In an earlier post I mentioned that the new flat that Nat and I moved in to in June has no TV.

Now, in early November, it still doesn’t.

The only TV we now watch is Home and Away (how embarrassing, I know) and the occasional documentary, via the Internet on-demand channels.

I remember back in Melbourne, the latest episode of Survivor, or Australian Idol, or whatever the latest hit show is, was the number one topic of discussion every day in the office.

So missing out on the main TV shows there meant not being part of the discussion.

But one thing I have noticed is that TV is rarely discussed around the office water cooler in London. Activities that people are up to seem to take precedent, which is a welcome change.

After five months now with no TV, I am starting to miss it though. It is nice to plonk in front of the couch at the end of a hard day, and escape with some mindless program.

Maybe I will make it a joint Christmas present for the house

What is so magical about it?

Why is it so popular?

And how I am going to possibly read all 7 books, totalling 3,500 pages (see my stack of books and the first five movies on DVD to the right), when my books tend to be short, sharp 300 page things?

It didn’t take long to answer these questions, and by the end of the first book, I was hooked.

The benefit of starting late was that I didn’t have to wait for the next book to come out – it was there waiting for me. So as soon as one book was done, I was immediately on to the next one. They are very addictive.

The characters are all classic (my favourites are Dobby, Hagrid and Lupin), the stories have many up and downs, when I finally finished the last book, the Deathly Hallows, I was left with a feeling of closure that was definitely worth the time and effort invested.

I have also now seen the first five movies, which I must say are great, but not a lick on the greatness of the books. With the last movie split into two parts, and the second part not coming out until July 2011, I now have a long time to wait to finish this goal off.

Until then, I will work on my Patronus Charm – just in case

One of the people at my work is a guy called Stephen.

Stephen is a unique character. He is never short of a story, is always friendly and happy around the office, and he is someone that personifies the spirit of never believing it is too late to start something new.

Despite being what some might describe as a member of ‘the older generation’ (he has just turned 60 and proudly holds a Freedom Pass), Stephen has not let the opportunities of life slip him by. Let me give you a couple of examples.

At 50, despite never having ridden a motorbike before, Stephen bought a Harley Davidson. While waiting for the bike to arrive at the showroom, he learnt how to ride, got his license, and when the Harley was ready to pick up, he successfully drove the bike home.

And just this year, a burning desire to learn guitar was finally realised, with Stephen starting guitar lessons once a week and putting to use the Fender he bought a few years earlier.

Too often I hear people say that it is too late to start this, or too late to do that.

To them I say – it is NEVER too late!

And for the thousands of Stephens out there that are living proof of this, thanks.

When I was growing up, we had the 1983 book of Guinness World Records.

In that book was a record for a lady who ate the most baked beans in one minute.

The conditions were that she had to eat them one at a time, and pick them up off the plate with a toothpick.

Being a baked bean fan, I thought this record seemed easy to break. I never broke it though.

But this book, which I loved reading cover to cover, spurned my interest in one day being part of a world record.

And finally, on the same day that I complete my half-marathon, I was also part of a world record.

That record was for the most people in one place dressed up as fruit. Bananas specifically.

There were over 200 of us there, and the world record was secured after we had huddled together for 15 minutes.

Strangely, that 15 minutes was spent doing stretches being run by two of the Gladiators from the UK TV Gladiators series. One of them was Doom (see below), who looked like he was quite keen to be surrounded by a bunch of bananas (yes, nice play on words, I know).

Next plan is a world record that I achieve on my own, but for now, I am proud to say that I am a world record holding banana.

This goal has been one of the toughest so far.

But one of the most rewarding.

After two months of training, I ran, and completed, the Run to the Beat half-marathon in south London last Sunday, in a time of 2 hours, 19 minutes.

Which is a great time, I think.

Considering I ran the race dressed as a banana!

Yes, a banana.

As part of running for Leukaemia Research, they gave me, and 200 other people, a banana suit to run in.

Being a hot day, and running in a banana suit, is not a good combination, but I was determined not to walk the race, and was very pleased that I got through the race without walking at all.

I felt terrible afterwards, and my legs have only just recovered, but it was definitely worth it.

I raised £450 for Leukaemia Research in the process (you can still donate here) which was a nice addition to this goal.

Would I run another one? Yes. But not for a year or two. And definitely NOT in a banana suit!

I flicked through it at the shop (didn’t buy it of course, as it might have an adverse effect on my list!), and found it quite amusing.

Here is the snippet of the description from Amazon:

Can’t Be Arsed is a hilarious diatribe that takes a detailed look at the alternative side of the 101 most frequently cited must do’s, revealing the ugly details that most of these guidebooks conveniently ignore. It gives off-putting facts and statistics to quote at holier-than-thou thrillseekers, so the next time somebody tells you that you simply must swim with dolphins, read Kafka in Prague, or go skydiving, you can tell them exactly where to get off.

So, if you are looking for some light relief to the pressure of making and completing a list, check out Can’t Be Arsed.

Get it online here.

Introducing yourself to others is never an easy thing to do.

Although people almost always say hello back, exchange your handshake or smile back, starting a conversation with a complete stranger is never easy.

So to achieve this goal, I wanted to go somewhere that I would have to introduce myself.

That place, I decided, would be a networking event. One in which I went on my own, and knew not a sole who was there.

And what better networkers are there than entrepreneurs? Not many.

So on Tuesday I went to an entrepreneurs event in west London, on the Thames, which someone handed me a pamphlet for.

Aimed with business cards and a big smile I entered.

Immediately I looked for someone on their own, to start a conversation with.

He was almost relieved when I started speaking with him, which reminded me that starting conversations with strangers is an almost universal fear.

Once we started talking we then became a magnet for others to join our conversation, and by the end of the night, I had spoken to and exchanged business cards with well over the 10 people I was after for this goal.

The event finished at 9pm, but I had such a great time meeting new people that I was one of the last to leave, at 11pm.

I am now looking to feed my entrepreneurial desire, so will definitely be trying to go to more networking events and continuing to say hi to strangers (within reason!).

p.s Apologies for the lack of recent posts – a lot of my time is taken training for the half-marathon at the moment.

[Image via here]

But it didn’t make it.

Not that it was a goal that I didn’t want to achieve.

Anyhoo, it is now a goal that has been achieved.

What was the goal?

To get engaged (and then married).

That’s right readers. Nat and I are now engaged to be married!

I am officially a grown-up now, complete with fiance status, and a big bill from the beautiful engagement ring that Nat now wears on her finger.

I have to say – this is the best non-goal I think I have ever achieved.

I love you Nat – thanks for agreeing to continue putting up with me!

You may have noticed to the right of the website there is now a new feature. This is my donation collector for a half-marathon I will be doing on September 27 in London.

This will complete goal 6, which is to complete a half-marathon.

However, doing this will also hopefully tick off a second goal – goal 98.

Goal 98 is to be part of a world record.

How will running a half marathon break a world record, you ask?

Well, I (and 249 others) will be running the race dressed as a banana!

We are attempting to break the world record for the most people dressed as fruit in one place.

All money raised goes to a very worthy cause, Leukaemia Research. I am trying to raise £1,000.01 (because it is a palindrome) – about AUD $2,000.00.

To donate, you can go here or click on the orange donate button on the widget at the right.

SPECIAL OFFER – Bonus good karma with every donation – ends tomorrow!

The three foods I hate, and chose to give a second chance to, were:

• Olives
• Blue Vein Cheese
• Vegemite on toast

Here’s how I went (there are several near-spews along the way):