Brand new flavour

Sometimespace is now available via:

http://www.sometimespace.co.uk

and

http://www.sometimespace.com

For the tech people out there, “sometimespace.co.uk/.com” is a web domain forwarding address to this blog, whose actual address is https://moretimespace.wordpress.com – but for simplicity I kept my old blog name of sometimespace and made the domain (purchased from 1and1 Internet) name link to whichever blog site I happen to be using (in this case, WordPress.com).

With that said, I am off to bed as my prescribed sleeping tablets are kicking in quite quickly now. They were prescribe because my back injury stopped me from getting much uninterrupted sleep over the past two and a bit months, and even though the back is getting better, my sleep pattern is as erratic as a blind drunken quadriplegic trying to negotiate spaghetti junction in a car with a wheel missing…. So pretty bad….

I’ve been able to count every hour in and out through the night. It’s not that I am not tired – believe me, I have never felt so damned tired – it’s just the back pain kept waking me, and now I just can’t get back into a sleep pattern at all. I’ve done shift work before and a change of sleep pattern normally only takes a weekend – but this is different. Dead on my feet….crawling up to bed… drag myself under the sheets…. and then just not sleep – but going beyond normal tired. Not nice at all.

So, without further ado, I wish you all a pleasant night as I take my Temazepam induced wobbliness up to bed, to sleep….perchance to dream! Aye, there’s the rub….. ooof – these tablets are a bit more than sleep makers I think…

NIGHT!!!!!

Stuck at the Hospital

Another session of physio with Judith (many thanks!!!) – and another step forward in my recovery.

Weekly hospital visits and daily prescribed exercises are slowly getting me better. I’ve started taking evening physio as I was hoping to be back at work, so didn’t want my hospital visits taking up the morning.

I’m feeling better in general, but the sitting and driving problem persists. The other day I took a 15 minute drive, and it was not great. Apart from it being very uncomfortable and painful afterwards, it also went against the rule of thumb that says: “if feel that you cannot carry out an emergency stop, you should not be driving.” I can say an emergency stop is one of the furthest things from the top of my to-do list right now.

Still, as things ease up I hope my boss will let Chris drive me to and from work, because that’s the only way I can see it happening over the next few weeks.

I really need the money, but I don’t want to screw my back up in a permanent way. As I get better, I shall do all I can to make sure this never happens again.

Meanwhile, here I am, near horizontal in my seat as Chris tries to get us out of a jammed hospital car park during rush hour. So far we have moved 5 car lengths in 30 minutes… I will need to get out and stretch my legs before we even clear the hospital grounds at this rate.

Pah!

Unhappily, Christmas is cancelled for us this year.

After getting a back injury at work I have been unable to drive or work. Sitting up for more than 15 – 20 minutes has been a pain, and although I am getting much better, I am still in pain. As I said in a previous blog entry, I will not let this happen again, and am doing all I can to avoid the problem repeating.

Things are a bit tight for us at the moment – and it doesn’t help the fact that my pay has been greatly reduced, and I mean greatly reduced. Try less than £200 for a month – and that’s not what it has been reduced by…. it is what it has been reduced to.

It’s not like I’m just sitting at home and slacking – I can’t work at the moment – and all due to a work related reason. Once more, the job dodgers who can’t be bothered to work out there are getting more money than me. Not happy. Now I have pain, and some serious stress over income.

With bills and mortgages, it means Christmas is off. The stuff we’ve got already is fair enough – Alex will still get a few things, but that’s it. Sorry to all others, but the best I can give this year is a “Merry Christmas”.

I will update when I figure out what the Hell I am going to do. For one…. I need to pay the mortgage and bills… and that is a major problem now. Major.

To try and keep it clean, all I can say is “Bugger”.

The best gift ever

Time ticks away as we get ready for Alex’s 3rd Christmas.

Last year was the first one that had him getting excited, but still not too aware as to what it was all about. This year he’s starting to enjoy the lights and run up decorations – although I think it’ll be next year when he starts to really get excited before Christmas.

I’m looking forward to seeing his face light up with the toys we have bought him. I couldn’t spend as much as I would have liked as my work have me on reduced pay after my work related back injury. Yes, that has put a real dampener on things, especially as times are tight anyway, but you just have to play the hands you are dealt – and the next hand might be a winning one, so you just have to keep moving forward.

The best gift will always be seeing his happy face, so Christmas is all for him.

The other day on the way back from Mill Lane Fiat (picking up the repaired works Multipla), we dropped into the Aldershot Military Museum so Alex could see some tanks! He even ended up with some toy soldiers!

Picky, but easy.

It’ll be a Christmas for kids this year. Credit crunch and reduced sick pay (Grrrrr) means things are a bit tight. It also means I’m pretty upset – but I leave that for now, as I’m angry too.

Luckily Alex has very simple, but specific tastes. He loves his toy cars, and I mean loves them! He doesn’t care if he has two or three the same, as long as they are realistic. Yup, he’s picky too! He isn’t keen on toy cars that look like toys. Matchbox type cars are top billing for him – and as the supermarkets have own brand cars for low prices, I can’t grumble!

Today after Physio we did a little shopping – Sainsbury’s are doing toys 1/2 price at the moment, so we picked up a half price “Little Tykes” car mechanics set, with bench, tools and engine/car to work on – but don’t tell Alex, as it’s his Christmas present!

Alex was treated to a couple of car sets – under £3 the lot! They kept him occupied whilst Chris did the heavy work and loaded up the trolley with the work bench! Usually on a shopping trip Alex will get one toy car as a treat, and that keeps him happy for the duration – and these two box sets did their job perfectly…. maybe too perfectly, as he held them all the time, even in the car on the way home…where he fell asleep still holding them tightly!

As for my back, I can feel things getting better – or at least changing for the better – so many thanks to Judith. A trained finger pressed in “just the right place” can be a very, very painful thing – so always keep your phsyiotherapist on side! Annoyingly though I hit a set back the other day as I sat up to eat. Whilst upright I sneezed, which has left my lower back aching constantly again, but also tightened up my shoulders and neck. Where I’ve been holding myself a  bit taut to avoid hurting my back, the sneeze jarred me a bit harder than the usual relaxed sneeze. A sneeze!!! Damn it!

If it wasn’t for a few things I’d be going mad! Chris and Alex keep me going (Alex is a real star as he keeps me smiling with his intensity as he plays!). The Nordic Walking gives me a bit of freedom, and physio from Judith keeps my recovery progressing (progressing is the thing here – if nothing was happening I’d be more than a bit worried). The iPhone just keeps me in touch with the World (cyber speaking, that is), with twitterings, textings, Facebook and blogging.

No cars, booze or bangsticks

This is one of my most visited pages – I’d love to hear some feedback as to why it is so popular – Thanks!

This day in history in 1919 saw America start prohibition.

Why on earth am I mentioning that then?

I was blindly surfing the net on my iPhone as I don’t have a great deal more that I can do at the moment (see earlier posts if you don’t know why!), and I found that the Volstead Act (Prohibition) came into being on this day in history…and it made me think.

I know a lot of Americans who are worried about the up and coming elections, and how it may well restrict their gun ownership. Many that I have talked to say that something as huge as banning all guns, or certain types of gun, just wouldn’t be possible – logistically it surely wouldn’t be possible – and anyway, it would upset far to many people and be far too difficult to enforce because too many people would oppose it.

A ban on alcohol over the entire United States. It may not have been hugely successful, but it was carried out, and stayed in force until 1933. Now I can’t help but think that banning guns is a darn site easier than banning a liquid that most people could make themselves (with a little knowledge and not much equipment). I would also think that more people enjoy a drink than own a gun – yet that mass of people couldn’t stand up to the Government of 1919… what chance is there against a Government with the technology and information of today?

So – Gun owning Americans, please don’t sit too comfortably on your freedoms, you’re not untouchable.

I’m all for the education of firearms, and not the all out banning. I shoot target rifle, and get really annoyed when the UK Government keep restricting use. They only do this to pander to the masses so they can win more votes. If anyone took a blind bit of interest they could see that firearms are not a serious threat – but peoples views on them are tainted.

Someone who wants a gun to commit a crime is not going to go through the health and Police security checks, the joining of registered government gun clubs, and the 3 to 6 months probation waiting period before they get a license.

They are not going to put Police approved security into their house and have the Police visit to ensure it is safe, and that the user has a valid reason to own the gun.

They are not going to go out and buy a firearm from a registered dealer who notifies the police so they know who the firearm is registered to.

They are also not going to put down a restriction on a license as to what firearms they can carry, and what the limit of ammunition is they are allowed to buy.

NO….. they’ll get a gun illegally and go out and commit a crime.

The trouble is, when one of these illegal gun owners go and shoot someone or hold up a shop, it is the legal gun owners… the ones who go through probation, back ground checks, Police interviews etc, that get further restricted…. and why? So that the Government can say they have reduced gun ownership in the UK…Yeah, great… you’ve reduced it from the ones that weren’t illegal.

This is like those idiots who steel cars and put YOUR insurance up!!! What have you done? Nothing!!! But the insurance companies can’t get money from some untaxed, unlicensed and uninsured idiot thief can they? No…. but they can get it from you.

The Government may as well ban all people who legally hold a drivers licence and have taxed and tested cars. Okay… it won’t stop those that are carrying out illegal driving in the first place, but who cares? Not the voters, because they’ll have seen that the government has reduced the amount of car drivers, regardless of the fact that the illegal drivers won’t care, and will still blitz around dangerously in stolen cars… and those illegals won’t lose their licenses because they didn’t even have one in the first place!!!

So you see, this won’t stop illegal road activity – thefts etc., but that’s how those in charge deal with firearms. They restrict the people they know legally own guns, because the legal gun owners are the only ones that the government know for sure have guns…

I blame statistics as well – or at least peoples misunderstanding of them – and the misuse of them. Statistics are warped and only reported in a way that works for the case in hand. It is the misuse of power by those in charge that scares me more than the very low gun crime in the UK (YES – it is low, don’t be mislead).

People need educating about firearms – In fact they need educating more on most things they vote about, because the group uninformed mentality of people is now starting to run the county – and not the educated vote of people who make considered opinions.

The Government seems to be in to win votes and to stay in power as long as the wave will carry them – even if that means making decisions that are not so great for the country, but WILL still keep them the vote. It’s like the X-Factor or Big Brother generation hold the future of the UK in its hands – and it is the political party with that X-Factor “Wow” that will win – and not so much the party with the countries best interest at heart.

Phew… that feels better.

Prohibition! Pah!!!

I need to get my back fixed so I can get out more…..

Ever heard of traction, Mr Black…?

That’s what the Physiotherapist asked me on today’s (second) session…. and the first thing that came into my head was Sean Connery as James Bond in Thunderball. The famous scene where he is in a traction machine and left for a while by the therapist… only to have the baddie (Count Lippe) put it on a top setting to try to kill Bond…

Then that thought turned to the medieval rack…

I replied to the Physiotherapist that I had heard of it… but needless to say I didn’t think for one minute it would be anything like I had seen before….

As it was, I lay on my back with my knees bent, feet flat. A strap was placed around my lower leg just under mt knee joint, and the Physiotherapist must’ve have worn the other end of the straping around her (I couldn’t actually see anything apart from the ceiling!!!). To apply traction the Physiotherapist pulled her weight against the straps – and by heck…. ooof! Not the nicest thing in the world, and I hurt a fair chunk now.

I have to go back for more next week (Happy happy joy joy…) – but until then I have to use a TENS machine on my lower back to try and get some relief. She did say I need to make sure I keep up the Nordic Walking, as that has helped get rid of the constant pain (Now I just hurt when I move, and not all the time).

Cottage pie with fish fingers and cat food

It’s miserable out, my back feels like it is about to lock out and I can’t go for a Nordic walk to help free it up because the ground is too slippy. It wouldn’t be an issue normally, but I’m not risking my back any further with the potential of a pole slipping.

I’ve been horizontal all day, until I had to prepare Alexs lunch. Bit of bad luck as I had to do it twice. First time ended up as floor food as I dropped the lot. I’d swear now, but I’ve kept the more colourful language out of the blog so far, so let’s just say my jolly old back sent a whizz bang of a jolt to me, and I ended up dropping the darn lunch.

Floor cottage pie and fish sticks with chips isn’t good – especially as it landed in the cat food bowls.

Sausages are in the grill now, and more oven chips. Pah!

Alex has kept me sane though, as he’s being so lovely playing with his toy cars and led windmill…which may just burn out from over use!!!

All of this from trying to move a machine in the back of my car. Frack.

A Peaceful Walk

I went out for a gentle potter on my Nordic Poles today. I have noticed a problem with these autumn/winter walks…..leaves.

The bottom of the pole is fitted with a special metal tip. This allows it to dig into loose gravel and dirt, but isn’t so great on paved areas and roads. There are attachments for the pole tips to fix this though – curved rubber boots. These quieten the tap tap tap of the pole and give better grip. They work quite well on unmade roads and firm packed dirt too.

Due to my route I generally use the rubber boots, as they are better suited for most of the distance – but now the leaves are on the ground the boots have a tendency to slip (not great for a bad back).

So, I’ve had to go out with just the spikes. This is okay now I’ve got to grips with using the spikes on Tarmac, but not ideal. Luckily LEKI have bought out a new innovation that should solve this problem. I’ll be getting some of these new feet and will review them for the blog.

As for the walk today, it was taken at a much reduced pace as I had slept awkwardly. I’m still glad that Nordic Walking is allowing me to at least get away from laying on my back all day, but I am getting a bit depressed about my reduced abilities. I want to take my exercise up a notch, but I just can’t right now.

Spongebob Exercisepants

Call me crazy, but Spongebob is helping me keep fit, exercise my back and lose weight…

As you know, I have damaged a disc in my lower back. I can’t sit up, or even walk very well without something to keep me stable. Using Alex’s pushchair or my Nordic walking poles allows me to walk and gently exercise and rehabilitate my back .

The poles have proved to do much more for me as well – as mentioned in other blog posts. It burns 30% to 40% more kcal than running or jogging, as it uses the upper body as well – and it also raises the heart rate into a different sport zone without having to go as fast as you would running or jogging.

Because of the slower speed and stick aided stability, the body impact is greatly reduced – which benefits the back, legs…heck, any joints! Great for weight loss, improving fitness – and rehabilitation when you can’t run or jog…. or walk easily unaided.

Proper training is a must as with all sports (even simple jogging – if you do it wrong, you can screw yourself up)- but it isn’t expensive and not too time consuming. I initially had 10 to 15 minutes of coaching to make sure I knew what I was doing (and not damaging myself any further!). A fortnight later I had some follow up training to make sure I was still on track. I did this with Helen Wallace from the Alice Holt Forestry Commission (see my links on the lower of the left hand column).

One of the things that has oddly helped me get to grips with getting the most from this exercise is Spongebob Squarepants…

I have endured the theme tune so many times now, as Alex loves the show – and as such the tempo of the tune has stuck in my head! Where I  exercise and breath in over two strides and out over two strides, I now have Spongebob’s name – as sung at the pace of the song – going through my head as I exercise…. breath in over 2 strides “Sponge-bob” and out over two strides “Square-pants” …. I did say you could “call me crazy…”

Now this chant helps keep my heart rate in a set zone and keeps me walking comfortably. The actual speed of my foot fall doesn’t change, but the speed of the walk itself can, simply by increasing the stride, but keeping the same time beat going. It’s like a walking metronome… constant tick-tock-tick-tock sponge-bob-square-pants…..

Crazy…maybe, but thanks to Alex’s love of the TV show, my pole walks, my back and my overall fitness is improving.