Monthly Archives: July 2014

2014-07-27 · 22:01

It’s Life Gym But Not as We Know It

Five weeks ago I posted here about joining a gym. I’m still going! Does that count as an achievement? Maybe. If I’d made going to the gym a New Year’s Resolution I’d be into February. The common wisdom is that that is unusual.

I actually like going to the gym. Previously I exercised using wii fit. Despite the wii being in my flat, obviously, I never quite felt like exercising. There was no time before work and I was tired after work. The gym is better exercise yet doing that after work feels easier. This is probably because when you get home you want to slump.

The annoying thing about the gym is the music. Sometimes there is multiple competing music. The gym is open plan so when there is a class it’s music, or in my view noise, plays on top of the general music. Meanwhile I’m trying to listen to my own music.

Exercising with music makes it easier. I find it gives you something to aim for. When the current treadmill level gets too difficult I’ll try and wait to the end of the song to reduce it.

The music is my only real gripe about the gym. It does seem just a tad strange to have it when most everyone has MP3 players or phones.

What’s on my gym playlist?

Okay I’ll tell you.

Don’t judge me.

Please.

I actually have three playlists, of different lengths, because sometimes you only feel like exercising for a short time. This is my long playlist…

Star Trek: The Next Generation – Main Title – (Without voice-over and the tune is a little different)
Go the Distance – Emma Blackery
Dancing in the Rain – Ruth Lorenzo
Would You Be Happier? – The Corrs
Hunter of Stars – Sebalter
Bring it All Back – S Club 7
Tick – Tock – Mariya Yaremchuk
Hard Rock Hallelujah – Lordi
Calm After the Storm – The Common Linnets
Two in A Million – S Club 7
99 Red Balloons – Nena
Children of the Universe – Molly
Everybody Wants Ya – S Club 7
Opa – Giorgos Alkaios & Friends
Fear the Future – Emma Blackery
Shine – Tolmachevy Sisters
No More Cry – The Corrs
Satellite – Lena
I Quit – Hepburn
Star Trek: The Next Generation – End Credits

Yeah… Star Trek, Eurovision, S Club… well there you go….

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Tagged as 99 Red Balloons, Bring it all back, Calm After the Storm, Children of the Universe, Dancing in the Rain, Emma Blackery, Everybody Wants Ya, Fear the Future, Giorgos Alkaios & Friends, Go the Distance, gym, Hard Rock Hallelujah, Hepburn, Hunter of Stars, I Quit, Lena, Lordi, Mariya Yaremchuk, Molly, Nena, No More Cry, Opa, Ruth Lorenzo, S Club 7, Satellite, Sebalter, Shine, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Common Linnets, The Corrs, Tick-tock, Tolmachevy Sisters, Two in A Million, Would You Be Happier?

2014-07-20 · 13:10

I’m Not Sure That’s Such A Good Idea

I have an idea for a blog post – but I’m not going to tell you what it is. I had this idea sometime ago. I never got as far as putting fingers to keyboard because I decided it was a bad idea.

I’m not going to even give you a hint. I have a degree of anonymity here but only a degree. As a writer we can use real life experiences to inform our fiction. Of course you don’t want to annoy a friend or alienate a member of the family by basing a character on them.

Let’s say you’re using your sister as a base for a character. She might be able to see that the evil overlord with his five mile long magnifying glass – which will blow up buildings – is actually based on her killing ants in the garden.

This is a safe example for me as I don’t have a sister.

Actually the idea I was going to write wasn’t fictional. It was based on something funny that happened. What I wanted to say was also complimentary. At least I thought it was.

Compliments, and insults for that matter, can be tricky. I once read a book review that was negative because the book was too much like Star Trek. For me that’s all the more reason to read it.

Now for a awkwardly segue. What do you do if a friend shows you a drawing and asks for your opinion. You look at it and you’ve not sure what it is. You think it might be an elephant. Do you say ‘Nice elephant’? They might say ‘Its an aeroplane.’ If you say ‘What is it?’ – then it might cause offense.

The last thing I want is to case offense. I feel the internet gives us this opportunity. We can write something in the comment box, for instance, and while reading it over we can deiced that saying that might not be the best thing. Some people don’t seem able to do this.

Maybe we should have intelligent error messages

*** You are 27 are you sure you want people to know you’ve been looking at My Little Pony. ***

It was for a story damn it!

So I will leave the funny story. At least until I can figure out how to make enough changes so its completely unrecognisable as the original story.

Hell it probably wasn’t that funny anyway.

_____

You
How did that elephant thing fit with the rest of the post?

Me
Look over there. What in the world can that be?

You
(Turns around)
What where? I don’t see anything.

**Scampering feet, scream, splosh**

The Flagpoll

Going to bed on time, or at a reasonable hour, is almost impossible. With the internet, books, and that strange mark on the ceiling, anything is more interesting than sleeping.

As I stay up and the minutes tick by I know I’ll regret it in the morning. Yet, somehow, my fingers won’t stop clicking on just one more video – or I end up reading a wiki article on – well anything.

What I want is a feeling that the day is done. Something that I do that signifies the end. I have a vague feeling in the back of my mind that kids TV shows used to do that. The characters would all go back into their homes, or boxes, or whatever – the sun would set and the narrator would say something that concluded the episode.

When playing a Mario game you know you’ve reached the end because of the flag pole. Taking the flag down Mario runs to the next level (day) and if he’s lucky he gets an extra life.

I sometimes set an alarm at the end of the day, usually it’s TNGs closing credits theme, but like the snooze button I just ignore it. I carry on knowing I’ll regret staying up, I tell myself things will be better tonight, and then do it all again.

***

On a different note Emma Blackery is collecting money for charity. She’s already slashed her target but its for a good cause, several actually, so if you have a few spare pounds please donate. Click here.

The Enemy

I want to write something here but I don’t know what. I believe I’ve written here nearly every week since the beginning of the year. If not I can always retcon that particular resolution to be an average over the year instead. Moving the goal posts is always an option.

Today has been an okay day. This evening has been one of those times when nothing has felt worth doing. I have moments of depression. I don’t know if its diagnosable as a thing but I do find myself flip-flopping between being most unhappy to jump around happy. Which is really strange.

Depression is not something that can be quantified. It can be felt even when there is nothing wrong. In the grand scheme of things there is nothing wrong. I have enough money, I have great parents, and friends. However I think it is important to realise that one is ‘allowed’ to feel bad – others may be in a worse predicament but that has no bearing on one’s own happiness.

When even the merry sounds of Mario Kart can’t cheer you up there isn’t much hope. There is something else something that’s been bothering me. I know this amounts to those vague Facebook posts that everyone hates but I’ll just say: “I’m Sorry.”

And I’ll leave you with these wise words.

***

Thinking about what you can’t control only wastes energy, and creates its own enemy.

Lieutenant Worf – TNG Coming of Age.

That was from Season 1 of TNG – proving that even amongst something bad there is good to be found.

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