http://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0727.html

Gym yesterday, as always, was spent trying to get into the world of the book I was reading; swimming was a little better, at least there wasn't the awful loud trashy music from the addressing system you get in the gym. Showered, washed my hair, went to the changing room. And then something happened ,to me which I find extraordinarily difficult to describe.

I started remembering, or so I thought, dreams I had had. I can't remember any of the contents or even the images in them and what little I can bring up seems to be complete nonsense, in the way of dreams. But for a minute or two it all sort of made terrifying sense, there were connections between those dreams and the real world that I had never seen. I was feeling a little dizzy as well so the part of my mind that was still functioning normally was wondering whether I was having a sugar low. Or a stroke. Or simply going mad. The whole thing lasted only a few minutes and receded little by little, I changed and put away my gym/swimming pool gear, left the place waving good-byes to the staff, hopefully all normally. On the street, though, when crossing path with a couple of teenage boys, complete strangers, one asked whether I was ok.

On getting home, I emailed a friend trying to describe to her what had happened but didn't hear back from her. I still was feeling a little strange, a pupil's lesson was due in a short while so I just got on with it, I had no choice. But it did remind me again of what thin ice we so carelessly walk on, without thinking and without ever knowing how thin it is and where or when it could break. And that's the way it has to be.

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http://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0724.html

Today I got out needle and thread and made a new strap for my watch.

My diary archives tell me that it was on 4th July 1998 when I last did this. I had been advised by a doctor that wearing a watch constricting my wrist might have been contributing to the wrist pains I had at the time, and after trying various other solutions (e.g. things that weren't actually watches, or just getting good at reading other people's watches upside down very quickly when their wrists turned towards me) I hit on the plan of making a custom strap which velcroed round my belt and had a little loop to fit to the watch. This turned out to be a great idea; I haven't had those wrist pains in years, so I could in principle go back to wearing a watch on my wrist, but I really wouldn't want to any more. It's very convenient not to have to take it off to wash up, and having my watch attached to my trousers makes it incredibly difficult to accidentally leave it at home or anywhere else.

That custom watch strap was the very first thing I ever sewed. I had to more or less teach myself to sew in the course of making it, and my diary archive also records that I sewed my thumb to it in the process. Given that, I think, it's a reasonably decent result that it's lasted until today, when I finally decided it was so close to falling apart that I didn't trust it not to fail suddenly and drop the watch down a drain, so I sat down and sewed a new one.

I'm not actually sure my sewing has improved all that much in the intervening thirteen years and ten months. I didn't sew myself to anything this time, but the actual stitching is in much the same robust but unaesthetic, purely functional style as it was on the first strap. The only real difference is that this time I made the strap out of leather rather than rucksack strapping, in the hope that it would be both thinner and less prone to unravelling.

So, I wonder how long the new one will last! To do as well as the original, it'll have to survive until March 2026.

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Day had started beautiful, bright and sunny but has now reverted to previous semi-winter state. One lesson done (maxvon_d in town), three more later on. A couple of hours free in the meantime, had been wondering whether to go to gym/swim or to wander around some part of town I don't often go to, or even just the park. The weather seems to have made the decision for me, but still not sure.

Flash backs of rainy days like this when I was a kid, in my dad's car, mostly waiting while he went on mysterious errands, sometimes coming back with Italian sugar glazed almonds or something like that, but most of the time me just sitting there in the car, watching the rain streaming down the windscreen and the passing cars raising puddles into the air with a big splash... sometimes a sun beam breaking through and making the water drops and puddles sparkle...

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