Another Quick update

another quick update from me.

As I’ve posted many times on here before, I’ve thought about seperating my blog into two seperate blogs, One for buses and one for personal stuff. Β Each time I’ve Β thought about it it’s kind of gone to the back of my mind as soon as I begin to realise what a pain in the arse its going to be to do….

So I’ve now decided not to seperate it, But leave it with you the reader to decide on what you see.

At the top of the screen in the green bar, You can now choose to just see bus related posts, or no buses at all πŸ™‚

If you are not fussed or like reading both types then just come here as normal πŸ™‚

 

Training progresses at LM with me now doing my on the train training, Currently working through my route knowledge which I’m finding tough in places but plenty of revising at home seems to be doing the trick!

 

On the bus side, News reaches me of plans for a N5 night bus in MK from mid July, Once I have more details I’ll post here.

 

Not much else been going on, Sold my Macbook Air as I just could get on with it for Β£750 on ebay and used the money to buy me a nice new windows Laptop, some decent headphones, iPhone dock and still have some money left over!

 

 


Such small things

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Been suffering with Joint and muscle aches for months, 18 of them infact, No one was able to identify these pains and give it a name, So I carried on in near constant pain, Hurting to move, Hurting to sit still, Feeling tired n like shit all the time, Untill someone finallly did a blood test. This revealed that i had near non existant levels for Vitamin D. All I have to do now is take two teaspoons a day from this bottle each day… and after just two days the pain has all but gone πŸ˜€ Feels great to be able to move without having to prepare yourself for stabbing pain… It’s a “woo!” moment I feel !! πŸ™‚


Expensive prodding

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Been to see a private doctor a week ago as the pains in my joints have been getting worse lately, and after waiting months to see someone on the NHS, I decided to go privately…. Lucky that bill will be covered by my insurance!! Back for the result next week, but it’s already been suggested that it could be ‘fibromyalgia’. I’d never heard of it either!


:-o Another (sortof) Non bus Blog post!!

Sometimes do you just feel like your life goes round in circles, with nothing noteworthy happening. Just the same routine day in day out?? That’s how it’s felt for a couple of months for me, which I’m using as an excuse for the lack of blog updates. πŸ˜›

 

So what has been going on?? Bugger all !!!

 

I am still taking my Psoriasis tablets, Acitretin. It’s been a good 18 months now that I’ve been on them, photoand they are still sort of working, not as well as when I first started them but they are just about holding it back. I still have the occasional incident where there’s red patches on me arms that embarass me a bit, But it’s not too bad….. I’ve even got to wear shorts this summer!! This might not sound like a big deal, But it’s been 15 years since my legs have been clear enough for me to have the courage to wear them outside, This little fact is a really big thing for me, probably the best thing that’s happened from this medication.

 

 

 

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The downside though is the side effects which have really started to come into force of late, The worst ones at the moment are the shoulder pain and mood swings. I feel like whenever someone asks me whats wrong and I just say “it’s my tablets” it’s like I’m using it as an excuse for everything that goes wrong with me and they are like “yeah whatever” and roll their eyes, but it really is the tablets! I feel like I moan on and on about my medication, and I guess I do, but it really really has given me alot more confidence to do stuff.

 

 

 

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Work was fun on Thursday, To start with I had a bus where the Destination blind was stuck on “A – PRIVATE-SHUTTLE” when I was actually on route 8.

This meant stopping at every stop and shouting “EIGHT!!” at people LOL. No wonder people put their hands out at buses when they have Not In Service or Shuttle on the front!

 

 

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and then for the second half of my shift the Bus decided to break down right by a junction with lots of people moaning and buses struggling to get past… What a fun fun day that was LOL.

 

 

 

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and now today, the bad news, My car’s broke πŸ™

Turbo went “pop” and now it’s sat at the dealers… The problem being that the Warranty runs out on Wednesday!! Hoping they don’t try to weasel out of doing anything :-/

 

 

 

 

 

 

the most exciting thing of late was being on the Telly at Big Brother! Woo!!!

This is ‘Banking Clara’, She is the other half of Professional Matt…..

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That’s me, Banking Clara and Professional Matt with the “Where’s the Shuttle?” banner πŸ™‚

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Well that’s all I can think about putting here for now, see you in 6 months! LOL


Why?!

Why do people think they can get on my bus and make hurtful comment about my Psoriasis/Skin?!

Why do I take these comments to heart and end up getting myself into a state over them?!

Why do I put up with all the headaches, Felling sick, Slow killing of my liver and all the other side effects these tablets bring in the quest for Clear skin?!

Why, after having Psoriasis for 16 years, Have I still not come to terms with the fact I’ll have it for the rest of my life?!

Why can’t I accept that, at the moment, This is the best my skin is ever going to be?!

Why, even with a number of friends saying they are here for me, Can I not actually tell them what’s upset me?!

Why do I continue to bother with this job, When this same thing happens every few months?!

Why, Lately, Do I seem to be so depressed/emotional (tablets again) and crying over nothing?!

 

Why me?!

Basically, WHY?!

 

(I don’t expect people to comment, I just needed to get that out there! Will probably delete this later)


Shock Horror!! Its a non bus posting!!

Yes, Can you believe it! A blog posting not about buses!!

So whats been happening?

Incredibly Little I have to say, (Yes I really am that boring!)

I have been taking some new (to me) tablets for my Psoriasis, I think I blogged about them before, Acitretin. I started out 50mg a day, and after a couple of months Ive gone from 85% skin coverage to under 10% πŸ˜€

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[One of my arms looking almost clear]

Some of the side effects of this drug have been pretty poo. Ive had rather ban skin peeling on the palms of my hands and feet, My feet being really bad to the point where when taking my socks off a whole layer of skin would be attached…. Going to work and walking on feet with chunks of skin missing is rather painful and far from pleasant! Ive also suffered with being unable to sleep, permanently dry/cracked lips, Headaches and rather strange moods. Yes even stranger than normal!! At some points in the past couple of months its turned me into a happy bus driver, and I remember one morning trying to get the old dears to sing along to a song as we went down the road… Sadly I cant remember which song now, But a couple of them did join in. LOL

Been back to the hospital Saturday just gone and it looks like the weekly blood tests have shown that this drug is starting to effect my liver like all the rest, But luckily no where near as bad as when I was using Methotrexate, So its been decided that I can carry on with the treatment but on a slightly lower dose of 40mg a day. Hopefully that will reduce the side effects but stop the Psoriasis from coming back. Unfortunately you can only take this drug for a maximum of six months in a row, which will mean my time will be up when I go back to the hospital in November. πŸ™ Who knows what Ill be using then!

IVA wise everything seems to be going smoothly, Have just heard from the IVA company this week that its time for my yearly Income & expenditure review and thats the first time Ive heard from them since last years review. Well shortly be into year 4! Hard to believe it really, 5 years seemed an awfully long time when I started it in 2006… Ive managed to keep to my payments, Infact Im actually paying in Β£340 a month instead of my required Β£275. I do expect the minimum payment to go up this year as Ive had two pay rises, But Hopefully not by too much!

Going back to the current drug Im using for my Psoriasis, One other side effect is it can increase your cholesterol levels to dangerous levels, Which happened within about 3 weeks of starting it. Now my cholesterol level was far from wonderful to start with, 7.1 but it went upto a very nasty 10.8!! So I started a diet, That was at the end of March and so far Ive lost just under 6 stone (admittedly with the help of Orlistat) πŸ˜€ and my cholesterol level, Although not wonderful, is down to 5.9, Which I was told by my doctor is the average for this country. It also means I no longer have to take the Statin things with these tablets. (Which is good because Im not a very good pill taker). The only down side?! Well theres two, The first is if you have a lapse and have something high in fat then the Orlistat punishes you with, lets just say, very frequent visits to the toilet LOL. The second is having to keep buying smaller clothes! LOL and trying to get uniform at work is a struggle at the best of times, But when you keep changing sizes they aint best pleased!! hehehe. Ive changed my diet slightly to fit in with work as it suits me quite well as I like eating what I have, Which is a foot long Salad subway for lunch and a bowl of cereal for dinner, and my two treats are two packets of low fat crisps a week, and getting to eat whatever I fancy on a Sunday… Like I say it seems to work for me.

Im trying to think what else has happened….. Oh yes, I got myself a new car. Ive turned in to an (old) boy racer LOL, A Skoda Fabia VRS…

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I have professional Matt to thank for this, Not only for having one and letting me have a go, which in turn made me want one, But for coming with me to buy one as I know nothing about cars….. So um.. Thanks! πŸ˜€

Well I think that will do for a non bus update dont you think?

Oh and heres a youtube video thats doing the rounds at the moment, It made me smile

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0&feature=fvw


Happy 5th Birthday!

Well last Friday fifth birthday of my blog, Who would’ve thought I’d keep to actually doing this for five years! LOL

So what’s happened in that time?

I’ve worked at Arriva, MK Metro, Parcelforce, Arriva, Centrebus, Transdev/London Sovereign, Arriva, MK Metro….

(No one is allowed to comment on my Work History ROFL)

I’m into year 3 of my IVA, and am much better off because of it…..

In the five years I’ve not found one bank account that does everything I want it to do. (Lynne/Dreamy River just loves the ongoing banking saga)….

I’ve worked for myself and sold the business on….

I wrote my first Ford Focus off on a concrete block….

I started a “MobLog“….

I’ve blogged about the Weather SIX times (!!)….

I have never won the ARRIVA Employee Photo Competition LOL….

My Psoriasis, in the grand scheme of things neither gets better or worse….

My Liver has gone from 100% to apparently 12% damaged and unrecoverable, back to 100% fit again :-S….

I’ve spent more time Driving the MK Bus Route 200 then any other….

I’ve changed mobile numbers god knows how many times….

I’ve made more friends through my blog than I ever thought possible!….

And I think the question I’ve been asked the most is “Where does the Bus to Luton go from?!”


Back to square one

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Been to the Hospital today for my Three-monthly review. Been given another new set of tablets to try, Cyclosporin, Which is another type of Immune System supressing medication. All the usual side effects, But this time instead of affecting the Liver (Like MTX did to me) this one goes for the Kidneys. Also have to keep an eye on my skin as it does give me a “Higher risk of Tumours or other malignancies, particularly of the skin”… Nice!!

Oh, and back to swapping shifts with people all over the place again, Gotta have blood tests and blood pressure checks every week and hospital reviews every fortnight. I’m thinking permanent lates might be the answer! :/


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Quite possibly the most boring video you’ll find on Youtube, Bits of my Sunday glued together into one video.. and No, I didn’t win anything….

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xLXr56AdhQ

 

Now into my third week at MK Metro, and it’s my first week out on my own without a trainer…. All going fine I think.

I’m still missing the friendlyness of Aylesbury depot, I find Metro, and especially the Bus Station a bit intimidating, But since starting here I’ve noticed my Psoriasis has started to slowly clear up, Which proves my theory that working all those hours on the 200 for Arriva wasn’t doing my health any good.

The problem being of course that my skin was at it’s worst when I started at Metro. I did plan to try and at least get my hands clear with steroid cream, But it hasn’t happened. This hasn’t helped with getting to talk to people as I can see them staring at my skin which then puts me on the defensive. :/

Oh well, I’ve only been on me own for 2 days, So we’ll have to see how it goes, At the moment I’m 80% certain I made the right decision to transfer.

Another 5 second video now, This bus must hold the record for the most annoying indicator sound! LOL

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpisc6uXFpk