The Competition Hots Up!

I always said I wouldn’t be a blogger that goes on a hiatus, alas 3 months into blogging I go on undue hiatus, such as life. #Fail.

So what have I been up to that has been able to stop me, quite a lot to be honest. But high on my agenda has been my fitness regime. If you have read my earlier post you would be aware that I am currently competing in a battle against financial ruin against what I now know to be a worthy opponent. We are battling for an (almost) all expense paid trip to sunny Santorini, the land of clear skies, beautiful beaches and is a stones throw away from economic hardship.

What could motivate a man more than waking up to this view?

Probably having an ice cold beer this view

But never the less,  we are now at the half way point and the competition is hotting up.

I initially got ahead to a blazing start winning the first 2 weeks only to be pulled back to a draw after 8 weeks of competition, with the score level pegged at 4 weeks to 4 just before Jesus’ birthday. Then catastrophe hits, I’m taken from behind (get your mind out off the gutter). Its now 5 -4 and I’m losing for the first time in the competition. But what does a real champion do when they take a knock? they dig deep and find a will to fight, hence I storm to another lead.

Coming into this competition I didn’t know what affects it would have on my social calendar after all, what’s the worse thing that could happen when you agree to something when your drunk….(don’t answer that).

Is there much worse than seeing this?

Well the reality of the competition is this…on Sunday night you set your alarm and thanks to Samsung ‘s alarm clock feature you count the hours before you wake up, you stay up for an extra 30 minutes consuming media (Youtube etc), you know you will be sleep deprived, but you do it anyway…you wake up tired (no shit Sherlock), you go to work, you be amazing. But then you wonder… you wonder if your opponent is going to make it to the gym, you look at the TV guide and you wonder, you see the Champions League is on and you wonder if you can watch it, you wonder if they are going to go to the gym to get a head start on you, you finish work and all you want to do is to get home, beat the traffic, have a cuppa and watch Eastenders however…you get that dreaded snap chat….they are in the gym and you are at home like a loser, your comfortable evening of doing nothing is now tainted, tainted with the stench of defeat. You may be in the shower for a while trying to get rid of it, however it doesn’t wash out easily. They want it!

Well they may want it, but not more than me, I have had a surge in energy these previous weeks and I’m going to win this.

Current score 7 – 5 to me! Game on! 10 weeks to go!

All motivational whatsapps to get me to the gym are welcomed.

"1, 2 Harvey's coming for you, 

3, 4 better lock your door, 

5, 6 grab your crucifix, 

7, 8 I won't be staying up late, 

Why?

cos I'm gonna kick your ass! Thats why!"

#HarveysGonnaKickYourAss. Can you make hashtags about yourself? Nevermind I just did, deal with it!

The Time They Had a Holiday Romance

Holiday Romances, everyone's had one, haven't they? Chances are if you have been on holiday you have been in a relationship that has swept you off your feet, got you into situations that you didn't expect and left you quivering for more. Broadly they come in two forms.

The Fraudulent

If you've ever been to Jamaica, you will notice there are guys just chilling and walking around the beach with seemingly nothing to do. They are known as Beach Boys and have quite a reputation. Beach Boys generally seek out a female tourist, sweet talk her panties off, make her feel like the sun shines from her anus, mentally and physically transport them into the stratosphere, only for her to come crashing down to earth once she finds out that he is after one of 2 things, her money or marriage. But not marriage for honourable reasons, marriage so he can get his "papers a foreign" aka a visa.

Well it was worth a try wasn't it Susan, after all, maybe you could have been the one to change him. These women can often be found with a pay day loan application in hand screaming..."I thought he loved me!" Nope, "that gannne man" as my dad would say and like a puff of smoke he disappears and is on the prowl for another. Caribbean countries are pretty notorious for this but I hear waiters and bar men in general, specifically those in Turkey, Spain and Greece are prolific at selling dreams.

The Legitimate

You meet someone on holiday that you are instantly attracted to, the feeling is mutual, you end up spending all your time with them, they show you new things, they speak with an accent, they touch your soul spiritually, they blow your mind sexually (you didn't know you were that flexible until you met them), you think about them constantly and then are left wondering what might have been once you board you flight and return to your boring reality. Now some people are fortunate enough to never meet their holiday romance again and can forever live within the memories of their dream relationships. Others however are less fortunate and meet them again only to realise it was not what they thought it was and of course there is also the minority that maintain a good relationship and the minuscule that make it work in the long term.

But why do they happen so frequently and why do they seldom work in reality? Why would you allow yourself to drift into deep water whilst in unfamiliar territory? Particularly when you are at your most vulnerable, but not when you are on a night out on friday in liquid (do people still go there?).

Once again I posed these questions to my trusted network of friends and came out with a variety of answers ranging from, "cos your on holiday innit" to the more thought out response of "on holiday people are more open and relaxed and as a result are more open to new experiences and are less critical of thier partners".

I have to agree and think that the reason we become so quickly besotted with people abroad is due to a few things; we are more open to new experiences, we let go of our inhibitions, we are less critical of the people we meet and we give people a chance, (although the sun, sea and alcohol plays a key role). It also makes me wonder how different this world would be if people were a little less serious and did what they wanted to do rather than what other people think they should. There is a part in the video above which talks about being trapped in someone else's master plan, where all she feels she is doing is almost following a repetitive cycle, like a lemming, "go to school, get a job, get a mortgage". What if rather than reserving that free spirit mind frame for our annual summer holiday, we used it on a day to day basis. Sure nothing would get done, but I'm sure you will be much happier doing it.

Overall, although most people think holiday romances are destined to fail in the long term and they kind of are by definition, I don't think it matters. If you are able to really be yourself around someone, I think you should. Go out there and enjoy yourself, we only have 5 weeks of annual leave a year, best to spend at least 2 of them being happy.

What do you think? Leave your comments below.