Wake Me Up.. When September ends..

It's that time of year again when the days get shorter, there's less sunlight, and year after year I have the worst month on the calendar. Does everyone have a month in the year they don't like? Well for me, it is without a shadow of a doubt always been September. Physically, mentally, emotionaly, & even financially I find myself drained out. It's a saying that any momentum is hard to stop once it get's going, whether it be good or bad, and the month of bad momentum is around the corner for me.

I'm looking outside the window and the weather is miserable. I think i'm solar powered. It's 4:20pm, and I've got to leave for work in about an hour's time. It's also Eid, which means that work is going to be ram packed with everyone running around like headless chickens, be it staff or customers. This also means that if I work hard enough I might get a little bit of recognition from the new general manager. I've been working at a bowling alley / bar for just over 2 years now, and I feel as though I've worked to prove a point in the past before to get that promotion or to get that pay rise but to no avail. We as staff have worked hard before and sometimes it feels like we do a lot more work than we get paid for. We get peanuts, and the worst part is some of us, actually dance like monkeys too. Don't get me wrong, I love where I work, I just can't stand the people in charge /-) (to quote CM Punk). I honestly think that after I leave this job, I'd probably be able to work anywhere, and under great amounts of pressure. Alls I need is for someone to give me that opportunity. We'll see how that situation goes, because I've sort of promised myself that it's been long enough, and If I don't get that recognition it's time to move on, move forward. I'll give them one last run of the Best, and if nothing happens, i'm done. Which brings me to how hard that might be during the next month, the worst month of my year.

I got to thinking, "What should I do differently this year, to turn this all around?". And I came up with the idea that attempting to achieve some goals consciously might help make this a better month. A goal that has eluded me for well over a year now has been to quit smoking cigarettes. I'll be the first to admit that I've not always done the right thing or made the right decisions, and a lot of the time, the difference between me and the next guy is, i'll accept it. I won't hide it. But I made a good decision last year, which a lot of my close friends know about, which helped me get a little bit closer to being Straight-Edge, without getting into too much detail on here /-) In terms of quitting cigarettes, I've been surfing around looking at the benefits of it all morning. There are many. It's a big jump to make, and it's almost a change in lifestyle. I remember before I started smoking, I used to train in Shaolin Martial Arts, hit the gym about 4-5 times a week and could throw out about 460 boxer's punches in 2 minutes flat, which at the time, was a class record. Now, i'm pretty sure I get out of breathe and even bust a sweat sometimes when throwing the bowling balls back to their racks when we close up at work. I'm tired of it. Enough is Enough and it's time for a change (Owen Hart).

Another thing I'd like to experiment with is how long I can go without alcohol. This one, doesn't worry me as much. I might end up having a couple of pints a week (if that) when we hit a pub or chilling with the boys n girls. I am by no means a raging alcoholic so nothing to worry about here /-) Though trying to disprove an offer at a drink while clubbing may be a little bit trickier. I think that'll be the hardest part.

Training has become scarce as of late for me, a mere shell of my former physical self, I've found the one thing I enjoyed, and helped me come alive so many times was training. I love it. And i've heard a rumour that it increases life expectancy, lol. In terms of the gym, I find myself going in maybe twice a week at the moment every 2 weeks. Not really productive at all, but that's another thing I want to do consistently throughout the month of September.

Now what makes this attempt any different from all the times I've half-assedly tried before? I may have just answered my own question there. I want to do this with some conviction, to find out how badly I really want it. I'm kinda putting quite a bit of pressure on myself here, to see if I can actually do this, and I've decided to blog about my days in September, every day. So I can track my progress, and have everything written down, on paper (or net) for the world to see. But more importantly to remind myself of what i'm doing, and where I want to get to, and to make it fun i'm doing it in my worst month, September, with the hope of turning it all around and making it the most productive month I've had so far this year, and to actually strive to achieve these simple, yet oh-so hard mini-goals for myself. Will I succeed? Or am I setting myself up for failure, to be victim of just another September in the books? Only time, and my blog from September 1st will tell. I think I'm going to bullet point it one last time so when I scroll down I can see it clearly, that:

- NO SMOKING IN SEPTEMBER

- NO DRINKING IN SEPTEMBER

- TRAIN ATLEAST 3 TIMES A WEEK

I mean it's only 30 days, what's the best that could happen?

The Mau. (30/08/2011) 16:53