About Me
I'm Nicola Farmer, a 27 year old software developer from Oxfordshire. I've lived here since September 2022 when I started my job and moved down south with my partner, George. Before that, I lived in York where I studied for 5 years, and originally lived near Manchester as a child.
When I'm not working, I have a huge variety of hobbies (I've always been indecisive) as you will see below! I've recently started trying to push myself out of my comfort zone to try new things so the list is ever-expanding.
Hobbies and Interests
I've not really decided on an exciting way to showcase this so I'm just going to list stuff for now I guess...
- Yoga - one of my 2025 new year's resolutions was to do 300 days of yoga this year so I try to practice daily. I go to a class in Wantage regularly which is usually a highlight of my week!
- Walking - like the yoga, my new year's resolutions included 300 days of 10,000 steps so I go for a walk every morning before work. I enjoy walking in silence or to a podcast or to music!
- Running - I was hesitant to include this as I have a love hate relationship with running. I think I want to like it more than I actually do like it but it's a free form of exercise so I'm sticking with it to live longer.
- Working out - I usually try to also do some pilates/strength training and am quite partial to a dance workout. I love the free pilates classes available at work!
- Paddleboarding - I first dragged George to a paddleboarding lesson back in 2024 at our local SUP club (Oxford SUP club) and we both instantly fell in love with it! We try to go every free weekend we have in the summer season but I hate being cold so usually abandon it in the autumn/winter.
- Drawing - I originally wanted to be an artist for most of my childhood. I always loved drawing and GCSE art was my favourite. But when I took it at A Level I realised that I enjoy it more as a hobby when I have creative freedom and trying to make something when you have creative block is so hard and ruins the magic of it tbh.
- Knitting - this one is a recent development but one of the things on my bucket list is to knit myself a jumper. My nan tried to teach me how to knit as a child and I got the basic stitch down but never stuck with it long enough to make anything. I don't really enjoy the process enough to want to practice so I've gone straight to making a jumper and I guess I'm getting there. I've done about 10cm of what I think is the back panel in the month I've been working on it but progress is progress.
- Journalling - I love keeping a record of things and just getting down my thoughts. I first started this to help with my anxiety but I still keep up with it even though I'm not anxious anymore cause it's quite theraputic.
- Video games - I don't really tend to stick with video games for very long but some of my favourites include Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, Phasmophobia and The Quarry.
- Baking - George and I have recently started baking something fitting the theme of the week for GBBO and it's very wholesome. My favourite bake of all time is probably some espresso brownie cookies - I'll find the link for them and add it here!
- Drums - it was always on my bucket list to learn to play the drums cause I always thought it looked so fun and I finally did it! George and I bought an electric drumkit in 2023 as our first big purchase and I've taught myself how to play using Youtube and drum tabs. I love it so much and hope that one day I'll be good enough to play in a band but I find it a little difficult remembering songs all the way through at the moment!
- Guitar - I don't really play much anymore but I taught myself how to play when I was 15 and sometimes I play around when I'm feeling it but I'm not too dextrous so it's hard.
- Music - I also really just enjoy listening to music in general. I love going to gigs! I like a huuuge variety of music but mainly rock/metal and pop I suppose. If I had to give 4 favourites I think I'd pick You Me At Six, Knocked Loose, Boston Manor and Kublai Khan!!
- Vegan food - I don't like talking about this one too much in fear of sounding like one of those vegans that people hate but I've been a vegan for around 8 years and I wouldn't personally ever go back! The only thing I really miss is good pepperoni pizza and the variety of chocolate but one of my life goals is to sample every different vegan chocolate out there. I'm REALLY food motivated and I can't function without a sweet treat.
- American Football - I'm a big Minnesota Vikings fan and one of my new favourite traditions is watching the NFL Red Zone on a Sunday night (basically just shows all the exciting bits of every game, sometimes 8 screens at once that they call the octobox)! I first got into it in 2022/3 when I randomly decided I wanted to find a sport to follow. I watched many different games from many different sports and didn't really enjoy any except for American Football which I found exciting (I think because everything happens in small bursts which fits with my tiny attention span). Then I started watching games from different teams to get a feel for the different play styles and the Vikings stood out because I liked the long plays between Cousins and Jefferson. I also took the official NFL team picker and got the Vikings so it kinda felt like I was destined to like them I suppose.