Month: December 2018

No plans for 2019

I’m not a fan of New Year resolutions. I’m more of a mind to do things as and when I want to do them, knowing that if I try and force a new habit, or a change to my life, based on an arbitrary date it’s more than likely to fail. This is based on previous experiments over many years, hey, I’m a slow learner.

It’s circumstance rather than calendar that has me looking forward to the next few months into 2019 and the changes that I know it will bring, so yes, I have plans and I know they will happen but these are not resolutions. Far from it.

So, in 2019…

  • I plan to get outside more, including tackling my first Munro.
  • I plan to get on my bike more, including doing Pedal for Scotland again.
  • I plan to get to move more (gym, walking, cycling) and take better care of my body (currently fighting ITB issues again).
  • I plan to find a new job as my current contract finishes in April.
  • I plan to go to New York in June.
  • I plan to move as my current flat is too small.

There is also the small matter of my sisters wedding next year, which I’m partly using as a ‘target’ for some of the more health oriented plans.

In the past, I’d already have started planning these things in great detail, falling into my usual habit of doing ALL the research; What walking boots should I buy? Which Munro is best for a first time? What time of year? Do I sign up for a different gym, or different classes? Whereabouts would it best to move? What hidden attractions can I find in New York?

But I’m not and it’s probably the biggest change I’ve noticed within myself this past year, a sign that I’m more relaxed, happier, and content to go with the flow. There are many reasons for this, it’s not all down to me, but I’ve worked hard to get to this point.

I know that all of these things will happen next year at some point and while some of them are date specific (Pedal for Scotland, the end of my current contract, the trip to NY) the rest are all down to circumstance and will happen when they happen and hey, if they don’t happen then c’est la vie.

I’m excited for the new year arriving, and no matter what happens I already have a feeling that it will be a good one. Bring it on, 2019!

December 20, 2018

Dance your cares away

I’m not always in the mood for dancing (sorry Nolan Sisters) but when I am, I do enjoy throwing some shapes, even if they are slightly awkward and inflexible looking ones. The rush of endorphins when a favourite song comes on and you lose yourself to the beats and rhythms never fails to make me happy. It’s the type of thing I don’t do enough of, but whenever I do I promise myself I won’t leave it so long again.

And so last Saturday found me excited to spend the night bopping and shimmying my heart out, along with a couple of hundred other be-headphone people, at the wonder that is the Silent Disco. What a great night it was too, bringing back fond memories of my first encounter with this wonderful type of event, a few years ago at Glastonbury.

~wibbly wobbly timey wimey ~

Glastonbury is a big place, and we had been on our feet most of the day. Exploring on the Thursday is a good way to get the lay of the land, figure out what is where (they move some things around almost every year) and just get into the festival spirit. The mass crowds don’t arrive until early the next morning, so it’s a calmer, less busy time and we’d been enjoying wandering around in the sunshine. By Thursday evening we’d had enough of exploring and decided to meander back to the tent (all the better to prepare ourselves for the long weekend of music and frivolity ahead).

We headed back through the Silver Hayes area and ahead of us, in one of the open sided dance tents, we could see some people dancing away inside. We were a distance away so couldn’t hear any music so it wasn’t until we got closer that we realised there was no music coming from that tent at all. How weird! Peering through the dusk we could see that everyone inside had lights glowing from their heads like some weird alien takeover. Some were green, some were blue, others were red.

Then it struck us, Silent Disco!!

We hustled over, paid our deposits, donned the headphones and wandered into the tent, a little bewildered but already itching to dance.

And ohhhh It was utterly joyous. The false privacy afforded by headphones means you truly are able to dance like no-one is watching (just close your eyes) and any interactions with other people were mostly through gestures. It’s such a simple idea, push a button on the headphones to pick between three channels of DJ and dance your heart out! And so we did, for over 4 hours before we gave up around 2am, exhausted but so happy.

So I was genuinely excited to be going to a silent disco again, and see how well it translated from the sunshine evenings of Glastonbury, to a cold dark winter night in Glasgow. Answer; very well indeed!!

Of course a silent disco is anything but – slipping your headphones off you can hear the cacophony of people singing along – yet it brings a wonderful camaraderie; a shared moment of delight when you and the people dancing next to you have just switched channels and your favourite song has just come on, the bewildering joy of trying to figure out what song THAT person is dancing to, and which song THAT person is singing along to with their head thrown back and arms reaching up to the sky.

Dance like no one is watching, love like you’ve never been hurt; sing like no one is listening, and live like it’s heaven on earth.

And, dear reader, I did and as we roll towards 2019 I’m more determined than ever to continue to do so.

December 13, 2018

Christmas is coming

It’s December!

For many people, including me, that means Christmas is approaching and with it comes the annual cramming of the calendar with nights out and events, the eating and drinking of all the things, and the subsequent hibernating because, frankly, I think I’ll need a couple of quieter days.

I don’t have that many days off this Christmas, the joys of being a contractor, but those that I do I already have planned with a good mixture of frivolity on the busy days, and sweet F.A. on the quieter ones.

That said, in the lead up to Christmas I already have the following planned:

  • Christmas Market lunch (Glasgow)
  • Christmas Silent Disco
  • Bjorn Again gig
  • Work night out
  • It’s a Wonderful Life
  • Home Alone 1 & 2
  • Escape Room (work team event)
  • Christmas Market afternoon (Edinburgh)
  • Colonel Mustard & the Dijon 5 gig
  • Annual Christmas day with friends

I also still have some shopping to do (I’m trying to not buy everything from Amazon this year) and I’ve still to put up my Christmas Tree, I’ve got two flavoured gins to finish off (mulled and Parma Violet), one flavoured vodka (Parma Violet again), presents to wrap, and need to confirm if I need to make a trifle or not (for Boxing Day breakfast, obvs).

Add in all the usual things like going to work, going to the gym, and all that stuff – plus this year I’m coordinating calendars with someone else who is also very busy – and it’s a wonderful juggle.

Of course Christmas isn’t about being busy nor, for me, is it about buying lots of things. No, it’s a time to celebrate how happy I am, a time to celebrate all the love I have in my life, and a time to over-indulge (a little). It is most definitely a time to have tiny marshmallows atop rich dark hot chocolate, whilst watching all the Christmas movies, munching on a Chocolate Orange, before a dinner of leftovers and a nice big Baileys nightcap.

Christmas is what you make it, so if you celebrate it, however you celebrate it, a time to be of good cheer, a time when hearts will be glowing when loved ones are near.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year.

December 6, 2018