45th Injection & a Little S&M(ile)...

"Smile" stencil, Hounslow, Middlesex, yesterday.



S&M? I here you all cry. Whats our Jason doing? A little S&M?
It all depends really what you take S&M to mean I suppose. Ok, a little less "S" and maybe more"M" is what I am trying to say. Any Haemophiliac will tell you that sticking very sharp needles into oneself on a weekly, sometimes daily basis is a little masochistic to say the least. But do we enjoy it? Yes I suppose we do. I do anyway.....not in the usual meaning for masochism I don't! Definitely not. And they go into my vein and nowhere else I think I ought to add;) But I do get the satisfaction (especially during a very bad bleed) of knowing that by doing so will make the pain go away whereas painkillers just cannot accommodate.
As I was walking over Kingston Bridge into Bentalls I was thinking just how glad I was to have left my car the otherside of it and how I was glad not to have ventured too far beyond the point of no return when parking my car and getting stuck in the longest, slowest, noisiest & most solid line of cars that I have ever seen, all doing a little post-Christmas shopping maybe?.......More like taking that god awful jumper back to where it jolly well belongs - "S&M".........sorry, I meant "M&S" this time;)....or that keep fit DVD that....well.....will never ever get used;). "I am not a sadist" I was saying to myself walking casually by an idling Porche 911 Turbo making it's frog like way to find a non-existible parking place on the otherside of the bridge. I walked by quite a few cars in fact just like that one. All of them seemingly going backwards. All the while I was walking over the bridge watching a very orange and large setting sun (one of the last this year) and marvelling at it's beauty. I saw some ducks floating in the Thames full up from eating too much Christmas pudding - they made me smile;) I noticed a plaque on the bridge that said "This bridge was built in 1828 and replaces a much earlier wooden bridge that was knocked down deliberately in 1554 to stop some bloke called Thomas Wyatt & his rebels from crossing it".........."I am not a sadist" I said to myself once again...........& I was right. I was over the bridge and inside Bentalls within 10 minutes with no sign of Mr Wyatt and not one of his rebels showed up to stop me either;) It felt good to know that the Porche & his friends were most probably still on the bridge falling into a deep, exhaust fume induced coma. Let the sleeping dogs lie..........forever!
My feet were already aching before I left the comfort of my car by Hampton Wick train Station and by the time I was over the bridge they were hurting but from experience I new that I would be fine just so long as I kept a good eye on the pavement to make sure I wasn't going to step on anything resembling a miniature Beachy Head inbetween the paving slabs! Besides, if it really came to it I new I could always catch the train back to Hampton Wick from Kingston (just one stop) but I was feeling more than confident I wouldn't need to. The pain us Haemophiliacs put up with eh.......just so we don't have to sit in gridlock getting all wound up over the way the twat in front treats his car like a Formula One racing car everytime there is a gap to fill as the traffic slowly moves forward making little car sized gaps to be filled as quickly as possible. So a little pain has got to be better than that hasn't it? A little more of some of that "M" again didn't do anyone any harm did it. If I had been in the safety of my car behind what is normally several Michael Schumacher's all in a line it would have been more "S" than "M" and yes.........I would of enjoyed every minute of it slamming their heads together in a kind of mass Formula One race team orgy;)
The actual shopping experience too was on my mind as I walked over that bridge. I new it was going to be busy (F**k was it ever!) but I didn't mind too much and didn't need to rush about trying to get back home for a bike ride as I had been out the night before (see last post). And all I was there for was to take a polo shirt I had gotten from my friend Jac back to get the electronic security tag off that was still connected to it! She heard the alarm go off as she walked out and didn't think anything of it.......neither did the security officer it seems.
I even (very briefly) considered keeping the tag (ruining the shirt) but I just thought of all the fun I could have had with that tag waiting outside the store for someone coming out carrying several bags and watching them look down at their bags as the alarm goes off, then looking up at everyone else around them who are staring at the bag holder who is facially saying "I didn't steal anything" "I'm not a thief." & then being asked to empty all 9 shopping bags to look for "alleged" stolen DVD of "Desperate Housewives". We've all been through it and I wonder why we all look so guilty when it does happen since we know damn well we hadn't stolen anything.........or had we;) (I must remember not to miss my next "Kleptomaniacs Anonymous" meeting;) But I soon forgot about the whole idea as practically thinking, I would only be able to do it the once (don't forget, I would have to try and get out of the store again myself) so I opted to keep the shirt because a) I can wear the shirt on numerous occasions and b) I Love it too:)

I got my shirt sorted (the whole reason I was there in the first place) and what usually happens when you go shopping for just the one thing? You guessed it.........I eneded up buying padded undershorts (2 pairs) for cycling, 3 new pillows, 1 kingsize mattress protector, 1 10.5 tog duvet, 1 can of de-greaser for cleaning my bike chain.....all of which resulted in a trip back over the bridge (hello Mr Porche) to my car to free my hands for more shopping.........more "M" it seems:)

Then later on I was sticking more needles into my flesh with the completion of my 45th Interferon injection at 23:30 last night (Thursday) after inflicting more "S&M" on my brain with 2 hours of the Christmas "The Big Fat Quiz of the Year". Brilliant stuff! That was the best tv I saw over the whole Christmas period. David Walliams & Rob Brydon were brilliant and Russell Brand & Noel Fielding wonderful. My 45th injection went very well and I even took a photo of this one sticking out of my side. For some strange bloody reason I am beginning to feel a little emotional knowing it will all be over in 3 weeks. You never know.......I may get to do the whole 48wks all over again someday. I'd rather not but at least I know I can easily do it.

But if you're not into "S&M", take away the Ampersand, add a little I, an L ( the bent at the bottom sort) & also pop an E on the end for good measure:)

If you're interested, the photo I took of the "Smile" stencil was sprayed onto the side of "The North Star" public house opposite Hounslow railway station. The whole stencil from the bottom of the "girl" to the top of the word "smile" is about 4ft high. My Sister Tania found it and told me about it thinking it was an original Banksy stencil. It's good but I don't think it is a Banksy. I have seen numerous Banksy's and you can just tell.......plus he usually signs them.


Jason






(C) JPT 2006