i336
14th Nov 2011, 05:27
Hi.
Ever since I was about 17 or 18, I've been fascinated with the idea of flight. In contrast with the various other attractions that have rapidly gained and lost my interest over the past few years, this fascination has only gotten stronger as time has gone by. At first, I found helicopters and planes equally interesting - fighter jets were really where it was at, in fact (what else would you expect...) - but as my interest has matured and become more refined, I've come to consider helicopters... utilitarian, even exciting, but not neccessarily... elegant. I'm a plane person. :)
For a long time I've appreciated the workmanship, design quality and character one only finds in "old things" nowadays, and as such I find older planes - open-cockpit types in particular - of special interest, and would very much like to fly a plane like this. For... my 21st birthday. :D Which is in just under roughly two months, on the 3rd of January next year. I think that for such an occasion as this, being able to suggest flight as a possible activity to complement whatever else happens on the day, or perhaps the next day, would be, in my opinion, really cool.
There's just one reason why I didn't go down to the local flight club years ago, and why I've been slightly tentative - okay, I'll be honest, in turmoil - about posting this, for the longest time.....
The twist
Less than a month ago I was diagnosed with a nervous condition that I have apparently had my entire life. Besides giving me a generally nervous and "stressed-out" disposition, this condition has also caused my nervous system to be incredibly sensitive to electromagnetic radiation, a sensitivity I self-diagnosed myself with three to four years ago when, as a process of elimination, I got off the computer to attempt to pinpoint the source of the extreme chronic fatigue I was experiencing at that time, and said fatigue - along with extreme, near-psychotic distress, insomnia so bad I'd only be able to get to sleep an hour after the previous night, behavioural issues, learning difficulties, so-called "brain fog", plain, simple inability to form and follow coherent thought, and a generally "simple" mindset... all disappeared, virtually overnight.
I have done my best to deal with the ramifications of so-called electromagnetic field sensitivity, or RF sickness, for the past three to four years, but it's been hard, because I have not been
able to go into certain environments, watch DVDs or go to movies, watch digital TV, play games, use the Internet, have an MP3 player, use mobile or landline (corded/cordless) phones... the list goes on. I'm even sensitive to scientific calculators (and I'm not great at math) and I can't wear a digital watch! I can use these devices once in a while (such as this laptop I'm happily typing away on right now), but not consistently - which is what makes my problem irritatting, annoying and so impractical. Thankfully I was homeschooled from early on in my education before I was even aware of any of this (my nervous system was probably saved quite a beating!); my schooling is most decidedly not orthodox!
Fortunately, along with this new piece of information I was also given some (long-awaited!) hope in the form of some medicine to take home and work through a course of. At first I was fine with the medicine; I began to experience improvements in my ability to withstand EMR (I was still fatigued, but not distressed about it), and I also experienced a general sense of mental calmness.
The dilemma
As I increased the dosage as per the instructions, there were quite a few fireworks (think rambunctious ADHD) when I reacted to the potency of one of the ingredients, which I was already taking in quite a concentrated form and to which I have something of a known sensitivity. I immediately stopped the medicine when I realized what was going on. The good news is that I can report that I've stopped taking the alternate source of the problem ingredient and have started again - but just for good measure I'm increasing the dosage a lot more slowly this time around so I can monitor my reactions a lot more carefully!
Incidentally, when I reacted with ADHD I was at the maximum dosage per day, so despite the fact that I might wish otherwise I simply don't have a reliable indication of how successful this medicine is yet. The fact that I've had to stop and go back to the beginning, and am working up more slowly for safety's sake, hasn't helped matters much either. On the other hand, although I'm a little fatigued I seem to be relatively okay typing away here; I think it would be foolish to set my expectations too high, but by the end of the month, I could - could be a little better. But I need to be realistic: the way I see it it really is 50-50 as to whether my nervous system will be tolerant enough to deal with a modern plane with <imagine the gadgets in last cockpit you were in> in it. :P
HOWEVER, I like old planes, and I figure that this can work in my favour. Surely there are older planes out there with configurations that are not electronic (or with electronics that are not critically neccessary...), airports exist that do not require radio communication (such as Warner Vale, I'm told), and I'm pretty sure there are pilots out there who wouldn't mind going extremely retro and doing without headphones for a flight or two. So, certainly not orthodox, but certainly not impossible. Or...
This is the scary question that's been the single reason why I've been so tentative about explaining this whole problem and asking about it (if you're scanning this, this is the actual problem): I am well aware that radar has been switched out for a modernized node-based system with a transciever installed on each plane. Eeek. Even if I take every single calming thing I know of (and considering that my Mum has studied alternative health for most of her life, I've come to know quite a lot), I am very certain I will still be fatigued despite this (fascinating!) medication I'm taking, and this fatigue will likely cause me to be too nonpresent to enjoy the flight(s), and possibly even cause traditional exhaustion-related problems such as judgement errors (!) especially if the RF transmissions are strong enough to irritate my nervous system and get it mad (and the transmissions don't have to be very strong if they're on the "right" (er, "wrong") frequency - I dislike scientific calculators, remember). Thus... I can only fly if this gizmo can be completely switched off, backup batteries/transmitters (if any) and all. Keeping the fact that I know that these transcievers are now mandatory by law, are there any loopholes, such as perhaps "test" or "training" guises, that I could use to be able to legally get the unit switched off for my flight?
And to top it all off...
The special request
While I won't go into too many details, this RF/EMR sensitivity is not the only health-related issue I face; this, along with not a few other issues dealt with on a continuous basis by various family members, requires this household frequently purchase many different medicines which are quite expensive. Thus, this activity, like any expenditure not well planned in advance, would need to be under "post-paid" financial agreement, and I will be upfront: it will need to be paid off. :P
It would also be superb if any friends I tell about this (I only have two people at this point that I think would want to come along) could be told that it's however much it is but also not have to deal with the imposition of having to pay immediately/up front either, because I would imagine that they already have some other carefully planned things going on too, and they don't know about all this yet - I'll be telling them about this when (if :S) I know it's possible, and for all I know either or both of the people I have in mind may already have something planned for that day.
I don't discount the fact that this is quite an interesting and most certainly... unorthodox request, both financially and logistically. That's precisely why I think it prudent to post now, 7 weeks early, so that anybody interested can consider and prepare, instead of my running through as much of the course of that medicine as I can until the last minute, possibly discovering that I'm not as de-sensitized as I would like to be, and attempting to rush through all of this request while everybody's preparing for the Christmas/end-of-year period and so forth, with great disappointment as a result.
I await your replies with much more anticipation than I usually do. :D
-i336
Ever since I was about 17 or 18, I've been fascinated with the idea of flight. In contrast with the various other attractions that have rapidly gained and lost my interest over the past few years, this fascination has only gotten stronger as time has gone by. At first, I found helicopters and planes equally interesting - fighter jets were really where it was at, in fact (what else would you expect...) - but as my interest has matured and become more refined, I've come to consider helicopters... utilitarian, even exciting, but not neccessarily... elegant. I'm a plane person. :)
For a long time I've appreciated the workmanship, design quality and character one only finds in "old things" nowadays, and as such I find older planes - open-cockpit types in particular - of special interest, and would very much like to fly a plane like this. For... my 21st birthday. :D Which is in just under roughly two months, on the 3rd of January next year. I think that for such an occasion as this, being able to suggest flight as a possible activity to complement whatever else happens on the day, or perhaps the next day, would be, in my opinion, really cool.
There's just one reason why I didn't go down to the local flight club years ago, and why I've been slightly tentative - okay, I'll be honest, in turmoil - about posting this, for the longest time.....
The twist
Less than a month ago I was diagnosed with a nervous condition that I have apparently had my entire life. Besides giving me a generally nervous and "stressed-out" disposition, this condition has also caused my nervous system to be incredibly sensitive to electromagnetic radiation, a sensitivity I self-diagnosed myself with three to four years ago when, as a process of elimination, I got off the computer to attempt to pinpoint the source of the extreme chronic fatigue I was experiencing at that time, and said fatigue - along with extreme, near-psychotic distress, insomnia so bad I'd only be able to get to sleep an hour after the previous night, behavioural issues, learning difficulties, so-called "brain fog", plain, simple inability to form and follow coherent thought, and a generally "simple" mindset... all disappeared, virtually overnight.
I have done my best to deal with the ramifications of so-called electromagnetic field sensitivity, or RF sickness, for the past three to four years, but it's been hard, because I have not been
able to go into certain environments, watch DVDs or go to movies, watch digital TV, play games, use the Internet, have an MP3 player, use mobile or landline (corded/cordless) phones... the list goes on. I'm even sensitive to scientific calculators (and I'm not great at math) and I can't wear a digital watch! I can use these devices once in a while (such as this laptop I'm happily typing away on right now), but not consistently - which is what makes my problem irritatting, annoying and so impractical. Thankfully I was homeschooled from early on in my education before I was even aware of any of this (my nervous system was probably saved quite a beating!); my schooling is most decidedly not orthodox!
Fortunately, along with this new piece of information I was also given some (long-awaited!) hope in the form of some medicine to take home and work through a course of. At first I was fine with the medicine; I began to experience improvements in my ability to withstand EMR (I was still fatigued, but not distressed about it), and I also experienced a general sense of mental calmness.
The dilemma
As I increased the dosage as per the instructions, there were quite a few fireworks (think rambunctious ADHD) when I reacted to the potency of one of the ingredients, which I was already taking in quite a concentrated form and to which I have something of a known sensitivity. I immediately stopped the medicine when I realized what was going on. The good news is that I can report that I've stopped taking the alternate source of the problem ingredient and have started again - but just for good measure I'm increasing the dosage a lot more slowly this time around so I can monitor my reactions a lot more carefully!
Incidentally, when I reacted with ADHD I was at the maximum dosage per day, so despite the fact that I might wish otherwise I simply don't have a reliable indication of how successful this medicine is yet. The fact that I've had to stop and go back to the beginning, and am working up more slowly for safety's sake, hasn't helped matters much either. On the other hand, although I'm a little fatigued I seem to be relatively okay typing away here; I think it would be foolish to set my expectations too high, but by the end of the month, I could - could be a little better. But I need to be realistic: the way I see it it really is 50-50 as to whether my nervous system will be tolerant enough to deal with a modern plane with <imagine the gadgets in last cockpit you were in> in it. :P
HOWEVER, I like old planes, and I figure that this can work in my favour. Surely there are older planes out there with configurations that are not electronic (or with electronics that are not critically neccessary...), airports exist that do not require radio communication (such as Warner Vale, I'm told), and I'm pretty sure there are pilots out there who wouldn't mind going extremely retro and doing without headphones for a flight or two. So, certainly not orthodox, but certainly not impossible. Or...
This is the scary question that's been the single reason why I've been so tentative about explaining this whole problem and asking about it (if you're scanning this, this is the actual problem): I am well aware that radar has been switched out for a modernized node-based system with a transciever installed on each plane. Eeek. Even if I take every single calming thing I know of (and considering that my Mum has studied alternative health for most of her life, I've come to know quite a lot), I am very certain I will still be fatigued despite this (fascinating!) medication I'm taking, and this fatigue will likely cause me to be too nonpresent to enjoy the flight(s), and possibly even cause traditional exhaustion-related problems such as judgement errors (!) especially if the RF transmissions are strong enough to irritate my nervous system and get it mad (and the transmissions don't have to be very strong if they're on the "right" (er, "wrong") frequency - I dislike scientific calculators, remember). Thus... I can only fly if this gizmo can be completely switched off, backup batteries/transmitters (if any) and all. Keeping the fact that I know that these transcievers are now mandatory by law, are there any loopholes, such as perhaps "test" or "training" guises, that I could use to be able to legally get the unit switched off for my flight?
And to top it all off...
The special request
While I won't go into too many details, this RF/EMR sensitivity is not the only health-related issue I face; this, along with not a few other issues dealt with on a continuous basis by various family members, requires this household frequently purchase many different medicines which are quite expensive. Thus, this activity, like any expenditure not well planned in advance, would need to be under "post-paid" financial agreement, and I will be upfront: it will need to be paid off. :P
It would also be superb if any friends I tell about this (I only have two people at this point that I think would want to come along) could be told that it's however much it is but also not have to deal with the imposition of having to pay immediately/up front either, because I would imagine that they already have some other carefully planned things going on too, and they don't know about all this yet - I'll be telling them about this when (if :S) I know it's possible, and for all I know either or both of the people I have in mind may already have something planned for that day.
I don't discount the fact that this is quite an interesting and most certainly... unorthodox request, both financially and logistically. That's precisely why I think it prudent to post now, 7 weeks early, so that anybody interested can consider and prepare, instead of my running through as much of the course of that medicine as I can until the last minute, possibly discovering that I'm not as de-sensitized as I would like to be, and attempting to rush through all of this request while everybody's preparing for the Christmas/end-of-year period and so forth, with great disappointment as a result.
I await your replies with much more anticipation than I usually do. :D
-i336