frog princess

I had a hellish meeting this morning with a client, really a terrible awful event, where I actually began to suspect she is fibbing about her CV. It was became plain to me during the course of this meeting that she has not even a tiny shred of nous about how to run a business. Disaster.

In other news, I have lost three kilos! This is since the beginning of May. However, I'm mostly measuring the effects of the gym by how much looser my jeans and skirts and tops are getting. Also, I ran on the treadmill for 25 minutes last night, which is a pretty big acheivement for me not only in terms of fitness but also motivation. Usually I get horribly bored after about 10 minutes, looking at my own sweaty face in the giant mirrors. Mmmm sweat.

In more other news, my new tennis boyfriend is still pretty. Also with a rather adorable and cute habit of pulling his underwear out of the crack of his arse before every serve. From the New York Times:

'When reporters once tried to get to the bottom of the habit, Nadal said the problem was actually his bottom. "A little bigger than usual," he explained.'

I have a Federer/Nadal fic currently at 5000 words, and I keep looking at it and not being able to decide if I want to write the porn or just write them having an excruciatingly polite and adorable tennis rivally of doom. I just love how in real life they're having an intensely dramatic fight to the tennis death-- really incredible skill-- all set against a background of spontaneous announcements of admiration, sobbing, affectionate hugging and monogrammed cardigans. It's special. They are so cute. I might have to stop using that word so much, but I quite literally cannot stop myself. They just are.

If anyone's interested in my 'research' on this matter, I have a twine for them, here: junk de lux. I've got 20 more invitations for twine also, if anyone wants one.

Also, sorry for not getting round to answering comments for ages. I'm trying to keep up and failing.

I haven't been cycling on the exercise bike so much recently due to my motivation failing, but I have been going out on my actual bike that rolls along every weekend for the past month or so. My tally for the last four weeks:

Unreal bike - 8 miles
Real bike - 16.5 miles - to Cane End, Dead Man's Lane then back along the Warren to Reading
Real bike - 11 miles - to Crowsley park and back
Real bike - 15.5 miles - to Dinton Pastures along the river to Sonning and back again

Grand total: 179.5

I've passed Bree and am now camping on the western edge of the Midgewater Marshes

Monday: 5 miles
Friday: 4.5 miles
Sunday: 4.5 miles

Total: 119.5 miles - Having been rescued from the Barrow wights, am riding north

I have a new technique on my bike that makes me sweat a lot more. I stay on for 30 minutes and go at a steady medium to slow pace for all that time and at the same resistance setting. It's utterly knackering.

As Pottermania hits my flist, I'm motivating myself with rewatching s7 of Buffy.

Swimming: 0.5 miles
Exercise bike: 5 miles

Total: 95.5 miles

I've just been rescued from Old Man Willow by Tom Bombadil and am now on the way to his house.

18 miles omg, 3 hours, total: 84 miles

Have leaped ahead to day 4 and am now in the the Old Forest

Just so you know, I am not on the exercise bike when I do these huge stints of cycling that take all afternoon, but on my actual bike. So, the 18 miles yesterday included cycling in a large circle that took in Reading, Checkendon and then Woodcote and back along the lanes to Reading, nearly all of it along back lanes and woods.

It was beautiful; hot enough to warrant shorts and the sky was absolutely clear blue all day, with the trees just showing new green leaves, blossom everywhere, random siamese cats, a gang of pensioners on tandems, buzzards, kites, many cows (live ones), bluebell woods and a peregrine falcon that crashed through a hedge about a foot from my face.

I have been doing pilates for the last four weeks-- "make sure your pelvis is in neutral"-- and I am beginning to see a difference in my waistline, or rather feel a difference when I put on last year's summer clothes. Everything fits just that little bit better.

29 mins, 6 miles: total 35 miles

I have just hidden from a Black Rider and am proceeding at a stone's throw from the left of the road!

This time I watched American Idol.

Also, thanks for everyone's comments about the weight loss in the last post. So, not much lost particularly, but I am beginning to feel a difference in the fit of my clothes.

29 mins, 5.5 miles, total: 28.5

still on a road that rolls up and down

Yay! Also, we have a new TV, so I put The Machinist in again. And then I had to stop watching about 20 minutes in because I felt sick. Anyone who has seen it will probably guess why. I won't be finishing it, I think.

Talking of Christian Bale. I had an amazingly pleasant dream at the weekend, which was simply that he wanted to have sex with me. I'd like more dreams like that, plz.

I'm very lucky, because hungry_worm sent me chocolate biscuits. They're extremely chocolatey and delicious. Mmmm. Also note the homemade protective packaging, which I love to bits.

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In other news, I did 4 miles on the bike yesterday, taking me to a total of 17.5

Climb a steep slope. Pippins yawns (Nearly midnight)


I put Akira to one side because I wasn't getting in to it and tried The Machinist instead, except that the spooky thinness of Christian Bale must've caused my TV to blow a gasket. It died right in front of my eyes and now only makes sad clunking noises when I switch it on, with no picture. Have spotted a likely replacement on ebay-- taxi distance, 3 years old and with a 28 inch screen. It's currently at £50 quid.

5 miles, 30 minutes, total: 10 miles

I am wandering somewhere beyond Hobbiton, nearly at a birch grove