Synfull

Whilst I'm not overly active on dA any more, I still pop in once in a while and thought I'd do a bit of a life update for anyone else who still lurks around here.

The last few months have been a bit of a whirlwind for me. At the end of June, the software company I worked for failed to get the investment it needed, meaning that I lost my job along with the majority of out Dev and QA team. I'd been working in the same company for nearly 10 years and really enjoyed my time there, so it was a shame I had to leave.

Luckily for me, I had quite a long notice period (9 weeks) which was long enough to find a new job and then have a few weeks off. This gave me the chance to spend a lot of time with my sister and her family (who were visiting from America) and go for a number of walks in my local national park called The Peak District.

I started my new role a few weeks ago. I think it's going ok but it will take some time to adjust to working in a new company. It didn't help that I caught covid in my first week - I'm just about recovered though have some smell/taste loss still.

In my spare time, I also started up an Instagram account to share photos from my walks. If you're interested, you can check it out here: https://www.instagram.com/mossywalks/ . As the days get shorter, I imagine I will get less chances to go hiking but look forward to the idea of picking up some craft projects.

I think that's about all I have to share. I hope all of you are doing ok. Take care

Happy New Year!

I just realised that I didn't write a single journal in 2022. Whoops. I am still lurking around here and pop in a few times a week, but I haven't had much to post/update.

So what was 2022 like for me? Quite mixed.

The year started off strong. I spent the Spring months working on my house - I painted the fences, shed and decking, decorated a blank wall in my office and then spent a few days painting my bathroom.

Over the summer, things hit a bump in the road. I had a number of fun plans arranged, which all had to be scrapped as I (and a friend staying with me) caught Covid. Fortunately no long lasting effects, and we both made the most of the situation, but it wasn't quite the relaxing week we had planned. Oh well.

In Autumn, I tried to make up for missed opportunities, and think I took on a little too much at once. I filled a lot of my free time with meetups or walks or other house improvements, which resulted in feeling exhausted since around the end of October. It's meant that I've spent the last couple of months just waiting for the end of the year so I could have some time off and hopefully recover.

So what does 2023 have for me? I'm not really sure. I'm hoping to paint the hall, stairs and landing as that's the last area of the house in need of renovation. I would like to get out walking more, though an long-lasting ankle injury hasn't been helping with that. Other than that, we'll have to wait and see.

Hope you are all doing well, and wishing you the best for the new year!

With the blink of an eye it's now December and NaNoEmo has finished for another year. It has been an absolute delight to see a number of emoticonist take part, breathing some life back into a community that is dormant for much of the year.

To add to the celebrations, two of the entries received a Daily Deviation (DD) and one emoticonist ( MerelyCubed) managed to complete the "30 in 30" challenge - a truly impressive achievement.

Without further ado, here are a selection of the entries from this year:

MerelyCubed

30 entries

Phlum

6 entries

BlissfullySarcastic

7 entries

nillemotes

11 entries

Emotes submitted privately

Within the blink of an eye it seems to be August, and I'm really starting to wonder where the year has gone. I can't say I have a load of stuff to update this journal with, but I fancied an update nonetheless.

I'm now well settled in the new house. In April/May I managed to finish unpacking most of my belongings, so it started to feel like it was my home rather than just a place I was living. In June I had the boiler replaced, which was an experience and a half, but I'm glad that's all done. I have the windows to replace and some work to do in the loft, but I'm just taking some time out to enjoy the house as it is before it descends into chaos again.

I was also pleasantly surprised when I found a new hedgehog that visits the house. I was a little sad that I left the others behind when I moved, but I discovered him outside the shed one night and have been looking after him ever since. He's been given the nickname Oliver after one late night session where he threw his food bowls around the garden, as if to say "Please Sir, can I have some more?!".

Art wise .... I've been doing quite a lot. In October last year I reconnected with a bunch of old dA friends, and being around arty people has really helped motivate me to get back into art. However, there's not much I feel I can share because most of it is personalised to the friends and features specific in-jokes that perhaps don't make sense outside that circle of friends. It has been a fun experience though - both in trying out new techniques, and surprising a few friends with unexpected gifts in the mail.

Outside of the internet, work has been going ok. I've struggled a little to adjust to working from home on a permanent basis. I miss seeing other people - we chat online and the have the odd video call, but it's not quite the same as random office banter we used to have. We used to laugh at work a lot .... not so much any more. There are advantages to working from home though - lunchtime walks, no commute and doing random chores on a coffee break to name a few.

So what does the next few months have in store? I have a few plans to visit some friends, but aside from that my calendar remains mostly empty. I imagine there may be some work done on the house, and probably quite a bit more art. Only time will tell!

Belated happy new year! I'm not sure where the first 6 weeks of 2021 have gone, but I guess it's time for an update.

My biggest news this time is I'm now living in my new house The sale took longer than I expected/hoped, but I picked up the keys at the start of December and left my rented flat just before Christmas.

Overall, things are going well. Everything is taking a little longer than I anticipated - partly because of a lockdown in the UK and partly because fixing one job in the house often uncovers 3 more things to do. But I can start to see glimpses of what the house will look like when all the work is done, and that keeps me motivated to carry on.

Most of the rooms are now painted, and after a 2 month delay I now have carpets in the upstairs rooms. This means I can properly set up my desk and start unpacking (rather than continuing to live out of boxes and suitcases) . It's been a long process, but we're getting there!

Whilst most of my items are still in storage, or waiting to be unpacked, I've actually been taking the opportunity to make some art. I have a larger piece that I made for a themed challenge with friends that I want to finish off and submit.

I've also made a couple more submissions for my "Memory Book" project which I started in 2016 to celebrate 10 years on the site. Given that it is my 15th anniversary later this week, I might try and upload some of theme to celebrate.