| Thursday, September 29, 2005
I can walk |
| In fact my limp is so minimal now that I'm convinced it looks like those kinds of limps that people who can't be bothered walking faster affect during tramping expeditions. The kind that occasionally, inadvertently, changes leg. I'm still seeing the physiotherapist often and I reckon she's performed magic. I feel obliged to mention with some gratitude that almost all the treatment I received for this injury has been paid, not unlike my wages, by the people of New Zealand through our taxes. Thanks one and all. It makes me feel like I live in a very caring society indeed. Today National Radio played a song for me. They've finally realised that their audience are not dominated by people over 70 and retired the darling Wayne Mowat in favour of Jim Mora and a much more entertaining and, dare I say, contemporary programme. Gone are the endless interviews with homeopaths specialising in bark flower remedies for domestic pets and in their place is an interesting magazine programme that encourages audience participation. Immediately I developed this impression (one that radio has the unique power to induce, but that is not achieved my most commercial broadcasters these days as they're run by computers) that the National Radio was broadcasting for me and a few of my mates. I decided to put this theory to the test and sent a suggestion for their "Greatest Song of All Time" section through the email. Quickly I received a reply offering not only to play the song, but asking to interview me as a short prelude. I agreed, of course. No sooner was my song played ["She Speeds", by the Straightjacket Fits, in case you're curious] than I began to receive texts from people all over the country. QED. I love living in a small country. |
| Georgina
responded:
Hey! You probably don't remember me all that well! Georgina from your year 9 Cashmere high school english class! (9AK) anyway that sux that you sprained your ankle, but its good that its healing.If you remember me you will know that I hate speeches, but I did one this year! (with Amy) but im so glad its over! Oh and im getting married!! hehehe. anyway I hope you're having fun teaching at your new school. |
| Georgina
responded:
ps: visit my web page!!! Sunday, October 02, 2005 |
| Monday, September 12, 2005
Two days later.. |
 See, now there's a bruise rising up my leg. Who's going for the sympathy vote now? eh? |
| Christopher Waugh
responded:
Well, um.. no, I haven't taken any painkillers or anything, but the pain is getting much less and i'm able to put weight on my heel too! It's been such an interesting experience really.. Tuesday, September 13, 2005 |
| deanboy
responded:
yarg! that is pretty grisly for a foot. for a sunset, however, those colours are faboo. hope you're on your way to a speedy recovery .... what did that to you anyway? or did i miss the story of you pirouetting around the living room? |
| updoc
responded:
Never underestimate the healing powers of arnica. I think if you applied arnica cream to a severed limb, within a week a new limb would grow back. I'm sure there is documented proof of this but conventional science is too afraid to disclose it. Arnica, combined with the healing magic of Raleighs Salvon Cream, is an irrepressible healing force. That said, with this puppy we're talking at least three big tubs worth! There seems to be a provincial battle going on on your ankle. The red and black of Canterbury are colliding with the blue and gold of Otago like two colliding plates on some geological faultline. Who will prevail? The only difference is within this great seismic activity on your ankle, there is no apparent break. How this is possible beyond me but I trust that you are documenting this thoroughly as they will be writing medical journals on this for years to come. Monday, September 26, 2005 |
| Sunday, September 11, 2005
I sprained my ankle |
| Well, a couple of days ago I sprained my ankle. So badly that I still am unable to put any pressure on it. It's not broken, I've had an x-ray, but it's been the most painful experience so far this life. The first night was agony in bed where the 'weight' of the duvet felt like a thousand swords through my flesh. I quickly devised some cool Ice and Elevation systems but did have some trouble staving off the inevitable self-pity that pain and isolation seems to provoke. (Tim and Tony and anyone else who was at the Gay Ski Week party in Queenstown bore the full force of that via text message - complete with a visual assualt via pxt of photos of the swollen foot). Now, the bruising has started to show, and after Scott the physio told me it's the worst sprain he's ever seen, and since being given a sunflower by Nicki, being driven around by Bagley, being visited with gifts of Dal, Cookies and Crutches by Tony, Grant and Stephen - I'm starting to feel better. At times like this I seem to thrive, even more, on sympathy and attention. I've made a few small changes to my journal (you may have noticed that you can subscribe to it by email now) and I've read a book. I've made myself Carrot and Orange soup and I've spent more time online than I have in quite a while.. yet the foot is still not better. I'm haiving another day off work tomorrow then I fully intend to be back on deck on Tuesday, with crutches, of course. |
| updoc
responded:
No I'm afraid sprained isn't going to cut it. We need to invent a new word here to represent this calamity. Your poor ankle looks like mine after I was stung by a bluebottle jellyfish. I spent three quarters of the day trying to kick my way back to the shore on my lilo as I kept on going round in circles. This pic looks like some forced perspective out of Lord of the Rings. One sprain to rule them all and in the darkness vanquish him! My sympathies. The only consoling thought is that there wasn't a break and life should return to normal soon without any more ill effects. |
| Brokeback Mountain |
| A story by E Annie Proulx. Directed by Ang Lee. Starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal. I think I want to see this film almost as much as I want to see Fifty Ways of saying Fabulous which is even set in Central Otago. I'm excited! |
| Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Pump It Up (while your feet are stomping) |
| One thing I've always done, in the long tradition so well represented in Nick Hornby's "High Fidelity" is make mix-tapes. I used to spend entire days of entire weekends making up tapes from my ever-expanding record collection. Sometimes they would be mood compilations (songs to listen to while you're angry, sad, wronged..) sometimes they were attempts to lift such moods, where they would begin in the depths of self-absorbtion ("How Soon Is Now" by the Smiths) and then mix and blend - as seamlessly as a 'pause' button would allow until I found myself dancing behind the carefully closed curtains of my bedroom to the likes of Technotronic. There were the ones that played my favourite songs by year, or my favourite track from each album (excluding those that had been released as singles) or even my favourite songs starting with the letter "B". It almost seems sometimes that everything important in my life has a soundtrack. The last week of completion of my 5th Form art folio (the birth of my lifelong habit of all-nighters to meet a deadline) to the repeated and repeated sounds of Suzanne Vega's first (self-titled) album. The summer spent in Wanaka listening to Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians. The Cure (escapes in Poppy); The Smiths (Late night bedrooms); Look Blue Go Purple and I "Circumspect Penelope"-ing all the way from Dunedin to Wanaka in the Austin Maxi with the sailboard on the roof, my brother at my side and high spirits in the heart; rdu's P3 (when Matt O'Brien was the DJ) on my walkman whilst battling the Thursday night NE headwinds on my bike on the way back to Sumner after a day's work at the station. My earliest musical memory must come from about the age of 7 where I went to Long Beach with my Dad (we had Sundays with Dad and he took us on adventures) in his friend's Rover. We were sitting in the sun listening to the radio and 10CC's "Dreadlock Holiday" came on, it was a hit at the time and Dad liked it (so did I). His friends gave him hassles and that day turned out to be my first recollection of a couple of other things. It was the first time I recognised someone standing up to peer pressure - my Dad has a very calm certainty about his views, a very good role-model for peaceful resistance. It was also the first time (of course this has happened countless times since then) I found myself to be transfixed by the sight of a man's body. I don't even remember who it was. Someone who was mowing the lawns. Somewhere deep down, I knew I was going to be in for trouble over this, but I just couldn't keep my eyes off the guy. I instantly jumped into a parrallel universe and in many ways I think I've been observing the world from over here ever since... I didn't know at the time that there were 'parallel universe' reasons that I actually enjoyed our family ABBA-singing road trips to Clyde in the Datsun 260c. I know all the words to 5 of their albums. Doomed from the start, I was. I drew the line at Julio Iglesias however - but as irony would have it, I was teaching aerobics to the music of his son 20 years later. I like to blame my Julio-phile mum for that one. I listened to Cocteau Twins and Talk Talk and wore out my flatmate's copy of the Flying Nun compilation "In Love With These Times" when I used to live in Leith Street East (Just behind the beautiful old University of Otago Registry building). I was doing aerobics by then, and I'm one of the few that know that Underworld has been around a very long time because my first ever aerobics track was choreographed to a song by them called "Underneath the Radar". Les Mills Aerobics and the very handsome and distant Steve Renata introduced me to "Nutbush City Limits" and so my path into the world of pitch-shifted cheesy dance remakes was set. What song does my iTunes music player tell me I have played more often than any other in the last 5 years? Wait for it... "Love Da Sunshine" which is a remake of, you guessed it "Dreadlock Holiday" by 10CC and which comes as part of the Les Mills Aerobics BODYATTACK 40 relaease. You may not believe me, but I didn't check that until now. Spooky Possums. If I eliminate the aerobics tracks, the most played of all time track in my iTunes music collection is "For the Love of Big Brother" By the Eurythmics - from their soundtrack to the film of the George Orwell novel 1984. Now do you believe that my penchant is for melancholy music? (Thanks to Matthew for bringing some perspective to the matter and unblocking my blogging channels.) |
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