The Breakfast Radio Diaries 061: Rip it out and burn it on the pyre!

Ugh. I returned to work more blocked up than a disused subway tunnel and my nose made more noise than an army of one man bands whenever I tried to talk.
Anywhere other than radio, people wouldn't notice. But it's kind of hard to hide when you're broadcasting to lots of cars in the drive to work..

It's equal parts annoyance, embarrassment and frustration and if there was a way I could rip these damn polyps out of my nose myself and host a ceremonial bonfire to get rid of them, then I'd be dancing around the bonfire in a set of animals skins before anyone could ask 'Why's Al happy all of a sudden?' :/

Sadly, this isn't new issue either. I've written before about losing and regaining my sense of smell before and sadly since then, it's disappeared again. It can return briefly by using some heavy duty medication but long term use of this stuff is apparently very harmful so it's been a while since I could last sniff anything (It's been at least a year since I've been able to smell anything other than spilled petrol or alcohol fumes off a very strong whiskey.) I've been on medication for nasal polyps but this bastard seems here to stay, well until surgery wipes him off the face of the planet.

And that might be some time away which means on occasional I have to put up with blocked and sore sinuses. Today was one of the worst, which lead me to the local Chemist Warehouse for some hopefully helpful short term solutions (just getting to breathe easier would be a big start!) 

I'M NOT ALONE IN THIS EITHER

If you're in the same boat, commiserations. But there's plenty of people talking about their experiences, surgery, medication and possible help via this Reddit community. And after reading up on this helpful post, I've stocked up on the vitamin D3 and the allergy relief pills. 

I'm not expecting miracles but if this little nose monster could calm the hell down some, I'd be very happy. And who couldn't do with a boost to their vitamin intake?

We'll get through this...somehow.

NOT THE ONLY NOISE THOUGH..

I couldn't really spend three days in Melbourne and not come back without a story or two to share could I? Only this time it wasn't my nose making impressive noises for the listening public to enjoy.
No, while at Scienceworks with the family I tried my strength against the strength testing machine (it's a handle tethered to a steel cable that records how much opposing force you can pull with your feet against the wall) and happily, I hit a new record - 125kgs. 
I was very happy with that too!

Less happy though at the fact that those exertions helped let rip some very impressive farts. Impressive for me, probably not so much from the roaming school groups in attendance. 
Still, it made a great story this morning about hitting a personal best..

NAKED WHAT?

I also learned (thanks to a question in our Free Money Minute) that there's a variation of chicken breed called the Transylvanian Naked Neck. And it looks like thus:

Now knowing such a creature exists, I'm sure I'll never run short of a brilliant ice breaker at the next random cocktail event I'll be invited to (it hasn't happened yet but surely it's on the way!) 

'Hi, did you know there's such a thing as a Transylvanian Naked Neck? Hi, I'm Al..'

Ahh useless information, where would we be without ye?

ALSO ON THE SHOW TODAY

-We congratulated Lauren Jackson for rejoining the Opals basketball team, wondering if they use the same game plan as her current team the Bandits do which is 'Get it to Lauren!'

-I kept calling the Borderlines Music and Arts Festival the Borderlands Music and Arts festival. Guess what I've been playing a lot of lately?

-We talked petrol. It's price is painful, still. No real news there. 

-The newly opened Okami all you can eat Japanese restaurant in Dean Street Albury is amazing. Just make sure you have a huge appetite and notches on your belt to spare. 

FINALLY, A BRIEF WORD ON ADVERTISING 

If you're reading this site without an ad blocker, thank you. Doubly so if you've come across an ad that's grabbed your interest and you've clicked to find out more. The revenue from impressions and clicks help out here more than you can ever know.

No thanks however go to my bank (hi Westpac!) who took one look at my latest cheque in US dollars from Amazon and told me 'Nope, we don't work with foreign cheques anymore.'

Apparently this is a thing since covid hit and its not just Westpac either, many Aussie banks have decided that payments with foreign cheques belong in the too hard basket, even if they hail from one of the biggest retailers in the world.

'They can't pay you in AUD?'

Well if they could, I wouldn't be waving this cheque at you wondering why the deposit machine screwed its nose up at it earlier would I? First threshold payment in quite some time and for now it can only sit there gathering dust until I can find a place that doesn't want half the amount just to process it. Is Citibank the only answer? Let me know below!

Ahh the weekend is here. Time to take my vitamins and breathe a little easier. Well that's the plan anyhow..

Wish me luck!

-Almigo