I am alive and still rather sore. CT scans showed rather bad degeneration of the lower lumbar disks (L4, L5) but basically I wil just have to grin and bear it. Absolutely no need for surgery yet.
I'm flat out at work, having just developed a new information management portal using Sharepoint software (a module of the Windows 2003 server).
I'm also very much looking forward to representing On Line Opinion at the Straight Out Of Brisbane Festival on Thursday, and meeting up with a colleague from my old alma mater, Swinburne University.
And finally my social life is looking quite healthy. :-)
I really don't like Tramadol. Since I woke early this morning I have had all the "usual" symptoms; itching across the abdomen, dizzyness, sweating and vomiting. Okay so overnight my back was the most comfortable it's been in months, and I got a good night's sleep, but the side effects just ain't worth it.
I've had a CT scan on my lumbar spine, looking either for disk troubles or stress fractures to the lumbar vertebrae. I'm also on Tramadol, so I'm barely conscious as I write this. Needless to say, my back hurts like hell.
In better news, was glad to see the "Downsize Me" special on A Current Affair this evening, saying the same thing anyone with a brain has been saying for ages - that eating McDonalds or any other fast food is fine if you exercise and if you go for the low fat options. It's also a good idea to keep quantities low. Oh, and I'm positively putrid over the media coverage of the results of the last test on Australian women, saying that we need a "realistic sizing system" to reflect sizes of women in Australian society. WAKE UP, AUSTRALIA! We're predominantly overweight and need to work on that, and not find new excuses to rationalise what is actually a very serious, unhealthy and pandemic problem.
Yes I know it's still November, but I thought I'd get in early and put up some decorations for Christmas. I rather think as Christmas gets closer I'll run out of time to redecorate the site, so here they are a little early. Hope they brighten your day :-)
Thanks to Kevin for the link to an article at CNet on whether a download of a file represents lost revenue. The economics of this I will discuss at a later point as I'm flat out at the moment, but the article is a nice introduction to the issues at hand.
Had myotherapy again yesterday and back has again improved. It's still nowhere near right (hurts as I sit here) but it's certainly better than it was.
More exciting (and probably anal) is the new Google Scholar system. Academics, scientists and researchers can now look up their articles via Google Scholar and not only find out how many links have been made to their works, but can actually find the source articles that have quoted them. Of course, it's also useful for those researchers who actually want to find articles quoted in third party readings.
And for a lovely photographic essay which should probably best be entitled "Oops", please see Depanneren.
I'm asking everyone to send positive vibes to my friend, Camilla, today as she goes in to hospital. One in five Australian women will experience breast cancer in their lives, but it's always a little difficult to deal with when it happens to one of your own. Cammi, we love you, and we wish you the very best.
Also I want to acknowledge and congratulate the "Married in the Morning" couple from the Today program on Channel 9 - Nathan and Jo. It was a lovely wedding this morning, and I join with pretty much everyone else who witnessed the event, in wishing you all the best for a lifetime of happiness.
I'm still in a lot of pain. I've certainly improved in mobility after myotherapy yesterday but as usual, the areas targeted by deep tissue therapy are extremely tender today. My shoulder is still fused and there is still a great deal of inflammation around the joints in my lower back. I'm going swimming today in the hopes that a little gentle exercise will free up some mobility. I can't just stay in bed or do a tiny bit of walking to fix this. Injured backs need exercise to mend. I'm hoping that by late this week the pain will have subsided enough to be able to sit in a chair for more than 20 minutes at a time, and that my energy levels will be returning to normal (constant pain can be pretty exhausting). In the meantime, please be patient with me. I will get back to messages as soon as I can.
I'm still officially on leave but spent most of yesterday in bed and will spend much of the rest of the week flat on my back due to the most profoundly affected spine in recent years. My sacrum, pelvis, most of the lumbar vertebrae, thoracic spine, erector spinae and rhomboid muscles were all fused out of alignment. My myotherapist this morning said that after 2 hours work on my back she was only scratching the surface of the problems I have at the moment. No wonder it hurt to sit.
Not a good way to spend leave at all.
I made it back home after my week in Melbourne, all in one piece but in a fair bit of pain. My back has gone out on me again. I suspect beds other than my own! Will need to get some expensive therapy to fix this time. The flight back was exceedingly uncomfortable and I can't sit long.
However, I have organised bridesmaids' dresses for my friend, Kristen's wedding next April, and I did manage to catch up with a few people - not nearly enough but it's one of the curses of short periods in Melbourne.
I'm still on leave till Friday so won't be around to do much work but will be able to respond to messages a little more.
Thanks to everyone who has contacted me and sent good wishes. Much appreciated. Also thanks to all who I caught up with in Melbourne - was lovely to see you all. Finally, big thanks to Mum for putting up with me this week - love you and miss you, Mum.
Yes I've received several subtle and not-so-subtle reminders that I haven't updated this blog (or answered email) in several days. I'm here to report I'm not dead and that I am still on leave, and thus have not been particularly available for queries. Melbourne weather is beautiful today but has been rather less than beautiful on other days. This hasn't mattered so much as I have spent the vast amount of my time visiting people indoors anyway. I'm off today to do bridesmaids' duties for my dear friend, Kristen, who will be married next April. As usual, I'm running out of time to catch up with people, but I guess that's the thing about only having limited time. My thoughts are with everyone anyway.
I'd also like to send my congrats to my friend and colleague, Tonya, who has just landed a job at QUT's Teaching and Learning Support Services as Marketing Manager for that division. My congrats, Ton! You so deserve this!
Thanks to all who have helped me celebrate my birthday over the past few days and seen me through a couple of disasters just very recently.
I left a very wet Brisbane this morning to travel to a wet and cool Melbourne, but hey - I'm on leave. I'm hoping Camilla is having more luck with the weather in Fiji!
Thanks to Mum for having me here in Melbourne and for my lovely gifts! Thanks also to Liz and Melissa for a fab dinner last night and their lovely gifts, and thanks to Jane, Phil, Hayley & Sean for meeting up with me yesterday at Southbank in Brisbane (hope it's not too wet up there for you guys!).
Additionally, huge congrats to Andrew and Eloise for their new apartment in Sydney - great news guys! Thanks for your birthday greetings, gift and for the pics of the new place :-)
Finally, *hugs* to my best mate.
*hugs and love all round*
Thanks to everyone who has sent emails, SMSs, has made phone calls or has posted messages to their own blogs in celebration of my birthday. I'm having a fabulous day thanks to you all, and look forward to a great night ahead!
*musical flourish*
Happy Birthday to me,
Happy Birthday to me,
Happy Birthday dear meee-eeee,
Happy Birthday to me!
:-)
Oh dear lord.
First of all thankyou to Camilla for a fab lunch with her work colleagues at the Stamford with Moet et Chandon champagne, Atlantic salmon, caviar, crab, asparagus and mud cake as well as Estee Lauder touch-ups and a Myer fashion parade. I have never had so fabulously decadent a Melbourne Cup Day!!!
And secondly, my thanks and probably my apologies to the seemingly endless barrage of men I somehow managed to pick up tonight. I will probably have no recollection of you in the morning, but know now that you have all contributed to a wonderful evening.
Oh yes, and I scored on Mackybe Diva too.