November Daze (The diary lives on)

November 21st... after several days of rain here in California the sun showed it's face again today and put the trees in my front yard in a good light before sinking behind the hill in the late afternoon.
[img]https://i.postimg.cc/BvJxZdDV/Nov21.jpg[/img]

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Bluvation - I wish I was there :)

Saturday 22nd November

Actually, right now I would like to be walking barefoot in some deep, warm soft sand because I've developed a plantar (heel) problem after overdoing the walking in poor shoes lately, so it's very painful to stand or walk :(

Last night the Christmas lights in town were switched on and the streets were filled with fairground rides and amusements. It was so nice to watch the little kids who'd never seen anything like that before... some stared it wonderment and some were crying because it was too much for their little minds and eyes. Some of those rides made me feel sick just looking at them - one was 100 foot high and a sheer drop at speed.. :o
The smell of all the food being cooked was quite nose-filling but it was all rather unhealthy stuff, greasy, fatty and sweet but very popular !

What I did find, that I'd never noticed before was a huge Music Store full of pianos and keyboards mostly. I'll check that out when I can walk again.

Latest
I just made a YouTube for a song I'd produced and I was amazed how the animated gifs I'd picked were in perfect sync with the song beat, a lucky co-incidence. [youtube]No9SIwuYAZ8[/youtube]

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Gizmo saw something cute the other day...but then he realized it was just his reflection

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rootshell attached the following image:

I just read some of Shamika's posts on this thread, and they reminded me of Meg Mason's novel "Sorrow & Bliss," with its very British perspective on the world (even though the author is Australian). Perhaps she's read it?

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"The novel explores mental illness, grief, family dynamics, and the complexities of love, while oscillating between moments of sorrow and dark humor"

You could be right Didier, you are quite perceptive I believe :) Just to clarify... any mental concerns and dark humour are just a manifestation of the darker elements of life affecting my mood and outlook.
But I'd have to disregard "family dynamics or complexities of love" which I chose to 'exaggerate' or fictionalise in the name of art and interest.

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:|

Rest assured—I would never, ever question your sanity! Quite the opposite!

Some time ago, in one of the legendary discussion threads you love to sprinkle all over Wikiloops, you brought up the thrilling topic of Ego!

That idea really got my humble neurons firing. Since then, I’ve been binge-reading and listening to your creations, fueled by that delightful blend of humor—sometimes a bit on the existential-crisis side—that always cracks me up!

You are a first-class writer! Thank you so much for sharing your hilarious tales and wild anecdotes.

P.S.: Hopefully, your feet have finally decided to behave themselves!]

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Im counting down the 13 days I have left to work this year, woohoo can't wait for it :)

As y'all probably noted I am on a path on trying to stay fit so that I will be able to live forever. Or at least until I am 90 years old. Or at least until United will be a title contender. Basically at least another 30 years would be great.

That's why I am in the gym 2 -3 times a week, lifting heavy and doing serious cardio, including running uphill for 3 km and stuff like that.

One of the targets I had when I started going to the gym 3 years ago was to be able to do 3 x 10 pull-ups. Then i could not do even one, so I started with the counter weight assisted machine and slowly worked my way up. A few months ago the moment came, I did it, 3 x 10 pull-ups. So what now? I got bored, so I decided to start with added weights.

Yesterday was the first time I tried my new belt with a 5 kg weight, and to my surprise it worked better than anticipated! Not bad for an old man, I was quite happy with myself :D

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TeeGee attached the following image:

Impressive TeeGee ! 💪:)

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-I'm not as athletic as TeeGee, but I'm still happy with my performance. I started boxing a few months ago and I've lost 7 kilos. My goal is not to lose weight, but if I do, I'll be happy with myself.

I weigh 112 kilos now, but if I ever weigh 100 kilos, it'll be a miracle I never thought I'd be able to. As long as I don't weigh 128 kilos again, like I did two years ago, it was really too much.

-My wife is traveling this weekend. I'm a little confused and lost, because we're never apart. Maybe I'll make music all weekend and get some mental support from Wikiloops.

-I played with a distortion pedal for the first time on Wednesday. It was almost a religious experience. It just reinforced my opinion that I want to play in a hard rock band someday.

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Aito, keep at it, drop some more weight, eat a little less - your old self will thank yourself later in life when your knees and hips are still functioning (Mrs. Gee is a physio therapist and she tells me horror stories about old people who did not keep fit, scared me into starting exercising :O ).

By the way, you mentioned that you started boxing a few times before, this made me think about it, too, I think I would like to do that. Asked in my Gym, but they don't do it. So I will keep looking.

Maybe one day you and I will spar for a few rounds, and then play music :Y (after I have my nose set straight :D :D :D )

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We have fitness boxing here. It includes exercises that boxers do, but no contact. Of course, our boxing gym also has the opportunity to spar lightly, because we also have regular boxing.

I die a few times in every training session, because the training is really hard. I can improve my fitness there for many more years
I recommend martial arts, they are good training when trained properly. Boxing is one of the best, so I would assume that kickboxing would be an even better training.

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25th day of November, the eve of Thanksgiving Eve...
Looked out my window early this morning and was greeted with this sad image.
Maybe our early morning visitor is into boxing like Aito and ran into a wicked right hook.
[img]https://i.postimg.cc/Ls33tRsy/Deer-November.jpg[/img]

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There's a LCFC game tonight and I'm actually looking forward to it. After the terrible results this season and slipping down the league, we have won the last 2 games and our striker scored his fist goal this year... boy he looked happy.

I found this picture (attached) of myself and the 'shrine' I made in 2021 when we beat Chelsea in the Cup Final. See I'm wearing the team face mask because it was so close to the end of Covid.

My foot is still hurting when I walk so I've been sitting down a lot today. I tried to open an Instagram account - it went well until I logged off and couldn't get back on again, I guess I'll have to leave it on indefinitely or go through a load of checks, blocks and password changes and blah blah. Why did I bother, I already gave up on facebook... and Instagram is run be the same frustrating IT folk isn't it. Happy days :o
Cheers from Shamika who is not a domestic Goddess .... and doesn't wear an apron or bake biscuits.

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Shamika attached the following image:

It looks like Leicester are back to old losing ways, lost 3-0 to Southampton. The saddest thing was a lad who was making his debut (18 year old) was sent off, 2 yellow card = a red card bye bye :( In the second half I lost interest and fell asleep. I can't take these games that start at 8pm (as dictated by SKY TV .... bring back the 3pm Saturday games please.
It's 'The Budget' speech today in Parliament, so I'm sure everyone will be unhappy and moaning afterwards. The say they won't increase taxes but they'll find other ways to get money from most of us.
Wouldn't it be nice if Governments had 'Happy Hours' where we could all sit back with a cuppa and hear lots of good news :)

Not sure what I'm doing today (if anything) at the Loops. Lately I seem to be inspired by what people are chatting about. Oh, and I have to find a new place to store my clothes - this morning, the wardrobe was so cold that everything felt wet. OK, I think that's enough for now - loveya x

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Thought of the day after reading an excerpt by Barjavel, a French writer

Almost everyone counts their steps, hoping to feel better about their life, even if those steps lead nowhere, perhaps even hoping to die in good health. Wouldn’t it be more interesting to count the number of pages read that tell of the diversity of people, places, ideas, and emotions?

"Every human being believes they will find happiness tomorrow — if they become richer, more esteemed, more loved; if they change their lover, their car, their tie, or their bra. Each one awaits from the future gentler conditions that will at last grant them happiness. This belief, this waiting, or the struggle man wages for a happiness yet to come, prevents him from being happy today. Tomorrow’s happiness does not exist. Happiness is now, or never. It is not a matter of arranging, embellishing, gilding, or padding life, but of knowing how to taste it at every instant. It is the joy of being alive, whatever the order and the circumstances. It is the joy of drinking the universe through all one’s senses — to taste, to feel, to hear the sun and the rain, the wind and the blood, the air in one’s lungs, the breast in the hand, the tool in the fist, the sky and the daisy within the eye."

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I did a indoor swim workout, 90 minutes, and it was fantastic. Has been many weeks when I had this the last time. I feel 5 years younger now. Will do this again on friday, so then this makes 10 years younger, when my algebra is right.

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there's some good ideas for lyrics in this, like swimming back to a fetus or something:) or along the movie line Cocoon

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Saturday 20th November
My team are sliding futher down, today they let in 2 goals in the first 5 minutes, people at the game were leaving after 32 minutes when the 3rd went in.

It's the last day of November tomorrow so Monday will see the last Diary of the year, we should try and make it a good one. I've not been posting so much because I haven't been out of the house for days as I can't put my foot down without pain. However I'm going to try a short walk to the end of the road tonight to see if there are any Fairy lights, that's probably the only thing I look forward to at Christmas being a 'bah humbug' type of person.

I spent ages putting together a spoof Open mic night at the Blue Iguana (soundtrack) yesterday, I didn't think it was that good but some folks liked it so it was worth the effort.
Nobody posted their 'spoken word' on my Audio Book thread so I closed it, however I have opened Chapter 2 if anyone was reading my story and I will open up another chapter soon.

After reading about Aito and TeeGee's exercise and fitness I feel really guilty. I was a Health and fitness promoter for many years and fit as a fiddle but I can hardly get up from a squat now :( I still do the wind down and relax part of training :)

I just found a song I wrote about Sunday so I'll probably post that tomorrow but I also have a really interesting drum track that people might use.... we'll see.

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For my very last November Diary post I thought I'd give wikiloopers a peep into my Zen Den. I wish it was as good as Navota's. I did have much more in there but then I changed it to a minimalist Oriental room place to chill out.

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Shamika attached the following image:

Good bye November. I'll miss you but not as much as I miss July. But don't get it wrong. No stress! We can stay friends if You like.

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