I've made improvement! ...& a bit about ROA

I went gym straight after work yesterday. I knew I would be exhausted by the end of it as I hadn't stopped moving since getting up around 5am til getting home around 11pm. But here I am, pushing myself to see how far I could go. Though I do have to travel all the way into central to reach the gym - it's free so why not? I refuse to pay £30-odd to work out. Though I may reconsider when I can no longer go for free........

Happy time in the gym: I did 30 minutes on the bike, 15 on the rowing machine and 20 on the treadmill (2.6 miles~not bad). I was sweating like I'd never sweated before, red-faced (it won't go!) and with empty water bottle in hand.

I'm wondering if I can keep this up when I will have to work 6/7 days a week - covering others' holidays at work. I'm still aiming to do twice a week - Wednesdays and Fridays.

On another note, ROA did a beautiful piece down by southbank which I will definitely have to go seek out. Hopefully they won't erase it and everyone can see how awesome it is! He has another one down Bethnal Green - I went there once trying to hunt it down without knowing the exact location because everyone was being so secretive about it and couldn't find it. I had to go back a second time with success - I found it and here it is -

Can't....run.....anymore......

I've started going to the gym. Yesterday was the first day I stepped foot in one. Never would I have thought I would. I spent a good half hour on the exercise bike and 15 minutes on the treadmill. I'm quite happy with how much I had done (perhaps a bit more than I expected). I still feel like I know nothing about the gym and getting fit but hurray for starting somewhere. Running for buses always made me out of breath so I knew I was mightily unfit. I was a bit intimidated by the stares of other men though and the naked ladies in the changing room. Though I was forewarned!

Today I attempted to do some running around my area. Even the thought of it always made me feel intimidated. I'd always wanted to go running but my dodgy area where I live displeases me and I thought it unsafe. But today, meh to this thinking. I was only hoping that I wouldn't come across too many people or traffic (I'm well aware I look like an idiot when I run and my face goes an unsightly red very quickly - proof from yesterday).

You'd never guess: I came across the bus driver I knew, the postman who thinks I ignore him, and two police officers along with the occasional workman. Maybe I should just go running early morning (too many commuters?) or at night (oh my god, am I going to get stabbed?).

And it was such an awful run. I felt I could do way more on a treadmill than I can outside. I logged my run and completed 2.11 miles in 25 minutes. Now that is awful. I stopped running around 6 times because I couldn't take it (weeps) and because I decided to leave my water bottle at home. Never again! Bottle will come with me next time. I can't really judge if I did well or not since it is my first run outside. Hopefully, I'll keep this going. Gym maybe twice a week. Runs - once a week? I need a run buddy.....

Do you know what motivates me? Kitkat. Yes, kitkat. I see how much calories I burn and I think to myself - that's my kitkat gone. 107 calories.

Lemon Tea

A thought popped into my head which I found amusing.

I remember attempting to make lemon tea. I thought making it would be pretty simple.  I popped an ordinary teabag (most likely PG Tips) into a cup along with lemon slices. I added water and then milk and, to my horror, it curdled up. Terrible mistake and I believe I didn't even attempt to taste it. White frothiness.

I stupidly made the same mistake another time, forgetting the first mistake I made.

I'm sure I'll forget and it will happen again!

Graffiti - art in a different form

I love graffiti. Absolutely love it.

This is one of the reasons why I really like London. You can find amazing graffiti all around - and sometimes you can come across them without realising it. For example, literally just around the corner from the city - in and around Liverpool Street with men/women in suits - there is a whole different side of London to be seen. Shoreditch and Brick Lane are two of the best places to go. And very often I go for a wander into London just to search for the latest piece that catches my eye.

I'm very particular in tastes for graffiti. I find tags rather distasteful and a poor sight. But when you really search for it, some of the things you might see just takes your breath away. I have a few firm favourites like ROA, Phlegm and Otto Schade who I keep an eye out for. ROA is my absolute favourite though. He held an exhibition in London not so long ago and I was amazed. I'm actually browsing right now and have a newfound interest in DALeast who has just put up a few pieces around London that I am planning to see.

Below are a few I have captured on my phone during my wanderings:

This one is by ROA - this piece is massive and very close to Shoreditch Underground. It is still there but it has been somewhat ruined by the tagging which you can see underneath it.

Stik does many great pieces everywhere in London. I'm sure he has more than 200 Stik figures pasted all around walls and doors! I'd be surprised if you've lived in London for a long time and never seen one before!

I haven't seen much of Phlegm's work but what I have seen - I like.

And this cute little piece is by Ronzo. I adore this :)

Would you rather?

My neck is still rather sore and painful. Give it time I say....(how much time I ask myself?)

Anyway, I thought I'd play around with "Would you rather?" which gives you a dilemma and provides two choices which you have to mull over. So I googled and here's a few I came upon....

Would you rather.....nail all your fingers to a table OR break every bone in your hand?
Wow - the first one they give me is a gruesome one and I'm suppose to pick which pain I would prefer. Isn't the pain in my neck enough? Hmm...whichever I choose, I would have to put into action. Which one gives me less pain - because, obviously, no one wants to experience any discomfort whatsoever. I think I'll go with nailing my fingers to a table. I'd also make sure I'm at a hospital when that happens so they can fix me up pretty quickly while I'm writhing in pain. Breaking every bone in your hand sounds pretty painful and I'm sure there's a lot of bones to break *googles* Oooh that's 27 bones I would have to break. And I have 5 fingers. Nailing my fingers to a table it is!

Would you rather.....kiss a frog OR be a frog?
This one's easy. I'd kiss a frog. Done within a second and I don't have any squeamish qualms. You can get cute frogs too. Just make sure it isn't a poisonous one! Also, there could be a chance that I can find my prince charming. Sounds even better now....

Would you rather.....be seen as quite dull and boring OR be hated.
This one is quite simple too. Because I tend to be a shy and quiet person, people have often seen me as dull and boring. No new experiences there! I wouldn't want to be hated - that makes me sad. Besides, it does say "seen" as quite dull and boring, but it isn't necessarily true that you are. I know I'm not. You just need to get to know me better *evil grin*

Would you rather.....have 1 dollar OR have 1 chicken?
I'm starting to feel skeptical towards these questions. Chicken is the answer. No point having one dollar - it's not much and I can't spend it in the UK anyway. I'd end up buying penny sweets (which unfortunately is a rarity now). With the chicken - I'd look after it well and it can give me my morning eggs. The chicken can be my pet too and we'll play chase in the garden.

Okay one more. Would you rather.....be used as a human paintbrush by a giant OR only travel by goat for the rest of your life?
This is hilarious. It depends really. If the giant was gentle and he was painting you across a nice flat smooth wall then that's fine. But if he's walloping you against a brick wall......well, let's just say it doesn't paint a pretty picture. Would the giant be using you to paint only once.....because that would seem short-term compared to travelling by goat for the rest of your life. The goat appeals to me though because then I would have a travelling companion and he'd only be used for travel - which is great if my I'm feeling tired!

I'm in pain.....it hurts!!

I made a joke to my brother. I said yesterday that I'd spend all of today sunbathing - you know...catching up on some sun that I'd missed when I went Hong Kong. And besides, my legs are pasty. It's like I've never seen sunshine before - I have the colouring of a vampire. Obviously I hadn't planned on spending all day in the garden - perhaps just a little for some nice sunshine but I was looking forward to cooking. And the house needs a little hoovering too. I also have some other work that needs catching up. Sunbathing all day seems un-do-able for me - I'd find it a bore. I'd feel like I'm wasting the day away just sitting there soaking in some sun when I could be doing something productive. I'd be all fidgety.

My plans fell through.

I woke up this morning and I'd somehow strained my right neck. I'm a little bit awkward in my actions and any slight movement to the right side of my neck pains me. I'm in the garden catching some sun because that's all I can do right now. I'm hoping that the pain will ease somewhat soon so I can get to doing the simpliest of things. How unfortunate.

I can't dodge the wasps and massive bumblebees either - because that pains me so!