Why I'm doing this

There are many different things that lead to this quest.

At the end of 2011, I was preparing to go to Australia, a trip that was more compelled than chosen. Not that I didn't want to go, but rather that I kinda had to, regardless of whether or not I wanted to. This is because in 2005, I started talking online with a very strange girl (more on her later), and through a series of circumstances that progressed in a not at all linear or straightforward fashion, she ended up moving from Sydney to London to live with me in January 2010. Her visa was a two year working holiday visa, so in January 2012, it was going to be my turn to move to Australia (more on this weird and wonderful land later). So I was getting ready for this big move, due for January 19th (more on this date later)

At the start of 2011, my Australian flatmate (1 of 4 at the time) told me her new year's resolution: to visit a new country every month. This was the coolest new year's resolution I've ever heard, and it inspired me to give up my lifelong antipathy to the idea of new year's resolution and start one of my own. I decided that I would try to watch 365 films before the end of 2012, and also cook 52 new dishes and read 12 books. (more on challenge 2011 later) I was still going strong on this as 2011 drew to a close, and I had enjoyed it, even if I had found it a little grinding and unbalanced towards the end.

One of the things I watched in October 2011 was a stand up set by Richard Herring called "The 12 Labours of Hercules Terrace" in which he tries to perform the 12 labours of Hercules in a reinterpretation more appropriate for the modern age. (more on this later). In the end he comes to realise that Hercules, far from being a hero, mostly is just a macho arsehole who killed a lot of one-of-a-kind animals and that being heroic in the modern day, if its possible at all, involves something different.

On the 11th of November 2011, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was released. Those not familiar with the game only really need to know that you play a medieval adventurer and most of your time is split between trying to level up your skills by using them over and over, and doing whichever quests get you the best loot. The gameplay is like a Skinner box - its repetitive, abusive and unsatisfying and is a massive time sink, and I love it more than I love chocolate, sunshine or baby ducklings. More on Skyrim and its predecessors later.

These are all strands of the thread that lead me to Quest Australia (2012). I was coming to the end of a year-long challenge and wanted new and improved one for this year, ideally one that was a bit more well rounded. I had been thinking about the idea of the 12 Labours of Hercules, and in particular the conclusion that many of the tasks were a bit same-y, and did not add up to a particularly heroic endeavour. Skyrim had me thinking about the idea of a hero improving his or her many different skills as a part of becoming stronger and more heroic. And Australia, coming near the start of a new year, is an exotic, far away, quest-appropriate location that I was about to depart for.

My challenge for 2012 then was going to be a multi-part challenge, focused around tasks or challenges that improve myself in a more well-rounded way than either Hercules (with his slaughter of mythical creatures) or I (with my film-dominated 2011 challenge) had done before, and around Australia itself.

That's the idea anyway. Next up is what I'm actually going to be doing.