It’s Coming to That Time of Year – 2018

It’s been a solid 6 month stint since my last blog post. How on Earth it’s been that long I’ll never know. But here we are, Christmas 2018.

I’ll let you in to a secret.

Each and every year since 2010, I’ve recorded a video review of the year. While I have yet to watch them back, I find the idea full of nostalgia of memories I once forgot. This version of a catalog is much more relatable than a diary entry can be. Particularly when you see how the how you’ve changed over the course of years, names of people come and go and spots on your face disappear.

2018 in Review

2018 has been an interesting one for sure. It was the year I moved in with my girlfriend, I got my own pet and the year I went Disneyland Paris. There’s plenty more that went on, but I’ll keep that to myself. Life’s puzzle pieces finally are starting to settle and it feels pretty darn good.

Moving on to Christmas, I’m pretty buzzing as I am every year. It’s the first where I am hosting the event, what a responsibility!

It’s a sign of the changing times really, and being 26 years old now is plain ancient in my books. As for what I want for Christmas? It’s all about spending some quality time with the family. It all changes after you start to earn an income as it’s not about the presents anymore. It’s about making memories.

Onwards to 2019

What 2019 will bring? Who knows. All I do know is that one of my best friends is now in the country, having travelled from New Zealand. Every time I see his cute face, I’m still blown away by surreality. So travels abroad will pretty much be guaranteed with some incredible mates from summer camp.

Speaking of which, 2019 will be the year that There’s No Place Like Summer Camp will come out. For an update, it’s with my editor while we polish. It’s so exciting!

New Projects on the Horizon

I’d like to start a new business in the coming year too. That’s Your Best Bet has been a cool project to run since its inception back in 2012, but a changing landscape for the affiliate gambling industry means that its no longer sensible to continue the work. As such, I’m toying with the idea of taking the website down. That does allow me time for other exciting projects, which I haven’t quite yet put the finger on what that will be yet.

So, yeah, I’m alive. I haven’t forgot about this blog!

I’ll have a think about what + when the next blog post will be. In the meantime, have a wonderful Christmas.

A.

A List of Petty Pet-Hates, A Year in the Making

Since I first started to blog, I’ve had the in-genius idea to write a list of pet-hates that make me puke a little in my mouth. But, I didn’t want to rush it; these types of lists can be made spur of the moment and then you’re dying to add more to it. So over the last year, I’ve been compiling a list of pet hates. And here it is… a year in the making.

A List of my Petty Pet-Hates!

Soggy Cereal

In no particular order, we start with soggy cereal. We’ve all been there, sitting down for some breakfast, only to be interrupted by someone at the door. You handle the postman, no not in that way... and you come back to find slop in your bowl. Now there are few things worse than eating that shit, but scraping it out into the bin is numero uno.

People who take an age to order food

It’s only been two years with my girlfriend but damn does she have annoying habits. The one that frustrates me the most is the sheer amount of time she takes to order food. It’s a two sided menu, yet somehow she takes as long as I do to finish the bible. Whats the difference? Am I right!


Idle lift chat… Thank-you!

Whoa boy we are cranking it up a gear with this one. Is there anything worse than idle lift chat?! The people I particularly get a kick out of are those who say ‘thanks’ as they leave for their floor. What are you thanking me for!?

Ego-centric girls

Now this one goes out to the girls who use dating apps to advertise their Instagram. No one wants you as a girlfriend. You’re shallow and you’re an addict to those social media numbers. It’s pathetic that this makes the list, but damn it’s annoying. I don’t go advertising my casino business, so why do you think it’s fine to boast about your Instagram with no intention of dating? Rant over.

Pack up, it’s time to go!

In fact, the rant has just begun! The pressure to pack at Aldi sums up this list. It’s the epitome of a first world problem. Is it going to ruin my life? No. Is it going to annoy the hell out of me for 10 minutes? Yes. You’re either waiting in the queue for the customer to pack up quicker, or you’re the one causing the line. Either way, you get annoyed at someone and then everyone gets annoyed with you. Once you’re out of those shiny blue doors though, FREEDOM!

Breaking news!

DUN DUN DURRRNN DUN! That’s my best impression of a Sky News notification appearing on my phone at 4am. **BREAKING NEWS Prince Phillip turns 86 today.** …And that’s woken up the entire neighbourhood, thanks Sky. 1. It’s sods law that I get this notification the one time I don’t put phone on airplane mode. And 2. That’s not breaking news! The standards for what constitutes breaking news has fallen off a cliff these days. 3. Can we have a no notifications after 1am rule please?


Frying my arms

Leading me on to something totally unrelated – eggs. Frying eggs is like dicing with death because they spit everywhere. Like I was trying to cook eggs, not my arms. You can tell this list was filled over a whole year…

Getting that Fresh Trim

There’s a strange satisfying pain in cutting your nails a little too far. On one hand, literally, you’ve got a fresh trim, nails-wise of course. But on the other, there’s the excruciating pain of tenderness under the nails.

Hey Barbie, Want to go for a ride?

Music videos that have 4 minutes of non-music intro should be put in hell. I’m one of those punks that still use YouTube for all their beats and all too often you find Drake dropping a new tune, with four minutes of unrelated intro. It’s irritating having to scroll through dick + boob comments for a time link to the start of a tune. Lyric videos here I come.

Splashback

Back in the home now, we’re about to take a shower ‘cos this list is dirty. Let’s warm it up and let it run for a sec… Oh, it’s sprayed me. Getting wet before you wanted to in the shower is one of my pet-hates. It’s always that cold, sudden burst of water too. Perfect for making you shriek before getting in properly.

Ignoring Silent Mode

Every couple of months or so, I find myself in a similar situation to this story: You’re sat in the library after a couple of hours revising for your exam coming up. Everyone in your class is on edge, nervously reading away amid the murmurings of silence. Needing a bit of a breather, you pick up your phone and open a notification you missed. It’s from a new game you downloaded last night and you know your phone is on silent. *BUD-DING! BISHY BOSHY BASH BOSH* your phone blurts out. In the kerfuffle of it all, you panic and close the app. Once everyone has returned their gaze back to their work, you double check your phone. It IS on silent! Why the heck did the developers think it would be a good idea to ignore this!?


I like short shorts

From the age of about 15, I’ve been obsessing over business. Learning the intricacies of how they work, how to make money, treat employees and shareholders. It’s with this burning ambition from learning business studies that I’m now on a mission to one day have my own business. And there’ll be one rule that comes in on day one. No short sleeved shirts at work! I hate them! Truth be told, if I ran my own joint, it’ll be dress down anyway. But no short sleeved work shirts! Gross, it’s a weird piece of clothing that should have stayed back in primary school.

Minutes silence please

We finish my list of pet hates with something of a guilty pleasure. The minutes silence in a cinema when the screen pulls open, ooh there’s nothing like it. It’s a strange place in society, seeing people holding off that next popcorn kernel and collectively sitting in a deathly silence.
So that sums up my list, a cool year in the making. And if I’m honest? Plenty of these ARE secret guilty pleasures.

What’s the moral of the story then?

See the best in things, in people too. The dark crap in life is sometimes there to make the good things feel even better.
And there’s no doubt I’ll think of a load more things to put on this list after publishing.
Sods law.
A.

Enjoyed this rant? How about you check my other blog posts out? I post from time to time.

Quality over Quantity: Summer Camp Book News

It’s been a while since the last blog, and it’s about time to address that. So this post is an update on how we’re moving the summer camp book project forward. It’s time to talk quality over quantity.
It grinds my gears when you get stuck into a really good, new TV programme and then out of the blue, it’s pulled by the network. At least, that was back in the day when TV was the powerhouse it once was. I’d like to draw a parallel to my work for There’s No Place Like Summer Camp.
Writing There’s No Place Like Summer Camp has been a work of passion. I’ve been carefully crafting my first book to show the world the inner workings of my summer camp story. And over the same period, I’ve taken up projects to help promote it, to get the name out there and offer advice to budding volunteers.
Sticking to a weekly schedule, one podcast accompanied by a lengthy blog post would be up every Tuesday. A few months went by and I thought ‘what better platform to promote than YouTube?’ So then I was uploading one YouTube video, one podcast and a blog post every Tuesday. Quickly, life got in the way. And honestly? It’s worn me out.


There’s No Place Like Summer Camp Book Update

I’ve seen other authors do the same thing, focusing far too much of their time on things that their reader won’t give two shits about. And once I recognised that same feeling in myself, I knew it was time to take a step back.
It’s an unfortunate place to be in, but I think pulling the plug on such marketing activities would be beneficial for my well-being and the book in the long run. For the last 6 months I haven’t been pouring my time into the content of the very thing I’m so passionate to get on the shelves. There’s No Place Like Summer Camp will come, but I have to emphasise I do have a full-time job. It’ll come when it’s ready and I’m ready.


Quality over Quantity

There’s an old adage in the phrase ‘Quality over quantity’ and I believe that to ring true here.
There’s a slim chance I may revisit this in the future. But for now, I’m putting this routine down to one side. I’ll be keeping the podcast, YouTube content and blog posts up for entertainment, reference and advice.
Keep your eyes peeled for the next blog post, as I’ll return to my usual ramblings. They’ll be coming as and when.
So, I’ll see you about.
Thanks for reading,
A.

Interested in reading more about the summer camp book? Check out There’s No Place Like Summer Camp available for pre-order on the store.

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