sneezing

I've been sneezing a lot. I blame it on crowded aeroplanes and 12hr days, but it could just be the change in temperature that everyone else blames the inevitable spring cold on. Every single season gets blamed for someone's cold... I just think they all smoke too much and don't take vitamins. (Said with the smugness of a recently ex-smoker... I shouldn't speak too soon...)

So - I've been awol for a while, and have received suitable abuse, which would be encouraging if it were not for the fact that my abuse-club is rather small, intimating that the readership of this here online soul baring waffle factory is also rather small. I've just realized that this is probably the second poor me no-one cares post I've put up in a short while, I shall have to get more interesting perhaps, could be a minor clue...

I had my first non-alcoholic weekend last weekend, well, first in quite a while anyway. I can't actually remember the last totally non-alcoholic weekend, though it was probably towards the beginning of last year when I was really sick for about ten days.... That's quite a scary thought. It was good, but rather dull, I chilled out at home and watched downloads of Lost to try and beat the onset of the sniffles... I'm winning, but only just.

Friday morning saw the end of month one of Boot Camp. I knocked almost a minute off my mile run - well, I did 6.46 this time from 7.20 last time, so actually closer to thirty seconds, but I've always been prone to exaggeration. No exaggeration though... I did 50 sit ups and a whole 12... count 'em.... sit ups. No worries that the average for sit ups was about 35... I have a genetic lack of muscles in my arms. Well, it must be genetic as they just are not there, they can't be, I cannot support my body weight. And no, that has nothing to do with the sheer enormity of said weight. Then, on Sunday, I kicked off month Two of the dastardly BC. Some may say that's rather insane. Indeed, I was one of those naysayers, but I still wrote the cheque and defiantly handed it over. N&J, aka sproglets, are also signed up, as is Ferg, big PB (you want to talk about lifting body weight..?) and the flaming homo, aka Mark Feilburg. Who is australian, hence the nickname. Nothing to do with his sexual orientation. Or maybe it is, I've never thought to ask, I value my eye sockets more than that.

Last week the bosses from London were in town, hence the rather hurried posts. Wed saw me on a plane with them both to Qatar for a meeting in the morning, and Bahrain for a meeting in the afternoon. Hectic doesn't come close to describing it. I had a small out of body experience sitting in a boardroom in Qatar talking to senior management of a bank that has squillions of dollars and is throwing them towards Europe about how they should be managing and positioning their Islamic scholars, and how they really need to build some innovative financial product models. I wouldn't know a product model if it shook me by the hand and offered me some cheese, let alone an innovative one. So that was interesting... hopefully the bosses didn't see through my waffle though I suspect it was rather transparent.

I'm off to say happy birthday to the boy simon now, at the bar they call ShoCho. Perfect time of year for that outside, by the sea, malarkey. Not terribly perfect that I have one hour to get arse home, changed, in a car and to the bar. Then have to not drink and get my ass home by 11 to get up at 5.15 for sodding boot camp again... argh. Wish me luck...