I’m baaaaaaaaaaacccccccccckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk. Oh yes,
after several weeks of much needed relaxation and holidays, I’ve
returned to my blogging world! So, what does this mean exactly?
Does it mean that I’m back at the start of a brand new year with a
new vision? A profound sense of depth, perhaps? Some witty
anecdotes, maybe? A level of maturity in my writing that comes from
experience?
Ha! Nope, it’s going to be another year of:
Perhaps not. So, as you will have known, I have spent the past few weeks in the UK for Christmas and New Years and I had an absolute blast seeing everyone and just having a good time. I ate too much, drank just enough and got to see most people I wanted to and I loved every second of it (except the dentist). Before I give you the highlights though, I’d like to thank my family and friends for taking time out of their busy lives to look after me and spend time with me when I’m back. I’m not lying when I say that I enjoyed every second of it and I always look forward to seeing you all the next time. Thank you!
So, onto the highlights of the trip then! Some top moments were:
So what about New Years then? I discussed about resolutions and I certainly have a few for this year. I realise that you should aim to improve all year round but that doesn’t stop resolutions from being a fun way to start the New Year. Here are mine and I invite you all to help make sure that I keep them:
Pick of the Week
The Last of Us – Ok, I’m starting the year off with a video game but what a video game! Paraphrasing my friend Grant: it’s so very human! Humanity has been infected and only small packets of civilization remain, surrounded by the infected. You play as CHECK NAME and his side-kick as they try to get through the city, all the whilst watching out for the infected, soldiers, gangs and criminals. You’re under-supplied, out-numbered and things can go wrong quickly. Sounds familiar? It is but the depth of character and personality that goes into the games environment and characters makes the game stand out. You feel that you are being drawn into a very real situation and you really start to see feel the horror that these people go through as they do what is needed to survive. Check it out.
Music of the Week
So, I’m starting the year with a band I found last week: Supercell. Now, Supercell are a Japanese j-pop band with 11 members and, originally, no vocalist (they have one now). Instead, they used a music synthesiser called Hatsune Miku Vocaloid for the vocals. Something different for a change of pace.
Ok, so that’s it from me: a new year and a new post. Hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year. See you all next week.
Ha! Nope, it’s going to be another year of:
- Bad spelling
- Even worse jokes
- Me talking too much about myself
- Me talking waaaaayyy to much about ‘Project Atoll: Those
Paths We Watch’
- Elongation of words
- Derogatory fake editors
- And lists
Perhaps not. So, as you will have known, I have spent the past few weeks in the UK for Christmas and New Years and I had an absolute blast seeing everyone and just having a good time. I ate too much, drank just enough and got to see most people I wanted to and I loved every second of it (except the dentist). Before I give you the highlights though, I’d like to thank my family and friends for taking time out of their busy lives to look after me and spend time with me when I’m back. I’m not lying when I say that I enjoyed every second of it and I always look forward to seeing you all the next time. Thank you!
So, onto the highlights of the trip then! Some top moments were:
- A couple of days spent with John and Heather with lots of
great food and culminating with a talk from Astronaut Chris Hadfield
- A hill walk on the nicest day of the trip, around the Afton
area, with my dad
- An 8 hour (or so) D & D session that should have
took about 3 hours (procrastination is the devil) that
actually ended with teamwork followed by some next-day Rammstein
with Michael
- Christmas day itself! Family, food, drink and fun!
- Christmas cake
- Seeing my sister after a year!
- Scottish dancing at Michael and Cara’s leaving Ceilidh
- My first full body massage ( Gah images – Censorship Ed)
- Being shown around the various Ayrshire College Campuses by
my Uncle Duncan
- An unhealthy but amazing roll and square sausage/onions with
my mum
- New Years at Ashton Lane and a lot of food beforehand (Pizza
crust dipped in cinnamon cream…surprise of the night)
- The evening after with lots of weird music and left-over food
(Sorry Martin!)
- The Hobbit part 2 with Susan and Lewis then finding out they
are engaged!
- Some Christmas cheer in the rain with everyone despite not
getting to go ice skating!
- Mulled cider before breakfast
- A walk around the New Cumnock Lagoons with my parents and
Ollie on boxing day
- Ollie!!! (who ate a fatball…net and all)
So what about New Years then? I discussed about resolutions and I certainly have a few for this year. I realise that you should aim to improve all year round but that doesn’t stop resolutions from being a fun way to start the New Year. Here are mine and I invite you all to help make sure that I keep them:
- My first one is actually a recycled version of the one I
started a couple of years back: try something new each month (at
least). This can include things I haven’t done in a long time
as well. For January, my first new experience was my first ever
full body massage, which was throwing myself in at the deep-end I
feel.
- Try to perform a charitable act once a month and become a
better person in general. Although I give money each month to
charity, I feel that I can do a little more. Still working the
kinks out of this one but it doesn’t have to be massive gestures
either.
- Be more sociable and overcome my awkwardness. There is more
to discuss on this one but I’m still deciding whether or not I
should discuss it.
- Actually improve my blog. Despite what I wrote earlier, I
want to really concentrate on bringing it up to a new level, with a
better website and more interesting content. First plan of action
is to read my new guide to travel writing (thanks Michael and Cara!)
- Learn to cook. Ok, I know that some of you might be
scratching your head a little as I can already cook. However, I
feel like I’ve missed a few steps and that I’ve not learned the
basics, so this year, I want to go back and learn properly. I
especially want to learn more meals that I can do off the top of my
head without a recipe
- And finally, I want to review my bucket list! I’ve changed
over the years and so have some of my goals.
Pick of the Week
The Last of Us – Ok, I’m starting the year off with a video game but what a video game! Paraphrasing my friend Grant: it’s so very human! Humanity has been infected and only small packets of civilization remain, surrounded by the infected. You play as CHECK NAME and his side-kick as they try to get through the city, all the whilst watching out for the infected, soldiers, gangs and criminals. You’re under-supplied, out-numbered and things can go wrong quickly. Sounds familiar? It is but the depth of character and personality that goes into the games environment and characters makes the game stand out. You feel that you are being drawn into a very real situation and you really start to see feel the horror that these people go through as they do what is needed to survive. Check it out.
Music of the Week
So, I’m starting the year with a band I found last week: Supercell. Now, Supercell are a Japanese j-pop band with 11 members and, originally, no vocalist (they have one now). Instead, they used a music synthesiser called Hatsune Miku Vocaloid for the vocals. Something different for a change of pace.
Ok, so that’s it from me: a new year and a new post. Hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year. See you all next week.
