Yuletide Greetings

Merry Christmas All! Here I am soaking up my second white Christmas ever and this year I'm doing it in style. I am proud to say that my very first blind attempt at a Turkey was a total success. I am just that good. I even have a weeks worth of Turkey sandwiches to look forward to. Ah things are good. I am trudging along patiently towards full mobilisation... I am walking reasonably normally, starting work again this week and if all goes well (touch wood) I am just 2-3 weeks from strapping in. All that remains now is to plan my new years celebration...

On the Road to Recovery

The surgery was a complete success. I was out for just over an hour and in the facility for just over 3. It's quite a quick process really and finally, FINALLY I am on the road to recovery. I have many weeks of severe boredom to look forward to. Gamecube, television, internet, guitar... I may even resort to a book or two, who knows to what depths I will sink. If anyone has any other suggestions please let me know. It's going to be a painful road. At least days like today with over 60cm of snowfall portray one hell of a pot of gold at the end of this nasty rainbow.

It was pretty funny in the operating theater. The anesthetist started asking me all these questions about drinking and stuff. Seemed a little odd until I finally worked out that's how he works out how much anesthetic to use: the more you can drink the more drugs you need to knock you out properly. Turns out I need a lot. It's a strange sensation as the sedatives enter your bloodstream: feels like you're being injected with mercury or something; lovely. I thought it was especially appropriate that he made several suggestions for dreams I should be aiming for while I was out. My favorite was the Swedish lap dancers. Such a classy man.

Vingt-quatre

Not a lot to report at this stage, just been sorting out a driver and time off work for my surgery next week. For such a fucked up series of events I'm pretty damn chipper / excited about it all. Whatever gets me riding I guess? Also been trying to work out how to best celebrate my birthday. If I do it tonight or tomorrow one way or another I will be excluding a few friends because of work commitments they have. What's that you say? Why can't you do both? Well kiddletts, I am not the young and spry party animal I once was (yes I know that's a load of crap but I do have to take it easy while I am injured) and so I feel I should pick one or the other. What ever is a boy to do?

The many facets of James

1. A name which, in Hebrew, means "one who supplants." A variant of the name "Jacob." 2. In the Bible, James was a brother of Jesus. As a man, James is also believed to have been the author of the book of James (the Epistle of James), found in the New Testament. 3. The most common nickname of James is Jim. - James loves cuddling with his cbear. A guy who cannot make his own decisions, so copies his buddies. Steals girlfriends, lifestyles, and generally pulls a Single White Female to make up for not having a real personality. Man! Has James ever slept with a bitch his friends didnt test drive first? JAMES is the #1 most common male name. 3.318% of men in the US are named JAMES. Around 4064550 US men are named JAMES! A derogatory term for someone who is a homosexual. "Look at peter, he is such a James" It is amazing what you can find on The Urban Dictionary

America is another world...

America is an amazing place. I just saw a commercial that reminded me of something you might see on Beyond Tomorrow back home; the difference is Americans actually market this stuff. This little thing here is like a creepy crawley for your house. It randomly roams around vacuuming the floor. Fascinating stuff eh? In other news, I met with my surgeon yesterday and my surgery has been confirmed for next Thursday. Wish me luck kids. I am praying for a speedy recovery...

Mature-Age Students

In my desperate attempts to expediate my surgery I have discovered a few things. One; individuals working in health care services readily assume that the general public are complete morons and effectively take offense at anyone who has the slightest idea of what they're talking about. Two; certain things are in place that cannot be subverted. Certain procedures, certain waiting times, certain protocols, certain acres of trees need to be culled to make way for a seemingly endless acreage of paperwork. When pressed for an explanation as to why all these things are necessary one is inevitably met with confusion, bewilderment, anxiety, defensiveness and ultimately resentment. I have in mind a series of cunning ploys to pit competing surgeons against one another in a bid to gain my hefty private patient fee, but hesitate to impliment them out of fear of incurring the wrath of a wayward arthroscope. Finally I have discovered, through a process of elimination, that part of a surgeon's training at medical school involves the removal of people skills. Perhaps being able to effectively communicate with human beings in a civilised manner interferes with one's ability to make people's insides work good and stuff and junk.