Mad Season

Returning to work on the 2nd January was always going to be a strange time.
Those of us lucky to take time off over Christmas were able to enjoy the best part of 2 weeks with family and friends, giving and receiving presents, eating plenty and drinking your tipple of choice. The most important luxury that it beholds is little more than a couple of "lie-In's" in a row but however small these may be, to not have to hear the alarm that signals the need to get up and ready for work is a blissful silence worth savouring.

As I left work after my first day back I was safe in the knowledge of one thing...not that I was glad to finish work for the day (it always feels better to get that first day out of the way), that's standard, neither was it that I would have to come back again the following day to do it all over again, that's an unfortunate inevitability!
No, no, it was something far more life affirming...something that only a handful of people would know about me at this point in time...
I was the only person in the car park, maybe even the entire United Kingdom at this time with a pogo stick in the boot of his car!

Allow me to go off on a tangent for just a sentence or two for those of you also wanting to have that "one and only person in the country" knowledge.
All too often in life we feel like a small cog in a machine. One of many to have something. A part of the pack. Even those seeking to be individual rarely experience that knowledge once they surround themselves with friends of a similar nature or their individuality gets picked up by the mass market!So surely it could be fun to create a moment of true individuality in the same nature as mine...no? Well if you're still with me and wanting this then follow these 5 simple steps...

1) Go in to your favourite room in the house.
2) Stand in the middle of that room and hold up your right arm, pointing your finger.
3) Spin around slowly (clockwise or anti-clockwise is entirely your decision...makes it more individual).
4) After 5 seconds of spinning stop (if you're doing this as you read then I realise you wouldn't now know how long to spin for and will be unable to read this step, so will likely become dizzy and/or be found by a relative still spinning in a few hours time!).
5) Whatever item you are now pointing at, take that item and put it in the boot of your car.
You can now most likely say that you are the only person in the country to drive around with (insert item here) in your boot!...you are welcome!

If nothing else it is an excellent conversation starter when you find yourself having to explain why such a random object is rolling around your car boot after forgetting it was there and offering to give a lift to a colleague, friend or family member!

Anyway, back to the pogo stick. This is an item I hadn't even considered using since I was about 10, when summers that seemed to last forever were filled with enjoyment from all of the strange toys that were piled in and out of the shed each and every day!
Now, at the ripe old age of 26 I found myself opening a rather large rectangular box on Christmas day. A present left in the hall, with a tag showing that this was from my girlfriends' Uncle and his wife and children.
I will be 100% honest here that at the time of opening this, I was racking my head for what it could be as I genuinely had no idea, but even with a selection of options I doubt I would have guessed that a pogo stick was waiting for me on the other side of the "Merry Christmas" wrapping paper!

In the past I have been one of those millions of people feeling a renewed vigour to increase my fitness at the start of a new year and joined a gym in January, with the faint hope that "this will be my year" and annoying the regular gym members with overcrowded classes and equipment!
Truth is I have been exactly like 9 out of 10 of those other new year enthusiasts by March (at the latest)...finding excuse after excuse not to be able to go to the gym that week but insisting with myself that "I will go one more day next week to make up for it" and then of course only succeeding in creating a whole new batch of excuses the following week!

However, there was something about this pogo stick. Not the colour, grey and blue for those of you wondering. Not the style, it looked like it would fulfil the job of a pogo stick perfectly. Instead, once I took it out of the packaging and outside on to the path I soon realised that not only could I do no more than 4 hops (if you can even call them that) but also that I wasn't 10 years old anymore! Back then everything you do you are learning for the first time. Some things stick with you, like riding a bike but some things you only think stick with you. Maybe my inability to hop more than 4 times in a row was linked to my 16 year absence from the sport. More likely it was my lack of fitness and balance. Either way it made me realise that some things you do have to re-learn. You can't force yourself to get fit or be healthier just because there is a new year, you have to want to do it!

Therefore, I would have to take it back to basics. Look to aim for things that were achievable.

So on new years day I decided to make public how poor I am at keeping my new years resolutions and instead posted 5 goals for the year ahead on Twitter. This would not only allow me to view these at any time but also any one of the millions of people on there, any of which could hold me accountable for these goals at any time throughout the year!
For those of you who don't follow me on Twitter (shame on you...you should go right now and do so... @justdrewonit ) these goals were:

1) I want to get more culinarily creative so I will attempt to learn at least one new (healthy) recipe every month!
2) I always want to be fitter & never succeed so I will just aim to increase my cardio week by week. Introducing new routines where possible.
3) Continue to read more. I will work out where I can gain time to read even a few more pages each day.
4) Blog more! I took to it more in the last few months & still managed to neglect it! So more posts, big & small!
5) Finally & most importantly show my beautiful girlfriend how much I love & appreciate her every single day!

And so far...well let's just say the enthusiasm of years gone by has struck, with the results being:

1) My girlfriend and I made a great attempt at home made beef burgers...but nothing else so far.
2) I decided that running hadn't worked for me in the past so I wanted to try something new.
So I bought a skipping rope (probably subconsciously inspired by the retro-ness of the pogo-stick) and decided that every night I would either do some cardio with this or using the rowing machine at my girlfriends house, building up the time for each as the weeks go on. However, the last 2 weeks have seen a blanket of snow cover the ground, severely disrupting my ability to use a skipping rope (told you I could find new excuses easily). I still use the rowing machine once a week but my enthusiasm has been distracted to say the least! Once this snow goes, I'll reinvigorate my desire to build up my cardio...I promise!
3) I've read on a few more occasions than usual but with only one month down I'm hoping the rest of the year is more productive on this.
4) I think those of you able to make the great choice of reading this blog will be able to see that it is the 26th day of the new year and this is my first blog post...to say I'm slacking would be a huge understatement...MUST DO BETTER!
5) I couldn't possibly comment on this, I would be bias after all...guess you'll just have to ask her!

So to any of you out there still keeping up with their new years resolutions, I congratulate you. You've made it further than millions of others, including me. However, I will be checking...well not personally but imagine me as that voice inside your head, your guilty conscience if you will...because if you do make it past March then you would have made it out of mad season with the dignity and reinvigorated lifestyle that you obviously deserve and probably without a pogo stick in sight!

Guess who's back?

It may have been over 2 months since my last blog post but I assure you your patience will be rewarded with a new post very soon.

The countdown begins...