Task #88 - Get Married Unusually

Well so far this year it's been pretty quiet on the Quest front, but at least I can say I have ticked off a biggie...in May I got married to my beautiful wife Rachael!!

When I first set out my list way back in 2009, I had no vision of what my Wedding would be like. As it turned out it ended up being a big "White Wedding". We got married in All Hallows' Church in Huddersfield, UK, on what had to be the wettest day of the year. It didn't seem to stop pouring it down from 11am right through until the late evening! That didn't put a dampener on the day though, and to be honest we were so caught up in everything that was going on that we barely even noticed that it was wet outside!

While the Wedding may not have been quite as "unusual" as some people have for theirs, I still think our Wedding is unusual compared to the growing trend of people getting married in registry offices and hotels. I have nothing against getting married in such locations, but we both wanted a traditional ceremony.

So that's another item ticked off the list!

Did I Survive the Zombie Apocalypse?

What a fun morning this turned out to be. We arrived at around 10.30 am to register ourselves for the run, and we were given our Zombie run bibs. These fluorescent bibs helped the zombies identify the runners from the other visitors to the park. On the back of each bib was attached 3 strips of ribbon, each strip indicated the number of lives we each had before we became "infected" by the zombies.

Anyway the run began with the Town Cryer ringing his bell, and we were off. The course was cleverly planned out. It started with a jog up a slight incline, with sharp hairpins here and there before turning onto a gentle slope down towards the woods. When we entered the woods there were signs up to warn us we were entering a biohazard area. There was then a steep drop down to the bottom of the hill, before turning sharply back up the hill. Up until this point we hadn't encountered any zombies, but this is where the clever planning came into play. By the time it came to us turning to go back up the steep hill we were all shattered from the run beforehand. Now tiredness had set it, it would make it difficult to run away from any zombies.

As I approached the a tunnel under the path above the first group of zombies awaited. When I got within a few metres of danger, I noticed that there were laminated hearts and brains to the side of the path so I quickly tried to workout the safest route to collect them. Prizes would be given out to the runners that collected the most organs, so I was keen to collect them. The heart was simple enough to get as another runner ahead of me distracted the zombie guard. The brain, though, was a tougher task. It was placed on a wall just behind a zombie. As I ran towards it a zombie stepped in my way. I gave him a dummy side-step and ran around him, but not fast enough to avoid losing a ribbon. As I did so though I lost my footing and slipped down onto one knee. The zombie, showing that he still had some sign of humanity about him, knelt down to see if I was ok. Spotting my opportunity I leapt up and grabbed the brain and scarpered before he knew what had happened. I only got a few yards before another zombie awaited me on the other side of the tunnel....another life lost!

I did pretty well after that, I lost count of how many groups of zombies I encountered after that, but despite being a tall guy, managed to duck and dive around each zombie grab. So as I approached the finishing line my confidence at the thought I would make it out alive grew. This was short lived when I spotted what awaited me on the home stretch. You can see in the pictures below how the panic set in as I spotted the ambush. In each picture you can see how I'm desperate to get to safety as the zombie gets near and nearer, before finally being caught and losing my final life.

Casually jogging, unaware of my fate. 

Just noticed the ambush beginning.



RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!!!!



Caught!



Left for dead!

I was so close to surviving! What can't be seen in these pictures are the steps that are just out of shot at the bottom of the image. Had it not been for the runners ahead blocking my way, I honestly think I could have made it. As it was, I ended up being slumped against the wall completely out of breath, but having enjoyed the thrill of the chase.

In the days following I was, as expected, stiff and sore from the exercise. I'm sorry to say that I didn't manage to complete the full 5k by running. By the time I got down to the bottom of the hill I was completely worn out...the lack of preparation had taken it out of me. I was impressed that despite my lack of fitness, I managed to get almost all of the way around with my life intact. Nevertheless, on such hilly and slippy terrain I completed the whole 5k fun run, so that means that task #86 is COMPLETE!!!!!!

AAAARRRGGHHH!!!! The Zombie Apocalypse Is Coming!!!!

Last Christmas my brother got me a ps3 game called 'The Last of Us'. For anyone that hasn't heard of it before, it's a game based on the story of a zombie apocalypse. I don't know what it is but I've always loved the zombie genre. For the last 3 months I've been playing this game on the edge of my seat, often shaking with fear as I found myself cornered in a room filled with the undead, and shouting obscenities as a zombie ripped my head off.

Anyway, last night I finally managed to complete the game - and I have loved every terrifying moment of it. Without giving away any spoilers, the graphics and storyline have made this the best game I have ever played. At times I felt as if I were part of the game, often finding myself leaning in my seat to try to peek around the corner. Sometimes I even had a lump in my throat during some of the more emotional scenes. But how does this fit in with my quest?

Well...now I have completed the game, how can I get my zombie fix? The only answer can be:

Huddersfield Zombie Run!

Yes that's right, I've entered myself into a local charity zombie fun run! For 5km, I'm going to have to run/scream/panic my way around Beaumont Park in Huddersfield while zombies attempt to eat me alive! The course will have contrasting terrain including sharp inclines, wooded areas, looming cliffs, bridges, tunnels, water features, open parkland, disused railway track and a dismantled Victorian Railway station. Along the way there will be obstacles such as cars, barricades and oil drums...so there will be plenty of hiding places for zombie ambushes to take place. While I know it will only be volunteers in costume, it will be so scary to have "real life" zombies chasing after me...I can't wait!

As I have mentioned in a previous post, I used to play football every weekend, and mid-week during lunchtimes at school. I was always playing, even when I picked up minor injuries. The problem there was that I never let my injuries fully heal. Every Monday morning I would be limping from a fresh knock, or muscle strain. By the age of 15 I decided that I had had enough of injuries so packed in playing football to concentrate on my exams. Since my early twenties though I decided I'd try to get my fitness back to where it was, but I would always get minor injuries every few weeks after some time on a treadmill. Now every time I do regular exercise I get minor twinges where my previous injuries occurred. 

Having these minor injury niggles is demoralising at times, and this puts me off doing any regular exercise. Before I found out about this charity fun run event, I began going on short runs to help build up my fitness. After a few weeks I was feeling good, with no injury worries. This led me to a false sense of security, and one day I pushed myself a bit too hard and injured my knee. For around 6 weeks I had sharp pains in my knee while going up and down stairs, even while just walking, so I yet again I stopped exercising. It's been around a month since the pains stopped, but those 6 weeks had knocked the enthusiasm to start running again out of me.

For my quest I had originally intended to do a 5k/10k and eventually a marathon. However, knowing how much trouble I have with injuries I know I will struggle to attempt a 10k or marathon, which is why I have set a goal of just a 5k run. This charity fun run, in aid of the Forget Me Not Children's Hospice, is a perfect way for me to not only get back into exercising, but to also complete task #86. I can guarantee that I will be stiff, and may even have a few twinges afterwards, but it's all in the aid of charity...and I get to experience being chased by zombies (without the inevitable brain eating outcome).

So that's this Sunday's plans, I'll let you know how it goes next week...if I survive!!!!!!!

Task #70 - Own A Pet

I was going to write a happy story about another task success, but events over the weekend have changed things. It is with sadness that I am reporting the death of my first pet, Harold Arthur.
 

Harry dozing on the sofa.

 

Harry was a cute little Dumbo Rat. We got Harry in October 2012 not long after I moved into a house with my girlfriend. Rach has had pets most of her life, so when she moved in with me she had withdrawal symptoms of not having something to look after. After a few weeks of pestering me, I cracked and we went down to the local pet shop just to have a look at what was on offer. This was a dangerous move, for as soon as I saw the cage of rats I knew we would be getting one that day. There were about 4 rats in the cage, each of them just sitting there nibbling on a cheese biscuit...but there was one active little chap darting around that caught my eye, and I thought to myself "I like his spirit!". Less than half an hour later we were loading the car up with a cage, toys and treats for him.

 

Harry was an adventurous little chap. For the first few days he was wary of his new home, but it wasn't long before he would be scampering around the living room like a nutter! We didn't let him roam free all of the time of course, just for an hour or so each evening. One of his favourite treats were Monkey Nuts, and whenever we gave him one he would scurry off to eat it behind one of the armchairs that he made his little den. He was also a sod for stealing crisps right out of your fingers! He became a cocky little thing and I loved him for it. It wasn't long before that spirit we loved got him into mischief though and we noticed that the laptop charger had a few gnaw marks in it. We didn't want to restrict him to only his cage so after that it became my mission to rat-proof the room by putting up little barriers to keep him away from trouble. With extra vigilance he caused no further bother.

 

Before long though further pet broodiness was brewing from Rach, this time in the form of a dog. I would therefore like to introduce you to Franklin Theodore.

 

 

We got Frank in May 2013 from a rescue centre in Sheffield and he instantly fit into the household perfectly. We got him from a rescue centre when he was approximately 2 years old. He is another spirited little guy, and loves nothing more than to snuggle down in front of the fire place to fall asleep. He is such a loving and caring dog, and is also a mischievous scamp when he wants to be.

 

Anyway, when Frank joined the house it was clear that Harry could no longer have the freedom that he used to have due to the threat that Frank may eat him, so for the last 10 months he has been largely restricted to his cage. We got a second cage so he could spend some time downstairs with us, but our regret is that he wasn't brought down often enough. He was loved though, and he loved the interaction he had with anyone that would allow him to perch on their shoulder while he "whispered" in their ear and tickled them with his whiskers. Another thing he loved to do was snuggle up to you and fall asleep. I remember one day where I was off work sick, and he spent the entire day curled up next to me on the sofa keeping me company.
 

Although he was only a small animal, he had a big personality and will be greatly missed. Anyway, looking at the positives, I can tick off this Thing To Do!
 

Harold Arthur (August 2012 - 2nd March 2014)

Task #59 - Leave a Job You Hate

Here is one of the biggest tasks that I managed to complete over the last few years (but it is not the biggest - I will leave that story for another day). This task was successfully completed at the very beginning of 2010....

At the time I was working as a Sales Assistant for WH Smiths in Manchester Airport, and had been doing so for nearly 7 years. I had gone into the job as a means to earn some money on the weekends while I was studying at college, and then also during University. When I graduated in 2007 I decided that it was time to look for a job relating to my Computer Science degree, but after a few months I hadn't had any interviews so decided to go full time until something came along. Over time though I got lazy and the job hunt died off. I was comfortable in the job, and the people I worked with made it worthwhile getting up at 4am every morning to start the early morning shifts. As the months went by though these early shifts, and the feeling of being overworked and underpaid, wore me down to the point where I couldn't stand going in to work every day.

Anyway, come the end of 2009 a job came up at a school around the corner from where I lived. It was working in the IT department, but it still wasn't exactly the kind of job I was looking for. I decided to apply for it anyway because what was the worst that would happen? The evening of the interview I received a call back to inform me that I hadn't been successful in the interview. However, the next day I received another call to ask if I'd be interested in a temporary 6 month contract, with the possibility of it becoming long term after a probationary period. Of course I was interested! It wasn't exactly the area of employment my degree was aimed at, but it was a foot in the door in my eyes. The difficulty in the decision was that there was the possibility that 6 months down the line I'd be looking for work again, but I ignored that concern for the sake of getting some work experience in the area I'd studied 3 long years for. It was hard to say goodbye to most of the people I had worked with, but I couldn't stand working there any longer.

As it turned out I was offered a full time position in the job, but I was only in that role for a further 6 months before another opportunity became available for the same employer. I stayed in that job for around 3 and a half years, and in November 2013 I moved jobs again for a promotion to where I am now. I did enjoy the job I was in but the long commute, and feeling unchallenged at times meant I had to move on.

So what did I learn from all of this? To take a leap of faith every now and again! If I had stayed in my original job, I would have been driven insane. I was feeling slightly depressed at the thought that I'd wasted 3 years of my life studying only to be stuck in a job where I wasn't using any of the skills I'd learnt. Don't get me wrong, the work I was doing was enjoyable at times, and the people I worked with were great, but it wasn't enough to make me happy working there. Now, because of that initial decision 4 years ago, I'm in a job where I am challenged, and have more responsibility so I am a lot happier.

So that's my little lesson learnt, and even more importantly....Task #59 completed!

Ahem.....Long Time No See!!

Hello again....I'm back!! It's been almost 5 years since I last updated this blog, and in that time many things have happened, some of which are relevant to my Quest and some of them not. I will be posting updates for the things relevant to the list in the near future to kick start the quest again.

Now, I would like to apologise for being a bad blogger! According to the blog stats, in the time I have been away I have had an amazing 1500+ page views. Just who is viewing my blog exactly? I haven't been advertising or promoting the blog in any way...I had even stopped using my twitter account, so it's not as if people have been visiting from there. Just what is it about a dormant blog that attracts so many people? I can only attribute this to a growing number of people being interested in having a "Things To Do" / "Bucket" List.

Curious to see just where in the world my readers are from I looked further into the stats. My biggest audience has been the Americans, with the Brits coming a close second. Surprisingly though, my third biggest audience have been the Russians! So привет to you all! (Translation taken from Google Translate, so if that's a rude word blame them.)

During my absence from this blog my Quest has often been in the back of my mind, yet I have neglected to post updates. So "Why return to your Quest?" I hear you ask. Well I will soon have a BIG task to tick off, so keep an eye out for future posts to find out what it may be. It's also a fun project to have so why not? I will begin by revisiting my original list, making alterations to it where I feel they are needed. I'm 5 years older now and some of my original goals on the list seem pointless now, so I will be updating the list with new challenges I wish to set myself for the future.