Seriously this blogging is getting rather addictive, which is nice - I'm finding that this a good way to get my brain on paper - the traditional way of describing writing my testimony or a real heartfelt email - don't look, just type!!
Having not been listening to any rock in about a week - that leaves me with Trance, old skool Dance & of course Breaks! Mostly some stuff from Fabric Live (breaks) & some good old 'Crasher favourites (that's trance for those who don't know). The last thing vaguely rocky I listened to was Arcade Fire's 'Neon Bible' & I'm not convinced that counts lol!
But me being me & changing my music preference rather frequently shall we say, I'm sure I'll switch the rock back on - I think I just overdosed on Muse, well it's a theory at least!!
As the great Pete Tong puts it..........we continue!!
14 Jul 2007
13 Jul 2007
Feeling old much!
OK, this writing [for want of a better phrase] is a reflection about my relationship status & what I'm feeling. It's allegedly highly irregular for a guy to want to think or discuss his feelings, well then that must speak volumes about me then lol!
true Having been to a few weddings over the past couple of weeks [my cousin Emma & my good friend from Uni Hannah] & with another coming up in a couple of weeks [another Hannah - this time the more madder of the two ;o) - sorry Han, but it's true lol] but always as the single man. This is obviously because I have split up with my girlfriend [Jennie] after about 2 1/2 years, back in April. Since then I have remained more solitary & much less social as I have previously, shall we say. I have spent time with friends occasionally, but seem to be having 'too much time' with myself.
This seems to have caused a worrying trend of reflection. Part of my degree is to train youthworker's to be 'reflective practitioners' - this can have it's drawbacks though - a tendency to either over-analyse or dwell on thoughts & feelings. This seems exactly what I am doing with this whole 'being single' thought process.
So, when I see let's just say not just one or two people getting engaged, it creates interesting feelings deep within me & not all of them are positive! It's not because I fancy or am deeply in love with these people, it's more a form of resentment - because these immensely happy things are not happening to me! For example at Uni I think there's only me who's remotely single - out of my whole class! Outside of Uni, anyone resembling an available female appears to be in a relationship. It's frustrating & maddening! I find myself thinking "Oh dear [or words to that effect!] what if I never find someone who's right for me - what if I never get married?!" Now that thought terrifies me! I'm a youthworker - not a Catholic priest or a Monk!! It's not as though I am a young man anymore - I'm 26!! Am I going mad, or having a mid-life [kinda] crisis - or just over analysing & dwelling on things that are unimportant?!
The problem is that my brain has been used to being full of all the crapola associated with Uni over the past 2 years & during almost all of that time I've been in a relationship - now with nothing to preoccupy my mind, I've started looking more inwardly - toward my heart & where it's at. I know that deep down God has a plan for exactly the person, time & place for if/when I fall in love with 'the one for me', I've just no idea who, when & where the heck that is!! But this should not be read as desperation - it's frustration! I almost dislike having the space to think about these things - because I don't think I want to reflect on my own needs - for; security, reassurance, presence of people, to be loved, cherished & feel needed.
I don't think these are bad needs necessarily & I do know where they come from - because there are sadly only a few people who truly know me [other than God & myself] & what makes me tick. There are a select few who know about my 'dark days' - not that they happened, but the reasons behind them. But when reflecting on what makes my heart ache & brain tick, I think that what was missing, appears to be needed now.
I think this is the crux of what's going on with me now - I'm reflecting more on past things - because of counselling & too much free time [apart from when I'm gaming or occasionally working lol!] knowing myself well enough to know what I want/desire/need & getting......nothing at the moment frustrates me. It's depressive to a degree, but not enough to make me depressed.
But I'm thankful for those who are around me - even when I annoy the hell outta them lol! [it happens!] I appear to have built up a strong network of support, but I'm yet to use it to work on this aspect of what's going on with me - all I've said is I feel like a bit of a sad old man........people get that about me already - I've been the oldest amongst my friends for many years, but right now I really feel that!!
Right, what's that spell, oh yeah "mischief managed"!!
true Having been to a few weddings over the past couple of weeks [my cousin Emma & my good friend from Uni Hannah] & with another coming up in a couple of weeks [another Hannah - this time the more madder of the two ;o) - sorry Han, but it's true lol] but always as the single man. This is obviously because I have split up with my girlfriend [Jennie] after about 2 1/2 years, back in April. Since then I have remained more solitary & much less social as I have previously, shall we say. I have spent time with friends occasionally, but seem to be having 'too much time' with myself.
This seems to have caused a worrying trend of reflection. Part of my degree is to train youthworker's to be 'reflective practitioners' - this can have it's drawbacks though - a tendency to either over-analyse or dwell on thoughts & feelings. This seems exactly what I am doing with this whole 'being single' thought process.
So, when I see let's just say not just one or two people getting engaged, it creates interesting feelings deep within me & not all of them are positive! It's not because I fancy or am deeply in love with these people, it's more a form of resentment - because these immensely happy things are not happening to me! For example at Uni I think there's only me who's remotely single - out of my whole class! Outside of Uni, anyone resembling an available female appears to be in a relationship. It's frustrating & maddening! I find myself thinking "Oh dear [or words to that effect!] what if I never find someone who's right for me - what if I never get married?!" Now that thought terrifies me! I'm a youthworker - not a Catholic priest or a Monk!! It's not as though I am a young man anymore - I'm 26!! Am I going mad, or having a mid-life [kinda] crisis - or just over analysing & dwelling on things that are unimportant?!
The problem is that my brain has been used to being full of all the crapola associated with Uni over the past 2 years & during almost all of that time I've been in a relationship - now with nothing to preoccupy my mind, I've started looking more inwardly - toward my heart & where it's at. I know that deep down God has a plan for exactly the person, time & place for if/when I fall in love with 'the one for me', I've just no idea who, when & where the heck that is!! But this should not be read as desperation - it's frustration! I almost dislike having the space to think about these things - because I don't think I want to reflect on my own needs - for; security, reassurance, presence of people, to be loved, cherished & feel needed.
I don't think these are bad needs necessarily & I do know where they come from - because there are sadly only a few people who truly know me [other than God & myself] & what makes me tick. There are a select few who know about my 'dark days' - not that they happened, but the reasons behind them. But when reflecting on what makes my heart ache & brain tick, I think that what was missing, appears to be needed now.
I think this is the crux of what's going on with me now - I'm reflecting more on past things - because of counselling & too much free time [apart from when I'm gaming or occasionally working lol!] knowing myself well enough to know what I want/desire/need & getting......nothing at the moment frustrates me. It's depressive to a degree, but not enough to make me depressed.
But I'm thankful for those who are around me - even when I annoy the hell outta them lol! [it happens!] I appear to have built up a strong network of support, but I'm yet to use it to work on this aspect of what's going on with me - all I've said is I feel like a bit of a sad old man........people get that about me already - I've been the oldest amongst my friends for many years, but right now I really feel that!!
Right, what's that spell, oh yeah "mischief managed"!!
zupDATE pt 2
Also last weekend was Mr TC's Birthday Bonanza Weekend, which was both really good, yet also really challenging, because I saw an old friend who I had not seen since my dark & distant past. This was really difficult due to not knowing how they would see/judge me to be - in the same state as I was all those years ago [a little more explosive, charged & unhinged] or as I am now [slightly less of the above!!] The whole experience really shook me up, & caused me to leave one of the parties early [not the norm for me!].
It was bizarre, because before all that, my weekend was going rather swimmingly - had one of my really good friend's Wedding on the Saturday - Mrs Hannah Woods [as she is now called lol - go Hana!] followed by some crushing football & then loitering around in a pool [well I say pool - it was more like a large paddleing pool for adults lol!] with my best friend JMC passing me a beer every couple of minutes - so it was all shiny!! But that negative experience transported my back about 8 years to someone I once was - not good! However, I did manage to get my head around it & bring in some peace, with the aid of my esteemed counsellor - JP. That followed by some hardcore gaming with Nate & it was all green for me! Although when I heard the following song, I was challenged to think about my actions & reactions [which I haven't really gone in to, but I don't think it appropriate - so there!!]
From a track called Stonecold, on one of the best albums I own - Mixmag: Big Room Trance, mixed by Armin Van Buuren - choon after choon aften choon, from back in 2003. It was a freebie that I bought on my way to Spring Harvest [Skegness] the first time I went & was the only CD I listened to all week & is just about the most perfect trance CD out there - although Sundissential 1, Disc 1 could give it a run for its money lol!
We're back!
It was bizarre, because before all that, my weekend was going rather swimmingly - had one of my really good friend's Wedding on the Saturday - Mrs Hannah Woods [as she is now called lol - go Hana!] followed by some crushing football & then loitering around in a pool [well I say pool - it was more like a large paddleing pool for adults lol!] with my best friend JMC passing me a beer every couple of minutes - so it was all shiny!! But that negative experience transported my back about 8 years to someone I once was - not good! However, I did manage to get my head around it & bring in some peace, with the aid of my esteemed counsellor - JP. That followed by some hardcore gaming with Nate & it was all green for me! Although when I heard the following song, I was challenged to think about my actions & reactions [which I haven't really gone in to, but I don't think it appropriate - so there!!]
"Right now we can't we can't stop what's coming on my way
How many more dark clouds will pass me in a day
Why, can't I tell myself to walk away?"
From a track called Stonecold, on one of the best albums I own - Mixmag: Big Room Trance, mixed by Armin Van Buuren - choon after choon aften choon, from back in 2003. It was a freebie that I bought on my way to Spring Harvest [Skegness] the first time I went & was the only CD I listened to all week & is just about the most perfect trance CD out there - although Sundissential 1, Disc 1 could give it a run for its money lol!
We're back!
ZUPdate
Hey mes amies,
OK been a very quiet week - the most exciting thing I've done is watch ALL the Harry Potter movies back-to-back, then go to the cinema & watch the new one [Order of the Phoenix].
First a little about that movie - ignore all the media attention & just go see it, it is the best one in terms of special effects & acting [OK, with the exception of Dudley who is just a little too hammy for my tastes!] it's definitely trimmed down from the book, but that was huge to begin with. Everything just seemed a little more polished than before, it was less about gimmicky things [I assume because people are used to this magical world by now] & more about the story & development of major characters. All the scenes with Sirius & Harry feel really heart-warming, as does the stuff with the DA. Umbridge appears to be as loathsome as in the book, & as for the battles near the end - they left me speechless. It did feel quite true to the book, but with some changes & trimmings. For fans of the books & films, I don't think you will be too disappointed! I intend to go watch it a second time - I think it THAT good!!!
Anyways, enough pottering about [sorry!] have also spent a lot of time gaming & boosting my Gamescore [the infamous points system on the Xbox 360, where gamers get points for if they complete certain stages of games on harder difficulty settings, or exceed at certain aspects of games] which is now approaching a fairly respectable 4500G [thank you Dynasty Warriors lol!]. Rainbow 6 Vegas has also been played heavily & has gotten very challenging shall we say!
To be continued!
OK been a very quiet week - the most exciting thing I've done is watch ALL the Harry Potter movies back-to-back, then go to the cinema & watch the new one [Order of the Phoenix].
First a little about that movie - ignore all the media attention & just go see it, it is the best one in terms of special effects & acting [OK, with the exception of Dudley who is just a little too hammy for my tastes!] it's definitely trimmed down from the book, but that was huge to begin with. Everything just seemed a little more polished than before, it was less about gimmicky things [I assume because people are used to this magical world by now] & more about the story & development of major characters. All the scenes with Sirius & Harry feel really heart-warming, as does the stuff with the DA. Umbridge appears to be as loathsome as in the book, & as for the battles near the end - they left me speechless. It did feel quite true to the book, but with some changes & trimmings. For fans of the books & films, I don't think you will be too disappointed! I intend to go watch it a second time - I think it THAT good!!!
Anyways, enough pottering about [sorry!] have also spent a lot of time gaming & boosting my Gamescore [the infamous points system on the Xbox 360, where gamers get points for if they complete certain stages of games on harder difficulty settings, or exceed at certain aspects of games] which is now approaching a fairly respectable 4500G [thank you Dynasty Warriors lol!]. Rainbow 6 Vegas has also been played heavily & has gotten very challenging shall we say!
To be continued!
What ARE you doing?!
[Written Saturday 7th July & imported just now!]
Currently blogging in Starbucks in high street Oxford dressed up as smartly as I get these days (smart black open-neck shirt, jacket & chino's) reading Disconnected (Nick Barham, 2004) & reading all about blogging, so I thought I'd update again!
Been a very quiet week - ran 1 youthgroup, & have hung out with my friends Hobbit & Nate for most of the rest of the week, just playing 360 games & causing mischief lol! But mostly playing a few highly unethical games - Crackdown & Rainbow 6: Vegas.
Crackdown is basically Grand Theft Auto with steroids! Cue guns, explosions & killing bad guys, all from a 3rd person perspective. A patch was released for this game recently & it has yielded 2 cool things - resurrect the dead gang-members (i.e. the bad guys) & God mode - you can't die & have unlimited ammo - nice! This has mean being more creative with said bad guys & how you (ahem) stop them causing any more mischief!! It's all a little silly & comic-book violent & doesn't take itself at all seriously - I mean come on - how often do we jump off skyscrapers, into skyscrapers or even over 3 storey buildings - I suggest at least not often!!
The second game is much less comic-book & more 'real life'......kind of! Rainbow 6 Vegas - custom weapons hundreds of bad guys (not gang members this time - terrorists) & again it's set in America (umm Las Vegas) & the bad guys are either Russian, Mexican, Chinese or South American. The key emphasis for this game is not brash balls-out mayhem (although that sometimes happens!!) it's stealth, teamwork & trying to be as sneaky & silent as possible. But this is both punishing & rewarding in equal measures - it's really difficult to not die a lot, but amazingly satisfying when you move on to the next level!!
Frag this!
Si
Currently blogging in Starbucks in high street Oxford dressed up as smartly as I get these days (smart black open-neck shirt, jacket & chino's) reading Disconnected (Nick Barham, 2004) & reading all about blogging, so I thought I'd update again!
Been a very quiet week - ran 1 youthgroup, & have hung out with my friends Hobbit & Nate for most of the rest of the week, just playing 360 games & causing mischief lol! But mostly playing a few highly unethical games - Crackdown & Rainbow 6: Vegas.
Crackdown is basically Grand Theft Auto with steroids! Cue guns, explosions & killing bad guys, all from a 3rd person perspective. A patch was released for this game recently & it has yielded 2 cool things - resurrect the dead gang-members (i.e. the bad guys) & God mode - you can't die & have unlimited ammo - nice! This has mean being more creative with said bad guys & how you (ahem) stop them causing any more mischief!! It's all a little silly & comic-book violent & doesn't take itself at all seriously - I mean come on - how often do we jump off skyscrapers, into skyscrapers or even over 3 storey buildings - I suggest at least not often!!
The second game is much less comic-book & more 'real life'......kind of! Rainbow 6 Vegas - custom weapons hundreds of bad guys (not gang members this time - terrorists) & again it's set in America (umm Las Vegas) & the bad guys are either Russian, Mexican, Chinese or South American. The key emphasis for this game is not brash balls-out mayhem (although that sometimes happens!!) it's stealth, teamwork & trying to be as sneaky & silent as possible. But this is both punishing & rewarding in equal measures - it's really difficult to not die a lot, but amazingly satisfying when you move on to the next level!!
Frag this!
Si
3 Jul 2007
Demotivator
Morning gang!
Bit of a weird day - am feeling a little demotivated today - not really sure the reason why - I think it's something to do with my pain-suppressants for my prostate condition. This is making things like planning for tonight's youth group much harder than normal - not sure what to do - hmmmm! It does indeed seem to be difficult to get motivated to working - frustrating to say the very least. Hopefully when my body gets used to the new chemicals I can get more awake & motivated, but we shall have to see! Right enough bloggerage - time for more sleep [grrrrr!]
We contine [with sleep that is!]
Si
We contine [with sleep that is!]
Si
1 Jul 2007
IC Pt. 2
OK......we continue!
This double-blog posting came from investigating a website called Christianity Meme which has many essays citing Christianity as a meme & going into how the virus of Christianity is being proselytised for the detriment of society.
On this website, none of essays/articles are 'signed' by an individual - all collectively as just 'christianitymeme.org' - interesting but very much aloof. The website is divided into sections, including the Main Argument [against Christianity], Additional Content [articles from Richard Dawkins, Susan Blackmore, Don Baker, to name but a few], as well as some dialogue & reference information.
I looked at most of the information contained in the main argument section & there is some highly different 'theological perspectives' on Christianity, especially with young people:
Discipleship is now common practice for church-based youthwork - this [atheistic] theory would describe this as 'proselytising' [advocate or promote (a belief or course of action)] & as such this is a negative thing. This appears to come from the postmodern thinking as questioning everything, not holding onto any absolute truths, etc.
Having looking at most of this content, I have to say, I disagree with the point of view of the website - from a theological perspective. Wherever Christians would see their work as positive, this meme theory would see this work as negative. Wherever Christians use faith - the meme theory could not hold this to be true.
But of course, this is only my opinion - if you want to make up your own mind, or investigate for yourself - check out this controversial website for yourself: christianitymeme.org
Happy hunting!
This double-blog posting came from investigating a website called Christianity Meme which has many essays citing Christianity as a meme & going into how the virus of Christianity is being proselytised for the detriment of society.
On this website, none of essays/articles are 'signed' by an individual - all collectively as just 'christianitymeme.org' - interesting but very much aloof. The website is divided into sections, including the Main Argument [against Christianity], Additional Content [articles from Richard Dawkins, Susan Blackmore, Don Baker, to name but a few], as well as some dialogue & reference information.
I looked at most of the information contained in the main argument section & there is some highly different 'theological perspectives' on Christianity, especially with young people:
"The young are especially good targets because they are easily manipulated and because of their life-long potential to proselytize and support organizations that further the Christianity Meme through money and their directed effort - not to mention their offspring."Now this example appears to be a slanted take on how Christians do youthwork. It does, raise a question - if young people are 'easily manipulated', how should we as youthworkers use this knowledge?
Discipleship is now common practice for church-based youthwork - this [atheistic] theory would describe this as 'proselytising' [advocate or promote (a belief or course of action)] & as such this is a negative thing. This appears to come from the postmodern thinking as questioning everything, not holding onto any absolute truths, etc.
Having looking at most of this content, I have to say, I disagree with the point of view of the website - from a theological perspective. Wherever Christians would see their work as positive, this meme theory would see this work as negative. Wherever Christians use faith - the meme theory could not hold this to be true.
But of course, this is only my opinion - if you want to make up your own mind, or investigate for yourself - check out this controversial website for yourself: christianitymeme.org
Happy hunting!
Internet Confustigations
Morning bloggites! [ok it's more like evening but hey what the heck lol!]
Just for a change I have been un teh interweeb [shock horror] looking up some meme's. I always took this idea to be a bit of harmless Internet comedy [Internetus Humerous to give its proper Latin name] where some Internet catchphrase, for example the pic below from Lord of the Ring's [the scene is in Rivendell where they're trying to work out what to do with that darn one-ring] & Boromir says "One does not simply walk into Mordor". With the aid of Photoshop, a screenshot & some text brings in slightly new meanings, e.g.
orJust for a change I have been un teh interweeb [shock horror] looking up some meme's. I always took this idea to be a bit of harmless Internet comedy [Internetus Humerous to give its proper Latin name] where some Internet catchphrase, for example the pic below from Lord of the Ring's [the scene is in Rivendell where they're trying to work out what to do with that darn one-ring] & Boromir says "One does not simply walk into Mordor". With the aid of Photoshop, a screenshot & some text brings in slightly new meanings, e.g.
"A unit of cultural information that propagates from one mind to another as a theoretical unit of cultural evolution and diffusion."
This was a word was originally coined by Mr Richard Dawkins - a famous writer & atheist - in his book the 'Selfish Gene'. Now stick with me, my story gets better! In this book, Dawkins goes on to compare Christianity with memes, to the point that Christianity is a meme in itself.
To be continued...
26 Jun 2007
The Beeb has just published this article on their front page. It may appear to be the stuff of Daily Mail legend, but unfortunately it's true! The contents are the results of a survey from Barnado's Trust & shows the inequality of crime statistics vs. what 'real' people think! The good news is that Daniel Craig [i.e. Bond, James Bond!] getting involved, & who can stop Bond?!:
Si <><
PS Follow the link if you want to see the original article [or click here]
"The publication [of the survey results] comes as Barnardo's launches a campaign to show even the most troubled children can be helped. The campaign, which will be promoted in newspapers and on posters, will also feature radio advertisements voiced by James Bond actor Daniel Craig."
There is still hope then?!Si <><
PS Follow the link if you want to see the original article [or click here]
25 Jun 2007
Musical Muse
OK more updates time [told you so!]:
I went to a gig on Saturday 16th June.....in the new Wembley Stadium.....to see a little band called MUSE! [check out my Facebook Photos to see more!] Without a doubt this was the best gig I've seen - Muse seem to have this presence on stage - surprising for a 3-piece band, but the sound was just excellent. The lead guitarist [Matt] gave such a versitile and virtuoso performance, and the bassist [Chris] and drummer [Dom] balance the whole sound and give it volume.
The setlist was long and included hits from all their 4 studio albums, then just to be awesome, they did 2[!] encores - which was all rather good! So overall, the sound was great, the tracks were tight, the performance was awesome & the lighting & special effects were brilliant lol!
The theory is that this is coming out on the most devious of D's [that's DVD for the hard of thinking] so you may all enjoy it to!
We continue!
I went to a gig on Saturday 16th June.....in the new Wembley Stadium.....to see a little band called MUSE! [check out my Facebook Photos to see more!] Without a doubt this was the best gig I've seen - Muse seem to have this presence on stage - surprising for a 3-piece band, but the sound was just excellent. The lead guitarist [Matt] gave such a versitile and virtuoso performance, and the bassist [Chris] and drummer [Dom] balance the whole sound and give it volume.
The setlist was long and included hits from all their 4 studio albums, then just to be awesome, they did 2[!] encores - which was all rather good! So overall, the sound was great, the tracks were tight, the performance was awesome & the lighting & special effects were brilliant lol!
The theory is that this is coming out on the most devious of D's [that's DVD for the hard of thinking] so you may all enjoy it to!
We continue!
Update 2.0
Hey mes amies, it's been a while - a little too long methinks - since my last blog, so it's time for an update!!
It's now the end of Uni term.....& all Fieldwork & essays are done & handed in......which is nice lol! Have been working like a madman to get it all done, but it is over till September [phew!]
I'm going to get a few blogs done in the next few days, so expect to be inundated or unindated..one or the other lol!
We're back.
It's now the end of Uni term.....& all Fieldwork & essays are done & handed in......which is nice lol! Have been working like a madman to get it all done, but it is over till September [phew!]
I'm going to get a few blogs done in the next few days, so expect to be inundated or unindated..one or the other lol!
We're back.
23 Apr 2007
Blog This
Morning y'all!
Spent most of yesterday trying to sort out my project's website with Oli & managed to get it looking pretty good & with all the links working & even got the photo's up &amp;amp; running & everything! So go check it out if you get a moment!
Spent most of yesterday trying to sort out my project's website with Oli & managed to get it looking pretty good & with all the links working & even got the photo's up &amp;amp; running & everything! So go check it out if you get a moment!
21 Apr 2007
Easter & Cycling
OK so enough of the depressive - on to the positive! After a meeting with young Lego, who advised me of 2 things:
1. I need to get my head together!
2. I need to get out of my room/house & get me a hobby!
I decided to [shock, horror] take some advice! & decided to get off me bum & get some cycling done, but first I needed something useful - a bicycle lol! So I got me Trek 1200 [2007 Edition]. Which looks like this:
I also got all the other gear - lights, helmet, jersey, emergency road repair kit, a CamelBak pack & ummmm lycra shorts!!! So I can at least look the part, well apart from the shorts - Simon is not convinced lol!
For those doubters [i.e. everyone!] who think I'm never going to use it - you are severely mistaken - because since I got the bike back to Oxford, I've been on a long cycle ride [i.e. over 10 miles] 5 times - including cycling into Uni - so there!
Hopefully I'll get more used to it, because the riding style & positition are totally different from all the bikes I've had before. Also I need to keep my motivation up & keep at it - the idea is to go both on my own & with others - Oli, TC, Hobbit & Pete Barker for starters & hopefully more if people get in to it.
The bike is super-light & is pretty quick [although my brother will most likely disagree with that!] but seeing as I'm not in "peak physical fitness" [or an old fat git as it's normally put!] then I think it's going to take a few weeks/months for me to be able to do some real speeds & distances on me bike. The route into Uni is about 7 miles or so & that takes me about 35 minutes so far, but hopefully that will get faster - I reckon!
The other side of things - i.e. my head - I'm should be starting to go to counselling in May [financial issues stop me from starting any earlier] so I should then be able to rant to get all the things occupying my brain out - which is super-shiny!
Right enough blogging today methinks - adios!
1. I need to get my head together!
2. I need to get out of my room/house & get me a hobby!
I decided to [shock, horror] take some advice! & decided to get off me bum & get some cycling done, but first I needed something useful - a bicycle lol! So I got me Trek 1200 [2007 Edition]. Which looks like this:
I also got all the other gear - lights, helmet, jersey, emergency road repair kit, a CamelBak pack & ummmm lycra shorts!!! So I can at least look the part, well apart from the shorts - Simon is not convinced lol!For those doubters [i.e. everyone!] who think I'm never going to use it - you are severely mistaken - because since I got the bike back to Oxford, I've been on a long cycle ride [i.e. over 10 miles] 5 times - including cycling into Uni - so there!
Hopefully I'll get more used to it, because the riding style & positition are totally different from all the bikes I've had before. Also I need to keep my motivation up & keep at it - the idea is to go both on my own & with others - Oli, TC, Hobbit & Pete Barker for starters & hopefully more if people get in to it.
The bike is super-light & is pretty quick [although my brother will most likely disagree with that!] but seeing as I'm not in "peak physical fitness" [or an old fat git as it's normally put!] then I think it's going to take a few weeks/months for me to be able to do some real speeds & distances on me bike. The route into Uni is about 7 miles or so & that takes me about 35 minutes so far, but hopefully that will get faster - I reckon!
The other side of things - i.e. my head - I'm should be starting to go to counselling in May [financial issues stop me from starting any earlier] so I should then be able to rant to get all the things occupying my brain out - which is super-shiny!
Right enough blogging today methinks - adios!
Easter
Easter break was another interesting one for me - this time last year I needed some time off from youthwork because I got very close to the burning-out stage [so commonly associated with youthworkers] - well this year was unfortunately more of the same - the youth centre work [trying to make it look less like a big lounge!] absolutelty drained my down-time to almost nill - the only time off was driving 600 miles over 4 days with my Dad, which was quite frankly sh*te - whereas I'd expected some actual family time - it was more about my Dad focusing on my half-sister [10 years old] who was demanding all the attention, time, money, etc. I ended up having to use all my monies on trying to do what I could - then got it all back the day he left - suspect! For those who don't the situation - my Dad lives & works out in Switzerland [Zurich to be precise] & comes back every month or so to see his daughter [note: not his 2 sons!] so myself & my brother see my Dad rather infrequently - which is rubbish, but that is unfortunately pretty much my family for you!Also I managed to split up with my girlfriend Jennie after 2 & a half years which really sucked, but it was mutual[ish] & was at least amicable. I'm not going all sloppy & girly but it was definietly a difficult time for me.
So add those 2 together when all I wanted to do over Easter was chill out with my girlfriend who I'd not seen properly in weeks & my Dad who I'd not seen in months & my friends who I'd not really seen properly all term & it made Easter all a big pile of poo!
This caused a small problem in Simon's brain which meant I didn't feel my ususal bright chipper self - not good & just for fun I seem to have done insufficient fieldwork as I have been fucusing all my efforts on my placement work, rather than anything else - rubbish! There were some more positive things to come out of my Easter break, but more later! but for now I leave you with the following pic from 300 an excellent boyz movie:
Si
More Bloggage Time Pt2
OK the men's breakfast was really good, we had a speaker [Richard Meryon] from CVM [Christian Vision for Men] who gave a presentation about the problems of the Church trying to reach men in programs of fellowship or disipleship & encouraged the church to try to do more things that could appeal to 'not-yet Christian' men. It was all very good & valid & afterwards I spoke to the minister about how fellowship can be coordinated in our church & how this can then be more inclusive for those friends of ours who have never heard the Gospel message, although who would do this would have to be decided by the current group later on.More Bloggage Time
OK people's it's time for my most randomist blog methinks!
So firstly muppet tests, go check out this quiz to see which muppet your personality most fits in with - I'm Kermit. I think that it proves beyond all reasonable doubt that I am a muppet lol!
Now what's been happening with me, well it's been the Easter holidays [duh] & I've been trying to turn the empty shell of a building into something resembling a youth centre! The time imput has been massive, as have the contributions by all the youth team & this led me to succeessfully run my first 2 groups in the New youth centre on Tuesday & Friday this week - winner! This meant we only had a 2 week turnaround from when I got the keys to when we opened - not bad, methinks!
Also in the youth project I wrote me first newsletter for the local press [the very awesome Nor Lye News] with some info for young people & their parents & with a request for some volunteers to help the youth project. The press deadline is Monday so we'll see if it makes a difference.
Also managed to drop some heavy requests to my Managment Committee because I asked them for 2 very big things:
- 15-20 leaders asap
- a vision for the project
More later - it's time for me first Men's Breakfast at my home chuch - nice!
31 Mar 2007
The Blogsphere
OK I’m a slacker & I know it, but when it comes to the internet I seem to be on it all the time, but never seem to blog – never a good thing! I have been spending most of my offline time writing 2 essays – each 3000 words long, but those are all done & dusted – nice! Now, I’ve worked out that I have to do about 10’000 words over Easter – technically, but we’ll see! My online time seems to be spent on the magical world of Facebook! It is evil & must be punished, just like my liver lol! But it is great to be able to begin catching up with some of my old school friends – bizarre, seeing as I left about 9 years ago! I highly recommend it to those who aren’t on it – it’s quite the win lol!
Adios,
Si <><
Adios,
Si <><
29 Mar 2007
All about me!
K as some of my friends want to know what's been happening since 1997 - well I did the whole school thing, then finished in the middle of 6th Form. I then went & became an office monkey for about 3 years, then moved up to Cambridge for nearly a year [anything to get away from Oxford lol] then came back & became an office monkey again - but doing something very geeky - software support for an educational publisher. All very exciting I'm sure!
When I came back from Oxford I started doing some voluntary youthwork for my local church, then I started to focus more & more on that rather than my day-job, to the point where I had an early mid-life crisis & didn't know what I was doing & what the point was of my existence. Then I decided to switch to do youthwork because it made sense to me & gave me a purpose.
I found the right course for me [Youth & Community Works with Applied Theology] at Oxford Brookes & I have been doing that since 2005 – I’m now nearly at the end of my 2nd year & it’s been the best thing for me!
I now work for a youth project out in North Leigh [somewhere between Witney & Long Hanborough] – deep in the jungles of west Oxfordshire & do community-based youthwork with about 80 young people. We have a brand new youth centre which I should gain access to by the end of March this year, & so it’s all very exciting! I’ll finish my degree in mid-2008, then the idea is that I can pretty much go where I choose, to do youthwork full time, because there are not many qualified youthworkers, but a heck of a lot of places crying out for help – win!
Take care
Si <><
When I came back from Oxford I started doing some voluntary youthwork for my local church, then I started to focus more & more on that rather than my day-job, to the point where I had an early mid-life crisis & didn't know what I was doing & what the point was of my existence. Then I decided to switch to do youthwork because it made sense to me & gave me a purpose.
I found the right course for me [Youth & Community Works with Applied Theology] at Oxford Brookes & I have been doing that since 2005 – I’m now nearly at the end of my 2nd year & it’s been the best thing for me!
I now work for a youth project out in North Leigh [somewhere between Witney & Long Hanborough] – deep in the jungles of west Oxfordshire & do community-based youthwork with about 80 young people. We have a brand new youth centre which I should gain access to by the end of March this year, & so it’s all very exciting! I’ll finish my degree in mid-2008, then the idea is that I can pretty much go where I choose, to do youthwork full time, because there are not many qualified youthworkers, but a heck of a lot of places crying out for help – win!
Take care
Si <><
21 Feb 2007
Obsessive compulsive Interweeb Disorder!
Hey bloggers, it's that time again - but Houston we got us a problem - too much internetness seems to be bad for ya - not only have I signed up to Second Life but also good old Facebook whatever next lol! If you want to check me out then go ahead mon ami!!
See ya for now
See ya for now
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)