Berlinfusiontag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-941193915649615482012-03-19T10:20:00+01:00From sushi to sauerkraut - moving from Tokyo to Berlin.TypePadPositive Progresstag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e553a428858834016763f53edc970b2012-03-19T10:20:00+01:002012-03-19T00:08:16+01:00Things are looking brighter, at long last. Light is pouring in at the end of the tunnel and I sincerely hope it continues to do so. While I may have shown symptoms of depression, I don't want to use that term. I was suffering from stress, shock and a myriad...Carole Hallett MobbsWhere's my Mojo?tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e553a4288588340168e8789d01970c2012-03-06T08:41:46+01:002012-03-06T08:41:46+01:00You'd think that getting such good news as "all clear" would have a massively positive effect on one's mood. But it hasn't. I'm finding it all very odd right now. I was expecting to feel re-energised, upbeat, over the moon and ready to start on all sorts of new projects....Carole Hallett MobbsJudgement Daytag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e553a4288588340168e84c06c0970c2012-03-02T23:50:07+01:002012-03-02T23:50:07+01:00Today was the day I went back to the doctor for the results and findings of my CT scan. To say I was petrified would be an understatement. To recap: Three weeks ago I had an abdominal ultrasound scan to see if I had any random cysts floating around. I...Carole Hallett MobbsRadiation Overexposure?tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e553a42885883401630233de9b970d2012-02-29T13:08:27+01:002012-02-29T13:08:27+01:00Welcome back to my medical blog. This certainly is not the direction I envisaged Berlinfusion going when I started it nearly a year ago! I must admit to being thoroughly fed up with all this. Going to a medical professional for one complaint, having them dismiss that issue then sending...Carole Hallett MobbsWhat Happened at my CT Scantag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e553a4288588340168e81b3ed7970c2012-02-28T13:48:07+01:002012-03-01T16:10:33+01:00Yesterday I had to be back at the Diagnostikum for an appointment at 0800 for the CT (Computed Tomography) scan brought about by an unclear ultrasound scan a couple of weeks ago. Instructions were 'nil by mouth', so I hadn't even had my morning cuppa. I'm not good in the...Carole Hallett MobbsScans and X-Raystag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e553a42885883401676290b27a970b2012-02-18T23:44:11+01:002012-02-19T22:53:29+01:00Monday morning (it was 13th...) was spent at a "diagnostikum" centre for the scans and x-rays the doctor ordered. It was not a pleasant experience. For a start, I had to be there at 8.30am having had nothing to eat or drink since the previous night. I found the building...Carole Hallett MobbsWelcome to German Medicine!tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e553a4288588340163014e9d0d970d2012-02-13T15:15:12+01:002012-02-13T15:15:12+01:00When Rhiannon had to visit the doctor a couple of weeks ago, I made an appointment for myself. Whilst I had no particular need to visit, I thought it would be a good idea to get properly registered and checked over. Besides, I've got an ongoing back problem, so thought...Carole Hallett MobbsDoctor, Doctor!tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e553a4288588340167619337de970b2012-02-02T23:43:34+01:002012-02-02T23:43:34+01:00One of the very first issues to sort out when moving house is to find a doctor. Just in case... I neglected to do this. I just don't do doctors unless absolutely necessary. Tim has been nagging me for months to get this sorted. A friend ventured to comment that...Carole Hallett MobbsFailure to Starttag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e553a4288588340167602f2f9e970b2012-01-08T17:06:28+01:002012-01-08T17:06:28+01:00Despite the efforts of Tim, Rhiannon and Kita I refused to get up yesterday morning. It felt like everything had all caught up with me at once - Christmas and all that entailed, Mum's visit, a stomach bug that kept recurring and that I'd continued working through and general post-stress...Carole Hallett MobbsA Christmas Rounduptag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e553a4288588340162fe3a4703970d2011-12-23T09:45:00+01:002011-12-23T19:41:20+01:00It's been a busy couple of weeks. So busy, in fact, that I don't feel I've shared enough of my mundane life with you all. Let me rectify that now... We've been to Christmas parties: one for the kids where Santa appeared with presents. I think this is possibly the...Carole Hallett MobbsIs Writing Cathartic?tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e553a42885883401543697b7da970c2011-11-03T01:18:51+01:002011-11-03T01:20:33+01:00Not long after arriving here, I was contacted by a friend in Tokyo who had been asked if she knew anyone who could write a piece for the 'in-house' magazine. She thought of me, which was very flattering, and sent me contact details. A bit of correspondence ensued and I...Carole Hallett MobbsMaking Changestag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e553a42885883401539222c74c970b2011-10-07T15:09:26+02:002011-10-07T15:09:26+02:00My "New Year" starts in September, not January. It must be a fall back to those long-distant school days. Although I loathed school, and my school-days certainly weren't the best days of my life, I still have fond memories of buying a new pencil case each new school year and...Carole Hallett MobbsInsomniatag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e553a428858834015391171249970b2011-08-29T03:42:24+02:002011-08-29T03:42:24+02:00It's past 3am and I cannot sleep. I have tried. I went to bed at about 1.30am, read a little and turned out the light. And just lay there, mind whirring. It didn't help that I was cold. I can't sleep when my feet are cold - I think I...Carole Hallett Mobbs"I'll have a 'P' please, Bob"tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e553a428858834014e89b51570970d2011-08-01T17:43:00+02:002011-07-09T01:46:45+02:00Public Holidays. Japan had squillions of public holidays - but at least the shops never closed. I truly cannot get used to everything closing on Sundays and public holidays. I have never lived anywhere where I can't buy an emergency pint of milk on these days. It means that Saturdays...Carole Hallett MobbsJaytag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e553a42885883401543394ca87970c2011-07-22T17:32:00+02:002011-07-09T03:22:06+02:00Jay. Beautiful birds in my garden. One breed of many visitors. Japan. I'm homesick - not for the UK but for Japan. I miss almost everything about this incredible country. Apart from the horrendous summer heat and earthquakes. Rhiannon is very homesick for Tokyo and is worried because she's forgetting...Carole Hallett MobbsIt's all about 'I'tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e553a42885883401538fc1739e970b2011-07-21T17:05:00+02:002011-07-21T17:05:00+02:00Isolation. I'm not feeling particularly deep and meaningful at the moment, and I don't do navel-gazing. Just stating the facts here. Our house is very isolated. Not from other houses or people, but from shops and amenities. Public transport is by bus and I haven't got to grips with the...Carole Hallett MobbsHa-ha-choo!tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e553a4288588340154338e0aa2970c2011-07-20T16:59:00+02:002011-07-20T16:59:00+02:00Hayfever. Within a day of arriving in Berlin I re-developed hayfever. A major sufferer of this in my teens, it faded away when I moved to London but returned with a sudden vengeance here. I can't take antihistamines. So I'm lumbered with streaming, unbearably itchy eyes as a main symptom...Carole Hallett MobbsEeeeee!tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e553a4288588340154338deb52970c2011-07-15T17:29:00+02:002011-07-15T17:29:00+02:00Everything begins with an E... Everything. Here's the post I wrote when all our everything arrived. Unpacking ground to a halt around mid-May due to severe apathy and a lot of everything is still awaiting its final place in the house. This will pick up after the summer holidays as...Carole Hallett MobbsProcrastination Overcome - Until Next Time...tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e553a42885883401538e9f8279970b2011-05-21T21:58:21+02:002011-06-02T01:58:50+02:00It's one thing procrastinating madly when the chips are in the air, but once they come down, then I do (finally) get to work. Wednesday was a washout, work-wise (see previous post). Then Tim told me he was taking Thursday off so I wasn't going to get my work done...Carole Hallett MobbsAssumptionstag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e553a4288588340154325e7cc2970c2011-05-17T23:28:47+02:002011-06-02T01:50:15+02:00Yeah, I know the cheesy phrase about assumptions. Let's ignore it. Tim and I had a discussion earlier; both of us have made assumptions today which may not have a great outcome. Assumption 1 - mine: Rhiannon was still off sick today. I won't bore you with the details -...Carole Hallett MobbsThe Best Laid Schemes of Mice and Mums...tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e553a42885883401538e83ffca970b2011-05-16T15:20:47+02:002011-06-02T01:47:47+02:00My apologies to Robert Burns' poem To a Mouse, 1786. "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men, Gang aft a-gley". I had great plans for this week: write my dreadline-due articles, organise a survey in preparation for my book which is currently in the planning stages, attempt to catch...Carole Hallett MobbsClosing My Businesstag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e553a428858834015432190410970c2011-05-03T21:41:32+02:002011-12-23T00:18:42+01:00I'd been looking forward to today for ages. Rhiannon's back at school now and today, Tim returned to work after another long public holiday weekend. For the first time since 9th March, I was truly free. FREEEE! Oh yes, I was extremely happy this morning. The weather perked up again...Carole Hallett MobbsNewsflash: Unpacking is Finished!tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e553a428858834014e88302879970d2011-05-01T23:25:12+02:002011-06-02T01:13:29+02:00Phew, I am glad this long weekend is over (almost). I am exhausted and frazzled beyond belief. All the unpacking, bar some pictures and the garden stuff, has been done. Now it's just a case of rearranging things and finding somewhere to put it all. This is the bit that...Carole Hallett MobbsJet Lag, Giant Dogs and a Janitortag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e553a428858834015431ecd0b9970c2011-04-25T10:15:48+02:002011-06-02T00:32:38+02:00Wednesday 13th April I awoke at 5am again after spending most of the night in the bathroom. No, I wasn't ill, I have a peculiar jet lag symptom - needing to pee every hour or so. Actually, my jet lag is very similar to being pregnant... headache, tiredness, insomnia (yes,...Carole Hallett MobbsOur Pets Arrive!tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e553a428858834015431ec6173970c2011-04-24T21:45:47+02:002011-06-02T00:26:38+02:00(Yes, this is still continuing from the previous post for 12th April 2011) Once we returned from visiting the school, my mind reeling at what I'd promised for Friday, I collapsed on the sofa. Desperate for sleep but knew I mustn't succumb as the only way to deal with jetlag...Carole Hallett Mobbs