Saturday, August 15, 2009

Daily post - Saturday

Holiday day one, and in the words of Mike Skinner from The Streets, today I have done absolutely nowt.

Ok, so that's not strictly true, but it's close enough. I was awake early again, but I didn't bother trying to get back to sleep. The iPhone is a real boon for early mornings - I can read my book, play GeoDefence or mooch on Twitter for a while all on the same device. This morning I listened to an episode of "Just a Minute", streamed off the BBC iPlayer in a matter of seconds and in excellent quality too. The internal speaker in the iPhone is perfect for listening to radio and audiobooks in this way.

After getting up and walking the dog I gave the lawn a quick once over with the mower which was about the limit of my physical energy for the day. I think I need to keep active but not push myself too far each time. After lunch I snoozed for a bit and then played a bit more Pokemon:Diamond. I'm about fifty hours into the game, judging by the time on the save log, and I've just beaten the eighth and final gym boss so it's onto the Pokemon League next, whatever that might be.

I also finished listening to "To Kill a Mockingbird", so I need to ponder a review for that at some point. I have appreciated making more of an effort to read outside of my usual comfort zone this year and logging them on GoodReads has been worthwhile too. I've also discovered the Open University material on iTunes, so I'm going to start looking at that as well. After reading "Godel, Escher, Bach" earlier this year I found a series of video lectures from a course at MIT on the book which have been fun to work through with Jan, usually accompanied by a tot of rum to lubricate the old synapses. It strikes me that if my physical activities are somewhat curtailed then exercising my mind is a useful alternative.

Barney the dog has been in a bit of a strange mood today for no readily apparent reason. I wonder if he's been discombobulated by all of the comings and goings with various builders, tilers and plumbers in the kitchen for the last two weeks? He seems to have settled a bit now, after being very anxious earlier on, but maybe there's a storm brewing that he is sensitive to? The sky looks a wee bit threatening and it seems to be getting dark out there.

3 comments:

Anonymous Me said...

Have you seen a doctor about the energy loss? I hope you find it's some very treatable thing that will go away soon.

thermalsatsuma said...

I have been to the doctor's for a series of tests which came up blank, so I'm suspecting that it is some sort of post-viral fatigue syndrome. It seems that there is no magic bullet treatment, other than graduated exercise and general healthy living, which is pretty much what I'm doing anyway.

Anonymous Me said...

Then I'm sure you'll overcome it in time, with your healthy living and natural optimism. :-) Thanks for telling me. Mental exercise - that sounds like a good plan. I should do more of that, too.