Before I'm 30 Part I

This is going to be an ongoing theme in this blog hopefully one that I can refer back to as time progresses. I sat down and wondered today what my aims actually are; what things did I dream about. The traditional thing is to have a "to do before I'm 30". Due to my proximity I'm going to add 3 years onto it for various reasons. As things occur to me I'll add them to this list. For now the my main ideas are:

(1) Run a 10K (This August)
(2) Run a marathon - preferably London. Whilst I can I'd like to feel the achievement of actually completing something like this; a personal milestone if you will
(3) Complete the Mongol Rally - why? I like the idea of the challenge of being out in the middle of nowhere with no help, no one to sweep you up if things go wrong
(4) Travel to South America - the samba, the football, the culture, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Chile - I want to see all of them
(5) Travel to Africa - culture and music - a rich tapestry of wildlife. Hopefully this year...
(6) Have another decent relationship - hide this one in here... I'm not saying married, nor kids, I'm talking on a personal level because that is the very first step, and its missing. I stress the another, part not to underwrite how I feel about my last (and indeed only) relationship...
(7) Learn to snowboard - I know skiing is more flexible but I've always wanted to board
(8) Play funk properly - basically, find a band and learn to improvise playing sax...
(9) Play guitar properly

That's it for the moment. More will happen and every-so-often I'll update the list to show where progress is!

I don't want to write this post...

No really I don't. Because it sums a lot of things up maybe. So in short yes I went speed dating tonight - it was fun I guess but hardly earth shattering. Would I recommend it? Probably not but I'd say do it if you want.

But first, I stopped off on my way to writing this at a life of perfect days and read the post Soul connections. It sums up so much so well. Please read it.

So that's the easy bit out of the way. Now to come over all Carrie Bradshaw... I suppose the thing with speed dating is that it always shows you up for who you are. I am a fairly well-educated white middle-class guy with a good view on his future. I guess that I know what I'm looking for in my life, and boy did I not find it at this gig. But there's also a bit of me that feels slightly ashamed of thinking that way. But its who I am and I'm not sure I really want to change it, I think I may quite like it - I'd like to be Hugh Grant or Michael Palin, but I've heard that those jobs have already been taken. I've cut what was here as it sounded quite harsh, maybe too harsh.

But, and I guess that this is the thing; we're all searching for that connection. Can you find it though speed dating, I'm not so sure. I guess I'd be the first to ask whether you can find it through traditional dating, but maybe I'm just not someone who has been on enough dates to find out. Which is not a fine thing, but I guess I'm not generating enough interest to get those dates in the first place. So as the man says pick the bones out of that one. I guess I look back on it and realise that I just don't have the luck sometimes, or maybe I'm too picky, but surely that's my prerogative?

I say this almost while cracking my knuckles looking furtively over at Match.com which has hardly been a rich source - replies are really not flooding in. Maybe I'm just at the point of saying right I need a dating doctor/actually going out and hiring hitch. I still wonder about this. Before you ask, this isn't a kneejerk to speed dating, its a fairly longstanding consideration. It's why I booked myself on the aborted flirting class.

Just writing about this it occurred to me that those that can do, those that can't write about it.

So Now...

Its an interesting thing. I've been working on some things about myself, in a personal sense recently. I mentioned a while ago I'd booked myself onto a flirting workshop. The result? It didn't happen, cancelled due to myself being the only applicant. Ha! It seems quite ironic really, I did laugh at the time.

In the much vaunted world of dating, I've started on internet dating, taking Match.com on on their six month pledge... I'm off speed dating on Wednesday evening, probably, with some guys from work so I'm going to have to do a bit of work on thinking up some openers that both interesting and none work based as I've done it a couple of times before and conversations drifted to work - bah boring!

Earworms Part XV

I thoroughly admit to being a Streetlight Manifesto fan. Its just fun music, and they've just released a new project, recording a set of covers. This track is the last from the album (that I'm about to order). Its a cover of "Such Great Heights" by "The Postal Service". I'm still blown away by the brass opening replacing the synth. Awesome tune, can't wait to own the album!

The Page Intentionally Left Blank....

I have a whole heap to say, and nothing that I actually want to write about... This isn't really too uncommon at the moment. But I do feel that all this has some benefit; maybe. Its a comparison that I've made a few times but I do feel like the football manager talking about the new project at the football club when its in its early stages, and there are the odd set of ups and downs.

So, yes I went out last Friday - I can't describe how depressing it was - a bunch of 40 somethings; I left at what I felt was the right point. I still had limbs connected and a face pointing in the right direction with profile intact. This shouldn't be the qualification for a good night when you've got to go out and spend longer watching your back than having some fun. Granted I really wasn't drinking heavily mainly because I'd not eaten and wanted to keep my wits about me.

Funnily enough just talking about things with some mates today over lunch we were all commenting how much we'd like some kind of place round here for us to drink and not get bothered by some of the pillocks you find out and about...

Love... Actually... Part II

So I didn't think I could find the video on Youtube, but I did, its here. So as I said last time, it really is a fluffy world that Richard Curtis creates, and its a shame its not really real. Why do I like this clip? One reason, and one reason alone, it gets me every time I watch it. What is it? Simply the look on Rufus' (Rowan Atkinson) face at the gate as he allows Sam to slip through. Just a look that says I'm doing this for you - its the most glorious smile you can see on someone's face and a fairly sharp contrast to some bits of the me culture in the modern world. Especially the doom and gloom of modern times.

Love... Actually....

This is a bit self-gratuitous, I apologise... I finally watched Love Actually the other week and it pulled at my heart strings just a little bit. One really nice scene (there is another that gets me every time, though I'm not going to reveal it...), the trouble with those things is that they always make you feel warm and fluffy then you remember the real world rather than the Richard Curtis inspired one which sadly isn't quite as nice... So on with my hackneyed view of the world. Misguided? Maybe, well-meaning? Hopefully always...

The first is here when Mark "talks" to Juliet with the carol singers backing. I just adore the phrasing of:

"But for now let me say,
without hope or agenda,
Just because its Christmas -
(and at Christmas you tell the truth)
To me, you are perfect

And my wasted heart will love you
Until you look like this:
Merry Christmas

Ok enough, enough now."

Maybe we all have these moments occasionally.

Earworms Part XIV

The first of a new crop. This is by a band called Mumford & Sons who I'm probably about 6 months late on. But still, they're ace, and so is the song. It's called "Little Lion Man" off "Sigh No More". Very poignant lyrics I'm finding myself singing along, and agreeing with. It makes me want to learn to play guitar properly. Cautionary warning over lyrics... and apologies for the slightly small size...

I was struck by something...

... the other morning, I'd say nothing dangerous but thoughts sometimes often are. I've just finished reading Danny Wallace's book "Yes Man", its a great read, plug over. But there are some really great concepts in it when you cut through some of the weirder stuff. Saying yes to things generally is good. Its amazing where it gets you sometimes. Maybe that's the moral of it all?

Anyway I digress slightly into what has the danger of sounding like a rather camp set of comments, but hear me out. Where this starts is standing in front of a mirror of the morning having a shave. One very simple question, what do you see? Aside from the answer of "me staring back". It puzzled me for a moment looking, as there was something that caught my eye, literally. There have been lots of quotations abouts eyes and the soul (Matthew 6:22,23 or science based). It sounds odd to say it, but I look at my eyes most mornings - sometimes they are dull and lifeless (cf some annoying advert), other times there's this shine there in the blue, kind of a flash - it always tends to be when I'm feeling up about something. Damn those lifeless dull blue-grey days.