carol, for years. In fact, when they replaced her, I did seriously consider applying for it, even though the show is based in Manchester, and there'd be no way for me to be able to actually get there on a regular basis. :p
My love of Countdown continued right through my teens, until Richard died. When I found out, I stopped watching Countdown for ages. I watched his final episode, and then I stopped watching. I couldn't imagine a Countdown without him. I honestly grieved.
I tried watching with the replacements, but eventually I gave up. They were all wrong. Richard always got the balance right. Sure, he was witty, but he was never trying to be the star of the show. It was always about the numbers and the letters, and occasionally Carol. I found some of the other hosts tried too hard to be funny, take the focus away.
I watched my first full episode of Countdown in five years today. The current host isn't too bad. There was a Northern Irish kid on the show, who was just incredible. Reminded me of a friend of mine - although I'm not sure of how good his letters are, I have no doubt he'd be killer at the numbers.
I enjoyed the new Carol, I think her name is Rachel. She's a pretty blonde Oxford graduate.
So, I might be watching a little more Countdown in future.
From a young age, I have always had an interest in mathematics. Some of my earliest memories include sitting with my father practising simple arithmetic, being in a maths lesson in primary school, and the Numbers Game on Countdown!(Yes, I was a bit of an ass. But I was 17.)
I used to adore Countdown as a child. It was my favourite thing to watch. I remember being extremely small, perhaps 4 or 5. I would wake up very early on a Saturday morning, 6:30 or so, and I remember watching Barney (yes, the purple dinosaur) and Countdown.
Richard Whiteley was like a father to me. Obviously, he was only around for an hour or so on a Saturday morning, but he was so smart and kind and led the show so well. And, there was Carol. I really wanted to be Carol, for years. In fact, when they replaced her, I did seriously consider applying for it, even though the show is based in Manchester, and there'd be no way for me to be able to actually get there on a regular basis. :p
My love of Countdown continued right through my teens, until Richard died. When I found out, I stopped watching Countdown for ages. I watched his final episode, and then I stopped watching. I couldn't imagine a Countdown without him. I honestly grieved.
I tried watching with the replacements, but eventually I gave up. They were all wrong. Richard always got the balance right. Sure, he was witty, but he was never trying to be the star of the show. It was always about the numbers and the letters, and occasionally Carol. I found some of the other hosts tried too hard to be funny, take the focus away.
I watched my first full episode of Countdown in five years today. The current host isn't too bad. There was a Northern Irish kid on the show, who was just incredible. Reminded me of a friend of mine - although I'm not sure of how good his letters are, I have no doubt he'd be killer at the numbers.
I enjoyed the new Carol, I think her name is Rachel. She's a pretty blonde Oxford graduate.
So, I might be watching a little more Countdown in future.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Where are the blogs?
It just occurred to me I've not been around too much. So, here's what I've been doing.
Apologies to the loyal reader(s) I have out there. Literally, I have no idea who reads this. But if you're still out there, there'll be more rants and grumbles coming later.
Stay tuned in!
- Boyfriend
- Job
- Travelling to boyfriend
- Family crap
- Panicking about maths
- Writing a high school love story that I'm not allowed to call "High School Love Story" because otherwise it'll sounds like porn.
- General creative malarkey
- More boyfriend, especially on the phonemobile.
Apologies to the loyal reader(s) I have out there. Literally, I have no idea who reads this. But if you're still out there, there'll be more rants and grumbles coming later.
Stay tuned in!
The times, they are a-changin'...
So, village life is pretty much dead now. Older folk everywhere lament. Woolworths is gone, there's no more local pubs (just a Wetherspoons, or a 'spoons' as the kids call it), and everything has become a hustle-bustle of city and town centre.
Where's the park? Where's the swing? Where's the town hall where they used to have the ballet classes? Where's the village school where you recognised every parent and every child?
It's sad when things change. I personally find change tough to take. But, eventually, things grow on you, and you enjoy what you have. I remember when we first got Windows Vista, and I missed the familiarity of XP. It didn't take me long to accept that Vista did have its upsides (once they fixed the larger bugs), and XP just wasn't around any more, so pining for it would have been pointless.
Similarly, the village life is/was nice. You knew everyone, everyone knew you, there wasn't the hustle and bustle and paranoia of "modern life" (whatever that means). Yet, modern living is pretty cool. We have high-speed internet. We're connected to the whole world ALL THE TIME. We have music from all over the world, we have experiences and lives from all sorts of places. We have less time, granted, and we have to make much more of an effort to keep hold of ourselves, but I don't think that's too much of a problem.
Saying you miss the "good old days" is a little like saying "I wish I could have something back that doesn't suit modern society." If village life was the best way to do life, we'd either be there right now, or we'll revert back to it eventually anyway.
Ways of living change. Find things that are good about today; don't dwell in your village green past.
(Unless you're the Kinks, and you're making a kick-ass album.)
Where's the park? Where's the swing? Where's the town hall where they used to have the ballet classes? Where's the village school where you recognised every parent and every child?
It's sad when things change. I personally find change tough to take. But, eventually, things grow on you, and you enjoy what you have. I remember when we first got Windows Vista, and I missed the familiarity of XP. It didn't take me long to accept that Vista did have its upsides (once they fixed the larger bugs), and XP just wasn't around any more, so pining for it would have been pointless.
Similarly, the village life is/was nice. You knew everyone, everyone knew you, there wasn't the hustle and bustle and paranoia of "modern life" (whatever that means). Yet, modern living is pretty cool. We have high-speed internet. We're connected to the whole world ALL THE TIME. We have music from all over the world, we have experiences and lives from all sorts of places. We have less time, granted, and we have to make much more of an effort to keep hold of ourselves, but I don't think that's too much of a problem.
Saying you miss the "good old days" is a little like saying "I wish I could have something back that doesn't suit modern society." If village life was the best way to do life, we'd either be there right now, or we'll revert back to it eventually anyway.
Ways of living change. Find things that are good about today; don't dwell in your village green past.
(Unless you're the Kinks, and you're making a kick-ass album.)
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