TAFE stuff and bad karma

Friday:

I'm feeling as busy as a one-legged man in a ass-kicking contest at the moment. I finally have all my TAFE subjects available, I've only got three units but one of those is actually three smaller 'integrated' units, plus there is work placement to organise for which I had to fill out forms and update my resume. So I have six things to juggle. I know everything always feels a bit crazy at the start of the term, and only getting the integrated units a couple of days ago makes me feel a week behind already but it will settle down soon.

Yesterday a student friend posted info about a library job going at a school - and it was the school so close to me I can literally hear the announcements over their loudspeaker every day! I got a bit excited, a within-school-hours job two minutes walk away, how perfect. I wasn't familiar with the computer system they use but I found an online tutorial for it that I was planning to do so I could say I knew it. But with further investigation it turned out you had to have teacher qualifications, not just librarian. Some school jobs are like that. Oh well.

I don't have to find my own work placement job, the TAFE does that, although I might have to go to interviews. It won't be until next term, autumn/winter, so I guess the two floaty summer dresses can be party dresses not for work! The other navy one will be good with a jacket and the trousers and long skirt will be fine. Still glad I got the dresses, that pink one is so pretty!

One of the integrated units is customer service. I plan to apply for RPL (recognition of prior learning, it means you don't actually have to do the subject) as I have many years of customer service experience. I'm not sure if I'll get it though. My Centrelink experience was nearly 20 years ago - I have a certificate thing from 1999! - and I don't really have any evidence for my customer service work for my more recent editing business. I was my own boss, no supervisor! Maybe I can contact one of my old customers.

My cataloguing teacher from last term sent me feedback for my third exam - 100%. So over the total of the three exams I made one mistake, giving me a final result of 99.6%. Not bad! Not all subjects give a mark, many are just satisfactory/not satisfactory, but I made over 90% in the ones that give a mark. Cataloguing is my best. And my favourite subject. Since not many people like it, I hope I'll be able to get into the field. I'm feeling a bit jealous of Lauren with the cataloguing internship. What if it leads to a job? Reminding myself that I've been sick with flu which would have interfered with the internship anyway doesn't really help.

Today was Jasmine's school's swimming carnival. She's had an ear infection after her flu so it wasn't really appropriate for her to go (and most of her friends weren't going, although it's compulsory). So we went shopping. Jasmine needed a couple of things, I needed a couple of things. Like the belt for the navy dress I bought on Tuesday. Now there was an instant karma moment. The belt was supposed to come with the dress, when I tried the dress on I had to go down a size but the smaller belt was too small. So I swapped it with the other belt on the larger size dress which I still had with me in the change room. (Not so good for the people who would in future try on the bigger dress with a tiny belt.) Then I bought the dress. While folding my dress, the saleslady put the belt to one side. Then forgot to put it in the bag and I didn't notice. She called when she saw it, as I was driving home (I have hands-free in the car). It was too late to go back. Definite karma for my sneaky belt swap! The saleslady put it away for me to pick up today. She was so apologetic, but I felt just as guilty!

I had my eyes checked today, it's been about three years I think since the last time. Only a small deterioration in one eye. I though my eyes were getting a bit worse but it's only that they are taking longer to adjust when I look from near to far, symptom of age and glasses won't help that. It wouldn't be worth getting new glasses but Ping works there and gets a staff discount and wanted to get me new ones as some of the shading has worn off these. So she'll organise new lenses, I'll keep the old frames which I love.

I bought a new very sparkly phone case. My old one was very discoloured and yucky. The new one is so glamorous!

It looks even better actually on the gold phone (I had to take it off to take the photo), and the glitter moves around like a snow dome. It sparkles whenever you move it!

Glasses

Friday:

I took Jasmine to get an eye test today because she's been getting tired eyes at school and is finding the board a bit blurry. It turns out she does need glasses, so she picked out frames and we've ordered them. I remember when I found I needed glasses, a couple of years younger than Jasmine, I was very stressed at first (thinking I was going blind!) but once I got them I was amazed at how clear the world was. Trees with individual leaves not just a clump of green! Do you mean everyone else could read the board all along? I'd had no idea there was anything wrong with my sight, I thought it was normal. Jasmine's is less dramatic I think. And she doesn't seem bothered by needing glasses, several of her friends wear glasses in class.

I ended up getting LASIK surgery in my twenties and that lasted 20 years, I've only started needing glasses again recently.

I've been a bit unwell all week, two different things. Firstly bad headaches like a clamp on my temples, my left eyebrow is very sore to touch which makes me think it's a sinus problem (the tubes run just under there) and today my neck and shoulders ached and my legs were weak and I was so tired. Luckily it was an at-home day and I even got an afternoon nap.

The other thing, well that operation I had last November did "fix" my periods in that they are no longer so heavy and go for weeks. So that is good. But I still get other symptoms around that time of the month, as bad as ever. PMS that left me miserable and grumpy so that the safest thing was just to sit in a corner and not speak to anyone in case I said something I would regret or burst into tears. Pelvic pain (it comes and goes, seems worse at that time of the month but never completely gone, not helped by the operation unfortunately) teamed with backache.

But once the PMS misery was over I've felt quite happy this week.

On Wednesday I had an unfortunate day with the trains. In the morning I caught an express which was good except it went to an unfamiliar end of the city station (huge station with at least 26 platforms, some underground) and in trying to get to my exit I found myself emerging way over on the wrong side. That added a lot of walking to get back (and I wasn't feeling well). Then in the afternoon coming home I was trying to get on my train with a crowd of people (but the train wasn't full or anything) and they closed the doors in my face! I stood there with my hands on the doors saying "Hey!!" in disbelief. I looked down the platform and the employee with the whistle signalled them to open the doors again and let me in. I felt quite rejected! But at least they did let me on.

Shoulder

Tuesday:

I saw my doctor this morning about continuing pain and stiffness in my left shoulder, more than four years since the original tendon tear. She gave me a referral to x-ray (for arthritis) and ultrasound (for bursitis) with possible steroid injection, some mobility exercises and a suggestion to see a physio. Since I was able to book in the tests for the day after tomorrow, I'll wait for results before finding a physio. That sounds like things are moving forward, but actually my doctor basically said that as I am over 40 I've got to expect this kind of thing. Tears and stiffness and pain are normal for me now and I'll probably just have to put up with it and manage things with regular mobility exercises and anti inflammatory/pain killing medication as needed. Surgery probably wouldn't help. I am not yet prepared to give up on getting back to real health. I'll see what these tests say as a first step so I know what is actually going on, but I am not just going to accept that I'm stuck with this. I put up with it for four and a half years assuming it would eventually get better on its own, it seems that isn't going to happen so I need to be more proactive about it. It really does affect my life too much.

I did the grocery shopping and went home, then got a text that my glasses were ready to be picked up. I also had a library book that needed to be returned today (or else 25 cents per day fine!). I decided to walk the 5 km round trip to do my two errands. I just had time before school finished, and was pretty tired by the end. I had to walk briskly, especially after I had to wait ages at the optometrist. I like my new glasses and everyone noticed them. Oh, except my husband. (He did eventually). They are quite differ from the old ones, which were pale pink. These are purple. Yes, yes, I am overdoing the purple a bit. It's a good colour for winter though.

After school we went to a friend's house, I took grapes and she put out some yummy savoury crackers and chocolate biscuits. At first I ate nothing, just had my tea, but I got really hungry so I had some grapes. It was a low carb day today but I am fine with my choice. I had to sit and watch my friend and our four kids and their dog all stuffing themselves! Sticking to grapes was commendable, I think! Bending with the winds of circumstance, not breaking. (I was in a real rush after my walk and didn't have time to organise some kind of protein + fat snack for myself that would be enough to share with everyone.)

Fish and salad for dinner. I had a very clean eating day today. My renewed diet vigour is partly because the 48 hour weigh-out window for month three of my six month dietbet has started. I have my timestamp word SPINACH on a flashcard in front of me here. You weigh yourself with the word in the photo so they know it was taken on the right day. The cumulative weight loss needed for this weigh-out is 8% -- there is no way I'll make that. I lost weight in the first month but regained it all in the second, so losing all that plus more was near impossible. My personal goal for this month is 4% of my starting weight, which will get me back on the right track towards catching up by the end of the six months for the final weigh-out. It is still a big ask but I am hopeful. I ate well and exercised today and will do again tomorrow, who knows what Thursday morning's scale will bring?

Report card:
Diet: Great.
Exercise: Great. Over 12,000 steps.
Water: Excellent.
Sleep: Good.
Mental health: Good.

Not thinking about chocolate biscuits

Thursday:

Today I had my eyes tested. I only got my glasses two years ago, I'd had perfect eyesight since I had LASIK surgery about 20 years ago. I felt that they had deteriorated a bit more, and I was right. I've gone from R -0.50 L -0.50 to now R -0.75 and L -1.00. I don't know exactly what the numbers mean except that my left eye is twice as worse as it was (yes I know that is bad English) and my right eye worse than it was but not as worse as the left. I've ordered new glasses. I also had all the macular testing and my eyes are otherwise healthy.

Then I did the grocery shopping and got mainly healthy stuff but also a few things for the weekend, then as soon as I got home I asked my husband to hide those things away (he is still home sick) until Saturday because I don't entirely trust myself.  The author of the Carb Cycling plan I'm using says to not bring treat foods into the house - buy and eat them elsewhere on your treat day - and that is an even better idea but less convenient. I'm hoping that getting my husband to hide them is enough. I'm trying not to think too much about it in advance because I want nachos and chocolate biscuits right now! Putting it out of my mind in 3, 2, 1...

I did the stupidest thing today. I had started making my delicious, time-consuming chicken soup yesterday and refrigerated it overnight. This afternoon I skimmed off the fat, pulled the falling-apart chicken meat off the bones, strained the used-up vegetables out of the wonderful stock - and realised what I was doing with the stock. I was devastated. I managed to save less than half of it. I added commercial chicken stock to make up the volume (otherwise it would be all chicken no soup) but it wasn't the same at all. Very bland. Should have just used what stock I had and half the chicken rather than ruining it all. Should have not lost the stock, if we're turning back time.

There, that took my mind off chocolate biscuits. Oh, wait...

Report card:
Diet: Good. I may have had a couple of squares of dark chocolate in the evening.
Exercise: Poor. Nil.
Water: Good.
Sleep: Fitbit says I slept well for nearly eight hours, only one period of wakefulness. But I woke feeling utterly exhausted. Could hardly get out of bed and spent the first half hour as a zombie. But I felt more normal eventually. Maybe I just woke in the middle of a sleep cycle.
Mental health: Mostly good.