You changed my life and I’ll always love you, Pat.
My friend, my sister, my hero…
pat
18 Wednesday Jul 2012
Posted in cancer, death & dying, friends, life stuff
Tag Archives: death
happy mondays
16 Monday Jul 2012
Posted in cancer, death & dying, friends, life stuff, love
Awhile ago I created a #happymondays Twitter hashtag to greet people with on Monday mornings, since so many people seem to really hate Mondays. But not me. I always see Monday as a fresh start to a new week full of possibilities. I reckon it’s probably 50/50 the number of people I either annoy or cheer up with my whole Happy Monday thing, but what the heck, it’s fun.
Then this morning I woke up and, as usual, had a look through my emails on the iPhone while still in bed. And I got the news I’ve been dreading for some time now, though it still hit me like a ton of bricks, that my friend Pat is in hospital and “fading fast”, heavily sedated due to being in so much pain. In a flash I went from not wanting to lose her to wishing she would let go soon so that she wouldn’t be suffering anymore. And then I decided I would have a Happy Monday anyhow, or as much as I could manage through my tears, because I knew Pat would like that. Going out for a walk now…
How’s your Monday been so far?
regrets? well, maybe a few…
21 Wednesday Mar 2012
Posted in death & dying, health & happiness, life stuff
I came across that Grauniad article a few weeks ago, via LifeHacker on Twitter, and have been thinking about it ever since. Well, sort of thinking about it, in the sense that it might provoke a bit of stimulating conversation over here at casa az. I mean, it’s not ALL about cats and tapas, is it?
Or is it?
You see, I did find the article interesting as it is said to be based on findings of a palliative nurse called Bronnie Ware who recorded her findings on the most common regrets of the dying. And she even wrote a book about it.
Apparently the top five regrets of the dying are as follows:
- I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
- I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.
- I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
- I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
- I wish that I had let myself be happier.
And apparently by reading other people’s dying regrets we should be able to “learn from their wisdom” and save ourselves from the same fate. Well, this is where it all falls apart for me. What wisdom? And learn what exactly? I don’t like those “what if you were going to die today…?” questions because NOBODY other than people who are actually about to die today could ever properly answer them. And given that they would be going through the business of dying it’s unlikely they’d be interested in taking part in a questionnaire.
But then the Guardian article asks the following question…
What’s your greatest regret so far, and what will you set out to achieve or change before you die?
That seems a fair enough question. Up for it?
red meat kills!
14 Wednesday Mar 2012
Posted in cancer, death & dying, diet & nutrition, food & drink, health & happiness, wtf?
Tags
bbc, cancer, death, red meat, scare mongering, tapas, vineria san telmo
First of all, read this very silly article – supposedly Health NEWS – from the BBC:
Red meat increases death, cancer and heart risk, says study
Now I ask you… who out there with even half a brain doesn’t know that eating a balanced diet is the healthiest option? Who hasn’t heard (all their lives) that it’s best to eat red meat in moderation? Same goes for fried food, rich sauces, bacon, butter, pâté, fatty cheeses … you know, all the good stuff. And so when I read that a study of over 120,000 people over almost 30 years “suggested red meat increased the risk of death from cancer and heart problems” I clutched my head in despair. In all seriousness, there is probably more “risk of death” every time you cross the street. And, although I don’t eat much red meat myself, I still ended up with colon cancer. So go figure. I honestly don’t see how articles like these are beneficial to anyone – must’ve been an especially slow news day at the BBC.
Meanwhile, that tasty looking dish up there is a divinely decadent combination of perfectly fried eggs (with slightly runny yolks), grilled spicy chorizo Ibérico and potatoes, topped with thin slices of gorgeous jamón Ibérico. But as delicious as it is, I wouldn’t dream of eating that every day. Why? Because I’m not stupid.
I still can’t believe that after years and years of going to the Vineria San Telmo I only tried that dish for the first time during my marathon tapas tours the other day. It truly is to die for. So to speak…
last will & testament
10 Thursday Jun 2010
Posted in cancer, death & dying, internet, life stuff, media
Tags
Remember when I was wondering what would happen to all my online stuff when I die?
Well, Lisa over at Cybercoven took it further and actually wrote up a will protecting her writing. She downloaded Neil Gaiman’s simple will for creative people, made a few changes, and now has all her stuff in order.
So I am now going to do the same. I don’t really have any intellectual property to protect, but I would like to know that my blogs and social media stuff won’t just be left stuck out there. I’ve already had an offer from someone willing to take care of Sevilla Tapas. For the rest I’ll mostly need someone to either maintain or delete accounts. Feels weird to be doing this but I think it’s better to deal with it while I am still well & healthy.
How about you – have you made a will?
casa azahar 