Always moving forward, forever looking back

I doubt Mr. David Buck had any idea just how visionary those lines were.

It's been a while since I composed my thoughts in this maelstrom that is writing/drinking tea/teaching and, quite honestly, Warcraft.

I seem to live life remembering everything that was once great but this week I sat and took stock of everything and realised that, for once, I'm in a pretty awesome place.

Playing computer games in a warm house while it's raining outside with plentiful supplies of tea/toast and other such amenities. Spending the time to conceptualize the stuff I write better and being even more proud of it all with every article and interview. This shit's the dream and every single day I wake up and realise I'm living it.

Will this situation last forever?

Nothing does but for the time that getting up when I wake up and writing about what I enjoy writing about is my life then I'm not going to waste time thinking about what was great in the past because the present's pretty damn perfect.

9-5 Jettison

It's been a while right?

It's not that I don't want to write anymore, far from it, but I'm writing so much everywhere else that I have flashes of stuff I want to write on here but they always seem to get lost in a sea of chaos.

When did we last speak? Start of September? Craziness.

Ok, to sum up, in that time the following things have happened.

• I played a month of WoW and grew a beard in about 3 days which was pretty epic. It was great to go back on and catch up with everyone and I'll probably go back again over Christmas to start some kind of 10 man guild with my Warrior Kharitonov.
• I've been to so many shows I've lost track of it all. I've just finished a stint of 4 events in 8 days which was pretty insane. Night of the Gladiators, UFA, Shock N Awe and then Fight Ikon this past Sunday. All amazing shows and it was really good to be able to work there. Thanks to everyone who helped out and it's always awesome to watch some good scraps.
• I've started training, a bit, again and I feel loads better for it. It'll intensify in a while and I'll get into much better shape but it's nice to feel beaten up every now and again in a funny kind of way.
• I've got a load of stuff coming up in the future and, now it's not so regimented, I'm actually enjoying teaching loads more than ever before.

I wondered how long it'd take me to lose track of everyday life without the 9-5 grind but it's strange because, as much as the days blur into one, I seem to have more ideas and more concepts and more things that I want to work on than ever before.

I'm really lucky with my current situation being as it is and, as much as I'll probably embrace the grind again at some point when I want something opulent, I've got no need to put myself through all that at the minute.

I don't think there has to be a point to everything you do in life in some respects and I think that you lose a lot of time looking through things searching for completion. At the minute I'm taking time away from the 9-5 grind to write, commentate shows, teach casually and do all manner of other fun things.

It's been all kinds of good and I hope to see you people sooner rather than later.
Come say hello if you're coming to Cage Rage UK on Saturday 22nd October.

Take care, speak soon.
Ben

Next time gadget, next time

So today's the day that my glittering career as an Employability Tutor for a training provider comes to an abrupt halt.

This entry's primarily addressed to an office full of people so, if anyone else reads it and it makes no sense at all, I apologise for any wasted time. There may be gags in there somewhere though so I'd stick around.

I started this job on February 8th 2010 and, in the space of a little under 19 months, I've had some of the more positive teaching experiences in my relatively short and undistinguished career.

I guess what I'm really trying to say with something like this is that I left because I hope, in some way, you'll remember my time here as somewhat of a jape filled experience. I'm sure that, had I taken said new job role, I'd have turned into a miserable prick within 14 days and that doesn't help anyone.

I've been the guy at work who hates his job and it's a one way street of wasted time, angry ranting and a complete lack of personal and professional focus and I'm not going to put any of you people through that, let alone me.

In between all the warehouses, sweepstakes, office practical jokes and videos of me shooting babies with crossbows there was some genuinely enjoyable moments and I'd like to thank all of you because you've, at some point, featured in at least one of them.

This very blog contains all the contact details you could ever need on the right hand side on my UKMMA information page so I'd invite you all to keep in touch as and when you see fit.

I guess I'd also like to say thanks to everyone who's helped me out over the last 19 months however small it may have seemed at the time. It's been a pleasure to share an office/building/contract with you.

I'd probably like to finish with something quite inspirational but I'm no good at writing stuff like that on demand so I figured I'd use a video clip instead.

Life's a pegboard in a lot of respects.

You've just got to believe in what you do and good things will happen.

Take Care
Ben

The Four Horsemen

There's few things in life that are certain but change is one of them.

Life is, no uncertain terms, a series of ongoing changes as mind, body and circumstances evolve and shape what path we take.

This weekend, with my lovely girlfriend away, I made the calls to my longest term friends for a weekend of videogaming, tea and the like.

There are few times in my life are more magical than the rolling summer of 1997 which, in an era before responsibilities, was a glorious haze of all things awesome spent with my good friends Baker, Tran and Murray (to abbreviate).

As the years rolled in from that fateful date we found ourselves scattered apart but, through ever advancing digital mediums, still in daily contact and more importantly still able to take the time to hang out.

This weekend was the first time that all four of us have had the chance to all be at one spot for a while and it was, without doubt, one of the funniest evenings I've had in a very long time.

The differences?

We're older and we have slightly more responsibilities but that's a given like the changing of the seasons or the turning tide.

The point?

That I find it life affirming that the three best friends that I have (and one who's on the other side of the world) are still able to drink tea, talk shit and play videogames and probably will for a very long time.

It's been twenty years we've been doing this for and I look forward to growing old, drinking even more tea and facing whatever happens safe in the knowledge that my back is covered by some of the greatest human beings I've ever known.

Take care
Ben

There's a message in the wire and I'm sending you this signal tonight

When I started writing this blog I never thought I'd be given the opportunities that mma has given me. I just knew that I had something buzzing in my head that I couldn't shake and I needed to get down on paper.

Today I was given the news that my 9-5 job doesn't exist anymore which, to be honest, I was expecting in a funny kind of way.

If I can simplify it all then here's the deal:

I teach people
They want me to sell things

That's pretty much the top and bottom of it all.

I've got a weekend to figure out what I'm going to do and just how I'm going to do it.

Teaching, for me, is about helping people.
Sales, for me, is about trying to convince people that they want something they don't need.

Anyhow excuse my rambling I'm still a bit shell shocked by the whole situation at the minute.

To the point then.

How much of this is a sign?

How much of this is the universe reaching out and saying if you don't write/commentate/judge/teach or do something you believe in then you'll end up a soulless robot?

The Message

The time is now it seems.

I'm declaring myself formally available for any mma work that any of you people may need.

Want press releases writing? I'm all over it and have done hundreds for different organizations and companies.

Want articles writing? I've had over 700 pieces published across print and Internet outlets both sides of the Atlantic.

Want an MMA event judging or commentating? I've judged well over 100 fights and have attended the best judging seminar in the entire country run by Mr Marc Goddard and have commentated for HD Net Fights and Sky Sports.

Want some personal training? I'm qualified to do that as well as it happens.

Want to rescue me from this nightmare? Well I'd fucking love you forever if you did and I'd stay up all night writing about how happy I am with it.

All my contact details are available here: http://www.ukmma.info/ben-cartlidge/

Speak real soon.

Love always

Ben

Halcyon Days

Just spent a pretty amazing weekend in Wales with my lovely girlfriend.

Driving to Wales is always kinda emotional somehow as I always tie it to being really little and going on holiday with my mum and dad.

There's a million and one memories of those holidays that are special and that I take with me every single day but somehow I always link Wales with arcades.

This weekend I went into loads of amusement arcades and was really shocked at just how much they'd changed.

Back in 1995 I remember seeing the Playstation appear on the end of Gamesmaster on a Thursday tea time and thinking it didn't look real. Here was a home console that could do Ridge Racer as perfect as it was in the local Quasar.

Before that point the arcades were a look at the future while still being rooted firmly in the past.

Any arcade you went into in the 80's/early 90's had the same carpet, the same smokey atmosphere you almost had to swim through and the same local radio station over a crackly speaker system.

Every machine would have a story and every kid walking up and down would be waiting for their opportunity to be the local arcade hero; to be that kid who beat Double Dragon on one credit or that kid who beat M.Bison or part of that team who two manned Crime Fighters or even four manned Gauntlet.

Every single time I stepped into an arcade it was like a home away from home and that's why going on holiday was so special because I loved going away and I loved new things but I was still comforted that, even in a different country, I could walk in an amusement arcade and everything made sense.

The arcades now are clean and 99% of them are full of gambling machines simply because they're the only way that owners can make any money.

We wandered round Llandudno for ages in search of a really old school arcade but, as you might imagine, we were about 15 years too late.

I'm not taking anything away from what was a beautiful time this weekend simply that, as I was driving home, I realised that my life had entered another phase in a lot of respects and that times had changed.

That was, however, until I got home and saw that Sony had uploaded the Golden Axe coin op onto the PS Store. I downloaded it straight away and almost had to stop myself from loading my PS3 full of 20p pieces when it booted up.

Golden Axe was the one machine that my dad used to take me down to Longton to play in the late 80's and a classic example of why Sega made arcades better than anyone else.

The point of all this?

Over the next couple of weeks I'll be making some big changes to address my work/life/mma balance but I'm approaching it with a different mind set; determined to walk forward looking for the next challenge rather than wishing it was yesterday again.

This is about to get really interesting so I only hope that you good people are safe and well and I'll speak to you all soon.

Ben

The big three one

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