…and many happy returns of the day.
Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Happy birthday, <lj user=”am0″>…
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009From Twitter 12-15-2009
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009- 02:59:49: @GaySkyHooker I’m up too with a hypo event so just calming down to get back to bed eventually. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do…
- 14:51:57: @GaySkyHooker too much insulin on too little carbohydrate.
- 14:53:57: @tug looks like the security guards need some training knocked into their heads as well.
- 14:54:49: @soveren I’m a bit late in replying–we will be at home for Xmas. I won’t be able to drink (antibiotics) otherwise, I’m fine. What about u?
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R.I.P. Ratty
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009I thought that I had blogged about our rat, but in looking back I believe I didn’t. So, to recap:
When I got back from the hospital, it was evident that a rat had taken up residence under the sink. We saw it running around, squirming through the little hole above the skirting board. An apple in the fruit bowl was nibbled at. Scrabbling under the sink continued through the afternoon and evening. In desperation, I called the housing association and our favourite exterminator came by.
He looked under the sink, said that yes, we had a rat, and he left two very powerful traps baited with Tesco’s Finest Chunky Peanut Butter (only thing that Tesco’s peanut butter is good for, baiting rat traps) and some bags of rat poison. He said he would return in a week.
Well, after a few days we didn’t hear anything so we assumed that something had done its work. When the exterminator arrived this morning, he opened the skirting board and found that the entire bag of bait had been eaten. That, in and of itself, would be enough to do Ratty in. But, there’s more! Both of the traps had been sprung. He opened one of them (think of a giant black clamp with teeth at the end) and said, “Look at that!” I looked, and there was a leg in it. So, Ratty had lost a leg while lurching drunkenly around after eating all the bait. He opened the other, and the remains of Ratty’s head was in it. This was more gruesome and I didn’t linger to watch.
The exterminator, being made of sterner stuff, just took the traps outside and emptied their gruesome contents into the bins. A mystery remains, however: where is the rest of Ratty’s mortal shell? No body was under the sink, nor under the other cupboards. The exterminator thinks that the rat, having gotten his head in the trap, backed into the hole in the wall whence he came and then the trap nipped his head off, leaving the body in the wall.
I do hope the wall space is sufficiently cold to keep the Air du Ratte Morte (I know that’s not proper French, but I won’t welcome corrections) from spoiling Christmas dinner.
Burp…
From Twitter 12-14-2009
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009Tweets copied by twittinesis.com
Today’s Xmas Cheer Video
Monday, December 14th, 2009Does the incessant ringing of the Salvation Army bell next to the kettle get on your nerves while Christmas Shopping?
See what can be done about it…
From Twitter 12-13-2009
Monday, December 14th, 2009- 08:59:28: @SundayProgramme The Glasspool interview was quite good…
- 19:19:02: What a wonderful euphemism! RT @jonk: i think something bounced up into my undercarriage
- 23:05:54: @GaySkyHooker thinking of you tonight…sleep tight please!
- 23:07:37: back from Belgo with our houseguest; I had a fancy beef stew with prunes and apples. very nice. no beer 🙁
- 23:08:15: @GaySkyHooker you can have some of my resolve if you want…i shall send it to you now.
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Today’s Christmas Song
Sunday, December 13th, 2009As HWMBO will testify, I get grumpy when hearing endless repeats of hackneyed old Christmas songs. It probably stems from my youth when I tried to get a carol-singing group of kids together and we failed miserably at singing carols.
However, the MadPriest has been collecting examples of Christmas music to uplift (your lunch) and here is the best one so far (from Padre Mickey’s blog):
My week and welcome to it
Sunday, December 13th, 2009I’ve been remiss in not blogging lately, so will contribute a short entry just to bring myself up to date when I write my memoirs in a few years’ time…
My foot continues to heal pretty well. I still have my PICC line in, and every morning a district nurse comes by and shoves another bag of antibiotics in me. I’m also taking metronidazole, which will ruin Christmas as you may not drink alcohol when taking it. But, it seems to be doing the trick and my foot is much more robust now. It’s been a real struggle.
On Thursday Alex Au arrived from Texas to stay with us until Tuesday. Alex (if you read his Wikipedia entry linked at the beginning of this paragraph you’ll find much more information) is the premier gay activist in Singapore. I’ve known him for more than ten years, and he and my brother-in-law work together on the Signel Singapore lesbian-and-gay emailing list. It’s always delightful to see him, and we have had long discussions about Singapore politics and events. I seem to know a lot more about the subject that HWMBO does—he never reads the Singapore press or websites.
We went to Belgo on Kingsway for dinner tonight—the first time I’ve been north of the river in a month.
This morning I went to church for the first time in a month but had to leave just after communion as the district nurse usually shows up after 11 am and it was getting late. Indeed, she showed up at around 11:05 am so I was lucky I slipped out.
I go to the Foot Clinic next Friday and we will see what transpires there. I am hoping for orthopedic shoes, but probably won’t get them for a few weeks or months yet.
From Twitter 12-12-2009
Sunday, December 13th, 2009- 15:20:54: (Sound) Wave of the future! RT @stevesheeky: Stanford iPhone orchestra. http://tinyurl.com/y9l36h9
- 16:33:58: @jtbritto commando…
- 16:39:01: @jtbritto oh well, it was a nice idea…
- 18:35:07: @franknstud good effing evening, @franknstud
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From Twitter 12-11-2009
Saturday, December 12th, 2009- 10:33:26: Drunk finger in electric socket! RT DentonPolice: http://twitpic.com/t19vu – 12/11/2009 25 years old | ALCOHOL/PUBLIC INTOXICATION
- 10:43:34: @gelodelacruz sounds good to me. wen do you leave?
- 23:18:50: @seismic007 wouldn’t “vegan pot pie” be made from diced vegan?
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From Twitter 12-10-2009
Friday, December 11th, 2009- 01:13:09: @davidrowell yes, i’ve had years of cynic practice and am just getting good enough to enjoy being cynical.
- 01:14:40: @rhys_isterix all very complex. i’m glad i don’t have money invested in twitter ’cause getting any profit from it beats the heck out of me.
- 01:15:00: @GaySkyHooker indeedy. you and me both are pros.
- 01:15:31: @GaySkyHooker good. glad your shrink has not cast you adrift…hope that things look brighter. The trip to Oz should do you a world of good.
- 01:17:43: @jonk you coming back to London soon? now oystercards are good on the suburban trains too.
- 01:18:33: @GaySkyHooker brings us back some kangaroo scrotum coin purses… 😉
- 01:27:35: @jonk yes, there are two ways to get there, from Liverpool St Sta. or Kings Cross.
- 19:25:19: @GaySkyHooker O M G! I made you go ewwwwwww!
- 19:29:55: @jonk Only the guilty would think the maid was commenting on them.
- 22:40:34: @soveren that’s really nice. I like it. Thanks, and Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to you and all your loved ones.
- 22:47:07: @TheRealRyanHiga sleeping pills would be better, i think.
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From Twitter 12-09-2009
Thursday, December 10th, 2009- 11:20:14: Morning, tweeps and peeps. I feel a bit better this morning but hope that the GP comes through with the prescriptions I need…
- 19:07:52: well, tweeps and peeps, the quack hasn’t called so I shall have to fall back on gliclazide and less insulin until tomorrow. Faugh!
- 21:00:34: @rhys_isterix ok, now i’ve seen your twitter page. And?
- 21:01:51: Because they can! RT @davidrowell: TSA now requiring DVD players & camcorders as well as laptops to be removed for screening – I wonder why?
- 21:12:55: @rhys_isterix I use twhirl and rarely ir ever go to twitter.com for anything…
- 21:16:45: @rhys_isterix this has consequences for monetising twitter, of course. if peeps don’t go to twitter.com, they won’t see the ads.
- 21:18:20: @rhys_isterix either twitter adds ads 2 the api & forces twhirl et al. to take them, or it closes down the api & forces peeps to come to it.
- 21:19:12: @rhys_isterix both alternatives would kill twitter off anyway. No one would win. I’m glad I don’t have to figure out how to monetise twitter
- 21:22:10: @rhys_isterix only 2 ways of monetising: ads, or premium accts.i like twitter, but i prob wouldn’t pay for it as time-suck…food 4 thought.
- 23:22:40: @gelodelacruz i’m sure it’ll be lovely!
- 23:24:03: @urbanbohemian why for the last time? hair is a renewable resource.
- 23:33:30: @GaySkyHooker oh dear. sleep tight then and i hope they have everything you need tomorrow.
- 23:34:22: @GaySkyHooker it is a brilliant step, but is there some sort of outpatient group you could join?
- 23:35:26: @GaySkyHooker nah, he’s wasting it all over his face and chest. he’s an amateur: professionals would get every drop in their gullet.
- 23:37:59: well, tweeps & peeps, time 4 bed for me. hope i get my prescriptions tomorrow (along with @GaySkyHooker ) & that everyone just gets along!
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For <lj user=”trawnapanda”>
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009From Twitter 12-08-2009
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009- 09:15:30: @tug One of our lay chairs in Southwark is named Ann Atkins and she is incensed when people confuse her with the columnist.
- 12:31:09: @gelodelacruz you will lurve Angkor. I enjoyed it tremendously. Take lots of pictures!
- 12:33:49: RT @tug: Steve bell on S44 again http://bit.ly/8nxURJ even better than yesterday
- 12:39:54: @BrianHeys oh dear. wrap up warm, take a flask of something hot (or something alcoholic), and enjoy.
- 12:43:02: @therealgokwan Dear Gok: I will try & bring u separate bedrooms & then u both might sleep better. Don’t forget the milk & cookies! XXX Santa
- 12:44:10: @BigRichB There should be more in 2011–seventieth anniversary.
- 12:48:40: Oh, really? I would have thought that jailing rather than licking them is the answer. RT @ElReg: Facebook forms board to lick molesters …
- 13:15:28: @RealMattLucas you’ve been in my thoughts and prayers for a while now.
- 13:23:14: @MrPandaBehr that’s why! it’s scary!
- 13:26:09: RT @HeriCabral: Double Youu Tee Efff! My mother ate all my truffles.
- 13:27:05: @urbanbohemian Saint Fidgeta. Now, we want pics of the dance.
- 13:31:38: @urbanbohemian @DanielJUK “Flats” are just British for “apartments”. US “Duplex” = UK “Maisonette”. “Block of flats” = “Apartment Bldg”
- 13:33:34: @fj in my (small amount of) experience, speed issues have lots to do with fundamental architecture, thus are often not easily fixable later.
- 21:59:37: The iTunes apps store is FSCKed beyond redemption.
- 23:20:21: @GaySkyHooker solution: nicotine patches.
- 23:21:27: @GaySkyHooker congrats on discharge! hugs!
- 23:22:24: @Admish I got the strange unauthorised message from iTunes too and it tried to delete some of my apps.
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Today’s Travails
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009Don’t get me wrong; I love the NHS. However, the fact that its various bits and pieces are not joined-up in any meaningful way makes me very angry indeed.
First, I am getting IV antibiotics at home. This entails sitting in a chair, having a bag of antibiotics hanging off a nail I pounded into the door hooked up to my PICC line (which has now become a friend, a very intimate one at that) by something called an infusion kit, which consists of tubes and a little pot into which the bag drips drops of antibiotic that are then taken into my vein by the tube.
Now when I got the prescription for the antibiotics from the hospital, they sent along the antibiotic and the bags of saline and the hepsal ampulles for flushing out the PICC line after the IV is finished. They did NOT include any infusion kits, and when I enquired, the pharmacist said that the doctor hadn’t ordered any on the prescription. I was going to say, “Well, what are the nurses to do, attach the bag directly to my PICC line and squeeze the contents into me?” but I nobly refrained.
My life since then has been a daily struggle to get infusion kits. The visiting nurses don’t have any (or many: I just got word that they scrounged four), my GP doesn’t have any, no one can find any anywhere. I called the Diabetic Foot Clinic at Kings, and they had some left over from a study that hadn’t expired. However, they are tinted because the fluids they were delivering were light-sensitive. No matter, I could use them. However, I had to get down there to pick them up.
Well.
Second, I needed to renew my prescriptions and get a new one for Novorapid insulin cartridges, which had been prescribed by the foot doctor at Kings, to replace gliclazide, which doesn’t seem to be working. So, when I dropped my prescription off last Friday, that was one of the items I requested. The sign on the wall said I could pick up the prescription on Monday, but when I hobbled there yesterday (and I took a bus ONE STOP to get there because my foot ached so much) the receptionist said that it was 48 business hours before prescriptions were ready. So I was crestfallen, hobbled back home, and didn’t want to hobble to Kings.
Today I hobbled out at 1:30 pm and went to Kings College Hospital to pick up the infusion kits and my foot diary (I’m in a study that required me to keep diary entries) which I had left there last Friday. The waiting room was chock-a-block because much of the staff was off sick, and the receptionist there didn’t know what I was asking for. One of the reasons was that I’d forgotten the name of the study nurse and asked for the package Arlene had left me, instead of the package that Audrey had left me. She finally got someone to get me that package. One task down.
I took a bus back to the Elephant and went to the GP’s surgery. I got my prescription after waiting on line for 10 minutes while an elderly lady asked many questions about her prescription of an obviously-bored receptionist who didn’t know the answers. However, the Novorapid cartridges and needles weren’t included. She said that they might have had to be authorised and I should return tomorrow morning. However, I asked her to ask my GP to call me so I can get some answers to all this. No call yet.
So, NHS 1, Chris 1 (as I got the infusion sets). I am almost out of Novorapid and I am desperate to replenish that. To be continued tomorrow, with a happy ending (I hope).
Happy birthday, <lj user=”airyharse”>
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009…and many happy returns of the day.
From Twitter 12-07-2009
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009- 01:34:56: @GaySkyHooker Jesus H. Christ, what the flaming hell is that?
- 01:35:34: @kalandaka I agree with you. As Melancthon said, “Go out and sin a little bit so God has something to forgive you for.”
- 01:40:47: @GaySkyHooker Hooray for you!
- 01:41:46: Well, will try for the land of Nod second time; first time cut short by a hypo.
- 01:41:59: @GaySkyHooker DOM bottoms are the best kind…
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From Twitter 12-06-2009
Monday, December 7th, 2009- 00:05:03: It is effing amazing the difference that assembling your week’s pills on Saturday rather than Sunday makes.
- 00:06:02: Congrats to Canon Glasspool, just elected 2nd openly gay and partnered Bishop in the Episcopal Church in LA. Fingers crossed for consents.
- 09:01:00: I do wish the BBC would stop referring to Canon Glasspool as having been “appointed” bishop: she was ELECTED! TEC ELECTS its bishops!
- 09:02:04: @SundayProgramme Episcopalians ELECT their bishops; they do not APPOINT them. Please ensure the newsreaders get it right.
- 12:49:24: @shrinik structured in a way that facilitates learning through exploring rules of that structure?
- 20:32:22: @cemab4y i hope you’re doing well and you’re in my thoughts today…
- 20:34:35: @jonk i want chicago hot dogs and chicago deep-dish pizza. Challah is best in New York.
- 20:35:29: I just voted for http://tweetphoto.com/5954867 check it out! #TweetPhoto
- 20:37:15: @MrPandaBehr that dream actually sounds hot.
- 20:38:13: RT @LDN: Something you don’t see every day on the tube – http://twitpic.com/sebvd (via @radiokate)
- 20:38:54: @therealgokwan what’s to hate about being at crotch level with men like that…?
- 20:57:50: @MrPandaBehr well, you survived. best kind of dream.
- 23:05:10: well, tweeps and peeps, I’m off to the land of Nod, I hope. Tomorrow, chew out the landlord, get them to exterminate our rat, and get meds.
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Happy birthday, <lj user=”dangtri”>…
Sunday, December 6th, 2009…and many happy returns of the day!
From Twitter 12-05-2009
Sunday, December 6th, 2009- 09:52:04: morning tweeps and peeps. foot still hurts. we have a rat in the house. exterminators next week.
- 16:35:21: I can hear a sound only audible to young people, can you? http://theoatmeal.com/quizzes/sound/ from @oatmeal
- 19:54:10: HWMBO is off to St. John’s to handle the bar at a soirée; I’m staying home off my feet and will have burgers!
- 23:39:26: @AmusVagus yes, of course, if we were compatible and in love…there are no limits.
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What a difference a day makes…
Saturday, December 5th, 2009I am amazed at the difference in mental attitude I have since I began putting together my week’s pills on Saturday night rather than Sunday night. Gives a whole new meaning to the week.
Just sayin’.
For <lj user=”spwebdesign”>…
Saturday, December 5th, 2009…I’ll bet that you’ve come across situations such as these in web design.
From Twitter 12-04-2009
Saturday, December 5th, 2009From Twitter 12-03-2009
Friday, December 4th, 2009- 06:39:54: why am i up at 0539? someone put me out of my misery.
- 10:22:58: @besskeloid only at the same time you stop breathing. Relax, & enjoy!
- 18:01:08: @jtbritto no, makes it look yummy..
- 20:24:14: @Glinner Yes, and well you should be.
- 20:55:12: @GaySkyHooker they were only rewards for putting up with the red tape.
- 21:05:56: @JoexEd yes, protein is good (catching up on tweets). three or four squirts is my daily requirement.
- 22:11:45: @jonk nutella would make it even better.
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From Twitter 12-02-2009
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009- 04:53:30: insomnia fulez Chez Hansen and Tan. I hate this. Will try to sleep again now.
- 09:53:44: @tug yes, emphatically. they don’t mention warding drug addicts who are screaming for pain relief with other people, but that is pretty loud
- 11:08:13: bathed, shaved, and waiting for the nurse.
- 15:09:55: @IvyBean104 sorry to hear you’ve been ill; hope you’re on the mend, Ivy!
- 20:34:51: @jonk That is great news! Best wishes that the bureaucracy comes through.
- 20:36:41: @jonk sufficient unto the day is the decision thereof. I hope that whatever you decide it works out really well for you.
- 21:03:33: @MrPandaBehr oh geez, I’m really sorry….
- 23:52:01: good night, all. back to the land of nod for a while…
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From Twitter 12-01-2009
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009- 09:50:31: good morning, all. i’m feeling much much better this morning. hope the trend continues.
- 11:54:40: waiting for the visiting nurse to give me my daily dose of IV antibiotics…
- 13:18:12: Now the nurse is gone and I’m contemplating lunch. Why does listening to “Jerusalem” make me emotional?
- 14:48:41: @pedroissexy morning sexy one. How’s you?
- 15:09:54: Another patriotic music question: What have I just listened to two different versions of Rule Brittania?
- 15:20:50: @kalandaka my partner was feeding a squirrel in Regent’s Park y’day and the squirrel scratched him. He’s ambivalent about feeding now…
- 23:18:39: @nard better snow there than here…you can have it all. Enjoy!
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From Twitter 11-30-2009
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009- 08:41:43: good morning all. feel like crud today as I didn’t get much sleep. Hope you’re all doing better than I am…
- 08:41:57: @cemab4y sorry to hear that…prayers for you all.
- 09:32:51: @nickbaines well done on Today. You sounded matter of fact, she sounded a bit confused.
- 09:33:44: @devinjay have you any non-intellectual thoughts?
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November! Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out!
Monday, November 30th, 2009Thanks for nothing, November. Don’t think I won’t remember this next year.
In hate,
Your sworn enemy,
Chris
(PS: Have a nice life…)
From Twitter 11-29-2009
Monday, November 30th, 2009- 18:51:53: I just generated my #TweetCloud out of a month of my tweets. Top three words: thanks, hospital, home – http://w33.us/1nir
- 18:54:24: @studfucker it’d be cheaper, I suppose. And you won’t have to buy a drink either…
- 20:24:06: Must be an Essex baby… RT @pekingspring: Googling ‘toddler tongs’ returns ‘Did you mean toddler thongs?’ Pass the mind bleach
Happy birthday, <lj user=”boyshapedbox”>
Sunday, November 29th, 2009…and many happy returns of the day!
From Twitter 11-28-2009
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From Twitter 11-27-2009
Saturday, November 28th, 2009- 10:11:33: My 1st night at home was relatively peaceful. No drug addict wailing 4 pain relief in the next bed. No next bed, in fact! Waiting for nurse.
- 11:32:16: @thatsam sounds good. perhaps you could post a picture of your tanline…
- 11:40:19: @thatsam that’s all right. tanlines are sexy even if red.
- 11:40:35: the nurse is on her way! once my IV is done I’m free.
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From Twitter 11-26-2009
Friday, November 27th, 2009- 09:15:06: I should be going home from the hospital TODAY! Hooray!
- 11:13:16: Thanks to everyone who tweeted, posted, or emailed good wishes & prayers while I was here, & special thanks to visitors & HWMBO!
- 13:26:49: @shrinik Productivity measured how? # of tests, # of bugs found/verified/important? # of pizzas consumed while testing?
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From Twitter 11-25-2009
Thursday, November 26th, 2009- 08:34:20: Terrible night in the nuthatchery. The addict has been shouting for methadone since 3AM. Little or no sleep.
- 08:34:40: @gelodelacruz congratulations!
- 10:43:08: @soveren Thanks for asking but I’m short of sleep because of the drug addict in the next bed acting up all night. Zzzzzzzzzzzzz…
- 11:00:04: @soveren Don’t think they’d work. He is too loud. One more night and I hope to be home.
- 12:33:16: The quack seems to think I will be able to leave on Friday, not Thursday. Silent tears…
- 13:01:21: @soveren The two subordinate quacks are cute (not my type, tho) but the head quack is not particularly cute.
- 13:57:39: @soveren Not feeling well?
- 14:43:23: Off for PICC line soon.
- 17:33:50: PICC line in successfully @soveren radiologist was a majorly-cute Chinese doctor-a plus.
- 17:44:00: @soveren perhaps that would make the audit easier–lube it up, as it were.
- 18:39:52: @widdecombepp I am devoted to a cause: democracy. That is why voting, for me, is a duty.
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From Twitter 11-24-2009
Wednesday, November 25th, 2009- 00:38:34: Another day over in the nuthouse. My sanity is long gone. PICC line on Weds then maybe discharge.
- 06:54:23: Another day dawns in the nuthatchery. Relatively quiet, thank God.
- 06:58:03: @Randazzoj no, DOS is indeed obsolete and, now, sucky. Except for 4.0, it was great for its time.
- 14:05:32: @IvyBean104 Hi Ivy, how are you?
- 14:19:30: @MrPandaBehr we want pictures!
- 14:23:29: @IvyBean104 I’m recuperating in hospital from a bad foot infection, maybe going home Thursday after they put a hose in my arm for meds.
- 17:05:36: @IvyBean104 Thank you, Ivy!
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From Twitter 11-23-2009
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009- 14:30:30: @MrPandaBehr I would be astounded if it were any good. Probably tastes like sawdust.
- 14:49:41: PICC line being installed on Weds, maybe home on Fri? Hooray!
- 16:08:57: @soveren I have a cannula in for IV antibiotics. The PICC line is a more permanent line; you can Google it.
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From Twitter 11-22-2009
Monday, November 23rd, 2009- 08:35:18: @seashellseller they are going to install a PICC line this week & then I can go home. I had a massive foot infection needing IV antibiotics.
- 08:56:48: @gelodelacruz congratulations! See you in Europe soon!
- 10:28:45: @MrPandaBehr I would KILL for a bleu cheese burger now…
- 10:33:39: @gelodelacruz oh cummon, I’m sure you’d be a great reproducer…
- 12:46:44: RT @Openrightsgroup: petition to stop Mandelsons #digitaleconomy bill. Please sign and RT! http://is.gd/50gQK #webwar #threestrikes
- 23:18:28: The alcoholic in the corner just sh*t himself on the floor. The nurse is coping. I am gagging.
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From Twitter 11-21-2009
Sunday, November 22nd, 2009- 10:18:39: @cemab4y sounds good. Hope you get it. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.
- 10:19:08: @urbanbohemian sure it was a dog?
- 10:27:14: @BrianHeys ITYM why does pilau rice smell like cats’ feet?
- 14:31:02: @JohnPrescott #idontbuythesun because even my fish refuse to be wrapped in it.
- 14:32:55: #dontbuythesun because even my fish refuse to be wrapped in it.
- 14:34:02: @MartinFaulks yes, I can see it on Twitter.
- 18:43:21: Finished “The Lost Symbol” today. Gave me food for thought. Good hospital reading.
- 23:51:34: Another day ended in the nut hatchery…er…hospital. Going quietly crazy.
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The King’s College Hospital diet
Saturday, November 21st, 2009I forgot to mention that when I went downstairs to the Diabetic Foot Clinic for my regular biweekly appointment, they weighed me at the end and the investigator was so startled that he ordered me back on the scales for a second time. In the last two weeks I have lost 8 kilograms (17.6 lbs., one stone 3.6 lbs).
The infection may have had something to do with it, but the quality of the food here is, well, debatable.
I never did get the hang of Novembers
Saturday, November 21st, 2009Courtesy of HWMBO, I now have my netbook and can blog from my hospital bed. What a horrible week it’s been. To recap:
The day after my birthday, November 9, I woke up with vague pains in my joints, especially those of my right foot. As the foot clinic had seen me the previous Friday, I thought that the pain might be a sympton of swine flu, but checked that on line and probably didn’t have that. I suffered for four days, getting progressively worse, until on Friday the 13th I decided I’d better go in to the foot clinic. Lo and behold, when I got there with HWMBO the clinic found that my right foot was massively infected and the infection had spread into the bone. I was admitted to Kings College Hospital that afternoon and have been there for more than a week.
The first night on the ward was surreal. The elderly man next to me was a retired actor who had perhaps been drinking more than he should for many years. His friend (male) came every day, but he spent a restless night every night, calling out for the nurse constantly. This kind of prevented sleep.
They inserted a cannula into my right hand—this is a passageway into the vein to allow for intravenous medicines to be dripped into you. I am taking three intravenous antibiotics three times daily, and they seem to be working. The doctor says that they will install a PICC line and I can then probably go home and have intravenous antibiotics administered by a district nurse three times a day for four weeks.
They have also started me on rapid onset insulin before meals. This, in conjunction with the metformin and insulatard at night, has brought my blood sugar rapidly down to close to normal.
There is a routine on the ward. During the week the nurses go around washing patients starting at 4 am. Luckily I’m independent so I don’t have to undergo that. I get up around 5:30 and wash and shave and all that, then go back to my bed and wait for the first antibiotic bout. Once that’s over, I wait for the nurse to unhook me—they have lots of other duties and sometimes they forget. I try to be a good patient (comes from the Latin patiens, meaning suffering) and haven’t used my call bell at all so far.
Then it’s meds, insulin, and breakfast. Then the doctors descend. The big cheese foot doctor only came up once, the first day. Otherwise, his minion has been here to chart my progress.
More insulin, meds, and lunch around noon. More antiibiotics at 2. Then the wait for visitors.
If there is one thing that a hospitalised person can benefit from, it’s visitors. Life here is dull, HWMBO has come every evening except Tuesday, but other than that visitors are sparse. On Sunday the duty cover chaplain came up to administer Holy Communion, and she said she would tell the chaplaincy staff I was here, but haven’t seen hide nor hair of them since. The Area Dean came to see me, and Gill and John (the vicar of St. John’s) came later in the week and administered Communion. Ethel and Jennie from St. Matthew’s came. Otherwise, I’ve been here pretty lonely. Believe me, when someone I know is in hospital in the future, if they say they welcome visitors I will be the first one there if I can be. It is so vital to help people keep in touch with the outside world.
My ward-mates are an odd lot. The elderly actor in the next bed was supposed to go home on Monday but home help couldn’t be secured so he went home on Tuesday. He cried all Monday night. There are two drug addicts here. One is very quiet and mostly sleeps all day. The other one, Michael, is really demanding and treats the nurses like his personal wait staff. They are saints to put up with it. There is an alcoholic in the corner who is falling out of bed or weeing on the floor all the time. They keep administering dementia tests to him and he keeps failing. However, he is too young for an urgent place in a nursing home. So he is warehoused here at great expense until they find a place.
So here I sit. Don’t forget: visit your friends in hospital! Please! It’s a lifeline.
From Twitter 11-20-2009
Saturday, November 21st, 2009- 12:49:01: Kings College Hospital diet: get admitted & lose 8 kg in 2 weeks. Worked for me.
- 12:55:34: RT @LDN BNP on their 1st non-white member: “He is perhaps the kind of immigrant you want if you are going to have them” http://bit.ly/36uopu
- 12:58:14: RT @tug Harman to be prosecuted without being charged http://bit.ly/1x8z08 This isn’t so she doesn’t end up on the DNA database is it?
- 13:16:44: RT @BrianHeys Quite possibly the client from hell: http://bit.ly/48P2QF (via @indiaknight)
- 13:23:32: @BrianHeys get a horrible foot infection that requires an IV antibiotic. Works for me.
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From Twitter 11-19-2009
Friday, November 20th, 2009- 09:38:56: Another day in the hospital. No screamers in the ward now, only two whiners.
- 13:40:33: @MrPandaBehr I wish I could have some. Hospital food keeps body together and neglects the soul.
- 14:13:48: @MrPandaBehr Thanks. Everything in moderation…hhugs!
- 14:16:42: @Naoij hazelnuts & chocolate…nom nom noms
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From Twitter 11-18-2009
Thursday, November 19th, 2009- 07:09:22: Back hooked up to my antibiotics. Will try to rest.
- 08:01:09: @jonk thanks!
- 08:10:34: Currently listening to the addict in the next bed curse out the nurses for not getting him a commode fast enough. Sweet!
- 08:47:19: Now he’s demanding his methadone and the nurses are ignoring him. Sweet!
- 08:54:31: To top it all off he’s made a racial slur against Filipinos. Lovely!
- 11:32:49: RT @viceuk: You know Mao built a secret city underneath Beijing, and people still live there… http://su.pr/1XjyVC
- 21:11:14: @MrPandaBehr thank you!
- 21:15:23: The screaming octogenarian in the next bed has just been moved, thank God!
- 21:18:51: HWMBO has just left and I am so lonely again… 🙁
- 23:04:34: @skallott spunds good. Am in Kings College Hospital and will probably miss it
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From Twitter 11-17-2009
Wednesday, November 18th, 2009- 10:48:37: @tug lovely…lots of msgs to delete. Would give me something to do in the hospital.
- 10:53:22: Morning all. Still hooked up to IV but need a wee desperately. Doctors, nurses, & physios swarm after 0930.
- 13:49:27: @Sgboy01 thanks!
- 13:52:53: RT @msalonen: Gay teen burned & decapitated in Puerto Rico: http://is.gd/4WE3E Disgusting. Please RT
- 14:03:12: @gelodelacruz yes, shower is important.
- 14:14:54: @kalandaka now every squirrel in NYC is racing for Wall St to collect your nuts…
- 14:28:22: @gelodelacruz tell them that life is almost, but not entirely unlike school. Like tea on the Heart of Gold HHGTTG.
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From Twitter 11-16-2009
Tuesday, November 17th, 2009- 14:25:42: @GaySkyHooker enjoy some for me-I’m incarcerated at kings college Hosp being pumped senseless with antibiotics.
- 14:33:55: @GaySkyHooker oh, thanks muchly. My next blog post will be a real doozy.
- 17:12:38: @jonk not fat at all, but perhaps phat.
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From Twitter 11-13-2009
Saturday, November 14th, 2009- 14:07:19: Probably being admitted to Kings College Hosp today for two weeks. Infection is worse than we thought. Prayers gratefully accepted.
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From Twitter 11-12-2009
Friday, November 13th, 2009- 19:28:13: May I reassure everyone that I st6ill feel like crap but will be off to Kings College Hospital tomorrow.
- 19:35:48: Today’s Great Thought from Peter Tatchell! Hooray for you! http://is.gd/4TxcU
- 19:36:35: @pedroissexy not to worry my sweet. Thanks for your swift response.
- 20:40:50: @GaySkyHooker infection in the other foot
- 20:48:54: @GaySkyHooker yes, ouch. I may end up with a daily shot in the bot for two weeks 🙁 good thoughts appreciated.
- 21:33:52: @GaySkyHooker hm, would it were THAT kind of shot; it’s a mean antibiotic that turns ur shit into black powder & causes thrush in urethra.
- 22:14:11: @callummay must have been an off-day at Buck House then…
- 22:18:31: I would appreciate kind thoughts and prayers from them as do ’em for relief from my foot affliction tomorrow…thanks!
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From Twitter 11-10-2009
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009- 02:35:31: @AmusVagus i got one from him too…it’s some sort of malicious spam and possibly @pedroissexy needs to change his password.
- 02:36:35: i feel like crap at the moment. couldn’t sleep & thought i was having a hypo but the blood test says no so will sit up until I can’t anymore
- 14:38:53: still feel like crap, but just a teensy bit less so. had shredded wheat for lunch. now to nap, i think.
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From Twitter 11-09-2009
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009- 10:42:21: Answering birthday greetings now!
- 15:16:04: @LDN #LDN24 … sounds like an interesting book…
- 15:18:30: They’ll be charging soon and losing ££ with no links! RT @mikebutcher: Meanwhile, @TheSundayTimes tweets its headlines…WITH NO LINKS #FAIL
- 17:27:10: @GaySkyHooker Well, remember that you need carbohydrates too! All that protein would not be a balanced diet.
- 18:49:58: I wouldn’t worry about it-there’s been talk about this for decades and it hasn’t happened yet. RT @tug: Wow that’s scary! http://is.gd/4R4Tp
- 18:51:31: RT @JoexEd: I felt like retweeting random nonsense
- 20:40:32: @GaySkyHooker hmmm…not to be confused with mozzarella…
- 20:43:22: @seismic007 hugs…I hope your next job is even better.
- 20:47:05: RT @Naoij My reservation number for my train is SUXPOO. How do they know?!
- 23:34:02: @Joe yes, we saw it and we agree.
- 23:54:46: I have to go take my injection and my pills now. I just took my temperature and I have a fever. If I still have one tomorrow, off to Kings!
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Today’s “I’m mad and I’m not gonna take it any more” Video
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009My moustache is older than most of the people who read this blog, I think—I started growing it in 1970 and, except for a 2-year hiatus while I was in the seminary, it has been on my upper lip since then. I have at various times had a beard, but not now for many years (maybe 15—my ex wanted me to grow a goatee so I did, and as soon as I threw him out I shaved it off).
There seems to be an organisation called the American Mustache Institute (they even have a web site) that feels that having a beard is somehow suboptimal. Looking at the website I think it exists only to sell merchandise and is somewhat tongue-in-cheek. But the man in the video below doesn’t think so.
You might want to listen to this one with headphones if you’re in an office, as it gets a bit fraught in the end. But, I have every sympathy for the poor guy and would cheerfully remind him that facial hair is one resource that is truly renewable! Just eat lots of protein and eschew the razor.
Thanks to Towleroad for a laugh when I sorely needed it.