Health

Most of the time on ‘Echolocation!’, they move onto different people every week. Sometimes there’s a two-part episode, but the show has always been pretty consistent about telling different stories, even when the stories aren’t quite complete, like last week when Ophelia and Iris were on the table in their lab while the water was pouring in because they bought some cheap sealant and no one was coming to help because they live a hundred miles away from the coast in a metal pod and they were crying and stuff.

Like, did they…did they get out? The show didn’t go back to them, so maybe they were eaten by whales. But today we got what might be the first three-part episode! As Grant had to row all the way back to buy portable oxygen chambers in Melbourne because Janine was getting seriously oxygen sick and they needed a pure source. That’s the thing about living in a renovated sunken cruise ship: the pressure can really get to you, and all the oxygen you’re breathing is recycled. Janine has been having headaches for weeks now, and Grant theorised that it was because of the shoddy oxygen they were having imported from Russia. They can’t afford to pay rent AND upgrade their oxygen, but Grant thought that maybe a bit of hyperbaric time per day might make things easier, plus they make portable chambers now. He rowed for hours to pick up the chambers, and in this episode he finally got back only to face the new problem of how to transport the chambers down to the house, because they don’t fit in the transport tube.

Meanwhile, Janine’s head has swelled to the point where it’s 20% bigger than usual and she’s started to hallucinate, so whether they like it or not, they might have to switch their oxygen provider. I haven’t seen the end of the episode yet, but…I hope Grant gets there in time. I don’t think explosive decompression would fit the theme of light evening entertainment.

-Yusef

They say that if you can’t stand the heat, then you better get out of the kitchen. What I’d add to that is that if you can’t stand the chamber, get out of the…house. Specifically, my house.

No, but really. EVERYONE has something to say about how I seem unsociable when they come to visit. Oh, it’s too weird! Well, you can all shut your mouth, because this is how I like it. I like to sit inside my oxygen chamber, and the walls aren’t that thick so you can talk to me just fine from outside there. I hunted around for the very best hyperbaric oxygen therapy available near Melbourne, all because I knew I’d be using it constantly. There is a limit to the amount of time I can spend there, and I stick to that. It just so happens the time I’m in there is usually when friends come to visit. 

It’s all down to what I’ve done in early life. All those marathons, all that improper breathing technique…well, something had to give. Circumstances might have forced me to mostly stay indoors, but I’m making the most of it by staying inside my portable oxygen therapy chamber and having a wonderful time breathing easy, even though I don’t really NEED to. Makes me feel like I’m back on those rolling hills, running forever, breathing in that sweet oxygen in my fittest prime. Of course, this is artificial oxygen…not quite the same thing. Though so long as it does the job and clears my lungs, I’m kept quite happy.

Not so my visitors, but who needs them anyway? I like having guests over well enough, and if they don’t like chatting to me inside the chamber, that’s their issue. Fine by me. It gets lonely, but i always take a good book in there. Keeps the companies in Melbourne who sell portable hyperbaric chambers happy as well, because I’m probably the best customer they’re EVER going to have.

-Edith

So Over-Botch just introduced a new Looking For Employee system…and it’s about time. The one thing the game had been missing since launch, and it’s one of the simplest principles of finding work in real life. Before, you had to go around to every single place and apply right there in the establishment, which made it a real pain if the business was online. Now you can actually go to job boards and apply, or post ads if you own a business.

It’s how I got my job right now, actually. I dunno what’s wrong with me…I mean, I don’t have Parkinsons or anything, but my hands just aren’t steady. I travelled all the way to attend a dry needling course close to Melbourne, and I really wanted to make that my main thing. I’ve never been good at anything, and I wanted something hip and up-and-coming to say that I did at parties. Like, people would ask me what I did, and I’d say that I’m a dry needling professional, and everyone would be all impressed because it’s something they hadn’t heard of before, and they’d ask me to explain and I’d be the most interesting person in the room for five minutes.

Unfortunately, life had other plans, because I just can’t hold my hands steady. They shake, especially when I’m trying to hold them still, so I turned out to be pretty bad at needling in general.

That’s where Over-Botch came in. They have aim-assist, so I can take up a job dry needling with them no problems (plus there aren’t as many repercussions if you get it wrong).

I’m hoping that if I work this job for a while, I’ll get enough confidence to do an actual trigger point dry needling course in real life, and not suck at it this time. Ah the joys of being a part time physiotherapist.  See, that’s what video games are doing to society. Making people respectful and productive, as well as skilled.

-Darren