I'm sorry it's been so long, I've been busy changing my life

I'm not actually kidding. More is changing for me this year than most other years put together, and this is going to be my main excuse as to why I haven't written a blog entry for two and a half months. That entry was written in the anticipation of one of life's great evils: exams. Not just any exams, in fact, but those of my final year at University. Essentially, they are a measure of your academic worth up until that point, and as soon as you take them you make everything before them redundant. Anyway, I finished those, and this entry is the proof that I came out the other side unscathed (or at least with the ability to type/dictate). In fact, I got the degree I wanted, and I've graduated. Despite the economic climate and the shortage of graduate jobs I was offered, and accepted, an ideal job in Birmingham, which I can put down to God's grace. I've got an appartment in Birmingham, for which I picked up the keys yesterday. I'll be moving in as my parents move out of their house of 16 years (and hence the house of my childhood) to the other side of the country. You might be thinking, like me, that all these changes are a bit tame and ordinary. I agree, so to top it off I'm getting married at the end of August. My whole life as I know it will change, but fortunately it will change with the girl who couldn't be more perfect for me.

Where are the men?

This is way off the normal topics of this blog, but is at the forefront of my mind at the moment. I've had a wide variety of reactions from people as they've found out that I'm getting married, ranging from the blunt, "what are you doing? You're only 22!" to, "what took you guys so long?" (mainly from people who know us as a couple). People in the former group tend to be the kind that society is raising at the moment, who believe that you try to get as much as you can from a relationship before moving on, and that committing to someone is resigning your life to one of captivity and predictability. Marriages with people like this never work, because they go into it trying to get all they can from it, rather than giving anything back. Divorce is relatively easy now, and this takes the commitment out of marriage: there's always a get-out clause if you want it. I don't think you can have a true, strong relationship without commitment. And I reckon some guys need to stop being wet and start being ready to commit.

Back to the website, Jon

Yup, sorry! I haven't updated anything at all in ages, but there have been a few nagging things that I want to change. I'm still happy with the look(s) of the site, so I won't be doing much there. But I have a few graphic design things to add to the portfolio, and I will write that flippin' foobar2000 tutorial for ELPlaylist, if not just for completion's sake. My own inaction is beginning to annoy me. I also have a few more album reviews to add, but that's not really top priority right now. The truth is that my new job will take up the majority of my time, and as a result I'll be doing less web and graphic design. But it will always have a place!