Quick update

Sorry for leaving you lovely people for these last few months, but i have been a bit busy! I moved house and as yet dont have internet, but this will hopefully change in the next day or so!

Whirlwind Romance (I'm engaged!)

I've only been going out with Amy for about 3 months now and yet we have come so far in our relationship and done so much. After a rocky start due to both our insecurities from previous relationships, we both realised just how much we actually liked each other when we spent a few days apart recently when I had a long weekend in Whitby, and since then our love for each other has grown stronger and stronger (pass the sick bucket hahaha) until we have reached the point where we find it hard spending time apart.
This meant that when Amy spent 2 weeks in Rome recently learning Italian before starting her PhD, we both struggled with each others absence and found those two weeks very hard going.

But more then this, we have a lot going on at the minute, we have gotten engaged, we are moving into a rented house together in a week or so, we are in the process of buying another house, we are flying out to Cuba on 30th November for two weeks and whilst there we are getting married on the 9th December (I'm very much looking forward to this) we have an engagement/housewarming/halloween party to organise, we have a wedding reception to organise for just after christmas and of course Amy has started her PhD.
Some stressfull times ahead over the coming months I suspect, and it would'nt surprise me if I got the news we had a baby on the way at some point, you never know!

So a bit of a whirlwind romance that has taken some people by surprise, but we are not teenagers or even twenty somethings anymore, and we know and can recognise what true love is, but I suspect this is going to be a very interesting adventure into the unknown (for me at least) and also one that I'm looking forward to living, even though it will be full of up's and downs!

We do keep doing daft things for personal amusement and the other day in a spare of the moment thing, we both got matching tattoos of each others name on our wrists, this picture above (apologies for the quality but is was taken on my mobile) shows mine.

Taken in Flamborough

Yet another one taken in Whitby. Hopefully going to Flamborough this afternoon!!!

Bi-plane in the skies over Whitby

Whitby Abbey

Scary old me!

Dating

Nothing much has been going on recently other then in my lovelife. It's weird because only a few weeks ago I couldn't get the new Polish girl who started working in our labs off my mind, she's attractive and has a beautiful figure and I spent a whole 2 weeks waiting for the right sort of moment to ask her out on a date, not only because I was very attracted to her, but also because it would earn me valuable respect with the guys I work with who were all to nervous to ask her out. When the opportunity did present itself I seized the moment and to my astonishment she thought it would be a good idea for us to go out.

So the following week we went out and had a very pleasant evening and talked a lot about this and that and got on really well, but she also said she had just been in a horrible relationship and wasn't sure she was ready for relationships just yet.
When I returned home I thought I would check my Facebook and whilst I was seeing what's what, I got a message from Amy.

I met Amy at Christmas when I invited myself to the Christmas party of a company I don't work for and got talking to her, she was dressed as a Christmas elf which I thought was quite cute at the time and after talking for a bit we parted ways. A few days later I got a friend request from Amy on Facebook and for the last six months we chatted back and forth and a couple of times I asked her out, but a day before we were due to go out she would cancel and I eventually saw her as just an aquaintance.

A few weeks ago I noticed she had created a "how well do you know Amy" quiz on Facebook and for a laugh I took the quiz....scoring 0%! I received a message the next day from Amy, saying "0%??? we really need to go for that drink!" so again we organised a night out and this time she didn't cancel.

All that week leading up to my night out I had lovely Krystyna on my mind, but it came to my night with Amy. It was quite weird because we just hit it off and got on so well, it actually took me by surprise, I wan't looking forward to my evening with Amy and wasn't particularly attracted to her beforehand, but I was left taken aback by how suited we are and she admitted by text message later that night that she was also surprised by how well the evening had gone. I found all that following week I couldn't get Amy off my mind and she also said the same to me as we texted back and forth. I also found I wasn't attracted to Krystyna as much anymore and she wasn't on my mind at all.

We went out on a number of other dates the following week which were equally as excellent as the first one. We then went out to see my friends band last Friday night, and had another great night getting very drunk. The following morning as we were lying in bed I got the feeling she wanted to say something and asked her what it was. She said that as she was going back to uni to do her PhD in a month and didn't want the hassle of relationships etc to get in the way. I said as long as we stay good friends I would be happy with that. We spent the rest of that Saturday watching DVD's and nursing our hangovers.

On Sunday I stopped recieving texts from Amy and she wasn't responding to mine. I was wondering if I had done something wrong and felt a bit depressed that my "lack of match practice" in relationships (after about 5 years of being happily single) had probably been the cause somehow.

Then last night about 2 minutes after I had gone to bed Amy rang me, she was a bit emotional, she had been sipping the vino and had a real heart to heart with me saying that I was constantly on her mind and it had freaked her out and she had been panicking about how strongly she was feeling towards me and that she needed to sort out her thoughts and feelings and that she had been seeking the advice of her friend who had told her she went through the same thing before meeting her current boyfriend etc etc, and that there is probably hope for us and that she isnt a lost cause. I replied by saying whatever she decides she wants to do wether we stay as friends or if she wants us to carry on into a relationship, that I would be happy with whatever she chooses to do.
Today she is talking again and she has asked me if we can go out again one night this week. After all this I remembered why I dicided I needed to be single for a bit in the first place....women are crazy!!!

Today is a good day for a Hull City supporter!

Absolutely delighted today that Hull City remain a premier league team even though it was by the narrowest of margins! All the worry and uncertainty of the last 2 months is gone. It is a good time for Hull City supporters and the city of Hull! Happy days...........

Thinking abroad and sunset

Apologies for leaving my blog as a desolate wilderness of abandonment for the last month! I have not been up to much since my last post other then playing friends at Scrabble and Chess on Facebook, taking photo's of the 'Hull Hornets' American football team for their website, attending a few nights out and hitting the gym everyday after work, and worrying a little bit about 'Hull City's position in the Premiership.

I have been thinking more and more about going abroad, and since a friend of mine has been posting fantastic pictures of his wonderful adventures backpacking around the far east on Facebook, I have been getting insanely envious and I am making going abroad for the first time, my number one priority. I have the remaining amount to pay for my Hull City season ticket next payday, making me skint next month, but the payday after that I will be applying for my passport and saving for three or four days in Bruges. A town I have wanted to visit since watching the movie 'In Bruges' a film I like very much. I hope this will be the first of many little adventures abroad.

Speaking of films, I went to see Star Trek at the cinema last Monday, very enjoyable and really would recommend it!

I am making good progress at the gym, I have gone from having skinny weak arms, man boobs and a beer belly, to having a flat stomach and actual muscles. Last Monday I started a diet specifically for building muscle and losing fat and in just one week I have lost 1 kilogram in weight. But there is still much to be done...more muscles and an 8 pack on my stomach before I will be happy.

I have a long weekend in Whitby booked with friends in about a month which I am looking forward to, and tonight I am going to a local nightclub to watch my friends band 'The Strands' play a gig! So I'll leave it at that for now, and just share these sunset pictures I took from the landing window a few nights ago!

Trying my hand at sports photography

This morning I went to watch the 'Hull Hornets' American Football team in their final training session before the season starts next week.
I'm a big fan of American Football and watch as much NFL as I can. Later this year I will be going to Wembley, to watch the NFL international game, were I will be supporting the underdogs the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who will be taking on the New England Patriots.
My friend Mark plays for the Hornets (who play in the NFL endorsed 'British American Football League' ) and he asked me if I would become the teams official match photographer.
I have never done any sports photography before, so I though it would be interesting to have a go. So I went to the training session to get some practice before the real games start. It was an interesting experience and I am mostly pleased with the results. I took around 130 photo's and only about 10 of them were blurred and needed deleting when I checked them out on my PC later.

A bird shot for Bazza

It's a poor photo but can you enlighten me?

Scafell Pike - The Lake District

After allowing just one day recovery, from being laid in bed exhausted and full of Cold, I set off for the lake district with my friend and colleague Alex to climb Scafell Pike, which is the largest "mountain" in England at 978m. I was in relatively good company with Alex, he had recently climbed mount Elbrus in Russia which stands at around 5642m. REMEMBER TO CLICK ON THE IMAGES!!!

We set off from Hull at 6am to get an early start, arriving at Wasdale Head at 10am. That gave me a little bit of time to look around for some nice photo's, but I instantly wished I had brought my tripod for som HDR shots.

The photo's have uploaded in a random way, this one is when we finished the climb, back at the 'Wasdale Head Inn' for a pint of the local beer.

The descent is a tiring one, not much in the way of flat solid ground causing a lot of jarring of the knees.

A nice little stream which we followed down the mountain.

We stopped at this big rock during the descent, even though we were tired because it looked cool and fun.

Me at the summit...IT WAS BLOODY WINDY AND VERY VERY COLD, THAT'S WHY I'M SHOUTING!!!

The large 6 ft Cairn at the summit of Scafell Pike.

Me looking knackered about 100m from the summit....yeah I'm OK to carry on...just..give...me..a minute...to catch my breath!

There be snow in these hills!

A view of the 'Wasdale Head Lake' (the deepest lake in England) whilst climbing the hill we didn't need to climb!

Who would think that when we reached the top, we would have to go down the other side and up another valley to get the track we needed!

Alex (and me) having a well earned rest during the ascent, time for some water and a bite to eat.

Alex