The move.

On Thursday 12th January 2012, myself and Adam moved into our first home together. Adam having more energy than a kitten on speed, managed to unpack and furnish the house in a mere two days whilst I was busy at work.

I took a few photos last week and they have been on my list to upload ever since. Every time I sit down to blog, I seem to get distracted by yet another mundane chore. I've literally had to force myself to write this now that I have a few moments to relax.

The house itself is pretty small but there is plenty of room for just the two of us. The main idea of moving in together is so that we can start saving to buy our own. This seems like a lifetime away right now. The garden is pretty awesome, I'm just waiting for the sun to shine before I take a photo. We have two bedrooms, a bathroom, living room and a kitchen/dining room (we still need to pick up the dining table).

We're still trying our best to make the living room cosy. Adam found the leather sofa and matching poof in Argos - it was a total bargain at around £600 down from £900 or so!

The kitchen was a slight nightmare. We had to go out and buy the fridge, freezer and washing machine new (not to mention the millions of utensils). We also have one of those uber annoying induction hobs which meant that we had to buy new pans that were compatible with it!

Adam (being the budding big artiste) has been busy with the canvases too...

The main bedroom is pretty small but I love how they've used the space. It has a huge fitted wardrobe with built in rails and shelves and has some awesome installed lighting.

The bathroom is pretty self explanatory. I'm just looking out for some kind of cabinet to hang cause I'm beginning to get pretty sick of seeing toiletries everywhere. The spare room also has some built in wardrobes that we are utilising but aside from that, it's pretty much used as storage for my weight bench right now.

Adam's parents have both been over and my Dad is coming up to visit on Sunday all being well. Rumour has it that Nan is accompanying him so I'm sure that will be a barrel of laughs for all involved.

The house is taking up most of my time so, other than that, I don't really have very much in the way of upcoming plans - something I'm trying my hardest to change. I refuse to become one of these people that ends up stuck in a routine - I think I'm in desperate need of a peptalk!

2012.

New Year's Eve 2011
Pottering around the bedroom whilst I brace myself for the night's festivities, I begin to ponder New Year's resolutions and the kind of things I'd like 2012 to bring. I struggle with many; food is far from my worst enemy, I have no real vices to name, I've just managed a promotion and I seem to have everything I need. It's amazing just how depressed being comfortable can make you feel. Of course, there's always the idea of moving to my own place with Adam, away from these soul destroying houseshares that have been part of my life for the past five years - it's going to be a long year, why not aim high?

New Year's Day 2012
Stretched lifelessly across the bed, head buried deep beneath the stack of pillows, Adam's distant ramblings are lost amongst the persistant buzzing - an unwanted reminder from the night before.

"So what shall we do with the year?"

I groan. Small talk is my worst enemy, especially first thing after a night of heavy intoxication.

"Skydive? Learn to unicycle? Come third on X-Factor?"

"What about moving in together?"

I laugh, purely to give myself a few seconds to construct a witty response. He's a persistant chappy, I'll give him that much.

"Sure. You find a house, furnish it and I'm there!"

A minute's silence follows but I can tell his hopes are already sky high - I can feel the childish glee radiating from across the bed.

"You can grab me a cup of tea first though..."

Wednesday 4th January 2012
Despite my earlier joy at finally dispelling the post-Christmas boredom, the first day back at work is slow. I sit staring at my computer screen, half glancing past the monitor at my colleagues busying themselves with the daily trappings of office life. My phone rings, hurling me from deep thought. For a few seconds, I actually have to remember how to answer it.

"Are you able to come outside?"

It's Adam. I can't say it's much of a surprise, he often calls with thoughts on what to have for dinner, how many cars angered him on his way to work and other such tales of woe.

"Urm, I guess so. Why?"

Uncomfortable laugh.

"Well I have something you need to sign"

"Sign? Like what?"

Uncomfortable silence.

"For a house. Like you said ...."

Stomach drops.

"It's been three days!"

As summer departs.

Summer has hurtled past so quickly this year. I'm not quite sure whether it is down to the fact that I've done hardly anything of interest to make the season memorable, done too much and not had time to stop and think or (most likely) the lack of sun and abundance of rain prevented any recognition that summer was even here in the first place. Either way, I can only really think of a couple of main events that have happened since I last bothered to show my face online.

Back in August, a few of my friends from university came back up to Lincoln for a weekend of shenanigans. The group consisted of the usual suspects - Gemma, Amy, Sarah, Lauren and Abbie. We had a pretty great weekend featuring several meals out, a night on the tiles and Sunday lunch at a country house.

We also endured enjoyed work Sports Day last month too. In a nutshell, the entire company gets paid to have the afternoon off and they hire out a sports centre where we spend the remainder of the day competing in various events. It's pretty good fun but the free bar makes it just that bit more bearable. I was in 'The Milky Bar Kids' this year and we came second - not too bad!

Speaking of work, I've also had a promotion. After a bit of swapping and changing, I am now the new Retentions Manager based under Operations. Basically, I have a team of 7 others that are responsible for trying to keep customers that are having problems or are thinking of cancelling. I'm really excited about it cause I have been planning for something like this for a long time (I've been dealing with a lot of cancellations and competitors on my own for some time). It is great to finally have a team to manage and hopefully make a difference. It is being officially announced to the teams this week so I will have to wait and see what happens with that.

Like I have always said to myself - good things come to those who wait.

Amy Winehouse.

On the 23rd July 2011, yet another huge talent was taken from the world in the form of Amy Winehouse.

Like most people, I can't say that I was genuinely shocked by the news, however it did hit me a lot harder than I ever thought it would - she was so hugely influential both in terms of style and the revival of British music that it's hard to comprehend that she's no longer here.

I can still remember the Christmas when, as a young teenager, her debut album was plastered all over the television here in England. I can still remember my Father commenting on how unusual it was for an artist of that particular genre to be featured on mainstream TV. I can still remember rushing out to HMV and buying a copy of 'Frank' as part of his Christmas present that year.

I wouldn't say that she was on my list of favourite artists but that is more to do with differing musical tastes rather than lack of appreciation. Her voice was phenomenal and the way in which she performed was nothing short of effortless - something which many began to forget towards the end as the surrounding media circus began to eclipse her talent.

If ever a study was needed as to the effects of fame on a troubled human being, you need look no further than Amy Winehouse.

Drug addiction has a terrible stigma attached to it and society needs to wake up and realise that the age old attitude of 'they've made their bed, they should lie in it' is not the answer. It is an illness that takes countless lives from the world year upon year and the worst part is that it really doesn't need to happen.

We are all human and only as strong as we think we are. Turning a blind-eye is not the way forward - with a bit of help and understanding, this tragic loss of life can easily be avoided.

It's just a shame that it takes such a high profile death such as Amy's for people to even begin listening.

The Fez & Moomin show.

On the 13th June, after months of reading about ferrets and pining after a pet, these little guys entered my life.

The grey coloured one is Fez and the white albino is Moomin. You'd never realise from their names that they are both girls but what can I say, I'm stubborn once I have an idea in my head.

A lady at work (Caroline) mentioned a while back that her daughter was looking to get a couple of baby ferrets to replace one that had just passed away so I told her to let me know if she managed to find any for sale. It turned out that she remembered so one Monday night, I dragged Adam over to some thug's house on the outskirts of the city and bought the little critters.

I'm not going to lie - they are an absolute nightmare. The phrase 'little monsters' really doesn't cut it but that aside, they really are the cutest, goofiest animals that you could ever wish to come across. No matter how awful my day at work has been, seeing Fez and Moomin bouncing around the room and sliding along skirting boards always makes me smile. I'd just love to know where they get all their energy from.

Initially, I kept them indoors as it seemed just plain cruel to keep such tiny little animals outside but that lasted just two weeks. Plenty of people had warned me about how much ferrets can smell and they definitely weren't wrong. It isn't an awful smell - it is kind of sweet and earthy (nowhere near as bad as wet dog) but it wasn't something that I wanted lingering around the room in which I sleep. Needless to say, they are now outside - in a hutch that rivals most manor houses.

After reading a few horror stories regarding neutering ferrets too early, I've decided to wait until at least October before I take them to the vets. Having said that, judging by just how crazy and mollycoddling ferret owners appear to be on the forums, I'm going to take most of what I read with a pinch of salt. After all, they were originally bred in the darkest depths of North Yorkshire for rabbit hunting - I'm sure they're pretty tough little beasts.

Pride 2011.

I've gotten into the age old habit of neglecting my blog again. Having said this, I refuse to waste any more web space on cliche 'I am still alive' posts so let's just acknowledge how crappy I am and move swiftly on. Deal?

As is typical in the ever changing life of Wayne, there have been a few interesting events to note over the past few months (this never used to be the case I assure you) - however, as I am the literary version of a marathon-running fat kid, you'll have to forgive me whilst I catch up.

Saturday 9th July was Pride weekend here in Lincoln. As this is probably one of the tiniest cities you could ever wish to come across in England, the event itself nowhere near rivals that of London or Manchester but it is still fun nonetheless and it's always fun to drag friends along that would never normally dream of attending.

Historically, Pride has always been held in the grounds of the university but this year they excelled in their choice of location - a park situated in the city's medieval quarter.  Despite a few early showers (as is typical of this damn country), it turned out to be a beautiful day and as a result, the number of attendees appeared to be a lot higher than usual - always a good sign.

Some would say that it was all down to the vocal talents of X-Factor's Rachel Adedeji. Personally, I'd thank the amazing chicken and chorizo paella.

Or beer...

Most likely the latter.

We apologise for the slight delay in proceedings.

So once again, I've managed to claim a tiny slice of the web before promptly abandoning it within the space of weeks. The story of my life.

Having said that, I'm actually not quite sure why it happens. I regularly lie awake at night with thoughts racing through my head, wishing that I had somewhere to vent and type it all out but lately, for some unknown reason it has been happening more and more. Queue the resurrection of plustwentyone.

In keeping with tradition (if you can call two previous posts that), my new posts will more than likely consist of ramblings, observations and anything else that I may be able to glean from daily life.

They may be dull or even mildly entertaining but I can promise you that they certainly won't change the world.

Many thanks to those of you that hung around and stuck with me during the break in transmission - say hi and give me a heads up in the comments!