Tag Archives: Travel

Letters From The Past, Thanks To FutureMe.org

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About 9 months ago, I was on a nice beach holiday, reading Quitter and Start by Jon Acuff. It was there that I first read about the FutureMe.org website. I made a note of it to investigate when I got back. Essentially, it allows you to type an email to your future self, sending it to arrive on a date of your choice. This can have all kinds of purposes. For me, I wanted to keep my future self going in the direction I want to be heading.

You see, the previous six months had been a roller coaster of life spinning out of control. The highs had been high but the lows had also been super low. Life does that to you sometimes. You have to learn to roll with the punches. But because of that, a creeping sense of dissatisfaction had begun to pervade my life. I knew I was heading towards a point where I might be able to make some changes. I wasn’t sure yet what they were going to be, but as I sat there, toes in the sand, honestly assessing my life and scribbling everything in my notepad to make me accountable, I was determined to do something.

Sadly, I’d done (to a lesser extent) the same thing on previous holidays. One of the things I had confessed to in my notepad was not having the courage to do some things, nor the motivation to do others. Therefore, when I penned my email to my future self, I wanted to be kind, but also realistic.

It arrived this morning:

Dear FutureMe,

So you’ve just come back from two sunny weeks in Spain, where you did a lot of talking and thinking and list making for the future. You often do that on holiday. But this time, you wanted it to be different. This time you really wanted to mean it.

I strongly suspect that when you get this, you won’t have made the wild progress that you want. Your dreams won’t have all magically come true via a lottery win. But over the next few months after writing this, you will have been making some of the biggest decisions ever. The ones that will shape your life. The ones that will start you on the road to being something and someone you want to be. Remember that.

Remember it, because I suspect when you’re reading this, then the reality you are living in won’t be massively different from the one I am writing this in. That doesn’t mean it’s time to quit. Just look yourself in the eye and ask if you’re really doing everything you can to make the life you want happen. If you can, then great. If you can’t, then pick yourself up and get going again. Keep taking the steps. Keep hustling. Keep going.

If, by some chance you are everything that you were thinking about during this last holiday, then congratulations. Keep being the best you can be. Don’t get lazy, arrogant or sloppy. Be the person you need to be for the people who love you most. Keep living your life so you can look yourself in the eye.

I hope, regardless of anything else, you’ve done those things you needed to do to get some self-belief.

Keep going kiddo.

That is it, completely unedited or censored.

Have I made some changes? Yes, I’ve got to spend six months in New Zealand really working on what matters most to me. Am I a published author yet? No, but I’m trying and I continue to try. I’m exploring self-publishing too, so that I can continue to grow and learn about the industry as it rapidly changes alongside me.

The reality is also that I’m heading back to the UK soon, at least for the immediate future. So perhaps if I had chosen to not have the mail arrive now, but instead a month from now, the geographical context might have made me feel differently. I don’t know. But that’s not really the point. It arrived now, and gave me a little bit of faith for the next steps.Today I will write another one. I’d recommend that you do too.

More info here:

Fortune Cookie

Let there be stories

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Yesterday was devoted to getting back to the mortgage-paying kind of paid work, as I’m coming up to the end of my little writing sabbatical. Today will be back to the writing. I don’t need to tell you which one of these activities I prefer.

Of course, even writing has elements I don’t like and these are the ones I try to focus on when I get free time that isn’t first thing in the morning. 6am is my writing time. Not my ‘creating’ time (I’m an outliner) and certainly not my editing time. I actively make my stories worse if I try and edit them before coffee.

Generally I have 3 books on the go at the same time. One in the planning phase – this can be as little as an idea knocking around in my head or completed outline and character development.

The second will be in the writing phase. This is the most enjoyable phase for me. Just sitting back, making the story appear from the outline.

The third will be in the editing phase. Definitely the least favourite. Not to mention the one that gets progressively worse. There’s the first read through that can have some pleasant surprises (hey, that’s not actually awful after all!), to the line edits where your brain has read the damn thing so many times and is looking at it in such detail that you get your its confused with your it’s and you want to tell passive voice that it can go and be shoved.

The writing dream is definitely a hard slog. People don’t see the years of hard crafting and sacrifices that go into whipping something into a state where there is a glimmer of hope that a publisher might snap it up. But aren’t all dreams that way?

You can’t guarantee publishing success, but if you can put your hand on your heart and say you tried your best, then that is something to be proud of.

Moleskine vs Field Notes – Pocket Notebook Review

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It seems that pocket notebooks are definitely back in fashion at the moment. The world, thanks to the internet and kickstarter, has become awash with them. As a writer, I’ve carried a notebook around with me for most of my life, so I decided that this is one area I definitely have an opinion on.

Despite the countless brands, the current two front runners are Moleskine and Field Notes. I’ve only recently succumbed to buying Field Notes as they are quite tricky to get hold of outside America without making a bit of an effort. However, I’d heard so much about them that I thought I would have to give them a try.

Both notebooks discussed below have gone through a complete lifecycle in my handbag (purse to any US readers, obviously). Despite all those hardy, manly, everyday carry instagram shots, I don’t think anything competes with the assortment of crap I carry around with me on a daily basis that these notepads have had to survive next to.

Don’t Judge A Book By Its Cover

Except in this instance. The hardcover pocket size Moleskine stands up well to most environments. It’s still got a lot of trend factor, as well as standing up to approval in the boardroom meetings. Because I use a hardcover one, it makes it easier to grab and write if there isn’t a surface available. Oddly, out in the field, using Field Notes is actually more difficult in this sense. Field Notes as a brand has a definite cover cool factor right now, especially some of the limited addition colours ones. But by its very nature, it is more casual; while it might provoke a bit of interest in meetings, it’s not going to be taken as seriously in a corporate environment. Especially after a bit of use. Which leads me to…

Field Notes Moleskine Cover

 

Durability and Longevity

Field Notes have considerably fewer pages than Moleskine books, meaning that this one was only on rotation for about a month. The Moleskine, on the other hand, was in my bag for around six. One looks hardly touched, the other looks well loved. I don’t have to tell you which way round that is. Again, that beat up look has a bit of cool factor to it, but as I keep all my notebooks and constantly refer back to the content in them, it does make me question if they will stand the test of time like the original concept they were based upon.

Paper

In the bid for market share, the quality of paper actually often seemed to take second place to design factor. A lot of brands have started to realise that as more and more people turn away from an entire dependence on smartphones and yearn for the analogue capture of yesteryear – often with a fountain pen to go alongside it – paper matters. On the whole I don’t use fountain pens, largely because I have a mythological perfect one I am still searching for, but I do use a variety of ballpoints and rollerballs. Despite a lot of people complaining about Moleskine paper quality, I would say that the two of them match up pretty well. If anything, the Field Notes have a little bit of show through (but not bleed through) on the back. I’ve yet to try out the Shelterwood edition, which has considerably thicker paper, but in the interests of fair comparison, I’m reporting here only on the standard book. Both brands have options of lined, plained and grid, so pick whatever works for you and knock yourself out.

Field Notes Moleskine Pages

Features

I love the Moleskine back flap for storing bits of paper and the bookmark is definitely a great feature. These are both missing from the Field Notes, but with considerably fewer pages, the bookmark becomes less of a necessity. I’d recommend using a modified to suit your needs Bullet Journal system with both. I recently went back and actually did this to all my notebooks that had a couple of blank pages at the beginning or the end and it makes a huge difference to usability. Field Notes has a built in ruler along the back sleeve and some  fun uses. Both have a user information page at the front, although both brands clearly approach it in different ways.

To Sum Up

Which side of the fence you come down on will always depend on how you use your notebook. For me, the pocket notebook isn’t for work – but when I am working I will use it to capture things so I don’t want it to look too out of place. I love the look of Field Notes especially when I am travelling; there is definitely something of the open road about them. The first real test will be on a road trip around the US and Canada next month, where I’m much more likely to be shoving them in my pocket for practical reasons, rather than just creative ones. After this first run through though, I am still slightly on the side of Moleskine for the way I can actually use them in any environment. If I had an idea last month, I don’t need to go and find the other book because I’ve already run out of pages and moved on.

Finally, I’ve used a cheap supermarket brand (£3/$4.50 US) and found that once you take the ‘street cred’ element away (the ‘look at me, I’m a writer/hipster/adventurer’ element) it works just as well on all fronts as the others, at a fraction of the cost:

Notebook

Things To Do In Queenstown: Gondola and Luge Experience

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Queenstown is adventure capital of the world according to most people you speak to over here. Home of the bungy jump, zorbing and plenty of other high adrenalin activities. If you want a quick thrill in the southern hemisphere, then this is definitely the place to come. Just make sure you have adequate insurance, of course.

For those who want to do something a little more sedate, but without wussing out completely, then the gondola and luge experience is a good combo. It is definitely the best way to get spectacular views over Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu:

Queenstown Horizon

 

There is always the option to walk to the top, but for those who are short on time or fitness, the chair ride to the top is an equally spectacular way of getting to the top. Once there, take the time to walk around and take in the views. There are plenty of different angles to take awesome photographs from.

The luge comes in two flavours: gentle and speedy. Confession: I went on the scenic route both times. I actually found I was enjoying the views way more than the speed on the first time round, so dispensed with my original intention to try both. Slower gave me more opportunity to enjoy the experience. Given that there were some seven year olds on the speedy track, my gut feel was that it didn’t strictly fall under the term ‘extreme’ anyway. As you can see, the tracks are fairly wide and well maintained.

Queenstown Luge

For those who don’t have too much time to spend in Queenstown, I would definitely include this in the one day experience. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t great overnight during my stay, otherwise I would also have taken advantage of the star gazing experience also on offer.

 

Canada Totem

Road trips: San Francisco, Vancouver, Alaska

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So, I have been on the road now for the best part of a month. The purpose of this was twofold: for writing research and for pleasure.

It has been, without a doubt, a very interesting and busy few weeks. Having flown from New Zealand back in time, we covered San Francisco, Vancouver and surrounds, as well as Alaska. One thing has certainly be cemented this year, and that is the fact I am clearly more of an outdoor person than a city person. Which is not something I think I ever really realised before. Whilst I’ve never felt compelled to move towards the big lights, I could never really say I was much for tramping in the woods either. Perhaps it is something that is becoming more defined as I get older, or perhaps people are becoming less appealing? Who knows.

Canada Totem

 

I’ve certainly got a notebook full of ideas and places, characters that are calling out to me to be written. Turns out the Fieldnotes books are the perfect size for that length of stay. So the trip itself was definitely a success.

The next month will definitely be a busy one as I try to do something with it all…

Plus, I finally purchased a fountain pen in my bid to get back to handwriting some of my work. I’m loving it so far and can really notice the difference, compared to banging out the words on a computer. Review to come shortly.

 

Field Notes: Cold Horizon and the infamous Shelterwood

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Shelterwood tipped me over the edge and into ordering Field Notes for delivery halfway across the world. I have an addictive personality and notepads is the lesser of many, many evils for me.

I didn’t go for the colours subscription though – that feels like too big a commitment just yet. Instead I figured, as the postage would remain the same and they had some left, I would also throw in a couple of Cold Horizons. Don’t they make a pretty pair?

 shelterwood cold horizon

 

Cold Horizon Review:

I love the colour gradient of these across three books. The covers themselves are very nice to look at, although as people who have had them for a while already have noted, they crack and fade very quickly. Which is actually a positive if you want to look like you use them a lot. This is mine after less than a week:

Cold Horizon Field Notes

From a personal preferences point of view, the graph paper in this is nice to use, especially for making lists. I also find the fainter lines unobtrusive when jotting down any creative ideas. My pocket notebook is my capture system when I’m out and about (for those of you using GTD), so it needs to be able to accommodate all manner of scribbles. The pages are also off-white, with different hints of blue across the three books, which is a nice touch and the kind of attention to detail that people have come to love from Field Notes.

Shelterwood Review:

One of the reasons not to get a colours subscription is if you prefer a particular paper layout. I have found myself with a fondness for graph paper, with plain as a second choice. Lined paper is becoming my least favourite and with the limited edition Field Notes, you get whichever one they decide. Shelterwood comes only with lined paper, and even the amazingly luxurious feel due to its thickness can’t make up for the fact it diminishes (for me) its usability. Having read other reviews, many people who also have this preference feel the same way.

Shelterwood Field Notes

 

Let’s talk about those covers though. They are without a doubt the most hyped Field Notes ever and I can see why. The design process that has gone into them has made them a thing of beauty to touch and look at. It will be interesting when the next season’s come out and people start doing comparison photographs to see how well the covers have actually stood up to usage. As you can see from the above photograph, there is a definite issue with the covers curling. Most Field Notes editions don’t stay completely flat, but the actual turn up on these is very noticeable. I suspect – and I’m not sure if anyone else can confirm this – that atmospheric humidity can play a significant factor.

The accompanying video is also an amazing piece of marketing. It hooked me in straight away. Sucker.

As for whether or not I will be lured into field notes forever, or if it is just a crush I’m going through, I intend to put together a full review of them vs the moleskine that I have been using for years as a pocket book to see  how they compare.

Maybe it will turn from lust into a more longterm romance. Only time will tell. Will it just be another step towards Field Notes world dominance?

Things To Do In Queenstown: Fergburger

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When someone told me I had to have a Fergburger in Queenstown, I thought they were having a joke at my expense. Or perhaps being euphemistic about something incredibly rude. Especially as it was supposed to be the best in the world.

True, I think we could make Ferburger a verb if we have to. But what they were actually referring to was a very real burger joint.

The first trip was a washout as I was far too hungry. By 5pm there was already a long line and then a further forty minutes wait once you’d placed your order before the burger was due to arrive. I opted for something else instead, with the cunning intention of coming back the next day for an early lunch.

Convinced I’d be okay (after all, Queenstown is a backpacker hotspot and no self-respecting backpacker would be up before noon, right?), I turned up at 11:30. There was already a line and a twenty minute wait. Determined not to leave town without getting fergburgered, I placed my order and then dutifully took a walk around town for a while until it was done. Was it worth the wait?

fergburger

 

I’ve eaten in burger places all over the world. A good burger is an amazing thing. I’d give this one a 9/10 score. With a reputation for being one of the best burgers in the world, I can see how they manage it.

Firstly, the meat was pink and juicy, rather than the overcooked brown shoe leather of most places. A good chunky ketchup and a garlic aioli gave it the required condiment kick. There was a decent amount of salad and the bun was sturdy. It held its shape and contents right through to the last bite, despite the meat juice/sauce to bread ratio. Even the side order of fries was pretty good. I had the fergburger with cheddar option, but there were plenty of others on the menu I’d choose if I was staying there for a while.

So, I would definitely add this to the list of things to do if you’re in Queenstown. Just be prepared to wait if you expect to stroll up to the doors and grab something to eat.

Pro tip: phone your order in, then stroll down when you’re ready and save yourself the long line.

When A City Falls: Film review of the Christchurch earthquake

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Firstly, I really enjoyed this film.

Secondly, I’m not sure I could have watched it if I had actually been in Christchurch for any of the earthquakes. The trauma of it would simply have been too much. All credit to those who were there and braved this film anyway.

When A City Falls

 

Opening with scenes from before the first September earthquake in 2010, I saw the Christchurch that I remember from my travels a decade ago. Calm, relatively peaceful. Actually quite English, in all the ways it used to market itself as.

For me, the power of this film comes from the fact there is no narrator. Other than a few captions to give some sense of date, the raw footage is allowed to tell the story itself. Gerard Smythe and his team put together film that did not shy away from the painful reality, but nor did it seek to sensationalise it. Over the course of a year, you see people get up, dust themselves off, only to be knocked right back down.

It doesn’t take long living in this city to know all these places and be able to relate to it on some level. The aftereffects of the earthquakes touch your lives daily here; there is no escape. Having seen this film, I have nothing but admiration for the people who, unlike me, are not outside observers to the aftermath, but the ones who still can – and often do – relive it like it was yesterday.

Link to the trailer can be found here: When A City Falls

Saying Goodbye to the Pallet Pavilion, Christchurch

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I have said in previous posts that one of the most encouraging things about being in Christchurch is the inventive and creative ways they have come up with using the devastated empty spaces left over by the earthquake. The Re-Start Mall is still one of my favourites, but closest to me is the Pallet Pavilion. Sadly, this came to an end this weekend.

 

palletpavillion

 

The Pallet Pavilion is exactly what it says on the tin: a community event space built out of pallets. Part of the GapFiller project, it was one of many temporary pieces of architecture created by volunteers to utilise a space that would otherwise have remained a dull and depressing piece of waste ground.  It has also been a lot less temporary than first intended; so popular that it has been kept open until the cost has simply become too much.

Being halfway between my apartment and the library, I have probably walked past this structure more times than anywhere else in the city. From the moment I arrived it became part of my psychological landscape. I know that the next time I walk past it will be gone and that’s going to be a sad thing. But it also means that there is progress. The city around me is rebuilding even as I sit here, three months in, and it is ramping up to an even faster rate.

Created by a population that was coming together and building something out of nothing, I hope that spirit continues on as winter comes and the fourth anniversary of the biggest and original quake – a cracker with a magnitude of 7.1 – rolls around in September, with so much still left to do.

New Pen: Wooden Purple Heart

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Another impulse stationery purchase. Once again, I am holding the Pen Addict Podcast entirely responsible.

Whilst looking for Christmas ornaments (don’t ask) I stumbled across this little beauty in a small shop along the seafront. Field Notes included for a sense of scale:

 

purple heart pen2

It is made from Purple Heart wood and feels perfect in the hand. Did you know that Purple Heart is the colour of normal wood when first cut and then becomes purple with exposure to UV light? No? Well, you do now. This pen is already a lovely rich purple colour, so it will be interesting to see how it changes with time.

Not only does the barrel feel great, it is a nice little writer too. I’ve come to learn that a pen can look amazing, but if you don’t actually enjoy the experience of writing with it, then there is really no point. This has a nice smooth ink flow for a standard ballpoint.

Apparently it was handmade by someone named Ron Peterson, but I have been unable to find out any more information than that by browsing the interwebz. I’d be intrigued to find out more.