There are a few moments in everyone’s life which were so huge that they will always remember where they were and what they were doing. For example, when JFK was shot, when John Lennon was shot, the Dunblane massacre, the London bombings of 7/7, the Glasgow Airport attack.

On 11 September 2001, I was at home, on a day off from university. For the past 10 years, I’ve been a bit of a news junkie. This day was the catalyst. Like most people, I heard about the North Tower being struck and switched to the rolling news. I was horrified and astounded that a pilot could have suffered any kind of system failure which could have led to an accident of this magnitude. Then the South Tower was struck. This was not an accident. It was a terrorist attack. I was watching something which was changing the world.

At some point during all of this, I received a phone call asking if I could come into work as they got very busy all of a sudden. I worked for a phone company which did cheap phone calls to other countries. Everyone was trying to call the US. We were told that the authorities in the US had turned off all the mobile phone networks in New York and that landlines were incredibly congested. This led to a swathe of calls from American ex-pats who were incredibly rude to my colleagues and I. There was, of course, nothing we could do to get these people through to their loved ones. This was anger due to panic, due to concern for loved ones, due to an attack on their homeland. I couldn’t blame them for that. These callers didn’t realise however, that I too, had lost friends and colleagues that morning. You see, the company I worked for had its New York switching equipment in World Trade Center.

Its hard to understand exactly how I changed after these events. I’m more suspicious, certainly. I’ve learned a bit more about other cultures, and religion in general. I’ve decided for some, religion is a comfort, but for me, and many others, its about control. Trying to get people to think and behave in a certain way.

The events of 9/11 changed the world. For everyone. The world is now a more dangerous place. I just accepted this as a fact of life, but now, as a new father, I need to help reverse this. We need to change the world for the better. If we all do at least one good thing every day for a fellow human being, things will change. We can all change the world for the better.

Molly was born at 0455 on Thursday, 21 July 2011. It wasn’t an easy birth, it wasn’t a short birth. It was a long birth with a traumatic, dramatic finish. I’m not going to go into all that here. If you know me at all, you’ll know the story by now.

Anyway, putting all that aside, it’s been six weeks of progression. Six weeks of watching Molly grow and develop. Six weeks of watching Jen slide with ease into the role of being a mum. Six weeks of trying to get use to the fact that your life is no longer your own. You’re no longer a couple. You’re a FAMILY. Yes, we still exist as individuals, we’re still husband and wife and we do all the things that married couples do, but we’re also now ‘Mummy and Daddy’.

It’s taken a bit of getting used to, but we’re finally found the groove. That balance between it being all about Molly, and being able to do things like household tasks. It’s taken six weeks, but we’ve made it. For now. Until Molly decides to change the rules.

So some of the more regular readers of this blog will know that I recently formed my own company: *audioninjas. What you may also know is that this is not my full-time job. So far, it’s a passion which doesn’t quite pay. Yet.

I recently demo’d for some potential work. I got the script, I got the voice, I got the price and I got the demo produced. I didn’t, however, get the work. This naturally led to disappointment and thoughts of “what could I have done better?”, but it also led me to ask myself a question: “What’s next?”.

Now, this isn’t something I usually do. Anyone who has known me any reasonable length of time will tell you that I generally take rejection and things of that nature to heart, and it will normally affect me for a couple of days, if not a couple of weeks. This time around, it affected me for a couple of minutes. Why? To be honest, I’m not quite sure. It may be that I simply don’t have time to wallow in the thought of what might have been. It was maybe that I’m currently distracted by a very heavily pregnant wife. I don’t think it is though.

I think I’ve just now begun to realise, at 29, that life’s too short. If I want to get anywhere close to making my passion something which allows me to not only feed my family, but to reach my goals and realise my dreams, I just have to pick myself up, dust myself off and get straight back to work. This surprised me, but I know its the right decision.

(Photo by CarynNL. Thanks!)

That is all.

Sunday is supposed to be a ‘day of rest’ isn’t it? Not for me, not today. I started off by heading out to the Mini dealership. Jen was picking up her new car:

A whole hour wasted! Maybe its just me, but time spent in a car dealership when you’re not getting a car for yourself seems like a bit of a waste of time.

I had the forethought to pick up my laptop on the way out, thankfully. This meant that I was able to actually do some work! I’ve been able to write two blog entries for The Tech Show. Now I’m writing this one. Three blog entries in one day? A trip to the Mini dealership? I need to lie down!

People – if your partner suggests that you spice things up by getting the flu together, RUN AWAY. RUN FAST. Oh, and check this video. You can get it in a lift:

So, tomorrow is my birthday. Yes, 28. I’m not completely sure what I’m getting this year, but some cash wouldn’t go amiss.. I’ve still got a wedding to pay for! If you’d like to donate some cash, just leave a comment, and I’ll be round to collect..

I still haven’t been on the Off-Road driving experience which Jen got me for my last birthday. I am, however, going next weekend. I can’t wait! You don’t get the opportunity to wreck a Land Rover too often. I’ve got my neck brace on order, just in case!

Who fancies going out for a drink in Glasgow to celebrate my birthday then? Come on… it’ll be fun!