Blogs: Jack sees himself maturing

Jack has finished his degree. He has recently moved to sunny Spain to pursue his career.

The months that pass us by are just the same as Jamaica's sprinters - they manage to go quicker and quicker.

After the brief turbulence of moving to sunny Spain, I seem to have acclimatised, albeit with the help of Wilkinson's terrific factor 30 (ginger hair and freckles are a deadly combination when mixed with that bright thing in the sky).

At the time of writing, however, the weather is absolutely woeful, which will no doubt elicit a grin akin to that of an evil villain from a children's cartoon.
My morning commute is generally a 45-minute walk in a pleasant 20 degrees and blue skies. However when it turns, it turns like gone-off milk and sours just as quick. The Mediterranean skies love a good downpour as much as the pensioners enjoy moaning about it.

Thankfully, I am returning from a week of exodus back in the Huddersfield bubble, and was able to bring a couple of waterproofs back to Gibraltar with me, much to my father's dismay and bemusement. Who's laughing now old man?

At home I was sifting through many of my life's possessions - something of a depressing clean out, usually bad purchases and investments from the JJMSports business days. Rather funny, however, on reflection.

I gave away about three bin bags to the local charity shop, which contained an abundance of DVDs, games and so many clothes, including around fifty football and sports clothing and shirts. All of which was bought without much thinking or initiative, but hey, that's how I work, and still have no regrets.

I still have around 1000 DVDs piled up on a wardrobe at my parents' house, which I shall attempt to rectify and basically get rid of for any return whatsoever. I'm expecting offers to flood in upon the publication of this esteemed entry.

Anyway, the point of this dramatic build up has lost me slightly, although I am sure it has something to do with acceptance. Acceptance that I no longer have the life that I so affectionately called 'the bubble' back in Huddersfield.

While it was nice to play darts, football, see people again, generally act like a teenager and, as we call it up North, 'muck about' for a week, there was something of an emptiness about it, that made me realise that I have in fact moved on.

It was a horrible crystallising moment that sped up and gathered pace like a snowball. As such it was rather therapeutic to get rid of plenty of old memories and reminders of my youth and more recently, my adolescence.

I am now six weeks shy of my 25th birthday, and although I am honestly surprised I have reached the milestone in one piece, it also dawned on me that after a quarter of a century, I may have finally grown up. Surely not, right?

I like my job, and although modesty isn't really a JJMSports trait, I work very hard and have high hopes of going far here in Gibraltar.

I have become more tolerant, patient and not as emotionally volatile as the young 20 year old who was still 'wet behind the ears' when starting my placement with Graduate Prospects over four long years ago.

That's not to say you'll catch me shopping for linen and assorted bric-a-brac on my days off, let alone on a Saturday afternoon – I may have matured, but I've not turned.

Phrase of the month: 'You weren't unlucky, luck doesn't exist, deal with it.'

Until next time.

The Yorkshireman - Jack Milner