Birthday and Other celebrations.

 My actual birthday was on the 10th it's now the 12th and I had lots of lovely messages from friends and family all across the world. Opened my gifts whilst Zooming with family back in Keele Road. And also had a nice long phone call with cousin Oli and uncle Harold. Harold is doing pretty well all things considered. 

Latter had a birthday dinner around at Emily's with Emily and Renee whilst we watched funny documentries.  And while I opened my gifts from them 

On the 11th I had a Zoom picnic with Mandy and Sam, which was a great deal of funny they where together and I was there via Zoom and we spent time together in a park. 

Latter on had another celebration with Emily and Renee and Matt (Remotely).  

So all in all my birthday was a great deal of fun, amazingly so given all that is going on in the world. Not sure I'm going to talk about that given the continuing disasters of Trump, Covid-19, and Brexit.  I haven't been able to go back home to Stoke in months and even though I Zoom home every day it isn't the same. 

On an entirely different note, I think I have decided or at least all but decided to undertake a PhD, which given how the last one went is pretty amazing. (But I'm not going to do anything hasty-well I never do, do I).

Panda is still bring me joy. Albeit that he is at times a very naughty cat. 

I continue to do my study with Tina and with Francesca. So not much has change really. Largely thanks to Covid.

A General up-date on life.

 Rather amazingly I am still in lock-down. It is not quiet as intense as when I last posted (this has only happened in the last two weeks or so) I now see Emily face to face and indeed Reinne (although not as much) but even there we are careful not to come to near to each other and certainly not to make physical contact. And when I get back to my flat I'll use hand sanitiser. 

I have also a made a few and I mean a few trips to the nearest shop-dressed as if I was back in the lab. And they are of course restricting how many people they let in at one time. And all this at a time when the number of Covid-19 cases is relatively low. But it does look as if a second wave is about to start. I sincerely hope I am wrong about that. But wow has this been going on for a long time. 

It also means that I haven't been home, but I continue to Zoom mum everyday so really we are seeing more of each other than we did before but it's not the same. 

Yesterday I had a medical appointment which necessitated one of my rare leavings of the house. My first proper one in ages (literally months) as it turns out they had changed it into a telephone consolation but had failed to tell me, which was rather irksome. So I had a phone consolation sitting in the waiting room. The upshot of which is they are going to try and increase the dosage of one of my drugs (the last one that isn't at it's full dosage already). And see if it helps. I'm also going to have an other MRI to monitor my hpyacampi if they are course of my problems then there isn't much that can be done and I'll just have to learn to live with it. 

So all in all neither a positive or a negative meeting. 

In my real life (if you can put it that way) I've left twitter but much of my life was on-line but twitter was just making me depressed. I've kept in contact with a couple of friends I made there espically with one called Laura. Some Twitter friends are real friends. And I think all in all my descision to leave was the right one for me. 

Panda is now very settled in, and much more demanding which is good. A bit irrating but he's so sweet he can get away with it. Do wish he would pee on the floor so much. 

And already (somehow) the High Holy Days are drawing near.

Well that's brought things up to date. 

A Time of Reflection

Covid-19 and Anniversaries

This time of year is always one of reflection for me because it is so filled with anniversaries. Some happy, and some (shall we say less so). On Wednesday the 1st of July it will be a full six years since my first big seizure (one change is that I can now spell seizure, this is a joke by the way so you're allowed to laugh).

But mainly the changes have all been physical. I tire so very easily and indeed I need to have a sleep mid-afternoon almost everyday and if for some reason I have to skip a day then I'm going to be very adversely effected the following day to the point where I will be unable to do anything. 

My memory is still shot to pieces, which also makes functioning very difficult. I write everything down and I mean everything but even so getting by is hard. Remember to do all the little (and not so little things I need to do) and then remembering what I've done. Both in an administive sense but also an autobiographical one. Lot's of things go, maybe most things things aren't fully intact until 2010, which is now getting to be a very long time ago. 

But I have now accepted that I'm not going back to the Old-Adam, but I probably said that last year it's a slow process. 

But the new-(ish) problems arising from my Seizure and Epilepsy et al combined with my old problems because of Neurofibromatosis  do make me anxious for my future.  

On a more positive note Friday (the 3rd) is the 3rd anniversary of getting Olive and she has brought a lot of happiness to Emily, Renee and my lives. Even if she can be rather demanding at times. 

But I have my own cat now, Panda who is not without his own demands.  Indeed I had to stop typing this to go prevent him peeing on the floor. Cats! 

But he's a lovely chap. 

There are some other anniversaries as well. But the big one is on Sunday July 5th. 5 years since ordination and of course 10 since starting this whole journey and of meeting Emily. 

In the outside world. Covid-19 is still sweeping the world and the UK and I've been in basically total self-isolation, I see Emily and Renee but even there I'm careful not to make physical contact. 

Mum has also been isolating but I've been Zooming with her every day for a chat and to study the weekly Torah reading.  Then of course there is my weekly Talmud Study with Tina.  As her girls were home from school I got to 'meet' them, they're lovely and they got to meet Panda. They were very taken with him. 

So even during Lock-down I've been far from lonely. If anything I've been more sociable than normal. 

Well that's brought us up to date

On Lock-Down

Because of the Coronavirus I along with lots of the UK am on lock-down the situation is very serious as its already killed a lot of people here in the UK and many many more worldwide. So because of my now many underlying health conditions I'm self-isolating in my flat so basically just me and Panda although I see quite a bit of Emily and Renee we are taking care not to come into contact with each other.
The world already feels like a very different place, both here and all over indeed I am told that the enviromental impact can already be felt as can a return to nature in that animals are returning to places they haven't been for a long time.  It's sobering to realise quite how speedily the planet would be reclaimed if we disappeared.
Emily is very stressed because of the people who are dying at EHDRS as well as all the pastoral care she is having to do. Indeed her colleague has died which is destressing for everyone.

One effect of the whole CV thing is it has prompted me to really make an effort to speak with Rebecca so we have had a couple of really long conversations. I've also been in contact with Helen and Rosie. All four of us are going to try and have a Zoom together.  Additionally I've been phone mum every day. We study that day's section of the Torah reading this gives a nice structure and its also good because mum's in isolation as well. 

I've also had a lovely long chat with Anika, and with Sarah. So it's really been a time of re-connection with friends and family and all it took was a pandemic.  But it's brought things into focus and shown me what's important.

My regular weekly Talmud study and chat with Tina continues which is also a bright spot in my day. So thanks to elecetronic media I am being fairly sociable and I am not to destressed although I am a little.

On a different note Matt interviewed me for a project he's doing on the Golden Rule. And I've written a Taste of Limmud (to be published soon).

And that I think brings you mostly up to date.

A week of anniversiers

First of all an apology this post is comming from my IPad and as such the spelling might be even more idiosyncratic than normal, my laptop died and is currently in Stoke with Rebecca seeing if it can be repaired. But between my phone and this I am managing okay.

Again not much has changed since my last posting. I've completed the training at AgeUK and have started making home visits, which I am enjoying a great deal.  I'm still hanging out with Panda (altnuecat). And studying Talmud with Tina and Francesca.  Today marks 5 years since my first big seizure and now as always when a mile stone like this roles by the more I become aware that at the time, and indeed for ages there after I had not realised how utterly life changing it was going to be, and that I now a accept that I'm going to have to reassures and recalculate what I'll be able to do more or less on a permit ate bases. I can still basically manage one thing a day, yesterday I did a visit with the elderly gent I'm visiting though AgeUK it was a pretty long visit and I enjoyed it and I'm pretty sure that he did too but I was utterly wiped out by the time I got back indeed I only just made it back to the flat in time (the only reason I remember this is because of the detailed notes I made at the time).

Tomorrow is also an anniversary, an anniversary in that case of getting Olive. Unlike the above this is a very positive anniversary. She has made a big and positive impact on my life and I think on Emily's as well.

I have also been continuing with Daf Yomi which has been a mixed bag but over all very positive. Today's daf has been was practically interesting (Arachin 16).

And of course the big Anniversiry is on Friday. 4 years since ordination, which means it's nine years since going to Jerusalem and starting this whole journey (3312) days. Wow just
wow.

A General UP.

Basically there is nothing new under the sun as they say. My heath problems continue without getting better and without worse. I'm still in my 'newish' flat and still seeing lots of both Emily and Renee. And I'm still basically unable to work.

That said I'm doing some voluntary work. Both with JAMI and with AgeUK so that's something but again right on the limit of what I can do and even that is not that much really.

I taught a mini-course on Talmud which was fun and might lead to doing an On-going on. Again on a voluntary bases. If I do do one I think I think we'll Tractate Ta'anit its short and pretty interesting.

Again on Talmud I'm continuing to do Daf Yomi of which rather remarkably the end is in sight. January 2020. And once a week I study talmud (separately with two people) Tina and Francesca. Wow is this post heavy on Talmud which I guess reflects my priorities in life.

I had my week long stay in the national Epilepsy Centre which was interesting but the results don't seem to have come back as decisive as I had hoped but we shall see where it leads, if anywhere.

I'm not sure if I have already mentioned this in this blog but I have a new cat Altneucat (a new old cat). He's a rescue and pretty beat up but very affectionate. When I'm in the flat he hardly leaves my side. He's, rather unimaginatively named Panda. He's black and white. And that I think is all that's happened since my last post.