A Lot Can Happen In 7 Days

Ok, let’s see what’s been happening this week?

Well, I was on retreat last weekend. My annual Tai Chi weekend at Braziers Park. All went by fairly quickly and quietly (for me, anyway), and I’m happy to say they made a real effort with the food this year.

When I got back I put my car in for repair. Took them 3 days (I had to get the train in to work Friday which sucked ass) and cost me £400, but they did a good job and I was quite pleased. I say was coz the rear bumper is scratched again already! What the hell, man?

Also had some life coaching this week. It was… interesting. Not gonna go into too much detail on that as it was for my benefit only, and if I’m honest I wouldn’t know how to define it anyway. Suffice it to say it gave me a few things to think about, and it was as helpful in ruling out what I don’t want to do as it was in helping me decide what I do.

Thursday, one of my pics got ‘explored’ on Flickr.

It garnered me loads of views, 18 favourites, and even a few new followers. Pretty satisying considering the day before I took it my views, comments, and favourites for that day were a big fat zero! And I only went out with my camera because I was bored and had been stuck in the house all day. Just goes to show, eh?

Other than all that I’ve just been online, monkeying around. Came across some choice stuff on Found Magazine including this dude, the A1 prom magnet of all time!

Prom Magnet

And I’ve been listening to what I affectionately refer to as ‘hillbilly radio’ from WMMT 88.7 in the Appalachian Mountains in America. It gives me a chuckle to hear traffic reports from some small town I’ve never heard of. It’s a whole other world. And my favourite quote so far?

“When you’re fat your chances ain’t too good. But when you’re fat and ugly you’re in trouble.”

Now ain’t that the truth! ..lol..

No developments on the big trip front yet. Hope to make some inroads this week. Going to have to call Canada, as they obviously aren’t going to respond to my e-mail. Then once I get paid I can start booking flights.

Also, hand my notice in at work in a week’s time. Can’t wait to do that. I’ve had it up to here (holds hand way above his head) with watching TV for a living!

30 Days of Kiki : day 11

day 11- another picture of you and your friends

A quickie post here, as I’m off out for the day.

Me and the gang from Mountain River Tai Chi (which is who I’m off to see now) at our yearly retreat playing with sticks. In case you’re wondering, I’m 2nd from the left.

30 Days of Kiki : day 5

day 5- a picture of somewhere you’ve been to

Turns out, looking at it, that I’ve been to quite a few places, so this was a tough one to decide on. Eventually though I picked two places; one near, and one far.

This is from last year, when I went to Hong Kong to study Tai Chi. A great week, a fascinating city, and an outstanding experience. The plane ride there was a long one, 12 hours, but it was worth it. I came back enriched.

This is the Samye Ling Tibetan Buddhist Centre in Scotland. A unexpected treasure I went to Christmas before last. Very peacful, quite unusual, and they serve a wicked dahl. If you get a chance I thoroughly recommend it.

Week 23: In which our hero falls apart (physically, at least)

Man, what week. I’m exhausted! It started with a couple of night shifts (always fun) and ended with a long weekend Tai Chi retreat (which really is always fun, but also very tiring). Along the way I had a filling fall out, my right leg decided it was no longer going to work properly – giving out whenever I tried to put a lot of weight in it suddenly, I got bit on the head by some unknown insect that stayed icky for days, and my hay fever finally kicked in for the year with a vengeance. I don’t mind admitting to you, I’m pooped!

We had our regular yearly retreat at Braziers Park, a residential college and experimental community deep in the Oxfordshire countryside, where beasts run free, the lawns are comfy, and the (veggie) food is excellent. Actually, you hear some of the descriptions people give of it, and read their own literature, and it sounds far more hippy dippy than it actually is. In fact it’s quite a well run retreat centre, and an absolute pleasure to visit each year. The staff, both permanent and visiting, are always a lovely smiley bunch of people, you get left to your own devices pretty much, and there’s always a big stack of wood for the bonfire when you need it. What more could you want?

There’s also invariably a cute girl or two to be appreciated all weekend, and this year was no exception. And as always, it never fails to bring home to me the fact that I’d quite like someone to share the old trials and tribulations with. But this year, thanks to my soberness (still haven’t touched a drop, and this will be the last time I mention the not drinking thing I promise), I have had the chance for some reflection. Quite simply, if I want to meet the kind of girls they get volunteering at Braziers Park, I need to go the kind of places those girls are known to congregate. Obvious I know, but never the less, a fact I obviously needed driven home. So I’m on the look out for opportunities – volunteering opportunities I suppose – to go places and do stuff that will be give me the chance to meet my future would-be missus. I’ve got a few ideas, but I could always do with more.

And I really need to go for it too. Faint heart ne’er won fair lady, and no one ever got lucky humming and harring about the place and being a candy ass about the whole thing (I’m sure Shakespeare could have put it better, but not any truer mark my words). That’s how I was, but no more. It’s time for a new me.

NB: Ate my first egg for 2 years while I was away too. The chickens were very well looked after so I didn’t think I’d be accruing any bad karma by having one (or two). Tasted great too! You can always tell quality from the rubbish you get in the shops.

Off work this week just chillin’ with nothing to do. Experimenting with cutting out nightshades from my diet and hope to do a wee bit of writing. Also plan on doing a few recipes while I have the chance. Will report on all that in seven days time. Til then, keep on grinnin’.

Week 17: Fun, finance and freebies

An odd week this week, reflective of my lightly confused state of mind at the moment. I really don’t know where to start, so before I do, here’s a picture of Buddha for you to enjoy.

Now, let’s start with the fun. I went to see Avenue Q on Tuesday night. Got a couple of tickets for the bargain price of £45 from the Tkts Booth in Leicester Square. Good seats too: Stalls, row H, just off centre.

Now this is only my second musical, after going to see Legally Blonde for my birthday, but it didn’t disappoint. The part human/part puppet cast worked well – even though the actors were just walking around with the puppets on their hands, not trying to hide or anything, so you spent as much time looking at them as at the puppets – and the songs were good – though I couldn’t sing you one if I tried, unlike when I left legally Blonde – so over all it was well worth going to see, but there was one or two sticking points for me.

Personally I would have liked to have seen them work the puppets a little bit more. Often they’d be singing their heads off, doing all sorts of expressive head movements themselves, but just opening and closing the mouthes of the puppets, not really putting much life into the performance at all. What’s the point of having puppets if you’re not going to use them to their full potential? That said, the guy with the beard who played Trekkie Monster and one of the Bad Idea Bears really put his back into it, and gave us some of the funniest bits of the whole show, so hats off to him for that.

Also, and this is just weird, there was a Chinese character in the show (a person, not a puppet) played by some woman who very obviously wasn’t Chinese. Every time she was on stage I kept thinking “Couldn’t they find a Chinese woman to play that part? Are there no singing Chinese actors in London these days?” And who knows, maybe there aren’t; but I doubt it. In fact I bet you a fiver I could find one inside of a week.

I have an announcement to make. I am now officially old! Why? Because I’ve joined the pension scheme at work. Now I know what some of you are thinking, big whup, but for me it’s symbolic of something; a fundamental alteration of intent. By signing up I’ve finally admitted that maybe I’m not going to make it big in Hollywood, or invent something amazing, or just plain old win the Lotto (which I’ve bought tickets for twice this week). I’ve chosen to “not put my eggs in one basket” as the adviser said, but to hedge my bets, in my opinion, on the side of ‘failure’.

I know, I know, I’m being overly dramatic, but there is a real point here. I want to stop worrying about the future, not give in to those fears and start planning for it. After all, tomorrow never comes, there is only the now, so what am I planning for?

And I’ll tell you what else, I don’t like how that money, once it’s paid in, is gone for good. I won’t see any return on it until I retire. I can’t get it back at any point, it’s in there for life. This seems wrong to me. It’s my money, it’s not spent, if I want it back I should get it back, shouldn’t I? I’m telling you man, pensions, like insurance, is just one big racket. But hopefully I’ll have the last laugh. They say when I retire they’ll work out from what I’ve put in how much I’ll get each year for the rest of my life, based on how long they think I’ll live. What they don’t realise is, if i keep on with the Tai Chi, I’m going to live a hell of a lot longer than they think.

Still, I shouldn’t complain financially speak this week. I’ve enjoyed a shed load of freebies recently. I’ve had free massages from the lovely Sarah (Hi Sarah! *wave*) which were very relaxing, got a free physio check up (detailed previously) which helped me figure out what’s wrong with my legs/back, and I even got a free hair cut the other day (which included a wash, dry, and go in the vibrating chair) so over all I’m a bit ahead of the game… which is nice. However, we must remember: TANSTAAFL – There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. Life has a way of balancing out, whether we like it or not. I just hope these were returns on previous ‘investments’, and not something I’ll have to pay for later.

TTFN

Report A

No drinking – Failed. Lasted a total of 5 days. Will cut down a bit from now on, but I ain’t gonna become a monk!

Daily exercise – Qualified success. Did 6 days out of 7, including a good 2-3 hour session today. Will continue as much as I can.

Something new – Done. Travelled first class (see below). Not overly impressed.

Other than that, I found focus in what I’m doing, and am somewhat at peace with what the future holds. It might get a bit random, but it’s all good practice.

Structure, and something new

So I’ve been thinking…

This blog thing needs some kind of structure. I don’t want it to be just a load of ramblings. It needs a framework, or a timescale, something to keep it moving along and keep it interesting (if you know the whole Julie & Julia thing you’ll know what I mean). So for starters I’m going to stick with the weekly report. Maybe not in the format I did yesterday, but at least a summation of what I’ve accomplished that week, so I know where I’m at. And for the moment I’m going to set myself 2 tasks;

1. To do something new every week (of a reasonable standard, not just take 2 sugars in my tea instead of 1)

2. To create a new recipe every week (did I mention I’m quite into my cooking)

So there it is, my first two weekly tasks. I may add or subtract as I go along, I don’t know yet. Or I may abandon the idea in favour of a 1 year mission starting January 1st. You never know. Could even be a bit of both.

ps. Today I’ve emulated this garlic and cucumber dish I had in Hong Kong recently (did I mention I was in Hong Kong the other week learning some Tai Chi – not something I usually do, let me assure you, and probably part of the reason I want to do more with myself now), and I’ve decided this is going to be a week of Tai Chi (practicing what I learnt in Hong Kong). Let’s see how it goes.