Sarah's Transition Diary .. weeks 325 - 328

.... is for those who might want to contact me about my diary.

Day 2269. Thursday 24th February 2011.

Memory Joggers ...

05.25 .. My company phone rings .. it’s Arqiva MCR telling me there is a problem with Brunei ..

05.40 .. Laptop set up I call Lal in Brunei .. they’ve had a power cut apparently, and quite a bit of kit hasn’t come back in it’s normal state .. DOH .. including the two way Satellite link ..

07.52 .. I close my laptop down and head off to shower ..

09.10 .. I’m on the road .. gosh the difference an hour makes ..

09.53 .. I’m in the car park at work ..

09.55 .. I’m in the office .. the chaps are busy with the problems in Brunei ..

12.25 .. It’s really nice outside .. so I head off for my longer walk .. 20 minutes ..

17.38 .. I finally drive away ..

The traffic, coming home is very bad again ..

18.30 .. I’ve just crossed the traffic lights on the A30 at Holloway Colledge when the TomTom chirps .. “in a 1/4 of a mile U TURN” !!!! .. the A30 is grinding to halt in front of me .. shame it didn’t do this before the lights, that is I needed to have turned left to avoid this traffic.

18.42 .. I’m home ..

19.39 .. I head for Chobham village ..

19.46 .. I arrive at the White Hart pub in Chobham .. as I get out of the car I spot Letitia getting out of hers .. we enter the pub together.

20.07 .. ish .. Amanda arrives ..

22.20 .. ish .. We leave the pub ..

00.03 .. I finally climb into bed ..

More to come ...

Day 2270. Friday 25th February 2011.

Memory Joggers ...

06.15 .. The alarm ..

08.16 .. I’m on the road ..

08.57 .. I’m in the car park at work ..

12.49 .. I head out for my walk .. 20 minutes again.

17.53 .. I’m on the road .. I haven’t got far, when the TomTom offers me a quicker route .. I accept it. Well I’m beginning to think this device is possessed .. it takes me on another new route to cut me across to the A412 bypassing the A40 / M40 J1 roundabout completely .. it includes a lot of country lanes and at one point a ford .. I kid you not.

The depth gauge says 18 - 19 inches .. I’m not sure this car can do that .. but I take the risk after another car comes the other way through it .. phew .. I made it.

A ten minute wait just to get petrol ..

19.16 .. I’m home .. 

19.25 .. Dinner is served .. Pork rogan josh with rice and half a nan bread .. dessert is the last chunk of chocolate cake and ice cream .. the scales tomorrow might have that fault again !!

23.29 .. I head North ..

More to come ...

Day 2271. Saturday 26th February  2011.

Memory Joggers ...

06.35 .. I’m awake, gosh my head is splitting .. and I’m so dry .. I take a drink .. I’m fumbling for some paracetamol when Karen gets up and brings me some from the bathroom .. love is ..

08.25 .. We are awake .. my head hurts .. a little less than earlier. Karen gets up offering me tea .. yes please .. she then disappears into the bathroom .. I need it too ..

I head down and use the downstairs loo .. I feel so odd. Sorted in the loo .. I do the Saturday morning weigh in .. 13st 13 3/4lb .. hmmmmm .. the scales are on the blink again .. or was it the dessert on Thursday night’s meal out.

I head back to bed and Karen soon follows up with the tea ..

10.07 .. Up and at it .. I go sort breakfast out and finish off with some Movecol

10.45 .. Breakfast and kitchen routine completed, I head up to shower .. with my head aching, it’s an excuse not to wash my hair .. it’ll have to wait till tomorrow.

11.35 .. I’m back down stairs ..

11.45 .. I take the first of two doses of Dukoral ( Oral Cholera vaccination ), its mixed into a sachet of fizzy drink, it gives me wind .. oo er.

12.55 .. I nip out to the garage and start the bike, it can run while we eat lunch. It starts easily once the float chambers have filled up with petrol .. so a bit of cranking is needed.

Lunch is some nice bread, 3 cheeses, olives, crisps and a dip .. I save one half slice of bread for a slick of honey .. a cup of tea washes it all down.

13.15 .. Lunch is over .. I nip out ans shut the bike off, and another hunt reveals my monitor box, but no HDMI cable .. DOH .. I’m sure it came with one.

14.55 .. I’ve finished formatting the pancake of DVD-RW’s and put the TV back .. to discover a really poor film version of a childhood favourite puppet show .. Thunderbirds. I’m soon annoyed to discover they really haven’t watched the original TV series properly with a lot of “factual mistakes”

15.25 .. The Thunderbirds movie ends ..

19.08 .. I’m in Mei’s Kitchen in Lightwater ..

19.14 .. I’m home with the food ..

19.45 .. The food is finished ..

20.55 .. Karen makes me a couple of hot water bottles and a cup of tea .. I’m not feeling good still ..  

21.57 .. I head up to get ready for bed ..

22.45 .. I climb into bed ..

23.35 .. Karen gets into bed .. but this bed is a cold place at the moment ..

More to come ...

Day 2272. Sunday 27th February 2011.

Memory Joggers ...

I slept reasonably well ..

08.05 .. I’m awake and very dry .. I take a drink of water, at this point I’m feeling better than when I went to bed last night.

08.50 .. Karen gets up to make tea .. I need the bathroom too, so I head downstairs. Once moving around I realise things aren’t much better than yesterday.

A cup of tea in bed watching the BBC news channel ..

09.55 .. Up and at it .. I head for the kitchen to sort the routine .. eating my breakfast, everything still tastes terrible, and my head is aching, though at the moment it’s better than last night. I finish off with another Movicol sachet to try and help with the drudgery later ..

10.25 .. I boot the PC to see what’s happening in the world ..

10.58 .. Time to head north .. the sun is shining .. so I’m tempted to go do the drudgery while laying in the sun, an opportunity to get the pictures I need for the clinic too.

Getting my act together with the camera takes a while .. including getting the settings on my macro ring flash right .. the auto metering doesn’t work too well when 4" from the subject !!!

12.45 .. I’m back downstairs .. lunch before I go do the business ..

I find a text message from Phil at work reminding me to take my CD set from my last radio station so he can create another channel or two in his automated systems.

14.30 .. The film is over .. so I go do the necessary .. prep and clean the bathroom areas I need to use ..

15.00 .. I’m in that position .. I try for some basic static dilation to get some depth without creating friction ..

16.15 .. I call it a day .. a quick mop up and I set the camera up again ..

17.55 .. I’m finally down stairs to dry my hair ..

Hair dried, I find a cardboard box and place all my old company CD’s in it .. there’s about 100 - 120 to take in.

18.55 .. Dinner is served .. a vegetable soup, followed by pasta in a tomato and chilli sauce .. dessert is bio yoghurt, oat granola and honey.

I finish boxing up those CD’s ..

23.30 .. I head for bed ..

00.02 .. I finally climb into bed .. nightie night.

More to come ...                                   

Day 2273. Monday 28th February 2011.

Memory Joggers ...

06.10 .. The alarm .. up and at it ..

08.12 .. I’m on the road .. the traffic is amazing for a Monday .. even better than last week when the kids were on half term.

08.58 .. I’m parked just outside the office .. to shorten the distance to carry the large heavy box of cd’s in for Phil.

I go park my car in the main car park.

Phil is busy with his automated stations project, plus as it turns out he’s off today sick .. so I do the duty engineer roster again this week ..

12.20 .. I have my lunch, PAB .. then go out for my walk. Gosh it’s so cold, I’m sure that must be the reason it took me a minute more than usual .. my hands are seriously cold on my return and hurt.

14.00 .. I head for the toilet to get ready to go .. I’ve got clean undies and freshen up with some wet wipes before my gynae appointment. I should have worn a skirt today .. changing knickers from under tights and jeans in a small cubicle I a nightmare !!! .. LOL.

14.15 .. I leave the office a little later than I intended, but the traffic is kind to me and Red.

Folks ..

I've been waiting for an appointment with the head of a Gynae department in RSH Guildford, who had clearly indicated to my GP and I that she was prepared to take me on and guide my GP on the HRT front, my GP practise simply refuse to act unguided, even if there is a NHS guide available to GP's on HRT for post op TS's.

A breakdown ..

Park in car park at 15.10.

In department at 15.18.

Appointment 15.25 ..

Called in to see one of heads side kicks at 16.30 .. they are a doctor down so that’s the reason for the delay .. they could have phoned me to let me know .. that’s half of my 2 hour £2 car park ticket wasted, and a waste of my time.

Side kick couldn't make any decisions, and after some comings and goings the boss arrives ..

I presented 3.5 years of blood test results on a spread sheet showing clear trends ..

I know what needs to be done .. but head of gynaecology is taking me off at a tangent .. with bizarre tweaks to my regime .. doubling progesterone intake and only 1mg increase in "normal" oestrogen .. however she's putting me back on 25mg Vagifem again, last time she did that it only kicked up my oestrogen levels by 20% .. I need a 100% increase.

Head gynae wanted me to have blood samples taken .. so I get sent to another department to do that .. it closed for the day 30 minutes earlier !!! I need to go to GP's, or drive 12 miles back tomorrow to have blood taken !!

I go to fill my prescription at pharmacy .. one of three "stock items" used by the gynae department is out of stock .. and another 40 minute wait while multiple pharmacists questioned doctor over prescription .. "this is highly unusual, we need to check this isn't an error !!"

The NHS should be towed out to sea and scuttled ..  just where is our tax money going .. come back in 3 months .. yes right !! I need another wall to bang my head on while I wait, this ones just
fallen over.

17.38 .. I’m finally back in my car .. no clamp .. phew ..

18.20 .. I’m in Waitrose in Sunningdale ..

19.12 .. I’m home ..

19.32 .. Dinner is served .. soup .. followed by a cold chicken salad ( yeah summer has arrived ) .. followed by a couple of mince pies and ice cream ..

More to come ...

Day 2274. Tuesday 1st March 2011.

Memory Joggers ...

06.10 .. The alarm ..

09.08 .. I’m in work ..

11.25 .. Mark and I head for the News Studio .. they’ve already abandoned it ..

12.30 .. A break for lunch ..

12.58 .. I head out for my walk .. gosh it’s bitter outside ..

13.20 .. I’m back ..

17.38 .. I head for home, via Tesco’s in Gerrards Cross ..

17.50 .. I’m inside Tesco’s .. I call Karen .. later she calls me .. I soon work out how much we could save by regularly shopping here rather than in Waitrose in Sunningdale .. the money I’m saving on some of the regular stuff .. clearly Waitrose’s “Tesco’s price match” “OFFERS” are only on items that are priced at max in Tesco’s, not on offer at all.
                                           
19.16 .. I’m home ..

19.20 .. Dinner is served .. cold chicken salad followed by Yoghurt with oat granola and honey.

19.38 .. A chat with Nanda on Skype ..

20.23 .. Nanda and I finish for the night ..

00.28 .. I finally get into bed ..

More to come ...

Day 2275. Wednesday 2nd March 2011.

Memory Joggers ...

06.10 .. The alarm ..

06.25 .. After a very brief cuddle .. up and at it ..

07.02 .. I’m back in the bedroom ..

08.13 .. I’m on the road .. the traffic is kind to me ..

08.55 .. I’m in the car park at work ..

More to do in the news studio ..

13.01 .. I finally head out on my walk .. gosh it’s cold and I’m sure that slows me down. When the sun shines it feels warm on the skin till the wind gets you.

13.22 .. I’m back in the office .. I head for the News Studio again ..

15.15 .. Back into the news studio to do the final bits for the extra telephone ringing light ..

Boss Jon comes to me with a little research job to do .. it’s in a field that really isn’t mine .. but I know a man or two that can .. so I send messages on Facebook to two web developer friends from my last company ..

17.37 .. I’m on the road for home .. again the traffic is kind to me .. I need to stop for petrol in Egham .. it’s gone up .. £1.289 for ordinary unleaded .. £48.20 to fill Red up .. terrible.

18.29 .. I’m finally home ..

I sort myself out and boot the computer ..

18.55 .. As I open Skype Nanda must have been hovering on call .. cause it rings as it opens ..

19.03 .. Dinner is served .. sausages, Tesco finest chips and baked beans .. comfort food. Dessert is 1.5 mince pies and a little ice cream ..

19.26 .. I call Nanda on Skype .. we chat about all sorts, but mainly about hormones and how our doctors treat us .. clearly the Dutch are worse off than us.

I send Nanda a link and also a copy of my hormone records for last 4 years .. we do a screen share so that I can point things out to her .. 

20.34 .. Nanda says good night .. I go make some tea ..

I check my e-mails .. old friend Darren has come up trumps I think .. and given me three lots of links for registering Internet radio stations .. 

21.45 .. I’m going to head to bed ..

22.35 .. I’m in bed waiting for Karen ..

More to come ...

Day 2276. Thursday 3rd March 2011.

Memory Joggers ...

06.10 .. The alarm goes off ..

08.06 .. I’m on the road .. deliberately earlier so I can drive gently to see how I can build up my MPG in Red. Recently I’ve only been averaging about 47mpg with all the rushing around ..

08.53 .. I’m in the car park at work ..

10.00 .. ish .. I set to on the daily tasks of the “duty engineer”

12.58 .. I head for Gerrards Cross .. a raid on a lighting shop for light bulbs and Holland & Barratts to use the free Folic Acid voucher from Saturday’s newspaper .. I also get some small size pots of my regular stuff to take to Brunei.

14.40 .. ish .. Tracy hands envelops to Peter and I .. looks nothing special .. I open mine .. YIPPEE .. it’s the official notification I’m off probation and I’m now staff. The letter says I’ll get the promised £1000 a year reward too .. but that will be more than taken back by pension contributions that I’ll now have to pay .. << sighs .. SMILES >>.

16.58 .. I phone home to give Karen my good news .. hoping she might suggest going out to celebrate .. I’d forgotten she was going out tonight .. so that’s a no then.

17.43 .. I’m in my car heading for home ..

18.37 .. I’m home .. my MPG for the tank full so far .. 56.4 .. << smiles >>.

Karen quickly assembles me a salad before she gets ready ..

18.50 .. Dinner is served .. it’s a ham salad .. dessert is 40g of dates, bio yoghurt and a little honey .. lovely.

19.15 .. Post dinner I go to the PC ..

20.18 .. My Skype starts ringing .. it’s Nanda ..

Nanda seems a lot happier today .. she’s got her car back at last with it’s new radiator .. it was an expensive job as her aircon heat exchanger was part of the main radiator .. hmmmm.

20.52 .. Nanda says goodnight ..

I sit and do some diary .. and answer emails and a message on Skype from a friend there whose been reading here.

21.58 .. Karen is home .. she makes me a cup of tea then heads for bed ..

00.22 .. I climb into bed ..

More to come ...

Day 2277. Friday 4th March 2011.

Memory Joggers ...

05.30 .. I wake with a start, miss read the clock in my visual blur and get out of bed .. Karen thought I was heading for the loo till I turned the light on to get my underwear .. LOL .. she tells me the time and I return to bed ..

06.29 .. Up and at it .. take 2 .. << grimace >>.

08.13 .. I’m on the road, later than intended .. the TomTom recommends the motorway route as the fastest .. so I follow it even though I know it’ll add 5 miles to my journey length. 

08.59 .. I’m in the car park at work ..

Time in the car park with boss Jon .. brrrr it’s cold .. looking at mounting / powering options for a peace of kit.

12.45 .. I eat my lunch .. PAB ..

13.20 .. I head for Gerrards Cross to get the bulbs waiting for me .. £5.90 each .. for the now “discontinued” Philips 105W, these are as bright as 150W allegidly. It’s a rip off for sure given web sites had been selling them for about £4.25 .. but they produce a really good quality and quantity of light in our bathroom.

13.50 .. I’m back in the office .. no time for a walk now.

15.30 .. ish .. I find an e-mail from Bob’s niece Virginia .. seems the April 15th trip to St Vaast is on. I’ve not heard anything from Artor .. so I call his mobile. He and Danuta would like to come but need to get out of or re arrange a prior engagement .. I assume they won’t be coming.

So I do a reply to Virginia, letting her know what car we’ll be using for the mass ferry booking, Violet, and that we prefer room 21 in the hotel if possible, and hope not to have a room on the road side of the annexe, because of the noise when they set the market up on the Saturday morning.

17.39 .. I leave the office .. the new TomTom diverts me away from the M25 and takes me down the A412 through Slough, through Datchet, Old Windsor and up across Englefield Green and down to Wentworth “the back way”.

18.35 .. I’m home .. Red is still telling me 56.3 mpg ..

19.55 .. We are running late .. we head for Hyns in South Ascot ..

20.06 .. We are in the restaurant .. and soon shown to a table .. there are two other pairs of women here tonight ..

The staff are their usual jolly selves .. As this is a celebration and Karen’s driving I choose a bottle of Pouilly Fume .. it’s lovely.

We order the special set meal for 2, as we do, and the waitress knows it’s “NO prawns” for us so she wil make changes as the courses arrive.

The food is the usual high quality .. conversation I’m trying to get Karen to agree on doing a summer holiday .. Canada to see Jamie & Vic .. “flights too long”, a cruise .. “cruises are for old people and nothing to do” .. canal boat or Norfolk broads .. a shrug of shoulders .. a cottage in another part of France or somewhere in UK .. a shrug of shoulders.
 
The dessert arrives .. they’ve run out of toffee banana .. so it’s just toffee apple and ice cream.

At the end of the meal we are offered free drinks .. I have an armagnac, Karen after some pressure from our waitress accepts a “small” Baileys on ice. I pay the bill .. £92 inc service, OK it’s not a cheap place to eat, the wine was £25 .. but the food is very good and the service is first class and very friendly.

22.50 .. We leave the restaurant .. 

23.01 .. We are home .. a quick comfort break, then boot the PC while Karen is in the bathroom.

23.10 .. I find an off liner from Kirsti .. I do a reply and she’s lurking .. and answers .. so we chat ..

She’s off to her boyfriends for the weekend tomorrow .. she’s really happy because he’s moving up closer to here later in the year .. to save the hour drive.

23.25 .. I say goodbye to Kirsti ..

00.28 .. I climb into bed .. nightie night.
 
More to come ...

Day 2278. Saturday 5th March  2011.

Memory Joggers ...

I slept like a log .. not surprising really .. LOL.

07.10 .. The alarm ..

07.40 .. Finally up and at it .. I need the loo so I’ve got to move. Before I shower I nip downstairs to do the Saturday morning weigh in .. 14st 13 3/4lb .. what would it have been without the Chinese last night.

08.15 .. I’m in the bedroom trying to get dressed .. I really need to tidy up this disaster area that is my pile of clothes .. now what to wear, problem is most of my “bottom half” clothes are 2 years old when I was nearly 30 pounds lighter .. << sighs >> .. must start doing something more serious to lose weight.

I head downstairs .. to do the kitchen routine .. and sort out the laptop .. it wants to do some updates .. so I let it do that first ..

09.23 .. We head for the car .. I don’t want to use Red this weekend while I’m trying to squeeze out the milage for work .. Sparkle is less than half full so it has to be Violet.

09.27 .. We are finally on the road ..

09.42 .. We join the M25, it’s looking ok ..

10.07 .. We join the M1 .. it’s all running fine

10.54 .. We arrive at Northampton services, no sign of Claire .. Karen’s debating going to the loo when .. the TomTom chirps up battery low .. so it’s done about 90 minutes .. I swap laptop for TomTom on the power socket.

10.55 .. Claire arrives .. she’s in a good mood. Claire greets Karen and I with a hug then gets in our car. Hazel, her favourite carer, is one of the escorts, after Claire has got in the car, Hazel tells us a young member of the grounds staff Claire was fond of suddenly died following a fit during the week. Claire has no concept of death, so the home is going to tell her that he’s not here anymore, as they do when staff leave.

11.04 .. I’m too cold to stand outside, so I get back in the car ..

11.11 .. We are back on the road ..

11.40 .. We pass a motorway service station .. BP unleaded is £1.409 a litre .. yeaks.

12.01 .. We join the M25 .. it’s flowing well.

12.20 .. Off the M25 .. ETA home now 12.39. I’m starting to feel quite unwell .. so I decide to switch the laptop off and try to relax, it’s a familiar pain in my chest and left arm.

12.37 .. We are home .. but that familiar pain is still getting stronger .. I gingerly head indoors and try to get comfortable and relax. I’m feeling really cold so I wrap a blanket around me.

12.55 .. ish .. Karen brings me my lunch on a tray, things are getting easier, but not a lot. Lunch is a couple of ham rolls, olives and some crisps with a dip .. and a small cake, is all washed down with a cup of tea.

Karen gets a call from Barclaycard security .. after topping up her Tesco phone using it .. I’d done my BT 3G on it now it’s PAYG this morning. They go through a list of recent transactions .. they are all fine but as they are talking karen logs in on line and we spot a transaction done on my card by a Maltese company on my card on that account .. it’s a relatively small amount but we don’t recognise it.

Another amount jumps out to .. £57 to an inurance company that Barclaycard security are suspicious about .. we are too till we spool back to discover that it’s a regular amount paid to Barclays for our house insurance .. except now it’s in a different name .. and Barclaycard don’t know that there own company section has changed it’s name .. crap organisation !!!

So again they stop our cards and we’ll get new cards around the end of next week .. so again this going to stuff all the accounts where we have Barclaycard numbers stored for regular payments .. like Skype, my BT 3G and several other things like the house insurance .. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Karen is now stuffed as it’s the only card she uses and knows the PIN for .. I’ve got my own accounts on Visa and Amex ( Karen refused her Amex card a couple of years ago as unnecessary expense for emergencies .. DOH !!.
 
15.05 .. Karen offers another cup of tea .. yes please .. the pains have eased quite a bit.

15.52 .. We head for my mums .. via Waitrose, Karen drives as I’m still feeling odd.

16.40 .. We are in my mothers ..

18.10 .. We head for home .. Karen drives though I’m feeling a bit better.

18.24 .. We are home ..

I order the Pizza’s and then go and get them .. I’m still not feeling too good.

18.54 .. I’m home with the food .. it’s Pizza .. nothing special ..

19.35 .. ish .. Robert arrives ..

19.50 .. I head up to the bathroom to get ready for bed .. but I can’t finish off and go to bed till Claire is in bed ..

20.15 .. I’m back downstairs .. Robert has just left for home .. Claire goes and has her evening bath.

21.05 .. Claire is now in bed .. so I can do the final chores before I go to bed.

21.18 .. I’m in bed ..

22.50 .. ish .. Karen comes to bed .. lights out and that’s it ..

More to come ...

Day 2279. Sunday 6th March 2011.

Memory Joggers ...

It took ages to get off to sleep with the pain that was still there ..

02.50 .. I’m awake and on fire .. serious hot flush, I throw the duvet back off completely ..

08.55 .. Karen brings me a cup of tea ..

09.08 .. Up and at it .. I head down to sort breakfast ..

10.20 .. I’m in the bathroom .. it’s a Sunday so my hair gets a full monty. I decide to use the free sample sachet of new improved “Head and Shoulders” conditioner attached to my shampoo bottle .. something that will prove to be a mistake later.

11.10 .. I’m downstairs to dry my hair .. should be really easy post conditioner .. but it’s not .. the H&S stuff has left my hair sticky like it used to before giving up on it a year or so ago.

11.30 .. Claire is downstairs just as I finish my hair .. for me to do hers.

11.45 .. To the PC ..

12.45 .. Lunch is served .. a ham sandwich

13.01 .. I call Nanda back .. but she’s about to eat so she’ll call in ½ an hour .. time for me to prune 2 rose bushes ..

13.12 .. I’m in the garden pruning Roses .. I thought this shouldn’t take long bu time flies when you are busy .. decisions, decisions .. where to prune.

13.40 .. Back in doors .. I’ve missed a couple of calls from Nanda .. I call her back ..

14.05 .. I have to say goodbye to Nanda to get ready to go ..

14.16 .. We are on the road in Sparkle .. to good to be stuck in car .. it’s lovely out there at the moment .. and the sun through the car glass is really warm .. tinted or not.

14.31 .. We join the M25 .. it’s really quiet ..

14.53 .. We join the M1 .. ditto ..

15.08 .. I spot an old friend on line with the status “in buenos aires” .. so I say hello.

Monique, from Australia, is now in Buenos Aires for FFS .. I know a few others who have been there to do this .. it’s reputation has certainly grown .. her surgery is on Thursday .. she’ll leave in 2 ½ weeks after that.

15.29 .. Monique needs to get off to sort something .. so she says goodbye ..

15.46 .. We follow the homes car into the car park .. it’s a quick change over then chat time with Hazel ..

15.51 .. I get back in the car .. I’m getting cold ..

15.57 .. We are on the road for home ..

16.34 .. Martha pops up on Yahoo messenger for a chat ..

16.45 .. We join the M25 and soon end up by hind a mobile smoke screen .. a dying old Rover running 5:1 two stroke mixture .. what a stink !!.

17.00 .. Just past J16 and the motorway is filling up .. and the speed limit signs are on .. lovely.

17.09 .. Karen does a naughty exiting the M25 .. tut tut ..

17.13 . .As we swoop down to Virginia Waters I say goodbye to Martha .. the 3G will die at the bottom anyway.

17.24 .. We are home ..

Before I make the tea .. I need to clean two large birdy splats off the bonnet of Sparkle .. before the paint is etched too much. Gosh it’s well glued on .. a lot of water .. washing up liquid and a lot os scrubbing it’s off ..

17.55 .. Hands cleaned .. I make the tea, mine washes down one of Claire’s cakes.

18.05 .. I add some notes to the diary on my laptop before saving it back to the NAS.

18.17 .. Kirsti pops up for a chat .. she’s had a good weekend too ..

18.39 .. Dinner is nearly ready here, so I say goodbye to Kirsti ..

18.43 .. Dinner is served .. a stuffed boneless chicken breast with honey and ginger, wrapped in bacon, with roast carrots and gnocchi it was fabulous .. best dinner in months. Dessert .. Karen made an apple cake I’d been asking for, for months .. lovely with a little real Cornish ice cream. The food was washed down with the Chianti wine that came with the Tesco’s meal deal .. it wasn’t a brilliant one, but it was drinkable.  

Post dinner we sit and watch dancing on ice .. I massage / need .. Karen’s feet as we do.

20.15 .. Dinner over .. I head to the PC to do a few things there ..

20.31 .. Time to go do the washing up ..

There comes a time when things have to go .. Karen’s still using ratty old “tin” baking pans, that aren’t non stick .. over a year ago, before my last Christmas in the old job .. I went to a decent cook shop on Marylebone High Street and bought a professional non stick pan .. haven’t seen it in use.

21.05 .. The washing up is over ..

21.15 .. I make the tea ..

21.51 .. I start a chat with Lucinda ..

22.09 .. I say goodbye to Lucinda.

22.15 .. Time to head for bed .. but Karen’s just gone up.

So I sit and update some on line diary pages and load them on to the site .. another 2 weeks uploaded.

22.43 .. I hear Karen leave the bathroom .. time for me to go up.

More to come ...                                   

Day 2280. Monday 7th March 2011.

Memory Joggers ...

06.10 .. Up and at it ..

08.08 .. The car needs some serious scrapping ..

08.11 .. I’m on the road ..

08.55 .. MagicFM announces that the M25 accident at J16 is now solid back to J13 .. I’d still be there.

09.08 .. I’m in the car park at work .. thank god for the new TomTom ..

13.15 .. I finally get to wash my hands .. and have lunch .. PAB.

17.38 .. I’m in the car and start the journey home ..

18.39 .. I’m home ..

18.55 .. Dinner is served .. meat balls in spicy tomato sauce with Linguini .. dessert is an individual lemon tart with a few strawberries to decorate the plate ..

20.00 .. Karen and I head up to change our bed .. 

00.08 .. I’m finally in bed .. nightie night.

More to come ...       

Day 2281. Tuesday 8th March 2011.

Memory Joggers ...

03.55 .. I’m awake and on fire .. I take a large drink of water and throw back the duvet .. 

06.10 .. The alarm ..

08.12 .. I’m on the road to work .. but the traffic around Virginia Waters is terrible .. the TomTom offers no help today!!

09.12 .. I’m in the car park ..

12.55 .. I finally get to eat my fruit ..

17.38 .. I head for home ..

18.33 .. I arrive at Waitrose in Sunningdale .. what no bananas ..

19.08 .. I’m home ..

19.32 .. I head out again to Budgens for bread, cream and banana’s .. NO bananas .. so I head for the BP garage / M&S Simply Food at Bagshot ..

20.04 .. I’m home ..

Dinner is .. thick soup with a roll .. and pancakes !!! My pancakes come with Maple Syrup and a splash of double cream ..

20.50 .. Dinner is over ..

20.58 .. A chat with Nanda on Skype ..

21.13 .. Nanda and I end our call ..

23.58 .. I climb into bed .. nightie night.

More to come ...

Day 2282. Wednesday 9th March 2011.

Memory Joggers ...

I didn’t sleep well, I had a couple of seriously hot flushes ..

06.10 .. The alarm ..

06.21 .. Up and at it .. I need to wash my hair ..

08.12 .. I’m on the road ..

About a mile or so before Vocality, I spot a field of pigs and piglets .. I’ll have to bring my camera tomorrow and see if I can get some nice photo’s if it’s sunny like today.

08.48 .. I arrive at Vocality’s premises .. seems I’m a little early, the training doesn’t start to 09.30.

Peter arrives next, followed by Daniel, Tom and Jon.

09.30 .. ish .. Richard our trainer arrives, saying that James has just called he’s about 15 minutes late .. did we want to wait for him .. we agree to.

09.45 .. Richard collects us and we trot across to the “Training Barn” .. we pair up for the lectures and practicals .. Peter and I share a space, Tom and Daniel share .. boss Jon is on his own till James arrives.

10.25 .. ish .. James arrives .. 

11.00 .. ish .. We stop for coffee ..

12.40 .. ish .. We break for lunch .. they’ve bought in a spread of sandwiches and savouries, and some cake !! .. a cup of tea washes it down.

13.30 .. Back to work .. we soon start some practicals ..

15.40 .. ish .. We pause to grab some drinks ..

17.03 .. I leave Vocality’s premises and head for home .. 

17.52 .. I’m home ..

18.25 .. Dinner is served .. Karen’s abandoned the mushroom risotto idea .. it’s thick spicy chicken soup with a roll, followed by aplle cake and ice cream .. hmmmm.

20.00 .. I head upstairs for a quick bit of glueing on 4 of my nail re-enforcings .. 

20.25 .. I’m back down stairs .. I head for the kitchen and finish the washing up.

20.42 .. I’m back at the PC .. 

21.55 .. I’m heading to bed ..

22.28 .. I’m in bed, waiting for Karen ..

23.00 .. ish .. nightie night.

More to come ....

Day 2283. Thursday 10th March 2011.

Memory Joggers ...

Roll on next week and hopefully nightly hot flush free ..

06.10 .. The alarm ..

06.27 .. Up and at it .. despite the early night I still feel so tired.

07.02 .. I’m back in the bedroom ..

08.25 .. Time to go ..

09.05 .. I pull up by the side of the road, it’s bitterly cold in the wind, not surprisingly most of the little piglets are hiding this morning .. I get a few long range pictures.

09.12 .. I arrive at Vocality ..

09.30 .. Day 2 begins ..

10.48 .. My Sarah phone is ringing .. it’s mothers number .. she starts to talk, then a male takes over, her doctor. He thinks she’s had a minor stroke and has called for a 999 ambulance to take her to St Peter’s in Chertsey ..

12.35 .. We stop for lunch ..

16.00 .. There’s a brake while Richard our lecturer tries to get some kit working .. so I call the hospital. I’m eventually put through to the nurses station in A&E .. they are waiting for a doctor to see her .. what after all this time .. I thought there was a golden hour for stroke victims.

17.05 .. I head for St Peters in Chertsey .. initial ETA 17.32 ..

17.45 .. I’m at the hospital .. just as I’m parking up Juliet calls me back ..

17.53 .. I find my mother in a cubicle in A&E ..

18.42 .. Mother is wheeled of for a CT scan before being taken to a ward .. I say goodbye ..

18.53 .. I’m home ..

20.02 .. I’m in the pub ..

20.15 .. Amanda arrives .. we decide to eat in the bar .. Helgar takes our order and has a chat with us ..

We talk about all sorts as usual and the food is really good .. the bonus is we’ve got a £10 voucher as well from Christmas

22.35 .. Bill paid we head for our homes ..

22.40 .. I’m home .. I make some diary notes before heading for bed ..

23.05 .. I head north ..

23.31 .. I climb into bed ..

More to come ...

Day 2284. Friday 11th March 2011.

Memory Joggers ...

02.45 .. Another night .. another rude awakening boiling hot ..

06.10 .. The alarm ..

06.27 .. Up and at it ..

07.06 .. I’m back in the bedroom .. I’m shocked by the live television pictures from Japan of a tsunami sweeping inland ..

08.02 .. Time to go ..

More to come ...

Day 2285. Saturday 12th March  2011.

Memory Joggers ...

07.10 .. The alarm goes off, full of good intension.

07.32 .. Up and at it .. it’s a near full monty in the shower ..

It’s the Saturday morning weigh in .. 15st 2lb .. sob, sob .. sandwich lunches Wednesday & Thursday, meals out Thursday night and last nights Indian .. own goal.

10.08 .. I’m finally on the road ..

15.30 .. I’m home ..

Yesterday I received the following email from Pixmania .. that shite company, who after 10 weeks still haven’t refunded my money from an order that was known to be lost about 5th January !!!

Dear Mrs. Sarah,

We are delighted to inform you that a refund to the amount of 189.98 £ has been made today.

Your transaction was completed with your Credit Card on our Internet site. The reimbursement will show on your bank account within the next  4 business days (if your credit card was debited immediately), or 30 business days (if you paid with a deferred debit card).

To obtain additional information as to what type of card you have, we kindly request that you contact your bank.

Best regards.

Best Regards,

felix
James Felix
Customer Service Director
trait

To request any further information, please contact our Customer Care
Service on page:
www.pixmania.com/uk/uk/c_action/faq_clients/index.html

I paid by credit card .. so the refund should have appeared immediately .. if that e-mail is to be believed ..

Karen checks the account .. a day after the e-mail .. NO REFUND RECEIVED. So what would you call Mr James Felix .. a con man .. a liar .. I did by e-mail. As always these people on this company don’t send valid email reply addresses .. this always means a company is shady to me. I had to login on their website to send a reply .. more wasted time and effort.

BE WARNED BY MY EXPERIENCES .. THIS IS NOT A COMPANY YOU CAN TRUST, OR WHO DEAL WITH COMPLAINTS IN A TIMELY MANNER. CUSTOMER SERVICE IS AN UNIMPORTANT PART OF THIS COMPANIES ACTIVITIES.

THIS COMPANY WILL ALSO SUPPLY ITEMS INAPPROPRIATE FOR THE UK MARKET, LIKE A TOMTOM 950 ENABLED EXCLUSIVELY FOR THE FRENCH MARKET !!!

Yes .. stupidly when the first item went missing .. I ordered a second via another account, paid extra to get a different delivery company and got sent the FRENCH only version .. the TOMTOM company representatives I spoke to were fuming !!!

17.05 .. We head for my mum’s flat to sort a few things ..

18.15 .. We are on Mum’s ward ..

18.40 .. I wander off to chat with the senior nurse at the nurses station .. I’m put on hold for a few minutes while she sorts something ..

18.50 .. Back with my mum ..

19.10 .. We escape mum ..

20.15 .. I telephone order the Chinese .. Mary answers .. 15 minutes please Sarah.

21.15 .. I open my fortune cookies .. the first one says “A NEW FRIENDSHIP WILL BRING YOU ETERNAL HAPPINESS” .. the second one says “SOMEONE WILL TURN THE CHARM ON YOU NEXT WEEK” .. oo er.

00.58 .. I head up for bed ..

01.29 .. I climb into bed .. nightie night.

More to come ...

Day 2286. Sunday 13th March 2011.

Memory Joggers ...

Despite starting off with the winter blankets folded back .. as it’s not too cold tonight, it doesn’t stop the early wake up call ..

03.50 .. I’m steaming hot .. and gasping for water ..

06.25 .. Not sure whether it’s auto pilot that has woken me up or the fact I’m boiling again .. phew .. another glug of water and I drift off with my feet uncovered again.

09.26 .. A noise outside wakes me up.

09.31 .. Up and at it ..

11.05 .. I’m in the shower ..

11.58 .. I’m in Waitrose .. following recent visits to Tesco’s and suddenly realising that “Tesco’s price match” labels in Waitrose seem to be wrong .. I spot the small print. All of the “Tesco’s price match” prices I looked closely at say a date, some quote 3 months ago !!!. What I’ve come to realise is Waitrose never matches Tesco’s special offer prices, only when Tesco’s are charging max price !! .. what a con on the unwary.

12.46 .. I’m back home .. I unload the car then tackle loading the “Brown bin” ( for garden waste ) that arrived on Thursday .. I fill it with last weekends rose pruning’s and three of the four bags of collected leaves from a few weeks back .. gosh it weighs a ton !!! I have visions of the lip they raise these by breaking off the first time .. << grimace >>.

13.20 .. Lunch .. a bacon sandwich with ketchup .. mmmmm .. followed by a slice of bread with honey on it and some malt loaf .. all washed down with a cup of tea ..

13.48 .. A call from Nanda on Skype ..

14.04 .. I say goodbye to Nanda ..

15.55 .. I’m on my mum’s ward ..

20.50 .. I’m in that position ..

The dilation from hell .. twice I have to give up and go to the loo ..

20.05 .. I have to give up ..

22.55 .. I’m in bed ..

More to come ...                                   

Day 2287. Monday 14th March 2011.

Memory Joggers ...

After a feeling really cold start, and Karen putting my dressing gown over me ..

02.55 .. I’m boiling .. and throw off some of the bed clothes ..

06.10 .. The alarm ..

06.27 .. Up and at it ..

08.57 .. I’m in the car park at work ..

12.47 .. I sit and eat my fruit ..

15.57 .. I arrive at the College Town entrance to Sandhurst Barracks .. I report to the guard house .. my picture is taken and a pass issued .. I have to go and sit in my car till I’m collected .. the picture on the pass makes me look terribly over weight in the face.

After a while a Ghurkha chap comes and finds me, and escorts me to our little fenced enclosure with receiver dish, AM transmitter mast and “green box” containing the transmitter, aerial matching unit, satellite receiver and an audio processor.

Problem is it ios working when I arrive. However the AM transmitter cooling fan keeps making noises .. so I change the transmitter anyway. My Ghurkha friend tells me the audio fail LED on the transmitter keeps coming on .. indicating a fault with the satellite receiver. Problem is, somebody has installed a domestic receiver, leaving the pro one disconnected .. I’ve bought a pro one with me, which is what the site file led me to believe was in use here.

17.01 .. I’m on the road for home .. I call the home phone and Karen’s mobile .. no answer from either .. maybe she’s still in school.

17.18 .. I’m home, Karen’s car is in the drive, that’s odd maybe, given phones went unanswered .. it’s a time and day not to forget, Karen has betrayed me !!!

As I walk down the hall the lounge door, it is slammed in my face .. I can see what’s going on thanks to the glass door and a missing section ( that Claire broke ), so I head upstairs to change my jeans .. maybe I should have gone back to the kitchen and got a knife .. why am I so passive .. shock maybe.

17.24 .. The front door closes and I head down to the lounge .. I’m welling up ..

<< edit >> 

19.05 .. I’m on my mum’s ward .. she seems better and has been up and about with a wheelie zimmer frame .. progress I guess.

19.48 .. I’m home ..

Dinner .. a bowl of soup with some bread .. followed by a cup of tea some time later with a giant flap jack ..

21.50 .. I’m heading for bed ..

22.28 .. I’m in bed ..

More to come ...

Day 2288. Tuesday 15th March 2011.

Memory Joggers ...

05.33 .. I’m awake and dry .. a take a large drink .. but don’t sleep anymore ..

06.10 .. The alarm ..

06.23 .. Up and at it ..

07.09 .. I’m out of the bathroom .. Karen tells me Pixmania have finally repaid the money they owe us .. although it’s only appeared in last 24 hours, the cheeky arsis have dated the repayment 3rd January !!!! does that make it any better !!!!

08.00 .. I call my GP’s 0844 number for an appointment .. I join at 14 in the cue !!!

08.09 .. My call is finally answered .. that’s a 50p phone call, of which the GP’s surgery gets half. I’m given a 10am appointment at the local surgery.

08.18 .. I’m in the doctors for my 08.20 blood test.

08.41 .. I finally get called in to see my GP’s nurse .. when I mention to the nurse I’m overdue my routine stuff, she checks back to see what was done in September and creates another form herself to do the things I’d have done otherwise, apart from the 3 items on the hospital doctors form.

08.55 .. I’m back home ..

10.00 .. GP’s time .. I’m late .. what follows really hacks me off .. the nurse kept me waiting 20 minutes .. that’s fine .. but because I was late arriving at the doctors I’ve committed a cardinal sin .. the computer has erased my appointment .. the receptionist has a word with the doctor .. she might see me if I wait till the very end .. “might” .. I ask .. biting my tongue .. “shall I go now then ?”

10.21 .. I’m called in to see the doctor .. I explain the situation with the gynae in Guildford two weeks ago .. she’s not heard from the Royal Surrey after 2 weeks .. well no surprise there then. So she can’t make up my new prescription .. I make it clear that I don’t have much faith in Ms Hutts ability to prescribe for me.

11.15 .. I head to Camberley .. but the traffic is terrible .. I turn around in Bagshot and head for the M3 .. it’s a sprint down the hill from J3 to J4 .. sorry judge but I was in a hurry.
                           
11.35 .. Mammograms time .. but I’m not there ..

11.40 .. I arrive at the Jarvis Mammogram trailer .. to receive a telling off for being late .. I’ll have to wait till the end and they’ll do me during lunch .. yes right .. so if I’m late why are there 3 other women waiting there turns.

12.03 .. I get called in .. only to find that because of my augmentation they can’t do me anyway .. grrrrrrrrrr .. I need to go to their centre in Guildford for “digital” mammograms.

12.05 .. I head for work ..

12.30 .. I stop for petrol in Egham ..

12.45 .. ish .. I’m just approaching the M4 junction when my mobile rings .. it’s my boss Jon .. “guess what” .. I’m dumb struck .. “the Sandhurst transmitter is off again” .. by this point I’m past the M4 so I need to carry on to the M40 .. so I might as well go in to work .

13.12 .. I’m in work, I drive through the site and park my car near the office back door .. but first things first .. lunch .. PAB.

13.30 .. I unload some of the kit out of my boot .. including the AM50 transmitter I removed yesterday.

Well I soon find out why the fan wasn’t happy .. the filter is solid .. Phil takes it away and washes it out for me .. thanks mate .. it was disgusting ..

Once I’d reshaped the inner steel mesh fan guard .. it ran really sweet .. so it’s ready to go back in, in Sandhurst.

Jon want’s me to check the dish at Sandhurst .. and suggests I have a play with an analyser in the car park with our dish pointing at W2A .. I’m struggling .. lack of familiarity with the Promax .. so I call Dave, one of my bosses .. he struggles too .. but eventually we get what I was looking for, and can tune the channel to our Ghurkha service.

15.45 .. I call the chap at Sandhurst who helped me yesterday .. he’s not keen on me arriving after 16.30 .. so we agree to sort tomorrow .. I suggest 09.00 at the guard house .. he’s keener on 09.30 .. so be it.

17.35 .. I’m in my car and head for home ..

18.32 .. I’m home .. Karen tells me Juliet has called while I’ve been out .. so I need to call her before anything else ..

18.42 .. Our Skype phone rings .. it’s Nanda .. but I need to excuse myself .. I promise her a call when I get back ..

18.50 .. I’m on the road to the hospital ..

19.05 .. I’m on mum’s ward. Apparently, she says .. they gave her some sleeping pills a short while ago, so now she’s slow and slurred ..

As I leave I go to the nurses station .. they don’t have a cordless phone that my sister could call to talk to mum. This hospital has “Hospicom” that rip off TV / phone system that costs an unbelievable fortune, they can now receive incoming calls with some hospitals .. but they use high cost numbers between 10p and 42p a minute + VAT !!!! and the outgoing call rate is 10p a minute, calling overseas on a BT phone can cost as little as 12p. However the nurses have said she can use my mobile phone .. if she can .. something to try the next time I come in.

19.50 .. I’m back in the car ..   

20.05 .. I’m home .. I have to call Juliet first to fill her in .. she’s going to try and come up on Sunday ..

Karen is upset because Claire is really starting to play up at her home, she’s not been able to talk to her again tonight .. Claire has been pulling hand fulls of her own hair out and generally rampaging about .. attacking staff too .. they feel Claire shouldn’t come home at the week end.

20.41 .. Dinner is served .. a Chicken Curry with spicy mango chutney, and half of a nan bread .. dessert is bio yoghurt, oat granola and a little too much honey ..

21.15 .. I call Nanda .. I know it’s too late for her, so I leave a text message with her .. I’ll have to fit her in tomorrow.

23.40 .. I’ve had enough .. time to head up to bed ..

00.24 .. I finally climb into bed .. it’s cold .. nightie night.

More to come ...

Day 2289. Wednesday 16th March 2011.

Memory Joggers ...

06.10 .. The alarm ..

Comments I make on Claire’s problems yesterday, as if she’s sensing my feelings as well as mum’s, leads to a lot of tears and a discussion of what I witnessed Monday evening when I arrived home early.

Though I was horrified .. love is .. I have had to bury a lot of my feelings all my life and try and put up a smiley face to the world and I guess this is know different. Karen seems to be very sorry for what has happened, even though I’d been suspecting it for years, I’ve never had the evidence shown me like that.

When you are trans, you have to be "case hardened", or wither. We have to be prepared to take one shed load of crap in your lives or take the exit .. this is just another load delivered which I shall have to get over .. this is my life, though God given, if it’s to continue I’ll have to accept these things popping up to take the wind out of my sails from time to time, coming days will tell.

The future is unclear .. it’s down to Karen .. 

17.43 .. I’m in Tesco’s in Gerrards Cross to get cake for tomorrow at work .. a 24 portion triple layer chocolate cake should do the job .. but I’m a broadcast engineer .. so I buy a back up too .. a Tesco’s Finest Carrot cake .. 

19.05 .. I’m home ..

19.35 .. I’m on the road for Theale in Sparkle ..

20.05 .. I’m in the pub .. gosh it’s quiet tonight ..

Well what can be said .. it was one of the smallest gatherings I’ve seen recently .. and the pub food simply refuses to get better ..

22.23 .. I’m one of the first to leave .. wanting to get home ..

22.51 .. I’m home .. 

More to come ....

Day 2290. Thursday 17th March 2011.

Memory Joggers ...

06.10 .. The alarm ..

09.03 .. I’m in the office .. I dump the main cake in the kitchen area and put the back up under my desk ..

12.35 .. A smaller lunch .. what just PA .. out of pears ..

Tracy leaves the office for the day, passing a comment that Carrot cake is her favourite .. I’ll have to hide a slice away for her .. 

16.00 .. ish .. the IT chaps have finished off the chocolate cake so the smaller Carrot cake can be engaged as the backup .. I cut a slice out and stick it on a plate in the back of the fridge for Tracey ..

17.40 .. I drop Phil at Gerrards Cross Station .. and head for home ..

18.32 .. I’m home .. it’s a quick rush around to get ready to go out ..

19.08 .. We are in the car heading for my mothers hospital ..

19.20 .. We are in with my mum ..

19.55 .. We leave my mum ..

20.09 .. We are in the Siam Food Gallery at Trumps Green .. we order some drinks once seated .. I have a green tea champagne cocktail .. it was lovely .. happy birthday to me.

The food is, I have to be honest a slight disappointment compared to other visits .. certainly more recent visits to Two Point in Crawford Street in W1 has produced some serious food .. and for ½ the price of tonight’s fare ..

22.23 .. We leave the restaurant .. Karen drives home ..

23.48 .. I climb into bed .. nightie night ..

More to come ...

Day 2291. Friday 18th March 2011.

Memory Joggers ...

06.10 .. The alarm ..

09.06 .. Despite being a little late .. I’m the first in the office ..

I sort James and I’s money out with accounts for Brunei ..

Louise arrives to try and sort out this Sim card that’s been hanging over my head .. but more questions

12.45 .. I head for the canteen with Matthew and Karim .. apart from a banana the fruit bowl was empty this morning. There’s a lot of things .. the two mains on offer I can’t eat .. battered cod or broccoli quiche .. so it has to be chicken and mushroom pie with a jacket potato and some peas. I have the banana as a pudding when I return to the office ..

The afternoon drags by .. with my appointment with Dr Cheese looming.

Louise arrives again to try and complete a deal for the Vodafone 3G sim for our HTC Desire .. I can’t believe it .. we arefoiled again and it makes me late ..

16.08 .. I leg it out of the office, I’m going to be late at the doctors .. I don’t spare the horses .. phew .. I make up some minutes ..

16.31 .. I’m in Dr Cheese’s surgery for my third Hep B jab ..

Dr Cheese sorts the jab out then proceeds to fill in an International Immunisation Card for me with what I’ve had recently, expiry dates etc.

I soon wish I’d bought Violet again today .. changing gear on the return trip is uncomfortable to say the least ..

17.02 .. I’m back in the office .. I sort out a few things that need to be done before I leave .. 

17.37 .. I finally leave the office .. enroute to see mum .. I drop Phil off again for his train. The TomTom is soon the voice of doom telling me my ETA is 18.52 .. but then offers me a shorter route from Gerrards Cross ..

The TomTom takes me through that Ford again near Fulmer .. << grimace >> .. the machine is possessed .. but it does do the job and hacks loads of time off my ETA ..

18.37 .. I’m on my mum’s ward .. I quickly set a call up with mum and Karen before letting mum talk to Claire ..

I set up the second call to Claire .. Hazel answers and says she’ll hold the phone to Claire’s ear ..

Well mum soon forgets her instructions .. not to mention she’s ill or imply anything that way to Claire .. the strong voice she used on Karen reverts to her febal voice for Claire’s benifit.

19.28 .. I head for home ..

19.40 .. I’m home ..

It’s red nose night !!!

01.23 .. I finally climb into bed ..

More to come ...

Day 2292. Saturday 19th March  2011.

Memory Joggers ...

07.10 .. The alarm goes off .. and I’m offered a cuddle ..

07.26 .. Karen gets up for a comfort break and returns with cups of tea .. once consumed Karen agrees to cuddle up around me .. something not done for a while because of her neck ..

08.08 .. Up and at it .. I need to go have breakfast before I shower ..

It’s the Saturday morning weigh in .. 15st 0 3/4 lb .. it’s not good but I feared worst after last week.

08.23 .. I nip back to the bedroom to collect my undies before I shower .. no time for a full monty ..

09.05 .. As I’m towelling myself off .. Karen starts telling me about Claire through the door. Seems last nights phone chat might have been beneficial .. she’s had a good night .. so it’s hopefully OK for us to drive all the way to Alfreton to see her.

09.09 .. Back to the bedroom to get dressed ..

09.40 .. I go out and move the cars around and put everything we need in Violet .. I’m doing the up leg to see Claire, Karen will drive back .. I top up the washer bottles on Violet and Red. Well at least the weather is nice ..

09.52 .. We are on the road .. well as far as the village .. Karen nips into the post office to get some money for Claire .. they’ve spent a shed load of her money replacing clothes and bedding destroyed by Claire over the last week or so. I go into the chemist to get a pack of full size 3mg Aspirin .. for me to start taking to thin my blood for the long trip to Brunei Monday / Tuesday.

We head off through Lightwater to get on the M3, but soon realise there is a problem, so we turn around and head back through Windlesham to approach from the other side .. that was a good call .. road works on the road up from the M3 to Bracknell .. it’s screwed most routes .. except our one.

Once on the M3 everything runs pretty much to the speed limits except for a small patch of M25 around J19 - J20.

12.41 .. We arrive at the Donnington Services .. a comfort break and an M&S lunch .. it’s really warm in the suntrap that Violet is with her full length roof..

13.15 .. ish ..  We head on our way to see Claire .. letting the new Tomtom have it’s own way .. Karen ignored it’s offering a few weeks back taking us off at M1 J26 instead of, historically, J28 with our other TomTom’s.

13.48 .. We arrive at Claire’s home .. the welcome for me from Claire isn’t warm at all ..

Well I spend most of the afternoon in the communial lounge / dinning room .. Karen spends some periods with me between the times Claire will let her in .. I make several attempts only to be sent away each time .. 

At one point Claire accepts some birthday cake spooned in by Karen ..

17.10 .. I nip out to try and find the motorcycle shops I’ve seen locally to get myself some motorcycle type ear plugs .. everywhere is shut .. the local town centre at 17.20 is 90% closed .. what !?

17.42 .. I’m back in tge homes car park .. I decide to send Karen a text message and stay put, rather than be humiliated by Claire more .. but Karen comes and gets me after a while ..

18.05 .. We finally say goodbye to Claire and head out and off for home .. ETA .. 20.36 ..

19.00 .. The moon has risen .. it’s one of those special occasions .. a full moon as it comes up over the horizon .. at part of it’s cycle that it’s closest to earth .. according to the news, it’s looking 14% bigger in appearance tonight .. certainly seems that way ..

19.55 .. We are stationary on the M1, 7 miles short of the M25 .. “Incident” says the signs ..

19.58 .. We move forward a short distance ..

20.00 .. The incident is about 8 police vehicles and a coach .. somebody is being walked in handcuffs from the coach .. ETA home now is 20.46 .. but we’ll need a fuel stop in Egham, the fuel light came on 15 miles ago .. 30 miles to Egham .. we should make it.

20.05 .. We join the M25 ..

20.28 .. We leave the M25 and head for the garage ..

20.37 .. As we leave the garage I suggest stopping at the bank in Egham so I can get some cash out .. but Karen just replies what is wrong with Sunningdale and heads for home ..

20.45 .. We stop outside HSBC in Sunningdale .. the display looks odd from a distance .. well Karen, the thing that is wrong with Sunningdale’s cash machine ios it’s broken .. so no cash !!!

20.52 .. We are home                               

20.58 .. I order the Chinese .. 10 - 15 minutes says Mary.

21.12 .. I’m in the Chinese .. I have a brief wait ..

21.22 .. I’m home ..

My Chinese fortune cookies tonight .. 1st one .. “TAKE CARE IN ALL YOUR AFFAIRS TODAY” .. the 2nd one .. “SOMEONE WILL MAKE YOU AN OFFER YOU CAN’T REFUSE” .. hmmmm. I assume “today” in the first one is the next 24 hours .. hmmmm .. what am I going to do wrong ??
23.25 .. I head to bed .. tomorrows going to be hectic .. I’ll have to leave an alarm set .. 

More to come ...

Day 2293. Sunday 20th March 2011.

Memory Joggers ...

07.12 .. I’m awake and really thirsty .. I take a slug of water and lay down, thinking I should get up and get doing things ..

09.08 .. Something has disturbed us .. oh no .. the time .. Karen reaches out offering a cuddle .. so I do.

Karen gets up for a comfort break and returns with some tea .. post tea I’m invited to get in her side so I can cuddle her, it’s easier on her left side.

09.42 .. Up and at it .. I seriously need to get moving .. so a quicky in the shower.

10.28 .. I’m in the car heading for Byke bits in Yately ..

10.50 .. After some navigation mistakes .. I’m finally outside Byke Bits .. but it’s shut .. opens on Sundays April to October only .. DOH .. so I head to Farnborough ..

11.12 .. I’m in Farnborough .. HG are open .. though I can’t get the ear plugs I really want .. I do walk away with two types .. four multicoloured disposables in a pot, and some expensive reusable Alpine ones that have different attenuator’s you can fit.

11.22 .. I’m on the M3 to loop around M25 and M4 to Slough .. 

11.48 .. I cruise up Farnham Road, both ways looking for a shop I could find a Hajib .. absolutely no luck. So I head for Maplin’s.

12.08 .. Maplin’s is really quiet .. so to speed things up I ask a young chap to point me in the right direction .. he actually takes me around to find everything I need .. a telephone pickup coil, a 5 metre 3.5mm stereo patch cord, a 3.5mm mono to stereo adaptor and a stereo 3.5mm Y split .. heading back to the counter I spot a lonely 5 pack of Blu Ray RW disks .. £25 for 5 !!! 

As I’m paying I ask the chap who served me, a young moslem I suspect, if he knows of any shops around Slough I could find a Hijab .. he does .. and tells me where to go.

Well I find the shop the chap in Maplins tells me about .. it feels very strange .. like one of the little micro malls in Thailand .. so I carry on to see what else I can find. I do a circuit of the town and I’m about to give up when I stumble across another store.

A man helps me select 3 different Hijab’s .. a plain white one and a couple of lovely rich coloured ones .. a purple silk and a burgundy silk one both with gold printing, and a plain white cotton one. I leave the shop relieved .. and call Karen to let her know I’m coming home.

14.55 .. ish .. I’m home .. time for a quick lunch.

15.48 .. We enter mum’s ward .. Robert and Juliet are here ..

17.48 .. We are home .. I head up to try and sort some packing while Karen makes dinner .. it’s becoming clear I won’t have time to Dilate like I hoped .. so I’m going to be forced to go 3 weeks between dilations .. this I worry about .. 

19.15 .. I start my calls to sort out banks etc .. it’s a nightmare but it’s all recorded !!!

20.05 .. I head down for dinner .. grilled / roast chicken with roast gnocchi and peppers .. washed down with a little red wine. Dessert is an apple crumble .. with some Cornish ice cream.

20.22 .. I head up to do my nails .. this probably not the best time to experiment .. but I try the new nails I’ve just bought of the internet. These are from a different manufacturer, and are a different shape. Looks as if I only need to use 3 of the sizes .. and the glue seems to take faster too .. this will be interesting to see how they last.

22.05 .. My nails are done .. but not painted ..

I start my packing in earnest .. 

02.22 .. I finally turn the light off .. nightie night.

More to come ...                                   

Day 2294. Monday 21st March 2011.

Memory Joggers ...

05.10 .. The alarm wakes me up .. I have to move .. it’s woken Karen too so I give her a kiss as I go.

05.48 .. I head down to dry my hair ..

06.20 .. I open the kitchen blind to spot my mini cab waiting .. my heart sinks .. it’s the same car / ancient driver who took me on the Canada trip.

06.30 .. Ten minutes late I’m in the drive .. the driver doesn’t move, but he’s boot is open. Yes .. I have to lug my cases to the car, and because of the problems with his hands I have to hump my cases into his boot again. This will be the last journey I do using Village Cars.

The slow route .. moaning all the way ..

07.02 .. We arrive at Heathrow T4 ..

07.10 .. I call james .. his phone goes to Voicemail ..

I dig my laptop out and do a facebook update, and send an e-mail to my boss, the company web mail is broken .. so I use my own account.

07.30 .. I call Karen on Skype ..

07.35 .. ish .. James arrives ..

We go and check in .. loads of room on the flight apparently ..

Usual hassles with security .. I’m invited to go parade in the scanner ..

08.20 .. I need to eat something and take my meds .. so we go to a food place .. I try to pay and end up locking my company card .. doh .. so James uses his.

I call Tracy to tell her about my company card .. but it goes to voice mail again ..

09.35 .. ish .. We board the aircraft .. flight BI0098.

As I’m sending Karen a text message, my phone rings .. Tracy can’t get my card unlocked but she has doubled James’s credit limit .. so he can pay for everything .. ho hum .. I get to play the damsel in distress .. LOL.

10.25 .. A little late .. we roar down the runway heading west .. as we climb .. so does the pain in my ears ..

11.35 .. I’m woken by a stewardess for lunch !!!

12.10 .. I head for the loo ..

12.18 .. On my return I sit and use some of my laptop’s battery up doing some diary for the last 36 hours ..

13.00 .. I need to save some battery .. only 36% (1hr 17min) left .. so I’ll try laying out again .. 

James and I have separated seat wise, so I try laying out across the three seats to grab some sleep. My new ear plugs work well .. most of the engine noise is gone, but I’m able to hear the stewardesses when they come by.

I do manage to sleep on and off, and have some strange dreams .. oo er.

17.30 .. ish .. We land in Dubai where allegedly it’s 23c outside, the terminal is warm .. James is eagre to quench a first .. it would be wrong for me not to follow .. << grins >>. Once off the aircraft James knows where he is going .. I follow. It’s quite a walk, but two steins of German lager hit the spot ..

I try the laptop to see if I can find the BT Openzone spot here .. failed. So I call home using my PAYG mobile .. Karen calls me back .. in hind sight futile really. After a 5 minute or so call where Karen tells me about mum and Claire I’ve burnt off about £8 in credit .. ho hum.

James pays the bill on his company card and we head back to gate 105 to reboard the aircraft.

19.00 .. ( 23.00 Dubai time ) .. it’s push back time again .. the aircraft has more people on board now .. so James and I can’t separate to have 3 seat beds ..

19.10 .. We are airborne again .. on the second and final leg to Brunei ..

James seems quite happy to chat about transitional things .. and as we are climbing moves a seat closer so he can hear clearer .. we chat about all sorts .. the UK v Thailand debate etc ..

19.45 .. ish .. They start to deliver the evening meal .. I opt for the sweet chilli beef with noodles .. James has the fish. Doh .. I manage to drop a noodle on white blouse. I finsh diinner with another 3mg aspirin.

20.25 .. With the “service” over .. we both take the opportunity of a comfort break .. I use it for an attempt to wash the stain off my front .. time will tell ..

James settles back in the furthest seat to watch a film .. I decide to run the laptop up and do some notes ..

21.00 .. the head up display shows us sweeping across India .. 37000 feet, ground speed 637 mph and -51c outside .. 5 hours 15 mins to go. The seat back navigation is showing a path ahead that will skim past Bangkok .. shame I couldn’t arrange a return there in a couple of weeks .. but I will next time. Our Eta local time is now 10.15 .. 02.15 UK time.

21.15 .. I’ll have to put the laptop away .. the woman in front is determined to recline her seat into me ramming the laptop into my stomach and threatening to do damage ..
 
More to come ...       

Day 2295. Tuesday 22nd March 2011.

Memory Joggers ...

00.15 .. I’m awake and looking at the flight map .. I start to weep .. “Chon Buri” suddenly pops up on the map as we pass just to the north of it, sadly it’s cloudy, otherwise I’d be able to see the coastal outline there .. such good memories and sad ones.

02.35 .. 10.35 Brunei time .. we are on the ground ..

Times now are Brunei ( GMT + 8 hours )

11.05 .. James and I are finally in the terminal car park, there’s a man with a card with our names on it.

12.40 .. ish .. We arrive at the station at the other end of the country .. the welcome is warm .. the air conditioning is cool. Dorothy laughs at me Hijab and asks James “what have you done to Sarah” .. LOL.

14.15 .. ish .. We head for the hotel, via a supermarket so I can get some shampoos and conditioner.

In the supermarket I notice some Waitrose Essential breakfast cereals .. £4.50 a box !!!

15.15 .. ish .. I’m in my hotel room .. I take an extra single hormone dose .. I’m feeling odd.

18.00 .. James rings my door bell .. time to go and eat ..

James drives me out to **, it’s the second largest “city” in Brunei .. about the size of Egham says James.

We walk around and go stand by the river .. this is the border .. across the wide river is mangrove .. and the “jungle noises” are seriously loud. There is a warning sign to deter swimmers .. with a list of pictorial hazzards .. the last one is crocodiles .. surely just that would be enough to stop people !!

19.15 .. ish .. We’ve driven back to the hotel and walked along to another restaurant 200 metres away or so .. we’ve just sat down when my mobile rings .. St Peter’s Hospital social services telling me they are discharging mum today.

I have a pint of iced lemon tea with honey, to eat it’s a lamb with dried chillies meal with rice .. it wasn’t very spicy hot .. but was full of bone .. James’s beef dish was bone free .. lesson learnt.

20.05 .. The bill is paid and we walk back to the hotel. The wild life in the tree’s and bushes makes quite a noise !!

I burn up some Skype credit calling St Peters Social services .. I tried the ward mum is on first .. had the phone picked up and dropped on me twice .. barstards !!!

21.26 .. A Chat with Bambi on Yahoo ..

22.15 .. I climb into bed .. nightie night.

More to come ...

Day 2296. Wednesday 23rd March 2011.

Memory Joggers ...

04.00 .. I’m woken up by my PC .. I’d left it on with a large clock running, and Skype in invisible mode .. but Gillian from USA has tried to call me on the off chance .. DOH. She rings off before I get to it .. but I spot Karen’s Skype on so I call her ..

04.15 .. Back to bed .. I don’t sleep very much more .. the traffic noise is horrendous ..

07.00 .. The alarm goes off .. waking me up .. once up I find a Yahoo message from Kirsti .. I reply .. and she answers .. so we chat briefly ..

08.06 .. James rings my bell .. he’d been waiting for the hair dryer to stop .. lol.

08.10 .. We head down for breakfast ..

Breakfast isn’t as lavish as one might have expected .. a cooked breakfast might pick me up .. so it’s noodles, chicken sausages, scrambled egg and baked beans, followed by two slices of toast all washed down with two cups of coffee.

08.40 .. ish .. Back to our rooms .. 

08.53 .. James is waiting for me in reception ..  

09.10 .. We arrive at the studios / office ..

Oo-er .. I’m likely to cause a loo roll shortage hear .. a very upset stomach ..

Fun with a web cam ..

11.30 .. We head out to find a DIY shop .. it’s not that far away .. but it’s seriously warm outside now. The shop is a treasure trove, like a really old fashioned hardware shop.

12.10 .. We are back .. I have to eat and take my normal morning hormones .. 4 hours later than usual .. but 4 hours ahead of “real time” .. tomorrow I’ll take them with breakfast ..

17.46 .. We leave the office and head straight for the hotel ..

18.00 .. We are back at the hotel ..

19.00 .. We head off to eat .. back to ** and go to a Thai James knows.

00.35 .. I’m not tired .. but I’ve got to try and sleep ..

More to come ..