Melrick

I’ll try turning it off and on again, see if that helps.

My physics professor used to say, when something wasn’t working, that we should hit it. Fifty percent of the time, that would fix whatever was broken, and the other fifty percent of the time? Well, it was broken anyway and giving it a good thumping would make you feel better.  

Aw, the good old “percussive persuasion” @BronxWench?

Dear gods, man! You’d best keep us posted as to the results, although I imagine it’s going to make one hell of a photo album. 

I’ve had a few of those but never under anaesthesia. They usually give me a mild sedative that helps me relax, but I’m usually chatting away with the doctor and nurse, and watching the monitor while they do it. But I absolutely agree with you on the preparations. To describe it in a very vivid phrase, it’s like shitting the fires of Hell…   I’ll admit, the last two times I’ve gone in, my gastro told me not to prep, and I felt SO sorry for him. But he’s the expert, so he should know why he didn’t want the prep done…  

But please, keep us updated on the capsule’s journey, that will be a hoot to read, I’m sure  

Also, on a more serious note, I hope you get the all clear and that everything will be alright  

I’ll be sure to keep you all updated. lol

If you wind up back this way, we’ll go to JG Melon’s again, for a good burger and perfect Key Lime pie  

Years ago, while visiting a friend & his GF, we went into a steak place, pretty fancy, one look at the menu prices ($50 to start), it was like “nope”.  Went back to go with a frozen pizza (cooked, of course), way better decision.

JG Melon’s burger was genuinely the best burger I’ve ever had, and that key lime pie was sublime!  btw, we wouldn’t call anything like that a pie here, we’d call it a tart.  A pie is only something with a filling inside a pastry thing, like a meat pie.

Hopefully I’m never cursed by one of these procedures, but now I know to opt for the sedation.

With rare exceptions, when sedation is offered, it’s like Yogi Berra’s fork in the road.  You take it.

Drugs are your friend, at least in these situations! lol

Both the lizard and millipede fought hard for their lives, but they didn’t reckon with someone as stubborn as me.  And millipedes that large do not go down easy, let me tell you!  If it could have given me the finger, it would have.

I say Disney Princesses are allowed to kick ass, whether it be tarantulas, lizards, or millipedes, so Melrick keeps his tiara.  

Perfect. I concur with the above speaker   

I live closer to it, yet I’ve never climbed up it, nor been in NY.  (One flight I was on did overfly it, a bit over a decade ago now.)

It was really wonderful having you visit my home town, and although I didn’t do the Statue of Liberty, I have so many good memories from your time here!  

I loved my visit there.  I initially found the city to be intimidating as hell, but you helped settle me down, and then I felt I fitted in much better.

Yes, the government up here has also decided to not use the AstraZeneca vaccine for the under 50 crowd, because of those blood clot cases. But as far as I know they’re pretty much on schedule with the vaccine plans, so my parents (mum has underlying conditions, and dad’s turning 69 this year) should be up this month, and then hopefully I’ll be getting mine near the end of the month, start of May. And we’ve got decent control of the pandemic up here as well, although we had a fourth wave pick up just around Christmas, which is thankfully back under control. 

Let’s hope you guys stay on track with keeping Covid under control (knock on wood) and that you’ll get the jab soon. And I can only imagine how much stress it lifts for you that your mum is getting her jabs, and therefore getting some level of protection  

The health district that we live in is called the Hunter New England health district, which is nearly 132,000 square kilometres in size, just to give you an idea, and we haven’t had a single case of Covid for 251 days, so we’ve been living life pretty normally for quite a while now.  And here’s hoping that continues!

Alrighty then… Iceland is 103.000 km2  total     And we’re definitely not doing that well  Population is somewhere around the 350 000 mark now, I think. But I hope you guys keep doing that well, and that we’ll catch up eventually  

And my friends in NSW posted on FB yesterday, that there’s now also a plague of spiders running away from the flooding…  So, good luck with that, Melrick!

omg a plague of spiders and mice! remind me never to visit austraila! but be safe Melrick! guess i wont complain about the weather either

lol I read about the spiders.  I’m not bothered by spiders, so that doesn’t worry me.  Well, as long as the deadly ones stay outside.

Today was a day of sunshine!  Actually sunshine!  Man that feels good.  Some areas got 1 metre of rain in a 7 day period, which is about 3.3 feet.

I never met her either, but may she rest in peace.

May she be at rest, and may her loved ones find peace.

Too young.

Thank you, I appreciate it. 

Prayers for you & mum, Mel.  I’m very sorry to learn she has even more hurdles ahead. 

Thank you, Pitt. I don't think it pays to get old. 

Oh, the puns that can be had here… I think I’ll hold off….

I sea, but eye’m not one to hold back from puns. I might even make it a gull to throw around as many puns as possible. XD 

Resisting…. trying to avoid temptation …. about how shitty the day’s going, or how the head is full of it… resisting.

Sometimes your nerve endings in any part of your body can become sensitive or inflamed. I get it in the skin of my arms and legs on occassion. It’s not like a rash, it doesn’t get discoloured and the texture doesn’t change, it’s just increasingly sensitive to touch and cold, and sometimes can get painful. When it comes to the nipples, specifically, it’s a naturally sensitive part of your body. More so for some people than others, regardless of gender. It cooould be sign of a hormonal shift, which could be caused by food your eating, or medical issues, medications.

Since this is the second time, I’d consider what has changed about your routine around the time that it started. You can also go to a naturopath and request a full hormone workup, which is pretty much just a spit test where they ship it off and give you a report of your hormone levels. At least in canada, GPs will only test your testosterone and estrogen, but you got more hormones than that, lol. 

Just so  long as it’s not bad sunburn. Dear gods, that’s unpleasant as the hells… 

Nope definitely not a sunburn.  I’m a guy, so my normal routine is to wait until things are actually hanging out or falling off before going to the doctor.  But if it does it again then I might do something about it.  Or possibly wait for it to do it another 15 or 20 times first. lol

Sounds great!

I’m jealous!  But seriously, I’m glad you had a chance to have a picnic at lakeside—there’s nothing better!

Well, that wouldn’t surprise me, but we’re glad to have you back!

  Fingers crossed, mine should be restored this evening.

Here’s hoping!  It’s boring without the internet.

i told ya you need to pay your bill Melrick! butttt nooooooo! lol 

It's like being back in the 80's again.  Well, apart from the mobile phone.

Feel your pain, mine's out too, so I won't confirm checking in at work....

     An island that’s also a nation and a continent does seem a little too fictitious.  No, that can’t be right.  Hugh Jackman is real, is he not?  Now New Zealand on the other hand, I’ve never actually seen someone from there...

@Praetor Hobbits are very good at making sure they’re not seen, that’s just in the nature of a hobbit.

I’m just glad my girlfriend isn’t Australian.  At least she isn’t imaginary.

Thank you, and wish your mum a belated happy Mother’s Day from over here!

Yep she’s on blood thinners, which should hopefully deal with the possible blood clots, but they don’t stop the actual atrial fibrillations, which can be pretty devastating for her on its own.

And she’s probably not well enough for surgery, unless they could do a minimally invasive Maze procedure or something. Sorry it’s been so tough.

Yeah surgery seems out of the question.  Ah well, we just have to cross our fingers and hope things improve somehow.  Just one of the joys of growing old I guess.

I think I’m smitten! I’m going to have to read up on rules, and then watch more, but this looks far more interesting than I’d imagined. Thank you!

lol You’re welcome!

I know, it’s a pain, isn’t it? (And now they’ll change something yet again and we can all pull our hair out anew...)

Thank you for the time and effort!

It’s not that they’re difficult, just time consuming.  And when you’re sitting here sweating to death, it makes the time pass even more slowly.  But yeah, they’re fine for now, until the next change! 

I probably wasn’t very clear in my reply. I’ve been feeling less than enthusiastic about my writing lately, but my co-authored stories are very enjoyable, and I look forward to writing with both my co-authors. The subjects of the stories are very different, yes, and the stories each have different styles, but I have no particular need to write in one style, so I enjoy that as well. I adore Pip and Willow both, and I’d be happy writing a shopping list with either of them.

Let’s start @BronxWench shopping list:

• Whips
• Chains
• Butter, both soft and hard
• Produce, lots of produce

You forgot wine and chocolate, @Desiderius Price

Honestly, this whole conversation is beginning to make me wonder whether Melrick will actually survive his first visit to a snowy, cold place  or if it will just be like, Melrick steps off the plane, gets all the way to the exit of the airport and then just goes, “Nope, fuck this shit, it’s too cold...” and then turns around and goes back home to Hell… ::cough, cough:: I meant, Australia… 

I could handle the cold season by Melrick just fine, but sadly, I’m not looking to run away then. And even as heat-seeking as I am, without the occasional foray into air conditioning, I’d not last in the hot season there. 

But you know, I used to say the same thing to ShadowKnight, who swore he would love snow, and cold weather.

I don’t know how I’d handle truly cold weather.  The coldest winter day time temperature here is maybe 10C degrees, and even then I honestly can’t remember the last time it got down that low.  A 15C degree day is a bloody cold one to me.  So sub zero would probably freak me out.  It would be fun to experience, but probably for a few seconds only, and then I’d be awful keen to find a nice roaring fire nearby. lol

You’re welcome to move… currently it is windy enough to make the rain come in sideways, and a balmy 1°C That’s 33.8°F for you temperature challenged folks  

@Melrick Steaks?  A little aluminium foil, and should be able to cook it as desired.

@WillowDarkling Oh stop, you’re making me jealous! lol

@Desiderius Price  That would have probably worked.  Although much like our lawn, my appetite dries up in extreme heat.