• danwritesbooks@aussie.zone
    23·
    1 year ago

    Hey all, Decided to take the plunge with aussie zone and nice to be invited into the daily thread. Hope you are all doing well

  • omoikiri@aussie.zone
    19·
    1 year ago

    I went to visit nana in respite care today. The place she is is really nice and the nurses and the others there are lovely. I genuinely think it’s as nice as you can get with these kinds of things. The problem is that nana’s dementia means that she forgets why she’s there. Her short term memory is about 5 minutes long now, and every few minutes she asked me “when do I get to go home?” It broke my heart every time. She doesn’t remember what happened to put her there and she doesn’t understand. When she saw me walk into the common space she jumped up and said “you’ve come to take me home!!” It was all I could do to not cry on the spot. She’s also started reverting to being scared of my grandfather. He’s been dead for 30 years. He was a raging alcoholic and very physically and emotionally violent, but nana also gave out as much as she got back in the day and has never expressed being afraid of him before. But when I kept having to say to her “no Nan, this is your home now, remember? You’re here so that we can keep you safe” she’d just nod and go “right, to keep me safe from him he’s always so angry when he drinks.” So that’s interesting.

    Anyway I took her to the pancake parlour and let her go to town and order anything she wanted and she was so stoked. She’s never as happy as she is when she’s got dessert.

    I need and entire bottle of wine and a good cry now.

    • landsharkkidd@aussie.zone
      5·
      1 year ago

      Before my grandpa passed, he was in hospice care (found out later that it’s actually the same one my partner’s mum works at, but she wasn’t his nurse) and he I think suffered dementia because of the jaw cancer. And like man, that shit hurts. And you know they’re not forgetting you intentionally.

      Like I remember my final goodbye and I could see him trying to connect the dots on who I am. Ugh.

      I’ll have to join you the good cry (luckily there’s no one else here in the lunch room), it never gets easier.

      • omoikiri@aussie.zone
        5·
        1 year ago

        Nana, thankfully, still remembers who I am. There’s only been one instance where she didn’t know me, and it was because I showed up at her house with my sister and niece who she hadn’t seen for 5+ years and two unfamiliar faces threw her. I can’t take Mr Omoikiri with me to see her either because he came onto the scene too late for him to be in her long-term memory and she gets a bit uncomfortable around ‘strange’ men. She also comes out with some old lady racist stuff sometimes that she may have thought in the past, but had the filter to know to not say it. and while he just laughs it off, it’s best for everyone if he stays away. I’m certain the day will come when she doesn’t know me though.

        I’m sorry for your loss too. It just sucks so much

        • landsharkkidd@aussie.zone
          4·
          1 year ago

          Oof yeah, it’s uhhh… it’s tough being around old people and they just feel so embolden to say whatever is on their mind. I’m surprised my nana is taking my cousin’s transition well. Of course, I guess it’s easier to understand his transition because it’s a binary transition, whereas I and my partner are both nonbinary… oh well.

          Yeah it does suck. But, your Nana is getting the best care and she knows she’s loved and that’s really all you can ask for.

    • danwritesbooks@aussie.zone
      4·
      1 year ago

      I work at a respite home and it’s such a sad place to be because you see the elderly suffering through their dementia and other memory or physical issues. It’s really sad, but it’s so nice you got to take her out.

      • omoikiri@aussie.zone
        3·
        1 year ago

        That hit me right in the gut too. This isn’t a big centre. There’s maybe 25-30 people in there all up. It’s also not a high-care one, so they’re free to roam around and do what they want and we can take them out no problem. But when I signed nana out in the log, I saw that there was maybe only 10 other instances of people taking their loved ones out. Maybe some of them can’t really go out, and maybe some family members come and sit with them instead. But for the most part it looks like they’ve just been out there and forgotten.

      • omoikiri@aussie.zone
        4·
        1 year ago

        It’s so hard. Thankfully nana is now past the point where she realises that she’s dementing. There was a while where she was really distressed because she knew she should remember how to do basic tasks and had enough of her mind still to understand what was happening to her

    • Duenan@aussie.zone
      4·
      1 year ago

      Hi Onoikiri.

      It must have been really hard to go through that.

      I didn’t have a good relationship with my mother and she had a deep onset of dementia while relatively young that eventually took her motor functions and her voice.

      On one of my earlier visits she was still somewhat lucid but had no speech and I had to explain to her why we had to put her into a home that she tried desperately to escape from.

      When I last saw her she was just a husk of herself staring out into space with clenched fists not even recognising me.

      It was very hard to see and I wish we had time to mend our relationship and I’m sure her dementia contributed to our fights.

      Treasure the time you have spent and memories of her that you have.

  • Rusty Raven @aussie.zoneM
    15·
    1 year ago

    Dastardly Windows automatic update restarted my computer and made the bot homeless overnight. At least it was not the bot itself failing. It has now been turned off. I thought I’d shut off everything that could turn it off on me, but missed one.

    • Leyana@aussie.zone
      9·
      1 year ago

      Damn, Microsoft killed another bot. We can’t keep allowing this to happen. Remember Tay!

    • maniacalmanicmania@aussie.zone
      9·
      1 year ago

      I wonder what future humans (if there are any) will make of Windows updates.

      I like the comment you added to bot001’s posts. I was thinking of adding a random quote of the day to sydbot. Thinking is about as far as I usually get though. I’m a good thinker in that respect.

      • Thornburywitch@aussie.zone
        8·
        1 year ago

        Maybe some nice new batteries, a squirt of WD40, points cleaning and a buff with a microfibre cloth will help it feel better. Self care would apply to bots too methinks.

  • bull⚡@aussie.zone
    14·
    1 year ago

    I’ve been asked if I want to attend an IT security conference next week at the MCG which it comes with an MCG tour and a fine-dining lunch experience. I feel like I don’t own clothes nice enough to attend something like that! I’m not fancy.

  • danwritesbooks@aussie.zone
    13·
    1 year ago

    Heading to Melbourne next week. Taking the Jetstar roulette. Last time the flight was eventually cancelled at midnight and we got put up in a hotel and slept for like 4 hours before having to be up again for the earliest flight the next morning.

    Definitely hoping that isn’t the case this time.

    I reached out to my old primary school a week or so ago about donating my books to the school library since they are the reason I am such a big reader and wanted to be a writer. They said yes and wanted me to come in for a talk but unfortunately couldn’t make it work because of pupil free day on one day and specialist classes on the other. They asked if I could come for book week which I would love but probably won’t be able too. I’m really sad I couldn’t do it because I’ve really felt a connection to my school since my little one started school and I’m now studying education for a career change.

    I’m still going to drop off the books and hopefully get to see what it’s like inside. Last time I was in Melbourne I drove past and it’s changed so so much. It’s crazy.

  • just_kitten@aussie.zone
    12·
    1 year ago

    Finally had my long awaited psychiatrist appointment today and lemme just say I’m so so so relieved she turned out to be very professional and empathetic and asked lots of very very relevant questions and wasn’t at any point condescending or patronising. I’m quite emotional tbh. Just want to lie down somewhere and soak up the sun but I have this very time critical government related project thing I have to go and do now and my shoulders are killing me. I will do the lie down this weekend.

    • Duenan@aussie.zone
      4·
      1 year ago

      Hey Kitten,

      Is this one a keeper?

      Also stay inside if you manage to soak in the sun from there. Outside is cold and windy enough to offset the the warmth from the sun, not that it was that warm in it anyway.

      Lying down over the weekend sounds like a great plan, I hope you manage to get your neck and shoulder sorted out.

      • just_kitten@aussie.zone
        2·
        1 year ago

        I reckon so. Big hit to the wallet (475 - thankfully I think I’ll be getting most of of it back having hit the safety net) but she is good.

        Unfortunately I gotta head outside shortly for a bit of field work. But I probably could do with some fresh air. I have plenty of warm clothes on so if the sun’s out I’ll be fine in that sense.

      • just_kitten@aussie.zone
        3·
        1 year ago

        Thanks. I’ve done it so many times now I’m a bit numb to the whole process but I’m actually feeling overwhelmed this time from feeling like I have finally got a breakthrough where everyone else has hit a wall (because I needed psychiatric assessment).

  • Hongohones@aussie.zone
    12·
    1 year ago

    Everythings coming up Milhouse. New job is good, exercise and money. Close enough to home and might be really close after training. aa is working. Finally got some closure on my previous shit cunts of employers and co workers, can resign and move on with life. Holiday is over and I have a new job. Also got news my son and mum are coming down for a couple of weeks in August. Got interviewed yesterday for a trans book and photo exhibition. So much positivity going around. Service work today, aa and my organistiion. Cook another vege stew, go for a walk, another meeting and then bed. My days are full of joy at the moment. Plus constantly playing with the cats. They are super happy at the moment. I got some treats from Aldi. They love them a bit too much but it’s bringing us closer.

    • Rusty Raven @aussie.zoneM
      4·
      1 year ago

      Yay for the weekend!

      With society changing away from standard working hours we really need to update terminology. We need a new term for scheduled days off, and also a term for when your days off align with the days off of people you want to spend time with. We could probably do with a term for the situation when you are unable to spend time with family and friends due to not having any overlapping time off, and for the annoying attitude of people who assume days off during the week are “holidays” and days off after night shift are open for you to do things other than sleep. Despite the number of people who proclaim we are a 24/7 society now (and they tend to be the ones arguing against penalty rates) a lot of people really don’t understand anything other than standard work hours. Drive time radio hosts are my favourite - despite the fact that they are working non standard hours themselves they really go all in on the 9-5 mythology.

  • PeelerSheila @beehaw.org
    11·
    1 year ago

    Hey, be safe out there guys! The amount of idiotic driving and near misses I witnessed on the way to work was greater than usual for sure.

  • Rusty Raven @aussie.zoneM
    11·
    1 year ago

    Pizza has been cooked and consumed. OMG awesomeness pizzonified. No pics, I was too busy eating. Miss Meow is very displeased, she was under the impression that pizza was a sharing food, but I would not let her snag a piece and ate the whole thing myself.

  • CEOofmyhouse56@aussie.zone
    11·
    1 year ago

    I don’t think you can get an easier hot meal than hot dogs. Yep I’ve scraped the bottom of the barrel with lips, hips and arseholes for dinner tonight.