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Recent moments
Many special occasions 🎉
Evri lost my parcel from America 📦
My sister called round 🏡
Dental checkup 🦷
Birthday meal with my son 🍽
A fun week has drained my bank balance and energy levels 😴
Blood pressure update 🥼
Unusual things are happening on Medium 🤔
1. Many special occasions 🎉
March is quite an intense month for me because my sons’ birthdays and my late wife’s birthday all fall within the same week.
Jane used to do most of the gift shopping, with a few obvious exceptions. I had to think of things for our wedding anniversary in January, Valentine’s Day in February, her birthday in March, and Mother’s Day when our boys were young.
I would often try to shop for as many of those things as possible in January, but I don’t seem quite so organised these days and leave things until the last minute.
2. Evri lost my parcel from America 📦
A gift for my son was coming from America to the UK because it wasn’t available locally. It was due to arrive in good time, and the Evri depot received it on 20 February, where it has remained ever since.
Contacting Evri for support was futile. Their chatbot caused much frustration, and despite several attempts, they never got back to me.
It seems ludicrous that it came thousands of miles only to get stuck at a local depot.
I’ve had the supplier send a replacement that should arrive next week. I hope the last leg of the journey will not use Evri again. They are one of the worst parcel carriers I’ve ever used. (I wonder if they lose parcels ‘evri’ time…)
3. My sister called round 🏡
The younger of my two sisters stopped by for half an hour when dropping off birthday gifts for my sons, and I’m grateful for that.
Our eldest sister (who lives abroad) has never given them anything for birthdays or Christmas. (I wrote about her in It Is Hard for Me to Say This, but I Do Not Like My Eldest Sister on Medium.)
It seemed bizarre that, once again, my sister mentioned how she does not ask her daughter for a penny towards housekeeping. I need to pay closer attention because I didn’t notice how the conversation switched to that topic. I know I didn’t bring it up.
(Some time ago, I told her my eldest son contributes a modest amount towards utility bills now that he’s working. But I don’t charge him rent.)
My sister went on to tell me about the substantial amount of money her daughter has saved up.
Having had time to think about it since our last meeting, I pointed out that we’re in different situations. At her house, there are two adults and one child. At mine, it’s the other way around.
Other than that, we had a pleasant conversation. I told her how I’d sent several old school photos to her friend, as requested. She asked about my blood pressure, and we talked about health and exercise.
4. Dental checkup 🦷
What was I thinking? Why did I book my dental checkup for my eldest son’s birthday?
I told him I’d take him out for lunch, assuming nothing went wrong at my 11 am appointment.
The place was crowded, and they were running late, so it felt like it took forever.
Now that I no longer get Child Tax Credits, I have to pay for my dental treatment despite my low income. I’m never thrilled at the prospect of dental work, but I was also worried about how much it might cost.
They did the checkup and took X-rays, which gave me something else to worry about because of the radiation.
It was a tremendous relief when they said nothing was wrong with my teeth.
Even better, they switched me from 6-monthly to yearly checkups!
P.S. The checkup cost £25.80.
5. Birthday meal with my son 🍽
I managed to get back from the dentist in time to take my son out for a birthday lunch, and we had a pleasant couple of hours together.
Stephanie was out with her mum as usual, but she had encouraged us to have desserts — despite the fact she’d made a birthday cake for my son.
Later in the day, I did something terrible. Well, it’s more a case of what I didn’t do.
I forgot all about the cake Stephanie had brought the day before, which had been ready and waiting to spring on him.
I only remembered when we were all going to bed. I told him about my cake mistake, and he did not mind — he hadn't even expected one. The following morning, I presented it to him.
Like me, my eldest son is autistic, and neither of us likes a big fuss when it comes to birthday cakes. In the past, when we’ve been out for birthday meals, Stephanie has had the staff bring the cake over while everyone sings Happy Birthday.
He was happier getting it at home, without a big audience.
6. A fun week has drained my bank balance and energy levels 😴
It’s an expensive week with birthday gifts and various meals.
Last night, I met up with an old friend I worked with in the 1990s and 2000s. I see him about twice a year — and it was my turn to pay. 😆
We talk about many topics and often laugh about the weird goings on at our workplace years ago. (Some of the stories are on Medium under Weird Workplace Stories.)
Like the dental checkup, I should have arranged our meet-up after the birthday week to spread things out. Still, we both enjoyed it.
I’m noticing the lack of recovery time because I’m feeling low on energy right now — social situations tend to leave me like that. Although I’ve enjoyed each event, I also look forward to quieter times later in the month.
It’s not over yet because Sunday includes a Mother’s Day meal. And next week, there are more birthdays.
7. Blood pressure update 🥼
Medical Advice Disclaimer
This is for informational purposes only. Readers should consult a doctor or other appropriate medical professional for advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
I knew I needed to take steps to reduce my blood pressure, but I didn’t feel it was high enough to require urgent medication.
Over the last week or so, my blood pressure has reduced. Perhaps it’s cheating, but I try to be as calm and relaxed as possible when taking a reading.
I think it’s helped to lose over 4 lbs by cutting out unhealthy snacks and exercising more. Thankfully, the warmer weather has made cycling more appealing.
I plan to keep going until I’m down to my usual weight. It will take time, but I will get there.
(All the big meals this week are not helping! Then there’s the birthday cake… 😆)
8. Unusual things are happening on Medium 🤔
Although debatable, I believe the drop in views and reads I’ve experienced on Medium is related to a higher proportion of my followers being spam/bots/AI accounts. (I mentioned this in a Medium story.)
One thing is clear: Medium is taking action right now to deal with problem accounts. Unfortunately, some familiar names have been suspended, and it’s not clear why.
My friend Shanti C K wrote the following piece on Medium, which links to other stories about this:
I hope everything works out and the legitimate accounts get restored.
Thank you for reading
Alan 💛
Medium Stories
(Click the titles below to read them on Medium.)
AJ’s Answers to Kerry’s March 2024 Star Trek This or That Prompt
Will I avoid saying ‘both’ or ‘neither’ and make bold choices?
I’m not as keen on parallel universes. Perhaps I don’t like the idea of a more successful version of me being out there somewhere, enjoying life right now. 😂
My Medium Stats Plummeted After Gaining 2000 New Followers in January, Yet Support Remains Unresponsive
What should I do?
The idea of going through 5300 followers to identify and block ‘fake’ accounts seems daunting.
AJ’s Answers to the Bathroom This or That Challenge
It’s good, clean fun. Well, for the most part!
As a child, we only ever had bars of soap. I remember using Imperial Leather in the bath. It felt like I’d won a prize if the label came off during use. Ah, how easy it was to please the 8-year-old me. 😂
Sunrise and Sunset: Memories Painted in Light
Reflecting on moments frozen in time
The sun was rising, and a blanket of perfect, undisturbed snow covered the dirty streets.