Stretched to breaking point...
Have you ever had one of those weeks when just about everything that can go wrong actually does?
I didn't realise how much extra pressure I've been under lately. For a few months I've been training hard towards a grading and have been pushing my body too hard. The result has been an increase of pain levels by about 50%. I often forget to take note of how this impacts my mental health, as I'm too busy trying to shut out the pain and achieve an objective.
In addition to that it's been stressful getting things ready for the launch of my second volume of poetry: 'The Way of the Wolf - Poetry of a Veteran'. The latest hick-up is coding problems in the version that is to be uploaded to Waterstones. I've spent the day clearing errors and am down to just 1 error and 2 warnings. The original list was huge! There's a little publicity arranged for the launch but nothing major. Independent writers don't have large budgets to call upon and are reliant upon word of mouth and kind hearts. My heartfelt thanks go out to all the people that have helped and supported me in my writing. They leave comments now and then and they make me smile because there's an interaction out there; someone wants to read my words and understand what it's like to walk in these moccasins and in turn become more aware of what other veterans may be going through. These people help me to carry on ... and I'm grateful for their support.
The icing on the cake this week was dropping my camera. The sigma 50-500 lens broke apart at the neck, leaving part of the mount stuck in the Canon 40D. Sigma feel that they can repair it - so it's all boxed up and ready to ship.
I was sat with my neighbour Edna this afternoon. We sit by her back door and talk while drinking tea. I can have a rolly and keep the smoke out of her house that way and can hear the birds that frequent our gardens. We both let out whatever was bothering us and it wasn't until that point that I realised just how close I'd been skirting that slippery slope.
Time for bed.
I didn't realise how much extra pressure I've been under lately. For a few months I've been training hard towards a grading and have been pushing my body too hard. The result has been an increase of pain levels by about 50%. I often forget to take note of how this impacts my mental health, as I'm too busy trying to shut out the pain and achieve an objective.
In addition to that it's been stressful getting things ready for the launch of my second volume of poetry: 'The Way of the Wolf - Poetry of a Veteran'. The latest hick-up is coding problems in the version that is to be uploaded to Waterstones. I've spent the day clearing errors and am down to just 1 error and 2 warnings. The original list was huge! There's a little publicity arranged for the launch but nothing major. Independent writers don't have large budgets to call upon and are reliant upon word of mouth and kind hearts. My heartfelt thanks go out to all the people that have helped and supported me in my writing. They leave comments now and then and they make me smile because there's an interaction out there; someone wants to read my words and understand what it's like to walk in these moccasins and in turn become more aware of what other veterans may be going through. These people help me to carry on ... and I'm grateful for their support.
The icing on the cake this week was dropping my camera. The sigma 50-500 lens broke apart at the neck, leaving part of the mount stuck in the Canon 40D. Sigma feel that they can repair it - so it's all boxed up and ready to ship.
I was sat with my neighbour Edna this afternoon. We sit by her back door and talk while drinking tea. I can have a rolly and keep the smoke out of her house that way and can hear the birds that frequent our gardens. We both let out whatever was bothering us and it wasn't until that point that I realised just how close I'd been skirting that slippery slope.
Time for bed.