Almost a year ago Guy expressed his concerns at the growing levels of inactivity and obesity in UK school-age children as well as the lack of organized outdoor sporting events for young people. Guy established a Community Interest Company called ConceptX to address this, with the aim of organizing outdoor activities specifically for under 18s. I share Guys concerns and therefore jumped at the idea of cycling Coast-to-Coast to raise money for these events. I had high hopes of being able to drum up a strong University of Bristol Cycling Club contingent, however one by one they dropped and unfortunately I was the sole survivor who made it to the start line in Whitehaven.
All too often when I'm asked "what did you do today" I'm stumped as to how to respond. Sometimes days go by where I can't recall doing anything of note. For instance, today I didn't leave the confines of the house and spent the majority of the dreary day sat on my lazy arse.
The most productive task of the day was replying to an email that informed me I will be charged a fine of £5 + VAT for failing to pay my rent on time. This was a rather unexpected shock for me, especially as I spend a fair amount of time surfing and contributing to the money saving expert forums and consider myself to be pretty money savvy compared to the average student (I'm known by my housemates as the freebie king). Thanks to student finance, I most certainly have enough money in my account to pay for rent. Woah wait a minute... So that just makes me a plonker for not coughing up on time. Right? Wrong!
Check out this snippet from an email I received from the property agents back in March:
" We have prepared a standing order for the monthly rent starting on August 1st and 1st monthly from this date onwards. "
To me, that clearly states that they confirm a standing order has been set up, therefore I should have nothing to worry about... See how I'm confused why there's a problem. By this point I'd tripled checked my bank account to ensure I truly hadn't paid and wasn't midway through being conned out of my money. I think I've set the scene for how bafled I was when I opened the email, firstly to see that the only message was a tirse direction to the 'letter attachment', why they bothered making an atfachment rather than just writing what needed to be said in a standard email is beyond me, and after all that effort they didn't even let me know how I could pay what was outstanding. Unbelievable. Anyway, to cut a really short story that got excessively dragged out into a long ramble that could continue well into the night due to my extremely boring, unproductive day, (breathe), I replied with a very formal response that prompted a civilised reply and the revoking of the late rent fine.
I'm glad that's all sorted. Hopefully the standing order will work next month. You can bet your bottom dollar I'll be keeping an eye on my statement come the 1st September.
The rest of my day played out in a very similar manner. Dull, disengaging and monotonous. Or some other words that basically say I was very very bored.
It goes without saying that I was within wifi range at all times as a requirement to feed my obsession with my new phone. I may have to put it on the time out step for a few hours tomorrow so I can unwind.
So there we have it. A dull day, topped off with a gubbing on one of my top matched betting bookie accounts midway through rolling over a £100 bonus. Goodness knows where I stand now. It's a real shame since the bonuses proved particularly profitable compared to many other books. Life goes on. Let's see what tomorrow brings. Any more cliches to round off?
Exams are over! They are all in the past. The final one went so badly, but now it's just another painful memory. Besides, this was my attitude as I entered, so it's my own flippin fault.
The lego dance movie is an inspiration. My music video idea will surely lift off now summer has finally cracked. The relaxing pasta party topped with gooey Ben & Jerrys was just what I needed. Shame I'm awful at conversations without saying something completely Non-Politically-Correct. Good for cheap laughs... until it gets old. Story of my life. Legs are gonna get burnt tomorrow! Bricking it. How far? How far? Legs are not impressed just thinking about it!
Stress is oozing from my body causing me to feel constantly sleepy. Definitely rewarding myself with a snooze now.
There I was sleeping peacefully, for a change, and something jolts me from my sleep. Hmm. It's not a fire alarm. Nor is it anyone banging the front door. Oh... oh dear lord... NOT AGAIN! Yes indeed. Bashful the stallion is at it once more at 6 O'CLOCK in the morning! Right afterwards I heard a bunch of drunk students ambling past the house. That says a lot about what time it was. Unbe-bloody-lievable! That set the tone for revision really... not that I got lucky tearing my brain out at turbulent fluid flow down a rough pipe... But it was rather distracting having sex in the back of my mind right from the start... And the prospect of none for a very long time. Take note at how the male brain works: 'Food, Sleep, Sex, other'. A crude generalisation, but sometimes that's the way of life. With little revision actually accomplished the day/week/month took a huge turn for the better with a simple phone call. Sometimes phones are really under-rated. The whole situation that brought about the unfortunate tale of my unfiltered blabbings on the internet has been resolved. Things seem back to normal, and it feels fantastic. Better than before in fact due to a giddy after effect of all emotions catching up on me. Now I think I can deal with Bashful getting it any time of day, knowing that there's a sex-filled future. Phew for that. There was very little motivation to revise after the news, so Dexter made an appearance with 3 episodes interspersed with 15mins for a revision session (crikey that's almost 3hrs of blood spatter analysis and pre-meditated murder!). And the 8km Run at just after 9pm finished off what was a truly random day filled with happiness and a bit of everything else in between. To top it off, I've been invited on a run with two guys who post sub 16-min 5ks!! Frankly, I'm terrified, but also feeling dead chuffed to be asked along. Better get some recovery sleep so I'm all set in the morning. A real 'Loving Life' kind of day. Starting June how I mean to continue.
Some hefty fines to slap on dog owners not cleaning up do dos! My mind is whirring at the possibilities here. A quick fancy dress shop visit for an 'outfit of authority' should do the trick. £60 spot fines sounds reasonable. Beats slogging away at £5/hr. Fortunately for my neighbours my awesome ideas are rarely followed through on.
Snapped a number 1 that must've been drawn by a 3 year old... it's facing the wrong way! Pernickety as I may be, it's just plain wrong.
And a healthy reminder that it's spring and things are green which generally makes the world a bit of a happier place.