It’s 2024. My new penguin calendar says so. My tablet says so. Izzy says so. It does not feel like 2024, but the evidence shows that it is the case. I hope you all have a wonderful year, in whatever form that takes.
I had a good Christmas overall. I was well enough for Christmas dinner, including my birthday roast potatoes (I asked for them as a birthday present and was willing to wait 6 months for them). They are the best roast potatoes in the world. The lamb was good too 😛
I was also thoroughly spoilt with cards and presents. A huge Piplup (penguin Pokémon) Squishmallow, penguin chocolates, penguin Lego, a hat, Icecue (another penguin Pokémon) pin badge, magic snake puzzle/stim toys, the penguin calendar, and I’m sure I’m missing some. The messages in the cards made me feel so loved and connected. I am a very lucky penguin.
I saw Sammie just before Christmas, to give her both her Christmas and birthday presents. Somehow she’s now 20?! And studying for a degree?! She eventually wants to become a video game developer like Izzy. She’s at the point where when she’s asking for academic help I can’t give her it, but luckily Izzy can. I’m really proud of the woman she’s become. Seeing her was well worth the payback.
Also just before Christmas we got a video doorbell, as the doorbell we had for our back door had died and that’s the side most deliveries and people go to. I was concerned about it as it’s a small block of flats, but Izzy told me one of the other flats has one and I discovered we could turn the motion detection off, which both makes the battery last longer and means I’m not accidentally spying on the others in the block. I can watch it live though, which is great for feeling less confined. It also means if I hear the doorbell going, I can easily check whether it’s a hallucination or not without disturbing Izzy.
Otherwise it’s been quiet. Still not well enough to watch much, though I popped into a couple of Twitch streams over the holidays. The last couple of days have been a bit better for that, so I’m watching a little blue fairy penguin nest live stream on YouTube. Yesterday I got to see a chick hatch from its egg! There’s a sibling that’s still yet to hatch which should happen in the next day or two. The chick is still in its scrunkly stage, where it looks more like an alien than a bird. It’s adorable.
I’m due a B12 injection (turns out I’m deficient and it might be partially responsible for some of the neurological issues I’ve got going on, and some of the fatigue) and I’m hoping that once it kicks in I’ll be able to do more. I don’t like them (needle phobia), they hurt, and they make my mouth taste weird, but they do help me be less foggy and make it easier to stay awake. I also don’t want to make any neurological damage worse, which is what would happen if I didn’t get it. At some point I need to talk to my GP about a few other niggly things, but it’s not urgent.
I have some goals for the year, but I’m going to put them in a separate post so they’re easier to find when it comes to reviewing them. I’d also forgotten how much I’d missed blogging. Writing that last post helped way more than I expected, and I discovered people still read these. Thank you so much 💜
Needles are the worst, never get used to them. Had more blood tests in last 2 years than my entire life beforehand combined, with all the testing for things! Hopefully you get a good nurse!