bulkbrit

Happy New Year Everyone

OK, this is a second attempt as LJ edited itself when I posted, so here goes...

You may well ask what I mean by the title of this entry, let me explain...

On the 23rd of December I treated us to a new 50" plasma TV as I had finally got work to agree to pay my loss of earnings and neither of us had been very pleased with the 42"LCD screen we bought a few years back.

So, the new screen arrived - stunning picture, great colour and the clarity??? WELL, what can I say?

Ah, but what to do with the old screen?

eBay !!!

I listed it and it sold within hours. I agreed with the buyer to meet at a mutual halfway point. Deal done.

So, the morning of the 30th December 2009 finds me in the spare room dusting and wrapping the LCD screen for transport. As I go to rotate it slightly so I can affix the Duck Tape securely I hear two massive pops and I mean MASSIVE pops from my left elbow. As the world spun and I felt like the contents of my stomach were about the launch from my mouth, I knelt on the floor, head on the spare bed.

Chris found me in that position a few minutes later and, surprisingly, didn't use the well known phrase of "While you are down there..."

In total it took over 5 minutes for me to get up.

So, in typical nursey fashion I popped some paracetamol and anti-inflammatories and tried to get on with things. That involved asking Chris and Bullchef to lift the LCD into the Nissan camper and then the very kind and helpful Bullchef drove the TV and me to the rendevous.

The buyer was happy with the TV.

On the way home it was agreed that my knight in shining chefs whites would also drop me at the local A&E (ER) on his way to work. (Hubby was already at work so could not oblige.)

Once at A&E I waited for a while then saw a lovely Peadiatric Nurse who was helping out in triage. Lovely lady, probably a huge hit with the kids and, once she knew I was a nurse too, she dispensed with the usual platitudes and got down to business. (Is it just me or do all nurses have a verbal shorthand when talking to each other - particularly when one is actually a patient?)

Next came a house officer (underling doctor) who sent me for an X-ray, even though there was no impact therefore not likely to be any boney injury, but, hey, it passed the time!

X-ray came back clear - surprise surprise!

House officer then pretty much tried to discharge me! ME! A nurse! Being told what to do by some jumped up newbie doctor?

I don't think so, sonny!

So, next I met his boss. Far more mature, more experienced and fully aware of my obviously world famous nursing prowess. OK, he listened and took note of my opinions - that was nice.

This new doctor's boss was actually running a clinic at that time so I was shunted from A&E to the Orthopaedic Out Patient clinic waiting room and fitted on to the end of the waiting list. For this, I was extremely grateful. It's usually so much better to deal with the organ grinder than the monkey, my dad always says.

After a while, I was called through and met the sort of doctor I think of as a 'classic doctor' - tweed jacket, stocky build, head inclined towards you and glasses sparkling from the flourescent lights.

He asked questions, listened attentively and then made me scream as he twisted, restricted and pushed and pulled my bicep and forearm.

He then dispatched his nurse to stop the Ultra Sound department from closing and sent me along.

The ultra sound lady was not impressed...and made that obvious.

However, after finding a small tear she became more compassionate and actually offered to help me put my top back on. (I don't think there was anything sexual in that, but, hey, I'm not the most au fait person on that front)...

As she could see the tear but was unable to quantify or precisely locate it, the report was 'inconclusive' so I have now been referred for an 'urgent' MRI scan. But have not heard anything about it yet!

The upshot of this long rambling exposition is that it is likely I have torn (partially) my bicep tendon where it joins in to the forearm.

If this is the case, then it will probably need surgery to repair it. My research (and what the consultant said) shows that a tear has to be repaired within 2-3 weeks of the injury or else there are huge complications and it may become irrepairable. If left unrepaired it usually results in a loss of strength approaching 60% and loss of wrist rotational strength approaching 40%.

As things stand right now, it hurts but is managable. However, my forearm is a different shape; the crook of my elbow has a large ridge running 'north/south' that wasn't there before and I have quite poor extension stability, ie, when I straighten my arm out in front of me horizontally palm upwards,  I get to about 5-10 degrees from straight and it then flops the rest of the way!

Oh, and the bruising is starting to come out now too....

So, a New Year and a new injury! Sods Law still has me on its subscription list, obviously.

Ironically, its the same arm as the bad shoulder. This could, in fact, be part of the reason for the tear as the arm is weakened and has been messed about with so much over the last 4 years that its not the happiest appendage.

The only other issue is that I will need time off work if I have surgery. Bearing in mind that I was fired last year for sick time and I am currently on probation on the reinstated contract, it adds an extra worry.

Thankfully, my gorgeous hubby and my wonderful friends have all offered to take me in to work (a 90 mile return journey) and then collect me afterwards. They can only guess at the extent of my gratitude.

So, thats the latest and the start to 2010 - damn, I hope it improves! <G>

Of course it will, after all, I have great friends, my health (really, I mean that), a home with heat and food, my pets and, most of all, my hubby who means (and is) the World to me.

Lucky?

I think I am.

Happy New Year everyone.

So, full day number 2 has been and gone…

After a God awful start at stupid o’clock and a minor hissy fit from a member of the group, we set off for a 2 hour coach ride to visit the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza.

3 of our party were on the bus. We had hoped to take over the back seat but everything was in pairs! Ste and Drew sat together and then I was inflicted with the most talkative person on the face of the whole World. OMG, this woman could talk the hind legs (and internal organs) off a dead donkey!

Cue fake sleeping mode! And it worked…for a while.

Unfortunately the return journey was the same arrangement and I had to talk to her. Well I tried but she tended to pause between her own anecdotes and then cut me off with another of her scintillating tales. Ho hum, everyone has their own life and interest just PLEASE don’t share them with me on a coach!

Chichen Itza (Chich-chen Eet-zar not Chicken Pizza) was fascinating. Fraking hot but stunning to look at.

The Mayan culture still exists, much to our surprise! One of the current archaeological theories is that sometime in the 15^th Century the lower caste rebelled against the higher caste and then left the Chichen Itza buildings.

The socio political situation prior to this event was basically that the higher caste (astronomers, priests, wise men, artisans) ruled from the centre of the culture. They created and retained all the records and knowledge, configured and built the Mayan Calendar ( the primary temple in Chichen Itza is actually a calendar!) and pretty much ran the Mayan society.

The lower caste lived on the outskirts of the Temple and Plaza complex and provided a rudimentary labour force.

As has been seen in more recent history, this inequality led to a revolt in which the lower caste destroyed the higher caste and all but erased the knowledge and history that the higher caste had been guardians to.

Not a sensible thing to do but then hindsight is often 20/20.

They then abandoned the Temples and plazas and move their dwellings even further from the old centre of their culture.

Direct descendants still live near Chichen Itza in the traditional thatched cottages. They now sell wares and souvenirs to the public and tourists that come to the ruins. And believe me they can be very persistent! (NB don’t worry, Chris, I haven’t bought anything – yet!)

The ship and its crew continue to please and amuse us. Best of all is that the group of lads I am with is just great. We laugh, we take the mickey and we have fun splashing around in the pool or being flirted with by a drunk straight Texan yokel in the hot tub – more info available on request!

The food continues in the same vein of being “OK” but not really stunning.

So, tomorrow is Cozumel. We are planning on a more relaxed day with some beach time and shopping time. I feel the need for some new boots and a decent hat as my baseball cap has not provided much relief from this scorching hot Sun.

So, my bed is calling. The water is getting a bit choppy so a Cinnarizine may well join the rest of my night time meds, then a quick read and lights out.

More tomorrow folks – enjoy!

OK, so the first full day on the Carnival Fantasy is drawing to a close.

How has it been?

Absolutely fantastic!

The group of lads I am with are all amazing – friendly, funny, sarcastic, appreciative, giving and truly worthy of the term ‘friend’. I am very lucky and grateful to be a part of this bunch of guys.

The ship is well equipped and we are taking advantage of the pools, hot tubs, restaurants, casino and mall. The atmosphere is so much better than the one on my previous cruise.

The cabin is larger than the one I had on Royal Caribbean. I can actually fit in the shower cubicle on this Ship! The structure and fittings also appear to be better quality and sturdier.

The food is OK, not stunning but neither is it bad. The formal dining room is neat and has beautiful sea views. The menu here changes each day and offers something for everyone.

The more casual places offer a variety of eating styles – buffet, pizzeria, burgers, sandwiches etc etc. Food is available 24/7 in one form or another.

We did our official weigh in this morning – 279/280 which I was pleased with. Lets see what it says when we all weigh out on Saturday morning.

I have caught the Sun today – even with ample amounts of sun block! Actually, that leads to a story in itself. As everyone knows, it is nigh on impossible to put sun block on your own back so while by the pool Ste, Eric and I are lined up facing each others backs applying sun block to the person in front of us. Hey, its efficient (and fun). Suddenly we here raucous laughter and look to our right. Standing there are a group of 4/5 young women almost wetting themselves as they watch us rub cream into each others back like a production line!

Oh well, at least we made them smile!

The guyz are all getting on well. The dynamic is fascinating to watch as we have one couple, three singles and me. This consists of 2 Brits, 2 from Kentucky, then 2 from San Francisco. The accents, personalities and language differences make for interesting conversations and confusions – all totally good humoured (or humored if you are a Colonial!).

So, just over 24 hours into the Fatboy Cruise we all appear to be having fun, enjoying ourselves and getting the most out of the experience.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) 3 of us are taking the Chichen Izta tour. Two and a half hours of coach travel to the ruins that were the centre of the Mayan Empire. Its going to be a challenge on the coach due to width, girth and general bigness but I am 100% sure it will be worth the discomfort to see the Ruins.

Well, that’s the latest. I am now off to my glorious bed and to sleep. It’s a God awful early start in the morning and I don’t want to over sleep or be too tired to appreciate the sites.

Bye for now, folks.

"We are terminating your contract from today - but we will give you a bank contract instead!" - manager smiles winningly

Basically, they are scared of having to pay me sick pay if I am off again so have dumped me. The bank contract will allow me to pick up shifts that are not covered (all my old shifts, for example!) and get paid at the same rate. I will get holiday pay, pension rights etc BUT no sick pay and no GUARANTEED hours.

At least I still have a job - sorta.

Just goes to show that an employer can do what they like in your probation period, regardless of the fact that they then sing your praises as a highly respected and professionally capable member of the team!

Anyway, it could have been worse.

Thats the latest.