Finally sorted!

Been getting up extra early the past few mornings, mainly due to starting work earlier than usual and having to get lunch and snacks prepared before heading out to the gym.  Usually lunch prep happens after I get back from the gym, but that was not possible on Monday and Tuesday of this week.  However, it was worth it in the end as Nelson passed his driving test, as mentioned in yesterday's post.  This morning I went to the gym as well but did not need to get up quite as early, just 5:55AM.  Got up, had my protein shake, quickly packed my stuff and then went to get fuel along the way to the gym.  Did my workout and managed to get home for 8:10AM.  Plenty of time for the plumber to arrive.  Around 8:45AM somebody chapped my main door.  I looked through the peephole and saw a man with his head down.  He had a beanie hat on.  Didn't quite look like a plumber.  I opened with curiosity, already thinking in my head of how to decline the man if he asked for "a few minutes of my time" to tell me about some charity etc.  With the door open I could see him holding a box with Amazon on it.  He said he had a parcel for me.  Ah yes, my Swiss Gear laptop bag!!  =D  I was happy to sign for it then opened the box to find what you see on the above link.  A nice blue and black backpack with lots of great padding, openings, compartments and a good quality feel to it.  I look forward to using it to carry my laptop down to Grantham in Lincolnshire to see Ian and Leanne.  =)

The plumber guy came at around 8:50AM and sorted the toilet out for us.  Without going into too much detail, he was a nice guy, Neil, who could not replicate the faults I was telling him about, but seeing the video on my phone (HD 1080p quality!) he understood the problem set about rodding the soil pipe then later fit a new U-bend for us.  Neil left about 11:20AM, I cleaned up a bit, hoovered, then had lunch.  I was soooo hungry!!  The cost was not cheap, but I was glad to pay for peace of mind and an actual professional who has been on the job for six years.  Everytime he left the house to go to the van or to get the parts he would explain to me where he was going etc.

The day didn't end there.  Plumbing job done, lunch was rushed, then off to work.  Finished work at 4PM and went to watch "This Means War" at 6:30PM.  After that went to Tesco to buy a few things to bring down for Ian and Leanne.  I'm soo looking forward to the wee break down to see them.  Get to relax, not have to drive also!  Not taken a wee break away since going to Dublin back in Dec 2010!  Life has been all about work work work!!

Lesson of the Day: All work and no play makes G 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.

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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!

A new routine

Just a wee log before going to bed.  In fact I should be in bed a lot sooner, but I just spent the past hour reading the training manual for a new training system which I want to start from next week.  As I said in my previous post, it is time to turn up the heat, and I didn't mean just the weather, but going to step things up a gear.  Three phases to this new training program.  Maintenance, Phase 1 and Phase 2.  I will do the Maintenance for the month of March then begin Phase 1 in April for up to three months and hope to see improved results in muscle building along with fat burning.  I will talk more about this in a future blog.  =)

Got a long day ahead for tomorrow: hoping to go to the gym at opening time 9AM for an hour and come home for a big breakfast before going to church for 11AM worship practice.  Will be in church till around 4PM the latest and will then go watch "The Artist".  I think I will be mega hungry during church time, so will have to bring some lunch for before service starts.  After service possibly head over to M&S for reduced price foooood.  Things like sandwiches and wraps priced between 10-50p, croissants and breads around 10p each, salads 30p etc.  Examples of things I've managed to get in the past.  Will be good snacks for the movie at least ;)

After hanging out for a while I think I will be heading home to rest early and get to bed between 10-11PM.  I will need enough sleep before I begin my new workout as of Monday morning, 6:30AM.  Ooh yeah!  And guess what?  I'm so looking forward to getting those free towels every visit at Greens now!  ;)

Goodnight!!

Unprofessional

Cat comes back from Singapore tomorrow.  I would have loved to have the bathroom fixed up before she came back, but that will not happen anymore.  As I mentioned on the just two weeks ago we were waiting for Plumber Three to come up to check the wee leak in our bathroom.  He did actually show up the next morning, came up to check out the U-bend, told me we need a new one and that he will also rod the pipes to remove any blockage.  This was a Tuesday afternoon he came up and he told me quite clearly that he would come back "next Wednesday or Thursday" as he was quite busy right now.  He said, "give me a call or text on Tuesday night to remind me and we will arrange a time for me to come up to get the work done.  I know you're a driving instructor, so you won't have to re-arrange lessons to accommodate me.  I live nearby (said the place) and can come in the later hours of the day."  And with that he left, without quoting any costs or whatever.  I was pretty pleased that he came up finally and we even had a chat about the Christian brother who referred him to me.  I told him that he was recommended as "reliable and competitive in price".  He was happy to hear that.

Tuesday finally arrived, this was three days ago now, 29th Feb, Leap Day.  I texted him in the evening around 7PM nicely saying I was asked to remind him to come up Wednesday or Thursday to fit a new U-bend and to rod our pipes and I asked if he was still available to come up.  No response.  So I copied and pasted the message and sent at 11PM.  Nothing again.  Wednesday morning (yesterday) I called him.  First attempt: mobile said the number was temporarily unavailable.  Second attempt ten minutes later: it rang and he picked.  He sounded distracted.  He said he got my text messages from last night but didn't get to reply.  Then he said he did not tell me he was coming up Wednesday or Thursday.  It was Thursday or Friday.  I said he did tell me to text him Tuesday for Wednesday/ Thursday.  He denied it, then said, "Well I'll call you tonight or Thursday morning and tell you when I can come up.  Ok.  Bye."  What the heck!!  I was actually very angry when the call ended like that.  He didn't hang up on me but I was angry because of his denial.  I was also angry that he did not seem to care that we waited over a week for him, only for him to shrug me off like that.  And you know what?!  Up until this very moment he has not called me back at all.  In fact, being the douchebag that I am, I actually gave him a call yesterday around 2PM.  I called his number, it rang a few times then he diverted me to his voicemail.  I didn't leave him a message but texted him once more asking what time he was coming up.  Nothing.  Na-da.  Silence.  =(

So I have resorted to going for a professional plumbing company.  I have spoken to them already on the phone.  They told me how they can send workmen out by 08:30AM the next weekday morning.  That is amazing service.  I have no doubt about this reputable company and I look forward to dealing with them this once and trust they will get everything done once and for all.  Money, is not an issue.  Peace of mind and TRUST is of the utmost importance.  I will update y'all with good news once the job is done.

Lesson of the Day: If you want a job done quickly and properly, use PROFESSIONALS.  Don't just jump to referrals, cos although they might be "good/ reliable" to one person, they might not treat you the same!!

Gone Platinum!!

First day of March and it went off with a good start, weather-wise at least.  For the first time in a long while we had an afternoon of sunshine and I actually felt like I was teaching in a nice summer's day.  It was very indeed.  I cannot remember how many degrees it was outside but my jacket was off and the windows were down.  My pupil was amazed at how nice the weather was.

This day also marks the day I upgraded to the 'Platinum Membership' in Greens Gym.  What this means is, I pay an extra £10 every month on top of my membership fee.  For that extra money I get a whole range of benefits including:

* A complimtary towel each visit of the gym
* One free guest pass each month
* Complimentary personal training session every three months
* One free coffee each month
* 10% off Costa Coffee within Greens

I reckon with the £10 extra, if I visit the gym ten times a month I will at least break even as the towels are £1 each.  I usually bring my own, but now once I finish with their towel I just put it into the towel bin and won't have to carry it around with me if I were not going on.  It also means I can take random visits to the gym purely for a quick shower and head back out.  This will be especially useful in the hot hot summer days that Glasgow will soon be getting, so therefore, I get more much more value out of this.

The free guest pass per month is also very good offer.  I have signed friends in before using their promotional guest passes which they issue each Christmas for use in December and January months.  However, without vouchers, guests are signed in for £10 each time.  Again, just bringing a friend once a month makes the extra money worthwhile.

Free training session every three months will be useful when I want a break from my usual training program and can have someone check my form or give me more advice etc for an hour.  Guess I won't have my first session until June perhaps.

Previously they gave out sunbed vouchers to Platinum members.  But the girl at reception told me today that since Nuffield Health and Fitness bought over Greens they took away the sunbed vouchers and replaced it with a free coffee instead.  Not a bad idea as I would have NO use for any sunbeds.  Haha!!

10% off Costa Coffee is something I will probably use more often.  Though I don't do many coffee shop visits, but the occasional catch up with friends is nice and makes a change from Starbucks anyway.  Plus this place has free parking which not many other places can offer ;)

So there we have it.  I am officially a Platinum Greens member, after being a member since December 2009.

Lesson of the Day:  More like a quote here - "If you keep doing what you're doing, you will keep getting what [results] you're getting.".  It's time to turn up the heat!