What sorcery is this? Which circle of hell have you fallen in to? Has the multiverse torn at the seams? No need to panic; I am in fact posting updates two days in a row. Let’s all take a breath and let this sink in.
First off I want to say I’ve had a great twenty-four hours or so since my last update. Secondly my mental health is in an incredible place right now with my mood at an all time high. Thirdly I have a cup of tea to my right and a Biscoff doughnut to my right. Life is good.
Following yesterday’s update I wrote roughly one thousand words outlining a story where one family member goes through a rough time and his cousin follows him through hell and high-water to help him recover. There’s no fantasy or wonder, big twist or red herring. Just a simple story about loss, recovery, love and friendship. I’ve noticed the majority of the stories in my head have these key themes. It is something that I have done from a very early age. I absolutely thrive off drawing a strong emotional response from others. The strongest of which are laughter and tears.
The story I wrote the outline for is currently the one which is playing in a loop in my head. A few weeks ago it was a superhero near-future trilogy and a few months back it was a story of the unlikely lifetime friendship of a young adult and an older woman in his neighbourhood (the first few chapters of which I actually posted here). I do plan to sit and expand on this story, as well as the others but the idea of doing this both terrifies and excites me.
As mentioned yesterday I think it may be time to link a Wattpad account and YouTube channel to the blog. I will be getting on with that today. This also terrifies and excites me.
By the time I finished my outline yesterday Penny was dressed and ready to leave the house for the first time since her operation last Saturday. We went out for lunch in a fancy restaurant in quite a wealthy area and I’ve got to say the food was incredible. There is nothing in the world quite like a great meal. After that we picked up the kids from school and went home.
We had a nice couple of hours before I told Penny a few of my friends were at the pub in passing and she insisted I go for a couple of hours to catch up. I definitely don’t go out nor see my friends enough and Penny is really great for constantly encouraging me to do so more often. I like being home with her and the kids and don’t want to feel like I’m missing anything with them while I’m in the pub, or that they miss me wishing I was home but I know deep down it’s not like that at all. I go out less than ten times in a year. Saying that I was out last night for a couple of hours and the plan is for me to go out tonight for a few hours more.
So I went to the pub and had a great catch up with five of my very close friends. Three of them I’ve known for more than twenty years and the other two since nursery so over thirty years. One lived in an estate maybe five minutes walk from my childhood home and the other lived maybe fifteen houses down on the same road (in fact my brother has the house we grew up in, and my friend owns the house he grew up in).
I’ve finished my cup of tea and just bit in to my doughnut and simply had to document this incredible moment. I am destined to be obese one day. Bad food just tastes too good. I forgot to mention that the doughnut is one of six Penny’s sisters sent as a ‘get well soon’. Very thoughtful of them and Penny, the kids, and I have been very moved by the four doughnuts we have already decimated.
Among the laughter and catching up in the pub last night my team (Man United) played, and won, a very entertaining match to top off a good night and a great day.
Just over an hour ago I finished my doughnut and felt sick. Worth it. Got up to walk to the kitchen and grab a drink and Penny wanted us to have an hour cuddled up on the settee watching some funny program she’s in to so that’s what we did.
We’ll be going out shortly to grab a few things we’ve ordered and have a coffee but will hopefully be back home before the school run. It feels like going away from the laptop for an hour has dented my motivation and momentum but I’ll be okay. My main goal for this whole weekend is to get Wattpad and YouTube set up, post on both (YouTube may take a little more figuring out), and write at least a chapter of one of my stories. Penny thinks that what I want to do on YouTube would suit a podcast more and I do agree but YouTube better for growing a following and for people to stumble across. Also I don’t know a fat lot about YouTube but what I do know is infinitely more than I know about podcasts. As I say I do agree with Penny so I’ll be looking in to podcasts too, as well as TikTok and other social media. Very exciting stuff. I’ll have to find the right word for this excited but also scared feeling. If one doesn’t exist I’ll make one up. Hypedread is the first that popped in to my head. I like it and will use it but I admit it may need work and there are better ones out there.
Two posts in two days. Amazing day yesterday. Hypedread plans. A little more sure about what I’m going to do regarding work. Seeing friends again later. Biscoff doughnut that made me feel sick. All in all good times. Until next time – I don’t want to put pressure on myself saying my next update will be later today, tomorrow, or Sunday but that is my aim. Not far from 50 blog posts in total now. Soon be here, hopefully followed by a raft of comments from real people. We shall see.