Behind The Wall Of Sleep

When I was young I had problems sleeping , which persisted up to getting a job as a computer operator working continental shifts which meant I learnt to sleep anytime anywhere when the opportunity came. Certainly didn't do me any harm . I can sleep on buses , trains anywhere where it's safe to do so. In my life I've never missed a train stop and only missed a bus stop twice so I do have it down to a fine art.

The problem is my body is so well adjusted to the concept is I get  situations like now. Yesterday I had a lot of important stuff on at work , I had a hospital appointment in the morning and needed to provide one small report ideally by ten o' clock , plus some data extracts.

Something woke up , I don't know what , so then my mind started racing and thought if I spend an hour now I can get that report done, then I can have a nap during the day when I am bound to need one. Well report and data extracts got done , went back to bed , got up , went to hospital got back and worked through to just after five  (why does everything become really important at 4:30 on a Friday?) , then eventually got out to meet some friends at The Strawberry at six o'clock.

A good night was had by all severely tempted by Lynn and Julie's bowls ofchilli and chips / curry and chips (you must try if you ever go in there), but I resisted , and came home. By half past nine was shattered so went to bed.

Half past three I woke up. I've had six hours of sleep so it's time to get up my body say. My eyes say different , but thought I may as well write this down. I hope what will happen today is that I will have a lie in or nap or something and by tonight I will be back to normal , in fact I know that's what will happen. Anyway I thought an excellent song for this post was The Smithereens "Behind The Wall Of Sleep" , Black Sabbath do a song of the same name probably based on the HP Lovecraft story.. Maybe I can find that soon .

Can You Make A Wasp Smile?

For some reason I am posting a lot at the moment. I don't know why it's nt as though I have anything interesting to say. But was getting buzzed by a wasp and wondered if it makes them happy that they annoy and frighten people. Although wasp could be WASP , the acronym for White Anglo Saxon Protestant or the 8o's beat combo, famous for the ditty recommending you to be like Doctor Dolittle.

Anyway as the Ape of Wrath stated wasps are the insect world's own football hooligans. One is bad enough but swarms are downright scary. I once saw a column of wasps in Sedbergh, mesmerising and frightening at the same time. However wasps are mere amateurs compared with hornets as this attack in Yorkhire states, when some runners had the temerity to disturb some hornets. Hornets can be up to 2.2" in length , so that's a big aggressive insect you don't want to get on the wrong side of.

Anyway I have been wasp and hornet free, so I chose a Jonathan Richman song to soundtrack this post, so life is good for me.

Going Down

Enough of these positive vibes , people really don't like them. Only joking , but lots of people really don't . Yesterday I had a shock when I weighed myself on the Wii and it told me I had lost 13 lbs since I was lost on (admittedly a while back) but it's  the biggest loss I've recorded on there. I'm still lardy as hell and the Wii reckons I should be 11 stone , but that's more than a way off yet.

This is coinciding with a dramatic reduction in my insulin intake which was ludicrously high at one point , nearing 200 units a day.  I'd got it down to 150 a day then someone put me onto to some positive thinking stuff, and the insulin has come down to 100 a day now , that's a 33% reduction , which in turn stops you from putting lots of weight on. So the two are working in tandem , losing weight means lowering insulin intake which in turn helps you lose weight.

So basically weight is going down and insulin requirements are going down. I cant see that I've lost any weight but some people have said they have noticed. However tomorrow is a moment of truth when the hospital weigh me and hopefully I don't find the Wii is faulty.

Can Negativity Be A Positive Experience?

I feel that I'm getting like a stuck record , but woke up early and this phrase  / posit came to mind. The sayings "Some people are only happy when they're miserable" and "A pessimist is never disappointed" come to mind ,  and given the success of Eastenders ,Coronation Street and Emmerdale you can see why . People enjoy at least seeing and sometimes causing other peoples misery .

Comedy is very close to tragedy , the old banana skin joke requires (literally) a fall guy. It's difficult to come up with comedy that doesn't involve someone elses misfortune or putting them down.

Anyway it's back to my previous post , where a negative statement would be "don't cross the road without looking , you might get knocked down by a car" , whereas a positive statement would be "Look before you cross the road" . Possible pitfalls are implied , but don't need explicitly stating, if they do , your subject is in need of help.

The word STOP is actually a positive statement , it is telling you to take an action, which is probably for your own good and will at least allow you to take stock of the situation.

However really I cannot see negativity as being a positive experience , in any circumstances. Yes be prepared , yes be sensible , but always stay positive, and that will keep you spirits up and keep you happy as a bonus side effect. Anyway I promise my next post will be technology or music related and not full of my cod philosophising and analysis.

Positivity

I don't know if it's a real word , but if it isn't it certainly should be. And it certainly is a way towards finding true happiness, if someone is positive they cannot be miserable. I was watching a TED talk about creative genius today and learned quite a lot from it , one of which is to seize the moment when something comes into your head . And this is what happened with this post. I hadn't thought about posting but something just sparked it off. This is the talk , it's about twenty minutes from Elizabeth Gilbert where she talks about coping with the success of "Eat , Pray, Love"


It is amazing how some people can always put a negative spin on great success. Great success should be celebrated. It's irrelevant whether you do it again , firstly you HAVE done it , secondly it gives you something to aim for in the future and you can always say I did that. Having a success like that you make the rest if your life something to be enjoyed.

I would love to write a book , but as yet haven't come up with an idea , maybe one day I will , I certainly have a long way to go and have no intention of taking my foot of the pedal for many years yet.

Anyway basically if there are setbacks learn from them , go on further and just do better next time , and when you do succeed , enjoy the moment and you will have set your marker for the next time.

Focusing On The Good - Don't Stop Believin'

I always to try to write posts with a positive spin , because always try to look for positives however bad the situation. It's the easiest thing in the world to find fault with things. I've known people who when they couldn't find fault would criticize a person for being "too perfect" , or who's measures consist of "not enough" or "too much" ensuring things can never meet their expectations.

The thing is life is what it is and is complicated beyond belief , but is easy and rewarding beyond belief if you look for the good and positives in situations. Take the two statements "Remember" and "Don't Forget"  , the first is a forceful positive one the second negative and implying that you may be at fault. They both mean the same thing but negative words can have negative effects.

If I just miss a bus I use the opportunity to walk to the next stop and in theory reduce my lardiness, I don't stress about it , and sometimes things like that open up new opportunities.

Sometimes in the world there are great tragedies, which the only positives I find that at such times people are willing to help those affected by the tragedies , restoring faith in humanity.

So today if something goes wrong in life learn from it , and take the opportunity to see if you can benefit from it. You may be surprised by the support and kindness of others and always take help if it's offered and it will benefit you , and if you can't take it then still engage with the offerer.

I don't know if this post has been positive , I didn't know what I was going to write about when I started it , but hope that someone enjoys it and finds some empathy.

And remember tomorrow is your change to improve on today. I chose the final scene in the Sopranos with Journey's  "Don't Stop Believin'" soundtrack because I love that scene so much , it's just perfect . Have a totally brilliant day - I know I will.

Birthdays and Bank Holidays

I can't remember so many birthdays coming in such a short period of time , starting with my sisters on Thursday and my friend Claire's today. On Saturday was at a surprise party for my friend Sheelagh's 60th which she was lured to under the pretext of Theresa (the fantastic organiser and host) had broken her ankle or something. I'm sure no one will mind me mentioning them in this context , and lets face it with the internet and Facebook , privacy is at a bit of a premium these days.

Yesterday was another great day at The Schooner with Big Ray and The Chestwigs (see here) and today we have a High Bridge Quarter Festival again , which will mean street food and great music.

It's amazing that although I've had a three day weekend , I haven't had a second to relax , and enjoying yourself is the best form of relaxation possible in reality and I've certainly enjoyed this weekend.

Started on Friday with a great night in The Stand , then Saturday's party , Sunday's gig as well as a stop off at the Stateside Diner for a five dollar shake. All in all a brilliant weekend and looking forward to an even more brilliant week even though I have to go to wok.

The video is Big Red and The Grinners covering Aerosmith at a previous High Bridge gathering