A week's disappearance and a year's end

This past week has been the longest stretch of inactivity I've experienced on Air Nice-to-Livelands to date. At the end of Christmas Day, my laptop developed a problem and has been out of action since then, although one of my uncles was able to sort it out over the weekend after I left the device at my grandparents' house.

In addition to my laptop's problems, I've been at my girlfriend's house for the past couple of nights and since I've been busy spending time with her, I've not paid much attention to updating my blog.

And so, 2017 ends. For me, this year has broken major ground in that during it, I completed my first year of university, attended a wedding (two, if you include the reception I went to back in July for the first time since California and I started a relationship. As it stands, I am nearly halfway through my time at university.

Happy New Year, everyone; I hope 2018 brings you all much good luck and success.

Christmas preparations 2017

This afternoon, my girlfriend and her mother needed to shop to pick up a few items for the Christmas activities they have planned for the next few days. They had asked if I would come along to help and I said yes but even if they hadn't, I'd have volunteered. I'm happy to help but more than that, it's time spent with them both and it gave more chance for us all to talk, as well as good exercise for me. Overall, a delightful and productive afternoon!

Most (Christmas) shopping done

Nearly all of my Christmas shopping is complete, save for a handful of small items that I shall be purchasing, as well as something extra for Mum. This year, I've had more Christmas shopping to do since I'm now in a relationship but that's okay: It's been good going out to purchase gifts for my girlfriend and her mother.

My girlfriend's birthday is next month and she prefers birthdays to Christmas. While I've bought her some nice items for the holiday season, I have something more special in mind to purchase for her in January.

On to the second term

As of this afternoon, I am back in Nottingham now that the Christmas break has concluded. I do not feel that the break trudged along or zipped by - it passed at an appropriate pace. Now, I can jump into my second term of my second college course.

The thoughtful gift

Yesterday morning, I received a lovely gift from my friend and fellow blogger Jessica. I had been expecting a card from her during the Christmas break, as she had informed me that such a card was on the way and wanted to know once I received it; however, Jessica also mentioned that she was sending something else, although I wasn't sure what it was. I cheekily expected something related to Grumpy Cat, given our mutual appreciation for the Internet meme.

I received this instead:

It's Honeymoon, the most recent studio album from Lana Del Rey. Sometime in the past couple of months, Jessica and I talked about Lana Del Rey; during the conversation, I think I mentioned that I only have one Del Rey album (Born to Die: The Paradise Edition). As Honeymoon was released in September, this is the newest album by release date I have in my CD collection.

Thank you so much, Jessica! I love Lana Del Rey and it is incredibly thoughtful and kind of Jessica to have purchased Honeymoon for me and sent it across the Atlantic. It was a delightful surprise and I am looking forward to playing the album.

I have something for Jessica, too; on the morning I received Honeymoon, my mother the mailed the card I bought. With any luck, Jessica will receive it soon.

"Happy Holidays!"

One tedious "debate" that is re-hashed every year is "Happy Holidays vs. Merry Christmas". For some bizarre reason, there is a segment of society that takes offence to the greeting "Happy Holidays" while simultaneously accusing other people of being offended by the greeting "Merry Christmas".

This dispute makes no sense to me whatsoever. I have never encountered anyone take offence from being wished a pleasant Christmastime. "Merry Christmas" is just a greeting and a wish for the receiver to have a good time during the Christmas season; nobody takes offence from it - they say "thank you" and reciprocate the phrase; however, there are people who seem to think that Christmas is "under attack" and that "Happy Holidays" is the main weapon of a war against it.

I am confident that the vast majority of people who say "Happy Holidays" do so because it's a synonym of "Merry Christmas", as is "Season's Greetings". They're saying it to be friendly and by using several phrases to convey the same message they are avoiding repetitive language. They are not saying it because they support the abolition of an event celebrated by millions - if not billions - of people around the world.

If someone gives me any of the above greetings or another, my response is to thank them and give it to them in return. That's all that needs to be done; the outrage over "Happy Holidays" is ridiculous and immature.

Northamptonshire December 2015

So, for the Christmas break I'm back at my family's home in Northamptonshire. I'll be back in Nottinghamshire on the second or third day of 2016, as my next college term begins in the first full week of that year.

Way too early

I saw this and others like it on Friday night:

Late October is still way too early for holiday decorations - in fact, I think that seeing them anytime before December is too early. People complain about how the season is "too commercialised" but putting out decorations two months in advance seems like more commercialising, not less.

The nights out (2)

I'll soon be heading out for my second night out in a row. I shall be going, with my college friends, to a new buffet restaurant for dinner. If the charity night and the class trip to Poland aren't counted, this will be the first time we've been out together since just before Christmas. I'm looking forward to it!

I was treated to a pleasant surprise on my way home after last night: the card payment scanner on the bus I rode back was broken. As a result, the driver told me to just "take a seat" and, thus, my return journey was free!

Charity night drink

I had this to drink on the night of the charity event:

It's a WKD Blue; it's an alcoholic drink, albeit a fairly weak one but it was sweet and tasty, which was what mattered to me. You'll note that the drink is (obviously) blue in colour, as was the Blue Lagoon I drank at the Christmas party. Not every alcoholic drink I have is blue...I drank a WKD Red that night and Bailey's, which I had over the Christmas holiday, isn't blue, either.

Even though the WKD Blue wasn't strong, I waited until later in the event to consume alcohol; I thought it best for the various activities to be out the way first before relaxing.

"Bye!" the phone silently exclaimed

For Christmas 2011, my grandfather received a Samsung Galaxy S II; back then, this device and the original Galaxy Note were the leading smartphones. Being a follower of technology and gadgets, my grandfather was delighted with the gift and he gave his old phones to me and my brother.

Recently, that phone arrived at its end. My grandfather went to turn it on one day and it refused to activate. Naturally, he was upset, as he was quite fond of the phone and it performed everything he expected of it. He was going to have it repaired but my East of England uncle and Hong Kong uncle both convinced him to purchase a new phone rather than spend £100+ on repairing his old one.

My grandfather's new phone is a Sony Xperia Z3. While he would have preferred to have kept his old phone, he is beyond satisfied with the Z3. His only problem at the moment is that he is searching for a decent protective case for it but I doubt that will be an issue for long.

When do you take them down?

My parents usually take down their Christmas decorations in the early New Year and my grandparents are the same with theirs. On the other hand, I have observed some houses and stores that are still decorated...more than three weeks after Christmas, now.

When do you take down and put away your Christmas decorations? 

Blue Lagoon

I find it hard to believe that the class Christmas party was almost a month ago; so much has changed since then. Here's a picture of what I drank on that night:

It's a Blue Lagoon, which is a cocktail. My sense of taste was reduced that night but the drink was sweet enough for my senses to detect and the alcohol was soothing for my throat.

This enjoyable drink contrasts from the other Blue Lagoon about which I wrote.

The snow globe returns (2)

At Susie's request, I have photographed my snow globe after shaking it:

I took the third picture after the snow settled. Photographing my snow globe while the snow was in motion was only slightly difficult; for the most part, my phone camera was able to focus despite the movement.

The snow globe returns

In January 2012 and September 2013 I wrote about my snow globe. After a few months of it collecting dust back in Northamptonshire, my globe has been returned to me:

My parents and brother brought my other Christmas decorations to me last month; my collection is complete again now that I have my globe back.

Sometimes it's small items that bring joy into life.

End of the Christmas break

Yesterday, my college's Christmas break came to an end; as the 7th of January was a Wednesday, the first class of the year and new term was Employability. I highly enjoyed seeing my friends again after the three-week-long break.

My cousin at university in Lincoln will be arriving shortly; she's coming to stay here for a couple of days before her own break concludes.

"Greatest Time of Year" - Aly & AJ

The final song I'm posting for 2014 is this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMtwLtDU8Lw

It's "Greatest Time of Year" by Aly & AJ, which is their only single from their Christmas album, Acoustic Hearts of Winter. The song was used in the film The Santa Clause 3 and the music video uses clips from said movie. Prior to this evening, I don't recall ever listening to the song; it's pleasant enough and I ought to listen to Aly & AJ's other Christmas music.

I've written a few posts that mention Aly & AJ but the most extensive piece I've done about them is called "Aly & AJ", which I wrote over three years ago.

Day after Christmas 2014

I managed to have a better day yesterday than I was expecting. There were around twenty people at my grandparents' house for the gathering, a figure that includes my brother and parents, who spent the day up here.

As active as yesterday was, the celebrations aren't over yet! While my brother and parents returned home last night, the rest of us will soon be spending the day at my other Nottingham relatives' house. I think we're going to be treated to some Indian food, to which I am looking forward.

I hope everyone had an enjoyable time at Christmas.

"Winter Wonderland/Don't Worry Be Happy" - Pentatonix featuring Tori Kelly

For the Christmas Day music post, it's a Pentatonix song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1nQpoAvTSg

It's "Winter Wonderland/Don't Worry Be Happy" and it features Tori Kelly. As ever, I think it's another wonderful piece of music from Pentatonix; I truly think that they're a highly talented band.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve 2014

It's Christmas Eve here's not really much to say. My grandfather and I are watching a Pixar film, and anyone who isn't in bed is elsewhere tonight. I hope that everyone - people beyond my family - is looking forward to tomorrow.