Some blogger!

So evidently I’m not doing so well at this whole keeping a regular blog thing… in my defence, I’ve been bogged down in some particularly foul essays which I stupidly left to the last minute (with the benefit of hindsight, maybe stopping procrastinating should have been one of my 21 goals), and a very shoddy Internet connection… okay, okay, they’re not the best excuses in the world. I suck. I’m sorry.

Luckily, I’ve not been so useless with my remaining 20 goals. I’m getting back into my gym routine this week after being snowed under with coursework this week – weirdly enough, I’d actually missed getting all sweaty and feeling like my lungs have collapsed! Pole was cancelled this week and weights have sort of taken a back seat lately, but I’m making good headway on this running malarkey, having managed to run about 3.3k in 20 minutes in the gym yesterday. Considering I generally don’t run as a rule, I’m pretty damn pleased with myself. However, that’s just on a treadmill, and actually running outside is going to be considerably trickier. I had a little practice when I was at home, but I need to do more, so I’ve registered with parkrun (http://www.parkrun.org.uk/), who organise weekly 5k runs (I think normally at 9am Saturday mornings – hell’s bells!) nationwide. I’m planning on going to the event on the 26^th at Temple Newsam, a stately home with lovely grounds not too far from me. However, they also run events at the park which is literally next to my flat, so I may do that one instead in future, seeing as I can afford to roll out of bed about half an hour before it starts that way! It’ll be a great opportunity to get some practice actually running a 5k course (I don’t have a pedometer at the moment – must invest!) with a group of people who will hopefully act as motivation for me to up my game. I’m not too bothered about the speed, but I do want to keep going for the whole course and not have to walk sections. The 26^th isn’t far away now, so I’ll be posting about how that goes when the time comes.

The goal I’m aiming to cross off the list will probably be giving blood. I’ve rung the centre and they apparently release appointments on the day, so I will have to pick a day when I’m up early and not hungover (there aren’t too many of those… not because I’m an alcoholic, but because I’m lazy) to book myself in and head on down there. I’m sort of looking forward to it, although after a friend described himself after his first donation as “fucked up” (thanks for that, “friend”!), I’m more than a little apprehensive. Still, my former housemate and I are planning to go together for moral support.

When I first announced this project of mine, I was lucky enough to have a great support network of friends and family around me who were positively brimming with information, tips and offers of help, for which I am incredibly grateful. One person who’s been particularly supportive is none other than my lovely boyfriend (who will henceforth be known as ‘The Lad’ – it’s easier to type). Since returning back up North from my home down South, after a long break from seeing each other, The Lad has presented me with a couple of little gifts as part of my birthday present to aid me on my way towards achieving these goals of mine, plus there is talk of us scouring Gumtree together in order to find a cheapo bike I can practice on… seeing as I’ve been known in the past to crash when attempting to cycle, I don’t want to wreck a brand spanking new one. The gifts he has presented me with thusfar are a USB memory stick with Learn Russian mp3s on there, and a little packet of chili pepper seeds! I never used to be a big fan of chili, but I love it now, so it’s an excuse to get cooking – not that I ever need one, I love cooking! Anybody got any bright ideas for meal ideas?

In addition to USB sticks and chili pepper seeds, I’ve also, courtesy of my lovely friends and family, acquired several books – some of which I picked out, and others which are a total surprise. I already have about a third of my 21 books now! First on the list is Ghost Light by Joseph O’Connor, which is actually a book I bought for myself, but some of the ones I was bought are intimidatingly long after such a long time without reading for my own enjoyment, so I figured I’d ease myself in slowly. I’ll be reviewing everything I read, so keep your eyes peeled for those.

Overall, I’d say I’m making fairly good progress this early in the year! However, my nails are a mess, I haven’t bought a single newspaper and at least one of the essays I just wrote is so shit that this degree may be slipping away from me… must try harder! In the meantime, I’m going to stick some Russian on and immerse myself. Dos svidanya!

P.S. I do actually plan to start including some photos in this blog at some point, but unfortunately my camera has given up the ghost, boo hiss. Once I have a functioning one, I'll start making this thing a bit more exciting.