Showing posts with label Happy New Year. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Happy New Year. Show all posts

Sunday, January 01, 2023

Hello 2023

Time to dig out this SID song again.  I really need to write a new one!  Happy new year to my friends and family.  

Well, 2022 was a bit crap to be honest, and I am already wondering what shit is going to be thrown my way for 2023.

One thing is for sure...  there will be plenty of gaming (both retro and new) starting with the Dead Space remake in January, and lots of walks with Millie. 

Onwards and upwards, eh?

Thursday, December 31, 2020

Happy New Year 2021

And so ends another year, and what a year it has been.

2020 has been dominated by the Coronavirus pandemic, culminating in my wife tragically losing her Mum and Granddad in November, I wonder what 2021 will bring.  My time on Worcestershire County Council's payroll has come to an end after nearly 17 years as the school joins a MAT and becomes an academy.  To say I am anxious about the whole thing is an understatement, but I'll just have to see how it pans out.  I've been assured that my role will not change, but since I am such a pessimist I can only think the worst.  Watch this space.

Gaming wise though, 2020 hasn't been too bad at all.  During the first lockdown between March and July, I was able to introduce my daughter Kayleigh to the wonders of retro gaming with our "Kayleigh's Retro Isolation" series - an opportunity to allow Kayleigh to play a different game every day until the lockdown ended when she had to go back to school.  It lasted 70 days, and the results can be viewed here on this blog.

Notable game purchases this year include (in no particular order)

The Last of Us Part II (PS4)
Daymare 1998 (PS4)
Resident Evil 3 Remake (PS4)
Doom Eternal (PS4)
Mafia Trilogy (PS4)
The Dark Pictures Anthology - Little Hope (PS4)
Call of Duty Cold War (PS5)
Train Sim World 2 (PS4) - A special Christmas present from my son Kieran!
Watchdogs Legion (PS5)

Of course, the big gaming event was the release of the PS5, and despite there being a lack of them available worldwide, I was lucky enough to get a pre-order in on time and receive one on release day.  I would like to say it's been nice having one, but my son has had it in his room most of the time due to I having a lack of any PS5 specific games for it.  I'm sure 2021 will see some stunners come out and I can bring it back downstairs again!  Resident Evil 8 Village in particular.

Not much else has happened in our little world.  A car hit my car in September which resulted in my beloved Zoe Zafira being written off.  All I got from the insurers was a measly £800 which doesn't even come close to the cost I had to pay out for a new car.  With that said, I'm now the proud owner of a lovely 2017 Zafira Tourer (Zara) and although I am now in debt and having to pay that off for a few years, it is actually really nice to have a new car.  

The Star Trek Starships model collection has of course expanded even more over the past 12 months.  The main collection has now ended, although they're still released the odd special model every now and then.  Just as well really because I am beginning to run out of space!

So here comes 2021. My 44th year on Earth, and my son Kieran's last year at secondary school.  Can't believe he is doing his GCSEs and will be finished in a few months' time.  We've still got the Coronavirus pandemic going on, but I'm confident we'll have things back to normal again in a few months.

Here's hoping for a better 2021

Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Happy New Year and welcome to 2020!

And so we approach the end of another year...  Another decade in fact.  I still find it hard to believe that very shortly we will all be living in the 20s!

As I look back over the past year while still recovering from a dreadful sickness big which has plagued the Wilson family over Christmas, I can't help but think that 2019 has had a fair few highlights and memorable moments, namely our first family cruise (thanks muchly to Michelle's Dad), and my first trip out to the Maunsell Sea Forts which is something I've always wanted to do.  Sophie and Kayleigh have now moved up to Middle School, Kieran is progressing nicely in his GCSE subjects at school, Michelle's nail business is booming (I think this has been her most successful year yet), and things are the same for me at work, but with the added benefit of having all of my children at the same school!

It's been a good year for gaming too.  Besides the countless hours of playing old games on my many retro machines, I've also been able to enjoy many of 2019s fantastic releases.  Highlights have been
Shenmue 1 and 2 (re-released on PS4)
Shenmue 3
Call of Duty Modern Warfare
Dark Pictures Man of Medan
Days Gone
Resident Evil 2 Remake
The Walking Dead The Telltale Definitive Edition
Blood and Truth

With that said, the best gaming highlight in 2019 for me though is playing through and finishing Resident Evil 7 in VR - Now THAT was an experience!

2020 Looks like it's going to be an equally good year for new games, with the recently announced Resident Evil 3 remake expected in April, and of course the long-awaited The Last of Us Part 2.  I can't wait!

I never make new year resolutions, but I will make some aims which I intend to keep to...

1)  Find time to relax and play some games.  I've got a massive backlog of games I've purchased over the past year which I haven't even played yet.  I've had Red Dead Redemption 2 since October 2018 and I still haven't played it!!
2)  Find time to write more music.  This is something I've wanted to do for so long, but I just never seem to find the time to do it.
3)  Find time to go out more with the camera.
4)  Find time to catch up with old friends, some whom I have neglected for too long.

I guess my biggest aim of 2020 is to FIND TIME for myself to do things.  I spend so much of my time working and worrying about stuff, that I seem to struggle to enjoy the finer things in life.  A problem I've had for as long as I can remember.

Anyway, to the odd person who will read this - Happy New Year!  I wish you all the best for 2020.  To end this year and decade, enjoy a small Commodore 64 demo I've put together

sd

PS - I still can't believe 1990 was 30 years ago.

Tuesday, January 01, 2019

Happy New Year 2019

Here we are again.  Another January 1st signalling the start of another year.

I've been a little quiet on my blog lately, with most of my postings and ramblings appearing on other social media sites instead (Facebook and Twitter).  For 2019 I plan to post more of my photography and any other creative projects I work on here.

As a whole, 2018 has been a slick, fun, happy year to be honest, so I'm going in to 2019 with high hopes that we'll get a repeat.

So, here I am now in my 42nd year on the planet Earth, wishing you all a very happy New Year

LOAD
PRESS PLAY ON TAPE
SEARCHING
FOUND 2019
LOADING
READY.
RUN