My great mate Andy left for Japan last weekend.

As is custom, he received a few going away presents.

Amongst these presents was, in my opinion, one of the most creative and thoughtful presents I have ever heard of.

And it is one you can do yourself, with just a box and an imagination.

Andy received a box, and in this box was a list. The list contained a number of things Andy needed to do or collect during his time in Japan. It included obtaining an Asahi beer coaster, taking a trip to a Sumo wrestling contest, and getting a photo taken of Andy next to a cherry blossom tree.

Evidence of each goal achievement is to be put into the box.

What makes this such a great present is that is shows a lot of thought on the part of the giver, and it is a present that gives the recipient a motivation to get out the front door, live life, and try new things.

In a year, Andy will be back, and he can share his memories and experiences in achieving everything on the list with Jaime-Marie, the thoughtful soul that gave him the list.

Next time you are struggling for a present idea, why not give this a try? I guarantee the recipient will appreciate it. Wouldn’t you?

I added running into the exercise regime this week, and it worked well, with a weight loss of 0.9kg for the week.

Might have been more, except we had Christmas in July celebrations with the family on Sunday.

Now I am less than 4kg away from the goal weight, with four weeks to go.

The reason movie goals are on my list is because I am terrible at watching movies and thus I rarely make the effort.

Why am I terrible?

Because I fall asleep. Doesn’t matter what time of the day or night it is, if a movie doesn’t interest me straight away, my eyelids suddenly become heavy.

So the prospect of watching Gone with the Wind, a 222-minute long movie about love during the war, is pretty daunting, despite the fact that many claim it is the best movie of all time.

As I write this, I have now failed on three attempts to watch this movie. The furthest in I have managed is 90 minutes, which barely starts to get into the plot. I think I need to have about five Red Bulls, and start the movie first thing in the morning, to be able to stay awake for the entire film.

Perhaps I keep falling asleep because the movie is not my preferred film genre. Maybe it is because the film goes for way, way, way too long.

But most likely, I keep falling asleep because frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.

Month completed: July 2008

Ages ago (at least two years now) I was reading a magazine that had a feature on a variety of different ninja forms. Most of them seemed similar, and held no appeal for me. And then I read about ninjutsu.

What is ninjutsu, you ask?

Quite simply, ninjutsu is the art of invisibility.

The art form seemed to be more focused on stealth, and remaining hidden, rather than fighting techniques. And given that I like to sneak up on people and give them a fright, and that I am not too keen to get whacked with a sword, this seemed like the ninja form for me.

Last week I went along to my first class, in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD. It was a two-hour session, and I initially thought it would be a very long two hours. I was very wrong.

The first thing we did was meditation. Excellent. Hard to fully concentrate though, as I had just come from work.

Next we worked on weapons training. Cool. I had a long stick called a Hambo, and I was partnered with Mr Beattie (everyone was addressed as Mr, so I was Mr Tully – very Matrix-esque) who had a plastic sword. We did a series of moves that involved Mr Beattie coming at me with a sword, and me dodging the sword and then whacking him with my Hambo. He invited me to whack him pretty hard, which was fun. Less so when the roles were reversed, and he did it to me though!

By the way, Mr Beattie has a black belt in ninjutsu. Also by the way, the picture below is not of Mr Beattie, but just a random ninjutsu image I included to break up the text. Just thought you should know.

After weapons training, we moved onto street survival techniques, and specifically using our elbows to knock someone out (plus a bit of reverse kicking, for when the enemy is behind you).

Most people wear a groin guard during the class. Being my first class, I didn’t have one. Mr Beattie forgot this, and kicked me not once, but twice in the groin. Both times it hurt heaps (remember, he has a black belt).

I did survive street survival, which was lucky because the final part of the class was on reflexology, which is a technique of massage based on the belief that different parts of the sole of your feet represent different parts of your body, so massaging that part of the sole will ease any pain in the related body part. Not sure about it, but happy to go along with it if it meant a free foot massage.

Until I realised that after my massage, I would become the massager. Luckily, I only had to use my feet to do the massaging, but regardless I am not a big fan of massaging another man’s feet!

Shortly after, I looked at the clock. We had run overtime, and the two hours was over. I was impressed; the class had run quickly and that probably had something to do with the variety of things we went through.

When I land in London in late August, I now plan to find a club to join, and continue a new-found interest in this very interesting form of ninja. I would highly recommend it to anyone – after just one class, I already feel that I could better defend myself in combat.

After much anticipation, the Project 183 magnets have now arrived, and I will start putting them into the mail today.

For those of you who have sent me your mailing address, you should soon receive your magnet. Each is individually signed and numbered.

For those of you who have not put up your hand to get a magnet yet, make sure you get in quickly. There are only 183 magnets in total, and so far I have requests for over 100 of them.

When you receive your magnet, it will be time to get creative. I look forward to seeing what sort of photos you come up with using a humble magnet. And don’t think you need to restrict yourself to putting it somewhere magnetic. I didn’t.

I have set up a Flickr account to organise all the photos that are sent in. You can access the collection by clicking here.

A weekend away with the guys, combined with a shocking cold and sore throat, meant this week was never going to be good.

Amazingly, I still managed to lose 200g. I am now 74.2, and still managing to head in the right direction.

Month completed: July 2008

A boy’s weekend in Noosa last weekend gave me the opportunity to head to what is probably Australia’s most world-renowned zoo – the Australia Zoo. Perhaps better known as the home of the Crocodile Hunter, the late Steve Irwin.

The day we went was a little wet and rainy, which was a bit annoying but good for keeping the big crowds of people away.

It was fantastically laid out, with really simple information plaques that didn’t drown you in facts, but instead just gave you some interesting tidbits about the animal you were looking at (there is an example below).

The only thing missing were animals. It just felt like, for the amount of space in the zoo, and the $52 entry fee, there could have been many more animals. And maybe one lion (there were tigers).

Overall though, well worth a visit. We still had a really great day.

In the style of Bindi Irwin, here is the highlight reel of my big day at Australia Zoo:

At Australia Zoo, I patted a koala! How cute!

I posed with a wedge-tailed eagle! Scary!

I drove the Crocodile Hunter truck! Vroom vroom!

I went to the Crocoseum! Snap goes to crocodile!

I avoided the dangerous Hose monster! Watch out!

I read interesting facts! Wow!

I watched my friend make a fool of himself! Funny!

I saw one of my favourite animals – the tortoise! Look at that shell!

My friends Isaac (middle), Andy (front) and Johan (right), and I (left) met the Irwin family! Excellent!

Crikey, we had a great time at Australia Zoo!

Want to know my favourite place to eat in Melbourne?

Well then, have a read of an interview I did recently with Miss Sandi, a Melbourne-based freelance writer. To read the full interview, click here.

Month completed: July 2008

Sometimes the nicest gifts are the ones you don’t expect.

So this was on the list for that reason. To surprise and delight someone.

My Mum is the best Mum ever, so who better to be the recipient of the gift than her (Nat might have a case to put forward though!)?

And flowers are always a winner.

I went for the most colourful ones, as colour always brightens a room. Judging by the photo, I think she was happy with them.

A nice bouquet of flowers – under $100.

Being the favourite child – priceless.

Month completed: July 2008

Last Christmas Nat and I received vouchers for doing the Bridge climb. With an expiry in November, we had to find a weekend to use them prior to us leaving for London at the end of next month.

Sometimes things just fall into your lap.

When Sunrise set me the toilet challenge, I saw an opportunity to get us up to Sydney for free. And amazingly, it worked.

Sunrise paid for Nat and I to fly up, and they also paid for us to stay at the Hilton for two nights. Go Mel and Kochie!

On Sunday afternoon, we headed to the bridge for the three-hour journey up to the top and back. We were able to do the twilight climb, which means you go up during the day, watch the sun set, and then climb back down at night so you can see the city lights.

How about that view!

Here is a Sydney Harbour bridge fact to finish off with – Paul Hogan (a.k.a. Crocodile Dundee) used to work as a rigger on the bridge.