Where I’m currently at
Getting this site up and running has taken a lot longer than expected, mostly because my life is going so great. By great I also mean busy, I barely have a moment to spare and those I do have are spent mostly on the Xbox screaming “that was a headshot!!!”.
So, what’s happened recently?
There’s almost too much to cover in one small blog but I’ll try to. Work’s going great, got a few small promotions over the last year or so and my official title now reads something like UI/X & Accessibility Consultant but I do have a few other key roles - most notably that of heading up our blog department (over the last year or so I’ve installed, configured, skinned and manage over 40 of these - not an easy task by any stretch) and I also play a key role in our design team, unofficially appointed as the CSS guru and I’m still lucky enough to build a few eCommerce sites along the way.
We moved - again!
The flat was getting a little cramped - especially with the new addition to the family (read on). My pay’s increased considerably and Mia is doing absolutely incredibly at her job as a Recruitment Consultant, so we found ourselves in the position to get a house. After a few weeks of viewings and haggling, we’re now enjoying the luxuries of a 3 bedroom house in the middle of suburbia, long old driveway for both of our cars, garage and a good-sized 1/3-decked garden for summer and the dog. “The dog!?” I hear you say.
Yes, we got a little puppy!
We’ve been talking about it for a long time. I’ve longed for a Staffordshire Bull Terrier ever since my dear Pugsy passed away 7 years ago. Mia had her heart set on a Whippet, but when my friend John brought round his new Blue Staffy puppy ‘Herbie’ she - well we - absolutely fell in love. Blue Staffies are really very rare and are a beauty to behold. We made a swift visit to the breeder and returned the proud parents of ‘Ronnie’, a gorgeous (then) 12-week old. He’s lovely, really well-behaved and surprisingly easy to train. We went for a pedigree as it settled my fears about illness, as my poor Pugsy was rescued and not from a very good line, and suffered most of her life with various ailments because of it. Ronnie wasn’t cheap - though we got a very good price in the end - but he was worth every penny.
I bought Mia a car
It was her birthday and I wanted to make it special. She’s been needing a car for travelling to Uni and work and with the move we’re now a lot further away from any train stations - too far to walk really, so it was pretty much a necessity. I managed to find her ideal car (a metallic blue/purple 2000 reg Peugeot 306 with all the extras) and she had no idea - should have seen her face when I led her out to it, it was priceless.
I have my own office/studio now!
Shortly after moving in, we made a roadtrip to Ikea and decked the 2 spare rooms out as studies for each of us, and I’m absolutely enamored with mine, sleek minimalism and finally a quiet space I can resign myself to, to get work done and make some long-overdue music. Admittedly most of the time I spend in here is wasted on Call of Duty 4 on my disgustingly large monitor, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
We’ve booked our first holiday/s in years
The past couple of years have been a real struggle for both of us. It isn’t easy keeping your head afloat financially whilst juggling a part-time job and University at the same time, and I myself have had to be very scrupulous in order to wipe the slate clean of the debt I accrued in my less sensible youth. But anyway, we’re off to Centre Parcs in a few weeks for a nice, relaxing long weekend of Spas, Saunas, Massages, Paintball, Bowling and general good fun. Then in June we’re off to the Isle of Wight fesitval with my sister and her other half, which should be excellent fun - and my first proper festival! In August we’re off to Mexico - though if things keep going the way they are we’re going to put that holiday back to September and have it as a honeymoon for an Autumn wedding! We’ll see, but either way I’m dead excited.
So, what’s going on with me?
Well I’m going back to basics with the music, learning keyboard (again) and learning the guitar. I got really sick of just rapping over other people’s music (because really, any mug can do that) and decided I’d try to create an album entirely composed by me. It’s going really quite well, and I’ve been fortunate enough to purchase almost all of the studio equipment I used to drool over in Computer Music magazine. The setup’s practically good enough to rent out for studio time, but it’s just for me for now.
I’ve also had some really exciting opportunities on the design front recently, with some really good freelance work coming in and the possibility of partnering with a few highly-respected peers. Watch this space! I sorely miss talking on Podcasts about design and web development so I’m hopefully setting something up with that soon, bit hush-hush for now though.
I’m writing two books. The first book describes my experiences - both past and present - with Bipolar Disorder, and the second book is about Web Design. Whether or not the world really needs yet another book on Web Design will probably be the decision that venture rides on, but for now it’s a nice side project.
Mia’s considering sending me to Gamers Anonymous. Call of Duty 4 really is simply the most awesome game ever created, and though I only own 3 titles on the Xbox (limited myself to only buying absolutely top-notch games - Halo 3, Call of Duty 4, Assassins Creed) the other 2 get no play whatsoever. I probably play at least 2 hours a day - if not more. I run 2 teams on GameBattles (one clan and one doubles team) and slowly but surely we’re creeping up the ranks. Expect to see a few montage videos on here soon as we really are getting quite nasty at quicksniping.
That’s enough of an update for now, I’m sure I’ll post some photos of all the new things very soon and bore you to death with details of all of my latest escapades. Until then…
