🌈 1071 – Fri 20 Oct 23:46 2023

London

Grey, cold, and wet outside, had left a small bit of window open last night, and woke up a bit cold and wanted to stay in bed.. paused the alarm and stayed in bed until the alarm went off at 8 am.. slipped off the bed, rolled out turned the laptop on, and logged in for Friday’s day of work.

Bits and pieces to finish off the week, generally in a good mood on Friday, scrolled through the news and Insta feeds and this friend had shared this story showing the horrors at the Gaza war, did not want to watch it but couldn’t stop it in front on the screen, felt off the rest of the day thinking about it, a doc was consoling a kid who’s in a shock, the boy was completely shaken with big eyes and full of dust and did not cry until the doc hugged him… My mood went off and I couldn’t think of anything else for at least a couple of hours after seeing that.

10:45 got a notification on Outlook there was a meeting scheduled for 11 AM.. Hadn’t realised there I had some meetings to attend today, also just remembered this is was a follow-up from last week’s meeting and I had a task to update the PowerPoint slides. There were only 15 min left, so I quickly started editing, it was for about 16 pages, and basic work needed to be done most of it was done except the first page.

I was asked on the call, how is it going and I said, almost done and will be ready for next week, they were happy, the meeting wasn’t that long but for 30 min or so, we bid farewell.. I took the jumper off because it was warm in the room, and boss phoned again, I answered on the tshirt, sat at the desk for another half hour, working, figuring out and planning for the next week, and at 11:20 rung home, asking what they were upto and parents have just come back home from the tests, mothers 3 months due after the first radiation treatment, on their way, they stopped at the sisters and just having lunch now.. it was close to 4:20 pm for them and was said I’m at the desk working..

At 12:45 decided to get ready and hop to the gym as I saw the Sun was out by now and the clouds cleared, didn’t want to lose this opportunity to get out, so just wore shorts on the same t-shirt and a jumper on the top, trainers, got the bum bag, put my phone and keys in there and got to the gym at 12:55.

Unanticipated but had a really, really, really, really good workout, did 4 x sets of 22 kgs of Dumbbell shoulder press, 4 sets of lateral raises, 20 kgs each side plus 20 kgs of bar of flat bench chest presses, 4 sets of Shoulder presses and then 6 sets of Abs presses on my way out..

Rushed back home straight, and left the bike just in the corridor downstairs at the Laurels, this girl was there and asking, why are you leaving it there, I want to say to her, why don’t you mind your fucking business instead of being nosy all the times and get on with your own fucked up annoying life.. but instead, I said, I’m gonna be leaving soon again, so if I leave it here, I can get it out quickly, she was like, where do you have to go? I wanted to say, why do you care where I go.. Instead, I said, I was working earlier, I went for a quick workout because the sun was out and I was not looking at the time when I left home and now I quickly need to shower and head to the mosque because It’s Friday and I pray Jumma salah at the mosque on Fridays.. and I said I have to run and didn’t let her ask any more questions. If only people could mind their own business and work towards their goals and personal improvements, I think a lot of people would be happier.

Had a shower, wore a full-length white full-sleeve top and blue tracksuit with white 2 side strips like the Adidas trousers, and got to the Al nagashi at Wandsworth road and offered 2 x Rakaths of Salah Jumma prayer.. We got the space outside, under the sky, lucky it was not raining then, but when everybody stood up to pray, the bike’s alarm went off.. with the loudest, loudest noise.. it went on for the next 4 or 5 min nonstop, nobody moved and everybody stood patiently, I was further away but felt sorry for the guys who were immediately stood next to it. It went on and on the whole first rakath and then half of the 2nd rakaths.. We all finished the prayer patiently and left as soon as it was done before all the crowd came out, got the bike out and hopped into the Sainsburys on my way back home, bought a chicken, a bag of rice, bananas, apples and a box of doughnuts..

Got home, and went straight up to the kitchen, and this girl from earlier was in the kitchen now, she asked, where do you go to pray? I said, it is in front of Sainsbury’s Nine Elms, there is a mosque there, Friday is the important one so I try not to miss it, then she asked, are you going to cook now? I said, yes, I am going to since I hadn’t eaten much today.. I started cooking and she was on her laptop for a while and then suddenly said, oh shit! I said, you okay and as if something in her room that she needed to do, she went upstairs, she’s generally got a problem with spicy chicken being cooked so just pretended to go up instead. I was glad, she left instead of sitting there and staring at others at what they were doing!

Made rice, and lentil soup with spinach and chicken wings and ate watching The Bling Empire on Netflix, then sat at the desk for a while, by now the clouds had already got dark, and the rain falling on and off.. had the candle lit to feel cozy and warm in the room, I worked through until the time to logoff at 16:09 or so.. and then sat on the phone checking for the new flats to buy, or rent or bid for at least then next 40 min and decided to have a quick nap if I want to go and run providing the weather to clear up.

Did not get up until 20:30, and it was raining like crazy outside, stayed in and ate the doughnuts in bed, watched teli, then read, then sat at the desk did a module and a forum of the Psychotherapy lessons, and then now sitting down to write before going to bed again..

Around the world –

Russia still invading Ukraine.
A total of 80 percent said Israel’s current government should publicly accept the blame for the staggering failures that led to the deaths of at least 1,400 Israelis on the deadliest day in the country’s 75-year-old history.
Pentagon, US to send Israel thousands of artillery shells that had been earmarked for Ukraine.

3 things I felt grateful for today

Grateful for not being in any conflict zone.
Storm Babet hit uk and Scotland is grateful to be safe.
Not a lot of work to do this weekend, grateful for the extra time this month!

What would it take for me and for you to wake up 10 x times bigger, thicker, richer, happier, everything to be just fine, make to workout tomorrow no matter what, and then have a relaxing, relaxing, relaxing, yet productive day tomorrow and all negative patterns please get removed..

Goodnight! good luck!

Ash