beandog

Groan......
Why is it that whenever you fall off the wagon it's never just a small tumble?
Why does it always have to be a fully-fledged 90 MPH free fall that leaves you face first in the dirt with nothing but your own sense of failure to remind you that you're still a stinking hypocrite loser!
Hahaha!
Apologies, I'm being dramatic again.
Let me put this into perspective.
I wouldn't want anyone to get into a panic here.
I'm not a recovering alcoholic. I haven't turned my back on years of sobriety (he says, returning from the fridge and cracking open a cold one).
No, My dissapointment stems from how far I've let myself stray from the few promises that I had made to myself back in January. (call them resolutions if you will).
I kept things easy.
"Watch what you eat and try to exercise"
There were others but these were ones that I really wanted to crack.
I made a great start.
In my lunch hour I'd swim at the nearby pool instead of heading straight to the local bakery. This healthy pursuit inspired me to eat better food. In turn, my mood improved and I've felt really energised.
All I needed to do was to turn this into a habit and maintain it.
It was supposed to be easy.
Boy, have I blown it over the last two weeks.
The main cause of my downfall has been my dear nemesis, "the good old knees -up"
He reared his ugly head a fortnight ago, when I was sent away for a work conference.
As too often is the case, this turned into a beer-fest, fueled by a free bar and the knowledge that we were all booked into rooms for an overnight stay at the venue.
Very ugly, and probably worthy of a blog entry all of it's own.
Next night. Pub with my brothers.
We don't meet up often, so when we do it can be intense.
Still feeling rough from the previous night, I held off on the drink.
However, come hometime I did manage to stop off and buy the biggest burger available at the grimiest looking kebab shop on the high street. I made sure it had sauce, cheese, chili's, the works.
Oh my god.
The remainder of the week has included more work related lunches.
As usual, these involve huge platters of food with cake, crisps, sandwiches etc etc.
To top it all off, my daughter celebrated her 2nd birthday on Saturday.
You can imagine the spread. More sandwiches, more cake, more crisps, coca cola, jelly, chocolate......
I have not been a good boy.
In between these events I've allowed my diet to crumble and I've certainly forgotten what it means to exercise.
It's not all bad news though.
Sheepishly, I returned to the pool today.
I'm confident that I've just experienced a blip and I'm determined to regain any lost momentum.
Also, in unrelated news. I finally got around to seeing Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind last night.
I'd heard so many good things about this film but I've never found the time to watch it. For the record, I really enjoyed it.
Other things that I've enjoyed this week.
I've been cranking Sidewinder by Lee Morgan on the car stereo of late.
For anyone with an interest in 1960's hard bop, this has got it going on in a serious way.
It's a CD that I've had around for a few years now. I've played it on and off but it's only just "clicked" with me recently.
I love it when this happens.
It's almost like the music chooses it's moment to reveal itself to you. A reward for your patience and loyalty.
Most of my favorite albums have earnt their place in this way.
Anyway, at this point I could yabber on for hours.....
I only meant to give a quick update as it has been a while.
Until next time,
Stay safe.