Sometimes you never learn.

About a year ago I decided to buy a new external hard drive. 3TB jobby for all that shite music, yes of photos and mainly for the business.
Being me, didn't want to pay that little bit extra for a NAS drive with its online backup/ copy etc so like a twat bought a seagate standard one.

So imagine my delight over Christmas when the bloody thing came down with me to sisters on returning the fucking thing stopped working.
It's not until you really sit back and think long and hard what was on there when the fact really hits you what's actually gone.

This is how my brain, stomach combo actually reacted over that next week.

Firstly all of the photos of my dad who died in 2008. I felt physically sick.
The pictures of all my old pets, Db the lab, Dracula the tabby & of course Tiger & Schmoo.  I started to cry.
The next day the realisation all the work stuff including the tax return due last month. Thankfully a week later I realised I had backed that lot up into a Google drive. Felt sick again.

Progressively as the week went on I was getting more and more angry with myself for not having just backed up the lot.

I sent the drive to a data recovery specialist who quoted... wait for it nearly £600 and that couldn't even state if any data could actually be recovered after the repair just to allow them to read it. Wow. That much. Not too much of a racquet going there.

Finally bit the bullet and said no. I would not be considering paying that as it's was just a stupid price for something that might not even be possible.

As much as I hated myself for not trying I hated myself more for being so stupid.

Bought a NAS drive. Installed it and figured I'd just have to start from scratch.

It's been a couple of weeks since then. And booted up the old desktop pc for the first time in ages to scan something for hubby. Knew I had previously backed up about 70% of some of it ages ago but when checked it wasn't there. Probably from trying to clean it down to get it to run faster or at all. A bit gutted but past caring for the lost data by now.

Then I happened across the recycle bin. Where that 70% of the stuff was still sitting. Hiding.
Clicked restore and beamed as the photos of Dad, pets and a good chunk of the last 15 years returned in full glory. I cried, again.

So I've lost some. And yes I have certainly learned a lesson. However I have been very lucky indeed. I will probably cry again. But at least tears are backed up this time.

Technology - I hate you.

Sucky sucky friend.

Today, it was brought to my attention that a friend I met in Austin TX back in 2001 had died.
Not only had I been unaware of this fact but she had died back in 2012.

Seriously, whatever sort of person am I that I would miss such a fact. This lovely lass is a friend on Facebook. There were comments made by friends offering condolences. Did I notice? No. Did I read through her page the last time Facebook announced her birthday? Obviously not. Just how unaware could I really be to have not just checked in once in a while?

I'm now mortified with myself for my lack of attention to someone who I really liked. For not noticing. Something as major as that and I didn't notice for over two fucking years.

I realise I am quite anti - social.  I have never denied this fact but never did I think I was this sucky as a friend.

I have thankfully grown from this. My friend who obviously deserved much better has taught me to be more aware. Notice when people aren't there and certainly more attentive.

I'm sorry Kate. I let you down. I will try to better myself knowing this.

A house is not a home without a dog.

I have a photo frame that my wonderful friend Tali bought me many moons ago which states the above title.

Its superb and for many years has had a photo of Diefenbaker the dafty black labrador.

As much as we've missed DB, we've also really missed having any pets at all, especially since we lost the last cat Tiggy woo back in March. 

You really can only spend so long without a furry of some sort. So yes, two weeks ago today we went & found Monty in the rescue centre. Granted he was actually called Chico then - but we didn't think so.

Two weeks on, we still have all furniture intact, we've only had one really bad barking frenzy but that was due to neighbours having a 5 hour firework display Saturday night & the fact that he's also quite scared of the sea!

Other than that he's an utter baby, he loves being in the car, hardly ever makes a peep & is really so well behaved we are coming up with ways to corrupt him.

 The boys have certainly bonded...

We all still learning his tricks and traits, as has he, of which Monty has now started to realise that this is actually his home too which just makes you smile and cuddle him to bits even more.

And kin' hell this lad licks you to death!

We are a family again. 

Today we did a good thing.

Well actually I did a few good things but this mornings one was a doozy.

We went, saw, put a deposit down & adopted a dog.

Not only a dog, but a stunning, funny & just a little bit mad dog.

He's approx 18 months old, a Dalmatian cross Labrador and after the home check and him being here will be called MONTY.

He's so beautiful and after having so long with no fur living here with us we were both really glad we found him in the animal sanctuary.

Just waiting for them to call us to arrange a home visit, hopefully sooner rather than later. Then we get to go pick him up!

I am somewhat excited!

I'm at a loss...

Ok, I admit.

 Maybe my priorities are slightly out of sync on occasion but this weekend, something has happened leaving me quite, well, mortified if I am honest.

It started yesterday when we decided to toddle off to Southwold for a walk on the beach and the town. This was in fact mainly because we wanted to see how many posh toffs would look down their noses at us. We got bored after the first 25 and stopped counting.

We arrived and the first thing I normally do when slapped round the face with a quite pretty photo opportunity, that is... 

camera to the ready and....

This is Southwold and for some reason my fucking bastard blog will not allow me to rotate portrait photos

 Yes, apart from the fact you need to crick your neck to the right to see the bloody thing, its as we say round here "Roite noice"

So imagine my UTTER delight when trying to take the next shot, my camera gave me this:

 As much as I would like to say that this is some kind of 'designer effect' that my camera has to make the scene look like a 50's style thing I can't.

Yes, this is my camera now pretty much utterly fucked.

Bollocks.

Annoyingly, we did go for another 'camera perfect' wander again today, this time to Caister on Sea. No idea why there but had to use my iPhone 3GS's camera. 

 Seriously, LOOK AT IT! I just want to cry really.

I am now camera-less, with no money to buy another one.

Life has truly hit rock bottom.

It hasn't really, a man called Felix just jumped out of a capsule under a sodding balloon at approx 128 THOUSAND FEET 

Shit, that was impressive to watch! 

 

My psychic ringpiece is twitching.

You know the feeling, when someone explains to you a situation where whatever the outcome. you are pretty much screwed whatever the outcome.

The end of this month (Friday) is when the 'temporary' bit of my latest work runs out.
The Head of department said to me Monday that she had no idea as to what was likely to happen. That's handy, thanks luv.

Then today, she said that they could not guarantee me a post and they will be able to offer me work on a week to week basis. Which if you ask me is pretty fucking cheeky.

My first reaction which pleased said boss lady (as it would seeing at they are totally using me) that I will stay for next week, then her face dropped slightly when I stated... but I will be looking elsewhere.

Seriously though. Who honestly thinks anyone will happily work with no notice period at least? That's just mental.

The weird part of it all is they have ordered me a new PC which arrived today. Granted I have no desk and am now sharing the end of said boss woman's desk which is weird in one way but seriously, how much can this woman wiggle a fucking desk? Its random. You have to hand onto it at some points or my monitors will go for a burton off the desk!

To say that the whole situation is utterly confusing is an understatement.

In fact, making my head hurt!

Tight enough that I won't part with my own blood...

I've always been the proverbial 'stone' when it came to getting blood out of me in the past, even my local doctors surgery has only one nurse who's allowed to pin cushion me these days as she is for want of a better word... bloody good at it.

So imagine my delight today, after 3 days of having the squits, headaches, nausea, stomach cramps & eventually last night chest pains on a quick visit to the quack I am whisked up to the local hospital for tests & a general check up - which happened to also include a shitload of saline solution intravenously due to me being dehydrated.

What a treat!

I warned the first doctor to have a 'stab' excuse the pun, that I was a bugger to get blood out of but she had a good try... 6 tries.

Then the nurse bloke had a go... another 5 tries,

Then the resident doctor... 2 times in the arms... then she suggested the groin...

I could have died at the moment they did that, Most painful thing ever - even breaking my bleeding wrist back in 2002 didn't hurt that much!

Eventually they sent a Dr called Andrew in who is obviously their expert on awkward buggers & he did manage to get the second cannula fitted & managed to remove enough blood to actually be able to test.

Now that was a relief.

The rest of the day has been comprised of an ECG, which was fine. A chest x-ray, also fine & enough saline solution pumped into me to warrant a possible ark construction.

The fact that they did also want me to have an overnight stay didn't really bode too well, so after they witnessed the fact that I wasn't vomiting & also drinking plenty of fluids myself they were happy to send me home.

Don't get me wrong, after 48 hours of nowt to eat I actually appreciated the scary hospital food as I was utterly famished by then also being quite exhausted from being a human pin cushion did manage to get some shut eye whilst in there and so pleased that I would be able to spend the night in my own bed, near my own toilet certainly makes you feel a load better.

Lesson learnt?

Never under any circumstance let anyone try to take blood from your groin.

Also, why have one cannula when you can have two???

*Insert sarcasm here*

Bruised? I should say so.