He really wasn't the brightest of cats, or the most graceful, but he was still awesome.

They always are.

Just had to take Smithers to the vet for the last time. He was just too old and worn out and I feel really guilty that I couldn't stay with him to the end but I was too upset. Handing him over after 16 years was the hardest thing I've ever had to do.

We ended up getting her sister later on and she is a great little cat. In time you will hopefully be able to look at another cat.

Arguing over what health insurance does and doesn't cover is always great fun!

It'd be covered if I hadn't switched providers due to switching jobs.

Yesterday was rubbish.

Caught a cold.

Landlord put the rent up by 100 quid a month.

Health insurance refused to let me have a brain scan as recommended by my neurologist to see if the mini stroke I had a while back was stable and just a one-off. So I have to go to the doctor and persuade him to write me a letter saying I am symptomatic again, so I can get the scan and consultation. I have had a bunch of headaches in that area and odd feelings (not that kind!) so of course given my family history and my general anxiety disorder I am sure I have a brain tumour and now can't even get it checked out when I want it.

And I barely slept last night because I kept getting a load of crap in my throat and lungs due to the cold.

I am a proper barrel of laughs today.

It'd be covered if I hadn't switched providers due to switching jobs.

Yesterday was rubbish.

Caught a cold.

Landlord put the rent up by 100 quid a month.

Health insurance refused to let me have a brain scan as recommended by my neurologist to see if the mini stroke I had a while back was stable and just a one-off. So I have to go to the doctor and persuade him to write me a letter saying I am symptomatic again, so I can get the scan and consultation. I have had a bunch of headaches in that area and odd feelings (not that kind!) so of course given my family history and my general anxiety disorder I am sure I have a brain tumour and now can't even get it checked out when I want it.

And I barely slept last night because I kept getting a load of crap in my throat and lungs due to the cold.

I am a proper barrel of laughs today.

Fuck. So after getting loads of different blood tests done to no avail at the GP in order to try and work out why, for the last few months, I've been semi-permanently tired and fuzzy headed I was referred to the 'general medical clinic' at the hospital. The guy that I saw couldn't see anything the GP hadn't thought of and certainly didn't think there was anything specifically wrong with me. So, pending the negative results of a couple of final blood tests to rule out things he told me were incredibly unlikely to be the cause, I'm looking at a diagnosis of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (AKA ME).

Compared to the range of symptoms other people can suffer with mine appears to be a relatively mild case but the fact that no one knows what it is, why it happens or how to treat it means it's still a pretty fucking depressing outcome. I'm mostly functional and it's only been so bad once where I've actually had to go home from work due to being utterly exhausted. But it does mean that stuff like the hill-walking I'd started doing late last year is now pretty much off the fucking table as I'd make it about half an hour before being complete fucked. And, of course, it could suddenly get massively worse for no reason at all because no one has the slightest concrete idea what causes/exacerbates it. Lovely.

That sucks, but it is getting closer and closer to being understood. My best friend had it when he was 13 and it knocked him out for about four years. He made a full recovery.

If you don't then it's likely in a few years time that even more will be known about it. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science ... tists.html

. But it does mean that stuff like the hill-walking I'd started doing late last year is now pretty much off the fucking table as I'd make it about half an hour before being complete fucked. And, of course, it could suddenly get massively worse for no reason at all because no one has the slightest concrete idea what causes/exacerbates it. Lovely.

Now I am no expert on ME (or anything), and I don't want to offend or play down your circumstances, but it seems to me that 30 mins of something you like is better than > 30 mins of being disappointed you didn't do the thing you like.

Yeah, I was going to say that you could choose easier starting points, but then realised I have no idea if such things exist.

As mark notes if you're looking at a five hour climb up a Munro thousands of feet high then spending half an hour getting barely past the lowlands before tapping out doesn't make for a brilliant day out. It would be fair enough if, for instance, you lived right at the foot of one such hill because then yeah, fuck it, there's no harm in seeing how far you get; but when I generally need to travel non-trivial distances to even get to a hill it would kind of suck to be 'done' not long after starting. I suspect once it settles down a bit I will try a decent walk one day just so I can see for sure what my limits are but from recent experiences just wandering around the city streets I'm not expecting much from my overall energy levels.

Fuck. So after getting loads of different blood tests done to no avail at the GP in order to try and work out why, for the last few months, I've been semi-permanently tired and fuzzy headed I was referred to the 'general medical clinic' at the hospital. The guy that I saw couldn't see anything the GP hadn't thought of and certainly didn't think there was anything specifically wrong with me. So, pending the negative results of a couple of final blood tests to rule out things he told me were incredibly unlikely to be the cause, I'm looking at a diagnosis of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (AKA ME).

Compared to the range of symptoms other people can suffer with mine appears to be a relatively mild case but the fact that no one knows what it is, why it happens or how to treat it means it's still a pretty fucking depressing outcome. I'm mostly functional and it's only been so bad once where I've actually had to go home from work due to being utterly exhausted. But it does mean that stuff like the hill-walking I'd started doing late last year is now pretty much off the fucking table as I'd make it about half an hour before being complete fucked. And, of course, it could suddenly get massively worse for no reason at all because no one has the slightest concrete idea what causes/exacerbates it. Lovely.

What actually happens when you need to stop? I mean are you out of breath or your legs give out?

I've just been sent a bill for £11,000 by Scottish Power.

What the actual fuck?

I've just been sent a bill for £11,000 by Scottish Power.

What the actual fuck?

They claim I used 9000 units of Gas in one day.

Mistake, innit.

Did you let Malia do your last meter reading?