Five Songs That Keep Me Moving

I may have already mentioned it, but, I’m currently attempting to do a Couch to 5k, and I may have already mentioned this too, but…running is hard. Thanks to a combination of being ill and going away for a few days, I didn’t do a run for just over a week so I decided to start week two over which made me die a little inside as I only had one day left that week, but a week of no exercise meant it was pretty much required.

So that lead to me, this Monday, embarking on my first run in about 10 days. I’ve said it before and I guarantee I’ll say it again; running is no joke. Yet I still feel like week two is manageable, whereas during week one I thought there was no way I’d get past it. The one thing that always helps me sweat my way to the end of any form of exercise, but especially running, is music. Without a doubt it keeps me going and I think my exercising days would be over if I couldn’t listen to music.

So I present to you, my top 5 exercise songs…

Pump it, Black Eyed Peas. Great song, great beat for running to.

  

Keep on Running, The Spencer Davis Group. This one I first heard on the film Run, Fatboy, Run (appropriate) and has been one of my top work out songs ever since.

Ignition (Remix), R. Kelly. This one just makes me feel pumped up!

Uptown Funk. Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars. This song is great 100% of the time so it only makes sense to use it when working out.

Anything Kelly Clarkson, but definitely Since You Been Gone. The majority of KC’s songs have got a great beat to exercise to, though I often have to restrain myself from singing out loud in the gym…

 

There are of course many, many more awesome work out songs but these are the five I’m loving the most right now. What are anybody else’s favourite songs to exercise to?

21 Thoughts You Have When Struck Down With Illness And Feeling Pathetic

So just about this time last week I became ill. Which never ever happens to me, and because of this I do not cope well when it does happen.

Luckily (she says), this only lasted for 24 hours and the following day I practically leapt out of bed, thanking the sickness gods for only cursing me for one day. At this point the phrase “don’t speak too soon” should be applied tenfold. Fast forward another 24 hours and I’m once again struck down with this cruel, mysterious illness. Thankfully, a couple of days after this second strike I really was feeling better and almost back to normal. And I say thankfully because the people around me were likely ready to murder me in my sleep by this point. Also I had some serious plans and didn’t really want to be ill and mopey for them – but mainly the murder-sleep thing.

These are a few of the thoughts I had while ill, and I’m guessing you do too if you’re anything like me (come on, don’t make me believe I’m truly the only pathetic sick person out there…).

1. Why me?

2. I’d give one of my organs to feel better right now. Or a limb. I’d give something pretty substantial.

3. I promise I’ll be a better person if you just make me feel better, please, sickness gods?

4. Why am I so pathetic?

5. Why is that I love doing nothing when I’m not ill…and now I have to do nothing I’m so bored? Oh I know why; life is cruel and unfair.

6. Booooored

7. I’ll start watching a new tv show! But what one…

8. Oh, this is funny!

9. Hahaha, tv is great, this is my new favourite show.

10. I love tv.

11.This show is so boring, if I have to watch tv any longer I’ll peel my face off just for something else to do.

12. “Muuuuum, make me feel better :(” (works via text/phone call/face to face)

13. Maybe I’m dying.

14. Like it could be a symptom of something serious.

15. Yep, I’m definitely dying.

16. What song should they play at my funeral? Something sad, but upbeat, but not too upbeat. This isn’t a party, people.

17. Will I ever eat again?

18. When did I last shower?

19. Will I ever be able to stand up long enough to shower again?

20. Can you get addicted to paracetamol? Didn’t that happen to Robbie Williams? Is that where my life is headed now? Maybe I should just stay ill. It’s not all bad.

21. Sleeeeeep.

Yes, I’m in my twenties now and old enough to take care of myself but being ill makes me revert waaaay back in years. I can’t imagine having a career and a family and a life and having to blaze on when struck down with illness and I’m in awe of you if you do this obviously.

Would You Take Orders From A Robot?

I recently finished watching a TV series called Humans, which intrigued me, and has stayed in my mind. I found it so interesting! I mean, for starters, anything to do with robots, especially them becoming aware and thinking for themselves, fascinates me (I, Robot anyone?). I think it’s definitely something to think about, the idea that our technology could one day evolve so much that something we’ve created (to make our lives easier, no less) might surpass us in such a way that we become inferior to it.

I’m a big believer in it. I do think that one day humans will be outsmarted by their own creations. Purely because we think we’re smarter than we are. I am in no way an expert on the subject, but I’ve read a few articles about the development of robotics which say we’re not lightyears away from the type of synthetic person such as those seen in Humans. I’m sure I’ve even seen an article recently about a robot that passed a basic consciousness test, so it is coming! Although currently there is a large market for these being used as “sex robots”, so maybe we aren’t as evolved as we like to believe after all.

It’s hard to say whether the robots will go for world domination or not. Isn’t that a slight exaggeration, you say? Imagine if you woke up one day and realised you were smarter and stronger than the people that currently ruled the earth. You can’t say your mind wouldn’t slide a little bit towards taking over the world. Thinking you knew what was best for them. In Humans, the actual humans fear the possibility of what this sort of technology means and so the conscious robots live in secret. Based on what I know of human nature, I think it’s very likely we would react in this way even if there was nothing to fear from conscious “synthetics”, because what if?

Where does it stop though? We’re constantly moving forward with all realms of technology; the fast advancement of the iPhone being the perfect example. If anything close to this kind of speed occurred in the development of robotics, how long will it be before we have to answer the questions posed by these films and TV shows?

I, for one, think that a robot uprising is all too possible, maybe not in my lifetime because I don’t think the technology is moving quite that fast, but I still think it’s possible. And I think it could come down to a battle between wanting to see where the technology could go, and wanting to destroy what we’ve made out of pure fear. People laugh at me when I tell them about this, because whoever heard of a robot thinking for itself (ha ha Harriet you’re such a joker, they say, as a robot guns them down for insubordination) but I’m sticking to my beliefs; I want our robot leaders to like me.

Where do other people stand on the whole robots taking over the world idea?

(Did I mention I, Robot is one of my favourite films?)

Running is hard, who knew?

I completed my first week of Couch to 5k! I am so proud of myself for achieving this much that it’s a little embarrassing. I can only imagine how I’ll feel if (or should I say, when) I complete all of the weeks.

It was a struggle, and honestly I did have to force myself to do it on all three of the days. There’s a little voice inside my head that pipes up whenever I think about running, constantly telling me that I’m not a runner and that I’ll never be able to complete this entire thing. It is difficult to squash that voice out long enough to do a run, and it is difficult not to believe what the voice says but I do also believe that the first step – in any situation – is most often the hardest, and is very often the most important in completing your goal, so I am determined to keep squashing the voice, and to keep running.

My main takeaway from this first week is that running is hard. Very hard. Am I stating the obvious here? Of course, but I still think it needs to be said. I am in total awe of people who run for any decent amount of time without stopping. I can only hope to come close to what they do at some point in the, not-so-near, future. But I’ve also realised that I want to be able to run without stopping for a semi-decent amount of time so I am going into week two of my Couch to 5k even more determined than I was a week ago!

Run, Harriet, Run

So I completed my first run in my Couch to 5k yesterday and have only just recovered enough to work up the energy to use my laptop. Just kidding (kind of…), I didn’t get chance to write about it yesterday.

Well as predicted the run was e x t r e m e l y difficult, even though half of it was walking (yep, embarrassing!), but I’m very proud of myself for completing the first day and will be going onto day two any day now. The good thing about it is you only have to do three runs a week so it makes it seem more manageable; bite size chunks of running.

And even though I was a hot, sweaty, panting mess by the end, within an hour or so I was feeling fine so hopefully it’s a little bit like childbirth in that you forget the pain long enough to go through it again.

Here’s to day two…

Day one of Couch to 5k. via

Getting Off The Couch

Something big is happening in my life. Seriously. Tomorrow I’m starting a 9 week programme called “Couch to 5k”. As may be obvious, the aim is to get you off the couch and running 5k by the end of the programme. My friend told me about it a few days ago, and as running is something I’ve always found difficult, but at the same time wanted to be able to do, I thought why not give it a go. And then I thought, why not discuss my progress on here. It’s a perfect idea! It gives me written evidence that I’ve done something, and it gives me a reason to write again. Two birds and all that. So I downloaded the app this evening and now there’s no going back.

Although I don’t spend all my time on the couch I could do with being more active than I already am so I’m really hoping to persevere with this thing. I have images of myself collapsing into a sweaty heap at various times during the 9 weeks (basically every time I run…) but I’m trying not to focus on how much sweat is going to be pouring out of me and instead concentrate on how good it’ll make me feel at the end.

I’ve got nothing to lose, so here goes nothing!

How Will I Know?

How do I know that I’m doing the right thing? How do I know that living in this house, with these girls, was the right thing to do? How do I know I’m doing the right university course? How do I know the right thing to do is not to pursue anything more with a certain guy? How do I know letting my writing slide over the summer was for the best? How do I know I’m not going to regret everything I do right now in five, ten, twenty years?

The thing is, I don’t. I don’t know that what I’m doing is the right thing to do. I know that right now it feels like it is and that’s all I can go with. And I just have to try and live a life that doesn’t bank on regrets. I don’t want to regret things; I want to look back and think that even if something maybe wasn’t the right thing that it shaped me in some way. Of course, ideally I would look back and think “thank God I made that choice, it was so right” but we cannot have everything in life.

So for now I’ll just have to live with my decisions and try to stop questioning every little thing! Because as they say: if it feels right, do it. Or something along those lines…?

I’ll Watch You

I feel like this could be a bad omen for me as I’m going to be in an airport tomorrow to go away on holiday! I’m desperately hoping there won’t be any delays, at least not a 6 hour one anyway.

If I was stuck in an airport with no electronic devices I’m sure I’d find plenty to keep myself occupied with. One of my favourite things to do when I’m waiting somewhere is to people watch. I think an airport is the perfect place to do this because you’re often sitting around waiting for long periods of time and there’s always such a variety of people milling around! People fascinate me and I love to watch them going about their daily lives. I like to make up stories in my head about what they could be doing and what they’re thinking and so on. I’d love to actually find out things about these people. Plus, people watching in an airport I have an excuse to wear my sunglasses so I can watch without looking like I’m creepily staring at someone from across the room.

It’s why I love Humans Of New York so much, because I get a tiny bit of insight into someone’s life. The information that Brandon, the guy who runs it, manages to get out of a person in just a few minutes is amazing. I guess you could say I’m just a nosey person but I like to think of it as more just interested in the world around me!

Losing At Sports Day

When I was in primary school, we had a sports day every year. I wasn’t a sporty child so I’d usually be in the egg & spoon race or the three legged race or maybe the skipping. I specifically remember one year when my mum had said she’d come to watch me (she always came to these sorts of things if she could) but I think she had work that day and so was trying to get off early.

Now as I already mentioned, I was not sporty – I’m not particularly sporty now but back then I was worse. And this sports day was going terribly for me. I can’t remember all the details of why, but I probably lost a race and my friends maybe disappeared somewhere? But mainly, I couldn’t spot my mum amongst the sea of parents. Where was she?! So there we were at the starting point for the skipping race and I was remembering exactly how much I did not want to be in the skipping race. I think I was on the verge of tears; I was never far from tears when I was young.

They blew the gun or the whistle or whatever it is that signals the start and off I went, skipping terribly along while all the others skipped off into the sunset. I wanted so desperately to do well but it was never going to happen. I got about halfway (if I was lucky) down the track when I glanced over to the parents, probably hoping for a glimpse of my mum even though I was convinced she had ditched me for some unknown reason, when who should I see walking across the playground? My mum. Obviously she was here. As if the angel Gabriel himself was coming towards me I couldn’t think of anything else. I thought “fuck this race”, but in more P.G tones of course, and I dropped my skipping rope and ran across the grass, across the playground, tears now streaming down my face and into the glorious arms of my waiting mother. What a moment.

I mean, obviously I lost that race. I didn’t even finish that race. At the time, I think I felt like an idiot for a) dropping the race halfway through, b) making a scene in front of all those people (didn’t like that much attention; still don’t), and c) crying in front of my classmates – although they were very used to that happening. But all these years later, it literally means nothing to me that I lost the race. I hadn’t even thought about it in ages until I saw the writing 101 idea for today, but it’s funny story so I might have to wheel it back out. See if my mum remembers it.

It’s weird to me that I thought something I was doing at maybe 10 years old was so important that I cried like a baby about it! Full on sobbing. Did I think sports day would matter 10 years later? I was only young I know, but it’s still strange to me when I think about it. Anyway, the moral of my story is that sports day means nothing (I’m looking at you, boys who treated it like the Olympics) and my mum can make everything better, even just by showing up.

Happy skipping/egg & spooning/sack racing to all!

The End Of The World (As We Know It)

This week I started reading a new book (The Twelve) which is set in a mainly post-apocalyptic world. It got me to thinking about how I’d fair at the end of the world as we know it. I’ve thought about this many times, usually weekly while The Walking Dead is on.

I’ve come to the conclusion that I would not do well at the end of the world. Zombies, monsters, barren land, what have you, I don’t think it’s my scene. I would be terrible in any kind of fight, be it between humans or if I had to go around removing the head or destroying the brain of something. It makes me a little squeamish just thinking about it. I love watching these sorts of films, but I guarantee I’ll spend half the time squealing and hiding behind my hands. Pretty much says it all.

Also, I’m pretty sure I couldn’t hunt for survival. I have no aim so gun/bow and arrow is out of the question. I’m too clumsy to follow something around and stealthily take it out. The only reason I can eat meat is because I don’t have to kill it myself. Take me back in time and I’d be a vegetarian for sure. Although I’m not sure you had that option back in the hunter-gatherer times.

Even the thought of having to sleep rough is off-putting. I realise that’d be the least of my worries in a post-apocalyptic world but I hate camping and life would definitely become one big camping trip in this scenario. Not for me. I’d moan, I’d cry, I’d complain. I’d very likely be a victim of murder at the hands of my own friends and family, or whoever I ended up with – losing my friends and family would be enough for me to say “I’m out”.

I know people say stuff like “oh you never know how you’ll react to these situations; you might step up”. Let me be the first to say, I don’t think this is a situation where I’ll be ‘stepping up’. You can sacrifice me as zombie food as long as you kill me off quickly and just leave my corpse for them to devour.

Now to get back to reading my book where I can live vicariously through the characters without actually having to experience it myself (my type of apocalypse).