Tommy Collison

If you were in America last night, and didn’t watch the premier of Season 6 of House M.D, shame on you! I was at home slaving over Maths homework and trying to find AA batteries to get the Flip! camera working when I could’ve been indulging in 2 hours of Housey house, while you had the option and resources to watch it but didn’t. What the hell, man?

I’m about to go watch it – as soon as I finish this post, actually. I was originally going to make notes as I watched it and stick a big Spoiler Warning picture up top to warn those of you waiting for it to come to Irish screens (I’d be out celebrating my 18th by that time, I imagine). But then it was pointed out to me about that wouldn’t work well enough for those reading me via RSS. Instead, I’ll talk about how myself and Greg met.

It’d be a lie to say that he hasn’t influenced me. Let’s just get that out into the clear first and foremost. I will admit though then my physio (disclaimer: who knew nothing about my affection for the grizzled doctor) told me about someone with CP climbing Kilimanjaro using hiking poles, suggesting something similar for me, I totally had House in mind when I asked for something less out-of-the-ordinary ‘…like a walking stick…?’

And so we went to the local medical supply story: Argos, and bought a 15 euro collapsible cane. That was Aislinn 1, named so after the Kildare Blogger who names her instruments and named one Tommy (no significance) which led to all sorts of hilariously confusing tweets and blogs, so this was my way of getting back at her.

Photo owned by marissabracke (cc)

That one lasted a few weeks before the top ceremoniously snapped off. Got a second one free because it was a design fault on their part.

At my yearly analysis, where they prod me and poke me and stick sensors on me to gauge my walking ability, I was told to get a new cane because being collapsable made it less strong. I didn’t need much encouragement. I finally had a concrete, medical (sounding, at least) excuse to get a House replica cane. At the time I paid a silly amount of money for it, because I knew no-one living in America who was coming home soon, so I had to get it shipped to Limerick.

The downside to not being collapsable and therefore adjustable is that I will eventually grow out of Aislinn 3, who’s affectionately called Flameycane by some. (A2 was the one I got free from Argos from A1 being shoddy) and shall have to get Aislinn 4. Luckily, A4 will be about 50 dollars less expensive because it can be shipped to John in Harvard.

Photo owned by caricaturas (cc)

How did I get into House itself?

That can be attributed to Patrick. He found it online and watched it and many a time I’d come home from school to see him and Liv watching House pull a tapeworm from a woman’s stomach or whatever. One of the times around that point we (the family) was invited to dinner, and the host was an aficionado of the series, possessing seasons 1 to 3 (this was 2007, they were the only ones out at the time), which we promtly borrowed