End of May update

Just a status update to let everyone know how I'm doing. I'm still looking for work, though I've found that it's getting easier and more manageable as I keep doing it. I've been applying for all kinds of receptionist, administration or data entry jobs – anything back of house – and I'm quite confident that I'll get one soonish.

Obviously that's not all I've got going on though. Fourteen hours in a day is a lot of time, even if half of that is spent on the job-hunt.

Singing Lessons

I'm told that I need them, haha! As per the last post, I've been playing music with some friends recently, and the general consensus seems to be that my guitar's not bad, but my singing REALLY is. I usually attribute it to nerves when playing around people, but I haven't recorded myself playing so I don't really know what I sound like yet. It's a safe bet that my mates are being honest though (and probably a bit gentle, haha).

That's something that never really occured to me until it was pointed out – learning how to sing. However, if I'm going to harmonise with this music thing, I'll need to learn to do the same with the notes, so to speak. So I'm going to start checking out tutorials online, download some karaoke programs (sorry, family!) and get practising a little every day, just like with guitar. Same as anything, it'll only take practise.

Video Game Blog

Right now I'm spending a lot of my time job-hunting, but I'm still thinking about and working on my blogging, slowly. Namely, I've been trying to come up with a unique or interesting idea for a video gaming blog. I thought up a couple of ideas while brainstorming the other day, one which would revolve around reviewing indie games on the Steam sales (not so unique, but interesting), and another which would centre on me talking about scenarios within games.

The second idea is sounding most promising right now, as I've very rarely seen something like that out there. I'd essentially pick an interesting battle/scenario/scene that really grabbed me within the game, then talk it through from my character's point-of-view – like an adventurer's journal type thing. I had a practise with a game I'm playing casually at the minute, and it's pretty fun, which means better writing, which means more interesting material.

I'll see what I can do about starting it up when I get some more time to spend gaming again. I can already think of several games which would make for a tonne of interesting material. Just need to come up with a decent name for it...

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Any ideas for a name for a video game adventure journal? Or games you'd want to see covered? Hit me up in the comments or on Facebook!

Musical Pursuits

I've been playing a lot of guitar lately. And singing. Weird, because I never pictured myself doing either of those things until very recently. And now I'm actually getting pretty good at it.

Nothing close to some of the other guys I've met, mind you. At least ALL of the people who play on Sunday (at the Nelson Open Mic night) are way better than me. But even still, I'm getting more and more confident in my playing and signing, to the point where I actually broke out my guitar in the middle of the Abbey Grounds the other day.

...Okay, it wasn't the middle - it was a secluded bench by the river, and it was kind of late so there weren't many people around. But there were people. Complete strangers, just out for a walk, with partners, dogs or alone, or sitting on benches nearby. I have to admit that I was a bit shaky, as I'd never played in front of anyone before. But I didn't choke, didn't mess up any more than usual. I just played, like usual.

It felt pretty exhilarating.

To that end, I'm making the time to work harder than ever on practising guitar. If all goes well, it shouldn't be too long before I work up the nerve to bring my guitar into the Nelson to play.

...Just as soon as I nail this stupid F chord.

Rant! Looking for the right part-time job...

I have been pretty quiet over the past couple of weeks, which is no good! Got to get into a better routine if I want to really get this blog going. I've been having trouble thinking of things to write about here, which is the main reason behind not updating.

Other reasons include procrastination, other writing and work worries.

The Issue

I'm studying full-time at college, so I don't have any income at the minute. I've gotten through my maintenance grant paying rent, and Canada majorly ate into my personal savings, so things are getting tight. Therefore, I'm looking for some part-time work to tide me over and pay the rent while I work on my writing. I think getting a job will actually be good for my focus too, as long as it's something I can get my head into while I'm there.

For example, when I used to work at the local pub (doing pretty much anything that came up), having that separate focus really helped me appreciate my writing time when I had it. But conversely, working at the much busier Giraffe restaurant stressed me out to the point where writing (among other things) became all but impossible. So I need to get something that meshes properly with the environment I want to be in.

Going Administrative

That's why I'm trying to get into something in administration. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a pretty quiet guy... but I can get pretty vocal about 'serving people'. Most of the general public are reasonably amicable people, don't get me wrong, it just doesn't fit with my personality. I've got no problem taking orders from my official superiors, but anyone else will just rile me up (in the bad way).

I'm much more comfortable working behind the scenes, in a quiet environment and among a small team, where I'm my own boss. Or at least, where I have ONE boss, and don't have to answer to average Joe. Whether admin will work for that or not remains to be seen, but like I say, it's better to know than be forever guessing. And better to know sooner than later.

That's going to become a bit of a mantra, I think.

Anyway, #rantover, haha! Finally got something updated, which is excellent. Now I just need to keep it up.

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Anyone in the same mind as me as to hospitality work? Or any advice for a guy in my position? Let me know in the comments section or on Facebook. Cheers!

Finding Direction

Shortly shall begin the epic Saturday Hobbit Trilogy Marathon in the family living room. It shall be most awesome. So I thought I'd better get my morning pages done before I get distracted to no end.

Expanding Horizons

Since I've been having trouble getting into the habit of updating this blog, I've been brainstorming ideas for other topics to keep me busy. So far, I've started up a little fan blog for a certain tv show in addition to this, for episode commentary, general community news and other nerdy stuff.

Further, I'm thinking of starting up some kind of video gaming blog. Video gaming has always been a pretty big hobby of mine (less so in recent years, but I'm still a gamer at heart), so it shouldn't be a problem for me to find things to write about.

I was inspired by a YouTube series that I got to watching the other night - when I was 'supposed' to be writing - which covered topics like 'Things you can't believe X game actually did to players' and 'Video Game Villains we secretly love'... that sort of thing. It's called Playstation Access, for anyone interested. Worth checking out, in my opinion!

Since there are a lot of video gaming blogs already out there, I'm going to have to experiment a bit to find a niche. I'll keep you apprised here to any progress I make on that front.

Getting Back Into Fiction

The other day, a message from one of my fanfiction readers reminded me of a series I'd left hanging a while back. He told me that he was enjoying the series thus far, and was wondering whether I was planning to continue it at any point.

At the time, I told him the same thing I've been telling everyone - that I'm trying to get back into a regular writing routine, but I can't put a timeline on it as I just don't know how long it's going to take. I used to have a routine of releasing a new chapter, episode or standalone story every fortnight (at the very least), which I'd really like to get back into. Not only because it was excellent practise for my writing, but that it allowed me to continuously build up and retain a reader base for my work.

Anyway, a couple of days later, I got a random flash of inspiration, sat down and rolled out the next episode in this series. I sat down, said to myself "Okay, let's brainstorm an idea for this story" and went from there. Two hours later, I have the episode ready for editing!

I've got to say, that was an amazing feeling - to actually be able to sit down and write something, without getting distracted or losing drive half-way through. I think it's a sign that my morning pages and blogging are starting to have a positive effect.

So, after editing and polishing this episode, I published it on my fanfiction account online. Coming back to it a few days later, I've found reception to be good but quiet (read: many likes but few comments). That's no surprise, really. After such a big streak of inactivity, I expect that most of my watchers have either lost interest or become inactive themselves. That said, I did receive one email from an old fan of the story, saying that he was extremely pleased that I'd gotten back into it (and had been holding out hope that I would since my last update, over a year ago). That, in itself, is more than reception enough for me.



Ideas are starting to surface more and more as I get into this 'blogging' business, which is both promising and exciting. I think the best thing to do right now is to try as many different things as I can, pick out a select few that I enjoy and stick with those. Can't wait to get this up and running regularly.

All things considered, I'd say that this is going very well!

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Fellow gamers, what do you want to see from a blog that hasn't been done yet? And fellow bloggers, any advice on finding a niche? I'd love to hear from you, so hit me up on Facebook or in the comments section!