Forgot to mention this last week, but at the weekend (10-12 July) myself and my brother Chris went on holiday, to a place that we both remember very well from our childhood - the seaside town of Scarborough, in North Yorkshire. Here's what we got up to:
Day 1
It was an early start for us both as we made our way to Durham to take the hour long train journey down to York, where I'd visited for the first time in April for a DA meet-up (you know who you are!), and also where we had to change trains, though not without having another wander around the city of course. It was Chris's first time visiting York too, and he very much approved.
We'd picked a busy day to visit, as it was race weekend at York Racecourse, so the station in particular was chock-a-block - that didn't put us off one bit though. We checked out The Shambles and quickly popped into HMV so I could buy a memory card for my phone, as I'd ever so slightly forgotten to being my camcorder with me, followed by paying a visit to the grand York Minster, looking glorious in the sunshine. After that, we wandered through York's medieval style streets some more and had some dinner down by the River Ouse, watching the boats come and go.
Before long we were on our second train of the day, and even though we had to stand for the whole journey, we were still able to appreciate the views of the Yorkshire countryside flying past us, the unfamiliar ground that it was, but once we stepped out of the train at Scarborough station, we knew we were in familiar territory, and once we got our bearings, we made our way towards the hotel to be greeted by an awesome view of the North Bay, and all those childhood memories came flooding right back. The last time either of us had visited Scarborough was in 2000, and we both agreed that it had been 15 years too long.
We checked into our hotel, the Miricia Guest House - the hotel owner Joanne was very down to earth and welcoming, and we'd been given a room at the very top of the house, which was more or less in the attic, so there was no spectacular sea view, but that didn't matter as the room was spot on, clean and complete with telly, tea and coffee, and enough room for both of us. The only minus point was that the hotel's wifi was sketchy at best, so I had to rely on my phone's 3G to get online - but we weren't there to go online at the end of the day, we were there for adventure.
No sooner had we arrived in Scarborough though, we were already leaving! Even though it was late in the day, we took a very scenic bus ride through the North Yorkshire Moors and the picturesque coastal village of Robin Hood's Bay, down to the harbour town of Whitby. This was another place we both wanted to revisit - my last time there was in 2007, for Chris it was 1996, and much like Scarborough, it was good to be back there. We made our way up the cliff to Whitby's iconic landmark, the ruins of Whitby Abbey, along with some simply amazing views of the town below, which we headed back down into via the famous 199 steps, complete with a certain Captain Jack Sparrow hanging around at the bottom, and he was certainly right at home with the oldy-worldy architecture of Whitby and its harbour, which was of course very busy, with both people and seagulls (I swear, they own the place!) We walked along the harbour, all the way along its lengthy pier, checking out the town's lighthouse (I'd been to the top of it previously, however it was closed) and taking in the windswept views out towards the North Sea and the North Yorkshire coastline. Finally, we walked up the cliff across the other side of the harbour to visit the statue of Whitby's most famous son, Captain James Cook, as well as the famous whalebone arch overlooking the harbour, before once again enjoying the scenic bus ride along the coast back to Scarborough, where we ended the night with a meal at McDonald's and an evening walk along Marine Drive, from the South to the North Bay.
Day 2
You don't want to start a day sleep deprived - however, noise from a couple across the hall from us and the resident seagulls outside through the night, as well as sleeping in unfamiliar surroundings meant that me and Chris did, but it didn't stop us one bit. After a lovely breakfast of cereal, tea and toast, we headed out to our first stop of the day, and a place in Scarborough that we hadn't previously visited - its most famous landmark, Scarborough Castle. We explored the sprawling headland on which the castle was located, checking out the ruins of a signal station, the castle walls, the King's Hall and the guard towers along the walls, and enjoying the views of both the North and South Bays from the headland. Of course, we couldn't visit the castle without exploring its iconic keep, which despite being blown in half centuries ago, is still standing strong after 3000 years.
It was then time to visit some more familiar places, in Scarborough's North Bay - the first was Peasholm Park, famous for its boating lake and Oriental themed island, including a waterfall, garden and a pagoda overlooking the park. We opted to return to the park later on in the day to see something else that it's famous for (more on that in a bit.).
Across the road, it was memories of attractions gone that we were after - the Northstead Manor Gardens, that used to have three of Scarborough's big attractions, a waterpark named Water Splash World, a playpark named Kinderland, and on top of a hill behind them, an amusement park called Mr. Marvels. All three of them are now long gone, however it was nice to relive going to those places, and it was also interesting to see that there were reminders of there existence, such as an abandoned station for the chairlifts that used to take people to and from Marvel's. However, there were also some attractions to see there that were still around - the Open Air Theatre, which was derelict back in the day but has been restored and is now a concert venue (we couldn't check it out as there was a concert going on); the North Bay Railway, a miniature train that runs from Northstead Manor Gardens to Scalby Mills; and Scarborough's famous Water Chute that was once part of Kinderland. There was also a new attraction there, called a SkyTrail, which was bascially a giant climbing frame/obstacle course.
We then took a walk along the North Bay Beach, which was absolutely packed, to no surprise, because the weather was glorious. After stopping for a burger and chips, we planned to take a look inside the white pyramids of the Sea Life Sanctuary, however we changed our minds once we saw how much the admission was, and instead headed back to Peasholm Park, thugh not before revisiting the hotel that we stayed in on every trip with our family back in the 90s - there were good times there.
Now, that something else Peasholm Park is famous for? Every year they hold a "Naval Warfare" show, which involves a fleet of model battleships taking to the boating lake and re-enacting a famous battle. This was our first time seeing the display, and it was an absolute treat, complete with a pun-dropping and movie medley-playing commentator, model aircraft "flying" over on wires, and a lot of gunfire. What made this show even more impressive is that the ships weren't remote controlled, there were actually people inside the boats, steering them and firing the ammunition (it wasn't live ammo, but some of the ships did actually take damage). It was an absolute blast to watch, to say the least.
Following the show, me and Chris took to the lake ourselves on board a dragon-themed pedal boat, taking a cruise around the island, watching the park's population of Canadian geese waddle around like they owned the place, and getting a close view of the ships from the Naval Warfare display. There were also people boating around the lake on canoes and rowing boats - we remembered our late grandad taking the two of us around the lake on a rowing boat back in the day, and on one occasion almost capsizing the boat!
From boats to buses after that - we took one of Scarborough's many open-topped buses along Marine Drive to the South Bay, which really hadn't changed very much from back in the day, with its seafront full of shops, cafés and arcades, as well as its ever busy harbour full of fishing boats and cruise boats. We popped into Olympia Leisure for a couple of arcade games (The House of the Dead 4 and Jurassic Park) before visiting a shop that :devWhiteBlazingPhoenix: had been recommended to visit - Ancient Warrior, a gift shop with a difference, its specialty was selling weapons, real weapons, most notably swords and pistols, along with ornaments, figurines and lots of other stuff - definitely not your average shop. After that, it was beach time, I took a cold yet refreshing dip in the North Sea, because you just can't have a beach trip without a dip. Me and Chris remembered taking a ride on the beach's resident donkeys back in the day, those donkeys were still on the beach.
After making a pitstop at the hotel, we made our third visit to Peasholm Park, this time to visit the island, it had been closed earlier because of the Naval Warfare display, however it was open, so we were able to check it out. By now it was raining a little, which dampened the atmosphere a little, and seeing some shifty looking people hanging around the park didn't really help much, but we pressed on with exploring the island regardless, seeing all the geese hanging around and getting an even closer look at the model dock where the Naval Warfare ships were based. What we really wanted to see though was the Japanese gardens and pagoda at the top of the island, so we made our way up there, only to get an unexpected surprise - there was a security guard in the garden, and as soon as he saw us, he told us to leave the island. It turned out that the island was still closed, and we weren't supposed to be there, so we quickly left, a little embarrassed about it, but no harm was done.
By now we were all adventured out, so we headed back to the hotel for some rest, not before grabbing another meal from McDonald's though - however the atmosphere around the North Bay seemed lass sunny, and not just because of the weather - both nights we stayed in Scarborough, the entire North Bay half of Marine Drive was overrun with an organised street racer show, with dozens of modified cars and their drivers lining the promenade. There were some cool cars to see, but I wasn't really digging the atmosphere of it, plus there were inevitably some idiots who were speeding around the drive showing off, and the whole show was causing traffic to slow down all along the seafront. For me, that was the only major minus point of the trip, I much prefer the seafront when it's quieter - it was still a good day on the whole though.
Day 3
Another early start, and that inevitable feeling of having to go home had very much kicked in, but me and Chris didn't let it get us down. After another nice breakfast, we quickly packed up our luggage and said our goodbyes and thanks to Joanne, and I couldn't resist making a thank you sketch for her, involving a certain blue bug.
We still had a fair bit of time left before we had to catch our train, so we headed back down to the South Bay for some more beach time, as well as picking up some souvenirs and a tasty meal of chips. I also decided to take a boat ride around the bay on a miniature pirate ship called the "Hispaniola", which gave some great views of the seafront. There was also the option to take to the waves on a high-speed jet boat, but we both decided to pass on that one, maybe next time though.
We chose to take the scenic walk back along Marine Drive to the North Bay, and again it was great weather for it, and it was a lot more pleasant with the aforementioned car show over and done with. It was time to head to Peasholm Park one last time, and this time the island was legitimately open, so we were able to take a full walk around it, and go right up to the Japanese gardens at the top, which looked beautiful, along with the colourful pagoda, which had a great view of the boating lake and park below.
After a little bit of persuasion, we headed across to Northstead Manor Gardens so I could have another first - after all those past trips of never doing so, I finally got to take a ride on the water chute, and it was short but very sweet, and I didn't get nearly as soaked as I thought I would! Following that, time was starting to get on, so we jumped on the bus for one last scenic drive to the South Bay, where we decided to go for the quicker option and took a short ride on one of the two remaining cliff lifts that ferry people from the bay to the town above - and before long, we were at the station, waiting for our train, complete with a curious seagull hanging around the platform. About two and half hours, another changeover in York and two train rides and a bus ride later, and that was our holiday done and dusted.
All in all, both me and Chris had a great time, spending some quality bro time together, and of course revisiting all the places in Scarborough that we knew and loved as kids, as well as the bonus visits to York and Whitby - and I can't recommend taking a visit to all three places enough.
You can see what we got up to, also - click on the links below and have a gander:
A Yorkshire Adventure - July 2015: Part 1
A Yorkshire Adventure - July 2015: Part 2
A Yorkshire Adventure - July 2015: Part 3
30/06/2015
June 2015
This June has certainly been a flaming one for me, but not just with the warmer temperatures - things are happening.
Myself and my fiancee Nicole finally got the word we were waiting for, my visa application has been approved - I will be getting an email before July 8 with instructions on what I need to do next, which will involve getting a medical and going down to London for a visa interview at the US Embassy. Also, the application has been processed quicker than we anticipated, which means I could now be moving to the US as soon as August rather than October as we originally thought. Honestly, words can't describe just how huge this is, and it's making it all the more real.
Unfortunately, there is a negative side to this - the original plan was that I would move there in October, then me and Nicole would come back to the UK and spend Christmas, New Year and my birthday with my family, however we've been advised that it wouldn't be a good idea to do so because of conditions with my visa. I'm not gonna lie, I was canny gutted about learning that, because now with the earlier date it means I have less time to spend with my family than I thought, and it's only going to make leaving them even more difficult, I am honestly dreading that day.
However, as disappointing as that is, I have to look at the positives too - I get to be with Nicole sooner, we get to spend Christmas and New Year with her family again, and it gives us more time to get settled in and for me to get used to the surroundings and the routine. And the fact that we get to be together is the most important part of all, and that's what my family told me.
On a completely different note, I've been hosting an art jam this month that's been all to do with dragons. I've liked dragons for a long time, I've always been fascinated by their mythical and legendary status, as well as their distinctive appearances - and it was because of a certain animated series involving dragons that first met Nicole, so they mean a lot to me on a personal level too. So please, spread the dragon love.
The weather's also been getting warmer as summer has well and truly kicked in, and needless to say I've been trying to have days out around my area as much as possible - and on the subject of travel, everything is all booked for me and my brother's July getaway to Scarborough, definitely looking forward to it.
So - my next blog may well be my last blog as a resident of my home country, so it'll be a memorable one one way or another. I'll keep you posted, and as always I'll leave you with a little bit of artwork, with a dragon theme of course.
Myself and my fiancee Nicole finally got the word we were waiting for, my visa application has been approved - I will be getting an email before July 8 with instructions on what I need to do next, which will involve getting a medical and going down to London for a visa interview at the US Embassy. Also, the application has been processed quicker than we anticipated, which means I could now be moving to the US as soon as August rather than October as we originally thought. Honestly, words can't describe just how huge this is, and it's making it all the more real.
Unfortunately, there is a negative side to this - the original plan was that I would move there in October, then me and Nicole would come back to the UK and spend Christmas, New Year and my birthday with my family, however we've been advised that it wouldn't be a good idea to do so because of conditions with my visa. I'm not gonna lie, I was canny gutted about learning that, because now with the earlier date it means I have less time to spend with my family than I thought, and it's only going to make leaving them even more difficult, I am honestly dreading that day.
However, as disappointing as that is, I have to look at the positives too - I get to be with Nicole sooner, we get to spend Christmas and New Year with her family again, and it gives us more time to get settled in and for me to get used to the surroundings and the routine. And the fact that we get to be together is the most important part of all, and that's what my family told me.
On a completely different note, I've been hosting an art jam this month that's been all to do with dragons. I've liked dragons for a long time, I've always been fascinated by their mythical and legendary status, as well as their distinctive appearances - and it was because of a certain animated series involving dragons that first met Nicole, so they mean a lot to me on a personal level too. So please, spread the dragon love.
The weather's also been getting warmer as summer has well and truly kicked in, and needless to say I've been trying to have days out around my area as much as possible - and on the subject of travel, everything is all booked for me and my brother's July getaway to Scarborough, definitely looking forward to it.
So - my next blog may well be my last blog as a resident of my home country, so it'll be a memorable one one way or another. I'll keep you posted, and as always I'll leave you with a little bit of artwork, with a dragon theme of course.
31/05/2015
May 2015
May's been very much a month of two halves - or more a case of it started ok, hit a bump in the middle, but got back up again towards the end.
On the negative side of things - the fruitless search for a job goes on, same old story there, and being made to attend a pointless session by a certain nameless place really hasn't helped, I've realised for a long time now that such things are only designed to help them, definitely not me or anyone in my position, and I'm sure there will be more where that came from. I'm just fed up of being under that thumb, being treated like a statistic instead of a person - but at the end of the day, I need the money, so I have no choice.
I've mentioned before about my anxiety, especially in social situations - it flared up quite badly during this month, because of my livestreams that I do weekly - I enjoy them, but only if I feel like it's fun and not a chore, and if there's hardly anyone there, or they're there but not saying much, or if there's trolls gatecrashing to ruin everything, then I don't enjoy them, and lately I haven't been enjoying doing my livestreams, they've just been making me stressed, so for the forseeable future I've decided to take a break from doing them, because I get the impression that no-one's really interested anymore - which may not be true, because I know some of my friends have been busy, and everyone has their own lives to be getting on with, so I apologise if that is the case, it's just that my nature always has me assuming the worst.
Then of course, there's the whole immigration process - still no word on that, though the lawyer did tell me and Nicole that it could take two months before we hear anything, so if nothing has been heard by the end of June, some serious poking will need to be done.
On the positive side, I've been having a bit of a nostalgia trip - a recent picture I made for JWthaMajestic's "Jurassic Times" art jam on DA reignited my interest in a film I went crazy about as a kid - "Jurassic Park", of course. Me and my brother were hooked on it, we kept watching it over and over, played the SNES game and had the toys, too. What's also set this off is of course the new film in the series, "Jurassic World", coming out at the cinemas in a couple of weeks, I'm very, very tempted to go and see it.
It hasn't just been Jurassic Park, though - there's been travel too. This month me and my brother decided to revisit an old place from our childhood, the small countryside hamlet of Hill End, up in Weardale. It was a place where our grandparents would bring us and our sisters during school holidays in the spring and summer, and we would spend hours sitting by the River Wear having a picnic, splashing around in the river under and over the bridge there, climbing up the hillside and exploring the small wood there.
It honestly hasn't changed at all, me and my brother were taken right back to those days. We were still able to climb that hill and get a great view of the area, we took plenty of photos, had a race up a hill, and heard the pins drop and our voices echo in my favourite place in the area, an old quarry. We even had a 99 each from the ice cream van, for old time's sake.
One of our reasons for going there were because of watching the latest series of "Inspector George Gently", a BBC crime drama set in north east England in the 1960s, one of the scenes in an episode was shot in Hill End, and me and my brother made a point of checking out that same spot. It's a really good drama, not just because of its setting (how many programmes on telly are set in County Durham? Exactly.), but also because of the great acting too, definitely worth watching. The other reason we went there? Because it had been too long since either of us were there last, and I'm glad we did go.
The travelling's not done there, either - something me and my brother have had planned for a while is now happening in July, we will be travelling down to another place from out childhood, the seaside town of Scarborough in North Yorkshire. You'll hear all about it in my July blog, of course.
Last but not least, here's my art jam entry that I mentioned above, and also the video from me and my brother's Hill End trip. Here's hoping it'll be a flaming June, and only in the weather sense.
On the negative side of things - the fruitless search for a job goes on, same old story there, and being made to attend a pointless session by a certain nameless place really hasn't helped, I've realised for a long time now that such things are only designed to help them, definitely not me or anyone in my position, and I'm sure there will be more where that came from. I'm just fed up of being under that thumb, being treated like a statistic instead of a person - but at the end of the day, I need the money, so I have no choice.
I've mentioned before about my anxiety, especially in social situations - it flared up quite badly during this month, because of my livestreams that I do weekly - I enjoy them, but only if I feel like it's fun and not a chore, and if there's hardly anyone there, or they're there but not saying much, or if there's trolls gatecrashing to ruin everything, then I don't enjoy them, and lately I haven't been enjoying doing my livestreams, they've just been making me stressed, so for the forseeable future I've decided to take a break from doing them, because I get the impression that no-one's really interested anymore - which may not be true, because I know some of my friends have been busy, and everyone has their own lives to be getting on with, so I apologise if that is the case, it's just that my nature always has me assuming the worst.
Then of course, there's the whole immigration process - still no word on that, though the lawyer did tell me and Nicole that it could take two months before we hear anything, so if nothing has been heard by the end of June, some serious poking will need to be done.
On the positive side, I've been having a bit of a nostalgia trip - a recent picture I made for JWthaMajestic's "Jurassic Times" art jam on DA reignited my interest in a film I went crazy about as a kid - "Jurassic Park", of course. Me and my brother were hooked on it, we kept watching it over and over, played the SNES game and had the toys, too. What's also set this off is of course the new film in the series, "Jurassic World", coming out at the cinemas in a couple of weeks, I'm very, very tempted to go and see it.
It hasn't just been Jurassic Park, though - there's been travel too. This month me and my brother decided to revisit an old place from our childhood, the small countryside hamlet of Hill End, up in Weardale. It was a place where our grandparents would bring us and our sisters during school holidays in the spring and summer, and we would spend hours sitting by the River Wear having a picnic, splashing around in the river under and over the bridge there, climbing up the hillside and exploring the small wood there.
It honestly hasn't changed at all, me and my brother were taken right back to those days. We were still able to climb that hill and get a great view of the area, we took plenty of photos, had a race up a hill, and heard the pins drop and our voices echo in my favourite place in the area, an old quarry. We even had a 99 each from the ice cream van, for old time's sake.
One of our reasons for going there were because of watching the latest series of "Inspector George Gently", a BBC crime drama set in north east England in the 1960s, one of the scenes in an episode was shot in Hill End, and me and my brother made a point of checking out that same spot. It's a really good drama, not just because of its setting (how many programmes on telly are set in County Durham? Exactly.), but also because of the great acting too, definitely worth watching. The other reason we went there? Because it had been too long since either of us were there last, and I'm glad we did go.
The travelling's not done there, either - something me and my brother have had planned for a while is now happening in July, we will be travelling down to another place from out childhood, the seaside town of Scarborough in North Yorkshire. You'll hear all about it in my July blog, of course.
Last but not least, here's my art jam entry that I mentioned above, and also the video from me and my brother's Hill End trip. Here's hoping it'll be a flaming June, and only in the weather sense.
30/04/2015
April 2015
I can safely say that this April was far better than last month -
I think I needed this month to happen after all of what happened in March.
The main reason it was better was because my time on a certain scheme finally ended on the 15th, I'd been on it since the middle of October, with a break in between for my Christmas trip to the US, and I am honestly just glad that it's over and done with. As it stands I'm now back to simply looking for a job, the cycle has pretty much started over, so I guess that's all I can do for the time being.
I've found that since I finished I've been feeling a lot better mood-wise - when I was on my work placement I was feeling very stressed and downbeat because I felt like I was doing a lot for very little, and it was also having an effect on how I interacted with friends online and in person, but since it ended it hasn't been so bad - and again, I apologise to any of my online or offline friends who I might've upset because of that.
Another part of what's helped my mood was the middle part of this month, some glorious weather arrived in my neck of the woods for a week or so, which meant I was able to get out walking to my favourite place to walk, the Deerness Valley Way, as well as one trip to the beach at Tynemouth. I really want to be able to see as much of those places as I can before the inevitable.
Speaking of the inevitable, me and Nicole have had some great news on that front - the immigration process is now under way, the payment has been made, so that means all we can do now is wait for them to contact us with the next step, which will involve me having to go for a medical check-up, and travelling down to London for an interview at the US Embassy, along with anything else that might crop up that we don't know about. Obviously, I'll keep you posted on how that goes.
Last but not least, this month had one clear highlight, and this was something that had been planned for a couple of months (why I didn't mention it, I have no idea) - on the 18th, I travelled down to York in North Yorkshire to meet up with not one, but four friends from DeviantArt, two of whom I'd met previously (Granitoons and Dracorum-Order), and two I was meeting for the first time (TopperHay and LaptopGeek). It was also my first time visiting York, so it was like killing two birds with one stone, as the saying goes.
York was a very interesting city, very similar to Durham with its oldy-worldly architecture, and it was very busy too with buskers, markets, performers and stag/hen parties (Hey, it was a Saturday.) We had a couple of meals at a traditional English pub and a wine/cheese bar; checked out a bric-a-brac shop packed with lots of assorted furniture, toys and treasures from the past; walked along York's distinctive city walls; paid a visit to York's most famous landmark York Minster, and most importantly of all, we had some quality drawing time. Three of us also brought some mascots for the occasion as well (LaptopGeek's Humphrey the train, Dracorum-Order's dragonvelope, and my own character Flyer of course). Aside from a momentary blip later on in the day, it was for the absolute most part a fun time had by all, I only wish we could rewind and do it all over again. If you'd like to see what we got up to, you can watch my video of the whole thing right here.
As always, I'll leave you with a bit of artwork from this month - a little cartoon/real-life crossover I put together, inspired by a place in York (I'm sure you can guess why.) Hopefully there'll be no Mayday calls in May.
I think I needed this month to happen after all of what happened in March.
The main reason it was better was because my time on a certain scheme finally ended on the 15th, I'd been on it since the middle of October, with a break in between for my Christmas trip to the US, and I am honestly just glad that it's over and done with. As it stands I'm now back to simply looking for a job, the cycle has pretty much started over, so I guess that's all I can do for the time being.
I've found that since I finished I've been feeling a lot better mood-wise - when I was on my work placement I was feeling very stressed and downbeat because I felt like I was doing a lot for very little, and it was also having an effect on how I interacted with friends online and in person, but since it ended it hasn't been so bad - and again, I apologise to any of my online or offline friends who I might've upset because of that.
Another part of what's helped my mood was the middle part of this month, some glorious weather arrived in my neck of the woods for a week or so, which meant I was able to get out walking to my favourite place to walk, the Deerness Valley Way, as well as one trip to the beach at Tynemouth. I really want to be able to see as much of those places as I can before the inevitable.
Speaking of the inevitable, me and Nicole have had some great news on that front - the immigration process is now under way, the payment has been made, so that means all we can do now is wait for them to contact us with the next step, which will involve me having to go for a medical check-up, and travelling down to London for an interview at the US Embassy, along with anything else that might crop up that we don't know about. Obviously, I'll keep you posted on how that goes.
Last but not least, this month had one clear highlight, and this was something that had been planned for a couple of months (why I didn't mention it, I have no idea) - on the 18th, I travelled down to York in North Yorkshire to meet up with not one, but four friends from DeviantArt, two of whom I'd met previously (Granitoons and Dracorum-Order), and two I was meeting for the first time (TopperHay and LaptopGeek). It was also my first time visiting York, so it was like killing two birds with one stone, as the saying goes.
York was a very interesting city, very similar to Durham with its oldy-worldly architecture, and it was very busy too with buskers, markets, performers and stag/hen parties (Hey, it was a Saturday.) We had a couple of meals at a traditional English pub and a wine/cheese bar; checked out a bric-a-brac shop packed with lots of assorted furniture, toys and treasures from the past; walked along York's distinctive city walls; paid a visit to York's most famous landmark York Minster, and most importantly of all, we had some quality drawing time. Three of us also brought some mascots for the occasion as well (LaptopGeek's Humphrey the train, Dracorum-Order's dragonvelope, and my own character Flyer of course). Aside from a momentary blip later on in the day, it was for the absolute most part a fun time had by all, I only wish we could rewind and do it all over again. If you'd like to see what we got up to, you can watch my video of the whole thing right here.
As always, I'll leave you with a bit of artwork from this month - a little cartoon/real-life crossover I put together, inspired by a place in York (I'm sure you can guess why.) Hopefully there'll be no Mayday calls in May.
31/03/2015
March 2015
I wish I could start this blog off on a positive note, I really do - but I'm not gonna sugarcoat anything.
All the anxiety of February has still been there, and it's caused things to come to head with my work placement - over the last few weeks I've felt invisible except when I'm needed to do something, and one of my managers in the shop was really making me feel that way more than others, which resulted in me being stressed almost every day I was in the shop. I ended up telling her that I had a problem with her attitude, and she seemed very surprised by that. We did clear the air though and sorted those differences - except we didn't, because just right at the end of this month, with two weeks left to go on the placement, they gave me (and my sister, who hadn't done anything wrong) the sack, apparently because of my stress issues, however I found out that the assistant manager had gone behind my back and as good as reported me for speaking my mind. Well you know what, I was getting sick of being there anyway, so as far as I'm concerned they can take that job and shove it - I've already said my feelings on this whole "community work placement" BS, it's designed to help everyone but us employed "losers", and I'm sick to death of being under the thumb of these piece of crap schemes. I just pray for the day that I don't have to deal with that anymore.
This is why I've been very moody lately, and I feel like I've alienated my online friends with the way I've been. I don't mean to be that way, but at the end of the day I can't just simply turn off the way I'm feeling - but I'm sorry if I have hurt anyone in any way because of this.
The process of applying for my move to the US has hit a delay, which hasn't helped things, and I know it's not how either me or Nicole wanted things to turn out, and I think that the wait is starting to get to us both, to be honest - but what happens will happen, and we both have to keep on with this, knowing that the wait will be worth it in the end.
All in all, I'm just trying to keep on going, because that's all I can do - it's all anyone can do when they're not 100%.
This month hasn't been without its good moments though - today marks the 10th anniversary of the day I stumbled upon a little website called DeviantArt, and made the decision to join up and show my cartoon creations to the world, and it's safe to say that a lot has happened since then. If I hadn't joined, I might never have met so many of the people on DA that I now call my friends, and I might never have gotten to to certain things that I've done in the last 10 years - in other words, artwork wasn't the only thing joining DA helped me with.
I'll leave you with a group shot of my creations that I made to mark the occasion - here's to another decade of deviousness, and here's to keeping calm and carrying on as best as possible,
All the anxiety of February has still been there, and it's caused things to come to head with my work placement - over the last few weeks I've felt invisible except when I'm needed to do something, and one of my managers in the shop was really making me feel that way more than others, which resulted in me being stressed almost every day I was in the shop. I ended up telling her that I had a problem with her attitude, and she seemed very surprised by that. We did clear the air though and sorted those differences - except we didn't, because just right at the end of this month, with two weeks left to go on the placement, they gave me (and my sister, who hadn't done anything wrong) the sack, apparently because of my stress issues, however I found out that the assistant manager had gone behind my back and as good as reported me for speaking my mind. Well you know what, I was getting sick of being there anyway, so as far as I'm concerned they can take that job and shove it - I've already said my feelings on this whole "community work placement" BS, it's designed to help everyone but us employed "losers", and I'm sick to death of being under the thumb of these piece of crap schemes. I just pray for the day that I don't have to deal with that anymore.
This is why I've been very moody lately, and I feel like I've alienated my online friends with the way I've been. I don't mean to be that way, but at the end of the day I can't just simply turn off the way I'm feeling - but I'm sorry if I have hurt anyone in any way because of this.
The process of applying for my move to the US has hit a delay, which hasn't helped things, and I know it's not how either me or Nicole wanted things to turn out, and I think that the wait is starting to get to us both, to be honest - but what happens will happen, and we both have to keep on with this, knowing that the wait will be worth it in the end.
All in all, I'm just trying to keep on going, because that's all I can do - it's all anyone can do when they're not 100%.
This month hasn't been without its good moments though - today marks the 10th anniversary of the day I stumbled upon a little website called DeviantArt, and made the decision to join up and show my cartoon creations to the world, and it's safe to say that a lot has happened since then. If I hadn't joined, I might never have met so many of the people on DA that I now call my friends, and I might never have gotten to to certain things that I've done in the last 10 years - in other words, artwork wasn't the only thing joining DA helped me with.
I'll leave you with a group shot of my creations that I made to mark the occasion - here's to another decade of deviousness, and here's to keeping calm and carrying on as best as possible,
28/02/2015
February 2015
Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters once sang about "February Stars" - I think for the best part of this month I felt like I was seeing stars, and not in a good way - so I'll get the bad stuff out of the way first.
I feel like my work placement has been starting to grate on me a lot more, and it's ever since I got back from my US trip back in January - I've had too many moments where I've been stood in the shop thinking to myself, "Why am I here? I wish I was doing something more worthwhile than this." The feeling that I'm constantly being reminded of "my place" in society by stuff in the news or what some have said, as it were, hasn't helped.
I've been having issues online as well - and I've talked about this before, the whole group situation, feeling like I'm invisible to people, that reared its ugly head again this month, to the point where I was doing my weekly livestreams and pretty much taking it out on everyone who attended those stream, in my own way. I wish I could handle this stuff better than I do, but it's the way I am, and I can't help that.
On the plus side, things are moving along with me and Nicole's immigration process - the first payment to the lawyer has been made, I've posted off my birth certificate, and we're in the process of getting personal statements from ourselves, our friends and family, so the ball is well and truly rolling now. I say this as a plus point, because it's exciting, but at the same time it hasn't truly sunk in for me yet, and I don't believe it will until the day that I actually take that flight over there to start this new life - and it's still both exciting and scaring me in equal measure.
Another thing I've been doing a lot recently is looking back to what I was doing a decade ago - where I was, the music I was listening to, the people I knew, and it's crazy to see how much hasn't changed (still having to go to a jobsearch session once a week, still in my hometown) and how much has changed (technology, my artwork, and of course the fact that I'm engaged). A lot can change in a decade.
Speaking of looking back, me and Nicole celebrated Valentine's Day via Skype, and one of the presents that she sent me was a scrapbook she made herself, containing pictures of us and memories of how we met, places we've been and when we finally declared our love for each other - and it's the sweetest gift anyone's ever made for me, so thank you again, lovely. <3
I'll leave you on that mushy note with my Valentine's Day artwork for this year - and even though I'm glad to see the back of this month on the whole, it wasn't without its good moments.
I feel like my work placement has been starting to grate on me a lot more, and it's ever since I got back from my US trip back in January - I've had too many moments where I've been stood in the shop thinking to myself, "Why am I here? I wish I was doing something more worthwhile than this." The feeling that I'm constantly being reminded of "my place" in society by stuff in the news or what some have said, as it were, hasn't helped.
I've been having issues online as well - and I've talked about this before, the whole group situation, feeling like I'm invisible to people, that reared its ugly head again this month, to the point where I was doing my weekly livestreams and pretty much taking it out on everyone who attended those stream, in my own way. I wish I could handle this stuff better than I do, but it's the way I am, and I can't help that.
On the plus side, things are moving along with me and Nicole's immigration process - the first payment to the lawyer has been made, I've posted off my birth certificate, and we're in the process of getting personal statements from ourselves, our friends and family, so the ball is well and truly rolling now. I say this as a plus point, because it's exciting, but at the same time it hasn't truly sunk in for me yet, and I don't believe it will until the day that I actually take that flight over there to start this new life - and it's still both exciting and scaring me in equal measure.
Another thing I've been doing a lot recently is looking back to what I was doing a decade ago - where I was, the music I was listening to, the people I knew, and it's crazy to see how much hasn't changed (still having to go to a jobsearch session once a week, still in my hometown) and how much has changed (technology, my artwork, and of course the fact that I'm engaged). A lot can change in a decade.
Speaking of looking back, me and Nicole celebrated Valentine's Day via Skype, and one of the presents that she sent me was a scrapbook she made herself, containing pictures of us and memories of how we met, places we've been and when we finally declared our love for each other - and it's the sweetest gift anyone's ever made for me, so thank you again, lovely. <3
I'll leave you on that mushy note with my Valentine's Day artwork for this year - and even though I'm glad to see the back of this month on the whole, it wasn't without its good moments.
31/01/2015
January 2015
New Year, old routines, old gripes, but new memories to cherish too - that's what sums up this month for me - I'll get the bad stuff out of the way first.
Obviously, I'm back in the UK now, my winter US trip came to an end on the 11th, and it was a very bittersweet moment indeed, perhaps more bitter than sweet. With all the jetlag it felt really weird coming back home and barely recognising the place, and it took me about a week to completely recover.
Being back home meant getting back into old routines, namely that of my work placement, and that was fine, it was pretty much like I'd never been away, really. What I didn't enjoy coming back to was the jobsearch and pressure side of it, from that certain place I won't name. It's just making me realise how much I need to sever my ties with them, because they just seem to get worse as every year passes. I wasn't put on this earth to be a pawn in their stupid game.
This month was also my birthday of course (29 already?), and while I enjoyed the day very much (more on that in a bit), I just found myself feeling let down by a few people on DeviantArt - you see, every year I make birthday giftarts for friends on DA, I put a lot of time and thought into them, and I don't ask for any giftart in return, just a somple greeting when my birthday comes round - however I end up feeling frustrated year in year out because there are always some of these "friends" who fail to give me a greeting in return. Now some of them may have a genuine reason that they forgot, but unless told otherwise, I have to assume that they just want free art from me and that they couldn't give a crap about my own birthday. It sounds harsh and selfish, but that's how I feel about it. So if I draw you birthday giftart and you don't give me a greeting in return, you won't be getting any more giftart from me, simple as that.
And finally with the bad stuff, I feel like this last week of January I've had a slight touch of the January blues, and possibly post-holiday blues by extension. The cold weather and the snow that we've had (no snow-free winter this time, unlike last winter) haven't helped either, but it'll pass.
Now onto the good stuff, and back to my US trip - again, I just can't put into words how much of a brilliant time I had. I got to ring in the New Year with my lovely Nicole and her family, as well as celebrate my birthday with a stay at a very nice hotel and bowling at a very fancy bowling alley - and on both occasion a lot of drinks were involved too. However, there was one little thing that happened right before New Year that I deliberately forgot to mention - you see, I wanted to get back home and tell my family in person before going viral with it.
On 30 December, I took Nicole to our favourite spot in Branford Point - a hill overlooking the beach and coastline. It was freezing cold, but there was a beautiful sunset in the background, and it just felt like the right moment to finally do something that I'd been plucking up the courage to do for quite a long time (I can hear you saying "Get on with it Mark!" at the back there...)...
I got down on one knee and asked Nicole to be my fiancée...and I think you can guess what her answer was. :)
So there it is - we're engaged. And right now, it's still very much sinking in for me, because this is without a doubt a huge step to make. This also means that 2015, if all works out, will be my last year living in the UK - me and Nicole are going to apply for a fiancée visa, and are hoping to have me move over to the US in October, with a view to signing our marriage licence in early 2016 (it's just signing a bit of paper, we plan to have a proper ceremony at a later date). This has all been in the works for months, and I've been chomping at the bit to let you all know - well, now you know.
It's not going to be easy - saying goodbye to my family, when that day comes, will be one of the hardest things that I will ever have to do in my life, and I'll miss all the familiar places that I know - but unless I do this, I'll spend the rest of my life regretting what could've been. I feel like I'm stuck in a rut in my current situation, and something, for the longest time, has needed to change, and maybe starting a new life in the States with the girl I love is that change that needs to be made.
So, there you have it - what a month indeed. After all that, I think I should probably leave you with some futuristic Flyer artwork. All the best for the rest of this New Year.
Obviously, I'm back in the UK now, my winter US trip came to an end on the 11th, and it was a very bittersweet moment indeed, perhaps more bitter than sweet. With all the jetlag it felt really weird coming back home and barely recognising the place, and it took me about a week to completely recover.
Being back home meant getting back into old routines, namely that of my work placement, and that was fine, it was pretty much like I'd never been away, really. What I didn't enjoy coming back to was the jobsearch and pressure side of it, from that certain place I won't name. It's just making me realise how much I need to sever my ties with them, because they just seem to get worse as every year passes. I wasn't put on this earth to be a pawn in their stupid game.
This month was also my birthday of course (29 already?), and while I enjoyed the day very much (more on that in a bit), I just found myself feeling let down by a few people on DeviantArt - you see, every year I make birthday giftarts for friends on DA, I put a lot of time and thought into them, and I don't ask for any giftart in return, just a somple greeting when my birthday comes round - however I end up feeling frustrated year in year out because there are always some of these "friends" who fail to give me a greeting in return. Now some of them may have a genuine reason that they forgot, but unless told otherwise, I have to assume that they just want free art from me and that they couldn't give a crap about my own birthday. It sounds harsh and selfish, but that's how I feel about it. So if I draw you birthday giftart and you don't give me a greeting in return, you won't be getting any more giftart from me, simple as that.
And finally with the bad stuff, I feel like this last week of January I've had a slight touch of the January blues, and possibly post-holiday blues by extension. The cold weather and the snow that we've had (no snow-free winter this time, unlike last winter) haven't helped either, but it'll pass.
Now onto the good stuff, and back to my US trip - again, I just can't put into words how much of a brilliant time I had. I got to ring in the New Year with my lovely Nicole and her family, as well as celebrate my birthday with a stay at a very nice hotel and bowling at a very fancy bowling alley - and on both occasion a lot of drinks were involved too. However, there was one little thing that happened right before New Year that I deliberately forgot to mention - you see, I wanted to get back home and tell my family in person before going viral with it.
On 30 December, I took Nicole to our favourite spot in Branford Point - a hill overlooking the beach and coastline. It was freezing cold, but there was a beautiful sunset in the background, and it just felt like the right moment to finally do something that I'd been plucking up the courage to do for quite a long time (I can hear you saying "Get on with it Mark!" at the back there...)...
I got down on one knee and asked Nicole to be my fiancée...and I think you can guess what her answer was. :)
So there it is - we're engaged. And right now, it's still very much sinking in for me, because this is without a doubt a huge step to make. This also means that 2015, if all works out, will be my last year living in the UK - me and Nicole are going to apply for a fiancée visa, and are hoping to have me move over to the US in October, with a view to signing our marriage licence in early 2016 (it's just signing a bit of paper, we plan to have a proper ceremony at a later date). This has all been in the works for months, and I've been chomping at the bit to let you all know - well, now you know.
It's not going to be easy - saying goodbye to my family, when that day comes, will be one of the hardest things that I will ever have to do in my life, and I'll miss all the familiar places that I know - but unless I do this, I'll spend the rest of my life regretting what could've been. I feel like I'm stuck in a rut in my current situation, and something, for the longest time, has needed to change, and maybe starting a new life in the States with the girl I love is that change that needs to be made.
So, there you have it - what a month indeed. After all that, I think I should probably leave you with some futuristic Flyer artwork. All the best for the rest of this New Year.
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