Thursday, April 03, 2014

Maybe instead of shouting nonsense you could whisper inspiration...

So it has been a long time and maybe no-one reads these things anymore. Such is life and the 'progress' that often bothers me so. In an ideal world I would have things stay the same, slowly improving and upgrading until perfection is achieved and then staying there. Of course life is nothing like that utopian ideal and so it has marched on and changed everything again whether I like it or not. Of course perfection is an illusion, there will always be something that could be better or something else you would like to fit into your schedule. I guess life leading you in an agreeable direction, being reasonably happy with how everything is going and filling your time with meaningful things isn't such a bad alternative.

I last posted a year and a half ago and in the interim a surprising (to you and me both!) amount has happened. I have split up with one long-term (for me at least) girlfriend and with what you could describe as a plot twist, gained another. I have started helping out at a local Theatre, mostly with the youth group. This has seen me gain plenty of new skills, a healthy dose of confidence and some new friends. It has taken me to Gibraltar and given me a sense of purpose in life. Working with kids, particularly as a teacher, is my new goal. I've never made things easy for myself and I'm pretty such this will be no exception!
To that end I have also been doing a long-overdue degree, my choice being English Literature (Creative Writing Pathway). This will allow me to become either a teacher or a writer. I have another 4 years to go, but it is going well so far. As if I hadn't got enough to do, I now also help out at both Explorers and Scouts(Explorers are 14-17yo Scouts if you didn't know). Again, I am learning a lot, making new friends and gaining some valuable experience working with kids. It is also good fun and very rewarding.

There is of course the small matter of music, which I still make with my band, Z Stacks. We have lost a member but are still going with much the same shouty, geeky absurdity as ever. I have also joined another band, one who play geeky blues. We aren't the most musically talented, having learnt all our instruments from scratch AFTER joining the band. Sour Crouch and the Xenophobes (it's just a name, we aren't really xenophobes, mostly) aren't family friendly, but it is all good fun!
Oh, I started Salsa dancing too. I mean, why not?

Ah yes, I also left my terrible job. I mean it was making me incredibly unhappy, taking me nowhere and I just couldn't do it anymore. So I left, without anything else to go to. Now I'm not recommending that rather drastic course of action but I can tell you it was one of the best decisions I ever made. I have done so much since then that I simply could not have done before, and a whole lot of people have told me how much happier I seem. I now have a temporary office job in London, which is different for sure!

In summary, things happened. I may elaborate on those things in future posts. Feel free to ask questions if you have happened across this. I will endeavour to answer with speed and grace. Alternatively I may write a poem about the chair I am sitting on or just press caps lock and type absurdity in your general direction. I like to keep life interesting. It is always good to be back here, hopefully my stay will be rather more consistent this time. Watch out for more posts, with a higher possibility of humour!

Dan
< Motor-fucking-head! Farscape-The Best Thing Ever, wooo!!!!