I may be tragically flawed......... but I have a good heart

17 days in

2011-04-13T21:40:00.003+01:00

It has hardly been an Olympian effort but so far my 100 days isn't going as badly as it normally does .

So far I have

Given up spuds with every meal

Taken to parking miles away from work so I have to walk every day up the hills of Stockport

Only been out on the beer once

Made my lunches a lot smaller

Given up pastry , pies sausage rolls etc

Cut back on Chocolate

The good news is my work pants now feel a lot looser .

However I still need to

Cut down on bread

Stop snacking in the evening

And get out on my bike , once the mornings warm up

But 83 days to sort that out

2011-03-06T19:38:00.002Z

Just getting in the swing of actually updating my blog .

It's now March 6th so I have 22 days left of slobbishness until my 100 day diet starts .

I'm just a little worried at the moment that I seem to be eating and drinking that much that my starting weight might have been my goal weight 2 months ago Ha Ha

Am going to have a practise next week and try and keep my intake down to a minimum .

100 day diet and fitness campaign MK 2300

2011-03-01T18:42:00.003Z

For fear I am really turning into this I have set myself a target for the 2300 time .

The plan is that I return form Gran Canaria on 21st March 2011 , I will give myself a week to recover .

On Monday 28th March it will be 100 days until my 49th birthday what timing to get myself sorted.

So that's No Bread , Spuds, Kebabs or Beer

And exercise everyday !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wonder how much weight I can actually lose am hoping for 4 stone that's 42 lbs less than 1lb every 2 days it's a tall order and will take a fair bit of dedication but hell it's only 100 days .

I will blog on a daily basis

National Disgrace

2010-11-11T09:31:00.002Z

We have young men and women being slaughtered in Afghanistan facing cuts in their equipment who go about their job without a murmur of protest.
You ask students to pay for their own education most of them doing pointless degrees to avoid real work and look what they do .
Come on Plod for a change do your job you have the pictures make some examples of these thugs .

Recruitment

2010-10-27T22:02:00.000+01:00

Facebook: "So glad I am out of recruitment at the moment , seeing a well known construction agency advertising their managers job for what must be the 6th time in 2 years makes you realise that companies still have ridiculous expectations.
Maybe they should have a look at themselves , their recruitment process and Regional Manager and not the individual they hire.
( Ok I got rejected by them 2 Years ago and I do hold grudges )"

I'm as Mad as Hell

2010-10-20T22:20:00.000+01:00

On my soap box ..... I spend all day dealing with people who are in their 50's worked all their lives been laid off and now have no chance , what do we tell them, go work in a call centre !!
Unskilled women who's husbands have been laid off and they apply for a kitchen assistants job just to make ends meet to be told there have been 100's of applications . Retail stores who need staff who refuse to offer longer than an 8 hours a week contracts so they aren't liable for any holiday pay or benefits to staff but when they are busy expect staff to be flexible and available for any hours they insist they work or they get replaced .
Come along, sign off, lose your housing benefit oh and next week you may only earn £36.00 but never mind I'm sure the baliff will understand .George Osbourne wanted you to take the first job that came along .
The country and companies are run by C@nts who think "The Apprentice" is the way to do it .
No one seems to give a shit these days that it's lives they are fucking with and people aren't fucking statistics .
Whats another half a million public sector employees on the dole , loads of jobs out there ( call centres always need staff, debt management it's BOOM time )
What will people do what the French do , NO we will put the kettle on have a cup of tea and let the fucking tabloids tell us what to do and how to think.
Now thats a RANT , I'm MAD as HELL and we shouldn't have to take it .
Ozzie ( former Tory Boy )

Useless

2010-09-14T21:30:00.002+01:00

Just about sums up my recent memory for updating my Blog

Been busy on a training course so haven't really had time , which is a poor excuse but the best I can come up with .

Have learnt a lot over the last couple of weeks about peoples needs and barriers when it comes to finding employment and hopefully I can share over the next few weeks .

For now this is it another silly photo op

Whoops just as I was getting ok at this

2010-09-01T18:24:00.003+01:00

Still enjoying new job

No idea how I am going to live on money

Still single

Girl I once dated and still like has split up with Husband ( possibilities )

Taken out gym membership so I can fit in with work

Not been yet

Need to really sort out and budget my money

Bought new headphones , DVD player and HDMI splitter

Giving up drinking until Xmas

Out on an all day session on Saturday

Nothing changes still have plans and don't see them through

Spurs 0 Man City 0

2010-08-15T18:32:00.003+01:00

Joe Hart was outstanding .

Not much else to be said really .

Spurs all over us in first half we gelled and got better without really threatening in the second half .

I would take a point away at Spurs any day .

Another weekend wasted

2010-08-15T18:27:00.003+01:00

Seemed like a good idea at the time to go out and watch the match yesterday in the pub .

However 12 hours later I was still out so today it seems like it was the most stupid idea ever .

The day went like this 12- 5 The Green Room drinking Bitter , Stella and Coppinger fruit cider .

Then stopped at the Chippy

5-5.30 The Club Glass of Rose

5.30 to 9 Brooko's 50th BBQ various Lagers

9 till 12 Rose and Cider

Ha ha great day but thats it now until I go out with my ex work colleagues on 4th September no more alcohol .

3 weeks need to drop a stone before I meet them all .

2010-08-11T21:38:00.002+01:00

This is my head .

Currently suffering from information overload .

Loving the new job but it is only 3 days in .

Can't wait to get started properly after training but have oh so much to learn .

Started New Job Today

2010-08-09T22:14:00.002+01:00

Knackered

That's all I can manage........

Back to being completely stressed out

2010-08-05T12:55:00.003+01:00

OK I have made my choice of job , I am going to be a personal job advisor for TNG starting on Monday 9th August .

OK I have emailed the agency to advise I won't be starting at the other role I had been offered .

The Rec2Rec agency are calling me , that is only to be expected after all it is their fee that has gine down the pan .

None of the above is a cause for stress apart from the natural nerves of starting a new role .

So why the stress

The job I have accepted will in no way cover my monthly outgoings so I am going to have to go down the IVA route to cover my credit card bills and car loan .

Do I sell my house and start renting , the house I live in is nowhere near big enough for me and my son , he is in a box room and is over 6 foot tall a single bed just isn't big enough for him .

And to add insult to injury I am apparently being taken to an employment tribunal.

Whilst working for JPA on a self employed basis I received an application for a recruitment role from a Polish gentleman .

As he only had experience within HR and not recruitment I sent a standard reply to advise on this occasion he had not been put forward for the role.

Upon receipt he replied requesting an explanation , out of professionalism that I reply to all emails I wrote to him to advise my Client was seeking Candidates who had expereince in the UK recruitment market .

Next I know he is suing JPA for racial discrimination , they appear to have wriggled out of it as I was working on a self employed basis so now he is coming after me .

I really can't believe it am so glad I no longer work in recruitment although I fear I am about to enter another mine field of legislation

Llandudno It's a beautiful place

2010-08-02T23:35:00.005+01:00

Well as it would appear this is my last week off decided to take a trip to Llandudno , never changes still as stunning as ever sadly lacking in people though I remember when on a bright summers day it would be packed out , oh well .

Have done a terrible thing

2010-07-30T16:31:00.003+01:00

I feel really guilty haven't told the agency or employer yet that I won't be starting in their job on Monday .

Talk about burning your bridges.

They wanted an answer yesterday and I hadn't received the other offer yet so what could I do .I still haven't in the post have an email copy .

I would hate it if someone had messed me around like this but the agency have never once asked me if I had anything else lined up .

I feel bad have handled this all wrong and now need a get out.

What a Wanker !!!!

Just what I didn't need

2010-07-28T22:11:00.004+01:00

This bloody thing my beloved Audi S3 today cost me £597 for a service .

Needed loads of bits sorting including Tracker Rod, New Brake Pads, Windscreen Wipers , Brake Fluid etc etc .

Plus it has an oil leak so has to go back and will cost £90 to find it , then whatever needs fixing .

Plus need 2 new tyres at £150 a pop .

So all in all nearly a grand to sort out an 8 year old car , I hate it but you have to drive it to know why I spend on it .

Still no job offers in writing am fed up of stalling now .

Trying to arrange a get together with my old work colleagues hopefully should be fun .

Major work out today

Cycled to Gym and home

35 mins on treadles

15 mins on treadmill

All upper body weights plus back and sit ups

Walked to Garage for car 45 minutes

I have very itchy Balls

Decisions Decisions

2010-07-26T19:52:00.002+01:00

I just wanted to post this picture

Found my passport was on my scanner / photo copier how stupid did I feel .

Now just waiting for the offers to come in writing .

Like Buses

2010-07-23T12:24:00.002+01:00

12 months to the day I finished working in my last employed role following basically being sacked .

For 12 months I have filled my head with ideas of being self employed , working on a freelance basis for other agencies etc etc , generally wasting my time .

I had begun to get pretty desperate as I believed no one wanted me any more and I was going to be the scrap heap for the next 18 years.

And then like buses I get 2 interviews and then 2 job offers .

One is working with TNG on the Flexible New Deal trying to get long term unemployed back into work , the other is working with a small Trades and Labour agency doing a sales role .

What to do , won't have a choice unless I find my passport

The mystery of the missing passport

2010-07-21T22:00:00.002+01:00

OK so you have an interview tomorrow , you have to make a presentation and have a competency based interview , no problem !!!

You also for security have to present your passport again no problem it's where it always is , in my wardrobe on top of my CD's where it lives everyday I am not on holiday .

Casually open wardrobe reach in and what the f@ck not there .

I have ripped this house apart but can't find it , the only time I can possibly think I moved it was when I opened my business account but apart from that my mind is a blank .

The trouble is it is £77 to get a new one and having to go through nightmare of reporting this one lost and finding birth certificate etc etc .

Just when I thought things were looking up my jinx fairy pops up again .

And the worst is it will play on my mind all night when I need sleep to prepare for tomorrows interview

2 hours in the gym , seen Inception and nearly finished presentation

2010-07-19T22:39:00.003+01:00

Yesterday was awful , terrible hangover from a house party on Saturday night was going well until the Polska shots started and I hit the Jamesons , urghhhh felt bad .

Today started badly or should I say last night finished badly no bed until gone 3am so didn't stir until 11am today , could easily have been another day of my life wasted but I'm trying to be made of sterner stuff these days .

Took myself off to gym and had a brilliant work out

25 mins on bike

20 mins on X trainer

Weights upper and core

Run

Then tonight went to see "Inception" for once something lived up to the hype an absolutely mind blowing movie , takes concentration but well worth it in the end , however is Cobb dreaming or is it reality .

Finally rounded the evening of in Nando's .

Tomorrow is a big day , 9.30pm off to the old job centre to redo my claim , then interview at Spectrum at 11am and finally an interview at HR resourcing at 3pm . ( fingers crossed )

Then home to put the finishing touches to my presentation and have a few practise sessions .

Luv

Ozzie xxx

Joy and Stress

2010-07-17T14:09:00.002+01:00

Well after what seems like weeks of applying for jobs and getting no where I suddenly have a plethora of opportunities presenting themselves.

Suddenly my phone started ringing again and I have 4 interviews lined up over the next couple of weeks .

I am however not getting overly carried away as these are at the initial interview stages and I have no idea how many other applicants the companies are seeing but at least it's a start.

The stressed man on my left is how I will feel in a few hours as for the role I am most interested in I need to put together a 10 minute presentation on why I consider myself the right man for the role .

Should be fun .

Nautilus TreadClimber

2010-07-15T17:45:00.002+01:00

Love this machine at the gym .

Burns twice as many calories as a treadmill or a normal elliptical cross trainer.

30 minutes at just 4.8km per hour burns over 300 calories .

Dear Nautilus can I have one for my house .

Feel better about myself today , yesterdays assessment at TNG went OK I was surprised how many people were there and that they were having 4 separate sessions .

If I don't get asked back won't be as depressed knowing how many applicants they had .

Have a first interview tomorrow with a Construction agency in Manchester it is with someone I met 2 years ago for an interview so fingers crossed .

I probably feel better as I have been to the gym the last 2 days and really got a sweat on .

Depressed or just lazy

2010-07-14T11:57:00.002+01:00

Never having suffered depression I wouldn't know if I have it or not , who do you ask , how do you find out ?

I am tired and lethargic , I have no idea what I want to do and I can't seem to motivate myself to do anything , is this depression or do I just need a kick up the arse .

Probably a lot of it is down to not knowing what the future holds and having run up far to much debt on my credit cards to have the first clue of where to start paying it off .

Need to get up for it as I have an interview at 4.30pm today and I am sat in my usual position in my armchair doing nothing but staring at my laptop and the TV .

Going to gym for 30 mins minimum on bike and get myself mentally alert

2010-07-13T14:14:00.002+01:00

I haven't really a lot to say just wanted to upload this photo .

Paying the price for sitting up watching the Home Run derby .

Didn't get up until 12 noon.

Am leaving it as late as possible to go to the gym should really be there now .

Have applied for 2 jobs today and had a telephone interview with a rec 2 Rec about a job with Calcast in Manchester .

Have been practising English Grammar and Spelling test ahead of my assessment centre exam tomorrow .

Exciting hey but what a picture .

I get worse and worse at this

2010-07-12T15:32:00.003+01:00

Last time I wrote , I was critical of myself for not having posted an update for 2 months , ha that was 5 months ago .

I read my last entry with interest I was so positive that things in my life had reached a turning point and were about to improve , oh how they haven't .

I am still single with no romantic involvement anywhere on the horizon
I am unfitter and fatter than I was in February
I am still technically unemployed having tried to work for myself and having failed miserably

However I do have my health and kids to keep me going .

Reading my horoscope yesterday told me the Solar eclipse was like New years day for Cancerians and now was the time to start planning for the future so that's what I am doing .

I can't change what has happened to me over the last 2 years but I can bloody make sure that the next 2 years are more positive .

I need to plan and stick with them , I need to be proactive and not sit back waiting for something to happen .

My Goals are from now till 5th July 2011

Get Presto working or find a real job
Lose 3 stone
Go to the Gym 5 times a week ( everyday between 13/07/10 and 01/08/10
Bill 100k
Become romantically involved ( have to lose the weight first )
Run the Chernobyl challenge in January
Sort out my finances

None of these challenges is unachievable , I will only fail if I fail to do anything

How bad am I at this

2010-02-07T15:12:00.002Z

The art of writing a blog I am led to believe is to post consistently , ah em I am about as consistent at posting as I am at keeping up my running and training regimes.

I can't believe it is now nearly 2 months since I wrote an update and since I went running .

Well from today OK tomorrow that is going to change .

I have downloaded a training plan to get me up to running 30 mins a day in 21 days , so lets see how that goes .

On the work front things have the potential to be very busy .

I am recruiting recruitment consultants for J-P-A for which I get 30% of all placements made but I get access to all the major job boards to help

An agency is looking at hiring me to look after one of it's clients in the North of England for which I get 50% of all placements made

I am looking at marketing and selling for a split fee job board details of fees are awaited

I am still soft marketing my own agency Presto recruitment

Any other opportunities are welcome and would be considered .

Right I now need to update the Presto web site which I haven't done for weeks j

Training and screw ups

2009-12-16T17:17:00.002Z

Training again today 3x3 2x2 1x2 bloody freezing so didn't do all the 2 minutes walk , covered 3.07k so not too bad .

On the work front applied for FRIP membership which I should get means I can out letters after my name .

Sorted out an email shot under Presto and screwed it up thankfully as I had made a spelling mistake must have another go tomorrow .

Activated my Reed advertsing account so 50 free jobs for me over the next year .

Need to set up a Job centre plus account .

What with

2009-12-15T22:08:00.001Z

setting up my company web site www.prestorecruitment.co.uk , working for J-P-A as a rec to rec haven't had time to do any real training .

Today back to basics 1-2-3-2-1 intervals with 2 min walk .

Not so bad but on this new schedule things pick up fairly quickly I'm looking forward to it so long as I stay healthy .

A lot has happened in the last 3 weeks

2009-12-10T21:05:00.002Z

I am now Managing director of Presto recruitment , ok at the moment it has zero turnover but with a bit of luck in the next 12 months we should do approx 60k turnover in perm placements to the construction industry .

I am now working on a self employed basis for JPA recruitment , this is keeping me busier than I forst anticipated but its new its fun and I do it from home and they seem like nice people.

I have done no training cos I have been to busy , start again on Monday intense 5 days a week but working from home I should have time .

Now to design a web site

Hopeless couple of weeks

2009-11-23T20:43:00.002Z

Well after setting my self up with a decent base to springboard myself to fitness everything seems to have gone pear shaped .

I have had

Pulled calf muscle

Cold

And a painful agonising Gout Attack , which only now is starting to subside.

Anyway I'm hopeful that in the next couple of days things will be back to normal and I can get back to training .

Bloody Gout

2009-11-20T10:45:00.002Z

Well it's now a week since I managed to do anything .......

OK the weekend and Monday were entirely self inflicted due to over indulgence at the weekend but since I have had a gout attack which means I have been unable to train , well I have actually been unable to move .

Just shows I can't take it anymore .

On the job front still nothing happening have my 13 week meeting at the job centre on Tuesady am quite nervous about it as I am really screwed if they cut me off .

Need to write out a good job seekers report on Monday

Out on Saturday with James for an all dayer watching City and Trafford , then it's back into the training from Monday.

Cycling

2009-11-13T12:09:00.001Z

Another bike ride round Urmston.

Still got a creak in bike , went to bike shop and creak had disappeared .

Midnight Run

2009-11-13T00:57:00.002Z

Sat playing football manager and watching Seinfeld decided sod it what's the difference between now and the morning run Forest run .

So I doned my buff and away I went .

Bad start as a bunch of drunks were getting out of a mini bus at the top of my road and laughed uproariously at my bright red head buff oh well who gives .

Anyway ran 20 minutes , well 9 and a short rest then another 5 then the rest .

First run since being ill so just happy to get home , back on plan from tomorrow but a bike ride included as well to strengthen leg muscles

45 Minutes out on Bike

2009-11-12T13:28:00.002Z

That's about it really round Flixton and Urmston and home .

Chest felt tight when I got home , but still going to try a run tomorrow .

Most exciting thing was I wore my buff for the first time so kept my ears warm in the wind , so I didn't get one of those horrible wind induced headaches .

Bike needs a service as making a terrible creaking sound .

No Wii today going to build back in gently .

Plus on a worrying note went to bed at 12 .30 am last night could not wake up till 11 this morning , and now it's 1.30 and I feel dog tired .

1.30 and it's already dark , think it's gonna hammer down .

A week later

2009-11-12T00:21:00.001Z

Have finally seen the back of my cold why oh why does it always take me 2 weeks to suffer and then recover .

So just as I was starting to make some progress , we get put back 2 weeks .

Anyway not going to let it get me down ,

From tomorrow am going to go out on bike for 6 miles a day , then do my run and try on a daily basis to do Wii Fit, hopefully this will work all the muscle groups and strengthen my core .

Half debating to join the gym as they have the swimming pool and cross trainers and the weather is starting to really get crappy .

I will see how it goes for the next few days and decide about the gym on Monday

God Damn Colds

2009-11-04T11:33:00.002Z

Training put on hold for the week as I'm full of a cold .

Bloody hate them , started on Monday with a bad stomach thought it was from over indulgence at the weekend now seems it was a cold starting .

Just as I'm getting somewhere with it .

Oh well have rescheduled all training and now start again early next week .

Now pile up on Zinc and Vit C

As for jobs saw Fusion yesterday find out on Monday if they want me .

Ridiculous

2009-11-03T01:40:00.002Z

2 Things

My antics over the weekend , ok I had a pulled calf but the way I went at the boozing was a bit scary .

Don't know if it was depression over lack of a job or what but I was a pathetic drunk .

So bad it has made me question if I need to go and see someone , so pissed have no memory of either Friday or Saturday night and I am still ill now on a Monday night , truly pathetic .

And I missed my run today .

On the work front heard from Roevin it was a big no , apparently I came across as too desperate in the interview .

Well I am I need a fucking career .

From Sept 24th

2009-10-30T16:00:00.001Z

Lets start with the fit bit , I'm currently 16.4 stone and at 5 foot 8 (if I'm generous ) is far to heavy .

I consider myself fairly fit but sadly this is based on my mates who struggle to walk to and from the smoking tent at the pub .

So I have set myself a challenge , I want to get down to 13 stone , I want to run in under an hour the Chernobyl 10 k on January 24th 2010 , I want to run the Wilmslow half Marathon in March 2010 in 2 hours and 20 minutes , I want to cycle the Trans Pennine Trail from Southport to Hull this time next year .

This is what I wrote 5 weeks ago the day I finished working , haven't lost a bloody ounce in 5 weeks .

I have got fitter but from Monday I really need to cut out the trips to the fridge .

Damn and Blast

2009-10-30T15:50:00.002Z

After yesterdays complete rest today was meant to be 10x2 with 1 minute walk breaks .

The buggeration was that after 7 I was completely knackered , coughing and spluttering in a bush and on the 8th I pulled a muscle this time in my Right calf,

Have had an ice pack on it and with a bit of luck it should be ok for my next long run which should be Monday and up to 20 minutes .

Have no idea why i felt so bad today maybe it was a lack of warm up , maybe because I went straight after getting up with only a coffee inside me ,

I need to start doing core work and not just relying on these runs to shift the weight .

Going to be bad when I get weighed on Monday as have a heavy weekend of boozing in front of me .

On the job front had an interview at Roevin yesterday all very bizarre saw the MD and another guy , in total was with them 30 minutes !!! Said they would make an instant decision as I haven't geard from them looks like they have already made it .

Oh Well Fusion people on Tuesday , that really is my last chance before Xmas to get anything sorted out .

4 6 8 4 2 minutes walk

2009-10-28T12:49:00.002Z

It's getting harder but more rewarding every run .

To and twice round Lees Field. Nice run weather was excellent .

The 6 minutes was the hardest .

Rest day tomorrow as I have 2 job interviews , 1 at 11.00 and the other at 4.30 both in town .

I hope I get one as it may be fun running everyday and playing football manager watching old TV series but I really need to be making money again .

However the rest seems to be doing me the world of good .

15 minutes

2009-10-27T15:03:00.001Z

May not sound a lot but today that was the magic number .

Managed to complete 2.28 k in 15 minutes .

Longest single run since my knees went .

Hopefully I can look back in 6 months and laugh at the elation tinged with sadness I felt at 15 minutes .

Why sadness , cos that used to be my warm up run .

Oh well never again will I slip backwards into zero training , I can take my trainers anywhere

10 x 1 60 sec walk

2009-10-26T12:24:00.002Z

Glad it was only a short run as feeling a bit rough .

However when I got out felt pretty good .

I tried to make the minutes run quick ( well for me ) and was running at 52 minute 10k pace , ok combined with the walks it meant I actually was running at 1.18 pace .

Longest run so far tomorrow , fingers crossed .

3 x 6 2 minutes walk

2009-10-23T12:06:00.001+01:00

Not a lot to comment on really .

Did this was hard but recovery seems better / easier

Not losing any weight .

Distance covered 3.24 k ,

3 4 5 4 3 2 mins walk

2009-10-22T17:17:00.001+01:00

This one came around again quickly .

From tomorrow it seems the distances and times start ramping up so I won't moan about this one .

Having thought I was having a heart attack all day ( turned out it was wind ) , I managed to get myself out and running .

Went OK but was really blowing towards the end .

The only downer was I weighed myself and had put weight on , really starting to piss me off now .

From tonight going to do my run and then an hour on the wii fit

6x2 90 secs walk

2009-10-20T10:30:00.002+01:00

Things must be working as did the above covered 2.77 k and felt really good afterwards .

I think over the next week things start getting harder so we will see how cocky I am then .

Really need to start doing more than just the run was ok yesterday but didn't get up early enough today and have to rush off to town for a meeting .

Looking at setting up a limited company of my own and am off today to look at some premises in Manchester , which are serviced and more importantly cheap .

8x1 with 1 minute rest

2009-10-19T12:53:00.001+01:00

Short 16 minute strat to the week , followed by 26 minutes on Wii Fit .

Rhytmn Boxing is a killer .

I am out tomorrow with an old friend but am considering giving up drinking till Xmas after that .

Need also to sort my diet out , have fruit instead of biscuits and crisps .

Caught a glimopse of myself in a window on Saturday night , I am obese .

I really need to shed 3 stone in 3 months .

Quick update on training

2009-10-16T13:07:00.002+01:00

Ran last evening calk was slightly sore but managed it

6x2 with a 90 second walk

then today just went for it and calf held out

3-4-5-4-3 with 2 minutes walk

So am now well on the way to catching up on missed runs

Today was a first but was pretty dumb

2009-10-12T19:01:00.003+01:00

I'm currently unemployed , for the past 20 odd years I have worked within recruitment specialising mainly in the construction marketplace .

Last July after 10 years with my employer they decided that in light of the current economic downturn they would no longer be needing my services.

Last year was OK , I managed to get fixed up fairly quickly working for a small local agency again specialising in Construction .

Unfortunately due to a lack of investment by the company in marketing and PR , together with some failings on my part things did not work as the owner and I had hoped .

I decided to stay on for a while working on a self employed basis but again this hasn't worked , down in part to no written agreement being put in place by the company so 3 weeks ago I became unemployed .

I knew finding a new role on the same sort of money would be difficult but Boy i hadn't realised quite how hard .

In 3 weeks I have scoured the Internet registered with agencies etc etc , I have had 3 interviews but so far no success .

And then today , a friend of mine and former colleague suggested I see the people he works for , what a disaster , I won't claim I was brilliant in the interview , some of my answers to the questions were a bit wishy washy but the vitriol and venom and sheer arrogance of the interviewers was unbelievable , so I just got up half way through the interview shook hands and told them we could never work together .

That was a first for me and I really hope a last .

Just great injured again!!!

2009-10-11T13:11:00.002+01:00

Out on my latest interval run got about 9 minutes in and pulled my calf muscle , just as things were going well.

Going to have to put everything back a week now till it heals up properly .

Moral of the tale is make sure you really warm up and stretch properly before attempting any exercise .

Monday is the start of my crash diet , I need to lose weight and fast

8x1 intervals with 1 min walk

2009-10-07T12:49:00.002+01:00

Not a great deal to say about this , slightly bizarre but got to keep to the schedule .

8 good minutes running with 8 minutes walking .

Still got a good sweat on .

3 x 4 2 minute walks

2009-10-05T17:41:00.002+01:00

I had thought the purpose of training was so that runs actually got easier .

Maybe it's not a good idea to eat Salami sandwiches half an hour before going out .

Throwing up at the side of the Golf Course is no way for a 47 year old man to behave .

Anyway managed to get through the run and log another few K under the belt , the good news so far is that a ) I am keeping up with my training schedule and b) my knees are OK .

On the work front I have decided that the 2 agencies I am using are useless and are not pitching my CV in at the right level .

On the positives I have an interview on friday at a company where my mate is the MD , it's quite embarrassing as the guy who will be interviewing me rang to arrange and it was obvious that he had been press ganged into it .

Hopefully I can put up a good showing on friday get the job and allieviate his fears

3x2 2x2 1x1 2 minutes walk breaks

2009-10-02T15:08:00.003+01:00

Was going to get up early this morning and get this out of the way .

However as I had and interview with an agency at 10 am I decided to wait till later in the day .

I think the interview was probably a waste of time , but only time will tell , I know why candidates get frustrated with agencies as the place I went to this morning didn't seem to have any vacancies suitable for me or really had a grasp of what I did .

So the job hunt goes on think I might still be sat here at Xmas looking .

Back to running managed approx 3.5 k in 27 minutes did the above schedule and a little more .

proud of myself for going out as it was absolutely pissing down and windy but when I'm fit thats my favourite running wether not so good when you have top do a fair bit of walking .

Next run Sunday as I am out tonight and at a party tomorrow then that should be good fun .

1-2-3-2-1- rest 2

2009-09-30T09:27:00.002+01:00

Title says it all , after months of inactivity on the running front have finally hit the pavement's again .

Ok it's not marathon distance but it felt good to just be back running again .

Hopefully this time I won't have any rection tomorrow and will be able to run a bit further and longer on Friday .

If anyone is interested I use this to plan my training ........http://www.myasics.co.uk/uk/home/personal.php?PHPSESSID=f00qd8qb2bu7u6807vqsot7ki1

I also log all my runs at http://www.fetcheveryone.com/

True to my word for once

2009-09-24T15:49:00.002+01:00

Manged to get out on my Bike today , the down side was I forgot my Garmin .

Rode for about 90 minutes,then managed to get home and mow my lawn .

I didn't take the most scenic route as went over Irlam locks and rode up the Irlam bypass definitely not one for the scenic guide book .

The picture above is on the route but sadly the rest is industrial and residential

Hopeless

2009-09-24T10:12:00.002+01:00

You would think with all the time I currently have on my hands that I would be able to manage to update this blog .

My new autumn resolution is to update at least once a week , after all when the dementia finally gets me how am I going to remember what I was up to in my late 40's.

The difficulty is trying to work out what to write about , blogs are open to everyone to read after all whats the point if you keep them private .

The problem is not knowing who reads the entries , how much of yourself do you want to open up to the world , it's all very well ranting and raving when it's just you and a keyboard but what of friends , family or prospective employers find and read your blog , and realise you aren't in your private moments the person they thought you were .

So as I am already a serial twitterer with the random nonsense that comes into my head I think i will restrict this to my efforts at getting fit and finding a job .

Lets start with the fit bit , I'm currently 16.4 stone and at 5 foot 8 (if I'm generous ) is far to heavy .

I consider myself fairly fit but sadly this is based on my mates who struggle to walk to and from the smoking tent at the pub .

So I have set myself a challenge , I want to get down to 13 stone , I want to run in under an hour the Chernobyl 10 k on January 24th 2010 , I want to run the Wilmslow half Marathon in March 2010 in 2 hours and 20 minutes , I want to cycle the Trans Pennine Trail from Southport to Hull this time next year .

As I am currently unemployed finding time to exercise is not a problem so hopefully over the next few weeks I should be able to drop some weight just going out on my bike everyday and spending time on the Wii fit but when I do get fixed up with a real job then it's going to be more of a challenge .

Tomorrow I will write why I have no job and what I'm doing about it ............

3 Weeks since my last post

2009-06-13T22:02:00.002+01:00

How useless at this blogging lark am I .

I think tweeting has destroyed the art or the need of writing full length blog posts when you can let the world know what your thinking instantly and often , in just 142 characters .

So I really need to get my act together and do both .

Watch this space .

Why the Boston Red Sox

2009-05-22T21:29:00.010+01:00

I first became interested in the Boston Red Sox hereafter called the sox when I read the Stephen Kings book "the girl who loved Tom Gordon ".

From there on I probably paid their fortunes and baseball in general a passing interest ,watching baseball in the UK at the time was not exactly as easy as it is today .

However 2004 changed all that , I realised after the event that the sox history held a similarity to that of my first love Manchester City .

Started as the dominant team later to become the under dogs

Had to watch as their rival won title after title

Saw their most famous player leave and prosper at the rival

Had a loyal fan base whilst their rival drew from round the world

Their team was constantly sneered at by their rival .

My one true wish is that the turnaround in fortunes the sox have had in the last decade can happen to my Manchester City .

Since 2004 though the sox have started to become a larger part of my sporting life .

With the advent of NASN and Channel 5 it was actually possible to watch live sox games in the UK ,albeit not every game , I did though manage to watch every post season 2007 and 2008 games now the Internet has progressed and I can watch live streamed games, but the quality was very poor .

Now I have MLB TV which means every sox game is live on my lap top , if only we could do something about the time difference , but at least I can watch highlights or as live games every day .

The wonderful thing to me about Baseball is it's rich history , every team has a story , so many players with tales to tell , one of the best documentaries I have ever seen is Ken burns remarkable Baseball A Film ,anyone with the slightest interest should watch this if they haven't already seen it .

My one disappointment in all my reading and watching of Baseball though is Faithful by Staurt O'Nan and Stephen King, unfortunately King comes across as a bit whiny and O'Nan wasn't even a Sox fan originally , he seems more interested in how many Baseballs he caught with his net than the game .then whinges about how many new Sox fans there are after 2004 .

And being an old romantic fever pitch the movie helped , I still like that film .

My bucket list at the moment contains just 1 thing go to live game at Fenway Park it will happen .

Now that's progression from a book about a girl lost in the woods dreaming about a closing pitcher

Aung San Suu Kyi

2009-05-20T22:57:00.003+01:00

Imagine being the democratically elected leader of your country , and then being placed under house arrest for most of the next 19 years , by a military dictatorship abhored by the world , but the world stands back and does nothing .

Despite a lot of words and bluster from the West it would now appear that her house arrest could be extended by a further 5 years.

It is time to raise awareness anyway possible around the world of this peaceful womans plight .

It worked 20 years ago to release nelson mandela and bring a country to democracy the same change can happen in Burma.

Organizations
Freedom Now, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization, was retained in 2006 by a member of her family to help secure Aung San Suu Kyi's release from house arrest. The organization successfully secured a positive judgment from the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and has been conducting political and public relations advocacy on her behalf.
Aung San Suu Kyi has been an honorary board member of International IDEA and ARTICLE 19 since her detention, and has received support from these organisations.
The Vrije Universiteit Brussel and the Université Catholique de Louvain, both located in Belgium, have granted her the title of Doctor Honoris Causa.[69]
In June of each year, the US Campaign for Burma organizes hundreds of "Arrest Yourself" house parties around the world in support of Aung San Suu Kyi. At these parties, the organizers keep themselves under house arrest for 24 hours, invite their friends, and learn more about Burma and Aung San Suu Kyi.[70]
The Freedom Campaign, a joint effort between the Human Rights Action Center and US Campaign for Burma, looks to raise worldwide attention to the struggles of Aung San Suu Kyi and the people of Burma.
The Burma Campaign UK is a UK based NGO (Non Governmental Organisation) that aims to raise awareness of Burma's struggles and follow the guidelines established by the NLD and Aung San Suu Kyi.
St. Hugh's College, Oxford, where she studied, had a Burmese theme for their annual ball in support of her in 2006.[71]
Aung San Suu Kyi is the official patron of The Rafto Human Rights House in Bergen, Norway. She received the Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize in 1990.
She was made an honorary free person of the City of Dublin, Ireland in November 1999, although a space has been left on the roll of signatures to symbolize her continued detention.
In November 2005 the human rights group Equality Now proposed Aung Sun Suu Kyi as a potential candidate, among other qualifying women, for the position of U.N. Secretary General.[2] In the proposed list of qualified women Suu Kyi is recognised by Equality Now as the Prime Minister-Elect of Burma.[2]
The United Nations's special envoy to Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, met Aung San Suu Kyi on 10 March 2008 before wrapping up his trip to the military-ruled country.[72]

Well it looks like he's staying

2009-05-18T22:33:00.004+01:00

In all my 30 years of supporting City I don't think fans have ever been so divided in their feelings towards a manager .

There is the he's rubbish ,has squandered over 100 million pounds, we are no better off than we were last season , top players won't sign for us whilst he is manager , and he's and ex Red brigade .

Then there is the he has signed good quality players , he is a safe pair of hands , we need stability ,has the backing of the Chairman and is one of the best young managers in the Country .

Me i change between both groups after every game , we win 4 on the bounce and then don't show up at the next 2 .

All I want is a consistent team , who look like they care as much as I do .

Hangover and Tom Cats

2009-05-17T16:17:00.004+01:00

This is how I feel today , stupidly yesterday went out at lunchtime and drank all day and night so am currently paying a heavy price .

Too add to my woes of this week it seems my house has been invaded by a Tom Cat which has stunk my kitchen out , feeling slightly delicate I really don't want to be crawling round trying to find where the bloody thing has sprayed .

Sky box has got progressively worse to the extent that it is now just a black box sat under my TV, completely unwatchable , so i am paying 36 per month for nothing .

moan Moan moan

And it's pissing down

It got worse

2009-05-14T23:15:00.002+01:00

My car had an oil leak in the Cam Head and a blown gasket in the turbo manifold ......... yep I have no idea what they are talking about either .

The upshot was labour charges of £500 parts will be another £100 and 15% VAT ........... i think the term is bollocks .

I really should sell the car but having driven the courtesy car they have given me , think I will stick with my S3.

Tomorrow iI will stop moaning and write something positive .

May bloody May

2009-05-12T21:40:00.003+01:00

I really didn't want to use this as a place to moan but really this month is becoming very expensive ... so far we have

City Season tickets due £850
Car Service £220
Car Repairs £400
Cat at vets £100
Sky box playing up £290
Broken mobile phone £80
Balance of Holiday £1000

Jesus H Christ ................... now I am skint

Troubled times in my home town

2009-05-11T16:14:00.007+01:00

Two cars at a light on a Saturday night in the back seat there was a gun

Words were passed in a shotgun blast

Troubled times had come to my hometown.

This was the scene outside the Robin hood pub in Stretford in the early hours of Monday 11th May 2009 .

16 year old Giuseppe Gregory was shot 3 times in the head in the back of a Volkswagen Golf parked in the Car Park .

Giuseppe died in a local hospital shortly afterwards.

It would appear this was a Gang related execution as he was not from the Area apparently the gunmen arrived at the pub in a taxi before carrying out the shooting .

Stretford is my home town , the place of my birth where I spent the first 20 years of my life and is 5 miles from where I currently live .

It is a small suburb of Manchester to the South of the City , most famous for being the home of Manchester United and Lancashire county cricket club.

Now it is in danger of becoming infamous for being the murder capital of the UK .

This is the second young man to lose his life to gun crime in 12 months .

WTF is going on this is the North West of England it's not the Bronx or Baltimore .

Now whilst I'm no prude and am pretty much opposed to censorship in any form I really think it's time we looked into video games such as GTA which glorify violence and glamorise gang membership , it can't be a coincidence that since this genre of game has been on the market the level of Gang membership and violence in the UK has escalated to the point where it is getting out of control.

Stretford is already a damaged town , population is down to 37500 from a peak of 61000 in the early 60's when industry in Trafford Park was booming .

The heart of the town was ripped out in the late 60's early 70's with the widening of the main road through the town and the building of the Arndale centre which today is as bigger eyesore as it was when first built .

It is a sprawling urbanised area with no centre , no heart .

By my calculations the 37500 people who live there have 6 pubs to choose from , there is not a single restaurant in the town , anyone wishing to eat out would have to go to the next towns along Sale,Urmston or to the Trafford Centre.

It is basically a tragic example of how not to Town Plan , maybe Trafford Council are not responsible for the death that has come to my town but they are responsible for what will be the death of my town .

Well here we go

2009-05-10T17:26:00.006+01:00

Haven't really got much of a clue what I am going to do with this or where it is going to go.

Decided to start this as most people who twitter have a blog to refer fellow tweeters to , so why should I be any different .

It probably wasn't the best day to start as my football team Manchester City have just lost 2-0 at our local rivals Manchester United which means they are virtually assured of the title and we will now struggle to qualify for next seasons Europa Cup .

The match was a poor shadow of a derby which are normally played at 100 mph with passions riding high this had all the passion of a pre season friendly .

Despite City have the greater percentage of possession we did bugger all with it and in the end United ran out comfortable winners without really having to get out of first gear .

With the Red Sox getting a good hiding by the pesky Rays last night it has not been a good sporting weekend .

Thats my first post , hopefully it is not too grammatically flawed and over the course of time it might even get interesting .