Xmac vs. the octopus

The Xmac curse strikes the World Cup 2010 yet again. Brazil has been KO'ed out of the tournament by a very determined Dutch team 2-1.

In terms of clairvoyance, I've been just about as accurate as Paul, the soothsaying octopus in this competition. Except the teams I've picked to win end up losing. Well, let's see whether Paul or I can maintain our record at the Argentina vs Germany quarter-final tomorrow. Since we've both picked the land of sauerkraut to prevail over the dreaded Argies, one of us will definitely be wrong.

Systems overhaul

As my trainer, John was consistent and predictable. His method was to get me used to a routine and slowly, gradually increase the load. He'd challenge me to lift a little more from the previous session, and depending on my caprice, I'd either humour him or politely decline.

But John's gone home to his FT country and now I'm in the hands of Sully. Sully's approach is a lot more varied. My repertoire now includes balance training on bouncy pilates balls; flexibility training through manipulating medicine balls and free weights (no, not at the same time -- not yet, anyway); and stamina building on some of the other hamster-wheel type cardio devices which I've been previously avoiding 'cos they look either boring or dangerous.

Sully also watches my form carefully, making corrections and adjustments to stance, to grip, so that I feel the burn at the right places. Lower weight resistance, but more reps. I think he knows it isn't muscle strength I want, it's better functioning heart and lungs that I need.

Every session is a pain to go through, but this old, broken down bod seriously needs an overhaul. I must see this programme through!

World Cup 'live', sort of

For all my bluster over refusing to subscribe to the World Cup cablecast, I've still taken to watching some games via 'live' streaming. Horrible resolution; persistently inturrupted signal -- the last two goals Germany scored against England missed due to buffering lag  (4-1 wt*?! when streaming resumed); sudden jump cuts as streaming regains sync with real time (meaning that I hear my downstairs neighbour cheering seconds before I see the goal); and occasional signal backouts that last minutes, or until I refresh the page... sometimes not even then.

But I have nothing to complain about. It's free. Still, I wonder why I bother at all. Every team I've been rooting for has lost. Consistently. Anyone need a betting tip? Just ask me who I fancied for that match and bet the opposing team. Sure win one!

Out of the frying pan

Now that I've got used to one Personal Torturer, John, he's upped and left Cali for personal reasons -- hope your dad gets better real soon! Today, I got my first session with my new PT, Sully. Looks like Sully's personal mission is to turn scrawny 98 lbs weaklings like Steve Rogers into Captain America without the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Welcome to a new level of hell.