I sowwie…

Apologies for not posting in nearly a month…

I’ve not had a lot of time to write up some of the posts I’ve planned. I’ve got a list of subjects I want to cover as long as my arm and most of them are fully formed and written in my head; it’s just a case of finding the time to be able to sit down and get them typed up.

I started a new job in June and rejoined the gym so my days are a bit hectic.
I’m up at 5am, doing a breakfast radio show 7-10am, working for a supplement company from 11am, then as soon as I finish there; I’m at the gym. Weekends aren’t much better either but I promise to have at least 2 posts done in the next two weeks.

In other news, I started dieting around mid-July at around 98kg (215lbs/15st4lbs in foreign money) and by last week I was 79kg (175lbs/12st8lbs). Fantastic result. I used to be quite into bodybuilding so I have a solid grasp on nutrition, diet and training and was able to create a custom diet that worked for me. I’ll be posting about diets and obesity in the coming weeks so that is something worth looking out for.

Anyway, have a great week and I’ll try and sit down for an hour this weekend and get a couple of posts typed up.

Stefan

Uncharitable charities

A few days ago whilst driving, I had a thought…

It’s very rare you hear of a charity fulfilling it’s purpose. Yes, you hear of them going bust, or closing due to lack of funds, but never closing their doors with a shout of “Mission Accomplished”.

“Why is that?”, I questioned.

I then nearly crashed the car and thought it better to focus on the road rather than ponder the mysteries of not-for-profit and voluntary aid.

That is until a dj I follow – Mat Zo – posted the following onto his Facebook fanpage today:

Do charities make the world a better place?

On one hand, some charities bring much needed relief and aid to millions of people who are in need. Where national infrastructure is weak, charties provide services that the government cannot, or at least are unwilling to provide.

On the other hand, charities are businesses, and businesses need to be sustainable regardless of how ethical they are. Charities rely on there being a problem to solve, if the particular problem the charity was claiming to try and fix was suddenly solved, there would be no more charity. This begs the question, are some charities really trying to fix things, or are they quite content with the problem existing?

What do you think?

My reply on the comments section:

I thought this same thing yesterday. A charity needs a purpose, if that purpose is nullified by the problem being solved – what do they do? I personally, rarely hear of a charity saying “Mission Accomplished” and closing. It does lead me to wonder what happens to the money once the goal is completed.
Do they move on to something else? Do they do just enough work to solve the problem that they are always playing “catch up” and never actually making any net gain? Or do they – dare I say it – pull the wool over our eyes and use the funding for something entirely different?

Thoughts? I’d love to hear them.

Stefan

Is regret a good thing?

Well, is it?

I regret a lot of things in my 24 years. Does that mean I’ve lived a bad life? Does it mean I act before I think? Does it mean that nostalgia is warping my view of my past, giving me the false belief that things used to be better?

I look back and I can pick three incidents (within the last 6 years) that I would change, if I could. I won’t bore you with the details…

To me, these incidents seem like huge mistakes; I feel like they drastically changed the course of my life for the worse. At the time, I didn’t feel that way at all – I felt the very opposite; I felt as if the changes and actions I was effecting were going to benefit me.
Is it that I should not of effected these changes, or is it that these changes were just three that didn’t work out for me out of possibly hundreds that went well, therefore they stick around in my mind? I think probably the latter.

“Learn from your mistakes”

A great aphorism, but is it true? Is a mistake really a mistake if you are sure of the decision at the time you make it? Should you regret anything if at one time, it was exactly what you wanted?

Would I still be the person I am today if not for these three changes? Probably not. If not for the three changes though, I would never of met some of my best friends. If the first of these three “regrets” had not happened, then the other two would never of been given the chance to occur.

Look into the future as best you can before making big decisions, what seems like a great idea can turn out disastrous…

Sometimes however – it may just be better to jump.

Stefan

Boredom

Here is a brilliant quote from Louis C.K.

“‘I’m bored’ is a useless thing to say. I mean, you live in a great, big, vast world that you’ve seen none percent of. Even the inside of your own mind is endless; it goes on forever, inwardly, do you understand? The fact that you’re alive is amazing, so you don’t get to say ‘I’m bored’.”

Give me a few quid and I’ll change that by going on an adventure, I’ll discover new places and amazing things – and I’ll share my discoveries with the world; but until then, I’m going to sit here and say “I’m bored”.

Stefan

I give blood

I’m proud to Give Blood.

World Blood Donor Day is 14th June, today. This week is National Blood Week.

I’ve been a blood donor for just over two years. I’ve given 6 or 7 times in those two years. I started when an ex-girlfriend invited me along to her donation session. I had always wanted to give blood but “never had the time”. Well, how wrong I was, it takes no time at all. I’ll explain.

For myself, giving blood makes me happy, I feel proud knowing that I’m saving lives. People sometimes struggle to see the connection that comes with that statement “I’m saving lives”. There is an idea that to save lives, you must be a hero, and to be a hero you must be in the emergency services or the armed forces. That is not true at all. The blood that flows in my veins directly helps to keep someone else alive – how much more obvious can the definition of “hero” be to apply to a blood donor?

My one pint of blood can help up to three people. The blood is separated into its constituent parts which are then given to recipients:
– Red Cells are used to treat anaemia, for diseases like cancer and sickle cell disease. They are also used in emergency situations such as after childbirth or accidents that have resulted in blood loss.
– Platelets are used for transplant, chemotherapy and leukemia patients.
– Plasma is used during childbirth, during cardiac surgery and to process and create antibodies. It is essential to burn victims, containing a substance called albumin.

The process of giving blood really couldn’t be easier. Phone up, go online, or use the app on your phone. Make an appointment. Attend.

It really is so simple and so quick.
When I arrive at the donation centre (or mobile donation site), I check myself in at reception, fill out a medical questionnaire, have a quick interview with a nurse to review the questionnaire and to check my iron levels, then I have a glass of water (it helps to stop fainting – which is rare anyway, I’ve never saw anyone faint while I’ve donated).

Then you donate. This is the scary part for most people, but really – there is no need to be scared. You sit or lie down, and while the nurse chats and jokes with you, the needle is inserted. I’m not going to say you can’t feel it, because you can, but I wouldn’t call it painful. Ever eaten salt and vinegar crisp with a cut on your finger? Eating the crisp’s are more painful. Once it’s in, you can’t feel it [leave it!]. Although you may get a slightly cold feeling in your arm and hand which is normal.

After around 5 minutes, the machine will start to bleep, the nurse will come over, take the needle out (which this time is painless) and put on a plaster. Then you can sit down, have a cup of coffee or tea and a packet (or three in my case) of biscuits. After a few minutes, you’re free to go. The reason you have to stick around after the donation is just to make sure you don’t have a bad reaction to the session, fainting etc. I’ve never felt anything other than great, and I’ve never saw anyone have a bad reaction. Done. Usually it takes around half an hour from walking in, to walking out. “Never had the time” has never seemed such a useless excuse.

I am blood type O- (O RH Negative), known as a “Universal Donor” which means that my red blood cells can be given to anyone of any blood type. In an emergency, when a patient’s blood type is not known; they will be given O- blood. For this reason there is usually always a high demand on my blood type and so I feel a need to donate as often as I can. I could one day (hopefully not) receive my own blood back in an emergency – how weird would that be?

Interestingly, here is a graphic showing the number of days’ stock of blood levels on 14/06/13. Notice how there are just over 5 days of “emergency” O- blood stock, not much really is it?

I’m currently waiting until I can next donate after I had an operation a few months ago. I should be good again in October, and I can’t wait.

For more info on donating blood, visit these websites:

Give Blood – England and Wales
World Health Organization – World Blood Donor Day

Save a life, give blood.

Stefan