WhoFan63

Hi gang, remember me? lol Well, I'm reporting in, after being back here in the UK for nearly 7 and a half months now. Wow, just where does the time go??? It only seemed like yesterday that I got back here, and now it's nearly Christmas, the lights are up all over the place, the carols are being played in the stores and all I'm waiting for now is the snow. We had a little taste of it last week, but nothing that really stuck, but on the hills outside I could definitely see the white peaks. Beautiful.

I've done so much walking since the last time I wrote, and it's become a regular habit of mine to at least get in a 20 mile minimum walk on my days off. I love it so much and I've seen so much beautiful scenery that I am now officially in training for the London to Brighton 100k walk next year. It's a non stop walk and they give you 30 hours to try to complete it, but you're raising money for charity so I don't think they'd mind if you were a few minutes late.. lol I'm averaging 25 miles over varied terrain, both up steep hills and on flat walks in about 6 hours, so I think the 100k works out to be about 62.14 miles. The only difficulty I will face is the night time walking, but with a trusty headlamp and torch I should be just fine.

I've changed my shifts at work in order to get just a little bit extra pay (a whopping £6.75ph as opposed to £6.19) and I'm now working nights from 6pm to 6.30am. The night goes quickly and it's a much more relaxed and fun atmosphere than the day shift so I'm much happier. Of course it means i have turned into a vampire because it's dark when I walk to work, I'm busy working during the night and then it's dark when i walk home again, so the only time I see daylight is for the hour or so before I go to work and maybe half an hour before I go to bed after I've got home and had something to eat. Talk about messing up your body clock.. lol

Plus I have to contend with the pooches who do their thing and bark to be let out multiple times during the day, so zombie like I stagger down the stairs after yelling at them to keep the noise down, let them out and then stagger back up the stairs. I've had them upstairs with me in the hopes they'd settle down (which they do), but with three dogs all vying for space on my bed they inevitably end up crowded on my side so i'm literally hanging off the bed in an uncomfortable positon. Of course I do snatch an hour or so here and there but of course they do still want to go outside and/or get a drink and some biscuits. I'm on the same team as Mr G and Mr D except nights, so that means we still work the same 4 on 4 off to a degree. I start the night before they start their first day and I finish the morning of their last day at work. Either way I'm home alone with the dogs every morning that I'm trying to sleep, ready for my shift that night, apart from my first one when the guys are home and they keep the dogs quiet.

I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia about a month or so ago it would be now I guess, following continued pain in my arm and neck, but I'm on tablets for the pain and am working through it. I had to stop work for a month in October because of the pain and I thought everything was going to go down hill, because I had no money coming in and as nice as the guys are they need their income coming in, so I had to not only deal with excrutiating pain and no income, but i also had the stress of possibly being evicted., which didn't happen obviously. lol. Once I'd been to the Dr's and started my series of tablets and injections once a month I got to the stage where I decided I had to go back to work and deal with the pain accordingly. So i contacted the company I worked for and once I got a note from the Dr to say that I could return to work that's when they offered me the night shift. A job is a job right? It's nice to be earning again, and it's not as physically demanding where I am and I'm in a totally different department. Don't get me wrong, i'm still on the look out for an office job, but at least I have money coming in while I'm looking.

Apart from that things are still as great here as they were the day I arrived back. I've settled in like a native and am just as vocal about the price of things, politics, football and any other subject that gets thrown at me. The weather is just as I like it and nothing beats looking out the windows to see all the iced up car windows, frosty hills and feeling the temperatures of -2 as I walk to work. Once the snow hits it's going to be a White Christmas for sure.

I'm still not regretting my decision to move back and don't get me wrong, things aren't perfect in the UK, so I'm not seeing things through rose coloured glasses. Some people are still rude (although not as many as you'd expect), the chippies are all run by chinese families and sell chinese food at the same time..lol, but I still love being able to go shopping and buy groceries for far less than I would in the US. Where else can you buy a 2 litre bottle of Diet Coke for £0.57 and a loaf of bread for £1.00. I can shop well that's for sure. I've totally stopped thinking about things in $USD and comparing the prices. So I'm home! Wouldn't change a thing.

So I will leave you with this brief update while I go back and read up on what else I've missed since I've been gone. lol.

fulwood

Nice to hear from you. 7 and half months gone already..

windsong

Great to hear from you! It seems like it was just yesterday you were waiting for your passport to fly . . .

Karrie72

Thanks for the update, I had wondered how you were getting on. It sounds like you need some good ear plugs though!

lf1

Thanks for the update. So pleased to hear that you are happy being home. Sorry to hear you have not been well. I wish you the very best for your walk. I have great admiration for you. I walked the West Highland Way, which is a similar distance, but over 7 days. There is no way I could do that distance non-stop. My hat is off to you

Perth

Great update! You are very brave to undertake that walk with your condition. What a trooper! Keep it up and Carry On

quoll

Good to hear things are going well!

I am in awe of your walking! I manage around 8 miles a day on average but think I would struggle on 100 miles non stop - although you've given me something to think about there!!!!

Hope it continues to go well and that a better job may be just around the corner!

WhoFan63

Yes, it's hard to believe isn't it?? They say time flies when you're having fun. lol

WhoFan63

Doesn't it just? Gosh, I remember that so vividly and it does seem like just yesterday i was pulling my hair out at the fact it was taking so long. lol There are times when I still look out the window and think to myself 'I'm really back - I did it!'

WhoFan63

I did think of the ear plugs but then I wondered if I'd hear the alarm clock..lol, and knowing my luck I'd still hear them barking even with ear plugs their so loud..lol. It's like one starts barking, then another and finally all three of them kick in and end up literally howling. Quite a racket...roflmao. I've been expecting a knock on the door from a neighbour wondering if I'm murdering the dogs..lol

WhoFan63

That' is another walk I'd like to do once I have enough time up my sleeve. Thankfully the Fibro is so far just in my shoulders and neck, although I do get a back twinge now and then, so it doesn't impact on my walking, and I always feel so much better when I am out walking in the fresh air. It's as though the scenery and the breeze blows away any pain and cobwebs

WhoFan63

Thanks hon... thankfully there's nothing wrong with my legs and they're the bits that do the walking.. I feel great when I'm out walking and could go for miles, when I realise I have to turn around and start heading back. lol.

WhoFan63

Thanks hon Don't get me wrong I don't walk that far every day due to work and sleeping...but I get in my mileage on my days off..lol. Usually the first day off work I'm catching up on the Zzzzz's, then I walk on the next day, do my housework on the next day and relax on the last day..so I'm only walking one day per week, but I'm out all day on that one day.. lol

NiHao

So good to hear from you WhoFan63!

Sorry to hear about your illness but so glad that you are still enjoying all the walking.

Work sounds hard but its getting you through and hopefully the new year will bring something with better hours, etc.

So glad you are enjoying being back!

Karrie72

Oh my that does sound very irritating...I'm sure you really need your sleep too especially in light of your fibromyalgia diagnosis. I wonder why they're barking so much? Maybe they need a long walk before you bed down, I'm sure that's the last thing you want after a long shift though.
I'm a very light sleeper and use a brand of ear plugs called flutz. I order them off amazon, they're amazing and really help me stay asleep. I would think you'd still hear an alarm clock too.