On Time Off and Physical Limitations

“Never say goodbye, because goodbye means going away, and going away means forgetting.” 
-J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan


A bit of a shorter entry today, just to keep you guys in the loop. I really don't have very much to talk about--working pretty much non-stop until yesterday. I just started a bit of a mini-break, having five consecutive days off. The World Cup is over, but I've been running most of our Tour de France coverage and the British Open is about to start (that's golf, fyi). So yeah, we're staying busy :) Premier League action starts in little over a month I think, and the transfer window is heating up, so along with Test cricket and the Tour, I guess that's most of what I do these days.

So, five days off. I need to get some laundry done and I'm in dire need of a haircut (I currently have a neck beard. I do not look good with a neck beard), but I do plan on spending most of my time exploring London and doing some of the things I've yet to do. West End shows, that kind of stuff. I'd love to check out the National Gallery as well, and go to Greenwich Park (and the Meridian Line. Duh). 

I got a bit frustrated today, and I'm sorry if you caught that. A friend of mine noticed how certain things seem to keep happening around me some time back, and I'm starting to think she's right. I was on my way to the supermarket today and when I rounded the corner at White City Station, there was a bloody cyclist lying in the middle of the road with some people gathered around him. Hit-and-run, and he was in pretty bad shape. The police arrived within minutes, followed closely by an ambulance, so in the end, I did very little other than check his breathing and put pressure on a nasty head wound. His collar bone was gone and his knee looked bad, but the biggest issue were a lack of responsiveness or consciousness and a ton of lacerations (and the head wound, obviously). It's pretty hot in London right now and he was riding his 2.000 pound bike without a helmet or a shirt, which is basically asking for trouble.

Anyway, I checked whether he was responsive and when he wasn't I checked for breathing. Once that was done I did very little other than keep pressure on the head wound and wait for the ambulance to arrive. Once I got home (so much for the supermarket) I got really upset because, like I said, this always seems to happen to me. But then again, I'd rather have it happen to me, perhaps. At least I trained to be a lifeguard. It'd be nice not having to put that particular skillset to good use all the time, but really, everyone should have some basic lifesaving skills. Someone please get that on a school curriculum.

That's probably the most exciting thing that happened this week. I played football (the American version) at Putney with some friends, and that was awesome. I hadn't gone full-speed since the thigh-injury that got me to quit football when I was in my first year of university, and it was just so much fun to be playing again. I was terrible, dropped two open passes ( a button and out-route), but I also caught two TD's and threw one myself on a 20-yard corner route. Only gave up two catches all day, and Team Europe comfortably beat Team USA/AUS, so go us! 

The next day I was more sore than I've ever been in my life, and it lasted for days. Which confirms two things: I'm getting old, and I am really not in football shape. I've been working out quite a bit since I got to London (though June-July was a disaster, I only got to go to the gym twice in six weeks), but it's really not the same as sprinting and cutting. London's great for running though, so I'm trying to do a bit of that on a regular basis now (I hate running. It's so dull). Once I get back to Belgium I need to find myself a swimming pool. Swimming is way more fun than running.

The apartment search might turn out to be way easier than expected, so that's nice. I really need to figure out how to get my stuff back in Belgium (FedEx might be an option at this point), but I'm on a holiday right now, so there's plenty of time. 

I guess that's it for now. I'll make sure to write a thorough update once my mini-break is over (you know, because I'm actually doing stuff worthy of writing about), although I wouldn't be expecting too much if I were you.

Have a good one guys, and I'll see you all real soon.



Song of the Day: Some badass rock-'n-roll. The Peoples Temple-Keeper (Of Souls)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVNyxWw_64

And one more, because this **** is groovy: Crystal Stilts: Shake the Shackles
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPiuynEpq1g