Well it's a new year and I have always made myself empty promises every new year recently. This year though, with the days until the wedding falling off the edge, I have realised it's time to really step up and dance with the devil.
It's been five months today, since my foot operation, and I seem to be healing well. I have previously been scared to re-break the bone in my foot, but I need to put that behind me now. With a new foot, comes a new me, I need to exercise more, I was always active, but in recent years it became rather painful to do the normal activities I enjoy, such as walking and running, and more bloody expensive to go swimming. I think I'm the only one with an interest in Hockey, and basketball. and I rarely go ice-skating (My favourite). It all needs to change now and I'm going to start running again and using the kinect to get a little more movement that way.
As well as a fitness goal I have a goal to learn to play the bass guitar I have had for years and step up on my lazy approach to learning languages.
I have decided to keep everyone updated on my progress of my yearly goals, as it is so much better when people expect things of you. You make a better effort for others rather than yourself!
so what do I want to get from this year?
1. I want to be more positive, the wedding planning has installed really really negative feelings to society in me. I want to look on the wedding as a positive step up in my life, It's really I hate being the centre of attention and that has made me resent the whole process. I have decided to write a blog about the wedding and the planning process.
2. I want to find a proper job, I want to work at least 35 hours a week, preferentially in an office in London. However if I do not succeed by July I will look at becoming a midwife.
3. I want to increase my fluency in German, Finnish and Swedish.
4. I want to take more pride in my physical appearance, the last few years I have been feeling a little dumpy and I have shied away from that.
5. I want to grow my business and make myself successful.
6. I want to be able to afford to move home.
This all seems a bit odd to post this on the internet, but as i said before, I feel it will motivate me that people know my intentions and will be watching if I fail. (Which I won't!)
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
Wednesday, 28 September 2011
Forget billy goats... this troll is after Sheep!!!
Walking into the wool shop the Troll looked around, checking each skein for composition percentages... 75% acrylic... 100% acrylic ... 65% wool ... None that had the desired composition.
The lady behind the counter asks if she can help, the Troll explains that she is looking for yarn that is at least 85% wool in composition. The lady looks about the shop but says the only yarn they have in this composition is pure merino wool. Which is far too expensive and not very good for the pattern the Troll was going to knit. She couldn't help thinking it was a little bit preposterous that a shop claiming to sell wool only sold synthetic blends. All the shops in the area were the same.
The Troll returned to her bridge empty clawed. The pattern she was going to knit to keep her feet warm, was a pair of felted Norwegian house slippers, that and a cosy pair of Mukluks. The wool suggested in the first pattern was a Norwegian brand, the Troll remembered that she was visiting Denmark the following week, so thought to have a look there.
She searched and searched but to no avail, it was all just acrylic again. On her return journey she passed through Texel an island renowned for it's wool. It took a while but the Troll eventually found what she was searching for! Hurrah! Just as well as the Troll was beginning to plan the kidnap of a Texel Sheep!
She danced her happy Troll dance in the shop, so consumed by the happiness of finding wool at last!
So now the Troll is back under her bridge, knitting away. She could not get the correct weighting of yarn but that will only take a calculation of tensions and needle sizes. She is very happy with her Dutch and Icelandic wools all from Texel yay!
This is just a story of one small Troll and her mission for wool that is wool, from a sheep and not some 'orrible black stuff.
Moikka!
The lady behind the counter asks if she can help, the Troll explains that she is looking for yarn that is at least 85% wool in composition. The lady looks about the shop but says the only yarn they have in this composition is pure merino wool. Which is far too expensive and not very good for the pattern the Troll was going to knit. She couldn't help thinking it was a little bit preposterous that a shop claiming to sell wool only sold synthetic blends. All the shops in the area were the same.
The Troll returned to her bridge empty clawed. The pattern she was going to knit to keep her feet warm, was a pair of felted Norwegian house slippers, that and a cosy pair of Mukluks. The wool suggested in the first pattern was a Norwegian brand, the Troll remembered that she was visiting Denmark the following week, so thought to have a look there.
She searched and searched but to no avail, it was all just acrylic again. On her return journey she passed through Texel an island renowned for it's wool. It took a while but the Troll eventually found what she was searching for! Hurrah! Just as well as the Troll was beginning to plan the kidnap of a Texel Sheep!
She danced her happy Troll dance in the shop, so consumed by the happiness of finding wool at last!
This is just a story of one small Troll and her mission for wool that is wool, from a sheep and not some 'orrible black stuff.
Moikka!
A Trip to Denmark
So it's been a while since I last wrote anything, mainly because my life is quite boring. I now have a few things to write about so lets start with my recent trip to Denmark.
This trip was slightly different to any other trip I have been on. Mainly because we flew there ourselves rather than fly via an airline. That, and it was an organised trip, I mean organised in terms of the excursions, timings and dinners etc... The kind I do not normally like, as I prefer to have time to go about and do my own thing.
So the First day was great, 6 am start. Drive to Southend airport and we set off. We flew over the English channel towards Belgian airspace, we could see Dunkerque which was quite interesting. We went on into Dutch airspace and I was disappointed that I did not see any windmills! One interesting fact was that we were in the same airspace as the Red arrows! We heard them over the radio but they were too far away from us to see. Anyway our destination was Emden in Germany, which is quite near the border near Groeningen. It was quite nice at Emden airport and the fuel guy came over on a push bike, which was just a little quirky. We were a bit disappointed though as the cafe was shut and we were quite hungry after a 3 hour(ish) flight. Luckily Martin and I had the foresight to pack a packet of crisps each! No one else did Haha!
I think we stayed there for about an hour an then set off towards Denmark. When we were leaving German airspace Martin and his Dad asked me why the Germans kept on saying "shoes" It turns out they were saying "Tschüs" (Goodbye) and I was wetting myself with laughter at the typical British ignorance hehehe In Danish airspace we heard a Norwegian and a Swedish plane flying about, and the interesting quirk here was that "bravo" was pronounced "bra-oh". We landed in Roskilde safely without any hitches, the weather was glorious and you can see that in the landing picture I posted above.
Anyway Roskilde was a rather nice city, not that we saw much of it, there was the massive cathedral with all the Danish kings since some certain time. I haven't been around it there wasn't time.
I did have time to go shopping and have a quick go at my mission to get real wool. About an hour haha
Anyway on our visit we went to Copenhagen, and we tried a traditional Smorgasbord, it was ok actually, but there were so many things to try and with 3 courses in less than 1 hour (I had the feeling of being really rushed) I didn't get to try much.
I had some fried Plaice, which I was really enjoying until the waitress took it away and gave me some horrible cheese instead. Also this is my face after trying snaps.
Yeah I don't think I will have that again hehe.
Overall the food was okay, all our meals were chosen for us so we were pretty much thrown in at the deep end and had to try everything. Which was good because we actually got to try proper Danish food. I didn't try the Salmon roe though as I have a really strong urge to puke if I don't like something which can be rather embarrassing in restaurants.
After this we went on a lovely coastal drive and we could see Sweden! So near yet so far! We drove up almost to Helsingør to a modern art museum called Louisiana. Which was rather interesting. I would show you the pictures but you will have to check my facebook for those as the powers that be on the internet won't allow me to upload them here V.V.
The next day we went to a Viking ship museum which told of the history of the ships that were found at the bottom of Roskilde Fjord, they had some remains of the original ships on display, which was rather awe inspiring.
This was followed by immediate removal to the airport. On the drive to the airport the heavens opened and we were trapped in a rather soggy Denmark. Not that I was complaining :P After about 2 hours of faffing around at the airport (which is quite tiresome) we returned to Hotel Prindsen and checked in for an extra night.
The next day the oh-so-bothersome thunderstorm had passed and the skies were blue again. We headed for our next destination Texel in the Netherlands. Texel was quite quaint and a bit windswept, but it did really remind me of Canvey Island, I guess my knowledge that the Dutch helped to reclaim most of what we call Canvey today, helped. It's a Frisian island and the only real holiday makers here are the Dutch and Germans, as a result no restaurants had English menus and I had the mammoth task of translating them all. Even so the Dutch seem to think English people get on better with the Dutch language, it was quite annoying to have to reassure them... yes it's fine I do speak German. I know it's rare for English folk to speak foreign languages, but honestly we are not all in the same boat...
(On a side note It has taken me days to write this as I keep having to leave and return because for some reason my brain has disengaged and i keep writing words which are similar but make no sense, like form instead of for? WTF?!?!?! )
Anyway we had a bit of a look at the Island, It was quite rushed we were only there one day! Then we headed off home. Not before Martin managed to tip loads of sand into my orthopaedic cast! Ex foliation to the extreme.
This trip was slightly different to any other trip I have been on. Mainly because we flew there ourselves rather than fly via an airline. That, and it was an organised trip, I mean organised in terms of the excursions, timings and dinners etc... The kind I do not normally like, as I prefer to have time to go about and do my own thing.
So the First day was great, 6 am start. Drive to Southend airport and we set off. We flew over the English channel towards Belgian airspace, we could see Dunkerque which was quite interesting. We went on into Dutch airspace and I was disappointed that I did not see any windmills! One interesting fact was that we were in the same airspace as the Red arrows! We heard them over the radio but they were too far away from us to see. Anyway our destination was Emden in Germany, which is quite near the border near Groeningen. It was quite nice at Emden airport and the fuel guy came over on a push bike, which was just a little quirky. We were a bit disappointed though as the cafe was shut and we were quite hungry after a 3 hour(ish) flight. Luckily Martin and I had the foresight to pack a packet of crisps each! No one else did Haha!
I think we stayed there for about an hour an then set off towards Denmark. When we were leaving German airspace Martin and his Dad asked me why the Germans kept on saying "shoes" It turns out they were saying "Tschüs" (Goodbye) and I was wetting myself with laughter at the typical British ignorance hehehe In Danish airspace we heard a Norwegian and a Swedish plane flying about, and the interesting quirk here was that "bravo" was pronounced "bra-oh". We landed in Roskilde safely without any hitches, the weather was glorious and you can see that in the landing picture I posted above.
Anyway Roskilde was a rather nice city, not that we saw much of it, there was the massive cathedral with all the Danish kings since some certain time. I haven't been around it there wasn't time.
I did have time to go shopping and have a quick go at my mission to get real wool. About an hour haha
Anyway on our visit we went to Copenhagen, and we tried a traditional Smorgasbord, it was ok actually, but there were so many things to try and with 3 courses in less than 1 hour (I had the feeling of being really rushed) I didn't get to try much.
Yeah I don't think I will have that again hehe.
Overall the food was okay, all our meals were chosen for us so we were pretty much thrown in at the deep end and had to try everything. Which was good because we actually got to try proper Danish food. I didn't try the Salmon roe though as I have a really strong urge to puke if I don't like something which can be rather embarrassing in restaurants.
After this we went on a lovely coastal drive and we could see Sweden! So near yet so far! We drove up almost to Helsingør to a modern art museum called Louisiana. Which was rather interesting. I would show you the pictures but you will have to check my facebook for those as the powers that be on the internet won't allow me to upload them here V.V.
The next day we went to a Viking ship museum which told of the history of the ships that were found at the bottom of Roskilde Fjord, they had some remains of the original ships on display, which was rather awe inspiring.
This was followed by immediate removal to the airport. On the drive to the airport the heavens opened and we were trapped in a rather soggy Denmark. Not that I was complaining :P After about 2 hours of faffing around at the airport (which is quite tiresome) we returned to Hotel Prindsen and checked in for an extra night.
The next day the oh-so-bothersome thunderstorm had passed and the skies were blue again. We headed for our next destination Texel in the Netherlands. Texel was quite quaint and a bit windswept, but it did really remind me of Canvey Island, I guess my knowledge that the Dutch helped to reclaim most of what we call Canvey today, helped. It's a Frisian island and the only real holiday makers here are the Dutch and Germans, as a result no restaurants had English menus and I had the mammoth task of translating them all. Even so the Dutch seem to think English people get on better with the Dutch language, it was quite annoying to have to reassure them... yes it's fine I do speak German. I know it's rare for English folk to speak foreign languages, but honestly we are not all in the same boat...
(On a side note It has taken me days to write this as I keep having to leave and return because for some reason my brain has disengaged and i keep writing words which are similar but make no sense, like form instead of for? WTF?!?!?! )
Anyway we had a bit of a look at the Island, It was quite rushed we were only there one day! Then we headed off home. Not before Martin managed to tip loads of sand into my orthopaedic cast! Ex foliation to the extreme.
Thursday, 4 August 2011
The Troll's first visit to the hospital for surgery.
I have a phobia of hospitals, anyone that has ever been around me for injections etc... will no doubt already know that! So you can imagine my distaste when three years ago some Fat bastard jumped on my foot in a Disturbed gig and some how damaged my toe joint through my boots! Any way the damage over 3 years caused a bunion to form, when is quite painful and you can't get humanoid shoes on very easily! I had to get it sorted, especially before the wedding! I went to the doctors in January, about sorting the problem. I though I could have a splint to force the bones back into a humanoid shape. So I was sent for an X-ray, this showed I had more damage than could be sorted by force, (I'm going to find that fat guy and put my axe through his skill). So I was referred to a foot specialist at Southend hospital.
I went there and then I was spoken to about surgery, I had the choice of having both surgeries at once or separately, by both I mean the cutting done of excess bone and the straightening and pinning! Being a pansy, I elected to have it all done in one go and get it over with. So I was put on the Waiting list for day surgery. I got phoned up for surgery in June but I could not do it then because I would be flying soon afterwards (to Austria!) So I got phoned again in late July after my holiday and booked in for the 3rd of August! I am a pansy as before mentioned so I asked to have a walk around the week before the surgery and chat with a lovely nurse who was with me when I went to sleep on the actual day. (Yes it was general anaesthetic)
On my walk around they gave me a spare cannula with without the HUGE needle to have a look at and play with!
Looks quite cool, but was making my family members queesy lol.
So I was feeling better about the whole experience, so a week later I returned wearing two trainer, for my operation. I wasn't allowed to take anyone with me so I felt kind of like Jonah for the first hour and a half, reading my RSPB magazine and I listened to one song on my ipod. During this time they came and put my hospital tags on I got red ones because I am allergic to things :) Apparently they use eggs in quite a few things in hospital!
I also took before pictures of my feet.
You can see they came and drew on the offending joint, you can also see the wonkiness compared to the other foot. I know it's no where near as bad as some of the bunions I have seen on older people, but it would only get worse! They also offered the operation because the bones were affecting a tendon in my foot that kept getting inflamed and the underside of my foot was really sore quite a lot of the time, especially after a 12 hour shift!
So I got listening to my ipod and this nice chap from the surgical team told me they were ready, so I was shipped off to the anaesthetic room. I had opted for a gas induction they don't really like to do that because it's riskier, but oh well. So the lovely nurse that saw me the wee"this is crap it's not working..." and then it went black so obviously it did work. The put the cannula and tubes and things in after I was sedated. I was told I would have a sore throat afterwards, due to the breathing tube, but I didn't. I do now though!
In the recovery room I remember being really cross at being woken up, I was obviously having a nice dream!!!! haha I had a bit of a panic attack as well, because I had like 3 people all talking at me! Not fun, anyway I must have come around okay, because they pretty much took me to the ward after what felt like 5 mins. I'm still a little freaked out about the passing of time!
I was given a sandwich and tea ( I had sugar, which I only have when I am ill) and water and ginger snaps, I was stuffed and had to force myself to eat it all! Bleh.
Anyway I took a chance to take some pictures!
The cannula was pink! There is the red tags I was talking about! :) The foot looked like a stump afterwards hahah! Morbid curiosities!
Anyway they phoned Martin to collect me at this point, but the poor guy had to wait like an hour and a half because they forgot to check I could walk, which I couldn't.
I'm supposed to be able to weight bare, which I can but it's awkward because my foot is angled downwards. I was told to walk on my heel, but I couldn't do that without falling over so I got dressed and ended up waiting like 30 mins for the physio to get me crutches! Then I had to learn to use them, and I finially got released.
I went there and then I was spoken to about surgery, I had the choice of having both surgeries at once or separately, by both I mean the cutting done of excess bone and the straightening and pinning! Being a pansy, I elected to have it all done in one go and get it over with. So I was put on the Waiting list for day surgery. I got phoned up for surgery in June but I could not do it then because I would be flying soon afterwards (to Austria!) So I got phoned again in late July after my holiday and booked in for the 3rd of August! I am a pansy as before mentioned so I asked to have a walk around the week before the surgery and chat with a lovely nurse who was with me when I went to sleep on the actual day. (Yes it was general anaesthetic)
On my walk around they gave me a spare cannula with without the HUGE needle to have a look at and play with!
So I was feeling better about the whole experience, so a week later I returned wearing two trainer, for my operation. I wasn't allowed to take anyone with me so I felt kind of like Jonah for the first hour and a half, reading my RSPB magazine and I listened to one song on my ipod. During this time they came and put my hospital tags on I got red ones because I am allergic to things :) Apparently they use eggs in quite a few things in hospital!
I also took before pictures of my feet.
You can see they came and drew on the offending joint, you can also see the wonkiness compared to the other foot. I know it's no where near as bad as some of the bunions I have seen on older people, but it would only get worse! They also offered the operation because the bones were affecting a tendon in my foot that kept getting inflamed and the underside of my foot was really sore quite a lot of the time, especially after a 12 hour shift!
So I got listening to my ipod and this nice chap from the surgical team told me they were ready, so I was shipped off to the anaesthetic room. I had opted for a gas induction they don't really like to do that because it's riskier, but oh well. So the lovely nurse that saw me the wee"this is crap it's not working..." and then it went black so obviously it did work. The put the cannula and tubes and things in after I was sedated. I was told I would have a sore throat afterwards, due to the breathing tube, but I didn't. I do now though!
In the recovery room I remember being really cross at being woken up, I was obviously having a nice dream!!!! haha I had a bit of a panic attack as well, because I had like 3 people all talking at me! Not fun, anyway I must have come around okay, because they pretty much took me to the ward after what felt like 5 mins. I'm still a little freaked out about the passing of time!
I was given a sandwich and tea ( I had sugar, which I only have when I am ill) and water and ginger snaps, I was stuffed and had to force myself to eat it all! Bleh.
Anyway I took a chance to take some pictures!
The cannula was pink! There is the red tags I was talking about! :) The foot looked like a stump afterwards hahah! Morbid curiosities!
Anyway they phoned Martin to collect me at this point, but the poor guy had to wait like an hour and a half because they forgot to check I could walk, which I couldn't.
I'm supposed to be able to weight bare, which I can but it's awkward because my foot is angled downwards. I was told to walk on my heel, but I couldn't do that without falling over so I got dressed and ended up waiting like 30 mins for the physio to get me crutches! Then I had to learn to use them, and I finially got released.
Martin collected me and had bought me a subway, which I didn't eat until like midnight! We went to the pub to see friends and it all went well obviously I didn't drink I felt high enough from the drugs I was given anyway. If you are still standing/ sitting after the pictures, Thank you fro reading. Until my next entry Farewell :)
The Grand Cynic Troll.
Tuesday, 26 July 2011
Who the HELL invented socks?
So I am sitting here, pairing socks, as I have a HUGE pile of unloved socks, cleaned and ready to be paired. This also indicates that there are no socks in the sock drawer ( I was also informed by a sockless man-beast) that there are "no socks" in the drawer. If the man-beast is so excited by socks, then why does the man-beast not process them himself? Perhaps, it is the disappearance of unfortunate socks that disturbs him? I thought I had better explain this process to other man-beasts out there. So here goes. When doing the laundry, every launderer's problem (by problem I mean absolute bane) is the suicide of socks. I have come to the conclusion that the elves that power the washing machine, like to devour them or pass them on to the monster maker. I can't place the blame entirely on the Elves, as I am aware too of the tumble dryer leprechauns.
To overcome these theivsome beasties I have been using sock-pegs (a brilliant invention) but when living in a house share, it's extremly tedious to have to peg socks when it's my turn to do the laundry, especially when the socks out populate the pegs about 7:1.
I found out about sock-keeper-togetherer-pegs when I worked in the northern lands for an extremly neurotic employer, (I have lost an eyebrow to my hairline thinking about it) they are a brilliant idea, I just wish I had more. By the way, (incase my former employer reads this) it's quite alright to put socks pegged or un-pegged in the tumble dryer, if you have such luxury.
Going back to the washing machine elves or tumble dryer leprechauns devouring a particular sock if they take a fancy to it. I know this happens, because I only ever wash socks in pairs. I have even lost one sock from a pegged pair! Anyway, this thought prompted me to type "the sock monster" in to the magical seacher on the ultimate web of doom. It spewed this onto my screen, http://www.sock-monsters.co.uk/ which I think is brilliant. I want to shake the monter maker's hand/claw. I wonder if they are supplied by the washing machine elves? Hmmm. I hate pairing socks, up to the point where I refuse to buy black socks. Thankfully the man-beast prefers brightly coloured socks. It always seems to be the black ones that disappear.
Anyway I will leave you with that for now, and I'm going to pair more socks, before the man-beast returns.
To overcome these theivsome beasties I have been using sock-pegs (a brilliant invention) but when living in a house share, it's extremly tedious to have to peg socks when it's my turn to do the laundry, especially when the socks out populate the pegs about 7:1.
I found out about sock-keeper-togetherer-pegs when I worked in the northern lands for an extremly neurotic employer, (I have lost an eyebrow to my hairline thinking about it) they are a brilliant idea, I just wish I had more. By the way, (incase my former employer reads this) it's quite alright to put socks pegged or un-pegged in the tumble dryer, if you have such luxury.
Going back to the washing machine elves or tumble dryer leprechauns devouring a particular sock if they take a fancy to it. I know this happens, because I only ever wash socks in pairs. I have even lost one sock from a pegged pair! Anyway, this thought prompted me to type "the sock monster" in to the magical seacher on the ultimate web of doom. It spewed this onto my screen, http://www.sock-monsters.co.uk/ which I think is brilliant. I want to shake the monter maker's hand/claw. I wonder if they are supplied by the washing machine elves? Hmmm. I hate pairing socks, up to the point where I refuse to buy black socks. Thankfully the man-beast prefers brightly coloured socks. It always seems to be the black ones that disappear.
Anyway I will leave you with that for now, and I'm going to pair more socks, before the man-beast returns.
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