Saturday 30/8/2014
...
I decided to take this weekend off, but not in the usual
sense one would suppose. There have been very few days since February 8th,
two days after Caroline’s cremation, when I haven’t gone on very long walks.
Then, into the spring and summer, swum or kayaked long distances, or some
combination of these three. Now I’m starting to feel a little weary. I also had
a quandary to ponder, a need to take stock, a need to distance myself from that
jaded feeling I’ve started to get down at the beach, and I also needed get some
things done. One of these was finishing my edit of Factory Station Room 101.
The other was to sort some paperwork for my tax return, because the Inland
Revenue is not noted for its patience whether dealing with the bereaved or
otherwise.
So, this morning I was up at 6.30 and at 7.30 headed out on
a 6.5 mile walk through the mountains. Obviously, something about the idea of
taking a rest from exercise had escaped me. Next, I went shopping in Sitia
because when I found myself having boiled sweet corn for breakfast the day
before I thought maybe it was time to restock the fridge. After packing this
lot away, I ate a meal of salad and frankfurter wraps, then I fell asleep on
the sofa for two hours.
*sigh*
It took me a further two hours to get motivated and finish
those final bits of the second Transformation book. As you read this is should
be sitting in Bella Pagan’s inbox. I then sorted through a drawer full of
receipts to find the relevant ones for the tax man, and hopefully I’ll get all
that stuff completed ready to file my tax return online, which is of course
going to be a joy.
I am determined to take it easy tomorrow and not going
schlepping up to those wind turbines again, or do any other form of heavy
exercise. If anything, I’ll do a bit of light gardening. Let’s see how long
this resolution lasts if it’s hot and still and I start comparing my need to
sort out my taxes to kayaking along the Cretan coast or swimming in the Libyan
Sea.
Sunday 31/8/2014
Minutes of the
Committee for Autonomic Function
Hey look, we really like what you’ve been doing with the old
organism. It’s looking the best it has in fifteen to twenty years and it’s
doing stuff we never thought would be possible. I mean, constant exercise as a response
to trauma ... well, we didn’t see that coming. The expectation here amongst us
was that you’d just load the organism with cigarettes, alcohol and bacon
sandwiches. Well, you quit feeding it alcohol, at least for a while, and those
ecigs were a great move. As for the food intake ... well the cut in input of
carbohydrates came as a shock to us but, as the fat dwindled, we saw that you’d
made the right decision again. However, I’m sorry, enough is enough. Yes,
you’re keeping up the exercise but there have been injuries. You yourself have
admitted that the organism requires periods of rest so committee members can
get on with some repairs. And, let’s be frank here, you’ve strayed back into
trying to use alcohol as a mental analgesic and method of end-of-the-day shutdown,
and it’s been a failure. Alcohol-induced insomnia is hindering the repair
teams. And when we check for the required materials for repairs all we seem to
be finding is empty alcohol calories. You, of course, know all this and this
weekend promised to keep the organism at home so we could service it. Yet, what
was the first thing you did on Saturday morning? You took it for a 6.5-mile
walk. I’m sorry but this was plainly just aberrant and destructive behaviour.
Therefore, we of the committee are enforcing inactivity and sleep interspersed
with periods of high stomach and colon activity. And you, Brain, you we are
shutting down....
It’s been an interesting day and another one of those ‘the
body demands’ times. I was up at 6.00 whereupon I ate a breakfast of three
boiled eggs and six slices of toast. After that I fell asleep for two or more
hours, couldn’t get myself moving properly until 10.00 whereupon I ate a load
of salad and frankfurter wraps. I then fell asleep for another hour or so, was
sluggish for another hour after that, then ate some more wraps and fell asleep
again. Next, I finally got myself motivated to do some cooking and put together
a Swedish meatball stew and ate two bowls full of that. Thus far, at 6.30,
there’s been no sign of Dr Narcolepsy creeping up behind me.
I only have myself to blame. I’ve been exercising
excessively, not eating properly and drinking too much. Mr Insomnia has been
with me most nights and, let’s be frank here, Messrs Beer, Wine and Raki opened
the door for him. All this needs to change ... apart from the exercising
excessively bit.
However, on the good news front: I sorted out all my
receipts and then, upon checking my tax form discovered that now I file my
return online I don’t have to do so until January. It was quite pleasing to
chuck the whole lot back in a drawer. Fuck that shit.
6 comments:
Hey Neal, hows the sleep patterns and diet coming along? I can recommend something for a good clean out... Chicken Phall i think it was called... man, taken me most of the week to recover....
I.
Hi Neal
Get the tax return done, then you can feel smug in January when everyone else is bricking it
@bigmonster77uk
So, not a student of human nature then :)
Thanks for continuing to write your blog. I'm sure I'm not the only one of your readers that feels the need to quietly check in on you, especially now you have lost your dear wife. Eat more protein and the committee may be happier... Regards, Jody
Swedish meatball stew ??? whats the recipe
Ian, I'd be glad to find such a thing here on Crete. They're not much on spicy food here.
bigmonster77uk, yeah, I know, but I just hate doing stuff that results in me giving money to those wankers in Westminster.
Northern fop :)
Eating plenty of protein, Jody, and my greens.
paul2978, it was a general everything left over in the fridge plus meatballs recipe.
Post a Comment