The one about physio therapy

It’s almost 4 weeks since my shoulder was ‘repaired’. Since I took the sling off (just 48 hours after surgery) I have been doing various exercises every day – 3-4 times a day. I’ve added more exercises, as instructed by my physio, and as promised, they are getting easier. I’m getting more mobility.

Today, I shall have my next physio session at the hospital. I’m dreading it. Not because I haven’t been doing as told. But, because if I’m not as mobile as expected, my therapist will become physio-terrorist and will push me through the pain.

I slept 4 hrs last night in total. I’m sure she’ll tell me I need more sleep – I can only agree!!

It is my plan to do 5k on the cross trainer tonight…so I’m hoping she doesn’t hurt me too much!

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Happy Easter

Today is recovery day #10 since the shoulder arthroscopy. I’m doing OK with the recovery. The pain is much less than it was, I’ve gone from 19 painkillers a day (when I first got back from hospital) to just three a day. I feel it’s much more manageable, but I’m now itching to get the stitches out (no pun intended). I’m doing the exercises several times a day – they are much easier too. There’s one that causes me a little bit more discomfort than the others, but I’m getting on with them as best I can.

It’s also Easter Sunday. So, Happy Easter to all you lovely people out there.

Easter has always been family time for me. It’s about having a lovely roast dinner, watching kids find Easter eggs hidden in the garden and having a bit of a giggle at everyone gorging on way too much chocolate! Today’s a bit strange. I’m not able to drive home to Scotland to be with the family (well, technically, I could drive, but I doubt it would be sensible!), nor do I have any kids around for an easter egg hunt, and nor is my family around.

I’m still planning to do a roast dinner, though it feels pretty silly just for me…but, it’s tradition. And I’ll enjoy it.

For my far away family and friends Happy Easter!

New year, new smile, new me?

Three years ago I had braces fitted as part of a ‘rescue’ package for my teeth. I had broken a number of teeth and braces were the least drastic course of action. Reluctantly, I had clear plastic, self-ligating (ooooh) braces fitted with the expectation that I would be done and dusted within 18-22 months. Well, that timeframe came and went.

To begin with, I was confident that nothing would change because of the braces, but in reality, much changed: diet, confidence, the ability to smile, and me. I lost a bit of me with the construction site that was my mouth. And then, there was pain. I didn’t mention it yet, but I’ve had three years of aches and pains, blisters, ulcers, cuts and more. Not to mention a constant fear that I had awful breath (despite much flossing, cleaning mouth wash use…).

I didn’t go into the whole ‘adult braces’ thing without doing my research. I read the blogs, I watched the YouTube videos, but none of them prepared me for the blow to my confidence or just how un-sexy they made me feel. None of what I read, saw or listened to actually gave details of what it’s really like.

So, New Year, New Smile and New Me. Absolutely! The braces came off on Wednesday 16th Jan and I’m delighted. The result is brilliant. I have a smile again. I feel I am ABLE to smile again and I seem to have some of my old sparkle back. 2013 is going to be a great year for me and my long-suffering BF. Cheers!

Winter rules?

I’ve played very little golf this year. Not through any choices I have made, but on medical grounds. It’s been a strange year as a result. I went to Wentworth and saw Luke Donald putt for victory on the 18th. And, I, like many of us watched from the edge of our sofa as Europe held on to the Ryder Cup. But, I didn’t play. I had a couple of hospital procedures and lots of physio.

It’s now dark at 4:30pm. It’s cold. It’s windy and it has been raining a lot. That means Winter rules. At our local 9-hole pay-to-play, that also means Winter tees. (A raised platform with fake grass and a fixed place for your tee). Even so, I want to play. I want to get my clubs out of the garage, along with the Go Kart that has seen little action this year and play 9-holes.

I suspect I will be awful. My shoulder is still very ‘tight’. I won’t have much success. But that won’t matter. I’ll be playing again.

Only, I know I have work to do before I can get on the course again. I need to be fitter than I am. I need to increase the mobility in my shoulders. I have to work on increasing my overall flexibility. And, I have to go visit the Pro at the local course as I suspect I have been compensating for a dodgy shoulder for too long… How does one learn a new golf swing and ‘unlearn’ bad habits?

Answers on a postcard, please?

Family traditions?

There’s a family get together this weekend – it’s in Yorkshire. I’m travelling up there to be with family, my parents are travelling down from Scotland. It’s a surprise party for an aunt and uncle. My Mum is doing most of the catering, because that’s what she does.

My only role is to bake Parkin. Yorkshire Parkin. I used a recipe today that had been recommended online. I had to make enough for 30 people. So, that meant trebling the recipe. Halfway through baking it, Mum asked if I was using the family recipe…oops. No, it’s not my Gran’s recipe, it’s another. I don’t have Gran’s recipe.

With the cakes (three of them) in the oven, the aroma starts to permeate around the house and it’s gorgeous. It also takes me right back to Bonfire Night when I was a child. Toffee apples, bonfire toffee and Parkin. All homemade. All yummy.  Seasonal treats. All steeped in tradition as they are made.

Mum is making toffee apples and bonfire toffee for the event, so I had a look at recipes for toffee. Comparing the online recipes to ‘our recipes’ was interesting. All the online recipes recommended the use of a sugar thermometer to check the toffee as it’s boiling (to get the right point for ‘crunchy or chewy’ toffee. I don’t remember my Gran or Mum having one of those. We used a jug of very cold water to test the toffee. You simply drop a teaspoon of the (still boiling, liquid) toffee into the cold water and then you test it. Simple.

I’m quite lucky that I come from a family steeped in tradition. Baking is relaxing. It’s part of what makes me, me. It’s tradition. Family tradition.

I’ve made my Christmas cakes (one rum, one brandy and one whisky). I’ve made Parkin for bonfire night. What’s next??

What to do next?

I’ve kind of lost my way with this blog. It has been about cooking and recipes, marketing, working in B2B tech, playing golf and my family. I haven’t blogged for a long time as I had a feeling this was becoming a rather shouty, rant about everything negative.

I read through some of the more ‘focussed’ posts recently and really enjoyed some of the memories that they brought back. So, now’s the time for me to think through what I want to use this blog for.

 

‘I’ve got your back, trust me’

Whether you’re working for a new company and have that nerve racking first day ahead of you, or you’re part of an established team awaiting the arrival of new colleagues – the road ahead can be a minefield. New personalities. Skills. Moods. Contribution. Fit.

How do you work out the dynamic between you? How do you establish working relationships that count?

Teams of people work eight or so hours a day, relationships build quickly and common ground is established. You might even start to build trust between you and those colleagues, giving you a deeper understanding and empathy within the team. But, trust must be earned, as must respect. They are not given lightly, nor are they something to play with.

But, how do you know if trust is mutual? How do you know if someone is genuine? At what point do you ‘relax’, get back to ‘normal’ and do the job at hand, without distraction? Do you simply ‘trust’ your instincts and feelings?

There are people in life who are simply not genuine. People who are centred on themselves. Who think of themselves, before others and about securing their position in business. These are the people who tell you to (face to face) ‘I’ve got your back’. The same people who think nothing of calling with their woes and worries; a review, an issue with the spouse or kids or even a team member. So, what do you do, and how do you handle it when your trust is betrayed? Confront them? Ignore them? Get on with your job regardless? But, what happens when their actions have a serious impact on you, both personally and professionally? Where do you turn when the person you thought you trusted has betrayed that trust?

Karma really is a beautiful thing. The only thing you have to do is wait.

What’s going on?

To those of you who check in regularly to see what news, you’ll know there’s not been much blogging going on. Not just recently, but, it seems, over the past year or so. I’m in two minds whether to continue or whether to delete this. Over recent months the blog has simply become a place to rant, a place to let off steam and to talk about stuff that really shouldn’t matter.

It has lost it’s way. I shall look for it. If I don’t succeed then I promise to make it disappear.

Temptation is…

…wanting to blog and tell all, but realising that it might not be the best timing, or the best idea right now.

Years ago I sent my Mum a card which simply said ‘Must have courage, faith and chocolate fudge cake’. That’s my ‘mood message’ at the moment, though I’d rather have vodka than cake.

I can’t really sum up what’s going on either. It’s all a big temptation and an even bigger risk.

A culture of fear

That’s what we’ve got where I work. People are always trying to cover their backs and keep their heads down, to stay out of the line of sight. It’s not pleasant at the best of times. For me, I report directly into the ‘c-team’ so there’s no hiding for me. It makes me a little bit cautious when discussing things in a ‘public’ forum. This week I had the less than pleasant task of running a meeting at the request of my c-level boss. It was always going to contain frustrations, strong views and some frayed tempers, but I didn’t quite expect it to get personal the way it did.

With a number of people coming from far away, there was much discussion about improving communications, and getting things done in a more collaborative manner. That’s no issue at all. I think we would all welcome improvements across all of the team, no-one’s denying it. The difficulties arrived when during a heated discussion fingers were pointed at specific people, comments such as ‘you’re to blame’, ‘it’s your fault’ and ‘you should have done more’ were mentioned. It became very personal. Very. Trying to steer things in a neutral way didn’t help either – it seemed to escalate the level of frustration among the attendees.

There’s no denying the facts. Business isn’t what it once was. But it is just that – business. Don’t make it personal. Don’t point fingers. Yes, we have a culture of fear, but don’t try to score points on a personal level. You never know when it might backfire in your direction.

I believe in karma, do you?