Long overdue...

Yeah, I know. I've been terribly slack lately. And because of my slackness and crap memory, I'll prob leave heaps of stuff out of this entry. Nevermind. Here we go...

So I'll start with the most recent things. Christmas - it was really nice this year. It was very hectic, but I enjoyed it. I had to work Christmas Eve, but afterwards I went to my uncle's house as my dad's family celebrate Christmas eve with a big dinner. I missed on the food obviously, but it was good to catch up with my Melbournian cousins for a couple of hours. Christmas morning we (Alice, Lucy, Sam and myself) woke up quite early and all had showers and stuff before we did the presents. I can quite happily say that I was quite spoiled this year. I got an awse non-stick fry pan, very nice bathroom towels, cutlery, books, chocolates and money. Yes, I know alot of that stuff was qutie domesticated, but I guess that's just where I am in life at the moment, and I'm loving it!! I got Al a fishing rod (as well as one for myself) and a fondue set, so really my presents to her were for me also. Hehe.

After opening the pressies, Alice and I went to my mums to exchange gifts with her and Dana. We then went to breakfast at my auntie's house. That was your typical woggy affair - tonnes of food, tonnes of shouting, and a bit of arguing. I like it. I ate a little too much there, and we had to quickly leave to go to Alice's aunties for lunch. That was really nice, but I couldn't eat alot because of stupid breakfast. Hmm, this is dragging on quite a bit. Ok, quickly now. Dinner was spent at Alice's dad's house, which was very quiet and nice. I was in bed by 11:30 completely buggered, but crazy party girl Alice went across the road to party for a few hours. All in all it was a very nice day.

I'm really struggling to think of what else has been going on. The weather has been quite shitty lately. Too cold for my liking. Take Christmas day - it usually is quite warm, around the 30's, but this year the top was 20. Bloody rediculous if you ask me. But by the end of this week it's going to hear up again, which I'm really looking forward to.

Alice and I are going down to Yorke Peninsula for new years eve to Holly's parents farm, so we're really excited about having a couple of days to just laze around and do nothing. We have to come back on Tuesday, but then we have to go back the following weekend for a wedding. Not that I'm complaining about the wedding, but it's a kinda long drive for twice in a week. Oh well, such is life. :)

Health is going along alright. I ran out of meds a week or so ago, and started to get a bit more productive, which wasn't fun. But I made sure to get some more drugs, and now things have cleared up again. :)

Meh, this entry is crap. I can't be bothered trying to remember things and make this more coherent. All I can do is try to do better next time. :)

Rating: 7.2

What I'm listening to: No Doubt - Tragic Kingdom

Weddings, the beach, trials and fondue

me and the bride and groom
Originally uploaded by jaanus83.

Well, once again I have left it too long to write, so I have heaps to tell everyone about.

We'll start with the highlight - last Sunday I was invited to a Christmas lunch with some very close friends of mine Alex and Monica. There was only a few of us, as well as their parents. After hanging around in their apartment for a little while, there was a knock at the door and a woman who none of us had met before walked in with a book in her hand. Yep, she was a celebrant. The sneaky buggers had ditched their plan of getting married in April next year and decided to spring a surprise wedding on us all.

So the ceremony was very nice indeed, with lots of bubble making its way around the room. Then of course there was the food, the REAL reason I was there ;). But it was so good to see them finally tie the know (they have been together for 7 years since high school) and it's awesome to have another couple of friends who I can say are married. It did make me think about my own situation with Alley as well... to those who know us know that marriage is something we CONSTANTLY talk about, so much to the point that it's quite rediculous as we have planned out everything, even though I haven't actually proposed yet. Eh, one day... hehe.

On Wednesday I decided to go for a bit of a scoot to the beach since it was such a nice day outside. I drove down to Brighton since I hadn't been there this year yet, and it was just awesome. I forget how good the beaches are here so close to the city. I walked out on the jetty and had a bit of a ol yarn with an old fisherman there and while we were talking we saw a dolphin swim casually past. Really nice like... although something not quite as nice is that there have been quite alot of shark sightings already. Some just metres off the shores at Brighton, Glenelg and West Beach (for those who aren't aware, they're the metropolitan beaches). But it's really made me want to go fishing again. Haven't done it for YEARS and I think it would be a really nice and relaxing thing to do this summer.

I have also started to participate in a gastro trial thing. Basically I think the jist of it is to measure how quickly someone with cf digests things. My first day involved fasting from 10pm the previous night, going in at 8:30 in the morning, drinking a glucose drink, then sitting in front of a machine for 3 hours (i had a little break every hour). After that we went to another room where I had to stay in there for another 3 hours. All the while of this sitting I had to have 10mls of blood taken every 15 mins.

Luckily I could bring in Charlotte so I could pass the time watching NCIS, Simpsons, Robot Chicken and Scrubs. AND I get paid for it. So there are 2 more days left, where I get to eat packet mash potato and then test to see how long that takes to go through my system - both with and without Creon (my pancreatic enzymes that I have to take whenever I eat).

We also hosted another dinner the other night with Peter, Trudy, Kate and Wayne. We were quite excited as we were doing fondue... mmmmmm, soooo good!!! However, as usual, it wasn't the smoothest of evenings. Wayne was the first casualty of the night, having stabbed his hand with the fondue prongs things. Quite badly actually... but it wsa his first time, so you can't blame him. Last time we did fondue I managed to do the honours... it just happens.

Anyway, so after we fixed all that, Kate had started to feel a bit queasy. She had been stung by a bee a few days before, which has really swelled up quite nicely. After being a bit sick, we thought it be best to take her to the hospital to make sure that there was nothing seriously wrong with her. After their departure, Alice, Pete, Trudy and me finished off our fondue evening with the dessert fondue.

It was an awesome evening - despite the obvious casualties that had occured. Hey, it's fondue. Something's bound to happen.

So I think that's it... since it's going to be 38 today, I think I'm gonna make another trip down to the beach. But I'll make sure to get some sunscreen this time so I don't burn up like last time. Idiot. Tonight is John Woods cd launch at the Grace Emily, so that should be a great night. He also won the dB's readers awards for best solo male artist. Woot!!

And then tomorrow night Taasha and Trsistan from The Audreys are doing an acoustic thingy at the Wheaty, so I'll try to get along to that. They also won an award for dB, as the best band. So go them.

I guess I better mention something about my health - I ran out of hypertonic saline and ventolin a few days ago, and have already noticed a slight increase of cough and productivity. So I'll make sure to get some more today, as I really don't wanna get sick again. But apart from that little niggle, I'm not feeling too bad at all. Still gotta do more exercise, but you're all used to me saying that so I won't feel too bad. ;)

Rating: 7.5

What I'm listening to: The Audreys - Between Last Night and Us

Anniversaries, gigs, cars and the beach

going...
Originally uploaded by jaanus83.

Hi all.

Lots has been going on, so let's see if I can remember it all and have you slightly entertained for the next 10 mins or so... (yes, this will prob be a long one).

As some of you may well know, our beloved car Uby hasn't been feeling the best of late. In fact, I think it's safe to say that she's dying. So much so that last week we decided to try and find a cheap run-a-round to replace her. On a drive to Elizabeth, she got a temperature and we had to leave her on the side of the road all night (not the best idea in Salisbury). Anyhoo, she survived another day. But on Wednesday of last week I found another car (this time not so far away) for $900. We went and checked her out, and she is a beauty!! She is a lovely silver Nissan Bluebird Series III wagon. Pretty much like an updated Uby. Her name is Supa Upa. She is awesome. :) We're hoping she'll be able to do the trips to Maclaren Vale and Victor (since they will be done quite regularly over summer).

Speak of last Wednesday, it was also the first night I had ever been to the famous curry night at the Exeter. Man, was it good!! There was quite a nice table of us (me, Al, Holly, Jess, Andy, Sarah and Daniel) and we all chowed down on some delicious curry before sitting outside enojying a lovely pint in the beautiful spring weather. I thoroughly recommend anyone who hasn't tried it to do so. It's on the top of my list for when my international friends come over here. :D

Last weekend we went to see The Audreys at the Gov for their first show after their totally awesome award at the Arias this year. And may I say, it was the best I've seen them. MUCH better than the last gig they did during their national tour. They're really taking off, so I'm hoping they'll play a few more shows before deserting lil ol Radelaide for the limelight of the big cities.

Thursday night was the 2 year anniversay for Alice and me. Aww I hear you all say. It was a lovely night. I got it off work, so we went for a drive down to Glenelg since we realised we hadn't been to the beach for almost a year, got a yiros and some chips, and sat there watching the sunset. It was actually a really nice night. It's been a while since I was able to sit with my best friend and being completely calm and away from all the hecticness of life and work. Then after that we went to the house where we were to be house-sitting until this Monday.

And finally the weather is really starting to get nice. We had a pretty warm day of about 36 on Friday and Saturday, so after I finished work at 4 on Sat, I picked up Al from work and we went down to the beach to have a bit of a dip and to get some colour. I'm determined to get to the beach at least a couple times a week this summer. It's just too good to pass up.

I've also been working alot lately. Not that I'm complaining since my goal is to save money over the next year, and obviously in order to do that I have to work. But it's just annoying having to work alot to save money. Hehe.

I think that's about it... my health isn't doing too badly, although I'm bit more clogged up since the last few days I've been a bit slack with my physio and stuff. Also, I knocked off my nebuliser pump the other day, so I had to race down to the Asthma foundation on Friday afternoon to get it before the weekend, otherwise I would have had to wait until Sunday. The CFSA was kind enough to help me though with a rebate of $200 on my new pump. Pretty ace there.

Well, it's getting late and i'm falling asleep, so I think it's time to head off. I'll write more later in the week when I've remembered what I've forgotten in this post.

Rating: 6.8

What I'm listening to: Yann Tiersen - Amelie soundtrack

The weekend and clinic

Howdy all.

Time for another update in the life of Jaan. Thrilling tales they are!

So i'll start with the weekend. Didn't do a whole lot on Friday - caught up with some friends and had a drink at the Ex. The weather was awesome and we were lucky enough to get a table outside, so that was fun. Then Alice and I got take away from Danny's Thai Bistro and went back home to eat that and watch the first few episodes of 'Dead Like Me'. Very cool show indeed!

I had to open the shop on Saturday, but that night since Al had gone down to Yorkes for a wedding, I was on my lonesome, so thought I would treat myself to a gig. The Vasco Era were playing at the Gov. I first saw them last year sometime when they supported the Violent Femmes, and they were fantastic. I have seen them a couple of times after, but none this year, so I was well excited to see them again since we struck up a bit of a friendship when we first met.

Anyhoo, to my surprise I found out that a friend of mine from primary school (Joel) was in the support band, so I spent the night with him and his band mates. The Vasco Era played an awesome show, and I forgot just how energetic they are live. Joel then was talking to me about an after-party he was having at his house and how everyone was going to be there. I was quite tired and couldn't really be bothered going, but I asked where he lived, and he told me Edward St, which is literally around the corner from my house. So I thought I may as well pop in.

That pop in lasted till 4:30 in the morning when the cops decided it was time for the party to end. But it was a great night. And in true rock 'n roll style, the band was there, and EVERYONE was drinking it up something chronic. Even ol Jaanie had a couple... but luckily since I only lived half a minute walk away I didn't need to worry about drink driving. Hehe. I managed to take a couple of pics from the night, so have a look at my pics page for that.

And now to today - clinic. I only realised this morning that I had it on when I looked in my diary. This last week I had started to feel a little crappy - tired, lethargic and my cough had gotten a little bit more productive. I was really hoping I wasn't getting sick again as this is what happened when I first started getting sick a few months ago. But today things seemed to really clear up. I had my pft's (lung function) and was hoping for the best. Quite often, you go in feeling tops, and the results are shite. Other times, you go in feeling crap, and the results are better than you expected. So while I was feeling quite good, I didn't really have high hopes to have great blows.

But when I read the percentage, I was stoked - 62%. I was 55% when I was discharged about a month ago, and that was up from 35% when I was really sick. So that's pretty darn good. Especially considering I still haven't really started my routine of exercising (I'm planning on starting swimming REAL soon - honest!). So things are looking quite good indeed.

One last reminder for those who read this in time and live in the vacinity - Alice's exhibition is tomorrow night, so that's what's on the cards for me. It's at the Light Square Gallery and goes from 6 to 8. Should be a great night, so come along if you can muster it.

That's all for tonight. I'm getting very sleepy and my neb is just about finished.

Why have they stopped showing 'Scrubs' on tv in the mornings? They hadn't finished the season yet...

Rating: 8

What I'm listening to: Cake - Fashion Nugget