Random Writing

Ok, so it’s been forever since I was last on here, but things have been… busy to say the least.  Anyways, I was just reading about this thing called ‘London Writer’s Rooms’ (see bottom of post for link) and realised it has been far too long since I wrote anything other than academic essays, etc.  So I opened up Word and wrote the following in about 2 minutes.  I reckon it’s got some potential here, and since it seems to be going on a ‘homeless expedition’, it may give me the chance to do some actual research into the ‘problem’ of homelessness, particularly in London.

More to come if I write anything else 😛

Deep under the duvet that she currently called home, Hope breathed in the foul smell of urine and alcohol.  The dog had pissed on her again.  It was either him, or that dirty bastard Fox.  Fox seemed to have a habit for emptying his bodily content in the most inconvenient of places, most recently in the nearby Costa – much to the delight of the early-morning suits.  She would have laughed if she could, but at that moment in time had been most profoundly stoned, and it was stoned only.  The hard stuff was far too much for her to handle.  Even alcohol was off-limits to her, for she knew the damage that it could cause: case in point being Fox.

https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/londonwritersrooms?fref=ts

xx

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#getwellsoonSam

Hey guys! It’s been quite a while since I last posted anything, partly due to how busy I’ve been settling in and starting my course: I’m here now as I have something I’d like to share…

 

One of my best friends (Amy) has a younger brother (aged 16) called Sam Richards.  On Friday night, I got a text from my brother, Callum, who’s friends with Sam.  It said:

A bad accident has happened at Tesco Park with Sam Richards, an ambulance is here and he is out cold, inform Amy please

I forwarded the message to Amy before I got on the Tube, and when my signal returned, she had text to say her mum was on the way.  I went out clubbing, worried, but assuming it couldn’t be life threatening…

 

Saturday morning was when I realised how wrong I had been: Sam had to have a third of his skull removed to relieve the intercranial pressure, and had then been given a variety of drugs to impose an induced coma upon him. It also transpired that he has brain damage to the front of his brain (unsure exactly which part, but possibly the frontal lobe) and was non-responsive to many stimuli.

His condition yesterday had deteriorated to the point that they were considering taking the life-support machines away.  Yet today, something of a small miracle happened.  His right pupil has reacted, which it wasn’t doing before.  Yes, yes, this is only a tiny reaction, but it means he hasn’t given up yet! There is still hope: he’s a sixteen-year-old boy with his whole life ahead of him, and he doesn’t deserve this.  Let’s all hope and pray that he recovers!

 

As my degree is about the brain, I’m able to provide some basic facts on comas and brain injury, which I found have helped me to understand what’s going on.  The following is from Marieb and Hoehn’s ‘Human Anatomy and Physiology’.

• The reticular activating system (RAS) maintains cerebral cortical alertness; it’s located in the hypothalamus and severe injury can result in an irreversible coma or unconsciousness.
• Consciousness is determined by how behaviour is graded in response to stimul: alertness, drowsiness/lethargy, stupor, coma.
• Oxygen use is always below normal resting levels in coma patients, and therefore is not deep sleep, although delta waves are what appears in EEGs of the brain.
• If the pressure forces the brain stem inferiorly through the foramen magnum, control of blood pressure, heart rate, and respiration is lost.
• Cerebral edema is the swelling of the brain.

If anyone has had experiences with brain injury, comas, or anything of the sort, please feel free to share your thoughts and comments.  Any positive stories would definitely be welcome!

xx

I’m At Uni!

Just a quick one to say that I’ve moved in (I live in Leyton, London, now) and yesterday went to my first uni event (just enrollment, nothing fancy).. Hoping to meet more people on my course, as there doesn’t seem to be many, although the two people I have met so far seem lovely! I’m off to the Fresher’s Fair at Regent now (it started at 10, but I’ve just totally lost track of the time!). Expect more posts soon!!

xx

I’m Off to Uni!

Just a quick update to say that I will shortly be leaving the dreariness of Maldon and moving to London to study Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Westminster! City life is going to be so different to what I’m used to, but I’m sure it won’t take too long to familiarise myself with zones 1-4 of London (I’ll be living in zone 4 and studying in zone 1).

xx

Job Interview

The knot in my stomach

Clenches like a pig’s intestine:

“Digest that!”

Such nerves are to be expected,

Surely, at times like this?

Please, help me, help to ease

The pain.

 

Too late.

My time has come.

Burning Love

‘Hunger!’ he shouts,

Screams about it.

That burning love,

What could he mean?

An infection, perhaps,

Of the severely uncool

Rock and roll kind?

Or drugs?

Alcohol?

Of course, it must be metaphorical,

I say,

Love is not a literal being.

It embodies itself, through symbolism

Like in ‘Free’.

 

Woah,

Where’s your passion?

 

People want to believe in it,

So they invent it.

 

Surely?

Postbox

She shouts from downstairs

But not to me.

No.

It’s a delivery for a Mr. I’m Married To You.

He sends a reply back;

First class, of course.

 

She opens it,

Reads it,

Cries.

Pours out her soul to the air around her

Until it turns blue.

Crude.

Rude.

 

He laughs at her desperation,

Her misery.

Oh, how he loves the speedy service of words.

Vicious words.

 

She’s at his feet again

Like he is the Almighty

Come down to Earth

To wreak havoc and pain.

 

Old Testament.

 

The Red mail box outside

The house is full again.

 

Time for Mr. Postman to deliver more abuse.

Untitled

 

Stuck in traffic

traffic of the mind

thoughts can’t move

progress

stuck in time

 

a dull ache hinders progress

 

now it’s sharp

painfully there

i’m aware

sorely

of its presence

 

again it’s gone

like it was never there

 

a pretender

 

now i look outside the window

and breath in

stale yet fresh air

like life

vitality

in

and

out

 

in

and

out

 

now i can think

again.

Sorry for.. Not Blogging!! (Sang LMFAO Style)

It dawned upon me earlier that I haven’t blogged in aaaggggeeessss!! This will be corrected, as to make up for my erroneous ways, I will try to blog every other day for the next week!

This week’s been fairly eventful.

Monday was my Biology 6X (A2) EMPA, where there was only actually one practical during the day. For a practical exam, it seemed pretty theoretical to me!

Tuesday was… dull. I think. I can’t remember, so it must have been! 😛

Wednesday night: I went out clubbing with some friends as it was student night in Chelmsford. My phone got stolen, as did several other people’s phones. When we couldn’t find one of our friends, we came to the drunk conclusion that she had been stolen too!

She hadn’t. She was just being sick in the toilets. Nice, I know.

Thursday: I really wasn’t feeling great, mostly depression from not having my phone. That evening, however, I was massively cheered up when the club called to say they’d found my phone! That was, until Mum planted the seed of doubt in my head that it was probably broken..

Friday: I handed in most of my EPQ project, did an assessed practical in chemistry, and went to the club to get my phone (it wasn’t damaged, but I did have to unblock it as I’d reported it stolen). HAPPY DAYS!

 

I’ll blog something again soon.. Maybe a poem, or something?

 

xx

Stoke-On-Trent

I’m currently staying at the Weather Vane in Stoke-On-Trent as I’m going to Keele University tomorrow (it’s my ‘firm choice’ uni).  I have to admit, I’m a little surprised at how… northern the accent is here (although I’m sure many would disagree). It sounds kind of like the Liverpool accent, but maybe that’s just me.  I’ve been to Leicester and Nottingham before, and didn’t think their accent was anywhere near as obvious.  If anyone’s from the North, please share your thoughts on this.  Perhaps it’s because I’m from Essex – though I DO NOT speak like those on TOWIE!  Honest!  Anyways, the hotel-place is nice (only £40 for a twin room), and the city centre has some good shops.  We had a look at the indoor market today, and discovered that the fruit there was a lot cheaper than at home (99p for strawberries, 89p for a huge bag of apples!).  I’m glad I’ve got Keele as my 1st choice and Westminster as my 2nd, as I don’t think I’d be able to afford to live in London!

xx