London

Having lived in London for the past eight months, it may sound entirely hackneyed (and yes I see what I did there) but you do genuinely learn a few things about the place. I visited the city many times before I moved here, but it always felt like a whirlwind visit, even though once I actually came here for a whole weekend.

That's the thing about living somewhere, you get to view it from a completely different perspective. Instead of looking for the best monuments, the nicest place to have a meal or the nearest toilet you now look for the quickest route, the best supplied food shop and the cheapest place to go on a night out. So here are a couple of things that may or may not surprise you about the capital of England that I've picked up.

i. People are afraid of the special seats on the buses

I'm definitely the kind of guy who prefers a bus journey over a tube, and of course this is due to the scenery and not the price... *ahem*. Actually, joking aside, the bus is infinitely better as in the summer the tube gets way too hot even in the slightest heat and it's always jam packed for about half the day. The buses come along just as often, you get more choices and is usually less crowded meaning you are usually guaranteed a seat. Speaking of which, like I mentioned at top of this paragraph, people don't like to sit in the disabled/elderly seats. Maybe they're afraid in case they are forced to give it up a few minutes later or perhaps they're concerned what the others will think of them. All I can say is if you're given the opportunity, just go ahead and take it. Not only will you likely never see any of the passengers again, but they don't even care. The ultimate trifecta for me is getting the inside seat right next to the door and then an elderly person sitting next to you. Ain't nobody gonna ask that old lady next to ya to shift her ass so's they can get yo seat foo'!

ii. There are stars in London

I'm not much of a huge celebrity person, but living in London and working for MTV has allowed to meet far more than I ever suspected I would. I won't go into names, but you should know (and probably be disappointed to learn) that none of them were truly A-listers so please don't feel the need to hate me too much! However, these aren't the stars I'm talking about, so I'd like to direct your attention up into the vast and epic space above. Yep, those ones. People will have probably told you at some point how the light pollution prevents people in big cities from viewing the spectacle that is space itself, but I'm here to tell you they're wrong. On my walk back home tonight, I couldn't help but be impressed by how brightly the moon was shining and looking around it I spotted quite a few shining gaseous giants. Not only this, but during the last major meteor shower, I was sat on my windowsill at 1 in the morning staring out into the sky and checking them out with nothing but my corneas. Of course you have to watch out for the planes, because they do appear very often but nowhere near frequent enough to taint your view. Besides, planes take you to nice places so what is there to moan about?

iii. People can be nice. People can be rude.

One of the only preconceptions I had before I left Wales was that people in London were going to be the grumpiest creatures in the land. Having nothing to base this off other than the odd episode of Eastenders and some gangster films, I probably didn't do myself any favours. So when I finally arrived, in a house full of the most welcoming people, shortly followed by a day of working with some of the greatest company and then going to visit friends in some of the busiest tourist spots, I did get a bit of a shock. People were all incredibly courteous and gentile! How long that impression stayed with me I don't know, but my guess is probably 24 hours. Trust me when I say this; soon after you arrive here, it may be one day, one week or if you're lucky, one year, but you will eventually meet the person who will burst your politeness bubble. Mine wasn't a particularly dastardly villain or vicious criminal, but it was merely a guy who probably didn't feel like waiting. He jumped ahead of a very long queue on the bus that I was standing in. Normally, due to the aforementioned public transport efficiency, I wouldn't mind but this guy's getting in front of me meant that one person behind me wouldn't be getting on this bus. Seeing as this was the only bus at the stop and no sign of another (and I think it was raining) that meant a potential ten minute wait. But the worst thing is, nobody even challenged him! I am not going to lie to you and say that I would have said something in a different circumstance, but I was nowhere near the front at that moment and only realised this rude act after he had gotten on. Could this be a result of fear of a retaliation by said queue jumper? Perhaps. Or could this be the result of a city full of people who are so used to it that they see it as a part of their daily life? Likely. Either way, those people are few and far between, but they are far outnumbered by the type of people who will step out of the way for you when they see you on your run and don't want to force you onto the road, by the people who will smile and say thank you when you let them go ahead of you and the people who will smile at you occasionally if you catch their eye (even if it sometimes through an accidental manner!) so I summarise with the headline to this paragraph, because that's just the way it is.

I shall have more of these for you, but for now my time is up and I have a few winks to try and catch. Goodnight everybody!

Reboot

It's been a while. In fact, somebody out there who commented on a really old blog post recently, I have you to thank for getting me to write this post. At least in my absence there have been quite a few drastic changes in my life to write about, so this post should be, in theory, very interesting. So let's get started.

The biggest change? Moving to London. Yes, I've bid farewell to the Swansea accent, Joe's ice cream and Welsh cakes (and of course my family and friends, the latter of which were dwindling when I left) and embraced a brand new city, even country, to start a new phase in my life. I've been dreaming about moving to the capital for a few years now, and as I approach the 8 month mark in my London life I can say without a doubt that I haven't been disappointed. There's always something to do, places to go and it never seems to stop. Yes, it really is like all those cliches you've heard. Take for example one of my earliest nights out here, where I left a pub in central London at 2am, was able to catch a bus home at that time (the memory of having to leave a Swansea night out at 10pm to get the last bus home after failing to wangle myself a lift home) and approaching 3 in the morning, I saw out of my window a store that was still open, on a Saturday night/Sunday morning, with boxes of fresh fruit and veg out the front. Where else in the UK can you really buy a cauliflower when 95% of the country is asleep?

Of course it's not just that, the enjoyment of living amongst so much culture and entertainment has been fascinating. I actually live in the area where they filmed the majority of one of my favourite films; 'Shaun Of The Dead' Every time I remember, it makes me smile. I've spotted scenes in other films which were shot near my house, such as 28 Weeks Later, and believe there are many others to be discovered, if only I had the time to spend watching it all.

Speaking of lack of time and the media, it might not shock you now to learn of the other big change in my life, one which makes a lot of sense when you consider the first. I have a job! Yes, I am now the official Acquisitions Intern at a very prestigious youth focused broadcaster. Remember that interview I posted about in my last post? Well I got the job, so I now work for MTV! It was possibly the best first job I could have hoped to get. It's been 8 months here so far and I've really enjoyed my time so much. Not only is the job incredibly fun and involves what I love to do in my own time (i.e watch and talk about a lot of TV shows) but the people there and the atmosphere/working conditions have been insanely good. It's a shame that currently there are no options to extend my contract there past the end of the year, but I knew this wouldn't last forever and to have been there longer than they originally contracted me for was a huge compliment to my work. There is still the option of getting an internal vacancy there but that's no guarantee and I have been looking elsewhere just in case. I shall share those aspirations of mine in another post.

I am going to leave it there for now, but will come up with a more well thought out post very soon to get myself back into the swing of updating more regularly.

Wales

Very sad times, it seems I didn't create a single new post in the month of February 2010. Well at least I've managed to sneak in one on the most important day in the Welsh calendar, St Davids Day! Or to put it in its native tongue; dydd gwyl dewi sant

Speaking of which, I'm aiming to learn Welsh at some point. Terrible pun aside, I've already started looking into it, having decided which book to buy to aid me with the basics.

I've had quite the social life as of late, which I think had something to do with the enormous feeling of optimism and general 'loving life' I had today. Things are finally looking up; I have a job interview on Thursday for MTV which I really hope I get offered (even if my good friend is going for exactly the same position!) as well as the not yet rejection from the BBC Runners Pool having rung them up today to check. Also I have work experience at Hat Trick for the 8-12th March, which apparently Adam didn't help me with even though I'm inclined not to believe him, and am feeling greatly optimistic about my chances of moving to London before the halfway point of 2010.

Aside from that, I've generally had a lot more of a busy life these past few days than I have the last couple of months. I've been doing something productive every single day for a while now, and it's paying off. I've got a few new projects in the works, two involving some filming.

I'm listening to BBC6 Music now and I'm actually quite surprised how much I'm enjoying it. I can never remember any of the songs I've listened to, but it's brilliant for doing other stuff with it on in the background. I really hope it doesn't get axed though, as it's home to the amazing Adam and Joe!

I'm forgetting a lot of news in this post, but I really don't want to ramble so here it ends-

Effects

I got off my arse and started up Adobe After Effects again, hoping to crawl out of the funktastic hole I had hibernated in these past few months. It worked, and I sit here having gotten the really-difficult-to-complete piece known as the 'Coming Up' segment finished. I'd love to show you, but you'll have to wait until I release the show itself! It's awfully late and won't be relevant to anybody but I'm putting my heart and soul into it because I want this to be my best work, seeing as it's the last that will have come from my XTV life. I'm hoping to come into enough money to get the Come Dine With Us footage repaired eventually, but not holding my breath for that.

I haven't really done much since I last updated apart from what I've written about above, I just figured it would be nice to try and keep this going a bit, especially after having such a creative revival. Only four or so days until I can watch the sixth and final season premiere of Lost. What a fantastic show! I bought the first season while working at hmv, but still haven't opened it. I guess I won't ever get around to watching all previous seasons before starting the sixth, which would be quite relevant as the rumours suggest there's a lot of original cast members making an appearance. Never mind, we'll find out how true that is soon.

WWID?

I just glanced back at the first ever post I wrote for this blog, and it surprised me. Not only because it was well written, but because it seems like I had this whole vision for how my life was supposed to turn out. Three and a half years later, and nothings really changed except the people I know and a bit of knowledge. This has made me feel quite down.

I think it's about time that I took some inspiration from my younger self. The whole point of life is to get things done, not to sit around and wait for things to happen to you, because they don't. If you have a creative idea, use it and make something beautiful, don't let it waste away inside your head. This blog shall now be about making my ideas come to life and my aspirations become a reality. I will do you proud 20 year old me.

Avatar

I feel a bit late to the party making a blog post about Avatar, and technically this belongs in another blog as I could do a huge article on it, but I'm going to keep it simple. I do want to state that I was at the first screening in Wales of this film, so I'm nowhere near a latecomer to seeing this.

A friend of mine just told me their opinion of the film, specifically regarding the plot, and that it didn't live up to expectations. Trying to be concise in my response, I put it this way; just because the basics of a story are familiar or simple, doesn't mean you can't make a great film out of it. The Na'vi could have had a spy in the human ranks or there could have been another tribe around to make the story more interesting, but the film wasn't about that. It wanted to show you this new world and how the tribe of inhabitants lived on it, and weave in a story about humans wanting to take something from them to show us how they coped with it. Simple, yes. Effective, yes. Entertaining, hell yes.

Aside from that, I had a brilliant weekend in Exeter. Friday I arrived in the afternoon, went to Dan and Jamies and we all had an Indian takeaway. Saturday consisted of me and Jamie going into town, have a bit of a wander round, then meet up with the people filming the music video. Afterwards I met Simon and spent the afternoon playing Borderlands. Then in the evening, we went to the Black Horse and had drinks for Pips Graduation, was great to catch up with her and glad she's doing well. Went to firehouse afterwards and stayed til they kicked us out! Sunday went back to Firehouse for sunday lunch, got sidelined to my own table, partially cos I was the last to go down and order my food but got served on my own instead of the group and had my food arrive first, partly because the table wasn't big enough for my ex housemates Dave and Simon to fit on so we sat on our own. Then in the afternoon we had another roast dinner, that's right, TWO, with my old housemates but including the rest and also Steve and Dave's girlfriend Kate who's really nice. I made a cake earlier which we ate, then we had vienetta which we ended up flicking around everywhere. On the Monday, there was much dossing around in the XTV office likes times of old, and then the evening held a comedy event in Mama Stones which was good apart from the talking audience at the back. On the Tuesday I left for Bristol, and met up with Dave where we had food and then also CJ where we had food again in a place called Start The Bus and Fern, Dave's girlfriend, came too. At 9pm I left, and then I got home yesterday evening pretty late.

Continue

It's been a while since I wrote in this, and I won't promise that the future holds any form of regular updating, but I will always try to post something up, even if it's incredibly short, when I remember about it. And so let's delve straight into the first entry of 2010.

As I sit here, my situation is as follows; I'm still living with my Dad, and jobwise I had a temporary position in hmv over xmas until 3rd Jan, but now I'm sending out emails and applying for the occasional media job in order to chance upon a TV production based vacancy or work experience placement. The trick to succeeding with that apparently is to send out as many emails as you can, and while I have begun this in a pretty slow manner, this will improve as the main excuse has been not really knowing how to structure the perfect email (I blame my perfectionism). Having written quite a few so far, I do appear to be getting better at it, or at least not caring so much about the final draft. I only made a single resolution this year, which was to get a job in the TV business. Hopefully this amount of emailing will get me somewhere. I should mention that I have one potential option, my friend Ceri has told me he will chat to the guys at a local production company called Telesgop and see if he can get me some work experience there, and so I must promise to myself to chase him up on that. That'd be a great headstart.

Other things that I'm currently doing are far and few between. As this is a catch up blog post, I'm cramming a lot in and so the form will have to suffer. I've booked tickets for a lengthy stay (Particularly on a dole income) in Exeter to see all the friends I haven't seen in ages. It should be good, though I've been asked to stick around until Tuesday to see a friends comedy event, and this makes me wonder if I'll be missing my own bed and privacy by then! Ah screw it, I'll enjoy getting to catch up with everyone and will treat it like a holiday.

I've still yet to finish writing a draft of 'Backstage' and for those of you who don't know what that is, it's a comedy script I've been asked to work on by a friend of mine in the business. However, I did start the whole thing again, and showed the first couple of pages to him and he told me it's the most promising he's seen it so far, which was quite pleasing to hear. I do add to it now and then but it's not going at a pace I'm happy with for the time being. It's worth mentioning that I did attempt a novel writing month challenge to write 50,000 words, but the challenge soon exceeded my capabilities and I gave up after a measly 10,000. I really should work through that while I have some free time.

Family politics now, and things are going great. My Dad is away often but that's a positive thing because he gets very agitated over the smallest things; I've put this down to him still being in the giddy phase (Though it's lasted bloody ages) of being in a relationship, and time spent away from her is grumpy time. It gives me a bit of freedom and peace when he's in Cardiff, but we still get along well most of the time. My Mum and I are on getting along really well, though there's not been a negative incident between us since at least a year ago (I think) and though I only see her once a week roughly, it's always joyful, and my little sis Emily is always ringing me on her mobile phone, I should ring her for once cos she obviously misses me and it would be nice for her to know that I care about her enough to speak to her of my own accord; thing is she won't give me a chance as she always gets there first! As for siblings, my bro plans to move out soon and we are getting along well which comes and goes, my sis Chloe is working a lot and I don't see her very much and my other sis Vicky is at Uni and in a seemingly 'controlling' relationship with her boyfriend Chris, but I don't know for sure, and I probably shouldn't even mention it, but this is a blog for me and I think I'd be interested to read this back in a couple of years and see if I was wrong about it.

I've applied for a BBC job in London for people who don't have much experience, and if they give me a chance to go to the next stage which is the interview stage, I am positive I can make them love me enough to hire me. Annoyingly I don't have much luck getting past the application forms, I need to practice that a bit.

It is way too late now, so I will finish downloading the new season of 24 and go to sleep. Night night.