Something I've just thought of...

Equality of the sexes is a topic that is discussed constantly in today's society. Although women are sometimes unfairly treated where it be at home, work or under any other circumstance, I still wouldn't trade being a women for all the tea in China. Do you know why? Because we can carry children.
Of course I know that pregnancy is very hard on your body. It pretty much destroy's your body by covering you in stretchmarks; giving you aches and pains in your back and feet; giving you cravings; causing swelling; making you tired and unable to walk long distances without fatiguing; making you hormonal, grumpy, teary, even "erotically charged" as Rachel from Friends delightfully phrases it; and pretty much puts your body and mind through a lot of potentially difficult changes for 9 months. 
We can't ignore the labour part either. As well as the pain and fatigue of pregnancy, women also need to endure seemingly never-ending tortune and agony at the end of it all to bring the baby into the world. Of course there are a hundred and one different complications that can occur and could even affect you long-term as well.

 

But I also think being able to carry a baby is one of the most amazing things in the world. Think about it. Inside a woman's body, a single cell can grow into a brand new little human, a new life. We can watch and feel the baby grow inside our bodies like a little alien and we can even see their little fingers pressing against our tummies and feel their feet getting stuck in our ribs. (Maybe an icky notion to some but I think thats kinda cute.) How bizarre is that? We're essentially cooking a baby until the timer beeps and the new miniture person is ready to come out and start living. Then our bodies can provide milk that contains all the vitimans and nutrients that baby needs (breat milk can also be used for several different remedies for ailments too). I don't know if I'll just sound like a baby crazy lady or if other women will understand what I'm getting at or if men understand it at all. But I think we have one over on men for that. I mean, sure its painful but its a necessary and a worthy pain to make a baby. And for another thing, before the days of DNA testing, the mother of a baby was the only one who could know for a fact who her baby's father was. A man would never be able to know for sure just by looking at a child. 
I think the fact that we carry babies is one of the most powerful and amazing things in life and a man has never and will never be able to experience it. The fact that our bodies are capable of something so magical is mind-blowing to me and I think we're lucky to be the sex that can do it while men can only watch and imagine. I think thats pretty cool.

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I hope everyone has a great day tomorrow and a happy new year!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Hey everybody! Since the festive season is upon us, I thought I'd leave this here for you to read. :) Merry Christmas!

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house,

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds;

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,

Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,

Gave a lustre of midday to objects below,

When what to my wondering eyes did appear,

But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny rein-deer,

With a little old driver so lively and quick,

I knew in a moment he must be St. Nick.

 

 

 

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:

"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now Prancer and Vixen!

On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donder and Blixen!

To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!

Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!”

As leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,

When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;

So up to the housetop the coursers they flew

With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too—

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof

The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my head, and was turning around,

Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,

And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;

A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,

And he looked like a pedler just opening his pack.

His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples, how merry!

His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the beard on his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,

And the smoke, it encircled his head like a wreath;

He had a broad face and a little round belly

That shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,

And laying his finger aside of his nose,

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight—

“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”

 

 

Tattoo Time!

So I turned 18 this year and finally got my first tattoo! I had wanted to get my grandpa's portrait tattooed every since I found the photo when I was about 14 and since the photo is about 60 years old (at least!) I wanted to get it sooner rather than later. 

My grandpa was my best friend and the person who encouraged me to write stories and taught me how to write, draw, bake and make videos. I owe so much to him and this was the least I could do. He died from a cardiac arrest when I was about 6 years old but I'll always remember him. 

Holidays are Coming!

Hi everyone!

I've survived my first semester of university! Well almost, I have one more day and then I'm completely finished. I'm so excited for Christmas! Hope everyone has a great festive season.
I thought I'd leave a little feature article I did for my journalism class here since its the closest thing to being published that it'll come to. Please leave comments/feedback if you'd like. Enjoy!

 

Woody: A cowboy or a bit of a plank?

When someone mentions the name Woody, everybody’s favourite fictional cowboy Sheriff Woody from the Toy Story franchise is most likely the animated image that comes to mind. But what if I told you that ‘Woody’ was also the nickname given to a patient recovering in the high dependency ward of Glasgow’s Southern General Hospital?

To clear up any confusion, on 3^rd September 2010, Raymond McNaughton, a Timbmet Ltd wood machinist, was the victim of a serious industrial accident in which several pieces of wood were ejected at speed from a malfunctioning rip saw. These pieces of wood stabbed Raymond in the lower back and in both legs, with one piece of wood piercing straight through one leg and clattering to the floor at the other side of the room, with flesh still skewered on to the small plank. Hence the nickname ‘Woody’ considering that for a time, Raymond appeared to be half man-half tree.

Raymond chuckled as he recalled the events that followed his accident: “It was one of the nurses who gave me the nickname when she wheeled me out from my first operation. She said to my wife and my mother, ‘Here comes Woody!’” The same nurse also compared Raymond to a pirate due to his ‘wooden leg’ and said “Your favourite bevy must be Strongbow, you know, because an arrow does right through the bottle in the advert?”

Raymond was also teased after his surgery when he was flopped on to a hospital bed with a puffy, swollen face like a baked potato and for being rather, shall we say, disorientated under the effects of morphine, much to everyone’s amusement. It seems that the jokes were hardly side-splitting, unlike the splinters, but the tongue and cheek teasing from friends and family did serve as a nudge towards recovery since laughter is naturally the best medicine.

If the surgeons performing Raymond’s emergency operation that night hadn’t been anxious enough, what with the daunting task of extracting wood that was lodged dangerously close to the spinal cord and the main artery in the right leg, they were also concerned that instead of having the ideal empty stomach for surgery, Raymond’s belly was instead full with a large, greasy chip roll and a 75cl of Irn Bru from his lunch break.

Though Raymond can muster a laugh over his ordeal now, the severity of his injuries were apparent to everyone from the start. Raymond went on to tell me that medical staff from throughout the hospital would come to see him, with many in astonishment that he was still alive. Groups of fresh faced student doctors would also be brought to gawk at Raymond’s wounds as if he were a freak side-show act at a circus. Step right up folks, come and see Woody the Tree Trunk Man who is half human-half timber!

“It took a long time for me to get back on my feet and it felt like years before I could work again,” Raymond told me when I asked about his recovery. “I had a catheter for around 10 days because my bowels and other internal organs had been damaged in the accident. The wood had also tilted my pelvis which made it very difficult and painful to walk.”

Unfortunately, shortly after Raymond’s health began to improve, it was discovered that there were still pieces of decaying wood and splinters inside his pelvis and thighs, which were the reason for his ongoing pain.  

“I had x-rays and MIR scans that showed there was still wood inside me. So I had a second operation to remove those pieces and now I have a big scar across the bottom of my stomach. This led to jokes about me having a caesarean section and being attacked by a shark since that’s what my scars look like,” Raymond laughed.

Although Raymond still suffers from pain in his legs, he has made a full recovery and in February of this year he finally received compensation for his ordeal. The company Raymond previously worked for, Timbmet Ltd, were also fined £24,000 at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Wednesday 27^th November this year for failing to adhere to safety regulations. The Health and Safety Executive, Aileen Jardine, specified: “It was preventable.”

“It was a good result but I’m just glad it’s all over. It has been a nightmare but I’m moving on and looking to the future,” Raymond said with a much needed cigarette freshly lit and sagging from his mouth.

As Raymond felt it would be too difficult to return to industrial work, he decided to radically change his career path after his recovery. Raymond is now a full-time support worker for adults with disabilities including autism, brain damage and challenging behaviour. To his surprise, he has discovered that he has quite a knack for his new line of work.

“I’m much happier now and I have received a lot of praise at my new job. I even got an Employ of the Month award for my efforts,” Raymond snorted with a slight hint of a cringe. “I feel more satisfied being in a job where I’m doing something good for other people.”

Today, Raymond keeps a small figurine of his Toy Story comrade, a gag gift from his family, in the kitchen at home as a reminder of his experience. However, Raymond’s old nickname ‘Woody’ doesn’t seem to suit him anymore. He’s made of tougher stuff than that.