Life is good

Currently I'm feeling pretty contented.

I've managed to stop spending money on crap I like but don't need.
The ongoing clearout is still ongoing, but it's getting there.
I've really loving running again, have done my first race in 7 years (MHFS 5k) and am going to enter the paisley 10k.  I've also noticed entries are open for a 5k I used to love - The Great Winter Run. 5k up and round Arthurs Seat in Edinburgh.

So yeah, things are pretty good right now.

NT properties, GPS problems, and a heavy head cold. Weekend fun

At the weekend, we had decided to go and check out Falkland Palace.  Saturday morning, and into the car we got, and attempted to put the post code into the gps, which decided it wasn't going to turn on!  Fair do's we've had it for about 7 or 8 years, and it's an obsolete RAC branded device that we can't update any longer, so off a quick detour to Halfords to replace it was in order.  Once there, they didn't have the one we wanted, but the Bishopbriggs branch did.  Now I'd have needed a GPS to FIND Bishopbriggs, so it was Google maps on the phone to the rescue.

New GPS in place, and off we headed.  about 40 minutes later, "BATTERY LOW!" on the GPS followed by it dying on us, and then the realisation that it wasn't either GPS that was gubbed, it was the lighter socket that they were being plugged into. So basically that was a GPS we didn't have to buy.  Except we probably did (see the previous comment about not being able to update the old one).

So, back to Google maps, and eventually we got to the rather stunning Falkland Palace, where there was a Mary Queen of Scots day taking place, with people playing Mary and Lord Darnley, walking the grounds, and the chance to try falconry and archery taking place as well.

After Falkland Palace, we headed to Hill of Tervit, a stunning property in the middle of nowhere.  The guy who owned the house had been a collector, and the house had been designed and built to house his collection (furniture, tapestries etc). Rather than buying a house and filling it with a collection, he had his collection and built the house to suit.  A nice touch was that he insisted all the bedrooms looked different, as "This is a house, not a hotel".

As we headed to the car to go home, the heavens opened.  It had been a really nice day and was dry and sunny up to that point.  The whole way home was torrential rain.

Great day out though.

On Sunday we'd headed to the pub in the afternoon, but had to come home early, as I got floored with a really bad cold.  Had to take a couple of days off work, and it's not completely cleared yet.

So, a good weekend (except for having to cut short the pub!)

Lunchtime solo run

So today, my lunchtime running buddy had a day off and wasn't at work, so, off I went on my own.
The route I took was one we've run before, and according to Map My Run, is 4.3k.
I set off at a fair-ish pace, but soon found my calf muscles were feeling a bit tight. (Possibly due to a combination of karate and badminton at the weekend)

Not so good.

I tried reigning in the pace a bit, and they soon loosened off.  The rest of the run was just the lazy side of pushing it, and was pretty uneventful.  No stitch, no trouble with the breathing, and no more muscle aches.

Back at the uni, and I made sure to do a decent stretch and not just a token one.

I've never been a fan of running on my own, as I always found it hard to push myself, but I kind of enjoyed today's solo outing.

Just when it was all going so well.....

My new lunchtime running is in a bit of a crisis.  The girl that I've been running with has been having half problems, which only flare up when she runs on concrete.  Off road is no problem, so she's having to stick to trails, which leaves me on my lonesome.

Now the problems are that I find running on my own a bit hard as I'm crap at pacing myself, BUT, she has said that she'll lend me her Garmin, so I should be able to stick to a pace.  The good thing about this is that it'll give me a chance to "try before I buy", as I'm seriously thinking about getting a Garmin this year.

The is another work colleague that wants to come running, but I know for a fact that the pace will have to drop as he's been out of it longer that I have, and as I've entered a race for next month, and I'm looking to UP my pace, this isn't ideal.  I think for the moment, that running solo is probably my best bet.

So, swings and roundabouts.

Who'd have thought

So now I seem to be into an established routine as far as running goes (Tuesday and Thursday lunchtimes and Saturday mornings).  I also have karate on a Thursday night.  Last night was the best sleep I've have in a couple of years.  I slept right through to the alarm, which is something I haven't done in a long time.

So, really enjoying the running, getting fitter, keeping the weight off, AND sleeping better.  What's not to like.

Another mini clear out

The ongoing (and glacially slow) downsizing of "stuff" continues.  Today I traded in 5 dvds for a Van Halen cd (For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge) and a £5 credit note.  There were more than 5 dvd's, but that's all the 2nd hand record shop was interested in, so the rest ended up in a charity shop.

So, slightly less clutter and some stuff donated to charity.  That's an ok result for a lunchtime wander.

First step taken

So, following on from the previous post, I went for a run at lunchtime today with a colleague.
2.64km in about 15 mins.  Not a long run in terms of either distance or time, and it was a nice easy pace, BUT the point it, it was a start.  It's the first run in about 5 years, and I've rediscovered that I did love running.

Next run is Thursday lunchtime.  Bring it on.

Decision made. Let's see if I can stick to it.

So I've decided it's time to get back into running.  For about seven years, I was a member of Bellahouston Road Runners, and loved it.  I went from not being able to run the length of myself, so running the Edinburgh marathon, and regularly running half-marathons and 10k's, with my favourite race being the Brampton to Carlisle 10 miler, which is the oldest 10 mile road race in the country.
Then, I got gout, and couldn't walk much less run.  By the time I was mobile again, it came as a hell of a shock how much my fitness and stamina had dropped.  This in turn led to serious motivational issues, and I stopped running.

Well, it's been about 4 years since I last pulled on a pair of running shoes, but I've been thinking about it lately.  So yesterday, I picked up some running socks to try and motivate me to pull on the trainers and go for a run.  Admittedly, this will happen once I get back from holiday.  So, in about 3 weeks, I'll be coughing up a lung on the side of the paths in Pollok park.  Hopefully this won't take too long to overcome, and I'll be getting the miles under my belt again.

Scottish CND rally

Yesterday Scottish CND held a rally in George Square in Glasgow, as part of their Springwalk.  There was a really good atmosphere, and the speakers were all well recieved by the crowd.

Deputy First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, confirmed that if Scotland got independence, Trident would not be used as a bargaining chip with Westminster, and that they were committed to removing all nuclear weapons from Scotland.

So without further ado, here's some photos.

What was that crunch?

That crunch dear reader, was the sound of a filling coming loose.  A white filling at the front none the less.
So, on the plus side, I phoned in the morning, and got an appointment for the afternoon, AND it's not painful.
On the negative side, that's money that would have been put to better use, in the pub or going for a curry.

But there you go.

Yesterday I took a day off.  We had a wander round the Necropolis, then went for lunch in the Catherdral House Hotel - which I can recommend - then visited the Ramshorn graveyard in the Merchant City, and the Glasgow Police Museum, just a couple of streets away again.  Really interesting wee museum.

So, back to today and the dentist, so it's leave work in just over an hour, get the tooth fixed, then back into town to kill time till 5:10pm when it's guitar lesson time.

It would be a good day if it wasn't for the inconvenience of the dentists.  Ah well, merde happens.

Big jaggy thistle in Central Station

On the way to work this morning, I saw the unveiling of the Commonwealth Games mech stand in Central Station.  Bit surreal seeing a scrum of photographers taking pics of a guy dressed as a thistle, cutting a ribbon, but hey, it's all fun.

Bike porn.

Spent some time yesterday in Decathalon looking at bikes.  Went to look at the mtb's but ended up really liking the look of the road bikes.  Go figure.

Anyway, back on the bike today for the commute to work.  Really nice ride.  The weather was really nice and crisp.  Chilly but not too cold.

Wee book of bike routes

Picked up this wee book at the weekend.  It's got 40 routes in Central Scotland, all starting and finishing at railway stations, so they're all doable from Glasgow and/or Edinburgh.  Roll on the bike to work (for the mountain bike) and the better weather.

Back on the bike

Finally, the winds that have been gusting for what seems like months, have finally abated.  The forecast for the week is good.  Mild, and if the crocuses in the parks are an indication, then spring has arrived early.
So, with the weather in my favour, this morning I got back on the bike for the first time since the end of October.

I was pleasantly surprised that I only took a couple of minutes longer to get to work, than I took last year, so that's good.

This year I'd like to take the odd day off here and there, and go for a proper run on the bike, and not just use it to commute. I'll be playing that by ear, and just see how it goes.

Update, shmupdate

Just a wee bit of nonsense as I've not posted anything lately.  So, here we go.

Due to work, I never made the meditation group last week, but did make it today.  It was a different meditation (not the mindfulness meditation of the previous week), I can't remember the name at the moment, but it was really good.  Yes I found my mind wandering while we were sitting, but as the guy from the Buddhist centre, who takes the group, says, noticing you've wandered, and coming back to the meditation, is good, and you should give yourself a pat on the back, as noticing you've wandered is part of the point, and not something to beat yourself up over.

On the guitar lesson front, I've been getting some Black Sabbath to learn, which is really cool.  I've done Electric Funeral, and now I'm onto Paranoid.  What's great is that I've got all the early Sabs stuff, so I can practice till I'm confident enough, then try playing along to the cd.  Result.

New Beanie

Those who know me will know where I stand on the subject of independence for Scotland.  If you don't know, the pic below should provide you with a clue. :-)

Getting meditative

A couple of years ago (and again last year) the work had a "Health and Wellbeing" day for staff, to try and encourage the wine sozzled, refectory food guzzling slobs who work here, to get off they're arses and well, not drop dead basically.
As part of this event, there was an introduction to meditation.  I went along, really liked it, and wanted to keep going, but as is typical where I'm concerned, no group started up, and the chance to keep going in a group never materialised.

Until yesterday.

The woman who had arranged for someone to come in and run the meditation taster, managed to find someone from the Glasgow Buddhist Centre, to come in and take a group.

So yesterday afternoon, was my first group session of mindfullness meditation.  I have to say, that afterwards, I felt really calm and happier than I had been when I went in.
Unfortunately, due to timetable issues, I'll only be able to make it along once a fortnight, but hey, it's better than nothing.  And, once I know what I'm doing, I'll be able to do it on my own, when I want/need to.

Electric Glen

On Saturday we went to the Electric Glen in Rouken Glen park.  It's a light installation with a couple of wee stages, and it's really cool.  The theme was the pattern and dye works that used to be in Thronliebank, and there were patterns projected onto the ground and onto trees.  Really cool.
Unfortunately, it's now sold out, so if you haven't got a ticket, you'll have to wait till next year.

To strike or not to strike....

I'm a card carrying union member.  I have been since I left school and started working in Barr and Stroud, a historic engineering company in Glasgow, that has since been swallowed up by a multinational.  It also moved site to from the west of Glasgow to the south side, so not only has a historic company vanished, but a stunning old building has been demolished to make way for a supermarket.

But I digress.

As I say, I've been a union member for a few months shy of 30 years, and in that time have taken part in industrial actions.  I did this because I believed they were right, they were (unfortunately necessary), and in all cases a result (or at least a happy compromise) was obtained.

Not this time.  There has been two one day strike previous to today's, which I did take part in, and took my turn on the picket line for.  Not this time.

What's so different this time?  I'll tell you.

The vote in favour of today's action, was 20 for, 0 against.  There were approximately 30 people at the meeting, out of a membership of about 130.  There were no "against" votes, as there was no point.  The first question was "those in favour".  20.  There was no way the remaining 10 could make a difference, so officially it was 10 abstentions.

Now, out of a membership of over 100, I don't think 20 voting to strike is a mandate.  Yes, I know that's the majority of the people who attended the meeting.  A meeting that was held at short notice so we could take action on the same day as other unions, but to my mind not a mandate.
Then there's the fact that some of the more militant people, always seem to have conveniently taken a day off  that just happens to coincide with the day of action.  Call me cynical, but if you are party to information that allows you to take a day off PRIOR to the rest of us being told when the day of action is, I call foul.
The same people, when there was a work to rule in previous years, they were happy to do all the overtime that was going.
So, do I feel guilty?  No.

Like I said earlier, I do agree with the principles of the action, but not based on the numbers voting for it.  There should be a quorum when it comes to votes on industrial action.

Life of late

Not been up to much that's blog-worthy of late.  The clearout is ongoing, but is glacially slow.  I need to be more brutal and just get rid of stuff.

Yesterday, I took a day off work and went to the Jack Vettriano exhibition at Kelvingrove.  Really good exhibition. I didn't buy a catalogue, as they were all sealed, and there wasn't one to flick through to see if it was worth buying.  Back home, I found an online preview of it, and it's nice.  Very nice.  If I wasn't having a clearout, I'd seriously consider nipping back along and picking up a copy.  If I can be a bit productive at ditching stuff, I may well treat myself with this.

This weekend coming, we're off to the Electric Glen, at Rouken Glen park.  Someone in work went last year and says it's well worth doing.  We're going to book an Indian and head there before the walk.

Guitar lessons are coming along quite well, so I'm happy with that.

Ah well, onwards and upwards.