Dec
9
Compliments Always Work!
Filed Under Daily
I am very quiet most of the time and I attract attention because of my unusual look and behaviors. After the hike on Saturday, I went to talk to the other photographer in the bus and I complimented him about his beautiful pictures and asked him about his filters and everything. He was delighted!
Today, I have also spoken to Jane, the fastest girl in the pool. I complimented her about her technique and her speed. She was all smiling and happy. After I left the pool she approached me in the shower and gave me tricks to go faster. I told her I am only swimming to relax, that is why I have a regular speed and I do it for a very long time. Anyways, the compliments work great on people. I should do it more regularly 🙂
I checked the other day my passport and I realized it will expire in 2014 and not 2010. For some reasons, I stressed out about it when I was in Dublin. Stupid me!
Dec
8
My Last Hike
Filed Under Daily
It was a nice hike to end with, the last one of the year! The weather was bad and I made the mistake of using a polarizer which made the pictures even darker: Ambleside.
I will try to go by myself now that I know most of the area. I already went to the remote locations with the club, now I can explore the more accessible and maybe more touristic ones all by myself. The weather is getting worse so maybe a long break before though. It is all snow and fog nowadays no matter if it rains or not.
I am still sick, I could not sleep yesterday. I barely had 4 hours of sleep so I am walking like a zombie today. I tried to take a nap after the pool but again no long lasting recovery sleep. I will probably have a better sleep tonight. The pool was frozen. They do not heat it anymore and it is like if I jump into the cold water straight out of my shower.
I saw Eagle Eye, what a crappy long movie…to avoid!
Dec
6
The best part of being sick!
Filed Under Daily
It’s when it’s over. I had to struggle two nights, I was sweating like a pig but I knew that only the heat can speed up my recovery so I stayed in my clothes and under the bed cover even if it was uncomfortable. This morning, it was as if everything was gone. It’s not completely over but I know the worse is behind me, the good side is that it only took two days!
Amy had bad news and she was crying yesterday. It seems that something happened to her boyfriend. They do not know yet what but she is going home early. She is leaving tomorrow instead of Thursday. She still will go shopping with me at Salford. I think it will do her good before she leaves Manchester.
I did not attend the movie night yesterday because the movie was really bad: the love guru. The stats on IMDB were really awful so I did not want to give it a chance. I think the stupid ass who is responsible for this should at least check the movie before renting it.
I wanted to warn Chebet yesterday about her dreams after her graduation. I simply asked her two questions: Can you legally work in the UK? Can you support yourself for about 6 months if you do not have a job? I told her that she will have a hard time finding a job if she does not have an answer to my questions. It is extremely hard if not impossible to find a sponsor especially in this recession time. Many students are from China, Africa and other parts of the world. They have a lot of dreams but I think many of them will go back home.
Dec
5
Buy One Get One Free!
Filed Under Daily
I love this deal! I bought tons of good stuffs, razors, shampoo, conditioner, after shave, etc…Amy is leaving next week on Thursday. She is going back to Greece for a month and maybe a week more. I will miss her even though her phone conversations are a bit loud for my sensitive ears. I really had the impression she did not do much this year and wasted a full year here and paying the fees. She can afford it.
There is a trip organized by the students in my building to Chester, an old city with roman history. Amy asked me f I wanted to go and I proposed to go shopping in Salford instead. It is shorter and it is only 15 min away from Manchester by tram. I have one last hike for this year this Sunday. I will not join them on their next hike by train and the New Year trip to Scotland. It sounds painful and not very promising. Also I need my owm room and a shower at the end of the day!
Dec
4
Frozen Pool!
Filed Under Daily
The swimming pool was cold the last two days. Maybe the heaters need to be repaired. It always happens in winter time in Australia. I do not complain but I think I got a cold. Let’s hope for a quick recovery. The thermal base layers I bought are very good and keep me warm even though I do not wear lots of clothes or heavy ones.
I saw the other day a young beggar in the street, he was happily sitting there eating his food. At that moment, he was a happy man, strange but I wanted to know what it feels like to be content to eat food in the cold and being happy!
Dec
3
I went to the pool and had a great and fast swim. Somehow the fastest lane was quickly available and I had the impression the dude who did that wanted to make sure, me and another fast swimmer would get into that lane right away! After the swim, I was dead tired and I went to sleep for 2 hours! This week, there is no seminar or exercise, so I took a break!
I switched my SIM card to Orange Dolphin plan, that means that I have 300 free text every time I top-up with 10 GBP. I realized I am extremely sensitive to bad smell and noise that is why most people around me are a disturbance to me. What annoys me the most is bad breath in the lift and cheap artificial deodorant.
Dec
2
After the fog, now comes the snow. I had the surprise to see lots of snow this morning at 6 am. It quickly turned into ice on the ground. It was quite slippery on my way back from the pool. There were lots of slow new swimmers at the beginning. Luckily, the staff opened quickly the fastest lane for real fast swimmers.
I need to concentrate on things that are important and forget about little annoying things that got on my nerves easily. I am really obsessed with tiny stupid things that have no effects or whatsoever on my life: ugly dirty noisy smelly stupid people!
I found a very nice Chinese store that sells excellent roasted duck. I had a taste yesterday and it was really delicious. I am going to try again for lunch today.
Dec
1
Something beautiful!
Filed Under Daily, Nikon D200
I was lucky on Sunday with one or two shots. I really could capture the beauty of the scenery on Snowdon. The hike was boring, easy and slow even though I was supposed to be with fast people. What a pity! But I guess I had more time to take pictures. This is probably one of my best shot
Nov
29
Foggy Manchester
Filed Under Daily
It’s a very thick fog that covered Manchester city since yesterday. I have everything I need in the fridge so I won’t need to go out today. The movie night yesterday was funny, we all had a good laugh with “Kung Fu Panda”. I have seen it several times but when there are more people, it’s always a good social laugh, there is a spreading phenomenon in the laugh.
The weather for tomorrow’s Hike seems good; It will be cold and it will be windy. I hope the visibility is good because that’s all I need to take pictures.
Just got a call from Malinda. I am invited to a Thanksgiving dinner at 5 pm. It should be good. Because of the fog, I doubt there is anything better to do in the city but I still want to go there.
Nov
27
Lost in the Night!
Filed Under Daily
Strange night yesterday! I woke up at 4 am and I was perfectly awake. I did not want to sleep anymore beasue I went to bed quite early. I stood up and I lied down on the floor facing the hallogen lamp. Names of common places came back to my mind while I was playing music.
Toowong, Brisbane City Center, South Bank and Mt Cootha for Australia
Picadilly Gardens, Snowdon, Lake District for the UK
Wall-mart, Best Buy, Cicrcuit City, South Bend, Chicago for the USA
Auchan, Cergy, Vaureal, Lyon, Versailles for France
Maybe I was not that awake after all. In my mind, I was back to these places again.
I just got over my 3rd herpes crisis, I must check my trans-aminases level. These high frequencies of viral attacks are not normal.
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