Normal service has been resumed - the start of this month was my return from US trip #5, and I can't put into words what a great time I had, getting to see Nicole and friends again. I mean it when I say I really didn't want to go back home, and the day I had to fly back home, while not as bad as the last time, was still a bittersweet day. More memories to cherish, though...and also more on all things US a little later on.
For the most part, aside from a mini heatwave in the middle of this month, I've been getting back into the normal routine - and as I've experienced before, after coming back from a trip some things about the normal routine seem to be worse than what they were before - especially the jobsearch side of things. I feel like over the last few months the pressure on me to find a job is getting ramped up, to the point where I'm getting anxiety issues before I have to attend each of my mandatory jobsearch sessions.
On that note, as I type this I have two job-related "interviews" next week, but they're not really interviews - one is a recruitment day for a security/event steward job, and the other is an induction for a supposed assembly operative job. They're both well outside of my comfort zone, and I was pretty much press-ganged into applying for them by certain quarters, because I have no experience in either job and they're not careers I ever wish to take up - but I will go to both "interviews" anyway, if anything just to see what happens.
Also - I might've mentioned this before, I know I have to a few people - there's an issue I've had for the longest time. Whenever I'm in a group situation, either online or offline, and with anyone, I can't help but feel that I'm the odd one out, while everyone else just talks over. It's half my own fault, because I'm a very quiet person most of the time, and I don't know what to say or how to make myself heard, and I'm always afraid that I might come across as rude if I do speak up or say "Hey, listen to me!" However the other people in the group are half responsible too - I'm not saying that they do that intentionally (the vast majority, anyway), but that's how it can come across to someone like me. Plus, if everyone's talking over each other and/or talking about something that just completely goes over my head, it really doesn't help. I know this sounds harsh, but this is how it can be sometimes.
On the plus side of things, and going back to the US trip again - I wasn't expecting to say this so soon, but I have booked my next trip to the US - I'll be flying back over in December, for a month, and I will be there for Christmas, New Year and my 29th birthday - and also a wedding. Two of Nicole's friends, Paul and Crystal, are tying the knot in December, and I'm not only invited, I'm also in the wedding party, so it's a first - and hopefully it'll be a great occasion, too. And the best part is that I'll get to spend it with my lovely Nicole (how many times have I said that now?) - I can't wait.
I'll leave you with this comic I produced for one of Granitoons' art jams this month, based around the very funny improv show "Whose Line Is It Anyway", which he introduced me to recently - give it a watch, and also check out Granitoons' gallery if you haven't already.
30/05/2014
30/04/2014
April 2014
No fooling about this April, I can tell you now. Two important things have happened this month, one very much more exciting than the other. I'll get the less exciting stuff out of the way first.
I mentioned in my last blog that I'd gotten a job interview at a shop in Barnard Castle - I'll cut to the chase, I didn't get the job. It was probably just as well that I didn't, because the commute would've made it financially unviable, and they also didn't mention what the hours would be. Still, at least it was some interview experience, which I need badly considering interviews are a rarity for me. The jobsearch continues.
Now for the exciting part - I also mentioned in my last blog that I would be flying to the US for the fifth time to see my lovely Nicole. As I type this, I'm there, on the second week of my two week trip, and it's been great to be back, seeing the sights and getting to spend lots of time with Nicole and her family and friends. The best part was that I was more or less Nicole's main birthday present (how cheesy does that sound? XD), as her birthday was on April 23, and it was great that we got to spend it together. We were also in Newport, Rhode Island for that, where we explored the town, visited some of Newport's famous mansions, walked on the beach and also checked out the International Tennis Hall of Fame, all good times.
I also visited Long Island once again and met up with long-time DA friends Shane and Paula for the third time, took a nice hike in the Rocky Point Pine Barrens and also got together to make some collab drawings, which was just as fun as the previous times.
Despite the weather not being on my side for this trip, I have thoroughly enjoyed it so far, and things between myself and Nicole are as strong as ever. Going back home is going to royally suck, like it always does, but hopefully it won't be much longer before we see each other again.
As always, I'll leave you with some artwork, a somewhat belated Easter greeting.
I mentioned in my last blog that I'd gotten a job interview at a shop in Barnard Castle - I'll cut to the chase, I didn't get the job. It was probably just as well that I didn't, because the commute would've made it financially unviable, and they also didn't mention what the hours would be. Still, at least it was some interview experience, which I need badly considering interviews are a rarity for me. The jobsearch continues.
Now for the exciting part - I also mentioned in my last blog that I would be flying to the US for the fifth time to see my lovely Nicole. As I type this, I'm there, on the second week of my two week trip, and it's been great to be back, seeing the sights and getting to spend lots of time with Nicole and her family and friends. The best part was that I was more or less Nicole's main birthday present (how cheesy does that sound? XD), as her birthday was on April 23, and it was great that we got to spend it together. We were also in Newport, Rhode Island for that, where we explored the town, visited some of Newport's famous mansions, walked on the beach and also checked out the International Tennis Hall of Fame, all good times.
I also visited Long Island once again and met up with long-time DA friends Shane and Paula for the third time, took a nice hike in the Rocky Point Pine Barrens and also got together to make some collab drawings, which was just as fun as the previous times.
Despite the weather not being on my side for this trip, I have thoroughly enjoyed it so far, and things between myself and Nicole are as strong as ever. Going back home is going to royally suck, like it always does, but hopefully it won't be much longer before we see each other again.
As always, I'll leave you with some artwork, a somewhat belated Easter greeting.
31/03/2014
March 2014
So, Spring has sprung once again, and I'm feeling the effects of the clocks going back an hour, not to mention still feeling a bit on the cold side too - though considerably less cold than last Spring's whiteout, of which the US have had their own this winter.
As much as I don't like to being up stuff going on in the news, I'm sure most of you will heard about the missing Malaysian Airlines flight - this has struck a chord with me because I'm a fan of aviation, and because I'll be getting on a plane again myself very soon, and it just beggars belief that in this day and age a modern jet can just disappear off the face of the earth. I can only hope that they find it sooner rather than later, so that the families of those on board can at least get some closure - I can't begin to imagine what they must be going through.
On a somewhat more hopeful note, my jobsearch this month finally got me my first interview since October. The catch is that it's in Barnard Castle, which is somewhat awkward to get to and from because of the bus timetables, and it's a part-time job, which means transport costs might be an issue...but it could also be experience and something to put down on the old CV. The interview is on 3 April, I'll let you know what happens, of course.
And now onto even more brighter news - if all goes to plan, by the time I come to write my April blog, I should be back in the US once again - as mentioned before, it's just less than 3 weeks till I wing my way across the Atlantic for the fifth time to see my lovely Nicole - and obviously, you'll hear all about it here and in my YouTube blog.
So, that's the March madness over and done with - and as always, I'll leave you with a bit of artwork: one of my AMT characters Wolfgang rocking out.
As much as I don't like to being up stuff going on in the news, I'm sure most of you will heard about the missing Malaysian Airlines flight - this has struck a chord with me because I'm a fan of aviation, and because I'll be getting on a plane again myself very soon, and it just beggars belief that in this day and age a modern jet can just disappear off the face of the earth. I can only hope that they find it sooner rather than later, so that the families of those on board can at least get some closure - I can't begin to imagine what they must be going through.
On a somewhat more hopeful note, my jobsearch this month finally got me my first interview since October. The catch is that it's in Barnard Castle, which is somewhat awkward to get to and from because of the bus timetables, and it's a part-time job, which means transport costs might be an issue...but it could also be experience and something to put down on the old CV. The interview is on 3 April, I'll let you know what happens, of course.
And now onto even more brighter news - if all goes to plan, by the time I come to write my April blog, I should be back in the US once again - as mentioned before, it's just less than 3 weeks till I wing my way across the Atlantic for the fifth time to see my lovely Nicole - and obviously, you'll hear all about it here and in my YouTube blog.
So, that's the March madness over and done with - and as always, I'll leave you with a bit of artwork: one of my AMT characters Wolfgang rocking out.
28/02/2014
February 2014
Just as quick as January flew by, February has pretty much done the same. (This is going to be a recurring theme throughout this year, I'm sure you'll agree.) However, apart from one night of snow, which quickly cleared away, the weather this month, much like January, has still been very mild compared to past winters - at least, that's the case in my part of the country, I've been very lucky considering what's been happening elsewhere in the UK with the storms that battered the country this month, and caused widespread flooding. I hope those who've been affected by the flooding will be able to get their lives back in order as quickly as possible, it must be awful to watch your home and the place you know so well get taken over by a deluge.
February also meant a certain day - the day which I now prefer to call "Slushy Day", but what everyone else knows as Valentine's Day. Even though I'm not single, I still have my views on it, which are all very well covered here.
Either way, I got to see my lovely Nicole via Skype, and we exchanged gifts - before you ask, "How were you able to give each other Valentine's gifts via video chat?", she gave me her gift during her stay here 2 months ago, while I sent my gift for her through the post. It'll also be just under 2 months until we're hopefully together for real again, too.
Now, I don't normally watch much sport, however there are exceptions: Formula 1, the Wimbledon tennis, and both the Summer and Winter Olympics. This month was the turn of the Winter Olympics, last held in 2010 in Vancouver, Canada, and was this time held in Sochi in Russia. It enjoyed watching all the different events, namely the skiing, bobsleigh, luge and the snowboarding events, including my favourite event, the snowboard cross, and the events weren't short of drama and action. Great Britain don't usually do very well in terms of medals at the Winter Olympics, but I don't really care about that - for me, the Olympics is all about the action, the coming together of countries, and the taking part, because just getting to compete at the Olympics is an achievement in itself, and it's just a shame that a lot of people, especially the media, tend to forget that. I also don't care much for the political and financial sides of the Olympics, either.
A bit of closure now - I mentioned back in November that I had been considering trying to go self-employed doing artwork, I never mentioned how that all panned out. Well, I had an appointment about it back in December, and the impression I got was that it would be too much of an undertaking, financially. It's a shame, but I need to be able to have a stable income at the end of the day, and that line of work will not give me that.
However, I know two friends who are attempting to go down the same route - Andy and Hayley, aka Granitoons and TopperHay from deviantART, and I wish them the very best of luck with that. Please go and check out their galleries and give them a commission if you can, because they are simply brilliant cartoonists.
I'll leave you with a bit of artwork, as always - my bug characters Bob & Flyer as cowboys.
February also meant a certain day - the day which I now prefer to call "Slushy Day", but what everyone else knows as Valentine's Day. Even though I'm not single, I still have my views on it, which are all very well covered here.
Either way, I got to see my lovely Nicole via Skype, and we exchanged gifts - before you ask, "How were you able to give each other Valentine's gifts via video chat?", she gave me her gift during her stay here 2 months ago, while I sent my gift for her through the post. It'll also be just under 2 months until we're hopefully together for real again, too.
Now, I don't normally watch much sport, however there are exceptions: Formula 1, the Wimbledon tennis, and both the Summer and Winter Olympics. This month was the turn of the Winter Olympics, last held in 2010 in Vancouver, Canada, and was this time held in Sochi in Russia. It enjoyed watching all the different events, namely the skiing, bobsleigh, luge and the snowboarding events, including my favourite event, the snowboard cross, and the events weren't short of drama and action. Great Britain don't usually do very well in terms of medals at the Winter Olympics, but I don't really care about that - for me, the Olympics is all about the action, the coming together of countries, and the taking part, because just getting to compete at the Olympics is an achievement in itself, and it's just a shame that a lot of people, especially the media, tend to forget that. I also don't care much for the political and financial sides of the Olympics, either.
A bit of closure now - I mentioned back in November that I had been considering trying to go self-employed doing artwork, I never mentioned how that all panned out. Well, I had an appointment about it back in December, and the impression I got was that it would be too much of an undertaking, financially. It's a shame, but I need to be able to have a stable income at the end of the day, and that line of work will not give me that.
However, I know two friends who are attempting to go down the same route - Andy and Hayley, aka Granitoons and TopperHay from deviantART, and I wish them the very best of luck with that. Please go and check out their galleries and give them a commission if you can, because they are simply brilliant cartoonists.
I'll leave you with a bit of artwork, as always - my bug characters Bob & Flyer as cowboys.
31/01/2014
January 2014
...and just like that, 2013 was gone. Aye, it really felt like it just went in a flash. Now it's that time of year where the high of the festive season is slowly replaced by the onset of normality and routine, and the realisation that the only thing that's changed is the two numbers at the end of the year.
That's not to say I didn't enjoy my New Year's Eve/Day though - me and my brother Chris had a small party at our place, complete with food, Scrabble, Rock Band, music, table football, and plenty of drinks. I did get a little tipsy but it didn't last. Chris, on the other hand...
We weren't alone, either - Chris' girlfriend and one of his friends popped round, but the best part was that I got to ring in the New Year not just with them, but with my lovely Nicole too. The past couple of years, I had to settle for a half-drunk Skype chat with her, but this time that wasn't necessary, and I'm glad we were able to be together properly for the occasion.
You can watch the New Year's Eve video here.
This was my second stay at the hotel, the first of course was in June, just before my most recent US trip (more about that later), and the hotel was just as good as it was then, our room was nice and comfy, with a shower, telly and fridge, and we both got the hotel's trademark free cookie each.
We headed to the Metrocentre in Gateshead to go and see a film, and it was on me, too - Frozen, the latest Disney film. Aye, it was cheesy to the max, with slushy romance and big musical numbers, and maybe the story could've had a little more clout to it especially as far as the character development goes - but the animation was very well done, and for the whole time we were watching the film, I just forgot about real life for a while. Any film that can do that, for me, is a good one. And it won't surprise you to hear that my favourite character from Frozen was Olaf, the snowman, though maybe I'm biased because I have my own snowman character. Much more important though is that it was the first time I'd ever had a date at the flicks, that I got to watch it with Nicky, and she enjoyed it too. That made it all the more special.
After Frozen, we checked out some of the shops in the Metro and saw all of the impressive Christmas decorations they had on display, before we hot-footed it back to the hotel to have a romantic meal for two at the Italian restaurant there - and funny enough, in a case of déja vu, we ended up having the same meal that I had there back in June, cheese pizza and garlic bread pizza, plus chips and orange juice. Because it was split between us, I managed to eat more or less all of my share this time, although it was still very filling of course. It was all just sweet too, me and Nicole having a meal together with the ambience of the restaurant. I didn't want the night to end, and neither did Nicole.
We finished up with some late night telly and some quality time, and it was quite late by the time we got to sleep - however, this was the only minus point of our stay at the hotel, much like the first time, I didn't get a lot of sleep, and neither did Nicole, because of a mix of this whirring noise that kept going on and off through the night, sleeping in a bed different than at home, and the anticipation of the next day.
We refreshed ourselves the next morning with a shower each and a nice breakfast at the restaurant, with cereal, coffee and croissants. It didn't seem like it was long until we had to check out and head over to the airport, knowing that the moment we were both dreading was fast approaching.
You don't need me to tell you that saying goodbye to someone you love always, always sucks - it was somewhat worse this time, because I ended up having to say goodbye to Nicole twice, because the first time she tried to go through to security, she got told that she needed a boarding pass printed off, so she had to go back to check-in and get one, which meant that we got to go through the goodbyes once more. Of course, I had to stick around and watch her plane fly off.
I was upset of course, but I don't think it really hit me until I got back home to my empty flat and realised that she wasn't there anymore. I was happy too, though - because the fortnight Nicole was here just made the festive season that more special than how it usually is, and I'm glad that we got to spend it together...and I know it won't be long before we see each other again.
You can watch all the videos from Nicole's visit here.
Now for the rest of this month - weather-wise, I was surprised that there was little to no snowfall in December, and this month's been the same. We normally have some snowfall round about now, so it seems very unusual. I've seen in the news and heard from Nicole about all the snowfall in the US though, it's almost as if the snow that was meant for the UK was dumped there instead, on top of the snowfall they normally get. I'm sure there'll be some snowfall here in February or March though - I haven't forgotten the "great Spring whiteout" of last year.
Same old story on the never-ending search for a job - I'm still looking and applying for them, and still jumping through the hoops that a certain place makes me do. I just want the day to come where I'm not under their thumb anymore.
Oh, that's right - Mark #27 has left the building. Me and Chris turned 28 on the 7th, and like we have done since our 20th birthday in 2006, we had our birthday bowling session at the Metrocentre, joined by Chris' girlfriend - without bragging too much, I destroyed them both. To everyone who wished us well, be it with a gift or a greeting, many thanks to you all. :)
There's also one small little thing I have to mention, which I hinted at before - I know it's not gonna be long till I see Nicole again, because I'm flying back over to Connecticut again in April, for 2 weeks, and it's thanks to Nicole and her parents, they chipped in half of the airfare as part of Nicole's birthday present (her birthday is on 23 April). Definitely looking forward to that, and to seeing her again.
I'll leave you with some slightly old but new music and some artwork - and on that note, I'll bid you all ciao for now and a Happy Chinese New Year...try not to horse around too much. ;)
That's not to say I didn't enjoy my New Year's Eve/Day though - me and my brother Chris had a small party at our place, complete with food, Scrabble, Rock Band, music, table football, and plenty of drinks. I did get a little tipsy but it didn't last. Chris, on the other hand...
We weren't alone, either - Chris' girlfriend and one of his friends popped round, but the best part was that I got to ring in the New Year not just with them, but with my lovely Nicole too. The past couple of years, I had to settle for a half-drunk Skype chat with her, but this time that wasn't necessary, and I'm glad we were able to be together properly for the occasion.
You can watch the New Year's Eve video here.
Nicole's visit - continued
My first week of 2014 was, to say the least, bittersweet - sweet because myself and Nicole spent more quality time together, but bitter because it wouldn't be long before she had to fly back to the States. We definitely made the most of the time we had left though - just like on Nicole's previous trip in 2012, we joined Chris and friends for a blast on the laser quasar at South Shields (Chris schooled us all that time), it was a lot of fun as always. We also paid one last visit to my family before we headed off for our last hurrah of the trip - a "romantic getaway" to the DoubleTree hotel at Newcastle Airport.This was my second stay at the hotel, the first of course was in June, just before my most recent US trip (more about that later), and the hotel was just as good as it was then, our room was nice and comfy, with a shower, telly and fridge, and we both got the hotel's trademark free cookie each.
We headed to the Metrocentre in Gateshead to go and see a film, and it was on me, too - Frozen, the latest Disney film. Aye, it was cheesy to the max, with slushy romance and big musical numbers, and maybe the story could've had a little more clout to it especially as far as the character development goes - but the animation was very well done, and for the whole time we were watching the film, I just forgot about real life for a while. Any film that can do that, for me, is a good one. And it won't surprise you to hear that my favourite character from Frozen was Olaf, the snowman, though maybe I'm biased because I have my own snowman character. Much more important though is that it was the first time I'd ever had a date at the flicks, that I got to watch it with Nicky, and she enjoyed it too. That made it all the more special.
After Frozen, we checked out some of the shops in the Metro and saw all of the impressive Christmas decorations they had on display, before we hot-footed it back to the hotel to have a romantic meal for two at the Italian restaurant there - and funny enough, in a case of déja vu, we ended up having the same meal that I had there back in June, cheese pizza and garlic bread pizza, plus chips and orange juice. Because it was split between us, I managed to eat more or less all of my share this time, although it was still very filling of course. It was all just sweet too, me and Nicole having a meal together with the ambience of the restaurant. I didn't want the night to end, and neither did Nicole.
We finished up with some late night telly and some quality time, and it was quite late by the time we got to sleep - however, this was the only minus point of our stay at the hotel, much like the first time, I didn't get a lot of sleep, and neither did Nicole, because of a mix of this whirring noise that kept going on and off through the night, sleeping in a bed different than at home, and the anticipation of the next day.
We refreshed ourselves the next morning with a shower each and a nice breakfast at the restaurant, with cereal, coffee and croissants. It didn't seem like it was long until we had to check out and head over to the airport, knowing that the moment we were both dreading was fast approaching.
You don't need me to tell you that saying goodbye to someone you love always, always sucks - it was somewhat worse this time, because I ended up having to say goodbye to Nicole twice, because the first time she tried to go through to security, she got told that she needed a boarding pass printed off, so she had to go back to check-in and get one, which meant that we got to go through the goodbyes once more. Of course, I had to stick around and watch her plane fly off.
I was upset of course, but I don't think it really hit me until I got back home to my empty flat and realised that she wasn't there anymore. I was happy too, though - because the fortnight Nicole was here just made the festive season that more special than how it usually is, and I'm glad that we got to spend it together...and I know it won't be long before we see each other again.
You can watch all the videos from Nicole's visit here.
Now for the rest of this month - weather-wise, I was surprised that there was little to no snowfall in December, and this month's been the same. We normally have some snowfall round about now, so it seems very unusual. I've seen in the news and heard from Nicole about all the snowfall in the US though, it's almost as if the snow that was meant for the UK was dumped there instead, on top of the snowfall they normally get. I'm sure there'll be some snowfall here in February or March though - I haven't forgotten the "great Spring whiteout" of last year.
Same old story on the never-ending search for a job - I'm still looking and applying for them, and still jumping through the hoops that a certain place makes me do. I just want the day to come where I'm not under their thumb anymore.
Oh, that's right - Mark #27 has left the building. Me and Chris turned 28 on the 7th, and like we have done since our 20th birthday in 2006, we had our birthday bowling session at the Metrocentre, joined by Chris' girlfriend - without bragging too much, I destroyed them both. To everyone who wished us well, be it with a gift or a greeting, many thanks to you all. :)
There's also one small little thing I have to mention, which I hinted at before - I know it's not gonna be long till I see Nicole again, because I'm flying back over to Connecticut again in April, for 2 weeks, and it's thanks to Nicole and her parents, they chipped in half of the airfare as part of Nicole's birthday present (her birthday is on 23 April). Definitely looking forward to that, and to seeing her again.
I'll leave you with some slightly old but new music and some artwork - and on that note, I'll bid you all ciao for now and a Happy Chinese New Year...try not to horse around too much. ;)
31/12/2013
Christmas, London, 2013 and a special someone
Well, where do I start? It's the last month of 2013 already, and it's been quite an eventful one to say the least. For a start, it's been getting colder weather-wise, but not as cold as it was last year, and there hasn't been any significant snowfall...yet. I'm sure January and February will bring that.
As with most of this year, there's been ups and downs this month - I'm still getting pressure from those "certain quarters" I mentioned last month, and I worry that it's only gonna get worse in 2014 on that front. Unfortunately, all I can keep doing is jumping through all the hoops they throw at me, and just hope that I can get a job so that I won't have to deal with all of that anymore.
There have been plenty of great moments this month though - read on to hear all about them...
First off, we headed to the South Bank and checked out the arts centre and Christmas market there, before checking out the sunlit views of the River Thames and the London skyline on the London Eye (aka the big ferris wheel where they set off the New Year's fireworks display on telly every year). After that, we took a walk along Westminster Bridge (complete with Pac-Man) and saw the Houses of Parliament, as well as hearing Big Ben's famous chimes. In Westminster we saw statues of famous figureheads, including Winston Churchill and the recently departed Nelson Mandela, whose statue was surrounded by many floral tributes from passers-by, and we also had a look at the famous Westminster Abbey.
Stopped for a bite to eat in the very picturesque St. James' Park, complete with geese and squirrels (one of which jumped on me), where I also got distracted watching the incoming air traffic on approach to Heathrow, before we made our way to the home of Her Majesty - Buckingham Palace of course. It looked grand indeed, with the equally as grand looking palace gates - and Her Majesty must've been at home, because the Union Jack was flying. The guards were doing their patrol march too, however there was no changing of the guard routine that day. Mike also let rip with a quite hilarious impression of Her Majesty and Prince Charles, too.
By this point the weather had taken a turn for the worse, so we made our way to Trafalgar Square, which seemed a lot smaller to me than what I'd seen in pictures and on telly - still, it was cool to see it, complete with fountains, the National Gallery, Nelson's Column, and a giant blue chicken. Aye, you read that right. A giant blue chicken.
No visit to London would be complete without having to take a ride on the Tube, which we did a few times - used it to get down to the riverside to get a night-time view of the City district, the ship HMS Belfast, the infamous Tower of London, and the one and only Tower Bridge. We also saw a more modern landmark, the oddly-shaped skyscraper known as the Shard.
Finally, we made our way to Greenwich, to the place formerly known as the Millennium Dome, now better known as the O2 Arena, where I met up with another deviantART friend - Scott, aka toonfreak8, who had flown in to the UK from the US for Christmas, along with his dad's wife. The four of us then took a walk around the O2, which admittedly wasn't really much to look at, there were mostly shops and bars, although I imagine that the actual concert venue is pretty spectacular when there's an event going on. Myself, Scott and Mike then had a doodle session in which we drew each others' characters, which was a blast. Sadly it seemed that the moment to say our goodbyes came far too soon, but it was great to meet both Mike and Scott and to see the sights of the capital. Hopefully I'll be able to take another London trip in the future, as there's still a lot there that I didn't get to see.
To see the video of my London trip, click right here: London - 19/12/2013
Normally, I don't look forward to Christmas as much as did when I was a kid, for obvious reasons, although somehow I end up getting into the spirit anyway - however, this year I had much more reason to look forward to it, as my girlfriend Nicole flew in from the US on the 21st, to spend Christmas and New Year here with me.
As I type this, she still has a week of her trip to go - so far we've been around my hometown and met family and friends, been shopping in the pouring rain at Bishop Auckland and revisited a childhood beauty spot at Hill End up in Weardale. Best of all though was that we attended Christmas Eve mass together along with my grandma and brother, and of course we got to open presents together on Christmas Day. There was only one present I asked for (new pair of jeans from my mam), but as with every year I ended up getting quite a lot anyway, including clothes, a couple of CDs and a couple of sketchpads - and from Nicole, I got a Christmas card (complete with slushy writing, lol) and a festive Pocket Dragon ornament. I think the best present was that Nicole herself was here to spend Christmas with me, though. (You can go get your sickbuckets now.)
Here's what we got up to on Christmas Day: Christmas Day 2013
I don't know what 2014 is gonna bring, but I'm not making any resolutions, because it's easy to say "I'll do this, I'll do that this year", but it's difficult to follow through on them. That's why I'll do what I've done every year, and I'll wing it. To quote a famous saying, "what will be, will be".
Last but not least, I'll leave you with a festive piece of artwork (and there's been lots of artwork this year, too):
Merry Christmas 2013
Wishing you all the very best for 2014 and beyond. :)
As with most of this year, there's been ups and downs this month - I'm still getting pressure from those "certain quarters" I mentioned last month, and I worry that it's only gonna get worse in 2014 on that front. Unfortunately, all I can keep doing is jumping through all the hoops they throw at me, and just hope that I can get a job so that I won't have to deal with all of that anymore.
There have been plenty of great moments this month though - read on to hear all about them...
London
I took the train down to London on the 19th to see the sights there for the very first time, I'd only visited there once before in 2009, but only to pass through on my way to the South Coast. This time I was there to actually see the city itself, and it was just as huge and bustling as I imagined it would be. I wasn't alone for this sightseeing, either - I met up with one of my friends from deviantART, Mike (aka Dracorum-Order), who is from London, and he had quite the way with words and puns - he needs to work on his punctuality a little though, I had a right carry-on hunting him down at King's Cross!First off, we headed to the South Bank and checked out the arts centre and Christmas market there, before checking out the sunlit views of the River Thames and the London skyline on the London Eye (aka the big ferris wheel where they set off the New Year's fireworks display on telly every year). After that, we took a walk along Westminster Bridge (complete with Pac-Man) and saw the Houses of Parliament, as well as hearing Big Ben's famous chimes. In Westminster we saw statues of famous figureheads, including Winston Churchill and the recently departed Nelson Mandela, whose statue was surrounded by many floral tributes from passers-by, and we also had a look at the famous Westminster Abbey.
Stopped for a bite to eat in the very picturesque St. James' Park, complete with geese and squirrels (one of which jumped on me), where I also got distracted watching the incoming air traffic on approach to Heathrow, before we made our way to the home of Her Majesty - Buckingham Palace of course. It looked grand indeed, with the equally as grand looking palace gates - and Her Majesty must've been at home, because the Union Jack was flying. The guards were doing their patrol march too, however there was no changing of the guard routine that day. Mike also let rip with a quite hilarious impression of Her Majesty and Prince Charles, too.
By this point the weather had taken a turn for the worse, so we made our way to Trafalgar Square, which seemed a lot smaller to me than what I'd seen in pictures and on telly - still, it was cool to see it, complete with fountains, the National Gallery, Nelson's Column, and a giant blue chicken. Aye, you read that right. A giant blue chicken.
No visit to London would be complete without having to take a ride on the Tube, which we did a few times - used it to get down to the riverside to get a night-time view of the City district, the ship HMS Belfast, the infamous Tower of London, and the one and only Tower Bridge. We also saw a more modern landmark, the oddly-shaped skyscraper known as the Shard.
Finally, we made our way to Greenwich, to the place formerly known as the Millennium Dome, now better known as the O2 Arena, where I met up with another deviantART friend - Scott, aka toonfreak8, who had flown in to the UK from the US for Christmas, along with his dad's wife. The four of us then took a walk around the O2, which admittedly wasn't really much to look at, there were mostly shops and bars, although I imagine that the actual concert venue is pretty spectacular when there's an event going on. Myself, Scott and Mike then had a doodle session in which we drew each others' characters, which was a blast. Sadly it seemed that the moment to say our goodbyes came far too soon, but it was great to meet both Mike and Scott and to see the sights of the capital. Hopefully I'll be able to take another London trip in the future, as there's still a lot there that I didn't get to see.
To see the video of my London trip, click right here: London - 19/12/2013
Christmas and Nicole's visit
Aye, it was that time of year again, were everything gets festive, merry and downright chaotic - I probably left most of my Christmas shopping till last minute as usual.Normally, I don't look forward to Christmas as much as did when I was a kid, for obvious reasons, although somehow I end up getting into the spirit anyway - however, this year I had much more reason to look forward to it, as my girlfriend Nicole flew in from the US on the 21st, to spend Christmas and New Year here with me.
As I type this, she still has a week of her trip to go - so far we've been around my hometown and met family and friends, been shopping in the pouring rain at Bishop Auckland and revisited a childhood beauty spot at Hill End up in Weardale. Best of all though was that we attended Christmas Eve mass together along with my grandma and brother, and of course we got to open presents together on Christmas Day. There was only one present I asked for (new pair of jeans from my mam), but as with every year I ended up getting quite a lot anyway, including clothes, a couple of CDs and a couple of sketchpads - and from Nicole, I got a Christmas card (complete with slushy writing, lol) and a festive Pocket Dragon ornament. I think the best present was that Nicole herself was here to spend Christmas with me, though. (You can go get your sickbuckets now.)
Here's what we got up to on Christmas Day: Christmas Day 2013
Looking back
So that's it - another year over, and as I said at the start, I don't know where to begin with what's happened this year...like most years, it's been eventful with ups and downs. The highlights are many though, and if I had to pick one absolute highlight of this past year, it would have to be my summer trip to the US, more specifically the moment when me and Nicole celebrated our 1st anniversary in front of Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World in Florida. (Again, you can go and get those sickbuckets.)I don't know what 2014 is gonna bring, but I'm not making any resolutions, because it's easy to say "I'll do this, I'll do that this year", but it's difficult to follow through on them. That's why I'll do what I've done every year, and I'll wing it. To quote a famous saying, "what will be, will be".
Last but not least, I'll leave you with a festive piece of artwork (and there's been lots of artwork this year, too):
Merry Christmas 2013
Wishing you all the very best for 2014 and beyond. :)
30/11/2013
No more November
I can safely say that I'm glad to see the back of November - and not just because the weather's getting colder. A number of things have been grinding my gears for most of this month.
First, a minor gripe - YouTube. In their infinite wisdom, Google, who own YouTube, decided that in order to be able to see or make comments on videos, every user must have their YouTube account linked to a Google+ account - they're basically forcing everyone to join their poor excuse of a Facebook rip-off, not to mention asking for everyone's real names to keep track of them, and to be able to force-feed unwanted adverts down everyone's throats. I'm not having it, so I refuse to bow to the pressure. However it means I can't make comments or see any comments that make on my videos, though the only plus side of this as that trolls can't make abusive comments either.
So Google Minus, have some sense and return YouTube to how it was, otherwise you will just drive everyone away from it.
I also recently found out that when I joined Blogger (also Google owned), any pictures that I post on here got posted into a Picasa web album, which I never signed up for or wanted, so I'm afraid from now on I won't be posting pictures on this blog anymore - instead I'll link you to them.
On a more important note, this month I've felt like I've been put under more pressure from certain quarters to find a job - I'm still looking, but nothing is happening still, what more do they want me to do, prance up and down the streets in a suit and tie in front of every potential employer like a sheep in wolf's clothes?
I also had a "progress review" at the work programme session I attend every fortnight, and when I mentioned about how I'd like to do something art-related, I got referred to a self-employment specialist, with a view to possibly becoming a self-employed cartoonist...however, after the first meeting with him, all I got from it was that I'd get no startup help, and I'd get taxed to death on my profits. I can see why so many businesses quickly fail now...and I'm not sure I want to go down this route now, but I'm worried that if I turn round and say so, there might be consequences. Why does there always have to be a string attached?
There's also been stuff of a personal nature I've been worrying about too...but I'm not gonna discuss those here.
There. Rant over. Moving onto the positive stuff now.
I took a trip in the middle of the month to see the Lumiere Festival in Durham - it's an arts festival where all the exhibits are outdoors, and based around light, I first attended it back in 2011, the last time it was held before this year, and while there were some canny awesome exhibits, the event was marred by crowd control issues. This time however, those issues had been addressed, as they had a "ticketed zone" this time, meaning people had to buy a ticket if they wanted to enter the ticketed zone between a certain time; those without a ticket (me included) had to wait until after a certain time before they could go into that area.
There were some good exhibits - the highlights for me were "Keyframes" (rows of stickmen "dancing" across a building through a lit-up routine) and "Aquarium" (in which the red phone box in Durham Market Place got turned into a fish tank) - but on the whole this year's Lumiere seemed to have fewer exhibits than in 2011, and as a result was less memorable, I thought. However, if they hold Lumiere again in 2015, I'll be sure to attend.
If you'd like to see my pics from Lumiere, click right here.
Also on the subject of trips and holidays, there's a couple of things I'm looking forward to next month - I'm planning to take the train down to London to actually see the sights of our fair capital city. I've only ever been to London once to pass through it (my times transitting through Heathrow Airport don't count), so it's about time, really. I'm also hoping to meet up with two friends from deviantART, Dracorum-Order and toonfreak8 (who's visiting the UK from the US this Christmas). I just need to get the train tickets booked...
Secondly, and I may have mentioned this already, but my girlfriend Nicole is also flying over from the US to visit me again, like she did last year - she'll be spending Christmas and New Year with me, and it goes without saying that I can hardly wait for her to be here - so close now. :)
Last but not least, here's some fancy formal artwork I did for FAC-AgentC's recent "Part of the Hive" art jam on DA: "The Not-So Ugly Bug Ball"
And not forgetting...hope all my friends from the US had a good Thanksgiving.
First, a minor gripe - YouTube. In their infinite wisdom, Google, who own YouTube, decided that in order to be able to see or make comments on videos, every user must have their YouTube account linked to a Google+ account - they're basically forcing everyone to join their poor excuse of a Facebook rip-off, not to mention asking for everyone's real names to keep track of them, and to be able to force-feed unwanted adverts down everyone's throats. I'm not having it, so I refuse to bow to the pressure. However it means I can't make comments or see any comments that make on my videos, though the only plus side of this as that trolls can't make abusive comments either.
So Google Minus, have some sense and return YouTube to how it was, otherwise you will just drive everyone away from it.
I also recently found out that when I joined Blogger (also Google owned), any pictures that I post on here got posted into a Picasa web album, which I never signed up for or wanted, so I'm afraid from now on I won't be posting pictures on this blog anymore - instead I'll link you to them.
On a more important note, this month I've felt like I've been put under more pressure from certain quarters to find a job - I'm still looking, but nothing is happening still, what more do they want me to do, prance up and down the streets in a suit and tie in front of every potential employer like a sheep in wolf's clothes?
I also had a "progress review" at the work programme session I attend every fortnight, and when I mentioned about how I'd like to do something art-related, I got referred to a self-employment specialist, with a view to possibly becoming a self-employed cartoonist...however, after the first meeting with him, all I got from it was that I'd get no startup help, and I'd get taxed to death on my profits. I can see why so many businesses quickly fail now...and I'm not sure I want to go down this route now, but I'm worried that if I turn round and say so, there might be consequences. Why does there always have to be a string attached?
There's also been stuff of a personal nature I've been worrying about too...but I'm not gonna discuss those here.
There. Rant over. Moving onto the positive stuff now.
I took a trip in the middle of the month to see the Lumiere Festival in Durham - it's an arts festival where all the exhibits are outdoors, and based around light, I first attended it back in 2011, the last time it was held before this year, and while there were some canny awesome exhibits, the event was marred by crowd control issues. This time however, those issues had been addressed, as they had a "ticketed zone" this time, meaning people had to buy a ticket if they wanted to enter the ticketed zone between a certain time; those without a ticket (me included) had to wait until after a certain time before they could go into that area.
There were some good exhibits - the highlights for me were "Keyframes" (rows of stickmen "dancing" across a building through a lit-up routine) and "Aquarium" (in which the red phone box in Durham Market Place got turned into a fish tank) - but on the whole this year's Lumiere seemed to have fewer exhibits than in 2011, and as a result was less memorable, I thought. However, if they hold Lumiere again in 2015, I'll be sure to attend.
If you'd like to see my pics from Lumiere, click right here.
Also on the subject of trips and holidays, there's a couple of things I'm looking forward to next month - I'm planning to take the train down to London to actually see the sights of our fair capital city. I've only ever been to London once to pass through it (my times transitting through Heathrow Airport don't count), so it's about time, really. I'm also hoping to meet up with two friends from deviantART, Dracorum-Order and toonfreak8 (who's visiting the UK from the US this Christmas). I just need to get the train tickets booked...
Secondly, and I may have mentioned this already, but my girlfriend Nicole is also flying over from the US to visit me again, like she did last year - she'll be spending Christmas and New Year with me, and it goes without saying that I can hardly wait for her to be here - so close now. :)
Last but not least, here's some fancy formal artwork I did for FAC-AgentC's recent "Part of the Hive" art jam on DA: "The Not-So Ugly Bug Ball"
And not forgetting...hope all my friends from the US had a good Thanksgiving.
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