Nokia 5110 - http://images.cdn.stuff.tv/sites/stuff.tv/files/imagecache/section_main/nokia-5110.jpg
Google Nexus 5 - http://images.cdn.stuff.tv/sites/stuff.tv/files/imagecache/review_main_image/images/news/google-nexus-5-review-main-2.jpg
Iphone 6 - Simon, stop this bullshit. Iphones are not the best phones around.
Tuesday, 6 January 2015
Thursday, 21 March 2013
The day my favourite brand disappointed me: Panasonic
This is a report of the beginning of a story that has everything to be sad. But Panasonic can make it have a very happy ending.
On 28/12/2011, I bought my first Panasonic Plasma TV in the UK. Having owned Panasonic Plasmas in the past, I was very confident that this TV was going to be a success.
It was a 42 inch, model TX-P42GT30B.
When I bought it from Amazon.co.uk, the standard manufacturer warranty of 12 months was given.
As it happens, I found out that Panasonic used to give 2 year warranty in their products. I have a theory:
If a product is good, Well built, With quality materials and technology, With the customer's satisfaction in mind, the company can afford 2 years warranty.
However, if the company lacks confidence in the product they make, only the statutory 12 months is commercially viable.
That is just my theory.
As a trick of the Universe, maybe Murphy's law, my 42 inch Panasonic Plasma simply stopped working completely, just as if it understood that after 12 months of mandatory labour, it could give up and die. That was on Monday, 18/03/2013. Less than 3 months after the warranty period was over. Well within the 2 year warranty previously offered by Panasonic, just a few months before I decided to choose them.
The weight that the Panasonic brand carries with it is huge. And it was the main reason why I chose this TV instead of the other 13 options I had available within my specs requirements and price range.
Putting it ahead of some major rivals like Sony, Samsung, LG and others.
Some of these competitors do offer 2 year warranty. Just to make a note.
After a first attempt to contact the Panasonic, I was able to speak to someone who didn't seem happy to be answering the phone in first place. I wasn't sure that I was going to be helped at all.
I don't like to let my assumptions take place over the facts, but this time they were accurate. The only thing the attendant was able to do, was to offer me the telephone of the closest support services especiallist (something I had already figured out by myself from Panasonic's website).
I tried calling them. No answer. I tried emailling them. No answer. That was all three days ago.
I was really hoping that Panasonic could come back to me and just like in the good old days where they were unbeatable in the Plasma business and cared a lot more about their customers.
Tomorrow, 22/03/2013, I will make a second attempt to contact Panasonic.
Hope is all I have left.
P.S.
This is my 4th day without a TV.
And to be honest, if this TV doesn't get fixed, it seems like I will not get another one. Life is probably better when you're not in front of the TV.
On 28/12/2011, I bought my first Panasonic Plasma TV in the UK. Having owned Panasonic Plasmas in the past, I was very confident that this TV was going to be a success.
It was a 42 inch, model TX-P42GT30B.
When I bought it from Amazon.co.uk, the standard manufacturer warranty of 12 months was given.
As it happens, I found out that Panasonic used to give 2 year warranty in their products. I have a theory:
If a product is good, Well built, With quality materials and technology, With the customer's satisfaction in mind, the company can afford 2 years warranty.
However, if the company lacks confidence in the product they make, only the statutory 12 months is commercially viable.
That is just my theory.
As a trick of the Universe, maybe Murphy's law, my 42 inch Panasonic Plasma simply stopped working completely, just as if it understood that after 12 months of mandatory labour, it could give up and die. That was on Monday, 18/03/2013. Less than 3 months after the warranty period was over. Well within the 2 year warranty previously offered by Panasonic, just a few months before I decided to choose them.
The weight that the Panasonic brand carries with it is huge. And it was the main reason why I chose this TV instead of the other 13 options I had available within my specs requirements and price range.
Putting it ahead of some major rivals like Sony, Samsung, LG and others.
Some of these competitors do offer 2 year warranty. Just to make a note.
After a first attempt to contact the Panasonic, I was able to speak to someone who didn't seem happy to be answering the phone in first place. I wasn't sure that I was going to be helped at all.
I don't like to let my assumptions take place over the facts, but this time they were accurate. The only thing the attendant was able to do, was to offer me the telephone of the closest support services especiallist (something I had already figured out by myself from Panasonic's website).
I tried calling them. No answer. I tried emailling them. No answer. That was all three days ago.
I was really hoping that Panasonic could come back to me and just like in the good old days where they were unbeatable in the Plasma business and cared a lot more about their customers.
Tomorrow, 22/03/2013, I will make a second attempt to contact Panasonic.
Hope is all I have left.
P.S.
This is my 4th day without a TV.
And to be honest, if this TV doesn't get fixed, it seems like I will not get another one. Life is probably better when you're not in front of the TV.
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
The day I switched to BT
My name is Thiago Regueira Jorge and this is the beginning of the report of a situation that seems to have no end.
Subject: BT Infinity Broadband and Landline
I was very happy because I was switching from Sky broadband to BT infinity broadband. That was until the following events:
Monday 18th February 2013 – 5pm
A BT engineer completed the installation of my landline and Infinity Broadband.
He handed over a piece of paper with ‘my new phone number’: 0208XXX0094 (at this point I thought it was strange to have a new number because I was switching and I should have kept the same number).
A few minutes later, the phone rang:
“Hello” – I said
“Who is this?” – The person on the other side said. Like if she was convicted that I should not be answering this phone
“Sorry, I believe you got the wrong number. I have just switched to BT and this number was assigned to me” – I should have realised that this was the start of my BT nightmare.
A BT engineer completed the installation of my landline and Infinity Broadband.
He handed over a piece of paper with ‘my new phone number’: 0208XXX0094 (at this point I thought it was strange to have a new number because I was switching and I should have kept the same number).
A few minutes later, the phone rang:
“Hello” – I said
“Who is this?” – The person on the other side said. Like if she was convicted that I should not be answering this phone
“Sorry, I believe you got the wrong number. I have just switched to BT and this number was assigned to me” – I should have realised that this was the start of my BT nightmare.
Sometime later that night, I got another call. This time, from a person claiming that that line belonged to her for a long time and that she had just upgraded her broadband plan.
We had a chat and discovered that we had our lines crossed. My old number was nowhere to be found – I called it and it wasn’t ringing. However, when I called ‘my new number’, it was ringing just fine.
It was working so well, that the phone was ringing in my flat and in the other person’s house. So, what the real owner of that phone did? She called BT that night and arranged a visit from the engineer to fix her crossed line problem.
We had a chat and discovered that we had our lines crossed. My old number was nowhere to be found – I called it and it wasn’t ringing. However, when I called ‘my new number’, it was ringing just fine.
It was working so well, that the phone was ringing in my flat and in the other person’s house. So, what the real owner of that phone did? She called BT that night and arranged a visit from the engineer to fix her crossed line problem.
Tuesday, 19th February 2013
Unaware that my neighbour called BT and arranged her problem to be solved, I believed in the British efficiency to sort everything out and I was just waiting for a call, an e-mail, a smoke signal to inform me that the problem was identified, solved and that they would be apologising for the inconvenient.
Unaware that my neighbour called BT and arranged her problem to be solved, I believed in the British efficiency to sort everything out and I was just waiting for a call, an e-mail, a smoke signal to inform me that the problem was identified, solved and that they would be apologising for the inconvenient.
I am so naive.
At this point, I had agreed that I was not going to answer the phone because nobody had ‘my new number’ and that it wouldn’t make sense to keep answering the phone if the chances of a call being for her were immensely bigger.
Wednesday, 20th February 2013 – 11am
I am in the office and I got a call from my wife (mobile to mobile) saying that the internet was not working. I told her a few troubleshooting steps to see if they would solve the problem and kept with my duties.
An hour later, she calls again to inform that it is not only the broadband that is not working, but the landline is also muted.
I am in the office and I got a call from my wife (mobile to mobile) saying that the internet was not working. I told her a few troubleshooting steps to see if they would solve the problem and kept with my duties.
An hour later, she calls again to inform that it is not only the broadband that is not working, but the landline is also muted.
Reluctant to believe, but still giving BT some credit I told her:
“Honey, they must be fixing the problem our neighbour reported to BT the night we had our installation. I am going to call and check.”
“Honey, they must be fixing the problem our neighbour reported to BT the night we had our installation. I am going to call and check.”
So, I called BT.
I really believed that ‘my number’ was 0208XXX0094. So, in every call, I dialled this number on the automatic answering machine before I was put through to talk to someone.
This is where my frustration rose exponentially. Call after call, the BT customer service seemed to get worse and worse.
In the first call, I spoke to someone who tried to do some tests in ‘my line’. All I could get from that call, was that they knew my line had a problem. The guy was going to transfer me to some department that I couldn’t hear the name when suddenly… the call dropped.
This was call number 1. Total duration 22 minutes. Problem not solved, not addressed
I really believed that ‘my number’ was 0208XXX0094. So, in every call, I dialled this number on the automatic answering machine before I was put through to talk to someone.
This is where my frustration rose exponentially. Call after call, the BT customer service seemed to get worse and worse.
In the first call, I spoke to someone who tried to do some tests in ‘my line’. All I could get from that call, was that they knew my line had a problem. The guy was going to transfer me to some department that I couldn’t hear the name when suddenly… the call dropped.
This was call number 1. Total duration 22 minutes. Problem not solved, not addressed
Suspicious that they didn’t have a clue what I was talking about, I called again. This trick works sometimes, you get to talk to a different person who either knows more about what they are doing or is willing to go deep into the issue and solve it no matter what. This time, the person on the other side of the world - should I say line – put me through to the order management team, because they could see an outstanding order in my account.
At this point, I still believed ‘my number’ was 0208XXX0094.
Detail here: until this point they had no idea who they were talking to and they wouldn’t provide me with my account number (due to this ‘Data Protection Act’). My Bank account is public and there is nothing a person can do with that information alone. Why can’t they give me MY BT account number?
The guy in the order management team said that before midnight that day, my order would be closed and “hopefully” my problem would be solved but he “could not guarantee”.
That was call number two. Total duration: 36 minutes. Problem not solved, not addressed
At this point, I still believed ‘my number’ was 0208XXX0094.
Detail here: until this point they had no idea who they were talking to and they wouldn’t provide me with my account number (due to this ‘Data Protection Act’). My Bank account is public and there is nothing a person can do with that information alone. Why can’t they give me MY BT account number?
The guy in the order management team said that before midnight that day, my order would be closed and “hopefully” my problem would be solved but he “could not guarantee”.
That was call number two. Total duration: 36 minutes. Problem not solved, not addressed
I had to carry on with my own work because that’s what I am paid for. To work and then spend a lot of money with services like BT. Who doesn’t give a damn about what is behind their customers’ needs and doesn’t care about how their customer service is so bad.
On my way home, I was going through my e-mails and I found that I received an e-mail with username for the BT website. I reset my password and logged in their website. I was finally able to get my account number and further details.
This was when, in a moment of epiphany, I realised that next to my name and address, was ‘my real phone number’ 0203XXX9469. With that revealed, flashes of the last two days passed in front of my eyes and I decided that I had to make another phone call.
So I called BT one more time.
I got to talk to a machine this time. Much better, yes? No!
On my way home, I was going through my e-mails and I found that I received an e-mail with username for the BT website. I reset my password and logged in their website. I was finally able to get my account number and further details.
This was when, in a moment of epiphany, I realised that next to my name and address, was ‘my real phone number’ 0203XXX9469. With that revealed, flashes of the last two days passed in front of my eyes and I decided that I had to make another phone call.
So I called BT one more time.
I got to talk to a machine this time. Much better, yes? No!
I was at least able to report a problem on my line and register a ‘fault’ with their system. This made me feel like the problem was going to be solved. Until I get an SMS saying that someone would take a look at this case in 5 days. 5 days!!!!
That’s not to mention the threat on the recording as well as on the SMS saying that if they find that the problem was caused by me OR within my property limits, I was going to be charged £99.
Should I remind them that I just had my installation done two days ago?
That’s not to mention the threat on the recording as well as on the SMS saying that if they find that the problem was caused by me OR within my property limits, I was going to be charged £99.
Should I remind them that I just had my installation done two days ago?
When I got home, I conducted a few tests to make sure my phone and broadband were not working, and I called the number I thought was mine. The one that the BT engineer said was going to be my number from now on.
Fortunately, my neighbour answered the phone and said she got her services restored. She had a fully functional phone and broadband, while I had a fancy modem, a state-of-the-art router and a phone dead, sitting in my living room with no use or expectations that I was going to be able to use them in the foreseeable future.
It is worth to mention that my neighbour (whom I never met in person) described the engineer that solved her problem this morning a very stupid man, with no touch to deal with people, laughed at her when she described the issue, said that it was not possible to happen and nearly called her a liar. This is not the standard you would expect from one of the biggest companies in Britain.
So I decided to call. Again.
Optimistic me, hum.
Fortunately, my neighbour answered the phone and said she got her services restored. She had a fully functional phone and broadband, while I had a fancy modem, a state-of-the-art router and a phone dead, sitting in my living room with no use or expectations that I was going to be able to use them in the foreseeable future.
It is worth to mention that my neighbour (whom I never met in person) described the engineer that solved her problem this morning a very stupid man, with no touch to deal with people, laughed at her when she described the issue, said that it was not possible to happen and nearly called her a liar. This is not the standard you would expect from one of the biggest companies in Britain.
So I decided to call. Again.
Optimistic me, hum.
This time, when my call was answered by a person that had no idea why I was calling and I had to explain everything, over and over again, that frustration kicked in.
In summary, after over 30 minutes trying to dodge from the old call centre ‘let me solve this by telling him I am going to take care of the issue and delay until he can no longer stand’ style, I asked for her supervisor.
I explained, many times, in many different ways, that I need broadband connection in order to talk to my family, for my entertainment and more importantly… to work.
In summary, after over 30 minutes trying to dodge from the old call centre ‘let me solve this by telling him I am going to take care of the issue and delay until he can no longer stand’ style, I asked for her supervisor.
I explained, many times, in many different ways, that I need broadband connection in order to talk to my family, for my entertainment and more importantly… to work.
I had agreed with my boss that I was going to work from home on Thursday afternoon when a builder was going to visit my flat. Guess what now? I can’t cancel the builder’s visit, and I am still going to have to work on Thursday afternoon. This means going home at lunch time, doing business with the builder and rushing back to the office to finish whatever I couldn’t do at home because I had no broadband.
In addition, my wife had a medical appointment scheduled over three months ago for the same afternoon and someone was going to have to take care of our 3 year old son. Now, I won’t be able to stay at home to take care of him and her medical appointment is at risk. She can’t afford to skip this and wait another three months for another booking.
In addition, my wife had a medical appointment scheduled over three months ago for the same afternoon and someone was going to have to take care of our 3 year old son. Now, I won’t be able to stay at home to take care of him and her medical appointment is at risk. She can’t afford to skip this and wait another three months for another booking.
The supervisor seemed genuinely interested in solving my problem, but not in a way that was going to make satisfied. He wanted to procrastinate until “tomorrow at 1pm” when he would be back to the office and the BT Open Reach department would be open. I insisted that that wouldn’t suffice. To wait for another 14 hours for him to have another look at my case, was just going to be insanely extensive and the solution to this case would take even longer.
This was when I put my knowledge of support services to work and asked the supervisor to handover this case to the morning shift by writing an e-mail explaining everything that happened. He said it was not possible to copy me in the same e-mail because he was unable to send external e-mails. I can understand that. Really.
This was when I put my knowledge of support services to work and asked the supervisor to handover this case to the morning shift by writing an e-mail explaining everything that happened. He said it was not possible to copy me in the same e-mail because he was unable to send external e-mails. I can understand that. Really.
I am writing this log, so I can contact BT directly and solve my problem. Because if I believe in my gut, I know the ‘supervisor’ was only trying to get rid of me ASAP.
This is the number he gave me: VOL 012-73391154307
That was call number three. Total duration: 44 minutes. Problem not solved, not addressed
This is the number he gave me: VOL 012-73391154307
That was call number three. Total duration: 44 minutes. Problem not solved, not addressed
I have the feeling this is nowhere near the end.
It is now 11:30pm on Wednesday the 20th of February 2013 and I just received an e-mail from BT. The irony is so that the e-mail content says:
It is now 11:30pm on Wednesday the 20th of February 2013 and I just received an e-mail from BT. The irony is so that the e-mail content says:
“GOOD NEWS!
Hello, your phone service is ready for you.
Your order number is VOL012-72397215520
Things you need to know.
Your home phone number is: 0203XXX9469. You can start using your phone any time.
Some random stuff
Thanks for choosing BT
Warren Buckley.”
Hello, your phone service is ready for you.
Your order number is VOL012-72397215520
Things you need to know.
Your home phone number is: 0203XXX9469. You can start using your phone any time.
Some random stuff
Thanks for choosing BT
Warren Buckley.”
According to the guy in the order management department, this was the trigger for my services to start being charged. They don't dare charging me before I am 100% satisfied.
Just to pinpoint some of the incompetence identified in this case:
1 – Engineer did a poor job, crossed two lines, gave me a number from a different person
2 – Support services completely clueless of their duties and their mission: HELP THE CUSTOMER
3 – Dropping the call and endless pushing over to someone else. The level of customer satisfaction is definitely not in their KPIs.
4 – Incapability to address the problems properly
5 – No problem with outsourcing, but in the event of an issue where the customer needs escalation, a local team should be able to handle. The absence of a local support team makes things only worse.
1 – Engineer did a poor job, crossed two lines, gave me a number from a different person
2 – Support services completely clueless of their duties and their mission: HELP THE CUSTOMER
3 – Dropping the call and endless pushing over to someone else. The level of customer satisfaction is definitely not in their KPIs.
4 – Incapability to address the problems properly
5 – No problem with outsourcing, but in the event of an issue where the customer needs escalation, a local team should be able to handle. The absence of a local support team makes things only worse.
Thursday 21st February 2013
Last night, after I post my blog on BT's Facebook page and on their BT Care website, I went to bed with no hopes that I would get my connection reestablished in time for my work shift this afternoon.
When I got to the office, I got a call from the same team in India to which I spoke late the night before.
This time, expecting a solution to my problem, I gave them a chance to explain themselves and come with a reasonable solution. Hopeless. It was the same small talk and justification from 12 hours ago. With no solution or improvements on the time to fix the problem.
This time, expecting a solution to my problem, I gave them a chance to explain themselves and come with a reasonable solution. Hopeless. It was the same small talk and justification from 12 hours ago. With no solution or improvements on the time to fix the problem.
That was call number four. Total duration: 12 minutes. Problem not solved, not addressed
Instead of focusing on the real problem and try to raise the priority to send some 'engineer' today, they tried to 'buy' me with a BT Openzone login so I can connect and do my work. (I appreciate this, but this is going to make things any better as I need secure connection to log into my company's network. Let's see what I can do when I get home.
I went to check my Facebook this morning and there was an update from 'Darren D' from BT care. He said he was going to read my blog and "take care of this situation" (Yeah, right).
Later, I get an email from Robbie in the same BTCare team with nothing but an apology, the reiteration of the 5 days deadline to have someone look at the issue and a very frustrating outcome once again.
Of course I started a rant on the Facebook page. They think I am not serious. Not satisfied, I also started to twit in their account and I am not going to call a truce until I am happy with service I paid In advance for.
Oh! I didn't mention that I paid 12 months of line rental in advance? For what? To have my line and broadband cut without warning.
I got another call from BT later this morning. Amazingly, they said that my BT Open zone account was setup. Yeah... I had already called my wife and given her the login details so she could test the connection for me before I make the decision to go home or not.
Do you see how poorly organised these guys are?
I think I know what is going on here. They agree all afraid of Open Reach (Who handles the infrastructure and employs the 'engineers' that work for them).
Just Send a fucking engineer to the switch where my flat is linked to and fix this bloody connection. How simple is that?
If they feel pleasure in making my life miserable, I will feel pleasure of making them spend every single penny just handling this case. And I am going to mention every single point...
Compensation for lost time in these endless calls.
Compensation for disruption of an essential service that was working fine before they touch it.
Compensation for the embarrassment they made me go through receiving calls from other people and having other people answering my calls
Compensation for the frustration of all these days and hours of incompetence.
Compensation for lost time in these endless calls.
Compensation for disruption of an essential service that was working fine before they touch it.
Compensation for the embarrassment they made me go through receiving calls from other people and having other people answering my calls
Compensation for the frustration of all these days and hours of incompetence.
Let's see how Ofcom will like to see this detailed report of their service standard.
Wait for more.
I am not going quiet on this one. Here is an update.
Now that I published my blog on every recent post on BT's Facebook account, they remembered I exist and wrote the following reply:
@Thiago, Yes Jaimie can save you from your misery. All I ask that you reply to my colleagues email and stop spamming this page with the same post. It's against our house rules. Help me to help you.
Jaimie - BTCare Team
Jaimie - BTCare Team
What they seem to forget is that the more they focus on PR, the less they make the customers happy if the technical side of the business is upside down.
With a BTOpenZone that keeps disconnecting, it's impossible to do any work. I am being very improductive this afternoon.
Please, send an engineer here. It's not the end of the world! AHHHH!!
Friday, 1 February 2013
Janathon - Days 30 & 31 (The end is the beginning is the end)
Yes, you read it right.
Janathon has come to an end. These were the most active days I had in a long time. I overcame (temporarily) my aversion to gyms, improved my resistance, got closer to my ideal weight and prepared myself to start cycling to work.
I haven't asked for donations like most of my colleagues, but I am sure they will raise a considerable amount of help to SOS Children.
Like I've said previously, Janathon will not be completely over for me in January. I will continue to exercise and with the winter almost over, it will be time to go outdoors and do the things I like the most: playing tennis, cycling and maybe with some good effort playing football.
It was very good to have the commitment of Janathon. You feel you're not alone pursuing something that will benefit you immensely.
I changed the way I eat, the way I perceive food and more importantly the way my body responds to junk food when I've been away from it for a time.
Once in a while I allow myself some extravaganza because nobody likes to stay away from the things they enjoy the most: In my case, sweet stuff.
Once in a while I allow myself some extravaganza because nobody likes to stay away from the things they enjoy the most: In my case, sweet stuff.
I felt like losing between 8-9kg in a month had a huge impact on my clothes and if I continue to go down this road, I am either have to come to work looking like a clown on the clothes I have now, or I am going to have to buy some new suits and shirts.
My belt already lost his fight. With 25 days into Janathon, I had to cut it so my trousers don't fall off every 5 minutes.
My belt already lost his fight. With 25 days into Janathon, I had to cut it so my trousers don't fall off every 5 minutes.
I know I am far away from the ideal 95kg I aspire and it might take a long time to win this war. However, this feels like a small victory towards the end of the journey and it is lie the first battle is over.
I would like to thank everyone who kept pushing me and especially my wife for helping me, sometimes without even noticing.
The last couple of days in the gym were very productive.
30 minutes on the bike were enough to do 8 and 8,25 miles respectively. Always trying to reproduce the real hill conditions I would face on my daily commute.
30 minutes on the bike were enough to do 8 and 8,25 miles respectively. Always trying to reproduce the real hill conditions I would face on my daily commute.
Again, thanks and if you want to read about other stuff, I will maintain this blog more generic.
See you soon!
Wednesday, 30 January 2013
Janathon - Days 25-29 *(Where have I been?)
This is a special post.
It is about the struggle I've been to in the final stages of my Janathon campaign.
I wasn't completely recovered of my ailment and the weekend was a lazy one. We did a lot of playing in the snow, though.
Although I am not religiously filling my commitment of blogging every single day, I am doing some exercise and still going towards my ultimate goal which is losing weight.
Yesterday, I went to the gym again and for my surprise, I managed to do quite well.
It was the return of the Jedi after almost a week away from the bike. The prodigal son returned.
And after a good start I finished 8 miles in 30 minutes.
If I was to translate that into my daily commute, I could take an easier route (not the shortest one) and still get to work in half the time I take today using public transport.
Of course the gym does not simulate some of the elements of a real commute like:
1 - Rain
2 - Cold
3 - Vehicles (cars, buses, other bikes)
4 - Pedestrians
5 - Hills (I mean true hills, not what I try to simulate)
6 - Pollution
7 - Darkness
8 - The fact that at the end of my journey to work, I need to be dry and clean for a full day of work ahead.
The solution for all this?
When I feel I am ready and light enough to take on the streets of London on my bike, none of this will matter. Only Start and Finish lines will matter.
For those of you who stayed with me all along during this month of January and challenges, my 'Thank you very much'. For those of you who plan to continue reading this blog, bear with me, I will try to bring some interesting, not fitness related stuff soon. As most of you know, I was never a 'fitness-minded' person.
I do love sports and for the sake of practicing the sports I love I will get fit enough, as I am just as competitive as I am stubborn and I will not give up because Yes, I can do It!
Weight this morning: 116,6kg
This means 8,4kg less than when I started this year.
Tomorrow's post will be a difficult one to write...
It is about the struggle I've been to in the final stages of my Janathon campaign.
I wasn't completely recovered of my ailment and the weekend was a lazy one. We did a lot of playing in the snow, though.
Although I am not religiously filling my commitment of blogging every single day, I am doing some exercise and still going towards my ultimate goal which is losing weight.
Yesterday, I went to the gym again and for my surprise, I managed to do quite well.
It was the return of the Jedi after almost a week away from the bike. The prodigal son returned.
And after a good start I finished 8 miles in 30 minutes.
If I was to translate that into my daily commute, I could take an easier route (not the shortest one) and still get to work in half the time I take today using public transport.
Of course the gym does not simulate some of the elements of a real commute like:
1 - Rain
2 - Cold
3 - Vehicles (cars, buses, other bikes)
4 - Pedestrians
5 - Hills (I mean true hills, not what I try to simulate)
6 - Pollution
7 - Darkness
8 - The fact that at the end of my journey to work, I need to be dry and clean for a full day of work ahead.
The solution for all this?
When I feel I am ready and light enough to take on the streets of London on my bike, none of this will matter. Only Start and Finish lines will matter.
For those of you who stayed with me all along during this month of January and challenges, my 'Thank you very much'. For those of you who plan to continue reading this blog, bear with me, I will try to bring some interesting, not fitness related stuff soon. As most of you know, I was never a 'fitness-minded' person.
I do love sports and for the sake of practicing the sports I love I will get fit enough, as I am just as competitive as I am stubborn and I will not give up because Yes, I can do It!
Weight this morning: 116,6kg
This means 8,4kg less than when I started this year.
Tomorrow's post will be a difficult one to write...
Thursday, 24 January 2013
Janathon - Days 23 & 24 (Recovery)
I've been quite ill last few days and unable to attend to my daily commitment.
But on a small window for recovery I decided to try and exercise tonight.
For my own surprise, I was able to continue from where I stopped last Friday.
30 minutes on the bike and 8.25 miles
10 minutes on the row and 2 km
It was pretty decent to my standards and enough to make me want to make plans for the future.
They will be revealed at the end of my term at this gym in a month time.
On my secondary goal (which is actually more Important than the primary goal), my weight this morning was 117,8 kg.
That's some improvement from the 125kg on the 1st of January.
Thanks again. Tomorrow is table tennis day.
Wednesday, 23 January 2013
Janathon - Days 21 & 22 (sick as a brick)
No exercise or blog in the last two days.
I've been sick... Really bad.
But it doesn't mean I didn't lose weight.
118,5kg and counting... Goal is set: 105 kg
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