I dreamed a dream…or two

29 Aug 2012 Leave a comment

by Carole Gardiner in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , ,

Last week on 2 consecutive nights I had 2 unusual dreams:

In the first dream I was about to have a cardiac procedure done, when the nurse pulled back my gown I had a hairy chest that would give Burt Reynolds a run for his money. Funnily enough I was so traumatised by this sight that I woke abruptly and never found out what happened to me and my new found forest.

The following night I dreamt that my son and I went to Bill and Hiliary Clintons house in the USA. My son needed to speak to Bill about a very important matter and went off upstairs. I was left with Hiliary and I was asking her to help me buy supplies for a wedding I was organising, she wrote down the contact details of someone to help me and put it in a wooden frame for me.

As I have written in another post I am very interested in dreams and what they mean, so I dusted off my trusty dream book to try and find the meaning behind these night time mind adventures.

To dream about the heart represents ‘feeling’ wisdom, as opposed to intellectual wisdom, and compassion and understanding. Dreaming of hair indicates strength and virility, the chest area can represent feeling overwhelmed and being confronted by something dangerous. I’m not really sure what to make of this dream, only that at the moment I am a bit overwhelmed by the whole process of getting my honorary contract and getting back to work. But I am trying to remain positive through it all and keep my temper especially when making phone calls to the recruitment department!

The second dream analysis was a bit more tricky because there isn’t a section in the dream book for American presidents! However to dream of famous people can indicate a projection of the type of person the dreamer wants to be. I have no desire to be the president of the United states, but I am an admirer of Hiliary Clinton, she is a strong and successful woman in the seemingly male dominated world of USA politics, who wouldn’t want to be like that.

I couldn’t find any reference to a wooden frame in my book, so I don’t know what that was about. But having a wedding or making preparations can mean the uniting of 2 particular parts for the dreamer which need to come together in order to create a better whole.

I could probe deep into my psyche to discover some ying/yang type of thing that needs to be resolved. But I just think it’s representing the need to be with my hubby Hasan ……as simple as that.

Snip Snip

27 Aug 2012 2 Comments

by Carole Gardiner in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , ,

At the weekend, in Turkey, my hubby Hasan went to his cousin’s circumcision party, known as Sünnet.

It was an occasion of much merriment involving family and friends, food and dancing in the boy’s village.

In Muslim faith boys are circumcised and it symbolises their introduction to the Islamic faith and as a sign of belonging. The ritual can be done as early as up to 7 days of age or as late as the beginning of puberty, in Turkey the boys tend to be around the age of 6 or 7.

The boys are dressed up in a traditional costume and can be driven through their town or village accompanied by their family and friends beeping horns and banging drums.

The procedure is done by a doctor with local anaesthetic or sometimes none at all.

 

 

 

When researching for this post I became puzzled about the reasons behind this practice. Circumcision is not mentioned in the Qur’an and it teaches that Islam forbids the disfiguring of the body.

However the prophet Mohammed said, (according to his recordings in the Sunnah), that circumcision was akin to Fitrah, the natural cleanliness of man, which is essential in a Muslim male.

Whatever the religious reasons for it, it’s argued by some that being circumcised can bring health benefits such as the prevention of urinary tract infections, reduces the risks of sexually transmitted diseases and penile cancer.

I often wonder when I read about these customs in my husband’s land and culture, what I would do if we had a son together.

Would I consent to him having an unnecessary and potentially painful surgical procedure in the name of a religion I don’t share?

What do you think?

Sweet and sour

25 Aug 2012 Leave a comment

by Carole Gardiner in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , ,

In the week I had a phone call to inform me that my occupational health clearance was ready and my last reference had been collected and verified. So I was officially offered the healthcare assistant position on the  nurse bank at the new South  Bristol Community hospital.

I start an induction week from the 3rd of September, to do all the mandatory training such as manual handling, fire safety, health and safety and lots of other exciting stuff like that. Then I will be let loose on the wards to work when I’m able and when they want me.

At least then I’ll have something to do as I still don’t have my CRB to enable me to start my nurse practice for my Return to nurse practice course. Last week I found out the reason why I had not received it…. the form was never sent!

I phoned the CRB helpline to discover that they had no record of me. A call to the recruitment department told me that all my paperwork for the honorary contract was handed over to the person doing the checks for the hospital job. Unfortunately the urgency of time was not handed over and the importance of the CRB check for my honorary contract was lost.

So what now? well I wait. Apparently, at the moment, the checks are taking on average 9 days to be returned. In the meantime I have been liaising with the management team on the unit to meet my mentor to go through my objectives and competences. I’ve identified any competences  I can achieve without being on the unit and will get my teeth into those.

If the CRB comes back within 2 weeks I’m confident I can fit in the hours I need to do before the beginning of November.

I live in hope.

Don’t want to play anymore

22 Aug 2012 6 Comments

by Carole Gardiner in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , ,

I must admit I’m getting a little despondent about fat club. Last week at weigh-in I gained 1 pound, that doesn’t probably doesn’t sound like much but Weight Watchers state in their bumph that if you follow the eating plan you are guaranteed to steadily lose weight.

I discussed this weight gain with our group leader and she went through all the usual suspects like; is my period due, (I had a total hysterectomy in 1997..so no), I’ve gone over my extra pro points, I’ve not tracked my food properly or miscalculated the point value of my food.

I informed her that none of the above applied and I’d done nothing differently than the weeks I’d lost weight. I am extremely anal about weighing and measuring my food, I write down everything I eat and track my pro points to within an inch of their lives!

Our leader then said to go home and go over what I’d written for the week and maybe something will jump out at me where I  might have gone wrong, needless to say I didn’t find anything.

This week, after a week similar to all the others I’ve had since starting Weight Watchers, I lost 1 and a half pounds.

I felt so demoralised last week I couldn’t even write a post about the weigh-in like I normally do. I am encouraged by this weeks weight loss, but really it is only half a pound because I needed to lose the pound I gained last week.

Next week is Bank holiday so there is no fat club, maybe that’s a good thing, I think I need a break from the weigh-in.

It’s a miracle

19 Aug 2012 Leave a comment

by Carole Gardiner in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , ,

I’m beside myself with happiness and relief today, and what I hear you say could have brought on these feelings of joy?

Well I decided this morning today was the day I was going to tackle the online numeracy test that I have to pass as part of the Return to nurse practice course.

Doing any kind of maths has always put the fear of God into me, I only got the minimum requirement needed to do my original nurse training and have bluffed my way through ever since then.

Luckily for me, we get 2 hours to do the test and 5 attempts to get a mark of over 80%. So not an impossible task unless, like me, you have a non-aptitude for figures and then it’s like a mountain to climb.

So imagine my surprise when I passed first time with a mark of 88%! I could not believe it.

That is another thing ticked off the list and I’m glad it’s out of the way.

 

So close I can almost smell it

18 Aug 2012 Leave a comment

by Carole Gardiner in Uncategorized Tags: , , , ,

I had a phone call yesterday from Human Resources and my occupational health clearance is now ready.

So now the only thing standing in the way of getting on with the practical part of my Return to nurse practice course is my CRB.

I have to admit I’m fed up with saying I hope it doesn’t take long to come through, because I’ve been saying that for weeks now. At this rate I’ll be squeezing in all the 100 hours I need to complete in a couple of weeks, and run the risk of a relapse of my illness.

It’s very difficult at the moment to remain positive.

But I am encouraged that yesterday I helped my friend move out of her house, we were very busy cleaning, moving things and making many trips to and from the car. I was very tired when I got home last night and this morning when I woke up, but I didn’t feel like I was going to slip into a post exertion coma like I would have done normally when I overdid any activity.

So when my CRB is eventually ready I’m sure that I’ll be able to work without feeling like I’ve died after every shift, which is always a bonus!

Where were you when…..

16 Aug 2012 Leave a comment

by Carole Gardiner in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , ,

On this day 35 years ago the King died.

The King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley, was found dead at the age of 42 from a suspected massive heart attack in 1977.

As I wrote in my last post, my dad was Elvis’s biggest fan and his music was played a lot in our house and that’s how I became a massive fan too.

It’s often asked, where were you when you heard Elvis was dead.

I was with my family on our annual holiday in Weymouth when we heard the sad news. My dad was devastated and I think it was the first time I saw him cry. I was only 10 and a bit bewildered at the time, but later understood what was going on.

To this day my Elvis songs are constantly played on my ipod and will continue to be enjoyed for many years.

My 15 minutes of fame

15 Aug 2012 2 Comments

by Carole Gardiner in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

After reading Jack Scott’s post on Perking the Pansies about his radio show appearance, it got me thinking about my very brief moment of stardom on the radio waves. My claim to fame is not nearly as exciting as Jack’s, but nevertheless it was good for me.

A few years ago our local radio station, known then as GWR, was doing a daily slot called ‘Four play’. Listeners were invited to contact the station with 4 songs; their favourite song at the time, their song they dance like their dad to, the song to turn up their speakers to and the song that makes them cry. The presenter would then do a quick interview about the reasons behind the choices and it was edited and played back in the show.

I listened to that show quite often and decided I should let Bristol know about my favourite tunes.

My favourite song at the time was Take That’s ‘Shine’, I liked the song because they had just reformed and I never really was a big fan of the band first time around, I felt it was much better than their old stuff.

My first choice for the song that made me dance like my dad was ‘Suspicious Minds’ by Elvis Presley because my dad was a huge Elvis fan and he actually won a prize once for dancing when he was in the RAF. But alas they didn’t have that one so I had to think of something else, my son suggested ‘Get down on it’ by Kool and the Gang as there is some ancient video evidence of his dad dancing to this somewhere.

The song to turn my speakers up to was ‘Summer of 69’ by Bryan Adams. I have been a fan of Bryan for many years and have seen him live in London, Birmingham, Cardiff and Bristol and I adore him…enough said!

I always cry when I hear ‘These are the days of our life’ by Queen. I am a massive, lifelong fan of Queen and I loved Freddie Mercury. Like many people I was upset when he died and the video for the song is just heartbreaking because of Freddie’s appearance. It was the last video he made before he died and he was just so thin and fragile, but still he managed to perform for the camera to thank the fans for all the support over his fantastic career.

He is truly a legend…

Proud to be British

14 Aug 2012 Leave a comment

by Carole Gardiner in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

One of the benefits of having to wait for my CRB to be done was having the time to watch the Olympics. For the last 2 weeks the TV has been on constantly and my blog has been temporarily neglected except for the weekly update of my adventures in fat club land.

It’s impossible for me to name my most favourite moment or even moments from the games. I think it’s all been fabulous; all of Team GB’s medals, the opening and closing ceremonies, the support of the spectators and the feelings of pride and elation that seem to be nationwide.

I have watched a variety of sports, some that I don’t normally have an interest in such as handball and judo. But I was glued to gymnastics, I was so impressed with the success of Great Britain’s teams.

It’s so fantastic to see British gymnasts in medal positions now as it’s only been that way for the last few years. Every Olympics since Munich 1972 I have watched the gymnastics competition and I couldn’t name one British gymnast from those early years through to the new millennium, but I could  rattle of a list of Romanian and Russian gymnasts as they dominated the medal podiums for many years.

Ours teams did us proud, the men’s team got a bronze in the team event, only the second time in a 100 years. In the pommel horse final Louis Smith got the silver and the bronze went to Max Whitlock.

But in my opinion the best of all was Beth Tweddle who is our most successful gymnast to date, she has been world champion 3 times and she added to this by getting the bronze medal in the uneven bars with a breathtaking routine.

This medal was the icing on the cake of Beth’s very successful career, bringing recognition to British gymnastics and catapulting it onto the international stage. She deserves every congratulations she receives.

The curse is lifted…I hope

06 Aug 2012 4 Comments

by Carole Gardiner in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , ,

This week at fat club I lost half a pound.

That doesn’t seem like much, but it’s broken the curse of the every other week “stay the same weight” curse that has plagued me during my Weight Watchers journey.

I am disappointed with the small weight loss, but I’m so pleased that I didn’t stay the same again. It’s so demoralising when I’ve followed the diet religiously and find when I jump on the scales that I’ve only lost half a pound or God forbid stayed the same weight as the week before.

Our new leader is a very good motivator and had us working in groups tonight to talk about how to cope when faced with take away foods and what to eat when out and about on days out. It was good to share ideas with the rest of the group and we had a giggle.

I only have 3 and half pounds to lose and I’d have lost 1 stone, lets hope that’ll be next week.

 

Previous Older Entries