Oh!

I was just about to give KfW2 a call to reignite a conversation about meeting up. I still owe her birthday dinner/drinks/lunch (her choice). Then I remembered that she's at a wedding today. She's a bridesmaid to a friend of hers. I'll give her a shout over the weekend.

Bah.

Yesterday, I ran for the bus. Not a big news event in itself, but I did have some Achilles pain that reminded me of the pain I had about 10 years ago. It was a lot less severe, but I was wondering if it was tied into the Plantar fasciitis. The yoga is paying dividends, but this seems to be stubborn.

Sigh.

Not quite a dream and more of a memory, but I woke from sleep with a woman on my mind. When I was travelling, around 20 years ago, I met a woman in bar. She was cute (my memory of her is giving me serious Elizabeth Mitchell vibes), intelligent and interesting. 

She was a doctor in the local hospital and she had some great stories. She was out with colleagues after the first day of a multi-day conference and they slowly drifted off as the evening wore on. Bear in mind that this was midweek, if I recall correctly. And then it was just the two of us.

When she wanted to leave, I walked her to her taxi. She kissed me then appeared to change her mind about something before inviting me back to hers. I accepted and we had a few more drinks before I spent the night. She was due to be at the second day of the conference but that wasn't scheduled to start until lunchtime, so we had a leisurely second round in the morning before finding a cafe near the conference centre (and my hostel) for breakfast and we went on our separate ways.

So, yeah. My memory/dream from last night. Still horny, and now with the travel itch reignited.

No swipey, no likey.

Did you know you can run out of "likes" on Tinder? I didn't, and bear in mind that I've been an on/off tinder user for about ten years, if not a little longer. However, I had some downtime in the office today due to a laptop issue, I was still feeling horny due to last night's dream and off I went to swipe.

For some reason that I couldn't understand, tinder thought I was in a city in the American Midwest and was showing me women from that area, so I spent a pleasurable while swiping. And because most of these women were new to me, a lot of the swipes I was giving out were positive ones. There really were a lot of cute women in my age range out there looking to date. (Sadly, like my local women, their profiles were non-existent or just awful).

But it wasn't too long before I could swipe right no more and Tinder was asking me for money for "unlimited likes". Yeah, but no.

Hmmm.

I had a strange dream last night. It featured KfW2, but there was a real sexual edge to the dream. While my feelings towards KfW2, at least when we first met, were not platonic, there was never a sexual edge to it. it was what I was call a girlfriend crush, like CB and unlike my feelings towards CH, for example, that essentially just lust.

The essence of the dream was that we were trying to have a video call, specifically to have phone sex, but kept getting sidetracked before we could call each other.

I woke this morning very confused. Definitely horny as hell, but feeling really guilty about dreaming of KfW2 like that.

Yes!

We've not arranged that catch-up/coffee/drink yet, but M is very, very tempted by the band at CB Pub. The timing seems like it might be perfect. He's off on holidays a few days later, but I think this might be doable.

While I remember.

I sent M a quick message at lunchtime about meeting for coffee or a drink. I meant to reach out to him after the weekend where G was home recently. He made excuses for not coming out, but I bet the reality was that he was hungover after his Eurovision party. He and MM host them annually and they seem to be drunken, fancy dress affairs.

Actually, now that I think of it, he might be an outside bet for going to see that band I posted about recently at CB Pub.

Oh dear.

G has shared some news that I've been expecting for a bit, but it's never nice to hear. The selfish part of me is concerned because it could mean that I see less of him. Even though he's living in London, he does come home fairly frequently - once every few months. He is, after all, once of my oldest, closest friends. Recent experiences of my own lead me to understand what he's going through, and it's tough.

Out of the blue

Random Internet Woman sent an email at the weekend, though I only picked it up today. I will probably reply, though I am conscious of starting another conversation. I did feel guilty about effectively ghosting her last time out, so this at least gives me an opportunity to close it out without being a dick (my own description because I feel there a only a few times ghosting is a legitimate option).

Dance to the music.

I sent a Facebook message to AM and her hubby a few days ago about one of my favourite local bands playing CB Pub at the end of June. Sadly they're unavailable. I'd love to see them again (both the band and AM), I just need to find someone to go along with.

Let's go!

Back into yoga today. The foot is still a little troublesome, but it gives me no pain during the exercise. It's mainly a morning thing. Once I get moving, it drops off considerably. I'll continue doing this one specific session for a while. The goal here is to stretch and loosen up rather than anything else. Once I feel  a little more comfortable and flexible, then I'll move on to more challenging workouts and more frequently, too, to start working on the fitness levels and weight loss goals.

PMA

I've deliberately laid off the yoga over the past few days due to the recurrence of the foot pain on Thursday. I did a session on Friday but it didn't really help the pain. I'll get back on it tomorrow, but it has raised concerns about my choice of footwear and whether or not that's helping.

In the house, I just wear training shoes or indoors slippers, but when I'm outdoors, I tend towards fashion trainers and I'm wondering if that's causing the issues (I doubt it as I've worn them for years with no problems) or at least not helping the healing.

(And my apathy has nothing to do with the many, many beers I had last night while gaming and watching Netflix, no sir.)

But... trying to be positive, back into it tomorrow.

Oh?

I think I've mentioned, in the past, I am Facebook friends with a few people that I knew at primary school. It used to be three. It's now two. I don't know why the person removed me, but it's no biggie. So the two remaining, I think I've spoken about them before: arguably my first crush and a blonde girl that most other people seemed to be drawn towards. Both are still very attractive woman though we've not spoken in person in years.

Regardless, the blonde woman and ex-Facebook friend appeared together on Facebook. Presumably the blonde is in London, because that's where XFF now lives. He moved there a few years back. But it's the nature of the post that's intriguing. It's a lot more intimate than I would have imagined for people who have not seen each other in 40 years. 

Certainly, if I met the blonde tomorrow, I wouldn't be in the poses that they've posted on Facebook. It's not jealousy or anything, it's just... interesting? Have they been in touch all this time? It feels unlikely.

One step forward...

No yoga today as I was in the office, though office days are normally a lot more active, at least in terms of walking and getting my steps in. I did have quite bad foot pain though. I think that's related to the shoes I was wearing. Back at it tomorrow, though. I am feeling a little better, in terms of the back and foot pain. I am already feeling more flexible even though I've only done like four or five sessions.

Oh yeah

I woke this morning almost uncontrollably horny. There was a vague recollection of a dream that featured FA2 and I presume us having a lot of sex, though I can't say for sure. Though I don't tend to wake up horny unless there's been a sex-related dream.

While I've not thought of FA2 in a long time, the timing is interesting as it's the anniversary of the day where we became an item after a couple of months of on/off fooling around. I'll not go into details, I'm pretty sure I've blogged about it more than once. Well, apart from to say that in my opinion, our anniversary was 22nd, not 23rd. Or was it the other way around? The details are escaping me. Suffice to say it was somewhat ironic as FA2 never did anything for our anniversary yet used the lack of an anniversary card as a reason that our relationship was over.

Birthday greetings.

My iPad is telling me that it's V's birthday today, which is weird because I don't recall ever knowing V's birthday, never mind have it stored in a calendar somewhere. Is it coming from Facebook maybe?

But, regardless, Happy Birthday, V! It'd be great to hear your sultry, husky voice and dirty laugh again even if you were bonkers mad.

Sigh. But not sigh.

I got another workout done today. Feeling pretty good even though it's probably less than ten mins since it finished. technical errors again with my heart rate monitor so the logged workout is probably 100 calories and about 7 mins lighter than it should be. But that's by the by. As I've said before the first stage is just getting into a routine, stretching out a bit, relieving the back, hip and foot pain. I can ramp it up later for proper weight loss, but seeing as it's well over 5 years since I've done proper exercise, easing into it is the sensible move.

Aaaargh!

I want to go on a little rant about people's refusal to use email. I'll admit that I am slightly biased because I hate talking on the phone, unless it's small talk. If there's information to be shared, then I want it in writing. Email, text message, WhatsApp... you name it.

As part of the ongoing family stuff, I've needed to reach out to someone. I've asked, in the past, that information is shared via email. The person in question has refused due to GDPR. But I'm pretty sure that GDPR doesn't come in to play here, and the information I'm asking for is not confidential.

So instead of firing off a quick email at 10 PM or over a weekend, I have to wait until Monday to Friday, office hours and then 90% of the time it'll go to voicemail anyway, and I'm waiting days for a call back.

This is absolutely inefficient and it's so frustrating to have to deal with these people. It's a waste of my time too, especially when I am at work and don't exactly have the flexibility to take time out to sit on the phone for 30 minutes only to go to voicemail.

Ah well.

There's been nothing on Tinder, so I'm assuming that Wet Leg lookalike woman hasn't reciprocated the right-swipe on me. Disappointing, but given how many times I've seen her on Tinder before and we've not matched, not entirely unexpected.

Hmmm...

I started feeling some discomfort in my back late yesterday and it's still present. I was going to do some yoga at lunchtime, but I'll maybe just leave it until after work and make a decision on whether to do a session today or not.

Good news, everyone.

The good news is that the new yoga mat allows me to do the moves that require me to be on my knees without any pain or discomfort. The bad news, if you could call it that, is that I am rubbish at press ups.

The pain in my back and discomfort in my foot continues to disappear slowly, which is a great sign because I'm not making anything worse and it seems to be helping.

Look and likey.

So, as a big-ish coincidence, guess who popped up in my Tinder feed today? No? Well, given recent posts on Tinder non-matches, it was the Wet Leg lookalike. Of course I swiped right, though I am pessimistic because we've never matched in many years of crossing paths on the online dating applications. Fingers crossed, though.

Result!

A result! My new yoga mat has already arrived! Sadly, it doesn't come with a carry bag or strap as per the picture on Amazon, but still, if I do a session tomorrow (tbd when I see how I feel tomorrow, but I feel good currently), then we'll put it to the test.

Let's get going.

Technical issues today with the yoga, but I eventually got those sorted (heart rate monitor not synced to my app). So I recorded 23 minutes and 316 calories, but I think there's about 4 mins and roughly 50 calories unaccounted for due to the technical error.

The workout was much more intense than the demonstration/beginners workout, so the first while will definitely be a case of practicing the moves. And I missed out on the exercises that required me to be on my knees. By Tuesday (Amazon deliveries tend not to get delivered here until mid-afternoon), I should have my new yoga mat, so hopefully that will help a great deal, otherwise I'll have to figure something out.

Today's workout introduced a couple of stretches that aren't in the demo and they're really going to help with my hips. 

So yeah, the nerdy part of me is wondering why a more intense workout that jacked my HR well above the demo workouts and roughly the same duration clocks in a lower calorie count. Not a complaint, just inquisitiveness.

Forwards and backwards.

My foot's a little sore, so I stopped my yoga session early today. However, I have to say that, this morning on waking, I was feeling physically a lot better than I have been recently. My back was a lot less sore and the foot pain is dulling to a more general discomfort rather than actual pain. I'll try again tomorrow.

I don't know if that's just a mental thing or if the recent activity (including yoga sessions) is starting to pay dividends.

I have ordered a new yoga mat that's three times thicker than my current one, so hopefully that means I can do all the yoga moves without too much, if any, discomfort. It's due to arrive on Monday.

Oh FFS.

Just when you think you're getting a handle on things, something pops up just to fuck with you. This was the case earlier with another twist in the family stuff that's been stressing me out since late last year.

It's not life threatening, but it is somewhat urgent and it is financial in nature. It needs sorted out within the next few days, so it looks like I'll be taking some time off tomorrow afternoon if I can, to try and make a few calls to get stuff sorted.

I hate speaking on the phone. I'm useless at retaining information and I'm starting to lose my hearing a little. I'd far rather do everything by chatbot or email, but they're always slower than just speaking to someone.

Still... let's see if the boss gives me tomorrow afternoon off.

People who know people.

A friend of MF's posted on Facebook. It's MF's birthday today. I can't remember if I'm mentioned this particular friend before, though I'd be surprised if I didn't. Firstly, she reminds me of celebrity and SSCW lookalike Joanna Garcia Swisher.

Secondly, as a friend of MF, she was (possibly still is) a friend of Recruitment Bird. Remember her?

I only met her a few times, but she seemed really nice. And semi-coincidental, from being in the office yesterday, I was chatting to SSCW for a little while.

Oooft.

It struck just now that this past week or so is easily the  most active I've been in a long, long time. Since Tuesday of last week, I've logged seven different workouts (i.e. exercise or walking). On top of that, there were another two days where my step  count was significantly higher than usual. It might only be like 9 days, but that's a damning indictment on how lazy/inactive I have been since Covid and the first lockdown.

YES!

I did the introduction session of my yoga again today, and so far, so good. I think I might try one of the proper sessions tomorrow. I'm still having issues with discomfort when I'm on my knees, but the good thing about these workouts is that I can tailor them accordingly. I will need to address that somehow though.

I still think 400 calories is high for a 30 min workout, but if it's accurate, then that's a huge result.

Yum

Met up with Nerdy Girl, Money Guy and the other guy that I wanted to come along. it wasn't a long night, but we had some food, a few drinks and a good chat. Nerdy Girl left early because she'd other things to do, so it was just the three guys left. Other Guy left just before 8, and Money Guy and myself chatted for another hour before calling it quits and getting our respective buses home.

Money Guy and Other Guy were suggesting we did it again soon. It'll fall to me to arrange, so I've left a message in our group chat, and let's get the ball rolling. KfW2's in that chat, and I'd still rather get her out on her own, but it's better than nothing and I've had no luck getting her out since late last year.

Time for tea.

I'm meeting Nerdy Girl and Money Guy tomorrow after work for some food and drinks. It should be good fun. I've asked another guy to come along, but I won't know about that until I go into the office tomorrow (hence the lack of yoga).

It would be good if he did. I like him a lot, though don't see him socially as often as I'd like.

Hello again.

KfW2 is just off the phone. We were talking for a while. Probably nearly 45 minutes, which is the longest we've spoken since we last saw each other in person, before Christmas. The subject of her social diary came up - she's busy through to the end of the month and possibly the first weekend in June so us being able to meet for drinks or lunch is off the table until then.

But it was still nice to chat. She keeps asking me when I last saw or spoke to CC, but she knows that I struggle to call CC a friend. She's handy for going out for dinner and being social but I try to keep her at arm's length because she's cold/selfish.

But... it nearly June. I've not seen KfW2 in person since mid-December. I have to fix that, and soon.

Yes!

So, yeah, I bit the bullet and fired up the yoga introductory session at lunchtime. In 30 mins, I supposedly burned 415 calories, though that seems high. Calorie burning isn't really the purpose of doing the yoga though - it's increasing core strength and stretching. I was also delighted to see that my heart rate monitor still worked.

I won't be able to do any tomorrow, but I am out of the house and will be more active than usual anyway. Maybe I need to see how my body reacts to the yoga before committing to anything further.

Anyhow, I felt great doing the exercises, though I wasn't engaged fully. It's a matter of practice/habit. If I don't fall apart tomorrow, I'll consider doing the intro a few more times and then move onto one of the proper sessions at the weekend or next week.

There was a slight twinge in my right shoulder and my wrists and knees were uncomfortable when on my hands and knees on the yoga mat. I might need to look at a thicker one or move my workout to my bedroom where its carpeted. And I can't do press ups for shit.

Afterwards, there was a slight bit of discomfort in my left hip and with my back, but it only lasted about 15 minutes.

At this stage, I don't see any reason why I can't do this again on Thursday. As is always the case, it's a matter of easing myself back in and doing it properly and building up a routine/habit.

But current status: pleased.

Urgh.

So, yeah, I'm thinking my current aches and pains are movement related. Or lack of movement. I woke up this morning feeling the worst I have in a long time. My back, my foot and even a couple of twinges in the hips, too.

I can't put this off. I need to be more active. I want to do Yoga, but I am paranoid the damage to my back is severe. But getting to see a GP these days is a fucking journey of telephone queues and gatekeeping receptionists. I'll maybe try one of the introductory sessions and see how I go.

Let's go!

While my sleep wasn't any better last night than it had been over the past week, I do feel much better, physically. My back's still sore, but not as much as it has been recently. My foot's still sore, but not as much as it had been recently. I wonder if that's directly related to the 3 mile cycle and 2.5 mile walk I did yesterday?

I hope so, because that can be replicated.

Or maybe it was the good weather?

The 2.5 mile walk was me heading to the pub to meet G. The weather was nice here, so we sat outside for a few hours and had a few beers. it's always great catching up with G. He made his usual offer of staying at his if I am ever in London, and I might take him up on that this summer. M didn't make it out. I think he was hungover from a Eurovision party that he and his wife host annually.

Cyclical.

I didn't get the walk done yesterday as I'd hoped. I got side-tracked in the garden, tidying it up and chilling. I did use the route today, though, and took the bike out for a quick 3-mile jaunt. The bike came through OK and so did I, surprisingly.

I've been feeling off all week, physically. I know I'm overweight. I know I should be doing more exercise. And to compound it all, the plantar whatsitsface and my back have been giving me problems to the extent where my sleep this week has been awful. Though I think the hot weather is influencing that, too.

But I worked up a sweat (not difficult in this weather) and the middle third of the ride was mostly uphill, so there was a bit of a workout to it. I can feel it my legs already.

I'll get outside this afternoon to continue tidying up the garden with some tunes, too.

Result!

The good thing about some unexpected free time is that you can get chores done and still look forward to your "proper" free time.

So with this afternoon all mine, rather than being in work, I've been able to pay some bills, do some shopping, cut the grass out the back and get a couple of other small chores done.

I'm more stuff to do tomorrow, but I can do those things in between chilling in the back garden in this good weather with music and a book, which is now my plan, rather than spend all day gardening.

I might even see if I can get a shortish walk done, too, to try and kick off some kick of exercise routine. Still not sure if I am doing further harm to my foot with this injury, but I need to be doing something and just sitting on my arse while the weather's this good would be criminal.

Weather with you.

One of the very last things shared with us last evening as I was logging off for the day was that we were given a last-minute free half-day off work this afternoon as a reward for delivering some big projects recently.

I say "last-minute" but really people had known for about a week though hadn't shared any news. I could complain about the standard of communication, but really the weather outside is awesome, I have a free half day and a back garden to enjoy.

Oh, and G texted a few minutes ago to say he's around this weekend, which is good timing as I'm out with M on Sunday.

Hurrah!

Great night with Nerdy Girl last night. A quick-ish 2-ish mile walk, then stop off at CB Pub for a few (non-alcoholic) drinks and some further chat. And it was fun.

In the middle of it, I got a message from USHW who shared that her divorce had been finalised and she was officially a single woman again. I was happy for her as I know she's been quite unhappy for some time. And stressed. So this is a new chapter for her.

Reminiscing

Another thing about the thing I was doing yesterday was that I was on a train for the first time in ages. And it ties back to this wanderlust feeling I've been having over the past few weeks. there's just something about standing in a railway station, when the weather is decent, doing something that's not work. The sounds, watching people while I just chilled, all provoked that wanderlust again.

It was a semi-memory of a feeling rather than a specific incident. I've been in that position before in a number of countries. Especially outside of rush hour, like it was yesterday, and when the weather's nice. That's the important combination to trigger the reminiscing.

Hello

I finally have something arranged with M. It's this Sunday. I'd rather it was a Friday or a Saturday, but beggars can't be choosers and hopefully this is the start of something semi-regular.

I'm also seeing Nerdy Girl tomorrow evening, so I'm being quite social this week.

Ouch

I was hoping that today would be the start of getting some exercise in. I had somewhere to be and that would involved a mile-long walk either way, plus the weather was nice.

It was kinda rammed home by the fact that my clothes (my suit) was a lot tighter than I recall, so that was an added incentive to doing some more exercise.

And it was going well until I was approaching the end of the return journey when the plantar fasciitis flared up again. It has been easing, though slower than I would like. I'm pretty sure the formal shoes didn't help matters.

So all this afternoon, the PF has been quite sore. I am meant to be meeting Nerdy Girl tomorrow evening, though the weather isn't guaranteed, but we'll see what happens.

Things that make you go "hmmmm".

I mean to post this yesterday, but I was having a lazy day and watching Star Wars, so wasn't thinking about blogging. The night out on Friday was OK. I wasn't as social as I would have liked, but I was, at least, out of the house for a few hours. Stalky Guy is not great company, either.

One point of interest was that there was a girl from work in the bar. That in itself is not unusual, it was a work event after all. But our paths have crossed before. I can't recall if I blogged about it, but she came on to me at one of our Christmas parties, years ago. She's an attractive, tall women, and I did actually pick up on her interest, but let her down gently partly because she was drunk and partly because I was surrounded by work people.

It was years ago, so I doubt she remembers. But the rumours in work are that our teams will soon merge, so I could be working alongside her more regularly.

Happy Star Wars Day!

I love Star Wars. I watch the films frequently and some of the TV shows are great, too. I've still got a Star Wars Lego set from years ago that FA2 bought me for my birthday. And I have great memories of going to watch The Phantom Menace in the cinema when it was first released back in '99. I don't think she "got" it though.

So, yeah, it's Star Wars Day (May the Fourth by with you, in case you were wondering what the connection was), so have a couple of picture of attractive Cosplayer LeeAnna Vamp making some Star Wars characters look sexy. It's all about the midriff.

Wanderlust.

I've been watching a Twitch streamer do a bike trip through Albania and it's not done anything to get rid of the feeling of wanting to travel, to go somewhere hot and sunny that I had a few days ago and listed in this post.

So, yeah, that. CC is a potential travel companion, but we have different ideas about what travel mean. For me, it's exploring. for her, it's lying on a beach.

Hmmm.

Out with Stalky Guy later today. I can't say that I'm looking forward to it given his last outing, but he's a means to an end. Company for a trip into the real world for a work event. Chances are, it'll be wrapped up early... probably no later than 9 PM, but it'll be nice to get out.

Lookalike, again.

Back in the day when I was in regular contact/conversation with USHW, I would share any potential women of interest that I saw on the online dating apps, like Tinder, for example. I might even grab a picture and send them to USHW too.

One of the women, that captured my interest and would pop into my feed every now and again was an attractive and interesting looking blonde woman. I swipe right every time I see her, though we've never matched, sadly.

I was browsing the web last night and came across an article on the band Wet Leg. They're excellent, by the way. But the thing that stood out for me was the resemblance between Wet Leg member Hester Chambers and the girl from the online dating apps.

I've not seen the blonde woman on the online dating apps in ages... probably well over a year, sadly.

Arrangement.

Well, KfW2 finally got back to me late last night, after some prodding. Of course, there's the obvious frustration... if I hadn't prodded, would she have told me? Or at least told me in a timely manner so that I could make my own arrangements for the weekend?

It's a moot point, and I'm glad she did, when she did. So I can make those arrangements with Stalky Guy for our monthly work thing. I don't particularly want to socialise with SG, but he is a means to an end for getting out of the house for a few hours to see some fresh faces.