Hey! So Glad You're Here.

You may have read enough about me from the homepage but here's a bit more for any of you empathetic individuals that are still interested -

 

I'm Matt - originally from the UK's most easterly point (namely: Lowestoft, Suffolk), now living in West London, where I've been since 2014.  I work in King's Cross for a big, Academic Publisher, and I've been in the publishing industry (including 5 years in Oxford) since 2010 - time flies!

 

It has been an incredibly interesting and varied career to date, which has taken me all over the world, and introduced me to new cultures and friends that I would not have seen/met otherwise.  Before Publishing, I studied English Literature & Language at the University of Leicester, enjoyed a long summer on a student work visa in Toronto, Canada, and spent one year in Bangkok, Thailand, as a TEFL Teacher.

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In my late twenties/early thirties, it was all about running for me.  I'm proud to have completed a handful of marathons, and used to spend a lot of my time researching new and far-flung races.  Nowadays, I still get stimulation from running, but it's not all-consuming as it once was, involves much shorter distances, and the enjoyment I get from it is more about interacting with the community (like at parkrun) rather than the actual act of running!  

 

I'm rekindling the happiness that I previously discovered in other activities - like eating (ahem), reading, travelling (including plane spotting!) & enjoying the city that I live in, which of course, includes lots of spin classes!  I also volunteer at (aforementioned) Gunnersbury parkrun, where you can find me Run Directing on a handful of Saturdays per year.

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Over the years - like many of us - I've had my ups and downs with mental health.  Equally, over the years - maybe also like many of us - I've chosen to *not* do the things that supports a healthy lifestyle.  But that's OK.  At times, I've described myself as a human yoyo - where you'll find me running the London Marathon one month, and then drinking/smoking like a millennial student the next.  I mean, there's balance and then there's whatever that is. 

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And, to be honest, after the early months of the pandemic where I responded positively, doing all of the "exercise" and organizing all of the virtual socials, I went in a different direction, dropped off a bit of a cliff, and I don't think I've ever really recovered.  I've been happy at times, and have been able to pick out the positive parts of the last few years - often once they've passed - but I haven't really been me for a while, hence using some newly found spare time to get back to doing what I always used to enjoy but found it so easy to avoid - writing! 

 

I'm hoping that by revisiting this hobby of mine, and getting stuff written down in black & white, I might just start to be able to eat away at those negative, repeat behaviours that have somewhat scuppered me over the years.  

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Thus, I've created this blog to regain some focus on those happy things, restart a hobby that used to support my mental health in a big way (i.e. writing), and create an archive of my passions & interests, which you might enjoy reading about if you ever discover this site ;-) . 

 

So... hop aboard on this journey with me - welcome to my life and my inner thoughts!