inside-out

Whilst looking forward to the on-set of Spring with a lookingforwardness that probably can't be measured on any normal lookingforwardness scale I am also, frankly, terrified. You see, the last two Springs have turned me into a red, swollen blister. I have been cheering every time I drive past the motorway-men who are busy cutting down the encroaching birch trees but am rather disappointed that they have left some. Lots, in fact. And, the fact is, one day soon, those trees are going to burst into bloom and I will spend a month eating antihistamines, itching and, if last year is anything to go by, gasping for breath in an alarming way.
Humans, it is often said, have not done so well in the evolution game because of their awesome physical structures, we survive because we're clever. My physical structure is about as far from awesome as it gets - as a child I was more ill than well and made a sport out of worrying illnesses and strange reactions. My main nutrients came from what I called "pink custard" - antibiotics - and I was generally the kid that the word "puny" was invented for. As I got older, my body discovered that it had some potato-shape genes lurking and decided that that was just the thing to be.
Luckily, I have a brain to combat the natural puny-potato-allergic-to-life-ness I have been blessed with - and so I hope that I will be facing the dreaded birch pollen this year with my sword drawn and ready for action. But this means that, in the next month I will be "lazy", I will be doing things that you find odd, I will be eating weird combinations of foods and mixing up potions. Don't worry though, because I know what I'm doing, I've read up enough to qualify as an allergy specialist.

And I'm not a hypochondriac - I'm a survivor. Just to get that in before the generic you spoils everything with a snide comment. You see, I'm totally ready. Even for the idiots.

As to the photo - I just felt like it - I had to miss pilates this morning due to my current conservation of energy policy. A series of self-portraits from a fellow blipper lead me to thinking about self-portraits and self-image. Right now I am more interested in what's going on inside my body and I don't care much what I look like or how my appearance/behaviour comes over to others. I feel like I am preparing for battle and I don't much care if my bum looks big in my chainmail.