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The New Routine
Apr. 18th, 2002 11:58 amI've gone all early birdish.
My alarm goes off at 5.30 and 6am. I get up somewhere in between the two, wash, clean teeth, dress, grab stuff to shove in my bag, eat raisin loaf for breakfast and glug lemonade from the bottle, then get on my bike and go down to the station. I'm leaving the house at 6.30. I arrive at the station around 6.45, lock the bike and get the train.
The GNER trains are lovely. They're quiet and comfortable, it's very easy to sleep on them and they're clean. The train gets to Kings Cross at 7.50 and I get off. I had been walking the stretch down to the office from here, but due to foot and blister related disaster and the discovery of the number 46 bus, I now use public transport. I get into the office well before 8.30 and at 4.30 I get to go home.
This is good because it means if my trains have trouble I still get in at a reasonable time, and if not I leave the building in time to get home at a reasonable time. I'm also forced to do the exercise of travelling two miles per day under my own steam.
I don't find getting up at 5.45 any more difficult than getting up at any other time my alarm goes off. It's the whole have-to-get-up-now aspect that grates and it does that whether I'm getting up at 5am or 10am if I don't have a real choice in the matter. (Not that I remember the last time I was in bed at 10am...)
It's all effort, granted, but it seems to be working out pretty well so far. And soon, thanks to the previously recommended blister-plasters, I shall be able to walk again.
But I'm still not keen to do the distance to the bank or Holland & Barratt at lunchtime, even if it is only 5 minutes away. These things can wait.
Tonight on the journey back I ride in search of the most local convenience store. http://www.upmystreet.co.uk says there's one just around the corner...
My alarm goes off at 5.30 and 6am. I get up somewhere in between the two, wash, clean teeth, dress, grab stuff to shove in my bag, eat raisin loaf for breakfast and glug lemonade from the bottle, then get on my bike and go down to the station. I'm leaving the house at 6.30. I arrive at the station around 6.45, lock the bike and get the train.
The GNER trains are lovely. They're quiet and comfortable, it's very easy to sleep on them and they're clean. The train gets to Kings Cross at 7.50 and I get off. I had been walking the stretch down to the office from here, but due to foot and blister related disaster and the discovery of the number 46 bus, I now use public transport. I get into the office well before 8.30 and at 4.30 I get to go home.
This is good because it means if my trains have trouble I still get in at a reasonable time, and if not I leave the building in time to get home at a reasonable time. I'm also forced to do the exercise of travelling two miles per day under my own steam.
I don't find getting up at 5.45 any more difficult than getting up at any other time my alarm goes off. It's the whole have-to-get-up-now aspect that grates and it does that whether I'm getting up at 5am or 10am if I don't have a real choice in the matter. (Not that I remember the last time I was in bed at 10am...)
It's all effort, granted, but it seems to be working out pretty well so far. And soon, thanks to the previously recommended blister-plasters, I shall be able to walk again.
But I'm still not keen to do the distance to the bank or Holland & Barratt at lunchtime, even if it is only 5 minutes away. These things can wait.
Tonight on the journey back I ride in search of the most local convenience store. http://www.upmystreet.co.uk says there's one just around the corner...
Deliveries
Apr. 17th, 2002 01:34 pmI have a fridge and a washing machine now. A bed would be nice, but I can wait.
I also have non-card-meter electricity which is a relief as they only put the new meter in this morning and we were down to less than 50p.
There are still heaps of things everywhere that need tidying and the mail is starting to mount up and some of it needs responses and I have the whole change-of-address issue to address and... ah, who cares? I've got a house!
I also have non-card-meter electricity which is a relief as they only put the new meter in this morning and we were down to less than 50p.
There are still heaps of things everywhere that need tidying and the mail is starting to mount up and some of it needs responses and I have the whole change-of-address issue to address and... ah, who cares? I've got a house!
My Left Foot
Apr. 16th, 2002 08:55 amNOTE: This entry has a high ick factor. You may wish to avoid it until well after eating.
My left foot hates me. So does my right foot. I am rapidly learning just how much this is so and beginning to hate them right back.
For about two years my feet would ache a lot, especially after they were rested for a while. Because of this I tried not to walk too much because it was painful.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
shnetti and ang_grrr have both seen me practically begging to go home instead of walking to whatever site of interest everyone wanted to see because of this.
I did some web searching and self diagnosed plantar fasciitis. I later saw a physiotherapist for shoulder problems and mentioned the foot problems. Before I knew it the diagnosis was confirmed, I got foot casts and some physio on my feet and shelled out for orthotics which are expensive plastic foot supports moulded to make my feet stop pronating. They work. I no longer get a stab of pain when I get out of bed every day and I don't have to hobble downstairs supporting most of my weigh on a combination of my arms, shelves and bannisters.
Theoretically I should now be able to wander around to my heart's content, pain free. It doesn't quite work like that. Not unless you take the interpretation of "pain free" that means you don't pay for the pain. But it's not the aching, it's the blisters.
I have annoying skin that blisters very easily. Sharpen three pencils and I have a blister on my finger and thumb. Walk a mile and my feet start growing randomly placed blisters. And it's not that my shoes don't fit, they're fine for anything less than a mile. But I have to walk because it's how I get to work. And it's good exercise.
Different footwear gives me different blisters. I've found the best way of handling them is to burst them, wait for them to dry out and remove the top layer of dead skin. Unfortunately, this kind of depends on giving them time to heal a bit before walking another mile and I'm doing somewhere around 3 or 4 miles a day at the moment.
The blister run down:
One each on the edge of the big toe that meets the shoe. Not really problematic, the skin there is thick and the blisters are deeps and barely noticeable.
One each on the back of each heel just above where the foot meets the orthotics. As with the toes, these aren't really an issue.
One on the inside edge of my right foot, just below the big toe. Slightly painful.
One on the bottom of my foot just down from the space between the big toe and the one next to it. Visibly noticable but not hurting at all.
One on the tip of my right little toe - very painful, and another on the toe next to it that appears to be there to keep it company rather than to cause me pain.
And then there's the really nasty one on my left foot. Between the big toe and the one next to it and extending down onto the ball of the foot. Very painful. When it develops with every step I can feel it getting bigger. When I burst it it gives relief, although it stings and under normal circumstances all would be well. But it keeps coming back! The raw skin under the blister got a blister, and when I released the liquid contents the space underneath it grew yet another blister. It's horrible. I've got blistered blisters! The same thing is happening with the one on the right little toe. I've tried plasters, I've tried different footwear, I've tried salve - no joy.
So this morning I took to my bike to minimise the walking. My legs feel like jelly.
That is the story of the blisters. There is more - there's thick and cracked skin on the heels, and odd boney lumps on the back of my feet. But those I can live with. The blisters are the current bane of my existence and I'm tired of limping.
Stupid feet.
My left foot hates me. So does my right foot. I am rapidly learning just how much this is so and beginning to hate them right back.
For about two years my feet would ache a lot, especially after they were rested for a while. Because of this I tried not to walk too much because it was painful.
shnetti and ang_grrr have both seen me practically begging to go home instead of walking to whatever site of interest everyone wanted to see because of this.I did some web searching and self diagnosed plantar fasciitis. I later saw a physiotherapist for shoulder problems and mentioned the foot problems. Before I knew it the diagnosis was confirmed, I got foot casts and some physio on my feet and shelled out for orthotics which are expensive plastic foot supports moulded to make my feet stop pronating. They work. I no longer get a stab of pain when I get out of bed every day and I don't have to hobble downstairs supporting most of my weigh on a combination of my arms, shelves and bannisters.
Theoretically I should now be able to wander around to my heart's content, pain free. It doesn't quite work like that. Not unless you take the interpretation of "pain free" that means you don't pay for the pain. But it's not the aching, it's the blisters.
I have annoying skin that blisters very easily. Sharpen three pencils and I have a blister on my finger and thumb. Walk a mile and my feet start growing randomly placed blisters. And it's not that my shoes don't fit, they're fine for anything less than a mile. But I have to walk because it's how I get to work. And it's good exercise.
Different footwear gives me different blisters. I've found the best way of handling them is to burst them, wait for them to dry out and remove the top layer of dead skin. Unfortunately, this kind of depends on giving them time to heal a bit before walking another mile and I'm doing somewhere around 3 or 4 miles a day at the moment.
The blister run down:
One each on the edge of the big toe that meets the shoe. Not really problematic, the skin there is thick and the blisters are deeps and barely noticeable.
One each on the back of each heel just above where the foot meets the orthotics. As with the toes, these aren't really an issue.
One on the inside edge of my right foot, just below the big toe. Slightly painful.
One on the bottom of my foot just down from the space between the big toe and the one next to it. Visibly noticable but not hurting at all.
One on the tip of my right little toe - very painful, and another on the toe next to it that appears to be there to keep it company rather than to cause me pain.
And then there's the really nasty one on my left foot. Between the big toe and the one next to it and extending down onto the ball of the foot. Very painful. When it develops with every step I can feel it getting bigger. When I burst it it gives relief, although it stings and under normal circumstances all would be well. But it keeps coming back! The raw skin under the blister got a blister, and when I released the liquid contents the space underneath it grew yet another blister. It's horrible. I've got blistered blisters! The same thing is happening with the one on the right little toe. I've tried plasters, I've tried different footwear, I've tried salve - no joy.
So this morning I took to my bike to minimise the walking. My legs feel like jelly.
That is the story of the blisters. There is more - there's thick and cracked skin on the heels, and odd boney lumps on the back of my feet. But those I can live with. The blisters are the current bane of my existence and I'm tired of limping.
Stupid feet.
88 Lines about 44 Simpsons
Apr. 15th, 2002 03:40 pmThis is well cool:
http://www.toontracker.com/demented/88lines.ram
http://www.toontracker.com/demented/88lines.ram
88 Lines about 44 Simpsons
Apr. 15th, 2002 03:40 pmThis is well cool:
http://www.toontracker.com/demented/88lines.ram
http://www.toontracker.com/demented/88lines.ram
Hello Again
Apr. 15th, 2002 09:15 amMy new house rocks.*
NTL don't.
I've come into work for a rest.
*Not literally. Foundations are stable.
NTL don't.
I've come into work for a rest.
*Not literally. Foundations are stable.
Hello Again
Apr. 15th, 2002 09:15 amMy new house rocks.*
NTL don't.
I've come into work for a rest.
*Not literally. Foundations are stable.
NTL don't.
I've come into work for a rest.
*Not literally. Foundations are stable.
Not so Bah
Apr. 10th, 2002 03:21 pmI got another call from Keith. He says the NTL bods are going to install the swep-T tomorrow so my appointment may still be okay. Yay!
Plus my solicitor called to confirm the release of the keys (previously she was unavailable so I talked to the Estate Agents who confirmed).
These phonecalls are just playing with my emotions. Fiends!
Plus my solicitor called to confirm the release of the keys (previously she was unavailable so I talked to the Estate Agents who confirmed).
These phonecalls are just playing with my emotions. Fiends!
Well I knew NTL would mess me around somehow. I didn't expect them to cancel on me two days before they were due to come out, though! But they did.
A chatty man called Keith Starky called me to tell me all about swep-Ts which are T junctions in the wiring that you can spot around the estates by looking for medallion sized plastic rings. Apparantly my house doesn't have one nearby. So they have to install one. This will hold things up for up to 5 days while "construction" get their act together and make one of these swep-T thingies.
Once it's done NTL will be in touch to arrange an installation date. So I'm going to miss ER this week and my nice new house will be phoneless and broadbandless and generally cut off from the world of entertainment. Well, not really. There's still computer games and the basic TV channels, but it's not the same. And my guess is that when they get in touch with me it will be to arrange an appointment some weeks away. See, this is why I tried to get things arranged early...
Meanwhile I'm waiting for The Call. The one about the mortgage going through and the completion being all, well, completed. It was supposed to happen between midday and 2pm so if there's no word by 2.30 I'm calling my solicitor. I can afford for NTL to mess me around, but if this bit goes wrong I'm in trouble.
So, what's the shortest period I can sign up with BT for, do you reckon?
A chatty man called Keith Starky called me to tell me all about swep-Ts which are T junctions in the wiring that you can spot around the estates by looking for medallion sized plastic rings. Apparantly my house doesn't have one nearby. So they have to install one. This will hold things up for up to 5 days while "construction" get their act together and make one of these swep-T thingies.
Once it's done NTL will be in touch to arrange an installation date. So I'm going to miss ER this week and my nice new house will be phoneless and broadbandless and generally cut off from the world of entertainment. Well, not really. There's still computer games and the basic TV channels, but it's not the same. And my guess is that when they get in touch with me it will be to arrange an appointment some weeks away. See, this is why I tried to get things arranged early...
Meanwhile I'm waiting for The Call. The one about the mortgage going through and the completion being all, well, completed. It was supposed to happen between midday and 2pm so if there's no word by 2.30 I'm calling my solicitor. I can afford for NTL to mess me around, but if this bit goes wrong I'm in trouble.
So, what's the shortest period I can sign up with BT for, do you reckon?
Beaurocracy
Apr. 10th, 2002 11:18 amThis situation is ridiculous. The guy next to me has a bunch of work to be done. I offered to do some of it since I have nothing else on. He went and checked with my boss about it.
My boss said that if I do that work things will get complicated regarding who to charge my time to, so it's best not to do that.
So Simon has lots of work and I have none. I am being paid to sit here with nothing to do - once again. Still, at least it's not complicated, eh?
My boss said that if I do that work things will get complicated regarding who to charge my time to, so it's best not to do that.
So Simon has lots of work and I have none. I am being paid to sit here with nothing to do - once again. Still, at least it's not complicated, eh?
Bloody doctors
Apr. 9th, 2002 09:26 am"Hi, can I have an appointment to see Dr Stephen Clark tomorrow, please?"
"Dr Clarke is never in the surgery on Wednesdays."
"Oh, can I see somebody else, then?"
"The doctors see their own patients here. I can give you Friday?"
Friday. Great. Thursday I could have managed as picking up the keys to the new house can be done at any time, although it would delay ordering furniture deliveries. But Friday? I can't do Friday - that's when the van is hired and when my parents are going to be down loading everything up, transporting it, and starting to unpack it at the other end. Great.
I can't switch doctors unless I want to wait another year for my wisdom tooth removal (switching doctors means switching hospitals which means back to the start of the list I've been on since November), so it looks like an extended trip from Peterborough to Fleet for the dubious pleasure of getting my hand and wrist looked at.
It is a lot better this morning. In fact, if I weren't hyper sensitive about the whole RSI issue I'd say there's nothing wrong, but I think there does seem to be a sort of tight feeling in my hand as I type. Maybe I'm imagining it.
This might sound daft, but those splint things some of you have mentioned - do you think I could substitute a proper medical RSI splint with one those skating wrist guards? Or is the job they do utterly different to the point of it being a useless plan?
"Dr Clarke is never in the surgery on Wednesdays."
"Oh, can I see somebody else, then?"
"The doctors see their own patients here. I can give you Friday?"
Friday. Great. Thursday I could have managed as picking up the keys to the new house can be done at any time, although it would delay ordering furniture deliveries. But Friday? I can't do Friday - that's when the van is hired and when my parents are going to be down loading everything up, transporting it, and starting to unpack it at the other end. Great.
I can't switch doctors unless I want to wait another year for my wisdom tooth removal (switching doctors means switching hospitals which means back to the start of the list I've been on since November), so it looks like an extended trip from Peterborough to Fleet for the dubious pleasure of getting my hand and wrist looked at.
It is a lot better this morning. In fact, if I weren't hyper sensitive about the whole RSI issue I'd say there's nothing wrong, but I think there does seem to be a sort of tight feeling in my hand as I type. Maybe I'm imagining it.
This might sound daft, but those splint things some of you have mentioned - do you think I could substitute a proper medical RSI splint with one those skating wrist guards? Or is the job they do utterly different to the point of it being a useless plan?
Please, no...
Apr. 8th, 2002 09:02 pmPlease don't let me have RSI. Please let this weird feeling in my hand be something else.
When my little finger on my right hand moves over to hit shift or return (I touch type) I get this odd sensation in my hand, right at the base and edge of it. It's difficult to describe, it's like a shooting numbness or a tiny tug inside my hand - it's not particularly uncomfortable, just a bit distracting. But this on top of that odd lump that appeared from nowhere on my wrist (suspected ganglion) make me think I should probably be making a doctor's appointment. And it's moving week - possibly the most inconvenient time this could have manifested itself.
But if it's still doing it in the morning, I'm making the appointment. And this is the last typing my right hand is doing tonight.
When my little finger on my right hand moves over to hit shift or return (I touch type) I get this odd sensation in my hand, right at the base and edge of it. It's difficult to describe, it's like a shooting numbness or a tiny tug inside my hand - it's not particularly uncomfortable, just a bit distracting. But this on top of that odd lump that appeared from nowhere on my wrist (suspected ganglion) make me think I should probably be making a doctor's appointment. And it's moving week - possibly the most inconvenient time this could have manifested itself.
But if it's still doing it in the morning, I'm making the appointment. And this is the last typing my right hand is doing tonight.
As a mark of respect, tomorrow I have been invited to join in two minutes' silence in remembrance of the Queen Mother. And this "invitation" is kind of compulsory, seeing as it's come from the owners of the building we work in.
The best bit, though, is the way they're going to mark the beginning and end of the two minutes. They're going to sound the fire alarm. The most irritating, high pitched, deafening, wailing siren you can imagine. I bet they can't stop it once they start it. They always have trouble handling it when they do the weekly tests and we all sit around wincing with our hands over our ears.
Maybe they're being ironic. I hope so.
The best bit, though, is the way they're going to mark the beginning and end of the two minutes. They're going to sound the fire alarm. The most irritating, high pitched, deafening, wailing siren you can imagine. I bet they can't stop it once they start it. They always have trouble handling it when they do the weekly tests and we all sit around wincing with our hands over our ears.
Maybe they're being ironic. I hope so.
As a mark of respect, tomorrow I have been invited to join in two minutes' silence in remembrance of the Queen Mother. And this "invitation" is kind of compulsory, seeing as it's come from the owners of the building we work in.
The best bit, though, is the way they're going to mark the beginning and end of the two minutes. They're going to sound the fire alarm. The most irritating, high pitched, deafening, wailing siren you can imagine. I bet they can't stop it once they start it. They always have trouble handling it when they do the weekly tests and we all sit around wincing with our hands over our ears.
Maybe they're being ironic. I hope so.
The best bit, though, is the way they're going to mark the beginning and end of the two minutes. They're going to sound the fire alarm. The most irritating, high pitched, deafening, wailing siren you can imagine. I bet they can't stop it once they start it. They always have trouble handling it when they do the weekly tests and we all sit around wincing with our hands over our ears.
Maybe they're being ironic. I hope so.