Woke Up With This Song In My Head

Only takes one tree, to make 1000 matches
Only takes one match, to burn a thousand trees
------Steriophonics

50 Lessons Life Taught Me

I found this list online and wanted to share.
I love numbers 30 and 35, 46.


What a about you?




1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.
8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.
16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.
17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.
18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.
19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: “In five years, will this matter?”

27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.
35. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.

36. Growing old beats the alternative – dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.
38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.
41. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
42. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
45. The best is yet to come.
46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
48. If you don’t ask, you don’t get.
49. Yield.
50. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.

Yet Another List - 10 Things I WONT do

I know its been a minute since I last blogged but thats cause not much is going on other than intense training. 6 days a week with a 3 hour nap after every session.  

So I thought I would share a list until I have some updates for you.

So heres 10 things I won't do

1. Buy or try on clothes at the Goodwill. For the Brits that's like the charity shop. Something about trying on or buying dead peoples clothes just freaks me out.

2. Enjoy a meal from a Mexican restaurant. I have been to Moe's and Willy's and it just does not appeal.

3. Take a dump while someone else is in the bathroom with me. A wee is perfectly fine.

4.  I don't think I would be able to Catch,  Kill, Skin  and Cook any animal.

Fish included. Store brought is fine with me.

5. Drive on the freeway in the night in Nashville, Tennessee. Did it once and nearly shit myself. My shoulders never touched the seat.

6. Go to East Tennessee. Hated the place. People very rude and off key.  Wow! The excuse given for the rudeness. "Well you are in East Tennessee the people here have old ways and we are still learning how to talk to people politely" I shit you not this is what the hotel manager at the Holiday Inn Johnson City said to me when I complained about the two Old Witches that worked in the restaurant.

7. Drive on the Interstate 26 from East Tennessee headed to Atlanta  Bloody white knuckle ride. But hey I aint going to East Tennessee ever again so does this one even count?  Lol

8. Play in a long jump pit with my coaches 2 year old Daughter. Did that and got red ant bites on my ass. The bumps on the top of my thighs are a good sexual deterant.  I look like I have scabbies.  Lol.

9. Drink Vodka with Jamaican track athletes. Did that and lost several hours in one night. Managed to catch a 6am flight to Gatwick. Also able to navigate across London to Heathrow from Gatwick to catch another flight while   hung over.

10. Not telling. Lol

Moving onto outdoors

You haven't lost your smile at all, it's right under your nose. You just forgot it was there.

-- Author Unknown

To say I am disappointed with my World Indoors is an understatement

My knee blew up on the plane on the way over and that was pretty much it. The medical team were great as they worked everyday sometimes 3 times a day to get the swelling down. I lost alot of power in my quad and that pretty much is the long and short of it.


I would like to say Thank you to Andy, Lilly, Craig, Pierre and Dr Paul for all their help. 

The whole point of this blog is for me to be honest so there you have it. And now I draw a line under indoor 2010 and move on. Ive pretty much taken the week off to let the swelling go down.

I head back to Atlanta in a few hours where the weight room and single leg exercises will be my best friend.

Shrug shoulders

And moving on

(Hey I'm still smiling)

Blue Ass Fly

So I have been running around London like a blue ass fly sorting out my visa so I can race in Moscow this weekend. 

I rode the tube train which is something I never relish. People arrrrrrrrrrgh.   lol

Navigating the new system for a Russian visa was a chore to say the least. Fill out this form, copy down this reference number,bring your confirmed flight details( erm I don't have a visa so why would I be confirming a flight?  just asking like),  bring your bank statement for the last 3 months, whats your inside leg measurement (ok I added the last one) but you get the gist.

Well visa got and I will be headed back to my second London home (the airport) real soon.  

I did have a little hick up at the visa office but that was my own fault. Trying to be slick and killing time I took my number and decided to pin a friend who I knew would entertain me during the wait. Tasha Danvers.  Now when me an her get going its a riot. Well we were having so much fun that I missed my ticket being called. So had to get another and basically added another 30 mins onto my wait.  lol  

Pictures and stories for this trip I am sure to have.

I've been on YouTube again

This child is 4 years old.

What about the A B C's and 1 2 3's?

New Year Round The Corner - 2010 Here I Come

Its coming to the end of the year, and we all set these resolutions that we don't maintain past Jan 10. Ok that was a little harsh Jan 12. lol

I have been reading other blogs and saw a post which struck a cord.

I paraphrase when I say it went something like

As the year closes, we need to clear out our closets. Get rid of pieces we are or have been holding onto cause we are too scared to let it go. Trust, that floor length pink fur coat is HORRID. Oh, by the way, I'm not talking about clothes! I'm talking about getting rid of FRENEMIES that your to afraid of confronting. People who don't match with shit that you have going on in your life

I like it!!

On a another note I'm headed back to Atlanta. Its been great seeing and hanging with the family. My Nephew never ceases to amaze me with the things he says and does. Hes such a character.

2010 is around the corner and training alone in London has not been fun I can tell you that much. But, I have put the work in (deposits in the bank) and I will be drawing on this and all the other work I have put in during the 2010 season. 

When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?

I hope not!!

Which makes me think I should revisit my bucket list and get to checking off some of my items.

New year around the corner and all that. I need to pick at least 10 and see how I fair.

But, for real we do talk a lot of hot air. lol

If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don’t like and like so many things we don’t do?

I personally try not to be that person. People might think me selfish but, I try to march to my own drum. I have taken so many now I look back on them CRAZY chances. But, hey they worked out in the long run.

I remember hearing a speech by Steve Smith at the European Championships one year. His words stuck with me. Whats not surprising is that Steve went on to become a great motivational speaker used by business and professional sports people.

So what did he say?

It went something like this
"Your time in short so don't ever look back and say. I could have or I should have"

His words stuck and so for example when I took a redundancy package from a good full time job an announced I wanted to do contract work. I was given the side eye by friends. I have not had a full time job since. Contract work works for me.

Or when I flew to South Africa as a 20 something year old for a months training camp by myself. My Mum gave me the 'oh hell no you aint look at the airport when we realized no else was travelling with me. I made a friend in Agnes Samaria on that trip. Who is still a great friend of mine to this date.

I could go on with the some of the weird random things I have done.

All I say is take a chance you never know where you might land

The 36 Rules of Life

1. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.
2. Don’t worry about what people think, they don’t do it very often.



3. Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian anymore than standing in a garage makes you a car.
4. Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.
5. If you must choose between two evils, pick the one you’ve never tried before.
6. My idea of housework is to sweep the room with a glance.
7. Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious.
8. A person who is nice to you but rude to the waiter, is not a nice person.
9. For every action, there is an equal and opposite government program.
10. If you look like your passport picture, you probably need the trip.
11. Bills travel through the mail at twice the speed of checks.


12. A conscience is what hurts when all of your other parts feel so good.
13. Eat well, stay fit, die anyway.
1 4. Men are from earth. Women are from earth. Deal with it.
15. No man has ever been shot while doing the dishes.
16. A balanced diet is a muffin in each hand.
17. Middle age is when broadness of the mind and narrowness of the waist change places.
18. Opportunities always look bigger going than coming.


19. Junk is something you’ve kept for years and throw away three weeks before you need it.
20. There is always one more imbecile than you counted on.



21. Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.
22. By the time you can make ends meet, they move the ends.
23. Thou shalt not weigh more than thy refrigerator.
24. Someone who thinks logically provides nice contrast to the real world.
25. It ain’t the jeans that make your butt look fat.
26. If you had to identify in one word the reason why the human race has not achieved it’s full potential, that word would be ‘meetings’.
27. There is a very fine line between ‘hobby’ and ‘mental illness.’
28. People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.
29. You should not confuse your career with your life.
30. Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance.
31. Never lick a steak knife.
32. The most destructive force in the universe is gossip.
33. You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we observe daylight savings time.


34. You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests that you think she’s pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment.
35. The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that deep down inside we ALL believe we are good drivers.
36. Your friends love you anyway.

A Little Inspiration

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, It is between you and God;
It never was between you and them anyway.

Author Unknown

88 Important Truths About Life

1. You can’t change other people, and it’s rude to try.


2. It is 100 times more difficult to burn calories than to refrain from consuming them in the first place.

3. If you’re talking to someone you don’t know well, you may be talking to someone who knows way more about whatever you’re talking about than you do.

4. The cheapest and most expensive models are usually both bad deals.

5. Everyone likes somebody who gets to the point quickly.

6. Bad moods will come and go your whole life, and trying to force them away makes them run deeper and last longer.


7. Children are remarkably honest creatures until we teach them not to be.

8. If everyone in the show you’re watching is good-looking, it’s not worth watching.

9. Yelling always makes things worse.

10. Whenever you’re worried about what others will think of you, you’re really just worried about what you’ll think of you.

11. Every problem you have is your responsibility, regardless of who caused it.

12. You never have to deal with more than one moment at a time.

13. If you never doubt your beliefs, then you’re wrong a lot.

14. Managing one’s wants is the most powerful skill a person can learn.

15. Nobody has it all figured out.

16. Cynicism is far too easy to be useful.

17. Every passing face on the street represents a story every bit as compelling and complicated as yours.


18. Whenever you hate something, it hates you back: people, situations and inanimate objects alike.

19. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s works alone can teach you everything you need to know about living with grace and happiness.

20. People embellish everything, as a rule.

21. Anger reveals weakness of character, violence even moreso.

22. Humans cannot destroy the planet, but we can destroy its capacity to keep us alive. And we are.

23. When people are uncomfortable with the present moment, they fidget with their hands or their minds. Watch and see.

24. Those who complain the most, accomplish the least.

25. Putting something off makes it instantly harder and scarier.

26. Credit card debt devours souls.

27. Nobody knows more than a minuscule fraction of what’s going on in the world. It’s just way too big for any one person to know it well.

28. Most of what we see is only what we think about what we see.

29. A person who is unafraid to present an unedited version of herself to the world is as rare as diamonds.

30. The most common addiction in the world is the draw of comfort. It wrecks dreams and breaks people.

31. If what you’re doing feels perfectly safe, there is probably a better course of action.

32. The greatest innovation in the history of humankind is language.

33. Blame is the favorite pastime of those who dislike responsibility.

34. Everyone you meet is better than you at something.

35. Proof is nothing but a collection of opinions that match one’s own.

36. Knowledge is belief, nothing more.

37. Indulging your desires is not self-love.

38. What makes human beings different from animals is that animals can be themselves with ease.

39. Self-examination is the only path out of misery.

40. Whoever you are, you will die. To know and understand that means you are alive.

41. Revenge is for the petty and irresponsible.

42. Getting truly organized can vastly improve anyone’s life.

43. Almost every cliché contains a truth so profound that people have been compelled to repeat it until it makes you roll your eyes. But the wisdom is still in there.

44. People cause suffering when they are suffering themselves. Alleviating their suffering will probably remove their inclination to create it for others.

45. High quality is worth any quantity, in possessions, friends and experiences.

46. The world would be a better place if everyone read National Geographic.

47. If you aren’t happy single, you won’t be happy in a relationship.

48. Even if it costs no money, nothing is free if it takes time.

49. Emotions exist to make us heavily biased towards or against something. This hinders as often as it helps.

50. Addiction is a much greater problem in society than it’s made out to be. It’s present in every person in various forms, but usually we call it something else.

51. “Gut feeling” is not just a euphemism. Tension in the abdomen speaks volumes about how you truly feel about something, beyond all arguments and rationales.

52. Posture and dress change profoundly how you feel about yourself and how others feel about you, like it or not.

53. Everyone thinks they’re an above average driver.

54. The urge to punish others has much more to do with venting frustration than correcting behavior.

55. By default, people think far too much.

56. If anything is worth splurging on, it’s a high-quality mattress. You’ll spend a third of your life using it.

57. There is nothing worse than having no friends.

58. To write a person off as worthless is an act of great violence.

59. Try as we might to be otherwise, we are all hypocrites.

60. Justice is a human invention which is in reality rarely achievable, but many will not hesitate to destroy lives demanding it.

61. Kids will usually understand exactly what you mean if you keep it to one or two short sentences.

62. Stuff that’s on sale usually has an annoying downside.

63. Casual swearing makes people sound dumb.

64. Words are immensely powerful. One cruel remark can wound someone for life.

65. It’s easy to make someone’s day just by being uncommonly pleasant to them.

66. Most of what children learn from their parents isn’t taught on purpose.

67. The secret ingredient is usually butter, in obscene amounts.


68. It is worth re-trying foods that you didn’t like at first.

69. Problems, when they arise, are rarely as painful as the act of fearing them.

70. Nothing — ever — happens exactly like you pictured it.

71. North Americans are generally terrible at accepting compliments and offers of help.

72. There are not enough women in positions of power. The world has suffered from this deficit for a long time.

73. When you break promises to yourself, you feel terrible. When you make a habit of it, you begin to hate yourself.

74. A good nine out of ten bad things I worry about never happen. A good nine out of ten bad things that did happen never occurred to me to worry about.

75. You can’t hide a bad mood from people who know you well, but you can always be polite.

76. Sometimes you have to remove certain people from your life, even if they’re family.


77. Anyone can be calmed in an instant by looking at the ocean or the stars.

78. There is no point finishing a book you aren’t enjoying. Life is too short for that. Swallow your pride and put it down for good, unfinished.

79. There is no correlation between the price of a brand of batteries and how long they last.

80. Breaking new ground only takes a tiny amount more effort than you’re used to giving.

81. Life is a solo trip, but you’ll have lots of visitors. Some of them are long-term, most aren’t.

82. One of the best things you can do for your kids is take them on road trips. I’m not a parent, but I was a kid once.

83. The fewer possessions you have, the more they do for you.

84. Einstein was wiser than he was intelligent, and he was a genius.

85. When you’re sick of your own life, that’s a good time to pick up a book.

86. Wishing things were different is a great way to torture yourself.

87. The ability to be happy is nothing other than the ability to come to terms with how things change.

88. Killing time is an atrocity. It’s priceless, and it never grows back.

How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?

I have one friend who is several year younger than my but, I call her the old soul. She so reminds me of a woman my mothers age. The wise comments that come out of her mouth never cease to amaze me.

From "You don't want these kinda problems' referring basically to please dont mess with me because you wont like the end result. To 'Sometimes Joice you have to eat shit with a knife and fork and pretend you like it'. Meaning you have to suck up certain situations until your in a position to do something about it.

So back to the question posed. No I don't think I act my age but then again I am far from a wet behind the ears kid.

So I would like to say my number is 29.

Whats yours and reasons why.

Disappoinment

Blessed is the man who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed’ Alexander Pope

People do strive to do good. But sometimes they just cant help themselves. So why oh why do we allow them to affect our day and mood when they don't come through.

Is it my fault that I desperately want people to measure up to the person they claim to be?. Or am I just the crap magnet with 'Over promise me stuff cause I like to be let down' written on my forehead. Is it unfair to hold people to a high standard? I think not.

So I beg from this point forward please "Under promise and over deliver' where I am concerned because I hate to be disappointed especially by my friends.

Universal truths

1) Triangular sandwiches taste better than square ones.
2) At the end of every party there is always a girl crying.



3) One of the most awkward things that can happen in a pub is when your pint-to-toilet cycle gets synchronised with a complete stranger.
4) You've never quite sure whether it's ok to eat green crisps.
5) Everyone who grew up in the 80's has entered the digits 55378008 into a calculator.
6) Reading when you're drunk is horrible.
7) Sharpening a pencil with a knife makes you feel really manly.



8) You're never quite sure whether it's against the law or not to have a fire in your back garden.
10) Nobody ever dares make cup-a-soup in a bowl.
11) You never know where to look when eating a banana.
12) Its impossible to describe the smell of a wet cat.



13) Prodding a fire with a stick makes you feel manly.
14) Rummaging in an overgrown garden will always turn up a bouncy ball.
15) You always feel a bit scared when stroking horses.
16) Everyone always remembers the day a dog ran into your school.
17) The most embarrassing thing you can do as schoolchild is to call your teacher mum or dad.
18) The smaller the monkey the more it looks like it would kill you at the
first given opportunity.
19) Some days you see lots of people on crutches.
20) Every bloke has at some stage while taking a pee flushed half way through and then raced against the flush.
21) Old women with mobile phones look wrong!



22) Its impossible to look cool whilst picking up a Frisbee.
23) Driving through a tunnel makes you feel excited.



24) You never ever run out of salt.
25) Old ladies can eat more than you think.
26) You can't respect a man who carries a dog.
27) There's no panic like the panic you momentarily feel when you've got your hand or head stuck in something.
28) No one knows the origins of their metal coat hangers.



29) Despite constant warning, you have never met anybody who has had their arm broken by a swan.
30) The most painful household incident is wearing socks and stepping on an upturned plug.
31) People who don't drive slam car doors too hard
32) You've turned into your dad the day you put aside a thin piece of wood
specifically to stir paint with.



33) Everyone had an uncle who tried to steal their nose.
34) Bricks are horrible to carry.
35) In every plate of chips there is a bad chip.

Did you know?

I'm in a sharing mood.

Is it just me who has not heard of Stanislav Petrov?

I just read this article that made me think wow!

I personally have never heard this story before. Please forgive me if it is common knowledge.

article: The Man Who Saved the World by Doing Nothing

Coming To An End

So my week in LA is coming to an end

Its been relaxing to say the least. Each day I think 1PM was the average time for my shower as I sat around Jacks apartment eating pancakes and watching breakfast TV. Now I have to deal with the wide ass issue that I have obtained in such a small amount of time.



Kai Kelley who's a friend of Jacks has been great. He is the restaurant guide to LA. lol He has come up with some great places to eat.



Some good and ONE place not so good

Here is the exact moment when Jack found a fly in her water.






And to add insult to injury we didn't get a discount for our meal.

I thought Jack was getting stable on her crutches until we had a little incident last night. One minute she was up and the next minute she was DOWN. We chuckle at it now but when it happened it was not a pretty sight. There really is not much you can do for somebody who is on crutches other than to hover around them braced to catch them if they fall. So how I ask did Jack manage to fall at Kai's feet and him not notice. lol. He can explain that one to you himself.

Her spirits are up as she displayed she still has the bug for buying shoes. Only Jack could hobble to the shoe store, try on one shoe and purchase two. lol

She also had the first 1 foot Pedicure. It turns out this is Jacks 3rd Pedicure ever. Her last being 1990 something. Even the women painting my toes nails commented "oh only 11 years since your last Pedicure" lol. We both shot her a look like "who was talking to you?" lol






So I wanted to get my chill on and thats exactly what I've been doing.



In the next couple of days I will post a few conversations that we have had that have made me say. Hmmmmmmmmm

lol

But, its back to Atlanta next week to start practice. I know I will blink and then January will come around and I will be hearing the familiar words "Tracksuits off please ladies".

So its time to knuckle down and get my practice on