Personal Spring Clean
I havent written in here for ages. I feel many of my friends are in a worst situation than I at present. I was bad when first diagnosed and had to give up work but have made a different life now. On bad days I go to bed but these flares dont go on for weeks and weeks. At worse a week and then some respite.
I also have " a nest egg" and am racing to spend it doing the things I want in case I do get much more feeble. In any case being in my sixties I feel more than in the past I am on that sledge without brakes heading towards a full stop...
So “Wassup” as the youth say? This year took about three months out to see Cuba, Mexico City and then down through Mexico and central America. Went with an Australasian company called Intrepid although had a bit over a week in Mexico City on my own. Didnt seem quite as dangerous as had been led to believe but staying in reasonable area and didnt go out a lot at night after say nine o clock. Quickly got hang of metro. Wow so cheap!
The trip was a Basix which I thought would be like my Philippines trip last year - cheapo accom and chicken buses but it was a bit more upmarket. Yes some chicken buses and even staying with ethnic villagers in their own homes in non tourist village in moutains near Lake Atitlan via special Intrepid arrangement but variety otherwise always double rooms with ensuite and often mini vans. I was always youngest on various legs usually by about 30 to 40 years but it didnt matter. Shared same sex accommodation. Managed to do few exciting things like zip lining and white water rafting.
On return found I had lost a bit of weight. Hard to keep it off so now putting weight loss up as a goal and Getting Serious! I had a goal ages back to join tramping group but RA not kind enough so compromising on a morning walking group which joined about six weeks ago. We do local walks and reward ourselves with lunch. The town I live in is about fourth or fifth largest in NZ with c.120,000. It is coastal and warmish for NZ which has pretty severe South Island winters! So there are some lovely walks and boardwalks around estuaries. This is a happy compromise at the moment.
But I headed this up Spring Clean. I have decided to give myself one. Not just the weight but also throw out old clothes and de clutter a bit, meditate more regularly, go to the gym regularly by re prioritizing and improve my scrabble game! Scrabble is a big deal to me but temperamentally I get flustered and cross with myself when under pressure at the club. So have that on Good Intentions! Be calmer and learn some ridiculous words! (Anyone who ever played with a club knows the words allowed are ridiculous).
Rugby World Cup here – I drew USA in our scrabble club sweepstakes so not going to win the pot!! Never mind all good fun except that officialdom here certainly need a spring clean themselves. The English team cheated this week by changing the ball when it came to taking a kick and nothing was done!! But a Samoan rugby player wore a non official mouth guard and got fined ten thousand dollars. Yes $K10!!! So one of our TV magazine news presenters organised a sausage sizzle and people bought sausages at $5 a time and others wandered down with donations. Eg: the leader of our opposition.(and not surrounded by bodyguards) Can you imagine that happening in the USA??!! But NZ is pretty laid back. As the programme started a presenter outside the Samoa/S. Africa game was told he had to collect the difference but not how much. So he and another had buckets and people were putting money in and abusing Officialdom for being such bullies! Turned out he needed to get less than $400 because of big donations by businesses at the sausage sizzle. Our whole country was bullied by Adidas with triple price of logo jerseys than other parts of the world. At first we not allowed to buy them over internet o/seas then just supply not allowed til Cup finished. A friend bought some that way for her grandkids and is well hacked off! So this bully response moved something in us viewers and was a fabulous thing to do. Of course after the weekend the TV cameras and presenter are wandering down to the Rugby Union HQ to pay the fine!!
Anyone waded through all this? Not so relevant to RA but it is me right now! Hello to any friends reading. Hope you all ok especially if you heading into winter. It’s not so bad to feel energized with summer on the way down here!
I also have " a nest egg" and am racing to spend it doing the things I want in case I do get much more feeble. In any case being in my sixties I feel more than in the past I am on that sledge without brakes heading towards a full stop...
So “Wassup” as the youth say? This year took about three months out to see Cuba, Mexico City and then down through Mexico and central America. Went with an Australasian company called Intrepid although had a bit over a week in Mexico City on my own. Didnt seem quite as dangerous as had been led to believe but staying in reasonable area and didnt go out a lot at night after say nine o clock. Quickly got hang of metro. Wow so cheap!
The trip was a Basix which I thought would be like my Philippines trip last year - cheapo accom and chicken buses but it was a bit more upmarket. Yes some chicken buses and even staying with ethnic villagers in their own homes in non tourist village in moutains near Lake Atitlan via special Intrepid arrangement but variety otherwise always double rooms with ensuite and often mini vans. I was always youngest on various legs usually by about 30 to 40 years but it didnt matter. Shared same sex accommodation. Managed to do few exciting things like zip lining and white water rafting.
On return found I had lost a bit of weight. Hard to keep it off so now putting weight loss up as a goal and Getting Serious! I had a goal ages back to join tramping group but RA not kind enough so compromising on a morning walking group which joined about six weeks ago. We do local walks and reward ourselves with lunch. The town I live in is about fourth or fifth largest in NZ with c.120,000. It is coastal and warmish for NZ which has pretty severe South Island winters! So there are some lovely walks and boardwalks around estuaries. This is a happy compromise at the moment.
But I headed this up Spring Clean. I have decided to give myself one. Not just the weight but also throw out old clothes and de clutter a bit, meditate more regularly, go to the gym regularly by re prioritizing and improve my scrabble game! Scrabble is a big deal to me but temperamentally I get flustered and cross with myself when under pressure at the club. So have that on Good Intentions! Be calmer and learn some ridiculous words! (Anyone who ever played with a club knows the words allowed are ridiculous).
Rugby World Cup here – I drew USA in our scrabble club sweepstakes so not going to win the pot!! Never mind all good fun except that officialdom here certainly need a spring clean themselves. The English team cheated this week by changing the ball when it came to taking a kick and nothing was done!! But a Samoan rugby player wore a non official mouth guard and got fined ten thousand dollars. Yes $K10!!! So one of our TV magazine news presenters organised a sausage sizzle and people bought sausages at $5 a time and others wandered down with donations. Eg: the leader of our opposition.(and not surrounded by bodyguards) Can you imagine that happening in the USA??!! But NZ is pretty laid back. As the programme started a presenter outside the Samoa/S. Africa game was told he had to collect the difference but not how much. So he and another had buckets and people were putting money in and abusing Officialdom for being such bullies! Turned out he needed to get less than $400 because of big donations by businesses at the sausage sizzle. Our whole country was bullied by Adidas with triple price of logo jerseys than other parts of the world. At first we not allowed to buy them over internet o/seas then just supply not allowed til Cup finished. A friend bought some that way for her grandkids and is well hacked off! So this bully response moved something in us viewers and was a fabulous thing to do. Of course after the weekend the TV cameras and presenter are wandering down to the Rugby Union HQ to pay the fine!!
Anyone waded through all this? Not so relevant to RA but it is me right now! Hello to any friends reading. Hope you all ok especially if you heading into winter. It’s not so bad to feel energized with summer on the way down here!
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