The Fantastic Voyage (inside Neb)

Well, I've just had a BUSY two weeks. I have worked at least once a day every day since last Monday week, which was when I went to Warragul for my gastroscopy session. I was actually pencilled in for a shift that day, but it was a late change and I had to bail on work sorry to my coworkers; I hate leaving you guys in the lurch, just so you know, but I gotta look after my health.

I was going to tell you all about what it is like to have a camera shoved down your throat on the day it actually happened, but: a) I was too tired from the anaesthetic to post anything on that day; and b) I slept through the whole procedure (thanks to said anaesthetic).
I'd heard that you have to swallow this rather bulky mini-cam on a cable, which was apparently gag-a-riffic as if I didn't have enough problems with swallowing but as it turned out, it went like a dream...

Seriously, they just shoved some good stuff into my bloodstream, moved me onto my side, and ten seconds later, I was being shaken awake! I have never fallen asleep that quickly before in my life. It was AWESOME.

Anyway, I wasn't able to drive back from the clinic on my own, so I got my Ma to chauffeur me. She used the downtime to check out the Op Shops in town; luckily, she had her guide (me) to point them all out to her before I went in for examination, so while I was being invaded, she went and scoped out some bargains. I don't remember if she bought anything, but she usually buys herself some nice clothes, so I'm going with that.

After I woke up and had some supplies some free sandwiches, tea and HEAPS OF WATER because I had to fast for five hours prior and DAMN I was thirsty!!! we went to have some lunch and do some more shopping.
Important Note: Shopping under the influence of sleep-inducing drugs is a very risky business. Fortunately, I made it out with my wallet relatively unscathed. I found some good CDs for $10 each, some T-shirts for my nephew, and a few books. I may have also bought some makeup and a bra or two, or maybe that was what Ma bought - I can't seem to find those anywhere, so I probably just got confused.

In case you wondered: They said they found that I had something called a Sliding Hiatus Hernia, which is very common and often doesn't present any problems at all. It's probably the cause of food sometimes getting stuck in my guts from time to time - maybe. At any rate, I'll see my doctor this week, so I'll find out what to do next.

Other stuff:

• Starting witht the damn obvious, Michael Jackson passed away last month. I have since been reading up about his life, and feel that he had been mistreated and abused to the point where he wasn't even a real person any more. He was really talented though; As a child of the 80s and 90s I was witness to the better part of his career. I went and bought a compilation album to remember him by. Vale, Michael.
  
• My uncle was admitted to hospital last week, after a routine checkup revealed something serious. He's since been diagnosed with lymphoma (cancer of the lymph nodes); at this point I do not know how bad it is, but this type of cancer is one of the easier types to treat, depending on which type he has. I also found out that one of my cousins has been diagnosed with the same condition, within the space of a week! My thoughts go out to both of them.
• My friend Katie has returned to Ozland! It's been a long journey for her and her husband, but they have finally touched down. The only thing I need to do now is actually get in touch with her... Hello, Facebook? (And now all we need to do is con Miro back into Australia and we'll all be back on the same continent again!)
  

So much to do - tax time, cleaning up the house, catching up with friends, and generally sorting out my life... I wish there were more of me, sometimes. See you soon!

Being Thirty (Part Two)

So, here's what happened when I actually turned thirty.

Well, the story continues from the Sunday before... when I overslept and nearly missed opening the shop on time. I managed to get there about five minutes before we were open for trade, and I quickly raced around getting everything sorted out in time! It brought back horrible memories of when I used to open up the shop in Traralgon every weekend... ooer. ugh.

I worked for about six hours, then I headed to the Sunday Market (first time I'd been in months!) and picked up a few CDs and Sega games. The guy who sold me the games recognised me from the last time I'd been there, and tried to get me to buy a few more games... but I haven't even tried out the last few games I've bought from him! Well, I've got the Sega stashed away somewhere...

When I came home, I was getting really sleepy, so I went to bed for a nap - and woke up at about 11.30 pm, almost in time for my age to click over!
After the clock ticked over to Midnight, my sister gave me her gifts, which were a kilogram of Jelly Belly beans (ooh, just typing that hurts my stomach) and a bunch of pretty coloured markers. Heh, maybe someday I'll actually get around to using those!

I stayed up most of the night, because I'd been asleep for so long already, so I spent most of that time just browsing on the Internet and working on my games. Then the others woke up and went about their business, and when they came back they asked me if I wanted to do anything special for the occasion.
I thought about it for a while... and while I was thinking, my eyelids started getting really really heavy...

So, I went back to bed.
Yep! THAT'S HOW I HONOURED MY 30th BIRTHDAY. TAKING A NAP.

...except that wasn't the end of it.
I kept getting interrupted by phonecalls and wellwishers, so eventually I just got up and joined civilisation again. Besides, Ma had dumped a handful of confetti all over my bed so it wasn't exactly the most comfortable place any more. :)

We had another cake at Ma's place. This time it was a cream-filled sponge, with multi-coloured sprinkles, and that went a lot quicker than the cheesecake from Saturday. I even managed to recycle the candle from the first cake!

Aaand... The birthday fun continues! Later this week I'll be having my friends over for a non-formal gathering at our place, which ought to be fun! I haven't had a get-together for a while, so I have a lot to catch up on!

I done broke it!

Also, I discovered something else today that is a little disappointing.

Last year, my older sister gave me a new alarm clock for Christmas. Not an ordinary one that just tells time and bleeps when you want it to, but one with a unique "deactivation" setting.
On top of the clock mechanism is a small sphere attached to a propeller blade. When the alarm goes off, the blade spins around rapidly, and flies off around the room. In order to stop the clock from bleeping endlessly, you have to find the sphere and place it back on top of the clock. Easier said than done at five in the morning!
Below is a picture of a similar model. The one I have is slightly less durable (as I'll explain shortly). Not my picture, btw, I found this one here.



I used the clock to wake me up on Sunday for the shift I mentioned in the last post (though it turned out I didn't really need it anyway). I switched it off the regular way, but later, when I had a look at the pieces, I realised there were too many. Yes, I done broke the propeller, and now it doesn't work any more!
I was bemused when I received the clock (well, more than a little insulted, actually), but now that it is broken I am sad. So, I'm going to try and glue it back together, if for no other reason than to say, "Hey, I tried to fix it!"

What's Up This Week?

Aside from seeing my nephew in a play (see last post), I've done this stuff, in no particular order:

• I sent my Dad a Father's Day parcel, and hopefully he's got it by now... basically the same old stuff I usually send him, but it's usually well appreciated - at least I've never heard any complaints from him... :)
• I worked 20 hours over the weekend due to a serious lack of staff... most unfortunate, but this only happens very rarely I keep telling myself.
  
• I found a copy of Zork: Grand Inquisitor that just refuses to run. At all. mutter grumble...
• I also purchased a DVD-ROM burner drawer for the computer. After a bit of fiddling around with the master/Slave settings I managed to get it working just fine! at least SOMETHING I bought is working...
• I went and had more dental work done this week, to the tune of $250, entirely out of my pocket because I don't have private health cover yet. I have however paid up my Ambulance membership - I don't fancy paying over $1000 for an ambulance trip when it only costs me $60 to join.

One of the things I would like to do this week is attend my friend's 30th Birthday dinner, but, sadly, I can't thanks to my job. Oh well...
Happy 30th Birthday, Slink!
Hope you enjoy the new PS2 game, whatever you pick!

New Monitor

I acquired a "new second-hand" computer monitor from a friend a few months ago, and last night I decided to set it up and see if it works.
Yep, it does! Now I have a lovely 42cm screen with which I can look at stuff in 1024x768 pixels... and it is a weird experience seeing stuff in a familiar size, only bigger!

Naturally I took a Dinkycam photo to commemorate the occasion.


I also took a photo of Jiji the cat, who was inside for some reason.


Yes, I did turn on the lights! I was a bit worried that these wouldn't work at all, because the camera wasn't uploading photos properly the last time I used it. Eep.
My Ma has told me that I can borrow her older Digital Camera, in case I feel inclined to take better photos. That is, photos with recognisable subjects.

I've also been doing some games stuff, and I'll also be upgrading my website sooner rather than later (yes, you'll finally be able to see things on it rather than just "coming soon, visit my blog in meantime").

Pro Active!

Hey Folks!

I spent the better portion of yesterday taking care of business. I've been quite dull for the past few days, so I decided I ought to leave this house and go outside.
I managed to pay a couple of bills, and went through all the charity shops in town. (Yay, my exciting life. Hey, it's better than ebay.)

Didn't find that much, but I did find a couple of good second-hand books. One of them was "Inside Mad" - one of those vintage pocket-sized books full of excerpts from MAD Magazines. Brilliant! It's one of the original editions too.
Let me just go and count how many of them I now have...
OVER FORTY!!!
...in variable condition. Some of them are actually barely ½ a book, because I wasn't always careful with where I put them. hee hee...

On the way home I ran into my friend Slink, whom I hadn't seen since we went to the Game On expo back in April. He was heading to his sister's place, which was handy because I also had to go see them as well. Her baby girl Sophie had her christening last weekend, but I was unable to go as I had work in the evening... so I had some catching up to do. (The christening was a 6pm mass, so it was apparently a lot different from her older sister's.)

It made me realise how easy it is to get caught up in your own stuff, and forget about the rest of the world. How many times have I looked at the clock and thought, "Oh, damn it! I meant to (insert something wonderful/important but forgotten)! Now it's too late! Oh, well, I'll just have to do it tomorrow..."
My friend said the same thing, though. She said that life has a habit of getting in the way of your best intentions - she's been having the same problem, though admittedly not for the same reasons. Maybe it's just a symptom of the times?

Speaking of catching up, you'll have to excuse me now. I have to try and organise a trip to Trafalgar, so that we can finish off the way-overdue murals for Boolarra before they get picked up. I'll try to include some pictures of same in my next post, once I figure out how the heck I actually do that! :)

See you later!