Lolloping sloth

It may come as a surprise to those of you that don’t know me all that well, but I am a sloth. Perhaps not in the literal sense and not on the extreme end of the scale as some are, but I am still a sloth. I love to lollop, laze and feed.

I always enjoyed playing sport as a youngster because I got to hang around with my friends and try many different skills. As we grew up sport became less of a priority because some crazy adults thought that school work and qualifications were a better idea (nutters!) I started training at the gym around the age of 15 and was playing rugby at my local club outside of school. All of this was good fun because it involved other people, so I had a commitment to turn up and loved it when I did.

Several years later after school had finished and I had entered the “real world” I took to running to replace the rugby that I had left behind. I was crap at first, but after running with others on my personal trainer’s course I saw a rapid improvement and felt the satisfaction of a good run. Naturally I over trained at that point and ran so much that I developed compartment syndrome in my lower legs, forcing me to lay off for a few weeks. I have since broken most of the running rules, because that’s kind of a fun way to learn! Probably the worst thing I did at this early point in my running “career” (I am yet to actually earn money from it), is not joining a running club and running with others. I think at the time I enjoyed my own company and that time alone to daydream. Now as a 30 year old I still enjoy that time daydreaming on runs, but I am less motivated to get my arse moving in the morning for a run. More recently I have found the benefit of running with friends is to get me out of bed at 530am on a Sunday, run 30km and then enjoy the rest of the day.

However running is not quite the same as “playing”. I never consider a good run to be more fun than a good ride on a bike. Nor do I consider it more fun than throwing a frisbee about with friends at the beach. So why do I do it you may ask? Well the bit I “enjoy” is putting myself through the ringer, surviving the session and the satisfaction afterwards. Of course the release of endorphins is a legal form of drug taking, so that helps too! When it comes to marathons it is nice to know how far I can push myself and then extend those boundaries. I don’t think we always have that opportunity at work each day to see our development. But in training we can set a goal and progress gradually towards it, seeing the benefits and results we create along the way. That in itself is a good enough reason to do it. Nobody wants to feel like an underachiever and you can only improve with regular, organised training.

So tonight I am going for a run, partly because I posted in my other blog that I was going to have down two runs by tonight - guilt trip! The other part is because by writing about why I run I remind myself what good it does my body, my brain and my soul. Just not as much as riding mountain bikes with Carrot, playing frisbee at the beach with Dane or playing rugby with my old mates. Ah well!

T :)

Making money

I am almost at the end of a 13 day week and to cap it off I have my part to play in the iPhone 6 launch tomorrow, before what will most likely be an incredibly busy Saturday. Not to do things by half I am also doing another long run on Saturday of about 35km before I go into work. Yes I am mad and yes I love it!

The reason behind the recent long weeks has been down to increased hours at Apple and a busy time for Steve with the handyman work. Last week I officially became full time at Apple. As I revelled in the thought of having a normal work life I got a call from Steve asking me what my schedule was like over the next three weeks. Not wanting to miss out on some potential carpentry/extra moolah I told him that I was only free on certain days (my days off from Apple) and so I booked myself in for a lot of work.

This is all positive stuff though. I really enjoy working with Steve and I have learnt a huge amount from him across a variety of areas of construction. I find it interesting that when you have enjoyment in what you do you can do a ridiculous amount of hours. If I wasn’t enjoying work for Steve I just wouldn’t bother doing it, even if it would help me get out of debt quicker. The motivation of money is far lower down the scale than the motivation of enjoying what you do and getting satisfaction from it. Thus I can train for Melbourne marathon, work full time at Apple and do two extra days a week for Steve doing manual labour without dying of exhaustion. Coffee does help too mind ;)

On the money side I have been smashing along with my ridiculously small budget of $50 a week for a few weeks now. If you have read any of my previous posts about this you may remember that I am following a very simple system from The Money Makeover book. I am about to complete the first stage of this process, which is to save $1000 for an emergency fund. Unfortunately that emergency is about to come along in the shape of a tax bill, so after paying that I will have to start back at square one. But that doesn’t matter. The empowering thing of this process has been how I have taken control of my money and not let my money control me. Being strict with myself and practical by taking out my week budget in cash I have been able to save for the first time in years. Naturally it helps having a stable income at the same time because I know the minimum I can save each week and plan for the future. My aim after paying my tax bill is to have saved money to pay off a small amount of my debt in January when all four of my familial creditors will be here in Sydney. So I will keep you posted on how that is progressing.

As we progress towards October I am reminded that it won’t be long until the most amazing event of 2015. That’s right the Rugby World Cup is not far away! Ha ha only kidding. It is actually still a long way away. Just messing! The main event is our wedding in January and it is fast approaching. We still have a bit to do (I underestimate this slightly) and it has been a little trying at times because we both want it to be well organised and fun for everyone as they have come such a long way to celebrate. Naturally we will enjoy it the most on the day as we will have nothing left to organise at that point! I am excited and can’t wait to see my better half in her dress, I’ve no doubt she is going to look amaze-balls. We are both really looking forward to welcoming all our family and friends to our home here and showing them why we love it so much. I just hope that you all bring plenty of sunscreen because it is going to be scorchio!

Right I best be off I have some chores to do before the busiest day of the year at the Apple store tomorrow!

Ciao!

Tom :)

Money, money, money!

Don't worry I haven't won the lottery and gone nuts. Nothing quite as exciting as that. No this post is about tax and budgets, yawn...

Last week I knuckled down to finish off my taxes for the year, which had two outcomes. The first was the realisation that I did jack last year and cannot have done too many five day weeks. The second epiphany was that I have to do more this year if I'm ever going to pay off the debt mountain that I created in my twenties. Fortunately I have taken some steps to ensure success there.

In the last year I have worked for four different tradies and two retailers. Despite this I have had a fairly erratic income and not saved any money or paid any debts off. This year I decided to change myself and take positive action to correct my roller coaster income. I got life coaching, applied for new jobs and for the past month I have been on a strict budget. I think I had become sick of myself procrastinating over work and money, thinking too much and not "doing" enough. Sadly at the age of 30 years I had little to show for ten plus years of working and I was ashamed of that. I've never been good with money, but I turned a corner by challenging that mindset and proving to myself that I can be.

So the deal breaker with my new budgeting has been to withdraw cash for the week every Sunday. I now leave my card at home and just carry that cash for spending on anything outside of my regular bills. This means that I have cut back on my coffee intake, I no longer buy snacks or food out and I think about how I am going to spend my money. The budget I have set has been brutal, I won't lie. It is a mere $50 a week and is this low for a few reasons:

• Firstly I am trying to live within my means. This is something I never did in my twenties because I had credit cards and spent as though I was entitled to experience as much in life as possible. 
• Secondly it allows me to save. If I ever want to get rid of my debt and have savings I have to be brutal for a few years. So I won't do as many things now, but by restricting myself it means I can create an emergency fund, pay debts off and then save some money. In the future I will be able to live a better life.
•  Thirdly I am changing habits. My previous attempts at budgeting failed because I told myself that it was OK to have that coffee, to buy that lunch or to purchase that album. I kidded myself. When you do all those small things regularly it makes for a big hole in your wallet at the week's end!

I think the big thing that has had me thinking (oh no, not thinking!) is that my parents, brother and Catherine have helped me exist financially for the last 7-10 years. Well actually my parents have helped me all my life (bless em), but I mean more in terms of bailing me out of financial woes than raising me. As I was thinking this over I went back in my mind to the day that I wrote my folks a letter. In that letter I spilt my guts and told them how bad my credit card debt had become. I explained how it had made me worry so much that aside from anxiety I had become depressed and had contemplated doing myself in on a number of occasions, purely from the shame I had created! By thinking about those dark days I reminded myself what I owe my Mum, Dad, Catherine and Rich. It's not money, it's more than that. It's my sanity, my happiness and ultimately my life. Between them they have lifted the biggest weight in the World from my shoulders and for too long I have rested on my laurels and not pulled my finger out to repay them the love they gave me in doing that.

So to finish on a positive (because I know my writing can get a bit deep and depressive) I have found an enjoyment in my budget. I have already saved a few hundred dollars towards my Emergency fund of a $1000. Once I have that in place I will move onto paying off my debts. I know I sound like a sad old man, but there is immense satisfaction from taking baby steps, getting some wins and realising that money is there to work for us, not for us to be it's slave.

Tom :)

Smashing out words

I made a promise to myself  a couple of weeks ago that I would start writing everyday. I haven't done too badly on that promise, missing only a couple of days. The interesting thing for me has been how much more creative it has made me and how it has helped my moods.

Writing my book "Crotchless pants are all the rage"* I have discovered a new found respect for structure in writing and have seen an improvement in my story from writing everyday. Even if I only scribble out a page or tap out a short blog post I notice more of a flow. This is important when creating a book because there are always times when you have no decent content, no great ideas, no funny remarks. By continuing to write during these moments it helps to clear the scum from the top of the lake of ideas (or in my mind the puddle) and free up creativity. *This is just a working title.

From the side of mood changing it helps me whether I am happy or sad to write everyday, so that I maintain more of a consistent mood. A bit like a Buddhist monk not holding onto happiness or sadness I can just be and be content. It is sad that whilst I have been writing more and avoiding the turmoil that my mind loves to create that Robin Williams has moved on. Like many others I always loved watching him, from seeing him in Mork and Mindy as a youngster to Good Will Hunting when I was older. For all the sadness that I have experienced with similar experiences, the passing of RW made the most sense and hurt as much as if he was my family. It is hard to explain to people that when you are in a depressive state you don't see the world with rosy glasses. You can't see the wealth you have in whatever form you may possess it. You can only feel and that feeling is the lowest you can be, set in the darkest place in your mind. It is indescribable, because for each person it differs. But it's not something that others can easily help with. It is in the hands of the beholder and is up to them what happens. It is also not as simple as just being able to choose to be happy or choose to be helped, it is much deeper and more complex.

On a happier note I have this weekend off, aside from a few hours at Apple tomorrow morning. So Catherine and I are booked into our favourite little Italian restaurant to celebrate seven years together. We will be cracking some champagne early as the table is booked for 6pm, though I think drinking is allowed from 5pm, isn't it Mum?

I hope that you all have a good weekend. You can expect a training round up for the week on Sunday after I have completed my 20 mile run.

Until then,

Happy running/walking/skipping/jumping,

T :)

New starts

This week Catherine started her new job at Freehills in the CBD after a two week break. She was both excited and nervous on Monday morning when she headed off, but I think she has settled a bit now after a couple of days there. From what she says the work place is well catered for and probably a little bit better than Lovells (I'm sorry it may be true). I am just glad that she is starting on a new challenge and able to move forwards in an environment that is healthier (relatively speaking) when compared with her last job. I know that C will miss her friends from Double Bay, but hopefully she will be able to still meet up with them when she isn't working long days!

I know that C has her priorities right though, because she immediately found out what the gym situation is like, naturally it won't be as good as Lovells when I was there ;) She is quite happy that there is a free gym membership she can use nearby and excellent showers at work for when she runs in. There are also nice touches like solicitor lunch Wednesdays where she gets free lunch and the usual free teas etc. It's just as well I don't work there though, I'd probably bankrupt them after two Wednesday lunches!

I have been working slightly less over the last week, but am thoroughly chuffed with how things are progressing at Apple. I am working towards a full time position there by taking as many opportunities to learn as possible. Everyday is a school day there and I can see plenty of varied routes to take a career with Apple, with the support of the leadership team there are endless possibilities. Before you think about asking me I don't know when the iPhone 6 is coming out, just look at the bloody website!

Catherine and I have been fairly productive on the wedding front too. Well, when I say the wedding front I actually mean the honeymoon, but it's all part of the planning! We have actually only got a few important things left to organise, which is comforting. Of course that isn't considerig the hundreds of smaller details left to sort out, but I am sure they will come together over the next few months. Oh I nearly forgot, one of the big things sorted out this week was the purchase of my wedding suit. I don't want to ruin the surprise (because it's all about my big day), but it looks cool. As long as I don't work too much on the "guns" before January I should fit into it.

I am working away on my book at the moment and trying to write a little everyday. At this stage I am still planning and structuring the story, however it is developing well. I am starting on my sub-characters this week to add depth to the storyline and prevent a monotony with the main characters. Give me a year and I may have finished it!

Not much else to report this week, but check out www.runslothrun.blogspot.com for an update on training in the next few days.

Tom :)

Getting back in the game

A week is a long time off of training for Catherine and me. It's even longer when you have a marathon to train for in 8 weeks. But today I returned to the good old days with a less than inspiring gym session and an hour of hot yoga.

As much as it has been hard to do nothing, skip training and miss the City  to Surf it has been a necessity. Sometimes when you get ill it's not just from the sniffling bastards that you work with. It's also because you've run your system down from stress of one kind or another.

Now that I'm back to 78% health I am ready to get back to some serious training in order to prepare for Melbourne marathon. However I'm also in a stronger mental state after stressing about work and money too much. I've told myself to let it go and stop worrying, because everything is actually ok. With that in mind I can balance training to ensure I run a sub 3:30 marathon in October.

Naturally there are more important things in life than running a semi-fast marathon. Namely enjoying time with your loved ones, making yourself happy and possibly creating world peace. Whilst I enjoy the challenge of running, I never forget that the aforementioned things are more important and my reason for living.

It has probably taken me this many years to realise that being good at something doesn't really matter. The people that care about you don't give a damn if you can run fast or get paid really well for selling stocks. They are only concerned by how you treat yourself and them and that is the source of happiness and contentment in life.

So as well as training hard for this run I will also be focussed on loving my better half,  laughing with friends and giving Kofi Annan advice. God knows he needs it right now.

Tom :)

Outliers

I read in the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell that masters of skills have accumulated around 10,000 hours of practice. People like Bill Gates and professional sportsmen amongst many others have had practice, opportunity, luck and determination to get them to the pinnacle of their chosen fields.

I have thought about this dedication and with it the fact that most humans only use 10% of their brains potential. It would be amazing if we improved this figure considering how much we have done with such a small utilisation of our faculties.

Most of us are too lazy to commit so much of our time to one pursuit. But we will often bemoan the fact that we are not as successful as someone else. Our own inertia is the main prevention of our success and happiness. Let's be honest,  if it was easy to motivate ourselves and try hard everyday then we would all be Nobel laureates, millionaires and amazing athletes.

When I ponder what it takes to be great at a skill I think back to my first days as a gym instructor. We would practice the movements in front of a mirror to ensure we had proper alignment and repeat many times. Once we had this down pat we could add resistance and progress. But if we added weights to an incorrect movement pattern then we enforced misalignment and risked injury down the line.

In essence whatever the skill may be we must research the right way to do it. Then we must break it down to its most basic elements and practice these everyday. We can't run before we can walk and if we walk funny then we are screwed when we begin running.

I am by no means perfect at this process. I frequently skip steps to progress quickly. Despite my patience with others I have little for myself.  I do have friends that are sticklers for the specifics however. They follow and practice the basics because they know that these are the foundations on which all the advanced skills are based. They are admirable in their consistency, they work on the little things as much as the big things and they practice, practice, practice.

Am I jealous? Of course! But only because my own inertia and impatience want to skip the everyday routine. All I need to do is focus on the basics and give myself time. As I write this in my notebook I realise that I have to make a commitment to myself to practice little and often. To write each day in order to finish a book I started a long time ago and to practice each day for a certain dance next January.

I'll update you on my progress.

Tom :)