I’m not normally one to look back at a year and say it’s been the best, the worst or even the hardest. But, when I look back at 2017 it’s hard for me not to think this has been a pretty good year where I have achieved quite a lot. Don’t get me wrong there’s been some downs mixed in with the ups but that’s no different from anyone else and I wouldn’t begin to think I’m any better or worse off than anyone else.

Work

Work has been a huge part of my life over the last few years. This year was the second year after taking over the department from my boss of 18 years who retired. This has been a huge change physically and mentally for me especially taking on the work of two people and also the added responsibility that comes with managing the department. Now, I have absolutely loved this challenge and it has helped me to change as a person in many positive ways. I have learnt many new skills, from managing the financial responsibilities of running a department with its own budget and also the responsibility of having to complete all the work required on my own.

One of the biggest changes this year was creating and arranging the exhibition stands for the shows Webtec attended this year. As a company we attended shows in the UK, Germany, America, China and India. I look after the stand designs and production of any graphics and other items needed to create the stand. I normally attend the show in the UK but this year I got the chance to go to Germany to help setup our stand at one of our biggest shows, Hannover. This leads me into my next subject which is traveling alone, another big milestone for me.

Travelling alone

I have been very lucky throughout the years to have been able to visit quite a lot of wonderful places. Las Vegas, Miami, New York, Mexico, Madrid, Barcelona and Rome to name but a few. I have again been lucky to have had great people to visit these places with. I sometimes need assistance in doing general things and have always been nervous about travelling and not having someone with me in case I needed help. When I agreed to go to Germany for the show I knew I would be traveling with two other people but was aware I would be travelling home alone. Now flying home from Germany doesn’t sound like much as many other people do a lot more but for me this was a first big step. The journey went well and it was quite a good feeling to overcome a fear like that.

Onto holidays, my brother has moved to San Diego with his wife Heidi. I wanted to visit in 2016 but never managed it so I knew I really wanted to go in 2017. I chose a rough time to go and also decided that I wanted to add on another leg to the trip and visit San Francisco. This is a place I have always wanted to visit and also has one of the places at the very top of my bucket list, Alcatraz. So, taking a flight home from Germany is one thing but travelling to America on my own and staying in a city like San Francisco for before going to my brothers was a completely new obstacle.

I went for it and booked the trip. 3 nights in San Francisco and 7 nights in San Diego, flying with British Airways from Heathrow, gulp! The holiday came round very quick, I had booked a 3 day bus tour around San Francisco including the trip to Alcatraz. I arrived in the big city and thanks to the wonder that is Uber and the bus tour I had 3 days seeing the sights. The two highlights by far were the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. I was taken a back once I caught sight of the bridge, when you have seen something so many times on the tv and in pictures it’s quite astounding when you get to see it up close and in person. Undoubtably though, the highlight of the trip to San Francisco was the second day when I finally got to see Alcatraz. This is a place I have wanted to see for long time. I was worried on the boat trip over that it wouldn’t live up to my high hopes. It didn’t disappoint, what a fantastic place. One of the most fascinating and scary places I have ever seen. The audio tour was great and being able to see and walk into the cells was chilling. Seeing the cells of the inmates who escaped was fascinating and wish I could off spent more time looking at them. The most thought provoking part was when I walked around the island to see the recreation area. Because of the timing I was there for about 5 minutes completely on my own, this was very weird and amazing at the same time, especially thinking about who spent time there and what might of gone on. So I finished my tour and headed to the gift shop, another lucky opportunity presented itself while I was there. An ex inmate was signing his book so I’m able to say I have met an ex inmate of Alcatraz which I think is pretty cool.

The next day I continued my trip and flew to San Diego to visit my brother Joe and his wife Heidi. About two years ago, Joe and Heidi moved out to San Diego to live in the lovely south California climate. I arrived at their apartment in the afternoon after a very easy journey from San Francisco. I then spent the next week catching up and seeing the area they live in. It was great as I hadn’t seen them both for about 18 months. Over the next week we had lots of days out and we managed to see everything I could off wished to see. We went to the famous San Diego Zoo which was absolutely fantastic. It truly is the best zoo I have ever been to. We went to a baseball game which again was brilliant, when I was in Detroit for their wedding many years ago we also went to a game and I really enjoyed it so I was keen to watch another game. The stadium has been voted the top MLB stadium in the country and you really can see why. A great place to spend the afternoon in the Californian sun watching the ballgame. Even better was they won! Now if you know anything about baseball you will know the San Diego Padres aren’t the greatest team in the league so watching them win was even better. When I asked Joe what game should we go to his response was ‘Do you want to see them loose against Kansas or Cincinnati’ 🙂 They certainly showed him haha. We also visited Waterfront park and saw all the boats including the Naval ships and submarines. During that afternoon was also went to he site of my ‘Meca’ The San Diego Convention Centre which is home to ComicCon, something I would love to attend. All in all it was a great week and amazing to see where they live and meet some of the people they know. Coin-op is a great bar filled with retro arcade games and pinball machines, you don’t need a lot more to be honest.

So I then travelled home and ended what was one of the most amazing trips I have been on. I have been very lucky to visit some amazing places but because this was the first trip I have done on my own it was a little more special. Roll on the next one . . .

Toy collecting and general geekness

If you don’t know by now then you don’t know me very well but I am a major geek. One of my biggest passions and interests is Transformers. I have been collecting Transformers figures for many years now and absolutely love it. I’m also a huge cinema geek and go most weeks using the Cineworld Unlimited card me and some friends have. My favourite film franchise has to be Star Wars of which I am a huge fanatic. Because of this 2017 was a great year as Star Wars the last Jedi was released and I absolutely loved it! I am also part of a great toy community, especially the Realm of Collectors (ROC) This is brilliant as I have a platform to share my geeky interests and passions with. It’s a great group to be part of and hope to continue contributing for a long time. My aim is to make it to TFCon in Chicago this coming October! Fingers crossed.

Wimbledon

One thing I have always wanted to do but never attempted was to go to Wimbledon. So, when my friend Jenny asked me if I would like to go with her I was over the moon. Jenny and myself study Spanish together and I like to think have become very good friends. We always have a good time when we meet up so this was going to be a great day. We had tickets for Court One on the final Saturday of the tournament. We pre booked a Wimbledon picnic to have while there and set off for a day of tennis. We watched games on Court One, sat on Herman Hill and watched other games on some of the other outer courts. We kept saying how great it would be to get on Centre Court but agreed the tickets would have been to expensive even if we could get them. Anyway, towards the end of the day we went to have a closer look at Centre Court. It was during the doubles final so we asked if there was a chance to have a look when the match finished. We were then told we could go in and watch the remainder of that final and also stay for the women’s final afterwards. So we ended the day watching about 2 hours on Centre Court which was absolutely amazing! I have to say this was honestly one of the best days out I have had and am so grateful to Jenny for asking me. We have already submitted our ballots for the 2018 tournament.

 

Jurassic Coast Mighty Hike

Earlier in the year one of my friends Sarah asked if i would like to join them in a charity walk in aid of Macmillan along the Jurassic Coast in Dorset. I jumped at the chance as i thought it would be a great challenge for an excellent cause. So, myself, Justin, Sarah and Kim registered for what was to turn out to be one of the most horrific things I have ever attempted. 23 miles of absolute hell!! We had no idea what we were getting ourself into. This wasn’t walking, this wasn’t fun, this was quite simply scary! Don’t get me wrong, it’s some of the most amazing scenery I have seen but what we had to walk up, down and around wasn’t fit for people like us. We started off well and reached the first check point with some ease. This was to be a teaser of what was to come. The remainder of the walk was up and down some of the steepest inclines I have ever seen. You know it’s tough when you see people sat half way down crying not knowing what to do. But all this said we got through it and I don’t think I can put in to words how proud I was of myself and the others for achieving such an event. Justin, Sarah and Kim were all fantastic and we helped, pushed and pulled each other to the finishing line. It was quite simply the hardest thing I have ever attempted and i think the same can be said for the other three. Well done team!! 🙂

Kind of made a big decision and purchase this year 

I bit the bullet and bought my first flat just over 10 years ago now, this was another big step for me but again no more than anyone else. I have absolutely loved it and have truly loved living there. It’s seen some highs, some lows, some great and some extremely fun times so I can’t of wanted anymore. The only thing is the flat is very small only being a studio flat. It has enabled me to do pretty much what I have wanted to do over the years as it has been fairly cheap to live there, This has allowed me to save and also overpay my mortgage to get where I am now. So, with that in mind I decided it was time to sell my flat and look to buy a new house which is bigger and allow me to progress a lot more. Basically put my big boy pants on!! I have bought a house which is still going through at the minute. It’s taking a long time but hopefully this will be worth it in the long run. I’m really looking forward to having a lot more room and especially having a dedicated toy collection room. A new location is going to be a good change for me as well.

Onwards and upwards

Well, there’s a little recap of my year. I wanted to write this to see how I would write down a year of my life. It’s been interesting thinking of what I have done and look back very proud of what I have accomplished. Here’s looking forward to a new year of big changes and hopefully more adventures!

Thank you for reading.

Sam.

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Twitter: @66SamThompson