i’m in london so much now that it is routine, the last 2 days it was a little more relaxed and it finally hit me….i am walking around london, england….going to my job…carrying a laptop….who’da thunk, 3 or 5 or 15 years ago this would be my life??
the christmas decorations are coming out and i’m getting used to the travel. i’ve timed the journey…it’s about 2 hours and 15 minutes…door to door….each way. weird part?? i’m generally only there for about 4-5 hours!
i’m going to newcastle again tomorrow which is even more time on the train…3 hours each way!!! for a 3 hour meeting!!
the pros? i can dose off on the train, it’s pretty stressfree…scenic…get to overhear lots of other peoples gossip….the meetings are usually interesting and productive and peoplel value my opinion.
the cons~~~sitting too long, my legs and ass get restless….not getting a window seat on the train, being subjecting to others peoples stupid/annoying/loud personal conversations…
i have so many pictures and stuff to post but i just don’t have the time~~it looks like this will last until sometime in feb. i’m working extra all through christmas because i have a goal….
anyway, i will do what i can and i gave myself a pep talk on the way home tonight…a variation on the “the more you do the more you CAN do” motto…i reminisced in my mind about what tired used to mean. it used to mean working 3, 4 even 5 ….12 hour…on my feet…long shifts….days and nights….eating on the run….being in lifesaving situations with a bursting bladder…listening to families crying….making infusions and mixing drugs when i could barely keep my eyes open but carrying on because it was my job…..
yep, getting up at 7 ish tomorrow to sit on the train for 3 hours for a three hour meeting and then doing it in reverse is a piece of cake!!
we all get it but this one really hit a new low~~~
Latter-daySaintsSingles
LDS Singles Available 0
is there anything about me that says latter-day saints…religion of any kind…looking for a boyfriend???????
just when i was slipping in to endless complaining about the weather…it’s good to know there are people, namely the swedes, who have it worse….
The Swedish capital Stockholm registered only 17.5 hours of sunshine for the entire month of November, making it the gloomiest November since 2000, meteorologists said Monday.
Related photos / videos
The sun shone on average for only 35 minutes a day during the month, the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) said. In the past quarter-century, only the years 2000 and 1993 had darker months of November, with eight and nine hours of golden rays respectively, while the average for the month is 54 hours.
Because clouds trap heat and prevent clear skies and crisp temperatures, November 2009 was also one of the warmest Novembers in 25 years.
The average temperature in Stockholm was 5.6 degrees Celsius (42 Fahrenheit), compared to an average of 2.9 degrees over the past 25 years. Only the year 2000 was warmer at 7.0 degrees.
Stockholm, one of the northernmost capitals in the world, also has less sunshine in November because of the shorter daylight period, with around seven hours of daylight in November.
By contrast Sweden has long sunny days during the summer months, on average 292 hours of sunshine in June and 260 hours in July.
A toddler jumping in a puddle in Stockholm Enlarge photo get out those SAD (seasonal affective disorder/depression) lamps!!!!
even though i have this cushy research job now, i am, at heart, a critical care nurse with a special interest in liver transplants….and broadly, all transplant issues.
first, i have to state again that i am ineligble to donate. i have positive surface antibodies to hep b, this indicates a sub clinical infection, probably work related
seeing what patients go through makes me highly qualified to voice an opinion
i have posted lots of articles on my nursing page>>>>>>>>>>>>>look at the right side>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
recently though this caught my eye and to bring awareness to the subject i am posting here on my main page.
Organ transplants using ‘risky donors’ rising
More organs from higher risk donors are being used for transplants because of a donor shortage, the BBC has learned.
Organs from patients with a history of cancer or drug abuse, elderly donors and those with serious illnesses have to be considered, say surgeons.
They say they face a dilemma of leaving people to die without a transplant or operating with organs from such donors.
The use of higher risk donors has doubled from 13% in 1998 to 26% last year, BBC Radio File on 4 was told.
An average of three patients a day are dying in the UK because of a lack of a suitable organ for transplant.
what follows is from a hepatology professor at my hospital
This means surgeons are having to use organs from donors they call “marginal”, meaning they come from the following categories: the over-70s, patients with serious illnesses, patients with a history of cancer or drug abuse, or drinkers and heavy smokers.
Professor James Neuberger, medical director of NHS Blood and Transplant, which co-ordinates the supply of organs, told File on 4: “There is no doubt that if we had more donor organs… we could be a lot more selective about those that are used.”
He added: “In some cases this is completely safe for the patient but we’re certainly seeing organs from higher risk donors being used in order to meet the ever growing need for organ transplantation.”
He said in an ideal world surgeons would not use organs that carried added risks but the alternative was more deaths of patients on the transplant waiting list.
okay, read the rest of this article here can it get worse??? this the result of those dodgy organ donors
John Richardson and his wife, Karen, hoped a heart transplant would give him a new life.
But the 37-year-old chef never regained consciousness after receiving his new heart and died five days later on 3 August 2008.
Mrs Richardson’s grief was compounded when an inquest revealed a catalogue of risk factors that had impaired the heart her husband received, and the coroner recorded a verdict of death by medical misadventure.
“I know that he would have got better if he had had a good donor heart,” she told BBC File on 4.
She discovered the donor had committed suicide, was a smoker with several body tattoos – creating a risk of hepatitis – and a cocaine user.
Cruciallymay need a transplant keep you from making a very brave and humanitarian choice
she learned it had taken 15 minutes to restart the donor’s heart after he had been found hanged.
Mrs Richardson said her husband had never been told about the heart he had been going to receive and if he had known the circumstances, she does not believe he would have gone ahead with the operation.
it is not a hopeless, dangerous proposition. the uk NHS organ transplant website has lots of information
Transplants save lives
In the UK between 1 April 2008 and 31 March 2009:
- 3,513 organ transplants were carried out, thanks to the generosity of 1,853 donors.
- 977 lives were saved in the UK through a heart, lung, liver or combined heart/lungs, liver/kidney, liver/pancreas, heart/kidney or liver/kidney/pancreas transplant.
- A total of 2,536 patients received a kidney, pancreas or combined kidney/pancreas transplant.
- A further 2,711 people had their sight restored through a cornea transplant.
- A record number of donors were living donors, 954 people donated a kidney or a segment of their liver or lung, representing more than half of all donors.
- The highest number of non-heartbeating donor transplants took place- 579 transplants, a 35% increase on 2007-2008.
- Living donor kidney transplants are increasing – 589 in 2005-2006, 690 in 2006-2007, 831 in 2007-2008 and 927 in 2008-2009 and now represent more than one in three of all kidney transplants.
- At the end of March 2009, 7,877 patients were listed as actively waiting for a transplant.
- Almost a million more people pledged to help others after their death by registering their wishes on the NHS Organ Donor Register, bringing the total at 31 March 2009 to 16,124,871.
in the US, organ transplant is state controlled so i would urge anyone interested to google their local blood bank/transplant register.
friday night when i worked, a 21 year old boy (i say boy after hearing his mother crying in agony) died from liver failure, we were unable to ascertain the cause and it will likely be undetermined at the coroners inquest. no evidence of drugs or alcohol. it does happen……don’t let your pre-concieved notions about why a person needs a transplant sway you from signing up.
~~~~~~~~~join your local organ register~~~~~~~~~let your family know your choice~~~~~~~~~~
but being a massive muppet fan makes this a total – warm, happy feeling video
and for further muppetastic enjoyment…
i’ve heard rave reviews about tiramisu…see it on loads of cooking shows and tonight mr a and i had a sainbury’s version. what’s not to like????
now my winter challenge is to perfect it…i think i am going to try this recipe
Tiramisu’ is one of the latest additions to “traditional” Italian cooking. Unknown until about fifteen years ago, when it is believed to have been invented in the town of Treviso in northern Italy, in merely a decade it has become a world-renowned dessert, extremely popular from the United States to Japan.
It is considered a semifreddo (a dessert served cold, but not frozen). This dessert has many variations, with the only constant ingredient the mascarpone cheese.
Tiramisu’ can be prepared in advance and kept in the freezer. Remember to remove it from the freezer enough time in advance to serve it cold at refrigerated temperature, but not frozen. Sprinkle it with more cocoa powder before serving.
expect detailed updates….
just to counter the impression from my previous post about having a boring life…my life has just gotten a bit more interesting.
mr a and i take a walk up to the shop most nights and sunday night there was a bit of a commotion on the corner. a few police cars/vans…no real scuffle or anything to see just the police. since then i have noticed there is now a police car parked at the corner house 24/7 for the last 3 days….i just went up to the shop at exactly 3 pm and saw the change of guards…weird huh??
until i read this story in the birmingham mail….
Man cleared of killing Tracy McConnell is given police protection
Nov 24 2009 by Edward Chadwick, Birmingham Mail
ROUND-the-clock police protection has been given to the man cleared of killing Birmingham father-of-two Tracy McConnell. Jason D’Aguilar has left the south Birmingham area amid fears he could become a target of vigilantes seeking to avenge Mr McConnell’s death.
Police today confirmed that officers have been assigned to Mr D’Aguilar and his family as anger continues over the collapse of a manslaughter trial.
The 21-year-old was alleged to have killed Mr McConnell with a single punch outside the Fordrough pub in West Heath in March.
2+2=i think this guy lives around the corner from me! remember when i wrote about this murder? the big gossip in west heath
i don’t really have any opinions about any of those involved except it’s just another example of what happens when you mix lots of alcohol and testosterone~~~
well, well, well…not so boring after all??
the high street translates roughly into main street USA. the specific high street i am referring to is west heath road…the main street in west heath…where all the shops are.
you know, the short row of shops where all the cool west heathers go to see and be seen. let me see if i can remember all the shops from memory…starting from my end..
the flower shop, the barber, a couple houses, beauty shop, another house, another beauty shop, an empty shop we’ll come back to…..the drink shop (alcoholic), a bank, a newsagent/post office, a clothes shop, a betting shop, a car mechanic, the 3 aisle grocery shop, the chippy/kebab shop, the bakery/sandwich shop, the chinese, an estate agent, boots (pharmacy), a non descript office, the £ shop, another pharmacy and an eyeglass place….
pretty comprehensive…everything a person would need to eat, drink and function day to day….definitely no frills though~~
going back that empty shop in the middle…it stayed empty for ages until last year when some woman with little or no business sense decided that what was really needed in west heath was…a day spa!!! you know, tanning, nails, waxing…i can almost imagine her and her girlfriends polishing off a bottle or three of vodka, squealing with delight about how they would get rich by opening a day spa in west heath!!!
~~~ it lasted about 3 months~~~
now we have a new shop there, something much more fitting with the west heath crowd…and a reason for my mom to get excited and motivated to come visit me!!!
we have a resale/charity shop!!!!
i stopped in and they have some nice stuff and better still i asked if they take donations…they do! not sure how james will feel knowing his old clothes will be available for sale though….
somebody mr a told me my blog is boring…or has become boring…can’t remember which. hhhrrrrmmppphhhh!!
well, maybe just a little…actually i think he may be right. rested and happy is boring….
i worked saturday night and before we even finished handover i was so depressed. a man i took care of a month ago was still there and at the brink of death for the second or third time…another man who has had a rocky month was so fed up he refused to be turned and when we insisted he promptly dropped his heart rate to 30 something….as if to tell us “i told you i didn’t want to turn”. this otherwise pleasant, polite gentleman proceeded to try to bite his nurse when she was trying to clean his trachy.
the rest of the patients were just an assortment of sad, going no where fast with very concerned, intense family cases. my patient, was an example of how bizaare critical illness can get. she is 50ish with a history of diabetes and renal insuffiency and depression…apparently “fit and well” until april when she had an episode of epistaxis (say that 3 times quickly) or try its generic name….nosebleed.
it appears this was a nosebleed of mammoth proportions as she required 10 units of blood…now that’s a nosebleed!!! the weird part is that this woman who probably had mild–moderate depression was so traumatized that she slipped into severe depression and agoraphobia and has been essentially bedbound for the last 5 months…that means not showing up for doctors appointments…kidneys failing….fluid building up….getting a picture?
she collapsed and has spent a week on a ventilator and dialysis machine….sound exciting????
i think i’ll pass on that kind of excitment…i think i will stick to my boring old life….hey, i’ve had drama in my life~~~ LOTS of drama!!! more drama than i care to think about but i will stick to what i have now.
a thinking job with some travel, making my own hours, meetings, dinners and an opportunity to impact clinical practice across england…quiet nights watching tv, get up when i want, stay up as late as i feel like…nobody annoying me, demanding food…somebody special close by but not smothering…plenty of chores and hobbies to keep me busy and a few good friends to spend time with and a few old friends to reminisce with.
the only thing…..the ONLY thing that is missing and that keeps me awake at night is how much i miss my kids and wish i could spend more time with them. working on that…
yep, boring commonplace, drab, dull, , ho hum, humdrum, monotonous, moth-eaten, mundane, repetitious, routine, stale, stereotyped, stodgy, stuffy, tame, tedious, threadbare, tiresome, tiring, unexciting, uninteresting, unvaried, wearisome and well-worn is a good place to be!!
i went to london for my usual wednesday…i had to go again on thursday for a big meeting and while i knew it would be alot of buses and trains i didn’t know it would include a lesson into the psyche of the business commuter crowd.
i left a little early and thanks to my very expensive (£132) anytime return ticket was hoping to get a slightly earlier train and be home in my slippers by 7pm~~~
i rushed to euston station and was annoyed by the large crowds in the main waiting area…i elbowed my way towards the front looking for the next train to birmingham on the big board…quickly it became apparent that the reason for the big crowd was that no trains were leaving euston to travel north…all these people were waiting for trains for brum, liverpool and manchester~~
and there began the first of a million hundred announcements i would hear over the next four hours~~with increasing grating britsh politeness
hmmm, british rail would like to apologise for the delay, a pedestrian has been hit by a train this afternoon near wembly causing widespread disruptions. as soon as trains are available, they will be posted….yadayadayada…british rail apologises for the delay to your journey….snif, sniff…so000000, sorrry chaps!
i added that last part…might be a bit of an exaggeration but after two hours of the same less than helpful announcements it was really grating on my nerves.
the scary part was that several trains had been cancelled so by the time they did announce the train for brum there was a mad rush to get on. people took over first class and jammed on, standing in the aisles and right up to the door. there was no way i was going to stand in the mass of british flesh for over an hour…so i just stepped back and watched the crowds pouring through the gates. i wish i had taken a picture of the panic and absolute desperation on these peoples faces…it was like they were escaping from a nuclear attack or a swarm of killer bees…
at any rate, i waited 2 hours for a train, ended up standing….well i did park my old bones on the floor of a quiet vestibule between 2 first class cars for the extended journey home. i got home about 9pm and got up at 5.45am to do it all over again!
the next day i was told i could have been reimbursed for a hotel room..i love this job!!
the silver lining??? i got two keys made for my front door!!! now i don’t have to worry about being locked out and having to jump off the side room anymore~~~~~~~
