I thought I'd update anyone who is interested in the bits and pieces happening in my life at the moment.  This is not too exciting but as I've only really posted comments and fiction of late, I thought I'd write a bit about my life for a change.

I've been wondering whether I'm going through some sort of midlife crisis.  I turn 45 at the end of June and I suppose if I due to have a midlife crisis, now is about the time.  Ha, to think I'm potentially about half way through this wonderful journey called life...  It has been quite a journey so far too but I have a feeling inside me that the next 45 years are going to be much better than the first 45, not that there was anything particularly wrong.  But for the first 20 years or so I was a child, then the next 20 years I think I spent trying to sort out what sort of adult I was going to be.  Now I know myself well enough to be able to say I'm comfortable (but not complacent) with who I am and what I believe.  What makes life so much more invigorating is that I'm sharing mine with someone I love deeply and completely and know the feeling is reciprocated.  This has been the secret to my happiness, for sure.  She is a gem, to say the least.

I've also recently made some pretty radical changes to my lifestyle.  I've given up smoking and taken up exercising.  It has now been two months since Toni and I stopped smoking and we're really loving the benefits.  Our clothes don't smell, our house and car doesn't smell and scents I would have previously missed are making my olfactory life much more interesting. 

This week, I started working with a personal trainer (a great bloke called Aaron but who will now be known as The Torturemaster or TTM, for short).  He gave me a preliminary fitness check and said straigt up that he though I was doing very well (I have a funny feeling he was going to suffix this with "for someone my age" but am glad he didn't ) 

I was particularly pleased to see I'd put on some good weight (I'm nearly 80 kilos (176 pounds), which is the heaviest I've ever been) and am aiming for between 83 and 85 kilos (between 183 and 187 pounds).  According to TTM, this is the 'ideal' weight for someone of my height.  I'd be happy just to break the 82 kilo (180 pound) mark.  I was also pleased to hear my body fat is really quite low, which means most of my weight is muscle mass.  This pleases me no end because although I'm not a vain person, I do like to look good for my lovely wife.  Hey, and there is nothing wrong with being buff either.  I'm not ready to put up photos but will do once my six pack comes on  

Anyway, TTM really put me through my paces and for the last few days I've been SORE.  When I got out of bed on Thursday morning and did my usual stretch, my shoulders and chest were aching like never before.  TTM said this would be the case as it means my muscles have been worked hard and are repairing themselves.  At the time I said to him I just wanted to get fit, not break things but I have to admit, this is a good pain and I'm liking it a lot.  So now, apart from the hour or so of cardio I do at least three times a week, I will be adding a forty five minute weight training regime.  I'm determined to get fit even if it kills me

Speaking of pain, I've been back to see my tattooist a few times recently.  These sessions have been great as these are free form session of 90 minutes were he uses my arm as a canvas.  The work he is doing at the moment is all the black and grey shading aspects of the design.  I've not put up any pictures of it as I am going to wait until it is substantially down the track.  This way, those of you who have been checking out my progress will be able to really see where the design has advanced.  The great thing about these sessions is I really get to see the artist in him at work.  A lot of tattooing, for those who don't know, is done by first applying the design by way of a temporary transfer.  The artist then goes over the lines and fills in the colours.  Shading, as I'm having done, can't really be made into a transfer and relies more on the artist to interpret the wishes of his or her client and apply these to the tattoo on the fly.  So far, I'm absolutely blown away by the results.

Toni and I have spent the last few weekends getting a couple of garden beds ready for winter and spring crops.  We had a very large patch of Lantana along one fence in our back yard.  This is classed as a noxious weed here in Australia, so we decided we would get rid of it and use the space (a lovely, well drained spot that gets good morning sun) to plant beans and tomatos.  We also extended our other garden bed so we can grow more.  We're about to plant carrots and some herbs.  We'll also get some winter lettuce, spinach and whatever else is seasonal in as soon as we can.  The lantana proved to be a challenge and I've still got to get at the stump and pull it out.  We hired an electric hedge clipper for the day that made the job a lot easier but I still managed to scratch the heck out of my arms as I was doing the job.  The results, though, are wonderful and the back yard looks better already for having gotten rid of this pest.

The band, while not doing any live work of late, have been preparing to release our first mix tape.  This will be an interim release until we record the album later in the year and will mostly feature songs which we're not planning to put on the album.  We've also changed the name of the band, something we've been discussing for some time.  The reasons are simple; the previous name was actually the name of our MC, JC Ronikal.  He collaborated with another local MC early this year and has had a couple of tracks picked up for an international compilation, which is fantastic news but potentially confusing to those who don't know the difference.  The new name doesn't jump out at me but I am pleased we finally found something we could all agree on.  Once the new website is ready to go, I will let everyone know what it is so you can check out some of our new material.  And the new name: SEMI.  Let me know what you think (and be honest).

I'm really pleased some of you are reading and enjoying my serial fiction too.  I have to say the more I write, the more the story develops in my head.  This may well end up being my first attempt at a proper novel.  Is it normal for a story to occupy ones thoughts so much?  Maybe it is, maybe it isn't but I've never claimed to be normal anyway.  How boring...   Stay tuned for the next installment, which I hope to put up early next week.