Rantings

Well, last night was the final night of the bank holiday, so we went out again, this time to see a band that a couple of friends of ours are in. I have to say they are one of the best local club bands I know of, and I'm not just saying that because they're friends. If you get the chance to see them, don't miss out on the opportunity ... you will not regret it. I have seen them many times and they always put on a really good performance.

So, last night we went to the rock night which is on every month at Durham City Cricket Club.



It pretty bog standard stuff ... lots of 70s and 80s poodle hair music, but about halfway through they start to play the stuff I like, with thumping base beats and attitude. Pity it doesn't last long because they're back to fecking Foreigner and Europe and Journey for the rest of the night.



Anyway, once again I was playing with my new rinky dinky little camera and thought it was time to name and shame.


Come one guys, what are you thinking? You think it's a good idea to save money by having curtains made that don't even close and have no blackout lining, and then put bin bags up at the window to cut out the light? Have you any idea how stupid it makes you look? Do you think I really want to go to this kind of establishment again?!

So, Saturday evening we went over to O'Neill's Irish bar in Durham to see a band called Malarky. They were quite good as cover bands go. Place was full, got most people up dancing after a few pints of Guiness.



So, I got to playing with my new camera again. It has a high sensitivity setting so that you can take pictures in darkened situations without a flash. Handy if you want to capture the atmos including lighting effects, etc. Of course, you do lose a lot in quality, plus artificial lighting together with red pub walls made all the photos have a red cast, but I'm quite pleased with what can be achieved in such a dim place.


My friend, Rick


Rick & Mr Lisa's pints going down nicely


The band, Malarky

But then I noticed this cash machine ...


... and the onscreen message...


... then this ...



Er ... guys! You lot over at Scott Tod ... I think it was the guy that was buying pints for everyone in the pub!

Well, in case you hadn't worked it out, it was my birthday on Thursday. Mr Lisa bought me a nifty spiffy new camera which does just about everything except make the coffee, so off I went to try it out on Saturday.

My sis and I went along to this month's "Blow" event, but taking pictures while trying to blow bubbles off the Millennium Bridge is more difficult than it sounds. I spilled soapy bubble mixture down my top, dipped my hair in it, and almost dropped my camera in the River Tyne.



The Baltic Flour Mill - a wonderful place to visit if you're near Gateshead and fancy visiting an art exhibition. Those clouds were looking quite ominious before we'd even got there.



The Pitcher and Piano where we decided to have a drink before the event started.


And here we are, spreading bubbly happiness to all!

Just as we were finished "Blowing" the heavens opened and the camera was quickly packed up and put away. I got utterly drenched and was not a happy bunny by the time I got home. At least it was warm rain.

Can't remember if I've already blogged this, but it deserves a second airing nevertheless:

http://www.wingtunes.com/public/songs.aspx

Lots of Lego Doctor Who videos

You will most likely regret following this link, but here it is anyway for any trainspotting type geeks out there:

http://ithrewup.com/mt/

I'm so tired I can hardly even think. I have so many things saved to blog too, but I just couldn't be arsed to do anything about it until now. My lovely little laptop died tragically in November last year and since then I've been using my ancient elastic-band-powered desktop PC to check my email and stuff, but it's so slow that I'd be nearly tearing my hair out if I tried to type up a blog entry.

Happily my super duper new turbo charged laptop is positively whizzing along as I type this, so you can now look forward to the humour of me trying to catch up! I have the Whitby Gothic Weekend to summarize and I just don't even know where to start with that one!

Maybe I'll feel better after a good night's sleep. In the meantime, here's a bit of fun over at Pinksy's blog. Made me laugh anyway.

Bo-Sco-Foe-Joe-No-Croe-Blow-Coe-Show-Row

Right, I'm off camping for the weekend. See you all when I get back.

Surgery went well on Tuesday with no ill effects from the anaesthetic. Recovered quickly and was sent home within a couple of hours of waking up.

The incision is bigger than I had expected ... about 1.5 - 2 inches ... but as the lump was half an inch across itself and it was quite deep I suppose that's only to be expected. No visible sutures, just steristrips and a dressing.

Trouble is, I'm not exactly small in the boob department and the weight of it pulling on my wound hurts like hell, so I'm having to wear an industrial strength 3-hook bra to hoist them up and hold them still so that I can move around and do stuff. The painkillers I've been prescribed are pretty effective but have got me off me head, so no driving for me till I stop taking them.

I have about a three week wait till hear the histology results. As the biopsy itself proved innocent I'm not expecting anything different from the whole lump. The doctor said there was a 1 in 1,000 chance of it being nasty, so no worries there.

I'm now attempting to do some housework, but there are only so many jobs I can do which don't hurt. I've already cleaned the kitchen and the bathroom. I should really try to tackle the living room, now.

I had my pre-op assessment yesterday morning. It went ok, nothing to worry about for me. Apart from being overweight, I'm fit and healthy, so everything is going ahead as planned.

So, the date for the op is 27th March - a week today! I am nervous, naturally, and I've told Mr Lisa exactly that. He has to be there for me ... not at work. I've told him in no uncertain terms that he has to get his priorities right and he has to be there to look after me at home. I don't want anyone else visiting me.

I'll be admitted at 8am, but I have absolutely no idea what time I will be discharged. I have to ring the hospital to find out what the procedure is.

I know I may sound like I'm making a big thing out out of this as I am only having a small lump removed, but it is a big thing to me. I will be putting my life in the hands of a stranger (the anaesthetist) who will administer a controlled poison in order to bring me to a state close the death. Then another stranger will be cutting into and invading my body. This is all, to me, utterly terrifying and I have to prepare myself mentally for the whole thing. On top of all of that, I still have a worry that the lump may not be innocent. I know I have had a biopsy and it was benign, but my consultant told me he would still want to have me back for another in May if I didn't opt for surgery, to make sure it hadn't changed. This, to me, means it could change, and may have already changed by the time it's removed, so I will have another wait after the surgery until I get the results back from pathology.


This is going to be a long week. I can tell.

Being a sci-fi nerd with my geek compass pointing torchwards and tardiswards, is it any wonder I have to do this?

Happy 40th birthday Mr B!

[waves in the general direction of Cardiff]

Ok, geek moment over. As you were, folks.

Thought I'd just mention the dates I have ... earlier than expected, too.

Monday 19th March I go for a pre-operative assessment.

Tuesday 27th March I have surgery, providing the results of the 19th are all ok.

Yes, I'm nervous, who wouldn't be? And yes, I will be back to work the next day, and I will be back at the Theatre Group on the Thursday evening. Just give me drugs!! I need painkillers!

As the sister of a mad cat woman, I know this to be true. See what you think.

Cat Proximity

Via John Scalzi

Enjoy!

Just a quick post to let you all know the results of my biopsy.

It's benign ... so far ... but some lumps can turn into something more sinister so ...

I have a couple of options: I can leave it be and go back in May to have another scan to see if it's changed, or I can have it removed and that will be it done with.

No doubt this will be surprising to some, but this hasn't been an easy decision. I don't like the thought of surgery even though I'm no stranger to it, and I'm all for taking the most non-invasive route where possible. However ...

... me, being the natural worrier that I am, will more than likely whittle away over the next few months wondering if everything is OK, and even if it does turn out to have not changed in the slightest, I'll probably still wonder if it could turn in the future.


For this reason I have decided to have it removed and be done with it. So what if I have a scar - I'll add it to my ever growing collection of scars. I will telephone the consultant's receptionist on Monday and let her know my decision.