It’s taken me quite some time to get here but hello world! I first had the idea for this blog around the New Year, I then decided I was going to do something about it in June and here I am in September, writing my very first post.

Since June I have been searching for the perfect moment to begin and the perfect post to start it all. The aim of this blog is to get myself away on as many adventures as possible and in August I managed to do that. Therefore the perfect time to begin was July, so I did.

I bought a Domain Name, checked that box, then wait, what!? Apparently you need Web Hosting for your Domain to sit on and guess what, Web Hosting comes with a free Domain Name – yep, the one I’d just paid for. So now I have 2 websites, completely by accident, if you also log on to pauldayaway.co.uk then you’ll arrive back at pauldayaway.com – go on try it, I double dare you.

This was the first in a long line of reasons that made me realise that I had potentially bitten off more than I could chew.

I’m a writer, I’m not a computer whiz… but all the blogs and Youtube videos make it sound so easy. ‘Set up a Blog in the time it takes to Poop.’ ‘Anyone can set up their own blog, literally anyone you idiot.’ Well, yeah, sure anyone can set up their own blog, but they need to know what they’re doing with it. I did not, I am a bit technophobic at times (one day the machines will rule us all, I saw it in a documentary called The Terminator) and definitely thought it would be easier than it has been. I wouldn’t mind but I already have a blog that I set up years ago that deals with depression… but that was on a free WordPress site, not my own fancy website with 2 Domain Names and my very own Web Hosting.

This experience has been very different. The thing that I most struggled with was picking the WordPress Themes, there are thousands to choose from and this would be great, if I wasn’t the most indecisive person ever! I get anxious trying to pick a film on Netflix let alone trying to decide how I want my website! This theme is good for selling shit, this theme is good for Internet Trolls etc etc…

Goddammit, I just want to make words!

When I eventually settled on a great theme then it would restrict you in what you could do unless you paid to access the full theme. Paul Day Away is about doing things as cheap as I can though, so what kind of cheap role model would I be if I started paying for website themes!?

Eventually though, I got there! I found a theme I’m happy with and I am doing it, I’m making words on the Internet! The only problem now is that I have already been on a bunch of trips that I will have to write about retrospectively. Ah well, got to somewhere I guess. My advice would be that yes you can set up a blog… but do watch tutorials, do read up on the formats and if you can, just get someone to help you.

I wanted to throw my laptop across the room a few times trying to be ready for the perfect start but perfect doesn’t really exist. Sometimes it doesn’t matter if you can’t see the finish yet, just start and see where you end up.

Let’s get this party started,

Paul Day Away 🙂