h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Well how are you?. I haven't been on H2g2 for ages so I thought I would have a wee visit whilst working tonight in the world of Sky. So what have you been up to? heres hoping you are now totally settled into your new home.

Hellooo back!

So you remembered this place then?!

My mum and David were actually in Belfast most of this week visiting mums very sick cousin, 'R'(you never know who might read this from your neck of the woods)! In fact they went over to say goodbye and attend his funeral, that's how sick he was! 'R' was given no more than 3 or 4 hours to live on Monday night, so they flew over Tuesday morning. He has some sort of cancer and after an operation to cut out his colen, part of his bowel and a bit of his stomach his blood wasn't clotting at all. He was leaking blood as fast as they put it in, hence they said he wouldn't live long. They had tried everything to clot his blood and it wasn't happening.

You'll remember it was 'R' that I was over visiting with Mum last time i was in Belfast? Remember i said he's a little difficult for some people to get on with? Well as a consequence he's kind of allienated some people over the years including his son and daughter who haven't spoken to him for over 10 years. Mum gets on well with 'R' and my brother Michael was recently getting on well with him- 'R' has mellowed a bit and is easier to take in his older age! Michael was quite upset when he heard the news, as he had planned to fly over from Vienna this weekend to see him, when he heard he was going in for an operation. Although serious, 'R' certainly wasn't saying any goodbyes and there was no indication that he wouldn't wake up from the operation, so it was all a bit of a shock when the surgeon said he wasn't going to recover.

Anyway the morning after he was supposed to be dead, he was still with us, so the doctors decided to try a new drug to see if it would clot his blood. Sure enough it worked and he's now recovering and could be well enough in a few days to possibly start chemo! Do you know how much this new drug cost though...? £7000 per treatment ! So although i was all for slagging off the NHS and how they tend to have made a lot of errors with many people i've known (in this researchers opinion..) in this case they were really quite amazing in offering him this very expensive drug on the NHS. Mum says though that the hospitals in Belfast seem to be a lot better and more clean/efficient than the ones in Scotland, so he probably wouldn't have lived here, as they probably wouldn't have spent the money*. They've probably got more experience treating badly wounded people in Northern Ireland though! Tell you what- i know where i want to be taken if i get seriously ill !

News at present is that 'R' is slowly becoming concious as the Morphine wears off and his son and daughter have visited and made up with him, saying they can hardly even remember why they all fell out! Amazing how things work out sometimes isn't it?

Was a bit worried about Catriona past few weeks as she had a fast growing hard lump in her arm that was causing pain and cutting off feeling. It ended up about 3 inches across. Doc gave her antibiotics but when they did nothing, she was sent to the hospital. They gave her stronger anti-biotics saying lump wasn't ready to be cut out. They said it seems to be some kind of infected cyst. Anyway, stronger antibiotics didn't work so she was back in last week and had it cut out under local anesthetic, leaving a nice big open wound. They wouldn't stich it up and they want any nasties to be able to escape. So she was back in this morning and they seem happy with the healing. No word about the biopsy so we assume they found nothing sinister.

Took Thursday and today off as i want to use up holidays as fast as i can .... looking hard for a new job presently - I've just had enough of where I am now. If i don't use up holidays and i got another job, they would only pay me for pro-rata number of days hols left. As it's almost half way through year and i've only used a couple of days, i would lose out! Had an interview last week for a production assistant at an energy company, using HTML programming. Didn't get job as skills required were a bit ahead of me. I use a bit of HTML at work for the website, but not to the level they needed. Had another interview today for an Online shop manager for an outdoors store, and it went much better. Might be a week or two before i know anything though.

Come to think of it, I didn't actually apply for either of these jobs. Just agencies finding my CV online.

Not much other news from me. All settled in now in house and we've just discovered a bus that takes us to the door of the pub we go to for quiz on Thursdays, so happy days!

Not sure why i'm posting this here instead of just sending an email ...

*I do hope none of this is libelous

Well guess what i'm back in Sky working today, so what else would there be to do but read the only site we can get access to apart from sky!!. It was by pure chance that I actually discovered it worked. I was on the sky website and there was a link to the bbc, so I clicked on it expecting the usual no permission contact your administrator crap, but lo and behold off it flew to bbc, so i went to the A-Z menu and clicked on h2g2 home page link and well here i am as happy as a pig in sh**e!!.

Sorry to hear about 'R', I actually thought he was dead when I was reading your posting, but sounds like he is on the mend.... he better watch out for the dreaded MSRA !!!.

The lump you said Catrina has, I remember I had one of those right under my arm pit and it was sooo sore, but mine burst and released all this pussy stuff and that was the end of it, never bothered again by it. So hopefully hers is on the mend too.

I have been put down to 2 days a week with my health and safety job, but fortunately this will only last for a week as they have discovered I have a wee head for figures, so just happened one of the girls that works in finance is pregnant and leaving at the end of May, so I'm getting her job for the other 3 days , all came at the right time... maybe there is a god!!.
The health and safety job i applied for, well thats a whole new story now, the guy rang me to tell me i had got the job, i was over the moon but then he told me he had decided not to take on any further employees due to the credit crunch!!.... so what the hell was the point in telling me i had got the job and getting my wee hopes all up. So still scanning the job paper and signing up with all the agencies.. fingers crossed i will get something soon.

So thats about all my news for you now, must continue to help these totally useless people that keep calling me !! talk to you soon.

Health and safety eh? Could you do a wee risk assesment please of the Mater hospital in Belfast with regard to MRSA and chances of getting said infection in said establishment?

I'll pay you a pint of the blackstuff next time i'm over.

Risk Assessment of the said place completed - general concensus is do not go to said place or any of its relatives!!.
Then you have a slightly greater chance than anorexic of not getting the said infection!!!