2011 - A review.

The 'blogging regularly' thing didn't happen. The reading of blogs happened every day but I just never seemed to find my voice. So I've decided that I'll just commit to one per year and if there are others along the way then that's a bonus.

January 

All quiet for the first month of the year. Pete went to Melbourne to visit friends for a few days but other than that it was business as usual.

February

Two colleagues at work got married...to each other. It was a simple wedding in some ways but unusual in others. They had very fancy wedding pics taken back home in China, before they were actually married, in all different wedding outfits. Highly orchestrated poses in OTT clothes and make-up meant you wouldn't have recognised the bride as the same person. Don't get me wrong, they were beautiful pictures but seemed a little false as none of them showed her real wedding dress! Anyway, they are happy together and are now pregnant with their first child due in early April.

March

We saw Henry Rollins again. Always a great show.

The earthquake and subsequent tsunami happened in Japan. Such devastation. We had everything booked to visit Kyoto, Osaka and Tokyo. Friends and family urged us to change our minds and cancel but Pete is the most thorough man I know when it comes to travel. I knew he wouldn't do anything to risk my safety. He'd be too scared of my mother's wrath if any harm came to me if nothing else! So, we went. I'm glad we did.
The Japanese people were grateful for any tourists and our European faces stood out very easily as everyone else had made a hasty exit. Shops in Tokyo were rationing certain items and some of the rail lines were only operating on restricted timetables and for set times of the day in order to conserve power. Rolling blackouts were also happening for that same reason. Despite all that, the quiet strength of Japanese was quite evident.
We also met up with a friend of a friend whilst in Osaka called Michiyo. She works as an interpreter so her English is fantastic and certainly a million times better than my half dozen words of Japanese. The day we spent with Michiyo was lovely although we had both snow and Sakura (cherry blossom). She said it was quite unusual to have snow at that time of year. I was so glad I'd packed for colder weather!  


March also saw me meet a Sleep Specialist to investigate my constant tiredness. More on that later.

April

Sir Terry Pratchett. Sydney Opera House. An interview.
Amazing. Such an interesting man. Shame it was only an hour. Could have listened to him talk for a few more quite easily.

I was informed I would become an Auntie in December. Els and James were pregnant! Such wonderful news. 

This was the month my wee Mazda 121 was sent to the big car yard in the sky thanks to a much larger Mazda with a towbar reversing into me. The accident caused more damage than it was worth to repair so the insurance company wrote the car off.  I was then forced into going car shopping which I'd been putting off for a while out of sheer laziness!


May

A new car was purchased. Ford Fiesta, Manual, 1.6l Turbo Diesel in Metropolitan Grey. Bluetooth, iPod connectivity, voice command, air con, cup holders (yes I got over excited about having cup holders), digital radio etc etc.  My very first brand new car! It's fab!

Pete and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary by going to see an old rocker, Jon English and some very talented young musicians performing rock classics. It really was a great show.

The specialist I'd seen in March thought that sleep apnea was the reason for my constant tiredness and suggested I have a sleep study to confirm it. So, I spent the night in hospital hooked up to wires and monitors recording my brain and breathing and oxygen levels etc.  



June

The sleep study confirmed sleep apnea and so I began using a CPAP machine. No more snoring for poor Pete to put up with and hopefully a more refreshed Jana.


July

We were scheduled to fly to Melbourne to catch up with friends for a few days. Well, that was until the budget airline we were booked with got themselves grounded. Apparently there were safety concerns. More likely, a major Australian airline had their nose out of joint cos they were losing business but I digress.  A few days off at home is what we got instead of a visit to Melbourne. Still it was better than working!


August

I spent most of this month doing higher duties at work in clinic. I find it stressful. I just try to appreciate that it's a short term thing and I can go back to 'normal' when it's done.


September

Birthday month. Spoiled rotten!

We were informed that we were having to pay rent increase for our water usage from this month on. Sneaky buggers. It's not the landlord but the greedy Real Estate company. Why does everything have to be about money?


October

A couple of gigs this month... 
Heart supporting Def Leppard. Wow Ann Wilson can sing. I've always loved her voice.  Def Leppard were pretty good too.
Chris Cornell.  O.M.G.  He's a hottie. He could sing the shipping forecast to me and I'd melt. That voice just gives me goosebumps. It helps that he's not a bad looking man too right enough hehe!

I went with some of the girls from work for High Tea one Saturday morning. It was quite fancy but a pleasant way to catch up with the girls outside of the job.



November

We had visitors. Mum and Jim came to stay. We met them in Melbourne as they'd not been to Victoria. We caught up with those we were meant to see in July, did some touristy stuff and had fun. Then, when we got back to Sydney, we took in some shows.  Mary Poppins was really well done and well worth seeing. Eddie Izzard was his usual hilarious self (and was in Canberra, not Sydney). Then, my favourite of them all....the RocKwiz Christmas Show. I loved it. It was amazing. 
I *heart* Julia Zemiro. She's my girl crush.

Mum and Jim got to meet people and put faces to names. We visited places they'd never been to before and all in all had a jolly good time. As usual their visit was over too fast but that's how it goes when you're having fun.

My cousin announced her engagement and plans to get married July 2013. A trip home for me beckons! Probably the last big family wedding so will be well worth attending.


December

I guess the biggest news (other than Christmas etc) was that I became an Auntie!

Lucas arrived at 17:55hrs on Dec 14th weighing in at 6lb 11oz. 
I won't get to meet him til December 2012 and by that time he'll be One but FB will keep me up to date in the meantime. Isn't he a cutie?!

I had a lovely Christmas Day with Pete and our furry boys. Boxing Day was spent with Pete's family. Barb put on a great spread and fed 16 of us. Don't know how she does it. 

NYE was a quiet affair. A friend who was meant to come over was sick and had to cancel. She sounded awful and spent the day in bed. I ended up doing some much needed housework instead and hoped Pete would get home from work before the bells....He made it with two minutes to spare! 
(What is it with feeling that the house needs to be clean before New Year? Is it just me and a guilty conscience or is there some kind of old wives' tale behind it? Who knows?)

So, here's to a new year. I was going to write something profound and wise but I think I'll leave you the link to someone who says it all much better than I ever could... Neil Gaiman


TTFN til next January 1st.

A New Year

So we are now in 2011. I hope that it brings all of us loves, laughs and new adventures.

I thought I'd run through the year that's just been with a few pics thrown in for good measure. Here we go....

January

Pretty quiet month which suited me fine. Work etc continued as normal. Not much excitement.

February

Started off uneventful. We had tickets to see AC/DC play in Sydney. We didn't go. Pete did his back in two days before and was bed bound for several days!! We couldn't get rid of the tickets (surprisingly) and so that was an expensive non-event. Pete's back did improve thankfully and though he still has bulging discs, he's mobile and most of the time pain free! His recovery might have been due to the caring help of our cat Tucker during Pete's convalescence.

March

Had a few lovely events. My friend got married in a very simple ceremony and looked blissfully happy. Pete and I visited Port Stephens for a weekend away. It's so pretty up there. I went to see Eddi Reader in concert and discovered she likes to blether alot between songs but you end up forgiving her cos her voice is divine.

April

Was a busy month for concert going. Carole King with James Taylor was a relaxing, easy way to spend an evening. Regina Spektor is just a little bit kooky. Finally, Henry Rollins who was as usual amazingly funny. If you've never seen him, I urge you to do so. It'll be two hours of your life that go by so fast but you'll remember for a long time.
My friend Laura was super dooper excited to finally become an Australian citizen yaaay.
Oh and Pete turned 40 :-D

May

New Zealand. How utterly beautiful the south island is. The north island aint too bad either right enough! The reason for visiting was to obtain my Australian Residency Visa. It was a hassle but it was worth it for the stunning scenery.





June, July, August

Nothing of any great note. Life continued on as it always does. The gas heater and the two kerosene heaters did their duty keeping me warm on the cold winter nights. Yes, yes I know those of you from colder climes think I'm a woos but we don't have that wonderful invention called central heating so the house is bloody freezing in winter. We also have tiled floors with exception of the bedrooms which is a tad chilly underfoot. Brrr.


September

My birthday. My trip home to Scotland for the party celebrating the 70th birthday of two of my uncles.








October

Another gig. My first and last time seeing Powderfinger. They were awesome, even if we did have to go to Canberra to see them. We also attended the wedding of one of Pete's sisters. Nic looked lovely and so did her two girls. Their Nan did such a good job making the girls' dresses.


November

Gigs again...Robin Williams who I paid an obscene amount of money to see and felt a little ripped off when it was over. Crowded House, who I've seen before but this time they were really off their game. Sadly it was my friend Laura's first and most likely last time of seeing them given their performance. Hey ho. Can't win em all. We did however enjoy a visit to Sculptures by the Sea which happens every year near Bondi. See Here

Pete also buggered off to Adelaide for a week for work. I had the bed all to myself which was lovely. I did miss him though and so did the furry boys.



December

Was... preparing for Christmas, or running around at the last minute like everyone else! Being pleased not to be at home in Scotland given the weather they've been having. Returning to my usual job after filling in on higher duties for a colleague. I've already posted enough about this here and here if you want to read more. Sending Mum and Jim to Germany for the Christmas markets and to meet The Mad American and his lovely (but sneaky) wife!

My blood tests showed that my Hb was just below normal range so I am slightly anaemic and back on iron tablets for a couple of months. It also showed that my cholesterol is really good which I was delighted about. Otherwise my results were within normal limits so that's a relief. He did give me a referral to have sleep studies done though so I'll be making an appointment for those soon.

We had a quiet time over the festive season which was lovely. I made Christmas dinner with my new invention called roast potato crumble. My potatoes were slightly over par-boiled and fell to bits before roasting. They were edible tho! Joining the other millions in downtown Sydney for the NYE fireworks does nothing for either of us so we stayed at home watching the show on TV.

As for New Year resolutions....I'm not making any. I never keep em.

So we'll see what 2011 will bring for all of us. I hope it brings you here again.

Here's hoping for a good one. *fingers crossed*

I'm fed up...

...feeling fed up.

I'm tired all the time. I can sleep for 10 hours then still nap for 2 hours in the afternoon. Now it sounds lovely to sleep that long but that's just not normal is it? This has been going on for some time and I'd put it down to work and shifts and loads of other things but enough is enough. Bursting into tears in my boss' office the other day was kind of the final straw!

I'm tired. Lack energy. Lack interest. More crabbit than usual. Poor concentration. I could go on but I won't. So, I went to my GP. Could I be anaemic again? Is it my thyroid? Do I have Sleep Apnea? Should I just give myself a kick in the arse? His answer was to order some blood tests and then dependant on the results of those, a possible referral for sleep studies as he agrees it could be Sleep Apnea.

My own diagnosis is Sleep Apnea. I snore. Bad. My partner can still hear me snore when he has ear plugs in. That's not good. Mum says she's heard me make weird "sing songy" noises in my sleep. Again, not a positive thing. Untreated, Sleep Apnea can be the cause of a lot of my symptoms mainly due to lack of proper REM sleep. The brain is constantly woken for split seconds when oxygen levels drop and it has to kick in the response to breathe again. This means it never gets a chance to rest and repair as it's supposed to while asleep. This results in feeling tired during the day and poor concentration amongst other things. I don't wish for it to be S.A but if it is, I know the treatment makes an almost instant difference and that's reassuring.

I've been for my fasting blood test today and the results will be in early next week. It's only the second time in my life I've had blood taken on the first attempt! Woohoo!! I usually end up covered in bruises from multiple failed attempts. My veins are elusive lil buggers when they see a needle comin at them. Either that or I like my blood where it is thank-you-very-much. Nothin wrong with that.

So we wait and see what the blood tests say. I'll let you know how it goes.

It's almost over

So, the higher duties job is almost finished and I can say with all sincerity, I'm glad. It's been a learning curve of fairly steep proportions and I'm happy to have had the chance to do the job. I've learned huge amounts about myself and others during this time.

I have found that my Granny was right when she said "empty vessels make the most noise". When it comes to patients moaning and creating a stooshie, they are waaay louder than necessary and suck up the surrounding oxygen with such vigour it deflates and exhausts all of those who try to assist and appease. The ones who say little and accept the explanations of rescheduled surgery with good grace are fortunately (for me) the majority of the ones I've experienced during this job. I am thankful for that. Truly.

I've confirmed my belief that medical staff can't see stuff unless it jumps up and bites them on the arse. I used to call it a 'boy look' when you couldn't see something that was right in front of your face despite claiming you'd looked for it but I've now renamed it 'doctor look'. Honestly. *rolls eyes*

I'm still leaning to multi-task or have several conversations at once. It's just not my thing to have several plates spinning at once. I'm very likely to end up with a pile of broken crockery at my feet doing that. However, I'm better at taking a breath and dealing with it rather than getting ratty. (Who me? Get ratty? Moi? Never! pmsl) It's not yet a perfected technique by any means but it's an improvement.

As an aside...the strike last week went quite well. We were a 4000 strong group who said we were willing to stand up and fight for decent nurse : patient ratios. We've convinced the State government to sit down and negotiate at least so all is not lost, yet.

All in all, it's been an interesting couple of weeks. I'll be delighted to hand the reigns back to K upon her return next week. I'm actually kinda looking forward to doing my night shifts next week. Fewer phones ringing. No relatives. Patients asleep. Peace and q.... actually a true nurse never says the Q word cos the minute she does the shit usually hits the fan big time!

I'll keep you posted.

The working week

Well, I've done 7 shifts so far, in my new temporary role at work and all I can say is...I'm glad there's only another 10 to go!

The job itself is time consuming. The phone never stops ringing, my colleagues have questions they need me to answer plus patients need attended to, in what have been huge clinic numbers this week. On top of all that I'm supposed to do statistics, check over admission paperwork, have meal breaks, attend in-services/meetings and so the list goes on. It's bloody exhausting. I don't know how K does this job day in day out.

I've often said to K, when I see her still there at 17:00 to go home. Now that I'm in her place I can see why that last 30-45 mins is so useful. It's quiet as most people have gone home. The phone doesn't ring and you can get shit done with no interruptions. It's bliss. I've gone without meal breaks too which I promised myself I wouldn't do but it's just so hard to get away. It got to the stage one day (I'd had no break and it was 13:30) when four people called my name in around 30 seconds I had to say "stop". I calmly explained that I'd had no break, my blood sugar was in my boots and brain cells were dying by the second so it would have to be one conversation at a time, "who's first?".

Added to the job itself there's the travelling times. As the job is 08:00 til 16:30, I'm catching peak hour traffic in both directions. It's now taking me 50 mins to get to work and just over an hour to get home (30mins and 45 mins respectively on an 07:00 til 15:30 shift). I would get the train but there are no parking spaces at any nearby station by around 06:45 so that idea is gone. So I'm stuck with driving...in traffic littered with some of the worst drivers on the planet.

Sydney drivers are arrogant, ignorant, impatient and just plain rude. They cut you up and under take you only to get one car further ahead. They drive up the arse of the car in front which results in slamming on brakes as it's obviously just too difficult to look ahead and judge what the traffic flow is doing. GRRRRR. By the time I get home I'm done in and usually annoyed at being almost driven off the road!

I have another two weeks of this job to go and I'll be delighted to hand the reigns back to K upon her return. It's certainly been an eye opener and an experience but not one I'd like to do on a permanent basis. K has my admiration (well she had that anyway but it's increased in it's proportions) for the job she does. I'm pleased to have had the chance to do something different but I think I'll be glad to go back to the ward when the time comes.

Oh and it'll be interesting to see what happens on Wednesday this week when we go on strike for improved working conditions from 10:00 til 14:30. I'll let you know how that goes.

oooh

twice in one month so far...how long will it last I ask myself?

So, from tomorrow for almost 4 weeks, I embark on a new role at work. I'm attempting to fill the very large shoes of a colleague who has buggered off on a well deserved holiday.

Now, this seemed like a good idea when I volunteered myself several months ago but now it's almost tomorrow I'm not so sure hehe! The RN I'm covering for has changed the clinic department massively since she began last December. Now the job is quite a challenge and no two days are the same. She copes admirably with the abuse and whingers (both staff and patients) every day and seems to still have a smile on her face.

We are very different personalities and I'm not so tolerant of the eejit population we come into contact with on a regular basis. I also sadly lack her skills of abstract thinking and instant problem solving. So you see why I'm beginning to regret putting my name forward?

I'm thinking that if, by the time she returns, I've not lamped someone or gotten myself fired I'll have done a good job LOL. There are administrative things to do which I can ask for help on if I need it but it's the day to day decision stuff I'm panicking about. Everyone seems to call her name and I'm not sure how she copes with it. Watching her at work makes my head spin sometimes never mind actually doing the job. I like to do one thing at a time minus interruptions so basically I'm fucked right from the start. :- (

I tell myself it'll be a challenge and that it's only for 3.5 weeks but I'm not sure I'm convincing myself. I guess I'm just gonna have to give it a go. As long as no-one dies I think I'll get away with it ;- ) The lady I'm being understudy for will receive a warm welcome back upon her return especially from me!

I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

Has it been that long...

since I last blogged?! Shame. On. Me. *hangs head*

It is said,

'The road to hell is paved with good intentions'.

Now, off the top of my head I've no idea who actually said this but it's true. Over this last year I've intended to do a lot of things. How many have I accomplished? Not as many as I'd like. The list of intentions goes something like this...

• Losing weight

• Getting fit

• Having a usable craft room and actually using it

• Clearing clutter (or stopping myself accumulating more of the damn stuff)

• Saving money for a rainy day

• Keeping in touch with family and friends more often

• Trying not to stress and be crabbit all the time, both at home and work

• Writing in this blog regularly as well as reading all my favourites

... Yadda Yadda Yadda. Sounds like a New Year Resolution list doesn't it?

I procrastinate. I become absorbed in the internet/Facebook/Blogs rather than be productive. I have books I could be reading, cupboards I could be cleaning, crafty things I could be finishing (as I'm the Queen of the incomplete sewing project) and many other wonderfully interesting pastimes too numerous to mention. Nothing gets finished as I seem to have the attention span of a goldfish. Or maybe I just don't see things through to the end (oooh that's deep for this time on a Friday night LOL) but lets not go down that road at this point in time shall we? Dangerous territory lies there methinks.

Anyway, as I've promised before to this blog, I'm gonna try harder. Not just on blogging more often but on all the other stuff I've mentioned above. Maybe if I put it out there in cyberspace I'll have to follow it through and commit properly...then again maybe not who knows.

"There are more things in heaven and earth Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy." Hamlet, William Shakespeare
(or the fabulous movie L.A Story with Steve Martin and the philosophical road sign. I love this film.)