Journal
Nadia’s journal
Expat pharmacy roulette. It is a sport now.
A printout I cannot read
week 33heard energy 52 replies
Asked the question I had been avoiding for eleven years. She answered it in about ninety seconds and was completely unbothered. A locum who had clearly read nothing. I was…
Circle tonight
week 32warm energy 24 replies
Three things this week. Circle tonight. Eight of us, an hour, and about eleven minutes of actual information. The rest was the point. The facilitator stopped the room when…
Stayed for the company
week 31warm energy 5
Went for the practical answers and stayed for the company, which I gather is what everybody does. Circle tonight. Eight of us, an hour, and about eleven minutes of actual…
Three cool bags and a thermometer
week 29organised energy 1
New sharps bin, and a plan for what happens to it when I move in September. Two lines a day in a paper diary. Date, and one thing. That is the entire system and it has twice…
A plain question
week 28steady energy 23 replies
Week in order: Was undereating without realising. The nurse asked a plain question about what I had actually eaten in the last two days and I heard my own answer. Greek…
Paired
week 26held energy 44 replies
Three things this week. My buddy noticed something in my journal before I did and asked me a very gentle question about it. Paired up. We text on Sunday nights, four or five…
Six labelled boxes
week 25organised energy 42 replies
Week in order: Two lines a day in a paper diary. Date, and one thing. That is the entire system and it has twice changed a clinical decision. Anchored injection day to my…
The bad fortnight
week 23flat energy 43 replies
Week in order: The nausea has a shape to it now. Thursday teatime it starts, Friday it peaks, Saturday afternoon it lifts. Once I could see the pattern it stopped feeling…
Unpleasant, not dangerous
week 23flat energy 5
Bad week and I am writing it down anyway, because a journal that only contains the good weeks would be a lie and no use to anybody reading it later. Heat, dehydration, and a…
Somebody new
week 22warm energy 4
Week in order: Somebody new tonight, terrified, exactly where I was in the spring. I said the thing that had been said to me and watched it land. Went for the practical…
Before nine
week 20steady energy 13 replies
Greek yoghurt, eggs, and the limits of both. I have reached the limits of both. Spread it across the day instead of trying to do it all at teatime and everything got easier.…
How are you doing on a Wednesday
week 19held energy 14 replies
Nobody has ever asked me how I was doing on a Wednesday before. My buddy noticed something in my journal before I did and asked me a very gentle question about it. Paired up.…
Two lines a day
week 17organised energy 52 replies
Three things this week. Anchored injection day to my shift pattern rather than to the calendar, which solved a problem I had been feeling guilty about for four months. Batch…
No news
week 16fine energy 23 replies
Three things this week. No news. The dog is well, the weather has been foul, and I have taken my medication on the correct day for the eleventh week running. Steady. That is…
Dreams
week 15rested energy 34 replies
Week in order: Vivid dreams, every night, the sort you have to sit up and shake off. Two other people in circle have the same and none of us can find anything written about…
Nothing to report
week 13fine energy 11 reply
Steady. That is the whole entry. An unremarkable week. Ate, walked, worked, slept adequately. This is what most of it looks like. No news. The dog is well, the weather has…
A different shape
week 11tired energy 24 replies
Three things this week. Vivid dreams, every night, the sort you have to sit up and shake off. Two other people in circle have the same and none of us can find anything…
Three cool bags and a thermometer
week 10organised energy 4
Batch cooked on a good day for the bad days. Six labelled boxes in the freezer and a great deal of smugness. Small logistics win: worked out where the pen actually lives in a…
Six labelled boxes
week 9pleased energy 53 replies
Week in order: Small logistics win: worked out where the pen actually lives in a fridge shared with four other people and a toddler's yoghurts. Tested three cool bags against…
She reduced it
week 7frustrated energy 22 replies
Week in order: A locum who had clearly read nothing. I was polite, I got what I needed, and I have booked with my own GP for next month. Nine minutes. I took three written…