EDDIE MOYZAN 05/06

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falling to bits

I’m getting old and the body’s beginning to show its age. I’ve been incredibly lucky to have very few medical problems beyond an expanding waistline and reducing hairline. But things are starting to change…

Let’s start with knees.  My daughter R’s had a major operation on one of hers, my wife C’s knees are a constant source of strains and aches and my brother D has had several operations on one damaged knee, which haven’t fully cured the problem. Several of my mates who played 5 a-side needed knee supports to get them through a match. But I’ve never, ever had a problem with my knees. Until the morning of our last stay in Italy when I knelt down to clear some mess from our patio and felt a twang as I stood up. Since then my knee locks up whenever I drive for longish periods or curl up on the couch. If I’ve been rolling around on the ground playing with the grandkids then try to stand up, it’s like watching a man with a crippled leg get to his feet. If I was sat by a pool, you’d swear it was a re-enactment of the Bethesada miracle. Old football injuries would heal up within a week or so but this stiffening has been getting ever so steadily worse over the past year and I’m slightly worried because don’t people say that once your knees go there’s no reversing the process? Of course surgery might help but I’m a leading member of the CFH party (Cowardice in the Face of Hospitalisation)and  I’d rather go blind (er… see below) than go under the knife. Bloody knee.

Then over Xmas I bit on something and one of my teeth shattered. Long-term readers may well remember the posting of the very worst day I spent in Italy (‘bad day at the ufficio’ from 4 July 2007) which culminated in me breaking a tooth biting on some chocolate. As with then, it was necessary to go and see my good friend and brilliant dentist Pete the other day. If I have had a physical weak-spot it’s been with my teeth and over the years Pete must have performed more dental surgery on my mouth than on all his other patients combined. You name the procedure Pete’s perfected it on my molars. Anyway I hadn’t seen him for a while and we did the usual catch up chat before he did some temporary cover work on the broken tooth and ran the rule over my other dental fixtures. I was virtually his first ‘urgent’ case  (I only ever appear in his diary on that basis) upon returning from his Xmas break/skiing holiday. His voice had that here-we-go-again kind of ring to it as he sighed and told me that, as is the norm with me, I was looking at one new crown, two repairs to some damaged fillings, reconstructive work on another cracked tooth and, my very favorite procedure, root canal treatment on one of my tricky canine teeth. We both knew that we’d be seeing a lot of each other over the next few months and I went and made a raft of appointments with his receptionist, through to World Cup time. Sigh. Bloody teeth.

Then yesterday I went along to the opticians in Richmond recommended by my son-in-law E. My shocking blue and white Timmy Mallettesque glasses had fallen off my non-grip head once too often over Xmas and had broken beyond repair. I’ve been wearing a pair of reading glasses from Boots for the last couple of weeks but they’re only so good of course and I needed a new prescription pair. But as it’s over 3 years since my last eye test (in Italy) I figured a new test might be advisable especially as I’ve become aware that my long sightedness is starting to deteriorate (night-driving in particular is becoming a real strain for me).  So off I toddled to meet optician Fara who is quite the loveliest eye-tester I’ve met, well, since Dr Barbara in Italy. I did all the tests and at the end of it Fara told me that yes I’d need a new prescription but she’d also noticed another slight problem whilst studying the eyeball. I thought she was going to say that my blood pressure was a touch high, which is what opticians can often detect on the retina. But no she told me that it looked like I might have a fairly rare condition called  narrow-angle glaecoma or something. This is when the anterior chamber between the cornea (skin of the eyeball) and iris becomes too shallow. She was going to refer me to see an eye specialist with more sophisticated measuring equipment to ascertain how severe the condition might be. Umm. Not quite what I was hoping to hear. Bloody stupid glasses.

I hadn’t heard about this condition before so I asked Fara what it might mean and was it correctable etc. Apparently these are the options:

- the condition could worsen if it hadn’t been detected and if the gap gets so shallow that it closes then this can cause the eye to lose its ability to cleanse itself internally of fluid which is regularly produced delivering a pain so excruciating that it causes uncontrollable nausea and almost certain damage to the optic nerve and probable blindness. Gulp. I’m not making this up.

- the good news is that the condition has been identified and the consultant will be able to assess its status. If he/she thinks the gap is dangerously shallow then invasive surgery will be recommended. In other words I’d have to go into hospital (feeling nauseous already) and have an eye popped out whilst they slice into it? That’s the good news? Don’t they know I’d rather have my knees removed with a rusty axe than have invasive eye surgery?

- of course, Fara said, the consultant may just decide that the condition isn’t  severe and may just recommend that  a new prescription set of specs and regular eye-tests to check on its status may be enough.

Try and guess which option I’m rooting for? In fact I’ve been praying to baby Jesus ever since and promising that I’ll be kind to my family, those less fortunate than myself and even poor animals if he could just deliver option 3 for me. But I’m not sure baby Jesus owes me too many favours to be honest. So here’s hoping that the consultant can Find the Gap eh!

More medical bulletins will be issued in due course.

pp

[Via http://pastapaulie.wordpress.com]

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See Every Day as a Chance for a New Year

By Kami Gray

Forget January 1st. It’s come and gone anyway so let it go and see every day as a chance for new year.

As you experience them, embrace those “low” points where action is needed to live an improved life – the life you desire. No negotiating, no stalling, and no taking better care of yourself in the future.

The reason many people make New Year’s resolutions:

New Year’s resolutions are a tool for negotiating with ourselves; we want to allow ourselves to have fun, be carefree and enjoy the holidays (or the entire year!) by overindulging in spending, drinking, eating, and letting our exercise routines lapse. It’s human nature to say, “I’ll be better tomorrow or starting Monday.” New Year’s resolutions are the Granddaddy of this thought process.

Why most people don’t follow through with their New Year’s resolutions:

It’s a mind trick to begin with. It’s a way of stating what you desire for yourself, but stalling on that idea. It’s like saying, “it’s okay to not take care of myself right now because I have a plan to do that in the future.” People don’t follow through with them because they’re not acting on their resolution immediately — like when they’re at the doctor’s office and he/she says they need to lose 40 pounds, or they get their credit card statement and are over their credit limit (again), or they can’t get off the couch because they’re so hung-over from drinking countless Jack and Cokes.

Honesty really is the best policy.

We think of honesty as an exceptional quality in others, but so often we tell repeated lies to ourselves. Brutal honesty is the only way to put an end to the rationalizing and the negotiations you make over and over. Write it down, say it out loud, or tell your best friend or spouse just how low you feel and ask them to help you and support you in turning things around. I work with overweight or obese people and one of the first things I ask them to do is use the word FAT. It has become so touchy and politically incorrect to tell it like it is.  That’s what that doughy filling is though – it’s FAT. Tell it like it is and you are one step closer to the life you desire.

The reason people stick with New Year’s resolutions for awhile and then quit:

Look at dieters and the common occurrence of yo-yo dieting. This happens because well-meaning dieters haven’t changed their relationship with food or how they think of food. My jeans used to be six sizes larger than they are today. That was 23 years ago. No New Year’s resolution could help me unless I, got real with myself, examined my relationship with food and understood my eating triggers, embraced my bad habits, and acted immediately – at the moment I felt lousy, looked awful, and was filled with self disgust.

How to hit the reset button when you’ve quit or taken a break from New Year’s resolutions:

Nothing happens overnight. The weight gain, the financial mess, and the over-drinking have been a long time of bad habits in the making. It’s time to embrace baby steps and change your habits. So you ate a chocolate chip cookie and blew your new year’s resolution. Understand that you haven’t blown anything. It’s just a cookie! But many dieters figure well, I’ve gone and ruined my diet for today so I may as well really blow it and eat a few more cookies or maybe a half a pint of ice cream. Instead, cut your losses and move on. Forgive yourself, let it go, vow to be better the rest of the day, and move on. It’s about baby steps. Baby steps in the right direction add up to real measurable results. Cliché? You betcha! Does it work? Darn straight it does.

Are you putting the same item on your New Year’s resolutions list year-after-year?

In the same way that many people struggle with diet and weight loss, I used to struggle with office organization — we all have weak areas, and that was one of mine.  My system of dumping handfuls of receipts into a giant drawer was inefficient and causing me a great deal of stress at tax time. I actually sat on the floor and cried one year on August fifteenth, the day my income tax extension was (over) due.   That was my low point and the start of my new year. Up until then, I had never shown anyone just how poorly my office was organized was, but I called a friend who is an office organization expert, admitted I had a problem, and let her see first-hand just how bad it was. Now she was on the floor, but laughing hysterically. Then she took my drawers away to prevent me from emptying my pockets and purse into a giant black hole. I’ve slipped up a few times, but I catch myself, correct the behavior quickly, and get back on track.

It’s January 7th. The first day of your new year. Embrace this day with candor, honesty, and action.

[Via http://fitnesstouring.wordpress.com]

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January Self Imposed Read

If you haven’t already read it, read The Time Travelers Wife, also by Audrey Niffenegger. I read it and loved it, which is the reason I decided to read her most recent book, Her Fearful Symmetry. This book is set in London and is about a ghost in a flat near Highgate Cemetery. It is a pretty fast read, interesting enough, but without the pizzazz that The Time Travelers Wife had. When I read The Time Travelers Wife, I couldn’t put it down. I was at my parent’s house for Christmas and I was sleeping in an unheated room in the winter time and I still would lie in bed with my arms and head exposed and freezing cold, reading it until the wee hours of the night. This book is good, but not that good!

I also read Julie and Julia which if you haven’t already heard, is about a young girl just about to turn 30 who decides to cook every single recipe from Julia Child’s famous cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. In one year. Five hundred and some odd recipes, each with pounds and pounds of butter all cooked within 365 days. And she writes a blog about it.  But the book is about more than just her adventure. It is a story about a girl who has hopes and dreams but is not sure what they are or if she will ever accomplish them. She is bored of her job, her life and her apartment. She takes on a task, a meaning of life, something to look forward to. Its not an easy one; she has some trials and tribulations, but you like her more for them. She is human. She is all of us. I liked her. She makes me want to cook every recipe from MtAoFC. I give it 4.5 stars.

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Word Play

It’s not that I don’t have anything to write about, but I wanted to branch out, to write about something other than travel, food or weather. Yup, most of my blogs are about one of those three topics, either directly or indirectly. So, I thought, why not get some suggestions from someone else, to see if I can write about something else, or if the things that interest me, namely eating, traveling and commenting on the weather, really are the only thing I can elaborate on. Also, researching/finding out about new things is one of my favorite things to do and this will give me knowledge about things that I may not have known about before.

My inspiration comes from Aunt Lucy, who tipped me off about the  Shutter Sisters, who are photographers who are doing a project called The One Word Project. They give you a word every month and you send in photos associated with that word and they post a photo a day from someone who has sent one in. If you get a chance to check out their site, do so, it is very fun. Lucy is also doing a project where she takes photos of things with words on them and posts one every day, which is also really interesting (check it out here). So I guess 2010 is the year of the word.

I will take their idea and add a twist – I am asking people to send ME “one word”, whatever comes to their mind. Once a month I will write about one of the words that have been sent to me. Obviously, I am not going to steal the Shutter Sister’s name or project, so this will be the Word Play project. (Version 2k10). –

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EDDIE MOYZAN 04/06

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Happy+New

Happy New Year!

It’s been a while since I updated, and that’s because there really hasn’t been much to report: I was knocked for six throughout December by a nasty cough then wasn’t going to risk breaking my neck by running on ice. But this is 2010, it’s a new year, a new decade and a healthier new me. I got off to a good start, getting out nice and early on new year’s day for the Serpentine 10k in Hyde Park. Oh my, it was ffffffreezing out there! I put on my new Helly Hansen base layer, my new hat and my new gloves (and everything in between of course) and joined the rest of the nutters at the start. I found myself walking round in circles and rubbing my thighs like Vic Reeves to keep warm, but we were soon off.

I didn’t have high hopes for this race, not having run for a few weeks and being heavily laden down by Christmas stodge, and I didn’t surprise myself, coming in at an all-time personal worst. Things were ok to start with, then both of my knees started really, really hurting – the left one below the knee cap and the right one in an ITBS kind of way – so I was struggling around with a grimace on my face. The cold air also triggered my chest to tighten up so I felt all-round crap. I kept on going though.

It was a beautiful day, so bright and crisp, and it’s a good race, laid back, friendly and in a nice setting. Edward and Hector were making their way over to the Princess Diana Memorial Playground (it’s fantastic), and paused to wave at me over a bridge part way along, always uplifting to see their smiling faces. The course does a loop at one point, and I was suddenly being lapped by the short-shorts brigade and getting all muddled by the KM markers, but things picked up when I really had done 7k and my knees seemed to ease up a bit. I kept on, plod, plod, plod and made it to the finish line where I picked up my bag and quickly put on my big puffa jacket. Brrrrr. I could have done with a banana or something at this point, but there was just some icy cold water on offer…a hot chocolate at the playground warmed me up a bit

Time: 1 hour 2 minutes 13 seconds

Distance: 10.11 km

Average Pace: 6.09

Best Pace: 3.56

Calories: 681

I just had a look at Fetch, and it seems I ran 599 miles last year. Damn it, I wish I’d read that last week so I could have made it up and over 600! I have taken advantage of our local leisure centre’s New Year offer of three months for the price of two, or something like that, and invested my Christmas and birthday money in some gym and swim membership for the next few months. I am feeling well and truly lumpy-tumpy right now, so I need to get burning those calories and pumping those muscles. I went to my first Spinning class in about three years on Sunday and felt like I hadn’t been away. The instructor was French though, and I couldn’t really hear him, so all I heard every so often was ‘rrrresistaaahnce’, felt like I was watching ‘Allo, Allo’!

[Via http://fitartist.wordpress.com]

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First World War Images: British Soldiers: Part 2

This is Flanders, France. The soldiers are British.

British soldiers move forward in the shelter of the stream

These man are ready for action

The Tommies watch as wounded German prisoners walk by

The trenches had knives poking out from the barbwire fence

This man peeks out from the bunker
cautiously as a German shell bursts

More German prisoners

These British soldiers take some rest

Pulling a heavy gun forward

This gun is so big that its shells have to be loaded with help of a pulley

Wounded German soldiers wait for medical relief from British doctors

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Rare WW1 Images: British Soldiers: Part 1

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