Hold on.... Am I a geek now?

The word "Blogging" has taken on different meanings to me over the past decade since I first heard it. Initially, it was a word that invoked a derisory feeling, an association to acne-ridden nerds hammering their keyboards to depict their latest ventures on "World of Warcraft" or perhaps to detail the latest advancements in molecular formations of hydrocarbons. Yet this somewhat negative opinion has abated since, with my stand point journeying through a positive evolution, passing through phases of mild disdain, past nonchalant dismissal and through to the milestone I found myself unexpectedly at a fortnight or so ago, jealousy and admiration.

One of these influencing factors is my older (and I'm sure she'd say, wiser) sister Heather. She is the author of a well-followed blog about Crochet (Pink Milk Blog Link) and whilst using it as a mechanism to wax lyrical about web-based weaves and showcase some of her startlingly professional-like amateur photography, she also uses it as a forum in which she can vent on more personal topics. She has had to endure a difficult last six months at home and her blog allows her to not only escape into a world of woven wonder but also to seek counsel from those who took time out to pay an interest in what she has to say. A captive audience, in short.

Then there is influence number two, the example of my childhood best friend Dan and his more broad general interest blog; "Eats, Speaks and Drinks." (Click to see Dan's Blog) 
 

Dan and I grew up together like brothers, albeit brothers who lived on opposite side of the street (and I don't mean this metaphorically). We were both the youngest of a brood of children and were both immeasurably passionate about football, computer games and football based computer games. We weren't just kids who played football games though. We were kids who created a world from our football game. From the humble beginnings of my Sega Master System's version of FIFA '94 we developed an alternate footballing universe of players (including ourselves as the stars!), kits, stadiums, extortionate transfer fees, WAGs and newspaper articles.

 

An "excerpt" from a newspaper article!

Bizarrely, Villa were the centre of my attention

One of Dan's "Star Player" features

We detailed everything in book upon book of stories on how the fantasy seasons unfolded whilst we went through some of our most crucial, formative years. My grandma, affectionately and somewhat disrespectfully known as "Maggie," used to love reading about this world we had conjured up. As a successful designer and painter, she really cajoled this more artistic and expressive side to me and, in truth, it served as one of the only real elements to bond over.
 

Both mine and Dan's paths seemed destined for a creative career when at 16 we enrolled into college to study Media Studies together. Dan went on to study "Creative Writing" at degree in Sheffield and I followed suit with Communication Studies and Media. 

It is fair to say that following our university days, life happened. Dan found himself in accounts and I found myself in the much maligned industry of recruitment.

He wouldn't mind me saying that we grew apart in those years but I would like to think that it was mostly down to geographical reasons. He lived in Leeds and after marrying, I moved to Sydney. Yet it was Social Media that kept us in touch and after a good twelve years we managed to catch up for a beer and a steak pie in our old local. At the risk of sounding cliche, it was like it wasn't twelve years, more like twelve days and we just picked up where we left off. The only notable differences were our conversation topics had matured and we were both sporting full beards that a couple of 19 year old lads would only dream about. 
 

Over our beer, Dan told me he had spent years writing a book (click here to see it) and had even self-published it which made me instantly envious. For most of my adult life, I had threatened that there was "a book in me," even going so far to write a couple of chapters. But I had never given myself a real fighting chance, mainly through procrastination and possible fear of how it maybe perceived. Yet there I was reading this incredible story about secret societies and deadly organisations that pursued the book's protagonist across the world in such glorious detail, with me often forgetting who had written it before then having to remind myself that the author was in fact my childhood bestie. That realisation came like a kick to the bollocks.

No way was I capable of something this good. 
 

It was then Dan faced a career crossroads. The company he had been working at since he left uni was making redundancies and he decided that, armed with the evidence of his abilities from his first book and the best part of a sequel, he would concentrate on what he was most passionate about - writing. So he set himself up as a freelance copywriter which in turn would allow him to continue with his writing and hopefully helping him to hone his skills. He was encouraged to blog and it was at reading his first blog (as linked earlier) that set the green envy juices flowing once more. 

It was well written, witty and easy to read. 

This time, however, I wasn't left with a defeatist attitude but more of a jealousy-led competitive spirit. I wanted to finally detail my thoughts for the world to see.

So here I am. 
 

You may or may not be witnessing history in reading this, I'm not that bothered. It could become the 21st Century version of Hemingway's "A Moveable Feast" although I doubt it. If only three people read the entire sum of my rambles over the years I intend to do it, at least I won't regret having not done it at all. 

That being said, if it turns out to be a serialised masterpiece in years to come, I may have to rethink the title of "The Chuntering Sutcliffe."

My intentions with these blogs are to project my mood whilst raising the spirits of others. I may even go down a more emotion stirring route from time to time, we'll see.

I thought it important to lay some foundations, as without them, I'm just another geek writing a blog.