domingo, 19 de agosto de 2012

My new smooth-ageing strategy

For me, Sundays are nice days until 16:59, right after that, they are slowly surrounded by a strange nostalgic feeling which reminds us that it is almost over: We will be in the office soon and five long days will have to pass until we can celebrate the next weekend.

Today, it is Sunday, and it has been a sad day from the very beginning. What I usually do when I am depressed is to write a blog.

On Friday I went to the doctor to finally have a health check up! The results were not bad:
  • Blood pressure: OK
  • Lungs: OK
  • Kidneys: OK
  • Eyes: OK
  • Liver: ...surprisingly OK!
  • Cholesterol: 309, should be 300
  • Body mass index: half a kilo away from overweight
On my way from the doctor's practice to my office, I brainstormed to create a strategy in order to make my ageing smoother. I already use anti-ageing body lotion, but this is not enough. I think I have to do more pilates and consume less cheese and milk-chocolate (the main reason for my slightly high cholesterol). This plan has only three points, so it is sureyly not hard to accomplish.

I was thinking about this new smooth-ageing strategy on my bike, when the wind on my face was moving a moustache-hair and this little guy was scratching my nose. The feeling was very annoying! Then, I remember that the last two nights I woke up suddenly thinking that a spider was walking around my nose. Back then, I desperately scratched and rubbed my nose until the feeling was gone. I really thought it was a spider, but on the bike I knew it was my
moustache.

Later in the office, I wanted to put an end to this annoying feeling. So I took my scissors and a pocket mirror and then I saw them...

...there was indeed a rebel moustache-hair growing in the wrong direction (towards my nostrils), but, there was a second hair. It was the longest nose hair I ever saw on someone younger than 80. I cut it immediately and added on e more thing to my smooth-ageing strategy:
  1. Continue using anti-ageing body lotion
  2. Do more sport
  3. Eat less dairy products and chocolate
  4. Buy a nose-hair trimmer

lunes, 6 de agosto de 2012

Mein Halbes Leben OR "my life's to do list"

About three years ago, my good friend Maria recommended me to watch an Austrian documentary called „Mein halbes Leben“ something I, as a non-native speaker in neither English nor German, would translate as „Half of my life“. The film is about a guy in his mid-30's suffering of a late quarter life crisis...or an early mid-life crisis.

When I was in Georgia, I started to feel like the guy in the movie...

Sometimes, I have the feeling my life goes so slow, that I don't have to hurry, and that gives me the security to take things easy. But that cosy secure feeling disappears each time I take a look at my life. it is horrible, years have passed and I have done little.

Just imagine, on my last medical check-up, I was diagnosed with lightly high cholesterol. Maria, who is also a very good dietitian, told me my HDL (the good cholesterol) was high, but there was not much to worry about, however, on that day I promised to myself to have a medical check once a year...that was four years ago, and it was also the last time I went to the doctor.

Being depressed for being passive with life - and in combination of having a hangover on Saturday - gave me the strength and courage to erase things from my life's to do list. In the past 72 hours, I have been achieving incredible things:

- Appointment with the dentist: Checked! (wanting to do so since May)
- Built the kitsch-frame with deer-horns I wanted so much: Checked! (wanting to do so since 2011)
- Three loads of laundry: Checked! (wanting to do so since 2 weeks)
- Opening a savings account: Checked! (already happened in December, but was pending since 2005)
- Doing pilates at home: Checked! (wanting to do so since 3 weeks)
- Call Electrolux and ask why the refrigerator drops water: Checked! (wanting to do so since summer 2009)

Maybe those things listed above don't see like much to you, but doing that last weekend was a giant step.

I should not claim victory, there are still things do: 
- Make the appointment for the medical check (4 years delay), 
- Call the carpenter and ask him once more about my bed (5 months delay), 
- Hang the mirror lying on my bedroom (10 months delay), 
- Finish my Ph.D. (10 months delay)...
- If I continue, I will start crying...