So I will be the first to admit it's been far too long since I last did a post. I could spin a fanciful yarn about being far too busy rescuing some fair maiden from a distant land, but I think we all know that that's just not true (at least partially anyway. I did go to China and I definitely got the girl but more on that later). Unfortunately, life just gets in the way and the thought of putting down everything that's happened into a tiny text box on my overheating laptop (seriously it's on fire right now) can honestly, be a little daunting. But you know what? These last couple of months have certainly been one hell of a ride and I feel like I can tell you now. Let me take you back roughly 3 months.

I have a new job. I'm now an SEO Analyst for a company called Summit Media. This means that I've been learning an incredible amount of things to do with search engines, content and how penguins and pandas aren’t just cute fuzzy animals, they’re the names of Google’s algorithm updates. I've now decided to use my new found knowledge in a way that will help encourage me to keep writing and putting those words on the internet for you to judge me. Come at me bro.

During this time, I've also been to China to visit my wonderful girlfriend Laura. I won't kid you, the culture shock is insane. When I had my white blonde hair, people were constantly taking pictures and staring as we went by. I had expected it, afterall I was a westerner and I looked very different and out of place, but I hadn't expected to get grabbed on the island of Gulangyu by a lady in her late 50's who was screaming at the top of her voice as she pulled me to her bosom so her friends could take many pictures. I miss her, I wonder what she's up to now.

Laura showed me around some of the most beautiful sights that the Fujian province had to offer, from the local street food delicacies of chicken feet and deep-fried ice-cream (yes this is a thing) to the striking mountain of Wuyishan. She most certainly helped me get over my initial reaction to the differences and showed me just how wonderful it was there. However I'm still not a fan of squat toilets, sacrificing one pair of skinny jeans was enough.

I’ve also become quite the explorer in the past couple of months, favouring to venture into the great outdoors and seeing what the world has on offer, ever trying to track down the elusive Yorkshire Wolds. Seriously, the amount of signs I followed on a drive the other day, to only find another sign telling me to turn back the way I had come was unbelievably – You know what? I’m over it.

But Laura and I vow to find that place. One day.

Now I come to you looking forward and what my plans are. I will cover my points in more detail later down the line I’m sure, and after much planning and putting my new found knowledge into action, I plan on really throwing myself into writing my short stories. I’ve got 6 currently written and plans for 2 more and I hope to keep expanding the collection until I reach an amount I’m happy with. Maybe 20? Who knows.

Finally, I’m also going to be doing some book reviews. It was drilled into me at university that the best thing you can do for your writing is to read, so it’s time to dust off those paperbacks and finally begin my “I’ll read it later” pile – beginning with Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris. I’ve been hooked on the old TV programme True Blood and was told the books were much better, something that I’ve found always stands true for any film/TV adaptation.

I’m also a brunette now which automatically makes me 10% smarter, but 15% less fun. I can work with those statistics.