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One year later, one big decision
Well, it’s January… a time of reflection on the past and resolutions for the future. Decision time. However, January 16th specifically marks the one year anniversary of AreYouMyPartner. And I have made a resolution: to pause and think a lot bigger.
One year ago I launched this AreYouMyPartner blog with a simple mission to create a better way for people to Meet, Play and perhaps find Love. In my vision video, I gave myself a challenge and imposed a one year timeline in which to run this blog, then stop and decide what to do next based on what actually happened.
Over that year 10 AYMP events were organised where likeminded people could come together over common interests. It was an experiment – based on my own journey to find love – to see what worked (and what didn’t) when it came to creating situations that would reveal people’s true character and really allow bonds to form and flourish naturally.
And it has been a heck of a ride: psychological art, a treasure hunt, rollerblading, animals, music, climbing, tree-top adventures, BBQs, hikes and horseback riding – one year of adventures, good times and good people. I even got inspired to create bonus material for this blog, and one year later, my decision is…
To pause AYMP for now, but not forever. There is definitely more to come.
I’ve taken stock: I have an amazing wife, a great circle of friends and a career that is really starting to flourish. And CeCe and I are also hoping to start a family soon. And that means I only have so much time in a day, and increasingly I have less and less spare time – in other words, less and less to put into organising more AYMP events and running this blog.
Nevertheless, one year later I have learned a lot and fed those learnings into a big vision for how AYMP could grow and really help people Meet, Play and Love on a much wider scale. But I also realise I can’t keep doing this alone in my spare time.
So for now, this post will serve as a full stop to one year of running the AYMP blog. Behind the scenes I am working with other people to one day really scale this up. I know it will take time and focus, and I am willing to invest in the long term and create the right conditions to make the vision a reality.
For all of you out there that participated over the past year in AYMP on any level, I thank you profoundly. I have photos and testimonials to remind me of the adventures we had. I promise that this is not over, just paused, until I can line up the right team and then really go for it.
Until then, we can always look back over the incredible year we had, and dream about what might come next.
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Read Note#16 
Note #16 – You never know…
Right, this “Weekly Notes” title has to end as of this post. These posts obviously aren’t weekly (the last one was end-September), so I’m going to just call them “Notes” from now on.
October and November have been good months as we had two great events, both occurring in Epping forest: Event 9 was a hike and then (inspired by a chat on that walk) we went horseback riding on Event 10.
But time flies, and it’s already the end of November and the busy Christmas season is upon us. I don’t think I’ll have time to do an event in December, so it’s looking more likely to be in the new year before the next one occurs. However, a BIG deadline is on the horizon: January 2012. When that time strikes, it will mean a year has passed since I setup this AYMP blog with my mission to make online dating better.
And we all know what happens around that time of year: we reflect, and some of us resolve to do better. So I’m going to start with the reflection part and see how I feel about resolving to continue this mission. After all, I did set myself a deadline of one year when I created the AYMP vision video.
Recently someone shared this with me, and it made me smile, but also think a lot about where this is all going:
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This post is part of Notes.
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To see all Notes, click here. Event 10 – Horseback Riding [REPORT]
A few weeks ago we held Event 9 – a hike in Epping Forest. It was a gorgeous day out in a gorgeous part of London, and while we were walking we saw people on horse “hacks” riding around the woods. It looked like so much fun, and a few of us in the group remembered riding horses when we were younger. So the idea was born: let’s go on a horse hack.
And then the idea became reality: we booked ourselves a group hack with the good people at Woodredon Equestrian Centre in Epping Forest.
It was autumnal paradise: the air was crisp, the leaves were coloured and falling, and our group got guided through some amazing scenes. All of us sported massive grins as we walked and trotted on our horses for nearly two hours. By the time we returned we were exhausted yet satisfied, and retired to a nearby pub for some drinks and food and flowing conversation.
And again I was asked if we would raise the bar on the next event. More to come…
Event 9 – Hiking in Epping Forest [REPORT]
When everyone gathered for the hike in Epping Forest (some struggling as they had had a “big” night previously), there was just one common complaint: everyone present had had a hell of week; at work, in London, in life. That soon melted away.
We were blessed with glorious weather; there was a nip in the air, yet sunshine was plentiful and basking. Taking the mood of the group (there were six of us), we opted to just amble into Epping Forest with no plan, no map and end up where we would end up.
Walking into Epping Forest was almost magical. The sights and sounds of busy London disappeared as we were ushered into the tranquilly of the wood under a canopy. It being Fall and all, the simple pleasure of crunching leaves under-foot seemed to return all of us to a simpler childhood state of mind, and along the way we randomly shot down different paths, passed a serene lake and waved to contented people trotting by on horseback.
By the time the group emerged from the forest, everyone had big smiles on their faces. The effects of the week and any big nights had melted away. It will sound so cliché, but I cannot emphasis enough how just a simple walk in the woods can really relax and open people up. It’s a great way to meet other people and be natural.
We headed to a pub to have a few well earned nibbles and drinks. And then the theme of AYMP reared it’s head again; what are we doing next? Someone suggested something about nature again, but perhaps on horseback? There was lots of nodding.
We’ll see…
More photos from the day
Having trouble viewing this Flickr slide show? Click here.
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This post is part of Event 9. |
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Event 9 – Hiking in Epping Forest [EVENT DETAILS]
While the weather is still decent, we’re going to explore Epping Forest on a hike.
Event details
When: Sunday, 23rd of October 2011, starting at 1pm
Cost: Free
What to wear: Comfortable clothes and hiking shoes
Location: Meet near Chingford Rail train station. Call me on 07528 282 570 if you can’t find us (this number will only be active on the day)
Transport: Some of us will be driving, some coming by train. The station is Chingford Rail and links easily to Liverpool Street station in London.
If weather is bad: The event will still go ahead, we will just need to wear rain gear.
Look forward to seeing you there!
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This post is part of Event 9. |
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Weekly Note #15 – Indian summer
For the week ending 25th of September
September is flying by, but what else is new. The upshot is that despite our “Farewell to summer in London” BBQ, the weather has gotten worse, then a lot better – at present there is talk of an “Indian summer” for the next few days.
On that note, I’m going to organize a few more adventures for October, so stay tuned for that. I’ve also started having a few more meetings now that people are back from holiday to see about growing this project beyond me and my spare time. Will report on that if anything comes up.
Something that caught my eye this past week
Image from www.dailymail.co.uk
I read (and heard on the radio, and saw on TV) about a recent spike in women being duped out of money by fake men on online dating sites. (One article in particular: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2042633/Online-dating-websites-Fraudsters-target-lonely-hearts-scams.html?ito=feeds-newsxml). I have so much to say on this, but in short; I cannot emphasize how much I truly believe online dating should ultimately lead to real life encounters where people employ their gut instincts over letting their imagination get away with via seeing only pixels.
If you look at the likes of Google and Facebook and eBay and other online giants, their offering is about people and reputation, or rather earning a good reputation, not hiding behind anonymity. The online world has so many tools to help people meet, but human instinct, body language and face to face contact can never be ignored.
I even made a whole video about this subject:
![Real Life Beauty [VIDEO]](http://blog.aymp.com/images/badges/Flashback_04_OVER.png "Real Life Beauty [VIDEO]")
WATCH Video podcast: Flashback 4 of 5 – “Real Life Beauty”
Have fun, but be careful out there people!
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This post is part of Weekly Notes.
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