Films, Australian Gladiators, Poll

[slemslempike]

At the weekend we went to see Step Up 2 The Streets and Son of Rambow. I liked both of them more than I thought I would. The dancing in Step Up 2 was quite great, though I think that they could have cut back DRAMATICALLY on the amount of white people telling black people what to do. I liked that they had Tyler from the first film at the beginning, though I'd thought that Andie was the sort-of-sister that he had a great relationship with in the first film, but she wasn't. I think I would have got more out of Son of Rambow if I'd ever seen a Rambo film. I'd been rather meh about the trailer, but it wasn't too cloying or awful - I liked how the French boy was seen as a dork by the other French students.

When we got back we watched the first episode of the new Australian series of Gladiators, which was bizarre. It's the same as ever, which is good. I suppose I actually mean that it's the same as the British version, as I haven't seen the Australian one before - the main differences are the accents, and on the Eliminator both the men and women do the monkey bars, and they rope-swing through water instead of paper, which upsets me a bit as I really liked the paper breaking bit. Anyway. The gladiators are ODD. The women are mostly blonde and look the same - there is one with blue hair and one with huge brunette hair, but apart from that they all look freakily similar. One is called Angel and has feathers in her hair. ANGEL. What kind of a name is that for a gladiator, hmm?? The men are slightly better, but all of their costumes look the same, and don't fit terribly well. My man was a tree surgeon and won. I am looking forward to the new UK series now.

This poll is quite intrusive, so obviously people should feel free to skip it altogether or only answer whatever they feel like. Also people who don't menstruate probably don't have anything to say to the first two questions. Basically, I have never even tried to keep track of my periods, and am never expecting them to show up, and have lately been wondering if this is a dire failure at womanhood. Then I thought that as I was being nosey anyway I might as well add in the question about nipple-licking that I had been pondering for some time.

[Poll #1167715]

Comments

[cangetmad.livejournal.com]

Hmm, though my actual current answer to #1 is, no idea at all, because it's not yet back post-baby. But once it is, I'll generally know roughly when it's due, ish.

[ankaret.livejournal.com]

I know it's coming because I get spotty and irritable and my breasts start hurting, but my cycle varies from about three weeks to about five and has a charming habit of getting stuck on a three-week cycle until I'm utterly fed up with it and then jumping to five and scaring the life out of me.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

I am often stymied by questions at the doctors, because unless I am bleeding right that second, or have only just finished, I never know where I am in my cycle, and I don't even know if they're regular or not. I imagine I would be more aware if I were doing things where pregnancy was a possibility, but when I was I was on hormonal contraception and just trusted it to do its thing without keeping track.

Gosh, it'll be awful if it turns out to be true about swimming - I've been doing quite a bit of backstroke recently.

[ankaret.livejournal.com]

They do seem to expect you to know to the day, don't they? Whereas I generally say 'Um, beginning of March?' and they look at me as if I am slow.

[cangetmad.livejournal.com]

I always thought mine were irregular until the trying-to-get-pregnant thing, and then it turned out they were pretty much totally regular, but I didn't expect a 35-day cycle.

Incidentally, when you go to the doctor when pregnant, they calculate how pregant you are based on a 28-day cycle and your last period, no matter if you know to within hours when you conceived and it has nothing to do with that. Silly little women couldn't possibly know, could we?

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

I've been assuming that my spots are related to my period, but then I'm quite spotty quite a lot of the time, so I might be wrong. I think it would be quite interesting (to me!) to work out my cycle, but I am far too lazy to consider it at the moment.

Three to five is quite a horrible jump to make!

[cellardor.livejournal.com]

My period varied between 'sort of' and it's a constant surprise'. I can figure the general time based on the date of the last one, but it could still be another week or two away. Sometimes my body is very clear that it's about to show up, other times there are no signs whatsoever. I think three times in my life it has appeared on the exact date as the previous month, which was kinda neat. I do try and track it though, as far as I can.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

Good LORD, medical people can be quite rubbish. using a 28 day cycle no matter what? What happens if you didn't happen to have a period the month before? Are you miraculously a month extra pregnant?

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

I can never remember when I last had my period. I used to always have it at Christmas, but knowing when it's going to happen once a year isn't terribly helpful!

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

I know! Surely the great variance of menstruation is not still a mystery to the medical profession?

[cellardor.livejournal.com]

I always mark it on my calendar, and put a mark on the next month when that was, so I know that it *should* be showing up soon.

Talking about my period like this makes it sound like some sort of mischievous little person or something.

[terriem.livejournal.com]

My cycle is about 27-28 days, so I generally know when it's coming, combined with a slightly bloated, tired feeling. My Mum taught me to keep excellent records - I've got some of my old diaries and it's interesting to see that I've gone from 21-22 days to what I'm on now over the years.

[cellardor.livejournal.com]

Gosh I didn't know that either. You'd think they'd take it into account more. I wonder if women doctors would be more inclined to alter the cycle, or if they'd stick with the 28 day one too. Just doesn't seem very scientific really.

[cellardor.livejournal.com]

Actually I'm going to go back through my calendar now and count the days and see if that has any remote bearing when it should show up. Probably should have done that years ago really. Nevermind.

[cangetmad.livejournal.com]

The first time, I tried to convince them I knew better, the second time I refused to say, but said I was X weeks pregnant and I knew. They do the official due date by measurement at ultrasound, and I was spot on both times.

[cangetmad.livejournal.com]

Oh, and women doctors both times, and both had been pregnant themselves. Maybe it's a protocol?

[serriadh.livejournal.com]

I put 'generally within a day or so' by which I meant, I tend to realise a day or two before it comes that it's going to show up. I get crazy mood swings and feel very depressed a day or two before, and sometimes get cramps as well. On the odd occasion I don't have those 'symptoms' I'm surprised.

I don't track cycles or make marks in a calendar or anything. This is Wrong? isn't it? I can usually remember how long ago my last one was, and they turn up every month, but that's as precise as I get.

[nerdcakes.livejournal.com]

I never know when my period is coming! I usually get to a point where I become convinced that I haven't bled in MONTHS and then usually a week later it turns up. My period is such a straggler.

I couldn't answer your poll because I have no idea how big my breasts are. I think that they are MASSIVE but I am not certain. But I could inexperly lick my nipple when I classed them as 'small' so I assume that it is EVEN EASIER now.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

I never thought of keeping records when I was younger. I am interested to see that no-one (yet) has said they use the computer programs that are available!

[whatho.livejournal.com]

About ten days' physical symptoms tell me these days, but I wouldn't know otherwise. I can't be bothered ticking calenders and the like.

[nineveh-uk.livejournal.com]

Swimming?

[nineveh-uk.livejournal.com]

I only know because mine have always been irregular, therefore it is in my interest to be alert to signs that say “Kind of a fortnight hence”. I certainly couldn’t say “I will be menstruating on day X next month.” I do keep a record as well, but only because all of this together allows me to start taking the NSAIDs a couple of days in advance (blessed, blessed NSAIDs), and I don't have any PMS symptoms that would otherwise allow me to anticipate.

Also, and now I am going to sound like a complete nutter, I am convinced that I can exert a degree of mental control when really necessary to ensure that though my period is likely to turn up on day 1 of my skiing holiday, in fact it waits until the day afterwards. This is too reliable a phenomena to put down to complete chance.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

That old thing about getting pregnant if you do the backstroke in a pool where a BOY has recently done the front crawl. It might be a Victoria Wood joke.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

What's an NSAID? Mine have generally been quite irregular, and when I was first on the implant they went away for a year, which was quite nice.

That sounds impressive! Do you also do the thing of banging your head on the pillow to wake up at a certain time?

[stellanova.livejournal.com]

My periods are very, very regular and always have been, apart from the odd late or early one usually caused by something like antibiotics. Of couse, this means that whenever it's a day late or even early I'm convinced something has gone awfully wrong.