Things can only get bigger

I guess I'm one of the few English people who doesn't need to lose weight. Sounds like a lie, I know, but trust me, some English people aren't obese (I promise). Since joining a nice gym here, Nautilus, my goal was to put on like a stone, 14 pounds, 6.3 kgs, whatever..... by the time I went home start of June. Unlike my better half, who wants to lose some weight-no matter how much I tell her she has a lovely body and doesn't need to change, it's how you feel inside that counts.

We both love going to the gym and I don't know how close we are to achieving our goals. You never notice when your body changes because you see it every day, but pics can prove a lot. Im by no means close to gaining that extra weight, hopefully my food intake and pumping iron is all helping. We shall see what I look like in the summer, in the meantime I'll keep doing the chin ups, chest presses and all those heavy things, I weigh around 61kg now....if I can get up to 65-68kg, I should at least feel 'bigger'.

Mr. Schwarzenegger watch out......

Long and boring

Ill put some pics with the last 2 posts soon, just a prob coz internet aint working at home at moment so having to do this in a computer lab in my bio department. Yup sad I know

A hopeless romantic

Not your average start to the day-watching Queer Eye for the Straight Guy….some people may laugh. Although these ‘personal improvement’ type programs aren’t really my thing, no not because I don’t need improving, just not overly interesting- it’s not real life, or is it?

But as I watch a bunch of beyond camp men get all flirty with a totally normal bloke with a shit hole of an apartment, they did mention something that caught my eye. Basically this poor bloke had a wife and two kids (yeah, how normal is that) but the point was he never had time just with his misses: this got me thinking.

Not that I don’t spend enough time with Johanna by any means, it wasn’t that. The time we spend together hopefully isn’t ‘just because it happens’ type thing. I mean every second of living with someone can’t possibly be ‘wonderful’ or ‘fantastic’ etc etc. One thing that I probably really suck at (also what this guy on TV had problems with) is making my lady feel special at times, not just the ‘I love you’s’ and hugs etc, but the so called ‘romantic’ side. I guess in this modern world, being cliché isn’t such a great thing, I mean it’s considered more sexist to hold a door for a woman than slam it in their face. ‘Ladies first’ has lost all meaning except when it’s launching yourself out of a plane or something.

What’s a guy to do? I mean I can’t cook some fancy meal, I can’t dance for shit, my words aren’t exactly from Romeo and Juliet, I have no money to buy extravagant gifts, when I have time alone with her, I’m recovering from my work.

Ok, I’m not talking my self up now am I? I guess thinking about someone when they aren’t with you is more than enough, but if you never tell the person, it just seems rude. This guy on the program lived in New York so job done- a horse and cart ride, a dance in Central Park and a lovely picnic…..bastard.

A relationship (as Jim’s legend of a Dad says) ‘isn’t about animal lusting’…..ok, not quite what I’m in to, but although I am a hopeless romantic, I am useless at wooing my lady, I must be doing something right. Christ alive I’m not exactly Brad Pitt but not E.T. either. Hopefully I have something to offer, although difficult at times to see it. Making someone happy doesn’t have to involve money, or physical things; giving off positive vibes definitely gets its rewards. Offering your brain (your thoughts/advice/feelings) to someone to help them through the days, the boredom of life at times, the shit times and good times is unequivocal.

May be we all need to try a little harder to give that special person some attention, be it friends or partners. It’s definitely the small things that make the difference (before you pervs think anything, no not that), saying how you feel, making someone laugh, having fun is all part of it. I can’t offer the World to Johanna but I can try…..

Famous people

As I sit here on my own today (Johanna has gone home), I tend to have some ‘weird’ thoughts. I mean my day hasn’t been any different from the rest, I went to uni, ate lunch, went to the gym, made some notes and watched a film….I mean it’s not overly stimulating.

So back to the thoughts…..one thing on my brain list is where I wanna go next on holiday. It’s tough because I love my boarding so that really is my holiday, I can’t complain that I spend my so called ‘holiday money’ on a weekend of pure fun. Well I’ve got another sesh at Salen to come, so that counts. The whole short cruise thing is so sweet, so probably Riga or Helsinki next on the list….cheap and cheerful. Would love to go up north to Norwegian coast and the works up there too…..we shall see.

Apart from that I was sitting here thinking, again for no particular reason, of all the so called ‘famous’ people I’ve met/seen in the flesh…although not exactly very extensive, and no I don’t count my lovely fiancée as famous (sorry), the list seems somewhat varied.

In no particular order, it’s tricky because your average Joe would probably be blown away if you met David Beckham or some other talent-less fool, but no, sadly I have not met the Gillette sponsored, plastic woman humping intelligent man.

Included on my list is Andy Gray…..a legend both in the football playing world and football commentary, Richard Branson, who we met in a very strange place…..well not really: actually on a Virgin flight, no not just any, coming back from Florida I believe, not just that….but he personally announced on the tannoy system on the plane that Princess Diana had just died….very bizarre.

Ok, who else….well I’ve seen most of the top squash players in the flesh….just imagine if they were golfers/footballer or tennis players for example, the hype would be huge, but because they aren’t mainstream, no one has heard of them….another injustice in this world.

We bumped in to Jimmy Carr in Starbucks in Bournemouth….he looked somewhat pissed!! Especially when you can blatantly see people ‘double taking’ and whispering ‘that’s Jimmy Carr isn’t it?!’

Well only really two more to mention, the first Mrs. Pamela ‘Barbie I hump any bloke with a big nob’ Anderson (or whatever her name is now)….who we met in the Grand Canyon airport after going on a flight over the lovely scenery. There she was body guards and all, you know all 4ft of her….ok not that bad but she could pass as a midget no problem. Very….well ugly (in a sense that she had several centimeters of makeup on) to say the least…..blah blah blah.

I guess meeting Mickey Mouse and friends really doesn’t count……but lastly, the more recent one of the whole bunch as said before is the Biology Nobel Prize Winners (Im not going to tell you their names because you wont remember them!). Now I’m gradually trying to put this in to context, because again, lets compare to say a certain David Beckham….they are smarter than him, probably still not as rich as him yet are possibly some of the most talented/intelligent people on this planet.

What has David Beckham ever done….well nothing really, got by on his looks, being a footballer he isn’t terribly fit, skilled, intelligent….a good role model….hmmm…hard one to comment on. I would be disappointed if my (hypothetical) kid wanted to grow up to be the next David Beckham…..but you wouldn’t be so unhappy if they said “I want to cure cancer” or something like that. I mean David Beckham hasn’t really won anything, apart from the lucrative deals with Gillette, Adidas, Bryl Cream and some crappy phone company. Are ‘sell out’ the words?

I guess he’s making the best out of well a very not so bad situation for himself. When asked about why he moved to the states to play in the MLS (basically Sunday League football in England- knowing how crap England is at football, that really doesn’t say much now, does it?) he said “I love playing football’ (or something similar). They forgot to mention the $165m contract…..I wonder why he really turned down playing in the Premiership again….hmmm….yes because American ‘soccer’ is so good……ahem.

So that was a run down of some people I’ve bumped in to….can’t forget the legend that is Matt Le Tissier though, absolute God of football (seems ironic that I’ve spent most of this slating a footballer….but there are exceptions, some people don’t let their fame go to their heads/sell out etc…Matt was definitely very underrated as a footballer….you wont have ever seen a better first touch (apart from Mr. Bergkamp)) and Harry Rednapp, a possible dodgy dealer if ever there was one.

I guess there’s no point to this post, just for ‘fun’….I wish this World and the hierarchy of famousness was based on something more than looks or very overrated so called talent. Why is the guy who invented the Polio vaccine not the ‘God’ on this planet, why is it some anorexic celebrity who’s snorted too much coke for their own good. Talents are something we aspire to have, we all have different ones, I know my limitation, but I also know I am damn good at what I do….

This may seem very arrogant, I am not the best in the World, nor will I ever be, I am a realist as well as being a touch optimistic, guess I confuse pride with ability, but to me, that’s not a problem. I am not up my own arse, I don’t pretend to be or claim to be. I am learning a lot in this World, opening up my eyes to many things, idolizing some useless footballer is not on my list, but may be doing it to the Nobel Prize Winner is….I sure though they want something more than what they have, after all they are only human, even if very very very intelligent ones…….

p.s. I’ve been downloading some Iron Maiden albums, just wanted to say I’ve taught the original lead guitarists (Adrian Smith) twin daughters how to snowboard…..beat that David Beckham

My favourite pic!

Out of all the photos I've ever taken, this has to be up there, it'll do as a background....good old Prague.....

Just playing around...

Well as I like Burton snowboard products, I thought well why not see if I can put a pic on here. I'll keep changing it all around to see what works and what doesn't.

Bye for now

Johanna's new improved joke

What's the similarity between Johanna and a battery?

They both have a positive side

Personally I think the first one is better...................

A quick joke

Not my words but fairly ammusing: What's the difference between a battery and a woman?

A battery has a positive side

Race for Life

I'm sure everyone in the World has done a charity event before. For those who haven't its probably more of a personal pride achievement you get out of it, to know that you have made a difference to someone, somewhere.

If you aren't the one doing the event or whatever, remember it's the 'giving' part that makes a difference. My Sister is doing a running event for Cancer Research, more than a worthy cause, especially as I know everyone on this planet knows someone who has suffered/died/lived through cancer.

Here is the link to sponsor her if you have any spare cash lying around (I know you have), you know you'd want someone to give to you if you had these health problems........

Kungsberget again!!

Ohh happy days!! All I can say is sweeeeeet......fun is the word.

It was so close to being the worst day ever....again getting up at 7am (ok, so not the end of the world I guess) but we started the car, you know, as you do....waited for it to warm up, started to drive and there was this awful grinding noise......ok not good.

The ABS light came on in the dash, so though ahh the breaks are frozen....were they f**k.....we drove down the road thinking ahh they'll unstick.....found out the friggin right rear wheel wasn't evening spinning.....it was solid so we were effectively draggin one wheel....oh crap, this day is gunna be great right?!

So we pull in to Preem, in to their washing car room (hence warmer than cold temps outside), wait 20 mins, go to reverse and again, dragging the wheel, friggin thing....could be a very expensive car bill coming our way.....try to reverse again, then bang.......sorted, the wheel started to go round!!! Thank f**k for that!!!!

We figured it was the handbrake that wouldn't release......figures coz we washed the car yesterday in the Preem garage......used a hose on it then drove it home. We guessed we sprayed water on the cable underneath when washing the wheel, it must have froze soon after, then that was that......lesson learned there.

However, despite my early morning sulk, thinking I wasn't going boarding, all was good, got the 'mountain' and temps were perfect, like -2, nice snow, nice weather, nice fiancee....all the good stuff.

The highlight of the day was Johanna really, she now can ride switch....and very nicely too. Her normal riding is getting very smooth also, for the non snowboarding type, lets just say its getting good....for those who do ride, shes using way more leading lateral knee movement to torsionally twist the board to engage the full extent of the sidecut to make, as the Yanks would say, 'sick' turns.....she's not just a pretty face after all......

Valentines Gay

Oh it's that time of the year again, no not Xmas, Birthday or any other seemingly pointless event, but another money spinning, propaganda based 'love day'.....I could go on all day about how I don't agree with this. No it isn't because I'm single and look at too much porn on the internet all day, it's because why is it that we are supposed to love our partners apparently more on one day of the year than any other. If we aren't looking after our loved ones, then this day is perfect, but how do I justify spending an arm and a leg to say 'I love you'.....it's more fabricated than Pamela Andersons boobs.

Aren't we supposed to care about our partners always? Why is it this day exists? Well I could give you the proper history lesson, but again it's about exciting as recieving a teddy bear with a carefully printed sweater (made in Taiwan) with the delightful message 'I love you'.... I could come up with more imaginative things in my sleep.....So for those who are trying to get in someone's pants, keep the perfume/flowers/chocolates and all the other cliche stuff coming.....your pestering might just pay off in the end.

Yey

Boring I know, but I got my first immunology exam back today.....63/70....some 90%.....thanks very much

My advice

The only lesson I ever learned from my chemistry teacher was this: Never assume anything….. Now this is possibly one of the most important things we can use, especially when it comes to assumptions about how people are feeling, what they are doing etc.

Being blunt can be a negative thing at times, but getting information through a third party is such a bad idea. If you have something to say, go ahead and just bloody say it. Don’t beat around the bush, don’t say ‘well so and so said this….’ If you don’t hear it from the horses mouth don’t assume there’s any truth in it. Remember this: gossip is not a good thing; rumours can be 100% lies, so if you have a question or thought or want to know something, just say it. Don’t get it from someone else, get some balls and just come out and ask.

Kungsberget

Saturday proved to be one fun day, besides getting up at 7am on a weekend day (which is actually against the law), a short trip up north and a snowboard wax later, we were hitting the slopes at the quaint 'resort' of Kungsberget.

Although not the Rockies, this charming place has some 10 lifts and may be 16 trails, ranging from lätt to svår, with some jumps and boxes, a psycho sledging area and a restaurant etc.

We cranked it up straight away by getting dragged up the ‘mountain’ by our nads......oh the memories from Sälen: The first few turns were a bit rusty as per, but we got there in the end.

Whenever I go snowboarding, with or without other people, the goal for me obviously is to have FUN, but if you can learn at least one thing, whether it be a change from the normal riding or a new trick/technique, anything really, that is always a bonus.

What did I learn then? Well after a couple a seasons teaching and riding, the thought could be that I ‘can’t improve’..... but for me this is just bollocks!! Although (without sounding up my own arse) I feel like I’m a good standard I still have so much to learn. People don’t realize how technical this ‘cool’ sport is.... people that think they can ride the whole mountain, 99% of the time, can’t....that’s one thing I learnt from teaching.... people always lie!!

Ok, back to the point.... what did I learn? Well two things, firstly that when making up your mind about doing a 1 or a 3 off a small mound of snow....make sure you have an idea of which you want to pull off.... I did like a 270 to compensate, caught a lovely heel edge and down I went.... oh edge catching is not the way forward!!

Secondly, I learnt that I have really weird elbows.... I have very weird protruding bones like next to my elbow joint. Ok, this may seem very strange that I ‘learnt’ this but it’s the truth.... I attempted (and successfully nailed!) a backside 3 only to spank my elbow against my knee on the rotation..... I landed in pain, laughing that I’d actually cracked my knee and my elbow at the same time. Not only was I wearing a knee support, thick pants, a down jacket and normal coat, I ended up with a nice red mark on my elbow, with a little inflammation so quite impressive that it went through so many layers.... I definitely didn’t think I was capable of that.... hehe.

So, we’ll be back up there soon, we stopped off at Ikea for our daily dose of meatballs on the way home; I just need to recover from my injuries and aching muscles, just give me a few weeks.......

Ps. Johanna is getting some switch skills: Probably learning a lot more than me at the moment!!

Shredding the gnar?

Well as it turns out, probably like most other people, my weekends are usually the busy type....well last weekend sucked coz of exam Monday, but normally!! So me and Johanna thought it's definitely time to get back on our beasts and go slide down a mountain sideways.....it's going to happen soon, hopefully this weekend.....see if we can get those switch 5's down : )

The mountain of choice is probably Kungsberget or Romme may be....hopefully some other people wanna come too.....should be a good crack.

Johanna thought it was a good idea to snowboard over the road

Morning View

Not the most interesting post, but after a day of snow (then rain...joy) the snows almost gone again!!! Come on it's February!! It's still like -20ish up north, but still hovering around zero here.

Just playing around

I'm just going to be tweaking my blog for a bit to see if I can make it look better, so in the meantime if it looks crap, I apologize

Don't worry.......be happy.......

No, I'm not talking about Bobby Mcferrin, although slightly inspired at the moment by his annoyingly catchy song! It's mad to think it's already february!! Time really does fly when you're having fun. The thing is with these posts, I'm guessing not too many people read them, so it's hard what to talk about, I mean 'deep' stuff can be heavy sometimes, 'funny' stuff most people have seen or heard before.

So I was talking with my old man (well as close to talking as possible- email!!) just about life etc, you know the usual (It's amazing that we have the ability to make an email actually quite personal), when it dawned on me how lucky we actually are. I mean I don't know if most people have their moments where they sit down and think what they've achieved or what they want to do, but I had one today.

It's amazing how such a little thing can tweak something in your head. Now my old man has been going through a tough time of late, but seems to be putting everything in to perspective, so it made me think a little too.

I don't want to gloat, but when things come together, it all seems worth it. I've started this year by passing my microbiology course (may seem trivial but it's why I'm here!), went to Estonia with my fiancee, thrown out my favourite shoes (if you have a pair that has been round the world with you....you get that kind of attachment to them, however smelly they are- you all know what I mean), now have pet fish (Huey, Duey and Luey) and have so much more to look forward to.

Hindsight can be the most valuable yet painful thing we use to experience life, I feel like my time here will be the best I've ever had, I know another chapter will open up for me when this is done. I don't settle for anything, whatever I want I will get: through hard work and determination. I am optimistic but realistic, but being over here just feels like a sign that everything I do in the future will be this way.

We all have our 'shite' days, but put in to context hopefully for most people, these days are few and far between. It's frustrating that we seem to recognize the crap days, yet knowing when we've had a good day is a hard task. I guess it's your mind set when it comes down to it. Every day doesn't have to be the same, regardless if your stuck in a 9 to 5. The best thing to do, however trivial is to write down targets, from buying something different at the supermarket to exploring the Arctic circle.

Bottom line is that anything really is possible, a 'failure' isn't always what it seems, it's another experience that makes us who we are. Have goals, set the bar high and don't ever stop wanting more......