I have a confession to make; I didn’t write any letters the other day. Don’t worry, they’ll still find their way to you all in the end, but I got sidetracked and had my day eaten by the offer of free listings on eBay for a week. With a storage cupboard that wants emptying and a bank account that wants filling, I figured it was an offer I couldn’t refuse.
I only just ‘discovered’ eBay this summer. Every year I do a massive tidy up and clearout of my room/flat come the beginning of summer. At first this was inflicted upon me by my highly organised and clutter-hating mother, but as the years went by I began to see the genuine logic behind it. If you know what you have, and where you keep it, and what you’re missing, you save a lot of time and money searching for and purchasing things. And getting rid of things you don’t use, need or want anymore makes room for more exciting stuff!
Now, I freely admit that I ‘horde’ way more than I should do – a trait of my father’s that somehow survived despite the ardent spring cleans of my youth. But I can let go of most things eventually. Usually I just give the items that don’t make the cut away to charity, but this year I found myself particularly hard up, so I decided I’d at least try selling some of them before I passed them on. Incidentally, it’s amazing how much more willing I was to part with things once there was potentially money involved!
My first batch of sales, back in June, went well; managed to shift a fair few unwanted items and the admin process went relatively smoothly. Everything that didn’t sell went into a bag and I fully intended to donate it, but I just never got around to lugging it into town. So, when the offer of free listings came up, and with a few weeks still to kill before uni, I decided to give it all one last chance to sell, just to save my back you know... (As an aside, if you're selling books, movies or CDs or anything with an ISBN type number, you're financially much better off selling it on Amazon, I've discovered.)
Of course, I forgot how time consuming and fiddly the actual eBay listing process can be! Two long evenings later and I’m still not quite done. Admittedly this is because I kept letting myself get distracted, but it’s still taken a while. I hope to finish up the list tonight, and resume normal programming shortly. (And I will write letters/emails then, I promise, so continue to keep an eye out!)
I’ve actually once again scribbled this out by hand at work (busy, the Debenhams complaints line is not), and typed it up at home, otherwise I wouldn’t have had time to even blog today probably. It’s a pity I can’t manage my eBay account while I’m at work, as that would kill two birds with one stone! Anyways, I’m off to tend my inventory guys. Wish me sales and I’ll hopefully be back soon to report on my success.
Tuesday, 15 September 2009
Saturday, 12 September 2009
I made it!
I didn’t realise that there was such a thing as blogger’s guilt – it’s the same sort of feeling you get when you haven’t replied to a chatty email, or haven’t called a good friend in ages. I have once again been neglecting my few devoted cyberspace followers, and I once again apologise. If it’s any sort of excuse, I have been working a lot, and I did spend one evening when I fully intended to blog indulging a bad mood instead.
You may be pleased to hear that I made it all the way through the Ramadan experiment without cracking once! The last two days were spent at work, so I didn’t focus on food so much, but I will admit that by the end of the last few days I was starting to feel a bit fuzzy headed and out of it – the way I always feel as a warning that if I don’t eat soon a faint is coming on. My Muslim friend came round on the second to last night and cooked me a lovely big dinner and we had a good long chat about how I had found it. He was a bit jealous I think, that I got to stop in 24 hours, and he still has a week or two to go. “You gonna do the whole month with me next year?” he asked, only half joking, and I had to admit that I didn’t really relish the idea. It was a fascinating week and I learned a lot, but I don’t think I’ll be rushing to inflict it upon myself again; I have a whole new level of respect for anyone that can and does keep it up the whole month, however, and I wish him the best of luck.
On the final day I had a two hour gap between jobs, during which a group of us Debenhams folk decided to go to Wetherspoons and get a big pub lunch. I was VERY tempted to give up early, especially since my breakfast had once again been very small and long ago. Some of them already knew about my experiment, while others were very confused when I just ordered water from the bar (bottled, with ice, may as well treat myself). So we got to talking about it. They were all curious about why I had chosen to undertake this and how I had found it, and seemed impressed with my efforts and dedication. “I couldn’t do it for love nor money,” said one of the girls just before the waiter came round and held a plate of scrumptious looking garlic cheese bread right under my nose...
The thing I was asked about most over the course of the week was weight loss, usually by my female friends, who were clearly working on the logic that less food must mean less weight. Weirdly enough, I actually gained! Not anything significant, but I weigh myself every morning as a habit, and it was defiantly creeping up incrementally. I suppose this is down to big meals late at night, or my body absorbing more from my meals because of the gaps between them, as well as less exercise due to the office job. But then my weight fluctuates anyway, so it might have just been a coincidence.
The other effect it had on me was on my wallet – it’s amazing how far my weekly budget can go when it’s not being spent on chai tea lattes here, a brownie there and expensive fizzy drinks. (I’m defiantly a Volvic convert, and will be choosing it over Pepsi more often in the future.) Of course I was still eating my evening meals, but I had stocked up the week before, so very little had to be bought in. And with less snacks consumed throughout the day, I had to spend less on them as well.
Apart from that, I’ve just been working and chilling really. Today is the first day off I’ve had all week, and tomorrow will be off as well, but after that I’m running around again until Friday! Oh to be young, working and sociable! I’m hoping to spend tomorrow letter-writing (to release some of that guilt), so if you’re expecting one keep an eye out for it, and if you’d like one let me know! Until next time guys, hopefully it won’t be long!
You may be pleased to hear that I made it all the way through the Ramadan experiment without cracking once! The last two days were spent at work, so I didn’t focus on food so much, but I will admit that by the end of the last few days I was starting to feel a bit fuzzy headed and out of it – the way I always feel as a warning that if I don’t eat soon a faint is coming on. My Muslim friend came round on the second to last night and cooked me a lovely big dinner and we had a good long chat about how I had found it. He was a bit jealous I think, that I got to stop in 24 hours, and he still has a week or two to go. “You gonna do the whole month with me next year?” he asked, only half joking, and I had to admit that I didn’t really relish the idea. It was a fascinating week and I learned a lot, but I don’t think I’ll be rushing to inflict it upon myself again; I have a whole new level of respect for anyone that can and does keep it up the whole month, however, and I wish him the best of luck.
On the final day I had a two hour gap between jobs, during which a group of us Debenhams folk decided to go to Wetherspoons and get a big pub lunch. I was VERY tempted to give up early, especially since my breakfast had once again been very small and long ago. Some of them already knew about my experiment, while others were very confused when I just ordered water from the bar (bottled, with ice, may as well treat myself). So we got to talking about it. They were all curious about why I had chosen to undertake this and how I had found it, and seemed impressed with my efforts and dedication. “I couldn’t do it for love nor money,” said one of the girls just before the waiter came round and held a plate of scrumptious looking garlic cheese bread right under my nose...
The thing I was asked about most over the course of the week was weight loss, usually by my female friends, who were clearly working on the logic that less food must mean less weight. Weirdly enough, I actually gained! Not anything significant, but I weigh myself every morning as a habit, and it was defiantly creeping up incrementally. I suppose this is down to big meals late at night, or my body absorbing more from my meals because of the gaps between them, as well as less exercise due to the office job. But then my weight fluctuates anyway, so it might have just been a coincidence.
The other effect it had on me was on my wallet – it’s amazing how far my weekly budget can go when it’s not being spent on chai tea lattes here, a brownie there and expensive fizzy drinks. (I’m defiantly a Volvic convert, and will be choosing it over Pepsi more often in the future.) Of course I was still eating my evening meals, but I had stocked up the week before, so very little had to be bought in. And with less snacks consumed throughout the day, I had to spend less on them as well.
Apart from that, I’ve just been working and chilling really. Today is the first day off I’ve had all week, and tomorrow will be off as well, but after that I’m running around again until Friday! Oh to be young, working and sociable! I’m hoping to spend tomorrow letter-writing (to release some of that guilt), so if you’re expecting one keep an eye out for it, and if you’d like one let me know! Until next time guys, hopefully it won’t be long!
Sunday, 6 September 2009
Fast Update, pun intended
I missed “breakfast” this morning. Classic case of hitting snooze and rolling over, forgetting that there is no snooze function on my mobile, and waking up a few hours later having missed my window of darkness. It’s now been almost 15 hours since I’ve had anything to eat and my stomach won’t stop complaining. Loudly. Thank goodness I’m not at work! On the other hand, I’m back to my original problem of thinking constantly about food, which is something that I haven’t had to deal with the past few days as my mind has been otherwise occupied.
Thus far, all things considered, my experiment is going well. As predicted, I despise the 4am ‘feedings’, mostly because the last thing my system wants at 4am is food – everything tastes dry and bland and I struggle to muster any enthusiasm for it. It’s also cold in my flat and my eyes sting in protest; “It’s 4am woman, you don’t want food, you want sleep and a warm duvet, go back to bed”. The texts from my Muslim friend help, solidarity and all that, but I definitely miss the days where I could sleep through the night uninterrupted.
Thursday morning I had strawberries all prepared to be eaten, but all I could face was a vanilla yogurt and a few brazil nuts. I crawled back to bed shortly after, wondering how I was going to get through the week. Work that night from 4 to 9 was long and hard and hungry and I had trouble concentrating. My break came to early to allow me to eat, but a kindly co-worker gave me a pack of Iced Gems to munch at my desk come 8 o’clock, which were delicious! I had chicken noodle soup when I got home to compensate, with crusty bread and yellow pepper slices, and a hunk of cheese and an apple as a midnight snack. I vowed I would make more of an effort to eat in the morning the next day.
And indeed I did – strawberries, an apple and a Terry’s Chocolate Orange bar (so sue me, I fancied it!) I also had my usual brazil nuts, which are my weird food habit I suppose: I religiously have 3 or 4 every day to help my immune system (apparently they’re loaded with selenium and vitamin E). Plus I just like them.
I had a bit of a dilemma in the afternoon - coffee with one of my lecturers to discuss a few things. Did I break the rules and have a cup of tea (which I would have loved), or did I stick to them and have to explain to him what I was doing and bear his judgement? But I had a brainwave: I pleaded Pugwash as an excuse (“I’m working on an article about religious understanding...”) and stuck to tap water, with ice. I can’t say that the sight of the coffee and jam tart he was having wasn’t making me ravenous (even though I don’t like either of those things), but I got through it.
Work again meant that I didn’t get to eat until I got home at half 9. I think my wok is one of the best gifts I’ve ever gotten, and I used it to make a gloriously tasty (and needed) beef, mange tout, red pepper and cashew stir fry, with brown rice and a Galaxy bar to follow. Possibly due to the late hour, I surprisingly didn’t even contemplate my usual evening snack.
Yesterday I again had strawberries and chocolate for breakfast, plus nuts and, oddly, a small piece of cheese. My Muslim friend informs me that he gets up and makes pasta etc this early, which I can’t fathom, but my system clearly wanted salt that early on a Saturday, so I let it have some. I had to be at work from 10 til 6, which I survived pretty well, but I had another dilemma come lunch time. Did I go out with my co-workers and watch them stuff their faces while I craved joining in? Did I stay in the building and try to resist the lure of the numerous vending machines while I read the battered red top papers? Or, did I take a third, less conventional option, and take my Volvic lunch and go bug a certain Waterstones worker for an hour, avoiding the food issue completely? No prizes for guessing!
I got home at 7, and had to wait an hour before I could tuck into dinner; poached salmon, new potatoes, green beans and a tomato. I had a relaxed evening doing some paperwork in front of, ironically, back to back episodes of Come Dine With Me, before getting an early night.
But not early enough to stop me sleeping through my alarm! If I survive this evening, I will have completed more than half of my challenge, and will have just two days of ‘Ramadan’ left – wish me luck and stay tuned, and whatever you do don’t talk to me about chocolate!
Thus far, all things considered, my experiment is going well. As predicted, I despise the 4am ‘feedings’, mostly because the last thing my system wants at 4am is food – everything tastes dry and bland and I struggle to muster any enthusiasm for it. It’s also cold in my flat and my eyes sting in protest; “It’s 4am woman, you don’t want food, you want sleep and a warm duvet, go back to bed”. The texts from my Muslim friend help, solidarity and all that, but I definitely miss the days where I could sleep through the night uninterrupted.
Thursday morning I had strawberries all prepared to be eaten, but all I could face was a vanilla yogurt and a few brazil nuts. I crawled back to bed shortly after, wondering how I was going to get through the week. Work that night from 4 to 9 was long and hard and hungry and I had trouble concentrating. My break came to early to allow me to eat, but a kindly co-worker gave me a pack of Iced Gems to munch at my desk come 8 o’clock, which were delicious! I had chicken noodle soup when I got home to compensate, with crusty bread and yellow pepper slices, and a hunk of cheese and an apple as a midnight snack. I vowed I would make more of an effort to eat in the morning the next day.
And indeed I did – strawberries, an apple and a Terry’s Chocolate Orange bar (so sue me, I fancied it!) I also had my usual brazil nuts, which are my weird food habit I suppose: I religiously have 3 or 4 every day to help my immune system (apparently they’re loaded with selenium and vitamin E). Plus I just like them.
I had a bit of a dilemma in the afternoon - coffee with one of my lecturers to discuss a few things. Did I break the rules and have a cup of tea (which I would have loved), or did I stick to them and have to explain to him what I was doing and bear his judgement? But I had a brainwave: I pleaded Pugwash as an excuse (“I’m working on an article about religious understanding...”) and stuck to tap water, with ice. I can’t say that the sight of the coffee and jam tart he was having wasn’t making me ravenous (even though I don’t like either of those things), but I got through it.
Work again meant that I didn’t get to eat until I got home at half 9. I think my wok is one of the best gifts I’ve ever gotten, and I used it to make a gloriously tasty (and needed) beef, mange tout, red pepper and cashew stir fry, with brown rice and a Galaxy bar to follow. Possibly due to the late hour, I surprisingly didn’t even contemplate my usual evening snack.
Yesterday I again had strawberries and chocolate for breakfast, plus nuts and, oddly, a small piece of cheese. My Muslim friend informs me that he gets up and makes pasta etc this early, which I can’t fathom, but my system clearly wanted salt that early on a Saturday, so I let it have some. I had to be at work from 10 til 6, which I survived pretty well, but I had another dilemma come lunch time. Did I go out with my co-workers and watch them stuff their faces while I craved joining in? Did I stay in the building and try to resist the lure of the numerous vending machines while I read the battered red top papers? Or, did I take a third, less conventional option, and take my Volvic lunch and go bug a certain Waterstones worker for an hour, avoiding the food issue completely? No prizes for guessing!
I got home at 7, and had to wait an hour before I could tuck into dinner; poached salmon, new potatoes, green beans and a tomato. I had a relaxed evening doing some paperwork in front of, ironically, back to back episodes of Come Dine With Me, before getting an early night.
But not early enough to stop me sleeping through my alarm! If I survive this evening, I will have completed more than half of my challenge, and will have just two days of ‘Ramadan’ left – wish me luck and stay tuned, and whatever you do don’t talk to me about chocolate!
Thursday, 3 September 2009
Day One
Well, I survived my first day. Granted, I didn’t leave the house – was working my way through a book and a bunch of chores – but I personally think that made it harder as I tend to snack when I’m at home doing stuff, and I couldn’t today. I actually realised just how much I fixate on food when I have nothing else serious to occupy my mind, mostly because instead of a passing “hmm, I’d quite like some popcorn now” and then the move to get it there was a whole internal monologue of fancying something and denying myself, then massively craving something and still denying myself. I did think about food a lot today, but more out of habit than serious hunger. As per the real sprit of the thing, I tried to instead think about people who were hungry today because they had no choice; it helped, a bit, but I did begin to feel like Bono.
The weirdest thing for me was getting up at 4am to eat. I usually skip breakfast as a routine, especially when I’ve been actively woken up by an alarm rather than naturally, so to get up so early just to eat was quite a shock to my system to say the least. I didn’t really fancy anything, and even contemplated just rolling over and going back to sleep, but I knew I’d be hungry later and that if I was going to do this thing, it was worth doing right. So I dragged myself out of bed for a cup of tea (decaf), four brazil nuts, some strawberries and a very small bowl of Special K. I chose healthy stuff on purpose – I do have a history of eating nothing but crap for a few days and then passing out, so I’m trying to do my body right before I starve it.
My Muslim friend texted me at half four to remind me my eating time was almost up, and I duly finished my mug and crawled back into bed. I tried to spend some time on good and pure thoughts as the sun rose, but I have to admit I was asleep before I had the chance. I think I dozed off contemplating heading down to the seafront one day this week to actually watch the sunrise – something my friends and I have been saying we wanted to do for some time now. Don’t know if I’ll ever actually do it, but it’s a noble thought...
Once I genuinely woke up for the day at half 10, I instantly wanted a cup of proper tea and some chocolate – this is probably embarrassingly indicative of my usual habits. I poured myself a glass of water instead, which did nothing to get rid of my cravings. All day, I would have killed for just a small square of chocolate. A Galaxy was the first thing I broke into when darkness rolled around (but the fact that I lasted that long is indicative of my self control, right?) I kept a water glass full of ice and kept drinking whenever I felt a craving coming on – I’m going to try and wean myself off this, as it is technically against the rules and seems against the spirit of things as well.
Aside from the chocolate mania and the odd craving, I was mostly okay until about half 5 at night, by which point my breakfast was long forgotten and my tummy was turning its thoughts to dinner. By half 7, when I would usually be finishing my evening meal, I was in agony, and began my food prep, figuring that chopping up a few veg couldn’t count as cheating. At 8:00 on the dot, I sat down to the best steak, potatoes, carrots and green beans dinner I’ve ever had! Dessert was a Bournville – I know, I know, it’s a miracle I don’t weigh 1000 pounds – and an apple, and my evening snack was a bowl of popcorn and a small hunk of cheese. It’s now 1am, so I’m off to bed for three hours before I confuse my system even more by waking it up for food once again! Tomorrow I’ll be out and about and at work, so we’ll see if this makes the situation better or worse. Stay tuned guys!
The weirdest thing for me was getting up at 4am to eat. I usually skip breakfast as a routine, especially when I’ve been actively woken up by an alarm rather than naturally, so to get up so early just to eat was quite a shock to my system to say the least. I didn’t really fancy anything, and even contemplated just rolling over and going back to sleep, but I knew I’d be hungry later and that if I was going to do this thing, it was worth doing right. So I dragged myself out of bed for a cup of tea (decaf), four brazil nuts, some strawberries and a very small bowl of Special K. I chose healthy stuff on purpose – I do have a history of eating nothing but crap for a few days and then passing out, so I’m trying to do my body right before I starve it.
My Muslim friend texted me at half four to remind me my eating time was almost up, and I duly finished my mug and crawled back into bed. I tried to spend some time on good and pure thoughts as the sun rose, but I have to admit I was asleep before I had the chance. I think I dozed off contemplating heading down to the seafront one day this week to actually watch the sunrise – something my friends and I have been saying we wanted to do for some time now. Don’t know if I’ll ever actually do it, but it’s a noble thought...
Once I genuinely woke up for the day at half 10, I instantly wanted a cup of proper tea and some chocolate – this is probably embarrassingly indicative of my usual habits. I poured myself a glass of water instead, which did nothing to get rid of my cravings. All day, I would have killed for just a small square of chocolate. A Galaxy was the first thing I broke into when darkness rolled around (but the fact that I lasted that long is indicative of my self control, right?) I kept a water glass full of ice and kept drinking whenever I felt a craving coming on – I’m going to try and wean myself off this, as it is technically against the rules and seems against the spirit of things as well.
Aside from the chocolate mania and the odd craving, I was mostly okay until about half 5 at night, by which point my breakfast was long forgotten and my tummy was turning its thoughts to dinner. By half 7, when I would usually be finishing my evening meal, I was in agony, and began my food prep, figuring that chopping up a few veg couldn’t count as cheating. At 8:00 on the dot, I sat down to the best steak, potatoes, carrots and green beans dinner I’ve ever had! Dessert was a Bournville – I know, I know, it’s a miracle I don’t weigh 1000 pounds – and an apple, and my evening snack was a bowl of popcorn and a small hunk of cheese. It’s now 1am, so I’m off to bed for three hours before I confuse my system even more by waking it up for food once again! Tomorrow I’ll be out and about and at work, so we’ll see if this makes the situation better or worse. Stay tuned guys!
Tuesday, 1 September 2009
Ramadan Rules
Well, I made it down to Portsmouth safely, and am now settled back enough that I can embark on a little experiment; I’m going to ‘do Ramadan’ for a week.
The reason I’m doing this is mostly a sort of journalist’s curiosity – one of my best friends is a Muslim and through talking with him about the experience I was intrigued. I am a devout atheist myself, as most people will know, so I’m not doing it for the religious experience so much as just to see if I can muster up the discipline. According to Wikipedia, Ramadan is supposed to be a time of “purification of body, thoughts and actions through self restraint and good deeds”, where one should “refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, or indulging in anything that is in excess or ill-natured”. Sounds like a noble cause to me!
So, from tomorrow morning until midnight on the 8th, I will be participating in the ritual fast, which dictates that I cannot eat or drink anything between sunrise and sunset. The sun begins to rise, according to my Muslim friend, at 4:40 am in Portsmouth, so my alarm will go off at about 4ish to allow me to get up and have some breakfast in the dark (I think this is the part of the whole thing I will least enjoy!). I can’t have anything else to eat then until 7:50 pm, which is when my friend tells me it will be dark. That’s almost 16 hours without food – which I have done before, I think, but not usually on purpose.
I’ll admit, I’m planning on ‘cheating’ ever so slightly. My bank balance and freezer already full of dinners means I’m not going whole hog and only sticking to Halal meat like I originally intended, though I will try to follow a vegetarian diet as much as I possibly can. I will however cut pork out of my life for a week. I’m also making a slight amendment given my history of fainting – I’m allowed to drink as much water as I like during the day (which my Muslim friend does not), and will still be taking my daily vitamin tablet, with my breakfast in the dark...sob.
The other thing my Muslim friend told me is that the enitre thing is more about self control and disipline than the actual act of abstaining, and he has specifically asked me to be on my "best behaviour" this week. I'm supposed to be "courteous and try my best not to swear". I've promised him to try my best to uphold those values.
I plan on keeping a diary of my experiences, and will try to devote the time to pure and generous thoughts rather than cravings of bacon, though I can’t make any promises! I shall keep you updated dear friends – wish me luck!
The reason I’m doing this is mostly a sort of journalist’s curiosity – one of my best friends is a Muslim and through talking with him about the experience I was intrigued. I am a devout atheist myself, as most people will know, so I’m not doing it for the religious experience so much as just to see if I can muster up the discipline. According to Wikipedia, Ramadan is supposed to be a time of “purification of body, thoughts and actions through self restraint and good deeds”, where one should “refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, or indulging in anything that is in excess or ill-natured”. Sounds like a noble cause to me!
So, from tomorrow morning until midnight on the 8th, I will be participating in the ritual fast, which dictates that I cannot eat or drink anything between sunrise and sunset. The sun begins to rise, according to my Muslim friend, at 4:40 am in Portsmouth, so my alarm will go off at about 4ish to allow me to get up and have some breakfast in the dark (I think this is the part of the whole thing I will least enjoy!). I can’t have anything else to eat then until 7:50 pm, which is when my friend tells me it will be dark. That’s almost 16 hours without food – which I have done before, I think, but not usually on purpose.
I’ll admit, I’m planning on ‘cheating’ ever so slightly. My bank balance and freezer already full of dinners means I’m not going whole hog and only sticking to Halal meat like I originally intended, though I will try to follow a vegetarian diet as much as I possibly can. I will however cut pork out of my life for a week. I’m also making a slight amendment given my history of fainting – I’m allowed to drink as much water as I like during the day (which my Muslim friend does not), and will still be taking my daily vitamin tablet, with my breakfast in the dark...sob.
The other thing my Muslim friend told me is that the enitre thing is more about self control and disipline than the actual act of abstaining, and he has specifically asked me to be on my "best behaviour" this week. I'm supposed to be "courteous and try my best not to swear". I've promised him to try my best to uphold those values.
I plan on keeping a diary of my experiences, and will try to devote the time to pure and generous thoughts rather than cravings of bacon, though I can’t make any promises! I shall keep you updated dear friends – wish me luck!
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