Vanity…

I was in the gym this morning.
I mention it because I’m quite proud of myself for actually dragging myself there. We went out yesterday, which left me returning home yesterday quite late. I did manage to go though. I was motivated because we went yesterday to see ‘Priscilla- the musical’ (again). ‘JJ’ wanted to see it, as well and ‘hm’, so I didn’t mind watching it again. It’s a very good and funny show.

Most of the dancers there have amazing bodies (they’re dancers after all) and are half naked most of the time. Not in my wildest dreams I can look like that (I don’t really want to go to that extremes anyway – I like my food) but I wouldn’t mind getting a slimmer, firmer body. To be honest, I can’t really afford all that waxing, laser treatments anyway…

Back to my main topic, I was in the gym this morning. I did my usual routine and headed for the showers to get ready to go to work. I like going there in the morning, where it is quieter and less crowded. More or less, there are the same people going there the same time, so I kind of know their faces.

What puzzles me is how much time some of them spend in front of a mirror, taking care of themselves and their bodies. I’ll exclude the few who just flex in front of the mirror to admire their newly built muscles (really guys?) and comment on the rest of the people.


For example there is a guy, who I usually meet when I finish my routine. In most cases, he has just finished showering, has only a towel on and starts grooming / getting ready. I hit the showers, finish with it and finish getting dressed but he is still getting ready. He is putting various creams / butter on his body, different for each area, fixing his hair for around 15 minutes (just to look like he hasn’t spent any time on it) and getting dressed in slow moves not to mess with his clothes.


I first I thought that he’s doing that so he can stay longer in the locker room. Now, I’m thinking that maybe I should start paying some more attentionto myself. However, it’s a weekday; I’m going to work afterwards and not on a date. If I was going on a date, I would spend more time getting ready for it, but not before going to spend many hours in front of a PC screen. The type of work I’m mostly doing does not involve meeting with clients, so I am not going to be too much bothered about it, in an open plan office full of computer geeks with no dress code. After the shower, I dry myself, I put some deodorant on, a nice shirt (most of the times), a little gel on my hair and I’m done. It’s less than 10 minutes for the whole process. Maybe that happens because I am a little insecure spending too much time in the locker room. For example, I wouldn’t even shave in the gym. I like to do that privately, in my own bathroom.

However, I think that this needs some kind of training. You have to start keeping some rules in your everyday life to make sure that you keep them in special occasions. I believe that it would be good if I started spending a little more time in front of the mirror (I’m not saying I don’t take care of myself at all but still there might be some room for improvement). It’s nice to look good / feel good, even if you go to work / shopping / having a stroll. I’m glad that I managed to lose some weight after I started running / going to the gym / having a personal trainer. Maybe it’s time I start looking at other, maybe less significant stuff…

nightmare

How much time do you spend getting ready after gym? How much time is too much time before your friends will start singing to you:

You walked into the party
Like you were walking onto a yacht
Your hat strategically dipped below one eye
Your scarf it was apricot
You had one eye in the mirror
As you watched yourself gavotte
And all the girls dreamed that they'd be your partner
They'd be your partner, and

You're so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You're so vain
I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you? Don't you?

Movie weekend…

I hadn’t planned it this way, but it just happened. I watched 6 movies this weekend, two each night. Some of them were really bad and some better than expected, some I had already watched, some in DVD and some accidentally on the telly.

(I also managed to spend 5 really nice hours in Regent’s Park for a picnic with friends enjoying the sun and playing Frisbee with ‘JJ’!)

Anyway, the movies I saw in ‘order of appearance’ were:
The fantastic Four
Jason X
The Box
Passenger 57
Zombieland
Miss Congeniality 2

What do these movies have in common?Nothing…
They are not even of the same genre…I believe the worst was ‘the Box’. It was even worse than ‘Passenger 57’ which is the one with Wesley Snipes jumping off and on planes chasing bad guys and a young Elizabeth Hurley before she first had plastic surgery (take a look at that nose, that’s huge!!!). At least ‘Passenger 57’ wasn’t taking itself too seriously. It was full of silly jokes and action scenes not to be believed in any way. It’s in the same category of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s movies.If you check online the tagline of the movie is (I don’t expect anyone to remember that, the movie was released in 1992):
He's an ex-cop with a bad mouth, a bad attitude, and a bad seat. For the terrorists on flight 163 . . . he's very bad news.

Hilarious! ‘The box’ on the other hand, was awful! That’s not a psychological thriller, it’s a joke. The plot was so predictable. It was just a combination of similar movies with a Cameron Diaz trying to appear anxious and dramatic…

Yes, that's a young Hurley(I know, it doesn't look a lot like her)

That's Cyclops and Fiona trying to look worried

‘The fantastic Four’ and ‘Miss congeniality’ are movies I’ve seen a couple of times. The first one is not something exceptional but easy to follow. The latter is one fine movie to watch on a Sunday evening to finish your weekend, work on your laptop while getting ready for the new week.

Jason X is actually fun. It’s not a movie to make you scared but a movie to watch with friends, comment upon and laugh. It contains all stereotypes of slasher movies, exaggerated and ridiculed. There is of course the half naked blonde girl dying first (unfortunately without the high heels like in ‘Valentine’s Day’). There are the common sex scenes found in similar movies where women breasts are exposed. Jason even gets an upgrade and becomes half metallic! We laughed so much watching it…

I watched ‘Zombieland’ with ‘JJ’ while having dinner yesterday at his place. Watching that movie while eating is probably not the best idea but we enjoyed it. It has a wicked sense of humour and has something new to offer in terms of plot and direction that makes it quite interesting. It’s not of course an award winning movie, but it is actually a good action movie. I wouldn’t say it’s a thriller in any way… I loved the series of survival rules…

Newsflash…

Greece is again on the current news. We’re activated the EU-INF financial rescue!

As my brother said, the Greek government is borrowing money with worse interest rate than he does with his VISA card…

My countries credibility is going down the drain once again. The final terms of the agreement are not set yet, but it doesn’t look good for the people…

Speaking of integrity, here’s a picture of Keither Sutherland as he was seen in a British pub, before being thrown away:

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At least the weather is amazing. I went to enjoy the sun next to the river for my lunch break. All good looking, half naked men started running / cycling around. I just love summer…

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This Sunday is the Virgin London Marathon. I’m looking forward to going and seeing it. I’m having thoughts of registering for next year. I plan to turn 30 with a bang.

I am slightly worried though. I don’t know if I’ll get a place. You either have to register with a charity and raise more than £2000 to be accepted and I don’t think I can do that. Or I can register the ballot on my own and pray that I will get picked. Normally it’s 1 out of 10 chances to be accepted. However, you are not told if you’re accepted before October, which is a bit late.

The plan B is to go and do the Paris or Edinburgh marathon… We’ll see…

Training for the event, will be challenging though…