Posted From My iPad

It's been two weeks. Two weeks since I splashed out extravagantly and treated myself to a new luxury item.

But what a luxury item it is.

I've been umming and aahing about Apple products for a while now. My 5 year old laptop, though it has been through thick and thin (including having an entire glass of water thrown over it), is on its last legs. It's still useful for quite a few things, but like an ageing racehorse, it just cannot compete anymore.

So, I started looking at new products, at MacBooks, at iPhones, and finally, at the iPad. I think it was the size, the power, the portability and the variety that made me splurge on the new iPad. Once I'd paid, and was waiting for the delivery, I was nervous. Very nervous. I was worried it wouldn't live up to my expectations and that I'd be hugely disappointed.

I wasn't.



I could barely contain my excitement when the box arrived, but then, I think that's more just the anticipation of getting a package rather than anything else. Nothing beats signing for the parcel and then rushing it inside to rip open the tape and wrench the box apart. Or struggling hopelessly with the well sealed contents if you're more like me.

Finally, with the box opened, I pulled out the iPad. In true Apple fashion, even the boxing was stylish designed and packed. And then with the ease with which Apple creates its operating system, I was off playing with it in seconds.

It hasn't really left my side since.

And yet, I am still just completely overwhelmed by it. Everything about it. There's just so much to do, every time I turn it on, I don't know where to begin. I have apps downloaded left, right and centre, and I don't really know what half of them do! I haven't even begun to look at paid apps yet, as I've been more than content with all the free ones. I'm sure I've got apps that do the same thing, but the beauty is you can just play with each and see which fits best.

Beauty is a word commonly associated with Apple. And rightly so. The aesthetics of the iPad are simply beautiful. The whole thing is so intuitive, and easy to use, and everything just fits. I'm probably preaching to the choir here, but it is true. 

The phenomenal power that is available at my fingertips is incredible. News, music, photos, videos, social networking, games, everything is there. I've already been overwhelmed by all these news apps which I could spend all day looking at, reading all kinds of different articles and discovering a world of information. For education purposes, if everyone had an iPad, the world would be a much better place. 

Of course though, I'm sure lots of people would be tempted by the games. Myself included. However, I have been putting the iPad to good , productive use too, and it's already proved invaluable in some of the things I have been doing recently. More to come on that later. 

Whilst figuring out my iPad, and discussing the wonderfully technological benefits with friends and family, I got to thinking about the changes in the technology. Just in my lifetime, the short 22 years I have been alive, technology has exploded exponentially. I remember memorising all my friends home numbers and ringing their house when I wanted to go out and play. No mobile phones, or preprogrammed numbers even. Hand written phone books. And we picked a place and time to meet, and that's when and where we met.

I sound old now, and to some I must sound ancient, but that's how it was. I remember my first Walkman. Then I had a snazzy....portable CD player. Now CDs are on the way out, and I collect records because they are retro. I used to videotape the finales to my favourite tv shows so I could watch those cliffhangers again and again. Last week I watched the finale to Homeland on my iPad.

I love this technology, I think it's incredibly useful and I embrace it. But I do think that my generation is in somewhat of a unique position. Generation Y as some have dubbed it. We grew up with this technology, but we weren't born with it. We have been used to something different, and have changed with the technology. Changed because we had to. Older generations may have embraced some technologies by necessity, but also some by choice. We have been required to embrace it all. If we didn't, we wouldn't get by in the world, particularly with regards to jobs nowadays. My younger sister is kind of used to all this technology; it's always been there, and she's always known about it. I'm different. My IT lessons at school didn't really teach us that much. Teachers were still training and adapting to new technologies then. In my time at school in fact, we went from blackboards to electronic whiteboards. Now there are no blackboards in sight, and chalk is a thing of the past.

And I kind of miss blackboards, chalk dust everywhere, and wooden board rubbers being thrown at unruly children. Generation Y then, is in a bit of a unique position. Because despite all that technology, I still have a pen and a pad of post-it notes by my side, and would hate to be without them! Technology changes, but we do not.

Experiments On The Motorway

Traffic jams on motorways perplex me. There is no real abrupt end to most motorways; there are no traffic lights; there are 3 or more lanes. There are just mostly idiots.

Learn to merge. Don't brake unnecessarily.

Sometimes though, traffic does stop for a reason, like an accident. And when that happens it pretty much stops dead, until one lane is cleared, and cars can dribble past, gawking at the incident and holding up people even more.

When you're stuck in traffic like this, there isn't much you can do really. You literally have to sit it out. Recently though, my friend and I decided to run a little experiment when waiting to get through the jam. We wanted to see which lane was the fastest to be in.

Obviously, this was a highly technical experiment, and required lots of skill on our part. We wanted to see whether the outside "fast lane" was really the place to be, or whether the middle lane was better. Then again, I thought maybe the inside lane could be fastest, with people exiting on slip roads, and trying to move out of that lane as soon as possible.

So what did we do? We lane hopped.

Yes, we were that obnoxious car that switches lanes, trying to guess which is moving fastest and stick with it. We'd mark the place where we were by identifiable cars, and then see if we could stay ahead of that spot after we switched. We started in the outside lane, but soon decided to switch to the middle lane, which was fairing a little better. Then the outside lane caught us up again. Meanwhile, the inside lane, which we thought we were beating,  was flying by on comparison, and so we switched again.

And it appeared to have paid off. We kept up the pace, eventually out racing the other two lanes by a good 20 cars or so. Then we stopped. We set new comparison points, and the outside and middle lane beat us. We thought we'd switch, but chose not to. Bad choice. Soon enough, our original spot on the outside lane crawled past, agonizing us in the process. We switched out, first to the middle, and then the outside, overtaking our middle lane spot, and finally hitting some open road.

Whilst we were lane hopping, we also took to watching- or "creeping" as it may be known more aptly- other people in their cars. People watching is the more polite term I think. Sadly though, it was largely the usual activities... singing along to the radio, looking bored, tapping on phones, picking noses. It was interesting though to see who looked happy and who didn't. Granted, we were stuck in a traffic jam, and so a lot of people were understandably frustrated. But it was the kind of jam where people just accepted it, and rolled with.

Yet some, just didn't look at happy at all. They looked stressed or  anxious. Some even looked like they were just living life in a trance, stuck in the same day-to-day stuff continuously. And more often than not, these people were smartly dressed, business people, driving reasonably expensive cars. I guess money can't buy you everything.

What were the results of the experiment, I hear you ask? Well, about 20 mins down the open motorway, as we were about to exit, we found ourselves behind the very same van which we had been behind at the start of the jam. Despite all our lane hopping, he'd just sat it out, and we'd ended up in the same position. If that isn't poetic karma, I don't know what is.

 

 

In the Summertime: When the snow follows a week later.

Now that winter has returned with a vengeance to Stalybridge, a flurry of snowflakes still swirling outside the window after a howling wintry storm last night, I thought it was only fitting to reflect on the great British summer of 2012.

Of course, we were warned that snow would follow a week of blistering March temperatures, but naturally, we were still unprepared. In true British style no less. No grit or salt, roads closed, trains delayed, and my favourite: a high tech new tram system in Blackpool, delayed on its grand opening due to sand being blown onto the tracks. (If you know what the weather in Blackpool is like, you have to ask yourself what an earth the designers expected to happen).

And so, it is with great fondness that I can look back to last week. A week of scorching summer sun, record high temperatures, and true British summertime behaviour. We all enjoyed it...because it could be the only sun we see this summer. We're English, we know what to expect when it comes to the weather during the summer- the worst.

Sunrise on Litchfield BeachTherefore, when the sun shines, it brings out the best in everything. Roads and neighbourhoods seem so much more picturesque; everyone rushes out of work to get in their deck chairs, or relax in beer gardens; smiles abound as families spend some time together, playing outside or taking long walks through the countryside.

And then there are the BBQs, the staple of any decent British summertime weather. Supermarket shelves buckle under the weight of bags of coal and disposable BBQs. Food and drinks offers spring from nowhere. Music and laughter erupt from over fences in back gardens. There is nothing quite like a good BBQ, as friends and family gather together to bask in the glory of the sunshine, good food and great company, sharing a rare break from the hectic real world.

As beer is thrown back, burgers are consumed, and jokes are told, you realise there is no better place to be at that moment in time.

You know Sunday has been a beautiful, sunny day when people are hungover in work on a Monday!

Of course, the sun can also bring out the worst too. The clothing choices of men in the sun often leaves a lot to be desired, with a number of blokes jumping at the slightest sign of sun as an opportunity to strip off their top half and prance around with their beer bellies hanging out. But hey, can you blame them? Its likely the only bit of Vitamin D they'll get for the next 12 months!

Chasing the Sun out West: Another flying experience

The thing about the world is, it's this big round globe. Just in case you were still living in the 1400s and hadn't realised this. It easy to forget about the curvature of our planet though on a day-to-day basis. And yet when we travel, particularly over long distances, the spherical design and the spin of big ball becomes somewhat more apparent.

I mention this, because it was something I noticed when I flew out to California this winter to the Rose Bowl. Flying against the spin of the Earth, I literally found myself to be chasing the Sun into the West, racing it along the horizon, leaving behind areas where the sun had set, continually journeying in some kind of dusk like state keeping pace with the growing shadow of darkness across the Earth.

On a 15 hour journey from Manchester to LA, it appeared the sun was not destined to set on me.



Well it seemed like that, until I fell asleep on the plane and awoke to the realisation that planes are actually big hunks of metal in the sky that don't move all that fast compared with the spin of the world.

Nevermind, I still had first class to enjoy. For as regular readers will know, my frequent flying in the US has earned me FREE (don't worry, fame hasn't gone to my head yet, I don't demand luxury when I travel just yet) first class upgrades, and the 4 hour flight from Philadelphia to LA ensured I really got to take advantage of it.

I didn't really get to take advantage though: The extra room in the seats ensured I could get really somewhat comfortable and napped for a good portion of the flight.

I did however, still get to sample the edible differences of first class. Real plates. A REAL knife and fork! My shock and wonder at this was rather sad and slightly unbelievable, but I can assure you it was there. Nothing however, compared to the thrill I got from drinking from a real glass- not those standard airline plastic tubs that are usually considered beverage containers.

I didn't get to take advantage of the food either: Indicative of first class, the starter was prawn salad! Prawns! Real whole prawns! Wow, I couldn't believe it! Only, I don't really like prawns. Still, there were prawns! Due to that spin of the earth though, the time differences were all off for me, so I couldn't stomach seconds of the meal. And while dessert was a delicious cheesecake, a bumpy takeoff and insecure holdings meant it was somewhat squashed, having slid sideways. Apparently first class catering isn't immune to turbulence. Pssh, I expected better given the associated cost differences.  Squashed cheesecake wouldn't have happened in standard class. 

I didn't get to take advantage of the drink either:   I've always just had water or soda on planes before, but in first class, the alcohol is free, so I figured..why the heck not... lets have some fun. A vodka and coke request yielded two little bottles of vodka, and I thought I was definitely going to get my money's worth here. But, unaware that the glass size, despite being real glass, was comparable to those plastic ones, I inadvertently poured the entire small bottle of vodka into my glass, leaving very little room for coke. I spent the entire flight taking a tiny sip before frantically adding more coke to the glass, and ended up taking the other little bottle home with me!

I was somewhat glad the sun had set when we arrived over LA, because the sight that greets you just shocks me every time. The vast sprawl of the greater Los Angeles area is just incredible. The city of LA itself is really rather tiny, a speck amongst a throng of streets, lights and cars. The lattice of crossing streets is typical of any American city, but the scale is just enormous. And on top of the grid system, there are the epic sweeping freeways, 14 lane motorways snaking their way North to South, East to West, penetrating through the interlocking streets as a river of car headlights create an endless glowing flow of luminous energy.



This is what LA is all about.

And to top it all off, as we descended into LAX, we hit a thick fog which clung to streets and hid almost everything from view, creating an atmospheric welcome to Hollywood. It was caused by something to do with the water temperature being the same as the dew temperature..or so I was told. I don't really know, I left the technicalities of science behind me when I left high school and came to adopt the never mind why or how, it just works principal.

I may have lost the race against the setting sun, but I'd had an intriguing journey out West.

Back to Basics

As it's going on for three months since my last post, I finally decided it's time to get back to blogging. Before such proper blogs erupt out of my mind and my fingers, I figured I'd have to begin with that obligatory "why I haven't blogged" post.

Only the thing is, there's isn't really a reason why I haven't blogged. Writer's block? Maybe yes, but then I've had the ides and planned to write, I just never got around to it. Busy? Well I've been working lots of hours in my new job, but I'd hardly say I was run off my feet, so no. Lazy, lethargic? Quite probably yes.

In truth, lately there have just been times when I've been distant and somewhat lost. In fact, there have been times when I've not even wanted to get out of bed because I have nothing to do. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not some depressive, self-loathing, stays in pyjamas all day, on the verge of suicide kind of guy. In perspective, my life is pretty good. But, there are just times when I wonder how I ended up where I am right now, and where on earth my life is heading. I'm not even sure if I know where I want it to go, let alone how I am going to get there! I suppose in some ways, if I may borrow a line from John Mayer, you could say I've been having a kind of quarter life crisis.

Ok ok, so I may be being a bit dramatic and exaggerating a lot, but hey- it's my blog and I'll do what I want.

Actually, googling quarter life crisis comes up with a surprising number of hits!...procrastination there...

Basically, it's time just to pull my finger out and get stuck in. To anything.  To everything. To just do stuff! There's only so many hours in the day, and only so many days in a lifetime. So, I just have to embrace where I am right now, and try everything, keep working at various things, and sooner or later, I'll be somewhere new, doing something completely unexpected.

The joys of life.

I never expected to be working at the local gym for instance. And, if I'm honest, it doesn't exactly sound like a wonderful job. But in actual fact, it isn't bad at all. I've been promoted, I enjoy working there, it's very people orientated, and I'm making lots of new, diverse connections. And, I'm still putting some of my skills to use there, in a variety of ways. I even spoke Spanish today... Spanish, in a gym, in Stalybridge. Languages are never wasted you see.

And, it's a job. Which is more than a lot of people have these days.

Acting is.... well, it's an actor's life. Ups and downs, last minute frantic trips. Desperate phone calls to secure a role. I have something coming up on TV in a couple of weeks, and then nothing, apart from my acting class. But, all good things come to those who wait!

Life throws things at you, and yes, you get knocked down. Sometimes rather brutally. But, you do get up again, and you try again, or you try something new. Relationships, jobs, whatever: they're all life experiences, that you just embrace, and look forward to elaborating on in what will surely be your world-wide best selling memoirs one day.

In the meantime, dip your feet into something. Then dive on in.

A note to finish: The appalling number of clichéd sayings and idioms in no part reflect my writing ability. I'm just "finding my feet" and "getting stuck in" to writing again!