Random updates!

I\’m too stressed out and far too distracted to write a \”real\” entry.  Although I have been a bit of a slacker so let me fill you in super quick!

I\’m still fighting with the post office.

I went to CHOM\’S uber exclusive, invitation only Hell-O-Ween party which was freaking awesome!  I\’ll add some of my own images in a minute.

I got my butt tattooed!  A super cute Halloween themed Dracula type bat on my right cheek.  I WILL have pictures when it\’s healed.  Because I know you all want to see it.

My friend Paul is getting MARRIED!  To a super hot cop none the less!  YAY for gay marriages being legal in Canada!  I bought him this book that Tracy mentioned and as Paul pointed out, it didn\’t work 😉  We got a pretty good laugh out of that one!

Although in not so happy news, I feel like I\’m playing where\’s Pete?  You know the real life version of Where\’s Waldo? Except the person your searching for isn\’t named Waldo.  I\’m getting kind of worried…  We had dinner plans on Friday that were canceled out due to Pete having some personal distress.  So we settled on Sunday instead, I said I would text him while I was getting my butt tattooed and we would settle on a time.  Except I haven\’t heard from him since. 🙁

Which is rather un-usual since it\’s not like him to miss dinner, least of all one of my dinners.

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It\’s not like I keep tabs on him, because I don\’t.  We each have our own lives.  Except that it\’s like he\’s dropped off the face of the planet and you know the thought of filling a missing persons report actually has crossed my mind.  As neurotic as that sounds, I am starting to worry about him. A lot.  It\’s making me break out in hives 🙁

Halloween was pretty epic!  Check it out:

The giving tree

We\’re finally getting scholastic at work thanks to some of my very ambitious and hard working colleagues!  When I was a child I LOVED scholastic!  I would bring home the two page selections of the month clutched in my chubby fist in the eager anticipation that my parents would let me buy a book.  Mercer Mayor books (the little critter series) and Robert Munsch being two of my favorite authors when I was a child.  I loved when the box would arrive and would dash home to get my poppa to read me a story.

I loved to read when I was a child and as an adult that\’s a love that has carried with me through the years.  So you can imagine my nostalgia excitement when the opportunity was presented to order it through work.  It was surreal, instead of sitting in the staff room it was almost as if I was transformed back 25 years sitting in class ogling over the paper dreaming about what book I wanted.  Except this time I didn\’t have to ask mom & dad for a cheque, I could write my own!  There were squeals of delight from all of us as we all seemed to be thrown back in time with the teachers picks selection which included some classic literature that we all had enjoyed as children.

So I ordered the giving tree by Shel Silverstein

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Well it came in on Friday (hooray!) and I took it home and was looking forward to having dinner with Pete and showing him my book!  So there we were sitting on my couch and we were talking and I asked him to pass me the book that was beside him.  He says:
\”looks like a children\’s book\”
\”It is, but it\’s classic literature and I love it! Have you ever read it?\”
\”no\”
\”OMFG Really? I LOVE this book! I did a video based on this in grade 9!\”

So I gave him the gist of the story and opened it up so he could see and much to my surprise and delight we sat on my couch side by side and he read it to me.

Yeah I know, makes your heart melt doesn\’t it?

Halfway through he said this is going to be sad isn\’t it?  I know it\’s going to be sad.  I assured him that it was nothing of the sort and to just keep going, somehow I knew that he would love this book as much as I did.

I was right.

After the last page was read, he buried his head in my shoulder and all was quiet for a while.  The meaning of the story is profound to some and I knew that it was as profound to him as it is to me.

Could I adore this guy any more then I do now?

I also ordered where the wild things are and he was very cute with his exclamation of:  I LOVE THIS BOOK!

Me too babe, me too.

Then we got to talking about Robert Munsch and I ordered the mini collection from Scholastic and I also ordered love you forever from Amazon and neither one of us can\’t wait to have story time again.

😉

Meme: My Faith, My Tattoo

I seen this via Ania\’s blog while reading her latest post and since a lot of people are very curious about my tattoos, I thought I would finally satisfy everyone\’s curiosity.

For a change.

\”Background information:  Adam J. Copeland is a pastor conducting  informal research for some Christian youth curriculum addressing tattoos.  Adam’s also taking a grad school class on cyberculture.  This meme combines these interests, and hopefully will help him thoughtfully consider getting a tattoo himself.  So, please, pass on the meme below….\”

Meme:  My Faith, My Tattoo

In a few sentences, respond to the questions below — respond on your blog, on this blog, on Facebook, wherever. When you’re done, share, tag a few friends, and pass on the questions.  If you post this somewhere else, keep the title, “Meme: My faith, my tattoo” for easy searching. For background on what the heck a “meme” is, see this article.

1.  Describe your tattoo(s):

OK, I have a lot…  so I\’m posting a gallery instead.  Otherwise this blog post would be pages and pages long…

2.  What made you want that tattoo(s)?

I\’ve always wanted one! Being an artist and very creative as a child, tattoos have held a fascination for me for as long as I can recall!

3.  How did your faith influence your tattoo, indirectly or directly?

I don\’t think it was religious faith that influenced them at all. Tattoos for me are art therapy and spiritual to me in the sense that it enables me to heal.

4.  What’s the relationship between your tattoo and your broader understanding of your body?

Aside from coming to the realization that my body can be used as a living breathing canvas? None. It (tattoos) have given me a broader understanding of myself and the ability to heal.

5.  Was it worth it…do you have regrets?

Was it worth it? Absolutely! I have no true regrets, although I do wish I put more thought into placement when working on my back piece back in the day when I started getting work done. Tattoos are rapidly becoming an incredible art form and I have seen several awesome tattoos that extend across one\’s back top and bottom. So as it is, I will either have to get some serious cover up work done or try to find a way to include it in the design itself.

6.  What funny story has happened because of your tattoo?

I was forbidden to get a tattoo until I was out of the house. So the minute I was out on my own, away I went. My father had a fit of epic proportions! My mom, she was less then pleased I suppose. Although both have come to the understanding that tattoos for me are a way to express myself and my life story through carefully chosen images. Now they both get tattooed at the same place I do in ON along with my sister! My mom comes along with me when I get tattooed and I love it, it\’s a great way for us to bond 🙂

7.  How did your tattoo change your faith (and if not, why not)?

I won\’t get into my views on faith as that is always a subject of serious debate, ridicule and several other things. So no I wouldn\’t say that it changed it per se. Although it has enabled me to have more faith in myself and the ability to heal mentally & emotionally as well.

For a more detailed description of my tattoo gallery, it\’s after the jump!
For background on how this meme started, see Adam Copeland’s blog at http://adamjcopeland.com

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IMAlive

Hopeline  (1-800-SUICIDE), along with TWLOHA are in the process of creating IMAlive which is the first ever virtual suicide prevention crisis center.  Their goal is to have every single volunteer be certified in order to help anyone out.  Which I happen to think is a brilliant idea!  Training of course will only prepare you so far for certain things but I would personally have more faith in someone that had at least some form of training as opposed to just a \”regular Joe\”.

The training is about 50 hours and is a series of courses that one is required to take in order to become certified.  While the cost isn\’t exorbitant by any means, it\’s not something I can readily afford at the moment!  Of course once I get in touch with my publisher and order proper copies of my book that will help offset the cost by a long shot!

Although it would be nice if I got a little help from my friends and readers 🙂

Remember that suicide can affect anyone at anytime.  Of course I am doing this for Jason but I\’m also doing it for me.  It\’s something I feel the need to do.  If you don\’t want to assist in sponsoring me, you can always make a one time donation to the program itself, or become a volunteer as well!

The commitment is minor (4 hours a week/per year or 8 hours a week for 6 months I think) although that minor commitment could mean the difference between life and death for some.

This could be you, your brother, sister, mother, aunt, uncle, friend…  The list goes on and on.  So if you would like to help me specifically you can do so by going here

Even if you only donate a dollar, it brings me that much closer to obtaining my goal.

Thank you!