07 September 2004 - 9:58 a.m.

newborns chookies inside an incubator at work

i am the worst friend ever.

i had another pretty harrowing week, with the "sore throat of death" (it felt like two knives, one on each side of my throat) turning into a massive head cold that lasted all weekend, which has evolved into one of those nasty barking coughs smokers get. given my recent "health" history, i thought it would be a good idea to go to the doctor. the only problem was that i hadn't left home in three or four days because i was too weak and had almost fainted after a shower on sunday. i didn't trust myself to take a tram to the doctor's office and back.

i called kylie yesterday and asked her if she wouldn't mind accompanying me to the appointment. keep in mind that i was pretty sure she had the day off, and she lives a 2-minute walk from my place. she was fantastic about the whole thing and offered multiple times to make soup. it wasn't until after she left that i discovered her mobile [cell phone] on my table. when she came to pick it up, she let it slip that it was her BIRTHDAY. i thought she was joking at first, but she wasn't. how bad did i feel?

i had actually been thinking her birthday must be soon, but i didn't remember when, and she certainly hadn't given out any hints. but still - it was one of those days when you are really thankful to have such a nice friend and know you owe her big time, and it just happened to be her birthday. oh boy.

so even if you don't know kylie, please wish her a happy birthday for me.

i am now on antibiotics for bronchitis and possibly sinusitis. yay. honestly, though, it's great to have something treatable, something with a name that people recognise, rather than some weird, random long-term virus, which, according to the doctor and naturopath, i probably still have.

they've classified me as "post-viral", whatever that really means.

i was given a lecture last week about how i need to treat my health as precious and treat myself as if i'm a sick person, even if i'm feeling well, because my energy levels are quite low at the moment. i am such a nanna, it's hopeless. when i saw the doctor yesterday, i told her i was only able to knit three rows of a super chunky scarf on the weekend before having to take a nap, and she laughed (and rightly so). she told me to drive to the park and sit on the bench in the sunshine like the little old ladies do. i am glad i have a funny doctor.

frankly, i care more about being able to attend the upcoming mark k. show (with cigarette smoke) than the newspaper getting out on time. it's true. maybe i have a bad attitude, but s**t happens, and if there wasn't a contingency plan made the last time i was bedridden, then surely this is the test.

-----

in other news, i have stolen claire's "year of the homemade gift" idea and am planning to knit something for each member of my family (eight in total, if you count buddy the dog and my "adopted" brother pepe) for christmas. i have my sister, sister-in-law and mom sorted it out, but my oldest brother is proving to be the challenge. hats are uncomfortable for him, and he hasn't once worn the sole scarf he owns. any ideas for knitted man-gifts (tee hee) that won't take up too much time or money? he has size-12 feet, so i'm not sure slippers would qualify as a small project.

i think i have changed my attitude about gifts. in the past, i have been very strict about getting people only what i think they would truly use and appreciate and have been told by many that i have a gift-giving knack, but this whole knitting thing has changed that a bit. sherry got a scarf for her birthday that probably took me 30 hours to knit on tiny needles that look like elongated toothpicks. it was made with love and with her in mind, but will she ever wear it? i don't know. i don't know what possessed me to do it, either, because the old me surely wouldn't have bothered.

sherry's birthday scarf

sime and i saw this palm reader on our anniversary last year (he approached us, in a restaurant, mind you), who said i am becoming more flexible and less set in my ways as i get older. maybe that has something to do with the gift-giving, and - for the first time in my life - i am taking to heart the adage "it's the the thought that counts". a bloody lot of time and work i'll be spending on "thoughts", though, don't you think? if someone understands why i would even bother to knit things i am unsure people will use/wear, please explain it to me.

-----

my web hosting company for my other site has recently added lots of free upgrades to my account, and i am considering moving my personal site over there. i don't want potential employers finding this one, though, so i haven't yet figured out what i'm going to do. both sites are in definite need of a redesign, that's for sure.