Old Man Mick

Ok, so this is the last post about my health for a while.

Besides, all I’ve got is Gout.

And my Cholesterol is fine. “3 point nothing” is what the doc said. He thinks the nurse got a little confused on the phone.

But gout. Finally confirmed. Just gotta lay off the shell-fish, the brains, the sheep spleen and sweetbread.

My Uric Acid was through the roof, which was probably not assisted by the fact that I had a shit-load of beer in the 3 days preceding the blood test.

But, no more beer binges for a while. Gotta get the kidneys functioning again. I have been drinking litres of water a day and am amazed at how often I need to pee now.

I feel better for all the fluid though and although the foot doesn’t quite feel 100% yet, I am hoping I can control the gout attacks by watching what I eat and drink.

On a better note, I am going to Trackside tomorrow which I think is going to kick-arse, except for the weather forecast for tomorrow:

Forecast for Saturday
Scattered showers falling as snow showers above 1200m. Mostly cloudy with strong gusty westerly winds developing, reaching gale force at high elevation late in the day.

Precis:      A few showers, windy.
City:        Min  7    Max  15

WTF??? This is the 22nd of NOVEMBER. 8 days from Summer, and we’re talking SNOW???

Not happy. When can I move to QLD already?

Oh shit, that’s right they get raging storms every night.

Ok then, Belize it is

Leap Day!

It only happens once every four years.

But so does the Olympics, the Soccer World Cup and cleaning out my ears.

It’s also a bloody freezing day here. (7 degrees overnight)

That’s the problem with Canberra. As soon as she gets a whiff that Summer is over, the frosts roll in.

Hopefully this is a one off for now though as next week looks ok:

Monday   : Fine, sunny.             Min: 9    Max: 26

Tuesday  : Fine, mostly sunny.      Min: 11    Max: 27

Wednesday: Fine, mostly sunny.      Min: 11    Max: 26

Thursday : Fine, mostly sunny.      Min: 11    Max: 26

It’s also a 1 in 4 years chance to see The Drop Bears live at the Holy Grail in Kingston on Leap Day!

We’ve been jamming a few new songs, so it should go off tonight.

I am convinced that while I am singing ‘Long Road To Ruin’ I am channeling Dave Grohl.

I WISH!

Oooh….only 2 months till I see him and the Fooeys live again…

Score!

So…any girls proposing to their guys today?

Ha…although LaLa made a good point. She thinks that you’d miss out on a ring if the woman proposes.

Apparently if a guy declines a proposal on Leap Day, they must pay a FINE. “(Back in the 1200s the fine ranged from a kiss, to 1 pound, to a silk dress. Most gents are probably wishing it would work the other way around too!)”

How’s that for pressure??

Personally, I don’t think it should always be left to the male to propose anyway. I mean, why should a guy be left with such a big decision?

Mind you, if the woman nags hints enough, then I guess it’s not really the guys decision anyway…

🙂

Bring on Global Warming..

I’m toasty. Warm. Snug.

In Bed.

I can’t hear the sound of morning outside.

Even the birds are nestled in tightly with their head under their wings.

The alarm goes off.

No…Noooooo…..not YET.

Snooze.

Sleep. Half Awake. Half Asleep.

Dreaming of Cruise Ships. White Sand. A warm fireplace.

Again with the alarm.

Turn Off in a dreamy trance.

…

..

.

The warmth surrounds me. No matter what is happening in the cold wintery morning, this is where I need to be.

…

No more alarm. Just my own motivations to crawl out of bed.

Motivation is something that perpetuates itself. But if you have little to start with, you have little to work with.

1…2…3….this is it. Up. Go. Work. Dedication. Motivation.

You can do it.

…

..

.

Ugh. Cold tiles. Cold water splashes me. Cold Air extinguishes the warmth that was just recently enveloping me.

Warm water. For those few minutes I can again enjoy the serenity of warmth and of comfort.

Hotter.

Hotttter.

It also burns, but it burns so good.

..

..

..

Water restrictions? Bah. Is that a motivation to turn off the shower?

Well, I have to use something.

Cold again. It rushes back, and not even a towel can help.

Dress.

Pull back curtains and see the morning.

The ice on the car.

The frost on the grass.

The fog in the air.

Eat. Slowly.

That cars going to need warming up, while I get cooled down.

The chilly air and icy wind smack my face red.

My coat’s not quick enough.

My socks aren’t thick enough.

My hands shake as I scrape off the ice with a Borders Rewards card.

I lock myself into the cockpit of the ice bucket (of shit).

Car’s not warm. Bed is still there. The doona is still there.

..

I have come too far.

I glare through he icy back window and reverse onto the street.

Work. Heater. Damn you. Warm up.

It warms up. I am at work. I have to walk 5 minutes to the front door.

..

I can still go home. The bed…..the beeeedddd.

..

Hands in pockets. Beanie on head. Head down to shield from the wind.

Cold feet. Cold hands. Cold EVERYTHING.

..

Bring on Global Warming…..

….or at least Spring.

Falling for Fall. (Yank term, but hey, it rhymes!)

If anyone asks me what my favourite time of the year is I have no hesitation in saying “SUMMER! It’s hot. There’s cricket. There’s holidays. There’s SANTA!”

Now, that is all true and I’ll never hear a bad word said about summer, but every year…at this time of year, I get all happy and shit and actually enjoy the nip in the air (no..not flying Asians), the smoky smell of chimneys being used for the first time in 6 months and the Sun. Yes. The Sun that we all curse and swear at when it melts our ice-cream in summer or ploughs through our skin like a toothpick through jelly creating nasty little suckers called MOLES that I really must get checked out….

But. The Sun..at this time of year is so…sunny…and nice…and warm, just when you want it most.

Now check out the forecast in Canberra for the next few days….

Friday   : Fine, mostly sunny.                       Min: 8    Max: 25
Saturday : Fine, mostly sunny.                       Min: 8    Max: 25
Sunday   : Fine, mostly sunny.                      Min: 9    Max: 25
Monday   : Mostly fine.                                   Min: 8    Max: 24
Tuesday  : Fine, mostly sunny.                      Min: 8    Max: 24
Wednesday : Fine day.                                 Min: 8    Max: 23

Single digit nights, 20+ days. That’s a pretty big range. But dammit if everyday is not SUNNY. (although I don’t like having to wear a shirt at night walking around the house…. it’s just not right)

I am the first to bag out Canberra for it’s weather. The winters here seem to last 8 months of the year and when you have to scrape frost off your car at 7pm with a credit card you really curse that you live anywhere south of Goulburn, but there was a statistic that I always cling on to. Canberra, according to some random study years and years ago which may or may not have been true, is the sunniest city in Australia AND one of the sunniest in the world (no…i can’t find a link ;))

So damn it. It’s something I can be happy with…until the thermometer struggles to crack double figures at ALL in a few weeks.

But hey, come to think of it, I am just happy most of the time 🙂

Holy Hail..What’s going on?

Big Big Hail storm in Canberra last night.

This summer has seem lots of storms, lots of extremes in weather.

Why? Buggered if I know,  but that lightning storm last night was one of the most amazing things I have seen.

Keep an eye on The Riotact and Samuel’s Blog for some pics!

(ED: Ducky has taken some great photos too! and more here!)

I drove through Civic on my way to work this morning, which I NEVER do, but it was amazing to see all the ice on the road and on the parks with steam floating up.

Last night looks like it was amazing..