November 29, 2010

Happy Fatfree Holidays for all

Dear Bloggers,


I am not the worlds example of being slim. And I do not feel the need to be that at all. Only trouble is that I have trouble to resist stuff that is high on the wrong kinds of calories and fat, and yes I love the good tradition of dining together during the holidays. Any other part of the holiday season is not bathering me at all. Normally I have been working nearly every Christmas or New Years.


We are heading in to the party season now, and that can spell disaster for many people trying to watch their weight and stay healthy. Christmas is always going to be a time when we gain a few extra pounds due to the foods that we eat which are both are richer and more readily available than throughout the rest of the year.

Certainly it is very important to let your hair down now and again and to enjoy the odd treat and luxury, but what can you do if you want to hold on to your figure over the coming weeks. Follow my tips to ensure you enjoy your Christmas parties without looking like a stuffed turkey at the end of it all.


Don't be afraid to say no. It isn't unusual to get invites to many parties, meals or social events during December and the New Year. Trying to keep everybody happy will only lead to massive excesses and probable weight gain. Be selective, try to keep the nights out evenly spaced over the weeks, instead of all back to back. (Being drunk on a daily base is a regular life but not that healthy, I figured this out the hard way by trying it.)

'You can take a horse to water but you can't make it drink'. You may have a busy social calendar over the next few weeks, but that doesn't mean you have to push the excesses to the limit. If it's a meal out, you could limit yourself to a main and a starter. If you have a few drinking nights out lined up, then aim to reduce the amount of alcohol you consume. Try something non alcoholic in between drinks (or even better still a glass of water), this way you could halve the amount of alcohol you have over the evening.


Choose the healthier options. For example as a starter melon balls or anything else based on fruit or veggies and soups are generally quite good choices. For mains try chicken and fish dishes without sauces or gravies. (if your not allergic to seafood like me.) Finally deserts are usually the hardest to get right. Basically anything that contains cream, pastries and sauces is going to be high in calories and saturated fat, so perhaps a better option would be to share one between two or totally skip them.


Burn away the excesses. Whatever calories you put in to your body will either be stored as fat or burned off to fuel movement. So my final tip is simply to be more active. Walk to and from the night out, if it's safe to do so. Dance as much as possible if that's an option and lastly try to avoid sitting down all night, instead try pottering around. Unless you have health issues of course that might get you into trouble. I do my excercises with the Nintendo Wii together with my kids we have loads of fun. So there we have 2 good things in one pleasurable moment.


Happy Holidays to you all

Christmas only comes once a year and if you are in good health and physical shape then a couple of weeks of excess probably won't do you any harm. If however you are carrying a little too much weight already (like myself) and the nearest thing you get to regular exercise is walking to and from the car then a month of over indulgences could just push your health over the edge. So enjoy yourself, but just don't forget that your health can and will suffer if you over consume for a prolonged period of time. I know that it is not easy in the beginning but believe me. I’ve been there, done that and got the t-shirt. Happy Holidays to you all.

The Old Sailor,

November 22, 2010

Oh the weather outside is.........

Dear Bloggers,


Today it is a nice and sunny autumn day but thios will change rapidly by the end of the week.

The balmy temperatures of today will be a distant memory as winter weather will arrive in Northern parts of The Netherlands this week, the wind will get from colder areas and snow is expected on Thursday or Friday at the latest, just in time to put a chill into travelers planning for the next week's holiday weekend. Saint Nicholas his presents might even arrive a bit later due to the weather.


The good news, forecasters at the National Weather Service say, is that the snow showers expected at the end of this week but it will not be that much.Next weeks weekend will be a different story, however. A cold stream is bringing plenty of moisture to the area is expected to work its way towards the Southern parts of the country, the forecast said this morning. From Saturday morning through Sunday morning 6 to 10 centimeters of snow likely will fall in the Coastal areas, and after that the rest of the country might get some wet snow.



While the cold air stream is expected to blow over by Thursday, travelers in the northern regions should expect pretty chilly winds and below zero temperatures. The crews will be busy on the highways and main roads treating them with de-icer and throwing down salt and sand for traction.

Next week on Tuesday the weather could be cool and showery as a weak storm continues to drop out of the East. Colder air will sweep in from Poland early next week, hitting hardest east of the country and pushing temperatures into the single digits. Even below numbers at night are mentioned, so maybe it is time to find the ice skates. The weather should improve by the 4th of December but according to the weather stations this might become a serious cold winter in Europe.






"This is the time of year when drivers need to change their mindset to winter driving," The weatherman said. "Remember to bring warm clothes with you, a shovel so you can dig yourself out, don't follow too close and be sure to check with ANWB on weather conditions before you get out on the roads."

Getting a christmas feeling already eventhough that is a bit early for me. I will ignite the fireplace and drink some hot chocolate with rum.

The Old Sailor,

November 14, 2010

What is your biggest fear?

Dear Bloggers,


This week I talked to a young lady in the bus during one of the lonely and stormy nightshifts all of a sudden we entered the subject of loosing a person near to you. She told about the loss of her dad, when his business stranded due to the financial trouble a few years ago he did not see a way out anymore and took his own life. Even it is to discuss if you can do this to your family yes or no. I had a really deep conversation with her about the reason why we should be here? I found the following qoute of Natalie Babbit on the web and I think that this a better way of understanding this silly fear of death.


"Do not fear death... only the unlived life.
You don't have to live forever;
You just have to live."

It is natural to feel fear of the unknown. In regard to death, this fear may be of what might happen during the process of dying, such as the pain of a terminal illness, nausea, vomiting, or even fearing abandonment by those around you. The fear of death may also be perpetuated by the sadness of the family around the dying person, or the hopelessness of the doctor, or the nurses who feel they may have failed to keep the person alive. However, it is through death that the dying person can be released from the great burden of the diseased body.

Death is not an enemy, it is a natural fact of life, a stage of our existence, and a transition or doorway between planes of reality. Death has its own harmony with nature just as a tree loses its leaves every fall. We don't feel that it is unjust or that the tree failed to stay fully alive when it goes dormant through the winter. It is natural. Neither should doctors and nurses feel they have failed if after every endeavor a patient dies. Actually, it may be better to let a person take the opportunity to die peacefully rather than trying to force him or her to remain alive in a suffering body. In other words, it can be better to make peace with death than try to conquer it.


The process of dying can be rough, but it is temporary. The best thing to do is to focus our consciousness as much as we can in a way that will help us reach the highest realm possible after death. Of course, it always may be a little sad to leave our home and loved ones, but if we are going to a bigger and more beautiful home, then what is there to be sorry about? It is joyful to be going to a better place. This sort of joy will also help divert our attention from any pain we may be feeling.

The primary fear of death is, of course, not knowing what we will be or where we will go in the afterlife. If you are afraid of where you might go after death, be surrendered and know that fate, or God, will put you where you will best learn whatever you need to learn. The universe is based on compassion. It is not a punishment that we are here, but it is because of our desires for the experience of material existence and bodily sense pleasure. Each life is meant for us to learn more about ourselves, and about who we are. Death is not simply a matter of getting old or sick and then dying. Natural death happens when you have finished doing what you were meant to do in this life. You may have wanted to do more or not, but when you have done what you were meant to do, you will move on. Nature will arrange it that you will leave this realm. Each life is like a classroom wherein you learn a certain amount, and go through a certain number of lessons or tests. Then you graduate to the next class. We can learn willingly or unwillingly. We can cooperate or be uncooperative. We can repeatedly keep going through it until we learn all of the necessary lessons to go on to the next level. That is our choice. And if you have failed any of the tests, don't worry. You'll have the chance to try it again. Therefore, let go of any fear and let "God" or who or whatever you believe in put you where you will make the most progress.



Actually, to fear death reveals one's misunderstanding of life. It is a fear of knowing one's real self, which is beyond the bodily identification. It is that with which some people hesitate to acquaint themselves. Thus, if a person has known nothing else but one's bodily identity, losing the body can put one into fear. Yet, how can one ever think he was the body when it is plain to see that he came into this temporary world through birth and must leave it through death? All of our possessions, relationships, even our talents and skills are all temporary. So how can our body be anything more? Being afraid of death is like being afraid to give up an old and worn-out garment.

In this regard, the mind is the root cause of fear and suffering. However, this fear and anguish can be a gift because it shows where the mind gets caught in the desired model of thinking how things should be. It projects its own level of reality out on the world and its perception of things. When things are not the way we want them to be, or think they should be, the mind has difficulty accepting it and we suffer. We then often get angry, anxious, confused, or fall into fear. To enjoy freedom from suffering, we have to grow beyond our attachments, ego, and desires. Thus, the awareness of our approaching death plays an important role in helping us transcend our temporary worldly attachments, and to increase our development and qualities that are offered through our existence in different bodies or different planes of consciousness.

So an important point is that we do not have to be afraid of death, for we are all immortal. When we look around us, this is plain to see. Every winter the trees, plants and grass go dormant and practically die, yet they return to life and display their blooms in the spring. Even if a tree dies and becomes soil, we can see that out of it new life rises from the remnants of its decay. Even if the water of a pond disappears, it forms the steam from which clouds are created, which rain down the potential for new life. We witness many forms of transition of the same energy. It is an endless cycle in which we all participate. In the same way, our physical body is shed at death, but our life persists on another level. Thus, through death we also find renewal.

As it is stated in the ancient Bhagavad-gita, "Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you. . . nor in the future shall any of us cease to be."

While we live in this material world, death helps alleviate and release us from our accumulated attachments, positions, and superficial desires. Death shows us what is not important, and makes us give up those things which can no longer help, or which keeps us from understanding who we really are. Even though we are here to experience the innumerable aspects of material existence, if we are too caught up in it, we will never understand our spiritual identity. Thus, death is an assistant which forces us to come to grips with what is temporary, and to give it up. It is another step in the learning process, to come closer to what we really are.

Unfortunately, if one is overly attached to his or her body, position, belongings and relations, death can seem like a severe punishment. Yet, it can be a gift or even a blessing if you are in deep kinds of pain. For the materialist who is afraid of losing everything, death is like the grip that crushes. With a spiritual understanding, one can find a meaning in dying.



In the end, there comes a time when we need to let ourselves, or the person dear to us, leave the body, just as when a person needs to rest. It can be wrong to resist the process of death, whether it be yours or that of another. So we should not begrudge another of his death. We should not be unwilling to let him or her go. As some of us are not able to live on but we should not be selfish and try to “rescue” the ones that cannot find another way out. It is his or her chance to enter a better realm to continue with his progress. He or she is not leaving us, he or she is simply going on before us.

Death is not an enemy, it can be like the friend who cuts the chain that holds the anchor which prevents one from sailing to greater horizons. This is the way we become closer to attaining freedom from this earthly plane, and from the dictates of the senses, the service of the body, and the impressions in the mind.

on the fear bus
I should put up a sign which says: “The one who fears death should take the next bus home.” I am afraid that my boss will not be very amused if I would do this for real.

The Old Sailor,





November 7, 2010

Long time ago......far far away

Dear Bloggers,




Being happy doesn't mean everything is perfect. It means you have decided to look beyond the imperfections. Happy Birthday to myself



Yes, it was 3 years ago today — November 8th, 2007 — that I burst out of the starting blocks. In the blogosphere, 3 years is a long time (I’m told the average life of a blog is about 3 months).


Over the last 36 months, I’ve made 222 blog postings (including this one). To celebrate, I thought I’d simply share with you a few of my favourites. Actually, I’m in such a jocular mood I’m just going to share what I think are my best or funniest blog postings. Some of these I like because the stories they’re based on my opinion or are from themselves funny; others I just like because of some deep rooted feelings that moves even me. Life would be very dull if we never indulged ourselves.”


Here goes nothing:

· Hoera mijn blog is geboren http://oldsailor2007.blogspot.com/2007/11/hoera-mijn-blog-is-geboren.html

· Zie de maan schijnt…… http://oldsailor2007.blogspot.com/2007/12/zie-de-maan-schijnt.html

· Als je nog net niet oud bent http://oldsailor2007.blogspot.com/2008/01/als-je-nog-net-niet-oud-bent.html

· Als de pijn de baas wordt  http://oldsailor2007.blogspot.com/2008/01/als-de-pijn-de-baas-wordt.html



· Als ik later…. http://oldsailor2007.blogspot.com/2008/03/als-ik-later.html

· De prins op het knappe witte paard  http://oldsailor2007.blogspot.com/2008/04/de-prins-op-het-knappe-witte-paard.html

· If grief....... http://oldsailor2007.blogspot.com/2008/09/if-grief.html

· Parade of the bums  http://oldsailor2007.blogspot.com/2008/10/parade-of-bums.html

· A christmas story  http://oldsailor2007.blogspot.com/2008/12/christmas-story.html



· It started with a kiss...... http://oldsailor2007.blogspot.com/2009/01/it-started-with-kiss.html

· Enjoy life while it is there  http://oldsailor2007.blogspot.com/2009/01/enjoy-life-while-it-is-there.html

· Happy with what you have, not what you could get  http://oldsailor2007.blogspot.com/2009/02/happy-with-what-you-have-not-with-what.html

· A bad day can have good moments http://oldsailor2007.blogspot.com/2009/04/bad-days-can-have-good-moments.html

· How to live positive with fibromyalgia  http://oldsailor2007.blogspot.com/2009/07/how-to-live-positive-with-fibromyalgia.html

· Clearing the attic......gets your mind cleared as well?  http://oldsailor2007.blogspot.com/2009/08/clearing-attic-gets-your-mind-cleared.html

· Finally back to work again  http://oldsailor2007.blogspot.com/2010/04/finally-back-to-work-again.html

· Married or single who is happier http://oldsailor2007.blogspot.com/2010/09/married-or-single-who-is-happier.html



Enjoy reading.and ”Live life as long it is there, pray for less fights, spend your last money on a drink and fuck if your life is depending on it.”



The Old Sailor,

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