27 August 2023

So where was I?  My exciting life and so on.

My fancy bluetooth keyboard is probably shot or nearly and most of my week was spent re-reading and re-writing I had labourosly written for hours earlier. Shoddy workmanship, as my daughter would say. Another family phrase which has its origin here:


Now there is a lot to be said about the wisdom of an episode of Father Ted, any episode. And in case you haven't ever watched one, this one is as good as any to start. I do realise we all have to be aware of any triggering, un-woke remarks we may come across in old tv series, but I assume we are all adults, no?

Too much of my time this week was spent resting a hot water bottle on my bloated abdomen, cursing and trying to be stoic. To be honest, this has been going on and off for quite some time in one way or another, which is why I had been to the gastrologist about a hunderd times in recent months. Alas, all his tests have come back with nothing to date. I could have told him that I am neither lactose, nor fructose intolerant, nor celiac and if I remember correctly, I actually did tell him that but now he has it all tested and could tell me back in person that I am neither of these. My friendly GP got it even in writing but faced with my symptoms of which the ongoing weight loss is slowly reaching a somewhat alarming level, muttered something else as the cause but to be certain she wants me to, you guessed it, go back to the gastrologist for more tests. The funny thing is that this is what R was told when he asked dr. google about my symptoms weeks back but, oh boy, will I ever keep schtumm about that because experience has taught me that some experts like nothing less than a patient who has researched health stuff online. Even if it wasn't me.

Summer has reached that point in time when I actually look with a certain longing at my warm sweaters, imagining sitting on the sofa with a hot cup of tea looking out into the cold rainy night. Not there yet. 

Also, I have been gifted a fitbit and am now working up my steps at a fierce rate. Last night, we both reached 13,000 each meandering through the back lanes of the suburbs before we called it a day. By the time I retire, if I ever will, I may be ready to walk across the Alps or maybe to the northern end of Norway. When I not walking, I spent an inordinate amount of time checking and refining my settings on this device which also told me today that I slept 7 hr and 11 min last night, a reading I am willing to discuss as my memory tells me something quite different but hey, maybe fitbit knows something I don't.

Workwise, I spent a considerable amount of time transcribing and translating various talks and conferences. Often, this is all way over my head even if some of it is quite interesting, occasionally with little gems such as this one

Proof implies there is no room for error. Quite simply, that doesn’t exist in the real world. In science you don’t have proof. You just accumulate evidence towards something until new evidence comes along to make it implausible.

I also got into an argument with a local journalist at a small public meeting about climate change mitigation - the things one attends nowadays instead of poetry readings - when he complained about local activist causing traffic to come to a standstill and I loudly replied, no, not traffic, just car traffic. And he then retorted, streets are made for cars and I shouted back, and for cyclists and pedestrians and buses, and some people clapped and cheered and he turned to face me and when he saw that I was merely an old woman, winked at me, shrugged and sat down.

 


 

 

 

 


8 comments:

  1. "Keep schtumm" Oh gee, I really like that phrase a lot. Never heard it before.

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  2. Yep. Knowing when to keep schtumm and when to shout back.

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  3. I have one apple on my apple tree and no idea when to pick it. Some is quickly coming to an end. The trees are turning colour and the nights are cooler, thank goodness.

    I can't even imagine being a medical mystery. I always want an answer, even though I understand that the human body/mind is incredibly complex, and we may never understand many things.

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  4. Glad you spoke up at the meeting, even if you were punished with a patronizing wink as a result. I guess he just didn't have any other argument to make. I hope the gastro visits get to the bottom of whatever's going on in your gut.

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  5. David Sedaris writes about his fitbit obsession. He walks miles and miles daily, no matter what. He is prone to obsessive behavior though, I think. At least walking is a physically healthy obsession.
    I sure do hope some doctor comes up with an answer for you soon. That sounds so miserable.
    Bless you for standing up and speaking. Always.

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  6. I love that you spoke out at that meeting. His condescending wink says so much about him and just adds to his stupid climate ideology.

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  7. I have American ears and could only understand about half of what they were saying in that clip. good for you for challenging that punk. winked at you as if the poor little old lady was delirious. my sister has a fit bit, lots of people I know have them. I do not. I refuse to be ordered around by a device when I'm plenty active.

    I hope the docs are closing in on what R already found.

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  8. A bit late to the party so hope you read this. Your GI issues sound a lot like mine. I tried the FODMAP diet and it does work...just hard to keep up.

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