Mar/100
Bureaucracy vs. Physical Limitations
So I have a new Handler at the Health Insurance offices here in town. Or so I originally thought… it seems as though my Handler of many years has passed my file over to someone who is doing a project about getting people back to work. Why does this include me? Well… most of my documentation seems to have ‘disappeared’ from the Health Insurers, and it seems as though my medical papers were within that lost file. Not a major problem but when I find out that my new doctor isn’t really up-to-speed with my situation and gives the go ahead to the Health Insurers to include me in their little ‘project’ – I become included. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind the fact that I’m not being forgotten, left in a corner of the city gathering dust and cashing my cheques … but this is such a waste of everyone’s time it beggars belief. The project entails getting people back to the work place – at no point was I asked what my work place would be. I sat and listened as they decided between themselves that I should be working in an office. WTF! I write for a (sort of) living, I already have a career plan – they just sat there and negated my life, ignored my dreams and aspirations and made a decision for me – who the Fuck do they think they are?
So annoyed, I’ve wound myself up so much that I can’t write anymore…
Mar/100
1st Day…
I’ve been suffering a lot with a lot of health issues recently, (any regular readers will have yawned and already clicked onwards to read something about cats that talk but if you’re hanging in there and are reading on… ) and these problems have been exacerbated by the copious amounts of antibiotics that were prescribed to combat said health issues. This past week I’ve been a pile of itching flesh that has been slowly boiling in it’s skin… I’ve had the occasional spurt of energy but that only lasts long enough for me to walk from the stink pit that used to be my bed, to the bathroom that has has become a hose off area. And here I was thinking that antibiotics were supposed to be a good thing, turns out that the little bit of paper inside the box that says, ‘May cause the following side effects: slight itching…’ should actually read, ‘WILL cause the cause the following side effects: SEVERE itching…’
During this wonderful time of perpetual digit wriggling, I’ve been bombarded with emails and letters from rude half-wits that work for a company called Q-Park, strong arming money out of me for a parking ticket that I received whilst my car was parked in my rented parking space. I’ve had letters and emails from my landlord asking why I haven’t been to choose my new décor for my up and coming apartment refurbishment (I’ve been ill, I told them this but they seem to only write mail, not read it). And then today, when I opened my email for the first time since Friday and held my breath as I waded through the piles of junk asking me if my manhood was big enough or if I wanted vicodin for a discount, (both of which cost money I don’t have, so I had to delete them… shame…) just in case I had another crappy demand when something strange happened… I got some good news! Yes, good news!
NHK, the Japanese TV station, has offered me a 6 month contract to do a bit of writing for them… I’ll be mainly writing feedback and reviews, which is pretty much what I do over at LoLyfe.com without the added bonus of getting paid. So this is not just good news, it’s great news – no, it’s freaking awesome news because it’s news that means when that when I’m asked what I do for a living and I respond with my usual, “I’m a writer”, I don’t have to feel weird about it any more!! I have an actual contract that states in it that I write for a company! For money!! Not a lot of money, granted, but it’s still money!!!
I’ve been doing an itchy celebratory dance in the flat all morning …
Feb/100
What?
Ear infections suck…
Just spent the last few days being deaf in my left ear, then yesterday I was close to jamming a spike into my head due to the excruciating pain I’m dealing with…
I had to cancel an appointment with my interior decorators (that sounds cool, but it’s not, honest) so I still don’t know how my new kitchen and bathroom are going to look. I was hoping to get that over and done with, sort out the car and head up north whilst they rip my apartment to pieces. I’m sure Janne will be pleased to see me… However, my bout of infection has put a damper on the whole ‘planning anything’ goes. In the meantime, I’ve powered ahead and revamped LoLyfe.com and I have to say I’m pretty pleased with it so far.
Feb/100
New Head
Is what I’m in the market for…
I had a trip out to see my new Doctor this morning. I’ve had a bit of a problem with the old tinnitus for the last few months and it’s been driving me slowly insane. I thought that there might have been a massive medical advancement in the treatment of this misunderstood condition, but to my dismay I found that before that it could even be investigated I had to have the ear, nose and throat infections removed from my noggin before he would even entertain the thought of poking about in my ears.
With all the things he found wrong, I thought it best to make further appointments to chat about the ongoing issues with my back and the fact that the Health Insurance people are breathing down my neck, and not in a nice way…
Feb/102
Don’t Park Here
I got a response from the Car Park dudes, Q-Park today…
In my email to them I explained that my Swedish wasn’t the best so any correspondence would be preferred in English if at all possible. The letter arrived without even a suggestion that they’d taken notice of this little detail but instead insisted that being out of the country is not a good enough excuse not to move my car!!! No, admittedly my translating skills aren’t the best and I could have misread/understood the tone of the letter – but I don’t think so. It got my back up so much that I immediately wrote another email berating their idiocy and point blank refusing to pay any such fine without a reasonable reason as to why I was given a ticket in my own car park in the first place!
Jan/100
Firmly Stuck
The Smart Car is well and truly rooted for the time being. I’ve made several attempts at getting the bugger out of the snow drifts that seems to be magnetizing to my little car only to be met with more drifts and bitter weather that just seems to want to keep me down… so I’ve taken the opportunity to get a little more exercise and do my usual trips to town or the store on foot. Not fun when the temperature is down at -15 and the snow depths are bordering on impassable. Actually, this is a bit of a fib, the snow plough’s do a great job of shifting the snow but it’s a never ending battle. I’ll be glad when the warmer weather sets in…
Jan/100
2010 … another good year … [cont.]
I left it a day before heading back out to try and get the car shifted. I wish I hadn’t. Another blizzard over night and now the car is pretty much the same as it was the other day.
I gave a bigger bash at getting it out and discovered to my dismay that I have a parking ticket! In my own car park! Where I pay rent!
I manage to get the car moved about 2 feet before the summer tyres decide to stop playing. It’s at this point that my fatigue, back and motivation dissipates and I head inside for a cuppa and to write a stinking email to the car park warden….
Jan/100
2010 … another good year …
My relief at getting back home after a dismal Christmas was extremely short lived. Firstly, I arrived back to a car under about 5 feet of snow – which was made worse by the snow plough driver who decided the back of my car was the best place to pile the snow he’d been moving. I don’t own a snow shovel, so I had to make do with my hands and various implements that became handy – like milk cartons.
My first attempt at getting the car out was a bit pathetic really. I managed to clear the sides, get in the car and get it started and sat there for a few minutes trying to regain the feeling in my fingers. After a while I began to get a bit woozy and discovered that I was sitting in a car quickly filling with exhaust fumes. Upon investigation I found that as I had cleared the sides of the car and not the back, I had created a little hollow in which the car was sitting, no air was being let out from under the car, including the exhaust emissions which had little else choice but to rise up into the car itself.
After sorting that out I was pretty knackered and my back had pretty much given up on me, so I decided to take a short break …
Jan/100
Too Cold
Heating in the apartment is still a bit squiffy … I had to where gloves whilst using the puta yesterday! Seems a little better today but still not up to the usual heat. I suppose I’ll get used to it… not that I’ve got much choice…
My trek to the store yesterday evening was interesting. I piled on the layers, walked out in the -22 temperature and got about 2 minutes up the road when I realised that thermal undies would have been a good idea. By the time I got home my legs where a tingling numbness of frozen jelly … Today I pulled on some thermal long-johns which made a massive difference. Tomorrow I’ll attempt to dig out the Smart Car… joy!
Jan/100
Home is where…
… the silence is…
No wonky clock, no mad puppy, no weird sounding boiler humming, no traffic, no loud TV from next door, no water pump, no clicking radiators… it’s times like this when you realise how loud your tinnitus really is.
Woke up extremely late after hitting the sack at about midnight but not managing to sleep until around 3. Having Sky back plays havoc with your sleep pattern! The BCS Bowl game was on and I thought I might attempt to watch it, but about halfway through the second quarter I gave up and put my iPod on in a feeble attempt to lull me off. However, Neil Gaiman’s American Gods is too good to fall asleep to.
First thing I noticed when I awoke was how cold the apartment was. I checked the temperature gauge and the usual stable 20 degrees was down to 16 – jumper on.
It’s -17 outside at the moment, so I’ll have to nip up the road whilst there’s still a bit of light in the sky to pick up supplies…
LoLyfe.com | Aardvark Asia
- Thirst and Yoga DVD’s March 1, 2010 LoLyfe
- Cherry Blossom Forecast February 24, 2010 LoLyfe
- Video: Cop Out Trailer February 23, 2010 LoLyfe
- DVD: Possessed (Living Death) [불신지옥] February 22, 2010 LoLyfe
- Video: Turning Japanese – Kirsten Dunst ‘Akihabara Majokko Princess’ February 20, 2010 LoLyfe
- New Look… February 17, 2010 LoLyfe
- John Woo’s Rain of Swords February 16, 2010 LoLyfe
- Miike’s Zebraman 2 and 13 Assassins February 15, 2010 LoLyfe
- SHOCHIKU to release BECK Live Action February 10, 2010 LoLyfe
- Too Much Spam February 10, 2010 LoLyfe