Her body is not her friend

Philippa is going through some sort of existential, midlife, 'new mum' personality breakdown scenario experience.
(Not what I need to be dealing with, when I'm already feeling ill, but one tries to be supportive to one's spouse when one can...)
I don't think it's Post-Natal Depression, but she's questioning herself as a mum and finding lots of things about her physical appearance that she doesn't like. Personally, I think she looks amazing, but my opinion doesn't count, apparently. She says her boobs are different sizes, her hips are still full of pregnancy fat, her face is puffy, her hair is dry and her feet are not the colour they should be. She's never been anything close to being a hypochondriac so it's weird for her to suddenly be pointing all these things out to me. She's always been incredibly confident about her own appearance and has never done that pointless and painful exercise of comparing herself to other people, the way so many women do, so I'm not sure what's changed and what's started this up, but it's unsettling. I'm hoping it's just a little down phase she's having, and she'll perk up very soon and return to her lovely, bouncy, vibrant, positive persona, but we'll see.

RC 28-2-23

My body is not my friend

Lots of weird things are going on within Rory Chesworth, esq. at the moment. I seem to have at least three different physical issues fighting for my attention and I'm starting to wonder whether my immune system has gone haywire and is trying to render me comatose. It reminds me a bit of my Covid experience - when my symptoms seemed to change every 12 hours or so, and my whole body was affected (in some way or other, depending on the time) by the end of the week.

It's NOT Covid, by the way, but there's something in me somewhere that is upsetting everything; or else I'm run down from the cold I picked up and so other viruses have managed to sneak in while my defences are down and have caught me unawares.
I thought Philippa would help me with a diagnosis or recommend which medical professional to approach for help, but she just said "Winter bugs are everywhere. You'll be fine by the weekend." Is this really the level of care we expect from our GP Surgery Receptionists? No wonder the NHS is in crisis....

RC 27-2-23

The Long Overdue Return of Fri-ku

Feb nearly over
Only four weeks now until
British Summer Time

 

Some rain has fallen

I have been ill with a cold

Winter lingers on

 

We had three lockdowns

Our immune systems rested

Now bugs are rampant 

 

Rain is refreshing

But it makes ev'rything wet

which is annoying

 

The past is the past

The future is the future
Fits well in haiku

RC 24-2-23

In bed, in a mood

I am laid up, as the old folk used to say. Whatever this bastard bug of a bastard cold thing is, it's a bastard. I know illness and injury memories fade, but I'm pretty sure I feel worse now than I felt last year with Covid. It's not flu, but it's worse than a regular cold. I have a temperature, and cough, and I'm having to blow my nose almost as regularly as I'm breathing. The pile of tissues beside my bed is reminiscent of my teenage years at home. Philippa is being very supportive by making me stay away from everyone, so I'm in bed, with a hot water bottle (a very rare occurrence for me) and trying to read a book, even though it hurts my eyes to focus on the words.
At least I am avoiding the hassle of people I work with, who seemed to take it as a personal insult to them that I was unwell, and seemed to take it as an invitation to give me advice on how to live my life more healthily.  Really, nothing makes you feel better when you feel bad quite as much as someone telling you how you could have avoided it all in the first place if you had eaten one more orange, or one less biscuit, or taken a particular supplement, or avoided a particular additive.
I always thought that colds were caused by a virus that you inhale from an infected person, which then aggravates and inflames the mucus membranes in your nose and throat, but apparently I was wrong. Depending on who you speak to at my place of work, it's caused by lack of sleep, or overwork, or not trying hard enough to garner a pay rise for those working in cleaning, or (according to one rather unhappy gardener) 'the Chinese'. If only I'd known all this last week, maybe I could have prevented myself from becoming poorly, but it seems the world is populated by people who prefer to say 'what you SHOULD have done...' rather than 'this is what you should do...'

RC 23-2-23

Still sniffling

God, I feel rough. I dragged myself into work but then got moaned at by just about everyone. The older ladies told me I should be taking better care of myself and tried to make me drink hot lemon and honey, the younger ladies tried to get me to take echinacea, and men of all ages told me to 'f**k off home and stop spreading stuff'.
I took a Covid test, per my own ongoing onsite protocols, but it was negative. Mind you, it's so long since I last used one that I may have forgotten what to do and done it wrong, so who knows?
I blame Mathew, of course. Young children are like little Petri dishes, brewing a concoction of bacteria before unleashing it on an unsuspecting adult population, and he spends a lot of time with children his own age, so he's probably got 17 different infectious diseases swirling in his nostrils, waiting to be sneezed out.

RC 22-2-23

Best laid plans gone gangly

Having a cold has shat all over my new routine, which is a shame because I really wanted to make it work. It's hard to motivate myself to get up early and go for a swim, when it takes a monumental effort just to sit upright. I've convinced myself, rightly or wrongly, that plunging into a pool of water and exerting energy on exercise would set back my recovery time and be worse for me than doing nothing and letting my body rest and heal itself.
So there...

RC 21-2-23

Poorly, and puns

I am really feeling rather unwell.
I shan't go on about it too much, as I've never been one to complain about physical ailments while writing in this blogsphere (!) but I just wanted you to know that if I make any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors in this posting, it's probably due to a cold virus rather than any loss of cognitive function, or lack of effort.
The raised temperature (which I am sure I have) seems to have prompted a run of Weirdreams. Last night, in my slumber, I was playing as an Offensive Lineman for an unnamed NFL team.  But I wasn't like all the other surrounding players - weighing 20+ stone and protected by layers of muscle and fat; I was just me, as I am now, with my own body, which is decidedly unathletic.
'Offensive Lineman' is a genuine position in American Football but I suppose, in these days of cancel culture and overreactions, it could also be a term to describe a comedy writer who likes to shock the wokes.

RC 20-2-23

Sniffles and Sisters

I can confirm that I have a cold, but thankfully it's one of those manageable, gentler ones rather than a full-on debilitating bastard of a thing, and now I'm producing tonnes of snot I actually feel better than I did during the week.

 

We had a lovely day with Sophie yesterday. Her new girlfriend is an absolute delight, and when I gave my sister a goodbye hug I told her I was really pleased for her, and that she'd found a real gem. She replied with "Yes, I have. So please so me a favour, and don't write loads about her in that online thing that you do."

So - her name is Amy, and she's originally from Manchester. Her parents are both Irish, but she was born here after they moved over to work at a hospital. She is an only child but has several cousins in Ireland that she is close to, despite never having lived near any of them. She followed her parents into the medical profession and is an anaesthesiologist, which is still one of my favourite words ever, so that makes me happy. Her favourite colour is lavender, and she likes having lemon in her tea and cold drinks, but strangely dislikes lemon drizzle cake.

That's all the information I was able to glean from our few hours together, but when I find out more, I'll update you.

RC 19-2-23

Four weeks til Patrick's Day

I seem to be getting a cold. Either that or it's Covid, coming back at me for a second stint, almost exactly a year after our first encounter. Either that, or it's the after-effects of last weekend's overnight sports-watching extravaganza still lingering and making me feel shitty.
I have a VERY sore throat, I feel very hot, and various parts of my body are aching like I've overdone it in the gym. None of these things are nice, especially when they're all happening together. Regular readers may remember that I am not a happy bunny when I'm poorly, and I am not fun to be around when I have a cold, as I consider them to be a particularly pointless and unpleasant occurrence, so I'd be prepared for some grumpy, self-indulgent postings over the next few days, if this turns out how I expect it to.

RC 17-2-23

Back in the loop

We are meeting Sophie's new girlfriend on Saturday. Having got over the trauma of Philippa being told before me, and indeed her being told by Sophie not to tell me about it under any circumstances, I found myself able to call my older sister and let her know I was happy for her. I did, childishly perhaps, get a little comment in about being uninformed and untrusted, but after four minutes of hearing her explaining to me in great detail why she didn't feel comfortable telling me, I decided to let that one go. We're going to have a little walk by a river and then find somewhere nice for an afternoon coffee and cake.

In other news, I am stunned to see that we're into Part Two of February already! I'm not going to revisit my boring old topics about time and how it seems to pass differently during different seasons, but it's cheering my soul to know we're less than two weeks away from March!!

RC 16-2-23

Maybe I should go into marketing...

Little things like this please me:

When I did a word count on my last blog posting, I'd written 501 words... the subject of the posting was American Football... my favourite team are the 49ers... and the 49ers play their home games in Levi's Stadium... which is sponsored by Levi Strauss & Co... whose most famous brand of jeans is called 'Levi's 501'!!!

 

So, if anyone from that company wants to talk about sponsorship or endorsements, do please get in contact....

RC 16-2-23

After-Effects (and Afterthoughts)

It should tell you where my brain is at when I inform you that I just spent about 15 minutes decided whether or not 'After-Effects' should be hyphenated in today's blog title. In English, it most definitely is, but in American writing it is acceptable to use it as the one word 'aftereffects' and that has become the norm. I'm an Englishman writing in English in England, but the subject of today's blog is the Super Bowl, which is an American event taking place in America involving an American sport, so I let myself get a bit confused about which form to use.
And that's where my brain is today, and I'm blaming the NFL.
I am nearly 40 now, and these overnight sports-watching extravaganzas come with a heavy price. Time was, I could have a four-pack of Budweiser, a bowl full of salty snacks, a tube of Pringles or two, and eat, drink and watch my way through to the early hours, then grab a couple of hours light sleep, get up for a hearty breakfast and then go do a full days work. Now I have to fight to stay awake into the second half, I have to book the Monday off so I can sleep in and recover, and if I eat anything after 11pm I have indigestion til Wednesday.
Anyway, I believe it is a bit of a tradition now for me to share my thoughts on the game just watched? (And it comes with my usual disclaimer - if you're not an NFL fan, probably best if you skip this one and come back tomorrow....)
1. It was definitely a good game, but I didn't think it was as good as some of the enthusiastic presenters and commentators seemed to think it was. A couple of big plays and impressive moments, but a lot of it was defenders unable to get anything done, bad penalties, and waiting for reviews on catches that may or not have counted as catches. I would still class Eagles/Patriots and Chiefs/49ers as better matches, just from the last few years alone.
2. Jalen Hurts was playing football from another planet. Only 24, only been a starter for two seasons, never been to the Super Bowl before, and he was astonishing. THREE rushing touchdowns - which has never been done by a Running Back before, let alone a Quarterback - some outrageous throws, and he looked calm and in control throughout. He was undoubtedly the best player on the park, and should have been named MVP, but it's only ever given to someone on the winning team, so he had that taken from him as well.
3. I love the fact that a sport dominated by ultra-healthy, nutritionally-advised-to-within-an-inch-of-perfection young superstars has a winning coach who looks like he should be living permanently next door to a cardiac wing.
And that's all I have for now, really. Sorry it's not insightful or wise, but as I mentioned in Paragraph One, I'm still recovering....

RC 14-2-23

HOLY SHIT!! I'M A GOD!!

Well, my score guess was a bit low, and I picked the wrong winner, but ALL of my other predictions came true IN THE FIRST HALF!!  Nick Bolton of the Chiefs got the defensive TD! Hurts rushed into the endzone twice, and just as I described!  Mahomes got his ankle clobbered, true to my words; it was just later in the 2nd quarter than I anticipated. So allowing for a slight time discrepancy (and ignoring the fact that he recovered well enough to play the second half) I got EVERYTHING RIGHT!!!
One day this world will appreciate me for the genius that I obviously am!!!

RC 13-2-23

MORE guesses re: the game!

I don't normally do this, but while I'm waiting for the Super Bowl to start, I thought I'd pass the time by making some outlandish predictions about the course of the game which may or may not come true. (If they do, remember I posted this before kick-off!)

Patrick Mahomes will start the game on fire, but will re-injure his problematic ankle late in the first quarter (or early in the second quarter) and will be visibly unable to move properly for the rest of the game.

Jalen Hurts will rush for two touchdowns. One will be a designed QB running play, the other will be a rugby scrum-style affair where his team-mates shove him over the line from behind when they are only a few yards out.

At least one defender will score a touchdown.

RC 12-2-23

2230 GMT

SUPER BOWL GUESS THING 2023

No pressure, but if I get the winning team correct, that'll be 5 years in a row...

Kansas City Chiefs 20 Philadelphia Eagles 23

RC 12-2-23

Brotherly Unlove?

My sister Sophie, apparently, has a new girlfriend! It's her first 'proper relationship' since her 'unpleasant uncoupling' from Tamara back in God knows when, and I only know about it because Philippa let slip a little comment during a conversation about lasagne (of all things). Philippa insisted she wasn't supposed to tell me about it, but when I pressed her for further information, she crumbled like an Antarctic ice sheet. They met, shockingly, through a dating app. I say 'shockingly' because my sister is even less of a fan of technology than I am, and because I didn't think those online dating algorithm thingies ever worked. They had their first 'meet' back in November and have been growing closer ever since, and have now decided to make it official, and make a go of it. (But without making it 'official' to me, obviously.)
I'm pleased my wife is terrible at withstanding gentle interrogation, but less happy about the fact that my older sibling didn't feel she wanted to update me. If anything, she was actively trying to keep the information away from me.  Am I really that bad of a brother? Does she think I'm going to pollute the blogsphere with lurid details about her private life? And why does she trust her sister-in-law, whom she has only known for a handful of years, more than she trusts her own brother, who has been in her life since his own first started?

I put those questions quite firmly to my wife, who said, "Well, maybe that's something you need to think about."
She also said, "Don't tell her I told you or she'll think I'm a snivelling weasel." I'm not sure that's true, but I have to say I think 'snivelling weasel' is a fantastic name for a rapper.

RC 11-2-23

New routine

I'm going to start swimming regularly again. My body is asking for exercise, and I do, after all, have free use of all the leisure facilities available to punters on our sites. I've never really taken advantage of that particular little perk in my contract. Well, I did when I first started, but then the novelty wore off and enthusiasm gave way to complacency and I just stopped doing it. I think I also resented the fact that, in order to enjoy the benefits, I had to spend even more time at my place of employment. Stupid, I know, but that's just the way my mind works sometimes.
My plan (which, let's be honest, I am very unlikely to stick to) is to start leaving home half an hour early each day and get a few lengths in before I make my way to my office. The pool is always pretty quiet in the mornings, at least at this time of year, so I can bob about at my own pace without crashing into other people. I know that once the Easter holidays start it'll be flat out busy and the pool will resemble a daily bowl of child soup, complete with armband croutons, but hopefully by then it will be warm enough for me to return to swimming in the sea.

RC 10-2-23

The Threatening Shadow Looms...

I seem to be taking large steps backwards towards aspects of my life that I had recently felt I had happily left behind. I am feeling incredibly tired again, and I've also started noticing a return of the old friend, insomnia. I don't know why. I'm guessing it's something to do with the fact that I have a very energetic 4-year-old and an as-yet-unindependent infant in the house.

On a positive note, though, there have been some absolutely beautiful sunsets this week, and I am so happy that it's lighter in the mornings when I get up and get ready for work. It's a real psychological lift to watch the daylight hours increasing, and to see the caravan site bathed in bright sunshine over the past few days has been lovely.
I also have my favourite sporting event of the year to look forward to this weekend - it's Super Bowl Sunday! I get to sit up half the night, surrounded by snacks, and watch the annual spectacle of violence, combat and over-elaboration that is the culmination of the NFL season. That should help my tiredness no end.

RC 9-2-23

Didn't last long, did it?

Well, my half-hearted attempt at posting a blog every day in February died a death after three days! I did intend to post on Friday, but work was disrupted by an unscheduled meeting, then I was having fun with Mathew in the evening, then I fell asleep. So that was that...
And once that dream was broken, it lessened my enthusiasm for blogging generally. So another few days passed. But at least I'm here now...

Not much to report though, really. I'm enjoying the lovely sunshine and even though it's cold I am getting some real early Spring vibes and looking ahead to the rest of the year with raised spirits and positive projection. I know we've gone back to frosty mornings, but I've often said that I don't mind it being cold, as long as we have blue skies and bright sunny spells and there isn't a cold wind, and all those parameters are being met so far this week. I had a walk on the beach during my lunch break yesterday, and it was so beautiful. It was great to think that, in a few short months, we can be down there having a swim and a family picnic, and Mathew is at an age now where (hopefully) he'll really get into it and we can do the whole sandcastles/ice creams/burying-up-to-the-neck-in-sand family fun and games that only the beach can provide.

RC 7-2-23

Giving Gavin a Good Grade for Guidance

An unplanned management Zoom meeting was thrust my way yesterday afternoon, but it had an unexpectedly positive outcome. Following on from our disastrous (maybe too strong a word, but I'll leave it for now) meeting on Wednesday, our flibbertigibbert boss Gavin has obviously been having a think and a re-think and maybe a realisation or two. He acknowledged to us all that he was wrong to have expected us to be covering all his regular duties when none of us know exactly what they are, and he had a plan in place to help rectify things. He is, to the surprise of us all, going to come back to Suffolk for the next couple of months and oversee everything the way he has done in the past. His Shiny New Toys in Dorset (or Devon, I'm still not sure which) are going to be left in the hands of the Development Manager (or whatever her title is) so Gavin can re-join us in the world of East Anglian Caravan Parks and help ensure a smooth run-up to the busy months starting at Easter. Over the next few weeks, he will seek to spread his old tasks around in a fair manner, and make sure everyone is fully aware of how (and when) he expects things to happen, and how (and when) to best do them. Once all that has been done, and we're all comfortable with it, he'll return to his new project and leave us all to it.
I'm not entirely sure how to react now. Considering my employment history, it scares me when managers above me make sensible decisions that are right for everyone!
It does mean, I am happy to report, that the heavy feeling of dread I had in anticipation of the sites getting busy again soon has alleviated. It all feels manageable again, and in a small way I am even getting excited about it! It'll be my third year in the company, don't forget, so I'm almost starting to feel like I know what I should be doing!

RC 4-2-23

A rod for my own back?

I lay in bed last night, considering the crazy idea that I might try and post a blog every day in February. It's something I've considered before, and I have to confess I still consider it an unfulfilled ambition of mine to post something on every day in a given month, at least once. It is, in many ways, my Great White Whale. And Feb is the shortest month, of course, so lends itself to the task most readily. I don't want to put pressure on myself, though, especially when it's a busy time for me with office work, and I don't want to start posting any old shit I can think of, just to tick another day off the list. So I shall give it a bit more consideration. Or, I might just ignore it and see how it goes. If I get to the 10th or 11th and I've posted every day, maybe I'll commit and make the effort to achieve it. It's one of those things that I think I will find very satisfying and rewarding if I do it, but I'm not sure I can be bothered to make the effort needed to see it through. So, we'll see...

I shall leave you with my Quote Of The Day - uttered to me at 11.32am by a male cleaner called Derek:

"I think a member of staff might be seriously ill. Whoever used the gents cubicle this morning left something in the pan that looked like a sticky toffee pudding."

RC 2-2-23

I need a holiday...

We had a big meeting at work today. A 'first day of the month; Summer approaching; let's look at plans for the seasons ahead' get-together with all the management teams from each site in Suffolk. Gavin himself deigned to make an appearance, for the first time in months, but didn't seem prepared or particularly engaged. Normally he would be the one driving the meeting and throwing ideas in and pushing people to come up with strategies, but because he is distracted these days by his blossoming tourism empire in the South-West, he turned up without an agenda or a plan.
That would be fine if he had delegated his usual duties to others, but unfortunately he expected everything that is usually being done at this time of year to be done, without ever having asked anyone to do it. It's hard to pick up the pieces that someone else has left you when you don't know where the pieces are or what they should look like when they're all put together. I did try to make that point to him, but rapidly retreated when he looked at me as if I was a primary school child who had just asked a teacher if he could have a glass of gin with his lunch. 

So it's all a bit chaotic. He had his own particular way of doing things, which obviously worked because the sites are all successful, but he never shared that particular way with anyone else, and now he's too busy to instigate it all, but he still wants it to happen, but he didn't bother showing anyone else how it works, and he doesn't have the time now to train someone, and he's not doing the work himself now so no-one can shadow him and learn on the job, so we're just going to have to muddle through it as we go, but he still wants 2023 to be better and more profitable than 2022.
Hey, ho.

RC 1-2-23