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- Category: Blog
- By Stuart Mathews
- Hits: 2245
Today started by going into portshepstone to buy my mom a battery for the Blackberry that I was going to give you and which so far has been 'broken'. It was a wonderful day, kinda like that warm odd sun spot outside on a London day, only it was that spot over the whole world. It was superb and wonderful. The smell of dust in my fathers truck in combination with the heat seemed like a normal combination. Yesterday I successfully got my old iPhone unlocked for £30 or so pounds on. Website in the uk while browsing the net from SA. I've given it to my dad, and he's overjoyed as I expect one should be: iPod, GPS, apps, 3G and twitter not to mention a phone...but seriously that's note te point is it :-)
Later this evening we unveiled my moms new blackberry to her and rather unsurprisingly she picked it up rather easily, taking photos, reading and replying to emails and generally getting around it rather well. It will be nice to send her emails and know she can get them easily. It's been all a bit excessive I think, a whole bunch of gadgets that one might think that these old fogies of mine where perhaps retired secret agents or something covert.
While my was dissecting his iPhone, my mom and I took that opportunity to head down to the beach. I ran, she drove behind me. We walked along the beach and just talked and I enjoyed that, it was the first time that she wasn't fidgeting about at home, always doing something. We got caught up in an I expectant wave and got wet and I squelched up the road while running back.
I also went through my old stuff from my childhood that my parents kept, the tho has that they felt were important to be kept and looked at and sorted out. So I sorted through old memories, old school ties, watches, yearbooks, trophies etc and it struck me how, while I felt attraction to them, they didn't hold a place in this life of mine, they remind me of a life I had before, a hard, difficult challenging unidentified life that belonged to the small me, the me that was afraid of everything, who was undefined and inexperienced. That said, I still understand the significance of the memories but their physical presence doesn't represent me anymore, everything that is, was is within me and I'm not tied to these objects. I came across my old notebook, a monstrosity of writing, 3 pages of thoughts and feelings, when I think, was a beginning of the new me, the thinking me, the transitional man. I wrote poems, letters and thoughts across 3 books and bandaged them together. It's wonderful to know that they represent the early me, the me that I am today. I think I wont take it with me back to London: my mother has intimated without saying so much(but she wouldn't daren't read it without permission, of course), that she'd be privileged to type out the hand written pages and send them to me. I figure that that a good offer and what with her new laptop, she can practise getting used to typing on the laptop keyboard which is a 13" IBM Lenovo think pad. So it looks like after all, she will read it. I'm ok with it because much like the old things in my life, while they may represent a time and phase in my life, I'm more proud of the new life that I lead now and think that web though everything contributes to who one is, who one is not because of the objects in his hand but he objects in his mind. I may change my mind, seeing that it might be shame to throw stuff away but sentimentality hasn't been one of my most practical or powerful qualities. I guess I'm risk averse, I don't want my objects to have power over me.
It was nice to see my parents and me all together on the room sharing the sofa, laughing, sharing stories and plonking around excitingly with their new toys, of which hey are so appreciative and glad. But they are merely pieces of plastic, but they can do so much and its the excitement it brings that I love.
I've being doing real good running. I run about 4.5km every 2nd day so apart from the 0.5 to 1km decline from my usual distance, it's still pretty good. It's nice running to the beach plus the incline and decline is severe and so that makes the run rather on par with my usual runs I think. I mean the last stat I saw, showed my decent being 90-100m which shows the hills I've had to deal with.
My parents eat well, everyday we get a super salad meal and my dad goes away and conjures up a special concoction of salad dressing which is normally very good. The other day I let slip that I like jelly, and well, I got jelly - two layers of different colours. I thought the was nice. I'm not really doing anything here just being, listening and enjoying the time with my folks. I make tea and coffee sometimes, today I helped my mom wash up the clothes and Han up the clothes on the washing line. My parents are very well liked here with everyone stopping by to talk to them and yesterday the electricity went out in the afternoon and like a street party all the residence in the park collected in front of our house and chatted with them. Wonderful to see.
I'm not a very huggy kinda person but my mom I so I've made time to hug her. She likes that. The more I spend time in South Africa, the more I realise how lucky I am to be well settled in England and how well my folks are settled in the park. It's a beautiful place really.
I have showers in the communal ablution block everyday and come down draped in my towel and flip flops and sometimes I run into my dad from time to time(He nearly scared the living daylights out of me recently, at night while I was closing up...). I've had great opportunity to pester my old cat, Ching, who has crept into my parent hearts and he is instrumental into their well being which is good but sometimes unsettling. I give him a good 'rough and tumble' but he is getting old now and it's sad to see everything getting old. But it's nice to see it, experience it and love it. I think tho I what his trip is all about for both me an my parents - an opportunity to feel this experience of each other. My dad gave me some words of Wisdom the other night while we were both in bed, wonderful father-son words of wisdom and I reminded him how successful his life has been, and how I wish my life is half has good as how his steered his, mine and ours. My father is certainly my role model, my strategy and rulebook in life, mother my sanity and thoughts. I had to tell them this and I have, it's worth it, purposeful and it's a beginning of my debt to them and appreciation of them. Under a summer night, all three of us sit on the veranda, all in sequence - back in sequence, 1,2 and with the return of the son, 3. As if a dark black canvas sheet was thrown over the world and pin pricks where poked into it, the starts where watching us as we were all reunited again. The family unit, side by side having conversations, sharing and just being. So so priceless and good for the soul.
My mom laughs so much these days and my dad is more content than ever before and I am happy. Things will be ok.
Later this evening we unveiled my moms new blackberry to her and rather unsurprisingly she picked it up rather easily, taking photos, reading and replying to emails and generally getting around it rather well. It will be nice to send her emails and know she can get them easily. It's been all a bit excessive I think, a whole bunch of gadgets that one might think that these old fogies of mine where perhaps retired secret agents or something covert.
While my was dissecting his iPhone, my mom and I took that opportunity to head down to the beach. I ran, she drove behind me. We walked along the beach and just talked and I enjoyed that, it was the first time that she wasn't fidgeting about at home, always doing something. We got caught up in an I expectant wave and got wet and I squelched up the road while running back.
I also went through my old stuff from my childhood that my parents kept, the tho has that they felt were important to be kept and looked at and sorted out. So I sorted through old memories, old school ties, watches, yearbooks, trophies etc and it struck me how, while I felt attraction to them, they didn't hold a place in this life of mine, they remind me of a life I had before, a hard, difficult challenging unidentified life that belonged to the small me, the me that was afraid of everything, who was undefined and inexperienced. That said, I still understand the significance of the memories but their physical presence doesn't represent me anymore, everything that is, was is within me and I'm not tied to these objects. I came across my old notebook, a monstrosity of writing, 3 pages of thoughts and feelings, when I think, was a beginning of the new me, the thinking me, the transitional man. I wrote poems, letters and thoughts across 3 books and bandaged them together. It's wonderful to know that they represent the early me, the me that I am today. I think I wont take it with me back to London: my mother has intimated without saying so much(but she wouldn't daren't read it without permission, of course), that she'd be privileged to type out the hand written pages and send them to me. I figure that that a good offer and what with her new laptop, she can practise getting used to typing on the laptop keyboard which is a 13" IBM Lenovo think pad. So it looks like after all, she will read it. I'm ok with it because much like the old things in my life, while they may represent a time and phase in my life, I'm more proud of the new life that I lead now and think that web though everything contributes to who one is, who one is not because of the objects in his hand but he objects in his mind. I may change my mind, seeing that it might be shame to throw stuff away but sentimentality hasn't been one of my most practical or powerful qualities. I guess I'm risk averse, I don't want my objects to have power over me.
It was nice to see my parents and me all together on the room sharing the sofa, laughing, sharing stories and plonking around excitingly with their new toys, of which hey are so appreciative and glad. But they are merely pieces of plastic, but they can do so much and its the excitement it brings that I love.
I've being doing real good running. I run about 4.5km every 2nd day so apart from the 0.5 to 1km decline from my usual distance, it's still pretty good. It's nice running to the beach plus the incline and decline is severe and so that makes the run rather on par with my usual runs I think. I mean the last stat I saw, showed my decent being 90-100m which shows the hills I've had to deal with.
My parents eat well, everyday we get a super salad meal and my dad goes away and conjures up a special concoction of salad dressing which is normally very good. The other day I let slip that I like jelly, and well, I got jelly - two layers of different colours. I thought the was nice. I'm not really doing anything here just being, listening and enjoying the time with my folks. I make tea and coffee sometimes, today I helped my mom wash up the clothes and Han up the clothes on the washing line. My parents are very well liked here with everyone stopping by to talk to them and yesterday the electricity went out in the afternoon and like a street party all the residence in the park collected in front of our house and chatted with them. Wonderful to see.
I'm not a very huggy kinda person but my mom I so I've made time to hug her. She likes that. The more I spend time in South Africa, the more I realise how lucky I am to be well settled in England and how well my folks are settled in the park. It's a beautiful place really.
I have showers in the communal ablution block everyday and come down draped in my towel and flip flops and sometimes I run into my dad from time to time(He nearly scared the living daylights out of me recently, at night while I was closing up...). I've had great opportunity to pester my old cat, Ching, who has crept into my parent hearts and he is instrumental into their well being which is good but sometimes unsettling. I give him a good 'rough and tumble' but he is getting old now and it's sad to see everything getting old. But it's nice to see it, experience it and love it. I think tho I what his trip is all about for both me an my parents - an opportunity to feel this experience of each other. My dad gave me some words of Wisdom the other night while we were both in bed, wonderful father-son words of wisdom and I reminded him how successful his life has been, and how I wish my life is half has good as how his steered his, mine and ours. My father is certainly my role model, my strategy and rulebook in life, mother my sanity and thoughts. I had to tell them this and I have, it's worth it, purposeful and it's a beginning of my debt to them and appreciation of them. Under a summer night, all three of us sit on the veranda, all in sequence - back in sequence, 1,2 and with the return of the son, 3. As if a dark black canvas sheet was thrown over the world and pin pricks where poked into it, the starts where watching us as we were all reunited again. The family unit, side by side having conversations, sharing and just being. So so priceless and good for the soul.
My mom laughs so much these days and my dad is more content than ever before and I am happy. Things will be ok.
- Details
- Category: Blog
- By Stuart Mathews
- Hits: 2248
I woke up this morning having arrived in South Africa yesterday afternoon and after a fairly long drive back to my parents new home, it was time to sleep. Today was really the first time I had to spend a full day in South Africa since I arrived. It rained the whole day.
My parents have the most beautiful holiday/retreat style cottage which reminds me of an resort holiday villa. It's entirely made of wood, raised off the floor and beautiful located within the permanent residential area within a seasonal managed holiday and camper's caravan park, called Prarie Park. We're not talking of ones natural tendency to associate a caravan park with some old, run-down, delapedated residence of the inbetweener and deprived improverished population, which I must admit had flashed through my mind when first I was told of it. This is very different. It's beautiful, tightly and beautiful woven haven of dotted cottage all linked together by local roads all within the enclosed and secured area of the park. It's has the feel of good management, good everything. The cottage is surprisingly large and it's wonderfully styled and extremely holiday-ish with its front deck, which looks just great. It's really just perfect, everything about it is ideal. It's kinda wierd because it's bigger than my apartment in Wimbledon and has all the modern things you'd might not immediately expect like a superb kitchen, oven/stove, counter top combination and are surprised by the lack of compromise that you might have thought would come with buying a new place when one isn't a millionaire. You come to expect certain compromises but I'm so pleased to say that there seems to be none just pleasant normality. I am very happy with the new place and it's fits them like a glove. It's perfect.
I hung about today, just talking about anything, having general conversation and enjoying seeing my parents happy and supremely capable. It's nice to talk to them, hear what they say and absorb the words into my soul.
When it stopped raining, I went for a 5.56km run to the beach and back. I got to the beach and momentarily considered running on the beach but as my shoes sank into the beach sand, the idea of sand sinkingly strained plodding quickly left my inner voice intimating that dude, na that's not for today and I turned around and went back the way I came. I had run down winding, wet and rain soaked roads, from the outset and it's became obvious that there were no pedestrian walkways along the roads which hadn't been completely obvious to me before but was now. I had to run on the road. They were quiet roads, winding roads, passing similar multi-housed complexes along the way. Towards the sea, more larger, fancier and separate houses were found. Rather fancy at times. I ran back after seeing the sea and during my beach-running considerations, spotted a few cars that has parked on the cal de sac that overlooked the facing sea. I stood here and subsequently went no further but saw a few lone fisherman braving the tempestuous and raging waves in the shore. It was rather miserable weather but made more beautiful and enjoyable by being part of my run. When I got back, I let myself in with the infrared remote that I had been in my hand while I had been running. I was surprised to have run as far as I did, considering that it didn't feel very far and I was rather tired most of the journey. Once I got back, I could sense the relief in my parents who went I proposed the idea had seemed rather uncomfortable with the idea. I sensed the concern for my safety. I guess, it's a concern that I must confess has always been with me when I think about South Africa and my experiences before here. Semi paranoid awareness which, certainly is not unfounded concern but inconvenient non-the-less concern. At times I take for granted the safety of London, surrounding communities and well, pedestrian walkways next to roads - very runner an walker friendly. Here, positively unsupported.
Non the less, I was determined to be both aware, sensible but adamant that I would go for my run as planned.
The rest of the evening, and even before the run, was tinkering with both my mom and dads new gadgets. My mom got my old laptop for her writing ambisions, and iPod nano for her listening pleasure. I gave my dad my old iPhone 3G and blackberry but that seemed to have a faulty battery due to long time in storage. The iPhone was ok through. My parents now both have laptops and iPods.
I've got a cat on my bed trying make me sleep as uncomfortable as possible, but if it wasn't for my most sincere affection for it, it would have ousted it - but I'm very fond of it as my parents are. Indeed it was my cat, prior to leaving South Africa, which i guess explains my affections really. He's old but as adorable and friendly as ever. My parents look well and happy and that makes me happy. It was apparent to me, being back in South Africa, how volatile life is, how life is life no matter where you live, what you do and it's scary that at times, I feel that being in south Africa and relating to it and associating it with my up bringing, my 1st life seems so contrary to my new life, I guess ambition, new experience, freedom and it's success that being post South Africa makes me cautious a little, it reminds of much much person I came from. How much I have in London and how happy I am in London. But being here, feeling this way, it gives me perspective and puts my feet firmly on the ground. It's fairly unsettling at times, coupled with the uncertainty of life in general no matter where one is. It's a interesting complexity: being here, fundamentally cautious for all these reasons and more and then fulfilling a part of me that needs to embrace my past, my parents and reality. A holiday seems almost difficult a term to describe my visit to South Africa, yet a yearning it is, a complex psychological yearning. Perhaps mostly to reach ground zero, remember who I am, where I was, who I was and who is responsibly, to a large extent, to who I am and have become: my parents.
Tomorrow is Sunday and I can't imagine it being much different which is superbly and utterly fundamentally fine by me.
My parents have the most beautiful holiday/retreat style cottage which reminds me of an resort holiday villa. It's entirely made of wood, raised off the floor and beautiful located within the permanent residential area within a seasonal managed holiday and camper's caravan park, called Prarie Park. We're not talking of ones natural tendency to associate a caravan park with some old, run-down, delapedated residence of the inbetweener and deprived improverished population, which I must admit had flashed through my mind when first I was told of it. This is very different. It's beautiful, tightly and beautiful woven haven of dotted cottage all linked together by local roads all within the enclosed and secured area of the park. It's has the feel of good management, good everything. The cottage is surprisingly large and it's wonderfully styled and extremely holiday-ish with its front deck, which looks just great. It's really just perfect, everything about it is ideal. It's kinda wierd because it's bigger than my apartment in Wimbledon and has all the modern things you'd might not immediately expect like a superb kitchen, oven/stove, counter top combination and are surprised by the lack of compromise that you might have thought would come with buying a new place when one isn't a millionaire. You come to expect certain compromises but I'm so pleased to say that there seems to be none just pleasant normality. I am very happy with the new place and it's fits them like a glove. It's perfect.
I hung about today, just talking about anything, having general conversation and enjoying seeing my parents happy and supremely capable. It's nice to talk to them, hear what they say and absorb the words into my soul.
When it stopped raining, I went for a 5.56km run to the beach and back. I got to the beach and momentarily considered running on the beach but as my shoes sank into the beach sand, the idea of sand sinkingly strained plodding quickly left my inner voice intimating that dude, na that's not for today and I turned around and went back the way I came. I had run down winding, wet and rain soaked roads, from the outset and it's became obvious that there were no pedestrian walkways along the roads which hadn't been completely obvious to me before but was now. I had to run on the road. They were quiet roads, winding roads, passing similar multi-housed complexes along the way. Towards the sea, more larger, fancier and separate houses were found. Rather fancy at times. I ran back after seeing the sea and during my beach-running considerations, spotted a few cars that has parked on the cal de sac that overlooked the facing sea. I stood here and subsequently went no further but saw a few lone fisherman braving the tempestuous and raging waves in the shore. It was rather miserable weather but made more beautiful and enjoyable by being part of my run. When I got back, I let myself in with the infrared remote that I had been in my hand while I had been running. I was surprised to have run as far as I did, considering that it didn't feel very far and I was rather tired most of the journey. Once I got back, I could sense the relief in my parents who went I proposed the idea had seemed rather uncomfortable with the idea. I sensed the concern for my safety. I guess, it's a concern that I must confess has always been with me when I think about South Africa and my experiences before here. Semi paranoid awareness which, certainly is not unfounded concern but inconvenient non-the-less concern. At times I take for granted the safety of London, surrounding communities and well, pedestrian walkways next to roads - very runner an walker friendly. Here, positively unsupported.
Non the less, I was determined to be both aware, sensible but adamant that I would go for my run as planned.
The rest of the evening, and even before the run, was tinkering with both my mom and dads new gadgets. My mom got my old laptop for her writing ambisions, and iPod nano for her listening pleasure. I gave my dad my old iPhone 3G and blackberry but that seemed to have a faulty battery due to long time in storage. The iPhone was ok through. My parents now both have laptops and iPods.
I've got a cat on my bed trying make me sleep as uncomfortable as possible, but if it wasn't for my most sincere affection for it, it would have ousted it - but I'm very fond of it as my parents are. Indeed it was my cat, prior to leaving South Africa, which i guess explains my affections really. He's old but as adorable and friendly as ever. My parents look well and happy and that makes me happy. It was apparent to me, being back in South Africa, how volatile life is, how life is life no matter where you live, what you do and it's scary that at times, I feel that being in south Africa and relating to it and associating it with my up bringing, my 1st life seems so contrary to my new life, I guess ambition, new experience, freedom and it's success that being post South Africa makes me cautious a little, it reminds of much much person I came from. How much I have in London and how happy I am in London. But being here, feeling this way, it gives me perspective and puts my feet firmly on the ground. It's fairly unsettling at times, coupled with the uncertainty of life in general no matter where one is. It's a interesting complexity: being here, fundamentally cautious for all these reasons and more and then fulfilling a part of me that needs to embrace my past, my parents and reality. A holiday seems almost difficult a term to describe my visit to South Africa, yet a yearning it is, a complex psychological yearning. Perhaps mostly to reach ground zero, remember who I am, where I was, who I was and who is responsibly, to a large extent, to who I am and have become: my parents.
Tomorrow is Sunday and I can't imagine it being much different which is superbly and utterly fundamentally fine by me.
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- Category: Blog
- By Stuart Mathews
- Hits: 2663
Today I watched TV all day. My everything is in recovery mode, I went for a swim late last night and it was good. Bought new swimming trunks and goggles(with mean looking mirrored lenses!) and everything. Pretty psyched about it. Lost my swimming goggles half way through. my swimming which had me searching allover the pool for it to no immediate avail. Found them in the pool filter after going away and coming back with my torch. I swam just short of a kilometer. Thats my new goal - swimming continuously for 1 km. Afterwards i looked at my stats and saw that I registered only 2 laps for my effort and then realised that this way because I didn't press lap on my watch after each length. Hell. Oh well, what you going to do right?
Whipped myself some dinner just now. Stood in the kitchen in my vest and pyjamas listening to Sammy Hagar and other various stuff. Threw together a mean dish of Mushrooms and onions(which is like my staple right now) and mixed in some peppers and tomato juice. A touch of garlic. I say a touch but it wasnt - it was like 4 mini cloves. Was pretty good. Was out of meat so i left that out. I bought my holiday ticket yesterday. It will be good to get away for a while, forget everything and everyone. The dude at the travel agent started talking to me about baseball and how the recent English premier league team, who was just bought out by the Boston RedSox, is now very much being managed like the baseball team. Yeah so i was like fine. He took my money though, to be honest I shouldn't and probably will never go to a travel agent again because I pretty much knew which flight I was going to buy and was wanting to see if he could get me a better deal - he couldn't. All he could talk about was the transfer window that was open last night. Go figure.
Yeah so i also bought a new watch last weekend. Its a Suunto Ambit. Dead sleek but pretty big too. It kinda a cross between a military looking watch and a outdoor watch. It gets your attention. That set me back a bit. Had me thinking the next day if i should take it back. I didn't. Its pretty freaking awesome though. Its waterproof and its a exercise watch plus altimeter, barometer and compass and all the other good stuff you'd expect. It pretty much replaces my Garmin 405 forerunner which is a great piece of kit but didn't do itself any favours not being waterproof. That said i must have had it for a good 1 year and its still bang up to date. Never mind. Anyway its been replaced and thats that. Check my twitter stream its all up in there - i was like an excited child.
Registered for my new course, labeled The Building Blocks of Software. Its pretty intense and I haven't even started. Looked at the course handbook and all I saw was mathematical expressions. I think this one is going to be a real biscuit. Anyway besides that I've been pretty regimental exercise wise, and the new watch was much a part of this than anything. I've started swimming as I said, my new watch is ok with this and can handle it. Its also recording my every move from runs, walks, trekking or pretty much everything. I'm not sure if I'm ready to start analysing and tuning my performance yet. I think I need to get most of the hard work done regularly before i can concentrate on the details. At the moment my exercise routine has been defined. Its run 5kms 3 times a week monday to Friday. A Big run Saturday and like today rest. In between the runs, I swim and do weight training. The weight training is not really intense yet to defined. its just doing some exercises regularly.
Work has been ok, I've had to skimp on my lunch breaks in the last few days because I had so much work to do but thats ok if its because Im busy. I don't like being idle, and idle hands are evil or something like that? Whatever. So when I do get back to my book, it will be good.
Got a fantastic new pair of trousers(if i say pants, they laugh at me) as well as a great new light weight jacket which is exactly what i ordered(funny that) and exactly what i wanted. Both of them were ordered from a military supply store i found online - I also previously bought my running sunglasses from them. I find military gear good quality and provided you know what you want, good looking and good prices. The thing is to be careful not to be over zealous and get that red neck thing going for you…style wise.
Been going geocaching lately, pretty cool actually. Found myself all caught up in bushes and strange places finding caches in specified geographic coordinates. Half the fun is trumping around following the GPS through new places and neighbourhoods. I've found four so far. haven't been back yet but I will. So theres been that.
Apart from my most recent culinary ambitions, I've tried to keep a handle on what food I consume. I've stopped drinking sodas. Partly because of the sugar and a fusion between my recent good form at my most recent dentist visit and the effect of sugar on the immune system. Now i do eat sugar, just not so much. I've also started caring about how much fatty stuff i stuff down my throat. I work pretty darn hard to run and exercise and keep in shape and I'm pretty not up loosing that because I'm too lazy to find alternative healthier options…which still feed me.
As part of my recent military purchase, I upgraded my lenses in my sunglasses to polaroid gasses after seeing the difference on saturday I was in the Oakley store in Covent Garden. Makes a massive difference. i don't wear eyewear at all, unless I'm running. I've never been one to wear sunglasses - I like to see people's faces and for me I have this niggle that it kinda is a way to hide behind them…i don't like deceptions or facades in general. Semi rant over.
Got an email from a dude in Australia who came across my recent project where I wrote an utility to interface with a PBX system we have/had at the office. We wanted to see if it was available and how much it cost. That was sorta cool. Long story short, I mailed him a copy for free.
Bought Deus Ex and Assassins Creed Brotherhood for Xbox 360 and while I've done the all bad thing of buying two games at the same time and not finishing one before starting the other - its ok because I've not really spent good time with either of them. Assisins Creed has seen some good action but not enough. Thats kinda good I suppose, means i have better things to do like training. Still I don't drink. I've put down countless offers to go for a drink and I'm so over caring about it now - its so so good. Besides I don't like drinking with the masses anyway.. Hopefully I've become socially detached and they'll stop asking me.(smiley face. Just a odd thought… I don't know anyone else who is in the Rolling Stones other than Mick Jagger and Kieth something…and their are 5 members in that band. Weird and random I know but yeah.
I've been recycling. Thats good. I've been tracking my sleeping time too. I'm looking to get 7-8 hours of sleep hours a day. thats not exactly happening right now but I've averaged about 6-7hours which is on the right track. Got this app on the iPhone that I turn on and put under my pillow before I got to bed and it tells me how much and what kind of sleep Im getting. I love gadgets. Yeah so theres that too.
Nothing special out at the movies recently. In fact I've not ventured that far in about two weeks or so. Bought a DVD box set of Pride and Prejudice, Atonement and Sense and Sensibility and something else I can't remember but I've not watched them either. Thats pretty much one my todo list this week i think. I have a thing for Kiera Knightly right now.
I also got the two most recent James Bond movies and watched the socks off them. I love everything james bond or Jason Bourney. Spy flicks - I love them.
Thats about it from me right now.
Whipped myself some dinner just now. Stood in the kitchen in my vest and pyjamas listening to Sammy Hagar and other various stuff. Threw together a mean dish of Mushrooms and onions(which is like my staple right now) and mixed in some peppers and tomato juice. A touch of garlic. I say a touch but it wasnt - it was like 4 mini cloves. Was pretty good. Was out of meat so i left that out. I bought my holiday ticket yesterday. It will be good to get away for a while, forget everything and everyone. The dude at the travel agent started talking to me about baseball and how the recent English premier league team, who was just bought out by the Boston RedSox, is now very much being managed like the baseball team. Yeah so i was like fine. He took my money though, to be honest I shouldn't and probably will never go to a travel agent again because I pretty much knew which flight I was going to buy and was wanting to see if he could get me a better deal - he couldn't. All he could talk about was the transfer window that was open last night. Go figure.
Yeah so i also bought a new watch last weekend. Its a Suunto Ambit. Dead sleek but pretty big too. It kinda a cross between a military looking watch and a outdoor watch. It gets your attention. That set me back a bit. Had me thinking the next day if i should take it back. I didn't. Its pretty freaking awesome though. Its waterproof and its a exercise watch plus altimeter, barometer and compass and all the other good stuff you'd expect. It pretty much replaces my Garmin 405 forerunner which is a great piece of kit but didn't do itself any favours not being waterproof. That said i must have had it for a good 1 year and its still bang up to date. Never mind. Anyway its been replaced and thats that. Check my twitter stream its all up in there - i was like an excited child.
Registered for my new course, labeled The Building Blocks of Software. Its pretty intense and I haven't even started. Looked at the course handbook and all I saw was mathematical expressions. I think this one is going to be a real biscuit. Anyway besides that I've been pretty regimental exercise wise, and the new watch was much a part of this than anything. I've started swimming as I said, my new watch is ok with this and can handle it. Its also recording my every move from runs, walks, trekking or pretty much everything. I'm not sure if I'm ready to start analysing and tuning my performance yet. I think I need to get most of the hard work done regularly before i can concentrate on the details. At the moment my exercise routine has been defined. Its run 5kms 3 times a week monday to Friday. A Big run Saturday and like today rest. In between the runs, I swim and do weight training. The weight training is not really intense yet to defined. its just doing some exercises regularly.
Work has been ok, I've had to skimp on my lunch breaks in the last few days because I had so much work to do but thats ok if its because Im busy. I don't like being idle, and idle hands are evil or something like that? Whatever. So when I do get back to my book, it will be good.
Got a fantastic new pair of trousers(if i say pants, they laugh at me) as well as a great new light weight jacket which is exactly what i ordered(funny that) and exactly what i wanted. Both of them were ordered from a military supply store i found online - I also previously bought my running sunglasses from them. I find military gear good quality and provided you know what you want, good looking and good prices. The thing is to be careful not to be over zealous and get that red neck thing going for you…style wise.
Been going geocaching lately, pretty cool actually. Found myself all caught up in bushes and strange places finding caches in specified geographic coordinates. Half the fun is trumping around following the GPS through new places and neighbourhoods. I've found four so far. haven't been back yet but I will. So theres been that.
Apart from my most recent culinary ambitions, I've tried to keep a handle on what food I consume. I've stopped drinking sodas. Partly because of the sugar and a fusion between my recent good form at my most recent dentist visit and the effect of sugar on the immune system. Now i do eat sugar, just not so much. I've also started caring about how much fatty stuff i stuff down my throat. I work pretty darn hard to run and exercise and keep in shape and I'm pretty not up loosing that because I'm too lazy to find alternative healthier options…which still feed me.
As part of my recent military purchase, I upgraded my lenses in my sunglasses to polaroid gasses after seeing the difference on saturday I was in the Oakley store in Covent Garden. Makes a massive difference. i don't wear eyewear at all, unless I'm running. I've never been one to wear sunglasses - I like to see people's faces and for me I have this niggle that it kinda is a way to hide behind them…i don't like deceptions or facades in general. Semi rant over.
Got an email from a dude in Australia who came across my recent project where I wrote an utility to interface with a PBX system we have/had at the office. We wanted to see if it was available and how much it cost. That was sorta cool. Long story short, I mailed him a copy for free.
Bought Deus Ex and Assassins Creed Brotherhood for Xbox 360 and while I've done the all bad thing of buying two games at the same time and not finishing one before starting the other - its ok because I've not really spent good time with either of them. Assisins Creed has seen some good action but not enough. Thats kinda good I suppose, means i have better things to do like training. Still I don't drink. I've put down countless offers to go for a drink and I'm so over caring about it now - its so so good. Besides I don't like drinking with the masses anyway.. Hopefully I've become socially detached and they'll stop asking me.(smiley face. Just a odd thought… I don't know anyone else who is in the Rolling Stones other than Mick Jagger and Kieth something…and their are 5 members in that band. Weird and random I know but yeah.
I've been recycling. Thats good. I've been tracking my sleeping time too. I'm looking to get 7-8 hours of sleep hours a day. thats not exactly happening right now but I've averaged about 6-7hours which is on the right track. Got this app on the iPhone that I turn on and put under my pillow before I got to bed and it tells me how much and what kind of sleep Im getting. I love gadgets. Yeah so theres that too.
Nothing special out at the movies recently. In fact I've not ventured that far in about two weeks or so. Bought a DVD box set of Pride and Prejudice, Atonement and Sense and Sensibility and something else I can't remember but I've not watched them either. Thats pretty much one my todo list this week i think. I have a thing for Kiera Knightly right now.
I also got the two most recent James Bond movies and watched the socks off them. I love everything james bond or Jason Bourney. Spy flicks - I love them.
Thats about it from me right now.
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