18th May - I'm Down Under!

I'm currently in Australia for 2 weeks on business (customer install).

Wow what a flight! Almost 26 hours from London Heathrow with a pit stop at Hong Kong for refuelling. Speaking of Hong Kong, nearly every local there was wearing one of those surgeon's mask in response to the whole Swine Flue pandemic. What interesting is that even if Swine Flu was present, would those surgeon masks really help????

Anyways...

It now my third day in Aussie land, and I have yet to become a victim of Jet lag! Looks like I beat it! Sweeet!

Can't wait to tell the guys back at the office how jet lags is for chumps! Haha

So day 1, we checked in to our apartment around 9pm. We then went to Hollywood kebab in Richmond street and then went on a pub crawl from Richmond street back to where we are, in St Kilda (Melbourne, Victoria).

Day 2, had a 2 mile run with Dan on the Australian coast. We then went to Victoria market, checked out the local shops, ate roasted kangaroo with oysters and watched the new Star Trek movie, which is an awesome movie by the way!

Day 3, we moved to a bigger apartment and went out to the city, which looked exactly like Oxford street! We hoped on a tram and took a tour of the city...pretty neat

7th April - Power Sleep!

I feel turbo charged and it probably has something to do with the fact that I went to sleep yesterday at 6.20pm and woke up at 8am !! Almost 14 hours!! I can't believe it! I feel so energetic! My energy levels are up the roof!

I'm quite hungry now...

13th March - 2009 films!

We all heard it before, new movie releases are just not bringing the WOW factor anymore!

This is particularly true with horror films. The 80's did it better!

But looking at the 2009 film manifest, I reckon it will change! I'm eagerly awaiting the release of

1) Terminator Salvation
2) Dragon Ball Movie

So far I've seen the following;

1) Slumdog Millionaire

- Awesome movie!

2) Street Fighter - The Legend of Chun-Li

- The film was okay, not mind-blowing but certainly a lot better than Jean-Claude adaptation!

3) Resident Evil Degeneration

- This film is mind-blowing! Absolutely amazing CGI and story line! Definitely a treat for Resident Evil fans like myself!

4) The Watchmen

- Will hopefully see it soon! I heard it suppose to be good!

11th March - Busy Schedule!

Been a very busy week!

Setting up some stuff at work, which is pretty interesting!

Was up late last night playing Snooker with Naim. I was whooping his ass 3 games in a row and then, as they say, all good things must come to an end.... He beat me 5 games in a row, making the final score 5-3 to Naim. Grrrrr

Note to self, do not play snooker 4 hours straight!

Anyways, looking forward to the rest of the week!

Tonight: Football

Thursday: Catch up on Heroes and Lost with Tasha!

Friday: Late night bowling

Saturday: Movie day - Watch Watchmen at the movies and then get Tasha updated with Back to the Future Part 1, 2 and 3. I still can't get over the fact that she has not seen these classic films yet!!!

Sunday: More football!

2nd March - Fitness Progress

Today I work up at 6am to go for a run. I wasn't quite sure that I was going to do it, but after my alarm went through several cycles of going off-snooze-going off -snooze I finally got up and went.

It was only for 2 miles, but it was worth it. Came home, had a shower and then went to work. It certainly topped my energy levels up :-)

My legs are throbbing, yesterday I had a 3 hour football match and another 1 mile run the day before.

I'm hoping to go for an early run tomorrow! I really hope I can commit to this!

Me & Tasha have been watching Lost recently, it certainly makes for good pass time!

I also managed to save my company some money by resolving some technical issues that would have otherwise cost a few bucks!

all-in-all I'm feeling quite smug :-)

Things seem to be going well. I even played online blackjack and won £25!

Sweeeeeeet.

25th February - Poor fitness

On a four-day long training course with my technical director, Johan. We've agreed to get a fair bit of fitness done within these four days. What a mistake!

I went for a cross country run with Johan last night. Let just say, out of the 5 miles, I only lasted a little over 1!

My calves just could not handle the terrain!

I wonder if Johan is human! He made the whole thing look like a walk-in-the park

I hang my head in shame!

I suppose saying last night was a mistake is a bit naive. Infact, I'm glad. I now know how unfit I am and last night has now given me the opportunaity to assess my fitness and create new fitness goals.

I'm going to work on my cardio, maybe after several months I can keep up with Johan for the first 5 miles! (Right!)

Tasha wants me to get up in the morning before work and go for a quick run. I think she is right.

Can't wait to buy some new trainers and start building my fitness up again!

16th January - New Year, New Goals

It been a couple of months since I last blogged.

I almost forgot how relaxing it can be!

So to update in a nutshell, Christmas and New Years was fantastic! Spent this with Tasha and her family. Her Uncle dressed up as Santa Clause for the kids and drinks were flowing all new years eve.

The best bit though was spending these two important dates with her Majesty, Miss Lalji!

So fast forward and we are now in 2009.

I need to set some goals, no matter how tedious they may be.

* I'm 24,
* I have my own place and independence
* I have a steady income
* I have a car I love
* I have a stable relationship with a girlfriend I love even more
* I have a job that I enjoy thoroughly. The atmosphere, people and opportunities are great
* I've quite smoking and rarely drink
* I play a lot more sport now

Here are my goals for 2009

* Complete my CCNP qualification, ideally before my 25th birthday
* Complete my Palo Alto qualification
* Play football at least twice a week
* Play badminton at least once a week
* Swim and run at least once a week
* Try eat more healthy - Cut down on sugars and fatty foods
* Once my cardio has improved, start going to the gym.
* Go out socially at least once a fortnight
* Keep more frequent contact with friends and family
* Start a dream journel!

So these are my goals which I hope to start first thing next Monday (currently nursing a foot injury).

Wish me luck!

10th October - Up to date

Yay, I'm finally up-to-date with all my shows.

I've manage to watch all of;

* Prison Break
* Terminator
* Heroes
* Battlestar Galactica
* Stargate Atlantis
* Southpark

I may start on Lost soon!

Tasha has started uni now, she is enjoying it so far. I'm happy for her.

08th October - Life is more meaningful

It been a while since my last blog!

Work has been quite steady and fulfilling, but more so is the other aspects of my life. I am now regularly playing badminton, football and working out in the gym.

In addition, I often find myself going to the movies 2-3 times a week and I find that I have more time to play my PSP and more time to enjoy my girlfriend cooking.

(on that note, Sunny recommends you watch the following moves: Eden Lake, Taken)

Suddenly my life seems to have more meaning to it.

I enjoy the company I am with, both in my work environment and my home / social environment.

The best bit about all this, is that I get to do most of these activities with my significant other. I like the fact that we share a wee bit of common ground i.e. badminton, gym, movies, cycling, and healthy eating to say the least.

I couldn't ask for a better girlfriend, thank you Tasha.

Well October is now setting in, which means sunlight will cease to exist come 4pm!

What does this mean for me?

I am no longer cycling to work :-(

On the upside, I get to spend the morning on my commute to work playing my PSP.

I suppose the lack of cycling will now be made up by the regular slot of football, gym and badminton sessions.

Well I'm hungry now so it off to Tesco in pursuit for nutritional sustenance that will not only quash my hunger for a reasonable amount of time but will also satisfy my taste buds.

Cadbury cream egg it is then!

15th September - New Facebook Sucks

OMG,

I have just seen the new facebook and it sucks big time.

I am so disappointed.

Back to Myspace it is then.

10th September 2008 - Books Books and more Books!

I ordered my free copy of JUNOS Enterprise Routing, published by O'Reilly.

I wonder if this will just collect dust just like my free and signed copy of "The Money Diet " by Martin Lewis AKA Money Saving Expert.

Hm.

Back to writing up these reports for my technical director. I have an important demonstration tomorrow which will probably be the highlight for tomorrow's blog

09th September - My GF, The Techno Whiz

As many may know, my profession is IT. So it is naturally assumed that I would be pretty clued up with all the new gimmicks that the Internet unleashes on a day to day basis

From Facebook to Hotmail, you would expect between me and Natasha, who's field is fashion, I would be the most techno savvy one! I would be the one holstering the latest gizmo's and gadgets!

But for reasons known beyond me, it is SHE who is with the techno times! Not I!

What? You don't believe me??

Well, why don't you ask her yourself!

You could ask her in a number of ways, here are a few to list


1) Write a message on her wall via "Facebook"

2) Send her a message via "Facebook" or "HI5"

3) Send her an instant message via "MSN" or "Facebook"

4) Video conference with her via "MSN" or "Skype"

5) Send her an email at her "Hotmail" or "GMail" account

6) Post a message on her "YouTube" Channel

7) Leave her a comment on her "BlogSpot"

8) Drop her an "SMS" or "MMS"

9) Use the "Ask the seller a question" feature on her "eBay" page


Or if she not too busy pumping her "IPOD" with the latest "ITunes" from her "Laptop" or "Desktop", you could ring her on her "Mobile" phone.

That not all you can ask her.

Want to know;

1) How to get from the toilet to the living room? She can give you directions using "Google Maps"

2) What train to catch? She will tell you all you need to know using "TFL Journey Planner"

3) The history of King Henry VIII? She will look it up on "Wikipedia"

4) How to build a PC? She will "Google" it

5) The best deals at Asda? She will search this on "MoneySavingExpert.com"

Yep, there is no doubt about it. My girlfriend Kung-fu is way better than mine! She is the techno-savvy one!

08th September - Movie Bonanza!

This weekend left me feeling really chuffed and pleased with myself.

I managed to watch 3 movies at the cinema and procure free coke at the cost of £0.00 !

The movies were down to using my Friend's unlimited cinema pass but the free coke was down to the genius embedded in the very core of my living fibre!

It was as simple as pie.

Take an old coke carton (plenty lying around in the cinema), fill the left over coke with water and then simply take it to the counter and tell them that it is flat.

They then give you a new one!

Bargain? Nope. Just pure genius!

So aside from Saturday night movie bonanza, me, Tasha, Lucky and Simran went to Nando for a slap-up chicken fiesta!

This was then topped by a buy one get one free Pizza for the evening's nourishment.

Healthy eating? Of course!

Oh well Monday morning....

....Back to work!

05th September - Where have you been?

It been quite some time since I've 'blogged'.

Work has been picking up it pace lately, last week I did a Packeteer upgrade for a charity organisation and the day before yesterday I was in Sevenoaks doing a wireless network install.

It was nice to see a bit of the countryside, the lady there made the nicest apple juice that my taste buds have ever known.

On a separate note,

Natasha wants to start her own blog. This will be really interesting!

Natasha says:

"I have been quit for 1 Week, 4 Days, 23 hours, 17 minutes and 40 seconds (11 days). I have saved £25.13 by not smoking 83 cigarettes. I have saved 6 hours and 55 minutes of my life. My Quit Date: 24/08/2008 11:28"

Went Boulevard (club in Ealing) last week with Tasha, Charan, Sagar and Keith.

It was a polish night, though I'm sure it was really 'techno' night.

It gave me a thumping headache.

On the plus side, my company has now given me a Sony Vaio laptop - Yeah!

21st August - Football

So far, so good. Me and Natasha have been sticking to our new fitness regime, which is working out to be a successful venture.

Yesterday I played 5 aside football. The final result was 11-10. I scored two goals, the last goal being the winning goal.

Feeling really pleased with myself, I decided to text my good friend, former president of Pakistan, Musharif. He didn't text back.

Maybe him and Putin are having lunch?

19th August - New Fitness Routine

So me and Natasha has embarked on a new fitness routine which was trailed yesterday with varied results.

The routine includes;

* 1 mile run.
* Push ups, sit ups, free weights on arms

The program was designed to give us a little bit of a workout, be able to fit in a 30 minute window, help us cut down on smoking and get us more involved as a couple

The program did just that!

Though there are some minor tweaks that still need to be made due to the slight gap between my baseline fitness and hers, we can both safely say that we thoroughly enjoyed it!

The most challenging part now is to do that on a daily basis!

....Oh and somehow stay awake whilst at work

16th August - God you're are great

Wow can you believe how the weather has been holding up in the last two days?

Awesome.

I'll take my umbrella.

Grabbed the late show with Natasha, Charan, Jas, Lucky and his girlfriend last night for 'God Tusi Great Ho'.

Translation: God is great.

Good little Bollywood flick which carbon copies Bruce Almighty right to the very scene where Jim Carey pulls the moon closer and the world is in anarchy. Never the less, it was an enjoyable and at some points, a very funny movie.

We scoffed 3 large pizzas.

Kudos to the service at Pizza Hut, Feltham. They suck

Not much planned for today, had my washing machine installed today. The guy who installed it looked a little like Freddy Prince Jr, though I'm fairly certain that deep down he was an alien or a she-man.

14th August - Midlife Crisis

Cycling back on my 6 mile route from work to home it suddenly occur ed to me that I'm having a midlife crisis.

Arguably, the majority would say that a mid-life crisis typically occurs around the age of 35.

Seeing as I'll probably die around 50, I'd say being 25 and going through a midlife crisis certainly holds true

Anyways...

So there I was cycling when it suddenly occur ed to me that my life has become nothing more than a routine. Wake up, go to work, work, go back home, eat, sleep and then the cycle continues.

This new and rather disturbing findings has led me to believe that not only do UFOs exist, but it is now time to introduce some radical changes in to my life. More specifically, to inject an element of excitement into this very old and hip dog.

It's time to take up those ballet lessons.

Note to self: Must win the lottery real soon

13 August - Juno

Watched Juno last night, what a boring film.

Me and Tasha ordered our groceries via online Tesco. What a rip off! Next time I'll try Asda.

So nothing much happening today other than configuring a couple of network devices in order to demonstrate to a perspective customer.

Exciting stuff... I love my job :-)

11th August - Black Monday

Watched 'Hancock' with Natasha and Charan yesterday. Good film, though the ending was mildly weak.

Work has been going a little slow today, it may have something to do with the wires being cut which would explain why I have no access to the Internet nor the phone system.

Work productivity is at an all time low

Welcome to black Monday.

Note to self: Kill the mail man before he delivers my P45 and buy an Ice cream.