Vlogging

I just got myself a little budget pocket camcorder, a Kodak PlaySport ZX5, Amazon had it on sale with around 40% off RRP. So I bought it as I have been enjoying recording my diary either on my iPod or on my Mother's laptop via the in-built webcam.

The webcam quality and file size left a lot to be desired and while it was good for just personal journalling if I wanted to share anything on-line on my blogs it was quite frankly awful.

My iPod is only the entry level 8GB sized version and I had to remove clips daily as space was at a premium. So I tend to record short clips of my family, my nephews mostly, and record audio diary entries through the built in Voice Memos Application it wasn't much use for recording vlog entries for any of my blogs. I was seriously thinking of vlogging my book reviews as typing has become a major pain. Quite literally.

Also while the iPod gives great video and audio quality you have to physically hold it at arms length at all time so that it's not 'in your face' so to speak. As I have shoulder pain due to having RA in both shoulder this was impossible for me to physically do and the iPod isn't the easiest thing to prop up to record from. Evne though the front facing camera was great for making sure you were shooting a good picture. Not cutting your own head half off or something.

So next I thought of my old 3 year old digital camera. This records AVI videos and while the quality looks pretty good on the small viewer screen you don't know how the video is until you transfer it to your computer and then the video looks washed out and the video rather tinny sometimes. All right for personal diary/journalling but not the greatest for posting. But then I am going to record on both my Kodak and my Olympus at the same time and do a contrast test for myself for my own curiosity.

So look forward to some Invisible Me video blogs in the near future. Hopefully!!

Painful Me

My jaw/gum pain is battling against my joints and other painful areas to see who is the victor at the moment. The weekend just a cloud of pain-filled memories. Yuck!

After getting my tooth extracted on Friday I stood on my trembling legs in the dentist's reception area thanking all deities that I had my crutches to stop me landing in an undignified heap on the floor in front of the others there.

Depressed

Quite honestly I feel like lying down and crying myself to sleep. Hoping when I wake up that my life will be better. Or my legs/hips/back will be all healed up and usable once again.

I have just had the Occupational Therapist visit from the social work department/council I am getting the hand-grip attached to my bed to allow me to get in/out and pull myself up with rather than reaching over my head to struggle using the bed-frame which I've been resorted to.

Busy Week

This week is totally non-stop and as a result I won't be able to write the first 'real' post for this blog.

Originally I had two appointments, my usual Physiotherapy on Wednesday and the dentist's on Friday to get a tooth extracted. Easy on my non-existent energy level and pain level.

Today I had an incredibly early wake up call to go to my brother's before he left for work at 8am, this was the second day (last Thursday being the other) that I've waited in for his modem from BT to be delivered. He checked with BT again this lunchtime and found that the person in the call centre who on Friday said his replacement modem for the one which went awry last week in transit would arrive today was wrong. Two working days was needed for dispatch and it wouldn't be delivery till tomorrow.

So home again just after lunchtime and I'll be up early again tomorrow to go to his house and wait in for the delivery which hopefully will come this time. Third time lucky and all that!

Anyway if it doesn't arrive he is out of luck as I have appointments Wednesday through Friday now that I can't change to stay in his house to await delivery if it doesn't turn up tomorrow.

This afternoon the Occupational Therapist at the Council/Social Work department phoned about the referral she got from my OT at the hospital last week. She is coming Thursday at 11am to see me at home to assess these problems I'm having including not being able to use the overhead shower that she actually arranged to have installed for me about 8 years ago when we moved in here originally.

Also as the schools my three nephews attend go off for 3 days in-service training starting Thursday so we have them all for the entire day on Thursday. My Father is intending to take all three with him to pay our rent when the OT is due so that they won't get 'in the way' so to speak while she's here assessing me.

Friday I have an appointment in the morning to return to the dentist, I was there last Wednesday for a check-up and back on Friday past for a filling and the results of the x-ray I had taken, when I am due to have a tooth extracted.

First Post

Original title I know!

I've been thinking long and hard about what to put into this post to be totally honest.

A few months back I created my disability/health blog fmshell here on blogger but now find that my usage hasn't been exactly what I intended to be. I decided to create this blog to serve the purpose that my original blog was intended for.

Fmshell is a rather vent-like, ranting-like, blog rather than devoted to my own feelings/opinions on living with my disabilities and the impact of the Welfare Reform Bill on me personally.

So here is my disability blog where I share my own perspective on living day to day with the impact of several disabling conditions and how the 'big society' that the government rhetoric claim they are creating affects my life.

I'll be back in the near future with better thought out and hopefully thought provoking posts.