September 25th, 2008 by Tom Posted in Personal Lives, Travel, Work | No Comments »
As first-time blogs go, sitting deciding what to write about is quite a daunting task, for me anyway. A thousand different things come to mind. Then, trying to home in on a particular subject or event to write about, proves difficult. And I think the reason for this is that I’ve not had time to fully digest the last year that has gone by. On reflection I think back and I have to say that it has probably been one of the most eventful years of my life. Where everything seemed to move at a steady pace before, things have suddenly stepped up a notch, which is a pretty good feeling in itself.
I’ve been in Leeds for just over two years now, having relocated from Kent (My reasons? Well that’s different blog altogether, I’ll save it for another time perhaps) … But anyway, as I was saying, I’ve been in Leeds for just over two years and I’ve felt that this last year, on a personal level, has been a defining period.
This time last year I had just moved into a new apartment with a new flatmate and was warmly welcomed into his circle of friends, who are a great bunch of lads and remain some of the best and closest friends I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing.
I joined a gym (which I still frequent 3 times a week).
I was made redundant from my previous job (Bad times). But offered a job in London (Good times), which I declined due to commitments in Leeds (Good times) …. And I say good times because this decision led me to pastures new at Open Door Design, where I work with an amazing team. And where, creatively speaking, my personal and professional working abilities have improved immensely.
I went on a mini-backpacking holiday to Italy, which was a massive deal for me. Apart from being a quarter Italian myself and having a large amount relative connections to Italy, I had never been to another country without my parents in tow. Well not since a school trip to Paris at least. I’m not that well traveled by any means… But I had such a great time and have certainly felt the bite of the travel bug. We spent 9 days in Florence, Rome and Lido… moving from Hostel to Hostel, seeing all there is to see (The Duomo, Sistine Chapel and Trevi Fountain being the stand out places we visited) and seeking out some of the most amazing restaurants Italy had to offer. One of the eating highlights wasn’t what you’d expect. Not Pizza… or Pasta… or Ice Cream (Although the Ice Cream was amazing). It was a dish known as ‘Bistecca alla Fiorentina’. A Three-finger-thick raw steak (and I’m someone who likes his steak well done). It set us back 50 Euros per Kilo and we ordered 2kg’s. It was an event in itself, even for the restaurant staff. A few bottles of Chianti later we then coined the phrase “what a Bistecca to make-a”, which was sadly banded around for the remainder of the trip.
I also had the pleasure of experiencing the Team Dread Slider Jam 2008 a few months back, which gave me a little insight into the world of wakeboarding. A great weekend spent with Nick and Dean, amazing atmosphere and great people.
So that’s, new apartment, new friends, new job, holidays, wakeboarding and raw steak covered…
So far so good then… And technically the year isn’t even over. I’ve got a months worth of birthday weekends to contend with, a few gigs to go to (namely Elbow and Kings of Leon) and to top it all off I’ll be attending the Leeds Film Festival in November, for 7 full days of movie-going.
All in all its been a good year.
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