THE PUB. On Saturday night me and the Mrs. went out to Father Teds with some friends for a 'leaving do' of sorts. Our friends Sophie and Ryan have gone on their big OE and flew out today. They are also engaged to be married and it just so happens that the band that they were thinking of booking for their wedding were playing on Saturday evening at Teds (one of Auckland's finest Irish bars) and they wanted to go and check em out and have the opinions of their friends before they booked em. Sophie hadn't told me about it and when I heard it was going down, I messaged her asking what the haps was. She said that she had every intention of asking me to go but then decided that she didn't want to 'invite me out drinking' because she knew I was trying to stop and be healthier. What a good bitch, and she really is. She is one of the sweetest, most genuinely nice people I have ever met! We got to the pub after the All Blacks game to find the big screen pulled down in the bar and a bunch of pissed up Irish fans watching the Ireland/Aussie game. Sophie was gutted as she had told the 10-15 people that had come to watch the band that they were going to be playing at 10 pm (as was told to her by the band), I laughed and told her that there was no way that the band would even pick up their instruments until after the rugby. Irish people will choose to watch the Irish play (and win) at ANY sport. It could have been an international table tennis match between Ireland and Ethiopia and they would roll out the big screen and smash 15 pints whilst watching. I grabbed a glass of water, knocked it back and decided to rock into one of my favourite 'dives' in the AKL CBD, 'Munsters', or 'The Munster Inn' as it is actually known. It is right next to Teds down some stairs and it is by far the nicest basement I have ever drank in. While I wasn't drinking this particular night, I still had a big smile on my face just being in that place. They used to do $20 jugs of Snake Bite (Lager, Cider and Black Currant syrup) and my god how the memories came flooding back to me. Snake Bites are so easy to drink and apparently they got banned in a few Scottish town because too many people were getting fucked up on them, like seriously fucked up. If you ever get the chance to punch a few pints of Snake Bite - Give it a go. They're glorious. After the ruggers we headed back up the stairs and back into Father Teds, There just so happened to be a free booth for us to sit in. So as the band started to play, my pregnant sister in law and I grabbed a seat in the booth and sat there sober and quietly observing the drunk punters. This one guy was hooking into this chick and it was equally hilarious and terrifying at the same time. She was keen to dance and flick him a little bumpin' and grindin' (yeah, sorry. I thought I could get away using that term but it clearly hasn't gone down well) Anyway she was busy gyrating her pelvis on his groin and as soon as she'd stop or change up her moves (which wasn't that often), he'd grab her face and start slobbering. I do realise that this makes me sound like a total pervert but honestly, It was right in our faces and I was a little 'herbed out' and found it quite funny. The band was OK. They opened with some pop song I'd never heard of and then played Pharrell's 'Happy' and then a song about some dude wanting to have a 'cake in the ocean' or something. It was a weird set, I tell ya but they were a good band; you could tell that they had been together for a while and weren't just a bunch of session musicians who get together for a jam every now and then. After the cake/ocean song, we gassed it off home. My sister Shannon was sober driving and all in all it was a pretty good night. THE GYM I had my very first gym session today (Monday 18th June). With my newly made vest (I cut the sleeves off of my Rock Fm hoodie), I whacked on my new wireless Beats Solo 3's and hit shuffle on my ROCKPOD playlist and started pedaling on the Exercycle. I set it to level 15 and set the programme to 'random hills' and started going ape shit. My belly was jiggling all over the show as my knees hit it and within minutes, I was a sweaty mess. this was a different kind of 'exercise' to the daily walks I have been taking. This was some high intensity shit, man. Which is what I need to be doing, getting a sweat on. My pulse reached as high as 178 and as it did I am pretty sure that I went into the future, it was that intense. As I sat there pedaling like a maniac and breathing like Tony Soprano, one of my favourite songs came on, MUSE 'Plug In Baby'. The opening riffs in that song still do something to me, it's magical; music. It really is. anyway............ I rode 5 kilometers for a warm up at level 15 and tackled some 'hills' on the way, then smashed out a 1.5 kilometer row on the rowing machine and HOLY SHIT, that was something else...... It was fun sliding back and forth on the chair but pulling the chain got old pretty quick. I started fading and could see myself telling myself '"800 meters is pretty good for a first effort, Lee" . Then, just as I was thinking about throwing in the towel, my ipod piped up as if to say "Fuck off, Lee. You're not quitting on me, cunt". 'I'VE GOT ANOTHER CONFESSION TO MAKE'!!! (Don't act like you didn't just sing that line in your head, I know you did) On came 'Best of You' by the Foos and shit did my spirits pick up along with my energy levels. Music, man. It's a fucking beautiful thing. To quote the late great Tom Petty ~ "Music is probably the only real magic I have encountered in my life. There's not some trick involved with it. It's pure and it's real. It moves, it heals, it communicates and does all these incredible things". Fuck it sucks that Tom Petty is dead. That one REALLY hurt. He was at the top of my 'bands or artists to see before I die' list, so was Bowie........ If you haven't heard the song 'Wildflowers' by Tom Petty, go and give it a listen. It is beautiful. www.youtube.com/watch?v=AldoDm2bV04&list=PLphdlTz7uh1Go2H16V65XHRrC_E1IjmHi I finished off with some weights (arms, shoulders, legs etc) and then rocked out for a sauna. I only lasted 6 - 8 minutes in there, man that bitch is hot (duhh)! I left the gym feeling quite good about it all and I had a real good feeling about the fact that what I was doing was a huge positive step in the right direction for my health and for my family. I still miss the booze, though. I almost gave in and thought about smashing some piss last Saturday night but I didn't. I had a rather interesting conversation with a big GC the other day about healthier ways to smack booze. Vodka soda's and lime, Gin soda water and lime etc..... There are definitely healthier ways to drink to excess if you're going to do that. I'm not too sure about it though. I know that if I do I'll feel all shitty with myself and feel like a failure. Why though? I have cheat meals every week where I eat something that isn't that good for me and would have way more calories than a bunch of vodka soda's.....Maybe it's because it's not just affecting my diabetes, but my liver also. I'm confident that I'll drink again, and if I do decide to smack some sooner rather than later I need to not be so hard on myself. I have made a promise to myself and to my family that I'll never EVER drink the way that I used to, again. It won't be every week and it won't be a box of beers then a bottle of top shelf. I'm sure that once in a while, if there's something on that is worth having a few 'healthier drinks' at, then I'll do it and not feel shitty about it. I don't want to cut it out from my life completely, I just want to be better at it, if that makes any sense. I want to be in control of when and how much I drink without setting myself limits. I'll never go back to being a massive 'weekly' drinker, but as I said, if there is something on that is WORTH smashing some piss for (in a healthier way), then I'll do it. Because I'm an adult and I can make my own decisions. I'll consider it a cheat meal, like the cheat meals I am currently enjoying that are healthier options than McDonalds or Burger King or KFC - I'm rocking Subway Salads or wraps, Pita Pit wraps and Salads and Chinese chow meins etc. Thanks for reading and for your continued support. L
2 Comments
Krystal wright
6/18/2018 06:38:34 pm
Thanks Lee Love That song Wildflowers from Tom Petty its a very nice song. Love hearing your progress it makes me smile reading your blog I'm happy your doing well and enjoying the gym well done you should be so proud of yourself ..
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Donna Wharerau
7/4/2018 08:39:47 pm
Awesome Lee. Thought j would let j k owen that Jake and Huria have caught up with Ryan and Sophie in London.
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AuthorLee Weir - Radio Announcer, Marriage Celebrant and Guinness World Record Holder. Archives
January 2024
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