WHERE DID THOSE TWO WEEKS GO?
So here I am, meatless, fishless, booseless and clueless. Do I feel the slightest bit different? Nope, other than maybe a couple of pounds lighter (which wasn't really the point). Healthier? Hmm, not really, although I have been sleeping well, mostly.
Does this tell me anything? A big fat No to that one too. Except it wasn't in any way a problem to staywith my promise way for the two weeks. Or longer if I so desired. The only time I missed the demon alcohol was when I passed up on a chance to socialise in the pub - I just don't do soft drinks.
So that was my two week experiment - and I don't even have decent bit of proselytising to show for it. Never the poster boy, that's me.
Monday 24 March 2014
Sunday 16 March 2014
One week on
7 DAYS WITHOUT
No meat, no fish no alcohol.
Do I feel any different? No.
Pros - Cheap
Cons - Err. Can't think of any.
That is all.
Oh, and I'm still enjoying my own company.
No meat, no fish no alcohol.
Do I feel any different? No.
Pros - Cheap
Cons - Err. Can't think of any.
That is all.
Oh, and I'm still enjoying my own company.
Sunday 9 March 2014
Veggie, early and alone
IN DENIAL
Day One.
Day One of what? Well, a couple of things that will mark life out as being a bit different from my usual for the next few weeks.
Today is day one of a two week abstinence from meat, fish and alcohol (or "normal life" if you're a teetotal vegetarian). Why? There are no superstitious reasons involved (I don't even know what or when 'Lent' is), no health motives (I'm perfectly well, thanks for asking) and I've not joined a cult (unless you count becoming an Edinburgh Caps supporter). I just thought I'd see how it felt, while I have the opportunity to give it a go. And maybe a mild bit of self discipline wouldn't do me any harm.
Not that it will be that much of a challenge. I don't eat meat or fish every day, and I enjoy cooking with different vegetables, pulses etc. I was going to give up eggs as well, but there are too many sitting in the fridge and my instincts not to waste food are stronger than any temporary regime. But since curries are my personal culinary specialty, and there are several new Indian veg recipes I want to have a go at, there's bound to be some enjoyment involved.
The alcohol won't be a great difficulty either. I have no plans for socialising in the next two weeks. And opening a bottle of wine on my own is something I generally try to avoid (why on my own? - read on). I've not had a drink for several days anyway, simply because I haven't fancied one. And I've ofttimes made a conscious decision to have an alcohol free week in the past, without any struggle to keep the pledge.
So, all in all, it's not that big an event. I just fancy seeing how I feel at the end of it. So far, so undramatic.
This is also Day One of something a little more adventurous, at least in relation to my normal way of life. I have promised myself that I will get up early each morning and write a thousand words before nine am. Hardly an earth shattering undertaking, except to someone who rarely has breakfast before eleven. And that's who I've become these days. At nine I'm usually awake, but in bed with a hot drink and my tablet, catching up on overnight news.
Again it's just a little challenge I've set myself to shake up my usual routine. There's no sense of trying to actually achieve something with this. Most of what I write will never be seen by any eyes other than my own. But sometimes it's good to have small projects, means of making the time pass and add contrast to the monotones of life. Little goals, however meaningless in themselves, can make a difference.
And I'm going to need these tiny projects for a while. For today is also Day One of an event that's been coming and coming and suddenly the time slips through, almost unnoticed, and you're there, dealing with it and planning no longer. Today is Day One of thirty five. Five weeks without my wife. She's off on a family visit to Australia and we agreed it made sense for her to do it alone. And I have planned out my time accordingly, given myself projects and outings and people to see. She's been gone almost three hours now. And I miss her. I miss her so much.
It's not as if I'm not used to spending time on my own. Indeed I am, in so many ways, the archetypal loner. I need time to myself. And we have frequently spent time apart, often days at a time, over the decades we've been together. But five weeks? More than a month? Why does that suddenly feel like such a long, long time?
Please don't waste any sympathy on me (oh, you weren't going to....), I'll be fine. I am writing this whilst suffering from the shock of getting up at four am, a savage imposition upon my natural instincts. This is not a cry for help, or even company. But it is a reflection on how much our core can be shaken by events that are totally expected, planned for, thought through, yet, when they turn into reality, still manage to shake our emotions and existence in unexpected ways.
Turns out I'm just human after all. Who'd have thought?
Day One.
Day One of what? Well, a couple of things that will mark life out as being a bit different from my usual for the next few weeks.
Today is day one of a two week abstinence from meat, fish and alcohol (or "normal life" if you're a teetotal vegetarian). Why? There are no superstitious reasons involved (I don't even know what or when 'Lent' is), no health motives (I'm perfectly well, thanks for asking) and I've not joined a cult (unless you count becoming an Edinburgh Caps supporter). I just thought I'd see how it felt, while I have the opportunity to give it a go. And maybe a mild bit of self discipline wouldn't do me any harm.
Not that it will be that much of a challenge. I don't eat meat or fish every day, and I enjoy cooking with different vegetables, pulses etc. I was going to give up eggs as well, but there are too many sitting in the fridge and my instincts not to waste food are stronger than any temporary regime. But since curries are my personal culinary specialty, and there are several new Indian veg recipes I want to have a go at, there's bound to be some enjoyment involved.
The alcohol won't be a great difficulty either. I have no plans for socialising in the next two weeks. And opening a bottle of wine on my own is something I generally try to avoid (why on my own? - read on). I've not had a drink for several days anyway, simply because I haven't fancied one. And I've ofttimes made a conscious decision to have an alcohol free week in the past, without any struggle to keep the pledge.
So, all in all, it's not that big an event. I just fancy seeing how I feel at the end of it. So far, so undramatic.
This is also Day One of something a little more adventurous, at least in relation to my normal way of life. I have promised myself that I will get up early each morning and write a thousand words before nine am. Hardly an earth shattering undertaking, except to someone who rarely has breakfast before eleven. And that's who I've become these days. At nine I'm usually awake, but in bed with a hot drink and my tablet, catching up on overnight news.
Again it's just a little challenge I've set myself to shake up my usual routine. There's no sense of trying to actually achieve something with this. Most of what I write will never be seen by any eyes other than my own. But sometimes it's good to have small projects, means of making the time pass and add contrast to the monotones of life. Little goals, however meaningless in themselves, can make a difference.
And I'm going to need these tiny projects for a while. For today is also Day One of an event that's been coming and coming and suddenly the time slips through, almost unnoticed, and you're there, dealing with it and planning no longer. Today is Day One of thirty five. Five weeks without my wife. She's off on a family visit to Australia and we agreed it made sense for her to do it alone. And I have planned out my time accordingly, given myself projects and outings and people to see. She's been gone almost three hours now. And I miss her. I miss her so much.
It's not as if I'm not used to spending time on my own. Indeed I am, in so many ways, the archetypal loner. I need time to myself. And we have frequently spent time apart, often days at a time, over the decades we've been together. But five weeks? More than a month? Why does that suddenly feel like such a long, long time?
Please don't waste any sympathy on me (oh, you weren't going to....), I'll be fine. I am writing this whilst suffering from the shock of getting up at four am, a savage imposition upon my natural instincts. This is not a cry for help, or even company. But it is a reflection on how much our core can be shaken by events that are totally expected, planned for, thought through, yet, when they turn into reality, still manage to shake our emotions and existence in unexpected ways.
Turns out I'm just human after all. Who'd have thought?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)