Showing posts with label New Year. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Year. Show all posts

Sunday, 24 December 2017

A Very Merry Christmas

Christmas has rolled around once more. Where have the past twelve months gone?! It only feels like yesterday when we were all hanging decorations, writing cards, and wrapping gifts for Christmas 2016.

2017 has been a strange year, one of ups and downs. Things that we thought would happen haven't come to fruition while some far off dreams have become reality. Some of us are still battling to get to where we want to be while friends and family have far surpassed their dreams and are heading for the stars. We sit and watch them, smiling as they achieve all that their hearts desire.

Amid it all, we've watched as the world has changed beyond our dreams and nightmares. Political powers have risen and are battling it out with one another, putting our safety at risk. Companies have fallen because of corrupt and unethical ways. New ways of living are being developed and we find ourselves staring at the beginning of a new, technological revolution.

What will 2018 bring? More of the same instability? Or something a little more settled? The past three or four years have felt as though we've been in a snowglobe that is randomly picked up and shaken. None of us know where we're going to land nor what is going to happen next. We just hold on and hope that whatever is coming will be better, happier, and bring peace to the world around us. The pain for many people has been unimaginable and the hardships tougher than anything we could have dreamed off. In the end, we have to believe that maybe these events are occurring in order to teach us something about ourselves and the world that we live in.

www.facebook.com/positiveoutlooks/
What kind of world do we want? Do we want one where the power is in the hands of a few unstable and megalomanic people? Or one where worry doesn't perpetually live in our hearts?

This Christmas may be harder for some people because of the impact that the world is having on them. They may not feel like being around people, nor be in a particularly festive mood. They may be tired, or just feeling the strain of the past year. If there's someone you think of over the festive period, drop the message, even to just say hello.


Hopefully 2018 will see us in a much better place. Hopefully the wrongs will right themselves and the rights will become reality. Whatever you're doing over the coming days, may your days be merry and bright and may your 2018 be filled with all the joys that you wish for!






Monday, 4 January 2016

In With The New

2015 was a year of ups and downs. Many bad things happened, both personally and globally. At the same time, many great things happened, too.

More often than not, when something good happens, I find my brain overriding and thinking, “Well, it can't be this good forever. Something bad has to happen soon. I wonder what it'll be?”. It's a thought cycle that I've been trapped in for a long and one that, over the past year, I've been trying to combat.

Some of these thought processes are a result of the medication being withdrawn. I've found myself in a world that I'm not sure how to deal with and the snap reactions have become an instant way of responding to how I'm feeling at that moment.

One of the things I'll be doing throughout 2016 is trying to focus more on the positive than the negative. To help me, I've devised a number of ways in which combat those thoughts that crop up the moment something good happens. The list includes:

  • Keeping a journal of the positive things that happen in a day. It can be as small as a good cup of tea or something as large as a new contract.
  • Doing things I enjoy rather than putting them off until a later date. That's something I'm guilty of. I'll keep pushing myself to work all the while telling myself that I'll read that book, make that call, or take that walk another day. Now I'm actively taking time out to do something I like doing.
  • Spending time with people whose company I enjoy and avoiding those I don't.
  • Spending a few moments every day reminding myself that I am a good person.
  • Focusing on the bigger picture of what I want to do with my life.
  • Journaling about my fears and self doubts. I've found that writing them down is a way of diminishing their impact on my life.
  • Enlisting a professional to help me organise my thoughts and see around the darkness in my mind.
  • Reminding myself to think “What's the best that can happen?” instead of “What's the worst that can happen?”.
  • Recognising when these thoughts are going to arise and saying, “I don't need you any more. You are no longer a part of my life.” Which leads me on to:
  • Website blockers to lock access to the sites I find myself becoming angry at (yet can't seem to stop reading). I use LeechBlock on Firefox and StayFocusd on Google Chrome. StayFocusd is so good that it even blocks search results that contain your words from your forbidden URLs! On my phone, I use Apple's own blocker which can be found in the settings. It allows you to block certain sites and, while it is easy to navigate around, the reminder that you need to put in your passcode to access the website is a good reminder that you don't want to go there.



Breaking this cycle has been notoriously difficult for me and one that has been a long time coming. Oddly, I enjoyed the feeling of the negative thoughts that pulsed through me. They made me feel good in a strange kind of way. But, as I've grown, I've realised that I don't need them and that they, and I when I'm in that state, are contributing nothing good to the world. I want to be putting something positive in to the world and the person that I was twelve months ago is no longer the person I want to be. It's time to walk the path of my own creation.


May your 2016 be beautiful, peaceful, and filled with all that you desire.

Wednesday, 31 December 2014

My 2014

Or, how I can write about my year better than Facebook ever can!

January

Phew! Another year starts. New year, new me and all of that. At least one book due out this year.

February

Getting ready to release “The Eve of War”. On the downside, I had the first bout of a crippling ear infection.

March

First round of edits for “A Second Past Midnight” come in.

April

This happened:







May

“The Eve of War” is released! Yayyy!!

June

First draft of a new novel was finished.

July

Had a short story accepted for anti-love anthology “No Love Lost”.

August

This happened:





September

This happened:

https://www.facebook.com/foofamiluk


October

Started on the first draft of a screenplay and finished up the next round of edits on “A Second Past Midnight”.

November

“No More Touts” came to an end. While it didn’t have the ending that was expected, you never know what’s around the corner, nor what’s waiting in the wings. It did, however, bring about a lot of new friendships and exciting times!

December

“No Love Lost” published!

And Christmas! Time for a sit down and some time with friends and family. 

~~~ 

My Favourite  Blog Posts of 2014






~~~

Thank you all for an amazing year and I’m really looking forward to seeing some of you soon! Here’s to an incredible 2015 together!


Tuesday, 31 December 2013

My 2013

Or how it happened from the perspective of a crazy person cracked out on tea...

January
Said goodbye to my furry muse, Bertie. Very sad... :(

February
Was the first to review the awesome documentary "Battlefield of the Mind"! WOOOO!!

March
Getting ready for book launch #2.
Went to Leeds for the very first time. Pretty city!! Hello and thank you to everyone who came to the Leeds Steampunk Market!

April
Book launch #2! Yayyyy!!! Lots of nice people and good musics and laughter.
Also got new tattoo to celebrate. Yayyy!!

May
Time for a breather!

June
Went to see one of my favourite bands play live for the very first time, thereby overcoming a long held fear of crowds.
Also went to another new place. Hartlepool. Famous for its football team (so I'm told!) and HMS Trincomalee. Met more new people, had lots more fun, and got to meet lots of Facebook people! Much love to Charles, Lynn, Richard, and Warden Arkwright! Thank you for my books and badges!

July
Booked my first holiday for over a decade. Vegas, baby!! I'm gonna win it big!!
Two new books signed! Yay!! The Eve of War (Veetu Industries #3) and A Second Past Midnight (post-apocalyptic) will both come out in 2014. Can't wait!!

August
Down to London to see the lovely Meg Kingston! Lots of love, plenty of hugs and tea, and more books!!

September
The first round of edits arrive so I slump off into my corner and pretend not to be alive.

October
Went walking in the Lake District. Well, I say walking. It was more like mountain climbing with no idea. Survived!

November
More editing. Send tea.

December
Even more editing. Tea supplies running low.

And that was 2013 in a nutshell! Next year's going to be a bunch of fun and I can't wait to see where it takes us all!!

While I'm here, let me take the time to wish you all a very splendid New Year!

Sunday, 29 December 2013

And So We Kiss Goodbye To 2013

.... and welcome in 2014. It's always strange saying goodbye to one year and welcoming another. I don't know why, but, for me, it's always a bit weird. Like one thing is dying and another is awakening.

2013 has been another amazing year. I haven't done many things on my resolutions list (learn to drive, lose a bit more weight) but many other brilliant things have happened.

There's been new friends, and meetings with old ones. Trips to places I normally wouldn't have been to and finally meeting (and getting hugs!) from some of my online friends.

There's been overcoming fears, doing things I never thought I would, and mad days of chasing musicians around cities (some known to me, some not).

There's been two new books finished, both of which will come out in 2014.

There's been periods of growth and understanding, of slowly finding my way in this world.

There's been plans for new challenges and seeing others come to fruition.

There's been the knowledge that I can't punish myself when I'm not working. Things don't happen overnight, but they do happen to those who try hard. However, it's no use getting upset because, for a few moments, my poor brain won't work. Sometimes we need to take time to ourselves to reset our bodies and brains. We're not machines.

Finally, there's the ever expanding circle of wonderful people who come in to my life. I'm blessed to have you all here and I'd like to take a moment to say that whether we've met in real life or not, you're all my friends. You're the family I've chosen for myself and I can't wait to see each and every one of you. :)

Tuesday, 8 January 2013

The News In Brief

This was an email I sent to a friend, briefly detailing my Christmas and New Year. It made him laugh so I thought I'd share it with you.

The News In Brief


- We survived December 21st! Yay! Time to annoy my apocalypse loving  friend.

- Fuzzcopter out at 8am Christmas Eve.

- Christmas Day looked a lot like this:


- New Year's Eve looked a lot like this:


- I HAS NEW CORSET!

- This made me laugh (If you find this video is blocked for you, go to You Tube and search for "British Guide to Marshalling". The actual video title is "Aircraft Marshalling 12 Sqn way" and should be the first video in the search results. Enjoy!!)


- I has lots of new pens. Think people are trying to tell me something.

- *yawn* Back to work properly.