Week 108: Neck Pain

This week hasn’t been very productive.

Last weekend, I attended a two-day session on Mental Health First Aider training, which was very useful and meaningful. I learnt about treatment and support for mental health issues.

Maybe because I didn’t have a chance to properly recuperate from lack of sleep and tiredness last week, I’ve been suffering from neck pain this week! I probably twisted my neck when sleeping or while sitting for a long time. I had severe pain in my left shoulder and neck on Wednesday night. I woke up in the middle of the night several times because of the pain.

On Thursday morning, my neck and shoulder were extremely painful, but I had to teach. Searching for symptoms and treatment for neck pain, I felt relieved to know that most neck pain improves gradually with home treatment. I took a hot shower, prepared myself and set off for work.

The strange thing was that my shoulder and neck were completely normal when I was teaching. I felt no pain during the class. I think a painkiller helped.

I have spent several days resting. The sad thing for all PhD students is that we end up using our weekends to catch up on work when it’s not progressed during the week. I am no exception and I am working this weekend.

 

Toastabag

I tried a Toastabag to make ham and cheese toasties in my toaster. I like it! It was very easy to place and pop the bag in the toaster, and it heated up really well.

My favourite toastie is white bread with honey roast ham, black pepper, Gruyère cheese and herbs.

 

 

Other toastie ideas

  • avocado and tomato cheese
  • corn, mayo and onion cheese
  • spiced ham and camembert
  • banana and chocolate
  • strawberry, banana and chocolate

 

My achievements in Week 108

  • enjoyed teaching my Week 2 classes
  • started reading recent papers to update some sections of my literature review chapter and making notes

Goals for Week 109

  • make a quick sketch of a section and send it to my supervisors
  • make a full transcript of one case