Bust but blessed

Today was meant to be a busy day with five driving lessons between 11am and 9pm, but I ended up only having four because my 4pm pupil forgot her lesson was today and was in the other side of Glasgow.  If only I knew then I would have went home between lesson two and lesson four as that would have provided a big gap between 3pm-6pm.  So I ended up driving to Maryhill Tesco and parked there to update my diary and make rearrangements.  Fortunately I will be paid for the last minute cancellation, but that's not the point, is it?  =P  I will share about something that happened during that break in Maryhill carpark soon.

Weight

I had a look through my phone on New Year's Day and saw a post-it note file which I have on my front screen.  It charts my weight which dates back to 30th December 2009.  Apparently then I was a healthy 193.6lbs / 88.0kgs.  I thought I was pretty big then, but 1st January 2010 I dropped down to 192.4lbs / 87.1kgs.  Not sure of the reason for the wee drop, could be water content or whatever.  Usually I weigh myself first thing in th morning after morning emptying of bowels.  Haha!  Don't want any interference from overnight dinner or anything else =P  I continued noting down my weight and found a gradual increase through the year in particular from May onwards when I started my personal training with Ally at Greens Gym.  My highest recorded weight was on 1st December last month when my weight was 216.8lbs / 98.3kgs.  I'm weird, I used to hate being heavy but nowadays I like being heavy because to me it means I am training properly and my weight is more related to increase in muscles than increase in fat which was why I was around 16 stones back in 2003 (roughly 224lbs!).  I started a major weight loss program which entailed burning much more calories then I took in and cut food down tremendously.  Dangerous approach to dieting but it helped me lose almost three stones over six months.  At the "end" of it I was very thin and looked unwell to some people.  Some commented that I should not lose anymore weight otherwise I'd just disappear.  Lol!  The funny thing was, I felt quite happy having reached the goal of losing all that flab and to be able to keep it off.  I found myself having more options when I went clothes shopping and even joined the masses in picking up medium-sized clothes and actually found then fit me!!  How cool was that!  A downgrade from XL-sizes!

However through time I started to realise I dieted in an unhealthy way and I should make sure my body receives the necessary nutrients and stuff.  There were signs my body saw which showed me it wasn't doing so well.  Signs like, in the past I used to feel warm and get heated up very easily.  My cheeks would glow and I would break out in a sweat very easily.  Sometimes it's due to embarrassment but other times cos of small movements etc.  But my body would be quite cold and I didn't sweat as much.  Ok, fine, sweating much is not a desirable trait, but the coldness was not good.  It meant my core was not as "well" as before.  I guess I wasn't feeding it as much as I used to.  I wasn't putting in the right coal into the fire sort of thing.  There were also times I'd get "the shakes" when my body was low on sugar and my hands would get a bit shaky but I chose to ignore those signs and just ate the same small amount of food just enough to survive in.

Nowadays I really enjoy my food.  I can eat anything and most things will get burnt away by my higher metabolism.  The secret to this: exercise.  I have become a fitness fanatic and I love it.  I really do.  I find my passion is in health and fitness and I always look for ways to improve myself.  Sometimes I think if I weren't a driving instructor I would like to be a fitness instructor.  I know I am not a great model for being a fitness instructor, but I know if I put as much time into training as I did for becoming a driving instructor I'd definitely get there.  I am quite glad that I have achieved my personal goals of wanting to bulk up from my skinny days.  I now look to increase my weight rather than lose it, provided I see muscle rather than fat at the mirror.  My body has never been in better shape but that takes hard work and does not happen overnight.  I still have lots more to do but seeing results thus far really pushes me to try harder.  I have lost a training buddy Nick who has left for Singapore to work. We used to do 300 Workout together at Greens gym.  We used to spot each other and share tips as well as spur each other on.  Now I need to find somebody else who'd train to the same level.  Any takers?  =)

Money

Earlier this evening a friend said they read my previous post and asked if business was bad this week.  I told him business had been pretty crap since the first heavy snow fall back in 28th November.  Since then I've had numerous cancellations, some on my part, some from the pupils themselves.  I've suffered seven driving test cancellations by the DSA, one of which happened right on the doorstep of the DSA test centre!  Some pupils who had their test cancelled had them rescheduled to mid-Feb so decided to take a break from lessons until after the New Year, so I am in the midst of getting in touch with them now and trying to get them back on track so their skills don't drop and also my income of course.  Being self-employed has its perks but also has it's ugly side.  You are pretty much at the mercy of the weather.  This year's "winter weather" came far too early.  It's usually due to arrive in January / February time, not end of November!!  Ah well, I guess I have to just buckle up, tighten my belt, tighten my fists and ride the storm as they say.  Let's just hope it won't be a snowstorm.

Last night I was updating my finances and actually realised how badly affected my numbers were in the month of December.  Times like these I really detest being part of a franchise of a national driving school.  Actually, any franchise would be bad cos that is basically paying rent.  However, being part of this big driving school means they do not have any compassion to let instructors away with paying the franchise during this bad weather.  True they have two weeks of no paying franchise each year by default, but what about the other weeks when instructors cannot earn?  What about a discount or have it waived off?  No, they offer a discounted franchise only to be claimed back from you in upcoming months.  What's the point?  I know an amazing instructor who also holds a franchise business with seventeen cars working around Scotland.  Last year's cold snap he waived the franchise fee from his franchisees for two weeks.  How amazing is that!  He's not such a big national school, but he has a big heart!  That's what matters in times like these.  =)  My contract ran out with this national school and I am not looking to continue it.  Truth be told I am not seeing any benefits of being part of this school.  The car is nice but I know I can hire another one much cheaper elsewhere cos the logo's do not win me business, it is word of mouth.  So I am in the process of considering either leasing a car elsewhere or buying car outright and be completely free from paying anybody anything when I cannot work.  Decision should be made by springtime. Time to pray and research =)

My initial holiday plans to Singapore for a church brother's wedding in December looks as cold as ice for now (pardon the pun!).  My figures do not look as handsome as they once were, and with franchise to pay, personal bills to pay, I don't think I'll see any significant growth until springtime when the flowers start growing as well.  But what can I do?  I know if I were to book for December I really should start looking around mid-end January right?  That's when I hear there will be January sale discounts and stuff.  And of course with trips, the earlier the booking the cheaper in general.  Hmm...

Vodafone

So back to my item of sharing from above.  God knows what's on our hearts, he really does.  Cos although I am not happy with my finance at the moment, He provided me with some help.  I was sitting in the car sorting out my diary etc when my phone lit up whilst on silent and the call was from 08080600832.  From previous experience I somehow knew it was a call centre call but wasn't too sure which one it was.  So I picked up the call and held phone to my ear without saying anything.  Was thinking if this were a cold calling agent I'd waste their time as much as they'd waste mine, cos I've had a fair share of these calls before.  Sometimes a missed call which you call back and get cut off or they give you funny answering machine service.  Anyway, I held on silently for five seconds before an agent introduced himself and said he was calling from Vodafone to discuss with me about my current contract as I am due an upgrade soon.  I totally forgot my 18 month contract was due to end soon.  So I listened to what he had to say and he asked me if I were happy with my current handset (HTC Magic) and I told him I was very pleased with it as it was my first time using Android and it is so good to use, everything so convient with Google etc.  He then told me he could offer me my current tariff (600 Anytime minutes, Unlimited texts, Unlimited mobile internet and Stop the Clock) for half the price on a 12 month contract, if I were to keep the phone.  The first nine months would be £17.50 a month and the last three would be back to £35 a month because my contract was not due to finish until mid-Feb.  That sounded amazing!  However, I was also quite interested to know if I could get a new handset, another HTC phone.  He searched on the system for me and said the latest HTC handset is HTC Desire HD and if I were to get that on an 18 month or 24 month contract I could get the phone for free, but the tariff is back to £35 a month.  I thought about it for a short moment.

I could hear my heart telling me to go for a new flashy shiny gadget.  I could hear my head telling me to save money as my HTC Magic is working perfectly fine!  I could hear the background noise of the Vodafone office in Manchester.  In the end I opted to go for the 12 month half price line rental and it takes effect as of midnight tonight according to Oz on the phone.  So I thank God that my February bill will now be £17.50 and I get the full benefits of my normal tariff without costing me anything.  My phone's working fine, minus a few nicks from accidental drops but everything is hunky-dorey. One year will pass by really quickly and I will have saved £192.50 through the year.  Once I hung up I thanked God for this blessing.  I am very glad I chose to receive this blessing rather than go for a new gadget.  =)