A little unwell

It all started in November.
A business trip to Barcelona was tiring, but i felt distinctly odd the day after i got back. I put down a very sore throat to the fact i had spent the week talking/presenting/meeting 100's of people, and thought little more of it.

That was a mistake.

Sore throat got steadily worse that week, so i started taking the usual pharmacy medicines, which eased the pain and kept me at work. The following weekend though, i was hit with headaches, stomach ache, fever, streaming cold and the start of a bad cough.

Went to the doctors who diagnosed Acute Bronchitis, and sent me on my way with some Amoxycillin, 8 days worth and with instructions to rest.

So i did. And i am my own worst enemy when in 'quarantine' at home. I get bored very quickly and spent most of the time watching movies , between the coughing and sneezing fits of course.

I didn't really notice at this point that things were getting worse, but it was. The cough developed into something far deeper, so i went back to the doctors after the antibiotics ran out to discover i then had got pneumonia.

That's quite a shocking word, as i have only heard it described as a 'cause of death' before. A little dramatic you say? Not really, as it shocked me to the bone. More tablets, told to have total rest and i did just that.

It's now 6 weeks later and i am still not anywhere near 100% fit again. This underlying cold/flu has never completely gone and i seem to be going 2 steps forward and 1 step back.

I blame Barcelona. Must have caught the bug there.

Flat Update

Over the past few weeks i have been dabbling with the paintbrush, and now my lounge is finished.

Chose some great colours I think, really brings the green of the outside view ( lots of tall trees) inside the room. Very happy with it. Just need to get the extra kitchen units, sort out some funky lighting and it will all be done.

For reference, I picked Craig and Rose 1829 paints in two colours;
Winchester-green , and also Eau de Nil , which looks far greener than on the website, almost a pistachio colour.

Wood Sculpture #1

 You can see the light and dark greens in the photos below.

Wood Sculpture #2

Kitchen from Dining area.

Poor shot, too dark i know, but you can see the lighter green. 

Sculpture #3

P.O.S.D.

I think a good chunk of the population on this little island of ours, because in the great global scheme of the Olympics, we are a little island, will soon be suffering from POSD, or Post Olympics Stress Disorder.

No Cheering to do.
No sitting on edge of seats willing Team GB on to a medal ( or in my case Team GB or an underdog)
Missing out on listening to experts, making the most of live coverage * see below

Because what will hit us is the fact that TV in the main is absolute tosh of the highest degree. Documentaries, proper dramas etc are excepted

But soon we will have crap like the One Show, EastEndEmerdaleStreetCity Hospital etc you get the idea.  Not forgetting cheap programs like banal consumer affair stuff, chasing dodgy traders down the street. And don't get me started on "talent" shows.

Don't you think that the Olympics coverage has highlighted these pithy vapid brain numbing programs for what they are? 

The BBC is a mixed blessing at times, pumping out what they think people want, (largely crap) and then you get a Wallander, David Attenborough Planet Earth, Horizon, Twenty Twelve, etc Some sheer genius, direction, camerawork, acting which is world leading.  Combined in the same evening as East bloody Enders.

Not sure what kind of events are coming up that are going to stir up this national pride we seem to have at the moment, but something better think of something quick so we can take advantage of it. It's lifted everyone, it really has.

* BBC Olympic coverage was partly ruined by that absolute condescending moron John Inverdale, a presenter of catastrophically bad proportions. I could write an entire blog post just on him. Get him off. Oh and Jake 'lets dumb it down' Humpheys.

Status report

5 weeks.
Yep been in new flat this long now, seems to be flying by. Have not finished unpacking, not by a long way, but the main living areas are tidy.

Still undecided where to decorate the lounge/dining/kitchen area, but have had some advice. Bought a nice deep green colour , and an eau-de-nil cream to compliment it. Finding myself too tired to decorate at weekends though.

Bought some nice plants, some to sit on balcony, some for the lounge, so things are getting a little more homely. Ordered a few Ansel Adams prints to go on my wall; brief story, when i saw his famous pictures of Yosemite national park, and his use of the Zone system for exposure, it inspired me to learn photography.  So some of his shots will be up on my wall soon.


It's been odd being on my own however, and when i had a long chat with a colleague this week it has only just dawned on me that i have never lived on my own before. I have always been in a relationship, rented a shared room, lived with friends etc. So it is no wonder that i feel odd.

I only really have one set of neighbours in the flat below, the 2 other flats have not sold. This side of the building has a nice view from 2 angles, looking down an avenue of trees out of the lounge, and view of fields from the side. The other flats, to my left, have neither view (I chose well), and i think this is why they may have stayed unsold.

Almost have all the furniture i need for my lounge area, just awaiting a price on a coffee table from IntoTheWoodz to match the two other pieces if have - Sculpture number one and console table .

Unpacked some ornaments like this one above too.
So I'm getting there.

It's been a while... thanks to BT

Not really had an internet connection for a while, hence the lack of updates.

That's totally due to the inept team of Bt and BT Openreach, who in this digital age seemingly think that 5 weeks to activate a broadband connection is acceptable. I will be amazed if the broadband router and engineer turn up tomorrow as promised.

I emailed and tweeted BT customer care. Rang them too. No response. No help. Not a great start for a customer with a contract is it?  I think their new tag line should be "BT- Like it or lump it".

Honesty.

Those that know me, would probably realise that i am a fairly open person, others might go so far to say I am brutally honest most of the time, and up until recently, I thought that was a good thing.

Recent events are leading me to think that being an open book may not always be the best policy. I should be more guarded in my conversations with those I do not yet fully know or trust.

Thoughts? Is it a good quality or not? Comments welcome. I may ( or may not) tell you by thoughts afterwards.