Nathan- Thoughts on Life After NOvember

I know that my past few posts have been devoted to some fairly excessive introspection- more for my benefit than anyone else's (and we all know how I love the sound of my own voice- spoken or otherwise)  but as we enter the final week of NOvember I find myself needing to look forward. What do I take from this? How do I perpetuate some form of lasting change in the attempt to find the one thing that eludes pisceans almost as much as freedom from addiction (that would be balance, if you're wondering).

Work was good today. Another weekend of not drinking meant that I was fully rested. I sat in a class all morning with my brain being numbed by Project Management techniques (for someone who's entire life fits into a series of Gannt Charts I find learning about it tiresome to say the least). I had my standard bitch about Life, the Universe, and Everything on HR's Sofa of Confession. And made far too many trips to the chocolate machine. But I was productive nonetheless.

I'm not missing booze anymore. My NOvember compatriot and I may have already started planning on how we'll enter December- the plan so far is a meal out accompanied with a civilised bottle of wine. The Road to Hell being paved with good intentions, the reality may be somewhat different. Most of you reading this will undoubtedly receive drunken phone calls and between the two of us we'll probably rip up Oxford Street to the point where Taylor Square starts resembling Tahrir Square. *Fills in Leave Form for the 1st of December*

All joking aside, I find myself planning my next two projects.

Project 1

Enjoy my first summer in Sydney as a normal, Daytime person. 2.5 years of nightshifts meant the only difference I noticed between summer and winter was whether or not the Tea Gardens' misting system was running or not. Sydney is Paradise when you're awake to enjoy it. The nightlife may be pedestrian and oh-so-provincial, but on a hot sunny day there is no place I'd rather be. Shiny towers nestle amongst the deepest most verdant shades of green prickling out of the blue waters of the harbour, the sea breeze tinged with the faintest hints of stale beer and congealed vomit. But there's so much to do during the day that you can't do anywhere else (let alone in December and January) that I intend to enjoy it whole hog.

The idea is this. Fuck finding a husband- I'll keep my boozing to one day a week (most likely on the Balcony of Ill Repute with my favourite winos). Every weekend I'll do one outdoor activity- shit I've never tried before. Like kitesurfing. Actually climbing the harbour bridge. Going cycling for the sake of going cycling and enjoying the overlandscaped cycleways that my taxes pay for. Exposing myself to hapless Japanese tourists in Hyde Park.  Oh yes- it will be my Summer of Love(ing myself).

Project 2

QUIT FUCKING SMOKING!!! AAAAAGH. For attempt number 794. Over the past few months I have noticed two themes in my struggle with Nicotine. First, booze is dead easy to give up in comparison. No- there is no comparison. Give up drinking and emo for a couple of days. Go two days without a cigarette and a body-count results (and that's just after bad QA at work). The second theme- I smoke half as much on days when I do sport, as opposed to days when I don't. It surprises a lot of people when they learn that, when not drinking myself into oblivion and smoking myself into an oncology ward while being the Moral Authority On Fucking Everything (a usual day in the life of Nathan), I'm actually very active. No, this arse does not maintain itself, thanks for asking. Due to my abhorrence for all things CityRail, I walk to work every day, and run home. Sometimes (albeit rarely) reverse. Regarder mon commute:

For those of you currently shovelling your driveways in Vancouver, here's the equivalent distance:

Basically downtown to my old dealer's house   to just near Oakridge. You should try it sometime- walking that is, no, the SkyTrain doesn't count.
In addition to that I'm generally pretty good with going to the gym 3 times a week including two boxing classes, more running, my weekly torture sessions at Circuit Training, I swim laps when I can- and those are the days that I don't miss ciggies quite as much, as opposed to days when I do nothing other than think about lighting up next. You would think that the only option would be to up my excercise so that, in addition to commuting, I increase my training from 4 days out of 7 to 6 days out of 7, right?

Exactly. There really is no other option and excercise is the ONLY thing thing that dulls my need for nicotine. I smoke alot- I'll need to compensate alot. But I need something to work towards. Generally I spit upon flakes who describe themselves as 'Goal Oriented' and believe that 'The Universe Owes Me Something' law of attraction bullshit, but I do need something to work towards. A trashbag yardstick of sorts. So in 12 months time I will be doing a mini triathlon. Emphasis on Mini- more IronBaby than IronMan. And I'll quit smoking for good in the process.

Yes- the perfect, lasting legacy to NOvember. The Great IronLung Challenge of 2012.

Here goes nothing...