E-book or printed, that is the question...

We all know that technology has altered the way that we live, communicate and understand the world around us. One of the biggest innovations in the world of books has been the advent of e-books. No longer do people have to carry around huge bags full of books that weigh heavily on the back as we struggle to haul them about. Now we can carry hundreds of books on one small tablet.

If we choose to, that is.

Many readers prefer to remain with the world of printed novels and I'm sure that none of us would deny that there is something special about picking up a beautifully bound new book. The feel, the weight, the smell and even the sound as you open it up for the very first time... It all adds up to something truly special. And yes, I know, spoken like a true book-worm!

But however special a printed novel is, even I have to admit that there are a few problems. The biggest for me, is storage. I have around eight hundred novels on my kindle at the moment, along with five audiobooks; most of those books are novels that I do not own printed copies of. While I am sure that the elite in our society would not have a problem finding space for an additional eight hundred novels, I definitely would.

Living in a two bedroom flat, there is not the room to house an additional eight hundred books so in that way my kindle has been invaluable in allowing me to read novels I would not have been able to, otherwise. I do, of course, use my local library quite extensively - as we all should if we want to keep the Government from removing them from our locale. But I can't suddenly change my mind in the middle of the night and read a library book that is not already in my possession.

Having the kindle means that I can flick to a different novel with a couple of presses of the keyboard. For me, there is also the additional benefit that the light weight and size of the kindle means that it is less painful to hold. I can only read printed novels on rare occasions now, even with my book stand, as not only are they painful to hold, my eyesight can vary while I am reading. It is much easier to alter the size of the text on an electronic book; something that is impossible on a printed novel.

So, yes, I am a fan of e-books and I do believe that they have a place. However I still love - and always will - printed novels. I have a number of limited edition signed books that mean a lot to me simply because they are beautiful items that deserve a place in my home.

Oh - plus in all honesty I really wouldn't like to troll through an e-book version of some of my academic text books. I have just glanced to my right and my copy of The Oxford Classical Dictionary, third edition revised (Hornblower and Spawforth) looking back at me. I paled slightly at the thought of an e-book version of that.

Twitter and facebook competitions

Everyone has different things that they enjoy, whether that is an energetic hobby like cycling or a slightly more easy-going habit of reading everything in sight. Most people will know by now that I am disabled due to chronic pain conditions, which feels a lot worse than it sounds, meaning that I am unable to participate in any of the more physical hobbies that I used to love; weight training, hiking and swimming have gone the way of the Dodo for me. So instead I have been annoying the hell out of all my friends by comping.

Many of the competitions that I enter are online via social media such as facebook or twitter. One of the things that I have noticed is that when people first begin entering competitions via these sites they don't always enter correctly. This, of course, means that it is impossible for them to win. So I thought I would post a quick guide to entering social media competitions.

For facebook competitions you must enter using the original post that has been put online by the competition sponsor or the site providing the prize. Many people make the easy-to-do mistake of simply sharing the post that appears on their friends timeline. Unfortunately as this is simply your friends shared post, this means that you aren't entered into the competition or giveaway. What you need to do is:

• Click on your friend's shared post to bring up the original - or go to the sponsor's facebook page and look for the original competition post.
• Make sure that you read the instructions carefully - most will simply ask you to like their facebook page, the post and to share. Technically facebook doesn't allow sharing to be part of competition requirements, but many sites put it anyway. I err on the side of caution and share.
• If the instructions say to comment with a particular phrase or ask you a question - make sure that you do so. Check carefully, because I've messed up more than once with this!

For twitter competitions, once again you must make sure that you re-tweet the original post and not the your friend's re-tweet or you will not be entered.

• Again, your options are to either click on the re-tweet until it flicks up a pop-up of the original post, or simply go to the sponsor's twitter profile page and find the original.
• Make sure that you read the instructions carefully - I can't emphasise this enough.
• If it asks you to re-tweet, simply click on the button on the post that looks like two arrows forming a square.
• You may be asked to reply with a message/answer to a question as well as the re-tweet. Make sure that you do so with any hashtag key words or correct answers that they sponsor asks for - and make sure that you use their @address!

And that is pretty much it. The biggest problem that I have seen is people inadvertently replying on a shared post rather than the original. You will find that a lot of the time people do go out of their way to explain this, so if you are unsure about anything to do with entering competitions - just ask a comper!

I am evil. Possibly.

I rather suspect that around about now two very unfortunate telephone cold-callers are equating me with the demonic. At least, I rather hope that they are. Like almost everyone I know, I cannot stand it when I busy doing something only to be interrupted by someone trying to sell me something. Can anyone explain to me why they start off by asking me how I am today, then leaving a pause for me to answer? I have tried experimenting with different answers and no matter what I say, I almost always receive an answer of "Good."

When the phone went for the second time in five minutes I answered, heard the standard (scripted) opening and responded with "No, I am in absolute agony and have been for the last eleven years." I said this is happy tones just to see whether the person on the other end was listening or too busy reading the script to really do so. The reply came; "Good." Really? It's good that I've spent over a decade in pain? Hmm, that's a little insulting and makes it unlikely that I will be contacting your company, should I ever need the product you have just described to me.

I know. I know it is cruel and I know that if I were able to, I would take any job going, including telephone cold-calling, if it put food on the table and paid the bills. But please, come one, at least listen to the person you are calling! It may improve your chances of making a sale.

As to the first phone call, well, yes I was mean there too. I am having a bad week and while I shouldn't take it out on strangers who annoy me by making unwanted telephone calls to my number, it is one of the only forms of entertainment I have at times. The first guy was trying to flog me solar panels through the Government scheme which essentially makes sure that any excess electricity generated goes to the grid and the Government have the money it generates. Plus you still have to pay for night-time electricity. He didn't get far enough to explain that to me because I am genuinely in a lot of pain today. I asked him to put it in writing, to which he replied they don't do that. So I bought up the Equality Act and reasonable adjustments, as I figured sending the details to my home via a leaflet or - better still - sending an email fall under that. He got off the phone very quickly at that point. I wonder if I will receive anything...

How does everyone else deal with telephone sales calls?

How to deal with me; a guide to a mad woman with chronic health issues.

It feels like it has been months since I've been well enough to tolerate a couple of hours out of bed and out of the flat; I know, asking for both is just greedy, right? I'm feeling like being greedy and demanding that my body go along with it, but apparently it has decided to rebel at this suggestion and stick two fingers up at what my mind would like to do. I think that it has been the beginning of October that I last felt even vaguely human. Since then pain levels decided that it would be fun to just shoot through the roof, my speech therapist vanished off the face of the earth and I still haven't had the nerve test that I was told I was supposed to have two years ago.

Just to make things extra fun my little finger decided that the two top sections no longer wanted to be friends with the bottom section and attempted to part ways. Well, they did temporarily part ways until I gave them a sound scolding and manoeuvred things back to their correct position. Pete bandaged my little finger and ring finger together to make sure that I didn't knock it in the night and cause more damage. It has decided to remain reconciled, thank goodness. However my shoulder blade appears to have thought it seemed like a good plan and is painful enough that it is stealing my breath at the moment. Hopefully the bout of rather extreme language will have persuaded it that attempting to do anything untoward and cause me more pain is going to result in either an emergency GP visit or a hospital trip - both of which I hate with a fiery passion. I am choosing to assume that my body and mind agree on that one.

I think that it is incredibly difficult to understand just how tiring and wearing chronic pain can be. I also suspect that because I have a habit of assuming other people are as honest - and blunt - as I have a habit of being, when they ask how I am, they want the truth. I tend to tell the truth; I am not moaning, I find that tedious, I just have a habit of being brutally honest, then I get confused when people react in ways that don't quite fit with my expectations. So, here is a quick guide to me:

• If you ask how I am, I will be honest. It isn't a complaint and I don't expect you to do anything about it. That's what doctors are for.
• If I cancel plans at the last minute - which I often have to - it isn't because I don't want to chat over Skype or have you come and visit. It is because I am in enough pain that I feel like vomiting, even with my vast quantities of medication. I just don't like to tell you that, because most people are a) grossed out and b) don't know how to react.
• I don't want or need you to be sympathetic. I really don't want or need you to pat me on the head or patronise me. All I expect is for people to listen to an answer that they asked for - otherwise, please don't ask. I am quite happy for you to be as honest as I will be. If you want to say "Fucking hell, that blows big-time" then I'm good with that. Or if you want to say "That's shitty and I'm depressed, can we talk about something else?" then again, that's fine. You're being honest with me and I like that. It means I know where I stand.
• I am entitled to have days where I sulk. Pain is bad enough if you break, or dislocate, a limb. It may give you an idea if I say that my finger parting ways with itself may have prompted lots of swearing, then pain level was nowhere near the top end I have on a daily basis.
• Along with the pain I have chronic fatigue. That does not mean I am tired, so please don't tell me that you're tired too because you didn't sleep well. That just pisses me off. I would give my right arm to just be exhausted.
• I get different types of pain and different types of fatigue; the fatigue can be like utter exhaustion where there just isn't enough energy left in my body to lift my hand up a couple of inches. Or it can feel like lactic acid burning through my muscles, in combination with utter lack of any ability to move at all. I can also be mentally fatigued and have no ability to think, speak, or know my own name.
• Pain can be deep muscular and tendons - sort of feels like my bones and muscles are swollen and fighting each other. That is the one I hate the most. Then there is a surface pain like extreme skin sensitivity where even a bed sheet can be so painful I feel like vomiting. There are times that passes over into feeling as though I am about to black out.
• That pain and fatigue is there all the time. If 10 is the worst pain you can imagine, then my average is an 8. However since October it has mostly been 10.

I did say that I have a tendency towards honesty and bluntness, but I have tried to behave a little there.

Fibro also has a lot of other symptoms that people may not be aware of such as sensitivity towards heat, light, sound, smells. I have all of those and to a degree always have - although they did get a lot worse with the fibro. If I have a problem with a scent, whether it be fabric conditioner (almost always) or perfume, I am not being rude. I am being ill. I am sorry if me having to leave or going white and sick upsets people, it is not intentional. It is just part and parcel of that wicked little beast named fibro.

So, that's me talked out for the day. What's up with everyone else in the world? 

Don't pick on shy people, even those with a low tolerance for boredom!

As a lot of my friends are aware, I have spent a great deal of my time since February 2007 studying with the Open University and as a result have managed to achieve four HE qualifications. Even though achieving those has meant a great deal to me, there were some areas of studying that have remained a complete mystery to me. One rather important aspect is, well, the actual studying itself. Please don't get me wrong, I did put some effort into my degrees, but even as ill as I have been at times I suspect I could have put more effort in.

I found my report book from school a few months back and as I sit here reading it, I can honestly say that I haven't changed much in that particular area. Despite my utter disregard for doing my homework in lessons I found boring, it appears as though being quiet meant that teachers were fooled into thinking I was working hard. My maths teacher, for example, wrote: "Rebecca is a capable pupil. She has worked well throughout the year, taking a keen interest in the subject." I took such a keen interest I did not do a single piece of maths homework in four years. I suppose that was an improvement from "Rebecca is an intelligent pupil, but has an extremely low tolerance for boredom." from one of my primary school teachers.

My German teacher likewise heaped praise on me in my first year of high school, commenting "Top of the form. Well done!" he chose to go with sarcastic humour in my second year report, for a bit of a change: "Still excellent, though she did make one error in the oral exam (out of 70)". Hmm, thanks Mr Page! It was a little more deserved though, as I did actually do the work for that class. I do have a lingering soft spot for him though, due mostly to his highly entertaining behaviour on the ferry from Dover to Zeebrugge on the German exchange in 1987. It wasn't long after the Herald of Free Enterprise had capsized, killing 193 people; we passed her as we went into the port in the early hours of the morning. Some of us stood on deck as we sailed past that eerily lit-up ship and I remember Mr. Page saluting.

The German exchange itself proved quite difficult for me. I was still very shy at 13 and staying with a family who lived further out of Ingolstadt than anyone else, so the only time I saw any of the other exchange students from my school was during school hours or when we were out on coach trips. Added to that was the fact that Martina's mom was Polish and spoke no English, while I had only been studying German for a few months at that point and so struggled with the language barriers. Although her dad was fluent, he was often away on business trips or working long hours.

Still, I proved to be much better at German than I was at French, which I hated. My French teacher, Ms Jones, mistook shyness for reluctance to join in with classwork and lack of willingness to get involved in discussions. I will never understand why teachers insist in trying to force introverted or shy pupils to do something that is so painful. Believe me, it doesn't help. What it does for many shy students is ensure that for years afterwards, it is difficult to join in discussions. It took me a long time to reach the point where I could stand in front of a group of people and talk without spending hours vomiting - beginning from the day before all the way through to the point when I was ready to walk into the room where I would deliver the talk.

The final report in the book, written at the end of July 1989 concludes with my form tutor's comments "Rebecca's character has developed rapidly during the course of this year, at first rather  quiet but now much more aware of her own capabilities. She is a most pleasant young lady with an excellent sense of humour, always polite and most reliable." My form tutor was also my art teacher throughout my time at school, Tony Jones, who sadly died several years ago now, at much too young an age.

It is quite interesting to look back and see how my utter boredom with school is reflected in my marks, which get steadily worse as time goes on. By the time I reached the final year of school I had pretty much quit putting in any effort whatsoever. I remember having to stay up nearly all night before my mock art exam started because I hadn't done any prep work for it - and that was one of my favourite subjects. Imagine how much effort I put into classes like maths, which I loathed with a fiery passion...

I did put more effort into my degrees; it would be hard not to, considering just how little I managed to get away with doing at school. Even then, there were times that I got bored and just didn't do as much work as I could have done. Still *shrug* I did try much harder to focus on what I was doing, especially with the modules that I enjoyed.

Medication, Music and crossed fingers

Firstly, I would like to apologise for the absence on so many forums of late. As many people already know, I am going through a medication change for my fibromyalgia, which has been knocking me out. I am switching from pregabalin to gabapentin, as I was experiencing pronounced muscular jerking, which got worse as I increased the dose of pregabalin. My GP assures me that although this can be a side effect with the gabapentin, it is rare.

The gabapentin dose is slowly being increased until we hit the right level for me. I have to say that pain levels have already decreased a little; I am taking a total of 1500mg a day at the moment, spread out over three periods, with the option of increasing to 1800mg next Friday if I need to. I then have another appointment with my GP on the 23rd June to see how things are.

In theory I am supposed to be going to Glastonbury Festival on 24th June, as I won tickets via a competition. However, whether we actually make it there is highly debatable. Between my own health issues and Pete's current health issues it stands a good chance that we may not make it. I know that even if I am at my best, I would struggle; last time I went to a concert it was Motley Crue at the LG Arena (now Genting Arena) and even that wore me out. That was a few years back now and I have to say that I am worse now than I was then. Still, I am crossing fingers as there are a number of bands that I would LOVE to see.

I did take the time to have a good look through the accessibility information for Glastonbury. It is pretty good; there is an accessible camp ground with wheelchair accessible showers, disabled toilets and stewards to help erect tents and adult changing facilities. Wheelchair users and one PA/friend/relative can have passes to access the viewing towers that are scattered around the various stages. There is also a wheelchair accessible bus that can be used to get around and various other amenities that are laid on to help disabled people attending the festival. All in all it does sound as though they make a serious effort to make sure that it is an event that anyone can attend.

I know that even if I am at my (very rare) best and able to attend, I will spend most of the time lying down and just pay a few visits to see bands and the other sights. I also know that it would mean weeks, possibly months, of increased pain and debilitation. But...some things are worth the price you pay, you know.

Policies, not people

These days I do try to stay away from the subject of politics, because I find it stressful, which then impacts on my physical health. Whether that's because it increases pain through tensed muscles, or simply decreases my ability to cope with existing physical pain, I can't quite decide.

However with the election imminent I want to say something: Please look at manifestos, look at policies, then get up on 7th May and go and vote for the party whose policies most closely resemble your own morals and beliefs.

There is no such thing as a wasted vote, so don't be afraid of voting for smaller parties. Think of like this: when laws are voted on in Parliament, when important decision are made that  affect us all both as individuals and a nation as a whole, a vote has to take place in  Parliament. That MP that YOU voted for may be the one vote that tips the balance, that forces amendments to a law that may cause harm to vulnerable people either at home or abroad. Your vote could be the one vote that gives that MP the majority in the election and gives them right to stand in Parliament and represent you. There is no such thing as a wasted vote; please do not believe people - or politicians(!) - when they tell you that, because it is a deliberate lie intended to persuade you to vote how someone else wants you to. You are better then that, more intelligent - too intelligent - to believe a lie like that.

So; you and I may be on opposing sides of an argument about politics, we may have completely different morals, beliefs and opinions, but you are still a friend of mine and I honestly do believe that by us all voting on policies rather than people, rather than "My parents always voted that way" or "I'm X class, so I vote for Y party", we will be a better nation for it. We hold the power; we control who stands for us. Use your power and vote for policies, not people.