Let There Be (More) Light

Rocky Balboa may have said "let there be light" but God someone else said it before him. a chance meeting with someone on the way home from work tonight prompted this post. i don't mind sitting next to strangers on public transport, and even engaging them in conversation, but sometimes you just don't click. the stranger to my left seemed normal enough. i'm not quite sure how we got from small talk (just finished work? stuff) to "describe the universe in one word."

yes, he was a christian. nice enough, i suppose, but with a slightly odd sense of humour. an invititation to an easter service was extended with a leaflet with church times and what they get up to, fundraising and other good deeds. he told me the universe existed for love, four letters, and wanted me to accept Jesus into my life.

do you believe that Jesus died and rose 3 days later to save you from your sins?

from the point of view of a lapsed catholic i asked him would it be so bad if i didn't. with a slight flicker of disappointment, he said it wasn't for him to judge, only God could do that. he probably wouldn't have liked that i judged others to be bawbags (#1, #2). i don't really see the problem in judging others. of course keep an open mind, but call a spade a spade, or a bawbag a bawbag.

it must be nice to have that belief that is so strong, you want to share it with others. to believe that when you die, you will go to heaven, if you have lived a good life. this could have been a good time to tell him about my flashlight beliefs, didn't think he would like that though (maybe worshipping false gods). i don't have that faith. instead, i like to think of myself as an undercover buddhist. the idea of reincarnation seems more appealing, rather than the heaven or hell option.

years ago i visited a faith group and was felt a little claustrophobic when people came up to talk to me. i had the distinct impression that they didn't really want to but felt they would go to hell otherwise.

i love the art of religion. images, music (organ, sprituals, not the happy-clappy stuff) and the smell of incense and candles. i can also laugh at irreverent humour, which my travelling companion probably wouldn't have, such as these:


check out more of the cartoons at Explosm.net.

is it not enough to live a good life, for the sake of being good? to talk to you neighbour on a bus, for the hell of it and not to save them? that little voice you hear in your head is that God talking to you?

Joint Hypermobility

went to the hospital on monday. my appointment was in the rheumatology department. the visit was pretty short and the doc thinks she knows what i've got. she doesn't think i have fibromyalgia, but

a classic case of joint hypermobility.

this sounds quite cool, like i can move really fast. afraid not, bulbboy is closer to rather than stretchy boy rather than the flash. stripping down to my undies, she checked my bodkin over and found my joints to be all pretty loose. she added "aren't they?" she quickly added that it was a bit of a silly question as

these have been the only joints that you've ever had.

in the past my joints have tended to be a bit more supple than most. never quite managing the splits but other areas freak people out. not just the clicking but the fact that my shoulder blades can protrude so far out they look like mini wings.

most of my joints click, and i apparently now have flat feet which causes feet pain. sharp twinges now and again. this doesn't quite account for the sore skin i get but does explain the rib popping out of place. also this stimulated a memory of my hips dislocating (on 2 occasions). they never dislocated fully but started to do something they shouldn't while i was stretching during a gymnastics class. painful at the time but i forgot about it totally until sitting with the doc in her office. helpful tip:if you can put stretch down and put your hands flat on the floor while keeping your legs straight, don't go further than that. :)

anyway what can be done? swimming and cycling are the best forms of exercise for me to build up cardiovascular strength, and build up the muscles in my back to help posture. the gist of it is there is a problem with the collagen holding the joints together. by strengthening the muscles either side of the spine, i should minimise bad things happening.

"basically i'm stuffed?" i asked, regarding treatment. she agreed saying that other than taking painkillers, if i know i'm going to be doing more than average physical work, and light exercise there's not a lot than can be done. i got a leaflet with information about joint hypermobility.

i think i am done with doctors. maybe i'll go to a well known homeopathic doc if things come up, or an osteopath to put things back in place. other than that, just carry on regardless.

Clocks go Forward: UK BST

it''s that time of year again when we lose an hour of our sleep and have to put the clocks forward.
BST, british summer time (or uk daylight savings time) is here again.

i wonder if it's done on a weekend so that millions of britons don't have the excuse of saying i didn't know, having the whole of a sunday to work out why all the clocks in the house are wrong.

this brings to mind a while back when the clocks went back and it was haloween. Bulbgirl had convinced me to dress up as a woman in work for the day: fishnet tights, mini-kilt, padded bra, pearls, lipstick and long hair worn down. it scared the bejeezus out of many customers in the lighting department when they asked me something and i turned around. ugly woman with a lot of facial hair is probably the first thougth that went through their minds before the light bulb came on.

anyway Bulbgirl and i forgot to put our clocks back the night before, and only realised it when i got to the store.
outcome: i had to wear a padded (tissue) push up bra for an hour longer than necessary. ladies, i can empathise with all those women that say it hurts.

still, my legs got lots of compliments that day. :)