Top Gear is Dead

Last night was a sad night. Top Gear - the much loved, ever-green, gas guzzling and downright daft beast - is dead.

Reboot - An Attempt at Returning to Blogging

Somebody hand me a duster.

I think it's about time that I give this blogging thing a shot again. Many of you will have thought that it was curtains for my blogging career, and so did I. My actual career has taken priority over most things over the last eight or so months, and I'm sad to say that this blog was one of the first things to get left behind.

But I'm proud of what I've got here, and it's probably worth trying to add to it - even if only occasionally.

So what's been so important that I've not had time for writing?

A Ukulele or a Round of Drinks? Another Odd Post About Something I Can't Do

I want to buy a ukulele.

A strange desire from one so musically challenged, wouldn't you say?

My relationship with making music has been a patchy one at best. There have been a few highlights: winning a medal as part of a brass quartet at a schools championship and performing 'You'll be in my Heart' as a solo in front of a packed theatre.

Fast forward a decade and a half, and the only connection I have with the sounds of Tarzan is that my singing resembles his swinging wail.

My cornet (read squashed trumpet) has long since been hung up and the recorder was never going to get me any hits on YouTube. So why this desire to buy a uke then? Yes, of course I know the lingo already.

Reflections on Going to Work

To paraphrase an underplayed song: 'I don't like my job...I love it.'

Never one to enthuse too much about anything other than a good defensive midfielder, you might be surprised to read that.

I love my family, I love my girlfriend, I love my friends and, one weekend out of 36, I love my football club - but my job, really? Let me tell you why.

Perspectives on Starting Work

This week is pretty important.

On Wednesday I start my first proper job, and it would be an understatement to say that I am nervous. Having had my traineeship position secured for over a year and a half, I've gone through periods when I've not had to think about it much. Now, with just a couple more sleeps until I slip on my first suit in anger, it's pretty much all I'm thinking about. Getting to sleep hasn't been the easiest of tasks recently.

But if nervous energy is what's keeping me up at night then the equal and opposite feeling of excitement is what is getting me up in the morning. This is what I have been working towards for the last five years and now that it's finally here I can't wait to get started.

Summer 2015 - My First Trip to Whitby

So here it is: my final summer. Ok, so that might be a bit of an exaggeration but after the next month or so my summers will be reduced to whatever time I take off work. Gone now are the four month breaks, the wasted weeks and the comforting thought of starting the same thing all over again in September. The start of my graduate job next month is fast approaching so making the most of this summer is important.

The first big thing that this summer had to hold was a trip away with my girlfriend - our first proper trip away together no less. Our destination was Whitby in England and the four days we spent there were just brilliant.

A New Look for the Blog and a Pipeline Lined with Ideas

Like the new look? Like the new logo?

 

Yesterday's redesign was a long time coming. Not only did the blog itself look tired and old-fashioned, everything associated with it - including its author - was not where it should be. After a good number of hours staring at my laptop, I can say that I am at least moderately happy with how it looks now.

Who's Still Working on His Masterpiece? - My 'Favourite' Song

Back to basics.

The only thing more tiring than doing something is not doing it. If that is true, then I am on my knees from not writing any blog posts. Having now seen off university for the final time and dealt with 'grown up' responsibilities for the time being, I've run out of excuses for not writing. I guess, therefore, it is time to get back up on my feet again.

I've decided to break myself back in softly. Rule #1 for dealing with writer's block is to pick something you love and write about it. I was listening to music earlier; I love music; let's write. The flow was uncontrollable - just.

In my own inimitable style I've actually picked something stupid to write about. I would be doing you a disservice if I gave you the impression that the song I'm going to write about is always my favourite. It is, however, one that always springs to mind when I'm asked to choose.

What is the Best Answer to Any Question? It Depends.

Q: Why do people hit walls?

Maybe because they are angry. Maybe because they are frustrated. Maybe because they are not trying hard enough. Maybe because they are trying too hard.

A: It depends.

That answer is one I have been giving for the last four and a half years of my life - it comes with the territory. When I arrived at university to study law in 2010 I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know if I wanted to be a lawyer or, more importantly, I didn't really know what a lawyer did. Fast forward to today and all that stand between me and my first job as a lawyer are a few exams. 

Scary? Yes. Exciting? Absolutely.

You've Read this Post Before You've Read it: My Valentine's Day and Why I Should Read More

You thought I was gone again, didn't you? You thought 'Martin has said he's going to start blogging again but he won't follow through on it', didn't you? Sorry, I hate people telling me what I'm thinking as well. Nevertheless I'm almost convinced that those thoughts crossed your mind when you read my post a couple of weeks ago - and rightly so.

Anyway I'm here again, even if just to prove a point. There is tonnes to be written about, but I'll limit myself to just a couple of musings tonight. Together those musings should form a ramble, and at my hand that ramble should constitute the ramblings of a twenty-something. If that doesn't fit the brief then I don't know what will.

Spartacus, Other-halves, Lego and Insanity: Why I Write

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

Albert Einstein

My keyboard is cold and the words aren't flowing like they used to. The web page in front of me is a familiar one - homely even - but everything else seems so unfamiliar. It was the Twenty sixth day of August Two thousand and Fourteen (I apologise to those who understand why I've written like that) when I last mustered the motivation, and indeed the confidence, to write a blog post. Now I'm back, I guess the biggest question is this: why? Let me try and answer that question.

Too much has happened over the last five or so months to consign to a single act of blogging, although not enough to claim there's a book to be written. I've therefore decided that instead of clearing my throat with a splurt of dull dear diary drivel, that I'll hit you with the important stuff and try and answer the question set. Exam mode at the ready.

Forward Thinking, But Not Too Far

Looking into the future can be a whole lot of fun. We are inherently tuned to make plans; to always want for something more. This serves as the topic for my upcoming posts, starting with today’s.

My interest for this topic of discussion stems from a number of different sources. Firstly, I’m sitting in the gap between undergraduate life and my first year of professional training. In transitional periods such as this it is difficult not to be in a forward-looking state of mind. The subject of today’s post – an experience I had a couple of months ago – provided another spark of interest in thinking about this type of thing. I also met someone recently who has taken ownership of their life like few others I’ve met before. Listening to this person’s story over the last couple of months has led me to consider my own.

'Scintillating and Inspirational' - My New Found Love for Biffy Clyro

Biff-ocrisy, n.

Purposely not listening to Biffy Clyro for years because of one album, even after writing a blog post which preached trying new things.

“That Martin is a Biff-ocrit.”

I feel like I’ve missed out. For years I’ve shunned one of Scotland’s biggest bands because I didn’t like one of their albums. However, little did I know that while I was being fickle and not listening to Biffy Clyro they were out making some of my favourite music.

Europe 2014: Croatia

More than a month after I touched down on home soil I'm finally getting around to writing the last post about my trip. A number of things have seen me put off writing over the last few weeks but I guess it's time for me to tie up this series of reflective posts - some might say it's taken me too long! 

So to Croatia and our final stop on a splendid month of travel. After the beauty of Slovenia, this country to the south had a lot to live up to, not to mention the fact that I wasn't ready to wind down on the new experiences despite home being but a few days away.

Europe 2014: Slovenia

Slovenia is wonderful. I could just leave this post at that and fill in the space with a few photos but I guess I should prove my point. I'll see how I feel in a few paragraphs.

Reaching stop six on my trip I thought I would be suffering from having already seen some awe inspiring sites - maybe Slovenia wouldn't impress? I was so very wrong. With the help of a hire car and some expert driving from one of my mates, I got to see some of the most breathtaking things in Europe.

Europe 2014: Vienna, Austria

After the whistle-stop tour of Bratislava, we made the short train journey to one of my favourite cities in Europe: Vienna. I could write a book on my love for this vast marvel of a place, but for just now I think I'll keep it short and sweet for you.

Vienna has a grip on me. This was my third visit to the city in as many years and each time it seems to charm me that little bit more. The city was as pristine as ever and its buildings, most of which I've seen before, did not fail in taking my breath away again.

Europe 2014: Bratislava, Slovakia

It seemed fitting to leave Warsaw in the dead of night. I had become so attached to the city that my only way out was to slink away on the night train to Bratislava - another morning and I might never have left.

This was my second experience of a sleeper train and although it's something to be able to say I've done I think I'll draw the line at two. Not only did I get very little sleep, I was awoken at 5am by a gruff Polish man telling us that our stop was in half an hour and, in no uncertain terms, to get up. I've never been so asleep yet so awake in the same moment.

Like zombies with suitcases, we dragged ourselves to our hotel which thankfully had a 24-hour reception. However, although we were able to unburden ourselves of our lives on wheels, our check-in time was about eight hours into the already warming Slovakian day. We set out into the city in search of coffee and/or breakfast and I'm not quite sure what happened next.

Europe 2014: Warsaw, Poland

With two cities under our belts, we took a short flight from Riga to Warsaw in Poland. Having never been to Poland before I was uncertain about what to expect from the country and its capital. Would it be like Latvia or Estonia, or would it be more Westernised? My question was soon answered, along with the discovery of what is now one of my favourite cities.

Europe 2014: Riga, Latvia

Having left a little part of myself in Tallinn, we made the five hour bus journey (complete with a slight hangover) to Riga in Latvia. The bus trip, although punctuated by a few post-drinking moments of unease, was brilliant, with the perfectly straight roads cutting a seemingly endless highway across the Baltic States. And so with tired legs and a tired mind, I rolled off the coach and set foot in Latvia for the first time.

Europe 2014: Tallinn, Estonia

"I want to see the world. I want sunshine and skyscrapers; languages I don't understand; music I've never hear before."

That is a quote from one of my favourite films in recent years - namely, Sunshine on Leith. When I first watched the film I scoffed at how cliché that line was but I've thought about it a bit and found that the truth is that is accurately describes how I feel about traveling. The fact that it is said with a beautiful Scottish accent sends familiar tingles down my spine - a familiarity which makes me long for the unfamiliar. It is with this mindset that I set out on my most recent trip to Europe. 

My next seven posts are going to be about each city that I visit, providing small snapshots into an experience that I'm never going to forget. The first stop was Tallinn a little under two weeks ago and it went a little like this...