Tales From The Crypt - Tuesday 7th September 2021

Back to work on a day with a couple of planned interruptions: I have managed to get a call with my GP (the wonders of being "pleasant to talk with"!) to discuss my medication in the context of learning to fly; I also have another counselling session this afternoon, during which the subject of flying will come up; and, finally, I'll also be contacting an Aeromedical Examiner (AME) regarding my medication and mental health history, vaguely.

My GP calls me and we have a discussion about my desire to fly, my general mental health (about which I'm honest in terms of the fact that I don't really know about the impact of certain future events on my well-being) and she is very supportive.  She suggests weaning me off Mirtazapine and moving to Sertraline which has similar effects on mood without the drowsiness/sedative effect of Mirtazapine. It will be a gradual process and I have to check in with her in 4 to 5 weeks to see how it's going.  First step underway! (We also had a discussion about the need (potentially) for a psychiatrist's report and I now understand I'd have to pay for that privately, if required)

I get an email back from the AME at some point after this and he confirms that if I'm on Sertraline it wouldn't prevent prevent me flying solo, though I will have to have been on the new medication for at least 3 months before I'd be allowed to fly solo. So, far so good. He does also raise the question of a psychiatrist's report (though my GP may do) and the need to be assessed by a CAA psychiatrist. He seems very helpful so I'll probably ask him more questions now my thinking has moved along a little...

...as I am now considering whether I should initially apply for an LAPL (Light Aircraft Pilot's Licence) rather than a PPL:  it costs less (bearing in mind that the hours required are the MINIMUM - it may take me longer - which means I'd have some financial contingency and, as I'm not planning to fly for a living or to fly outside Europe or indeed to take more than 3 passengers anywhere (I may have a job convincing any to get in a plane with me!), it seems like the best place to start. I can always upgrade to a PPL in the future by doing the additional 15 hours training. Not only that, the medical requirements for an LAPL are less stringent, so all in all it seems like a good way to start.

My afternoon's work is interrupted by a call from social services: they want to come and carry out my wife's annual needs assessment, which we schedule though it's always a slightly stressful period as I don't know what they are going to so or what the outcome will be.

Counselling is relatively lightweight today: I inform my counsellor of my plans to fly and we discuss the impact of that, we also talk about what else I should be doing about my social life and rambling and salsa (not the edible sort) rear their variously ugly heads. She makes a good point about the onset of winter and the impact it has on mood and social activities and I am conscious that I must act to bring about further changes. It's all scary stuff and I still can't get my head round salsa: I like dancing (in my own way, especially under the affluence of incohol) but salsa music doesn't hit the spot for me, or rather the salsa music I've heard. Can one enjoy salsa dancing without enjoying the music? There is only one way to find out! Heaven have mercy on my soul!

Back to work again until son #1 and I go for my third, and final, brisk walk of the day, exceeding my target by a suitable amount.

I start making dinner before son #3 takes over on the remaining vegetable front.  Once served we all convene to watch another episode of '...Mrs. Maisel', prior to the usual ascent to join Hypnos' realm.

Mansun / 'The Chad Who Loved Me' / 'Attack Of The Grey Lantern'

[[I love the slow build / long intro to this song, the opener from the album  (Early morning in the sun I walked to the accompaniment of music, the beauty of the morning sun enhanced by Miles Davis' trumpet on the wonderful 'Miles Runs The Voodoo Down' (in it's inexplicably truncated single edit!): music and life in perfect harmony for 2 minutes 45 seconds (!!!) (yes, it is that abrupt an edit!!!))]]

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