Holy cow, has it really been that long since i was last in xanga land?
I guess its like the old saying, time flies when your having fun.
Damn have i grown up in the last few months, the thing is i didnt realise i had anymore growing up to do but i was wrong.
Mt Isa has definitely become my home now, i would never of admitted that last year but after i cut all my ties with my family back home in Brisbane everything else just fell into place here.
I have a couple of new girlfriends now but thats not the best part.
I finally, after 32 years of walking, got my license!!
Well, after driving for 6 months without a license i really needed to get one.
Its so easy to drive unlicensed in a country town but seeing as we are all driving down to Brisbane and Sydney in 2 weeks i really thought having that little plastic card was essential.
Since April (that was my last blog) we have driven to Karumba (thats in the Gulf), Lawn Hill National Park (in the middle of bloody no where) and on the September holidays we went to Townsville for the first time since i was a little kid and hell has it changed.
I have a few photos for you but im just waiting for them to upload.
While im waiting i will tell you about my last personal experience from hell.
Well, for the last umpteen years i have been taking pain killers for my knees, It seemed the longer i was taking the painkillers the more i needed. I had been taking coedine for so long that i was starting to get sick.
I had been taking up to 24 tablets a day and not only was it making me ill it was also fucking up my entire system.
Four weeks ago now i decided it was time for me to stop taking coedine.
I went off them on a Tuesday and then for the next 2 weeks i went through massive withdrawl symptoms.
I was so sick that some days i couldnt get out of bed, every part of my body was in pain and there was nothing i could do about it. I had to let my body purge itself to get rid of all the toxins and i had to deal with it.
The only thing that helped me was hot baths and panadol.
The worst thing of all was the fact that i couldnt sleep, no matter what i did. I hadnt slept for 8 days before i went to the doctor for something to help me sleep.
I had constant pains in my stomach and i couldnt eat, therefore i ended up losing 3 kilos in 2 days, then 2 days later i dropped another kilo.
The thing im happy about is i didnt gain it back 
At the end of the first week i went to see the local witch doctor. There i was desperately trying to get over an addiction that i never wanted and there she was prescribing a million different drugs for me to take to get over the drug i didnt want to take.
She wanted me to take Valium three times a day, sleeping tablets at night, anxiety tablets 3 times a day and blood pressure tablets 3 times a day.
Other than 1 sleeping tablet i never took any of the other drugs.
Whats the point of getting addicted to another drug?
Its now been 4 weeks since i stopped taking the coedine and i can happily say i am 100% drug free, my mind is clearer then its ever been, i feel great and look great  but there is still one little problem........the pain is still there.
The pain in my knees is still there, some days i can deal with it, most days its excruciating.....like today.
I cant and dont walk anywhere anymore except for the normal day to day walking, you know, like getting out of the car or walking around the house/yard.
Now instead of masking the pain with drugs im looking for solutions.
I have acupuncture and massage on both legs every friday, i am taking natural anti-imflammatorys like Omega 3 and shark cartilage and today i bought a tube of that nurofen gel to try out.
I also wear a sport knee brace when the pain is really bad.
A friend said to me on Saturday night when we were having dinner how do i live with long term pain? He is suffering from an allergic reaction to some unknown source and it causes him pain nearly every day. He said he didnt understand how people deal with long term pain without doing themselves in.
My answer was, you get used to it. I had my first knee operation when i was 10 years old, its been a thoroughfare of pain ever since..........thats now 22 years.
Im just hoping now i can find a solution to the pain, i already started by learning to drive and getting a car. That cuts my pain by half, now its the rest i need to deal with.
Anyway, here are some photos, they are all from the last 7 months so there is no order.
This is my new car, Its a 97 Holden Jackaroo SW, 7 seater. Her name is Jackie and i love her 
The boys trying to climb a dinosaur when we were in Richmond, QLD.
The coolest water toy in the World. Its the water park at the Strand in Townsville. We were there in September and the boys loved it.
Me at Crystal Creek National Park just 50kms out of Townsville.
The boys climbing huge boulders at Crystal Creek National Park.
This is the best part of Lawn Hill. In the middle of the arid Australian desert region you would never think such a beautiful place exists. Well we didnt until we found it.
The water was ice cold and crystal clear, you could even see the fish swimming. The boys had a great swim there.
Well, thats my update for now, hopefully it wont take another 7 months before i wander my way back to Xanga.
Merry Christmas 2004 everyone. | 
