2015

I started 2015 not really knowing how it was going to turn out. With no expectations it's hard to really say how it went, but on the whole I think it went well. I started my new job at Lockheed Martin which is going well. It is a big change of pace and different work, but it is interesting stuff. 

Evelyn had her first birthday and has continued to grow since then. She can walk and has started talking. This also means she can wrestle with Kaleb and argue with him...

Starting a new job meant having a different commute; being in the next town is a lot easier to get to and it means I no longer have to rely on the trains. It took me two days to get fed up with getting the bus so I started going to work on a mini scooter instead. A few weeks later a colleague gave me a bike so I have been cycling in on that since, and generally feeling healthier for it. Work was encouraging employees to join in on a 5K Charity run which I signed up for so started running in the evenings, again feeling healthier. Running has slowed down now it is dark when I get home (and it is cold outside), but I expect it'll pick up again once it starts getting warmer/brighter. 

In the summer, me and Liz went to GP London for a big Magic Event. It was also the first time we had both been away from the children overnight since they were born. It was a fun event and something we hope to do again in 2016. I went 4-0 in a Modern Tournament and over the weekend we saved up enough prize wall tickets that I got myself an Ultra Pro bag. 

We went to Weymouth again in September, staying at the same place as last year. The kids enjoyed playing on the beach, and Chris enjoyed winning lots of tickets in the arcade...

After Weymouth, Adam had a pre-stag event going to Alton Towers (on a Friday in school holidays so it was very empty and hardly any queues). We also had Ada's Christening, and the kids enjoyed seeing their cousin again. 

In December Liz had two baking shows and subsequently spend some time afterwards baking Christmas cakes to fulfil orders from the shows. For Christmas itself, it was just myself, Liz and the kids and after a hectic morning, we had an enjoyable (and somewhat relaxing) day. Christmas was an extended affair as we then had two days at my Dads, followed by a day at my Mums, followed in the start of January by a visit to Lincoln. 

2016 will be an interesting year, I am sure. I intend to start finding time to do some of the bits I have always been meaning to get around to do. I'm planning to start running again when the weather gets nicer, and after an update to my Android app recently, I'm hoping to get in another update or two before the year is out. It has dawned on me that this is the last calendar year of my 20's, so I will hopefully save any panicking for next year...

GP London

When I heard about GP London, I thought I'd head along to play some Magic, making a change from only playing at prereleases. Not in the main event; I play seldomly enough that I have no idea if I have enough cards to make a half decent Standard deck, and certainly not a good one. Plus an incredibly long tournament didn't seem too appealing. 

Liz got the Friday off, arranged for the kids to be looked after by their grandparents while we were away, we were ready for our first weekend away from the children. We booked a hotel a couple of days before we went so we wouldn't have to travel far each day, staying at the Marriott which was very nice. 

It was about midday when we arrived at the Excel centre. We picked up our Infinity Challenge badges and wandered around a bit as we had some time until the first event we signed up for was going to start (2 Headed Giant Sealed). One of the Wizards people with a camera chatted to us, and we also did an interview with Dan who was videoing people there for a future GP London video. 

Mini-Christmas

We spent the end of May Bank Holiday celebrating birthdays - mine and my Mums, and Kalebs. With the amount of people around the house (and the amount of food and presents going around) it was like a mini-Christmas. 

Dragons of Tarkir Prerelease

I did really well at the Dragons of Tarkir prerelease, not only winning the tournament but winning all games I played (6 rounds, so 12 games in a row with no losses). I can't remember getting a Game Win Percentage of 100 before, certainly not in a tournament lasting longer than 3 rounds. 

While I don't have a chance to play Magic as often any more, I generally try to make it along to the prerelease events. I usually prefer draft to sealed, but they are a nice way to just have some fun with the new cards. 

I've been going to a new venue as well after I found out a prerelease is now being held on Saturdays down the road from my Dads house (which makes it easier to find someone to look after the kids). 

Eclipse Tip: Highlight Occurrences

I thought I would write a quick post about taking advantage of a useful feature in Eclipse when writing code - highlighting everywhere a selected item appears in the current file.