1.1.11

H.U.N.G.O.V.E.R. 

The hand!

An obscene amount of alcohol was consumed last night under the guise of vodka jelly and easy-to-drink cocktails, with their crushed ice, fruity deliciousness. Vodka, Tequila, Blue Curacao, Baileys in chocolate shot glasses and various other alcohols and mixers all have their place on the Winner's Podium for defeating me today with a hangover so bad my face hurts. I'm more than a little hazy on the details, so I've spent today trying to piece together what happened throughout the night. With each flashback summoning feelings of cringe-worthy shame or side-splitting hilarity, it's clear it was eventul to say the very least. Not one to kiss and tell, I'll tantalise you with just some of the shenanigans - a crazy, lovely American girl, a bloody hand, a completely inebriated interview, back of the bus vs front of the bus vs bottom floor, chants, girl on girl, free entry, stolen drinks, a text written to myself at 04.11am with content concerning my ex, a delightful London Cabby, a less-than-delightful Londoner, a video recorded at midnight for the attention of an estranged Brazillian counter-part and undoubtedly so much more, which will come back to me over the next few days or when the photo's finally find their way from various attendee's cameras.

And so we arrive in 2011 - a little worse for wear - but here nonetheless. My intent was to start the year on a high and I'm happy to say 'mission accomplished.' That said, January 1st is always a day of pensivity; a time to look forward, to make plans or resolutions and to promise yourself a better year. And with that, I realised I've not given myself anything to accomplish in 2011 as of yet. As most of you already know, I'm packing my bags and heading off to Australia in a few weeks where I'll be working and travelling for a year. However, my reasoning for this has always been that of two halves; of course I want to, but a large part of this is me running away. I've had a very 'emotionally challenging' 2010 and have struggled to get my head in a good place, but it's high time that changed. Therefore, my first resolution is to adopt a new perspective; to find the good in everything I can. Hand-in-hand with this, I resolve to let go. The day I step foot in Australia is the first day of the rest of my life and I won't let anyone or anything prevent that. It's time to start living.

So, setting the bar high with a lifestyle change there. However, I do have some more measurable goals which I'd like to achieve this year - especially in health and fitness. I would like to get my weight up to roughly 85kg/187lbs with 10% bodyfat or less. I would like to Squat 150kg/330lbs, Bench 100kg/220lbs and Deadlift 200kg/440lbs all for at least 4 sets of 5 reps - ambitious yet achieveable. I'd like to pick up my cardio again - it slows the weight gain but what use is being big and strong if you lack fitness and conditioning? - and will look to take part in more running events like I did at the beginning of 2010. I also aspire to follow up previous talks regarding 'transformation' articles and interviews with various magazines and websites and get my name in lights.

I'm sure I'll think of more, and will also update to add pictures once I'm in possession of some, but it's now 2.1.11 and about time I got this entry published.

Happy new year, people. I hope 2011 brings you all the happiness in the world.

Not a fan of having my photo taken!