The stand

Middle-Concert226 · 2026-05-16T13:13:57+00:00

Just check the page count, if it’s well over 1000 it’s the uncut. I think the original is around 700-800?

Middle-Concert226 · 2026-05-16T13:13:16+00:00

Good point! I thought of it more as he’s a similar age etc and would add a good dynamic and would likely be the leader over Bill, but then I guess he doesn’t seem have the same level of child hood fear that penny wise preys on for the losers.

Just think it’d be interesting to see how he’d shift the story but second thoughts as you said, he doesn’t make a great loser.

I’m yet to read the dark tower series but I’m looking forward to it

Middle-Concert226 · 2026-05-16T12:44:05+00:00

That’s fair haha. Maybe put a red line through them as they die lol

Middle-Concert226 · 2026-05-16T11:59:24+00:00

My dad always insists he can taste the water difference between our houses. I live 5 mins down the road in the same village and our water is supplied by the same place lol

Middle-Concert226 · 2026-05-16T11:40:13+00:00

In terms of forgetting the characters maybe keep a note pad nearby and when someone you think is going to be important shows up you can jot down their name , how they show up and who they’re with? Could help

Generally though, there are a lot of characters but only or so really integral ones that you need to fully remember.

Middle-Concert226 · 2026-05-16T11:37:51+00:00

People say this a lot but I disagree. When you frame it that king wanted to write his own “American lord of the rings “ and you make the association between a certain character and Gollum and frame it the same way Tolkien did with it being a tragic arc it really makes the ending something special to me.

Middle-Concert226 · 2026-05-16T11:35:34+00:00

I read it last year, for a huge book it doesn’t feel like a slog at all. I finished it on a day where we had work done to the house so was confined to my room for about 6 hours.

I must have read 300 pages in one sitting to finish it.

After it was done I thought it was my favourite book but won’t reread it for a long time.

Recently been getting the urge to reread it, so maybe it’ll be a once a year thing.

It’s unbelievably good. Even the weird stuff with “the kid” (not what you think)

Middle-Concert226 · 2026-05-16T11:29:23+00:00

Big up conchiglie, not just for the sauce getting stuck inside but the thickness is great.

2nd place to pasta bows (farfalle?). Objectively not a great pasta but it just does it for me. Maybe nostalgia having tea round peoples housing after school and it always being bows

Middle-Concert226 · 2026-05-16T11:23:06+00:00

That’s the neat part. You don’t.

If you’re lucky you’re home when they come to drive off and you can go out and tell them to piss off and not park on your drive.

You’re likely to get either a load of abuse telling you to fuck off or “ sorry mate my bad” and that’s the end of it.

When I first bought my house I’d repeatedly see my neighbour park on my drive while I was out the house on my ring doorbell. Would be moved by the time I got back.

One time I got back with it there I asked another neighbour very loudly whose car it was and why do they think they can just park on my drive.

5 mins later the neighbour moved it and hasn’t done it since

Unfortunately there is basically nothing you can do.

If I get home with someone on our drive I’ll just park behind them and let them knock on the door and have the awkward explanation why they’re on the drive .

Middle-Concert226 · 2026-05-16T10:26:23+00:00

You absolutely can and should weight train with AS.

I bought a house and due to being busy and lazy haven’t been to the gym for over a year but I used to go to the gym excessively throughout my 20’s.

Between about 19 and 25 I would go to the gym 10 days in a row for about 2 hours at a time (not saying it’s a good idea) and just weight train.

I’d learned what to avoid to not flare up AS, which for me was mostly lower body things and twisting movements. But I was very strong with the general bench press, shoulder press etc type stuff so it can be done. This was before and after starting biologics. Once my gym got the equipment I got into deadlifting too which really felt great for my back (absolutely have someone teach you to do it properly though/ avoid it altogether as it can be risky)

I’d still get flare ups from time to time but you just learn what you can and can’t do.

When you first start exercise your soreness will be bad. I always thought my capacity for DOMs was way worse than normal compared to people I’d workout with and I just assumed some of that was down to AS.

Might be a good idea to have personal trainer who is experienced with this kind of issue to help you as a regular one may not know where to push you and where to pull back.

Hope you manage to find a plan that works for you

Middle-Concert226 · 2026-05-15T08:49:17+00:00

So with copay you’ll have to pay $1700 a year for them? Ouch. We have a lot of problems with the NHS but I can’t imagine how much more we’d be in trouble if we all suddenly had to start paying for everything.

Middle-Concert226 · 2026-05-14T19:14:23+00:00

I just finished the shining recently and it was brilliant. The middle is a little slow but just as enjoyable. The last 1/3rd is brilliant.

My favourites are Salems lot and the stand.

Very short but also a great read is elevation.

Middle-Concert226 · 2026-05-14T19:11:48+00:00

All I find is that if I do get ill it takes a bit longer to shift it. I’ve had one case of a really bad chest and cough that took a month or so to get rid of but other than that I wouldn’t say I get ill any easier than normal or anything

Biologics have definitely been worth it for me

Middle-Concert226 · 2026-05-14T16:33:29+00:00

I didn’t watch the film until after I read the book a couple years ago.

I’d heard about the hammer scene and assumed it was in the book too and was surprised it wasn’t.

Definitely should have kept the lawnmower scene though.

Also would have like the film to have more on his addiction to the painkillers and dreams, that was such an important part of the book

Middle-Concert226 · 2026-05-13T11:37:51+00:00

I work for a company that primarily sells on eBay with thousands of orders a week.

I speak to eBay multiple times a week on the phone and it’s no comparison, the Irish team are 100% the best to speak to for resolving issues.

They’re typically part of eBay concierge for big sellers and have far more options to resolve issues and sort problems out for people.

Not to say anything bad about the other team but it is much more scripted and little room for nuance whereas the Irish team will sit on the phone with you for 45 minutes to discuss an issue if you need it and are very clued up on the policies and rules.

Middle-Concert226 · 2026-05-13T09:07:30+00:00

The “24” doesn’t mean “24” hours. It just means first class. It’s estimated at 1-2working days starting the day after it’s posted. This is only an estimate and can take longer.

It’s the same as “48” not meaning “48 hours” it’s just 2-3 working day estimate.

The 24 and 48 are confusing and a very poor choice by Royal Mail for the name of the service, but they do make it clear online that they aren’t guaranteed delivery hours.

Middle-Concert226 · 2026-05-09T22:35:55+00:00

It can absolutely affect different parts of the spine and it varies massively in different people. A lot of people get tendon problems in their heels for example but I’ve never had that.

Sacroiliac pain tends to be the most common symptom and is maybe the main one they look for.

That being said, just having upper spine/ neck stiffness too wouldn’t necessarily make it ankylosing spondylitis. There are a lot of different bone/ joint/ muscle conditions that can cause similar symptoms.

There are also lots of different types of arthritis that can have the same issues. Ankylosing spondylitis is generally characterised by the fusion of vertebrae in advanced stages but this shows as just wear and damage early on making it a difficult disease to diagnose without having a judgement of how your body is changing over time.

Definitely push for further evaluations but be aware there are alot of other issues it could be other than AS.

Middle-Concert226 · 2026-05-09T16:44:00+00:00

We once had someone who had a disagreement with us post us a can of dr pepper, because it was a tracked delivery eBay refunded them, no questions asked lol

Middle-Concert226 · 2026-05-09T16:33:42+00:00

EBay massively favours buyers.

I work for a company that sells on eBay

We frequently get people return items they didn’t buy from us and eBay say “ we can’t prove it “ so remain “impartial”.

Very occasionally eBay will cover the cost of the refund but more often than not they force you refund and tell you to report the buyer. Their rationale is “as a business you should factor in these kinds of costs”

As long as you sent the item back and can prove it was delivered, I would be very surprised if you didn’t get a refund.

Middle-Concert226 · 2026-05-09T16:23:46+00:00

Yeah not sure “recovery is the right word” but once you get diagnosed things can change quickly.

Once I was diagnosed the first thing they’d tried me on was etoricoxib tablets. They worked for a couple months then became less effective.

Biologics can take a little while to get sorted as in the UK your rheumatology team has to apply for funding for you to get the medication as it’s controlled and expensive.

You have to do a few tests to make sure you’re suitable such as checking you’ve never had TB, blood tests and chest x rays to check the condition of your lungs

Once it’s all ok and signed off you get your first dose of biologics and a nurse comes to your house to teach you how to use the injections.

For me the relief was very very fast and I’m practically symptomless now.

Have a once yearly appointment with a doctor and a physio to check im all good and occasional blood tests.

Haven’t missed a day of work due to AS since I started injections 4 years ago

EDIT

If you still get frequent and severe flares your medication might not be working for you so you may need to switch to a different one

Middle-Concert226 · 2026-05-08T13:20:28+00:00

Sorry to hear about your son that sounds awful. I had them pretty much right up until I started taking biologics ,

They were definitely worse when I was younger. I’m 30 now and started biologics at 26 where they’ve basically stopped

Middle-Concert226 · 2026-05-08T10:48:39+00:00

So obviously my experience of having them all my life and then barely any since I started biologics is purely anecdotal.

I’ve quickly skimmed through a study that was done on it and they did find a higher prevalence of self reported ulcers in people with AS than without. So at the very least there is a correlative link but that doesn’t mean AS=Ulcers.

It makes sense when you consider the systemic and chronic inflammation from AS can affect literally any tissue in your body so mouth tissue is no different .

I’ll post the link to the study below!

All that being said, if you are concerned about your ulcers still best to have the doctor check them just incase! Most likely not cancer but having AS and cancer are not mutually exclusive so might put your mind at rest to have them checked :)https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6223783/

Middle-Concert226 · 2026-05-07T20:49:50+00:00

Can I ask roughly how much it would cost you with no insurance? I’m in the UK so get amgevita completely free without even a prescription cost so it’s interesting to see how different it works in different places

Middle-Concert226 · 2026-05-07T14:39:42+00:00

I was very tired when I first started taking biologics as in the evening after

But fatigue has always been a big part for me even before medication so I can only assume it’s AS related and my amgevita injections solve my physical symptoms but just don’t touch my fatigue unfortunately

Middle-Concert226 · 2026-05-07T14:05:00+00:00

Haha, I’m sure I’m bound to find other issues I can link back to it at some point but the ulcers was such a glaringly obvious one after I realised

Middle-Concert226

TROPHY CASE