Booyah!

So, I'm back, dearest digiblips, from a wonderful long trip in the underbelly of the world *shrug* what can I say, I fell off the edge. Very super short update?

- even if it's still spring, it's actually summer. fleas and ticks, and pollen, and it's a jungle out there
- reading, reading, reading like a maniac
- still no government in poor old Belgium, while politicians are still at it, beating the zombified horses
- the world remains a scary place, even if Al Qaeda lost its sugar daddy: North Africa and the Middle East are on fire, causing bewilderment in Europe, while the massive emigration movement causes cracks upon the cracks the banking crisis left; the Big One or his little brother caused a nuclear disaster in Japan, just in time for Chernobyl's anniversary; and it's okay to shoot bad people if it's in another country than your own; God's own vacuum doing overtime during a super tornado outbreak, and it's not even 2012!
- I quit the job, because that certainly was not working for me
- fencing-wise, I've been engaging my medial shin muscle in excessive amounts of eccentric muscle activity, and now I've got periostitic shin splints, yay!
- I got tired of getting lost with the car when I don't have my flesh-and-bones tomtom along and bought a GPS. I changed the voice settings (the default chic and smart Flemish or Dutch "named" voices are annoying, sounding too much like *I* am the idiot). Now it talks like a robot woman with half a brain, and who can't decide whether she's from Holland or France. Which is just poifect to my Belgian senses!

Oh, and while I haven't been talking much to the Cow Watcher, I've got this funny feeling he's decided the solution to the Barynn (monster) trilogy is actually simple: make it FOUR books *headdesk*
*mumbles* and I wasn't even working on B *headdesk*

otitis

some of the bugs that were playing hide and seek between larynx and sinus decided to make a last stand in my ear. as a kid, ear infections weren't my thing, I did tonsillitis and larnygitis in all forms and colors.
how better to start the year than with a brand new experience!

Hexed

is what I am. I've been wearing sports tape on my ankle on and off for weeks during saber season. Sunday, the strips I'd left on for some support on Sunday (as I've been doing for over two months) started itching. Shit happens, so I took them off.

Since then I've been wearing virtual sports tape, in the form of a swollen and red strip of skin where the real deal used to be. But that's okay, that's just looks. And I know I am sensitive to some stuff, like some types of bandages, or the stuff they use to glue silver or gold to cheaper metal in jewelry. Things like that = hello skin rash. But zinc oxide tape is supposed to be okay, damnation.

This thing itches like a motherfucker, worse than the series of spider-bites I once contracted on my leg (series as in spider doing walk-walk-gnap-walk-walk-gnap on my leg).

See, every time you think things can't ever be worse, the universe will prove its limitless possibilities.

Note to self

Dear self,


I'll agree 3 books in 1 is a bargain, but next time you think that spending a week with a book of 840g sounds good, think of your body craptastic, and remind yourself it's no way to help your shoulder recover from saber season.

Dear Easterbunny

Thank you so much for ignoring my plea concerning time, because obviously I am a fool and do not understand what makes a great gift.
Luckily you are so much better at inventing Great Gifts!
So really, thank you very much for this wondrous occasion in which I can experience the fun of having a cold of the very runny-snot-variant AND hay fever.
You see, as a writer, I'm always on the lookout for new experiences, and I was in dire need of knowing how my head would feel if ever I ate a hand grenade. One more item to strike off my list, yay!
I cannot thank you enough, bunny! Especially the snot + sneeze moments are hilarious. My monitor agrees, as do my cats. Fun fun fun.



Mental note: ask Santa to kill all trees, shrubs, grasses, grains and flowers.

Spring is also

Hard work in the garden. Which leads to pain, so I'm going to whine for a bit.

Since it's going to rain the next few days I went the extra mile with the revamping the rasp- and blueberry plot, and crapped out my cracked spondylus, which wasn't doing so great anyways the last couple of days. And with the snipping away at dead raspberry wood with the pruning shears, the sprained thumb is also back from being nearly gone. Stupid thumb is probably the only thing keeping the usual De Quervain at bay. Nagging posterior tibial tendon chiming in. And of course, because I've been accommodating the back and ankle in my sleep the last few days so now my lateral collateral ligament is acting up. Accommodating the sprained thumb in my sleep is still with me in the frayed tendons of my deltoid. All I need now is the good old ITBS rearing its head and this picknick will be complete.

I've strapped in my right hand with extra care, and taped the ankle, and will be wearing my knee support. Training is going to be ball! Mummy fencing, yay!