bio-rhythm shocker

dear all,

after reading Fudge's blog, I decided to carry out a biorhythm compatibility test to see how well suited Mr C and I are. Unfortunately, results were not promising: physical 46%, intellectual 23% and emotional 11%, coming to a grand total of a dismal 27% compatibility. When you consider that Raimi and I are 77% compatible, this is cause for concern. However, I am heartened by the assurance that "If the biorhythm compatibility is low this doesn't mean a relationship won't work: you just have to work harder."

Am now tempted to try all the compatibility tests available on the web to determine our suitability for each other but feel this would be rather rash and a consequence of the late hour.

feeling better

Yesterday was horrific, couldn't speak or eat or do anything. Was in awful pain, so much so that I couldn't bear to take the medicine most of the time as it's fizzy and stings. But today am much more chirpy, even managing to break out of the house for a couple of hours (to go to the hospital). I took in a Subway sandwich on the way home and regretted it bitterly as my throat felt like it was on fire again.

Finished reading The Diary of a Provincial Lady and have made significant inroads on next installment, but decided to take a break as I am starting to think and write just like her. By which I mean missing out all pronouns and capitalising words Like This, isn't that Strange. It puts an interesting, often more funny, spin on things in the book, but is mentally distressing and hard on the brain. Besides, if you're not used to it (for example in emails or on msn) it sounds slightly bizarre. I wrote a official letter in provincial-lady-shorthand before realising it made me sound like a fob who can't speak English properly. I'm reading 'The Convenient Marriage' instead, by Georgette Heyer. Mr C is attempting to read 'April Lady' on my recommendation, but I fear he won't get very far.

the magdalene sisters

Just watched the most incredible film and had to come and look it up online. Its based on a true story of the Magdalene asylums in Ireland where all the so-called fallen women were sent. The nuns are completely dastardly and brutal, and its hard to believe that the last of these places closed only in 1996, but I expect they weren't quite the same. The film was only set in 1964. Very moving and shocking, and makes you just hate all men and the injustice of society at the end. I'm not sure if that is just Irish society circa 1964, or in general. Reminded me very much of The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. Bernadette in the film is a great character, especially in the last scene in the asylum.

Apparently it was 'denounced vigorously' by the Vatican, but it was created using the stories of many women, to quote: "While The Magdalene Sisters is a work of fiction, the abuses it depicts are allegedly based on credible survivor accounts of life in the Magdalene institutions, which are said to have taken in as many as 30,000 women between their inception in the 1880s and their final closing in 1996. In fact, there are reports that, according to some survivors, the abuses depicted in The Magdalene Sisters actually fall short of the worst that really happened, and the director himself has commented that he refrained from recreating the most terrible reported incidents for fear of overwhelming and alienating the audience. " (from, of all places, http://www.decentfilms.com/)

The same article quoted above raises an interesting point about stereotyping. As much as Muslims hate to be stereotyped as terrorists and wife-beaters, Catholic priests and nuns must hate the association with child abuse. However, neither they nor we should hide from the realities of what goes on, or has gone on in our societies. OK, so not every Muslim father forces his daughters to marry their cousins back home at 16. But do we do anything about it when it happens? Do we make it a collective responsibility to eradicate the social ills we constantly apologise for? This is a huge failure on our part.

This is beginning to turn into a piece for the SuperRahman blog, so maybe I will give her a chance to step in here...(once I remind her to read this page)

post-op

I return after a lengthy absence, owing in part to the return of Mr C and other minor events including an exam and the aforementioned operation. For the record, Mr C's hair is growing back quite satisfactorily and the exam went reasonably well - in fact I had a dream the night before last in which I think i got 12000 in the exam. This is of course, impossible, but one can only dream. I recall another girl only got 10800.

Operation was uneventful, but the rest of my stay in hospital was plagued by the presence of Charles and Camilla on every channel, and people offering their twopence-worth on the subject in their absence. Tonsillectomy has provided me with excellent excuse for sleeping (the medication) and eating comforting foods. Unfortunately, chocolate is off the menu, as it is the one thing that guarantees horrendous burning pain on consumption.

Currently reading: The Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield, who is a genius. The unnamed provincial lady has in fact a very average life, but its still very funny. I remember first hearing it on Radio 4 as a series with Imelda Staunton which was excellent.
Current dilemma: Whether or not to buy a new PDA, justification being that the buttons no longer work properly on old one. Have my eye on Clie TH55, but think I should find an unassailable reason for needing it (if Mr C raises an eyebrow), perhaps study-related.

Good luck to SuperRahman on her renewed efforts to rescue our student paper. If my humble blog can be of service it is at your disposal.