After weeks and weeks of debilitating headaches I finally saw “my” doctor today. He had been caught in the volcano ash flight disaster, which is why I couldn’t get hold of him sooner. OK, so I also hesitated to get it sorted, I’m not one who sees a doctor for every little thing but rather tend to wait things out.
But this pain has been very persistent and it’s really grinding me down. Good news is that I’m showing none of the symptoms that would point to a more serious nature of the trouble, but that doesn’t mean it’s not interfering with my life.
End of story, for now: I’m taking a tranquilliser (Sedoxil) for the next ten days. As such, it honestly doesn’t bother me (otherwise I wouldn’t tell you about it!). Back in Germany I worked in a psychiatric polyclinic for a number of years, so I can’t say that it’s something abnormal in my mind (well ok, if he’d given me a neuroleptic or lithium I probably would be worried). Then why did it bother me to go to the pharmacy with my “Narcotics & Psychotropic Substances” prescription? Funny, that! Probably it’s the fact that everybody knows everybody on this rock, plus the knowledge that people have way too much time on their hands and love talking when they run out of other things to do. (I actually witnessed that 30 minutes earlier in the doc’s waiting room!!) And such gossipers might be less tolerant vis-a-vis ‘psychotropic substances’, making me into a nutcase in their tales…
What bothered me more, however, was that in order to sell me my 20 prescribed pills, they were unceremoniously removed from a pack of 60 and put into a little paper bag for me. Only when I insisted on being given the insert, was it handed to me, too.
This, by the way, is common practice with all kinds of prescription medication – it happened to me before. If the packet size available at the pharmacy exceeds the amount prescribed, they count the pills out for you; if need be, loose and unsealed. The insert is reserved for people who ask for it. In my humble opinion that’s very wrong if not criminal as the patient is denied the knowledge of possible side effects or contra-indications.
Oh well… So I have my little wonder pills now and I really hope they’ll help; that it’s all in the mind and nothing else wrong with me. If anything they should grant me a good night’s sleep; that’ll be a welcome change already. I’m literally sick and tired of all this; I hardly remember what it felt like to be pain-free.
For starters, here’s the beautiful song whose title I used for this post, to set the mood:
Yesterday my son spent a few hours at home with his Ibanez guitar, a very photogenic piece, which I happily hijacked with my camera. (All shots taken with extension tube, hence the extremely shallow DOF.)
OK, I promise, this is the last one for today! Wish y’all a happy Sunday!
I’m taking Sopadeine Plus for my headache, which makes me kinda high… Maybe that’s where all the lyrics in my head are coming from?
As I said, I was relaxing this weekend, but also took a ton of photos (which, by the way, helps me relax!). Hubby was in Malta yesterday and brought home two huge tubs of strawberries. They’re my favourite fruits – have always been my favourites, for as long as I can remember!
Yet another post is coming up – and after that, I guess, I’ll leave you in peace for at least a week!!
Note: Title is borrowed from lyrics of “Clouds” by Bread – it just seemed fitting.
Yesterday and Friday were rather cloudy, not in the sense of a thick grey mass (such as today’s!), but the more dramatic kind, which I’m so fond of!
I spent most of Saturday indoors, trying to relax and force my stupid headache into submission (which seems mission impossible and starts worrying me, by the way!). In the afternoon I noticed we’d be running out of cat food by today, so I had to go out to get it from Victoria. Though I grumbled a little, I made the best of it… I took my camera with me and drove around a little in search for suitable subjects to match the beautiful celestial background!
This is the pretty church of Santa Lucija, just a kilometre or so from Victoria.
From there I proceeded to Dwejra, but the views down at the Azure Window were not what I expected. From higher up it was a different story though!
From there I headed back home and discovered that sometimes you don’t really have to venture far for a nice shot: Gharb’s parish church is just a stone’s throw from our house… (the time showing on the clock is wrong – it actually was after 6 pm!)
Finally, this one I actually took on Friday, for Renzo‘s blog post on Discover Gozo. The chapel at Ta’ Hamet (between Xaghra and Xewkija) was built as a gesture of thanksgiving for Gozo’s victory over Napoleon’s forces. What, you didn’t know that part of Gozo’s glorious past yet? Then I suggest you hurry over to the blog, where the Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz shows and tells a lot of interesting snippets about our island!
I’ve got more pics to show of this weekend, but they are completely different from these cloudy shots, so they merit their own post – coming soon!
Weighing in at over 10kg, Simba loves to watch the world around him upside down!
In contrast to Simba our new momma must be about a quarter of Simba’s weight… This is the last shot I took from the cardboard box yesterday. Late this morning Momma decided her babies were given too much attention, and moved them elsewhere. We haven’t found out the new location yet. Seems to be close by though, as she’s around frequently. I hope all goes well for the little ones…
Today I shall more than make up for yesterday’s photo-deprived post! That photo-shoot turned out slightly chaotic, bordering on comedy even. The original intention was to give that extension tube some more work to do, nailing little critters and tiny flowers in the garden.
In the beginning all went according to plan. The first one is just a gimmick in celebration of my wedding ring finally returning to its rightful place this week. (It had been cut off when I broke my wrist last year.)
Then I spotted this baby lizard (well, I think it was a baby – it really was small!) that kept watching my comings and goings from the little drain hole of a flowerpot. I started talking to ‘him’ (how do you determine the gender of a lizard??); I called him Joey. So Joey actually started a game of peek-a-boo with me (that’s where the comedy part came in)! With incredible patience (if there’s anything that I’m not, it’s patient!) I moved my gear closer in teeny-weeny stop-motion movements, which Joey observed with bemused interest, always ready to duck back into his lair when he thought I got too close too quickly.
And then… I abandoned Joey in favour of this awesome discovery that had been there right under my nose. Last autumn another stray had made our garden her new home. I had blogged about her arrival; well at the time I actually thought it was a male and named ‘him’ Bully (I’m really terrific at guessing animals’ genders!)
OK, so he’s a she, a very skinny little thing with a cleft between nose and mouth, which seems to give her trouble breathing and eating. Honestly, we didn’t think she’d survive for long. But not only did she survive; she also contributed to the survival of her family tree!
We had an idea that she was pregnant, though she wasn’t exactly huge, just her usual skinny self with a little bulge in her tummy. A week or two ago, she suddenly made herself rare and was only seen at mealtimes, appearing much, much thinner than usual. Until yesterday: she took up residence in an old carton box in a sheltered space under the stairs leading to our roof – and brought her little family ‘home’!
This weekend Renzo and I got a real break for a change, as we’ve roped in a guest blogger for Discover Gozo: Philip from Switzerland, who wrote about his diving experience in Gozo last September. This means I have actually a little time for my own blog!
Jean Paul, a blog reader who commented on my last post, gave me some headache… In his opinion my blog “seems to be a right extension of Kempinski Hotel Public relation.” But it isn’t, and I really don’t want it to be. Only, there’s the little fact that I love my job (as much as I moan about it at times!), which happens to be marketing manager at the hotel. Apart from about 10 hours every day at the office, I spend a lot of my spare time thinking about work-related stuff at home. I do almost all my creative thinking at home, when I’m relaxed… it’s a curse!
Well, all I want to say is that this is my blog, and it shall remain all mine, you hear? But Kempinski is part of my life, and I’m proud of it, too. So I’m afraid you’ll have to bear with my occasional digressions in that direction. Hmph!
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Now, to prove that I’m not a slave to my job – not completely yet, anyway! – I’m going to totally change the subject! As July is creeping closer ever so slowly, I booked my hotel room for my trip to Roger’s gig at the Tollwood Festival in Munich. And what do you know: I chose a Best Western! (Now tell me you aren’t surprised LOL)! The reason: all the Garden Gate Gang members, who are coming for the festival, are going to stay in the same hotel – even more of them than I’ had known about when I booked! So we’re all going to be together, and we’re all very excited about it – it’s going to be awesome! If only I could stay for longer than three days…
<RANT>
On other fronts, life’s been a little less rosy. This week (just after booking the hotel, perfect timing!) I received a statement about provisional tax being due this year. What a bummer. I had to pay €290 euro immediately, and the next two payments are far worse at €435 and €726, respectively – the latter just in time for Christmas… And all this on top of my normal income tax that I’m paying for my wages! They based this on my earnings of 2 years ago – which is ridiculous because those taxes are higher than the pittance they are supposed to be paid on. Um… Was that English? When I get angry, my knowledge of the language tends to get a little muggy…
I still have my VAT number because I was hoping to sell a few more copies of Angelina’s Ghost… I guess I’d better close that chapter and rid myself of the headaches it brings. Maybe I should make a big book sale – buy ten and get ten free or something like that. Any takers?
Oh yeah, and on top of that – geez, once she starts ranting, she won’t stop! – Go Mobile has also thrown a little spanner into my financial works. The ‘mobile connect’ contract I signed last November was supposed to be charged monthly, and I had to sign a direct debit mandate for that. So far so good, only they never charged me a single cent. End of story (so far): this week I had to pay over €200 in one lump sum because they weren’t able to get their records right.
Man, I hate the way ordinary people are constantly at the mercy of the ‘big one’s’ whims.
</RANT>
Now that I got all that out of the system, I’m going to start my weekend. I’m planning to stay away from the PC and spend some quality time with my camera instead. Which will require more sitting at the PC afterwards, but for now I’m signing off. Have a good weekend – I see the sun has finally come out too after an overcast morning… Enjoy!
I meant to grumble about it but suddenly I’m not bothered any more. Whether tonight’s power cut is nationwide or “only” widespread, who gives a f*ck. Suffice it to say, it’s getting old. And on my nerves.
We were in Victoria to watch the procession at the time of the blackout at 7.35 pm, and the photo under this post was taken right before the lights went out. Right now we’re still without electricity, so I won’t be able to edit any pics. Funny thing: the last time we enjoyed this kind of forced preservation of energy (less than 2 weeks ago!) I was also editing photos…
Astra Theatre decorated for Good Friday - before the power cut...
…with bees! Photography is my favourite remedy for boredom, stress, or just generally feeling “down”. For the past few days I’ve felt all of that; , so it was only a matter of time that I’d start shooting. Work is a little overwhelming right now, but forgetting to send a birthday card reach my dad in time, was the final straw to send me into a mild depression.
Today is the first sunny Good Friday in decades, if my memory serves me right. I took my coffee out in the garden and immediately noticed the buzz all around me. So I dug out the extension tube I’d bought ages ago and almost left to rot. Nailing the busy buzzers proved to be quite a challenge; the time it took to focus seemed about the same as a bee needs to sit on a flower… But a few shots turned out just right.
After the garden photoshoot I had a nice long chat on the phone with my dad, and I can honestly say I feel much better now than when I did when I first woke up this morning. This afternoon I’m going to the Good Friday procession in Victoria to finally start documenting the various Holy Week traditions, something I’ve been wanting to do for many years. So I reckon I’ll be back with more pictures soon!
