Lycanstrife

It is the morning of my departure and I can finally reveal what I've been working on for the past few months! Behold! The worst-kept secret on the whole of deviantART!



So it's 1:30am on the morning of departure (I'm adamant I'll finish this journal before I go to bed) and I'm just checking through all the last-minute details and packing. I've managed to sort out pretty much everything I planned to do today, so we should be ready for the airport in the morning.

Essentially, I'm trekking around Europe for two weeks with three of my best friends. We've got inter-rail tickets and plan to stop off in most of Europe's capital cities before heading home. What makes it slightly more interesting, is that I've been building a website to document the whole trip. We plan on filming most of the trip before posting it online so people can keep track of our misadventures along the way. We've also got a set of challenges to accomplish in the meantime to make it more entertaining.

We're hoping to reach a fairly wide audience, so thought it'd be a good idea to try and raise some money for charity in the process. The website can explain this all in more detail. Click on the ticket above to visit the site and learn more about the adventure. I should warn you here though... the website isn't fully coded yet, so there are quite a few bits that don't work. You can still read about what we're doing and donate for the time being. I hope to finish coding the site whilst we're travelling.



I've designed and finished all the necessary components for the site, I'm just working to code it all together so people can access it all. Eventually, the site will have downloadable content that I don't plan on posting here on DA, so it'll be the only place to get your hands on some pretty slick wallpapers for assorted gadgets. I've had loads of fun making these wallpapers in the past weeks. Hopefully you'll enjoy them as much as I do.

I should probably mention that this is entirely for the fun of it. We're not being paid or sponsored to do this. The website and all related-work has been my pet project in my spare time. We're just excited to be going travelling together on such an ambitious trip. Any support you can provide will be greatly appreciated. Even if it's just a tweet saying hi. By all means, donate, tell your friends, spread the word. That'd be fantastic. But you're under no obligation.

Right! I'm off to bed! I've got a big day ahead of me tomorrow! So I'll finish here by hoping that you'll join us, at least part-way, on our adventure around Europe. We're planning on having a 'rail' of a time!

(forgive the 'rail' pun... I don't get out much)

So yeah, ironically (just as I finally gave up hope of ever updating this journal on a regular monthly schedule) it turns out I've managed it by accident. That's the very definition of life.

Right! Since last month's journal, things have been plodding along quite nicely. I've got two part time jobs whilst I'm figuring out the best 'next step' so at least my overdraft is slowly disappearing while I'm at home being indecisive. I'm also learning to drive (at 21 years old, I feel as though I'm a bit late to the party, but I'm enjoying it alot). I've got my own car too, and the freedom is enough to make my head spin!

In my spare time I've been learning Italian. This is literally something I've been wanting to do for years so I'm loving every second. I've been using Rosetta Stone software (you might've heard of it before. Basically, the best way of learning a new language short of moving to a new country, and it's great to use and seems to be getting the job done) but that's enough of my shameless promotion!

The big news is that my long-planned, but never-realised, trip through most of Europe is finally going ahead! Scheduled for the beginning of September, I've got a few months to prepare. Over the years it's changed dramatically, going through many different changes and slowly becoming more and more realistic. I'll leave the details for next month's journal (it'll be a looooooong journal entry) but I've been thinking about a few opportunities this trip offers.

I'm thinking about making a video diary of the whole trip, perhaps even a website as a way of raising money for charity (I haven't decided on a charity yet, so it'll be up for discussion in the coming months). I've got a nasty feeling I'll end up looking like a goody-two-shoes though, so I'll mix things up a bit with challenges, tasks and pranks to level it out and make it more light-hearted and less full of it's own importance. After all, I'm travelling for the sake of travelling.

The idea of a video diary updated daily presents it's own unique problems. Finding internet wherever I am, editing on the move, taking decent footage in the first place, and all this without adding too much weight to what I'll be taking with me. Having my laptop and iPhone with me will solve most of these problems. Decent editing software, wi-fi tethering, and 720p video recording will be more than enough to ensure I've at least got the means to upload decent videos (all that remains to be seen is whether or not I'm funny enough to hold people's attention), but the idea of carting some 'fairly expensive' equipment with me on my travels makes me a tad uneasy.

Et Voilá! I have disguised my MacBook Pro with a plethora of geeky stickers!



You get points for each geeky reference you can recognise (there are quite a few).

I had a load of fun doing this last night. I even made a short video of the process (I had to start practising somewhere) so that'll probably make it's way onto my YouTube account sooner or later. I should mention RedBubble.com, the website I bought all of these stickers from, because they have such a fantastic selection of designs to choose from. It's worth checking out if you're looking to decorate your stuff.

Last, but not least, my cousin's wedding. It was such a lovely day, and she looked stunning in her wedding dress. Everyone had a great time (and I was given a bottle of whisky for designing the seating plan. You can find it in my gallery). As with any wedding, there were a mountain of photos taken. The one of me below made me laugh so much that I had to tinker with it a bit. Looking suave is something I'm not too good at, so I thought I should share:



If you've finished laughing, I'll apologise for such a long journal. Believe it or not, there's so much more I could talk about, but it'll have to wait until next month.

All the best!

Y'know what, sod this 'once-a-month' update target. I never manage it anyway, and you must be getting fed up of me apologising by now. As the CEO of Aperture Science, Cave Johnson, would say; "Ha! I like your style, you make up your own rules just like me." So yeah, deal with it.

Now, as I alluded to in my last journal, I went through a pretty rough patch at the beginning of the year. I won't mention any details, but I've come out the other side with a heightened awareness of not having a life goal. I've always done well in life, but I've been lucky more than deserving or hard-working. I've never had to struggle for something, never truly had any motivation to try hard, to achieve. Here is a pie chart summing up how I've felt these last few years:



So I've been taking a bit of time to sort out 'where I'm going' and what I'd actually like to do with my life. I've been through a period of intense 'self-analysis' and I think I'm beginning to reach some interesting conclusions regarding the kind of person I am. I've got plenty of views about the world, but not enough interest in politics to see them realised (at least, not conventionally). I'm a person of two halves; on the one hand, I love nothing better than being outside, whatever the weather, with the natural world and all it's creatures. Climbing trees, getting muddy, cuts, bruises, scrapes, grazes. I love it. Helping people, smiling, feeling as though I can make a difference, being involved, having an adventure. But my other side is equally at home when I lock myself away from the world. Listening to rain on a window pane, getting lost in a good book, or a game, or a film in a darkened room. Drinking copious amounts of tea and speaking very little. Feeling comfortable and secluded, not having to care about anyone else for the time being. Getting lost in my own thoughts.

I'm content to be a person of two halves, but the graph above shows that perhaps I'm not quite as balanced as I'd like to be. I'd like to get out more, to do more with my time. When I do, I seem to achieve so much in such a small space of time. I need to remember this more than once a week.

So, here is my target, my goal in life. On the front of my journal for all to see;

I want to be a Wildlife Cameraman

So now I can't change my mind and hope that no one notices. It's 'out there' in the open. I want to be the guy who lies on his front in the dirt for hours on end, in the mud, in the desert, in the grass, to catch that shot of a tiger, or a lion, or any other animal. I want to contribute to the amazing documentaries made by such talented people, that help us to understand and learn, to educate. They're important. I'd like to travel all over the world, to see all these amazing things with my own eyes. I can't think of anything more rewarding than that. The idea that I'd be payed for it as well seems like a dream.

But it'll be a long, hard road... and one I am more than willing to walk.

So, here's a photo of something that happened in-between this journal and the last. I spent a day on a steam train with Nick and Kathryn! We had a bit of a Harry Potter nerd-gasm at one point, but calmed down enough for cake and tea. All-in-all, a very enjoyable day out (though we missed Alex):



Let me know what your goals in life are!

...

... almost 6 months...

I KNOW! I know... I should've updated my journal before now!

Anyway, I'm back now. I'll make an effort to stay on track with at least one journal entry per month. I could explain the long, loooooooooong absence of journal entries but would much rather leave a cryptic 'lots of stuff has happened' quote and be done with it.

I'll mention the interesting stuff briefly and see if I can dig up some photos to put below.

Ant and I travelled down to London to see the Gorillaz at the O2 Arena on their World Tour. I didn't take many photos on account of my phone battery running out, but I didn't really care due to how ridiculously awesome the concert was! The set list was so great, we got right up close to the stage and danced like crazy people. Ah... good times.

I've been playing ludicrous amounts of Minecraft in my spare time. Seriously, this game should come with a health warning! I pray they never incorporate a timer that shows how long you've been playing. I would die on the spot if it's even anywhere near what I think it is. Unbelievably good though.

I visited Kathryn in Wales for a weekend where we ate a large amount of pizza and made short work of Mount Snowdon. I also got to road test my new backpack (a 21st birthday present off my mum) in all kinds of weather conditions (sun, rain, sleet, hail, and snow to name a few) and it performed beautifully. Here's a photo of Kathryn and I, taken just before we went through the cloud layer.



I should note that although my journal has suffered neglect these past few months, I've continued to post new deviations and reply to comments the same as usual. If you've been paying close attention, you will have perhaps noticed this. This is probably as good a place as any to say how pleased I've been with my recent work. My pixel work and digital skills have improved sevenfold since I first started here on deviantART. I feel like I've made some very good friends here and their constructive comments have been helpful and appreciated.

I'm currently working on a set of greetings cards based around the, somewhat, famous 'Keep Calm and Carry On' poster. I know it's been done before, but my parodies are aimed at people with a similar sense of humour to my own (read: very geeky) so hopefully they'll go down well. Initial feedback on the first three designs has been good so far. Here they are:



That's all from me for now. Kirk out.

First off, LOOK! My journal's been updated on time! Quelle surprise!

I'm a terrible friend. I've only just realised that one of my closest mates has his own webcomic. Trust him not to have told me *mutters* making me feel like a tool. Either way, it's genuinely quite funny so give it a look over if you've got a spare minute:    shenaniganscomic.wordpress.com…

So, the new year of university is upon us. The Freshers have swarmed the city on masse and it looks like another generation has fallen prey to skinny jeans and neon plastic jewellery. Each to his own as far as I'm concerned, but it would be nice to see a bit more variety in the crowd of new faces. I'm officially entering the second year of my course now and eager to get stuck back into my graphic design. Hopefully I'll get plenty of chances to try out some new and exciting things I've got planned. But I really, REALLY need a job. Any paid work would be a god-send.

In other news, I finally got a phone upgrade (not the reason I really need a job by the way). Gone is my old Motorola handset with it's pathetic battery life and meager on-board memory. I'm now the proud owner of a new iPhone 4. It's like my first-gen iPod Touch evolved overnight!

Such is the glory of its screen and the teeny-tiny-ness of the pixels that I've made my own wallpaper pack for the iPhone 4 to take full advantage of the resolution. I've posted it up on DA, so anyone can download it if they're so inclined.



It's already had more views and downloads than I expected, so I guess people are enjoying it. I'd appreciate some comments or feedback though. That way I'll know what people are after when I get round to making my second wallpaper pack. If you've got an iPhone 4 (or any other kind of iPhone) check it out and let me know what you think.

Erm... what else. Some of you might be interested to know I'm playing Starcraft 2 thesedays. I've really enjoyed the campaign mode so far. I'm also playing through The Legend of Zelda, Ocarina of Time, again. I still can't believe how much fun this game is. It just grips you and pulls you in.

That's about all from me for now. I'll check in again in a month!