My friend Shi just posted a survey on her blog to see how much her readers know about her.  I answered and told her I’d like to see what she’d answer about me.  So I’m posting this here to see what she has to say and if any of the other people reading this want to take a shot feel free

1) Where did we meet? (Either online or in real life…)

2) Take a stab at my middle name?

3) Do I smoke?

4) Color of my eyes?

5) Do I have any siblings? If so, how many?

6) What’s one of my favorite things to do?

7) What’s my favorite type of music?

Am I shy or outgoing?

9) Am I a rebel or do I follow the rules?

10) Do I have any special talents?

11) How many children do I have?

12) If you and I were stranded on a desert island, what is one thing that I would bring?

Today I think/feel/fear is going to be a down day.

Ideally I’d just like to hide away at home and around here doing my own thing.  But my Great Aunt is visiting my parents for the day and I promised to join them for lunch.  So I will go.

I’ve spent a lot of time this year and last year making sure that if I don’t do something it’s not because of a can’t be bothered down-ness type thing.  And I’m very proud of the fact that I’ve managed that really well.  I think I’ve not done it for the entire time if that makes sense.  Can’t remember for sure but that’s what I think.

Part of the issue, I think is that I believe in telling it like it is and some members of my family don’t like it.  My Dad had words with me last week about being negative.  He’d heard my half of a phone conversation and said it gave the impression I wasn’t enjoying the regatta.  The issue I think being I’d said I’d not sailed that afternoon and there was stuff planned for the evening but I wasn’t sure if we would do it or not.  And then I get frustrated and all that.  I don’t think my mum actually thought I wasn’t enjoying myself and I do think it’s an issue which is a lot more involved than that.  But as I say, it frustrates me and it worries me a little.

I have a lot more to write on this topic but little in the way of time - I’m supposed to be at my parents in about forty minutes so I need to get ready.  Probably once I get there I will feel better.  I am looking forward to it after all.

Time I went to find my happy face.

This is just a bit of fun… I’ve seen a lot of people doing this and couldn’t resist!

From wordle, this is my blog

I don’t normally talk politics on my blog but I couldn’t resist sharing this link to a political news story that made me laugh -

Prescott compares Brown to the captain of the Titanic (and he was trying to help)

There is a very amusing (in my opinion) picture of Gordon Brown as the Captain of the Titanic (Edward J Smith) in that article too.  And one of Prescott looking even stranger and scarier than usual too.

I’m not sure if Prescott meant the comparison as a good or a bad thing, it wasn’t clear to me in the article although the opinion appears to be that he didn’t mean to end up saying/implying what he did.  The man’s always been rather on the weird side though.

Oh and finally - Prescott = Uncle Albert?

I think so at least.

I’m travelling up to Rutland Water on Friday to compete in the Sailability Multiclass Regatta this weekend.  It’s the first time I’ve sailed competitively and I’m a little nervous.  But it’ll be fine.  It has to be.

Anyway, I just thought I’d look on the BBC website at the five day forecast.  Slight techical hitch in that it didn’t recognise Rutland as a place so I went to the sailing club website to get the postcode.  Forecast looks good, light showers on Friday, sunny intervals on Saturday and it has nothing down for Sunday as yet.

But on the front page of that website?  There’s a notice about catering on site that weekend and it includes a note of the sailability regatta.  Including the fact they are expecting 140 competitors and volunteers.

Yup.  That’s a lot of people.  That’s a hell of a lot of people.  In fact, oh my god that’s kinda scary.

Still, it’ll be an experience - and hopefully, an enjoyable one at that too!

I met Margo yesterday (who hopefully will fix her blog soon so that link actually works! She said she planned too). Very fun and great to meet her. I didn’t expect her to sound like she does though. Which totally makes no sense especially as I couldn’t figure out how I had expected her to sound.

Actually that seems to be a bit of a theme with me and meeting online friends in person because I was surprised by the way Jo sounded when I met her and Hannah a few years ago. But that was even more ridiculous because she has a birmingham accent and I knew that’s where they live so it shouldn’t have surprised me!

Anyway, I digress again.

The focus group was pretty interesting but again not really what I expected. Thought provoking, both the situations we discussed and also some of the reactions of others in the group surprised me. Mum and I had a laugh about that when I told her last night. I’d thought I’d of had a lot more to say than I did. The heat did a pretty wicked number on my head though which didn’t help. Neither did my own confidence issues to a certain extent. And of course I’d have more to say now if I went back because that’s always the way! I don’t want to say too much about it specifically though because it’s Margo’s research.

One of my friends tells me I get scary when I get my activist/advocate hat on and go off on one about such things. She should have met a couple of the other women at the focus group (everyone was a wheelchair user and actually everyone was female although that wasn’t deliberate). They were so activist-y I found them kinda intimidating and scary. I can’t decide if that’s a goal to aim for when I grow up or now. To be honest right about now I think I’m happy falling into the middle ground amongst the shades of grey.

I got to the station and they said “you’re really early. Can’t put you on an earlier train though it’s the one on the platform, won’t get you there in time.” So I had to hang around for an hour which was fine until the guy told me the train was nearly in and moved me right into a suntrap for half an hour. Back came the headache, slept a bit on the train which did help. I missed my codeine though. Stupid girl for thinking I wouldn;’t need it. Then we got to Coventry and my half an hour between trains turned into an hour and a half as all trains in and out were cancelled for a good hour. Thankfully my wicked bad headache cleared up around that point - but only after I threw up twice. Thank god for RADAR keys, otherwise that would have been my second throwing up in public event this month (I’ve been really classy lately, can’t ya tell?) The next hour sat in a shady spot in the station was very annoying but probably a blessing as I cooled down, pushed fluids in and lost the headache by the time we moved again.

There was a point to my humiliating myself mentioning the puking in public thing. I’ve come to the conclusion that all the people who stop me and ask if I want help only do so to look good and don’t expect me to want help. Because with both the times I’ve been ill in public people have walked past me, looked at me and gone on. I didn’t need help either time and would have asked if I did - BUT I could have understood why people might stop and ask then and even would have found that easier to deal with.

It was very very much hurry up to wait and it wasn’t fun travelling but over all I was glad I went. Today I am tired and I’ve been either in bed or six inches away from my fan all day but am off to see Mamma Mia in five minutes so I must run.

It’s easy at times to say that you have a tough life or that things are hard or bad.  I know I am frequently guilty of thinking that - you know the old “today was the worst day ever” sort of thoughts.  It’s something I’ve thought or said several times over the last couple of weeks.  And yeah, maybe I could have had better days than I’ve had.

But equally I could have had things a lot worse.  I keep hearing of things that have happened to others like that.  And I hear those stories and I’m reminded that my life isn’t so bad after all.  In fact, it isn’t bad at all.

And today?  Today I am thinking that I am lucky.

I got very little sleep last night and as a result have been pretty trashed all day.  And I’m spitting mad about that.  My neighbour was playing loud music until gone 1AM and I had planned to have an early night because I was already pretty tired.  It’s not the first time recently.

And just lately it always seems to be beatles music.  I like Beatles music but not at that time of night.

One of the songs he was playing was “A Hard Day’s Night.”  and I was lying in bed going, yeah, too true but please shut up!!

And as for “Ticket to Ride?”

I vote we change the lyrics to

I think I’m gonna be MAD, I think it’s today, yeah
The guy that’s driving me mad won’t go away

Once again I am reminded of the quote from the first ever episode of Friends

“welcome to the real world.  It sucks.  You’re gonna love it.”  Monica to Rachel.

This is my 667th post on this blog.  I find that interesting.  Should I notice in time I may do something special for the 700th.  Or, you know, not.  Probably the latter given that I never notice these things in time.

I volunteered all day today which means I don’t have to tomorrow.

One of the other volunteers gave me a bottle of smirnoff!

I cannot decide which of the two above I am happiest about.  Probably the vodka.  Slight concern however about how this makes me look.

Cocktails tomorrow me thinks!

Note to self: buy blackcurrant squash and a bottle of lemonade.

Magazines is today’s theme.

I’m not really into magazines.  I used to read lots of different ones - the trashy real life weekly ones like Take a Break or Chat but not any more.  I can’t remember the last time I bought any of those.  And I used to read Cosmo but again, can’t remember when the last time I was.  I had a subscription for a while but hardly ever actually read the issues.  And I really can’t stand magazines like Hello or OK!  If I want to read all about others lives I can read blogs - that’s free and less annoying!

I quite enjoy Disability Now but don’t read it regularly - I do surf the website every now and then.  I’ve actually not read an issue since they revamped it’s look but I do have two waiting for a spare moment which I got given free at Naidex.

Really the only magazine I read on a regular basis is Healthy.  I’m actually not a very healthy (in the real sense of the word) person - I’m not good at taking care of myself I mean, I don’t mean anything to do with my disability.  But I think the articles interesting, particularly the regular weight loss and fitness club features - yes I suck at follow through but I get good inspiration from those and tips which I occasionally manage to try out.  Also, alternative medicine is something which begins to interest me more and more and so reading about supplements can be worthwhile - I know from personal experience how much of a difference cranberry extract and evening primrose oil (both recommended by my GP) have made to some long lasting problems of mine.

There is a little bit of me, however, the cynic in me which can’t help but think that the whole thing with the magazine might just be some form of marketing ploy for the certain health food chain which is the only place which stocks it.  I still buy it religiously every time though.