Another check

US spelling, I had forgotten that I had another advance on my book due when I delivered the manuscript, which I did last month, and sure enough this morning a good old fashioned paper check arrived... :D The bank won't have any idea what to do with it again but even so its a nice little bonus to top up again after my holiday.

Lets hope I get these every 6 months now and in much bigger lumps....not likely but nice to dream.



Ahthankyew

Chained to the loo

I've had a rather nasty stomach flu since coming back from Thailand, I felt unwell the day before I left, but dosed up on loperamide to avoid any nasty accidents which even with the delayed travel back kept me in clean underwear.

Since I got back I didn't use the loperamide so that whatever it is can get the hell out of me, but after 5 days of bad bad cramps and explosive trips to the loo I've gone back to it. Which is good, except when it wears off, the resulting trip to the loo is beyond description......beyond....description.

Anyway, we'll see if I need to take some more later.

The other downside to this flu is that I've felt pretty rough overall, but that hasn't stopped me going to work or doing my increased physical activity but it does impact on my coding, I cant really come up  with a single idea for what to do next....really frustrating.

I hope this wears off soon. On the plus side, its also impacting on my appetite, I'm just not that hungry.....good for the diet I suppose.


Ahthankyew

hah I outlived the Gym

Spent the last week, on the diet, already dropped 2 kg, most likely from the stomach flu I've had since I got back from Thailand. But also been increasing my physical activity, much longer walks with Harvey (he's confused!!) Longer routes to work on the bike, and making more effort to use stairs etc.

ok, they are very small steps, but I was just building up to the horror of the gym.....but no horror needed, I walked past today with the intent of popping in to see what was on offer.. and its closed :D

Despite my 25 euros a month propping it up for the last 4 years with 0 actual output, they closed.... yeaaahhawwwwfuck

Seems to have happened a few months ago, that's when the direct debits out of my account stopped, I hadn't noticed and I just never walked passed since to notice the doors were actually locked.

Oh well, guess I will have to find another gym to join, there's dozens of them around so it won't be too hard I'll scope them out for a week or 20......no no I won't I really do have to do this.




Ahthankyew

Oh you fat bastard

So Thailand was fun but also an eye opener, I was shocked and saddened by the scores of fat old men with young thai girls on their arms shuffling around. I can't judge if their relationships were genuine or part of the holiday sex trade but it did shock me into taking a long hard look in a literal mirror, and fucked if I like what I see.

I've been in serious denial about my weight gain and slipping life standards, the house is messy, the back yard and shed are bomb sites, and I'm not taking care of the normal every day things, including my health, I eat too much, I drink far too much and I just don't do enough. Basically I've been moping around for nearly 3 years now, its time to get a grip.

I have to stop, or I'm not going to see 60. A proper diet, a proper clean up, a proper exercise regime...and yes I do mean the much detested Gym, but I weighed myself last night..

98Kg.....98Kg......fucking hell....I mean its no wonder I suffered in the heat in Thailand, and was even puffing as I put on socks....c'mon Brian...time to stop.

I am going to get my shit together. Having a total clear out, of all the crap in the cupboards and freezers.


Ahthankyew

home sweet home

I'm back

I can say I had a very nice holiday, saw some wonderful sights, enjoyed some memorable bucket list experiences, drunk a lot of cheap booze and enjoyed it, but there were also things I didn't like.

I got a little ill the last days, part cold/flu, part food, the travel back was fucking awful and I will never fly Aeroflot again ever....

But also I can't see me going back to Thailand, its nice to see, but once seen, it pretty much wraps up any reasons to go there. It's very commercial, hard to find any authentic sense of Thailand, and it's very oppressive and the sleaze that everyone assumed I went there for is incredibly real, and very depressing and in no way appealing to me.

At times it was impossible to sit at a bar and drink without being hassled by hawkers or more often hookers. I know I'm a sexy maaaan, but I kinda don't need to hear it as I'm trying to have a quiet drink and being pawed at. I did find some quieter bars but even then the ladies would turn up at different times looking for customers.  I discovered it was best to hang out in bars where Aussie families hang out, for some reasons the Aussies have the family holiday part separated from the hoards of young men on brothel crawls. Sadly the family bars switch into hooker hang outs around 9 when the kids go back to the hotels/

Its actually rather depressing and sad to have such in your face approaches, it made me wonder why such a market exists, and the reasons is basically the tourists who go there to treat the place as a massive brothel.
The other thing that disturbed me was seeing so so so many old men, my age and older walking around town with young rent a brides hanging on to them. I took a long hard look in a mirror, and wondered how long will it be before I sink that low. Its really time to fix some aspects of my life before I slip into that kind of decline.


The country side is stunning, and the boat and jungle/forest trips I went on were wonderful. But now I've been there done that, I won't be back.

And I will NEVER fly Aeroflot again at least not via Moscow...did I mention that. I can't even write down how awful the customer service is..never ever again.


Back to work tomorrow. Can't wait.

Ahthankyew

ermm no its not a sex holiday

I'm really quite amazed that people are assuming that a singleton heading to Phuket for a week is there to work his way through the entire female and ladyboy population...... Everyone, I've told I'm going there on holiday has made that assumption?

At no point did it even enter my head.. I'm going for the warm weather (albeit possibly rainy), the beaches, the food, the boat trips, the excursions, the temples, the elephant and tiger sanctuaries  and the sex...no no, no, won't have time for the sex. There are 2 apparently well stocked brothels within 5 mins walk of my house if I wanted that and if that was the intent I think Bangkok would have been a better destination. But still a damn site more expensive that walking round the corner to Club Reaperbaan...

I really am just going to relax, get away from computers and students and book writing for 1 week in a 5 star hotel, have drinks on the terrace, swim in the eternity pool and laze in the on terrace Jacuzzi.  It cost much the same as a week in the Canaries so why not?
I had 0 summer holiday, cos I was way to busy coding and writing so this is my way to escape, doing something totally different before the next set of student assessment stress, then Xmas.

I am really really looking forward to it, I hope the rain isn't going to be too bad, but 25-30deg temps and being waited on hand and foot is going to be great.



Ahthankyew

JamHub is no more

Actually its been no more for a while, the company I mean, it went under Dec 2016. What a shame that such a clever innovative product did not make it.
I don't use it as much as I want to, since some bandmates for whatever reason are reluctant to use it, but in small sessions its wonderful and I find it a great tool. Though not that great for recording.

I needed to replace a couple of extension parts,  fortunately I found a source in NL/Bel that has them.. I better get a few, but I will just get the one I need and let the school buy the 2 it needs.


Ahthankyew