With days 24 and 25 in the books, I’m pleased to sit down and jot down a thought or two.
How did I do?
From a project perspective, terrible. I had my worse two-day combo since starting.
On day 24, some of my former colleagues from EMC/Conchango days held a happy hour in my hour, dubbed “Hug Daniel Silva Drinks.” And there was a lot of hugging. And beer. And smiling! Oh the smiles… and the beer. And late night Indian food. And more beer. And lots of political discussions of the like that my friend Luis Cerezo would have a field day in. And more beer. The 🍻 flowed, folks… I went to bed happy that night, well past midnight…
On day 25, it was improved, but not great. Fish and chips for lunch, Korean vegetable, rice, and noodle bowl for dinner, and a couple beers during an excellent rendition of Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre.
No exercising during the two days, although there was plenty of walking. Which is very good. (We walked over from Paddington to Picadilly Circus, a little over 2 miles.) But an injury to the top part of my right foot, and an awkward location within London, led to some discouragement. (Far away from greener spaces, in a modern corner now called Paddington Central - Sheldon Square - which looks nothing like old London).
So yeah, while there was a lot of 😂 emotionally, there was a lot of 😞 on the health and wellness front.
Sorry, folks.
Highlight of the day?
Day 24, the obvious highlight was seeing my old friends and colleagues from my days in London. If I ever needed to build a team in this part of the world, I know where to start! Second place would be seeing Canary Wharf, which for all the time I spent in London, only saw once and it was before its overhaul. What a gorgeous space to work and play. (Third place is seeing all the people sitting on the green at Canada Square watching Wimbeldon on a big screen. Lovely!)
Day 25, the obvious highlight was seeing Phantom of the Opera in Her Majesty’s Theatre, beer in hand. It was small and cozy. And the cast was fantastic. Really skilled. Second place would be the walk to the theatre itself, and the relationship building, with two of my colleagues from PLXIS. It was fun to navigate and talk about the payments world. So much awesome things going on.
I wish I would have written about the great run I had in Hyde Park. Alas, that never happened. 😞
How do I feel?
Well - I feel mixed.
I was actually nervous heading back into London, a city that I got to know very intimately when I lived here. But as Bettina said, once I stepped off, got my Oyster card, and hailed my first cab, it all came rushing back. In fact, I even told Bettina that for as lovely as the States are, this is truly home for me. We had good reasons for leaving, and we’ve made the most of our time in the States. But I think it’s time to come home. It’s time to make the plan a reality, whether that is the UK or the Netherlands. For the health and wellness and happiness of our family.
But at the same time, while there is joy in having something to look forward to, there is sadness in the implications. In what you leave behind. It’s not easy. So there is strife. There is no solace, no easy choices. Just the choices and what they mean.
I got a bit exestential there. Not necessarily the point of this blog. So to bring this post to a close, on the health and wellness front, I feel like I’ve lost a week. So, while I’m still doing 70 days, I’m shifting the health and wellness plan up a week, particularly on the fitness front. I was hoping to run the whole 5k in 30 minutes by day 70, but obviously this may not be possible any more. Who knows? I’m going to find out by trying.