No news is good news

Sorry there have been no posts lately but there has been nothing blog worthy going on in my life really. Goodness knows how you have all coped without having an update from me recently. Did you all need some counselling? Ok so things have been a bit samey round here lately but I'll tell you anyway. I have D&V 3 days this week and so spent 3 days in the bathroom - or loitering just outside it. Not much fun I have to say but Asda is probably happy that we bought a years supply of baby wipes and toilet roll in just 3 days. Ok TMI so I'll move on. Mum and dad came to spend Sunday with us. So dad fixed the dishwasher and investigate a plumbing problem in the bathroom while me and mum yabbered on. And yabbered on for England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Just as I started feeling guilty that dad always has to bring his toolbox every time he comes over mum told me he would rather tinker with a smelly u bend or toilet then sit there talking. I believe her. Dad never was much of a talker. Unless you got him talking about the right thing and then he would give me and mum a run for our money. Funny that cos I can see now that I have actually married my dad. Well Andy might as well be him for how similar they are. I reckon there must be something slightly Freudian and weird about that. Oh heck I can't leave on that note can I so I'll witter on some more. I'm moving jobs again on Friday - not sure if I'm looking forward to that or not. And I'm still waiting to here about which department I will be offered for my permanent job here. Ok ok I can see your bored rigid now so I'll love you and leave you now.

On looking disorganised and scatty

of the things that annoys me most about having dyslexia is how easy it is to make you look disorganised and scatter brained. Take yesterday for example. I was doing a job at work which involved looking threw some old data (in excel spreadsheets) and adding this data to the new spreadsheet. Sound simple? It was. This is how the job should of gone.

1. Get project number from spreadsheet 1
2. Look in directory on computer for that project file
3. Open file and copy information
4. Paste information in new spreadsheet

This is how it actually went.
1. Get project number from spreadsheet 1
2. Open required directory on computer
3. Thinks to self - Now what was that project number again?
4. Look in directory on computer for that project file
5. Double check from original spreadsheet that I got the right project number
6. Back to the directory - now were was that project file again? - oh there it is
7. Open file and look for information - what information was I looking for again? - oh yes.....
8. Find and copy information
9. Go to new spreadsheet - it was the new spreadsheet and not the main one wasn't it? oh right. yes it was
10. Now what was I doing with with information again? Oh yes I was pasting it in here

I would laugh if it wasn't so annoying.

Is it any wonder it takes me twice as long to do anything.

I'm old. According to Dr K-whatsit

Ok everyone in Blogland. Life is quiet here in Yorkshire later so there has been nothing to report. Nothing except that I have been having some fun with the Dr K-whatsits brain and site training games that we got last weekend. I have actually discovered something pretty interesting. That is that as the week goes on my brain and eye age get higher. Now that wouldn't be quite so worrying if the change wasn't so dramatic. And it wouldn't be so worrying if my job allowed me to be crap towards the end of the week. I think I need to do some head scratching and try to figure out what I can do about it. Suggestions on a postcard please :o)

Explaining dyslexia

Recently I had a friend ask me what its like to be dyslexic. I didn't really now how to answer it. Its like me asking her what its like to be normal. But anyway I am going to have a go at explaining what its like for me. Actually I am not explaining it so much as getting you to understand it by following my instructions. I will do a few of these just to show that its not just about problems with reading and writing. This is the first entry. Enjoy.

On reading and understanding a book
1. Put the washing machine on spin cycle and place your book on the top of the washing machine - that should give you an idea what its like to read wobbly text
2. Start reading the bottom line of the page first and work your way up until you reach the top of that paragraph - then suddenly remember that you should of started reading form the top of page first
3. Read the first sentence and then go for a walk for 5 minutes
4. Read the second sentence and go for another 5 minute walk
5. Continue until you have read the chapter
6. Try writing a quick summary of the book so far - that should demonstrate why its so hard for me to remember any thing I've red. And probably explains why learning from text books is specially a problem.

A week of transplants

I have had some brilliant news this week. First of all a little boy I used to look after who needed a liver transplant finally got his liver transplant. I cried when I stumbled across the story here on the bbc news website. And for the second miracle of the week. I have been following a blog for a while about an amazing family. I won't even start going into the details of this blog because you really need to check it out for yourself. The blog is written by the husband of a truly amazing lady who just happens to have cystic fibrosis. She had a baby in January while in desperate need of a double lung transplant. Well she finally got her transplant a few days ago on her husbands birthday. Talk about the best birthday present ever. Again I cried. So some of the best news ever and involving one family I have never met and another family I haven't seen for over 8 years. I can only imagine the uncontrollable emotions I would be going threw if it was my own family. Well that is all for now cos I have a horrible headache and am starting to feel sick now (TMI). But go check out confessions of a CF husband now. Well go on then :o)

Not my life

Just incase you were wondering. Dyslexia is NOT my life. Its just that I have been forced to think about it more lately because I seem to of gone threw a pretty bad patch with it recently. I think alot of people who have dyslexia will vouch for the fact that we have good and bad days like any one else. On my good days I can read pretty quick and find the right words I need when writing. And all of the other things that Joe Public doesn't realise are connected with dyslexia are also easier than normal. Things like remembering instructions and getting words like tomorrow/yesterday right and the day of the week and the month your in. Not to mention the hole right/left thing that alot of us have going on. It makes life pretty interesting (and difficult) at times. On bad days though. Well they are the days I wish I had not got out of bed. On them days writing is basically a non starter. There is no point because I after I have red the sentence I can't remember anything of what I just read. Writing is almost always difficult. But on a bad day I might as well not bother with that either because I can't reed it later on. And then all that right/left and tomorrow/yesterday stuff is just the icing on the cake on those days. Anyway. Back to the top of this blog entry. Dyslexia is not my life. It just feels like it right now because I have more dyslexic moments when I am tired and stressed. And I am tired and stressed right now.

Stupid courses :o(

I had a really horrible course at work this morning. I hate are courses because we have to things like write on flip chart or complete handouts. They are always in small groups and then fed back to a bigger group. So I spend the hole time avoiding been the group scribe. So then I luck lazy and it makes me so mad. This morning we had to complete a worksheet on our own but sat in a group. I'm sat there trying to hide my answers so the other guys wouldn't see. The trouble when your doing that is you don't concentrate on what the speaker is saying because your to busy trying to cover your work. Another thing when the speaker was telling us to turn to the page with XXXXX or YYYY or it I couldn't find it. I was only looking out for a 4 or 5 word title so it was so silly. The first time I just pretended I found it and stopped looking. The second time I asked the guy next to me. He looked at me really strange. The third time he automatically pointed it out to me. Thank goodness for that. I felt so stupid though.

That sinking feeling and explaining dyslexia

I had a friend who asked me describe what it is like to have dyslexia. I am still struggling to find a way to explain it. One way I think I might explain is that you now you now the answer but you just can't find it. Its like putting a tiny peace of paper in a really big filing cabinet and then trying to find it 5 years later. You just have no idea were it was filed but you now it is there some were.

Me and Andy got a bed for our wedding present. Recently though it has been trying to eat us alive in the morning. It is all warped and the slats keep coming out from the base. So as soon as you go to get out of bed the bed just falls apart and the slats drop out and then who ever is still sitting on the bed just falls threw the base. Its quit funny to see just a pare of legs wriggling and poking out from the base. Well anyway Andy went onto ikea website and has bought us a new bed. I am so looking forward to it because the last one was getting a bit worn really.

Webcam fun

I got a new webcam off my sister for Christmas. I was tinkering about with sum of the setting last night and found some pretty cool effects that you can do. Enjoy the laugh.

Logitech Quickcam webcam (I recommend it for desktops and laptops)

Aged look

Don't now why but this one remands me of a fish

Pop art

Hand drawn

Distorted

Constipated look

Me pausing as usual LOL

What is your out look

Can a disadvantage be used as an advantage? Sometimes or never?

I saw that question here at ditto. It is something that I try to do. I mean. As much as I moan and winge. I am actually a positive person mostly. So this is how I answered it.

Yes and I like to do that. Like for example my husband is fed up that he has
been moved to a new team at work. One were he doesn't now the product very well.
I keep reminded him it is a challenge and a chance to learn not something to get
all bothered about. Another example I have been working with a team who have not
really supported me very well. Rather than complain about there lack of
information making my life difficult I have thought about it that it has force
me to make decisions and judgements and now I feel more confident that I can
make the right ones. Because they dropped me in the deep end with everything I
learn more than I think I would of otherwise.

See I told you I was positive rely. I also rote something similar here at being dyslexic. The poster was saying that she didn't want to be labelled if she was dyslexic. Well fact is you do get labelled but you can kind if turn it around and prove that some of the myths about dyslexia are wrong.

Fact is you do get labelled sometimes but I find I have alot of fun proving them
wrong. People at unit thought been dyslexic meant you could not read at all. So
when they gave us sum reading homework to do they were shocked when I did it as well as the others in class. They didn't now I had gone to the computer lab and
scanned it in and then had a program read it back to me LOL. I proved to them
that sometimes when the help is there I can work at the same speed nearly as
everyone else. When people try to judge you just see it as an opportunity to
prove them wrong or help them understand why it is difficult.

So yes I think I have got a positive outlook overall. Have you.

Centre Parks

Last week we went to center parks at winfell forest with my brother and sister in law and nephew Sam. We had a great time and would definitely go back there. Its basically a huge forest with cabins laid out in little streets. There is a village centre which has shops and bars and restaurants and also a bit swimming pool which kids would love. The wildlife was a hit with Sam who enjoyed looking for ducks and rabbits.

Log cabins

Our cabins at heather glade

Village Centre

When a 2 year old tells you to put his hat on you don't argue. Bit worrying that it fits me though LOL.

Boo. Me trying to hide behind a pole. Wander why that didn't work.

Rabbit. Just in case you had not noticed :p

About me

My name is Louise and I am 32 from Yorkshire. I was diagnosed with dyslexia at 27 in my first year at uni but I always new there was somehting up. I try not to let it hold me back and if any thing it has helped me push myself even harder. I am happily married to Andy and have 1 cat called Meg. I am a mechanical engineer and am on a training scheme for a worldwide company.

Me & Andy on my graduation day November 2007

Why a blog

A post here at being dyslexic made me think about the benefits of me writing a blog. First it would help my message board friends there and at ditto be able to keep up with what ever is going on in my life. Second it might help to improve awareness about dyslexia. Third since I avoid writing at all costs since I left uni last year it would help me keep some writing skills. So here goes. Be nice to me. This is not easy.