If I should turn into a slug beast.....

Ever since my arm has been wrapped up - fingers to elbow - I've felt like an extra in a Dr Who episode. Perhaps you remember it? Here's some pictures to jog your memory....



Well the pain killers are officially finished - no more dreams of talking giraffes and flying beagles (those ears come in handy), luckily I have some left over from my kidney stone episode of last year. I haven't touched them yet, but they are a nice security blanket.
Today being Saturday we are off for some house inspections. Maybe. At least a drive with B.

One-Armed Bandit

Well, the op is over. And now I get to find out how challenging life is with only a non-dominant hand....
I'm doing as much as I can by myself and being told I'm stubborn and too independent :) Just like my Ma (according to my Dad) and just like my Dad (according to my mother) *s*.

Unfortunately I didn't get to watch the operation - they were worried I might involuntarily move my arm if I could see, and they didn't take photos :(
Apparently the cyst was multi-segmented and looked like a bunch of grapes. I gather it was quite complicated to remove as it took nearly an hour. Fortunately I was first up in the morning, so didn't have long to wait. I was home by midday.
I get the stitches out early next week, and then get to find out how long I'll have the splint on for.

Currently I'm just sleeping lots and resting.
And typing *very* slowly.... :)

Pre-Op Update

I know, It's been ages since I blogged. I've been spending my time reading other people's blogs, and of course working "insane hours" (that's a quote from my boss) and researching the real estate market (still).

Every weekend that I'm not working, and some which I do, we've been on the real-estate trail. I now have a sizable collection of brochures, floor plans, and weekly newspaper lift-outs of auction results. By the time we buy, it will be well and truly researched. It will be so researched I will never again want to buy a house. *Sigh*

But I have the month of July (potentially) off work! Woo Hoo! OK, most of it is sick leave, but given I won't actually be sick, just doing my best impression of a one-armed bandit I plan to enjoy it as much as I possibly can. My folks should be arriving tomorrow to "take care of me" - ie cook and drive. The rest of the time I plan to sloth around the house, read more WoT (currently on book 10), watch TV, watch BattleStar Galactica, eat yummy food and drink lots of tea. Unfortunately I won't be able to knit :( But after my wrist recovers I should be back to my pre-lump knitting speed. I'm sure there will still be some winter left in which to enjoy cozy knitting...

So, I'm off to get my wrist slit on Wednesday. Hopefully the Doc will avoid the radial artery though, take out the lump and repair the wrist joint and it will be happily ever after - full strength and flexibility returned.

Today and tomorrow are preparation days. Lots of washing, cleaning and tidying. Actually I've probably done more house work in this 3-4 days than I have in a year. Albeit all in small doses with a good rest inbetween and strong doses of pain killers. I've left the left-handed ironing until tomorrow, I don't think I've done any in the last 6 months nearly. It's truly amazing how creases fall out of clothes if left hanging long enough - well most fabrics, and then there's the fabrics which don't require ironing - I've been amassing a good wardrobe of them...

Well, that's my rest done - off to the next job....

Anatomical Drunken Ramblings

Yep folks - still haven't gotten back to blogging about Tassie. In my defence I have been working 12-16 hours days and surviving on as little as 3 hours sleep.

So, as I sit here, on my third glass of a rather nice (and excessively cheap) red wine (and these are *large* glasses folks) I feel the urge to partake in some ramblings of the tipsy variety...

In an effort to increase the usable capacity of my PVR I've been force-watching recorded TV. Due to the excessive working hours I've been keeping, there is, fortunately, a large variety of programs saved. Tonight I partook of the most recent Grey's Anatomy.
And by the time I got to the end of it, I found myself bawling. No, not as some unkind people would say by the poor performances or daytime drama soapie story-lines, but by the personal commitments that was this week's themes. About life being the empowerment over death and one's chosen life commitment being the alternative to a hum-drum, depressive, unfulfilling life.

As they say....*spoilers* ahead.

By the end of the episode we have experienced:
The consequences of delaying that expression of commitment - the risk your soul mate has moved on.
A patient reconnected with her culturally distinct (Amish) parents after her best friend makes the sacrifice of letting her go.
Izzie finds a way to make Denny's money bring new hope.
George starts coming to terms with his Father's death and realises it is the people in his life that are important.
Christine accepts that the war is more important than an individual battle.
And Meredith admits to being a virgin in relationships.

This episode was about heart connections.
That even diametrically apposed life views (Amish and shunned) and connect. (First tears...),
That the chief made the right decision - but left it too late. (It's all about timing.),
That Izzie lets Denny go - and just got to *love* Miranda's spunk!
That Derek will be there for Meredith, no matter what. They may not connect, but he'll *be* there, even if he shouts, even if she shouts.
That Christine sees what really matters - she is making the long term commitment, she always was - or she would have walked away long ago. (Second tears...)
That George opens his heart and sees how truly amazing Kelly really is for him. (Outright bawling...)

So I'm sitting there, on the couch, 3rd *large* glass of wine in hand, trying to analyse why I am crying. All those years of Psychology at Uni catching up with me....
Was it the multiple marriage proposals? And nigh on accepting I am never going to get one....
Was it the feeling of affinity to Derek and Meredith's romantic position?
Was it the wine?

Actually - I think the moment that *really* got me, was Burke's proposal. The utter silence for weeks and weeks. The wondering why they were still together. Christina's acceptance of the war over the individual battle but still being able to maintain her own sense of right and justice and integrity. Bourke's proposal was *not* out of the blue. He just simply doesn't operate like that. This was in his mind for a long time. I suspect eventually we will find out just how long.

**** Important Footnotes
This blog post is *NOT* aimed at getting a marriage proposal. Rest easy B.
While marriage is something that will always remain in my life goals - for reasons many will not understand, and possibly a subject of a much later drunken post - I have accepted that the war is more important that an individual battle.

And no, I'm not ashamed of a blog almost entirely based on a Grey's Anatomy episode.
it touched me to the core - and that really should be good enough for you!

Sometimes I wonder....

Sometimes I wonder whether I'm in the right career... it's not that I don't love the individual parts of my job, the pattern matching of incidents to find underlying commonalities and then tracking it down to the true cause to the satisfaction of all...
the control I have over the processes with the joy of seeing everything running smoothly...
even the interactions with other members of my team - aiming to understand where they are coming from and what they need in order to perform their job...

But it's the strangeness where the boss offers a copy of New Scientist out and I am leaping out of my chair wanting to be the first one, only to find I am the *only* one...
It's having to explain the soulful satisfaction of Kombis as a preference over BMW's...
It's listening to conversations about cultural / religious differences, where it's obvious that they just don't get it....
It's the mini cauldron on my desk filled with crystals that only one person has figured out...
It's the utter dis-belief that this stubborn, assertive, logical, control freak is a knitter...

Yes we embrace diversity. My section could be an ad for Benetton, but that doesn't mean that with diversity comes an automatic understanding and appreciation of the cultural, personal, religious, spiritual values of others.

What is it that gives someone that ability to see the bigger picture, to truly appreciate diversity - not just as a phrase to be worshipped...
Is it something that comes from having experienced discrimination?
Or is an open mind something that just is and cannot be developed?
How do we encourage open minds in others? Is it something that can be nurtured in the young?

In Other News....

I know, when blogging the FNQ holiday I diverged and posted an other news blog and then never got back to the original - I will try this time to return to the Tassie trip - although it is getting to be a long time between drinks...

Just a quick update on life with A (and occasionally B).
That lump in my right wrist that some may have seen, or at least heard of before, has turned out to be a benign ganglion cyst - that is wrapped around my radial artery and trying to squeeze the life out of it - OK not quite, but every time it expands a little, it causes pain, I believe it is also pressing on the nerve running through there which is causing carpal tunnel syndrome - so still not much knitting in my life :( Not to mention riding or anything that involves bending my wrist or using my thumb to grip. I am coming more and more to appreciate the wonders of this opposable thumb mechanism we have! The upshot is there will be an operation likely later this year, after which I will look like I've slit my wrist, but hopefully the pain and weakness will go and I can return to knitting (and other pursuits) in earnest.

Other news:
B has sold his Brisbane unit, still waiting for settlement to go through, but in the meantime we(I) can actually start looking and discussing what we want to buy together. Woo Hoo! Spreadsheets here I come!

With my recovering energy this year I have been able to start reading again. I am currently into Book 4 of "The Wheel of Time" by Robert Jordan. I have read these before, many years ago, but there were some bad memories associated with it all, so B kindly gave me new copies of 1-9 (and I bought 10 with gift money) for Xmas. You know you're perhaps reading too much though, when you use their swear words, and start wondering what Faile would do in a situation.
Because someone somewhere *had* to go and do it, I did a google and found the quiz:
What Ajah are you?

You scored as The Brown Ajah. You are best suited for the Brown Ajah. Dreamy eyes, and ink stained fingers are the mark of this Ajah. These Aes Sedai are the historians, librarians, scientists, and engineers of the White Tower. They are in charge of the Tower Libraries and as such are usually more negotiable than probably anyone else. These Aes Sedai are usually so caught up in their studies and research projects that they are oblivious to current events in the world. The Brown Ajah 95%

Other things I've sought out: Visual DNA:

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

The Most Amazing Pizza

With the rest day over in Swansea, B rejoined the ride south. I chased up a potential new position back in Melbourne via some *very* dodgy internet connections and then hoofed it down to Triabunna to meet B. We were staying in a caravan park, so I took advantage of the excellent weather and got a load of laundry done and basically wandered around town waiting for B to show up.

3 Hours later and still no B, my mind is now replaying scenes from the first 4 days...
I decided there was nothing constructive I could do - a drive through town looking for him took all of 5 minutes, and thinking it was likely he had gone over to Maria Island, I decided to head down to Orford to check out a gluten-free pizza joint I had heard of.

And glad I was - the pizzas were simply amazing. The base itself was nothing special - quite satisfactory though, but the toppings were devine! The focus seemed to be on specific combinations of one or two items matched with a different cheese. There were blue-vein options, Camembert, cheddar and everything in-between. The base is one size only, small, so they recommend you buy two for a decent meal. Not a problem - meant making the decision on toppings was slightly easier. The pizza place is Scorchers by the River Gallery Café and I highly recommend it! The only really strange thing is that they don't seem to advertise that they do gluten-free pizzas! Although it is completely possible I missed the sign, I did look for one.

After partaking of the amazingly excellent pizzas I returned to the caravan park to find our unit had been broken into! Strangely the only item moved was B's bag, from which his plate and cutlery had been removed. Yes, he had returned late from Maria Island due to a late returning ferry, managed to convince the caravan park owner that he was with me and raced up to get a meal with the bike riders.

The next day was Saturday, and glad I was that I had a car and was less than 2 hours from Hobart. In the morning B set off for Richmond, and I drove south instead aiming for the famous Salamanca Markets!
I did a little sightseeing on my own on the way, taking this panoramic photo of The Thumbs, before arriving at the Salamanca Markets later in the day.