What have I been up to?

It's been more than a while. So what's been going on?

I had to investigate the mysteries of publishing, and have re-released / republished (?) my books.

I have moved house...to a new-build with no cupboards or shelves, and have spent the last two years trying to get that sorted out - with zero funds. Much fun!

Various family problems have been raising their heads, including the death of my step mother last year, and ongoing health problems for several other members of my family - which I am not at liberty to discuss at the moment.

Also my MS has been playing up ... but I am fighting back! My diet had been slipping, however this can not go on. So, it has to be zero dairy, zero gluten, close to zero sugar, and avoid all the rest of the myriad things which my body reacts to, from now on.

I've managed to get most things in my life back under control, and am in the process of getting all the lumps and bumps ironed out. What fun! ... Yes, these last two years have been a challenge, but 2018 has started well and looks set to improve further. YAY!

Have I mentioned the cat that moved in with me many years ago? Pushca, short for Pushy Cat. Apparently her real name is Squeaky. ... I can see why her original owners called her that, she does squeak. LOL. She's a black and white tiger-stripe (one of them) bundle of purrs and love. And she's very, very cute.

Pleasant discoveries on the DVD front: Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Halt And Catch Fire, amongst many others. There have been some great films out as well. I'll try to remember and update my favourites later on when I have some spare time.

Well, it's February 2018 now. How did that happen? I only blinked.

Breakfast and my first cup of tea for the day are calling. Bye for now.

Happy New Year... Already? Where does the time go?

I seem to have accidentally slipped into a sidestream of the timeline, and have spent my whole time editing, writing ... and also either procrastinating or doing research - whichever term you feel happier with.

I've joined a writers' group a while back, which for once is compatible and actually works for me - which is nice. They want the same sort of things I do, and we all bring our own unique take and strengths to the table. :) Lovely stuff.

As a result we are bringing out a book of short stories, which I will tell you more about nearer the time. We are now ready to finalise the number of tales and the story order. It's very exciting.

In addition to working on this, I've been reading up on grammar and punctuation (which I was never 100% utterly amazing at, just fairly good and very patient at combing through things, plus the rules keep effing changing!), and I've been helping to edit both other people's work (the mad fools) and my own. I've even managed a bit of writing. Woo hoo!

A newly proofed version of The Grim will be out later this year - hopefully with fewer gaffs and punctuation errors.

The MS has tried to rear its ugly head a few times, but so far I've managed to bash it back down and get it mostly under control - although the exhaustion is something I'm having to learn to work around.

And I've been adoped by a stray cat. She's a black and white lovely, very demanding, but a purrfect companion in many respects. She replaces my Monster, who was killed in a hit & run nearly two years ago. He and the other ghost cats come and visit regularly, and Pushca (not Russian, its short for Pushy Cat) doesn't seem to mind. Although she does stare at Dereck when he visits.

So what else has been going on?

I loved The Hobbit, and The Desolation of Smaug. Also the new series of Sherlock looks like it's going to be fun. The 50 year anniversary of Doctor Who was great. A little disappointed by the change over episode - in the past they have always been hair-raising stuff. This time it seemed to be more of a by-the-numbers, not-really-trying to worry about the cliff-hanger factor, adrenaline-free afair ... or maybe I'm just getting really jaded in my old age. Having said that some of the episodes have been brilliant.
I enjoyed Vicious. And there have been quite a few comedy and police/crime things on that have been great... titles escape me for the moment. I shall blame my MS and the tiredness factor, which is currently kicking in, for the memory lapse. There have been a lot of good films. Again, the titles elude me at present.
And many other things I've enjoyed too, but I have to go and lie down in a darkened corner for a bit and recoup my energy and get my brain working again. Sorry. Please bear with me.

Have a great 2014, I know I will.

How long?!

It's been a while since I posted last. Didn't realise it had been quite that long. I've been busy, busy! ... mostly dealing with bullsh*t, stress, and trying to keep my head above water - oh, yes. Nearly forgot, I've also been writing! Hoorah!

For any writers who happen to have to take MS drugs, one of the side effects I've noticed (aside from my body refusing to let me take any of them) is that they kill the creative part of the brain - including dreaming! So that's not acceptable. Maybe you'll be different? I hope so.
Well, finally ditched the latest drug... And several months later dreaming and creativity are back! Yay! (I'm now thinking the drug approach for MS is probably not for me ... until they come up with something a heck of a lot better.) Oddly enough, the editing part of the brain seems to survive unscathed. So Swank, Jelinek, Graham, Wahls, etc and the diet approach appears to be my main / only option for controlling MS. *sigh* Ah, well. Such is life.

So, writing... yay! I've been having fun on several different projects. And I'm investigating the possibilty of another novel. So, lots to do!

It may be a while before I get around to posting again, so I apologise in advance. In the meantime, Ripper Street. I enjoyed that.
And I spent some money on Person Of Interest - it's much better without the advert breaks, when you can watch the episodes back-to-back. ... And the villain of the series? Hooray! I'll shut up, that episode hasn't aired yet. Looking forward to the next series.
I've also been getting my Vampire research flowing, with Forever Knight and Bloodties. Both Canadian, both well worth watching if you've not already seen them. Forever Knight takes most of the first series to find its stride, but after that... *smile*

Anyhoo, ... I'd better get back to writing.

(If you're that way inclined:) Have fun with the death cult resurrection celebration! - Any excuse for chocolate, eh?

Writing style...?

A chap I know, friend-of-a-friend, kindly agreed to read The Grim give me some feedback and possibly a review. Which is very nice of him. I greatly appreciate it.
But as we talked he mentioned that my writing style is very different from the writing style I use in this blog.

Hmm. Is it?
Actually that's not the question I asked myself. I was confused...
The question I asked myself was, 'Why would he think that they would be the same?'

The style I use when writing this blog is different to the style I use when writing a film script, and different again from the various ones I use when writing fiction, and different again from the style used when making notes, writing a letter to a friend, writing a letter to a corporation, etc, etc. ... There are going to be aspects in common, but doesn't everyone adopt a different writing style for the specific task they are engaged in?

The syle I use when blogging is, I hope, engaging - and I speak as though chatting to a friend on the internet. (?) Informal. Just a chin-wag, a bit of a natter. ... The mad ramblings of an insane mind!!!
You know the drill, surely?

Anyhow, I'm supposed to be writing, and instead, here I am procrastinating. *sigh*

I'd better get back to it.

An annoyingly 'interesting' year so far...

Well, my writing plan was interrupted slightly - okay, that's an understatement. It was interrupted a lot.

A brief recap of the year so far:

January 2012 - The MS tried to inflict another attack on me while everything medical was shut for New Year. Great. Thanks for that. - - The second everything opened again I was obtaining meds ASAP. Got the MS attack under control. Phew!A little later my day job came to the end of its contract and I set about converting The Grim into a novella. (It is currently available on Kindle The Grim - if anyone is interested in posting a review I'm sure a free copy can be located, please email me? The hard copy of the novella should be out in the next few weeks / months? (depending on whether you prefer to buy direct from the publisher, or wait for Amazon to get their act together.) I'll post again, with links, when it is.
[My contact at the self publishing company - Authors Online said that it was not normally something she would read, but she could not put it down! Hooray!]
Towards the end of the month I got to see my MS spcialist again and this time there was enough evidence for a diagnosis. It's official, I have multiple sclerosis - currently of the relapsing / remitting variety.So life had decided to be "interesting" at me. *Gnashing of teeth*
You may remember that I told myself I should have kept my mouth shut.
... Mind you, I suspect I had my first attacks when I was 15, I would joke with my friend that I had "tripped over the wall!" I was walking next too. There was nothing on the floor I could have tripped on, not even a matchstick! But thankfully stayed in remission for many, many years, at least visibly on the surface. Until August 2011, when it mangled me. Grr!
Ah well, such is life... back to writing!
February - the day job asks me to come back earlier than expected for the spring garden season, so I do - part time because the MS has a fatigue element that prevents anything more strenuous. And I write in my spare time, when I am able to; the text is finally done, and I love the artwork! (Thank you, Siobhan)
All I have to do is apply a final set of tweeks and a read-through to make sure everything is in order ... except ...
... 12th March onwards, The MS meds they have put me on have side effects, as they all do, but because I'm such a delicate flower - - STOP COUGHING AT THE BACK! - - (my specialist nurse knows of only one other person under her care who has had a similar initial reaction to this particular drug.) one of the many wonderful side effects was to destroy my ability to concentrate; as well as highlight all my symptoms; and ... a lovely one ... to destroy my liver ... !Eek! Better come off that drug then. Grr.
So that's March and 10 days of April lost to side effects.(The hope / my hope was that my body would get used to the drug. But the blood tests I eventually took prooved that wasn't happening, and that it was screwing up my liver enzymes. ARGH!)
Having come off the drugs, the effects have wained, and my liver is finally back to normal - mid to late May.

So now it's time to crack on with the writing, when the MS allows - which is not as frequently as I would like, ... mainly because I am devoting a lot of my time to reading up on MS in order to find out how to nutralize this effing disease, since I am unlikely to be able to use the normal interferon modifiers.
Although there is a new tablet coming out in a few months - fingers crossed it might be more suitable to my 'delicate nature';
But in the mean time, diet seems to be a key factor that I've tripped over in my reading. Although it's blinking strict and will take some getting used to, I also need to finish reading up on it. (I bought several tomes that I've only just started to wade through.)
Then there's the house hunting, and the form filling, and the doctors and nurses appointments. Family and friends.
And of course the actual thing I am supposed to be doing, the writing!
Wish me luck!

End of year update

What happened to me this year, you ask? Except you probably didn't. But you're here, so I'm going to do my best to remember, and tell you anyway.

It's a little difficult, as my memory sucks at the best of times, and my computer committed suicide in late September taking most of the useful links and information I had stored with it. - - Thank goodness for external back up drives! So at least I managed to keep the majority of my writing and important documentation safe. Phew! (Heck, I print out the important stuff as soon as I get it. Well, you have to don't you. That's what filing cabinets and recordable CDs are for.)

The highlights as I remember them were:

January - rewrite, rewrite, rewrite.
February get manipulated / bullied into eventually signing (in March) a contract with Paul Dawson, who then proceeded to try to screw over me and the other three people who were intent on making the film trilogy we were talking about. ... Managed to get a day job which lasted all of 5 days - thanks for that. Cheap labour required. I made the mistake of trying to be helpful, since they had me updating their company letterhead with their new version, of pointing out on my first day that they needed to quote their company number and registered address on it in order to comply with Limited Company status regulations. Next thing you know all my office admin training (specific to them) was over and I spent the next 4 days sweeping the floors and tidying the yard. Crap company all over. Sod 'em.
March - finally twigged what was going on with PDs attempted screw job and spent the next several weeks trying to get him to return full rights to me as he had confirmed he had no intention of making the film, so that myself and the other three could get on with trying to find a producer who actually knows the job and go about raising funding. Had to get the union involved before he eventually caved and finally did the decent thing.
April - all rights eventually returned to me. Thank f**k. ... lesson learned: Never sign anything without a solicitor involved, no matter how tempting, or how pressurised the 'it's only an agreement at this stage' may turn out to be. In my opinion, if he wasn't so blinded by the bright lights of Hollywood, he would make an excellent conman, he already has all the tactics and the gift-of-the-gab skills required for such a nefarious trade. ... Landed another day job working in an excellent garden centre, with excellent people, and plenty of green growing things to look at (which is one of the requirements of my cave-dwelling lifestyle) and learn about while I sell them to the general public. Lovely people.
May - rewrite, research then adjust accordingly and rewrite, speak with director, rewrite,
June - rewrite again, tweak, director's notes, rewrite.
July - Day job contract ends, they tell me to reapply at the end of August for the Christmas contract. Very happy. ... Rewrite, director's notes, rewrite. It's getting there! Hoorah! ... get a day job working in sales - - given lurgy by the boss at the interview near the end of the month. Thanks for that.
August - work through the lurgy, even though all I want to do is curl up and die. Boss then gives all of us another variation on the lurgy-- Which in my case attacks my brain, and -- in the same day that he tells me I'm not aggressive enough for sales, I realise I can't see properly out of one of my eyes, and my balance that has been getting progressively worse over the previous four days sends my foot coordination and spacial awareness to hell in a handcart. So, spent mid August in hospital A&E being poked and prodded and MRI'd, followed by spending the night for observation, knowing that when I get out I have to find a new job as soon as I can function again. Deep joy. On a massive dose of steroids to bring down the brain inflammation so that my own white cells will stop trying to kill me! It worked and stopped the symptoms from getting any worse. Phew! ... Contacted the garden centre, they were very pleased to hear from me and told me to fill in the application form they are posting.
September - Still can't balance properly, still only partial vision in the affected eye. ... Working at the main tills in the garden centre (rather than the plant centre tills which I prefer) as the mad dash to Christmas gradually ramps up, and shoppers start the whole shop-til-you-drop insanity.
October - Manning the tills full-time ... oh, and I've got to get some paperwork ready for the Trilogy plan for the second and third scripts so the director can take them to the American Film Market in November, if he's able to raise enough funding for the trip. - - Eek! Quickly reverse engineer a treatment for the first film, and then spend all my spare time getting the plot, character arcs, new villains and old villains worked out and then written up into treatments for the second and third films. Director seems pleased with the results.
November - Director decides not to go to the AFM after all, but take them to the Berlin festival in February (which will probably be a better fit?) ... So I breath a silent sigh of relief and collapse in a heap and try to recover from this dratted brain malarkey in my spare time away from the day job.
December - still dealing with shop-til-you-drop insanity in the day job, and coming up to Christmas am just about feeling the effects of needing to write or go nuts. Begin to plan my next writing projects - but family and Christmas prevent me from doing anything much beyond mental planning and some research. Realise I haven't been reading the blogs or keeping up to date with what's what since I got the brain thing in mid August. Bum!

Oh yeah - my car committed suicide in August just after my brain did, and my computer committed suicide in late September. Got it up and limping again by early October. Not properly fixed until mid November - when I finally had time to devote to all the updates, and programs, email etc, that I need on it. Er, and my Neurology Consultant thinks I probably have MS, but more tests are needed. Apparently living in the Wild West and having a Scandinavian Grandmother may both be a risk factors; on the plus side: eye involvement, being female, and being relatively young are all positive factors. But then they don't really know anything about MS. We'll find out more about that next year.

Blinking heck! This has been an overly interesting year. (on the plus side, lots of great experiences and perspectives for story) ... And I haven't even mentioned all the family trauma and bollocks that I've had to work through all year. If it's not one of them giving me problems to solve, it's another. - - But then again, I guess that's what family is for. ;)

Hopefully next year will be a little bit easier to deal with? Although I won't hold my breath. ... With a bit of luck the Trilogy will finally get some funding, and if not, well I am starting my next project (a novel and its accompanying screenplay) - I hope to have both done by mid year (unless the joyful happiness of the Trilogy delays things a bit.) Here's hoping!

Despite everything, I've enjoyed 2011. It's been an eye-opener, to say the least. (sick joke included on purpose) Heck, you only need one that actually works. ;)

LIFE'S TOO SHORT

I'm enjoying this comedy series.

You might want to take a look too? Mind you, you probably started watching it when it first came out, because you are in touch, in tune, up to date... whereas I've been hiding in my cave for far too long - sorry about that!
... I'm catching up via i-Player


Gosh, ever since that virus attacked my brain in mid August I've turned into a really boring f**ker!

What is it with August and the Universe trying to mangle me? Last year it went after my lungs with a serious asthma attack, this year it went after my brain.

Sigh.

Gotta laugh, though, ... maybe? ;)

Working towards validation

You find encouragement in the strangest places! ;)

"congratulations: You’re a writer, and the reason you’re good at it is because your life kinda sucks." Daniel Thomsen c/o John August

Of course, whether I am any good at it* is a matter for history to deliver a verdict upon. ... So far the signs are encouraging though.
Then again, I could be hallucinating again. :)

The whole post is worth reading (if you haven't already?), whether you are interested in writing for TV or film, so I recommend following the link and giving your eyeballs some quotable treats.

*writing - you gutter minds

Trying to find the time....

The day job that I landed at the beginning of the month, is nice - which makes a change from many others I've had in the past. But - -

But, it's not writing.

Finally my financial negative stress is beginning to get under control, and with it the constant f**king headache is evaporated much of the time.

But, right now, I need TIME. TIME for the rewrite. And the day job is getting in the way something horrible. It has replaced financial stress as the main personal creativity-prevention nightmare.

I am managing a few hours every day, but I know I should be spending much more than 'a few'.
(I want to say, sleep can happen to someone else?...?)

So I'd better go get on with that! Writing, that is.

The problem with being ill...

Back at the end of January I caught flu from a very kind person who was doing their best to spread viruses and bacteria to all and sundry.

After 5 days of feeling dead, I finally managed to shake off the temperature, and my brain began working again ... kinda.

But after 3 more weeks of a near constant headache, sinus discomfort, and a very mild temperature - more on than off, ... I've finally had to admit that I am, in actual fact, still not recovered.

BLEURGH!

I've made an appointment to see the doc next week. I don't want to, I can already imagine what he'll say, I feel as though I am totally wasting my time even considering going. But this constant f*cking headache is really grinding me down.

And the problem with feeling like crap is that it tends to lead me to commit rant.
Very unhealthy.

Just because I feel crappy, I shouldn't be taking it out on innocent bystanders [Specially not when they are people I like, and respect, and want to work with.]

I just wish I could get my head properly clear and lose this darned headache!

And yes, this is another rant. *rolls eyes*

The catarrh pastilles have run out. And alcohol is failing to solve the problem (there's a surprise)
I'm off to buy more. Of the anti catarrh pastille thingies.
*reads blurb on old packet* "If symptoms do not go away, talk to your doctor." - - I AM! NEXT WEEK!

D'ARGH!


EDIT: 2nd March 2011
The doctor lived down to my expectations.

I think I may have hit bottom and bounced...

You know how sometimes things seem like total sh*t, and just keep getting worse? I've been on that downhill slope since November.
What fun.
[No, it's not fun, not at all, not even a little bit! Can't you detect irony when you read it? Huh?! Huh?! *rolls eyes*]


But suddenly the snow has gone (thank F**K), and it's just about warm enough outside that I am no longer freezing my bits off. The sun has come out after what seems like months of grey (although it's probably only been a few weeks??? Well, since just before Christmas whenever that was.) and the blue sky is finally visible again. :) Hoorah!

And, and... I've just had an email which suggests that 2011 promises to be an interesting year.

I've stopped holding my breath, because that just leads to blue skin and unconsciousness, plus I seem to have been blue-tinged for most of the last month anyway (but that was due to semi-arctic conditions). LOL.

I'd better shut up now, before I accidentally wake up Fate - reminding it that I exist.

Yes, this is one of those intensely annoying writer's posts that hints, but says nothing.
Because it's way to early to even allow hope to consider jumping up and down on the bedsprings. Hope and terror combined. What a joyful combination.
[Did you spot that there irony this time? Yeah, yeah, yeah, shut up! you are going to wake up Fate.]

I'm off to hide.

Before it all goes horribly wrong.

Before 'interesting' decides it prefers the other Wild West and abandons me to its Chinese twin.

Hey ho.
Oh, and Happy New Year!

Effective advertising....

1.30pm and my stomach was grumbling, a lot. So I headed to the kitchen, and idly glanced out of the window as I-- -- totally lost my train of thought.

There was a black Dalek blowing up the shop window across the street!
... Sorry, I'll try that again.
It wasn't quite that exciting.

There was a blow-up Dalek, a black one, in the window of the shop across the street.
- New shop, old premesis. - Made me forget everything. - Took me a moment to realise it was an inflatable Dalek. Not a real one.
Whoever heard of such a thing?! (Well, probably all of you. But muggins here doesn't get out much.)
My shocked and numbed brain managed to mumble "Great advertizing!" to me*.
Note to self: Utilize someone else's well known and eye-catching brand to more effectively promote and advertise your own services.

Then I wondered why I was in the kitchen, and my body reminded me "LUNCH, YOU BARBARIAN! GET ON WITH IT!" - - "Um, you'll be hungry, then?" "GET ON WITH IT! FOOD! NOW!" "Okay, okay. Keep your hair on."

Highlight of my month.
I'm trying to work out how sad it is that I can admit that...?
No, don't answer.

Back to writing!


*What? I'm a writer, I need to be able to compartmentalise bits of my personality.
Well, that's my** excuse.... Anyway, Nothing to see here! Move along!

** See: *

Sherlock

Bit like Doctor Who, but different. ?
I really enjoyed it. Gold stars to all involved. :) MORE, PLEASE?

And we were all thinking, "What you do not smell is called iocane powder. It is odorless, tasteless, dissolves instantly in liquid, and is among the more deadlier poisons known to man...."

And the best thing is, we'll never know! (Unless they reveal it next time? I hope not.)

*evil laughter*

What? It's waaay passed my bedtime.

Chinese/Japanese SPAM?

I do not understand why these people continue to attempt to post comments in foreign languages on moderated blogs?

a) I can not read what you are writing so I am unable to easily tell if the comment has any relevence or value.

b) If I've deleted or rejected all your other comments, what in heaven makes you think I might not do the same to any similar new comments? Especially given that I went off on one when I first started getting foreign comment spam. I know that at least one of you has English capabilities....

GRRRR. Please stop.

If I can't understand your comment I am not going to post it, no matter how relevent you think it might be.


[What's the betting I still have to waste my time weeding through this cr*p!? My procrastination time can be used on far better activities than this. GRRRRRR!!]

What have I been up to?

You really don't want to know, but I'm going to tell you anyway!

Writing.
Failing to get an agent.
Holiday.

Not necessarily in that order.

I rewrote The Grim, again, and have sent it off to be inspected by a very kind chap, who is now "going away for a few weeks" but will "read it when I get back". So hoorah! But instead of waiting I am cracking on with the science fiction screenplay ... I'm in the end stages of collating all my previous ideas, and sorting out the plot - prior to starting the actual writing*.
This is an improvement over biting my nails and gnashing my teeth with the whole suspense of it all. And if I get rejected, so what. I shall keep writing darn you all!

Speaking of rejection, I've had three agents come back to me in the space of three weeks, all saying "Thanks, but no thanks." Which is a pretty quick turn around, considering the timescales they are touting on their websites - means I must be communicating effectively, or they are in a dead phase. Two of them said it wasn't their sort of thing, and one of the rejections was the usual, vague "Never darken my door again!" with threats ... okay I'm joking, but you know the type of rejection I'm talking about - basically they know enough about me from my attempted overtures to know that we would never ever go out on a date together, and if we did, marriage would be right out SO DON'T EVEN GO THERE. *sigh*
Mind you, I think I shall delay my next bout of attacking agents until I've finished the first draft of the science fiction screenplay ... concentrate all my efforts on that, without the petty distractions of World Conquest.

Hoorah! Holiday! That was fun. :)
My friend Lucy** took me away to the Isles of Scilly for a week for our joint "How fricking old are we?" "SHUSSSSSH!" birthday present. Once I get my act together, I shall probably post pictures on my Facebook page.
NB: If you don't like plants, don't even bother - - we were on Tresco and spent much of our time in the Abbey Gardens oohing and aahing over pitcher plants in flower, and puyas: flowering in three different colours (yellow, green and BLUE! Who knew the puya came in blue? Lucy didn't and she's the plant queen.)
Admittedly there are some fairly good shots of islands, and amazing coloured sea, and INTERESTING ROCKS ... What? I'm a boring bastard at the best of times. Tough. Suffer. You have been warned in advance.
Oh, and there was a Borg Cube there, for some reason? It appeared to like it so much that it has deactivated itself and is now pretending to be a sculpture - but I know a Borg Cube when I see one.




*But when I start the actual writing, this is usually the point at which my brain churns out half a dozen ideas for other stories in an effort to derail me, the rat fink.
**Not that Lucy, a different Lucy altogether. - - Heck, that Lucy knows nine million Eleanor's (spelling optional), am I complaining about not knowing who I am anymore? Huh? Huh? - - Easily confused me. Grr.

;)


NB: I've had to turn on comment moderation due to the unremitting spam linking/comments by annoying personages who can't take a hint.
I don't delete you for the fun of it you know! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!

UPDATE: 20th June 2010. I've just realized that this pic may be a bit misleading - sure, as Borg Cubes go, this one is small, but the foliage in the foreground makes it look really, really small. I wasn't able to measure it because of the gulf between it and where I was standing, but it is at least man-sized, if not bigger.
Here's another pic, which hopefully shows it better.

"I ATE'NT DEAD"*

Well, that was a new experience. And one I hope never to repeat.
My balance is still off slightly, so walking in a straight line doesn't always happen according to plan, and crossing the road is at best a dangerous gamble ... but then, isn't it always?
Much better than I was. I can concentrate for over half an hour now without my brain melting. So writing is back on the agenda. Way hey! :)

When you can't read, or watch TV, or surf the net, and you're just about well enough to not be asleep 24-7, it gets incredibly frustrating. ~ You want to write, but all you can do is the imagination part of it, because pen to paper is as overwhelming as trying to read. - - I don't know how to describe it...?

Overwhelming, is the best description there is for the sensation of being utterly unable to concentrate or focus your attention; it's all too much.
But if you haven't experienced it, that means nothing to you. It's horrid though. Crippling.

After over a week of being asleep, and then 3 days of dreaming about chocolate cake, and then another two days fantasizing about the perfect lamb chop, followed by a day of fantasizing about liver and kidneys cooked to perfection ... and all the while the thought of actually eating makes you very ill ... Eventually your brain gets pissed off and starts tackling the important problems like - how the heck do I fix X in story Y. - - Now all I have to do is remember all the fixes I came up with and get them written up. :)

So now that it's mid bl**dy April, what happened while I was out of it?

...

Well, both my books are now available in print, or in PDF if you prefer. The first one came out at the beginning of February, and then lurgy interrupted me signing off the second one until just before the Labyrinthitis took me out for the count.
I will blog about the process next time - - once my brain is a bit more together. With pictures, and links, and such. HOORAH!

In the mean time, please dont cough near me. LOL.

Laters!



*from Lords and Ladies, by Terry Pratchett

Not norovirus, but labyrinthitis

Labyrinthitis in my case takes the form of a viral infection of the inner ear, which - like most viral infections - has no cure.

It lasts around two weeks ... or maybe much longer.

And means that any movement of the head causes acute world-spin, nausea, vomiting ... and for me, at one point a black out - - When you wake up on your back dry-heaving, you realize that two near death experiences in the last 12 months is a little bit more interesting than is comfortable.

Luckily they do these nifty little pills that taste vile, which you stick under your upper lip, and they stop the vommiting. They do not however stop the nausea and dizziness.

Norovirus would seem to be, by comparison, a walk in the park.

Thanks Fairy God-Cat. ... Laugh it up you b*stard furball!

Possibly norovirus ...

I kid you not.

STOP LAUGHING YOU B*STARDS!





The Fairy God-Cat is taking the piss with this one. Grrr....

What is this, the year of Lurgy?

GRRRR!!!

I don't effing believe it. *gnashing of teeth*

I'm recovering nicely from losing 5 weeks, and decide to accept my friend's invitation to visit beautiful South Devon to get fully pampered and catered too like the proverbial cat who got the cream, and recuperate fully in luxury.

NICE.

- Take great care not to pass the final remnants of my lurgy to my friend and her family? Tick.
- Waited on hand and foot? Tick.
- Lie on the sofa watching the rugby? Tick.
- Do next to nothing at all? Tick.
- Enjoy gentle walks through amazing countryside? Tick.
- Eat myself in to a stupor? Tick.
- Get better and start to feel truly alive again (aside from the ongoing fatigue)? Tick.
- Take great care not to pass the final remnants of my lurgy to my friend and her family? Tick. Tick.

So far, everything is going according to plan.

Then on the last day my friend starts feeling unwell ... Headache and temperature.
And I feel GUILTY AS ALL HELL for giving her plague! - - Except, I didn't.

Got home - everything fine, do the chores, get a bit of writing done, catch up on TV procrastination. Wake up today, still alive, firing on all cylinders, HOORAY! Except, just after 12 noon I start feeling a bit odd.

I now have a headache and a temperature ... the exact same symptoms my friend has. I stop feeling guilty as all hell and reach for the paracetamol.

Grrr....



WILL EVERY ONE PLEASE STOP BEING ILL?!

More importantly, stop giving your vile lurgies to me. I have been more than ill enough in the last 6 months to last me at least 10 years. In fact probably 20.

JUST STOP, OKAY?

The next person who sneezes or coughs near me is gonna get... - Well I'll think of something deeply unpleasant to do to you.
I won't actually do it, I'll just think about doing it. And I'll smile at you while I'm thinking about it.
I may even make notes, and have your imagined fate played out in the next horror nasty I write. Then I'll smile again, because I'm not a very nice person deep down when you get past the layers of socialization and not wanting to go to gaol for mass murder.

So if you are in East Devon, and you sneeze, or cough, and some psycho woman starts smiling at you, and possibly grinding her teeth. It's me, alright? You've been warned.

STOP SPREADING LURGY, YOU HORRIBLE BUNCH OF PLAGUE-CARRYING MARYS!*


GRRRR!!!


[*I am alluding to Typhoid Mary here, obviously.]


[UPDATE: 17 March 2010 - Bliss! This is one of the old school lurgies I remember from the 90's and before, where you have half a day of feeling really crap, followed by just feeling a bit grotty for several days afterwards. Thank f*ck!]

5 Weeks Lost - A.K.A. PLAGUE

Blech is all I can say... just about... I'm still ill - with plague on top of the ongoing exhaustion and fatigue. (Probably because of them)

End of January I came down with a nasty lurgy, which then morphed into a throat infection, ulcers, the lot. It is quite disgusting, and seems to be affecting my ability to think creatively - or at all. Grump.

This is the 3rd set of different antibiotics that I'm on (don't even ask - all I can say is "Doctors, grrr.").

So that's 5 weeks lost to plague. I'm not happy about it.

This morning I'm functioning well enough brain-wise, but if other good days are anything to go by I'll be lucky if I still feel this way in 3 hours time.

Well, I'd better go put pen to paper while I'm feeling halfway alive.
February. (derisive) Hah!
Fricking bl**dy March already.
Grrr.

Anyone know a good snake-oil curative? I'm willing to try anything* at this stage.


[*well, okay, not anything, but most things - if it has a chance in Hades of clearing this vile pestilence.]