Introduction to Someone New and the East Midlands

This week’s entry is a long one, and I hope it makes up for the lack of entries over the past few weeks. Plenty of updates for all, so read on and enjoy!

RVI Appointment: 15 Feb.

My first official appointment with the glaucoma specialist at the RVI was on 15 February. Martin had shown me the route the previous Friday, so I now know how to navigate to the hospital and straight on into the Eye Outpatient department. I had a bit of a wait—roughly an hour and a half—but I’d brought a book to read, so that helped. A very kindly nurse had seen me waiting, and had come to ask me if I’d like a cup of tea. That was certainly lovely All in all, my experience was fine, and despite all of the horror stories going round about long queues, I wasn’t there that long.

My new doctor is named Dr. Birch. He made quick work of examining my eyes, checking the pressure in the left (which was 8), as well as looking at the valve. Long story short: all is well and holding stable, as it should be. The pressure is a little lower than normal (it usually hangs round 11 or 12, and I’d told him this), but he didn’t seem worried by it, nor have I noticed any difference in my vision. My pressure tends to fluctuate from day to day, and I look at it as: the lower the number, the better.

So all is well on the eye front. My next appointment (now that I am in the ‘system’ it is easy to get follow ups) is on 28 June.

Introducing Edwin

Edwin (taken Summer 2009 at a writing conference)

The highlight of this week’s entry is Edwin. I know most of you have heard of him by now, either ‘through the family grapevine’ or from me directly.  For those of you who haven’t and are curious, I’ve decided to take this opportunity to introduce him properly, or at least, as properly as can be done via the web.

Edwin is 36, and hails from the county of Derbyshire in the East Midland region of England, roughly two and a half hours from Newcastle. He is a writer, currently working on his first series of fantasy novels, having created an amazingly detailed world from scratch. Whereas I twist existing reality to suit my needs, he, much like JRR Tolkin, has built an entire world unto itself—countries, religions, histories, cultures—you name it, it’s there. Not only do we share a passion for the written word, but in turn, we share the struggles of disability. He was recently diagnosed with a form of muscular dystrophy known as Becker’s syndrome, which mainly affects the skeletal muscles. If you wish to know more about Becker’s, I have provided a link below:

Further Information on Becker’s: CLICK HERE

Pertaining to our disabilities, we are alike, in that we see them as part of our lives, not as a hindrance to life itself. Neither of us allows it to stand in our way, and while we are attentive to each other’s particular limitations, focus is on the positive side of the spectrum, on what we can do rather than what we cannot.

After our initial meeting, we arranged to meet again this past weekend. I took the train to Chesterfield, and we met up there. I’d made the typically American mistake of going to the right side of the car to get in once we’d put my bags in the boot (trunk). He’d seen me, and said with a chuckle, “Hey, I don’t think you’re driving!”

I stopped, thought for a second, and then started laughing. “Right, I forgot, we’re in England!”

We ventured on to the small village of Bakewell for lunch and to have a wander around. Much like Red Lion (though much older and a lot nicer if I do say so), it’s a rural town, surrounded by moors, and you can see a few bits of castles still standing as you wind your way down the road. Given his time as a reenactor, not to mention his great interest in history in general, Edwin was able to point out and tell me of a few interesting historical spots along the way.

We had lunch at what is known as a tearoom. It’s sort of like a small restaurant in what looked to me, to have once been a house. Very charming place with very lovely food. I learned all about Branston pickle (Google it), which is put on sandwiches. In the U.K., if you see on a menu that your sandwich comes with ‘pickle’ that’s what’s on it. What we think of as a pickle in the U.S. (the pickled cucumber) is known as a gerkin here. I also learned the proper way to eat a scone, and oh, are they lovely things! With jam and cream…woo…nothing better

Afterwards, we went to walk along the river, where lots of gulls, ducks, Canadian geese, and even a beautiful swan, hang round in the water waiting to be fed. This is not a place you’d want to be walking and eating your chips (fries), else they might get stolen, as the birds come right up and take food from your hands! I was so amazed I could get right up next to a large, Canadian goose, and thanks to a kind women who gave me two pieces of bread, I was able to feed it, too. Edwin had his camera at the time, so he was able to take a few photos.

Are your ducks all in a row?

Never thought I'd be this close to a Canadian goose so far from Canada

All swans are property of the Queen in England and are protected by law.

And this, is a picture of a bridge that is literally older than the United States itself, and is still in use today. That’s craftsmanship, that is!

I was also introduced to the sweet shops both in Bakewell and in Alfreton, and have since made it known to my friends that I am not allowed to know where any of these are in Newcastle. Do you all recall the small candy shop in the old version of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? That’s exactly what these little shops reminded me of: containers and jars of sweets all over the place, and instead of buying them sealed in a bag, you buy them by weight. I am now officially addicted to cherry wheels (shoestring licorice), jelly teddy bears (gummy bears), fizzy lemon drops (Lemonheads), and a totally new one: pear drops—hard candies that are pear flavored and a trifle sour.

On Sunday, we met up with Brian, one of Edwin’s friends, and the three of us took the train to Birmingham, but rest assure, we’re nowhere near Alabama! This is a bigger city in the Midlands, and really, it reminded me much of Newcastle with its various shops and mulls of people. It was quite cold that day, so the wandering was kept to a minimum, though we did go to a local market (much like our Farmer’s Markets) that is held every third Sunday of the month. That was fun, and did get us out of the cold for a while. When we returned to Derby, we had dinner at a very nice Japanese restaurant, so finally I have had my sushi! Woo!

It was a fantastic weekend, and I look forward to going back in a few weeks. We’re looking at the weekend of the 12 March for our next get together.

The Great Job Hunt

Just a few updates here:

• I attended a Job Fair on Monday, 22 February, which was sadly a bit disappointing due to the fact that most of the jobs where somehow in or connected to the medical field. I’m hopeful the Graduate Job Fair in June is more profitable in my search.
• I have sent out for an application for another Administrative Assistant vacancy in Gosforth, here in Newcastle, for a first school who is seeking someone to work in the office. I have received the application, and am going to speak with Career Services about the parts I’m not quite sure how to fill in.
• I have posted my application for a National Insurance Number, so once I have my card for that, I’m officially on the tax rolls for the U.K., and my wages, once I find a job, can be taxed accordingly. Given I am a student at this time, I do get an exemption from paying what is known as Council Tax, so that should help a bit.
• I attended a workshop held by the Visa Office on the renewal of my Visa later this year. I now know exactly what this entails, how to go about it, and I’m quite confident in my ability to move from a Tier 4 Student Visa, into a Tier 1 Post Study Work Visa. If I have any problems along the way, the Visa Office will be available to answer any and all of my questions, and I am going to go pay them a visit real soon to get the process started.

Well, that’s all the updates for now everyone! Keep checking back for further news. And AGAIN for those of you (Cindy….) who did not understand my last entry: NO NEWS IS INDEED GOOD NEWS. As I stated previously, I have a lot more on my plate this term, so I am unable to update this blog as much as last term. But rest assured, I will update it as soon as I have the time.

My love to you all and take care!

Interesting Fact of the Week: Midland Dialect vs. Geordie

Do you all recall the short lesson in Geordie I gave last term? Well, in the Midlands, you’ve stepped into another dialect altogether. As I continue to be fascinated by language, I found another term to pass along. In Newcastle, shopkeepers usually refer to customers as ‘pet,’ (Example: “Can I help you, pet?”), but in the Midlands, the term changes. The term ‘duck’ is used in place of ‘pet,’ and in one of the sweet shops we’d visited, I was kindly referred to in this way. I couldn’t help but smile when the woman said, “Can I help you, duck?”