Ha well - I haven't started a new challenge yet but I have blagged some roof space for my very exciting experiment. It was looking shaky but then I reminded myself that Frances says I am 'very charismatic' (this was not meant as a compliment but was offered up as a reason why somebody had done something very stupid purely because I had said to) so I repeated it in my head like a mantra and hey presto! I was the epitomy of charm, cool and professionalism and I got what I wanted. So now my confidence is running free and unfettered by logic, rationality or personal history.
On Monday I 'came out' to the Spokes as a bin diver and received the usual affirmations and a recommendation to join the I bike MCR bin dive bike ride the next evening. So I went along and found several people milling around. I milled with them and chatted and gleaned some good stories and top tips - several from a guy who had funded a holiday in Cuba for two from his bin exploits! It was funny to see people shiftily asking 'Ermm..are you here for the ermm...the bike ride?' carefully avoiding any mention of the purpose of it.
After twenty minutes it became apparent that no -one was turning up to run it and so I called Em and Nes and established that if there had been anyone, there wasn't now. I bike MCR is a month long cycle festival and happening involving a staggeringly varied amount of rides and bike related events but due to it's anarchist nature occasionally veers into chaos. So I gathered everyone and explained the situation and then got the people who'd been most informative to share their stories and we had a bit of a disucussion and I gave out my email and offered to set people up with a bin buddy in their area. So I now have one and when I get back from my jollies will be organising some group runs.
I blasted off for the comedy night and later, on my way back through Chorlton, saw somebody rummaging in one of my favourite late night shopping spots so I went over and said 'Anything good tonight' and went away with a bag of barbeque charcoal, a six pack of pepsi max, four yoghurts, two turnips, an egg whisk(?? - random), a bag of monkeynuts, and joy of joys a wedge of BRIE!!! Free Cheese - all of my dreams have come true.
I have ventured back into shops for essentials but have found I have a completely different attitude to the experience. Instead of merrily picking up anything I vaguely fancy and throwing it in the basket (as was my wont previously) I find myself assessing each item on it's origins and how much I really need it and whether I need it right then or not. It feels very strange but I think it's a good thing.
We've just had reminders out on the Manchester 10k which is three years away and so it must be time to start running again after my post half marathon break.

Reactions

I am surprised by the reactions of friends I have tentatively told about my new foraging activities. Laura initially said ‘errrgh’ and pulled a face but then went on to say ‘Oh, like bins at the back of Tesco’s and supermarkets? That’s ok. Let me know how you get on, my food shopping costs me a fortune every week’
Last Monday I was working in the garden with Vicky when she announced a lunch break and said would I like something. I said I had a load of pepperonata (fried peppers and onions, Italian style, lovely eaten cold with bread) but then felt obliged to admit that all of the ingredients had come from bins. She froze for a moment and then threw her gardening gloves at me. I asked if she’d heard the word ‘Freeganism’, which she had and then she really surprised me by saying, ‘Can I come with you?’ and ‘What have you found?’ I said that I’d had a mass of bananas a week before and then her face fell a little as she asked, ‘Those caramel bananas you fed to me and Shaun....?’
‘Sorry,’ I said and tried to look as contrite as possible. I had considered telling them at the time but then didn’t. Still – she forgave me, although we have yet to do a joint venture.
I’ve been back into my Aikido the last week or so. Firstly a four hour mixed martial art seminar, half of which was Ju Jitsu, most of which was choke holds for some insane reason and left me with a horribly painful throat and headache which lasted for a full week. On Friday I joined the dojo trip to a Daniel Toutain seminar in Edinburgh which ran all day yesterday as well – amazing and beautiful and fully inspiring and reminded me why I love Aikido so much and why I need to get back into it regularly.
I tried to tidy up the back of my hair yesterday with the clippers. It’s much harder than I expected doing the back of your head when you can’t see it. It went a bit lopsided and I tried to straighten it up but then it just got worse so I quit before it got even worse. Vicky laughed, a lot, when I showed her and said it looked ‘Auschwitz’ but agreed that I was right to not go any further with it.
More challenges – very soon – honest.

bras and bananas

It was raining tonight and part of me wanted to use that as an excuse not to go out but I pushed myself to do it anyway, putting on my burglar clothes and pedalling off into the dark for distant bins – well about a mile away. I had the same sick nervous feeling but tonight there was something else in the mix – a little edge of excitement. Weird – I tell myself that it’s because I’m such a naturally ‘good’ person that even this tiny act of wrongdoing (only in the eyes of the law and mainstream society – so not in the eyes of anybody who actually uses their eyes) rattles my conscience. I suspect the real reason is simply that I’m chickenshit.
The bins were round the back, my heart fell when I saw the massive fence, then lifted when I saw the massive open gate, sank at the bolted bin store, rose at the lack of a lock, fell at the sight of a load of plastic and then rose again when I realised it was almost full of food. The first sack had masses of beef wellington and crispy duck ready meals, still pretty much frozen as far as I could tell but I hesitated and then decided to leave it. Bin meat is a hurdle I’ve yet to get over although I know full well that my eyes and my nose will tell me if it’s bad and that thorough cooking will make it safe. The next bag was full of bananas and bread – result! Also bizarrely lots of baby clothes and car mats and stuff that never goes off – all immaculate – why is it being thrown out – surely someone must have a use for it – even if they gave it to a charity shop.
I rapidly filled one pannier and then realised a delivery lorry was pulling up to the gate and so stuffed the last couple of things I could grab in and pedalled off, not even looking up at the driver to see if he’d seen me.
Back nearer home I checked out a couple more locations including the place I got the eggs last week. Several perfectly good looking loaves were on the bottom but I couldn’t reach them without climbing in. I need a telescopic grabby thing, or one of those litter picking sticks. They would have kept me in breakfasts for weeks – what with the pumpkin jam I made (I found some cranberries at the back of the freezer and mixed those in and it’s almost exactly like raspberry).
So I decided that enough was plenty and came home, after less than a hour with twenty or more bananas, one small loaf, six fruited tea cakes, a ‘high quality black leather purse’ (that’s what it says on the box) and a 34C black and pink embroidered bra! (the last two items I’d hoped were a box of chocolates and I don’t know what)
If anyone would like any of the last two just say the word! If you want any of the tea cakes or bananas you’ll have to visit.

The Blackpool Half Marathon

There were so many people, and it was so cold. I resisted the temptation to retain my hoodie or a hat, knowing full well that within minutes I’d be roasting. When the time came to go the crowd temporarily bottlenecked and slowed to a shuffle sparking lots of jokes about ‘not setting off too fast'. Once we got going it was hard to find a pace with everyone running around me – a bit like singing a song with lots of other people trying to sing it too but to a slightly different tune, or beat (a bit like the community choir then) but I got into some sort of stride by the time I hit the first turning point at three miles. Half way back up the seafront we were directed down onto the promenade and were running with a sea view. It was clear and bright and even the wind farm off the coast was visible as a series of miniature straws on the horizon. When we came back up onto the road there was a series of little humps which felt like mountains to my legs but I was proud to still be running by the time we got to where the marathon lot were diverted off for their second lap. I had no intention of doing a sprint finish but as I came towards the finish line the sound of hammering feet came up behind me and I thought ‘I’m not being bloody overtaken this close to the finish line’ and stepped it up. I don’t know how much energy they’d saved for the end but they should definitely have been running harder sooner than that. I was considering getting my elbows out when I made it across the finish line - feeling breath on the back of my neck as I did so.
Awesome.
I made myself stretch out straight away although the pain was intense. Worth doing though as combined with the bike ride home I’m hardly hurting this morning – a bit of tightness at the bottom of my hamstrings and, strangely, my shoulders.
Andy and his sister Louise came in just after – they’d stuck together and her knee had hit problems in the first few miles. We all got t-shirts and medals and ‘goodie bags’ mine had two packets of muesli in???? I’d have preferred a muesli bar or something easier to eat. I stopped in Chorley and blatantly blew my two eating outs a week rule for a massive beef baguette.
I think I have rats. The little scratching noises in the loft have turned into scabbling squeaking, almost thumping sounds. Actually I think they might be elephants

Writing Lines and Banana Brownies

Stuck in the office - almost like writing lines...."I will fill out my calc file as I do a job and not leave it until the last day before the QA check to cobble it together, I will fill out my calc file......"and so on.
Only slightly more monotonous.
Apart from the light relief of being infuriated by Hevacomp - am starting to understand why people refer to it as Heapacrap. For no reason that I can gather - other than machine meglomania it keeps deciding to print out 976 pages with nothing but it's name on, or 376,000 at one point! By the time I've realised and frantically cancelled I've already been responsible for a several square metres of disappearing forest.
Still - I am grateful to have a job after a raft of redundancies have decimated the office this week. I worry that the rest of us may be facing the same someway down the line. I worry that those of us remaining aren't enough to cope if we win even one of the jobs we are waiting on. I worry about the people who've lost their jobs. I worry that Brad may be right when he says I'm a worrier.
Blackpool half marathon looms. I am supposed to be 'carb loading' according to Andy - whatever that is.
The little voice of (reason? laziness?) inside my head says 'Look at this pilfering collection of random food items, there's hardly any left, come on it's been six weeks now - you've done the challenge, you've learnt all your food eating lessons, you absolutely neeed pasta damn it! LET'S GO FOOD SHOPPING - cheeese, cheeeese, cheeeese' but another part of me wonders just what it is possible to make out of what is left and believes I still have food lessons to learn from this challenge.
Such as: banana and chocolate brownies don't make a bad breakfast. Also sushi and chickpea flatbreads may not be obvious partners but they're still a nice lunch.
recipe of the day is:
quarter a cup each of soya flour, chocolate powder and applesauce, mixed up and microwaved for 3 minutes makes a brownie. I replaced the applesauce with mashed banana and a little orange juice (bless free fruit at work!) and I do think a bit of baking powder might have helped.
I tried singing with the high group in the singing group on Tuesday and now understand why they all look so baffled all the time and keep asking questions. back to the lows next time.
Fossil fools day came and went without any action from me. I thought of everyone out there and wished I was.
I'm going home, however early that means coming in tomorrow.