OK 2013 so far:
- I signed up with a local gym. I'd been missing going to the gym since I quit my last one at the end of September (it was too far to travel to either of the chain's closest gyms to me).
- I'm writing new songs. :)
- I'm in a far better frame of mind. I feel that this is mostly due to a change of seating at work. I was in a bit of a bad way there the other month and really hated it. After a bit of bother I was moved to another part of the office and I just seem to be in a pretty good mood all the time. Seriously I must've been feeding on the negative energy of those sat around me. I'm sure there must be some Eastern belief that ties into it. Anyway I feel much better at work which makes me feel better overall as that's where I spend most of the week.
- I saw Deftones again! Ever since I saw them at Download in 2010 I've been wanting to see them again. That happened again in February this year this time around at the Academy in Manchester.
- And now for the biggie: I met JK Rowling!!!!!!!!!!!! Yep, I got to speak to the author of the Harry Potter series and got my book signed (albeit her new novel, 'The Casual Vacancy').
I'm just going to spend a few more minutes talking about the JK Rowling meeting because it has been a major highlight of this year so far. Firstly it was something one of my Harry Potter friends had mentioned to me in December. I almost didn't go through with it due to money. I needed to pay £25 there and then for the ticket etc and with it being December I ummed and ahhed a little before finally agreeing. There was also the little matter of travel (it was held in Bath which is around 200 miles from me!) and accommodation. I'm so glad that I went ahead with it now as it wasn't just the experience of meeting a living legend but it was like taking a holiday and to be honest I didn't mind the 400 mile round trip as most of it was motorway. I really liked travelling to a completely different part of the country, chilling in the hotel, discovering a new city and meeting up with some friends I haven't seen for years and getting all geeky, talking about all things Potter to some stupid time in the morning. Enjoyed it so much that I've signed up to do it all again!
Yes that's right in around 10 weeks time I'll be driving down to Bath yet again. This time around though it's a completely different author. In fact I'm probably looking forward to this more as it's my favourite author Neil Gaiman!!
Ok, the experience is going to be completely different to the JK Rowling road trip. I'm going to be driving down again but this time I've found a hostel that charges just £22 a night and is very close to the venue. I'm not going to be meeting up with others (I have hinted but I guess Neil Gaiman isn't as big a draw to some people, weirdos! lol) but this time around I think I'm going to go earlier in the day and explore Bath (especially as I will probably be leaving the next morning rather than afternoon). Saying that if parking isn't too bad there I may stay later and spend some of the Saturday there as well. So far I'm thinking of visiting the spas there or the Jane Austen museum. I may just wander around the city. It doesn't seem so big and I seem to have the measure of the city centre from my last trip. To be honest though I couldn't care less if I just got there and crashed on my hostel bed until the event itself as I'll be meeting Neil Gaiman!! Oh and on top of that I get a chance to not only pick up a copy of his new novel 'The Ocean at the End of the Lane' before it's officially released but to get it signed by the man too! Can't express how much of a big deal this is. I was looking into ordering pre-signed copies via his website but this is a million times better. Not just that but there's the format of the evening also. The JK Rowling night involved a one on one interview with the artistic director of the festival who appeared to know Jo quite intimately which resulted in a relaxed intimate informal conversation followed by a Q&A from the crowd. If the Neil Gaiman event follows suit I will be a very happy chappy. Just need to think of questions I could ask now!
The fun isn't just restricted to day trips to Bath to meet world renowned authors though. The other week I was at my best friend's house and after a few pints of Guinness, a Chinese takeaway, some of the nastiest cider known to man and half a bottle of red wine (which was a stark improvement on the cider) we got talking about how we need to go to a convention. We'd previously talked about this and had decided to go to a Jack the Ripper convention (he's into all that) and a Doctor Who convention (he had to make some compromise after all I was going to a Ripper fest.) but that had all fallen through before we'd bought tickets as he couldn't get the time off work. Alcohol or divine inspiration took over though on this fateful night and I mentioned Comic Con Manchester. I knew they'd held it at GMEX (or Manchester Central as it's known these days) the other year but that was the extent of my knowledge. I didn't know if it was a regular event, how much it costs, what events they had on or anything. As is customary these days with a smartphone and wifi at my fingertips I set about Googling. The event was on this year, it's a day he can definitely attend and best of all early bird tickets (meaning we can enter at 9am rather than queuing at 11am) are only £9 each!! Needless to say tickets have been booked and we now await the 20th July. This date also falls slap bang in the middle of our birthdays so we'll probably get very drunk. I have no doubt we'll end up at our old haunt Fab Cafe before a pizza and a tram journey back to Eccles.
But wait there's more. After completing the Mega Hike last year, the girl from work who I finished it with wanted to do it again but wanted to beat the sun, starting and finishing during sunlight hours. This is a massive task as it would mean finishing hours before we did last year. Fortunately she can't make it this year due to other commitments. I however managed to find a new challenge; a 10k run throughout the streets of Wigan! This ties in nicely with me joining back up at the gym and wanting to lose more weight this year. Plus I've always wanted to do a 10k. Been eyeing up the Manchester 10k for years now. Best of all this is closer to me, I know Wigan quite well having spent 10 years living there and I know at least one other person who is definitely running it (in fact I found out about it via her). I've already started training for it and have ran 10k on the treadmill (was tweaking the speed and incline to make it more of a challenge), it's harder than I thought but I can definitely do it. On a treadmill at least! My aim is to finish it without having to walk at any stage. Would love to do it in around 40 minutes but think that might be asking a bit too much considering it's my 1st long distance run since school!
Finally (so far) LeakyCon is happening in London this August. I knew absolutely nothing of it until my Potter/United friend from Colombia said she was in London in August over Facebook. Whilst I won't be going to the convention I'm hoping to meet up with her at some point. Probably show her Old Trafford. This all depends on me booking time off work mind. It falls within the same fortnight I booked off last summer and I was thinking of booking the same 2 weeks off this year but hadn't as I was waiting on confirmation re when she'll be in the country. Going to ask in work tomorrow, fingers crossed.
So there you go, plenty to look forward to this year and that's on top of doing things like gigging with the band/choir (I joined a community choir last week! It's popular songs none of that hymn nonsense.), the Doctor Who 50th anniversary specials and whatever else this year may hold.
2013 is going to be legen - wait for it - dary.
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