Day Twenty Nine : Working

Date :  Friday 29th January 2014

Time : 18.40

Location : Wyatt International, Birmingham

Is that the actual time?

 



Twenty to seven. Twenty to actual seven. That is no time to still be at work!

Today was a busy day. It always is before you have a couple of days off. So much to do, not enough time!

By this time my colleagues had all departed; I was all alone! There's no feeling quite like putting your "Out of Office" message on though! Bliss.

I've driven back to my mums tonight, for a very exciting secret weekend - blogs to follow! The drive home was awful, Birmingham to London isn't the most exciting of drives at the best of times, and this evenings lashing rain didn't help! I like to drive really slowly, because it doesn't burn as much petrol - what a cheapo! So a 1 hour 45 minute journey for normal people, takes me 2 and a half hours!

Tonight, I'm at home watching Celebrity Big Brother. I watched the first episode, nothing in between, now I'm watching the final.

I like that we can see the fireworks from my mums flat, as the Big Brother house is down the road! You can't beat a good firework session!

Ollie Locke and Sam Faiers - who knew? Wouldn't it be funny to see eachother in their rival programs!

Anyway - I won't be blogging until Monday - I'll have a catchup then! :)

Lesson of the day : Slow and steady wins the race!

Day Twenty Eight : MEGAFAIL.

Date :  Tuesday 28th January 2014

Time : 15.43

Location : Wyatt International, Birmingham

Creme Egg Doughnuts

I came across this today. Just take a look at that. As if Creme Egg's (my favourite chocolate) weren't good enough - there is an actual recipe to stick a doughnut 'round it! 

Honesty is an important trait in life, and I can sit here and say, honestly, that if someone turned up at my flat with a plate full of these, my diet would be out the door! 

I've not had any chocolate all year, but there's only so much a Creme Egg lover can take! 

Maybe if I pretend this is healthy, it just will be?! Or am I allowed a treat once in a while?! I don't think that's how dieting works, is it? 

But just look at them! Doughnut Creme Eggs. 

NO. MUST. STOP. LOOKING. 

The recipe is here for anyone who wants to try it ... let me know how they are! 

ALSO I must confess. I megafailed yesterday. I didn't even notice! I wrongfully called yesterday Day Twenty Eight, when of course, that is today! 

I apologise to this poor attention to detail. I can't promise it wont happen again! 

Lesson of the day - Everyone's allowed a treat once in a while, right?

BONUS - IT'S STILL JANUARY. WHY ARE CREME EGGS ON SALE SO EARLY!! 

Day Twenty Seven : Pointless

Date :  Monday 27th January 2014

Time : 20.08

Location : Millennium Apartments, Birmingham

Pointless

"What. More TV? But you spoke about TV yesterday!"

I know I know. But Pointless is more than TV. It's a way of life. (*Disclaimer* - I have no idea what I'm talking about.)

A typical evening for me goes like this...

17.30 - Finish work

18.00 - Get home from work

18.15 - Go to the gym / chill at home

19.30 - Start cooking dinner.

20.00 - Eat dinner / watch Pointless.... (the rest isn't important!)

Pointless, for anyone who doesn't know, is a BBC quiz where the object of the game is to find the most obscure answer from a given category. Hosted by Alexander Armstrong, he and his sidekick Richard Osman have amazing chemistry, bouncing off eachother like a kid on a trampoline. 

It's just brilliant entertainment each category is put to 100 people before the show, with the most obscure answers getting the fewest points. 

Hannah and I like to play along at home, we both have our strengths, mine football, sports in general, geography and music. And hers, fashion, geography too and (some) music. Though to be honest, what we find more fun is guessing how low each answer is going to get! We've gotten pretty darn good! 

As of yet, Arsenal's 2003/04 Invincibles season hasn't come up as a category, but when it does, I'll do pretty well! 

I've always wanted to go on a TV quiz show. It looks so easy (and is ...... if you know the answer!). 

Once, we both had phone auditions for The Million Pound Drop, which would have been amazing. We had a quiz on the phone, I got 7/10. They didn't call us back. I just find it infuriating to watch when I know the answer, but the people on TV don't. 

Being on a TV quiz show is absolutely on my bucketlist! 

Oh, something else I was thinking today on my walk into work. I am only working a 3 day week this week (jealous much?). So on my walk to work, I was thinking .....

"Is today still Monday, or should I class it as Wednesday?"

I wasn't too sure how to think it. I could think Monday today. Tomorrow could be Wednesday and (actual) Wednesday could be Friday. That was I'd still finish the week on Friday. I then thought that if I class today as Wednesday, the week may seem shorter!

So yeah. Monday today. Wednesday tomorrow. Friday on Wednesday. Happy days. This weeks gonna fly by! 

Lesson of the day : Watch Pointless. It's brilliant. 

TWENTY EIGHT DAYS. WOAH. 

Day Twenty Six : Netflixing

Date :  Sunday 26th January 2014

Time : 17.46

Location : Millennium Apartments, Birmingham

Netflixing

This weekend has consisted of  :

- Football

- Gym

- Xbox

- Netflix. 

Today, especially, I have done a bit of Netflix binging. I believe the term is 'Netflixing'. Where you get really hooked on a TV programme on Netflix. 

I've suffered in the past, and now, I feel like I'm coming down with a mild case.  Long before I am writing this, I binged on the entire Netflix offering of The Office (US).145 episodes, to be exact. It was just so good, I was obsessed.

Today, I was keen for a spot of Netflixing. So looked through my recommended list. On it, I found 2 films, and a TV series that caught my eye. 

Would You Rather, a 2012 horror / thriller (that I'd never heard of) looked OK. It was pretty short so I thought I'd give it a go. It seemed fairly low budget, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It followed the typical student game of 'Would you rather', where you are pitted two awful scenarios, and have to decide which you would rather do. 

In this film, however, it was a crazy millionaire who offered participants of the 'game' the option of causing intense physical pain to the players peers. 

It wasn't a bad film .... It wasn't brilliant, but not bad! Check it out. 3/5.

Next up, a film that I've actually wanted to see for a while, but never got round to it. Youth in Revolt is a charming film, with Michael Cera (off of Superbad) and the brilliantly named Portia Doubleday.  

Cera plays your typical American 'high school nerd' who has never had a girlfriend, and is - of course - still a virgin. His 'trailer trash' family spend a week at a holiday camp where he meets and falls in love with Doubleday. When it's time to leave, they plan how they can spend their lives together, which ended with nice boy Cera turning into a rebel (thanks to his uber cool alter ego). 

It's a great film, only about 90 minutes, funny and easy to watch. 4/5.

Finally, I started watching a new series, to replace the 'The Office (US)' shaped void in my life. I've watched about 5 episodes of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and so far it hasn't disappointed - especially for a show I'd never even heard of 7 hours ago!

It's about a group of friends who own an Irish pub in Philly. It's funny, it's silly and its definitely watchable. It's just your typical American Sitcom about this groups trials and tribulations of grown up life. I haven't too much to report on it, but I'll certainly be watching more tonight! 

One final thing. Today I ALSO caught the new Andy Samberg police sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine about the goings-on at a Brooklyn police station. It's on E4 on Thursdays, at 9.30pm (I think) - and after one episode I can tell I'm going to enjoy! 

Wow. My last 2 blogs have been long!

If there's any shows on Netflix you'd like to share leave a comment :) 

Lesson of the day - Just because you haven't heard of something, doesn't mean its not very good! 

Day Twenty Five : Venice

Date :  Saturday 25th January 2014

Time : 11.18

Location : Fleet Street, Birmingham

Birmingham's Canals

OK, so the title's a little misleading, but there is relevance. Allow me to explain. 

This morning, I (badly) played football, and on the long, aching walk home I stumbled over this nice bridge, overlooking one of Birmingham's many canal routes. It reminded me of my time in Venice, which I enjoyed almost a year ago to this very day. 

It's a well publicised fact that England's second city boasts more canals then Venice - though I'm sure anyone that's lucky enough to have visited both will agree the route quality, surroundings and climate are fairly incomparable. 

And it was actually in Venice, 364 days ago, that I wanted to start a blog. Yup. It's taken me nearly a year to start. That's dreadful. It's easier now that I have a challenge that I've set myself, whereas in Venice I just saw a bunch of things that I was interested in / made me laugh that I wanted to talk about. 

I ended up taking loads of pictures there (something I didn't ever really do), but didn't have the attitude to blog. I will now share with you some of those moments from northern Italy. 

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Hannah had amazingly surprised me with this trip for Christmas, it was amazing. Inside a small box she brought green, white and red crepe paper and organised into the Italian flag, with a message saying we're off to Venice. What a present. 

The flight was standard RyanAir, no leg room, rattley compartments and awful food. I did find it quite funny that they seemed to ridicule themselves in their in-flight magazine. Pages were laden with jokes like -

"There's no extra cost to turn the page"

"Free printed receipt with every purchase"

"Great for scoffing if you've been separated from your friend!"

For the record. I won't be flying RyanAir again. Too cramped and too stressful!

Then we arrived in Venice. It was January. It was cold. 

When the thought of Venice first sprung to mind, I thought lovely canals, amazing architecture, gondola's by the dozen. 

What I actually found when we were there, was - 

- Graffiti-filled walls

- Penis shaped pasta on sale in every shop

- Pigeons flapping ON people

- A furniture shop called 'Fart' (once a child, always a child) 

There was one thing that startled me about Venice, and I still can't quite believe this, I actually had to go back through my pictures to ensure that my facts were correct - they are. I will list 3 items, and in your head, when reading this, you should think in your head. 

"I think that, costs €XXX"

Here goes. 

A bottle of vodka. 

A standard deck of Uno cards

An actual stabbers knife

OK ...

Ready ....

Vodka - €7.50

Uno - €19.00 - REALLY!

Stabbers knife - €10

Just to put that in perspective, my Big Mac meal (which I attempt to have in every country I visit) cost €9. 

Is Uno really expensive? Or are weapons and alcohol just dirt cheap? What is wrong with the world! 

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I hope everyone enjoyed my memoirs from Venice. Think I might do a bit of Netflixing tomorrow! So you can look forward to some recommendations! 

Lesson of the day - Always pull through with plans - even if they are 364 days late!

BONUS PICTURE 

OK so maybe this is cheating a bit, but I make up the rules, and I really wanted to share this amazing picture which I took on my phone (really) during the flight to Venice.

Date :  Saturday 26th January 2013

Time : 11.23

Location : The Alps, France (maybe)

Day Twenty Four : FOOD.

Date :  Friday 24th January 2014

Time : 17.48

Location : Millennium Apartments, Birmingham

Next few nights dinners, SORTED. 

It seems that, inadvertently, what I've gone and done is created a food blog! This wasn't really the idea! 

The next few days / nights I am alone, as my jet setting girlfriend is now in Prague (Berlin last week, Dublin next). The one benefit of this (other than starfishing, of course) is that I get to eat what I want, when I want, and I don't have a constant devil on my shoulder begging me for Domino's (She'll kill me for that - sorry Hannah!!)

So what did I buy for my numerous feasts? I have developed some meals which I will gladly explain. 

Chicken Caesar Salad (without the caesar dressing, with low fat balsamic vinegar). I cook this with the breaded chicken - this is a cool meal because its quick, easy, tasty AND its enough for 2 meals! 

Next up, chicken breast with vegetables and boiled potatoes. Again, I have 2 chicken breasts so this is good for 2 meals. I like to cook the chicken in a Maggi back, which - if you don't know - is a plastic bag you cook chicken in, and you fill it with herbs and spices. Yum. The boiled potatoes I like to cook with mint and basil. It only gives of a subtle flavour, but it just adds a little bit! 

Finally, chicken stir fry. So good - and again, it's enough for 2 meals! I'm really excited to try a different sauce, normally I get a lemon oriental sauce, tonight I picked up a Thai inspired one, which sounds delish! 

Food. It's just so good! 

I think caesar salad tonight as its quick! 

Oh. Did I mention. ITS FRIDAY! 

Lesson of the day : Not ALL healthy food tastes bad! Some of it's even quite nice! 

ALSO - I have just peaked at 187 followers on my Twitter - so if you like random chat, funny stuff and some lots of football chat (really selling it, aren't I!) come check me out :) 

  

Day Twenty Three : Graduation

Date : Thursday 23rd January 2014

Time : 17.54

Location : Symphony Hall, Birmingham

Yup.

OK so 4 and a half years after walking through the doors of Birmingham City University - 24th September 2009 - graduation day is almost here. 

I actually finished my four year degree over half a year ago, but for some reason my University decides that every year, it'll have its graduation ceremony in February - God knows why! 

Anyway. If I'm being brutally honest, I'm not too bothered about graduation. It's long, no doubt boring, I have to waste a days holiday from work, I don't get to sit with anyone I want to, I have to spend my hard earned money hiring a gown (£46 for a day). The list goes on. Plus the fact I didn't even get the grade I want (missed it by 1.5%). 

BUT. 

I understand it's a rite of passage. You know. Standing there with my scroll, throwing my cap in the air (which I thought was a joke - turns out people actually do that!). Annoyingly, I am only allocated two tickets. Two measly tickets. I have a big family, who on earth am I supposed to choose! Well, that decision was made a little easier with Sister D moved off to The Big Apple, so my decision was pretty much made for me. 

Mum and Sister J are getting the call up. And they will get to see their baby brother / son (finally) graduate - the first one in our immediate family, I might add. 

But where has it left me. Yes, I'm going to have my degree, endless memories and my lovely girlfriend who I met in class. But now what. Let's take a look. 

• I am in debt up to my eyeballs
• I already have a job (who to this date, haven't asked me what grade I got) 

Though on the plus side - I am lucky enough to have a job in a field I actually want to work in - so I suppose with that being said, it was all worth it! 

Ask me again when I have to start repaying my Student Loan in March. Death. 

Lesson of the day - Work hard, play hard (but work a bit more) 

Uni Lesson - DON'T LEAVE EVERYTHING TO THE LAST MINUTE!

Currently listening to - Foster The People

Day Twenty Two : Say What You See?

Date : Wednesday 22nd January 2014

Time : 19.36

Location : Millennium Apartments Car Park, Birmingham

Say what you see?

You always hear of people seeing faces in things. Elvis in butter, Jesus in toast, whatever it is. 

Every time I take my car anywhere (which isn't too often) I have to leave the car park of my apartments, to see this, and every time I see it, I say the same thing. 

"That looks like a little girl, with pig-tails, wearing a dress, riding broomstick" 

(Quite niche I know - but when I see something, I stick to it.)

I've preached this to my girlfriend, who agree's, but I'm curious to know if anyone else see's it! 

Normally I'm quite bad with things like this. Whenever I think I've spotted a celebrity doppelganger, I'm left shot down and embarrassed! But this I truly believe it. That IS a girl, with pig-tails, wearing a dress riding a broomstick!  

Animals in clouds is a thing, too! For a fix of 'faces in things' check out the amazing "Faces in Things" Twitter accounts - decent for some light entertainment! 

Does anyone else see it? Let me know what you 'see in things'? 

Lesson of the day - Keep an open mind, and think outside the box! 

Day Twenty One : Dessert...

Date : Tuesday 21st January 2014

Time : 20.31

Location : Millennium Apartments, Birmingham

Has this EVER happened?!

I often have 'mind blown' moments. You know, when something happens that you just can't believe. 

I was actually going to cheat today, and use a screenshot of an app I've been using, but that has been shelved for another day. 

I've literally just (currently 20.36) finished eating my dinner. For dessert I had a vanilla yogurt (which I annoyingly thought was quite good for me - until I realised it was really high in sugar - fail). But take a look at that picture. 

There's nothing I like more than getting the seal of yogurt on top of the foil to lick off. Lifes little things, hey? But that was today's 'mind blown' moment. The lid pealed off so perfectly, that my standard 'lickage' was left behind. 

I didn't know what to think / do. It was a confusing moment. 

I should point out that it tasted so good! 

Activia something. 

They con you by telling you it's 0% fat so you don't look at the sugar intake. Can you tell they didn't sponsor this post?! 

Anyway, tomorrow is HUMP DAY. That's exciting, right? 

Lesson of the day : Enjoy lifes little things, you'll miss them when they don't come (damn you Activia, for my dodgy yogurt!)

Day Twenty : Selfie

Date : Monday 20th January 2014

Time : 14.54

Location : Wyatt International, Birmingham

Selfie

As far as I recall, this is the first 'selfie' I've ever taken. Pretty good for a first timer, eh? 

Today at work we had an 'ideas party' (apparently you're not allowed to call it a 'brainstorm' anymore). We were all given those party blowers (technical term) and asked to blow anytime we had an idea to contribute. 

For anyone who hasn't blown one of these in a while, you're missing out. Go and get some tomorrow - unleash your inner child!! 

Though that noise. Dear God that noise! If only they had a mute button! 

This Monday wasn't as good as last Monday. I didn't really have much to look forward to, apart from spending an evening with my girlfriend. That's always something to look forward to, I suppose! 

I hit the gym tonight, and for the first time, I feel like I am starting to see results. My arms feel bigger and I feel able to take more weight, which just makes me more motivated to go again! It's a really great feeling - onwards and upwards tomorrow! 

Until next time! 

Lesson of the day - It's OK to unleash your inner child from time to time. 

Bonus thought - I'm really enjoying the photo app I use to edit my pictures. It's called Photo Editor, and its free from the Samsung App Store. 

Day Nineteen : SUNday

Date : Sunday 19th January 2014

Time : 15.40

Location : Millennium Apartments, Birmingham

Birmingham Sun, deceptive? 

Sunday, already? Surely not?

I live on the 8th floor of a city centre apartment, which has its benefits, and its weaknesses. 

Benefits - Great location, nice place to live and has nice (ish) views. 

Weaknesses - Noisy, expensive and is always cold (the flat is lined with windows all the way round). 

It's the final point there that I'd like to elaborate on. This morning, we woke up to Birmingham's sun peering through the blinds. What a pleasant wake-up call, I thought as I basked in the Winter sun! The flat was abnormally warm, I wondered whether I had accidentally got a flight to some exotic destination in my sleep ... Or I was dreaming! 

Of course, neither were true, it's just the sun and my flat, toying with my emotions. Being so high up and maintaining heat so well thanks to all the windows, I was mislead into believing it was nice and warm out; so went outside in a shirt and summer jacket. 

My flat, and the sun lied to me. It was cold, so very cold. 

Hannah and I went to Austin Reed for me to get measured for my sisters wedding suits and promptly decided it was too cold to function any more, so went home! Unsuccessful day. 

Tonight, we're seeing The Wolf of Wall Street, which we're both really excited about as we've heard great things. I'm invoking the 'wearing jogging bottoms outside the house' rule tonight, as the film is 3 hours long! 

Lesson of the day - To know that weather is not always as it seems.

Bonus Lesson - Always be comfortable at the cinema (especially if the film is 3 hours long!)

Day Eighteen : Confusion and Embarrassment...

Date : Saturday 18th January 2014

Time : 14.31

Location : Hockley, Birmingham

Tesco Travelator 

Today, Tesco threw me a curveball. Typically, in my day-to-day life, when its something I know, I'm pretty much on auto pilot. I just do things without really thinking. 

The problem I faced today, was when I popped into Tesco to get something for dinner tonight. Typically, the Gladiator's style travelator goes up on the right, and down on the left (as you look at it, standing from the bottom - this is getting confusing!!) 

But today - Tesco had moved the goalposts. Switching the travelator's direction. Were they testing me? If so, I failed. 

Without really looking, I went to step on the downwards travelator to go up. The only thing that saved me was the handrail moving in the wrong direction! It could have ended a lot more embarrassingly. 

Why would you do that to me Tesco? After all we go through, all the money I spend in you. Not impressed. 

Lesson of the day - I suppose, don't rest on your laurels, and stay alert at all times. 

Damn you Tesco's!! 

Day Seventeen : Follow The Lights

Date : Friday 17th January 2014

Time : 17.13

Location : Broadway Plaza, Birmingham

My 'Star of Birmingham'

Last Friday I spoke about the best thing about a Friday. That amazing moment where the clock strikes 5, coats go on and exodus ensues. 

Fast forward (a week and) a few moments, and I bring you today's picture. 

Those red lights are Birmingham's BT Tower, and hover over my apartment block. They're very much my 'Star of Birmingham' - guiding me home. 

The problem I have, is the distance. I walk to work, it takes me about half an hour, and is about a mile and a half. That's too far for me!! 

As much as I like to get home as quickly as possible, if I haven't got anything in particular to rush for, I tend to just dwardle (which I thought was a word - apparently not!). I like to just plug my music in, and chill! I think I may be a little too laid back!! 

I couldn't possibly drive to work though, firstly, because that's far too lazy! I couldn't forgive myself! And secondly - with the traffic in Birmingham City Centre (especially on a Friday night) - it would probably take me longer! 

But this is my issue, not just with Friday's, with every day! There's a small opening in the concrete jungle, where I can see the holy star, and it just reminds me how much further I have to walk! And let's be honest, its always cold, and it always rains - that's one for another time, I think! 

At least I'm getting good, daily exercise banked! 

Lesson of the day - Stop thinking so lazily! 

Bonus thought - FRIDAY.

Day Sixteen : FRUIT

Date : Thursday 16th January 2014

Time : 11.50

Location :Wyatt International, Birmingham

Good times at work today! 

Just take a look at that fruit basket. It's a thing of beauty, isn't it? 

It got delivered at work today by a local photography company who I suspect is after some business. The good news for me is that most people either

(a) have given up on their new years resolutions

or

(b) prefer the cream cakes and chocolate on offer for a colleagues birthday. 

Either way, there was only one winner here. I think today, I actually had 5 pieces of fruit, quite possibly for the first time ever! 

I actually forgot how nice some fruit is! Satsuma's. Who knew they were so nice and juicy!  I must point out - I was slightly disappointed with the plum and apple. I thought plums were much nicer! For future reference, avoid. 

Fruits consumed today - 

2 x apple
1 x plum
2 x satsuma's
1 x bunch of grapes

Lesson of the day - Eat more fruit - (most of it) tastes so good! 

Day Fifteen : #Winning

Date : Wednesday 15th January 2014

Time : 16.31

Location :Wyatt International, Birmingham

#Winning

Isn't it funny how one small thing can change a day from being largely forgettable, to memorable. 

Today I got this email, from my insurance company, telling me I'd won a competition (that I didn't recall entering ... I did ... It is legit!). 

£50 fuel voucher. That'll go far, especially in a really long January where I may have some top secret travelling to do. Watch this space. 

The funny thing is, I was about to delete the email. It looked like junk, and I get so much of that (I've become a bit of an expert!). The only thing that stopped me was that the email address was an actual person, rather than 'hello@blabla.com' - Good job I didn't!

Today was pretty unspectacular. I woke up a little bit late so didn't have time to eat breakfast, so found myself snacking all day. Still 'healthy' (low fat, wholegrain crisps) snacks, but not good. I did have a lovely tuna salad for lunch though. I'm really impressed by Tesco's 'Healthy Eating' range at the moment, their lunch salads are so nice - and actually filling! 

This evening? Laundry and tidying the flat. Joy.

Lesson of the day - You can't win anything if you don't enter. I should play the lottery more - in it to win it, right? 

Day Fourteen : Starfishing

Date : Tuesday 14th January 2014

Time : 20.06

Location : Millennium Apartments, Birmingham

Oh bed, why are you so comfy?

OK - I don't know whether I made this up (perhaps someone can inform me) but tonight, I once again get to practice, and hopefully perfect the dying art of 'starfishing'. 

Incase this is something I've completely made up - allow me to explain.

I am spending the next 5 nights alone in the flat, as my jet-setting girlfriend is being whisked away to Berlin for work. 

Although yes, it means many cold, lonely nights where I have to sleep fully clothed to escape the cold, it also means I get to take up as much space as humanly possible (I think I do that anyway though) without any long-term consequences i.e. a knee in the back / quick swipe of the duvet. 

Starfishing. Definition. The art of sleeping like a starfish. 

Lesson of the day - Starfish at any opportunity! I've been looking forward to this all day! 

Day Thirteen : Happy Monday's!

Date : Monday 13th January 2014

Time : 19.58

Location : Villa Park, Birmingham

Access : Granted.

As far as Monday's go - today wasn't so bad! 

We seem to spend every waking moment from 5pm on Friday dreading our Monday alarms - Today I needn't have bothered! 

I could have thought of a hole manner of pictures to use today! For example, today, I designed a new lunch-time snack! It's simple and tastes so good! 

Think of it as a savoury swiss roll, made from ham and cream cheese, rather than the traditional spounge and jam. Wow. Just wow. 

Then I FINALLY won a long-winded dispute with PayPal, saving me £48 (which I didn't owe anyway!). So that was good. #winning. 

All this during my work day!! What could go better?

Well, this evening, I went to Villa Park to see Aston Villa v Arsenal. My girlfriend wasn't too interested, but it was great. The atmosphere was superb, and Arsenal dug out and got the 3 points. 

I'd be lying if I didn't say I had a little bet on the game, which turned into a nice £22 winning. This has been a good day! Dare I say it, the best of the year so far!! 

Lesson of the day - Don't waste the whole weekend dreading Monday's ... They're not TOO bad!! 

Note - I'm in to the teens now and still loving blogging! Thank you for all the positive feedback and comments :) 

Day Twelve : Sunday Lunch

Date : Sunday 12th January 2014

Time : 14.12

Location : Millennium Apartments, Birmingham

Oh Damn! That's good!! 

Sundays. They're made for straight chillin', right? WRONG. 

They're made for cooking lovely food, and going to the gym ... At least, that's what I did today! 

Not your traditional Sunday lunch my any means, but wow. Just wow. This to me is heaven. The steak I only cooked for about 6 minutes (still too long IMO!) and the potatoes I boiled, with mint and basil.

I've never been the best cook .... Though to be honest I've never really cooked full stop! In my old, rotten days it was freezer food all the way. Now it's all about eating fresh. 

I can't lie - I had a bit of a lazy afternoon, slumped in front of the telly watching the football. Until I decided, 'No, I'm a changed man!'

I drafted up my 3rd gym plan, and descended on the basement gym for the 3rd time in 5 days. I've said it before and I'll say it again ... What is happening to me?! 

After today's session I can all but confirm that the dreaded burpee will almost certainly be the death of me!! 

Heck, I feel much better for it now though! (Come back and ask me how I feel tomorrow morning though - It'll be a different story!) 

And just like that ... The weekends gone. Here's to another long week of work, eh? 

Lesson of the day - pushing through the pain barrier always has benefits

Day Eleven : Diversity

Date : Saturday 11th January 2014

Time : 15.13

Location : Colmore Row, Birmingham

Someone's a little nervous?! 

I've had the pleasure of living in Birmingham for nearly 5 years now, and if there's one thing I can't argue with, its that the cultural / social diversity here is like no other! 

Just today, my girlfriend and I went for a walk into town, where we were confronted by some ... interesting characters. If you look closely, some of these folk (the ones with with odd feather hats) have their faces painted either red or black. I thought it was an audition for Ant & Dec's latest ITV smash! 

"What an interesting collection of people", I thought! 

A little to the right, some good ol' morris dancers; sticks, bells 'n all.... I was a little confused! 

What I find incredible about my adopted city, is that no less than 20 seconds from here, a herd of angry goths selected the same park as their meeting point of choice every single Saturday. I just find it amazing that all this goes on in such close proximity. Maybe one day the goths will join in some Morris dancing, and the dancers will rock out to some KORN or Slipknot? 

Maybe not. 

A little later, on one of Birmingham's busiest shopping streets, a band or Caribbean drummers banged effortlessly on their bongos / wooden xylophones. What a noise they made. 

Of course - the low point of the afternoon was yet to come, following the missus around the shops like a lonely sheep. 

At one point she muttered those magic words ... "It's too busy in here, let's go" .... HALLELUJAH!! 

Lesson of the day : Different cultures should be embraced, not hated on!