So how did I become such a huge fan of jogging besides other forms of
routines that can keep someone healthy?
Well, it is very simple, after a good September in Walvis Bay, I took up
swimming, I had a favorite spot at the famous Wambo beach. It was not for long
however that a seal started swimming at my favorite spot and him being
obviously dominant and having more rights of ownership for perhaps the whole
Atlantic Ocean, I am the one who had to relocate. Sad enough then, I did not
find enough fun and satisfaction at my next spot which was infested with stupid
Jelly Fish and Sea weed. Every time I went swimming there, I either had to
surface in a fine sea weed camouflage form or speed out because some jelly fish
hugged my leg or stomach and that thing is really itchy.
The gym went well though until I realized that it is slowly and secretly
making a tiny hole in my budget and it is munching away too much than I first
anticipated. I mean, it was all about the monthly payment first but it was not
long before I started to feel the need to ask for my one dollar change from the
cab guy or else I am calling the cops. Ow, by the way guys, the Taxi fares are
still at 9N$ in Walvis bay ya’ll, I mean even after 00:00, you still just pay 9
flippen Dollars bruuh. Okay, then there was the constant need to have an energy
drink and the cheapest ones happened to be expensive too as per my budget’s
definition of energy drink allowance. Then there was the rather unexpected
expenditures on the gear. Wow, just a pair of trainers with no brand or the
Chinese “Adibas” cost like enough money to take me to SA, get robbed at the
airport, buy a BMW330i on the streets and teleport out at the border by
“leasing” some of my funds to the tax officers and still have enough left to
post my land affirmation letter to WHK even if I live in Walvis Bay.
Sad enough or perhaps it is indeed a good act of faith, I always believe
the little voice in me. I was not going to be boring though that I just come
home and sleep like a baby Kangaroo in its Mums pouch or some hobo who sleeps
all winter and wake up in summer to eat the whole forest and its ladybirds.
Seriously, somebody list all those animals out there who sleep all winter and
do nothing constructive apart from lose so much weight and get attention from
those pathetic scientists. I had to be a responsible human being, one who is
conscious of his health and his Ow My Laawwwd Body to die for.
So I googled, “What is that one
routine that keep one in shape and bring so much fun to a boring lifestyle in
Walvis bay?”
Here is what google brought up for me.
1. Bodybuilding.com –
Baby Bumps and barbells: How to stay fit.
2. One of these five
women is 26, another is 56 and one is Kate Moss…so
3. Being fit without
letting food and exercise control you.
Okay, seriously, Google is on some sort of drug. My question was very
clear. Was that supposed to bring me hope in striking a good routine?? The
first point really, who mentioned babies and bumps? Plus body building is what
am trying to get away from here, it is not body building, how I saw it is going
to a building to be in the company of nude people and women trying to look like
men and at the end of a 30 day cycle, you are required to willingly get just a
little more broke.
The second one, I am not so sure and I wouldn’t think anyone cares how
old the women are. And then so what if the other one is Kate Moss? Doesn’t she
have an age??
The third and the last I even read cause I was already fed up is just as
dumb as the first two and probably the rest if I read on. No wait, this was an
insult actually, now remember I am not trying to starve myself, I am just
trying to keep in shape and hey it is not an exercise, not really, it is just a
routine to say hey, I am gonna have something that aids me on getting and
staying into shape. And nobody said food is controlling me, I control the food
already, I buy it, cook it, take photos of it and eat it up. It is that simple,
I did not ask for complications, I asked for a routine, now google, if you
don’t want to help, you should have just said it. -_-
So that’s it, I failed at trying to come up with a routine but the next
morning, it all changed… There I was, walking to work and there it was. The
revelation, the vision… The answer google failed to give me. I saw a man. He
was jogging!! I felt my whole life change. I felt my heartbeat rise to the
excitement and I felt my whole body already getting into shape. That was it,
problem solved, now all I had to do was set the time and decide where to jog
to… I mean I didn’t have to think of what anymore, I just had to think, how and
when. Bingo, jackpot. I have a routine now and you can kiss my tiny ass. It is
free, it is freedom baby.
So I started planning. I needed a few things to be in order just to make
sure that this routine pays off just the way I want it to. I wanted it to be a
lifetime thing and as I write this, I still do it so my plans worked quite
well. First thing I needed to do was find a jogging buddy. I didn’t have to
know this person by name and their age was not at all important, neither
whether it’s a guy or a girl. Only requirement I had was that, this jogging
buddy must be chubby. See, this is not discrimination; this is making sure I
get a buddy who is really into this whole “losing weight” thing. Somebody who
will jiggle it all up to town and back, somebody who will be visible even when
we jog in foggy weather, Someone who if we later changed to a marathon
challenge, I’d beat him down hours flat and really, I mean, who doesn’t want to
jog next to a chubby guy who would think somebody else jog better than him??
Those guys are cool. They are like the real jogging justice. But, sad enough, I
did not get the right candidate for this one.
Next on the planning checklist was to get a route. This was easy. It was
a walk in the park? Where else, I mean, it is either the beach or the road that
leads to town passed Nampost and KFC, then, it ends at Debonairs Pizza. Now,
the last two places I mentioned seriously had nothing to do with me deciding
where to jog, they just happened to be in my route and apparently this was not
so much of a good idea but just because people decided to build them in my
route does not mean I was going to change my plans at all.
So there it was, I had my route and then the last thing, I had to find myself
a jogging outfit. Something that, my jogging hour should be able to identify me
with. This is what makes my jogging stand out because when I leave home to go
jog, I am a champion. I am a role model
to kids out there. I am at the focus of my own dreams. Okay the last sentence
makes no sense. :/
I am like Leonardo Da Vinci in his primes when I jog. I need to stand
out in my mirror, I need to have something that speaks confidence. Something
that speaks a serious lifestyle like;
“Hey I
wear a suit on Mondays to Fridays, tracksuits on Saturdays and another distinct
suit on Sunday but each and every evening, I wear this jogging attire because I
my friend, I am very serious with my health especially that I have a body to
die for that I need to take care of for generations to see, now if you can
please get out of my way, I’d be so damn pleased, thank you, Stefan, nice to
meet you”
What best can I make of such expectations then? Not easy but I believe I
edged it close to perfection; I got me a Red and Green pair of jogging shorts and a
matching pair of knee length socks. See, I don’t like things that are not
complemented so I got me a nice vest with a huge Pumpkin
drawn on it and a Bandana to keep the sweat off my face. So is the clothing
inventory complete Champ? Yes, it is complete sir. Now, time for the real
thing, jogging.
After
work, I am often already exhausted so the last thing I want is to just drop my
projects home and head off for jogging. Remember I said, jogging is a very
important part of my life, it is almost as important as my surname because with
it I can be found if am lost. Seasonal buddies, if you know what I mean. So, I
get home and take a shower. After that, I watch videos of the greatest Marathon
gurus of all time. I mean who else can these be if not the slender and
mysterious guys from Kenya? Those little humans with bony faces and rib cages
to assist in Mathematics can run long distances, like once they apparently did run
from Cairo to Cape Town at a constant pace. I swear in 1565, we all took
sledges and horses from West Africa but those guys must have jogged their way
through Africa already. I am not hating on them, obviously not, I mean if am to
get Robbed in South Africa, I will beg for money to take a bus to Kenya, change
my citizenship to being Kenyan just so I run my way back to Namibia like a real
champion.
Okay,
back to my preparations See, the idea is to get in the jogging mood you know;
the idea is to have that energy, to generate it without taking in so much
calories. I believe jogging needs someone with the jogging X-Factor and it very
much is dependent on the kind of outfit you have on. After all, you wouldn’t
want to go jogging in Spandex jeans or some long dresses. Not even in Egypt do
they do that.
So I put
on my gear and put on my jogging face. I need to have on a face that says, hey,
I am going to hunt down Vladimir Putin. I leave home just trotting like a
horse, I mean it is more like I need to warm up first. The corner at the street
end always seems to twist an energy bar in me and energize my whole body. I
suddenly turn my face up and gear up into a gallop. At this point, my lungs and
liver are already under repair, all the tiny fat granules that scavenged and
hoisted on them like real bad parasites.
On a rate
of ten, my jogging is at four and a half here. I am like almost in cruising
speed. There are often kids playing soccer in this street and I just feel so
sad for them. I mean if only they knew how big of a mistake that is. Kids
should be taught in school that jogging is the future of all Therapies. I don’t
even know why their parents seem to not know that just around the corner lives
a Jogging revolutionary. It is such a pity. So what do I do? I jog past them, I
mean after all if they would one day also join me, they should make up their minds;
it is not my job to make such decisions for them.
I plug in
my ear phones and go in a really rhythmical jogging pattern; this is when the
real good feeling kicks in. I feel in control of my health, I feel really good.
I feel like my whole health state on a scale and it checks out with what the
doctor recommends. This is life. No one and nothing can beat this feeling and
the good part about it, no one can stop me. I am like Spartacus. Ten minutes in
it and I really hyped up for it now, there is no turning back, I am already
almost half way to the destination point, town. I am panting like a wild dog
and trotting on like a beaver. I am King of the Pedestrian’s lane here. I have
not skipped a song yet, that means I am not at all bored in this race-of-fitness.
I turn in and out of streets, winding my way through groups of pathetic
overweight humans who probably have their wardrobes full of shorts and socks
capable of becoming the greatest jogging uniforms ever. I see a lot of ladies
in Jump Suits, now that is a nice jogging outfit, I mean, jogging is more like
just making a series of thousands small jumps in 20 minutes.
By the
time I get to the corner of the last street, I am in full flight. I also have
my eyes on the halfway point. This gives me great hope for even my next jogging
hour. It is never longer than 30 minutes before I reach the ultimate
destination point. So I jog till the stop sign and turn back. I do not at all
stop to catch a breath, no. Ever seen those Kenyan guys taking a breath? of course
not. Real champions do not stop to take a breath. I am Jogging Material baby. I
am the Jogging Master.
And here
I go again, my return home. Two minutes in the second phase of my jogging hour
and I notice a rather weird place on my left. It is a really cheeky restaurant
and it reads, Pakistani Kebab House. Now, this is quite a huge clique for me
because I have something against the Pakistani history. Hey, do not hold this
against me I said history so, not the people and no the present, it is the history.
And by the way it should not be surprising because I equally have something
against all history that involves men in long dresses and a long beard, that
image is scary. But, there is the word kebab. Now those who do not know what
kebab are, it is a sort burger called a Doner Kebab in some parts of or rather
all parts of Europe and the Asian states. I had it a gazillion times in Europe.
It is really nice and it is in my opinion, irresistible. It is a wrap of bread
with meat and vegetables stuffed in it.
What can
a human being do in this situation? Continue jogging? No, I am not some
supernatural being who can switch off his cravings for nice food, I am not an
alien, I am human. If any of you reading this disagrees and argues that a
normal human being can in fact continue jogging, then I don’t care, you all can
have your humanic reasons to yourself and if you are going to cast me out, I
don’t care either. I cannot just jog past a kebab place; it was made for
opportunists like me. People who are willing to grow the food and beverage
industry and keep it afloat of all mega companies like iPhone and Microsoft.
And who even said I had rules on my jogging routines? I never said it, Santa
never said it. The Kenyan guys never said it either. after all they are the
artists of this kind of thing.
Ok I am sorry it is this long... :(
So I go
in the restaurant and first thing I see is a guy eating a Doner Kebab!
“Stefan,
turn back, go back to your jogging routine this is not a good idea Stefan
please turn back and walk away from this place” says the tiny cute voice in my
heart.
“No! Why
do you always want to control me? When will I have to make my own decisions? I
am doing so much for you every single day and just once I walk into a
restaurant you tell me to turn back? What are you? Some sort of therapist? I am
trying to investigate the existence of good food in Walvis Bay here, so shut up
and sit in your corner. I carry you in my heart, and no, do not even think
about it you are not going anywhere. You know all my dirty little secrets. Like
that one time when I was 13, I took my Mum’s cologne and gifted it to my
girlfriend. Omg why am I even saying it to you, you know it already you tiny
animal!!”
So I fume
and burn. I stand there all stoned up and my face goes all red to the sight and
smell of the majestic Doner Kebab. I can’t believe I jogged past this place and
haven’t at all noticed it! I can’t believe that jogging, which was supposed to
keep me fit and happy allowed me to jog past such a nice needed place. I knew
it was a bad idea, it always been a bad one I guess. No wonder the kids in the
street were just playing football and school doesn’t really encourage jogging.
I do not need such routines that take away my friends and my chance to have
nice food, what was I thinking of?? I start to shake and blink like a desert
lizard. I begin to feel like I almost destroyed my whole life with a routine
that is responsible for disappointing Europeans, Americans and Asians in each
and every Marathon event. We all know that where Kenyans are, not a single
non-Kenyan competitor walks away with a gold medal. Rumors have it that once
in an “All Chinese Marathon” in Beijing, a really black, tall and slender
(typical shape) guy won the Marathon and not surprisingly enough, he was from
Kenya. And he didn’t even run the marathon, he came for Holidays, happened to
walk in the same road where the marathon was taking place and he just won the
race. Just like that, the Gurus hit again. I am proud to be African right now;
these guys have the potential to one day lay their golden medals from Cairo to
Orandjemund, not South Africa as they may end up going missing, just like that.
I gained
my energy back, just enough to drag myself to the nearest table and stretch out
to get my hands on the menu. I was so tired, the evil jogging took all my
energy and probably reserved it for some hobo out there to come and steal more
away. I tok the menu in my hands and there it was on the front cover page. I
mean where else would it be if it is the grand slam of food? If a Doner was
human, it would probably be me. I mean, I am handsome and smart. I have such a
nice body that I feel so scared whenever I take my shirt off in public, I have
fear of cameras. My signature has evolved into an autograph. I have a childhood
career running and I am a certified labor law specialist and I will soon wake
up from this dream when my best friend Houlashi reads this and try to argue me
down on it. Lol, okay, on a serious note, it is impossible to resist a Doner
Kebab. My eyes were full of tears, I felt so betrayed for half the jogging time
I took.
Sometimes
life is really bad, it allows certain routines to just destroy us. That is how
jogging almost destroyed me too and I hope my kids will love football, selfies,
travelling, Maths and a lot of French fries. I want them to love such stuff
just as much as I love Mum, she has always been there for me and I feel honored
when she say that all the troubles she went through, she always had me and my
siblings at heart. We all need such mothers and not to say Fathers are bad, my
dad has never really inspired me and he never took time to just be there for me
but it is nothing that makes me sad anymore, it is my time to show him love. We
are all humans and forgiveness is and will remain the ultimate form of love.
Alright
enough with my peace philosophies! I will never match the great Mahatma Gandhi.
I quickly made an order and when the Doner arrived, I felt my whole happiness
bar rise above its thresholds, I felt great excitement. I felt so much peace,
enough to unite South and North Sudan. I felt like Santa was actually real and
he was somewhere in that Pakistani restaurant, watching me through his
mysterious specs. So forget it all folks, I have a new hobby. A new routine
that can not be matched. Not by swimming, not by going to the gym and definetly
not by the notorious jogging. This is the greatest routine besides the non-debatable
selfie photo shoots. This is the routine to last me ages, the routine to guide
generations through trials, the routine that will live in the history books
after the stupid dieticians write long pathetic patents on it. This routine is
called, “The Doner Diet” It is the substitution of Pizza to many. All civilized
nations eat Doners people, remember it comes in assorted flavours and those who
are in Walvis Bay, please visit the Pakistani restaurant in town and make
yourself feel at home because there aren’t real Pakistani people on site.
So I sat
and had my Doner, another one and a third to take home and also take Pictures
to post on Instagram. Yaaayyy, I even took a cab back home baby. I was
obviously not going to jog back home now am I? I have a Doner in my hand and I
am stuffed up with bread and veggies. Such days, I hope to be able to teleport
to this place in the future because taking a taxi can be slow too.
And last
and definitely a very important take away point, do not order your Doner “Hot”,
these folks have a soft spot for chilli and you may end up blaming me for your
“bathroom horrors”. When you still think you need to blame me though, better be
really prepared because I recently did my certificate in labour law and you
need to prove me guilty beyond reasonable doubt. Only then you will take me
down. I am Stef, it was nice to have you in my world. Cheers!