THURSDAY 30th August 2007 - Kumusta po kayo? How are you? Do you know this language...he he ..... I am learning a new language.. gradually of course but I know quite a few words and phrases now... salamat po (thank you), Wala pong anuman (you are welcome)... its exciting I have mp3. files of tagalog language, a man reads out the english equivilent then a woman reads out the translation... its quite funny actually... but Its okay because I have a written guide also so that makes it a little easier... plus I have a personal tutor in the Philippines too!!! How lucky I am! hah! Ako ay masaya.. Mahal kita rdm!!
WEDNESDAY 29th August 2007 - I was pleased how the game went Tuesday evening, on Wednesday it was a reasonably productive day in the office and later having competed some errands at home including cooking a chicken and vegetable stir fry my training session in the evening was even better, I managed to knock a cool1 minute 40 off my 4 mile run...OMG...and I've completed 3 games in 4 days! plus this training session.. I was feeling a little light headed this morning... maybe because I'd been overdoing it... but I don't think so... I burned 1350 calories alone Tuesday night!
How many meals have I eaten in the last 5 days (Saturday - Wednesday) - 12 - that equates to 2.4 meals per day....at least one of those is breakfast... MUST always eat breakfast... I really should be thinking more about my diet and try and improve, but it is difficult when events overtake your life... oh well... I guess it doesn't happen too often...
I am counting down the days to my holiday in October.. I'm sure it will come around quickly, its getting exciting... 51 days I think now to Philipinnes and 44 days to Beijing!!!
SUNDAY 26th - TUESDAY 28th August 2007 - It was cleaning day on Sunday for me, spent most of the day cleaning the house, vacuuming, washing etc... I have more to do especially outside in the garden but that will have to wait... its just been such a busy time for me at the moment. Watched Manchester United win their first league game of the season, yes they were a little fortunate, and then spent the majority of my time chatting with friends.
27th August is a special day for me, and will not be forgotten, I shan't say anymore at the moment, that will become apparent all in good time... I travelled down to Cambridge, another new ground and a 250 mile round trip... it was another hot day, especially sunny during the game and a tough second half, in fact I don't think the crowd took to me very well in the second half, oh well... you can't please everyone, all I know is that I was happy with my decision making process and the match observer didn't offer me any development advice. I have to travel down near Cambridge again this coming Saturday, so another long journey!! In fact I have 3 games in 4 days with another appointment Tuesday night down in Gloucester.
Do you know I have a lot on my mind at the moment, but I'm sure things will settle down in due course, a few things to resolve and sort out, jobs and tasks to complete; How interesting to read my stars again for this week;
Two roads, two nights apart. You make exactly the same journey at exactly the same time. Many of the other vehicles are doing the same thing too. There you all are, driving along. So, why can't you just run last night's program? Do you really have to think so hard about when to accelerate, when to brake and when to turn the wheel? Why, of course, you do. Those subtle differences are crucial. Everything depends on what's going on now, not on what went on once before. Think now, please, about a journey of a different kind - a familiar situation which has scope to produce an identical outcome, or a very different one.
I understand it is telling me to think ahead, consider the past of course, learn from it, but take a new route now and don't be afraid, there should be no fear... particular if it becomes a very different journey. I shall look forward....
SATURDAY 25th August 2007 - It was probably one of the most energy sapping days for sometime, it was probably around 28 degrees, now maybe that does not appear to hot but tohaving spoken to many people who were outside in the afternoon doing sports the heat was quite demanding.. I was trying to take on as much energy as I could, drinks, carbohydrates and in the football match today the last 5 minutes were quite tough going not just for me but fall all involved, now I know why in America they have a break every 20 minutes for drinks!
How we conduct ourselves is a measure of the kind of person we are, or aspire to be, our body language can give accross equal measure of intention and I think we should be constantly challenging ourselves to come accross as better people in this respect; imagine a leader who does not demonstrate the stature and demeanour required to lead a team, what is said and how that person portays messages has an effect on others around them. None of us are perfect but we should all try to make ourselves proud and to stand up for ourselves.
THURSDAY 23rd - FRIDAY 24th August 2007 - Skipped...moving on...
TUESDAY 21st - WEDNESDAY 22nd August 2007 - I spent most of Tuesday in meetings and preparing for Wednesdays business meeting in Worcester, the day went pretty in terms of work, though I have quite a lot of work to do and it all seems to be required like yesterday, so under a little bit of pressure to try and get work done... a few extra hours in the office I can see will be required in order to get all this done and in the timescales! It will also be a short business week next week with a Bank Holiday on Monday to look forward too, though I do have a trip down to Cambridge to entertain me for the day!! I also have a football appointment on Tuesday evening so it is a busy period all round!!!
Tuesday evening was spent meeting up with business colleagues for a night out in Worcester, I couldn't stay too late though so I was back just before Midnight, for a couple of reasons 1, I was chairing the meeting on Wednesday morning so I needed to be reasonably sober! and 2, I was quite tired anyway, after a busy few days. It was quite ironic actually that during the meeting 2 people commented on just how 'cool' and 'chilled' I looked throughout the day, it was as if I never flinched, raised my voice or spoke out of turn... I guess I looked so calm!! I was a little nervous I admit, but I think the meeting went well and it seemed to be recieved well.... I think I am getting used to hosting meetings and that gives me a lot of confidence, I suppose its easier if you know what you are talking about!!!
So, I was home a little earlier on Wednesday after the meeting.... I also managed then to cook a nice spaghetti bolognaise before getting outside for fitness training (yes, back in Worcester) and running the FIFA test...but at a more testing rate, with a 40 second gap between running rather than our usual 45 seconds and running for 4km, so it was a good challenge, but I felt in good form and just sprinted through most of the sessions he he!! I think my heart rate monitor reading will be interesting this week I shall have to have a look later!! Maybe I will post it here if I think it is!!!
Well I'm really pleased about the visitor count to my site! Hello everyone and thanks for dropping in... you can say Hi to me anytime, the email address is on the home page and any comments are always welcome... even from Vicky!!! I received a mail from her today... wanting me to post more news about Aston Villa... I mean Aston who?? who are they I dunno really... apparantly they are a group of football wannabes... I guess nobody else knows about them.. so I shan't waste any more time... Hmmmmp! fancy making a request like that!!! ha ha!
SUNDAY 19th - MONDAY 20th August 2007 - I breathed a sigh of relief on Monday evening, I've been very bad, I almost forgot my Dad's special day today; for those who have been reading my diary, I mentioned that he was having a building named after him and a visit from the Home Secretary and Chief Constable of Police, well I hadn't spoken to my parents for a week so I rang them Monday night on my way to Shrewsbury Town for a football match, I'm so happy I did!! I asked them how they were and Mum instantly said they had a good day with all the dignatories, then it clicked!! It was today!!! phew, what they must have thought of me if I didn't call....
I dunno....my mind has been crazy recently...only a few things on my mind so maybe I have become somewhat sidetracked!! oh dear!!
Anyway Mum tells me about the events and she made me laugh quite a bit when she told me that in all the excitement they locked themselves out of their car!! Even the police who were there couldn't help and break in... oh dear... at least thats a good sign of the cars security system, but it was soo funny... in 40 years Dad has never locked himself out before... all that anticipation and excitement I guess!! If I get some more information and photos I'll post them!
I sampled another new ground on Monday evening, the New Meadow at Shrewsbury Town as they played Huddersfield Town in the Reserve league, I was really pleased with my performance, it went well, not surprises and everyone happy at the end...On Sunday night I did my new route around the estate and surrounding area, and since the last time I trimmed 1 minute 10 seconds off the route so I was pleased, the interesting thing though looking at my readings was that my average heart rate was somewhat lower this time than the last, that I why I find these heart rate readings interesting...a good indicator of how hard and how fit my progress has been, particularly over the past few months.
THURSDAY 16th - SATURDAY 18th August 2007 - Well, Thursdays are normally my 'night' in as I'm out most of the week during the evening, however on this occasion I went out and being outside for most of the time I was forever trying to avoid little black bugs flying around, so that wasn't much fun, anyway I think it was because it was reasonably warm and being outside of course... talking of bugs... I see so many this time of year, probably because it is warmer... I had a great woper of a spider in my lounge the other day....well... I had to think of the carpet otherwise I would normally have squashed it straight away, however on this occasion i ushered it away and into the conservatory... and then squashed it ah ha ha ha....how cruel I am.... but I was only thinking of the carpet... anyway spiders don't belong inside and they are creepy anyway..
My game on Saturday went ok, never the best performance but nevertheless another one done and I was planning to see the Bourne Ultimatum in the evening but circumstances unfortunately stopped me, ah well... I shall have to watch another day...its meant to be good though!!
TUESDAY 14th - WEDNESDAY 15th August 2007 - On Tuesday I completed my first "official" game of the new season...and refereeing in front of a crowd of 2000...it was a great atmosphere and I am really pleased the game went well....just a pity on this occasion there was no match assessor, but neverthess I was happy and came off the pitch to no dramas, no controversy and a great deal of respect and some compliments...always a nice feeling at the end of the game. I also visited the dentist in the morning and was pleased that no major work required to my teeth and gums... all in pretty good shape, so just a clean and polish and to make sure my front teeth hadn't 'died' following my little accident in May earlier this year!
How terrible I read in the news on Wednesday that a 23 year old dies after being punched by a teenager who tossed a half-eaten chocolate bar into his sisters car in London. He contronted the youth and challenged him, and the youth pulls out a knife and punches him and falls on the pavement outside her car after hitting his head on the ground. He dies later in hospital having fallen into a coma....tragic... all because he has the right to challenge youths who throw their rubbish into a car....it is so bad....Arrrrrgggghhhh!! Surely our lives are worth more... and I ask myself why? why?
MONDAY 13th August 2007 - Perhaps its time...i should start... with a little quiz...oohh lucky me...
Q: Its the 13th today... are your superstitous? A: No not really... although sometimes i get into a routine... like always brush my teeth after breakfast and not as soon as I wake up...or...like i will never eat one of my mints in the car on the way to work or from work... i only have sweets in my 'leisure' time...
Q: How is your day today? A: My day today was very good...for a number of reasons...one, i have my jabs complete for my holiday in Asia at the doctors surgery...two, I was in a very happy mood this morning.... three, Karl returns to work....four, i have a lovely evening, I cook some nice salmon fishcakes and take a few phone calls... five... the weather is quite nice, not hot, but also not cold....six, my website exceeds over 2500 visitors, i am happy about that...even though I may not know those people who have logged on... I am thankful and hope everyone enjoys the site...(remember to mail me for suggestions...hehe)....seven, if you 'google' my name, my website appears at the top...hehe....not many of me haha! (unique!!)
Well, i think that concludes the quiz for today.... be well everyone... ooo and I have some exciting news soon... another new addition to the site maybe... another marketing opportunity...maybe you can be involved....??? watch this space...I have an idea...haha
SUNDAY 12th August 2007 - The weather was nice again today... i caught .a little sun being outside in the morning, had to spray on the sun cream earlier so i didn't cook... I enjoyed the morning it was fun, a practical coaching seminar that seemed to go quite well and fun, which always helps the day go quicker. Watched some tv in the afternoon, listening to music later and just relaxing really, was intending to travel down to my parents, but was too tired really so had to give it a miss.
Did you know? The average amount of money being spent by Asian families on weddings in the UK has increased to more than £30,000.
Research carried out by Asian bridal magazine Viya found wedding budgets had increased dramatically over the past five years. The rise has been linked to the glamour of Bollywood, British celebrity culture and increased spending power.
Bollywood couple Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan married in April (picture courtesy of bbc.co.uk)
Latest figures for the cost of the average white Western wedding range from £17,000 to £20,000. Asian weddings are big business in Britain, with the market worth £300m a year and rising.
SATURDAY 11th August 2007 - This is probably the last Saturday before the football season that I can rest and stay at home... so I aimed to make the most of it... in the coming weeks and months Saturdays will normally involve travelling and performing at matches around the country... and I look forward to that... I have a nice day, to chat with friends, have nice time and also watch some tv.... and a spoof in the morning... death by muder ... a spoof featuring all the tv detectives in the same movie... Poirot, Marple, Columbo, Chan etc... it was funny rather than a horror but nevertheless okay, similar to Clue, based on the game Cluedo, or perhaps Shaun of the Dead as I was reminded earlier!!! i will also try and watch another movie in the evening before turning in! Then on Sunday I have a busy morning as one of the leaders running a seminar for football referees...ohh lucky me!! haha Maybe later I will visit my parents and my now famous Dad!!
FRIDAY 10th August 2007 - Sometimes time goes quickly, sometimes not so quickly, mainly today time went quickly... especially when having fun or doing interesting stuff! i think when listening to music time flies by quickly especially if good and somewhat recently I have done that a lot, seeing less TV and movies, and listening to music a lot more!! Of course my front page shows many of my favourite tracks and I hope over time to keep added to these so I have a nice collection.... of course you can listen anytime you like... thank you me !!! haha!!
Its that time of year again to start the fantasy football and today I receive a reminder to choose my team... but ssushhh don't tell vicky just yet... she is my main challenger although I did win last year she has won twice in the last 3 years I think... so well done me!!! and I hope to keep up the winning streak otherwise I lose a bottle of red win which she will win!! hehe! The weather has been really good recently, getting up to 23/24 degrees, though I know a friend in Greece at the moment tells me it is 38 degrees, my god that is too hot isn't it... he is liking it, but of course us English don't experience it much.... we complain in England when it rains, and complain when it is too hot... how fussy we are!!! Perhaps in countries where the weather is consistent i should live....hmmmm
WEDNESDAY 8th - THURSDAY 9th August 2007 - happy days are these!!! Yeaaaahhh!! Finally I have booked my holidays for Ocotber, flights and hotels plus some tours...so I'm excited...can't wait to visit Asia for the first time ever for me!! Yah! The dates I originally wanted booked up really fast so i rushed to get the flights for the following week and so good it is, then insurance, then hotels, then tours hehe.....what a performance...now I have some training now to learn some mandarin and tagalog language before I visit... that will be a challenge, but I have some good references to help me, some friends, some guides so hopefully I will be okay..... always good to learn some basic languages when you arrive in a new country, although places that I am visiting will speak english its important to me to at least try! The prices are really reasonable over in Asia too, so its not that expensive, and I saved around 6-700 UK pounds by booking individual flights, rather than multi-stop flights, so thats cool too....
So look out China and Philippines...I'm coming to visit... hehe yipppee!!! I want to see and visit more places... but sadly I only have three weeks and 4 of those days will be in transit...aawww!
TUESDAY 7th August 2007 - Yes, the granary bread was lovely in the morning and I had some for breakfast with some of my Mums homemade strawberry and cointreau jam... mmm a little sweet but nice nevertheless and set me up nicefuly for the day....I also made myself a salad for lunch with extra tomatoes! Had a football match in the evening, back at Bromsgrove as they played Stoke City - it was another good game, entertaining and a good workout, feeling a little tired in the evening I think I will sleep well....
We are now a year away from the Olympics being held in Beijing and I hear that the Olympics committee are concerned about the polution levels... An interesting story I read today mentioned about the Traffic cops in the city being equally affected by polution and reducing life expectancy as a result. I also hope to visit the city later this year so I will be able to experience it for myself.
MONDAY 6th August 2007 - A lot of my projects at work have been put on hold whilst we focus on the recent floods and make proposals and changes to current and new policies to overcome many losses. There is a good sense of achievement when helping others and working together on projects like these, that is what makes work rewarding sometimes. It felt like a long day probably because it was hectic and attending a meeting in Birmingham in the evening which went on until 9.30pm so I was late getting back and had to content myself with a tin of hot ambrosia milk rice puddling for my tea at 10.30pm and set off the bread maker so I have some freshly baked granary bread in the morning... Mmmmm I can smell it now....Ahhhhh!
SUNDAY 5th August 2007 - I spent the evening with my parents, catching up with the 'news' and being told that my Dad is having a building named after him! He's worked for the same company for over 40 years since he was an aprentice and he is very modest, but its a great honour to have this bestowed upon him. The Home Secretary is planning to visit to meet Dad and other dignatories on 20th August, how exciting! Even though Dad now only works three days a week he still has had much influence at the site. Watched a DVD with Mum - 'Mr Beans Holiday', well it was stupid really but it was entertaining to watch, it was a movie that I can't remember being shown at the Cinema, anyway I don't think I would have made the effort to watch it there anyway!
SATURDAY 4th August 2007 - I was that tired I ended up sleeping a little longer that usual and not getting out of bed until just after 8am, I think the sleep did me good but it was another warm day today... so much so in the afternoon my match at Bromsgrove was really hot, I didn't play much extra time that is for sure and I don't think any of the players bothered about that too... It was a really enjoyable afternoon, in good company and all played in such a good spirit... perhaps it was my yellow top which I had to wear instead of the usual black as the home team wore a very dark navy top so I had to be distinquishable! i cooked spaghetti Bolognaise in the evening and enjoyed another glass of wine!
I hear in the news that foot and mouth returns to a farm in Surrey, how sad to hear of such news... it was only 6 years ago since the last outbreak and I remember it well... it caused much problem around the country and fingers crossed the same is not going to happen again this year or ever come to think of it... I remember all the exit points out of the country saw vehicles passing through pools of water so as not to carry any infections.....
THURSDAY 2nd - FRIDAY 3rd August 2007 - I had to bite my tongue on Friday in the office, I was disappointed with certain events, even though I had expressed my concerns prior to the event they turned out that way... when it all could have all been avoided, friction is created...oh dear..oh dear! How life is made difficult when it really shouldn't have been! Thursday was another busy day and in the evening I travelled down to my ex home town for the football match which I really enjoyed, it went well some things to learn as always but generally I was happy, I was also welcomed and the playing surface was arguably the best it has looked for a long time....I came off the ground with clean boots, a rare occurance normally, unless it is dry as a bone and I'm wearing trainers! Fridays events kept me busy, so much so I ended up with a late lunch nearer 2pm however, I didn't stay too late in the office, I was quite tired so I had pizza for tea and a glass of wine.... had a reasonably early night after starting to watch Superman Returns... haven't watched it for a while....
WEDNESDAY 1st August 2007 - Time ticks on, before we know it 'Summer' will be over and we shall be in Autumn season, it'll start getting darker earlier in the day and and and and.... ha ha!
Went out for a run with JP tonight, everyone else was either on holiday or had games or had excuses for not training, so we did our 4 mile journey into the City of Worcester, I managed a similar time to last week, although 20 seconds down and JP did well to trim a good minute and a half of his time, so nice one James! I know he's feeling rather tired as well so a good achievement and I do hope he and his wife are fine very soon. I also had some good news today and some incentives, so that'll keep me motivated for some time to come, I also have my fixtures for August appointments and I have some 'plum games', one being on Bank Holiday Monday at Cambridge United and another in the Conference North in mid-August, so I'm really looking forward to getting stuck in and doing well in these games.
Nice to hear that the problems of flooding in Gloucestershire is starting to receed and homes are being restored to some normality, though I sume sure it will take some time for houses to dry out and for all the possessions to be replaced and decorated etc etc.... I saw a photo the other day of the local football club and the water had submerged the ground, with water almost 8 foot high, thats a tremendous amount of water! I also noticed similar problems in Bangladesh, they have monsoon like rainstorms recently, it seems a common occurence these days!