I've been doing so well not getting sick. Woke up this morning with a sore throat. Let's hope if doesn't progress past that :/

I'm at the end of a week in Mexico for a good friends wedding. I've had an amazing time and feel refreshed and relaxed. I am definitely ready to get back home to normal food and a normal routine. I've had so much booze everyday and spent my days lazing about the beach. I could definitely get used to a life like this.

I'll leave you all this shot right here:

Success! My Daryl Dixon costume came out perfectly and even got the approval of Alkaline as well! Here is a pic of us at work, she's an awkward wolf!

I finally decided on a costume for Halloween. Daryl Dixon from The Walking Dead. I got the first piece of my costume ordered this weekend.



I have been told by Alkaline that I had better do him right considering that Norman Reedus is her husband!

Apparently that means I will have to shave my beard off to fully embrace the costume. Not too keen on that, however I need to do it right so it's happening. Pics will be posted, I promise

So I broke a bunch of my rules about getting a tattoo this week:

Decided to get it on a whim

Didn't have a solid plan for what I wanted to get

Went to a tattoo artist that I hadn't already researched and seen his portfolio

However, on the last point my girlfriend has had most of her work done by this guy, and therefore I guess I have seen his work before and didn't really need to research him.




It turned out amazing and I couldn't be happier with the work.

Thanks to Jeremy Riley at Tattoo Union!


ps. Calve tattoos fucking hurt!!!

I am re-blogging this from Alkaline and Chevvy

I donated $50 and challenge you to donate whatever you can afford. This poor dog did not deserve this. It sickens me that there are people in this world that would do this to another living being!



Otto needs our help! If you can donate even $1 it could make a difference in his recovery!
I don't mean to spam you with things you don't desire to read, but anyone who knows me knows I love my dogs (and animals in general) more than anything in the world!

We are responsible as dog owners and human beings to take care of the other beings who need us!


DONATE TO OTTO!

Can't wait for Live at Squamish this weekend! Never seen Tragically Hip in concert and really looking forward to seeing LP and Wintersleep too.



This week is dragging by so slowly...

I realized yesterday that it has been one year since I returned to my old job. More importantly, two weeks before that is when I moved back to Vancouver. July 30, 2011 is the lowest point in my entire life. That is the day I moved back here and left my wife behind in Kamloops. It was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.

We had been seriously unhappy for about 3 years, but it had only been 3 months before that I had come to realize that for my self. Unfortunately for her, she had known this for a lot longer than I had.

I had been in a haze, on cruise control. I had come to accept that married life was what I had and that that was just the way my life was going to be. I no longer was thinking of my happiness first and instead thinking whether every decision I made was one that would be what I thought she wanted. I was so concerned with being judged for making the wrong decision that I had become afraid to make any decisions.

Making that decision to leave her and move back to where all my family and friends were was the first real decision I had made in a very long time. I knew that whether it was the right or wrong thing, that the simple act of making that decision would be a huge step in regaining the person I was and wanted to be again.

I was a shell of a person when I moved back here. Unsure of myself, my self worth shot. Even unsure if the friends I hadn't seen in years would want me to be a part of their lives again.

It took me a couple months to regain any sort of confidence, let alone any self worth. I slowly begain reestablishing connections with people that didn't know me any more and that I didn't know any more. I met new people that had come in to my friends lives and became friends with them too. I started dating and getting out of the house. Life was interesting and exciting again. I was excited for what may come and looking for new experiences.

The single event that I see as a turning point in my "new" life was being invited to my friend's wedding in Mexico in February. I hadn't stayed close with the two people in question over the years and did not expect an invite. They were as happy to have me back in their life as I was to have them back in mine though. That wedding in Mexico allowed me to reconnect in a meaningful way with a lot of people.

The first night I struck up a conversation with an old friend's girlfriend. The next day went up to him to tell him how amazing I thought she was and that after talking with her felt as though I had known her for years. He said that she had the exact same thing to say about me! This has seemed to be a reoccuring theme since moving back here. The people that used to be my close friends have returned to that level of connection with me and the people I didn't know have become as good of friends as the ones I once knew.

Hitting rock bottom really was the best thing that could have happened to me. There really is no where to go but up. I am excited for life and what it holds for me once again. I am energized and motivated in my career in a way I haven't been in a long time. Most importantly I feel that I am surrounded by friends that I love and that truly love me. People that will be a part of my life until I grow old.

I have found happiness that I never thought I would experience again. Life is good and I don't think it can get much better than this!

Spent the afternoon at Sunset Beach reading... finally a day off now that summer has decided to show up in Vancouver.