Interesting Side Effect

I really do feel for you- we had that already and sent it too you guys (who says SA and VIC are rivals, this is proof that we get along -we are more than happy to share!) Now i assume that this is enough to put a hold on hockey for at least one week, please tell me that you are not crazy enough to play in that heat, at least take pity on your poor goallie and all that extra padding!

Officilly the highest we got to was 46.7 degrees but my thermometer in the shade under the back verandah recorded 50.2 (123!-Help)on the same day and one of our country towns reorded and official high of 48.3 (118.9)- Anyone who says that global warming is not real (no matter what the cause) needs to spend summer here- we used to get the odd day of 40 degrees but the past couple of years at least we have had over 15 consecutive days of temps around and over 40 and the official word is get used to it as we can soon expect days of forcasted 50 degrees. I try to avoid going out in this stuff as MS and exposure to heat is a bad mix- last year i ended up in hospital because of it! I had to go out the other day as i was running a bit low on a few things and it was like breathing in a blast furnace! we had one day that was only mid thirties and normally that would seem hot but it actually seemed pleasant in comparison. The thing that has scared me is that on a number of the days of extreme heat we have had very high winds and it was just that kind of day that became known as ash wednesday when both SA and Vicotria were devasted by Bushfires (some of which were deliberately lit) I have been worried that the dryness caused by our extended drought and the winds etc may have appealed to fire bugs! it did 2 years back when one of the country towns over on the york pennisula was devastated by fire and a number of people were killed, some who left it too long before leaving and others who were killed in their cars trying to out run the fire. At least the officials took pity on the kids and allowed the use of garden sprinklers for the kids to play in to cool down!

Anyway, there is a cool change due in and sunday is forcast to be in the high twenties so at least we should have a few days respite- i hop that it heads your way quickly

By now you would have heard that parts of Victoria have been devastated by fire again, and there's talk of maybe 40 people being killed. That news only came through last night, so we were feeling pretty good that there'd been no loss of life until we heard the news this morning.

I feel for you in this heat. Doesn't bother me too much these days. Since I started CPAP I seem to be able to cope with it pretty well, and I sleep fine, even when temps o'night are in the 30's. I love my little friend who hums beside the bed.

And yes, I will play hockey. We don't worry about the goalies - no sense = no feeling

Keep cool

K

well thats one way to get past a goalie, expose them to high enough temperatures that they melt! As for me, i just barracade myself in the house and hope we don't have an power cuts or "load shedding"- i have a decent air conditioner these days and rather than doing my shopping at the local shops i do my shoppin on line- only problem is that i get a bit stir crazy and eventually go out so i do not go completely around the bend

i will be thinking of you out there on the hockey field and your poor goalie (at least take pity on your own goalie and perhaps the rest of the team can chip in for a cooling vest- i knew there was something wrong with me- no sense no feeling! to think i have been blaming MS and it is really all the time i spent in pads gloves and helmits!! well its been at least 20 years since the last time i played - how long does the effects of being goalie last- or is there no cure!

Yes, i'm going off to play in about half an hour.

Actually I'm feeling a little guilty - people all around the state have experienced a terrible tragedy, and I've spent the day in comfort, going about business as usual, fussing about trivial things like satisfying customer's needs, helping my staff, paying bills etc, and now I'm going off to do something self indulgent.

Perhaps I'll assuage my guilt by putting a few head highs past the goalies nose!

GIBD (Goalkeeping Induced Brain Deterioration) lasts forever, unless you take the radical step of crossing to the dark side like me and becoming a forward. The GIBD effects can be reversed after at least 400 games - I've got nearly 600 under my belt now, so I guess I'm back to normal.

K

oh my gosh! now you mean i have another neurological condition besides MS! goal keeping induced brain deterioration actually sounds worse and alas unless i can find a club that will accept a forward who plays in an electric wheelchair my poor old brain is shickered! wheelchair hockey now thats a thought, maybe it could be the next high profile wheelie sport after basketball and my favorite, murderball (wheelchair rugby)

as for feeling guilty, i can understand that- i have been feeling a bit sorry for myself over some issues in recent times and suddenly i feel kind of silly and a bit selfish- i would imagine there are many who feel like us. I decided to dampen my feelings of guilt and try to do something a bit useful even if only in a small way- a women here has started a drive to get things like clothing, toiletries, non perishable food, kids stuff etc together and it is being collected at the Adelaide show grounds- i have put together some packages of basic toiletries, towels, tshirts, trackie pants, undies and a couple of back packs for kids with pyjamas, toiletries, a teddy and a couple of colouring books and crayons etc-. People are going to be living in shelters for awhile with 4000 homes gone. All the stuff is new, but none of it expensive. I have not been through anything like this but some years back i lost my home and almost everything i owned and was helped by the charity of strnagers- Being given something as simple as a change of clothes and some toiletries can make a difference when you have lost everything.

we are going to have a lot of oppurtunity to help the fire victims for quite a long time to come-so don't beat yourself up for still being able to wipe the hide off a hockey ball for an hour or so-