Easter & Cycling

OK so enough of the depressive - on to the positive! After a meeting with young Lego, who advised me of 2 things:

1. I need to get my head together!
2. I need to get out of my room/house & get me a hobby!

I decided to [shock, horror] take some advice! & decided to get off me bum & get some cycling done, but first I needed something useful - a bicycle lol! So I got me Trek 1200 [2007 Edition]. Which looks like this:
I also got all the other gear - lights, helmet, jersey, emergency road repair kit, a CamelBak pack & ummmm lycra shorts!!! So I can at least look the part, well apart from the shorts - Simon is not convinced lol!

For those doubters [i.e. everyone!] who think I'm never going to use it - you are severely mistaken - because since I got the bike back to Oxford, I've been on a long cycle ride [i.e. over 10 miles] 5 times - including cycling into Uni - so there!

Hopefully I'll get more used to it, because the riding style & positition are totally different from all the bikes I've had before. Also I need to keep my motivation up & keep at it - the idea is to go both on my own & with others - Oli, TC, Hobbit & Pete Barker for starters & hopefully more if people get in to it.

The bike is super-light & is pretty quick [although my brother will most likely disagree with that!] but seeing as I'm not in "peak physical fitness" [or an old fat git as it's normally put!] then I think it's going to take a few weeks/months for me to be able to do some real speeds & distances on me bike. The route into Uni is about 7 miles or so & that takes me about 35 minutes so far, but hopefully that will get faster - I reckon!

The other side of things - i.e. my head - I'm should be starting to go to counselling in May [financial issues stop me from starting any earlier] so I should then be able to rant to get all the things occupying my brain out - which is super-shiny!

Right enough blogging today methinks - adios!

Easter

Easter break was another interesting one for me - this time last year I needed some time off from youthwork because I got very close to the burning-out stage [so commonly associated with youthworkers] - well this year was unfortunately more of the same - the youth centre work [trying to make it look less like a big lounge!] absolutelty drained my down-time to almost nill - the only time off was driving 600 miles over 4 days with my Dad, which was quite frankly sh*te - whereas I'd expected some actual family time - it was more about my Dad focusing on my half-sister [10 years old] who was demanding all the attention, time, money, etc. I ended up having to use all my monies on trying to do what I could - then got it all back the day he left - suspect! For those who don't the situation - my Dad lives & works out in Switzerland [Zurich to be precise] & comes back every month or so to see his daughter [note: not his 2 sons!] so myself & my brother see my Dad rather infrequently - which is rubbish, but that is unfortunately pretty much my family for you!

Also I managed to split up with my girlfriend Jennie after 2 & a half years which really sucked, but it was mutual[ish] & was at least amicable. I'm not going all sloppy & girly but it was definietly a difficult time for me.

So add those 2 together when all I wanted to do over Easter was chill out with my girlfriend who I'd not seen properly in weeks & my Dad who I'd not seen in months & my friends who I'd not really seen properly all term & it made Easter all a big pile of poo!

This caused a small problem in Simon's brain which meant I didn't feel my ususal bright chipper self - not good & just for fun I seem to have done insufficient fieldwork as I have been fucusing all my efforts on my placement work, rather than anything else - rubbish! There were some more positive things to come out of my Easter break, but more later! but for now I leave you with the following pic from 300 an excellent boyz movie:


Si

More Bloggage Time Pt2

OK the men's breakfast was really good, we had a speaker [Richard Meryon] from CVM [Christian Vision for Men] who gave a presentation about the problems of the Church trying to reach men in programs of fellowship or disipleship & encouraged the church to try to do more things that could appeal to 'not-yet Christian' men. It was all very good & valid & afterwards I spoke to the minister about how fellowship can be coordinated in our church & how this can then be more inclusive for those friends of ours who have never heard the Gospel message, although who would do this would have to be decided by the current group later on.

More Bloggage Time

OK people's it's time for my most randomist blog methinks!

So firstly muppet tests, go check out this quiz to see which muppet your personality most fits in with - I'm Kermit. I think that it proves beyond all reasonable doubt that I am a muppet lol!

Now what's been happening with me, well it's been the Easter holidays [duh] & I've been trying to turn the empty shell of a building into something resembling a youth centre! The time imput has been massive, as have the contributions by all the youth team & this led me to succeessfully run my first 2 groups in the New youth centre on Tuesday & Friday this week - winner! This meant we only had a 2 week turnaround from when I got the keys to when we opened - not bad, methinks!

Also in the youth project I wrote me first newsletter for the local press [the very awesome Nor Lye News] with some info for young people & their parents & with a request for some volunteers to help the youth project. The press deadline is Monday so we'll see if it makes a difference.

Also managed to drop some heavy requests to my Managment Committee because I asked them for 2 very big things:

1. 15-20 leaders asap
2. a vision for the project

These things are so critical for me doing my job that I deemed them critical to the project's survival - so that was a fun meeting!

More later - it's time for me first Men's Breakfast at my home chuch - nice!