What do you guys always pay premium prices for?

Here’s my list:

• ketchup
• toilet paper
• yoghurt
• hair straighteners
• hotels
• peanut butter
• frozen pizzas
• sheets
• tweezers
• vacuum cleaners
• ice cream
• toothpaste
• towels
• eyeliner
• gym shoes
• nailpolish
• electronic devices
• wall paint
• car washes
• small kitchen appliances
• chicken breast
• cat flea spot-on treatment

Not only did I not catch the ball but it jammed my pinky finger, which still doesn’t seem to want to bend a week later.

The poor finger has been taken for granted as I have now noticed all of the things I didn’t know that I used it for.

• Balancing a cup of tea
• Holding coins in my hand
• Removing eye goop
• Carrying grocery bags. It’s surprising how much more weight you can manage with all 5 fingers in use!
• Typing the keys ‘p’ ‘,’ and ’shift’
• Throwing a softball

Feel better soon, pinky!

• Stones

  Lots of people in England actually still measure their body weight in stones, with one stone being 14lbs. It’s very confusing, especially if your mental math is lousy.

• Don’t call a mobile phone from a landline or phone booth

  I’m sure this varies from plan to plan, but it costs way more to phone a mobile from a landline or phone booth than it does from another mobile. Also, landlines usually have a set number of minutes that you can use each month (although recently ‘unlimited’ minutes is becoming popular). There’s no such thing as “long distance” within the UK, so you can call anyone in any area code and it’s the same price.

• VAT

  Tax on things you buy is called VAT (equivalent of GST, in Canada). It’s 17.5% and the nice thing is that it’s included in the ticketed price of things you buy. So if you see something that’s £10, you walk in and hand them £10. Good times.

• School lingo

  School goes from age 5-16 (“Year 1″ – “Year 11″), followed by GCSE exams which mark the completion of compulsory education. The next two years (“Sixth Form”) are optional and lead up to “A-Levels” which are tests you take prior to University. Coincidentally, private schools are referred to as “public schools”. Also, “school” isn’t used as an umbrella term here, so if you use it when referring to university, people will correct you. Oh and school busses don’t seem to exist (at least not in my area), so everyone drives their bloody kids to school. How I love half term!

• Sink within a sink

  Many British people have a plastic tub that fits neatly inside their kitchen sink, in which they place dirty dishes to soak. This seems weird to me as the sink could do the exact same thing and it has a drain, too! I don’t know. I guess it’s because the tubs are portable and sinks aren’t.

• Tipping

  You aren’t expected to tip in a bar or pub, even if they bring the food / drinks to you. Bar and restaurant staff make normal minimum wage (as opposed to below minimum wage in Canada) so they don’t depend on tips to survive. Chris told me once that you only tip on the food in restaurants, but I’m not entirely sure on the accuracy of that. Also, the typical tipping rate is 10-15%.

• Speeding

  Instead of using police officers and speed traps, they use speed cameras to catch you speeding in the UK. They have cameras that track your speed using some lines painted on the road and if you’re speeding, they send you a ticket in the mail. Sneaky, eh?

Anyone who obstructs my view of the free weights section

So I think that’s basically everyone! What an ogre!

Some of my stuff (and two cute cats), before

I had an entire apartment full of stuff and I had to part ways with most of it in order to fit my life into one large suitcase. Doing so helped may have made me feel a bit homesick in the beginning, but it was also liberating.

Some things I have noticed after letting go of my stuff:

• It’s now much easier to ruthlessly purge my wardrobe
• It feels good to donate to charity / give to friends
• If I ever had to move countries again it would be much easier to let go of my possessions
• When my stuff is organized, the rest of my life is easier to organize as well
• I’m more picky about what stuff I spend my money on. I ask myself “Do I really need this?”

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying everyone should live a minimalist lifestyle with no collections or frills. I have quite a bit of stuff now, in the UK.

I just think that being able to make the distinction between ‘want’ and ‘need’ is important. And also, it’ll save you public embarrassment on How Clean Is Your House.

I’m proud to announce that I have now stuck with my diet and exercise regime for a week. According to the gym scale, I’ve lost some weight (approx 3-4 pounds). More importantly, I’ve gained some self confidence and determination. Here are some other things I’ve learned:

• I’m better with portion control if I know exactly how many calories are sitting on my plate. It makes me more inclined to stop when I’m full enough and save some for later!
• I push myself harder if there is a random stranger on the cardio machine next to me, particularly if they are givin’er
• I push myself harder if I am angry or stressed
• It’s not being at the gym that sucks, it’s the waking up early and making myself go.
• In the past I’ve used my asthma as too much of an excuse not to exercise.
• My social life is inevitably going to take a beating. If you want to meet me for a drink, ok, but I’m going to shoot vodka!
• About 12 minutes into my cardio workout, the endorphins reach my brain and everything becomes easier.
• I can still have peanut butter every day, just not as much of it.
• I’m doing this so I can be happier with myself and not to impress anybody else.
• Rowing machine near the beginning of my workout isn’t a wise idea yet.
• The cardio machines that face the weights room have the best view
• I’m going to have to have a gym membership forever if I want to stay healthy

Well kiddies, today was officially “Day 1″ of my new fitness regiment. I’ve long since realized that a sedentary lifestyle won’t yield the results / positive body image that I long for but lacked motivation (I’m sure many web professionals can relate to this).

In combination with diet & exercise, I’m also–with Chris’s guidance–starting a course of natural fitness supplements, namely Sci-MX Pyro-MX Leanburn. People have very mixed opinions on the subject but all I can say is that I have had lots of energy today and not a huge appetite, considering the diet change. It has natural stuff like green tea and hot peppers in it, to jump-start the metabolism.

I think I found my motivation somewhere between finding out my blood pressure is slightly high (it runs in the family), realizing I was de-tagging every picture of myself on Facebook and having to get weighed at the hospital last week for my pre-surgery appointment.

As well, the Bristol Softball season is coming up, which is even more reason to get in shape. I am playing on an even more competitive team than last year and I need to make sure they don’t regret recruiting me!

My goals are not solely to lose weight but to improve my core fitness. I’m going to measure myself not by stepping on the scale, but by how my clothes fit, how much endurance I have, and what weights I set the machines to.

Best of all, the gym didn’t charge me an initiation fee again since I used to be a member before. Ok, off to drink water and get on with my day!

As such I’m going to give it a makeover with a lick of paint, some wall shelves, a white painted pine desk and a few indoor plants. Ikea, here I come!

I’ve been dying to use a salmon pink and apple colour scheme ever since I saw it on Cougartown.

Q. What’s the difference between a car and a golf ball?
A. Tiger can drive a golf ball 400 yards.

It doesn’t matter if Tiger gets charged with careless driving, his putting will make up for it…

After a wayward drive, Tiger Woods found water before nestling behind a tree…

We now see that Tiger Woods drives very well on the fairway but doesnt fare very well on the driveway.

Q. What’s the difference between Santa and Tiger Woods?
A. Santa stops at three Ho’s

Q. What’s the difference between Santa and Tiger Woods?
A. Santa visits the nice girls.

Tiger lion cheetah

Tiger would like to take a mulligan on this one.

Q. What do Tiger Woods and Tony the Tiger have in common?
A. They both tell women they’re great during breakfast.

I heard Phil Mickelson called Elin to ask for tips on how to beat Tiger!

Tiger Woods is 13 over par…

Q. What do Tiger Woods’ girlfriends and 5 star cuisine have in common?
A. There’s some in every major city; you just have to be willing to pay for it!