Friendly conversation XXXIII

NH and I decide to get our act together and pay off our credit cards, so we don´t go to jail. First mission is to find a branch of our bank that´s close to work.

NH: So, did you get any useful advice?
T: Nah, they just mentioned that branch down the road.
NH: Oh, the Islamic one?
T: Ja, but I don´t know if we´ll be able to pay our bills with them.
NH: I think they only speak Islamic there.

Three good things that happened this week

1. I am a finalist in the SA Blog Awards Best Overseas Blog category. Don´t foget: voting closes on March 31. 

2. I am going on a press junket to Cyprus next month. Cross fingers my schengen visa comes through in time. 

3. I am going to see Coldplay in Abu Dhabi tomorrow with NH (thanks!). Given Kim´s comment on my chakra,
I´m anticipating that listening to ´Yellow´ will boost my will power re. not smoking.

Healthy challenge, day XV

Another day, another yoga class. On our way home this evening, NH was having an extended deliberation about whether to go to a bar opening or not. Pros: free booze,  nothing else to do. Cons: deadline tomorrow, little chance of an early night. One thing I enjoy about my healthy regime is the freedom of not having to choose, but knowing that going to yoga is the default option. Had my first class with Brian, the main dude at Club Stretch, which was a little hectic, because he is much more pacey than the other instructors. But hey, I´m stil alive and typing…

Encouragement of the day: A colleague enumerating a long list of reasons why it´s good I´ve quit smoking. For example: I don´t have to waste any more time going to the shop to buy cigarettes.
Yoga phrase of the day: Move your brain to the back of your skull.  
Physical ailment of the day: The “yawning subject”. According to Kim, this is when you want to yawn, but
it´s difficult. Does anyone else ever experience this phenomenon, or is it just my family?

Healthy challenge, day VII

I am beginning to understand why I have never felt the need to exercise before. It´s just such a boring thing to do. And I abhor boring.

Exercising is not at all like going out and having a few drinks with you mates, and then someone says something funny, and then someone else makes a fool of themselves (hopefully not you, but it easily could be), and then you can have fun trying to piece it all together over a bloody mary or two the next morning. 

Exercise is more like you go to the yoga studio, by yourself (even if you have a friend there, it´s not like they can exercise for you, more´s the pity), and then you sweat a lot and stretch your body into weird shapes and feel really tired, and then you get a fabulous endorphin rush, but there´s not really much point because then you come home, write a blog post, and have to go to bed, directly, so that you aren´t a zombie the next day. 

And you can´t even have a cigarette to protest against the futility of it all!

Temptation of the day: NH going straight from work to the local to have a pint and watch the football. To his credit, he didn´t invite me. To my credit, I didn´t invite myself.
Yoga phrase of the day: “Lock your knees.”
Theft of the day: Towel from the yoga studio, inadvertantly. But I´ll have to take responsibility for not returning it, which is my cunning plan of inaction.