I started the weekend gasping for breath, wondered why my overflow tank was suddenly taking to its name now being an inch away from actually overflowing and went to a nephews birthday party where I ended up talking about the process of writing a book or two self published style.
 |
| Drain drain, here we go again. |
So that's me, how was your weekend?
PAGING DR SAM
A million and one thanks to Dr Sam from Albury's Emergency Department for helping me get my breathing under control from '3 tight breathes just to get in the same air as one' to being able to breathe deeply without convulsing on the floor due to coughing fits.
I coughed and wheezed across the night til 3am, wondering if I should check myself into ED then. But finally I got some sleep and woke up just feeling the same. A RAT test showed no covid but I was still struggling big time so my wife drove me to emergency where the first thing they gave me...was another RAT test.
'Yes we know you've had one, we just have to check.' Still with no Covid I was checked in where Dr Sam took over and got me through some blast therapy - decent hits of Ventolin through a spacer, a couple of cortisoidsteroids and monitoring how things were tracking and soon enough I could breath again. I still felt like I'd run a marathon for the rest of the day but at least I wasn't struggling for air. Yesterday I felt better, still the occasional cough but on the road to recover.
Thanks Dr Sam, you legend.
(In the history of my asthma, this was the worst experience I've ever had and if you get anywhere near this level of worry, please drop everything and haul rear end to the nearest Emergency Depart where hopefully their version of Dr Sam can help you feel normal again. Later this week I'll be off to my local GP to update my asthma action plan because I never want to repeat this horrible experience ever again.. )
BRACE YOURSELF
Of course fellow asthmatics, we're not out of the woods just yet. I got to work to read that the Murrumbidgee Local Health District has issued an asthma storm warning for yesterday and today, urging us to stay inside if possible to reduce the chance of further attacks. Thankfully the article also offered up a local free warning service which I've now subscribed to, just to be aware of the heavy times ahead:
To receive an SMS alert when the pollen counts are high and thunderstorms are predicted, go to; https://science.csu.edu.au/asthma to register, or text the word Asthma to 0417 115 876.
BACK WE GO
It turns out I'm not out of the woods just yet in terms of my car breathing issues either - the new radiators in, the new hoses are in, the overflow tank isn't draining... yeah it's filling up with excess coolant but it's not returning any to where it needs to making me very paranoid. It's either sucking in air again somewhere it shouldn't be or it's a sign of the dreaded EJ25 engine head gasket issue this vintage is famous for and that's the last thing I need. In fact if that's the case, off it goes to someone with the time and money to get it back up and running because right now that sure isn't me.
Gah, I used to love cars too..
(Radiator shop is back open Wednesday - hopefully this gets sorted soon!)
MADONNA, WHY YOU DO?
To celebrate 30 years since she released her album Erotic, over the weekend Madonna got her cans out publicly. Most people would probably celebrate with a bottle of champagne or perhaps a party, but Madge opted to release the puppies with a couple of emoji's promptly placed so Instagram wouldn't throw a fit. If you're keen to see the full pics they're easily found, but for a taste of the scene have this cut down I found.
It was one of our 'But why?' questions on the show today (the other being why is Henry Cavil stepping down as the Witcher and having a Helmsworth replace him in the role?) I'm not a prude in the slightest (her effort here is super tame considering what you can easily find on the net with hardly any work involved whatsoever) and with all the work done if you didn't know she was in her early 60's you'd struggle to guess. My question is more the relevance - is this what you have to do to sell albums? Does anyone go to a Madonna concert just to see her flesh? Is someone advising her to show the twins to get Erotica top of the charts again?
Of course maybe it's just part of the 'I'm having a different year that usual' for Ms M, after all she did release NFT's including digital videos of her giving birth to a tree (I
kid you not) so perhaps this is part of the grand reinvention plan. But seriously, with all her massive success does she really need one? She's had a phenomenal legacy, she's still loved, personally I don't think she has to flash her bits to remind us of her success 30 years on.
(And hopefully this is not a trend starting where you have to show a little skin to get noticed online. I'm certainly not going to put random dick picks up to have you click the ads in furious excitement, no worries about that whatsoever.)
'YOU MIGHT RECOGNISE HIS VOICE'
Oh cringe, that's a terrible introduction sorry Trev (my brother in law) because it sounds like you're introducing a bit of a toss when it isn't someone visibly famous. Just a simple 'This is Al, he works on the radio' is more than enough to get a conversation started and it did when chatting to Ben, a local school teacher. We were there for my nephews 5th birthday and to meet my new niece (hi Gigi!) and while he had a few questions about breakfast radio (all the familiar ones like 'what time do you start' and 'how do you keep happy all the time?') the convo really perked up when I mentioned in my spare time that I like to write.
Ben's eye's lit up like a Christmas tree strategically positioned on a pinball table. Because he's always wanted to write but never found the time, never thought he was any good, didn't know when to start, didn't have much money, had a busy life etc. So I'll share a few things I shared with him in case you're at the same crossroads and not sure if you want to dip your toe in the writing word.
-The best time to start writing was yesterday. Oh it's gone? Better start writing again.
-I give myself a word count before anything. 'My target for this book is 80k+ words'. That way I know if I'm at the 40k part and things haven't kicked off, it's not face paced enough.
-Unless their robots, give your bad guy at least one human trait. Yes they can be a mass murderer 99% of the time but give them at least one relatable or known trait to give them some depth. Most of the best bad guys I've read don't see themselves as bad, they're just trying to change the world and if people die in the process for that greater good than oh well. It's similar to heels in wrestling 'Why don't you like me? I like me!'
-Likewise, no hero is perfect. If they are, I don't want to read it. Give them hopes, traits, at least one thing you might not like about them but their heroics shine through.
-When an idea comes through, write it down. Straight after a shower? Grab your phone, open up the notepad, away you go.
-Google Drive with Google Docs if your best friend when writing when the mood strikes you.
-Importantly, word count per session is not important. If you can knock out 100 words in a session, that's 100 closer to your target. If it's a 1000, even better. My average is about 1500 but that's with a steady flow of ideas and zero interruptions. How much you write daily is irrelevant unless you're in a hurry to get it out there.
-Finally read out loud when editing. If you can't read it aloud clearly without stumbling or getting confused then we're going to struggle to comprehend it in our minds.
Right, that's enough rambling and top tips for a Monday for me today, time for lunch. Hope you too are breathing well now and we'll chat again shortly!
-Almigo
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