New Years Resolutions

New Years Resolutions

I’m not a big one for new years resolutions, however, as the year turns a few fairly big things are afoot so it seems the right time to make some lifestyle changes;

1. Join a gym, actually go to it, get fit and stay fit.

I like to eat rubbish. McDonalds, KFC, crisps, chocolate; and that’s if I’m sober. If more than 4 beers have passed through me, the list is further supplemented by unspeakable horrors that I can’t even bring myself to document here.

I should point out that I also eat plenty of ‘good’ things too. Until I was 21 I’d only eat peas and green beans; by 24 I’d added cauliflower and cabbage, and this past Christmas, for the first time, I ate Brussel Sprouts through choice, rather than as part of some peverse personal challenge. Indeed, only mushrooms and cooked carrots are on my ‘off-list’ now.

However, there is sufficient junk to ensure that through my 20s there has been a general bulking out where my belly and chin areas are concerned. ‘Chunky’, ‘cuddly’, ‘chubby’, and ‘fat’ (thanks for that one go to my grandmother), have all been labelled at me in the past couple of years. I recently located some pictures from my university days and was appauled that the guant, gangly, Peter Crouch-a-like staring back was, infact, me. Admittedly in those days I was probably malnourished, and indeed, if my choice of how I look was either that, or how I look now, there would be no question. However, the ideal is probably three-quarters between then and now.

All this probably makes me sound very superficial and vain, which really isn’t the case. My main motivation for the fitness drive is not aesthetics, but fitness. A man of 29 should not climb three flights of stairs and finish up looking like he has just finished the Great North Run. I’d like to play football again, but frankly the thought of competitive sport at my current fitness level is terrifying.

So, the gym it is. My aim is to be in a reasonable state of fitness by the time I get over to Canada in the summer – so 5.5 months from now….

2. Make the best of my job

The other main resolution I have is to make as good a go of my job as possible. I have, this past Christmas, been promoted and, as such, made it to the promised land of ‘senior’ status. That is not as grand as it sounds – there are still more people above that there are below (I think), but the opportunity now exists for me to be slightly choosy in what I do (well more so than before). This means I can get included on things I want to work on with people whom I like. Under those circumstances the job never ceases to be great. I worked on a nightmare account last year; a demanding client, tough timescales, often one disaster after another. However, the team was excellent, and the gallows humour with which we approached each challenge made it (almost) fun. Like a lot of people, at times (and these are rare if anyone who decides pay reviews is reading) I complain bitterly about my job, but if I really wanted to I could leave. Most of the time, it is interesting and I go to such a varied range of places. In 2007 I had meetings in conference rooms overlooking the Old Trafford and Lord’s pitches, at Government agencies and some of the world’s biggest companies (where I told them what they were doing wrong). Not too shabby for a Southend boy with a 2:2 :0)

Right, i'm off to a bling and black tie party in Twyford. Happy New Year!!!