Category Archives: change

a whole lotta bluesky

08 Friday Nov 2024

Posted by in bluesky, change, instagram, social media, twitter

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bluesky 24

Wow, in the past 48 hours I suddenly have a whole whack of new followers on Bluesky. I think people are realising that the end of Twitter may be nigh, or at least that they no longer want to be a part of what is rapidly becoming a fascist driven social media platform. I mean, I know it seems that I am constantly on social media, because I kind of am, but it’s not as much as it probably seems. Despite having several accounts I really only engage on Twitter and Instagram, and then mostly actually “talk” to people on Twitter, and I would miss that if Twitter was suddenly shut down or became intolerable.

Hence Bluesky. I finally managed to open an account there in June 2023, after having been “accepted on beta” the previous April. Before that I had tried all the Twitter alternatives, but this one felt the best to me. And turns out it seems to be the front runner now that everyone is fleeing Twitter.

The main issue a lot of people seem to have with Bluesky is that there is no simple way of transferring over friends and followers from other platforms, so it’s like starting from scratch. And since it’s been taking time over the past year or so to get more people to engage, growth has also been slow. I’ve been posting there since June 2023, pretty much everything that I also post on Twitter Sevilla Tapas, mostly as backup. So my content is there in case Twitter suddenly disappears, or if I finally decide to leave.

But yeah, it’s slow going finding all the friends that made Twitter such a great place to hang out. Still, I think it’s worth the effort. So far Bluesky is ad-free, has lots of cool fuctions (like a block function that actually works) and seems to be mostly bot-free. Check it out.

Sevilla Tapas on Bluesky

summer self care

03 Wednesday Jul 2024

Posted by in change, hair, health, sevilla

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self care

I never plan haircuts. I just wake up one day and realise that I REALLY need a haircut!!! Today was such a day. Then I had a look at my feet and saw the pedicure I had done in May (first professional one since 2018!) was also getting a bit shabby so what the heck. I decided to book both appointments for today since I am ON STAYCATION and both the hairdresser and the nail place are just a few doors down from my house. Easy!

I remember thinking back in 2018 that the pedis were going to become a regular thing, but then this and that happened, then Covid… but then in May I couldn’t deny that my feet were in pretty bad shape. So I tried the place in my street because I saw the girls were wearing masks (surgical, but better than nothing). That poor woman! The workout she had trying to get my feet even half-way back to OK. It was easier on her this time – better results too – and I also brought my own Essie polish (appropriately named TOO TOO HOT) because last time I ended up with a too-dark red. Isn’t this interesting?

Then I popped two doors down to the hairdresser. They know me by now. Just spritz my hair, cut off “dos dedos” with a “longer at the front” incline, and then I’m outta there, wet hair and all. I get charged for a full “cut & styling” but that’s fine. All I want is my hair cut.

So now I’m all set for summer. Shorter hair, perfect red happy toes, and really just a good feeling about having done this. Making time for a bit of self care is important, even if you think you can’t afford it. Oh, and I also did a full-on (chair) cardio & strength workout before I went out. Yay me!

blocked af

14 Friday Jul 2023

Posted by in change, health, health & happiness

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So this popped up in my Instagram feed and I thought it was pretty timely as I had just received the notice that my appointment with the nutritionist/endocrinologist will be on August 4th (three weeks from today). Not bad as my GP just sent out the request last week. Anyhow, I have always felt “blocked” when it came to losing weight, pretty much all my life, but things got a lot more difficult after cancer/chemo, menopause and, well, getting older. As my friend Kate @sledpress wisely says, it’s not a simple binary about what goes in or doesn’t, which is something I have also noticed all my life.

The hope is that new doc won’t just put me “on a diet” but will address the various issues and help me find a more balanced and intelligent way of living with everything, without having to take more drugs. Though I think she has her work cut out for her because when I saw this pic I realised that I have ALL THE BLOCKS. In spades. Wish me luck!

eslava – end of an era

28 Tuesday Feb 2023

Posted by in change, sevilla, spain, tapas, tapas bars

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I can’t remember the first time I ever went to Eslava but it must have been something like 20-25 years ago. My first post for them on Sevilla Tapas is dated February 2008 and by then it had already become a solid favourite.

And today on the last day of February 2023 I went to see owner and long-time friend Sixto Tovar on his final day at this most beloved bar before he retires. He has handed the reins over to a couple of guys who run several bars/restaurants here and no doubt they’ll keep the business going. For me it will never be the same but I think this was a smart move and I wish Sixto and his wife Rosa all the best in their next chapter. Missing them already.

plus ça change

24 Monday Oct 2022

Posted by in change, chemo, coronavirus, covid

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novel-coronavirus

I guess it was inevitable that after “getting over” my first Covid infection I’d be expected to stop being so… so… careful? As in, I was asked on Twitter why I would still be doing weekly antigen tests (what’s the point unless you do them every day??) and it has been assumed that I am now “safe from Covid” until I can get my second booster vaccine, now pushed forward 4-5 months (flatmate Peter got his today). So no more need to “live in fear” as I have been accused of doing in the past.

Truth is that the main thing that has changed for me is that I got fucking Covid after being as careful as possible without totally shutting down my life. But everything else remains the same, except maybe a bit worse, and possibly a lot worse. Time will tell.

You see, what happens when you get Covid is that there is an initial acute phase, mostly respiratory, which these days has been largely mitigated by vaccines, so that hospitalisations and deaths are lower than in pre-vaccine times. Lowered. Not eliminated. People continue to die from Covid every day and many who don’t die continue to suffer from Long Covid. But we don’t hear about that any more because governments the world over stopped testing and publishing information related to Covid hoping that this would make us feel like Covid has disappeared. That, along with the big lie that Covid is now “just like a bad cold or the flu” and continued use of phrases such as “mild Covid” have done irreparable damage.

Covid is not “like the flu”, and there is no such thing as “mild Covid”. Since early 2020 much has been published about this novel coronavirus affecting both the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, as is actually quite common with many viruses. Blood clots, strokes, heart attacks were being reported after people had “gotten over” Covid, but we didn’t hear a lot about that. Instead it was spun by anti-vaxxers that it was actually the vaccines causing blood clots, etc. Covid became political very early on in the pandemic.

A pandemic that is still not over.

How this affects me personally in that I am now feeling a bit nervous about the next few weeks coming up since I’ve “recovered”. Because getting over the acute phase is just the first stage and as I’ve suffered from POTS since I was 25 and have some other health issues, like compromised immune stuff from previous chemo, yeah I’m concerned. No, it won’t stop me living my life, but I will continue to live it as I’ve been doing since March 2020. Taking sensible precautions.

For me nothing has changed because – guess what?? – nothing HAS changed. Also guess what? It hasn’t changed for you either, no matter how much you wish it to be so. Covid is not over.