Monthly Archives: March 2012
Good Intentions Gone Awry
I’m beginning to think that some-one whose thought processes are a tad jumbled shouldn’t have tried to run a competition. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea?
Firstly, I uploaded all my pages and links without thinking about it clearly – so I’ve now had to change them ALL! (even though I seem to have forgotten a couple, only to discover it later when something goes wrong!) Steep learning curve – but I’m open to a challenge!
Then, I had to email the entry participants and ask them to change their entry comments – sorry to you if you feel that I invaded your privacy by emailing you directly. Lucky that I only have 2 other entries!
Now, to that – there are ONLY 3 entries so far…and one of those is mine! Not quite what I had envisaged – I was being really optimistic and hoping to change the fibromyalgia world one video at a time…really quickly with a gallery of entries!
Not that the competition is over, or that I’m throwing in the towel – 
I have provided the Fibro Fighter Prize Package myself and I think it’s fabulous (valued at over $120) so I shall keep nagging you and trying to publicise the competition on FaceBook .
I don’t think what I am requiring you to do to WIN is difficult:
- FOLLOW this blog – that’s me! This is a condition of entry – if you do not become one of my Followers (doesn’t that sound very feudal?), I cannot award you the Fibro Fighter Prize Package.
- LIKE my FaceBook page – Another condition of entry – if you do not become one of my Followers, I cannot award you the Fibro Fighter Prize Package.
- Make a video – this is the part that should excite you, inspire you and make you want to get involved. Isn’t your head full of things you want to say, things you want people to know? Then, start playing around on the computer…google how-to tutorials, experiment, involve your family – this part should be great! There is NO minimum or maximum length for your video.
- Remember that the competition is about Fibromyalgia Awareness Day, so you MUST include a reference to the day – there is a theme to this competition so, TO WIN, you must include this reference. That probably means that you can’t submit a previously made video unless you edit it! It also means that if it is not there, I can’t award you the Fibro Fighter Prize Package.
- Only LIKES on my Facebook page wall and LIKES on your own blog count towards the final result – so you MUST make sure that you let your supporters know. LIKES on YouTube will NOT count so tell your supporters where to go to LIKE you.
So, please allow your creative juices to flow – and I know there might be lots that you need to learn, but why not give it a try? Entries must be submitted by 20 April 2012 and the winner will be announced on 1 May 2012 (in time for you to receive your prize and wear/use all the stuff for Fibromyalgia Day!)
Help me to sow my good intentions and leave it to the Internet as to whether fruit abounds…
NB: I know that this was not a very creative or humorous or educational post – but right now, my head is full of this competition. I spend my time flipping from my FB page to this Blog, to see if there are any LIKES or new videos – and I guess that’s good because it’s keeping me distracted, but you may already be bored with this crap…so I’ll try for something interesting tomorrow…
Make Lemonade, Of Course!
I entered the Epiphanie Camera Bags Picture It photo contest. http://bit.ly/xN3Pqc
The theme is: GREEN
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!
And what do you think about this bag WHEN I win… (and in purple!)
In the Still of the…Day?
The last two nights I went to bed without taking a Stilnox – not quite at the time demanded by my evil doctor, but not too late either. Then today (or yesterday, as it is 3.25am) I cannot go to sleep at all. It got to about 2am (without a yawn) before I thought that I’d give up on a natural night’s sleep tonight and take a tablet – now where did I put that itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny, one-and-only-one-left tablet…
Think sitcom dream sequence ripple effect across the screen:
Earlier on today, I was cleaning up my kitchen after it was covered in blue frosting and chocolate cake mix from my attempt at cupcakes,
when I moved the super-duper, giant size tablet dosette. 
There, hidden behind the huge, white container, was a little white tablet – shit! one of the 15 or 16 (depending on the day) tablets that I take daily each morning had escaped. Quick mouthful of water and I forgot all about it.
Back to my computer for some internet surfing…I began feeling incredibly nauseous and my water bottle was empty. Up, I had to get, to get a refill from the tap. 
Ooooh…the house is moving. Suddenly, my surroundings become a carnival fun-house ride – the floor is undulating up and down, tipped from side to side, and forward and back, by my weight. This wasn’t just a feeling – I was literally falling over.
So, despite my best intentions, I was desperately in need of a nap and I took myself off to bed at 3.30pm.
At about 6.15, my brother called, waking me out of a very deep sleep, to let me know he was 15 minutes away from picking me up for my warm water class. Holy Cow!
The 32 degree (celsius) water felt cold against my skin. The water wasn’t lifting away the dead weight of fibromyalgia, like it did every other week. When we leaned against the side of the pool to cycle our legs, I would have fallen off my bike; my legs were moving so slowly. Laying back to float in the water, I almost returned to dreamland.
Now, at exactly 3.54am, I know why all that happened…AND I know why I can’t find that damn itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny, one-and-only-one-left tablet…
End of Term Cupcakes!
It’s the last day of term at my Warm Water Class, so – of course, cupcakes…
An army of Freddoes doing warm water exercises!
From the Couch
After spending yesterday learning how to convert a Powerpoint presentation to video, and the day before that, learning how to make a Powerpoint presentation (so I could enter my own competition), I thought that I would tackle the very relevant topic of:
- Start a Blog (need I say more?)
- Make a FaceBook page.
- Enter competitions (like the Fibromyalgia Awareness Day Video Competition - nudge! nudge!)
- Join up to FaceBook – not only can you keep in contact with family and friends (and, perhaps, not feel so isolated),
but there are great games available. Personally, I love Scrabble, Lexulous and Words With Friends (seeing a trend here?) - Watch all the movies, series, documentaries, etc that you’ve recorded for a rainy day. If you’re stuck on the couch, the rainy day is here.
- Order your kids/husband (or other half) around – I don’t have either but I would assume that this is the PERFECT couch activity.
- Discover a new interest – ok, this one is slightly embarrassing – and if you’re easily offended, you should probably move to the next point – but I have found an interest in Bad-Story-Line-Porn! No, it’s not the porn part that is all that exciting (especially when I’m by myself); it’s the story line part and the REALLY bad acting – and especially spoofs of movies and TV series. Titles like Sasha Gray’s Anatomy, Rapunzel and Desperate Measures (please note that these are not recommendations). Your new interest could be something more mainstream…
- Read a book – or if you’re unable to hold a book or concentrate, listen to an audio book (the new Jodi Picoult and Jeffrey Archer books are out!)
- Find free events in your city – the only problem is that, if you want to GO to the free events, you will have to leave the couch!
- Learn something new – it could be information (eg: weather in Melbourne, Australia in March) or an on-line course (maybe in computer skills?)
Got any good couch activities (stop thinking naughty thoughts!)?
(Acu)Puncturing the Pain
Today, I woke up at 6.25! 
Five minutes before that dreadful alarm had a chance to go off (although I still took the 5 minutes plus the 10 other SNOOZE minutes to get moving).
But why in such a good mood? you might ask…
I’m off to acupuncture this morning…Yippee! Looking to get rid of some of the pain (at least, for a short while), have a short forced relax and get rid of some of the toxins.
So, for those who have never had this experience (and I promise it’s a good one):
acupuncture: (Chinese: 针灸; pinyin: zhēnjiǔ) an alternative medicine methodology originating in ancient China that treats patients by manipulating thin, solid needles which have been inserted into acupuncture points in the skin (it does not hurt, guys – slight shock then, maybe, a feeling of uncomfortable-ness – and then the feeling disappears and you don’t feel anything!) According to Traditional Chinese medicine, stimulating these points can correct imbalances in the flow of qi through channels known as meridians. My acupuncturist decides which points to treat by observing and questioning me in order to make a diagnosis according to the tradition which he utilises. In TCM, there are four diagnostic methods:
- Inspection focuses on the face and particularly on the tongue, including analysis of the tongue size, shape, tension, color and coating, and the absence or presence of teeth marks around the edge.
- Auscultation and olfaction refer, respectively, to listening for particular sounds (such as wheezing) and attending to body odor.
- Inquiring focuses on the “seven inquiries”, which are: chills and fever; perspiration; appetite, thirst and taste; defecation and urination; pain; sleep; and menses and leukorrhea.
- Palpation includes feeling the body for tender A-shi points, and palpation of the left and right radial pulses at two levels of pressure (superficial and deep) and three positions Cun, Guan, Chi (immediately proximal to the wrist crease, and one and two fingers’ breadth proximally, usually palpitated with the index, middle and ring fingers).
cupping: an ancient form of alternative medicine in which a local suction is created on the skin; practitioners believe this mobilizes blood flow in order to promote healing. Suction is created using heat (fire) or mechanical devices (hand or electrical pumps) – the heat is from the suction is not HOT, it is slightly warm. When the cup is removed, it feels like some-let out a facelift on your back (you need to visualise that!)
moxibustion – My acupuncturist accompanied his treatment of me with moxibustion, the burning of cone-shaped preparations of Artemisia vulgaris (mugwort), which he placed on my stomach (on top of my belly button) – although it sounds like it would smell terrible, it is actually quite relaxing. Traditionally moxibustion was used for chronic diseases.
The reason I’m telling you all of this is that studies have found acupuncture is helpful in treating the fatigue and anxiety commonly experienced by fibromyalgia patients.
Have you ever seen happier flowers?
And, after all the puncturing, sucking and using my body as an altar, I feel GREAT! So great that, when I walked past the florist, I HAD TO buy happy flowers.
Ok, I’m now off to continue learning some video making skills for the Fibromyalgia Awareness Day video competition!
God Made Everything out of Nothing, But the Nothingness Shows Through.
- Paul Valery
Today, I have nothing (at least, so far).
I am seriously dedicated to maintaining this blog regularly but, today my brain is empty – maybe no thoughts can get through when it is surrounded by pain. This is Day 2 of feeling particularly delicate so I’m sitting in my cave, hoping to feel more robust later (as I have something I really want to do), trying to stretch out my aching body parts (a warm water swim would be great about now!), with cooling gel strips stuck to my cheeks, in the dark. 
Anyway, after that little non-funded advertisement, I still am empty of any coherent thought that I think might be stimulating and I don’t seem to have any inspiring little quotes or funny self- deprecating cartoons hanging around, so I shall close the laptop, take some medication and, hopefully, go to sleep.
It will all be better when I wake up!
