New Year. New Me. (5:2 My Life)

So I am just going to get straight to it. I know that it is pretty much the end of February and that means we are 2 months into a new year but I am going to start my resolutions now. Well I'm not sure whether it is a resolution or a change of lifestyle because lets face it a lot of us don't really follow through with the whole New Years resolution thing. (Well I know I don't anyway :/) So this year I am taking on the challenge of improving my life. But anyway, lets hope this works and maybe I will be able to inspire some other people to try this challenge.

Right, so basically during the week I saw an article on the Independent website about how the Guardian Journalist Emma Cook had take the 5:2 diet and applied it to different areas in her life and wrote a book called 5:2 your life. The basic premise is that you spend 2 days a week doing something in your life totally different and the other 5 days doing it the same as usual. The premise behind the 5:2 diet was that you would fast 2 days a week and the other 5 days would be normal days. But if you apply it to the rest of your life you can apparently make a lot of changes for the better that you may have never thought about trying before. For example the author said that she cut out screen time for her and her family 2 days a week and found that even though it was very difficult to stick to in the beginning after awhile she found that the family were talking more, it improved her relationships and made her much more productive. I know that this is definitely something I need to improve on because I find myself checking Facebook or Twitter all the time even though I just looked at it and nothing has changed.

So at the moment I am reading the book and am going to try to implement some changes in my life and I will be writing about my experiences and about what I think is working or not working (or how I make it work for me) (Obviously not on days that are screen free.) And I hope that it does work for me and that I can maybe inspire someone to take the challenge with me. One change that I am going to put in place straight away is 2 days a week will be healthy vegetarian meals so that I can cut down my meat intake and improve my health. If anyone has anything they do in regular life that they think could be helpful to my goal of becoming, healthier and more efficient, I would really like to hear it and would appreciate the help :) And if anyone else has read the book or is reading it now and wants to set a challenge for me or just tell me how they are getting/got on I would really like to hear from you :)

Stardansheill o7

Christmas Day Charity Swim

So as per usual I have left it an awful long time since I last wrote anything on here but I have been working on this one for Quite a while :) So basically what I am writing about is the Cope Galway Christmas Day Swim. For people who aren't aware of what Cope do, they are a Charity that help people who are homeless, elderly people or people who have been the victims of Domestic abuse. They rely solely on donations from people and lately people have become reluctant to donate money to Charity in Ireland, with good reason. But that doesn't mean that the people they help should suffer so I am trying my hardest to raise as much money as possible to help out. Every year Cope organises a Christmas Day swim which is really just where people jump of the diving boards in Galway and swim to the shore but it is a fun experience and a lot of people get helped out in the process. 

I have been trying to do this swim for years but something has always gotten in the way. My fathers family live in Donegal so for the last few years we have been spending Christmas up there so sadly I was away on Christmas day and couldn't take part. But this year I can :) Cope do some amazing work and help a lot of people. Everyone deserves to be happy and have a good life but unfortunately that isn't the case and that really makes me sad. I would love to be able to help everyone who needs it but unfortunately like everyone else there is only so much that I can do. But with the help of fundraisers Cope can help more people than I can and they will be able to make a lot of people very happy at Christmas and for years to come. Now I know  a lot of people are probably saying why the hell am I writing this and what is the point?

Well the answer is I am writing this to make people aware of what is happening and to inform people about Cope and their Service. And to ask people if they could sponsor me to do this swim, I have been collecting money from friends and family for the last few weeks but someone told me about the website idonate and that I could use that to try and raise more money so I created a page. Now I know a lot of people get annoyed when people come asking them to sponsor them for things. But I believe that this a very worthy cause and I would really appreciate anything that you people could do to help me help out this wonderful charity. You can find my page here ---> idonate.ie/pacman656. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who reads this and tell you that you are all awesome people :)

Stardansheill o7

The Week Ireland Began To Melt

So this week in Ireland we have had the hottest summer in 8 years with some places reaching 30+ degrees which is rather insane for Ireland. I personally do not deal well with the heat because I am a naturally warm person and I begin to melt when it gets too hot. But I do like to see the sun once and awhile so I am enjoying it. Unfortunately I had to work for most of it which meant being stuck in a car for hours in the hot sun and then working inside a warm shop for hours. The only relief was getting to count the walk in fridges and freezers that stores have. Staff were actually requesting to count the freezers and fridges which is very unusual because no one likes the cold usually. Well except me :)

We went to Donegal on Tuesday. We left Galway at 4:30 am and it was already 18 degrees which for Ireland is bloody insane. We got to Dungloe County Donegal at 7:30 and the heat was already getting to me. Luckily when we started at 8am the shop was rather cool. But throughout the day it got incredibly warm and unbearable in our work body warmers which we have to wear while we are in the shops :/ We finished the shop early enough which was good. 5 of us were staying in Dungloe that night because we were working in Annagry which was only 20 minutes away the following day. We got to the hotel at about 1:30 but couldn't check in until 4 so we went to the local supervalu and bought some cans and sat on the pier for a few hours cause it was so warm. And you must drink cans on a pier during the warm weather when there is nothing else to do. 

The tide was out while we were drinking so we couldn't go swimming like we had planned but we did get the bright idea to try and walk across the bay. Well when I say we I mean we all thought it would be a good idea but needed a guinea pig and I ended up being that guinea pig. None of us wanted to do it, but the longer I sat there looking out the better and idea it became. As you can see from the picture of my feet it wasn't exactly the best idea. I got about 10 feet across when it became to squidgy to walk in. I would have kept going as I didn't think I would sink any further than my calves but I was begging to lose balance and the lads were throwing stones at me to make me fall so I turned around. And because the tide was out I had nowhere to wash my feet :/ So I had to let it dry in and then brush it off. Was rather disgusting. But thankfully we got checked in at 4 and I went straight to the shower to wash the remaining dirt off my feet. Spent the rest of the day relaxing and headed to bed early to get up for work at 6. 

Awesome Humans part 7. One that is rather close to home.

It appears I haven't written about those humans out there that inspire me to be a better person and those who are just plain awesome. Well this particular human is both those things. His name is Aidan Breen (<<< Link to his twitter handle) and I actually grew up with him, but we seem to have lost touch lately. Note to self, correct that. Sorry, where was I? Oh yes. Well Aidan is a local singer song writer from our lovely little village of Oranmore and he has decided for some insane reason to attempt to play 32 gigs in 32 Counties in 32 days. For as long as I can remember he has been playing music and is a great singer and musician. He is part of a band known as Cotton Ball Three. But Aidan is doing this challenge all on his own. He has already done 8 Counties but has a lot more to go and I wish him the best of luck to it.

He did a Radio interview today and is looking for all the support he can get. So now for the real reason I am writing this article. Aidan is a brilliant musician and I would really love to see him succeed in this challenge. He just decided one day after exams that he was going to do this challenge. He just wanted to take a summer after college to do what he loves before he has to get down to being an adult and get a job. So I am appealing to all the people who read this blog that may know someone that owns or manages a pub in Ireland to please try and help him out. For anyone interested in his music here is a video he made of one of his original songs. You can find his Youtube page here. Here's to Aidan on the rest of his journey :)

Stardansheill o7

Saturday Sounds

Today was one of those days that I was home at a reasonable hour from work but didn't have anything to do so I started listening to music and reading and decided to share some of my music with people. This is just a playlist of some of the stuff I have been listening to today. Lately I have been reading a biography about Dave Grohl so a lot of it is foo fighters or other bands he has been associated with. But it is best listened to on shuffle. Hopefully people enjoy it :) Music is always something that brings people together and I personally love music and listen to it as much as possible. Let me know if you enjoy it or if there is any music you would recommend :)

Stardansheill o7

My absence and ideas for the future of my blog.

So like I always say every time I come back here to write a new post, work has been crazy busy and at times I think my brain is going to explode and leak out of my ears. Sorry, that's kind of disgusting.

 But I can't keep using that as an excuse for not posting on here. I have a massive back log of stuff that I want to write about, but whenever I get home from work I am usually exhausted from being up early and working all day. But I have come up with a solution that will hopefully help me get back into the rhythm of writing and posting more regularly. I hope that it will also work my brain so as I can concentrate longer and be less tired in the evenings. I find myself getting home from work and wandering around my house like a zombie, I know I have things to do but I can never remember what they are.

Movies, music and life in general

So it's been nearly a month since I posted last (again). It's been one of the busiest months of my life so far and also one of the most fun. This is just going to be a short post about something that happened on my life recently.

2013 has had a great start for me. I have decided to make a massive change in my life. I've basically decided that I really don't care what people think of me, I'm me and if someone has a problem with me or doesn't like me well then I don't care because that is their problem. I'm always going to be me and I amn't going to change that to please someone. With work I meet too many people everyday to try and please everyone. I think it's the best thing I have ever done in my life. My life is so much less stressful now and I sleep so much better. I should have done this years ago, but I think a lot of teenagers do that kind of thing because they are afraid people wont like them and they will become an outcast but I have found that you actually get on better with your real friends who know the real you when you stop trying to please everyone.

I explained this to someone recently and they thought I sounded like an old man who had given up on life. It really confused me. Is this person right, am I just an old man that doesn't care anymore or does this make sense to people?

Stardansheill :)

The week of music and insanity.

So lately work has been crazy busy, we have been travelling all over the country and I haven't really seen that much of anything besides work and roads. So as you can imagine I am starting to go out of my mind. So unfortunately I haven't gotten much of an opportunity to write much here. But I have been listening to the radio a lot and I have found a few more songs that I think should be shared with the world. Also this week I have a few songs that I am sure everyone has heard at least once that drive me absolutely insane. I am not going to post those videos because I refuse to have their names associated with my youtube history.

But anyway the new songs to share with everyone are:
1. Imagine Dragons. On top of the world

This is my current chilax song.

Lazy Tuesday Music Segment

So I decided to make a slight adjustment to my music segment. Well first of all I actually have to start writing it again, but anyway instead of just writing about the song of the day I am going to talk about new songs that I find and think should be shared with the world. They might often be songs that will already be pretty popular but oh well, sometimes there are people out there that just somehow manage to miss these new videos and songs that get posted online and don't get much radio time or publicity. I know I have missed quite a lot of them.

This song is called professional griefers and is a song by Deadmau5 with vocals from Gerard Way (Lead singer for my chemical romance.) It was released in August of 2012. No idea how it took me so long to discover it. I used to be a huge MCR fan and still listen to their stuff and follow what is going on with them, but somehow I missed the release of this song. Video below, ENJOY!

Awesome Humans The 6th

Firstly HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone. So I just realised it's been 2 months since I posted a new blog post. I don't know how it got away from me for so long :/ So since it is a new year I am going to be a better blogger and post more regularly, but I am not going to set myself any sort of weekly schedule or anything. I'll just say that I will post more regularly and when inspiration strikes. I recently got myself a much better laptop (it's so much faster :-D ) so that should help with the research and the actual working of my blog.

But anyway, back to the story at hand. I thought I would start the new year with what is in my opinion one of the most inspirational people I have ever come across -----> Nick Vujicic.
Nick  graduated from Griffith University at the age of 21 with a double major in accountancy and financial planning. But he went on to become a motivational speaker that travels the world giving speeches to all sorts of people, from school kids to corporations. He focuses mainly on teen issues.

Awesome Humans The 5th

So, I just took a look at the last time I updated my blog and realised it has been nearly a month o_O Where has all that time gone. It feels like only a week since I posted. I guess I'm still adjusting to my new and crazy schedule, but I will get it sorted. I have basically spent the last month working, sleeping and cooking. I am really enjoying it, especially the cooking part. I have turned into a total foodie :)

But since this is a post about awesome humans and not my horrible time keeping ability I would like to talk about an amazing 9 year old girl who is writing a book to help feed African children. It is called never seconds: The Incredible Story of Martha Payne. Every copy of this wonderful book sold will buy 25 school meals for kids in Milawi through Mary's Meals charity.You can visit her blog called never seconds here and I highly reccommend you do, it is amazing. It is about the state of the school lunches in her school. I have only read a few of her posts as I only discovered her today, but it only takes a little bit of investigating to realise that this girl is a major reason why humans are awesome. You'd swear when reading that she was much older than 9, just by the way she writes, it's fantastic. The book hits the shelves on the 15th of November but you can pre-order it here. This is definitely going on my list of things to buy when I get my visa debit card. Should arrive any day now. Oh, and she goes by the name Veg which stands for Veritas Ex Gustu, which when translated from Latin means truth from tasting, which is awesome.

I know it is rather short, but I think I get the point across that this little person is an awesome human being and we can definitely all learn something from her. I think she is going to do great things as she grows up and I hope she never gives up and does what she believes in. What do you guys think, am I right in saying this is a valid reason for Awesome Humans? Let me know what you think in the comments below :)

If anyone has any stories that show some truely awesome humans I would really like to hear about them. Every time I read another story about an awesome human event that is being run it makes me want to change who I am and do more for my fellow humans and pay it forward :)

Stardansheill o7

Awesome humans part 2

Just realised that I completely forgot to publish this when I finished it. Ooops. So now this is part 2 of reasons why humanity is awesome. But it was written 2 months ago. 

This week I worked with Civil Defence, the voluntary organisation I volunteer with. We were providing first aid cover for a filipino family fun day on in a local area near where I live. I didn't sleep very well the night before hand so I wasn't in the best mood the next morning when I got up at 7. But once I got to the duty and saw all the people up at 8 in the morning to come and enjoy a day out amongst friends and family with big smiles on their faces really brightened my day. It was actually such an awesome thing to see, because no matter what was going on in the rest of the world or their own lives, for that day having fun and meeting up with people was the only thing that mattered.

Everyone was in such high spirits all day (even though it rained for most of the day and everyone had to stay inside) and they were so lovely. They had never met me or anyone else that was volunteering with me that day but they still made sure that we got some food and that everything was ok. Everyone was on the go from 9 am until nearly 8 pm partaking in a loads of different events, from table tennis, to basketball, to dancing. The whole building was just buzzing with energy all day long. It was quite contagious. It was even harder to not want to smile all day long just watching all these people together as if there wasn't a care in the world. In my opinion it is very rare to see that level of community involvement year after year which is why I have chosen to make that event another reason humanity is awesome.

I guess what I am really getting at in this long winded story of mine is that the sense of community is still alive and kicking in the world and it just takes a bit of organising and the right people for the job and things will get done. So I dub this story reason 2 as to why humanity is awesome and there is hope yet.

Feel free to tell me what you think in the comments below :)

Stardansheill o7

Web design/new project

A couple of Months back my Uncle asked me to design him a website for his carpentry business and I said I would. But he didn't have all the information for me at the time so it was put on the back burner until yesterday during my day off coming up to the end of my work period. I decided that since I have a bit more free time on my hands now that I am entering what I like to call "limbo". This is the time between my work periods. It usually lasts up to about 2 weeks and I tend to get very restless for things to do so this project is exactly what I need. I thought it would only take me a few hours maybe a day to whip up the basic design template for all the pages as I had done a year of some basic web design in the course I was in before I dropped out of college. But that was over two years ago now and it is amazing how much of it I have forgotten. I guess it's like everything, you forget how to do it over time if you don't use the skills. I guess the saying "practice makes perfect" is true.

So I think what I am going to do is buy myself a couple of books about web design and learn from them and find a couple of decent tutorial sites online to help as well. Because at the moment I feel a little like the picture below. I really enjoyed designing websites during college and when I am in front of the computer typing code for sites the time seems to fly. I'll sit down after lunch we'll say and then before I know it, it's dinner time and I haven't done much because I keep changing my mind about how exactly I want it.

College and the future and finding a job

So this entry is going to all about my college fiasco and the future. I hope that some of what I say in this entry can help people with decisions in their lives. Early during my last year in college (which was the second year of my degree course in Electronic Engineering) I realised I wasn't enjoying the course and I couldn't really imagine myself doing this for the rest of my life. But I didn't say anything to anyone because I wasn't entirely sure. I thought that maybe it was just other things happening in my life at the time were getting me down. I suffer from depression and can become very down all of a sudden and have to figure out why or I am useless to anyone. I usually am able to figure it out by talking to someone that I trust about all the things going on, but that is a story for another time perhaps. I kept with the course for the rest of the year, but as the year progressed I started attending less and less classes and didn't really mind that I was falling behind, but I still went to most of my labs and did the projects to get some marks. It was about march when I really realised that I definitely did not want to do this for the rest of my life. But I thought about the fact that my parents had spent a lot of money on me and this course, the way the economy is at the moment and that it was an in an area that had an awful lot of job opportunities once I got my degree. So I decided that I would work hard with my study and do my best to pass my exams in May. I actually felt like I had done ok in the exams and may have actually passed. There were a few that I was worried I had failed, but I thought it would be ok...

Sleep deprived Saturday

So I have currently been awake for 31 hours and I don't like it. I miss my bed and my awesomely random dreams. I decided that it would be a great idea to write this entry in my sleep deprived state and see what happens sure. I had to get up at 3 am to go to work today and I actually went to bed early last night but I just could not sleep at all. My brain kept telling me that I was going to sleep through my alarms and I would miss work, so I just lay there staring at the ceiling for what seemed like days.

I eventually decided that there was no way I was going to get any sleep so I put on my headphones and started to listen to some music and paroose some random blogs. I came upon THIS one that was truely random indeed. I highly recommend this blog to anyone looking for a blog that is compossed of literally some of the most random things I have ever read. I can honestly say I would love to be as random as this person. I for some reason love being pure random and saying things that make my friends wonder what is going on inside my head. I also found some amazing songs that I am now going to stick a few up here for all to see and enjoy as I know ye will :-)

The first one here is Breezeblocks by Alt-j. It is definitely my favourite of all the ones I have found recently. Don't really know why, I'll get back yo you on that when I figure it out. I think it's because of the lyrics. They are amazing.

Ironman 70.3 Galway 2012. Awesome Humans 3

So here we are with part 3 of why humanity is awesome. I am actually really enjoying this segment of the blog. I know I haven't written much for it, but I am loving finding ideas to write about and all the amazing people that are out there. I think I will just spend a week solid writing about them and see what happens. This one is a couple of weeks old and I am a bit late but sure it still counts. The internet in my house has the most temper mental connection so I haven't really been on it lately. I had it on my phone but we all know it isn't the same thing at all. It's so difficult to write a post on the phone and I needed to write something, so I decided to put up with it so I could write and because I was missing the internet.

A couple of weeks ago I was volunteering with Civil Defence at the Iron man 70.3 which was being held in Galway. For those like me who would have/had no idea what the Iron man 70.3 is you can go here and read all about it. That link will bring you to the ironman website and give you all the information you need to know about a full Ironman event and the 70.3 event. But for those other people that are like me and tell themselves that they are going to click that link after reading and totally forget, an Ironman 70.3 is a triathlon event consisting of a 1.9km swim, a 90km cycle and a 21.1km run. That's a 1.18 mile swim, a 55.9 mile cycle and a 13.11 mile run. 2500 people took part in this years event. I don't know about the you guys but I would never be able to do this in my wildest dreams. In my opinion the people who do these events are superhuman and they are another reason why humanity is awesome.

The start of the cycle

How do we achieve peace?

Today I had a pretty uneventful day but while I was making my lunch there was a movie on in the background which sounded pretty good so I went into the sitting room and paused it so I could watch it when I was finished with lunch. The movie was called "That's what I am". It is based in 1965 and is about a student (Andy) who like most students will do anything to avoid conflict and ridicule from his classmates. But then a teacher (Mr. Simon) pairs him off with the schools biggest outcast (Stanley) on an important term project. Over the course of the movie Andy discovers that the teacher had a reason for pairing him with Stanley. Andy learns that Stanley is a brilliant, kind, tolerant and decent human being who has more dignity that anyone he had ever encountered. It's a heart warming tale about overcoming bullies and being who you are rather than trying to adhere to the social norm. 

But the one thing that will stand out for me is this wonderful quote. Mr Simon entered a competition to win a car. Each participant had to write in 50 words or less how to achieve peace, Mr Simon did it in 5. "Human Dignity + compassion = peace" I don't know why, but that quote really stuck with me more than anything else that happened in the movie. I am usually quite attentive to movies that are about overcoming adversity and standing up for what you believe in because it is tough to do those things. But after this quote came up I couldn't really focus on the rest of the movie. I was just thinking about how amazing that quote is and how easy it would be for people to be more compassionate and have more dignity. If everyone learned from this quote I think we would be taking a massive step towards peace. I highly recommend this movie. It really makes you think about everything that is happening in the world and your own life. Has anyone else seen this movie? If so what did ye think of it? I would really love to hear peoples opinions on the movie, on how we can achieve peace or even just what they thought of my ramblings. 

Stardansheill o7

Reasons why humanity is awesome

So I haven't really being very good at posting on here lately so I have decided to create a new segment where I post about things that make me so happy to be alive and why humanity is awesome. Lately whenever I watch the news or read a paper it is usually full of sad news stories but every so often there is that one story that you read or see that makes you smile and see why people never give up on things. So I am going to post some of the stories and videos that put a smile on my face. These are only my opinions of the reasons why I think humanity is awesome I would love to hear from you guys as to why you think humanity is awesome or even the opposite. Just leave a comment below.

 I decided that the first post I do on this segment will be about a few videos I found by the Piano guys while stumbling around the internet and literally spent a good 2 hours listening to and perusing the rest of their videos. They have written a lot of their own music but they also cover a lot of classical music. But in my opinion this doesn't make them any less awesome because it still takes a ridiculous amount of talent to cover some classical songs.

I decided to include them in the reasons why humanity is awesome segment because they are so passionate about their music and they play because they love doing it. They have spent countless hours of their lives honing their talents as musicians and have probably thought about giving up many many times while learning, but they never did and they are now amazing and have made a career from something they love. Every time I watch their videos I can't stop smiling. I couldn't even in my wildest dreams even imagine being able to do something like that. The skill involved is immense. People like these guys are truly awesome. And there are plenty of them out there. The internet is full of them. All we have to do is look :)  

Expect to see a few more posts in this segment as I am often stumbling upon amazing stories or even just seeing things in my own personal life that restore my faith in humanity and show that humanity really is awesome. I like to remember that no matter how depressing things can get there is always something out there that will put a smile on your face.

Stardansheill o7

New idea

So I have been working a lot lately to try and save money for college, a new laptop and other stuff. In the last week I bought a new phone because I decided to treat myself and I have not had a good phone in about 5 years. So I bought the Sony Xperia U which runs on Android. Personally I prefer the Android operating system because it is open source and anyone can create applications on it without having to pay for a license like on Apple. I have had 3 or 4 android phones since they started coming out but they have always been lower end models so they don't work with all the applications and that annoyed me lol.

But anyway back to the reason I am writing this post. The phone does almost everything I want it to do so I am in love with it. I amn't one of these people who pretends to know a lot about technology, because that would be far from the truth. But I try and learn when I can about stuff like this. I love technology and am kind of a nerd. I was thinking about doing an app review section on the blog where I would download a new app I haven't used and let the people of the internet what it's like and what I think. Or people could ask me to test out an app and review it so they can find out what it's like with no effort on their part lol. What do people think about this? I would really appreciate any criticism people can give me about this. There are some many free apps out there to try and I have been trying a new one nearly everyday just to see if they are any good and a lot of them are but you get a few that are not so great. 

Stardansheill o7

Progress report

So it has been two months since I posted something, oops. I did not realise it had been that long. I fell behind when it came time to study for my end of year exams and then I was working after that and other stuff came up and I just stopped writing. I have failed my new years resolution to do something new ever week for the year, but I still have other ones to do and I will think of other things to write about. I just thought I should post something on here to get myself back into the swing of things. Thank you to all the people that have contacted me to make sure i was ok since I have been gone for so long. I will catch up on what I have missed and get back to writing ASAP. But for now I am just going to post a song that I recently discovered that I think is excellent. It is about not letting people push you around and always standing up for yourself. Really made me think about my past and how I used to be and how I have changed since then. Still some changes to make but I am getting there :)

Stardansheill o7