Okay, good one Billy. You've managed to update two days in a row. Let's crack open the champagne.
Speaking of which, I received a bottle of (very expensive) champagne in the mail. No note, no return address, no sender details. I asked around at work, as I thought it might have something to do with an upcoming awards ceremony I am attending, but nobody else received anything. I checked with my Uni cohort, as I thought it might be in celebration of passing our Masters, but again, nobody else received anything. I checked with my parents, my friends, and work colleagues - no one has sent me anything! I even e-mailed the company it came from, but they have yet to reply. I feel terrible not being able to thank the person that has sent it to me! It, for now, is a complete mystery. It does mean though that I can celebrate in style at the garden party on Friday, so that's something.
Okay, two entries in and I have no idea what to write about and I've started each entry with 'okay'. Well, today was pretty uneventful, but I have a window to write, so here goes nothing!
I am organising a garden party at my apartment block in celebration of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee this coming weekend. You'd think it'd be fairly easy to arrange, but like everything I touch, I've made it bureaucratic, difficult, and joyless. The one plus is that the weather is looking good.
(Cue large clap of thunder).
But enough about that. Let's talk about how I've built a home gym. My garage was previously an empty space that housed a broken vacuum cleaner, two boxes of CDs, and a rickety step ladder that has nearly ended my life on about 9 separate occasions. The space is now home to a multi-gym. My gym membership sky rocketing up to £150 per month was the final straw. Now I can work out in the comfort of my own back garden, without all the upheaval of actually going to the gym.
Now if only I had room to build a swimming pool somewhere...
Okay, so it's taken me a week to construct this complex layout, but now I'm ready to write... and it seems a lot harder than what I remember.
It's been several years since I last wrote a journal entry, a lot has happened since I last checked in, so here are the highlights:
First, I now have a Masters (!). I finally completed my studies, after threatening to pack it all in with every new module I started. I now have a Master of Science in Retail and Digital Banking, alongside a diploma from the Chartered Banker Institute. It was a tough slog, but fortunately my learning group was brilliant, and writing c.15,000 words for my thesis was perhaps the easiest part of the whole degree.
Second, I moved. But not very far. In fact, I stayed in the very same building, but now have a top floor apartment. It financially crippled me, but it was worth it for a myriad of reasons. The new apartment had a brand new kitchen, new(ish) bathroom, a bigger balcony, and is much more peaceful than my old ground-floor dwelling. I re-painted all the rooms and now all that's left is to lay a new floor, but that might be a 2023 project...
Third, I went on a tour of the McLaren factory! Formula One has become my new passion, and I got to hear all about the constructor's history, and see all their racing cars (old and new). The tour isn't open to the public so I felt extremely lucky to have been able to go. I have my good friend Alex to thank for wrangling the tickets and inviting me along.
Finally, I got promoted!
Anyway, um, that's about it. I'm going to try and write here every couple of days, but, it probably won't happen. More later.
© 2022 Billy Lane