I’ve done two very different things lately that are extremely out of character for me. I’ll blog about them separately otherwise this will turn huge.

First of all, I joined a gym. Anyone who knows me will know that sentence is a bit of a surprise.

Admittedly, it was on the cards for quite a while (since my Grandmother left my Mum some money and she decided to use it well basically) so I guess the major surprise is that I love it.

I’ve been going for around a month now. I wondered if the early love of it would fade but it seems to be sticking around. As an example: Batman Arkham City Collector’s Edition arrived one morning. I had a lot of work to do that day and I had a choice: stay at home and play a bit of Batman for an hour or go to the gym. I chose the gym. Something similar occured today too.

This is quite an unusual development for me.

I’d say it’s partially down to the satisfaction of levelling up on Fitocracy but that’s not the sole benefit.

I enjoy it.

I do admittedly feel a little pathetic at times, looking at other people’s efforts. I’ve hardly done any exercise in years other than general walking around and even that was limited thanks to my dodgy foot. But I’m hoping I’ll build it all up.

My foot, by the way, is holding up to it. I went to a running shop, had my gait analysed and bought some appropriate shoes. They cost a small fortune but they’ve made the world of difference and not just at the gym. Walking around the city centre is immediately easier. The pain isn’t completely gone but it’s much improved so I’m hoping it continues!

After a personal trainer session, I’m on a 6 week course with set exercises.

I started with:
10 reps Leg Extensions – 15lb
10 reps Seated Rows – 15lb
10 reps Goblet Squats – 13.2lb
15mins Treadmill – 3.0mph to 3.5mph with 1.0% incline
10mins exercise bike – Not sure how it works out as but it’s quite tough due to a high effort level set on the machine. I was averaging 2.5km in that time.
End on 5-10mins on either the treadmill or bike, same as before.

Now I’m up to:
15 reps Leg Extensions – 20lb
15 reps Seated Rows – 20lb
15 reps Goblet Squats – 13.2lb
15mins Treadmill – 3.7mph to 4.0mph with 2.0% incline
10mins exercise bike – Averaging 3.2km a time, same effort level as before
End on 10mins of bike or treadmill.

Today was the first day that I managed to do the full 10mins on the treadmill at 4.0mph. Previously I had to alternate between speeds which felt a bit rubbish! I would love to be able to jog one day.

To many, it’ll still sound rubbish I’m sure. But I’m happy with the progress so far. I am of course itching to be do even more though!

I guess the main thing is that I’m enjoying it I haven’t strictly got a goal. I don’t need to lose weight or anything like that so I guess I just want to be generally fitter. Maybe in the New Year, I should come up with a target?

As the infrequent blog updates will tell you, it’s been a busy month so I’ve not had as much time to blog or to watch films. Still, I found the time to watch 15 in October – 6 of which at the cinema!

195 films so far this year. Not bad at all.

4th: I Don’t Know How She Does It (cinema) – The first visit to the cinema was erm this romantic comedy chick flick thing with Sarah Jessica Parker. It was passable. Nothing more than that. Bit sexist which was infuriating given who it’s aimed at. Wasn’t really my first choice anyhow!

7th: Despicable Me – Felt in need of cheering up and who can resist the charms of Despicable Me? Lovely film, very funny and also very sweet too. As good as any Pixar movie.

8th: The Lion King (cinema), Attack the Block – My birthday weekend and I chose to go to the cinema on the Saturday. Being the very mature 27 year old that I am, I chose to go see The Lion King as I’ve not seen it in a good 12-13 years. It’s still brilliant. I only saw it in 2D, not 3D as I tend to rant when anyone suggests seeing something in 3D.

Attack the Block was a free rental. It was ok. Nothing special really. I’m glad I didn’t pay money for it. All the characters were so unlikeable that a small part of me wanted the aliens to win.

9th: Friends with Benefits (cinema), Paul – My birthday. After a tasty Sunday Roast Dinner at a great pub, I decided to go back to the cinema. Friends With Benefits this time round. It was nothing more than a romantic comedy but it was an entertaining romantic comedy at least. Bit of a dearth of good films on at the cinema around then as annoyingly my local cinema wasn’t showing Drive or Midnight in Paris. Both of which films I’m desperate to see.

I got Paul on Blu-ray for my birthday so it made sense! Liked it at the cinema and I think it’s grown on me since then. Great story and Jason Bateman in particular is fantastic in it. That reminds me, I’ve got an Arrested Development boxset to watch. Oooh.

15th: Abduction (cinema) – Did I mention the cinema was going through an iffy period in the middle of October? A friend of mine decided they’d rather go out with other friends instead of meet up with me to belatedly celebrate my birthday (cheers friend, that was a great self esteem boost) so I retreated to the cinema once more! Abduction is absolutely ridiculous. It’s appalling and Taylor Lautner can’t act at all (I’ve not seen him in anything else!) but it is fun in a terrible sort of way. I think my favourite bit was when Lautner started a scene with a limp, forgot about the limp for a couple of minutes then started limping on the other foot. Classic.

20th: The Three Musketeers (cinema) – Yes, bad month for cinema going. I wasn’t keen on this. Hardly any swashbuckling in it and the guy playing D’Artagnan was the wrong side of cocky meaning he’s just a smug kid that needs a slap.

22nd: Super – Yay, a great and very weird film! Ellen Page and Rainn Wilson (Dwight out of The US Office) feature in a film that’s kind of like Kick Ass. Some advertising blurb described it as how Kick Ass should have been. It’s right. Bit nasty and unpleasant in places but still well worth a watch. Bloody weird though!

23rd: Buried – I’ve been wanting to see this for a while. It’s ok. Ryan Reynolds is very good in it and I wouldn’t usually rate him as a great actor. The premise is interesting but it lacks a certain something. Makes for a film that’s a quirky idea but one that you’ll feel no urge to ever watch again.

25th: Contagion (cinema) – Hurrah, an excellent film at the cinema. This was great. I thought it’d be focused on the people suffering from the virus that’s wiping out the world’s population. Instead it focuses on the efforts to cure it which is much more interesting than following the usual stereotypical set ups in disaster movies. It’s also the kind of film that makes you surprisingly nervous when someone nearby coughs. Unfortunate given the cinema was full of people coughing and spluttering!

29th: Sucker Punch (half), Van Helsing – I’m so, so glad that Sucker Punch was a free rental. It was dire and I ended up switching it off halfway through. Maybe if I was a teenage boy I’d have liked it. I’m not so I didn’t.

Van Helsing was what I watched to make up for Sucker Punch. Nothing amazing but Hugh Jackman is always watchable.

30th: The Goonies, Independence Day – I’ve never seen The Goonies before. Yeah, I know. Think it was in my local video shop for many years but I just never really got round to it. I should have as it’s brilliant. Just what Spielberg does best.

Independence Day was a great example of what Will Smith does best too. Excellent film in which the US saves the world as they always seem to do in these things. Bit long but a solid film nonetheless.

I’m on film 199 at the moment so assume that I’ll hit 200 during the rest of November!

Friends of mine are expecting a baby in December. They’re as geeky as me with a particular penchant for all things Legend of Zelda ish. Last weekend was her surprise baby shower with a bunch of friends. I couldn’t make it sadly due to prior commitments that I couldn’t get out of. That didn’t stop me plotting to get her a great present however. This is the picture story of exactly what it was:

Oh hey, it’s a box. With pictures of Link. How unremarkable but potentially practical.

Let’s peer inside.

Oooh, a card with a picture of Link on it and underneath it is quite a big hint as to the full present. Buckle and all.

Let’s get it out of the box….

Ah ha! Yup, it’s a baby Link outfit!

Here’s the full costume along with leggings, cute little brown booties, knitted buckle, green hat and the ever important quiver. In this case, the quiver supports a baby bottle perfectly.

Pretty cool, eh? Googled around for the pattern then recruited my very talented Mum to knit it for me and my friends. It took her a little while as the pattern wasn’t the greatest but it provided a sufficient enough guide.

Here’s hoping it fits Daz and Dee‘s baby now!

So September was a bit of a quiet month on the film watching front. A new season of House conveniently repeated on Hallmark has helped that a lot. Only 11 films were watched in September, eesh! That does bring the total up to 180 though so 200 by the end of the year still seems plausible. Anyway, on with the line up which includes 5 (!) cinema visits.

6th: The Inbetweeners (cinema) – Yup, went to see The Inbetweeners again! There wasn’t much on at the cinema that week and it was still the best of the bunch, even having already seen it. It was good too, even despite knowing exactly what was going to happen.

7th: Mirrors – A guilty pleasure, much like The Happening. Mindless but kind of fun, especially if you spend your time thinking up what Jack Bauer would do in such a situation. Don’t spend money on it but if you happen to stumble across it late one night on TV, watch it and laugh at the ridiculous tale.

8th: The A-Team – Always a good film to watch when I need cheering up. A good blockbuster type romp as helped by the charms of Bradley Cooper.

11th: Butterfly on a Wheel – Picked this up cheap at the same time as The Truman Show although not got round to watching that (I’ve seen it before and loved it – even studied it at University!). Butterfly on a Wheel was a bit of a risky purchase, basically relying on the premise and the cast (Pierce Brosnan and Gerard Butler – both far from reliable). It was a worthy purchase though. Nice idea although one key story point was ruined thanks to glancing at something about it on IMDB. Basically, a couple have their child kidnapped and have to do exactly as the kidnapper tells them to. It gets more complicated than that though and turns into quite an interesting thriller.

15th: Zoolander – Not seen this in a long time. As soon as I started watching it, I couldn’t remember why I hadn’t seen it in such a long time. It’s brilliant. So many quotable lines and Ben Stiller has never been better.

16th: The Change Up (cinema) – Yeah it’s a predictable film. Family man Jason Bateman and waster Ryan Reynolds swap bodies thanks to a magic fountain, chaos ensues. It’s good though. Mostly because it knows when to stop. There’s some crude humour but it’s not overplayed. There’s sentimentality but again, it’s not overdone to the point of sickening. Certainly an enjoyable way to spend 2 hours.

17th: Going the Distance – Another one that offers sentimentality but not too much, just enough to be vaguely realistic. I’ve done the long distance thing, I can see the humour in the situation and the sad side of things too. Going The Distance does this well. Nice comic turns by Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day too.

20th: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (cinema) – Fantastic film! Very slow burning but excellent acting and a well written script keeps things interesting. A very traditional British thriller with no sign of explosions or any loud bangs, but one that immediately makes you interested in the book and the TV series before it. Gary Oldman particularly stood out.

24th: Jurassic Park (cinema) – Ahhh nostalgia. I’m not quite sure what to make of rereleasing films. The cynic in me sees an easy way to make more money. It’s hard to resist though especially as I never saw Jurassic Park at the cinema the first time round. It’s brilliant and it’s hardly aged a bit, give or take the odd slightly iffy moment.

27th: Crazy, Stupid, Love (cinema) – Truly surprised by this. Way better than I expected. I’d even go so far as to say vaguely realistic too, while throwing in a fantastic moment of farce three quarters of the way through. Steve Carrell does average loser brilliantly as he always does. Ryan Gosling is an attractive lady’s man and plays the part just right. Loved it. Oh and while I’m talking Ryan Gosling, NO ONE comment or tweet about how I should see Drive. I would dearly love to but the nearest cinema currently showing it is 50 miles away. This annoys me a lot.

30th: Blitz – I was really keen to see this at the cinema but didn’t get a chance. Quite glad I didn’t and in the end it was a free rental. It’s fine but nothing amazing. Jason Statham sounds like he took vocal lessons from Christian Bale and Jack Bauer and Paddy Considine is criminally underused. Entertaining enough but nothing amazing sadly.

Another month down and not many to go!