Monica's Meanderings

Euro 2004 - Czech Republic v Holland

Tue, 22 Jun 2004 13:20:09 GMT

Watched the Czech Republic v. Holland match on Saturday. [I don't watch much football any more as I don't have the time or Sky Sports but I do enjoy internationals. I used to follow the fortunes of my former local team Wolverhampton Wanderers when I was a kid, and I also lived down the road from the Man City stadium a few years ago, but that's as far as my interest went.]

Anyway back to the aforementioned match: what a match! I had a vested interest as I drew the Czech Republic in the sweepstake at work, but I also enjoy watching Holland play (I have a secret fascination with those orange shirts!). It was an absolute joy to watch - good solid attacking play with good goals, hardly any fouls or diving. Now I understand why it's called the 'beautiful game'. I'm actually watching more football than tennis at the moment, and that's saying something.

Oh, and England are through to the quarter finals, by the way - I almost forgot.

Pain in the neck (well, back)

Fri, 21 May 2004 09:54:39 GMT

After a couple of particularly hectic days in the lab last week spent hunched over experiments, I've been suffering upper back pain. It seemed to improve but last night it worsened and when I woke up this morning I could hardly turn my head at all - bit of a bummer as I was due to take my driving test today.

Some mobility returned and pain lessened after an hour or so and I thought maybe I'd be OK for the test at midday. I had a lesson booked at 9 so I drove around and manoevering wasn't too bad but on balance, I decided to cancel the test. After all, one jerky movement (easy when you're nervous and boy, did I get nervous on my last test), especially in bad traffic and with badly parked cars (particularly bad today - invisible learner syndrome struck on several occasions) and I could do more damage (to my neck, NOT the car!). The worst case scenario would be that, having driven for a few miles from the test centre, I would completely bugger up my neck/back so that I wouldn't be able to drive back and would be stranded as the examiner is not allowed to drive back.

I'm going to the doctor in half an hour, who hopefully will give me some me some drugs and a sick note, with the result that a) I won't have to pay for another driving test, b) I can make a fuss at work about the inadequacy of risk assessments as far as repetitive strain injury is concerned, c) I can see a physiotherapist who *might* tell me to ease off work, insist I get a decent chair for the lab and recommend lots of exercise :-)

Dental work required :-(

Tue, 11 May 2004 14:16:01 GMT

Went to the hygienist this morning. She commented on what lovely strong teeth I had - thank Severn Trent Water for fluoridation! Then spoke to the dentist about an x-ray I had taken prior to a decision being made on how my bottom two wisdom teeth were going to be extracted. Semi-good news: the tooth on the left side may not have to be pulled. Bad news: both roots are at a funny angle so I'll have to see a consultant first. Hope it will be covered by medical insurance otherwise I could be waiting for a year - I already daren't risk chewing on my right side as it hurts like buggery when I get a bit of rice or meat in the hole in the tooth.

Fri, 23 Apr 2004 12:05:59 GMT

Gorgeous day today. I'm actually wearing a skirt and inflicting my legs on London! Sat outside for lunch and resisted the temptation to make daisy chains. I might let myself be dragged to the pub after work for a celebratory drink as it is my birthday tomorrow - going to watch Kill Bill 2 followed by plate-smashing (maybe) and belly dancing (definitely not by me) at a Greek restaurant (Mark, book a table for 4 for 7.30).

New hair!

Tue, 20 Apr 2004 16:57:46 GMT

After weeks, nay years, of dithering, I finally decided to go for the chop. I bravely risked having it done at a hairdressing school round the corner from me at work (though not by an experienced stylist taking a refresher course, not by a student - I'm not mad!). Anyway, here is the result, together with a recent 'before' photo.

My Haircut (click on the photos to enlarge)
Before	After

This photograph was taken in Bruges	This photograph was taken on Mon 19th

My first entry

Sun, 18 Apr 2004 21:57:34 GMT

Well, today was fairly uneventful, a typical veg-out Sunday. Although originally intending to drag myself out of bed at some unearthly hour in order to go into London to cheer on those suckers for punishment a.k.a. marathon runners, the hideously loud shrieks of drunken yobs outside the bedroom window at about one in the morning put paid to that idea. Of course my lazy slobbishness, the pissing down of rain and the option of five hours of in-depth BBC coverage did not in any way affect my decision to remain indoors in my dressing gown.

I have a confession to make: I am not completely sane myself. I have been known to indulge in the odd bout of jogging myself, and not just for the bus either. About a year ago, my former boss sneakily (as I was in India at the time) put my name down for the 10 km Canary Wharf Jog. I, who was unable to jog for longer than three minutes without feeling that I was going to die, was meant to be able to run pretty much non-stop for an hour and had two months to reach this dizzying standard - I was in despair. After a humiliating early training session with some much fitter colleagues, I decided to do it my own way and go it alone. Evenings and weekends were spent pounding the pavements of Ash Vale. I surpassed all my expectations and actually began to enjoy myself once I had learned to start the session as slowly as I thought I could, and then slow down some more. I countered the stares and sneers of passing motorists with my own superior glances, smug smirks or the occasional deer-like burst of speed. The "race" itself was a breeze compared with the training. I especially enjoyed the friendliness of the runners in general and being cheered on by onlookers when things got a bit tough.

Anyway, back to the London Marathon. In the past few years I have evolved from thinking "never in a million years am I ever going to even contemplate entering" to "it looks like fun (sort of) and would be a real achievement but is not for me" through to "I would like to attempt it one day and may even have some hope of finishing".

If it hadn't rained all day I might have gone for a run but in the end I just took myself off for a swim (something alse I would never have contemplated four years ago as I couldn't swim a stroke and was terrified of being out of my depth).

I'm off to bed soon so bye for now.