INTENSITY²
Start here => M.O.-Introductions => Ask Away Threads => Topic started by: Lord of the Ales on May 15, 2015, 05:16:47 PM
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I used to have one of these back in the day, but since the past is a different country it should probably stay locked.
If anyone wants to find out what a former despot is doing these days this is the place. Don't all rush at once. :lol1:
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Are you maintaining anything on the web these days?
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Nope. I still have one domain name, but only because I forgot to cancel it before it renewed. :facepalm:
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Nope. I still have one domain name, but only because I forgot to cancel it before it renewed. :facepalm:
May I defile it? :zoinks:
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It isn't online, sorry. If I ever put owt on it (a blog perhaps) I'll let you besmirch it. :P
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Good. :zoinks:
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You have written somewhere else on here that you have rats. My flatmate Kayleigh has three rats. Two hooded and one brown.
How many rats do you have and what are they like?
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I did reply to the other one when I spotted it, but that thread gets buried a bit.
We currently have nine. We have a large 2 level cage/hutch in the living room, at one point there were seven males in there - Iggy, a big grey and white dumbo rat, is the alpha and Mel's 'heart rat' - he has a lovely bond with her. He currently just has two companions, Sprocket, a hooded black and white who is very curious, and Cas (short for Castiel), who is similar in appearance to Sprocket but fatter and more aggressive.
In the attic we now have two 'retired' males - Sherlock, an albino dumbo and former big fat bully, and recently moved in with him is Dean, a small, shy black and white fancy rat. They both have some mobility issues and have been struggling to feed, drink and groom themselves properly so they're in Mel's studio space now so they can be nursed and not have to fight for their share, Sherlock has got some weight and energy back now but still ends up covered in baby food. He hates being bathed unfortunately which is very funny to watch.
My younger son has two big grey and white dumbo males in his room, Fry and Bender - Fry is very friendly and loves being handled, Bender is more wary and occasionally nips but will usually assent to being stroked if he's getting a treat lol.
My daughter has two dumbo females, Chuck and Olive - they're much smaller than the males, very quick, agile and lively so they're a bit of a handful, the lads tend to just potter about. Olive is grey and white and appears to be in charge, Chuck is hooded brown and cream and is the bolder of the two regarding people. They are the only ones who pee on people, but only if they like you. :lol1:
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Can't believe you have a female rat named Olive - so does Kayleigh. Her three are all female and just reaching adulthood. Jadzia and Ezri are the other names. I bet you can guess where she got the names from.
She had another three females previously, Molly, Ellen and Spot. Spot died of a respiratory infection and the other two succumbed to tumours that grew massively. I felt so sorry for them.
Do you recommend having males rather than female rats?
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I forgot Kayleigh was a massive trekkie :zoinks:
Depends really - if you like nosey, busy, energetic rats girls are for you. If you want placid, affectionate, greedy rats who are happy to sit on your lap while you read/watch telly/etc boys are better. They're both fun but sadly don't seem to live very long. We lost Sherlock early this week. :(
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I forgot Kayleigh was a massive trekkie :zoinks:
Depends really - if you like nosey, busy, energetic rats girls are for you. If you want placid, affectionate, greedy rats who are happy to sit on your lap while you read/watch telly/etc boys are better. They're both fun but sadly don't seem to live very long. We lost Sherlock early this week. :(
:(
We once had a cat, called Sherlock.
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Do you fancy a pint now and then?
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You could say that. :beergrin:
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He is the LORD OF ALES!!!!! :viking: :worship: :beergrin:
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OMG the Lord of the Ales is here!! :GA:
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OMG the Lord of the Ales is here!! :GA:
You didn't post. >:(
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Haven't had time to hear myself think lately, so haven't been on really - will have to try and post a bit when the kids have gone back to school/college. This is a flying visit, setting off to the garage in ten minutes - the car is due its annual MOT test - my credit card is already wincing in expectation of a battering. :GA:
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Haven't had time to hear myself think lately, so haven't been on really - will have to try and post a bit when the kids have gone back to school/college. This is a flying visit, setting off to the garage in ten minutes - the car is due its annual MOT test - my credit card is already wincing in expectation of a battering. :GA:
Good to see you post while flying by.
Hang in there. Good luck the coming weeks.
First weeks with kids back to school also comes with loads of :GA: :GA: :GA: in my experience.
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Welcome back.
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Haven't had time to hear myself think lately, so haven't been on really - will have to try and post a bit when the kids have gone back to school/college. This is a flying visit, setting off to the garage in ten minutes - the car is due its annual MOT test - my credit card is already wincing in expectation of a battering. :GA:
Good luck I always dread those things :)
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I got off pretty lightly - a set of sidelight bulbs, front brake pads and a tyre. Credit card just got roughed up a bit rather than a fucking good hiding. :lol1:
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Congrats on the relatively successful MOT test & welcome back.
Had any good ales lately?
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I got off pretty lightly - a set of sidelight bulbs, front brake pads and a tyre. Credit card just got roughed up a bit rather than a fucking good hiding. :lol1:
Good.
Now you've got energy left to heard the offspring back into a school routine. * insert pulling hair smiley here, that I could not find *
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:hair:
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I got off pretty lightly - a set of sidelight bulbs, front brake pads and a tyre. Credit card just got roughed up a bit rather than a fucking good hiding. :lol1:
All my state cares about here is the emissions and it's only every two years, that's bad enough it would drive me nuts to have them checking everything
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They care about everything here. Wondering how you'd feel about a proper Swedish test. :P
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My last car died the day before the test.
Saved me loads of money. But got me ending without a car too.
Everytime my cars had to undergo that test I ended up lots poorer. Condensation in the headlights, stuff like that.
:GA:
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Have been mostly enjoying beers I already like, and the weather has been cooler so I have brought some of the rich, dark brews back into circulation. Last night I had a Guinness West Indies Porter, Badger Poachers Choice and Wychwood King Goblin. Rather nice. :beer:
Due to recent time constraints and lack of organisation I haven't got back on my own brewing schedule yet, though I have bought ingredients and a new fermenter and paddle, and got a load of pop bottles ready. Hopefully I can get on with that soon. :beergrin:
Next few weeks will be somewhat stressful, term time starts properly for all of them the week after next and its fucking DRAGGING. Nice to spend time with them but the lack of head space and a productive routine tells on all of us as the holidays drag on, and I always end up sleeping too late and drinking too much so am tireder and fatter by the time its over.
Ok, so an attempt to catch up a bit - I might already have mentioned some of this.
First up, daughter is doing better. She did pretty well in her GCSEs so is starting at the same FE college as her brother for A-levels and getting out of that shithole of a school, so huge sigh of relief at that - no more tears or snotty attendance letters.
Second, Xan is starting at a specialist school for kids with good academic ability but severe emotional/behavioural needs, mostly autistic, however it is over 30 miles away in the next county. He's excited to be going but it will require some changes in our routine as he will be going in a taxi and not arriving home until about 4.30.
Third, due to Xan's changes I will be changing job within the organisation I work for in a few weeks also. I am moving to a 9-5 shift pattern so that I can be home on an evening again after nearly two years on lates - this is fantastic and the whole family are looking forward to it, my own health has suffered due to the lack of energy caused by having to get up early and then not get home for tea until 11pm and stay up too late. Mel has also struggled to cope with being on her own with Xan (and missy) all evening, and once Xan starts at his new school he will be arriving after I set off to work so he won't see me from 7.45am until (briefly) 11pm during the week on my current shift, he won't cope well with that. Hence the move.
I spent three days last week shadowing one of the day teams in the department so I could try on the role and make sure I liked it and could cope with the higher degree of structure required (well duh) and social/sensory input (busy, with some phone work, but overall manageable) - I can't wait to go back and made sure the manager of my department knows it. More money will be nice (more hours), and though I'll have to go back into training for a while to cover the aspects of the job I haven't been doing, all shifts are on a schedule for upskilling anyway so there is a pretty good plan in place for the next couple of years. its all good. :autism:
Finally, we recently added two house rabbits called Willow and Buffy to the chaos. Its as nuts as it sounds, a hutch and a large run have been squeezed into the living room and they have free range time also, which is usually entertaining - one of them was grooming the dog last night. :lol1:
Think that'll do for now. :bunny:
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:laugh:
A rabbit grooming your dog. Did you take pictures?
Great to hear you're about to have a more doable day schedule. Congratulations. Time to introduce yourself anew to Mel. She only knows this shadow coming home in the middle of the night.
Good to hear all kids will be at a good place, schoolwise. Will take away a lot of the pressure.
I'll raise a glass to your fortune tonight.
Say "hi" to Mel please.
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Welcome back and thanks for the latest news. Sending good thoughts that the transitions will go smoothly and that all of you get some serious "me" and relaxation time at some point!!! :plus:
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A lot on your plate, from the sound of it. Wishing you well.
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Taxis cost an absolute fortune here in Australia. Not so where you are?
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Taxis cost a fortune anywhere. :-\
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The education authority will be paying for his taxi and an escort - he'll share with another lad though as there are several there from our town, and they certainly aren't exactly cheap for normal use. The buses round here are a ripoff though so its sometimes cheaper if there are more than one of us and the car's elsewhere, particularly for shortish trips as the minimum bus fare home from town is considerably more than a taxi for two, for a journey of less than a mile and a half. My 14 mile each way work commute costs me £5 a day in petrol and parking is free if there's space (my employer rents a load more from a hotel ten minutes walk away for overflow as the council have refused permission to expand the car park) - by public transport it would be at least twice that and take me the best part of two hours with two transfers instead of 40 minutes. A taxi would be £17 - each way. :poo:
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The education authority will be paying for his taxi and an escort - he'll share with another lad though as there are several there from our town, and they certainly aren't exactly cheap for normal use. The buses round here are a ripoff though so its sometimes cheaper if there are more than one of us and the car's elsewhere, particularly for shortish trips as the minimum bus fare home from town is considerably more than a taxi for two, for a journey of less than a mile and a half. My 14 mile each way work commute costs me £5 a day in petrol and parking is free if there's space (my employer rents a load more from a hotel ten minutes walk away for overflow as the council have refused permission to expand the car park) - by public transport it would be at least twice that and take me the best part of two hours with two transfers instead of 40 minutes. A taxi would be £17 - each way. :poo:
:eyebrows: :zoinks:
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I don't think the council can afford to spend that much. :bounce:
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Is Dunc still posting??
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Is Dunc still posting??
JUst not as much as he used to. He's got a job irl and the kids are getting grown and going all over the place! He's got his hands full right now! :GA:
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Is Dunc still posting??
JUst not as much as he used to. He's got a job irl and the kids are getting grown and going all over the place! He's got his hands full right now! :GA:
Seriously, YOU are Dunc?
Sounds as if you are someone posting for him.
... but if YOU are THE Dunc, then ... :beergrin:
... we have catching up to do.
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In that case, fuck off!
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In that case, fuck off!
Random emotional whiplash?
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Eh?
What did I do? :apondering:
This is Dunc, btw. As Ozy (rock hound) says, I've had my plate pretty full in recent years, with getting my head around sorting my son's schooling problems out and getting back into the routine of holding a job down again. If that means you don't want to know any more, that's sad and I hope I'm mistaken, but ultimately not my issue - I can't do everything at once. Sorry man. :(
In other news, Friday was my last shift on evenings, I start days next week with a new role and a new manager and team to get used to. My previous team saw me off last night with a 'heard you're escaping' card, couple of carriers of beers, box of sweets and my mate added a WoW Horde wallet - it was touching to know they were going to miss me so much. Having a good group of co-workers has made doing this godawful shift pattern the last 2 years more bearable, I'm gonna miss them - hope some of my new colleagues are as good. My new line manager seems nice and says she will be doing my training personally and will make me really good at my job, which is promising - her manager is still the same guy up the line from my previous line manager and he's a sound bloke who has been supportive regarding my autism throughout, so I'm pretty happy with the move overall. Once I've been trained in the day team role all of us will be going for upskilling to become fully fledged underwriters in the new year, which will mean new responsibilities and a bump in pay. Can't wait. A couple of weeks in and Xan's starting to settle at his new school too, which is great. He doesn't love it yet, but he's willing to make the right choices and give it his best, which is really encouraging. Our daughter has settled nicely at FE college too and is handling transport easily, which is another weight off our minds. For me, I'm happy to be getting evenings back. I'm sick of always being tired and not getting home until 11pm. I might actually be around here a little more often. :beergrin:
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Thanks, Dunc! I don't know what I did wrong either! Just passing on some public knowledge to people who want to know. It's not the first time, I've done this. I figured if it was offensive to you, you'd let me know.
Anyway, glad to hear that the change is going to be a good one. and that Xan and your daughter are doing well. I actually prefer evening shift to work, since I am not a morning person. :zombiefuck:
Glad to see you back and posting. We need more elders to keep these young'uns on the right track! ;)
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Weird to think I'm an elder in internets terms. I only feel about 17, but I can't be, since my eldest is much taller than me and there's far too much daylight shining through my hair these days. (emo)
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Weird to think I'm an elder in internets terms. I only feel about 17, but I can't be, since my eldest is much taller than me and there's far too much daylight shining through my hair these days. (emo)
I just turned 60, though I don't feel like it. I think time compresses/expands/fluctuates on the internet. It feels like ages since I joined forums, but, in reviewing my past experiences, it's been only a mere decade plus. :GA: Where have the years gone? And for the record, 60 is the new 30.......... :eyelash: That's my story and I'm sticking too it. I don't care what my joints say! :viking:
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Eh?
What did I do? :apondering:
I think you failed to drop everything in your real life and immediately come scampering back to the interwebs to answer a post. :zoinks:
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What is it that you do, Dunc? More specifically I mean?
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In that case, fuck off!
Random emotional whiplash?
Nope!
Merely a misplaced post, meant to be funny, but without context and being dropped in the wrong thread, it has no meaning.
Hope the original "thread bearer" can just ignore it.
:-[
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Eh?
What did I do? :apondering:
This is Dunc, btw. As Ozy (rock hound) says, I've had my plate pretty full in recent years, with getting my head around sorting my son's schooling problems out and getting back into the routine of holding a job down again. If that means you don't want to know any more, that's sad and I hope I'm mistaken, but ultimately not my issue - I can't do everything at once. Sorry man. :(
Hi, Dunc! Glad you are back, even if only for the rare moments that you are able.
See my previous post and please, accept an apology.
"Flash posting" has never been a strong suit of mine. Further evidence exists.
:asthing:
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No offence taken Dawg, just wondered if I'd inadvertently rattled your chain. :thumbup:
I work for a large building society in the lending department, its currently in the middle of a big reorganisation so our roles are in flux at present - over the coming months we'll all be trained to handle mortgage loan applications from start to finish with our own lending mandate, from initial underwriting appraisal through to release of funds, at present there are several different teams handling different parts of the process. I just moved from the evening shift which process (initially approved in principle by an underwriter) applications according to lending criteria, scoring the application and producing a list of required info/documents which is transmitted to the broker. I'm now a case manager, handling the latter part of the process liaising with the customer/intermediaries/solicitors/valuers etc and assessing the required documents, reports, income calculations and so on. After upskilling all teams will be doing essentially the same job at varying skill levels.
Fascinating stuff I'm sure you'll agree. That's why I don't talk about my actual job much. :lol1:
tl:dr; I'm a lowly mortgage grunt. :P
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No offence taken Dawg, just wondered if I'd inadvertently rattled your chain. :thumbup:
I work for a large building society in the lending department, its currently in the middle of a big reorganisation so our roles are in flux at present - over the coming months we'll all be trained to handle mortgage loan applications from start to finish with our own lending mandate, from initial underwriting appraisal through to release of funds, at present there are several different teams handling different parts of the process. I just moved from the evening shift which process (initially approved in principle by an underwriter) applications according to lending criteria, scoring the application and producing a list of required info/documents which is transmitted to the broker. I'm now a case manager, handling the latter part of the process liaising with the customer/intermediaries/solicitors/valuers etc and assessing the required documents, reports, income calculations and so on. After upskilling all teams will be doing essentially the same job at varying skill levels.
Fascinating stuff I'm sure you'll agree. That's why I don't talk about my actual job much. :lol1:
tl:dr; I'm a lowly mortgage grunt. :P
We grunts have to stick together! :plus:
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No offence taken Dawg, just wondered if I'd inadvertently rattled your chain. :thumbup:
I work for a large building society in the lending department, its currently in the middle of a big reorganisation so our roles are in flux at present - over the coming months we'll all be trained to handle mortgage loan applications from start to finish with our own lending mandate, from initial underwriting appraisal through to release of funds, at present there are several different teams handling different parts of the process. I just moved from the evening shift which process (initially approved in principle by an underwriter) applications according to lending criteria, scoring the application and producing a list of required info/documents which is transmitted to the broker. I'm now a case manager, handling the latter part of the process liaising with the customer/intermediaries/solicitors/valuers etc and assessing the required documents, reports, income calculations and so on. After upskilling all teams will be doing essentially the same job at varying skill levels.
Fascinating stuff I'm sure you'll agree. That's why I don't talk about my actual job much. :lol1:
tl:dr; I'm a lowly mortgage grunt. :P
NO, I read it all.
It does not sound too bad, considering that grunt work could possibly involve "actual work." :lol1:
My job has changed quite a bit from a couple of years ago, when I was the main Inventory Grand Master, in charge of receiving and dispersal of about forty thousand SKUs storewide.
I now am TeH Media Guru, only in charge of setting up, maintaining, re-stocking displays of movies, CDs and gaming software.
Not nearly as stressful on my "aging body" as "actual work" had tended to be.
:thumbup:
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mortgages tend to be less heavy than flat screen tv sets though.
the most physically strenuous my job gets is lugging my box files, fan etc from my locker to my desk on a morning. :lol1:
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Nobody asked for it, but I figured this was the best place to post what's going on in Dunc Towers lately. First off I'm now three weeks into my new role proper and its going really well - the hours suit me, nobody minds my Seasonal Affective Disorder lamp on a morning (though my immediate boss jokes its making her buzz her tits off, she's pretty hyper already lol), my new team are a friendly lot and I'm bedding in well, and they don't seem to mind that I vanish at lunchtime and don't want to come on team nights out. I'm happy this was the right move for me and that I can still 'swim' in such a busy working environment, that was really the purpose of my shadowing in the summer, to ensure the greater social/sensory demands of the job wouldn't blow my brains out. Some of the folk I have to deal with on the phone are a pain in the arse, and there is a gobshite on the bank of desks behind me who has a deeply annoying voice/speech pattern and she NEVER FUCKING SHUTS UP. I can live with this, as unless I'm covering 5-6 or working over I'm home with Mel and the kids at teatime every night. Still feels like a holiday. :2thumbsup:
Mel isn't well still, sadly. She has good weeks and bad weeks, but she's doing her best - it doesn't feel good being unable to make everything okay and make her feel better but we're plodding on as best we can as a household. Xan doesn't like the routine of his new school and is a bit up and down, this has manifested itself in very obsessive, focused behaviour at home centred around computing, he sets himself a task or decides he wants a particular set up, whether this be configuring a bespoke search engine and embedding it in a new website, installing different versions of linux on new partitions, testing old versions of window to destruction on virtualbox , or today's unfortunate fixation, restoring our previous W7 environment from W10 'as was' with all save data, program setting etc after the rollback month has expired and the windows.old directory has been deleted, making anything other than a wipe and clean reinstall impossible. This hasn't been easy to live with as he gets quite abusive and stroppy when frustrated or we insist he packs in and goes to bed.
So things are still pretty chaotic. its still a cheerful pet shop/gaming haven though which helps, and I've finally started watching Breaking Bad on netflix, just finished season one. Why have I never watched this?
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Good to hear for you things are so much better. Having a fixed routine makes things so much easier. Having decent work times even better.
Give my best wishes to Mel. Hope she is good enough to do things she likes apart from getting through the days.
Good luck to both of you, dealing with an autistic teen in turmoil.
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Nobody asked for it, but I figured this was the best place to post what's going on in Dunc Towers lately. First off I'm now three weeks into my new role proper and its going really well - the hours suit me, nobody minds my Seasonal Affective Disorder lamp on a morning (though my immediate boss jokes its making her buzz her tits off, she's pretty hyper already lol), my new team are a friendly lot and I'm bedding in well, and they don't seem to mind that I vanish at lunchtime and don't want to come on team nights out. I'm happy this was the right move for me and that I can still 'swim' in such a busy working environment, that was really the purpose of my shadowing in the summer, to ensure the greater social/sensory demands of the job wouldn't blow my brains out. Some of the folk I have to deal with on the phone are a pain in the arse, and there is a gobshite on the bank of desks behind me who has a deeply annoying voice/speech pattern and she NEVER FUCKING SHUTS UP. I can live with this, as unless I'm covering 5-6 or working over I'm home with Mel and the kids at teatime every night. Still feels like a holiday. :2thumbsup:
Mel isn't well still, sadly. She has good weeks and bad weeks, but she's doing her best - it doesn't feel good being unable to make everything okay and make her feel better but we're plodding on as best we can as a household. Xan doesn't like the routine of his new school and is a bit up and down, this has manifested itself in very obsessive, focused behaviour at home centred around computing, he sets himself a task or decides he wants a particular set up, whether this be configuring a bespoke search engine and embedding it in a new website, installing different versions of linux on new partitions, testing old versions of window to destruction on virtualbox , or today's unfortunate fixation, restoring our previous W7 environment from W10 'as was' with all save data, program setting etc after the rollback month has expired and the windows.old directory has been deleted, making anything other than a wipe and clean reinstall impossible. This hasn't been easy to live with as he gets quite abusive and stroppy when frustrated or we insist he packs in and goes to bed.
So things are still pretty chaotic. its still a cheerful pet shop/gaming haven though which helps, and I've finally started watching Breaking Bad on netflix, just finished season one. Why have I never watched this?
Good thoughts to Mel and your son! :plus: As for tv watching it's all about what interests your mind! It doesn't interest me. But, that's just me!
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Thanks guys. :)
I watch very little tv myself ozy - when I do it tends to be in the form of boxsets, big chunks of a show like Firefly, Battlestar Galactica, Game of Thrones. Breaking Bad is one I'd been saving up until I had some evenings free so I could digest it in a few sessions. :zoinks:
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Thanks guys. :)
I watch very little tv myself ozy - when I do it tends to be in the form of boxsets, big chunks of a show like Firefly, Battlestar Galactica, Game of Thrones. Breaking Bad is one I'd been saving up until I had some evenings free so I could digest it in a few sessions. :zoinks:
I hear you! That's what I have done lately. Store up a few shows/movies and then indulge myself in marathon watching! 8)
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You watch some cool stuff, Dunc.
So glad your work hours suit you now. :)
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I'm glad the new role is working out for you.
What's wrong with Mel? :-\
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She has an auto-immune disorder with arthritic symptoms, which may possibly be fibromyalgia but so far they've only worked out what it isn't. She spends a fair amount of her time knackered and in severe pain, and her mobility has suffered - luckily it flares and then eases off so some weeks/months she's able to live a more or less 'normal' life. She's also struggling with depression, which worsens when she's hurting badly. Not easy for her to cope with, but at least I'm at home now on an evening to help.
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I am sorry to hear that she is having difficulties. It does not sound like just a rough patch from what you know, so far.
I can remember encountering PI for the first few times and I always thought I had a decent "bullshit detector." But this gal called, "BULLSHIT!" when it was just a bubble, way before it popped. I miss her input! She always brings a platter of reckoning to the table and if an asshole plays dumb with her, she will carve it into details for them.
Please express my empathy to her.
Hope the docs can sort it all out.
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She has an auto-immune disorder with arthritic symptoms, which may possibly be fibromyalgia but so far they've only worked out what it isn't. She spends a fair amount of her time knackered and in severe pain, and her mobility has suffered - luckily it flares and then eases off so some weeks/months she's able to live a more or less 'normal' life. She's also struggling with depression, which worsens when she's hurting badly. Not easy for her to cope with, but at least I'm at home now on an evening to help.
Sorry to hear it. :(
Does she get any meds beyond NSAIDs? Arthritic pain sucks but the extreme tiredness is often worse.
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She has an auto-immune disorder with arthritic symptoms, which may possibly be fibromyalgia but so far they've only worked out what it isn't. She spends a fair amount of her time knackered and in severe pain, and her mobility has suffered - luckily it flares and then eases off so some weeks/months she's able to live a more or less 'normal' life. She's also struggling with depression, which worsens when she's hurting badly. Not easy for her to cope with, but at least I'm at home now on an evening to help.
Best wishes to her. Depression is a likely thing to happen, when you can't live live the way you want/need to do it. It's challenging enough without an auto-immune disorder going on.
Is she still able to do a bit of the stuff she loves, next to running a family with a very challenging son?
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Thanks guys. I'll pass on your good wishes.
The depression is certainly not helped by her health problems but its a little more complex than that. Sadly she hasn't felt very creative while struggling so much, crocheting brightly patterned tiles for blankets etc has kept her spirits up a little though. She is trying to get back into a routine where she can please herself a little now the kids are back at school and college but its been hard going. I hope she feels more able to enjoy the time she gets to herself soon.
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Do you use a light for your winter problems, and if so, how well does it work for you?
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How wet is it, where you are? Pretty dramatic pictures in the newspaper about water in the north of England.
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Saw your post in the weather thread.
Will the schools of the kids be accessible and open next week?
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It's not bad now, though more rain's expected - some folk in the flooded streets aren't sure whether its worth clearing up yet if everything is just going to get deluged again. Mostly the cleanup is underway hauling shipping containers, buses etc out of the river, most bridges are open again now and the army have been out in the neighbouring town helping out, and the fire service have been busy pumping out flooded homes and buildings. The River Aire has pretty much subsided but the upper valleys are saturated and washlands are full so levels will rise again quickly if we get more prolonged rain. Some towns on the Calder are still in a pretty bad way, and further downstream Tadcaster and York have been badly hit - the flood barrier in York had to be lifted as the pumps were failing so areas of the city which don't normally flood were affected.
The trains to Skipton are running again for the older two's college commute, and Xan's school is 1000 feet above sea level so they should be okay for next week.
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Putting this here as it won't mean much to those who don't know me.
I haven't been around for awhile other than drive by late night visits mostly because I've been too wiped out to socialise. Life has been kicking my arse pretty hard for the last few months and I'm just starting to get my voice back, so to speak. Mel suffered a DVT a couple of months ago, which pretty much fucked her for a few weeks and her mobility is still poor. Xan's school placement broke down completely and he has been at home since March, he needs a full CAHMS assessment and treatment before he will be fit for any kind of schooling, we're waiting for the local authority to sort this out while trying to cope with/help him cope with his anxiety and mood swings. Also my diabetes went off the rails in the middle of all this so I've been constantly exhausted and still haven't quite got back to normal yet.
Work is going okay - I have changed my hours again so I can split the week in two which I hope will help me feel a bit more human, and I'm now a fully fledged underwriter which is interesting. I have just started walking again and hope I start feeling better soon, so I'll be around a bit more hopefully.
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Putting this here as it won't mean much to those who don't know me.
I haven't been around for awhile other than drive by late night visits mostly because I've been too wiped out to socialise. Life has been kicking my arse pretty hard for the last few months and I'm just starting to get my voice back, so to speak. Mel suffered a DVT a couple of months ago, which pretty much fucked her for a few weeks and her mobility is still poor. Xan's school placement broke down completely and he has been at home since March, he needs a full CAHMS assessment and treatment before he will be fit for any kind of schooling, we're waiting for the local authority to sort this out while trying to cope with/help him cope with his anxiety and mood swings. Also my diabetes went off the rails in the middle of all this so I've been constantly exhausted and still haven't quite got back to normal yet.
Work is going okay - I have changed my hours again so I can split the week in two which I hope will help me feel a bit more human, and I'm now a fully fledged underwriter which is interesting. I have just started walking again and hope I start feeling better soon, so I'll be around a bit more hopefully.
Always good to see you, Dunc! Sending good thoughts yours and the families way. Give Mel a big hug for me! :grouphug:
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Know those feelings, Lord. :ghugs:
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Fuck Dunc, way too much on your plate.
Do they think Mel will recover well, or do they expect lasting damage? Big hug for her.
How fast are local authorities where you live, when it comes to mental health and schools for kids? Hope they are faster than they are here.
Glad you somehow found some energy to start walking again. For sanity and physical health a good thing to do. Hope you get some grip on your diabetes.
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Oh, and a big hug from me, ya ole Silverback! 8)
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Thanks guys. Mental health services here are pretty slow, and the local authority is even slower so we don't expect help any time soon with Xan. Mel should recover from the DVT eventually - her leg is still quite swollen and sore at the moment, but her autoimmune condition has got worse so she has to manage her activities carefully or can exhaust herself for days. She has just taken up tapestry weaving and is in pretty good spirits.
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Bloody hell--sorry to hear it. Good thoughts, sympathies, etc. :-\
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Sorry man :(
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Best wishes to you and your household. :viking:
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She has just taken up tapestry weaving and is in pretty good spirits.
That, and you taking up walking again when this all is happening is awesome.
Wishing all of you the best in getting through the next months, without help being available. May pets and wicked humour be on your paths in a good way.
Waiting with a kid overwhelmed with anxiety and what not is no fun.
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I want to see more "walking with pies" again! 8)
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Thanks guys.
I'd forgotten about the 'Adventures With Pies' walk reports ozy. When I get back into my stride *cough* I'll have to write some. :blah:
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Thanks guys.
I'd forgotten about the 'Adventures With Pies' walk reports ozy. When I get back into my stride *cough* I'll have to write some. :blah:
I'm holding you to that! 8) Some seriously good stuff there! :thumbup:
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Found any nice ales lately?
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How are your rats. Kayleigh doesn't have hers anymore. They died as they were getting old and sick.