Feeling relaxed

I am very glad that I had such a nice relaxing long weekend down in Grantham with Ian and Leanne.  Because during the whole weekend we had such good laughs and it was like almost every moment we had laughs, jokes and teasing etc.  It really helped create a nice relaxing atmosphere for us and a relaxing atmosphere inside me also.  So much so that I find myself much calmer and much less uptight whilst working this week.  For the past few weeks I was often feeling frustrated inside and I allowed the stresses of work get to me.  On the outside I might have smiled or remained calm, but the inside held a storm.  I guess I needed a good break away from work.  And the long weekend was just that! 

The last time I had break off work was back in November when I took the Friday off till Sunday and used the weekend for the church retreat.  However, I was still very active, I was still driving, and I had my car key in my pocket.  This weekend I intentionally left my car key in the house so I was well and truly relaxed.  It was so nice to have Leanne drive us around places.  I sat at the back taking photographs, videos and even dozed off at one point.  Haha!

Lesson of the Day: All work and no play really does make me a dull boy!

One in, one out

I found the above delivery card on the kitchen table when I got home after work this evening.  At first I was not too sure who would have sent me something through Hermes.  I had not heard of Hermes before, nor could I immediately recall if I were expecting any deliveries.  Then after a few moments, I remembered I had ordered a new laptop bag for my Samsung laptop.  I will be going down to Grantham in Lincoln to see my good friend Ian and his fiancee Leanne this Thursday.  Will be away until Sunday.  I am planning to bring my laptop with me for this trip as I will be going down to discuss their wedding plans with them and meet Leanne's family.  I think I will need the laptop because I will be taking photos and videos and most importantly will be making notes and plans for my role as the Best Man!!  Oh my goooodness!!  Can you believe it?  Ian asked me to me his Best Man for his wedding in July the 7th!!  I was and still am very honoured, however, the thing that scares me the most is the Best Man Speech!!!  =O  7th July.... today is 6th March... Wow! Just four months to go!  Then on 16th July it'll be Cat's wedding!  ANOTHER speech!!  =O 

Anyway, back to the laptop bag.  If you click the picture above you'll see the Swissgear laptop bag I got for my 17" Samsung computer.  I still have the 15" bag which I put my old Toshiba in, but putting the Samsung in does not give it any protection and it is very umcomfortable as it is the single strap shoulder bag type.  Far too obvious that it is a laptop bag and is not easy or convenient to carry around.  This laptop bag looks waaay more comfortable and has so many different compartments for me to store stuff like my other gadgets, important documents etc.  One great thing about it is, it has a stabilising design which keeps the bag upright so it does not fall when put down.  Good stuff!  I find sagging bags quite annoying, like something that does not have any backbone, forever crumpling.  Lol!  This looks like a bag to last a long time and I'm glad to pay the price.

So, I missed the courier twice apparently, but this was the first card I saw.  So I got in touch with "Alan" and asked him to deliver between 8AM-12PM tomorrow.  He said he will come by then.  Great!  That is the time I will be home tomorrow... because... the plumbers are coming!!  =D  Sooo looking forward to meeting these professionals!!  So looking forward to having a "normal" bathroom/ toilet.  Will update y'all in due course.

And finally, as my title suggests, I want to share some good news.  This morning I had a pupil Nelson sitting his driving test.  As we approached the test centre I got a text message from a new number.  She is called Ellen and said she was referred by my friend Esther for driving lessons.  I was joking to Nelson in the waiting room.  I told him "See, a message asking for lessons with me.  If you pass, I'll have room for her.  If not, she'll have to wait."  This was a friendly yet positive push for Nelson.  I was feeling positive about him and his test and was also quite glad with the examiner he got.  So off he went to sit his test whilst I waited in the waiting room, said a prayer for Nelson and later calling Ellen to discuss her requirements etc.  Again I told her the same thing, when my pupil passes I'll have space for her and will make arrangements.  Nelson came back about 40 minutes later.  I approached the car and I saw through the window the driving examiner was writing on the blue driving test pass certificate!  Whoo-hoo!!  Amazing!  Thank the Lord!  So happy for Nelson and he was so glad to pass too!  =)  What does "one in, one out" mean?  Well, I believe the Lord definitely provides for every single thing.  He knows what we need and knows just when to give it to us.  "One in" would be Ellen coming in.  "One out" would be Nelson leaving after he has passed.  I was originally going to title this post "One out, one in" as that is what usually happens.  However, this time God blessed me with before I was without.  Hallelujah!

Lesson of the Day: The Lord gives and takes away.  In any order He pleases.

Making an effort

Check this out. I've been sat here outside Chinatown since just before 9am for a lesson 9-10:30AM. Called pupil at 9:10am... Voicemail. Called her husband at 9:20AM... both still in bed. Pupil said will "be there ten mins". Getting from Ibrox to Cowcaddens via subway will take much more than ten mins!

How frustrating. Driving test next Monday and that's how she gears up for it. I made effort to start early for her and shortened other lessons to an hour to accommodate her. Back to back lessons today till 6pm so she can't get any over time with me.

===

Ok, that was this morning.  Pupil eventually showed up, dropped off by husband.  Lesson went ahead and finished in the scheduled time as I had to get ready for the next lesson.  I really do my best to avoid knock-on effects on subsquent lessons.  Bit like the cinema.  If you buy a ticket for 9AM showing and you don't get to your seat till half hour or more later, then the film still finishes at the prescribed time.  This world is not TiVo.  It's only fair.  I have a business to run.  Isn't it ironic that I just talked about people being late for lessons in yesterday's blogpost, then this happened this morning.  A great example of "be careful of what you say".  Haha!

So I called the real plumbers this morning and arranged for them to come on Wednesday morning.  Woman on the phone cos I'm in Dennistoun they'll get here between 8:30AM-9AM.  I'm fine with that.  By the sound of things they can get the jobs done on the same day and I'd be happy to pay for the peace of mind and have everything settled once and for all.  Fortunately mum and Cat will both be at work, so it'll be just me who will see the workmen make the mess and do the stuff etc.  Hopefully I can clean up before I leave for work so when mum and Cat come home everything is in working order.  =)

I got up at 5:30AM this morning.  So early because I had to make my lunch and sandwiches for today's breaks between lessons.  Left the house after washing up and managed to reach the gym for 6:40AM.  Got my free towel from reception.  No idea why, but it feels so good asking for a towel now.  Maybe the novelty will wear off soon lol!  Is it because it is free that makes it more special?  Or is it because I know I have paid more towards my membership so I feel more special?  Haha!  Oh, I don't know.  But what I do know is I should continue working out hard at the gym.  Sweat buckets this morning especially as my new training regime has me doing 40 seconds of 'cardio' in between every set of exercise.  So I chose skipping in between sets and later burpees in between sets.  These are to keep the heart rate going and increasing fat burning action whilst resting between sets.  Effective stuff I tell ya!

Same again tomorrow.  5:30AM alarm is set.  Time for bed... after watching an episode of "Live of Omission" TVB drama.  I know it is from last year, but I have a few episodes before it ends so I will just finish it off.  Goodnight y'all!

Lesson of the Day: Keep working hard at whatever you do.  It will be noticed by someone somewhere.  Or the very least, by God.  =)

Ploughing on

Alarm is set for 5:30AM tomorrow which means I better get off here real soon if I wanna make it up on time.  Reason for such early wake up is because I have to start work 9AM tomorrow, an hour earlier than usual.  On top of that, I will have total of five lessons back to back until 6PM so I will have to bring some good food with me.  I intend to get up 5:30AM and cook pasta with chicken and pesto.  Should get a chance to have this lunch during one of my four half-hour breaks.  Here's hoping!!  There are times that lesson unexpectedly run over (traffic jam on way back, something really important needed explaining etc) and I find I lose out on personal time and just plough on towards the next lesson to make sure that one does not get affected.  What that means though, is that in those occasions I may miss my chance of a toilet break, of getting anything to eat/ drink or making/ returning phone calls/ texts.  But the pupil is always first in my mind; do what you can to make sure their lessons are not affected, even if you lose out.  It does, however, frustrate me when I make efforts for the pupils and the same is not reflected off them and this sometimes causes further delays.  Ah well, just gotta do my best at all times.  =)

So this week is going to be fairly busy until I get my long weekend break down in Lincoln, visiting my good friend Ian and his fiancee Leanne (also a good friend of mine).  More on that later!  Bedtime for me now!  Ciao!

Snow 2011

Yesterday morning the snow started falling for about three minutes before it all melted again.  The small flurry brought quick reactions from Facebook users, and I imagine from this Tweeters too, all announcing the snowfall in Glasgow.  However, the snowfall was short lived and everyone was left bemused and life carried on as normal.  By mid afternoon there was sleet and that made carrying/ transporting the PA equipment between churches quite troublesome.  However, God blessed us with three cars taking stuff to church and two cars taking stuff back.  Many cars, and hands, make light work.  =)

The heavy snow started to fall from around 11PM last night and by this morning it covered pretty much everything.  Currently as I type this, 3:35PM, it is snowing again, after a short break between mid-morning and afternoon.  I remember this time last year we already had over a week of snowfall and that brought the nation to standstill. This year we should be thankful that it was delayed because if it had arrived on 27th November again it would have affected our EM Autumn Retreat, at least the last day.  Last year I was so peed off at one point when there were so many inaccurate forecasts of snow and that affected the scheduling of my driving lessons, and of course my income.  This year the city councils are all promising us they are "better prepared" for the bad weather and will hope to make sure life can carry on as normal even with the snow here.  I hope I will be "better prepared" also with regards to my lessons and not expect too much, so can save on the stress and anger.  Haha!

Being productive

Today so happened I had no driving lessons.  Was meant to have a new pupil starting today, but she lost her provisional licence counterpart and we have to wait for it's arrival before she can take lessons.  Also the afternoon lesson was rescheduled for tomorrow anyway (here's hoping it can take place!).  So I had a good lie-in, then after the snow stopped I went to the gym with Cat and had a good workout without the usual time restrictions I have other mornings before work.  Once I got home Cat made soup and risotto, which I had the pleasure of eating as my post-workout meal, with added chicken.

So tonight what am I going to do with my spare time?  Well mum just got in from work about twenty minutes ago.  I have a few things I need to sort out:

1) Ironing
2) Catch up with my emails - 17 unread emails in my gmail, mostly fitness stuff
3) Do something on Word
4) Something else... can't remember what, but I know I have stuff to do for sure.

Ok, so I better get cracking with my stuff then.  I'll get ironing done now.  Ciao!!

High Court of Glasgow

It is raining outside right now, and it reminds me of the time I went for jury duty at the High Court of Glasgow back in 2005 when I was still working at Ford CRC.  It brings feelings of nostalgia as I will be making that same journey to court again.  Yup, received a juror citation letter through the post about three weeks ago inviting me to attend court on Monday 31st Oct 2011.  So I called up yesterday evening and it said I didn't have to attend this morning but was told to call again after 5PM today.  I still managed to teach today and during a long break I went to buy church PA equipment with Jason.  It didn't take as long as I had estimated and I still had time to pop home to see mum and to eat some food as well before my last lesson.

So... back to court tomorrow after about 5-6 year without being selected again.  It's so unfair!!  Seems like they recycle used names in a 5-6 year cycle.  My sister has never done it and I doubt they'll be inviting her anymore.  Haha!  Apparently we can only do jury duty a maximum of two times in your lifetime or something?  But then someone told me their dad did jury service three times!  LOL!  Hmm... anyway, I hope I can get there tomorrow, show face, and when the time comes for names to be picked I hope my name is not picked and I can be excused.  Because I do not want to lose any income.  Back in 2005/2006 I gave the form to my admin dept and they filled in my earnings and the court paid me for the loss of work.  But now, well being self employed means I will have to prove my earnings through accountant records etc and it all seems so troublesome AND they daily rate of pay is well below what I would earn on an average day.  Sigh...!

Warning light

Managed to cut down the number of Fb photos to 560 from 919.  Was not easy I must say, took two days.  Lol!  Did most of it today, because I had so much spare time at home.  Not by choice, but only managed to teach one lesson today and cancelled another after the Fuel in Oil warning lamp lit up on my instrument panel.  Argh!!  That's the second time this has happened.  First time was back in May and the Ford garage performed an oil service and the light went off.  Surely it can't be the same issue again, and please, do not tell me there is another oil service required.  =(

So for now the car is parked across from the house and I'm not driving it until Monday morning when I will take it to the service department.  It's gonna mean taking the bus to church tomorrow.  And this weather, it's gonna suck!!  =(

Happy stuff

No ranting in today's post.  Haha!  I figured it gets boring to moan all the time.  I get bored of writing unhappy blogs or even reading them. I must say, the past week had been pretty tough for me but today was so different.  Today I felt quite happy inside and outside, so I want to share the things that made me happy today :)

In the morning I woke up but it was raining outside.  Although it put me off my weekly cleaning of the car (hoover and dusting) it did not put me off housework.  So after breakfast and devotionals (today's topic was taming of the tongue re. the book of James) I changed my bedsheets and pyjamas, then hoovered the house and tidied up where I could cos I can't stand mess and also because I have a guest coming up for dinnner tomorrow.  Lol!  After all that was done I showered and shaved then lunch was already waiting for me on the table.  Steak!!  =D  In fact, mum made two steaks!  I ate one steak and put the other one away as leftover because I had worship practice.  Told Katie I'd be a little late.  Traffic was very smooth sailing toward's the Church Centre so I managed to arrive pretty much on my ETA. - Happy I was productive this morning. =)

Worship run-through went well and for the first time I plugged in and was backing singer for Katie.  Not sung for worship in like ages and ages and I didn't think my voice was very good compared to others in the worship team.  But I kept reminding myself of the Audience of One and I really hoped God was pleased with the worship.  The worship session in EM went really well I thought.  I really felt in tune with God and I felt His presence among us today.  I wonder if the rest of the worshippers felt so too. - Happy worshipping in God's presence.  =)

I quickly tidied up the PA equipment and prepared for a game with the youths.  Through the week there was chat with Michelle about Chubby Bunny and I thought it'd be a good idea to get the youths together for a laugh and we could introduce it to Michelle since it was her first time.  Haha!  We had lots of marshmallows in the first round and lots of players: Me, Hong Ying, Samuel, Nathan, Ben, Tiffany, Chris Li, Michelle and Katie (did I miss anybody?).  It was such a laugh and could have gotten messy had we not prepared paper towels and a carrier bag for deposits!!  LOL!  Ben won as he could still say "Chubby Bunny!" after putting NINE pieces of marshmallows into his mouth.  Haha!  I gave in after eight pieces!  So Ben is the We still had marshmallows left after first round so new players joined in like Iain, Caleb, Henry and Rachel.  However, we ran out of marshmallows as some were nicked by others who weren't playing (grrrr! =p).  So instead of competing how many we fit into our mouths we raced to be the first to swallow all our marshmallows!  I haven't eaten any sweets so far this year, but with a mouthful of marshmallows and in such a fun and competitive environment I quickly chewed up and came third to finish.  Haha!! - Happy having good laugh with people and game reminded me of church camp days =)

After the fun I was arranging the PA to take to my car and before I started carrying the stuff I heard a wee voice call my name out.  It was the sweet voice of my little darling Arianna.  I turned around looking for her but cos she's only four it took a few second before she emerged from the crowd.  She was walking towards me smiling happily and I naturally bent down opened my arms and she came running towards me and into my arms!!  =)  This little lady never fails to make me smile.  This is how I picture it will be like when I have my own child one day, be it boy or girl.  It's so sweet to have the love and adoration of a child.  Arianna I have known her since the very first day she was born.  I carried her in my arms and I have watched her grow up.  I have said to mum through the years that if one day Aaron's family doesn't want her (not ever likely I know!) then I'd definitely take her as my own.  I really adore her to piece!  =D  After a few moments of talking and dancing about Arianna decided to help me move some PA to my car.  The keyboard legs were too heavy for her to lift so we carried a side each and walked to my car.  She helped me open the car doors as well!  So sweeet!!  =D - Happy Arianna brings me so much joy inside and makes me broody!!  =P

I went to Specsavers for a contact lense check and then saw these reaaaaally nice pair of shades by Osiris.  I tried them on and I asked the girls at the counter if the shades were available for sale as is or if I had to get them with prescription.  They checked with the manager who said it would be possible to buy them without prescription.  Cool!  But I didn't rush into it.  I asked her to keep them back for me and I'll get them next Sunday once I return for my eye check test next Sunday at 4pm.  That way I'll have time to really think about it and won't make any rash decisions and no impulse buying.  Haha! - Happy my eyes are still fine with contact lenses and that I found something really cool!  =)

Before I went home for dinner (cos I was really hungry by now!) I popped into HMV to look at blu-rays.  Wanted to check out what offers they had on.  2 for £20 was on offer for blu-rays and dvd's were 2 for £10.  I spent about an hour in HMV circling around trying to pick titles either I have not seen which interest me or titles which I've seen but I know will look extra cool on blu-ray high definition.  In the the I walked away with four films.  Hope at least one of them will be suitable for watching tomorrow evening.  Haha! - Happy with a bit of retail therapy!  =)

This coming week...

So this coming week I'm excited to announce I will return back to the gym.  My plan is, starting with tomorrow I will go to the gym each morning for a week.  I need to ease myself back into training without risking any damage to my shoulders or anywhere else for that matter.  So I will just train on resistance machines this week and go back to free weights and machines next week as I begin my new training programme.  Looking forward to it, because I really want to continue shaping and building my body and maintain the title Big G.  Hahaha!!

I'm gonna take a fresh approach to work as well.  I really thank God for blessing me with friends who care for me.  They spend time with me through the phone, text and even Google Talk when I was unhappy and gave me good advice as well.  I took the advice on board and implemented stuff during work yesterday and it already made a difference to my day yesterday.  I was so much happier as well.  A step at a time eh?  So far the first steps have been good!  Thank you guys!  =D

Washed away...?

I wish sins could be washed away with my shower an hour ago.  I wish troubles could be washed away down the drain pipe as well.  I wish worries and uncertainties would vanish along with the condensation in the bathroom.  But they don't disappear as quickly as we'd like.

The first driving lesson of this morning was very taxing.  This was pupil's first lesson after two weeks of missing out.  A middle-aged Chinese wifey who needs the lesson in all Cantonese.  She's tiny.  From the start we had difficulties in getting her to push the clutch pedal fully down, so we use a booster seat for her back to push her lower half further forward to help her wee legs.  That's not an issue.  We did a recap of the previous lesson and the important MSPSL steps we take to do anything.  That is, we check our mirrors, decide if we need a signal, position our car, make sure the speed and gears match and then look into the new road that we're going in to.  The theory sounded fine and were both in agreeance with it.  The problem started when we started the car and her wee left foot had difficulty finding the biting point yet again.  We had this problem few lessons back but by now she should be ok with it.  Fine, I changed cars few weeks back but she shouldn't be that bad.  After a few starts and stops she managed to get the biting point accurately but taking like aaaaages!  I couldn't even rush her cos didn't want to make her panic.  A few times we parked by the road side and the car was going slower but still travelled too fast for a stop.  Upon checking her out again I realised she was not fully pressing the clutch down when stopping at the kerb and the car was moving at the biting point. I reminded her the clutch is always the one you press to the floor and the response was "Oh is it?" as if we hadn't covered it EVER!  So I said, "Yeah, I've been doing that since day one" and smiled.  Inside I was screaaaaaming!!!  What the heck!!  The whole lesson went on pretty shoddy and I caught her yawning a few times.  Her usual lesson time is 1-3pm but had to be earlier time of 10:30am this morning due to a driving test.  So I guess she had another excuse that she didn't have enough sleep. Sigh!!  I find my patience really tested with Cantonese lessons.  I cannot express myself or explain things as well in Cantonese as I can in English.  So telling people off I get all flustered trying to flick through my Chinese dictionary in my head finding the right words.  Argh!!!  I guess I am not very patient after all.  This job has confirmed that...

Just Go With It

This evening I went to watch Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston's movie "Just Go With It" and was hoping to be cheered up cos I've been feeling crap this passed week with so many things happening, unnecessary phone calls, unncessary meet ups, unnecessary stress and of course my recovering shoulder, which I can confirm is all 99% restored!!  However, I have yet to go back to the gym cos I kept sleeping in on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday cos I've been up dealing with stuff, thinking, blogging and praying.  It's very frustrating indeed but I hope next week will give me yet another chance to start afresh and to refocus on myself and doing the things that help make me feel happier.  The gym is my pride and joy and I have to get back into it =)

So this movie did cheer me up a wee bit, aye.  It had some funny parts in it that literally made me laugh loudly and I was not ashamed of it although I was sitting on my own in a packed Screen 9 which was full of couples all over the joint.  Couples and groups of wee kids that'd shout stuff occasionally.  Lol!  The movie plot was about a doctor who used to sleep around with girls after pretending he was married to a really abusive wife.  Until one day he found a girl whom he really liked and didn't have the ring on, but she found the ring in his pocket and went mad.  He then had to spin a story that was he was in the middle of a divorce from this "wife" and enlisted the help of his work assistant/secretary to pretend to be the wife.  And there the movie starts off, lie after lie, lies to cover other lies and in the end he discovers who he really loved.  Kinda cliche but kinda different too.  It was nice and made me think about stuff.  Sometimes the shiny young hot blonde ain't the answer to everything.  Haha!!

It's a Sunday!!

Good morning all!  Literally just got up ten minutes ago and the first thing I wanted to do was sit at the computer and blog.  Haha!  Not that I have a lot to say, but at least a wee update on what's been happening.  Haha!  It became very cold again yesterday evening time as I headed home after worship practice and I knew something was not right.  Temperature did not match the forecast given by BBC Weather nor the Met Office, both reported dry and mild temperatures above zero.  However it is -4C outside now and there is frost on the rooftops of buildings as well as cars.  Oh my... I hope the "nice" weather (above zero temp) isn't going to leave again.  I hope it is not three days of +ve temp in exchange for another week of -ve temperature or snow!!  =(

Back to work

So after Thursday's thawing of snow and ice, the roads were in a much better state to teach in.  I managed to go out on Friday and teach two lessons.  1-3pm and then 8-9pm.  The first pupil was still a bit of a learner.  In fact, being a middle-aged Cantonese speaking wifey she is a bit of a slower learner, so having her on the roads was ok cos she was allowed to go slower as there were still some snow at the kerbsides etc.  Mainly stayed around an estate doing junctions to the left and right and also even managed a Turn In The Road manoeuvre which she managed quite well.  Traffic was increasing as people felt a bit braver to venture out onto the roads, well those who could get their cars out that is.  Some roads were still quite snowy and slippery, however, I thank God the roads we were on were at least 80-90% clear and I even let her drive home slowly and did a reverse bay park at her place =)  The evening lesson was 8-9pm after my pupil finished work.  I finish at 9pm you see and there are times when I used to let the lesson run over (at my expense) but on Thursday I couldn't let that happen, cos these days are cold, dark and wintery.  I long for my bed and don't wanna be out that long!  We did a recap of MSPSL, stayed on the main roads, did some roundabouts and taught him the Emergency Stop which was good because the weather conditions also got us talking about skidding etc.  At the end of the night I was pretty thankful God has given us nice enough weather to go out and for life to resume as normal, at least for the time being.  Though there's still some slush around and a hellofalot of grit spread everywhere, people are back on the move now.  Let's hope all transport systems and delivery systems are running well as well, so people can get their Christmas presents on time.

Slept quite late last night.  After 2am, because I was writing a birthday card and the Christmas card for Secret Santa.  I'm glad the two cards are now written, but it wasn't easy thinking of what to write.  I always seem to draft my message on a spare piece of paper, make edits and then write carefully onto the card, making sure I don't make mistakes.  Does anybody else do that?  Lol!  =P

Long day

So yesterday I taught another lesson in the morning 10-12pm then went home for lunch and to watch The Apprentice The Final Five and then spent the rest of the day at Church Centre.  I had a PEB meeting between 2:30pm-5:30pm then after a short dinner break (bought Char Siu and Chicken rice from Asia Style!) there was worship practice with Kerry and co between 6:30pm-9pm.  Was a pretty long worship practice because it was the first time some of us worked together we had to adapt to each other's styles as well as learning how to sing a particular song for the first time.  We will have practice again this morning at 11:30am, so I better get going after this.

For today I have worship practice 11:30am.  EM service 1:30pm.  Nick's Farewell Dinner at China Blue at 6pm and then hopefully I can resume my "bed by midnight" routine as I hope to get back into training after missing out on the gym for a week.  I went to the gym on Friday, did a run, deadlifts, worked on my shoulders then so couldn't be bothered and wandered down to the jacuzzi and sauna.  Was quite tired and couldn't really focus on the workout.  Hopefully that will go and I can refresh my head come Monday morning.  The only challenge is to get up on frosty mornings now!  Haha!