EPTSo TechniQ here, I've been around for several years since B.W. and I've given updates in the past but it was several years ago. I was reading a few of my old blog posts made when I was a high school nerd without many friends, playing B.W. and basically failing all my classes and it was a different person who posted those blogs in a sense. So I thought I'd give an update, now that I'm fast approaching 21, finished my first year of university and sort of heading towards my career of Christian ministry/academia/perhaps military chaplaincy?
Starcraft
Although I thoroughly enjoyed B.W. I sucked badly at it, but I loved T.L. and the subculture and sort of watching games and listening to commentaries (particularly by that Irish guy Klazart who has sort of disappeared I think?). Then SC2 hit and I bought it the day it came out and quickly got to Diamond league and stayed there till about June last year when I left for Africa on a 3 month trip. After coming back I started my theology degree and so I never really started playing SC2 again until 2 weeks ago when everything sort of finished.
Now however I find myself in Platinum which is fair I think because when I was in Diamond there was no GM and for a time there was no Masters either so...yeah I'm happy with my ranking. However I've sort of made it my goal to get back to Diamond and I've been playing more and more each day and I've actually been enjoying playing Protoss instead of Terran. I also just bought a new computer since this one cannot really handle SC2 and has pretty bad lag even when nothing is really going on in game. It should thankfully arrive in next day or so.
Specs are...I don't really know - 1024 NIVIDA 430 card? 4 gb ram, 3.30GHZ Intel (one of the recent models)...
Gym
This is one thing which has become like an essential to my life, lifting weights at the university gym. I think it must be the fact that you can actually physically see improvement quickly or perhaps it's just the idea of challenge but really I advise it to everyone. I was skinny as hell but now I'm pretty muscular after 6 months and I hope to continue it over the next few years and indeed my life. I've also started to add a lot of cardio in because....[see next section].
Army
I've been feeling pretty drawn to the Army in the last 6 months and even though I'm training to be a Christian minister, it's not a certainty that I will be accepted by the ordination boards involved. However I've been thinking recently I could kill two birds with one stone and be an Army Chaplain. So I've decided to try and join the Officer Training Corps here at my university to A. Get a taste of army life/training B. Progress into Chaplaincy (since all chaplains are also Officers in British Army) or C. If I really enjoy it and don't go into ministry then I could just be a regular Army Officer.
It's not something that has always fascinated me but certainly over the last few months it has. So I'm pretty excited about that, not to mention the prospect of getting paid at a time when I'm unemployed and also the fact that the British Army is one of the most prestigious institutions in the world and indeed one of the best and oldest we have as a Country. So I'd basically study as normal and do this part-time.
University
University is probably the greatest thing and I won't labour this point because I'm sure many of you go there. I've had some of the best days/nights of my life just chatting the hours away at a nice pub over a pint of lager or over coffee. Met some amazing people who I hope I'll know for the rest of my life and I've had so many new ideas and great influences from theologians, scholars and ministers that my views have constantly been refined and reshaped. Another 3 years to go (or more if I want to do Masters/phD).
"We are living in interesting times"
Yeah so for those of you who took the time to read it, thanks, hope it wasn't too boring. So yeah the next few months of summer are going to be dedicated to getting better at running for joining the Army, lifting weights as usual, achieving Diamond League and having more wonderful discussions with people over pints of lager down the pub.
