All happy families are alike

[f4f3]

Week one at the new gym has gone quite well.

I went on Tuesday morning, Wednesday night, Thursday morning and Friday morning. Each time I set the cross-trainer for 300 calories, and just plodded along until I made it, in around 24 minutes. The play-list this week has come courtesy of iTunes “Genius”. Seeded with Weapon of Choice it came up with 25 tracks of dance, ranging from chill-out to some quite scary hip-hop I didn’t know I had. I’ve been starting on that, then switching to Steve Earle’s last album, Washington Square Serenade (which reminds me, I’m overdue a post on The Wire, but I’ll wait until I finish season one, in which Mr Earle guests as a predictably convincing reformed addict). The combo works quite well at keeping my heartrate below 160 b.p.m, the upper limit for 44 year old 100 kilo males. Just as last time I started getting fit, the heartrate is continuing to be the limiting factor in how hard I work – it’s very easy for me to push it up to the mid-160’s, but this should come down in a week or three.

 This weekend should be interesting. Some of you may remember that I went North to Alness for a family get-together at Easter. This weekend we’re completing that by playing the golf tournament that was snowed off. I’m heading up tomorrow morning with my dad, my brother, and possibly an uncle. The script is to drive 188 miles, play a round of golf, get drunk, and share a “family room” at a local hotel. Given the group dynamics of my dad’s side of the family, and the absence of any ameliorating feminine presence, this has all the potential to go wrong in all sorts of ways. I should maybe make a poll:

 What are the most likely sources of vendetta this weekend:

1. Brother, uncle and dad unable to make it to my place for 8.00 tomorrow.
2. Arguments over route north
3. Arguments over my choice of music
4. Arguments over where/if to stop on the way up
5. At least one of us forgetting our golf shoes/clubs/balls/hip flask
6. Arguments over the actual golf
7. Family arguments after the golf (new)
8. Family arguments after the golf (old)
9. Hangovers

Actually, I could also open a book, based on the probability of falling-outs, of how many people are in my car coming back on Sunday (as soon as I judge myself sober enough to drive, based on one hour per unit consumed):

 

4 people in the car: Evens

3 people in the car: 2/1

2 people in the car: 5/1

Me in the car on my own: 10/1

 

Me deciding not to drive down: 1,000/1.