Sunday 24 May 2009

Life's Not Over Yet

We kicked it with the Blue Rinse set yesterday at Chelsea Flower and Garden show. Deneil has been meaning to go for a few years but has never been able to get tickets. Finally, this year, we made it.



It was really good. Apparently the exhibits this year were a bit povvo because of the lack of funding in this economic environment. The Australian entry pulled out because it was destroyed in the bush fires. So overall, if this year was of a lesser standard, then it's a pretty good show.

James May from Top Gear built a plasticine garden:


I found a peaceful splash pool which can be personalised to include fewer plants and more bar space in my house:


Someone built at totally impractical underwater garden, which still compelled me to hold my breath every time I walked by:


And Deneil sniffed brightly coloured weeds:


It was a great day. After all this civilised interaction we went to Hyde Park and made idiots of ourselves:


The weather is beautiful again today so who knows what's in store...

Wednesday 20 May 2009

Random Photo from the Vault #1

Last weekend saw Deneil and I heading up to Buckinghamshire for a 'non-wedding wedding'. Deneil's friends Hannah and Simon are going back to Australia and getting married in November so this was a birthday/ farewell party/ wedding but without the vowels. It was no half attempt at a party either. Activities planned and executed with military precision from Friday night to Sunday afternoon made for a fantastic weekend.

There are millions of great photos from the weekend but all on Simon's camera so when I get a hold of them I'll put some up here.

In the meantime, I'll put up the first of my "Random Photos from the Vault".



On a blur of a weekend in Wales in late 2007, the 16 or so of us commandeered a local pub and after several failed attempts we managed to own the skill tester. This was the start of the large haul that saw us net over 25 stuffed toys. Here Dave proudly shows off what he originally thought was a respective catch...

Saturday 9 May 2009

What have you done for me lately?

I think, in general, I run on inspiration. I enjoy pushing myself hard but I could also sit on the couch for years on end, Occy stylie. Tracksuit pants and all. So when I've got the time and energy I need inspiration to push myself harder and that, overall, is what makes me tick. (Future managers, take note- we're not building rockets here.)

So over the past 2 weeks I've had bucketloads of time, plenty of energy, but only a little bit of inspiration here and there; and I have recently realised that when people ask what I've been up to if I offer a nonchalant, non-committal answer then I probably haven't had the drive to achieve anything. Well, either that or I've been working hard but I don't want them to know about it! Anyway, the point is that I don't think my idols have been working hard enough over the past 2 weeks and I want them to lift their game.

After the surfing at Bells I was amped. Not only would I have paid £1000 for a neat southern NSW surf but I also got fired up over something Parko said after he won, which related well to my trading. So I took that onboard, went away for 3 days to restructure the way I trade and I'm noticing massive improvements with my psychological side of trading. Since then Deneil has been the only person to fire me up through goals, rewards and pressure. She has offered me every element of inspiration except the bit we take most from athletes, musicians, celebrities, etc: idolisation.

So now I'm intrigued... I regularly look up to a whole host of athletes, musicians and business people for inspiration but I don't even know them. I have no doubt that they have their own flaws but maybe my distance from them is what makes them 'idols' in my mind. Michael Hutchence quite possibly had more flaws that most but his charisma made him idolised. So what's the difference between one of your own crew who you respect immensely, and someone you idolise? It's a given that your idols are flawed in some way or another, as are your closest friends. So why don't we gain as much inspiration from people close to us as we do from people we've never met?



It'd be criminal not to leave you with the clip that gave me the title for this post! Enjoy.