Fragments
Because I'm not certain whether writing talent is something that should be cherished and used only on special occasions, the inclination to write only in the sphere of fiction has resulted in my LiveJournal atrophying. I should save my metaphors and jokes for my stories, I think to myself, in the same way that one would stay awake for days in preparation for a sleeping competition. In fact, developing a writing talent is like developing a stomach for an eating competition: you have to build up to it and practise daily. If that writing only manifests here in the form of bite-sized morsels, rather than the 96lb steak of a novel, it's still better than nothing. So here's a quick overview of what I've been up to in the first seven months (!) of 2012.
Home life
In December 2011 I finally left the Black Lodge (nee Darkmasque), my home for five years and the house I had previously shared with Kyly and later with Lucy, then Inigo (in a brief and vague way). The Lodge had been cool digs in the days when pals inhabited Westwood Road, Bedford Street and whatever road the Stupid House was on, but those days had long passed by December 2011. All that remained in Earlsdon was a poorly-insulated house with a bathroom in the remotest part of the house and a dilapidated chicken coop in the garden. Sarah-Beth and I had taken the decision to live together and I wasn't having her living in the Black Lodge. It was time to move on.
We found a house we liked, but the owner changed their mind on allowing cats. We viewed a couple of others with variable results, but the one we liked most was in Radford. I was attracted by the bay window, patio in the back garden and the fact the bathroom was next to the bedroom (atypical for Coventry houses, where the bathroom seems to always be behind the kitchen).
Eight months on and things are pretty okay. We're neither tidier nor messier than each other and the washing-up and cooking progress under relatively democratic lines. The cats, having loathed each other to begin with, have generally adapted to the idea of co-habiting and take great pleasure sampling each other's food and teaming up to beg to be fed or let outdoors. Between roller derby and wrestling, we never see each other in the week, but do seek out fun weekend activities. The millstone around our necks is Sarah-Beth's job, still in Wolverhampton: the travelling exhausts her and the recent politicking bullshit depresses her. Unfortunately, Coventry has as many jobs as a post-apocalyptic wasteland. A quandary threatening to become a quagmire. Someone hire her already.
Work
Over at the Illuminati Primi, I've finally escaped debt collection and entered the exciting world of... data analysis? With increased visibility, better working hours (i.e. no weekends or evenings) and a job that plays closer to my strengths it's with more pleasure that I go to my job these days. My goal was to get out of collecting debt by the time I was 30: I did so five weeks before my thirtieth birthday. I cut it fine. Of course, as with any job, it has its downsides, but to explain this would involve engaging in a long, tedious discussion about my job, which nobody likes hearing.
New York
I turned 30 in New York City, a trip funded by bonuses from my final days in debt collection and by winning/earning a £1000 award at work. On my actual birthday, I looked at dinosaurs, went to Toys'R'Us and the Ghostbusters fire station, then went to a restaurant where the food was served by ninjas. I also really enjoyed Coney Island, a seaside resort with a history of incredible art/theatre stunts and which still had a freakshow. We also saw a bunch of Flight of the Conchords locations, a load of the obvious tourist places, ate in a load of vegan restaurants which raise the bar for expectations of vegan cuisine, and looked at Ground Zero. Ground Zero left me spooked, not least because people were smilingly posing for photos in front of the waterfall, which just seemed wrong.
Other fun stuff we've done includes, but is not limited to: a steampunk murder mystery at Waterstones, an appearance as extras in a music video, a Lego party at Kyly's which was good fun. I also saw the Olympic torch with Lucy, which was notable mainly for the incredible song that ended the evening. One love for Coventry.
Music
Riotshields is back on the back burner as John and I focus our attentions once more on Deathsex Bloodbath, the vaguely parodic sleaze-rock band we play in with Cait. This time around, we've added Michelle Bailey/Sororicide on drums, wrote two new songs and bothered to teach Cait the ones we didn't teach her last time. Adding Bailey has made a lot of difference - she's really embraced the concept and has proven to be shit-hot on drums, too. The jams we've done as a four-piece have left me really enthused about the band and I'm excited to play live now.
Wrestling
More fun with wrestling, too. I still appear on the AMP shows, usually in the corner of Deacon Frost, and in January I even wrestled on one, in a battle royal. I got rid of a couple of people before being dumped out myself, but happily Frost went on to win. I looked like crap in the match and spent a lot of time heelishly avoiding contact but at least I didn't embarass myself or injure myself and, of course, it was great to actually be in a match. In August, Triple X Wrestling makes its return, which also means that Professor Lex and the Zombie Flesheaters are showing up.
I still go training every week and, after two years, I've improved to the point where I'm buying gear, developing combination moves of my own and thinking about having proper matches and stuff.
Writing
I had some stuff published this year by Untreed Reads: Check it out. The same company are also due to put out 'Cemetery Drive' in e-book format, with a release date TBC. I continue to work on stuff with a view to publication, although without much momentum, and there's one or two little things in the pipeline. Of course, I'll plug those to death when they're due out.
So that's pretty much it. Now to go and do something exciting like gardening.
Home life
In December 2011 I finally left the Black Lodge (nee Darkmasque), my home for five years and the house I had previously shared with Kyly and later with Lucy, then Inigo (in a brief and vague way). The Lodge had been cool digs in the days when pals inhabited Westwood Road, Bedford Street and whatever road the Stupid House was on, but those days had long passed by December 2011. All that remained in Earlsdon was a poorly-insulated house with a bathroom in the remotest part of the house and a dilapidated chicken coop in the garden. Sarah-Beth and I had taken the decision to live together and I wasn't having her living in the Black Lodge. It was time to move on.
We found a house we liked, but the owner changed their mind on allowing cats. We viewed a couple of others with variable results, but the one we liked most was in Radford. I was attracted by the bay window, patio in the back garden and the fact the bathroom was next to the bedroom (atypical for Coventry houses, where the bathroom seems to always be behind the kitchen).
Eight months on and things are pretty okay. We're neither tidier nor messier than each other and the washing-up and cooking progress under relatively democratic lines. The cats, having loathed each other to begin with, have generally adapted to the idea of co-habiting and take great pleasure sampling each other's food and teaming up to beg to be fed or let outdoors. Between roller derby and wrestling, we never see each other in the week, but do seek out fun weekend activities. The millstone around our necks is Sarah-Beth's job, still in Wolverhampton: the travelling exhausts her and the recent politicking bullshit depresses her. Unfortunately, Coventry has as many jobs as a post-apocalyptic wasteland. A quandary threatening to become a quagmire. Someone hire her already.
Work
Over at the Illuminati Primi, I've finally escaped debt collection and entered the exciting world of... data analysis? With increased visibility, better working hours (i.e. no weekends or evenings) and a job that plays closer to my strengths it's with more pleasure that I go to my job these days. My goal was to get out of collecting debt by the time I was 30: I did so five weeks before my thirtieth birthday. I cut it fine. Of course, as with any job, it has its downsides, but to explain this would involve engaging in a long, tedious discussion about my job, which nobody likes hearing.
New York
I turned 30 in New York City, a trip funded by bonuses from my final days in debt collection and by winning/earning a £1000 award at work. On my actual birthday, I looked at dinosaurs, went to Toys'R'Us and the Ghostbusters fire station, then went to a restaurant where the food was served by ninjas. I also really enjoyed Coney Island, a seaside resort with a history of incredible art/theatre stunts and which still had a freakshow. We also saw a bunch of Flight of the Conchords locations, a load of the obvious tourist places, ate in a load of vegan restaurants which raise the bar for expectations of vegan cuisine, and looked at Ground Zero. Ground Zero left me spooked, not least because people were smilingly posing for photos in front of the waterfall, which just seemed wrong.
Other fun stuff we've done includes, but is not limited to: a steampunk murder mystery at Waterstones, an appearance as extras in a music video, a Lego party at Kyly's which was good fun. I also saw the Olympic torch with Lucy, which was notable mainly for the incredible song that ended the evening. One love for Coventry.
Music
Riotshields is back on the back burner as John and I focus our attentions once more on Deathsex Bloodbath, the vaguely parodic sleaze-rock band we play in with Cait. This time around, we've added Michelle Bailey/Sororicide on drums, wrote two new songs and bothered to teach Cait the ones we didn't teach her last time. Adding Bailey has made a lot of difference - she's really embraced the concept and has proven to be shit-hot on drums, too. The jams we've done as a four-piece have left me really enthused about the band and I'm excited to play live now.
Wrestling
More fun with wrestling, too. I still appear on the AMP shows, usually in the corner of Deacon Frost, and in January I even wrestled on one, in a battle royal. I got rid of a couple of people before being dumped out myself, but happily Frost went on to win. I looked like crap in the match and spent a lot of time heelishly avoiding contact but at least I didn't embarass myself or injure myself and, of course, it was great to actually be in a match. In August, Triple X Wrestling makes its return, which also means that Professor Lex and the Zombie Flesheaters are showing up.
I still go training every week and, after two years, I've improved to the point where I'm buying gear, developing combination moves of my own and thinking about having proper matches and stuff.
Writing
I had some stuff published this year by Untreed Reads: Check it out. The same company are also due to put out 'Cemetery Drive' in e-book format, with a release date TBC. I continue to work on stuff with a view to publication, although without much momentum, and there's one or two little things in the pipeline. Of course, I'll plug those to death when they're due out.
So that's pretty much it. Now to go and do something exciting like gardening.