New Years eve.The weather is not bad and the day is full of football ( soccer ).I watched Arsenal stuggle to draw with Aston Villa 0-0.I will see in the New Year at home with my family,which is probably the way it should be.

A somewhat cold and rainy day,but went with my sister to buy a new dvd recorder.Then I had to help her set it up,things are a little different here in the Uk but I managed.Other than that it was i bit of a lazy day.

There is a frost on the ground that is so thick it looks like snow, and the temp' is around -6c(26f).I a feeling about 90% better,and my beloved Wolves won 2-0 yesterday after losing 2-0 on boxing day.My friend Abichal should be close to or finished running in a 48hr race in Arizona,I hope he did well.

My head still hurts,but it is getting better.There is snow in some parts of the country,but here we just got a good frost.There are football ( soccer ) matches today but some have been postponed because of the weather.My nieces friend is making curry for dinner tonight,that will probably kill my cold.

Woke up this morning with a thick head,it is that time of the year ,and I think I am probably eating too much junk food .Well it is Christmas.We did get to see some snow,but it was just blowing in the wind.

Today is what we call in England,Boxing day,it was tradition many years ago to box up old presents and give them to those less fortunate.So after recieving something it is a chance to give something back,indeed a really good idea.The weather here is rainy today,but here in the countryside all is green.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS !!!! Yes it 's that day in the Christian calender we opened our presents nice and early,but it took the whole family plus guests about 2 1/2 hours,one at a time.It is a little foggy,but the sun is trying to break through.The house is full noise and happiness and cheer.

It's christmas eve and I have recieved a couple of Christmas e-cards from friends afar.The house is full of family and lots of preparations are being made with the food for the big day.

Woke up nice and early this morning ( 5:30 ),and managed to get out on the road for my first morning run since I got here.I have been running in the afternoon until now.It is cool but bright and sunny.I took my camera with me and made some nice photo's that I will post at a later time.In my family it is officially christmas eve,eve.

It is now officially winter,here in this part of the world.today was the day for me to wrap my christmas presents.Once that was done off for a run on the same country road I have been using for the last week and a half.My editor has made the changes to my Dilly and Dally story and it looks pretty good.

A few days left before Christmas,and we go grocery shopping.This involves getting food for 2 weeks.The shops are surprisingly not as busy as they should be.Manage to get in a nice run in the afternoon.

There is a house full of guests,my niece Tracy, her friend and her son.We all went shopping this morning,which is mild but overcast and wanting to rain.Managed to get a few extra presents,only a couple of days away now.

There is a really nice family bakery in the village called jaspers,and everytime I am here I like to get there cherry scones,they are worth waiting a year for.My friend Utpal called me this morning,it seems it is raining a lot where he is .My niece Tracy will be arriving later today,she is visiting for the holidays.The weather is once again warmer.

Well I stayed up late last night and watched my beloved New York ( Footballing ) Giants win there 10th game this season.Then after a nice,but cold run this morning watched football ( soccer ) almost the rest of the day.The joys of being in England.

It's saturday,I'm in England and I'm surrounded by sport,particularily football (soccer).To plagerize an american baseball movie," is this heaven,no it's England".There is so much football on tele,it is almost too much,but I am really happy.I've only been here a week.

Just want to say that it is wonderful being in the country.Though it is a little cold at the moment I have the chance to run on beautiful country roads with green fields and farms all around.It has been more than a week now and I am really happy with the discipline of my aerobic training,one has to be very steady.I think maybe that my diet is a litle better.

OK, so it is much colder today,but nice and sunny,not much to say so we will leave it at that for now,and see what tomorrow brings.

Up nice and early this morning,and off to a place called Merry Hill shopping center,I spent most of the day there with my sister and my nephew,doing the last of our christmas shopping.The weather here is still quite mild though today we didn't see any sun.It was tiring but we had a good day.

Boy am I feeling so much better today!It is a little colder outside,there was a frost this morning.But the village where my sister lives is so quiet and peaceful.I also get a chance to catch up on a lot of football ( soccer ) action especially my local team Wolverhampton Wanderers who are doing ok,that's about it for now.

Slept like a log and my jet lag is a little better,the weather here at my sisters is really nice and I have a chance to rest and relax in a quiet environment. Christmas is just a couple of weeks away.

Flight was fairly un-eventful and quick,For some reasonI seem to have a pretty strong case of jet lag,The weather here in the UK is a bit better than in NY ,and of course it is nice to be with my family.It is 52 years to the day since I was born,so as soon as I arrived at my sisters we were off visiting various aunts and uncles then later my nephew and 1 niece visited me.I am now posting on Uk time.

I am just a few hours away from my flight to England,and a number of last minute things have come up,but I am almost finished.It is a beautiful day out there,though still quite cold.By all accounts it is a little warmer in the UK,I will let you know.

According to the reports there were a lot of people in central park for the John Lennon aniversary.The weather this morning was a mix of snow and rain,afternoon though cold was quite sunny and pleasant.I managed to take care of a few last things before I go to England tomorrow.One of them was to watch the draw for the world cup of soccer I am happy with Englands group,and will enjoy watching the games next summer.

Ok so it is 25 years since John Lennon was shot here in NYC,I seem to remember that it wasn't quite as cold as it is today,and it will be hard for those that come to pay homage in the park today. 

Winter is definately here this morning the walk to work was in a temperature of 26f ( about -3c ).The wind made it feel a lot colder especially on my face.I have a few more days in NY and then I am off to see my sister for the holiday season.

Well we didn't get as much snow as was expected,but it was still nice to see it blanketing the streets of NYC this morning on the way to work.I have started to do aerobic training for the winter months,which involves me running with the heart moniter my niece Michele gave me some time ago.I will try to keep it up for about 4 months this winter,and it should help my racing in the spring.

It was at this time of the year 25 years ago that John Lennon was shot here in New York.This is a photo I took when I visited central park last year I will post more later. 

Woke up to a winter wonderland,snow not quite as heavy as this ,but maybe just as pretty.Temp just below freezing but pleasant,made for a really nice run for Utpal and myself,It should get warm enough for most of the snow to disapear later. 

Although winter is still 18 days away officially,it really felt like it today with temp's around freezing the whole day.Surprisingly the same number of runners showed up for the 2 mile race . I spent some time with my friend Abichal talking about Ultrarunning.I write articles for his multiday website occasionally and he says the last one I wrote has been getting some attention,you can check it out by clicking on the multidays.com link on my links list then going to the multiday blog.They say there is snow coming tonight so it should make it interesting for my run tomorrow morning,keep you posted.

Today is of course my short day at work,so I used the extra time wisely and went Christmas shopping.I got some nice presents for my Nephew and niece.The day is very wintery,cold and windy ,but with some sunshine.

Well it is finally December and the holidays are not far away.I have had one night to sleep on it and I think I have my plan of action ready,though yesterday mind was a little different,I am now listening to my heart and know the right thing to do with regard to my children's book.So wish me luck,my sister already did.

Well the day started off pretty good,and the work day went by quite quickly.However I started to feel exhuasted on the way home,and even considered not going for a run later.Run I did and felt a little better.Then I checked my mail and it seems that I have an agent for my children's book,her name is Georgina,which must be a good omen since that is my sisters name,and she is one of my biggest supporters.So I must catch my breath and get ready for the next phase of the process.

It's a really overcast and lightly rainy day here I NY so I thought I would post a nice summer time photo. 

It was a long holiday weekend.I was at work just long enough to get used to being back,then home.The weather has improved 62f this afternoon.My sister just sent me a message to say her dog is going in for a knee operation,hope everything goes well.Good Luck Shadow!!

This is thanksgiving weekend,which started on thursday,so it is getting quite long now.Went out for my sunday run with my friend Utpal.The weather is starting to warm up again,but it was still a refreshing 37f.Having completed my run followed by breakfast,I give my sister a call in England.It seems the weather has been quite changeable there too.After last week being cold,the coming week is due to be warmer.

With the usual people out of town it was up to Utpal and I to be the officials at the 2 mile race this morning.It was cold and overcast,with a low turnout.Those who ran seemed to have a good time.It stayed cold but the sun came out later.I am working on setting up my new laptop,switching a lot of files.

I look out of the window and it looks like a beautiful day,the sun is shining and the sky is blue.When you step outside the cold air bites at your face,it is 22f (-5c ) out there and that is not so nice.I jusy heard that the great footballing legend Goerge Best died a few hours ago he will be sadly missed by all who appreciate the game of football ( soccer ).

Here in the US it is Thanksgiving a national holiday.The snow they predicted here in NY did not come yet, though it is cold enough.Ran with Utpal and later we will have Thanksgiving dinner.My mother would have had a birthday today,I think her 77th,I feel her with me all the time ,so I wish her HAPPY BIRTHDAY.Today also marks 5 years since I published my first poetry book,dedicated to my mother.So a special day in many ways.

It feels like this in New York right now,though it doesn't look like this yet it may be only a day away.I will keep you informed.

Cold and rainy all day,with very strong winds.It is what they call a Nor'easter.The weather from here on in will be cold.maybe some snow later in the week.

The day started quite nicely,but the weather seemed to get worse as the day went on.It is very overcast as I am writing this post and it looks like it is going to snow ( I don't think is will ),but there is supposed to be snow coming later this week.Also I started sneezing last night and continued this morning,so maybe I have something I need to fight off.

It's my friend Utpal's birthday today,we went out ofr our usual run a little early this morning at 7am.it is a beautiful fall morning and it seems it will be a nice day.We will do something else later in the day to celebrate.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY UTPAL!!!!

35f at the start of the 2 mile race today,but sunshine and a large turnout made it very pleasant.I had to manouver my way through at few runners at the start,but I think this helped me to relax a little and my race was pretty even, my time of 15min 20sec was just about mid way between my last 2 weeks times . I am always just happy to run and get a good speed work out.

Very cold this morning,33f ( 1c ) though with the wind it felt like 26f ( -3c ).During the walk to work there was ice on any open water.Now there is bright sunshine,the air is still very chill.it is a little below normal for this time of the year,but that is New York for you,not always normal.

About 26 years ago I paid $700 for a kaypro portable computer,which was about the size of a small suitcase,which felt like it was full of books.I just purchased an IBM laptop for less than $400,and it is the size of a large TV dinner,and infinately more powerful than the Kaypro,what a world we live in.

The day started off really nice,even a little sun late in the morning.But as was predicted it is now turning very windy as if a storm is on the way,the temp' is nice though 66f,but once the storm blows through it will get cold and begin to feel like winter is on it's way.

This is a photo I took in Novi Sad,the statue is of a famous Serbian writer of children's songs and poems.His name is Jovan Zmaj,I have one of his books.

In England at this time of the year the FA Cup has started,and there are lots of chances to see if a non league minnow can become a giant killer.On e such team,Chasetown a club from the region where my sister lives,managed to draw there 1st round game with Oldham.In a few days time they get another chance to keep there dream alive.Today I got a chance to to hear Kate Bush's new cd,and it is really great. It is on my christmas list and hopefully some one will get it for me.

In England at this time of the year the FA Cup has started,and there are lots of chances to see if a non league minnow can become a giant killer.On e such team,Chasetown a club from the region where my sister lives,managed to draw there 1st round game with Oldham.In a few days time they get another chance to keep there dream alive.Today I got a chance to to hear Kate Bush's new cd,and it is really great. It is on my christmas list and hopefully some one will get it for me.

The perfect time to go for a run,as Utpal and I set off for our usual sunday run at 7:30 am the temperature was 50f ,bright sunshine and a light breeze.Our run takes us through neighbourhoods filled with tree lined streets and at this time of the year there is beautiful colour and the rustle of some leaves under foot.So even if you are a little tired from racing the day before,it is still a really pleasant and most satisfying run.

The 2 mile race was cold this morning 39f ( about 3c ) but I managed to run a little faster than in this picture.There was a nice big field of runners this week so I had company pretty much all through the race,my time was 15min 32 sec,but because of the cold air my lungs are sore,I feel like I have cleaned some thing out.

The day started cold 42f, and I went to work for a few hours.later while having a late breakfast I met an old musician firend of mine and we talked about old times.today is the day I sign my contract with my literary agent,so hopefully there are alot of new things in store for Dilly and Dally,we wait to see.

It was quite nice when I left for work this morning,but when I left to come home this afternoon there was a noticeable difference,it felt so much colder.They say that there is a cold front passing through and that the temp will drop to 36f,it feels close to that now and there is a strong wind,but then again the sun is shining.We will see what tomorrow brings.

Today was supposed to be a rainy day,though at the writing of this post it is not raining,but I think it is not far away.This photo was taken on a sunny day I spent in San Francisco this past summer.I should have more news on the childrens book front soon.

I am some what of an advanced novice when it comes to this blogging stuff.it seems my posts where there all the time ,but because of a problem with my browser I could not see them,well it is ok now.I have just been offered a contract by a childrens book agent to help me with my Dilly and Dally books,so wish me luck.

There seems to have been a technical problem ,and lthough I have been posting nothing has been showing up on my blog for the last 2 days.If it starts to work again I wil try and update the 2 missing days.That's it for now.

There was and infact still is a fog this morning when Utpal and I went for our run this morning.It was an interesting run,every time we would see another runner there would be an exchange of comments that in some way or another referred to the NYC marathon,which of course is happening today.I think it should be interesting because the conditions are good.

A beautiful crisp ,sunny morning.I managed to run my best 2 mile race for a while,but I had the experience that my lungs could not keep up with the speed of my legs.I was breathing as hard as i could but my legs wanted to run faster.It is a good sign because it means that there is more improvement there.My time was 15min 04 sec hopefully it will get better as my lung capacity increases,we will see next week. Oh! by the way it is Guy Faulkes day in the UK.

I have a friend who is in her 70's,and every spring and autumn I go for a few hours and help her with some chores.In the sprindg I plant up her garden,and in the autumn I winterize her house,covering air conditioners etc.today was the day I winterize,and what a loverly day it is,bright sunshine and the high is supposed to hit 70f.So it was a perfect day to do the work.

yesterday I was fortunate to be present at a function honouring marathon runner Paul Tergat who has the fastest time ever in the marathon of 2:04:55.he is in town for the NYC marathon this sunday,and he was being honoured not only for his achievements in sport but also for his work to help children of poverty.He is an ambassador for the UN World Food programe.

What is now
Is it next
will this question
Keep me vexed

Will the answer
Come somehow
Oh! I think
It came just now.

A poem from my book,
Inner Voices

On my walk home in the afternoon I go by a few Indian (from the sub continent ) stores and today is the start of Diwali ( the festival of lights ),and things are quite loud and colourful.as I write this post I am watching Real Betis and Chelsea in the champions league,and Betis are winning 1-0,it is getting a bit rough as the ball goes from end to end.

It's halloween,and the weather is apparently "normal" , with temps at night in the high 40's and during the day in the 60's.A friend of mine from london,who was very sick in the summer has come to New York for a week for a visit.It is really nice to see him looking so well and he seems very happy to be here.

So time went backwards this morning,well 1 hour anyway.It is that time of the year when we go back to standard time ,so we get 1 more hour of sleep.I still woke up at the usual time which was 1 hour early.It has gotten ( bad english I know ) a little warmer and the sunday run with my friend Utpal was very pleasant,with bright sunshine included.I got a reply from the childrens book agency and they want more information so that is a good sign.

In June I had a problem with my right calf while running my saturday 2 mile race,making it difficult to train for a week,thogh I still managed to run a marathon 1 week later.This morning I awoke with some tightness in my right calf and wondered if I was in for a repeat.It was quite cold
(about 41f ),but I warmed up as well as I could and managed to run the 2 mile race in 15min 39 sec wich is 13 sec faster than last week,and my right calf feels pretty good.

My children's picture books ( the Dilly and Dally Tales ) were self published in eastern europe,and when I have the time,I am trying to get them published here in the US.I have just discovered a new agency for childrens books and will send them a query letter today and see what happens.

Here's one of my poems from "Be Happy";

Just be up
don't feel down
wear a smile
not a frown

Put a skip
into your step
see the sunshine
all around.

This is what came to mind as I was walking to work this morning.The actual temperature was 40f but the wind chill factor made it feel like 37f,yes it is that time of year again when they tell you the wind chill factor.This photo was taken in Bosnia and Herzegovina in march.

Heavy rain and srtong winds this morning.Apparently the records state that in 1903 13.3" of rain fell in New York City till now the most rain to fall in the month of October,but so far this month we have had 16.5" of rain with possibly more to come before the month is out.

It was a white breath morning on the way to work today.I oversplept just a little but managed to get to work on time.Maybe the change in season is making me want to sleep more.The air is still crisp, but there is bright sunshine to go with it now.

It really fels like fall is here,the temp this morning when I went for my run with Utpal was 46f ( 7c)
though it is supposed to rise to around 60f today.As we were running I was thinking that at the same time ,the Danish runner Jesper Olson who has been running around the world .Is in London running towards Greenwich to complete is almost 2yr 10 month journey.Congratulations Jesper!!!
Check him out on worldrun.org

This photo is for a young friend from the Ukraine,who has started visiting the blog. My hamstrings felt a little tight today during the 2 mile race,it may have something to do with the fact that it was 49f and raining,but my time wasn't so bad 15mins 52 secs I think 1 second faster than last time.it looks like it will be a cold rainy weekend.The heating has come on in my apartment for the first time since March.

Over the years I have discovered that machines can be interesting things,they often react to the environment around them,temperature,humidity, etc.Also to the operator's mood or attitude.When things are going wrong,if the operator gets frustrated more things seem to go wrong,but if they take a minute to calm down things seem to sort themselves out.it is as though the machine is trying to tell us something about life.

Many years ago during my first winter working after leaving school,I experienced problems with my hands becoming very dry and sometimes they would crack and bleed.My hands would always be getting wet during my work and the cold weather punished the skin.My mother told me that I should put ahnd cream on before leaving for work,being of the the male gender I was a bit reluctant to do this ,but when I did I found it helped tremendously.In later years I discovered that farmers often use axel grease from their tractors to protect their hands when working in the fields.I mention this because for the first time this year I noticed my hands are becoming dry from the cold weather.I will continue to use my mothers advice.

At this time of the year it is still dark when I leave to walk to work in the morning,dawn breaks just as I get to work.
This photo is of a harbour town on the Adriatic coast of Croatia.

A sprinkle of rain early this morning,but then the afternoon was nice,though a little windy,mid 60's and bright sunshine.I am watching Manchester Utd play Lille in the Uefa Champions League as I write this post,there is no score and Man U are down to 10 men with 20 minutes left.My friend who is recovering from colon cancer came in to see us today at work ,he has lost a lot of weight but seems good.

All last week while it was raining so much,I spent all the time walking around in my "wellies",and I am not so sure this good for the feet or maybe even ones posture.Anyway I have a few aches and pains,but seemed to have a good start to the work week.The weather is glorious,cool and bright sunshine.I work a short day on Mondays so I can enjoy the rest of the day.

A very nice morning 54f ( 6c ) with bright sunshine,ran with Utpal about 7 miles.He is still recovering from his flu,but we had a good run.Though it has stopped raining the wind has now become quite strong .Hopefully this will not mean that a lot of trees will be blown down ,as in the past.My nephew Marc will be very happy because his team West Bromwich Albion beat Arsenal in the EPL yesterday.

Woke up this morning a little foggy,must be the change in the weather it has finally stopped raining and there is sunshine kind of like the picture you see here.I think it will be a nice weekend.I am making a shout out to my uncle Alf and Aunt Doreen who are visiting with my sister for the weekend . 

An old friend and fellow ultra runner Ed Kelley and his wife Kim are visiting from California.I got to have brunch and spend some chatting.Ed reminded me that it is 6 years since we were both in the same place together.Which only shows how fast time flies.In that time Kim has begun working in the Sacremento basketball organisation.Also, it began raining a week ago ,and we have so far had 12" of rain and it is supposed to continue through tomorrow.

Since I was born in England and my father was born in Serbia,I am happy to say that both England and Serbia & Montenegro both qualified for the soccer world cup to be played in germany in 2006.England beat Poland 2-1,and SGC beat Bosnia & Hercegovina 1-0 yesterday to complete their qualification.I look forward to seeing them both do well.It is still raining and things are getting pretty damp here,but it is good for the garden.

It's been raining now for 5 days on and off,and we must be reaching totals of close to 6".The temps are in the high 50's low 60's,so it is cold enough to wear rain gear and not get all hot and bothered.There are warnings that flooding could occur in areas prone to flooding,so it might be wise to start looking for the Arc in a few days.

It is definately a lazy afternoon,with not much to say,other than the fact that my sister e mailed me to say she has my bus ticket,for when I go to see her in december.That's it! 

Jesper Olson is a young Danish runner who has been running around the world since January 2004,he has been in New York for the last 3 days and I have had a chance to spend some time with him.His journey is quite remarkable,and if you want to know more go to his web site at www.worldrun.org .He leaves New York tonight for Ireland and plans to finish in Greenwhich england (where it all started ) on October 23.It was really nice to spend some time talking to him about his adventure.

Man! did it rain yesterday!We got about 2 1/2" of rain in 24hrs and some really strong winds blew down trees and some power lines,there were repair crews out all day and part of the night.Things seem to be back to normal today.It was cold and damp out this morning,my friend Utpal has recovered enough from his flu to run ,but didn't run too far.

Today I am doing a kind of comunity service.There is a tennis ground close to where I live ,and for 1 day every 2 months each member acts as the gate keeper for the day.You get a free lunch,and you get to sit around and greet people all day,however it is raining today,so it will probably be quiet.There is of course a good chance that it will still be raining when I go for my run later,so that will be nice.

Maybe it's because I'm an englishman,but I like to run in the rain,though I have not had much chance lately ( it hasn't rained really since the middle of August ).They said it was going to rain today,and when I went for my run it looked like it was going to.well I ran around and around for a while but it didn't rain,though an hour after I finished it tried to.This morning I strained my right forarm at work,but after my run it felt a lot better.Sometimes doing things you like, makes things feel better.

This is a photo of Jamaica High school I took in the spring,I was focusing on the Dogwood tree.This where I saw the film crew.They say the film is called "Around the Universe" so look for the school if you see the movie. 

Just a few minutes away from where I live is a high school,called jamaica High School,it is closed for couple of days fro a holiday.Yesterday when I was going past it on my run,I noticed there was a film crew on the grounds.It seems they were filming some scenes for a movie,starring Richard Gere.I didn't see him but it was interesting to know that it was going on.

A quiet day ,though I did get an e mail from my sister.For those of you that missed it this is the tree that fell over in front of my house acouple of months ago. 

A light mist this morning made it feel quite nice on the way to work,now the day is warming up .Of course it is Monday and once again laundry time.I feel a little tired after all my running on the weekend,but it is a good start to the week.

The weather once again was wonderful this morning,unfortunatly my usual running partner Utpal was not.He has finally fallen prey to the flu bug that has been going around for a while.So I ran solo this morning,and it was great!I ran strong for about 35 minutes and it was a good recovery from my race yesterday,and I have the whole day ahead of me to enjoy.I'ts Sunday!

A few days ago I said that I was starting to feel like I was "running" in my runs.Well today in my 2 mile race I ran 15min 22sec which is an improvement of 31sec over last week.The founder of the race came out and walked the course which was a big encouragement.The weather was perfect,mid 50's.When I run like this in the early morning it really sets up the day for me.

The air was crisp this morning during my walk to work,reminding me of autumn in England.The temp was 50f(9c),and it is still cool as I am writing this post.Now there is bright sunshine added to this .They say that the weekend will also be nice,whoever they are.

Here they are again,my old friends Dilly and Dally.I don't know if I mentioned it ,but I am a vegetarian and I have a nice vegetarian restaurant just a coup[le of blocks from my house.On thursdays they have italian night,and I must say they have the best Eggplant Parmisagne in the world,that is whet I will have for dinner tonight. 

This morning it actually felt cold during my walk to work,and yes I got to watch another champions league game in the afternoon.This time Liverpool-chelsea,result 0-0,by the way Man Utd won yesterday.My run today felt very good, I feel like I am really running for the first time in a while.You runners out there will know what I mean.

When I walk to work now in the morning it is still dark,and the temps are quite cool.so there is a real feeling that summer is almost over.Today when I got home I was able to watch the second half fo the Man Utd- Benfica champions league game on TV,a true sign that fall is here. 

Today is Monday,and in the great English tradition it is laundry day.Speaking of England I just got an airline ticket to there for christmas when I go to visit my sister,and half of the price of the ticket where the taxes.They have increased by about 50% or at least it seems like it .It amazes me how much the price of a ticket is the taxes.Well that is my 2 cents.

What a beautiful fall morning!Went for my usual sunday run with my friend Utpal,It was cool,57f and overcast.I had to work a little bit ,but had a nice run and a good breakfast.What is happening in the southern part of the US,the hurrican season is really taking it's toll this year,and our thoughts go out to all of those that are affected.

The photo is me running in a 1000 mile race September of last year.Today I ran in my saturday morning 2 mile race,and though I had to struggle a bit I ran 15mins 53 sec,1 second slower than last week.the weather was beautiful,60f and bright sunshine. 

I have known my boss for 30 years as a friend,and 20 years on and off as a boss.At the beginning of the year he had a health scare and was close to death,so for the last 9 months he has changed his diet,lost about 50 lbs,and yesterday for the first time in my life I saw him out running.The running is a supplement to his bike riding that he does avidly.Good for him.

Here in NY we have a non emergency phone number 311,so if there is some kind of problem you can let the city know.Well,there has been a leaking fire hydrant about 2 blocks from where I live and after 3 weeks the city has fixed it .My sister just got back from a weeks vacation and says she enjoyed the time in the sun.

Surprisingly I am not as sore as I usually am the day after a delivery of lumber from Canada.The boss got pizza for everyone for lunch today,so that was nice.By the end of the day I was feeling pretty tired,and after my run I will have a pretty restful evening.

2 hard days at work,with deliveries coming from China and canada,lots of unloading of trucks.Although I am tired it is a pleasant tired,the kind that is strangely invigorating.I knoew that I will sleep well tonight and probably feel quite sore tomorrow,but will much stronger for it in days to come.

Here's one of my poems;


Heaven has time
For everyone
It's your time
When the time
Has come.

Heaven has time
For everyone.

from Be Happy by Chanakhya Jakovic

Yep! it's sunday morning and the temp is in the mid 60's with bright sunshine.Utpal and myself had a good run,we both seem to be in better shapethan previous weeks,it really is a pleasant end to the week,and sets me up for the week to come.

Despite the fact that I had not raced for about a month,and am not fully recovered from my summer flu.I ran my saturday morning 2 mile race.With a slow time of 15 mins 52 sec,but was happy to see that I can still race and hope to improve as weeks go by.

At this time of the year I would normally be running in a1000 mile race here in Queens,NY.The race was cancelled this year for technical reasons,so I get a bit of a break,and some time to plan for my next race.This photo is from last year. 

It rains just a little every once in a while and that only succeeds in making it even more humid.I think that it will eventually make the temps cooler.It is very busy at work at the moment,but that just makes the day go faster and the weekend come sooner.My running is improving.

They say there is rain on the way,as a result the day was quite sticky,but it should get much cooler after the rain.I thought this was a nice picture. 

On this bridge is where the revolution began in Romania.I visited there in March of this year,The weather was great. 

A sudden return to summer,this afternoon as I went for my run the temps were once again like summer.It is quite pleasant but it made me realise that I still have a bit of a respiratory problem left over from my recent cold,must soldier on and it will get better.

Ran with my friend Utpal this morning,a crisp ,bright September 11 morning.I was on a plane flying from Vienna to NY in 2001.

Another beautiful Saturday had breakfast with a friend from Serbia.This photo is of a square in Timisoara in Romania. 

I'm back to working a few hours on fridays,the walk to work was really nice,with a crimson sun just above the arizon to great me.


Hey It's My Nieces Birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHELLY!!!!!

2 things happened today.A very good friend of mine went in for colon cancer surgery,the prognosis is good for a full recovery.School also started back today in NewYork,so I got to see lots of children excited after ther first day back at school,walking home on my way back from work.The weather is very nice at this time of the year,noy quite ready for the leaves to turn.

Ok it is Wednesday and after almost a month of trying and 2 bad micro drives I finally have one that works in my mp3 player.I have a muvo2 nomad made by creative and I got it cheap but without a drive,I used a 256 mb flash card for a while,but managed to find a 4 gig micro drive like the one originally installed,also cheap and now it is like it used to be,and works great. the weather is cool also,so I am a happy lad.

A fairly quiet day with not a lot to say,so I will just add a nice photo.

So it is Labor day here in America,a day when most people rest and do not labor.so for me it was a chance to get in a nice run this morning,and catch up on some things during the day.Monday is usually laundry so I did some of that,but also a chance to catch up with friends,including some in Eastern Europe.Hello to everyone!

What a beautiful morning,Utpal is still not fully recovered from his calf problem and I still am not 100% but we ran together this morning.His condition dictated how far we ran,then we had breakfast and caught up on the past weeks activities,so all in all it was a good start to the day,and a nice end to the week.

Can you believe rhat we are in to the last 3 months of the year.Here in New York there is a definate feeling that autumn is on it's way,there is almost a sharpness to the air in the mornings,and the days are bright but not too warm.I have started to sleep very easily and wonder if my body thinks it is time to hibernate.

I was on a plane flying to New York when WTC happened,and in England when the Tsunami hit,and now in New York for Hurricane katerina.we may seem somewhat detatched from these things ,but we are all part of the same humanity.That is all I have to say.

I am inspired to try and run every day,and I write when I am inspired,some time the 2 come together.This is how I came to write childrens stories about 2 ducks named Dilly and Dally.with the help of an illustrator friend Danny we have so far created 2 picture books.The cover of the first one should appear here.If you are interested to know more or purchase some , contact me on chanakhya@gmail.com.

The wind is blowing like crazy but still no rain.I guess we are lucky when you see what happened in New Orleans.I was really tired when I got home from work,but after a few minutes at the computer I have started to wake up.The US Open Tennis Champs is going on about 3 miles from where I live,but for the re-routed planes that fly over my house you would not know it.A small price to pay.

Can you believe it, on the way home from work today I saw Martina Navratilova ( the legend ) . they keep saying it is going to rain,but apart from a little sprinkle before I left for work this morning,nothing.As a result it is really humid,but as I write this it seems that there is a front coming in.Maybe we will get a nice downpour when I go for my run,and it will make it nice and fresh.When I checked earlier,my beloved Wolves were beating QPR 2-1.

Well the weekend is over and I am still a little fluey( if that is a word ).I don't work today so I have more time to get better.It was supposed to rain a lot the past 2 days,but it just seems to be sunny and humid.On days when I don't work I get to run early in the morning when it is much cooler.Being an Englishman I have been very excited about the way the Ashes series with Australia has been going,and it seems that the whole of the UK is also excited in ways that it has not been in many years ( for those Americans who don't know, I'm talking about cricket,which is one of the parents of Baseball ).Go on England !

Managed to go out for a run of about 3 miles this morning.It was quite humid at the start which was made even more so ,by the fact that it sprinkled a little rain just to add more moisture to the air.There is now a gentle rain falling,which may get heavier during the day,and the temp's will be cool.It is a perfect day to recover from all the stresses of previouse days.You almost get a sense of the season changeing,but who knows what a new day will bring.

Truly a new day, felling a lot better this morning,not perfect.Ran about 3 miles with my friend Utpal.Once again the weather is fall like.It is August 27th,and I just want to say;

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CKG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This flu that I have is very persistant,just when I thought it was going away,I woke up this morning with a very thick head,I have the weekend to help me get rid of it.I tend to dive into my room, rest alot and drink lots of fluids,hopefully emerging like a butterfly from a cocoon. we will have to see.Of course I will keep you in formed.

This morning on the way to work it flet like a fall day,some friends of mine have gone to run a marathon in upstate New York and the weather should be excellant.I hope to hear that they all did well.I talked with 2 friends of mine from Sarajevo,just the other day and they started a business recently which seems to be doing quite well.I seem to be slowly recovering from my flu though it has left mre a little drained,The weekend is coming soon.

Since the weather has gone a little colder the last few days,the urge to take a nap in the afternoon has become stronger.This morning it was about 68f when I left the house and only 76f when I came home.Going out for a run can freshen you up to a degree,but there can still be a desire to take a nap.It is up to each individual to decide what is the right thing to do,and I will leave you pondering this point.

Not a lot to say the morning was nice and cool,still feeling the effects of my flu but a lot better.My beloved Wolves beat Chester 5-1 in the Carling cup,but some of my friends will be sad that Patrizan Belgrade lost on penalties 4-2 to Bratislava in the champions league final qualifying round.They will now have to be content with Uefa cup.This is probably pretty boring to some of you.

Well the circus was a lot of fun though it was tempered a little by the fact that my flu symptoms got a little heavier as I got more tired during the day .It was a truly International event with acts from all over the world,and the sideshow had lots of food and drinks.The weather stayed quite heavy which didn't help my flu.Oh by the way Chelsea beat Asrenal 1-0.

I woke up this morning with a pretty bad head cold and painful sinus.I managed to run about 3 1/2 miles the air was very heavy and humid.There is an old wives or grandmothers remedy that id you drink sweet black coffee it will help a sinus problem,so I did and it helped a lot.I still need to deal with the fact that I have a cold ,but it is at least better for now.I am not a doctor and I do not play one on TV,so judge for your self.

Ok so I'm still a little under the weather,and for some reason my right ankle is a little sore it may all be related.I did go out for a short run but was not ready to race in my usual saturday 2 mile race.The temperature is in the 70's but the humidity is in the mid 80's so you have to work a little when you run.Although I feel somewhat tired afterwards,I do generally feel a lot better.So if you don't feel 100% sometimes going out for a nice walk or a jog can shake things up.

I am for now, back to working a few hours on friday mornings,and it was a pleasant walk to work this morning.Temps are low and it is overcast,though a little humid. That is pretty good for the second half of August in New York.I will run this afternoon,and have a relaxing weekend planned,I am going to the circus on sunday.



Varna--Bulgarian Black Sea

Still a little under the weather,but improving.A loverly day to spend some time outside.I got a new micro drive for my mp3 player but it doesn't work so I am being sent a new one.I have a movu2 nomad.and when I get the drive working it will have 4 gigs of storage,which is more than enough for me at the moment.I am sure others would disagree.

I have been suffering from a chest infection for a couple of days now,and almost didn't go out for a run today.But the weather is too nice,temps in the high 80's and humidity a low 31%.So I went out and found that I had a pretty good run,maybe it will help clear something out.

It was really a nice day,the temp's are cool and there was a light sprinkle of rain at different times of the day.It was much easier to sleep last night,though I still had times during the day when I felt sleepy,I guess my body wanted to catch up.Enjoy the weather .

Well the rains did come last night,and it is considerabley cooler today but still quite humid.my run this morning was pleasant and I managed to meet a couple of friends out there.I am by no means a computer wiz but I have finally managed to add 2 links from my site to 2 sites that you might find interesting so go on check them out.Have a nice day!

My friend Utpal still has his calf injury so I got to got out on my own this morning.Itwas 81f and 80% humidity when I went out at 6:50 am and I just managed to get a 5 mile run in.In those kind of conditions it feels at times as though you are breathing water.They do say that the weather will break later in the day with the arrival of some thunder storms,and that will be nice for the flowers and trees.

Woke up this morning and it was already 80f ( 27c ) and the humidity was 81%,i do not have air conditioning ( just a fan ) but I sleep pretty well.I did not think I could run the usual 2 mile race,so I waited and went out for a run at 9:45 after I had watch my first EPL game of the season.I happen to support Wolverhampton Wanderers who play in the Championship ( the 4th most watched league in Europe,ahead of the French and Italian leagues).I will tell you more as the season goes on.

Today is a real scorcher,the humidity is quite low but the sun is very strong.I managed to get my run in early,running into 2 friends from Serbia that are visiting New York for a couple of weeks.

This photo was sent by my niece.August 11 is my sisters birthday,I want to wish her a HAPPY BIRTHDAY GEORGIE!!!!!!!!!!!

The day was not too bad,but maybe just a little humid.the evening was nothing like this,but we can dream.That is why God gave us an imagination. 

this is a friend from the Ukriane.I got to sit and just talk in a relaxed atmosphere,with some of the runners who completed 3100 miles.This picture is really in your face.