Day 141: Health is Wealth

Health is wealth. "Health is one of those things we take for granted until we lose it". It's a quote from the book I'm reading. It made me think. It is strongly true. 

The same book suggests to just three things, very easy to accomplish.

1) Exercise regularly: those who don't make time for daily exercise, must eventually make time for daily illness. 

2) Avoid junk food: chemical treatments and meat contaminations are very dangerous for the health and they slow down our digestion and metabolism, making you sluggish and lazy.

3) Rest enough and get up early in the morning: sleeping at least six hours every night is fundamental to better work and enjoy the day. Waking up early in the morning (and going bed early in the night) gives you more energy and boosts your productivity, so you won't challenge every morning your watch and you'll be less stressed. 

Remember. If you lose your health, you lose everything because then your first aim will be reclaiming it again and you'll have less energy to focus on other important goals.

Young or old? "When we are young we sacrifice our health for wealth. But when we become old and wise, we become willing to sacrifice every bit of our wealth for just a day of good health" (R.S.).

Day 62: Two Months in London

Sorry. It passed a long time since the last time I wrote a post: I'm sorry, but I was not able to constantly update this blog till now. Time is money as businessmen say: it's not my case, but here in my new life in London the time is short and there are always plenty of things to do. However, from now on I will try to be more consistent: it is one of my good intentions for the coming months and for this new year! 

Changes. Since the last time I wrote (3 Dec. 2012), much changed. Just few days after that date, I found a room in the beautiful area of Wood Green, just 6 minutes from the tube station and within walking distance to all major shops, groceries stores and shopping centre.

Beautiful job. My Zara job goes on well and every day I love and I'm passionate about more and more. Organization and precision have always been two of my main skills and being able to practice them at work makes me excited: it's always nice to receive compliments for your work! Indeed, it's really appreciable the British habit of thanking those who work at the end of their shift, as the manager will always say "thank you for your time"... it's preferable not to think to the Italian comparison!

The new year began under a lucky star. I decided that, as I was in London, my new year would have to be absolutely original. So, putting aside my shyness, I went to a meetup with other 250 people in a traditional British pub in St. James's Park. Funny and amazing night: I drank good wine, I watched the fireworks on the Thames from a great spot, and above all, I talked to many people and take ​​contacts of some of them to meet them again in the future. A great experience.

My English is going better every day: movies, books and conversations with different people are helping me a lot to improve my vocabulary and my pronunciation. But it can never be enough! Indeed, one of the goals in the coming months is definitely to attend more meet-ups and meet as many people who speak English as possible, to attend an advanced class in writing and conversation and to get the IELTS Certificate with a good score. More effort and commitment in 2013.

Among many good intentions, the first one is to be more punctual. Too many times in the two past months here I've been late and for the British punctuality does really matter. I'm not talking about work, except for once when I made a mistake calculating the travel time from my new home to job place, but especially in interpersonal relationships. I have to learn to better manage my time within the next two months: this is my goal!

Two more. Finally, in addition to the previously stated goal of learning to iron shirts, there are two more good intentions related to each other: sleep less and make special every new day. Seven hours each night will be enough because sleeping more is a luxury. I'm in London, so I wish I could take the best of every day, every hour, every minute, making it special for me, thanking to still be here every time the sun rises.

Lots of ideas for the coming months. Once again, time is short, so now I need to get dressed and go out to attend the next meet-up, before it's too late.

Stay tuned! (I stole this beautiful expression to a dear friend of mine!)

11 Days to London: Last Things to Buy

Waking up early is my Achilles' heel. It's more than a wish, but it's for me to realize. Every night I plan to get up early and do a lot of things, but invariably in the morning I'm too sleepy to open my eyes and I snooze my alarm until exasperation. In fact, I have the innate ability of being able to hit "snooze" button without rising out of unconsciousness. Even after going through the whole to search and turn off the alarm, I usually go back to bed. I tried many different methods, but I can't still succeed.  

Today, after snoozing many times my alarm clock, I stopped it by mistake. But I wake up just in time. Washed and dressed in seven minutes, I had a very short time to arrive to medical laboratory before closing. Fortunately, I did arrive in time to do my blood test. Probably no one knows that I have a terrible fear of needles, so the doctor preferred to lie me down on the couch and I survive it.

And after it, I went shopping to relief myself. It was my lucky day: I found a beautiful pair of black jeans in the first shop where I went in. Anyway, my shopping phase was pretty fast: I just bought a neck warmer, a pack of bed sheets and some pharmacy stuff. Only few things to delete last names on my to-buy-list. But I still need an Italian coffee maker (how can I drop it?) and a travel hair-dryer (even if I shaved my hair). Hope to find very cheap items. 

I'm almost ready to pack my suitcase, but it's still too early. Should I start? Maybe at the beginning of the next week. The problem is that I have only 30 kg. to fill up. Will the space be enough? You'll discover it in the next episodes!