Just things.

Entering today's food data into MyFitnessPal and I realised that all I've eaten today are sandwiches. I'm way under the calorie limits but eating bacon and then chicken sandwiches for my meals isn't particularly healthy in the long run.

That realisation (sandwiches all day) prompted a memory from a party I was at years ago. It was a friend's house and even though I lived about twenty minutes walk away, I was staying the night, with a load of other people. Eventually, the host and his girlfriend disappeared for the night. The host's girlfriend was someone I went to school with - a minor crush, and arguably one of the prettiest girls in school with a GREAT figure.

The rest of us stayed up, drinking, playing games and listening to music, disappearing one by one as alcohol or sleep got the better of them. With only a few of us left standing, I needed the bathroom so tiptoed up the stairs. Another guest, correctly guessing my destination, came barrelling up the stairs after me, rugby tackling me as I tried to get the the toilet, my bladder full.

I wasn't quick enough and was rugby tackled before I could get into the bathroom. We fell against a door, which burst open and we both fell on the floor. Surprisingly, no-one woke up. We got to our feet to realise we were in the host's bedroom where he, and his girlfriend, were lying, naked, on top of the bed.

We beat a hasty retreat and closed the door softly behind us. I used the bathroom and returned downstairs where everyone had gone home or fallen asleep. I sat on the sofa, turned the music down, and chilled with a beer. Sleep eluded me and I was still awake at 6 AM when I heard steps on the stairs.

It was the host's girlfriend, wrapped in nothing but a bathrobe. I keep calling her "the host's girlfriend", making it sound like we were strangers, but as I mentioned earlier, we went to the same school and while our paths crossed infrequently, we were on decent speaking terms.

With it being the middle of summer, the sun was coming up and we were in a spell of good weather, so it wasn't that cold. We adjourned to the garden with cold beers and cigarettes and just chatted until we were joined, a few hours later, by others who had woken up.

That in itself is a nice memory for me - just sitting, chatting and comfortable with the company, but part of the conversation was related to healthy eating and the advice given to me to cut out the sandwiches/bread that I was living on at the time. That's what provoked the memory earlier when I realised what I had been eating today.

The weight loss journey: update.

So far, the calorie counting hasn't been as troublesome or as difficult as I'd imagined. Long may that continue. MyFitnessPal has also encouraged me to manage my water intake as well, which I was appalling at.

Over the past week, I've noticed my sleep quality improving. I haven't woken up in the middle of the night which I have been doing a lot of, for quite some time actually.

The only other thing is the exercise. That's on hold for a few days. A... errrmmm... chafing issue has put paid to that. I can probably get back to it on Friday or so. I should be upping my game by introducing yoga to the mix anyway, on top of my lunchtime walk. At least, once I get to grips with the calorie counting.

I've started eating breakfast and that's helping a lot. It means I'm not as hungry at lunchtime and that carries through to tea-time. Food is the key, though. I'm not sure the Huel is too helpful as it really doesn't give me the sensation of having eaten anything.

I'll have to take a look at some of my favourite recipes and work out their calorie counts so incorporate those into my new, calorie-tracked diet.

Out of the blue.

Out of the blue, Quiet Girl messaged me, asking how I was getting on. This was a surprise. I had the impression that, now she had moved on to another department, she wouldn't chat any more. She didn't seem to be the type to "hold on". After all, she sat within 5 metres of a girl that I thought she was friendly with (the same girl she was with when I danced with her at the Xmas party years back) and yet never actually spoke to her.

So, for Quiet Girl to get in touch just to chat (work was not mentioned at all) was really quite pleasant.

I don't think that we're ever going to be proper friends, but it was nice that she got in touch.

Something to look forward to.

KfW2 randomly followed up on our chat a few days ago and re-iterated that when the pandemic is over, that we should have a proper night out. She had mentioned it prior to the lock down, which I reminded her of.

I suggested a couple of places, just to whet the appetite - the CB Bar being one, another place in the city being another.

Something else to look forward to once we all come through this crisis.

Just more stuff

One thing I didn't get from KfW2's visit was a hug. KfW2 gives great hugs and is quite tactile. I'm touch starved at the best of times, but I could really do with some physical interaction with someone right now.

It goes further than that, obviously. The lack of other, physical, needs is extremely evident at the moment and the loneliness is getting to the point where it's an issue (it's always there in the background, though). This is what I meant in the last post when I said that KfW2's visit brought things to light.

I didn't realise how lonely I was until I had actual, real company even for a short while.

Just stuff.

CC turned up to collect her return label and immediately wanted into the house. Sigh. I knew this would happen. I've spoken to her at length about social distancing, but she just ignores it. I kinda feel guilty because of her mental health, but she's the one living with elderly parents and on the off-chance that I am an asymptomatic carrier, I really don't want to be putting her parents at risk.

She threw a huff and stropped off into my back garden whereupon she spent a good twenty minutes telling me what to do with my garden. Why is it that everyone is an expert on things? My cousin, a few days ago, was exactly the same and he's not even seen my house but could tell me how to do everything.

CC did look good, dressed in yoga pants and a reasonable tight top showing off her figure in a way I don't recall she's done before. She also had an ass too. I presume that's the gym paying off, but she never looked like that in her jeans and baggy top which is her usual attire.

Still, as good as CC looks, as soon as she starts talking, then the illusion all falls apart. She has a habit of making a conversation sound like a lecture, which I find extremely off-putting.

I had an eye on the clock too. There was an outside chance that KfW2 was going to call round. I've not seen KfW2 in, what, six weeks at least, and if I am being honest, our communication hasn't been great - semi-random text messages and some short chats over IM.

I didn't want CC and KfW2 bumping into each other, mainly from the CC perspective.

KfW2 did turn up, but not until well after CC had gone. She was extremely paranoid that someone would see, even though we were adhering to the social distancing directions. KfW2 does sometimes get very self-conscious about what other people think. Regardless, we ended up chatting for probably about 90 minutes. That's easily the most human interaction I've had and I think it made me realise that I'm not coping with the isolation as well as I'd thought.

I sent her a quick message this morning, thanking her for calling round and I think she really appreciated it. KfW2 suggested that she might call round again, soon-ish as she's going to be in the area a bit more over the next few weeks. I told her that she'd be welcome whenever.

That's true. She knows I value her friendship. Maybe it's time for a reminder.

Oops!

CC has been asking me for a few days to print something for her. I agreed, but she was being very secretive about what it was she wanted printing.

However, I have my answer... a return label for Figleaves.

Now my mind's been taken places it should really be going with regards CC and sexy underwear. It could be anything - pyjamas, sportswear etc. but that's not where my imagination is going. Hmmm.

Weigh in #1

Stepped on the scales for the first of my regular, weekly weigh-ins. It's only been a few days since I did it last week, before any dieting started, so I wasn't expecting a lot of movement.

From 230.4 lbs to 228.6 lbs. That's a loss of 1.8 lbs in only a few days.

The big goal is to get to 196 - 200 lbs, but between then, I have interim goals: 224 and 210 lbs. That's 16 stone and 16 stone respectively. I've no real time scale, but if I continue to lose 2 lbs per week, I'll be content.

That's no small effort, mind you, but it's an encouraging start!

The journey continues

I didn't actually get out to do any specific exercise today. I spent two hours on the phone to my cousin then did some bits and pieces in the garden that I didn't get done yesterday. My neighbours spent all afternoon in the garden, playing with their kids and exercising.

Still, I don't feel bad about not getting my walk in. I did that much stuff around the house, plus that much pacing about on the phone that I smashed my step count that must have been a good portion of the walk.

Even without the exercise, just by hitting my calorie goal, I'm still losing weight. And today, I'm way under even that, assuming I don't snack between now and bedtime.

Further ramblings

I've often made a comparison about how much the lovely, and talented, Alison Brie looks like CH. It's often difficult to explain or even get an image of as it's a fleeting look or expression. This picture does a good job. Or even better, find the gif, because her movement really makes her look like CH.

Just stuff.

I was going to spend the afternoon doing bits and pieces in my back garden. It's in an horrendous state, and even though we're on lock down, with any good weather, being able to sit in the garden, listen to music and read a book would be a pleasure.

However, my neighbours are out doing theirs and I am horrendously self-conscious about people "watching" me, so I am holed up in the house. I should be out doing my daily walk... and I will do that in a few minutes.

Hopefully the neighbours won't take all afternoon to do stuff and I can go out later and at least make a start on tidying some stuff up.

Don't get me wrong, the neighbours are lovely - it's not like we don't get along or anything like that. I'm just stupidly self-conscious when doing stuff on my own. It was the same with going to gym and things of that ilk.

I did get a quote off a guy about doing the work, but it was nearly double what I was expecting it to be, so I've not gone ahead with that right now. I'll need a few more quotes to see what can be done.

So... hungry...

OK, so I've just had dinner and I'm feeling bit better but I have been starving all afternoon, despite a large ham salad at lunch and a snack of blueberries.

Two hot-dogs for dinner and that's essentially my calorie allotment for the day all done.

That's a tiny amount of food! Admittedly, my stomach has probably swollen a bit and I do need to adjust portion size on top of everything else.

Meanwhile, FBS, Friction Guy and D are all sending me message with pictures of alcohol in them. I could murder a beer (and FBS in a bikini top), but I think I'm going to give alcohol a miss for a few weeks until I get into a better routine with this food malarkey.

Just some randomness.

I was browsing IMDB today, bored. IMDB lists celebrities who are celebrating their birthdays today, and among them is Stacy Haiduk.

She first caught my eye in my late teens, appearing in Superboy. I don't remember watching the show religiously, but I do remember finding her ridiculously attractive right from the start. A redhead with eyes that pop.

All of a sudden, she appeared in SeaQuest DSV a short time later. I did watch that show more regularly, and despite a change in hair colour and style (red and long to dark and short), I still found her extremely attractive.

She disappeared after the first season of SQDSV sadly, but reappeared years later as a recurring role in Burn Notice, alongside another teenage crush of mine: Gabrielle Anwar. Again, I didn't watch this show a lot, but I made sure to tune in after her appearance.

No one else has ever heard of her, never mind appeared in anyone's "hot celebrity" list. That's my gain, I think.

Holy crap! (Part 2)

The weight gain thing is a conundrum. I had thought that by working from home, I might actually lose weight. I'd be doing a lot less snacking for starters. I'd also be knocking the large lattes on the head which is an easy 150 calories.

However, that was offset by the exercise going down by roughly 8 - 10k steps per day and the alcohol intake going waaaay up.

Holy crap!

With stepping up on the exercise and health-related stuff today, I decided to step on the scales to see the, well, scale of the problem. I know I've put on weight since the lock down from my equilibrium weight of around 220 lbs. I feel heavier than I've ever done. I look it, too.

I wasn't prepared to see the numbers though. 230.4 lbs.

230 lbs is 16 stone 6 lbs or 104 kg

That's massively over what I want to be and even more over what I should be.

My goal was to get below 200 lbs to start with 196 lbs was a nice number - 14 stone exactly. And then I could look at a second stage.

According to the internet, I should be somewhere between 160 and 172 lbs. That may or may not be a second stage depending on how I feel and how happy I am by the end of stage one.

I think I'm going to have to drastically increase my exercise. Possibly two yoga sessions a day (one in the morning and one in the evening) and a walk at lunchtime.

I've double-checked my TDEE and the numbers haven't changed that much from those calculated yesterday.

Mondays are going to be my regular weigh-in day. I'll try to do it at the same time, as well.

Counting.

I hate calorie counting. I hate that kind of micro-management in general, which partly explains my frustrations at working with Stalky Guy. He can't let go and ends up figuratively standing over people to ensure they do things his way.

However, I need a better understanding of the food I'm eating if I want to lose weight, even if the thought of measuring and weighing stuff wrinkles my brain.

My TDEE for a man of my height, weight, age, exercise levels etc: 2300 calories approx.
So I need to have an overall intake of less than that for weight loss.

Currently I only really eat two meals per day - lunch and dinner. Breakfast is usually just coffee - approx. 50 calories across two cups (with milk).

My Huel is 400 calories per serving. And I am having 1 serving for lunch.

If I arbitrarily say my target is 1700 calories per day, then that leaves me with 1200 calories for snacks and dinner for the rest of the day.

That's a deficit of 600 calories per day, 4200 per week, which should equate to just over 1 lb per week lost without exercise. These figures will change if I start doing some exercise.

For example, according to my watch/fitness apps, the short walk I did yesterday burned 275 calories, which seems excessive.

I don't want to be doing this counting stuff forever, but either I'll settle into the routine and won't mind it or I'll get a better feel for what I eat and can roughly guess.

I didn't do any counting before and lost 10 lb over 10 weeks before I injured myself and stopped Yoga.

Walky, talky.

The pandemic is doing nothing for my general health and fitness. When I was in work, I was doing at least 2.5 miles per day as my lunchtime walk (weather permitting) and that was just the big one I was semi-recording. I was all over the place in the office as well, adding to my step count.

Since the lock down? Nothing. I wouldn't even say it was motivation, more like a habit that I've found myself in. 8 hours in front of the PC for work, then 6 hours at the PC after work for recreation.

There may be the odd trip to the shop (200 steps there and back), and that was it.

So when I made sure all my fitness apps were up to date and activated on my phone and watch, I took myself out this afternoon for a quick walk. It was only 1.25 miles, but I am already knackered. It's the most walking I've done in six weeks. I did make a few calls as well.

The apps aren't syncing particularly well. My watch has synced with my watch app on my phone, but the watch app has yet to sync with my fitness tracker of preference, MapMyFitness.

This is the start - further walking (increasing the distance) with an ultimate aim to get back into the yoga as the yoga will aid further exercise (I'm still toying with the Freeletics programme which seems to be more intensive than DDP Yoga but I need better flexibility first). Then I might think about diet, which is arguably the more important if I also want to lose weight (which I do).

Crunch.

Literally hours before the country locked down, my dentist sent me an email cancelling my upcoming appointment. It was frustrating but understandable, even though the appointment had been made six months in advance and the appointment was due on the first day of the lock down.

However, I've always had a problem with brittle teeth and frustratingly, due to a particularly tasty and crispy bacon sandwich, I now have a problem. A piece of tooth or a piece of filling has fallen out, though there doesn't seem to be any pain associated with it, it's going to have to be managed until such time as the dental practice opens again.

FFS.

Memories

For ages, I'd always cited a small, brunette girl from primary school as my first-ever crush. We lost contact after primary school until late in our teens when our paths crossed again, briefly. For about a month and a half, we bumped into each other two or three times a week. It was actually completely unreal. Then she disappeared again until she sent a friend request on Facebook a few years ago. She looks different now, but she's still attractive in my opinion.

However, it dawned on me today that while she was my first crush, she wasn't my only crush from that class. I'd completely forgotten about her. When trying to remember what she looked like, the only thing I could think of was The Mother from "How I Met Your Mother", actress Cristin Milioti. I don't remember details, but the shape of the face I think is why my memory is jogged that way.

I've just had a quick look on Facebook. I doubt she's kept her surname - I assume she's married or something but she's not showing up as a friend of anyone else I went to primary school with. She's one of only a few people from primary school that I'd like to meet again.

*drums fingers*

I had two biggish plans to work on the house this year - a new heating system and to get the back garden sorted into some kind of usable state. The latter was something I didn't want to spend an awful lot of money on as I am planning on doing some proper work to it when everything else in the house is taken care of.

I've been looking at the heating system, on and off, for about eighteen months. I have the money to do it, but for some reason I simply cannot get anyone out to give me a quote. The one company who did come out, I recommended to Quiet Girl, and promptly botched the job they did at her house. So that ruled them out.

I'd rather not spend the money on the back garden, but some of the work that would get done would free me up to do other things in the house. For example, putting a shed in would first of all give me a little bit of privacy in the sunnier parts of the garden, but it would also let me move a lot of my gardening equipment etc. into the shed from the house, and free up space in the kitchen to think about the work I want to do there.

However, the pandemic has put paid to that. In theory a one man team could do the work in the back garden over about two weeks whilst still adhering to social distancing, but finding someone to do that is proving impossible.

No-one's allowed into the house, so trying to get quotes for the heating is also impossible, though S had a guy who I'll contact when the lock down is over.

I bet this is the best summer we've had in years while my back garden is in disarray.

Dreams

Another dream and another morning of feeling off as a result.

In this dream, I worked for another company rather than the one I actually work for. My actual job was never specified, but I did still work with KfW2 alongside some random celebrities and sports people.

KfW2 pulled me into a meeting room and explained a plan she had to improve morale - a departmental trip away for a weekend. If it was a success, maybe we could do it a few times a year if the first one is successful? She seemed genuinely excited by the idea.

Long story short, most people signed up for it and KfW2 posted a list of those going.

I wasn't on the list. She'd excluded me. She also seemed upset.

Digging into the reasons why I was excluded, I found out that she'd cooked up the whole idea to get away for a weekend so that she could sleep with a co-worker who hadn't signed up for the trip, hence her disappointment.

It was around this time that I woke up, feeling something. Betrayed? Disappointed in KfW2? I don't know, but I'm definitely off.

Sigh.

A few months ago, KfW2 emailed me in work. She'd been getting requests about some things that she had been responsible for when she worked in the same team as me.

I told her that I'd look after it, and passed the information to my boss. My boss, in turn, designated it to someone else and I passed that information back to KfW2.

Every few weeks, KfW2 would get an automated reminder about the work which she would duly, though unnecessarily forward to Stalky Guy and myself but not the person doing the work.

KfW2 was given updates and assurances that the work was being done, and repeatedly told who was doing the work.

Earlier today, she forwarded another reminder, this time with managers attached. Her managers. Did it go to the people doing the work or did it come to Stalky Guy and myself? Yup, you guessed it.

It might only be a small thing, but this is one of the frustrating things about working with KfW2.

If I point it out, KfW2 will be angry that I'm angry. She may even go through her emails to prove that she was never told who was doing the work. She'd be wrong.

I am awesome.

It's kinda sad watching a forty year old man be nursed and guided by management to success when he clearly doesn't have the mentality or mindset to do the job that the grade requires.

But that's what you get with Stalky Guy. His obvious limitations are ignored by management who are giving him the opportunities (and excuses) to score well at year end. This is after they made sure he got the top score and massive bonus from last year.

The fact that he's actually, literally afraid of change is embarrassing. He cannot, or will not, look to the future, which is a massive part of his job description. It has been up to me to pre-empt any obstacles by identifying issues ahead of time, most of which we have successfully completed since the start of the year.

Actually, I should be typing this up in my own personal work record. I'm off to do that now.

*applause*

Is it just me or is social media getting even worse over this pandemic? The amount of pithy, pointless posts that I am seeing is growing by the day. This is made worse by the fact that most of them involved tagging friends as well.

What albums influenced your taste in music?
Tag all your male friends for men's mental health because we need to be positive!
Tag all your female friends because we're all beautiful and we need to be positive!
Post a picture of you with your mum because we need to be positive!

You know what? Fuck off!

You want to be positive? Go and talk to someone (from at least 2 m away). Phone them, text them, video chat with them. Let them know you're thinking of them.

Ask your Key Worker friends what you can do to help, either professionally or personally. Here in the UK, I'm saddened by these weekly "clappings". You want to make a proper difference? Well, don't vote for political parties who want to privatise the NHS or have consistently voted not to give NHS workers, firemen etc. pay rises.

Yes, I'm looking at you, family across the road from me. Twats. I know who you voted for.

In America, the military are treated as heroes. In every day life, they're offered special treatment, discounts and all that kind of thing. We should be doing that for a group of people here in the UK, but not the military... we should be doing that for NHS staff, teachers, the emergency services... people who make a real difference in our lives every single day.

Things don't get solved by liking them or sharing them on Facebook. It's an extension of a phrase that I firmly believe in. I think it's attributed to Carl Gustav Jung: "You are what you do, not what you say you'll do" though I tend to paraphrase it as "It's not what you say that's important, it's what you do."

Bolt ons.

A while back, I was having a conversation with Stalky Guy in work. This was pre-lockdown, so we were in the office. I was regaling him of tales of the last time I regularly went to the gym with a personal trainer, GC.

I mentioned my theory regarding GC's cosmetic surgery (i.e. she had a boob job) and suddenly he got quite excited.

"Was her name GC?" he asked. He also named the gym I attended back in the day.

"Yeah, that was her."

"My mate was a PT in the same gym and they gave her massive (friendly) abuse when she arrived in work one day and had tits!"

I expanded on the story, explaining that GC had told me that she had some money saved and she was going to get her teeth done, early in the new year (this would have been late November, early December).

Obviously teeth was a euphemism for boobs.

Oh dear.

Suffice to say that it appears that CC is nearly back to normal, following her mental health issues. Well, I say "back to normal", but that's probably not the case. However, over the week or so, despite almost complete radio silence from her in the past few months, she's been in contact every other day or so to ask about heading out for a walk.

She's really not understanding this social distancing lark, especially as she's moved back in with her parents temporarily.

It's a good Good Friday

While Good Friday, the Christian day, falls on a different date each year, the actual day provokes some interesting memories.

There were a number of Good Friday nights out with people like QC2, Friction Guy, D, FBS etc. and also with FP, BR, G etc.

There was the one Good Friday where myself, FP, BR, G and a few others met a famous UK soap actor in a local pub.

There was another Good Friday, when I was travelling, where E and myself made friends with an Australian girl. Behind my back, the Australian girl was asking E about "us", assuming that there was an "us". It's an accusation we've had to face before. We were/are extremely comfortable with each other, and I think that's obvious to other people, so they assume that we're an item.

The Australian girl was cute and I was interested in seeing if we could take it anywhere... I think E was slightly leaning in that direction as well, but while I do think there was a glimmer of interest from the Australian girl, I don't think she was ever convinced that E and I were simply friends.

Hair today, gone tomorrow.

I mentioned in a previous post that, due to pandemic boredom, I was growing out my hair and my beard. It's been a while since I had my hair "long". In fact, I can date that back to probably the mid-90s where I had tended towards longer hair than not until I confessed to QC2 one particular hot summer that I was considering getting it cut really short. Not completely shaved off, but close to it.

"Ooooh," cooed QC2. "I think it would suit you. Do it!"

And the decision was made. I had a massive crush on QC2. If she thought I suited short hair, then I would do it (though I was pretty much already decided). Also, I'm a sucker for a pretty face, as USHW has often commented.

"I was thinking about getting my belly button pierced" she said. "If you get your hair cut short, then I'll do that."

Pierced belly buttons are/were a turn on. I don't know if QC2 was encouraging me to get my hair cut or just using me as an excuse to get her navel pierced.

"OK, agreed!" We shook on it.

Within a short while - no more than a couple of weeks, I had been to the barbers and had my hair cut short all over and it felt really good. I liked how it looked too. QC2 was equally as complimentary when I turned up to work, and ran her fingers over my head. Nothing was said about her side of the conversation until another few weeks had passed and we were out on one of our infrequent nights out with Friction Guy.

In a dark corner of the pub, on the way to the bar, QC2 pulled me to the side and lifted her top. She had an amazing flat tummy - in itself a physical trait I really like - but also showing off a belly ring.

"I had it done a week ago!" she said. She looked really pleased with herself. "Do you like it?"

"I do!" I declared. "I really like belly rings. Yours is nice." I shied away from called it "sexy", obviously.

I never made any moves on QC2, and I never saw the belly ring ever again (QC2 neither showed it nor wore anything exposing her midriff), but from that time onward, I've always tended to keep my hair shorter than I had done in the past. Now that I'm growing it out, I wonder why it took me so long to get it cut short. Longer hair, even if only by a centimetre or so, is much more of a pain in the ass than a short cut.

Pandemic boredom.

I'm bored. And un-motivated. My hair's too long, but I'm kinda trying to see how long I can go without cutting it. Because I'm bored. Ordinarily, I'd keep it pretty short (that, and I'm starting to lose my hair, so keeping it short is now a vanity thing). I'm also growing out my beard for the same reason. I hate beards and they get too itchy, but, you've guessed it, I'm bored.

Bored.

There are things I have planned around the house that I could get stuck into, but it's like homework... I'm actively inventing other tasks to do to avoid decorating.

e-travelling.

Due to the pandemic, Tinder has, somewhat inexplicably, unlocked its passport feature.

To expand on that, for those of you who are unfamiliar with Tinder, it's a location based dating application. I can set it to show me people within a specific radius of my current location, say 30 miles.

If I move any real distance (e.g. head to KfW2's house, 20 miles away), then I can see different people pop up in my results.

With passport, I can actually choose my location, and this is normally a Premium feature. I've no idea how or why they would do this in a pandemic, but my curiosity got the better of me and I decided that I would choose London as my location, because why not?

The standard of profile that I am seeing is head and shoulder above what I am seeing locally (and I'm talking about the profile, not the women here).

Locally, it's practically the same profile blurb ("I'm not looking for one night stands so swipe left if you are") along side unclear pictures, groups shots, no face shots or pithy motivational quotes.

In London, the photos (so far) all all clear shots showing exactly who's Tindering, with decent profile blurb as well. There is the odd "No ONS!" declarations, but in general, profiles are of a MUCH higher standard.

Where should I "locate" myself next?

Fuckity fuck.

Are you aware of the mobile app "Shazam"? If not, it's an app that will listen to a song and tell you what it is. I use it all the time when I'm in a bar and there's a song being played that I like but don't know.

You can sync this with the music subscription service of your choice, so you can live nights out in the comfort of your own home.

You can... I can't. Technical issues have meant that I've had to reinstall the app, and that's deleted five years and 400-odd tracks of Shazam history.

There were some absolutely brilliant tunes in there too.

Fuckity fuck fuck fuck.

Walky talky.

As is normally the case, one train of thought tends to lead to another. So, in thinking about old school crushes, I got on to thinking about another specific crush. She was possibly my biggest crush at school (out of around 4 main ones, one of which was E3).

That's an aside to this though. During that time, FP and I would entertain ourselves with long, rambling conversations about all sorts. We'd cover business ideas, women, cars, travel... everything really. But these weren't conversations locked away in our respective bedrooms... we'd go out walking. Night after night, and my memories are mostly of winter time, we'd roam the area, covering 10 km or more each time.

One of our favourite routes took us past a friend's house (she would eventually go on to be the crush described above).

Talking to FP earlier and we were reminiscing about our walks. If we weren't currently on pandemic lock down, I daresay FP and I would have done a similar walk for old time's sake.