Weight steadily dropping, now at 77kg I think. Mornings are quite hectic at times so don’t always remember to take or upload pic. Very very depressed for a few weeks, since i got on NDIS ironically. So much going on in my mind, only a small part of which i manage to convey to those around me, also every day
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Due to an unexpectedly rapidly deteriorating of R. van der Draay’s condition, DHM regrets the decision to at least delay any scheduled or mooted significant moves, investment consultations and the need to avoid any aspect of the editor’s dream to leave behind something of note behind along the lines of showcasing promising developments in the fields of telco and tech,
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No matter how shiny or bitchin’ any old new device may be, it’s not about the cold hardware .. it’s about the warm heartware Inspiration at a tech event, a while ago now but still works for me. +
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Love the story of how St. Francis took shelter from a sudden storm in a little ramshackle fallen-down country chapel, as he was winding his way happily walking through the fields of Tuscany (I’m assuming Assisi is in that part of Italy), doubtless talking to the assembled birds and creepy crawlies in their own animal lingo. While trying to keep
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Such sweet sorrow – As the world turns on its axes, with most civilians most scrambling to put together their lives again in some way now the CoRvid19 phase seems to be slowly ending, my lovely one too is working full pelt again and her own life’s responsibilities will of course be making more demands on her time. As they
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Not much energy to wield the old keyboard for too long but felt I just needed to pinpoint some hopeful glimmerings starting to appear in-between the ups and downs of the turmoil and pressure-cooker extravaganza that passes for my sojourn in this particular incarnation. First thing today I caught up with some dear friends at my new local, a lovely
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Sleeping in heavenly peace … Catholic churches are offering the homeless places to sleep in safety and peace. They provide blankets, fresh socks, basic hygiene kits, foot care, chaplaincy services, referrals to outside resources and even massage services and while visiting, are left to themselves to sleep, pray or just sit and relax out of the elements. Yes!
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Go Softly, Go Gently Go softly my sweet mother, Your work here now done. Return home to where once – – your life had begun. Those stories, how I’ll miss them, Of eleven kids in that tiny house. No mod cons or need for digital diversions. A house full of raucous laughter – certainly. Those stories and tales you
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On the first morning of my recent stay at Villa Van Gogh, still reeling from the night’s fun and games and the raw impression of being wheel-chaired from the Emergency ward I could still fool myself I was doing the right thing. All my swagger and Devil may care bollocks soon evaporated though when I realised how, after all those
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Will try to illustrate – am so tired of the never-ending explanation marathon – some key dynamics of my daily life atm as I once again try to get onto my knees, and then ever so slowly try to start walking again – all the while of course longing to run up the dunes in my birthday suit, admittedly showing
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What a classic, classy send-off! You can’t make this stuff up, well actually.. Much more to tell, much later. Am on a new cast-iron, workable, drug regime. Rest and incrementally making my way back to some plane where a few more things make near-sense are the order of the day. Left on the best of terms. And it had to
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UPDATE: Little did I know I had used all my vulpine trickery in pulling the strings of the well-intentioned but hopelessly clueless hard-working staff *) at the Anti-Sanctuary from which I had barely escaped with my life, only to find upon arrival in my once-secure private Wavertonian retreat, that the NDIS application just submitted a couple of weeks prior had..
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The terror of handover time CHECK OUT: Ricardian Health Dossier +
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Just got back from my customary 5 minute dash to the gemutlichkeit of getting a quick coffee and fruhstuck from E und T, cafe king and queen par excellence at Greenwood Shopping Centre. When times are tough, which is certainly the case for Muggins right now, I tend to revert back to that most ancient and powerful strain within my
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Trying to get some rest today – a very important priority – proved impossible. What was a unorthodox shy exhibitionist libertarian oddball to do? So in the end Muggins decided to turn his focus outward. Away from my own horrendous preoccupations and checked out my good friend’s new YT podcast venture: I think she’s a natural when it comes to
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Last week I was hoping to finally be put out of my misery, with the current solicitor in charge of glancing at the yellowing half-decayed pages of my file once in a blue moon having announced an update on whether or not it is deemed worth the legal eagles’ time to storm full pelt ahead and actually consider submitting my
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.. However, that doesn’t mean Muggins can’t go and catch up with his friends, the Five Dock Four and join them for a chill out session at their secret sanctuary. Thanks guys! Looking forward to kicking back and unwinding … after all, there is much to unwind. Gotta have a laugh, in fact … x+x
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For years I used to inflict my dad-joke type hilarious announcement of “I’ll be 29 already this upcoming birthday!” And yes, I enjoyed the groaning and half-smiles this invariably used to raise. Of course, this was when I had a family of my own to dadjoke around. I’ve recently started telling my family and one or two friends now, that
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Funny how one’s own mind can feel so detached and alien, almost hostile at times like some menacing crafty interloper; so familiar and yet so eerily uneasy at the same time. All my life I had been convinced that this tiny Marian medal, which apparently I sported when my new foster family first laid eyes on me on the
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Too much to ask for, somehow? What was he thinking, giving his all for a chance to live a few more years in relative comfort? And I love this one, ‘It’s far too expensive for you, too large anyway.’ Suppose following that logic, the minute I was diagnosed – five years ago – I should have crumbled and turned
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Forced to make a sleek sideways move again, this time though thoroughly enjoying the semi-cloak of invisibility offered by a new determination to no longer expose my inner workings such as they may be, to all and sundry whether they like to be privy to all that melancholy madness or not. Or as I put it to a friend, ‘a
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Most of my friends and family remember me pestering them to watch Heather’s startlingly informative and elegant video A Mountain at my Gate .. .. and how it inspired me to try and look beyond my own diagnosis, believing I too might yet have some goals left to achieve, albeit of course that once you’re plucked away from the rat
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I remember a fellow PD traveller once enjoying my turn of phrase in describing my struggle with getting onto some heavy duty PD dope. I too remember those heady days, and sadly at times feel not much has changed. I mean, I am forever grateful for new friends, lovely neighbours, supporting locals et cetera. But when I recall how I
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A close female friend – exasperated by some boorish behaviour on the part of perhaps one of our less enlightened brethren – asked me a few years ago why some/most/all men seem so preoccupied with the allure of all things feminine. [ I am paraphrasing ..] I can’t speak for anyone else. I do remember, however, telling her I believed
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Two beautiful sounding words .. could they be girls’ names? I remember once, in a Sainsbury’s in Kingswood, Bristol hearing a mum call out for her progeny in the next aisle: “Jericho! Leave those Wagonwheels alone, come on! We haven’t got much time!” I finds her choice choice of name gert lush. How about you, my luvverr? I am picking
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As the world’s multitudes prepare to take the bait currently being cooked up for them, fooling themselves that Gaia is merely having a hissy fit and teaching those nasty capitalist institutions a long overdue lesson, I find myself brought down to my knees once more. Far from secure in the knowledge that I would be deemed worthy to be permitted
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.. or how about some of these (s)experts try thinking outside of the box for a bloody change? Not being funny but how helpful really are these poncy pundits pontificating on something that actually for quite a few people could be a tad more vital than just another side-issue worthy of not much more attention than a few giggly column
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Of course, I have much more to say on the whole viral conundrum but for now, keep it simple & keep it local perhaps? If nothing else, although it seems like the ultimate post-modern Me-generation type crisis where, bizarrely but in terms of Zeitgeist itself so incredibly appropriately, the advice is not to band together but rather to find a
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No need to introduce this man, I think. That’s right, Mallory Keaton’s big brother ..
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Since writing this blog post and having learnt first hand from family and friends in Europe some of the extent to which the spread of the Crown virus has started to wreak havoc, I do of course express my support generally and prayers for those afflicted and those who have lost loved-ones – my attempt at acerbic wit notwithstanding.
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Still, happy to boost the programme. For Australian viewers streaming free on SBS On Demand:
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.. is how Stephen Fry quipped about his film role as the great Irish wit. Personally, I loved the writer’s one-liners or aphorisms almost as much as his plays or poems. After all, it’s hard for me not to like this little pearl: ‘I can resist anything except temptation ..’
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My sister used to call me Ricochet Rabbit when I was a wee lad. These days I feel more like Ricochet Roller Coaster or something. Perhaps it’s just me feeling I constantly have to play catch-up to events being rearranged, goal posts forever being moved hither and dither and the best-laid plans of mice and men as well as me
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Just about to watch Awakenings.. had really hoped to be able to watch it together with someone else but hey, what are you gonna do? I ain’t gonna hire someone to come and watch it with me .. I have seen it many moons ago, aeons before L-Dopa meant anything to me, certainly way before that unwelcome lodger Mr. Bloody
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.. just like a sacred cow, visions of swastikas in my head. Plans for everyone .. Yes, lots of plans for ROZ and DHM, as I managed to find a tiny layer of vim and vigour on the bottom a old jar I found. The label read Richo’s Special Reserves – Only to be used when all other stores
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Updates from Jessa, the Nude Blogger: NEW! Online Naked Yoga class now LIVE 🧘♀️ This week, I decided to teach a beautiful and nurturing gentle flow ✨ A flow designed to invite us to connect deeper with our body through slow and gentle stretches. A really beautiful way to induce stillness and calm. A magical opportunity to find contentment in the stillness
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Sometimes it dawns on me with some force that, all things considered, the single most volatile element in my life is a reliably unpredictable character trait, which finds its origin in my own rather unorthodox way of seeing things. In other words, as I joked to my carer C. early last week, “You must think I’m mad.” “Only sometimes,” she
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Following the demise of yet another valiant attempt by my intrepid PD medical support team to dream up some labyrinthine cocktail of L-Dopa and assorted agonists that could offer muggins the semblance of a baseline quality of life, it was back to the drawing board again yesterday as my specialist explained some of the remaining chemical pathways on offer. While
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Just one last recycled story ++ Returned home to a warm Wamberal embrace after yet some more rollercoaster days, with having to ditch my black beamer and following a temporary lifting of my spirits when, for a moment it seemed as though at long last I’d found a way forward in terms of tackling a persistent poisoned chalice related to
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Had quite a good day yesterday in terms of getting my point across and starting to see some real progress where my treatment is concerned – I will try to update the Diary of an Anti-Patient to provide a bit more detail. But then the quality of medical treatment was never a concern. And I know full well, I don’t
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Not a bad result after a decidedly underwhelming start to the day. Following an exhausting attempt at communication with, luckily just 50% of the mental health tag team visiting me this morning, I actually ended up a few hours later speaking to someone pleasant at CL Gosford and managed to get a few details amended. Then made an appointment to
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Just recently, on my way back from an event in San Jose, which included the option of experiencing a PD tremor San Andreas fault style, I skipped through the movies on the plane, the endless Big Bang Theory box sets, by the way not a patch on and in the end even glanced at the doco section. Of course, once
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Following a successful conference in Silicon Valley and some ultra-vexatious logistical hurdles while relocating to San Francisco, this morning I checked into a hotel in the Bay Area – mentally already able to sense the cool sheets that would soon be enveloping my aching bones. After two previous attempts to get suitable accommodation, relieved to find an agreeable attitude on
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In a country where not that long ago but certainly pre-Turnbull days, it would have been quite feasible to find oneself downing a scooner in shorts and T-shirt (I won’t say singlet) while standing at the bar of a hotel (read pub) next to the Prime Minister or other such exalted presence, equally dressed in a supremely casual fashion, I’m
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FAO of all those nice people all over the world who can’t help staring at my incessant fumbling, stumbling, stammering and shaking. Believe it or not, there is still a sentient being in there somewhere.
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Today is a good day .. + Play it again (and again and again), Sam ..
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Thank you to DilanThampapillai @TheDSingularity for throwing caution to the wind and publicly following Muggins on Twitter. Much appreciated, brave Sir Dilan. Fortune favours the Brave!
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