New York I love you, but you're freaking me out.
Still stupidly busy, this time with stupid work requiring me to work stupidly late. On the bright side, though, our mate Sid is getting married in New Jersey in August, and has invited us to the wedding. This I am stupidly excited about, largely because I want to be there for him when he gets hitched - I'm not sure how many of his friends are going to be able to make it over - and largely because it's just a short drive between there and New York: a city I've wanted to visit for a long time, and finally will. I cannot wait. While we're on the North American continent, we'll also be taking advantage of cheap internal flights and heading down to Texas for a week or so, which will be grand. If I don't burn to crisp. Texas in August is HOT, and not in a nice summer holiday way. Still, given the driech non-summer we're having in Scotland, some scorching heat might be welcome.
My calendar for this weekend contains precisely bugger-all. For this, also, I cannot wait.
Labels: new york, texas, travel
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Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Not feeling like crap. Suspiciously.
I've been feeling pretty good about life lately. Barring a couple of slightly wobbly days I haven't had a bout of depression in a couple of months now. That's not to say I've been wandering around with a big grin on my face the whole time; I've got the same worries as always, and I've been pissed-off, angry and sad at various times, but that's not the same thing as being depressed. A couple of slightly-wobbly days aside, that sluggish, useless, hopeless feeling that comes when I'm at low-tide hasn't troubled me in a wee while, for which I'm thankful.
I hope I'm not tempting fate by talking about it. Maybe it's just saving itself for a massive all-out attack that will leave me swinging from the rafters. I do wonder what's changed, however. Possibly it's nothing more than a chance combination of chemicals that could not have been predicted, and have simply caused a longer-than-usual "up" that will run out of steam soon. Possibly it's just because I've been keeping busy lately, with a couple of musical projects on the go and my writing class helping to keep my brain active. (Not to mention a recently-acquired addiction to the Sudoku mode in Brain Training.) It's certainly not down to exercise - it's a great antidepressant, but until yesterday I hadn't been to the gym in ages.
Alternatively, it could have something to do with the cod-liver oil capsules I've been taking. Every couple of months some new study comes out trumpeting the mental-health benefits of Omega-3 fatty acids, as found in fish oils and, increasingly, in everything from yogurt to bread as food manufacturers fall over themselves to cash in on the latest health fad. There is some evidence for it, mind you, but the majority is anecdotal, and there has been very little in the way of genuinely scientific study on the matter. The claims of the Omega-3 camp are a favourite target of Ben Goldacre's excellent Bad Science blog, which I would encourage anyone with even a passing interest in science and who wishes to see beyond the "boffins prove <something really obvious&gr;" style of science reporting we get in most of the papers to add to their RSS readers post-haste. I started taking them "just to see if it would make a difference", after watching that excellent Stephen Fry documentary about depression in which one of his interviewees made similar claims, and am prepared to admit that maybe, just maybe, it has.
Anyway, I don't know why I'm feeling better than usual, but I'm pleased that I am and am not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. I just hope it lasts.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Default Apology Post Template
Yes yes, sorry for lack of updates and all that. I have been quite insanely busy, but mostly with stuff involving other people who might not like me blathering about it on the interwebs, and I like to keep this site relatively anonymous except for those who know me. This is a bit frustrating, because this week has been terrifically exciting but completely non-bloggable. I haven't had a night at home all week, and tonight will be no different, since I'm off to the pictures to see Jindabyne, which has been getting superb reviews. I also haven't been out for a Friday post-work pint with my workmates in ages, and I promised myself that I would do so tomorrow, but the temptation just to stay at home and tackle the teetering piles of laundry and washing-up is pretty strong.
Anyway, progress on Poster, my desktop blogging-tool, is continuing, but not as quickly as I had foreseen. The basic functionality came together pretty quickly, but I want even the first version to be a pleasant user-experience, and it's that which is taking the time. It's getting there, though, and I hope it will be worth the wait.
Expect a return to more frequent posting soon...