Billy Young's Blog - Posts Tagged "christmas"

It was a long week at work, time just dragging by. Got laid off today though, at least I got the week out of it. Phoned the jobcentre as soon as I got home, got an interview for Tuesday first thing. It’s a drag that I have to go back to signing on again but needs must. I’ve luckily enough to have managed to save most of what I need to get my wife’s Christmas. I’m getting her a Wii, she had a loan of a friend’s last year and enjoyed it a lot. Since then she’s been wanting one, so I have been saving my pennies to get it. I’ll go to Amazon for it as its cheaper there, saving me a lot.
I’ve spent a lot of time reading or should I say catching up on reads I owed on Authonomy this week. I like to comment on books of those that have left their opinion of mine. I also enjoy looking at sci-fi, being a fan of that genre. I know it may seem strange since I write horror but I think both often cross over one another. My writing hasn’t really done so. Though in the past I have started a fantasy story just never managed to get round to ever finishing it. It was a good idea but I just never really got into my stride, plenty of idea’s just none that seemed to fit the tale. In the end what I did has lain in the drawer for years. In the end horror was so much more fun to work on, at least for me.
Now I’ll have more time to get my self into the next story and you all know what that should be. I never managed to get the energy to do anything last weekend. Instead I went on a cleaning spree around the house, by that I mean the kitchen. I cleared unused crockery into a box which I put in the loft. At the same time the wife want the Christmas decorations down though not to put up till next month. Till then they’ll be stored in a cupboard for easy access. I also approved Bublos this week so now I await it arriving on Amazon and other online stores. I will put a link to it once it does form the horror section of this site.

By mid-week I gave up trying to beat the block that has held me locked in an iron grip and decided to lose myself in Spellforce 2. It wasn’t my first choice as I checked out some other games but found they weren’t to my taste so quickly shelved them. Between each I sat staring again at the computer hoping the Muses would visit something on me. Nothing stirred in my mind so in the end I decided that Spellforce 2 with its mixture of strategy and roll playing would be a good way to let the ice that surrounds my mind to melt.
With the festive season fast approaching I think it will be after the New Year before I return to Banshee 2. With the pressures, that we all find at this time of year, lifted I’m sure I will find creativity flowing more easily. Yes I have most of the gifts for Christmas in, thanks to my wife. Actually she usually sees to most of that leaving me only to get her present. As you may already know I got her a Wii, which she already has. For this reason I got her a few other presents to open on the day. Nothing as expensive as the Wii was but still I’m sure she will love the two books and the CD. I also got her a small gold ring with some inexpensive stones set into. The books are from one of her favourite authors, Catherine Cookson; whilst the music CD is Meka’s new album. I know she’ll love them all and it never cost me too much. That is important when the budget is limited and with the job front being so slow I have to keep a close eye on the pennies.

One week to Christmas and as always there’s the last minute gift to get or the card that you forgot to send. My wife got the present when she was at the doctors today but the card came this afternoon so we’ll need to send it tomorrow. Strange how the post has gotten later over the years, isn’t it. It’s worse, of course, at this time of year though. It’s easy to say that everything is down to the posties not pulling out their finger enough but isn’t it? Yet we don’t really know what it’s like as we don’t do the job and have little idea of how it has changed over the years.
Played Spellforce 2 all week, finishing the main game last night. Now I have the add-on to start tonight, yet I don’t know if it will be worth it. After all the main title was buggy to say the least and I didn’t enjoy it as much as the original Spellforce. Often I felt that it was a poor add-on at best, which shows why I’m a little wary of Dragon Storm. I may be wrong though so I suppose I’ll need to check it out to see.

Hope you all have everything ready for tomorrow. Magz has managed to make our few pennies stretch far enough to make Christmas a good day for the family and I’m looking forwards to sitting back tomorrow night with her after stuffing my face.
Today was my last day of work. I got told on Monday that the job was at an finish at the end of the week. Still I did know it was only temporary but had thought it was to last for a bit longer. Yet I can’t really complain as it did help with getting things sorted for the festive season. And at the same time you never know something else may arise meaning I get a call back. Live in hope that is all you can do in life, give up on that and there isn’t a lot left is there. It isn’t always easy to do as life can be very crushing at times. It is on those times that I have cried out to the big man up stairs and he has seen me through. I suppose that is why I continue to hope that the future will bring the things that I want; why I keep on writing.
Well enough of my reflections and hopefully you all have a great day tomorrow, that all your dreams are fulfilled. God Bless.

I just got home an hour ago after working some more overtime. Luckily tomorrow is Saturday and I have it off, no more extra work like last week. Magz wants me to go up to the loft to get the Christmas tree down ready for December. Some round our way have already got theirs up. I remember as a kid on the bus to school trying to see who could count the most on the way home with my friends. The thing was I don’t think we ever saw them until the middle of December.
My poem for the competition is taking shape. I only managed to get the rough form down and a little editing during the week. With it started I should get it into a more finished shape over the next two days but will then leave it for a week to read over again and re-edit as I see the need while trying to use all the things I’ve learned at Absolute Write from previous poems. I can’t really say much about it though I shall post it on my GoodReads.com page after the competition. The remit of which is it has to be about a place. This can be an actual place or a figurative place. I’m trying for a figurative one though I’m not sure if what I am trying with this poem will be easily seen in this light. That’s because there is another message within which stands out far more than the place. I don’t know though yet if this is a mistake on my part but time will tell. If it is then at least I will have hopefully still created something that people can enjoy. Though it will be after Christmas before the results are known as there is a vote by the member of the forum from the 15th till 30th December when all the entries will be up on there for members to read and choose their favourites. I’m looking forward to reading others contributions.

I bought Magz a Kindle Fire HD for Christmas. She has already started using it. It has made me think of getting something similar for myself. It is mainly for e-books as I have been downloading a few of the classics from the Project Gutenberg website. Some of the books are ones that I read when I was younger but would love to reread. There are others that I have wanted to read for years and never seemed to remember when choosing books to buy. That is mainly due to the fact that most books were bought through impulse buys or through the charity shops. Not always the best way to buy reading material for the selection is usually restricted. Still it is a cheap way to find things to read. I haven’t been to a library in years as I never seem to find the time which is sad as I used to love going and browse through all those dusty shelves.
Magz is well pleased with the Fire. She has been using it for reading at night and the kids have also been using it for gaming. Mostly Tammy. She’s so in love with it that she has talked Calum into getting her a tablet for her Christmas. Of course he isn’t getting her the Kindle one though I’m sure the one he does get will keep her happy. That is as long as she can play Temple Run on it.
As I said I also want a tablet though it shall be after I have gotten Magz other gift. Yes as usual I am planning on getting Magz something else though I’ve yet to find the time to get into town to have a look. In the coming weeks I’ll have to get dropped off in town to have a nose to find something. At least she is enjoying her major gift.

Work remains draconian with the boss’s new rules. The spying continues and one or two fellow workers have been docked for being one minute late back from break, losing fifteen minutes off of their pay. This to me seems excessive as a warning would be more appropriate. After all they shouldn’t have the wages cut when we are already on the lowest pay bracket already for the UK. I have been lucky so far to avoid falling foul but only just one occasion. The clocks at work are all at different times even though they are supposed to be wirelessly connected. Sadly that seems not to be working so you have to keep a close check on the difference between the clocking in one and the one in the canteen. Yesterday that was just a minute yet today it had grown to over five minutes.
Well Christmas is fast approaching and I have now officially got all the present I am giving in. Tammy and I went shopping last Saturday to get Magz her secret gifts for the big day. Yes having my daughter meant that it cost more than I was intending to spend. Still she was a big help in helping to find what I was cluelessly looking for. I had a vague idea of what to get but Tammy really helped to give me more suggestions which was why it grew in price. As long as she likes them though that is what matters.
I hope and wish all of you a great Christmas.

I hope you all had a good Christmas. Calum was working for half of Christmas day but was home in time for dinner. Magz made the steak pie which we have every year. Now that the kids are older there isn’t the early morning wake up. Followed by the rush to see what Santa brought. Now everyone opens their presents when they get up. I had my breakfast before I tore the wrapping paper from mine. New slippers led the line up of jeans, tea-shirt, socks, and a jumper. Calum also got me Skyrim the follow on from Oblivion which I still have to play the add-on. As you can guess I haven’t started playing the new game. I will eventually though it will be next year.
Of course that isn’t that far away. I’m working on Monday though I will be off Tuesday and Wednesday as I was this week. That means that I will have those days to recover from any ill effects of drink. That isn’t really likely though as I am not much of a drinker and Magz and myself usually only have a small vodka for the bells. I know boring. The days of finding a party then getting totally wasted is long gone. I still like to see the bells with a glass just to see the old year out while welcoming the new. Even if it is quietly.

I hope you all had as good a Christmas as my family and I had. Though nothing exciting happened. And we didn't have a great party we still had a good, though quiet, time. Tammy had some movies she wanted to watch with me. While Calum sat with us for some of the time before abandoning us for the joy of computer gaming up in his room. He did come back down to watch Mrs Brown's Boys which had us all rolling in laughter. Of course that was after eating more than was good for us but that isn't unusual for this time of year for many of us is it.
The new shift pattern at work is been okay so far. Though the work was closed for the two days over Christmas and Boxing day so I will see how it goes as time passes. Next week we have two more days off for News Years. That isn't a lot but that is the way that modern industry works. Then again it is still better than what it was in the past. Domestic staff in big houses would be lucky to get one day of a week off and at this time of year they wouldn't even get that. There simply was too much to be done to keep the "Family" happily looked after. It must have been good for the "Family" but not so good for the servants down below stairs.
Yes the modern world might have its faults but it is still better than the past. Yes I know some would think differently. I just think they are looking at things through tinted glass. Every evil we see today were there in the past. We didn't invent the badness of the world, it has always been there. If anything we are now tackling in far more effectively than ever before in many respects. Sadly with modern life comes the modern media which sensationalises far more of the evil than they do the good. This has the effect of blinding us to the good around us. The answer for me is to take heart when someone holds a door open for me.
Yes, such a small piece of kindness is all it takes to make someone's day.
Hope you all have a great New Year and get everything you hope for.

My daughter and myself were down town doing Christmas shopping. As expected it cost more than I would like but that is only because Tammy had to have a new pair of boots. Well she is my daughter so how could I not? I know soft is the word your looking for. Anyways that does mean that I have Magz's presents out of the way. I would tell you all but you never know Magz might just read this. After all this is the first year in a long time she doesn't have a clue to what I have gotten her.
Talking of Christmas I have to get the tree down from the loft tomorrow. As December closes in it is that time of year to glitz our trees with blinking lights and shiny baubles. I must admit though this year it is because I want it. Both Magz and Tammy were in the mind to just leave it this year as both the kids are grown. I just feel it will at the least brighten up the house over some of these dark months. Plus it is nice to come home to after work. I know a little selfish as it is Tammy and Magz who put up the tree every year. I think Magz is worried about what Rocky, Tammy's cat, will do to the tree. He loves to climb. Then there is the shiny baubles that he will think are just for him to play with. I can see it now, hehehe.