Not Exactly How I'd Choose To Spend 24 Hours

Seriously. I have approximately 17 hours left of this pH test?

"A small catheter will be inserted through your nostril and positioned in the oesophagus. The catheter will be taped in place and looped over your ear. It will then be connected to a monitor that is worn around your waist for the duration of the procedure. The catheter stays in place for 24 hours during which time you can eat normally." (GI Function Unit, St James' Hospital)

Well. Here's what they don't tell you:

Before inserting said catheter, you are required to sharply inhale a large quantity of Vaseline, presumably for lubrication purposes. Nothing says "awesome start to a procedure" like snorting petroleum jelly.

The catheter itself is approximately the same diameter as a mouse cable. Have you ever tried stuffing a mouse cable up your nose? Discomfort doesn't begin to describe it.

"...will be taped in place" - across my nose, along my cheek, down my neck... I look like either a feeble American Football player, or a mummy that's coming apart at the seams. No wonder I had so many stares on the walk home from the hospital.

The monitor the tube is attached to is roughly the size and weight of an old-school Walkman. Still not sure how I'm going to manage to sleep tonight with a Walkman strapped to my waist.

I will concede that yes, I can eat and drink normally, apart from a constant feeling of "there's something stuck at the back of my throat". However, any small facial movement or head turn results in a shift in the tube - which, if I keep absolutely still, I can hardly feel. So, in essence, every time I move I am reminded that I have what feels like a bit of spaghetti lodged in my throat.

For those readers not in Dublin.... it's cold. It's very cold. Which brings me to my final small gripe about this procedure. Cold weather leads to runny noses. And let me tell you... having a runny nose with a tube sticking out of it... well, that's just anything but good times.

Seriously. Just give me a new digestive system and be done with it.

Christmas Spirit hits Watch This Space

Happy December!

Well, I must say I have no idea where November went, and now it's only 11 days until B & K hit Vancouver. Heads up, Vancouver.

This weekend I had my first official "getting into the Christmas spirit" moment, and actually enjoyed the throngs of panicked humanity that is Christmas shopping in Dublin. B and I spent early Saturday afternoon at the Temple Bar Farmer's Market, home of The Best Hotdogs in the World... Ever. We wandered up to Stephen's Green, and found some Christmassy handtowels (oh God I sound so domestic), as well as a lovely wreath for our front door, and icicle lights for our balcony.

On Sunday we cleaned and decorated. Now, Canadian readers will be familiar with "The Handyman's Secret Weapon... Duct Tape" - but I would like to propose the handy-WOMAN's secret weapon... Dental Floss. Seriously. It does everything. We used it to hang our wreath from the front door, and it is also holding our lights up on the balcony. I have also been known to use it to hang pictures. Fairly pleased with myself.

And now... well, realising that I've only got 11 days til we leave on a jet plane, I'm a bit panicked. Unfortunately tomorrow I will be out of commission, as it's back to St James' Hospital for me. Have no fear, I'm (almost) totally fine... it's just to have a pH monitoring test for 24 hours. Needless to say the thought of wandering around for 24 hours with a tube sticking out of my nose (it goes up your nose and down into your stomach) is a bit intimidating, and does not make me want to venture very far from the comforts of our apartment.

I'll let you know how it goes!

Things that I loved this week

• watching a tractor drive down the motorway outside. In the fast lane.
  
• staying in my pjs all day (only once!)
  
• making lasagna for dinner... and actually having leftovers!
  
• having to pull our couch up about one foot away from our TV so that we could read the subtitles for a film on our VERY small TV
  
• this recording. I have never laughed so hard in my life.
  
• B's reaction to aforementioned recording. I sent the link to him at work because I didn't think he believed me about just how funny it was. Am now under orders not to send "laugh out loud funny" things to work anymore
  
• watching B and the the gang rock out last night
  
• feeling like the girlfriend of a potentially supreme rockstar. Because what girl can honestly say that she's never wanted to be adored by a rockstar? I'm like a less-threatening Yoko. Or... a not-at-all-drug-addled Nancy
  
• getting caught off guard by "relationship talk". Adapted from actual conversation last night:
  

B: (said something stupid/odd which I cannot recall)
Me: That's great. Remind me not to let you write your own wedding vows. (nb: no imminent marriage plans at this point - I just make random offhand comments like that sometimes)
B: Don't worry. I already know what I'm going to say for that.
Me: *blink* ...
(cue extended pause, followed by...) What an odd thing to say.


How was your week?

Conundrum

Ok blogosphere... I need opinions, and lots of them. Here is my situation:

If this is not your first time reading WtS you'll know that about three and a half weeks ago I finished up at my old job. You'll also know that I've been loving the unemployed life, including all the newfound health benefits.

Cue the possible spanner in the works.

The other day, B came home and said that work is looking for someone to help out downstairs, a few days or afternoons a week in the run-up to Christmas. "Someone" can safely be translated as "me". They're willing to pay as well, which is of course an added bonus.

So what's the problem, you might ask? To be honest, I'm not entirely sure, but it does feel like something is holding me back. I'm hesitant. Why? Well... I've got the pros and cons list in my head and I suppose it's equally balanced.

And so I'll leave it to my readers out there, wherever you are. Would you say "money is money and I liked that place" and go for it, or would you think "I've been so relaxed and healthy whilst unemployed that I can't see this opportunity being beneficial"?

I'll let you know which way I decide to go...

Not cut out for corporate drone-dom

I still get asked what I'm doing with my time... how I'm coping. It's as if human beings are meant to be so conditioned to the idea of working for a living that by depriving them of that delightful experience they will go mad.

Well I for one refuse to go mad.

I also refuse to fill my time with meaningful busywork. Yes I do have my Christmas projects that I have been working on (and desperately need to finish), and yes I do have the occasional cleaning fit that results in an immaculate apartment... but I'm not going to go running around the city centre just because I think I should be "doing something" with my free time.

The only thing I am actually "doing" is taking care of myself. Listening to my body and judging how I feel every day, and finding things to do based on how I'm feeling. It's not rocket science, and it's working pretty well for me.

Life of K - or, "Unemployment is good for you!"

Most people I've met up with recently have asked me how I'm finding unemployed life. They seem to ask with a hint of "Are you going crazy yet?" and I always give them my truthful answer.

I am really, truly enjoying being unemployed.

I've given it a lot of thought over the past couple of weeks, as being unemployed gives you the luxury of being able to mull things over - myself, my situation, what I would like out of my life - and I've come to some important (and surprising) conclusions.

My old job was making me ill.

Okay, that does sound a bit harsh, but I can explain. I loved my last job - I loved the people, I loved the challenges, and most importantly I truly believed in what we were doing and what we stood for. And yet almost every day I would come home exhausted - I had little or no energy, and no drive to do anything on weekends apart from relaxing. My stomach and digestion were in bits.

And you know what? Ever since I arrived back from Paris, I have been fine. One hundred percent okay. No stomach woes, seemingly boundless energy, and an overall happy, positive outlook on life.

It's hard not to see a cause-and-effect with something this important.

And so now I'm left to wonder what that could mean for future employment options. Naturally I don't want to leap back in to a job that could potentially undo all the improvements I've seen recently. But where do I go from here?

With a lot of time on my hands to think, I've found myself drawn to people who have embraced a bit of selfishness - no, not selfishness per se, but friends or acquaintances who have packed in things that didn't make them happy: college degrees, mind-numbing jobs, etc and gone after something that would make them happy - usually a radically different life path, and one that doesn't involve any sort of bureaucracy or worries about money. I really admire that, and I think that, given my recent revelations on my health situation, I could do with a bit of that myself.

Now... if only I knew what I wanted to do with my life...

Paris... or "How I learned to love being unemployed"

Lately I've found myself in the land of the unemployed. This mostly involves finding new and interesting ways to keep myself entertained, and so far I'm not doing too badly. I'm discovering my inner domestic diva whilst realising just how filthy a decent sized apartment can get. Martha Stewart, eat your heart out.

With that said, I do have a newfound respect for stay-at-home moms, wives or partners. It's not an easy life. I'm sure it takes much longer than my not-quite one week of unemployment to get used to this kind of life, and I admit that some days have left me nearly crawling the walls, but I now have much more time for the things I enjoy. I've sorted through and posted my best photos from our trip to Paris, for example, and very soon I will be starting my Christmas Project - a calendar of my favourite photos, to be given to friends and family (and anyone else who would like one - requests are welcome!)

Speaking of Paris... that was my birthday present from B this year. We left on the first of November and stayed until the sixth - just enough time to see almost everything, and yet not quite long enough.

We stayed at the Hotel Monte Carlo, just near Montmartre. It's a wonderful hotel, 15 minutes from Gare du Nord one way, 15 minutes from the Opera House the other way, and about 20 minutes to the Louvre. It's in a safe and relatively quiet neighbourhood (apart from a random fight outside the karaoke bar across the road which I'm sure was an isolated incident) and is surprisingly affordable, given the extortionate hotel prices in Paris, even in November.

As for what we did and saw... well the obvious highlight was taking a cooking class at Cook'n With Class, at a small studio near Sacre Coeur. I cannot recommend this enough, and I cannot believe that more people do not know that it even exists! We did the pastry class, which is actually more of a dessert-making class, and learned how to make creme brulee, chocolate souffles, raspberry mousse, poached pears, and madeleines - all from scratch. Bring a healthy appetite.

Apart from all the usual touristy sites (Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Champs Elysees, etc) we also, at the recommendation of one of B's friends, did a tour of the Parisian Catacombs. It's not for the squeamish or faint of heart, but I would definitely recommend it. In the late 1700s, largely because of disease and infection, the contents of many cemetaries across Paris were moved to old quarries about 20m below the city. The bones were built in to walls, with skulls being used for decoration. The entire site was consecrated, so it is also a holy place where the residents can rest in peace (or what little peace you can find given the number of visitors the site receives each year).

We also took two of my favourite birthday presents to Paris with us, and I think they enjoyed themselves too.

So that's been my life over the last couple of weeks. And good news for my readers back at home - B and I will be back in town on the 12th of December. Can't wait to see you all then!