A low par session in the gym yesterday evening. I did not really push myself and struggled with just the warm up on the bike. My legs turned to solid stone with every pedal. I had to put the effort level down to cope, but did push it back up a few levels, when I felt I had the energy for the last three minutes or so. On the rowing machine I failed to break the 2km barrier, falling seven meters short of the finish line. Then onto the treadmill when I had to go for a brisk walk to warm up for a few minutes before tackling the rest of the programme at a gentle run speed. My plan it get a session under my belt on Sunday to somehow compensate. I am also considering changing my schedule (even at this relatively early stage) as my body is not yet able to cope with two days back to back. I may revert to Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. It is 21:03 as I type this blog post, and some seventeen miles away, in Emmer Green, Reading, Pav is hard at work in his garage. All the parts for his new kitchen arrived but they were not allowed to be placed in the garage. Instead they are in the doorway. Pav explained to his Dad that this weekend he was detailing Teg’s A3. I have been waiting several months for this weekend but while you count on Crystal Detail, you can never count on the British weather. It was raining heavily when I lost made contact with Pav around 19:50 this evening. It is not an easy task and as you know I’m a man of high standards, so produced a long list of everything I wanted covered in the detail. However, last year, the detail took place in mid May (a month earlier this year, looking back into the archives ironically it was 18th May (exactly 11 months ago)) and Pav had a different polisher which meant some major elbow grease against the VAG paintwork (some of the hardest in the business). This time around, a more powerful polisher means the car could be (weather permitting) be ready by tomorrow evening but even so, I will wait until Sunday evening for collection. Plenty of photographs to come along with a full write up on Detailing World. Oh, hold on, Pav has just signed into MSN Live and has an update for me. From the chat logs: (21:25) Pav: right scheduled update (21:25) Pav: she’s been cleaned, arches cleaned, wheels cleaned and de-tarred (21:26) Pav: and she’s in the garage have clayed about 37% of her (21:26) Pav: am gonna hit the scratch first (21:26) Teg: thing in the morning? (21:26) Pav: have just clayed it and all of the paint transfer has gone (21:26) Pav: now mate now (21:26) Pav: live n hit (21:27) Pav: i should be able to quote you happy in about 40 mins (21:27) Teg: this is going on the blog (21:27) Teg: you are a legend!!! What more can I say? Sometimes it is just a comforting thought to know your car is not only in the hands of a friend but a professional and someone with the same passion for motor vehicles that it doesn’t matter whether they are detailing an A3 or a Porsche. The only challenge is to maintain the level of shine over the summer period. I need to order some Victoria Wax (yes, you guessed it, recommended by the one and only Crystal Detail) You may have noticed the embedded flash player from my previous post. It is something I have noticed on the music blogs I regularly read and was hoping to incorporate onto my blog. (Maybe with a view to kick off pod casting again.) It was not an easy task, it took a while to firstly find the right plugin, the first three I tried were useless. Eventually I got there but getting the icon onto the html page was the easy part, getting to play even the test mp3 was hard work. Eventually I worked it out but did not have the time to customize the buttons and text. Never mind, perhaps next time. You will be glad to know that I have turned off the auto play feature now. I do not want my blog turning into a running commercial for Boots. My weekend plans are limited with no car. Well I have the trusty less rusty Rover, which I over revved several times on my drive over from Reading. I am going to watch the football tomorrow lunchtime (Arsenal versus Reading at Ashburton Grove) and the rest of the day is relatively free. I must remember to appreciate the football as it may be one of the final times Arsenal are on television (live) this season. A good sort out of my room, clean up the paperwork all over the place and newspapers that have gathered up above my DVD stand. Yes, I am very much over due a spring clean. Sunday I am hoping to get to the gym around midday for about an hour before heading over to Emmer Green to collect my car. So, all in all a relaxing quiet weekend with not much on really. Oh, apart from my second cousin Ramzi making an appearance any time now. Whatever you get up to, hope you have a fantastic weekend.