30/05/23 21:03

What a palaver.  I popped to Costco after work once I’d filled up with petrol.  That’s the car not me.  I bought a few drinks for the boys – this fountain pen has an exceptionally broad nib to it – and then got stuck in 90 minutes’ worth of traffic to get to a Wetherspoon pub in Southgate in order to write whilst waiting for Nev to finish at the Beyoncé concert at White Hart Lane.  Still, I have 90 minutes until I have to leave to get the car and move it from the Asda car park.  If I get time afterwards, I may write a little more.  But not with this Jin Hao 450A cigar-shaped silver fountain pen.

Anyways, what have I been up to since I last wrote?  It’s been a month and a half and I’ve cracked out quite a lot in terms of the blog and Instagram.  I’ve scheduled posts for one a week, bringing me pretty much up to Christmas with posts.  And that makes it Valentine’s Day 2023, in terms of entries; both on Instagram and the blog.  This set of words means that I have now 13 more entries to schedule for Instagram and pop onto the blog from this (Désolé, Je Suis Anglais) notebook.  I’ve altered my scheduling app from Later to Buffer as the free tariff is much more suited to my needs, now.  It also means that the linking start page is different.  I don’t think it’s as good for the photos, but I’m able to connect Spotify as a link as well as a playable playlist which is actually a really nice touch.  It’s just now I only get a dozen photo click-backs to the blog.  However, once they’re on it, there’s not much reason to leave it.  I think I may look at altering the theme again, but there is no immediate rush for this.  Especially with the Paris 10k just around the corner.

I played a game of touch rugby a few weeks back.  Somehow, I managed to make my left thigh muscle twinge.  The following day, I decided to go for a 5k run in the morning.  However, to enable the twinge not to interfere with the running, I altered my gait.  This then played havoc with the calf muscle.  Compression and elevation did nothing to anything.  Even reverting to my On Cloud running trainers didn’t help too much on subsequent runs.  So now, despite saying Nev and I can walk it, I think I may have to.

What else have I been up to?  I’m trying to work out a good way to have a good podcast presence.  I have, as with the blog, no illusions that it’s going to be a quick thing.  It’ll be a slow burn, I know that.  But I have the bug.  I think my personality comes across better when I’m live with no thinking time.  Except I’ve no idea how to get that part going.  I think I’ve sourced a decent video podcasting site and with Spotify taking the podcast, it could be the way forward.  Yet I need to source guests and have them available as well as wanting to put their face and voice to my “brand” before the “brand” is truly anything.  I suspect Nev would be a volunteer and possibly the boys – either together or individually – but what authority do they bring to Paris, aside from my connection?  Nev has written book chapters and Rory watches vidcasts so there may be something.  Jasper is a force unto himself so that’ll be a ride and a half, that’s for sure.  Once I get enough material, I’d need to subscribe to be able to download the ‘episodes’ and then, like the blog, it comes down to waiting to be discovered.  Or volunteering to appear elsewhere.

I know in the last entry I said I shouldn’t worry too much about the book and just let it happen, but I think at the moment I don’t have much of a choice but to worry about it.  My head is so full of ideas that are half-baked, a bank account that is eternally empty and a body in decline, heading toward becoming diabetic, as well as a tightening up due to a lack of exercise, overweightness and old age.

I know I have Paris in just over a week, but it’s not proper Paris Paris. I’m torn between an overnight stay in August like last year, sans la coupe de cheveux (without the haircut) or make it November which is a time I’ve never visited Paris.  I’d possibly aim for simply the cheapest place to sleep overnight – but I would still require a private bathroom.  It would be a trip to reflect, record, relax and write with no real goal other than those I literally just mentioned.  I do think I need another visit after the 10k one as the next planned trip will be in July of 2024 to go and spend 6 nights in staying in Saint Denis for the Paris Olympics.

My foreign language learning is going even slower than my book writing.  That’s not true, but I’m sure you get the idea.  I still do Duolingo every day but I’m also trying to get to grips with my learning headspace for French Today.  I like the learning methodology in terms of when Camille breaks down the rules, but I can’t quite grasp the vocabulary, nor can I hold the information in my ever-fogging head.  With the prospect of a job interview, the ever-increasing debts and the continual lack of sleep, I can’t foresee much improvement in terms of mental agility any time soon.  As I keep saying, I only need to survive another 10 years or so and things should start to get easier for me.  That’s not including the stresses of my own 10, 20 and 25-year plans I have in place.  These three keep moving with each changing page of the desk calendar in the office.

On the plus side, the Chromebook has been extremely useful.  Oh, and my Shokz bone conducting earphones have not been replaced owing to a lack of receipt (although I’ll possibly look for it at some point).  I do quite fancy their office set, though.  Boom mic, baby!

Nev and I have to collect our bibs from the Adidas shop on the Champs Élysée at some point on the Friday or Saturday before the race/run.  I’ll wait to ask her when she fancies getting it but I’m thinking if we it the Friday evening, that’ll give her the whole of Saturday to rest, chillax and explore the local 14^eme. It’ll also mean that I can pop to the local boulangerie on Saturday morning without having to check my watch whilst she sleeps and gets ready.  Sunday won’t be giving me time to write but Monday, depending on the checking out time, may be another morning write.  There’s a village of some sort after the run which closes at 1500 and with the last starters starting at 1100, even if it takes us 3 hours to walk around the course, we’ll still get an hour of festivities.  Or eating bananas, whichever it is.

And for the return journey, I splashed the non-existent cash (forgetting I had vouchers from the delayed return journey in April) and upgraded us to the Eurostar Standard Premier seating.  I think Nev deserves it after having completed the 10k in Paris and still putting up with me and my weirdo quirks.