Sunday 24 April 2016

Lit Nit Wit; Luckiest Girl Alive

OMG lads, I've read something that hasn't been made into a movie yet. I'm subscribed to Lena Dunhams' newsletter, and while I don't read every letter every time, on one particular occasion Jessica Knoll wrote about her experience as a teenager and about her reaction to what she went through as an adult. I happened to be in the library and saw the book and I basically jumped for joy as I had put the book on my never ending wish list on amazon.

Ani FaNelli is a soon to be married sex journalist living in New York. She instantly reminds me of Amy Dunne from Gone Girl, all her moves are calculating, being the cool girl drinking pizza with her fiance, being friendly with her co-workers, knowing how two faced they all are, with a dark edge, a history that follows  her when she goes for coffee with people who want to start working in magazines.

We see her past in two ways, she documents herself, how she ended up in the new high school what the people in her area were like. A producer has also contacted her to help with a documentary about an event that happened while she was in school, an event she doesn't divulge until much later in the book, an event I was blindsided by to be honest, I was too busy concentrating on something equally as bad that happened earlier.

When you read what has happened to her you understand why she is the way she is, it doesn't excuse it but it makes the character more rounded, its interesting to see how certain events still affect people ten years on, solidified in their very being.
Highly recommend

Friday 8 April 2016

The one where I get tested (my 100th blog post)

Right so bit of a different type of blog post today but I thought I'd share it.
So I am a single lady, who likes having Sex 99.9% of the time I am very careful, taking the pill and also using condoms. In fact the total times I've had Sex without a condom is three times , which is three times too many of course. I've been tested before and I've wanted to get tested again for the last year in all honesty, not for any particular reason, just to know myself I'm fine, kinda like a car engine or something, you use something regularly you think it's fine but you want to check anyway in case something is lurking.

Also; on a slight tangent, when I cut my hair, it turns out I have quite a large bald spot on the back of my head, matrix style, and I recently watched a YouTube video by letzmakeup and she said her hair had thinned became of her using the pill , and there is no other reason why I would have lost it, so I've figured that's why I'm the same, this video was about her choosing to have a non hormonal coil inserted and she also mentioned that you need to get tested before a coil can be inserted, and the coil is something I've been thinking about getting so all these things led me to finally stop procrastinating and finally book into getting tested.

This visit to the clinic was different from last time, both location wise and procedure wise, the last time I was tested I lived in Dundalk and now I live in cork so there's that.

I slightly messed up when it came to my appointment, time wise, so I was only able to get my throat swabbed and have my bloods taken and I needed to come back the following week for the interval swab and urine test, but even if unlike me you are on time it still is a two visit procedure. You're also asked a series of questions on the first visit, like how many partners you've had in the last 6 months, year and ever and I have to admit I fibbed on the ever question, sorry doctor, she also asks about the kinds of sex you've had with your last partner (oral, vaginal anal) and where the partner was from (I think that question has something to do with vaccines) The doctor was very nice on both visits, on seeing my birthday the doctor told me to get onto cervicalcheck.ie to see if I was due my first cervical smear, turns out I am (yay...) and I'm going to book that at my local GP next week

When I went back for the interval swab, they had the results from the throat smear and blood tests and they were all clear and then she had me up on stirrups and the internal smear took place, that is not at all comfortable, not sore or anything but not something I'd look forward to.
After that smear you go back to the waiting room until they call your number, your name is never mentioned, or written down its all private and confidential.

So I was called back in and was told there was some white cells on my cervix, which there shouldn't be, she said that germs and the like get up there all the time but it could be something, so she gave me two antibiotic tablets and put me on a sex ban until she called me again.

I googled the antibiotics to see what they are supposed to treat and along with ear infections it treats chlamydia and gonorrhea.
I kinda freaked a small bit to be honest, thinking about who could have given something if I had something and if I'd passed something on, would I have to tell future partners, would I be left sterile cause of some bacteria hanging around in my body for a long time.
There's a shame associated with it to be honest, i met my friends after I had the blood test but I wouldn't tell them what I had the blood test for, I felt I'd be judged if it ever came out, almost as if I deserved to get an STI cause I slept around more than other people and what would I expect. All this was going around my head, and I hadn't even been told if I had anything, last week j was on a bus after a couple of drinks with a friend and I kinda blurted it out, she asked who would it have been and I said I wasn't sure and she kinda jumped to the conclusion I'd been careless every time and got something that way, but it was the opposite. People are quick to judge, without even meaning to, and I was preparing for the worst.

Today I was in work and I got a Phone call from a cork number, I jumped into the laundry room, to be told my swabs were all clear, I was relieved in all honesty, if I had been positive for something, I'm not sure I would have admitted it online anyway, I was looking forward to writing about it to try and encourage people to get checked, even if you're 99% sure you're fine, I know of a person who'd only slept with one person and before they stopped using condoms they still got tested, though they'd only slept with each other. It will do no one any harm to get checked, sure it can be a bit embarrassing but it's better to know 100% that you're fine then to accidentally give someone you like something or let an unchecked infection ruin your fertility.

Monday 4 April 2016

Lit Nit Wit; The Room

Another week, another Book review, I will go back and discuss more podcasts soon, but this week I wanted to talk about The Room. Yes I know another book turned into a movie, but I had heard how good this book was, and to be fair I didn't know the whole story cause of course I haven't seen the movie, I'm only just about to watch the last episode of making a murderer for crying out loud ha.

This story follows Jack and his mother who live in a room,that's about 8 by 8 foot or something crazy small, its a soundproof shed, in someones garden. Jack was born in this room and has never been outside, his friends include bed and chair and Dora the Explorer, as there is a television but he's only allowed watch a certain amount,like any 5 year old. Unlike with any 5 year old, his mother has told him everything he sees on television is not real, and that only the two of them are actual live people. . The two of them have a routine which includes bath time and reading, and running, and screaming ( for help, he doesn't realise that's why they were doing it) and then at night, Jack sleeps in the wardrobe, and on some nights Old Nick, as Jack calls him, makes a visit. A couple of days after his Birthday Jacks' mother tells him they have to escape the room, and the rest of the book follows their escape and reintegration into the outside.

I feel like I've read a good amount of books, and a lot of books remind me of other books. In this instance, The Room reminds me of The Boy in The Stripped Pajamas, in that a young child is in a situation an adult would even find difficult, and uses their limited life knowledge and skills to understand the situation they are in, and the bravery these children have without realising.
Another thing I took from the book was the thought of societal norms and slang term that are said flippantly, it made me think about things that really don't make sense, unless context is provided.

All in all a fabulous book, I'm glad was made into a movie.