Dead air

Hi team. Did you miss me? Probably not. I did miss you. Very much. But you know, I just had to prove to myself that I could not talk about myself constantly for a week. And it turns out I can. It's hard, though. And you know what? It's boring. I guess I just like talking, and sometimes, when nothing else is happening, and because I am just a humanly human after all, I talk about myself. So be it. Phizz was right when he said I was right. I'm not forcing anyone to read this blog. I don't follow people in the street to tell them my life story. I'm not that bad. It's your choice to click your way to this page, and I thank you for doing so. Turns out, you make my life nicer. So thanks.

It's been a seriously boring week. Not just because of the not blogging or posting my status on Facebook every few hours. That's been ok. It was hard the first few days, and I tried writing in my journal instead, but that was just a jumbled mess of random very ugly thoughts. Really, for the first time I tried to write a very honest journal for just me, without an audience in mind. I even put a password on there to assure myself that this was private writing. But it was such terrible writing. Like I said, ugly. I wasn't trying to be witty or charming. I was not trying to be cute or funny. I was just trying to be deadly honest, but it turns out, I was just tearing myself apart and examining my insides and they were just not pretty. Or even interesting!  So then I even stopped writing my journal. I have hardly written anything at all this week. And I have felt really boring. I guess I will just admit that I need you, my (imagined) reader to write anything even remotely nice or interesting. I need to know that I am being read. Even if it's just by my trusty Phizz. That's cool. I'll just continue as before. He copped it when I stopped writing my blog last week, because he had to listen to me going on about my existential crisis and being all mopey and hard on myself. I'm just not fun when I'm like that. So, if I am more fun for my friends and family when I write a blog, then why the hell should I stop? It's just cruel! To them and to myself.

So I'm back. And it feels good. I'm sorry if you've felt neglected. I did think about you. Heaps.

Do you want to hear about my week? Really? I spent most of it sitting right here, on an office chair instead of on this dining table chair. I was kindly given some paid data entry work by a very good friend, because truth be told I am dead broke. That happens when you don't have an actual job. I mean, I did work, I worked my arse off, but not paid. And life, even a boring one, still requires you to pay for stuff. And an exciting life even more.
Anyhow, so I set myself up here at the dining table with my trusted Mac and some tunes and off I went. But within hours my back and shoulders were killing me. I have not really spent hours behind a computer recently, and especially not on a dining table chair. So Mum suggested I just sit at the other desk in her office and use a desk and a desk chair. But that felt too much like working in an office. I like this spot. Plus I like listening to music and my mum hates constant music, so I wanted a bit of space between us so I could play my tunes. I don't think I could have gotten through this week without music. It amazes me that my mother prefers silence over some nice music. It makes driving, for example, so much more fun. Soon we'll be driving to France and it'll be in silence. I so wish I could play some seriously good albums while driving. The Killers - Day and Age. Brilliant driving album.

Anyway, I digress. I better get this written quickly, because since I started, my mother has come downstairs, it is Sunday morning, and I got up early (ish) to write, while my dear friend Emily who is staying here was still asleep, which she is not anymore.

It's now several hours, quite a few croissants, some bacon and eggs, and a coffee with some of Mum's friends later and I wish I had managed to finished what I was writing before all that. But it was fun.

I think I was talking about my boring week, during which I entered data most of the time. It turns out that sitting on a proper desk chair is actually much better for your back than ordinary chairs when you're behind a computer for hours...one day the weather was nice enough for me to move my 'office' outside onto the deck. That was nice. I know lots of international dialling codes now. So I guess I learnt something other than when you need to sit behind a computer a proper chair makes all the difference. Such exciting things to learn.

What else? Oh I learnt what my weird 'exercise allergy' really is! I think I might have mentioned that I have a bizarre allergy that first started two years ago and it only happened when I would walk, but not every time I would walk. And then randomly I started having it at the gym every now and then, but not every time I go. So very strange. I break out into terrible hives, very large, very itchy spots all over my face (including my lips!), shoulders, arms and chest. I look like I've just been attacked by killer mosquitos. It is called 'exercise-induced anaphylaxis' and is a combination of eating a certain food, and then exercising! Totally bizarre! But now I have to find out what food it is. I got a terribly allergy attack at the gym on Wednesday night after having a stir-fry for dinner. Commonly it's wheat, but I know it's not with me because I ate crackers on Thursday before going to Zumba and I got nothing. So there was something in that stir-fry that causes my allergic reaction, but it will only occur if I exercise after eating it.  If I eat that food and just read a book after, nothing will happen. Isn't that odd? It's quite rare, and it's also very rare to get the hives on mostly your face. Of course, I have to have an allergy that is totally weird and random.

Another few hours later, it is now almost 6 pm and I've just done an experiment on myself, regarding my other allergy: strawberries. I've been allergic to them all my life: I break out into a rash. But Mum is growing them in the garden and picked some and put them on the table where Emily and I were sitting for Emily to eat. They looked tasty. I decided to eat one, to see if I'm still allergic. That was nearly 45 minutes ago and I am fine, I do have a slight itch, but that could be anything. Or it could just be because I am paying attention to whether anything is itchy. So I just ate another 3. Strawberries are nice. I like them. It would be great to no longer be allergic. The things I could eat!

Anyhow. Emily just left. It was awesome to have her here. We had a lovely night last night, with nachos and home made salsa, board games, chocolate cake, the wood heater going. I look forward to seeing her again soon when I'm in Amsterdam. Won't be long. Phizz is coming by to pick me up on Tuesday and then we'll go to the Hague to organise a visa for him, and then we'll be in Amsterdam for a little while. It'll be great to be back there, drink real wonderful milky coffees and hang out with my sister at Screaming beans, try a dance class at the Amsterdam Dance centre, catch up with some mates. I so wish I had a bicycle I could ride there. Amsterdam is all about bikes. And it's free to ride a bike, whereas you have to pay for trams.

Well. That's that. I think I'm done now. I am still not strawberry itchy, which is great. Could I just have traded one allergy for another?