The First Twinge Of Boredom

I felt the first twinge of boredom today, that’s not bad going since I retired nearly 3 months ago and I have a good reason.  I’m really really sore from yesterdays workout and my head feels fuzzy from the difficulty sleeping, because I was really really sore last night too!  I don’t mind pushing through the soreness though because I know why I’m sore, I know I will be getting less sore with time and I know that I should have reached my target level of fitness by the end of the year, so it’s worthwhile.  Still I’m bored, I can’t do much activity and I can’t read for very long and I’m resisting using TV to fill my time, although I might not be able to resist for much longer, for now I’m writing.

If boredom becomes more of an issue though, I do have a fall back plan, if I grow tired of my life of leisure, exercise and learning then I will just expand the amount of ‘farming’ that I’m doing.  Caring for animals and growing more of my own food should be very satisfying.

Despite being really really sore (have I mentioned that) I still went swimming this morning and cycled into Blackpool, both had the advantage of easing my muscles and allowing me to eat some of my favourite foods, well at least a proxy for my favourite food, the Caffe Nero Lemon Cheese Cake that they used to sell a few years ago, the new recipe is a sad reflection.  I also had a sausage barm, from the same shop I’ve been eating them from for decades, wonderful.  I was surprised that I could cycle ok, even though every step sends shuddering pain through my legs, and don’t even ask me about going up and down stairs, really really sore!

Debbie and I also managed to spend an hour chatting with Steph via Facetime, which continues to out perform Skype by a considerable margin. She’s had a few difficult, isolated, lonely weeks waiting for lectures to start and a few challenges.  Her story about trying to get her new bike was quite amusing, although it must have been very frustrating at the time, anyway it’s all sorted now and she’s mobile.  The accommodation she’s in is spacious and pretty well equipped, but it’s novel design (made of shipping containers) is proving to be very poor for students who are trying to get to know their neighbours, and failing, because there’s no social space at all.  Now that lectures are starting though things should improve. 

I’m looking forward to my visit to see Steph in Amsterdam in a months time, although I’m slightly nervous as I’m not a natural explorer, I don’t like doing new things, thankfully once I’ve done them a couple of times I’m usually fine from then on.  I’m certainly not a novelty seeker.

I’m also finding it frustrating to schedule time with my friends from work,  they are of course busy and I have plenty of time, but trying to pin down a time for a bike ride or a hike, or even a drink is not the easiest thing to do, at least it’s not a skill that I’ve developed.  The most difficult thing is managing alternatives, for example if I’ve offered one person the option of Monday and Tuesday I have to block those days off even though they often end up not being available, I’m then left with two empty days.

I’m planning to cycle to Blackpool again tomorrow, seems the right degree of challenge while I let my legs heal and it offers plenty to do and see.