Category: Stories

  • Save enough winkles and you’ll soon have a wonkel

    Save enough winkles and you’ll soon have a wonkel

    About 1,000 years ago when I was working full-time in a full-on role as a project manager, I used to have a guilty obsession: “the breakfast of champions”. It was a takeaway coffee with a chocolate donut that I used to buy just before heading into my office cubicle. The…

  • Like mother like daughter

    Like mother like daughter

    I’ve been thinking a lot about the habits that we learn from our parents – and those that we pass onto our kids. The list that comes up in my mind is a mixed bag of wonderful memories, routines and rituals… as well as a handful of dubious practices. [This…

  • Winning at The Wheel of Fortune

    Winning at The Wheel of Fortune

    A while ago I mentioned in passing that I had been the carry-over champion of a game show.  This is that story… and apologies in advance; it isn’t going to do anything for your chronic pain – other than make you laugh – it’s just a strange little glimpse into…

  • UGH – I’m struggling

    UGH – I’m struggling

    Late to post today – sorry – but I’m feeling pretty unwell. Not sure why, but the last couple of days have felt like a reversal of all the healing that’s been happening for the last couple of years. I know that I may never be pain free, but it’s…

  • Welcome to 2025 (teeth and all)!

    Welcome to 2025 (teeth and all)!

    I’m baa-aaaack! Welcome to 2025 (can you believe we are already 1/24th of the way through the year!!) I hope that everyone’s year is going as great as can be so far – I missed you all! I finished last year with a reference to a bygone Christmas Day which…

  • The three ghosts of Christmas migraines

    The three ghosts of Christmas migraines

    I’ve never been a huge fan of Charles Dicken’s story “A Christmas Carol” (1843).  The cranky old selfish man Ebenezer Scrooge was a horrible central character, and yes, I know that he undergoes an epic character arc which redeems him… but still… what kind of person picks on a child…

  • Happy Holidays with “Revertigo”

    Happy Holidays with “Revertigo”

    Many years ago, I came across the neologism “revertigo”.  Even without knowing the details, I had a sense of the concept from the elements of the made-up word: revert + vertigo.  The article which the term appeared in explained that revertigo relates to how quickly we fall back into our…

  • The day I met Queen Nefertiti

    The day I met Queen Nefertiti

    Many, many, many, years ago, I studied art in high school. One of our major works required us to explore the changing way women were represented in art. I recall that we had to choose three images, from different eras, and then find a way to mix their messages. Strangely,…

  • Light me up Scotty…

    Light me up Scotty…

    I’m not a Star Trek fan… I don’t know how, but I missed it all when I was younger and know absolutely nothing about it now… except the “beam me up Scotty” message… This (apparently misquoted-pop-culture) phrase came to mind when I was reading an article about an Australian business……