I have now been living with Dot for 8 weeks and it has been a serious roller coaster ride. I have had days when I have been thrilled to be living with her and making some kind of "difference" in someone else's life, and days when I have been at my absolute wits end. I though I would do a round up of some of the things that have happened over the last couple weeks.
Getting locked out of the house
Dorothy has a habit of locking all the doors and windows etc before going to bed...which is a good habit, unless I have not come home yet. I come home at least once a week to a locked front door and the key still in the lock on the inside. So I have no way of getting into the house. I ring the doorbell incessantly to no avail before giving in a calling her son to get her to open the door. She often opens the door with a cheeky smile on her face which makes me suspect she knows I'm out there and is enjoying seeing me freezing my butt off!
Missing teeth
A couple mornings Dot has decided to hide her teeth. The first time was quite a shock as I hadn't realised she has falsies! The fact that they were perfectly white and straight should have been a give away but I like to think the best of people! Anyway as she whistled good morning to me I realised I would have to locate the damn teeth or else should would have some trouble eating her breakfast so began a house wide search eventually finding them on the far side of the bath.....which is a perfectly logical place to keep them????
Midnight raids
A couple nights a week Dot gets up at 10 or 11 thinking it is morning time and gets dressed. I try persuade her to get back into bed as the thought of her sleeping on the couch all night breaks my heart, however this usually turns into another hour affair and she come to check ever 5/10 minutes that it is night time and she must go to bed. Even if I lock my door she will stand there and rattle to door knob till I open the door and confirm that it is in fact night time!
Thursday the fourth of June
I spent the day trying to convince Dot that the only place in the TV guide where you can find the words Thursday 4 June was along the side of the page and not in the actual TV listing. I was like her brain was on loop and all she could think about was finding these words. I actually didn't know whether to laugh or cry!
On the whole I'm happy with Dot. I get comfort from the fact that she would be so lonely if she was on her own and I know she enjoys having me there (most evident by the fact that she will not go to bed if I am still up no matter how tired she is!!!!!!!) My friends have had some laugh at my expense so they're loving the experience and the hard days soon pass. I guess I have many more months of craziness to look forward to!
Monday, June 08, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
Day Dot
Today I moved in with Dorothy, an 85 year old women who is deaf and has a spot of Alzheimer's. I am hoping to live with her for the next year to 18 months and, in an effort to maintain my own sanity, and to record my time with her, I have decided to start blogging again.
So day one has come and gone. Dorothy's son was here when I arrived to settle me in and explain the ins and outs to me. I spent the afternoon unpacking some of my stuff - trying to ram my clothes into the tiny cupboard - but eventually I had to go downstairs and chat to old Dot. Turns out I have no idea what to chat to an old lady about. So after about 5 mins I popped upstairs to google "talking to people with Alzheimer's". Needless to say google was less than helpful but armed with such tips as speak slowly and clearly (a real gem that one, don't think I could have figured that out on my own)I headed back down. Turns out if I just sit quietly next to her the conversation will come to me - one specific conversation - what was my name again? And what time am I going to work? and what time will I be back? I must have answered each of these at least 10 times over a 2 hour period. At one point while trying to help her take her evening pills she handed me the HUGE pill box and asked me if there was anything in there I wanted.
The slight downside to living with Dot is when she does something crazy, like put 1p coins in her hot chocolate, she doesn't remember doing it and I am the only other person around so all suspicion immediately falls on me. I had to smile sweetly and tell her I had no idea where the coins could have come from. Luckily the interrogation doesn't last too long.
So day one is safely behind me and tomorrow I will navigate my way to work through Southall. I am sure I am going to have many more surreal evenings like the one that just passed - if I start repeating myself constantly you all know why!!
P.S in the course of writing this post Dot has tried to put me to bed twice. Scratch that 3 times.
So day one has come and gone. Dorothy's son was here when I arrived to settle me in and explain the ins and outs to me. I spent the afternoon unpacking some of my stuff - trying to ram my clothes into the tiny cupboard - but eventually I had to go downstairs and chat to old Dot. Turns out I have no idea what to chat to an old lady about. So after about 5 mins I popped upstairs to google "talking to people with Alzheimer's". Needless to say google was less than helpful but armed with such tips as speak slowly and clearly (a real gem that one, don't think I could have figured that out on my own)I headed back down. Turns out if I just sit quietly next to her the conversation will come to me - one specific conversation - what was my name again? And what time am I going to work? and what time will I be back? I must have answered each of these at least 10 times over a 2 hour period. At one point while trying to help her take her evening pills she handed me the HUGE pill box and asked me if there was anything in there I wanted.
The slight downside to living with Dot is when she does something crazy, like put 1p coins in her hot chocolate, she doesn't remember doing it and I am the only other person around so all suspicion immediately falls on me. I had to smile sweetly and tell her I had no idea where the coins could have come from. Luckily the interrogation doesn't last too long.
So day one is safely behind me and tomorrow I will navigate my way to work through Southall. I am sure I am going to have many more surreal evenings like the one that just passed - if I start repeating myself constantly you all know why!!
P.S in the course of writing this post Dot has tried to put me to bed twice. Scratch that 3 times.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Live Earth
For this post I really wish I was a better writer. I want to try and get down in words what a phenomenal day it was but I am just not able to find the words.
I have to say that by the time this rolled around I was incredible underwhelmed. Things were hectic at work, and I still had my mind on Glastonbury, and as far as I was concerned there was no way that one day at Wembley stadium would every compete with that experience.
Steven made the decision that we should leave Putney at 8:30, and boy was I unhappy about that. I made it perfectly clear to everyone that I thought this was a ridiculous idea and that I was unhappy. Surely we would not be able to maintain a place at the front of the crowd for the whole day no matter how early we got there. But I got up at 7:30 and dragged my sorry as down to the station non-the-less. We got to Wembley way before the doors were due to open and queued for about 2 hours, and boy was I glad we did. We managed to get into the "pit" which was right in front of the stage. They only let a certain number of people in there so there was no over crowding , we even had enough space to spread out our picnic blanket and have a lie down between acts.
The sun shone the whole day and the performances just got better and better as the day went on. The Foo Fighters and Madonna were probably my highlights but in actual fact there were very few acts that I did not LOVE. I would have payed double the price to have been able to experience that day! Amazing!!!
I have to say that by the time this rolled around I was incredible underwhelmed. Things were hectic at work, and I still had my mind on Glastonbury, and as far as I was concerned there was no way that one day at Wembley stadium would every compete with that experience.
Steven made the decision that we should leave Putney at 8:30, and boy was I unhappy about that. I made it perfectly clear to everyone that I thought this was a ridiculous idea and that I was unhappy. Surely we would not be able to maintain a place at the front of the crowd for the whole day no matter how early we got there. But I got up at 7:30 and dragged my sorry as down to the station non-the-less. We got to Wembley way before the doors were due to open and queued for about 2 hours, and boy was I glad we did. We managed to get into the "pit" which was right in front of the stage. They only let a certain number of people in there so there was no over crowding , we even had enough space to spread out our picnic blanket and have a lie down between acts.
The sun shone the whole day and the performances just got better and better as the day went on. The Foo Fighters and Madonna were probably my highlights but in actual fact there were very few acts that I did not LOVE. I would have payed double the price to have been able to experience that day! Amazing!!!
2 Down 1 to go
This summer was going to be the summer of festivals...Glastonbury, Benicassim and V. I have not idea what possessed me to try cram a life times worth of music into 3 months! It has been totally amazing and totally crazy.
I didn't think Glastonbury could possibly live up to my expectations. I had been buzzing with excitement for weeks on end and I could barely sleep the night before we left. Nick had procured a car and I nominated myself for navigation duties...insisting that I had the capabilities of....well a great navigator, and then promptly got us lost in London!
We arrived at the campsite and I was blown away by the size of the festival. Everywhere I looked in every direction was just tiny little tents. We set up the tent and then headed off for a walk about. It was even stranger than I had imagined. The front end of aeroplane, huge metal robots, areas to make clay sculptures and tiny cafes to try and escape the mud. I remember thinking on that first day, if this is the mud they have been talking about, I can definitely handle it....little did i know.
Day 2 the rain began....and it didn't really let up for the rest of the weekend. The mud became ankle deep and then calf deep. Determined as I was not to fall the mud became so thick that my foot git stuck, the top half of my body kept moving forward and my feet remained stationary. hand first into the mud.
By the end of the weekend, living in mud and rain and being totally filthy started to feel normal. We saw some great music and would escape to the circus/comedy tent to try find somewhere to sit down! I was torn between desperately wanting to get home and never wanting to leave! The real world became a distant memory and life became all about food, music and crazy people! For weeks after coming home I felt a pang every time I thought of Glasto.
Benicassim was pretty much the polar opposite. We jetted off to Spain, leaving a cold and rainy London behind and arrived to a boiling hot dusty evening. The campsite was rammed full and we had to find a tiny corner in the back of campsite to pitch our tent. Our days were routine....get up, head straight down to the beach to grab a deck chair and umbrella and relax in the sun and swim all day. The sea was the most gorgeous blue and it was so warm. In the afternoon we would head into town for drink and to grab some food before hitting the festival. The crowd was so energetic and it made the festival for me. But I realised that I do not have the kind of stamina to be able to do this all day all night kind of thing. I was always the first one to head off to bed! The real drama of the holiday was us missing our flight! I know that is the thing I am going go tremember when I look back on this holiday! desperately racing to get to the airport, watching the minutes tick by and feeling so helpless. Thanks to the great taxi driver who did everything he could to get the crazy english speaking tourists to the airport on time, especially with stsven shouting, rapido, rapido at him every now and then!
So V in a couple weeks, I'm looking forward to this one casue hopefully it will be stress free. Loads of friends are going so I'm looking forward to a chilled weekend away and seeing the Foo Fighters!
I didn't think Glastonbury could possibly live up to my expectations. I had been buzzing with excitement for weeks on end and I could barely sleep the night before we left. Nick had procured a car and I nominated myself for navigation duties...insisting that I had the capabilities of....well a great navigator, and then promptly got us lost in London!
We arrived at the campsite and I was blown away by the size of the festival. Everywhere I looked in every direction was just tiny little tents. We set up the tent and then headed off for a walk about. It was even stranger than I had imagined. The front end of aeroplane, huge metal robots, areas to make clay sculptures and tiny cafes to try and escape the mud. I remember thinking on that first day, if this is the mud they have been talking about, I can definitely handle it....little did i know.
Day 2 the rain began....and it didn't really let up for the rest of the weekend. The mud became ankle deep and then calf deep. Determined as I was not to fall the mud became so thick that my foot git stuck, the top half of my body kept moving forward and my feet remained stationary. hand first into the mud.
By the end of the weekend, living in mud and rain and being totally filthy started to feel normal. We saw some great music and would escape to the circus/comedy tent to try find somewhere to sit down! I was torn between desperately wanting to get home and never wanting to leave! The real world became a distant memory and life became all about food, music and crazy people! For weeks after coming home I felt a pang every time I thought of Glasto.
Benicassim was pretty much the polar opposite. We jetted off to Spain, leaving a cold and rainy London behind and arrived to a boiling hot dusty evening. The campsite was rammed full and we had to find a tiny corner in the back of campsite to pitch our tent. Our days were routine....get up, head straight down to the beach to grab a deck chair and umbrella and relax in the sun and swim all day. The sea was the most gorgeous blue and it was so warm. In the afternoon we would head into town for drink and to grab some food before hitting the festival. The crowd was so energetic and it made the festival for me. But I realised that I do not have the kind of stamina to be able to do this all day all night kind of thing. I was always the first one to head off to bed! The real drama of the holiday was us missing our flight! I know that is the thing I am going go tremember when I look back on this holiday! desperately racing to get to the airport, watching the minutes tick by and feeling so helpless. Thanks to the great taxi driver who did everything he could to get the crazy english speaking tourists to the airport on time, especially with stsven shouting, rapido, rapido at him every now and then!
So V in a couple weeks, I'm looking forward to this one casue hopefully it will be stress free. Loads of friends are going so I'm looking forward to a chilled weekend away and seeing the Foo Fighters!
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Lunch break terror
Yesterday I was enjoying a leisurely lunch in the park when I was viciously attached by a bird. I was truly fearing for my life, as it puffed its feathers up and made vicious attacking noises. I was clinging to Nick for dear life as it circled around us, eying our food with it's beady beady eyes.
Nothing would put this fearless (vicious) bird off. I think eventually it took pity on me and decided I wasn't worth the effort, as clearly I had nothing to offer.
It took me the rest of the lunch break to recover...and I can tell you I will not be sitting on that side of the park again!
Nothing would put this fearless (vicious) bird off. I think eventually it took pity on me and decided I wasn't worth the effort, as clearly I had nothing to offer.
It took me the rest of the lunch break to recover...and I can tell you I will not be sitting on that side of the park again!
Thursday, May 31, 2007
NME New Music Tour
Tuesday night I managed to convince a few of my girlfriends to join me at the NME new music tour. The gig was at Koko in Camden which is one of my favourite venues. We got there early and so managed to secure a balcony area where we could sit and wait for the bands to start, and which also gave us a great view of the stage. The only band I had any real interest in seeing was Pull Tiger Tail, and I was not disappointed. The Guitarist Davo(??)was your typical cocky, I think I'm hot Brit rocker, and while he irritated the crap out of all my friends I found his antic mildly amusing. At one point he jumped down into the press alley in front of the crowd, I think he was expecting mass hysteria, but the crowd barely reacted. I really started enjoying myself when they got several people on stage with them to help them play one of their songs (will have to buy their CD in order to tell which song it was). It had an awesomely infectious beat, magnified by the extra people onstage thumping out the rhythm. This was the point where they started to look like they were really having fun, and from my great vantage point I could tell the crowd was loving it. I am seriously looking forward to seeing where this band again.
The surprise band of the evening was The Little Ones. I had never actually heard of them before this tour and they blew me away. I loved how they could stand on stage next to these other typically British bands, with their own very unique sound and "rock out". They even encouraged the crowd to throw things at them at one point. The lead singer, Ed Reyes, is incredibly charismatic and I fell in love with him the moment he stepped up onto stage and started wriggling his little butt around. He reminded me of a toddler, trying to explain something very earnestly, all big eyes and cute expressions. The music was incredibly happy and upbeat and I couldn't stop smiling throughout their performance, I actually felt a pang of loss as they walked off the stage.
I don't have terribly much to say about the other two bands. The drummer for the Blood Red Shoes was amazing, but I found the lead singer to be dull and her guitar smashing act at the end of their performance seemed like a childish temper tantrum. I would definitely like to keep an eye on the drummers career, my uneducated opinion is that he should ditch the girl and find someone with a bit more spunk.
The Rumble Strips.... where do I start? 15 minutes into their performance I snuck into the toilet where I overheard two girls discussing the Rumbles performance. The one drunken girl summed it by saying,"it's just shouty bloke music, who would want a Rumbles bootleg album?" I was unmoved by their performance. I spent more time watching the crowd than watching the band, and their music didn't really stir up any emotion. I was pretty much indifferent and we left before they had finished.
All in all I am really glad I went along to this. It is always great to hear new bands live and to find unknown gems! I'm off to buy the Little One's and Pull Tiger Tails albums.
The surprise band of the evening was The Little Ones. I had never actually heard of them before this tour and they blew me away. I loved how they could stand on stage next to these other typically British bands, with their own very unique sound and "rock out". They even encouraged the crowd to throw things at them at one point. The lead singer, Ed Reyes, is incredibly charismatic and I fell in love with him the moment he stepped up onto stage and started wriggling his little butt around. He reminded me of a toddler, trying to explain something very earnestly, all big eyes and cute expressions. The music was incredibly happy and upbeat and I couldn't stop smiling throughout their performance, I actually felt a pang of loss as they walked off the stage.
I don't have terribly much to say about the other two bands. The drummer for the Blood Red Shoes was amazing, but I found the lead singer to be dull and her guitar smashing act at the end of their performance seemed like a childish temper tantrum. I would definitely like to keep an eye on the drummers career, my uneducated opinion is that he should ditch the girl and find someone with a bit more spunk.
The Rumble Strips.... where do I start? 15 minutes into their performance I snuck into the toilet where I overheard two girls discussing the Rumbles performance. The one drunken girl summed it by saying,"it's just shouty bloke music, who would want a Rumbles bootleg album?" I was unmoved by their performance. I spent more time watching the crowd than watching the band, and their music didn't really stir up any emotion. I was pretty much indifferent and we left before they had finished.
All in all I am really glad I went along to this. It is always great to hear new bands live and to find unknown gems! I'm off to buy the Little One's and Pull Tiger Tails albums.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
One day older, one year older
Yes, this weekend I turned 24. I have to say that this year my expectations and excitement levels were at an all time low. There has been so much other stuff going on that it didn't seem to sink in that my birthday was upon me.
Luckily for me I have some amazing friends who
a) helped organise a celebration and
b) turned up and made the night worth while.
We started off at the Amused Moose comedy club. I was feeling a little apprehensive, cause if comedy is not great then it is just embarrassing. Luckily for me the three comedians were fantastic. It being my birthday I was very worriesd that one of my friend would draw attention to me and embarrass me. Sadly I do not need friends to draw attention to me as I am more than capable of embarrassing myself. During the one quite moment in the comedians witty banter I hiccuped....loudly, and it did not even take him 5 seconds to launch into me. I now have a new nick-name. But if you weren't there on sat night I'm afraid there is absolutely NO WAY I am going to divulge what it is.
Anyway....after the comedy ended we hung out for a couple minutes but the club emptied out faster than I could top up my glass of wine, so we headed out to Ghetto, were the music is kitsch and the men are "friendly", to dance dance dance the night away. The trip home was long, but fun filled and Jo will be forever known as McSleepy.
Thanks so so much to all y'all that pitched up. My night would not have been the same without you xxxx
Sunday, May 20, 2007
39 Steps
I was tired!!! Very very tired. And I did not feel like going out. But I had booked these damn tickets through damn lastminute for dinner and theater, so I dragged my sorry ass from work through to Picadilly to meet with the lovely Carlene. Dinner was nice (the company more than the venue) but the theater was great. My interest was piqued when I realised the theater was actually underground (yes I am easily excited!) Despite my lethargy, I was able to concentrate and even managed a few laughs. There were only four actors playing a number of roles. The whole show was very tongue in cheek but at the same time very very clever. I spent the whole night wondering how they had managed to think up so many different ways to bring this movie to the theater. I am sure I would've appreciated it even more if I had actually seen the movie!!!!! Never the less I was highly entertained for 2 hours and would loved to have met the actors so I could personally tell them how much I had enjoyed the show. After seeing this show I am even less impressed with "Treats" than I was on Monday night! For me this show is what the west end is all about, slightly over the top acting, clever props and a lot of laughs.
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