My personal blog as a 'grown-up' Goth and Romantic living in the Highlands of Scotland. I write about the places I go, the things I see and my thoughts on life as a Goth and the subculture, and things in the broader realm of the Gothic and darkly Romantic. Sometimes I write about music I like and sometimes I review things. This blog often includes architectural photography, graveyards and other images from the darker side of life.

Goth is not just about imitating each other, it is a creative movement and subculture that grew out of post-punk and is based on seeing beauty in the dark places of the world, the expression of that in Goth rock. It looks back to the various ways throughout history in which people have confronted and explored the macabre, the dark and the taboo, and as such I'm going to post about more than the just the standards of the subculture (Siouxsie, Sisters of Mercy, Bauhaus, et al) and look at things by people who might not consider themselves anything to do with the subculture, but have eyes for the dark places. The Gothic should not be limited by what is already within it; inspiration comes from all places, the key is to look with open eyes, listen carefully and think with an open mind..

Tuesday 1 January 2013

New Year!

Happy New Year everybody! 


Click this pic!
I have New Year's Resolutions, and I have tried to pick ones that I can actually do, with measurable targets and realistic goals. None of this abstract stuff that's too wishy washy to stick to, and nothing too impossible either. I have 13 New Year's Resolutions as it is the year 2013. 

I am entering this post in Sophistique Noir's monthly theme. It's not an outfit post, but hopefully it's suitable. One of the things I am trying to do on this blog is cut down on outfit posts; I don't want this to become just another fashion blog. There will still be photographs, just fewer of my clothes.

❅ Sporty Resolutions
Sport used to be a much bigger part of my life than it is now, and I now have this gap where it used to be. I'm not quite as fit as I used to be, too. It's not just missing the actual activities themselves, I miss the social aspect, especially with the roller derby girls.

1)Get back into roller derby!
I stopped going to Derby because I simply couldn't afford it. I've decided to make sure I re-adjust my budgeting (including walking more so I spend less on transport, which is part of another resolution...) to have enough for one session of Derby per week, and to put all loose change in my Gear Fund. I've got most of my own protective gear (am picking up a nice neon green helmet soon! whee!) but I can't afford my own skates. I've been using stuff from the team gear pool, and I feel like a cheap-skate (pardon the terrible pun.)

2)Walk more. 
Theoretically I could walk my commute to work and do 15 miles of walking per day. I could also walk from work into town for my lunch, and walk back again. Actually, that part I often do! Anyway, in winter I am awfully tempted by that £9.50 for 7 day's unlimited bus journeys around the city, and try and maximise that ticket's value for money by going places by bus, out of the cold and rain, instead of walking. This is a bit lazy. Obviously, if there is a howling gale and driving rain, I will probably still take the bus, but if it's just grey or drizzly, I am going to walk more.

3)Join an archery club again.
I have posted before about my love of archery, and am wanting to get back into the sport. I really miss it! I've heard that there is another local club, and that they have indoor archery in winter, and outdoor archery in summer, and apparently they have space for new members.

4)Join a Gym.
I know this is a common goal, and most people don't stick it out past january, but looking at my funds, I won't be able to afford this until April, anyway. I am quite an active person anyway, and am not looking to "get fit", I'm looking to address certain specific things in order to improve my performance at the sports I do. 

5)Join a new martial arts class.
When I lived in England, I was learning Chen style Taijiquan and really enjoyed it. In Inverness there is an exercise and relaxation type Taiji class, but no martial Taijiquan class. There is, however a Wing Tsun class; I know how Wing Tsun split away from Wing Chun and how while there are a few similarities, it has quite different principals to Taijiquan, and suchlike, but it still looks interesting. There is also a Kung Fu place that does a variety of Chinese martial arts, but the classes are completely out of my price range. 

❅ Life Resolutions
These are more general resolutions, for everyday life. There's not really a theme to them, there just things I want to do over the year.

1) Budget better
I sometimes impulse buy, and quite frequently get lost as to what is incoming and what is out-going. When my outgoings exceed my income, this becomes a problem. I have set up, with lots of help from my Dad, a spreadsheet that should really help with this.

2)Make Sure Raven & I Have 1 Date-Night Per Month. 
We both work, we both lead busy lives, we often are both really tired in the evening, and it ends up with neither of us really wanting to cook, and both of us engrossed in our computers or a book, or some other form of minimal-effort entertainment. Putting aside some time connect more seems like a good idea, and having a specific 'date night' means that it's a scheduled enjoyable event we can look forwards to, especially when work or other things in life get stressful.

3)Go Out And Socialise More. 
I am REALLY outgoing once you get to know me, but I'm... actually a bit shy and awkward in person with new people. I'm quiet, and tend not to open conversations, but I'm friendly enough with most people, if they talk to me, but even if we do talk, I rarely talk to people again. I'm friendly with everyone, but friends with too few. Most of my good friends, my really good friends, are either in England or Wales, and hundreds of miles from where I am now. I've been here nearly a year and a half, and yet I don't have very many friends up here. 

4)Restart My Daily Gratitudes
I used to write a list of 10 things I was thankful for, everyday. This was something I did to take my attention away from things I wanted, and put it towards appreciating the things I already had. It sadly fell by the way side as a daily thing, and I would like to start doing it again. I would write the list 'blind' to the previous lists, and it was interesting to see what variety of things I came up with. I actually have a lot to be thankful for in life, but I often get quite miserable. Perhaps restarting the daily gratitudes will help me be a less miserable person.

5)Keep A Diary
Somewhere in the middle of last year, I stopped keeping a diary. I think I came to the conclusion that my days just were not interesting enough. Hopefully, if I work on making my days more interesting, I will write them down again! 

Blogging Resolutions
My last three resolutions are to do with blogging. There's a few things I can do to improve, and here are the first three I came up with. 

1) Put a new music post up every Monday
I liked my musical Monday idea, and I like doing showcase posts for bands I feel are not well-known or appreciated enough. I'm not one of those Goths who prides herself on the obscurity of my music knowledge; I figure that I should share good things I come across so that others can enjoy them. Goth is a subculture that thrives of creativity, and it should not be one dominated by a handful of big bands, because there's a lot of very good small bands, too!

2) Blog at least twice a week. 
I have been plagued by uncertainties and worries about blogging recently, and haven't had the motivation and inspiration to blog much. I hope to remedy my lack of blogging and post more. I think I will end up writing more opinion pieces. Fashion posts/outfit posts/decor posts seem to all be a bit of a cop-out from writing something more interesting and substantial. 

3) Link more to other blogs. 
There's some very interesting blogging out there, especially in terms of good craft tutorials. I will do a monthly round up of stuff I found that was interesting in terms of other bloggers. 

Hopefully I will do a reasonable job of keeping to my resolutions and I will update people with interesting developments on my blog. 

16 comments:

  1. Sounds great! Good luck! Looking forward to the music posts. Date night sounds like a good idea, as well as getting out more. I don't get out as much as I would like, all my friends are in the city, 1.5 hours away, as are most of the events. Especially since I got Isambard the steamparakeet, I just want to be home hugging him. I need to make sure I still see people.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Music posts are going to be starting THIS monday with a bilingual post about French band Contre Jour. I'm using this as an excuse to practise my faulty French!

      Most of my friends are hundreds of miles of the way, either hundreds of miles south in England, or out of the UK entirely. I need to make more friends locally to me. What's frustrating is that a few of my local friends moved away too!

      You're going to have to explain Isambard to me (on FB?).

      Delete
  2. Nice list.

    I can relate with that 'Diary' part; it is very hard to write down things happened in that day that isn't remarkable.

    A night with books and your loved one under the starry night is so romantic. Wish you good luck!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I really need to get on with that diary! There's a wonderful leather-bound journal sitting on my side table, waiting to be filled in!

      Books are good, astronomy is good. I was standing around in the middle of a field looking at constellations because it was really clear night yesterday.

      Delete
  3. They seems like good resolutions all of them, but don't take too much on your shoulders. Blogging and sports should be fun and not a must. I think the date resolution is good. We try to do the same as often as possible, go out and eat a dinner or lunch all by ourselves. Happy new year!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have become complacent and in a rut, I'm trying to push myself back into being myself. I used to be very good at blogging and doing lots of sport etc. I have ended up being quite the tired stay-in, and it is not doing my happiness levels any good. I LIKE being busy!

      Delete
  4. I like your goals, especially the archery one. I practise archery as well, but have had to stop due to funds being low. I hope you can start it again soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I stopped due to monetary pressures and having too little time. I hope the club locally is reasonably priced, because I'd love to get back into it.

      Delete
  5. I also like archery. I used to involve myself in it as a kid. My whole family did actually. Now that I've hurt the muscles in my right arm, I doubt that I could use a bow and arrow anymore (sigh!). Oh well, I guess I'll just stick to the keyboard as I slowly rebuild my strength.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope your arm gets better soon :) Maybe you can do archery again in the future?

      Delete
  6. I like your list! I might borrow a few -
    Go Out And Socialise More & Walk more.
    Little things that will make you happier in the long run. I hope you have a wonderful new year!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank-you very much. I've been a bit down recently, and I'm hoping some of these things will perk me up a bit.

      Delete
  7. Happy New Year!! And of course non-outfit posts are welcome in ALL themes! The more variety, the better! :) I'm glad to see so many fitness-related items on your list. Mr. Kitty and I joined a gym back in November and it's the best thing we've ever done. Living a physically active lifestyle gives you more energy, helps you sleep better, makes you feel healthier and live longer! All good things. :) Best of luck on that and ALL of your resolutions this year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Raven and I have a joint gym membership now, and I took up Capoeira in 2013, so I succeeded at two resolutions there!

      Delete
  8. Happy New Year!

    I did enjoyed this post. Specially the idea of 'forcing' oneself to keep romanticism alive. I totally see your point there: modern life not always let us time enough for romance, so it's really nice to make an extra-effort.

    I'll keep an eye on your site from your moment, with your permission.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thankyou!

      i don't see it as 'forcing' - I see it as making the effort. It's so easy to let the fuss and bother of life get in the way.

      You don't need my permission! This is the public internet.

      Delete

Please be polite and respectful. Comments containing gratuitous swearing and insults will be deleted.