codeine, ice packs, and appropriate songs

Current work: revisions – French duo book 1; plus proofs for Neurosurgeon… and Mum! (the screamer is in the title, not my addition)
Listening to: Def Leppard/various French piano music
Reading: (no time!!!) (and those screamers *are* mine)

Every so often, my lower back gives me a bit of gyp. (Probably because I spend way too much time chained to my desk.) It’s been three or four years since the last episode but, when it plays up, the only thing to do is see the osteopath; a session of manipulation usually sorts me out. Unfortunately, the earliest they can see me is tomorrow morning. Tuesday was a bit grim – I was unable to concentrate on work because my back hurt so much, paracetamol didn’t touch it, and the hot water bottle didn’t help much. Lovely DH went to get me some codeine in the evening – took the edge off the pain and meant I got a bit of sleep, but codeine makes my thinking too fuzzy to let me work effectively. Then my lovely Meds author mate Caroline Anderson reminded me that you’re supposed to use ice packs for sprains (it’s a muscular thing). And that helped enormously.

DH was off yesterday and dragged me into town with him, because my phone had to go back (and, as it’s my phone, he said it would be easier for me to explain the problem just once instead of to him and then on the phone to the shop). The battery went from full to dead in the space of about 18 hours, despite wifi/Bluetooth being switched off and the phone itself on standby for most of that time, and nothing running in the background. All I did was to send two very short text messages, receive ditto, then take a photograph and send that in a text message. Hardly enough to warrant such a huge drain on the battery. Checked online and seems it’s a known problem. (Hmm. Would’ve been nice to have a warning. Caveat emptor, eh?) Luckily the Carphone Warehouse were nice about it and swapped the phone. They’ve said if the replacement plays up they’ll change it for a different phone. So far the signs are good, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the last one had a duff battery/power management system which isn’t going to affect this one as I do like the phone – it has a nice weight and feel to it, and the touchscreen’s lovely to use.

I also worked out how to transfer music to the phone – and that I can use the full tracks as ringtones. (Thank you, lovely Julie Cohen.) Working out appropriate songs for the people on my phonebook will be huge fun. Currently, the kids and school are ‘Sweet Child of Mine’, DH is Badfinger’s ‘No Matter What’ (well, OK, the Lepps’ version of it), and I’m thinking about adding ‘Pictures of Home’ as the ringtone for home. (Everyone else is ‘Pour Some Sugar on Me’. But that will probably change daily, according to my mood.) This is what technology is for, in my view: making life easier and/or more fun.

Question of the day: which songs/ringtones would you find appropriate for your nearest and dearest?