Absolutely Anything Else

fluffy2560 wrote:

Yes, they should x-ray it to see if it's healed - 6 weeks. .

I had my break fixed in Switzerland. Even there they did not bother to x-ray before removing the cast....  A competent doctor simply examined it after a few weeks and called it "good".  

Then I started PT. The cast was removed during each PT session and replaced after each PT session (I had to learn to reuse my hand which took many more weeks).

klsallee wrote:

....
No. They simply refused. Said they did not do house calls. Even to make an assessment. Not even for something trivial to remove a splinter. No house calls. Period. Even the private practice doctors said same. Relative refused to go to a hospital* (which the ambulance would result in). So we had a problem. An inflexible system versus an inflexible person.

*Given the state of hospitals here, I actually understood.

** End of story: The relative would not admit how sick they were. But if a doctor had come and examined this person, the person may have agreed to call the ambulance. Finally, after a very long time (month) the relative agreed to get the ambulance. The ambulance came. And the relative died in the ambulance on way to the hospital. So much for "public health care". A system that was not flexible enough to accommodate those that need care, and professional advice, despite their proclivities. So, yes, people can die under a public health care system if they happen to be a square peg that does not fit into the system's round hole.

The person might have died anyway regardless of the doctor house calls.   If someone is behaving with difficulty it wouldn't have made any difference unless the Doc had higher persuasion skills.

It's not so unusual not to do house calls here as far as I know.  We don't really have house calls in the UK these days either unless well planned in advance and I don't think it happens that much here either - we've seen our local doctor doing house calls during the day but very few of them.  If it's routine work, it's usually trained nurses at the doctor's place that are scheduled in (e.g. to check on mothers who have just had babies).

From what I've seen here, if a person is really sick, one simply phones for the ambulance immediately.  They are well trained paramedics.

In my own country the call takers are often paramedics and will do a bit of triage over the phone and decide what the best course of action - as far as they can tell at least -  will be.   If it's more seriously concerning, the 24x7 on call doctor service will call back to discuss the issue further.    They are pretty fast at calling - within minutes usually.

My own thoughts are that if I'm really that concerned - with my kids or Mrs Fluffy for example - I'm not going to muck about regardless of what they say on the phone, I'll drive the patient to the hospital myself and get my foot jammed in the door!   Not taking any chances. 

But kids are often funny - small ones cannot tell you anything of course.  One can think they are really sick and delirious and you set off for the Docs and by the time you've arrived they've completely recovered 15 minutes later!  Very odd.

fluffy2560 wrote:

The person might have died anyway regardless of the doctor house calls.

VERY Debatable. There are times in health care when timing matters.

fluffy2560 wrote:

If someone is behaving with difficulty it wouldn't have made any difference unless the Doc had higher persuasion skills.

Debatable. I think a professional opinion injected would have been a heavy counterweight to family "opinion" and ignorance. Especially since the patient agreed to have a doctor come despite refusing the ambulance.

fluffy2560 wrote:

It's not so unusual not to do house calls here as far as I know.

It was the reason for refusing the house call. We were even happy to pay a premium. But... Basically -- all doctors said it was the system that prevented it. Regulations, taxes, etc. Kind of sick reasons, really.

But a doctor was happy to come to the house to give a death certificate for another relative. How odd.... Makes death house calls but not life house calls....

fluffy2560 wrote:

From what I've seen here, if a person is really sick, one simply phones for the ambulance immediately.  They are well trained paramedics.

Yes. Sure. That is what I said to everyone at the time. Being an American. What I consider a rationalist approach. 

But.... I, like you, was ignoring human nature, local family dynamics. Etc. It ain't so simple in real life. Patient rejected it. Family members debated "free will", etc, etc, etc. I was outvoted. I found it all.... weird. But that is real life reality. Just saying.

In the end. rather sad. I think this person would be alive today if not for a failed system and family dynamics. And this was not the only family member like this. That was the third..... Welcome to Hungary...... 

klsallee wrote:

....
VERY Debatable. There are times in health care when timing matters.
.....
I think a professional opinion injected would have been a heavy counterweight to family "opinion" and ignorance. Especially since the patient agreed to have a doctor come despite refusing the ambulance.
[...
But a doctor was happy to come to the house to give a death certificate for another relative. How odd.... Makes death house calls but not life house calls....

...Yes. Sure. That is what I said to everyone at the time. Being an American. What I consider a rationalist approach. 

But.... I, like you, was ignoring human nature, local family dynamics. Etc. It ain't so simple in real life. Patient rejected it. Family members debated "free will", etc, etc, etc. I was outvoted. I found it all.... weird. But that is real life reality. Just saying.

In the end. rather sad. I think this person would be alive today if not for a failed system and family dynamics. And this was not the only family member like this. That was the third..... Welcome to Hungary...... 

I feel for you and of course, I wasn't there so entirely guesswork on my part.  Hard to say if the person would have survived.  We had one HU relative appear to be doing well after a heart operation and passed out in the hospital toilets immediately before the person was due to be discharged and had to be rushed to the OR.   It was negligence - didn't stitch up the heart pipes closely enough in the first pass and so didn't survive the remedial intervention.

Sometimes the patient hasn't got free will as they could be deluded or confused due to the illness itself.  My mother got somewhat mixed up at the end.. Her heart not working properly at the end starved her brain of oxygen.  She would vary day to day - some days on good form and other days, hardly aware of her surroundings or situation.  My brother was completely out of it - hallucinations, unable to communicate and generally all over the place but important and necessary parts of his brain were being eaten away by a tumour.   

Weird that third parties can get involved and have greater authority than family.  But I've seen that too.   My MIL even said she'd trust me to treat her medical conditions. I said, you've got to be kidding!  Perfectly good children (one of them Mrs Fluffy) to take care of all that organising with the local GP.   Ok, the Doc isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer but he's been my MIL's GP forever and a day.  And of course, his Mrs is the local pharmacist as well.  So everyone knows absolutely everything.

Nothing to do with anything but Mrs Fluffy said Aerosmith were coming to BUD.  I checked and all I could see were crinkly old zombies:



Last time I saw them was in about 1981!

fluffy2560 wrote:

Nothing to do with anything but Mrs Fluffy said Aerosmith were coming to BUD.  I checked and all I could see were crinkly old zombies:

[img align=C]https://img3.hvg.hu/image.aspx?id=67eb1540-f351-4102-8a98-f86d245cddbe&view=da658e97-86c0-40f3-acd3-b0a850f32c30[/url]

Last time I saw them was in about 1981!

After watching a video about Steven Tyler's teenager ex-live in pregnant lover who almost died in a house fire while she was there alone, I can't stand to even look at that old bag of bones.
Her name is Julia Holcomb. She was forced by him to get an abortion and then  their house was set of fire.It was arson. She woke up in hospital and her abortion had been done without her consent. She was something like 16 and living with him . he was her legal guardian.

fluffy2560 wrote:

all I could see were crinkly old zombies!

What matters for any musical act is the music. How they look is not at all relevant. Seriously, It is how they sound. Close your eyes and open your ears. Then, and only then, give feedback.

A comment from a 50+ crinkly old zombie.....

Oh... By the way... How old are you? Care to show a personal photo? Don't critique how other's look unless you are willing to share how you look. Play fare, else don't play.

klsallee wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

all I could see were crinkly old zombies!

What matters for any musical act is the music. How they look is not at all relevant. Seriously, It is how they sound. Close your eyes and open your ears. Then, and only then, give feedback.

The music was OK but now in light of Marilyn's comments, I'm rethinking my relationship with Steven Tyler.  Sounds very odd.  Maybe Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein  odd (allegedly).  Mr Tyler ain't no oil painting but he's pretty fit (at least in the live Youtube video I saw from 2014, he was whizzing about upside down on a trapeze). Good for him as far as performing goes. 

klsallee wrote:

A comment from a 50+ crinkly old zombie.....

Oh... By the way... How old are you? Care to show a personal photo? Don't critique how other's look unless you are willing to share how you look. Play fair, else don't play.

Oh, zombie-town here then too as maybe many lurking here are over 50.  But I've said numerous times, I'm late 50s and nearly at the big Six-O or my case, the big Six-Ohhhhhh dear (like  Hawaii Five-O but not as exciting). Unfortunately (or fortunately), as for sharing pics, I don't want to ruin your or my day.

And as for playing fair,  Aerosmith are public figures and therefore totally fair game for gossip.  I'm quite happy to say various truths like Tom Cruise is quite short and Randy Quaid has some strange problems.   

But I digress, Rolling Stones are even more wrinkly - like desiccated bodies from the tombs in the Atacama desert .  My impression and reports say - of the Stones anyway - is that their lives were influenced by  drugs (several have convictions) unlike the (eventually) clean living Macca (Paul McCartney).   

I guess what happened in the 60s didn't stay in the 60s.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

Nothing to do with anything but Mrs Fluffy said Aerosmith were coming to BUD.  I checked and all I could see were crinkly old zombies:

[img align=C]https://img3.hvg.hu/image.aspx?id=67eb1540-f351-4102-8a98-f86d245cddbe&view=da658e97-86c0-40f3-acd3-b0a850f32c30[/url]

Last time I saw them was in about 1981!

After watching a video about Steven Tyler's teenager ex-live in pregnant lover who almost died in a house fire while she was there alone, I can't stand to even look at that old bag of bones.
Her name is Julia Holcomb. She was forced by him to get an abortion and then  their house was set of fire.It was arson. She woke up in hospital and her abortion had been done without her consent. She was something like 16 and living with him . he was her legal guardian.

That's pretty bad stuff.   What were her parents thinking? Surely being her legal guardian, he should not have been sleeping with her - I assume that's what he was doing.  Sounds like "guardian" is a total misnomer.   

On Wikipedia, it says he was worried about the smoke causing birth defects. No idea about that but you'd think he'd have had more respect for her own thoughts.  But then again clearly she, her parents and him had no common sense whatsoever!  Utter train wreck!

Let's not talk about wrinkles, only laugh lines... My 65th is later this week!
Sounds a bit like Miss Holcomb's parents were paid off, somewhat how I think old Jeffery got away with his pervo  ways.

Steven gave up his first born to the fire!! Literally.
Tons of dark energy behind these so called,"stars".

fluffy2560 wrote:

Dog is in the bad books again - chewed up our polystyrene outside tap

That is an indicator the dog may be bored or anxious. Or even a way to get attention.

https://pets.thenest.com/dogs-chew-shoes-3941.html

Best cure is your dog may need more interaction from you. If you can not provide it, then consider getting a doggie playmate for him/her. Or at least more chew toys.

klsallee wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

Dog is in the bad books again - chewed up our polystyrene outside tap

That is an indicator the dog may be bored or anxious. Or even a way to get attention.

https://pets.thenest.com/dogs-chew-shoes-3941.html

Best cure is your dog may need more interaction from you. If you can not provide it, then consider getting a doggie playmate for him/her. Or at least more chew toys.

She's really bored.  I feel sorry for her but I'm snowed under at the moment (it's 2240h and I'm still getting e-mails from further West - don't they have homes to go to!),

Mrs Fluffy is battling on multiple fronts and the kids are in school all the time and it's always dark.  Seems like no-one as the time to take her out - it should be out every day.   

No way we're getting another dog.   She's got lots of chewy things anyway. I actually think she might be depressed doggy style.

We should all take the time for ourselves and for four legged friends.

I said I had plans in the Weather section and I do - clear the decks for a proper Xmas with plenty of doggy walking, fun and games etc.   We're doing more dog training some days - I am getting her to go in and out through my legs in figure of 8.   It's not going so well but she loves the attention for sure.

Builders are here so she has to stay in a lot otherwise she'd be off into the streets as they are not dog watchers.  Maybe we should take her to the dog motel until the builders have gone. She really likes it there.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Let's not talk about wrinkles, only laugh lines... My 65th is later this week!
Sounds a bit like Miss Holcomb's parents were paid off, somewhat how I think old Jeffery got away with his pervo  ways.

Steven gave up his first born to the fire!! Literally.
Tons of dark energy behind these so called,"stars".

Speaking from a position of blissful ignorance, I've got to ask myself if Jeffo really was a pervert in absolute terms.   People go on about his conviction but it's not the same level of crime as say, murder. Unless you're a bible basher* or otherwise "doomed to go to hell".

Age of consent in a lot of countries is way below 18 and accepting money for gratification favours isn't actually a crime either in many places.  Age of consent is 16 in my country - but if a 15 year old is getting it on with an 18 year old, no-one is going to do much about it.    If it was a 13 year old and a 28 year old, then yup, there are questions to answer.

I'm not very keen on Mr Tyler now at all.   Almost sounds like some satanic ritual or just plain stupidity.  Music wise I'll give him an A and for personal activities, D-.

* I've noticed a bit of a church building boom going on around Budapest recently.

It defo was Satanic with Steven.
With Jeffo, well the investigation of his Island is not over with yet, so far we haven't heard about bodies in his underground tunnels but time will tell.
I am so upset right now, got a message from my old friend of over 51 years. Actually her daughter contacted us, my friend is leaving soon for the other side.
She has been fighting brain cancer for over 3 years.
I am not myself at all.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

It defo was Satanic with Steven.
With Jeffo, well the investigation of his Island is not over with yet, so far we haven't heard about bodies in his underground tunnels but time will tell.
I am so upset right now, got a message from my old friend of over 51 years. Actually her daughter contacted us, my friend is leaving soon for the other side.
She has been fighting brain cancer for over 3 years.
I am not myself at all.

Hmmm...Mr Tyler needs more investigation. Epstein another matter - looks like some of his "victims" were 16 or 17.  Not a crime in my country if they were willing.  Others like 13 or 14, yes, crime potentially but depends on the circumstances.  I am not even sure he was convicted of all the charges - he seems to have paid some off so was not actually convicted of being a sex offender.    Not defending him, just saying there are different moral standards.

Sorry to hear about your friend.  If she lasted 3 years she was doing very well. 

My elder brother died from aggressive brain cancer   He was an intellectual and technical guy and something of a mentor to all of us.  Cancer robbed him of his personality, his intelligence, his speech and finally his life.  It wasn't a pleasant  experience for anyone and I think he was in pain at the end.  The reverberations are still going on and it was about 4 years ago that he departed.   

I can only extend my sympathies.

Thank you, my heart feels like it was flushed down the drain at the moment.
Couldn't sleep at all last night because old memories flooded my mind.
These past few years my friend had to keep her head shaved even though she was down with chemo, she would go in for treatments where they would place electrods on her head with some sort of battery pack around her waist.
I was thinking of her nice thick long hair which was an unusual color of brown with a sort of sliver going through it , She was only a teenager but had those shinny silver streaks running through her hair.
Just like your bro, she was smart, had it all together and was set for life with all her family around her.I thank God she lived long enough to see her only grandson, now aged 3.
I am usually able to be hard hearted if needed but I am now a sobbing fool.
She raised 3 children too and they are all with her now.
She was and is a blessing to everyone who ever crossed her path.
Late next week I may share some odd personal news... Nothing about illness of the body, perhaps of the mind!
One very disturbing fact is that so very many people from our small home town have gotten cancer and passed away far too soon.
They had a nuke lab located in the hills near our town. You could see  info about the nuke melt down on U tube. The place was called, Rocketdyne, in 1959 they had an accident. My mother worked there for awhile back around 62 or 63. She got breast cancer.
Yes, seems my friend, Teri was losing a bit of her mind too. She would post things like the weather report and that would be it or what she had for dinner, not like her old self at all. Very heartbreaking, I pray I meet her again in some sort of spirit form or the other. She always was there for me when I was growing up in an alcoholic family. Always was an ear to cry to and she always made people feel at peace to be around her.Can't say much more then that, she was really a blessing to know.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Thank you, my heart feels like it was flushed down the drain at the moment.
Couldn't sleep at all last night because old memories flooded my mind.
These past few years my friend had to keep her head shaved even though she was down with chemo, she would go in for treatments where they would place electrods on her head with some sort of battery pack around her waist......
They had a nuke lab located in the hills near our town. You could see  info about the nuke melt down on U tube. The place was called, Rocketdyne, in 1959 they had an accident. My mother worked there for awhile back around 62 or 63. She got breast cancer.
Yes, seems my friend, Teri was losing a bit of her mind too. She would post things like the weather report and that would be it or what she had for dinner, not like her old self at all. Very heartbreaking, I pray I meet her again in some sort of spirit form or the other. She always was there for me when I was growing up in an alcoholic family. Always was an ear to cry to and she always made people feel at peace to be around her.Can't say much more then that, she was really a blessing to know.

I can see it's really affected you.  Sorry about that.   Cancer is a horrible disease.  Clearly living things and their DNA are a work in progress. 

Not to make light of it but some animals don't get cancer of if they do, very little of it.  I wouldn't mind being an elephant but a naked mole rat, I'm not so sure.  You'd think they'd be considering implanting elephant DNA.

Speaking of Rocketdyne nuclear reactors, I can see the KFKI reactor at Csillaberc from my house.  Bit too close for comfort.   

My bro didn't have any attachments to his head but he had a mohican hair style from the radiation.  His form of cancer was very aggressive - statistics said dead in 11-12 months with treatment and 3 months without.   He got better for a bit after they took as much of the tumour as they could, but he lost his rationality and calm disposition and feeling down one side.  He then had a brain haemorrhage and was in hospital whereupon he started hallucinating.  The tumour was pressing on important senses.  In the end he couldn't speak or really move.  We don't really know if he knew what was going on or was capable of understanding his predicament.  Probably best he didn't know and best we didn't know either.  In the end I believe he was pretty calm and relaxed but could have been the morphine.  All one can wish for really.

fluffy2560 wrote:

I'm snowed under at the moment (it's 2240h and I'm still getting e-mails from further West - don't they have homes to go to!),

Oh... been there. Ran an international SOHO business for years (starting in 1998). I had to stop giving out my phone number... People would call from around the world in my dead of night, but their early morning.

Quite frankly, I fast learned to stop checking emails, shut down IM services, and otherwise went offline at a set time of day, every day (and Sundays were a no-contact me day). Nothing was so important, in my business at least, it could not wait 12 hours while I slept, ate, etc. Of course, spent 3 or 4 hours just answering emails the next morning, but I then simply accounted for that in my schedule.

klsallee wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

I'm snowed under at the moment (it's 2240h and I'm still getting e-mails from further West - don't they have homes to go to!),

Oh... been there. Ran an international SOHO business for years (starting in 1998). I had to stop giving out my phone number... People would call from around the world in my dead of night, but their early morning.

Quite frankly, I fast learned to stop checking emails, shut down IM services, and otherwise went offline at a set time of day, every day (and Sundays were a no-contact me day). Nothing was so important, in my business at least, it could not wait 12 hours while I slept, ate, etc. Of course, spent 3 or 4 hours just answering emails the next morning, but I then simply accounted for that in my schedule.

I get all that.   Been there done that indeed and in fact, still here doing that!

Worst case is working in Asia.  You get say 6h before Europe gets out of bed, then 6h later, it's the East Coast and then same again when West Coast starts and if you're really unlucky, the Pacific islanders come online after that. 

When I'm in Asia, I've always done as you said as I'd never get any sleep but suddenly this year there's a lot of critical things all happening at once just now.   

Perfect storm that's hard to ignore despite how deep I bury my head in the sand.  The advent of IM, texting, Skype and VCs, plus e-mail doesn't help.   I do turn my computer off and I do put my phone on mute. 

But even now, it's 2330h and I'm writing an e-mail to a friend further East as I need an answer on something specialist tomorrow AM who is +11h so I can give a reasoned answer to someone -5h! 

Painful  for someone who aspires to be lazy but  after doing this for so many years, I really should have learnt how to say no!

I need a diversion.  I think I'll dig up some tree roots tomorrow as a form of escapism.

fluffy2560 wrote:

But even now, it's 2330h and I'm writing an e-mail to a friend further East as I need an answer on something specialist tomorrow AM who is +11h so I can give a reasoned answer to someone -5h!

There are always exceptions to every rule.That is fine as you know. And as you know, the trick is not to allow the exceptions to become the rule....

fluffy2560 wrote:

I need a diversion.  I think I'll dig up some tree roots tomorrow as a form of escapism.

I find shovel time is a great way to get rip of pent up frustrations. I do a lot of shoveling (planting things, removing things, clearing things, preparing things). For one thing, it creates a real physical result in real time. That can be very satisfying. And the bigger the hole, the more satisfying.... Yes, I did that with a shovel. Really needed a diversion that week....

fluffy2560 wrote:

Our mouse's best laid plans end tonight.   

The humane mousetrap has not worked on the current rodent occupants so we're going to have to use a traditional method of removal.

During renovation we had a rodent problem. Literally woke up with piles of dirt on the floor. Why? Because we have a stone house that is just stuck together with dirt between the stones. And that was exposed during renovation. So it was a real problem ... including structurally. Could not have a rodent miner weakening the walls by digging tunnels at night. Despite all non-lethal methods, which were ignored, finally had to resort to poison. RIP little rodent.... 

fluffy2560 wrote:

Outside work might continue! I've got tree roots to remove.  Off topic but how to get them out?  I think digging as much as possible and then pulling out with the car won't work, it'd rip the towbar off.

Dig out as much as you can. Then wait. Keep the surface mowed and cut to prevent suckers from sprouting. Eventually, the roots will die off.

klsallee wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

Our mouse's best laid plans end tonight.   

The humane mousetrap has not worked on the current rodent occupants so we're going to have to use a traditional method of removal.

During renovation we had a rodent problem. Literally woke up with piles of dirt on the floor. Why? Because we have a stone house that is just stuck together with dirt between the stones. And that was exposed during renovation. So it was a real problem ... including structurally. Could not have a rodent miner weakening the walls by digging tunnels at night. Despite all non-lethal methods, which were ignored, finally had to resort to poison. RIP little rodent.... 

Mouse update: 

Our humane mouse trap has proved not very humane. I was set up with the spring ones and went to put them down and found Mickey is lying dead inside  the "ineffective" one.  We've left two traps just to make sure it's a thorough mouse family massacre.  We have no idea how they manage to get into our roof.  Must have a Spidery gene.   

"Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I've kinda lost track myself. But being this is an Auchan mousetrap costing 209 HUF, the most powerful mousetrap available locally at a cheap and cheerful price, and would smash your head clean in, you've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?"

Mousey is sh** out of luck now.

klsallee wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

But even now, it's 2330h and I'm writing an e-mail to a friend further East as I need an answer on something specialist tomorrow AM who is +11h so I can give a reasoned answer to someone -5h!

There are always exceptions to every rule.That is fine as you know. And as you know, the trick is not to allow the exceptions to become the rule....

fluffy2560 wrote:

I need a diversion.  I think I'll dig up some tree roots tomorrow as a form of escapism.

I find shovel time is a great way to get rip of pent up frustrations. I do a lot of shoveling (planting things, removing things, clearing things, preparing things). For one thing, it creates a real physical result in real time. That can be very satisfying. And the bigger the hole, the more satisfying.... Yes, I did that with a shovel. Really needed a diversion that week....

Shovel time?!  Sounds like a thing.  Just you and the shovel as one shovel machine in harmony.  Why do you shovel?  Because it's there (to be shovelled).

I did manage to get the other one out last year by hacking at the roots with an axe.  Surprised me it was that easy to get out and the roots were so shallow.

One of the trees reduced to rough cut stumps is actually a nut tree of some type.  Mrs Fluffy has suggested it might be resurrected next year and not to cut it out.  Not sure if that will work.  It's in the wrong place anyway.  But what are the chance of it coming back from hacking by builders?

klsallee wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

Our mouse's best laid plans end tonight.   

The humane mousetrap has not worked on the current rodent occupants so we're going to have to use a traditional method of removal.

During renovation we had a rodent problem. Literally woke up with piles of dirt on the floor. Why? Because we have a stone house that is just stuck together with dirt between the stones. And that was exposed during renovation. So it was a real problem ... including structurally. Could not have a rodent miner weakening the walls by digging tunnels at night. Despite all non-lethal methods, which were ignored, finally had to resort to poison. RIP little rodent.... 

Gross to see mice, rats, snakes or my nightmare Lizzards.
A few times in Hilo our beautiful Doberman would bring us ugly white field mice in his mouth. He would drop them on the ground in front of us, all proud of himself.
I once saw a white field mouse running in our living room in New Mexico, freakin' disgusting!
Once when I was around age 11. I was walking home from school on the sidewalk and sort of drifting in space  like children often do.
All of  a sudden I stopped on a dime, a HUGE boa snake was slizzering across my path. I jumped backwards about 10nfeet. Confused, I crossed over and walked on the other side. Disgusting.

Very odd to feel nothing, my old friend passed away in the early morning hours yesterday. Her boyfriend was sleeping next to her.
I am numb, have no emotion about it, yet.
Yesterday was my BD, now it will never be the same.
On a lighter note, it is beautiful outside, will go enjoy some of nature today and think about my friend.
She was very sporty, loved to kayak up in the lakes in Washington and Canada, had a nice  motor home where they would camp for weeks in the summer near one of her fave lakes.
I am thinking her family will place her ashes near one of her favorite lakes or send her up to Canada to rest.
Dang, not everyone gets to grow old.
Not sure if she was one  the lucky ones or not.
Oh, yesterday just to find out if I could use my "perk" or not, we rode the subway, tram and a bus, got the old folks freebie travel after all!
Starting to enjoy Hungary after all.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Very odd to feel nothing, my old friend passed away in the early morning hours yesterday. Her boyfriend was sleeping next to her.
I am numb, have no emotion about it, yet.
Yesterday was my BD, now it will never be the same.
On a lighter note, it is beautiful outside, will go enjoy some of nature today and think about my friend.
She was very sporty, loved to kayak up in the lakes in Washington and Canada, had a nice  motor home where they would camp for weeks in the summer near one of her fave lakes.
I am thinking her family will place her ashes near one of her favorite lakes or send her up to Canada to rest.
Dang, not everyone gets to grow old.
Not sure if she was one  the lucky ones or not.
Oh, yesterday just to find out if I could use my "perk" or not, we rode the subway, tram and a bus, got the old folks freebie travel after all!
Starting to enjoy Hungary after all.

Sorry to hear about that.  It's a shock when something like that happens so lots of emotions and difficult to react to.    Sorry for that to happen on your birthday too.  I am sure she'd appreciate being scattered across a lake or in a natural area.  Sounds like a nice resting place for anyone.

I was just on the metro and I was musing to myself how useful it was.  Shame really it doesn't go further out to be really useful.  There's a bus from the village - No. 188 - which goes to Metro 4 Kelenfold.  But it takes almost 1h !!!  Far too long.  If they built Metro 4 out here, then we could easily get to town, especially if it was free Park and Ride.  Be a lot safer as well.  The traffic was dreadful today.   Chances of Metro 4 coming out this way is a big fat ZERO!

It has been a very emotional and hard week.
My surprise gift to us decided not to arrive!
Our son was suppose to fly to Budapest today but just a few hours before his flight left he changed his mind.
He is having a difficult time adjusting to life in Japan and was ready for a change, or so we all thought.
It's all good, things have to play out in their own fashion and in time he will figure things out.
If he doesn't give us heart attacks first that is!
I personally can't wait for this year to end!
We have been looking online at trains times and bus times, think we will run away from home this weekend and try to forget about this entire week of ups and downs.
Not sure if having just one child is easier or harder then having more then one.
My mother had 6 children and was always there for us in need but then again at age 18 most of us had left home and never pulled her into their drama like what we seem to always experience with our boy.
Still waiting for him to grow up,hope it happens in my lifetime!
Side note, I decided on my BD to buy one of those cheap ready made trays of sushi from the grocery store, no, not very good at all.
Just like eating ethnic foods anywhere, best to enjoy them in country and not out of a box or made by someone who never even visited the country of origin. Well, I never had dill on sushi before Sunday, interesting but not on my list of faves.
At least my son can OD on fresh sushi everyday if he wishes to.
Always have to look at the bright side of things...

Speaking of digging deep to see the bright side, yesterday while crossing the st. near a bike path, I was very close to getting slammed hard by a "sports" rider going on the bike path. It was an area where pedestrains and bikers meet, no clear markings and he ran the red light if he had been a vehicle. He was going so fast almost as if he saw people and went faster. My husband told me to stop and thankfully I usually listen to him, very close plus there was a light pole in the way so we could not see clearly . He was also going so fast where a decent person would of slowed down a bit because of the foot traffic and lights etc.
I told my husband after I recovered from thinking about just how close it had come that although I miss my departed friend, I am in no hurry just yet for a reunion!

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

....
My surprise gift to us decided not to arrive!
Our son was suppose to fly to Budapest today but just a few hours before his flight left he changed his mind.
He is having a difficult time adjusting to life in Japan and was ready for a change, or so we all thought.
....
We have been looking online at trains times and bus times, think we will run away from home this weekend and try to forget about this entire week of ups and downs.
Not sure if having just one child is easier or harder then having more then one.
.....
Side note, I decided on my BD to buy one of those cheap ready made trays of sushi from the grocery store, no, not very good at all.
Just like eating ethnic foods anywhere, best to enjoy them in country and not out of a box or made by someone who never even visited the country of origin. Well, I never had dill on sushi before Sunday, interesting but not on my list of faves.
At least my son can OD on fresh sushi everyday if he wishes to.
Always have to look at the bright side of things...

There's a lot of kids issues about.  Big kids big problems, small kids small problems.   One of my relatives has a son of a similar age who also went off far away with someone and now seems unable to settle down.   Not having a job isn't helping him either.  Getting a job will give some self-worth, purpose and widen his social circle.   One of my eldest Fluffyettes has a job but seems a bit purposeless apart from caring for cats.  I hope none of them turn out to be like the cat woman on The Simpsons.

The most obvious thing is to teach English and to do the ToEFL (or TEFL, usually pronounced Tea-Fal) course.  It's easy to do but necessary to get a get a job teaching.  It's something one can do online too.    One of the Fluffyettes is studying Spanish on the side and I've pointed people in the past to edX.org which has lots of free courses to "audit" (i.e. try for free).  Paying only about $50 gives you a certificate as well so some proof you've done the course and something to show people.  Might give new direction and purpose.  Just an idea.

I reckon free travel should be utilised asap!  Why not just go somewhere like Szentendre?  Or Esztergom? Even Szeged? Or Pecs?  Just go, look around, have lunch, come back!   It's often the journey, not the destination that's important.   My free travel options will be zero - Brexit will mean I'll no longer be eligible for any of that.  Oh well.   

Sushi has to be one of those overrated foods ever.   It's absolute rubbish anyway, regardless of where it comes from.   One of my colleagues is crazy for it but I think he is in need of psychiatric care but he also like things like rugby which is maybe just about OK.   

Give me a nice spicey Madras curry or Chili or even Gyulasleves any day.   Real food!

Mrs Fluffy and I will have the excitement of visiting Aldi and the car wash maybe this afternoon (sometimes the only time you can get in the car wash is between 23h-05h! Always busy!  It's the last week of school.  Thinking of going to see the latest Star Wars at the weekend -  starts showing Thursday in Budapest.  School kids get a free showing of the latest Jumanji this week as an Xmas present.

I think many adult,"children" these days were as my mother tried to warn  me, over protected and indulged far too much. Her style was for us to always try to think of others first, be happy with what you had in life and follow the rules of society and also to be yourself but within guidelines, Respect others but respect yourself too. Many people seem to place their children on a high pedestel.Not good because they will get knocked off some day. Of course my mom raised 4 out of 6 children alone, so she could not mess around with "feelings".
I know our son was the center of the universe to us, still is in many ways.
My mom was hard and strict while we bent every which way to make our son happy.
He had a few health issues as a child so it was hard to not give in at times.
Biggest mistake we ever did was buy him his first video game and player!
An entire generation of people who live in their heads and not in reality.
I slept for over 10 hours last night, needed to as my nerves were shot.
We have plans to take many trips around HU, just need to get over this insnaity our boy has tossed our way.
His wife is another matter...Different culture but I always thought one should at least talk to their spouce, they just do not talk in Japan.
I dislike one sided conversations which is all that happens with her.

I am being a bit rude here, will stop for now.
I understand the fear of having a cat lady as a grown child, I have a gamer and my eldest sister is a dog lady...
Aldi, we also must run over there this week, and Lidel as well, maybe we will roast a duck or some goose next week with nice savory red cabbage on the side. Not in a holiday mood right now.
Sushi, well it really only tastes great with a huge bottle of Sake ! Need to be slouched a bit to eat all that rice and ginger.
Can't beat Hungarian food, or any good homemade roasted dishes.
I could be locked up in a Deli, an old style Jewish deli and be so happy...
Herring, salads and lox...
Sushi really doesn't taste as good as a nice slice of lox on a bagel maybe I have some Jewish blood in me after all, their food may have some items that not everyone enjoys but lox, have to be crazy to not enjoy that.
To her credit, my Japanese DIL dislike sushi.. She also dislikes wine so you can't account for her taste really.
Odd thing in Japan with my DIL's family. Her father has his own house up in the mountains but pays all the house bills for his wife, she has never worked and just watches tv all day long and does the laundry. Her other SIL does all the cooking when he comes home from work, he was a sushi chief but no longer works with food. My son and his wife have their own flat now, looks brand new and they bought everything from stove to furniture as they do not have even a heater in the flat, their FIL bought them a A/C and heater and paid to have it installed. He seems like a nice man, smart perhaps since he doesn't live with the family.He would rather pay for 2 homes then live with his wife.

I think as your wife and children are Hungarian you could very easily get Hungarian citizenship or be a resident without much trouble.
Then you can ride the rails too when your time comes.
My husband is teasing me now about turning 65, like now I am officially old, no that's the wrong way to think. I say I have beaten the odds so far, unlesss some biker hits me while I'm out walking on the sidewalk.
I really think they should have a school to teach people the rules of the rode while riding their bikes, I never see anyone use hand signals or use a horn, most bikes do not even seem to have lights on them for late afternoon riding.
Oh well,can't change the world, just have to stay away from idiots .
I'll look over that site for teaching English, it's sad when one has a dream but it is not based in reality.People need to do their homework before taking on a wild adventure.
I do not speak Hungarian but if I planned on moving here alone without a spouce who spoke it, I would either learn first or move elsewhere.
Visited the area of Poland where my father was born, super beautiful up in the mountains near Gorlice. Some family spoke perfect English, they were teachers but most only spoke Polish  and Ruysn. That fact alone made me realize it wasn't a place for me to ever live, only visit.
Was interesting to hear Ruysn, this sub Salvic group of people is such a low population, there is perhaps only one million Ruysns in the world. Andy Warhol's parents were Ruysn's who immigrated to the US. Guess they are excentric people, just look at my son and he is only 1/4th Ruysn.Or maybe being half HU has pushed him over the edge?
Have to get out today and clear my head,so perfect outside.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

....
His wife is another matter...Different culture but I always thought one should at least talk to their spouce, they just do not talk in Japan.
I dislike one sided conversations which is all that happens with her.

I am being a bit rude here, will stop for now.
I understand the fear of having a cat lady as a grown child, I have a gamer and my eldest sister is a dog lady...
Aldi, we also must run over there this week, and Lidel as well, maybe we will roast a duck or some goose next week with nice savory red cabbage on the side. Not in a holiday mood right now.
Sushi, well it really only tastes great with a huge bottle of Sake ! Need to be slouched a bit to eat all that rice and ginger.
Can't beat Hungarian food, or any good homemade roasted dishes.
I could be locked up in a Deli, an old style Jewish deli and be so happy...
Herring, salads and lox...
..
To her credit, my Japanese DIL dislike sushi.. She also dislikes wine so you can't account for her taste really.
Odd thing in Japan with my DIL's family. Her father has his own house up in the mountains but pays all the house bills for his wife, she has never worked and just watches tv all day long and does the laundry. Her other SIL does all the cooking when he comes home from work, he was a sushi chief but no longer works with food. My son and his wife have their own flat now, looks brand new and they bought everything from stove to furniture as they do not have even a heater in the flat, their FIL bought them a A/C and heater and paid to have it installed. He seems like a nice man, smart perhaps since he doesn't live with the family.He would rather pay for 2 homes then live with his wife.

I think as your wife and children are Hungarian you could very easily get Hungarian citizenship or be a resident without much trouble.
Then you can ride the rails too when your time comes.
My husband is teasing me now about turning 65, like now I am officially old, no that's the wrong way to think. I say I have beaten the odds so far, unlesss some biker hits me while I'm out walking on the sidewalk.
I really think they should have a school to teach people the rules of the rode while riding their bikes, I never see anyone use hand signals or use a horn, most bikes do not even seem to have lights on them for late afternoon riding.
Oh well,can't change the world, just have to stay away from idiots .
I'll look over that site for teaching English, it's sad when one has a dream but it is not based in reality.People need to do their homework before taking on a wild adventure.
I do not speak Hungarian but if I planned on moving here alone without a spouce who spoke it, I would either learn first or move elsewhere.
... Andy Warhol's parents were Ruysn's who immigrated to the US. Guess they are excentric people, just look at my son and he is only 1/4th Ruysn.Or maybe being half HU has pushed him over the edge?
Have to get out today and clear my head,so perfect outside.

So much in that post......

One of my kids lived in Japan for 2 years working as an English teacher for kids around 8-10 years old.  It was said that the Japanese kids were very enthusiastic and fun but they become conformists to this reserved kind of society when they get older.  Must be something they acquire rather than something inherent  to people there.   

The living arrangements in Japan sounds quite nice.  Maybe the thing to do is to learn Japanese and become a blogger or tour guide.   I was on a plane a couple of months ago out that way and some Western guy was talking to a woman in Japanese. She was clearly only just tolerating him. He was also working on an IPad doing some sort of language tests.  I think learning Japanese would be a life long experience.  My relative (the one who is unable to settle) was living in Seoul, Korea and picked up a bit of the language but never really got into it.

Learning the language would give greater incentives to stay but I don't even speak Hungarian to any significant degree.  I would never pass the citizenship exam so long as they have it in the current form.  Maybe when I retire but while the UK was in the EU, there was never any reason to pursue it.  One of my US colleagues was trying to work out where to live in Europe (currently lives in Ireland) and said he thought Bulgaria.  Seems very hard work to me - he spends hardly any time at home as it is.  If you want to relax, why not try a base in Cyprus or Malta - decent weather, lots of history and they all speak English.   His answer was that their Internet was dire. 

I know nothing about Jewish food at all but strange you mentioned the red cabbage thing, Mrs Fluffy did exactly that dish with duck a day or so ago.  She put ginger in it to try and spice it up. 

Past days we've been so busy with some heavy work stuff and a major event  on our land dispute.  It's OVER!  The fence is done and the land is back on our side.  Builders finished today with the fence finally after about 2 weeks of messing around.   That's taken  about 3 or 4 years to get through the system.

All we need to do now is get rid of the remainder of the waste materials they've left behind along with some garden waste from "the other side".    Our local government has "helpfully" banned the burning of garden waste now so there's no way to burn the infamous tree stumps.  It's too big to burn as firewood and really too big to try and chop into pieces. If I got the chainsaw on it, it'll blunt the chain in seconds.   I suppose eventually we'll have to have yet another skip/kontener.   By that time, we'll have another 4 stumps to go in.

As "light relief", I am sure today will be total hell at the shops. Tomorrow will be worse.  I have to go to OBI, Ikea and Aldi. If I went at like 20h, maybe no-one will be there.  Perhaps go midday on Monday or just go between Xmas and New Year.  Have to make the most of my Xmas time "holiday" (what's a holiday?)

I like Andy Warhol's stuff.   Real pop art.  I like Roy Lichtenstein as well.  Classic Crying Girl!

I feel like the crying girl at this point!!
Got out early today , had to visit the surgery once again for yet another issue, my old funky skin cancer thing is acting up.WTF...Saw the doc that did my shoulder a couple months back, the women who handles his surgeries couldn't get me in so they are sending me to another place late in Jan.
He was a bit more upset then I was that he will not be the one to "cure" me.
I am 100% not even  worried a bit over this.
Our son was going   through a MAJOR legal issue in Japan for the past 6 months due to his silly, dumb. childish attitude with his packing.He brought over some material he had purchased in Japan that are illegal to bring in... IDIOT!!!!!! I clearly remember the day he was packing when we were in Vegas, he asked us to leave the house so he could think... WTF??
Asia is a totally odd place, can not figure out the way they think over there.

We invited him to HU to escape from his problems although my way of thinking is to "man up" "cowboy up" and face reality.
All good and although this is going to seem off the wall, I actually prayed to Jesus to solve this issue.
I thought our boy was going to jail for years on end. My husband had a field  day laughing about me praying but whatever...

Japan has a very messed up legal system, one can not even bring their lawyer with them when under questioning.
He spent money one 2 different Japanese lawyers for info and they were useless.

His wife went in 2 times, he once then once again at a cost of over $1,000 for train tickets to the customs office in Kobe.
Plus our airfare we spent to get him out of it. plus hours on the phone.
I raised a nutter!!
I know God gives you only as much as one can handle but this was almost our end!
This is why I say this younger generation are a bunch of idiots who can not think for themselves.
It has been a heavy week emotionally but in all reality. I never broke down  or shed even one tear even though my friend died. Guess I may be a classic case of.
PTSD!
Glad your legal BS is over with, mind I fear is just starting...
My new neighbor is a total B. and soon I do believe we will get into it.
I have been wanting for awhile now to sell out and move closer to Balaton. Just have to get my hubby to be more motivated about moving.
The city is a bore these days to me and I am ready for some nature and greener pastures.
My hubby wants to move to the US but I wish to stay in HU. Go figure that one out?

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

.....
Our son was going   through a MAJOR legal issue in Japan for the past 6 months due to his silly, dumb. childish attitude with his packing.He brought over some material he had purchased in Japan that are illegal to bring in... IDIOT!!!!!! I clearly remember the day he was packing when we were in Vegas, he asked us to leave the house so he could think... WTF??
Asia is a totally odd place, can not figure out the way they think over there.

We invited him to HU to escape from his problems although my way of thinking is to "man up" "cowboy up" and face reality.
.....
Japan has a very messed up legal system, one can not even bring their lawyer with them when under questioning.
He spent money one 2 different Japanese lawyers for info and they were useless.

His wife went in 2 times, he once then once again at a cost of over $1,000 for train tickets to the customs office in Kobe.
Plus our airfare we spent to get him out of it. plus hours on the phone.
I raised a nutter!!
I know God gives you only as much as one can handle but this was almost our end!
This is why I say this younger generation are a bunch of idiots who can not think for themselves.
It has been a heavy week emotionally but in all reality. I never broke down  or shed even one tear even though my friend died. Guess I may be a classic case of.
PTSD!
Glad your legal BS is over with, mind I fear is just starting...
My new neighbor is a total B. and soon I do believe we will get into it.
I have been wanting for awhile now to sell out and move closer to Balaton. Just have to get my hubby to be more motivated about moving.
The city is a bore these days to me and I am ready for some nature and greener pastures.
My hubby wants to move to the US but I wish to stay in HU. Go figure that one out?

I think Japan expects people to admit their "crimes" even if they aren't guilty.   It's like the US plea bargaining system of weirdness which causes people all sorts of problems and quite a lot of injustice too (I can give examples).

I don't want to guess what he had in his baggage but if it was drugs or a gun, I expect they'll want to throw the book at him. 

I've transited Japan a few times with my own meds but I've never had any trouble with them or anyone elsewhere.  I always get more hassle in Canada and the USA but usually over what I'm doing - which is NOTHING TO DO WITH THEM as I'm definitely in "transit"  (one ridiculous annoyance in the USA/Canada, no transit system). Best avoided but very difficult if you go to some Pacific islands or Caribbean.

But they are crazy in Japan over ordinary prescription medications.  Some countries go bonkers over things like codeine which is something you can get OTC in low dosage in other places.  My mother used it before she passed.  I think they don't like it because it's an opiate derivative.  It's a nightmare if you legitimately have it in your own country.  You can get absolutely hammered if you get caught even in transit with it via one of those countries. 

I believe in Japan, they do not even allow birth control pills - obviously something which doesn't apply to your son.  As for guns, that's a definite no-no.

But perhaps he's getting  a lesson that what goes in the US, doesn't work there and they have different thinking.  Obviously I don't know the circumstances so just idling speculating.

Sorry to hear about your shoulder.   Weather is rubbish.  I notice the damp these days on some joints - hands mainly.

I can imagine it being rather quiet down at Balaton.  I think it'd be OK on the outskirts of a larger town or the burbs of Budapest.  My own village is quite good - only 20 mins to Moscow Square on the bus and 10 minutes to the highway East-West (Vienna) but still in the countryside on the other side of the Buda hills.  The only thing we don't have is a railway station but  I'd quite like us to have a metro station but some chance of that - maybe in 30 or 40 years.  I won't care by then.     

One thing I'd really like them to consider is putting in some cycle lanes along the main road or across country to Budaors. Fat chance of that as it might have to pass through a rifle range.  Make for an interesting bike ride.

Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday.
I am so over holidays, looks I am a real humbug.
All good in Japan now.
No drugs or guns were brought in, just some material that was actually bought in Japan, screwy place!
My son didn't want to play the 5 hour question game at customs and told them he had enough and just walked out.
So they called his in-laws etc.
Just crazy stuff. Put a lot of stress on his marriage.They would not release his wife's clothing until his reading material were straighted out. I swear I never have normal problems!
All worked out as it was not classified as porno after all.
Yes, my boy is a "freak", what can a poor mom do?
I actually tried to take the rap by writing that I had packed the boxes...
Oh, what a nice mom I am! I may be blacklisted in japan now for all I know!

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday.
I am so over holidays, looks I am a real humbug.
All good in Japan now.
No drugs or guns were brought in, just some material that was actually bought in Japan, screwy place!
My son didn't want to play the 5 hour question game at customs and told them he had enough and just walked out.
So they called his in-laws etc.
Just crazy stuff. Put a lot of stress on his marriage.They would not release his wife's clothing until his reading material were straighted out. I swear I never have normal problems!
All worked out as it was not classified as porno after all.
Yes, my boy is a "freak", what can a poor mom do?
I actually tried to take the rap by writing that I had packed the boxes...
Oh, what a nice mom I am! I may be blacklisted in japan now for all I know!

Haha, so reading material then.  But this is just typical of your average Customs person.  Like cops, they are not hired to be the sharpest knives in the drawer.     So they leap on one thing and make out it's the crime of the century if only through boredom or self-promotion.  Not to say they don't do useful jobs but some of them enjoy inflicting mental pain on others.  And of course when it turns out there's no case to answer, they make no apology and definitely don't offer to pay your expenses!

I doubt you need worry about being tainted in Japan.  Not worth their effort.   There was no crime so nothing to base any blacklist on. Case dismissed, you're free to go!

Interesting thing I had once was being caught in the UK speeding in a rented car. I was caught on an automated radar detector being 5mph over the limit.  So the system in the UK is that you just get a letter telling you you've been caught and pay the fine of £80 (I think) and 3 points on your license and if you dispute it, you can go to court and pay more if found guilty.  The way they find out it's you is that the cops ask the rental car company (they know from the registration plate) who had the car at that moment.  So at one point, you weren't fined immediately, you could pay £80 or thereabouts and go on a speed awareness course and not receive the points.  So a bit of a carrot and stick and I chose the course and not the fine.   

Anyway my argument was with the car rental company telling me I had to pay a surcharge for them informing the police. I forget how much it was - maybe £50.   They said the police had caught me and fined me and therefore I should pay them.  I said, OK car rental people, so you think I was fined for speeding - well I wasn't.  It only says in the rental contract, if I received a fine from the police (and I didn't).  It didn't say anything about fine alternatives.    There are no points on my license, no court case and no fine.  So I don't owe you anything.  They really argued about it. 

In the end I said, look, it's costing you more to argue with me but they persisted.  I said, fine, let's go to court but I'll give you a final offer of £12 for providing the cops with my DL details.   This happens to be the amount per hour you can claim as expenses for preparing a legal case when you win if representing yourself.  Their administrative costs couldn't have amounted to more than about 5 minutes if done manually so £12 was generous.   At that point, rather than have someone challenge the reasonableness of their costs, they immediately gave up.

Wouldn't recommend it as a way of dealing with people but sometimes I like to be bloody minded.

This is Japan, not the likes of North Korea

SimCityAT wrote:

This is Japan, not the likes of North Korea

Might be better in North Korea in some cases as you can probably bribe them to go away.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Here's a picture of Newcastle or Liverpool (forget which):

Moved from:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 10#4762073

You crushed my fantasy. I thought this was Liverpool... I mean, she has a liver and she is in a pool....