The second main subject is Leisure but as there is a fair amount of topics under that heading, an additional subject called General begins to cover success and negatives away from the main issues.
January
The new headline of this blog portal back at the start of the year was ' Bouncing Back' in reference to a mixed year in 2015 on a personal level so when in the first week, I got an interview for a position at Aldi, hopes were high. However, despite what I thought was a good performance in the interview itself, the reply was one of 'unsuccessful at this point in the process.
My volunteering for two days a week at the BHF F& E Store continued with more experience and skill building. In terms of goals for the month just one was completed with the accolade of 250,000 TA points reached. The month also included the second SARL meet up in Leeds which was hopefully the first of a few more this year. A new year of Out and About began along with another new branch on my YouTube channel in the form of Skem United highlights features.
February
My social life improved with the start of the new Rugby League season and also with meeting more people at Skem United through my filming and being more open with fellow supporters on the online pages. Goal wise, two completed this month with 8000 achievements reached and also despite such a backlog, my 1500th blog post written on Blogger itself. As with every February, I age another year and this year, the sport across the weekend was mixed with a family event which saw my birthday itself split between the Orrell trip in the afternoon and my cousin Olivia's christening in the morning.
The scariest thought about turning 29 was that in under a year I would be 30 and many people say they want to achieve certain ambitions or life goals by such an age and honestly, there are very few successes in my life that I would say fall in to that bracket as such. Job wise, a surprise phone call from Dixons Carphone suggested an interview in Southport which after a long trip was proved to be a waste as the job didn't exist so I was left with another downer career wise.
March
My new Stadium Travels feature was going strong both on my channel and the Serious About Rugby League channel and on the subject of SARL, this month saw an added responsibility as I became Social Media Manager with some financial benefit so in a way a part-time job but one which would fund Rugby League travels and would not mean a reduction in job searching and appointments.
Goal wise, two successes this month with my 15th away win with Wigan which was the Hull FC trip and I attended my 10th Skem game of the year which sadly came in the Easter Monday defeat to Nantwich. Aside from the SARL news above, no real job news this month.
April
This month will best be remembered as a technological nightmare which saw possession of five laptops after my faithful one of a number of years suffered a complete power/hardware failure on the 4th. I utilised my mum's spare laptop in order to continue my SARL duties and as my finances are not at a premium, ordered a refurbished laptop which worked great for about a week before an unknown power failure.
A return to the spare before the refurb was replaced by the same model and that annoyingly had the same issue after just two days. So no more deals with that company and thankfully got a brand new one via my mum which I'll be paying for for a while given bills etc have to be paid with my UC benefit. The backlog of blogs that includes this came from the laptop issues and has taken until July to finally begin to repair the backlog. Goal wise, two again this month with my 125th Wigan game coming on the first but sadly it was the home defeat to Warrington and on the 21st my 100th Super League regular season game which happily was the win at home to Huddersfield.
May
The most successful month of the year so far in terms of goals and the start of something really special too but like most things in my life, it didn't last but more on that in a bit. The first goal came on the fifth as I attended my first Reserves game but as with many milestones, it was a defeat - Hull FC. The volunteering at BHF F & E reached week 25 and saw me begin to grow close to a colleague who I spent a lot of time with in the shop as we had a lot in common.
The 16th is a day I will not forget in a hurry as I sent a heartfelt message to her online as was too shy to say face to face and we began to get to know each other and spent a lot of time messaging outside of the store and got on more in store too. The close friendship took on a different spin near the end of the month as we met up at a friends house and kissed for the first time before I stayed over at her house due to it being a late night. Something I had not done for a long time but something that felt very right.
A break for more goals now starting with the 23rd being my 250th YouTube upload on my current channel and also attendance at Magic Weekend as the feature uploaded. The 26th saw my 200th RL game in my new era since 2010 and was the win at Castleford. The aforementioned friendship continued strong as the month ended which included a few more meetings included coming to my house to spend time together.
June
A month that I will probably never forget for as long as I live is June which took over May as the most successful goal wise, saw something special become very special before becoming far from special later on in the month. The first goal of the month came on the second as after nearly three years being single, I began a relationship after being asked out by my close friend having got a lot closer and stayed over a few more times. A memory sitting together discussing it before the magic words that evening before marking it with a special kiss and hug.
The next goal came on the fourth as I reached 275,000 TA points with a certain someone deep in my mind who I then spent that evening and weekend with as the relationship grew strong early on. The return to BHF on the Monday saw me solo for reasons that can't be mentioned here before going in and having a great day together in store on the Tuesday. Later in the week, a special night saw me end a run of near six years without 'being with someone', the previous someone being my first back in 2010. A wait well worth it that's the best way to say it but not the last in the month itself.
The next goal came on the 11th as my 8500th achievement was reached with my Xbox Live membership renewed into a ninth year on the 13th. The midpoint in the month saw my relationship go public as such both in and out of store and in my view maybe this was a factor in what was to come the following week. The weekend saw a meet with some of my family as I introduced her at my cousin's birthday party.The BHF on 20th/21st went great as usual but when I went to her house for our regular 'Twilight Tuesday' something just didn't feel right.
The warm loving feeling that seemed normal was not present that evening to the point that I was watching the film solo with her on the other side of the sofa, just in her own world. In getting to know her, some things stood out and this night had one that was hard to shrug off as she popped out for a bit and honestly, I was worried if she would return, thankfully she did and we hugged and slept next to each other in a good mood or so I thought...
The next morning we awoke and she was in the store that day and being Wednesday, I was on SARL duties, a simple GPS check on leaving the house ended up with her walking ahead and getting to the stop with me lagging behind. A bad mood greeted me and I said "Ok, then see you later" and began walking home. As I turned the corner, something inside me pulled me back to her and I apologised and despite her mood, was here if she needed me. Bus to the Concourse and sat a metre apart but I let her know I was still there for her and we parted with a smile and a 'See you later'.
That afternoon, the usual 'How's your day been?' text from her didn't arrive so I knew something was wrong, I messaged that very thought and was told, "I'll ring you, we need to talk", I asked ' Us or ****" - sadly the former and I broke inside at that very moment. We chatted but I knew this was the end as a couple but I'd still be there as a friend. That evening to try and quell the 'heartbreak' two goals were reached with 175,000 G and my 100th Wigan home win which came against Warrington U16s.
A success which came with hurt inside but not something that was clear on the outside, not an emotional person in public but from there, a friend I hoped to be to her but on a return to the shop, I asked to discuss things and was met by a state of ignoring. The month ended with me wondering what was going wrong between us other than her being 'awkward' and not just talking as there was no grudge from me and she knew that in terms of the relationship ending. This post is being written in July of course with the further nuances of the now former friendship as it seems taking a twist which I will reference here rather than mention in July's post as it's better to come out now.
The first BHF day of July saw a revelation that 'she' was back with her ex (father of her two girls) - how nice that I was the bit in the middle eh! The main thing to take from June is that after being single for close to three years and without something for near six - both runs were ended which is a great way to end the post on a positive.
Photo Highlights
