Tag: blogging

I’m going dark

Aah the weekend.

I think I am going to take a day or two off.  I will probably be back Sunday night but it’s been a long week, I’ve hardly been at my best with this stupid cold and I am finding the world somewhat distracting in general and American politics more specifically.

I am going to clear out my twitter because I am just sick to the back teeth of Donald Trump, the GOP and the general stench – and instead I shall fill it with things that bring me joy and inspiration.  In addition there will be more Science and knowledge and art and films and comics and pictures of monkeys.

I have pretty much hit American politics fatigue after spending a large part of the week reading far too much about what is going on.  It’s odd that I have found it all so fascinating as I dont really care that much about what is going on in the UK despite all our shenanigans.  I guess I always like to think that we are just wholly incompetent and bumbling fools whereas your lot just seem rotten to the core and it’s all rather sad.  I think it is actually affecting my my desire to write and create and enjoy things.

Instead I am going to find a load of uplifting and positive American experiences I think.  I will let you know how I get on.  Oh and there’s the Americans amongst you readers of course, I like you lot.

So fingers crossed you’ll have sorted him out by the time I get back.

 

6 months of shenannigans

Well that flew by…

I started this blog without really thinking too much about it.  I started to write with no real intention other than to see what would come out of me, and what has come out of me so far are 467 posts in 184 days.  Occasionally I posted nothing, and on one particularly mad day I posted 14 times but mostly I just decided to write and see where that lead me.

Somewhere in there are stats which tell me I now have 370 followers, 16000 plus views, 7500 likes and around 5000 visitors.  I dont know if they’re good or not and they’re not the ones I look for for the most part, the one in particular that I look for most is the number of comments because I see those as a real indicator of engagement with people, and that is something I have really enjoyed which I did not expect at all.

People have been incredibly encouraging along the way and as I have got to know writers such as Mel, Walt, Linda, M, Dronsta, Ward, Leigha, Roda, Fandango, Penny, Dorinda and many more it has certainly helped me to keep scribbling away.  I must also thank my wife who has been hugely encouraging and frightfully patient despite the rather shocking nature of some of the stuff I have churned out.

I have also enjoyed reading other people’s work far more than I expected and there are some wonderfully engaging and talented people out there.  I dont get to read everyone as much as I would like and I probably do not read everybody that I should but I think we all struggle with that.

So what next?

Well I think I will just keep going and see where that leads me.  More of the same old stuff I enjoy writing and perhaps some new stuff as I challenge myself and hopefully along the the way you will continue to enjoy the words I produce and the order in which I produce them.

If I was to give anyone advice, and I dont propose to be in any position to tell anyone how to do anything, but if I was to after my 6 months of writing it would be this.

Just write about the things you are passionate about and which make you happy.  Find your voice and go with it, it’s what makes you unique.

x

Dieting. 6.

really not my fault

Ok so it hasn’t been great over the Christmas period, I will start with that.  I would add though that it was nowhere near as bad as it could have been and I have most definitely not gorged anywhere near as I have done in previous years.

There was no starter at Christmas dinner, only one pudding (shock horror right) and there’s a quite magnificent stollen covered in cherries and almonds that has lasted nearly the entire Christmas week!

A real indicator of a victory, albeit a small one, was that I didn’t even have a selection box for breakfast when we were opening gifts.  That’s a bit of a tradition in our house you see.

Nonetheless it was something and over the last week we have all most definitely eaten a lot less.  There remain piles of all manner of things that will likely go unconsumed and I am going to take that and get back to trying even harder.

Once I’ve finished that trifle though because it’s so damned good…

Excess indeed

My Sack overflows…

I’m posting a lot at the moment I realise.  Following a few days away I have a bulging Christmas sack that really needs to be emptied as I near the six month milestone of my blog, a point at which I said I would sit down and consider the experience and decide whether I continue, and if so what that will entail.

I have a load of stuff I am tidying up to get out and some challenges I set myself that I am determined to finish before the end of the year.  Well actually I have until the 3rd of 5th of January I think but the end of 2017 feels like a good date to aim for.

That means that you will see all manner of things dropping into your feed if you follow me, sorry about that I will do my best to spread them out as it’s rather rude to clutter things up I realise.

It doesn’t feel like the end just perhaps the end of the beginning.  But we shall see when I sit down properly to review things in a few days time.

Michael

x

A few days away.

For the first time in nearly 6 months I have just spent more than a day away from my blog. 

For the first time in nearly 6 months I have just spent more than a day away from my blog.  In the past Ive had the odd spell away, but nothing like this.  For 4 days in fact I have not made a post, read a comment or read anything anyone else has posted.

It was at first rather frustrating but there were these Ikea cupboards that needed to go up you see plus others that needed moving from one side of the bedroom to the other.  Now, in order to achieve that they needed to be dismantled which I kind of managed but then the dismantling was followed by shouting, swearing, sweating and me then apologising to the family for being a complete dick and a quite awful human being.

The second night I repeated my performance, to somewhat of a lesser degree, but again I was a twat and I will admit that I am this point thinking that I have issues.  No matter how hard I tried the combination of my complete ineptness and the quite obvious evil nature of these wardrobes brought out my inner twat.

Another night of it and by the time I had done them all I simply had no joy left in me and found it rather hard to return and it has taken a couple of days of cocktails, Christmas merriment and festive television to get me back to some sort of place where I have both the time and the inclination to write again.

I have some catching up to do I think but just glad my wife didn’t make me sleep in the garden this Christmas really.  She’s a frightfully patient woman.

Merry Christmas

Michael x

 

 

 

Dieting. 5.

really not my fault

Just a quick update as I am rather full of meat and my eyes are slowly closing.

We took the kids to a comedy club thingamajig tonight as it is my eldest boys birthday next week, and they took a couple of friends with them.  The evening was pleasant enough, and afterwards we thought we would take them all for dinner to TGI Fridays.

I was convinced that I was in a good place upon entering, and despite the kids all ordering ribs, which I am rather partial to, I asked for the duck salad.  Duck salad right!  That is actually a thing.  Salad.  With Duck.  Whatever next.

Anyway, so there I am feeling great about the choice I just made, when the waitress heads back over.  They are all out of Duck Salad.

I do wonder whether they ever actually had any you know.  It really does not sound like something you should be making.  Salad with duck.  I think it is on there as a joke and they are convinced that nobody will ever take it seriously enough to order it.

I don’t really know how it happened, I think maybe I felt pressured into a quick decision as she was stood waiting for my  revised order, but I just blurted out ribs and before I know it I am licking Jack Daniels sauce from my fingers and picking succulent pig from my teeth.

I had done rather well all day up to that point too.

Oh well, tomorrow is another day.  Sleep well, I certainly will.

P.S. I ate the chips too.

 

Dieting. 4.

A piece in which I mention sweaty bottoms quite a lot.

So yesterday was somewhat more difficult given that I had a full day work event followed by Christmas Dinner and drinks.  But, I came away not completely disappointed in myself – quite surprisingly.

I did not indulge in any of the huge pile of biscuits and chocolates that were available on arrival which I thought was a real victory given that in the past I would have been the one that opened them and got stuck in first.

I cannot say the same of big fat Simon though, he rumbled into the room, reached across the table exposing his hairy arse crack, proclaimed “Ooh biscuits” and tucked in.  Perhaps that’s the key to appetite suppression.  Every time you’re tempted to eat squirty cream straight from the can you have to look at a picture of a large man’s hairy toilet equipment.

At lunchtime I ate only the same as a normal person, avoiding the cream cakes and sticking to a couple of sandwiches and the treat of a frightfully small piece flap jack for pudding.  I did get a queer look from a couple of people when I was spotted eating a fruit kebab thing and a couple of carrot sticks and some hummus.  Rather than admitting to being on a diet I explained that I was saving myself for the Christmas dinner later on.

All I really wanted to do was smash cream buns into my face in the toilet where no one could judge me.

Dinner was ordered months ago so there was not much I could do and I had a lovely pumpkin soup starter.  I seem to have then ordered a burger followed by Christmas pudding.  I remembered some of the encouragement I have received on here and decided to not eat the chips (fries).  This would have worked had they cleared the table sooner, but they took a while so by the time they did I had eaten half.  But not eating half is something I would never have done before.  I would have eaten all of mine and then coveted other peoples chips.  Pretty sure the bible has strong views on such things.  As good as I felt about it I could think of nothing else when I got home and had real regret over not eating them.

So all in all a way better day than I had expected.

This afternoon I am thinking of popping to the hypnotist to see whether they can help me get the image of big Simon’s dirty parts out of my head.

Have a good weekend!