Save the Animals

Yesterday, a friend of mine posted a link on Facebook containing some horrifying pictures of numerous animals in unsatisfactory conditions at a private zoo near Three Hills, Alberta. It's called Guzoo Animal Farm, and it has been around for about a decade. Thing is, this is not the first time they have had complaints about the conditions these animals are living in, and how they compromise the safety of visitors.

Thanks to this photo album posted by a guy who visited the so called 'zoo', it has been spread around the Internet like wildfire and has even reached the newspaper and news television. An investigation has been started, but I know how these things go sometimes. They can take a long time to process, if they are able to find enough reason (which I believe there is) to shut down this place and find these animals proper care. I am staying optimistic, because now the public knows the truth, and either way this place has lost any respect (if any) that anyone has had for them in the first place, and hopefully they will lose business and shut down. These animals deserve the best care, and they are not receiving that. It's very clear in those photos, there is not way they can have an excuse for treating them that way.

If you have looked at the photos, and if you were as appalled as I was, there is an online petition! Even if you don't live around here, it would mean the world to these animals if you signed it anyway. It takes 30 seconds, and every signature counts towards getting these animals out of there and letting them live better lives. Thank you!

Yeeeah...ok.

Wow, some people are just downright rude. Even if it's the smallest thing, I can't stand it. Especially when you make a comment on something with a sense of humour, and this 'nice' person comes back calling you a dumbass and then quickly disposes of the evidence. Fuck that. Next time I'm tattooing you, you will quickly regret calling me a dumbass, dumbass.

Whew. Anyway, I just needed to get that out. As small as it may be, I'm not in the mood for rude comments. So, in light of the situation, my package came in today! A package containing what, you say? Well as we all know, I'm a dork and I love Star Wars, so when I got my credit card my very first purchase was none other than two awesome Star Wars t-shirts! And it tookforEVER (aka, two weeksish) to get here, so I was very excited when it came this morning.

Other than that, I'm going to call it a night cause I tattooed for hours today and my hands are killing me. Toodaloo!

Yuussssss!!!

This is killing me..

I have been feeling pretty bummed lately. I think it's just an extreme case of loneliness, but it is really starting to wear hard on me. I'm not usually the type that goes out every night (well, what's really the point if I don't drink?), and I don't usually like to hang out with people I don't really know, I just feel so out of place and so awkward. I'm the type that sticks to what she knows.

That said, I miss my friends. My best friends. The ones I grew up with, the ones that have been with me through thick and thin. They're all over the place right now, so it's hard to see any of them. Like I have said numerous times, most of the people I know live in Vancouver. That includes two of my closest friends. This upcoming trip is a much needed one. Another close friend is away on a tour with her band (yeah, my friends are pretty neat!), and another is always busy with school and social gatherings. I don't even see my boyfriend very much because of our conflicting schedules. This is really starting to suck. Big time.

I am on my second day off in a row, and I think it might be just another day sitting at home, with little or no contact. I think I might actually go crazy. I already feel like a shut in. Why can't things go back to the way they were. Fuck.

Wolf and I

I don't have much to blog about lately, nothing new anyway. I have just been downloading new music, because as I'm sure you all know, listening to the same music for a long time really gets boring! One good artist I have come across recently is Oh Land. She has an incredible voice, she sort of reminds me of either Cat Power or Lykke Li. My boyfriend was actually the one that showed her music to me (which it kind of strange, it's not really his taste!), and I instantly fell in love with one video he showed me for Wolf and I. I just downloaded her album and I am loving it so far! Check her out if you haven't already!

I am now just going to go back to..sitting. Yay!

Land of the Raccoons, I shall return!

A couple of days ago, I purchased a round trip to the beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia. Everything seemed to go smoothly, I got a confirmation email and everything, but the website begged to differ. It said my reservation could not go through because of 'available delivery options'. Whaaaat? I checked my Visa statement, and sure enough, nothing was there. The nerve!!

However, today I decided to check again before calling the damned help line, and suddenly the payment went through. Sure! Just make me stress about it for a day or two before you decide to go through, money! Thanks for that! But I called them anyway just in case. I would hate to show up at the airport at 7 am (which is not my ideal time of day), suitcase and overflowing tote bag in hand, and be denied my much needed visit to paradise. The very nice lady on the phone assured me that it was confirmed and that there should be no problem. Thank fucking god. This is one of the first things that I have purchased through my brand spanking new Visa, so this experience was a little nerve racking. But once I actually get to the airport, I'm going to be a wreck. This will be my first time flying by lonesome, AND I'm terrified of flying to begin with. The last time I flew wasn't so bad, so maybe I'm getting better. One can only hope. At least this flight is only about an hour!

This trip isn't for another month, but I couldn't be more excited! I can't wait to see some raccoons!! And my best friends, of course.

Mami

Back in elementary school, I tended to become friends with people that were not originally from Canada. I know that sounds weird, but it's true. One of my best friends from grade three was from Mexico, and in grade four from Taiwan, and in grade five I became friends with one of the sweetest girls I have ever met in my life who was from Japan. Her name is Mami, and I will never forget her for as long as I live.

We were inseparable. At school, we always sat together and did projects together, and hung out at either one of our houses after school. At this time we were obsessed with Pokemon (and I mean obsessed.), so during recess we would pretend we were Pokemon running around the field. Yeah, we were cool. Her younger sister, Aya, would also hang out with us. And I remember whenever I would go to her house, we would play Hey You Pikachu and Pokemon Stadium on her N64. We also watched the first Pokemon movie in Japanese, and I remember I was so excited because it wasn't even released in Canada yet. Mami would always give me gifts too. It's a part of their culture, to give gifts when someone visits their home or they visit another home. I still have a few things she has given me.

We had such a perfect friendship, and I'm confident when I say perfect. We didn't have a care in the world, and we always had so much fun no matter what. All of that changed at the end of grade five. I changed schools, and Mami was moving back to Japan. Her father was here for work, and they had to move back because of his job. I was devastated. My best friend, in the whole world, she was moving away. But she promised that she would write me letters so we could keep in touch, and someday we would see each other again. One day, maybe a few months after, I received a call from her from Japan. I remember being in tears I was so excited! She gave me her address, and so we wrote letters back and forth for a couple years. Then we wrote each other emails for awhile. And then it stopped. I'm not sure why, it just stopped, or more so dissipated. I guess I was getting too caught up in junior high (cause we all know what goes on in junior high). I changed, and I'm sure Mami did too.

I would think about her from time to time, wondering where she was and what she was doing. Then one day, maybe a year ago or so, with the brilliant power of Facebook I decided to try and find her. Sure enough, I did! So I sent her a message, hoping that she would remember me. I had finally found my friend. The one that I had missed so much, we could finally talk again. So we caught up, reminiscing about our childhood. She has been studying in Tokyo, so it was rare that she would be on Facebook because of exams. But we would send messages to each other when we could. A couple of weeks ago, she sent me one saying that she was going on vacation to Morocco with her boyfriend, so she would talk to me soon.

Then, March 11th happened. The whole world watched as an earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan. I was shocked. Even more so to find out that it was Mami's hometown, Sendai, that got hit the hardest. I was worried sick, I couldn't stop thinking about Mami and her family and friends. I immediately sent her a message on Facebook, hoping that she would reply when she could so I would know she's ok. A few days later, she posted a status in Japanese. I had to translate it, but she was telling everyone that she was fine, but she was concerned for the rest of the people. I was so relieved. I wasn't sure if she was home, or in Tokyo, or still on vacation, but I knew she was alive and ok and that was a relief.

Last night, she happened to be on Facebook chat. That was the first time we have talked in real-time since grade 6. I asked her how she was doing, and where she was. She said she was safe, but I found out some news that made me feel sick. She was at home, in Sendai, with her mother when everything happened. I have seen satellite photos of before and after the disaster, and almost nothing was left. Holy shit. I had no idea. I convinced myself that she was somewhere else in the world and that she was perfectly safe, but I was wrong. She was one of the very fortunate to have survived, along with her mother. But their home was most likely destroyed, and their hometown decimated. I feel so terrible for her, and I only hope he rest of her family is alive and well. But somehow I just knew she was ok, even in the face of danger, she was ok. I don't know what I would have done if something had happened to her. This is just another thing to be thankful for.

My thoughts are with Japan and it's people. Please donate to help them recover, its the least we can do.

The Times They Are A-changin'

Ok, so we're all sort of freaking out. I thought that perhaps maybe this change was going to be good and easy, but like I've said before, it's all happening so fast. For people that have been around for awhile, that's not really a good thing. I was trying to look at the bright side, to be optimistic about this whole thing, but to see my friends uncomfortable in their own environment (like a home to some) is a strange thing. We are all a family, and it feels like that family is falling apart. I know it won't get to that point (at least I hope to 'God' it doesn't), but I hate that feeling like you're about to lose something. I hope everyone can hold it together and adjust, quickly, or else I fear I will be the only one left.

I hate seeing my friends sad, for one reason or another. Be it boy problems, or trying to figure out what to do in life. I can't say I've had a lot of shit happen to me, at least nothing that really affected me that much (and I'm not saying my life is perfect, cause it's not). I mean, sure, high school had it's shitty times, but I tend to just accept that it was in the past and forget about it. But sometimes it makes me realize what is actually going on around me, I start to notice things that I didn't see or think about before. I just usually go about my daily routine without anything bothering me. I don't really think about what direction I'm going in life, because whatever I have planned for myself I have done. I have found my dream job, I have a boyfriend that I love, and I have amazing friends. Now what? This can't be all. No. There's more to it, right? I guess I just have to expand, take it a little further. Maybe one day I will land a job in an amazing shop, maybe Troy and I will comfortably have a place together, and maybe I will actually get out there and see the world. Being stuck at a happy medium, I kind of forgot what life is all about. It's about living it to the fullest, taking it's ups and downs as they come and go. I'm not planning on immediately changing the way I live, I just think its good to wake up and have a goal in mind. One day I will move on, experience the world outside of this city. When I'm old, I would like to able to have stories to tell, and at the rate that I'm going, it would be a very boring story.

I don't even know where I'm going with this post, I'm just blabbing on about..something. I just turned into another 'Life' rant! So, I'm going to leave it here before I really get lost! I guess we will see what the future holds.

The Green Monster

What a long daaaay. But a good long day! I got to do a fun walk-in tattoo, and my new machine came in! It's a Green Monster from Eikon, courtesy of my friend Sarah (thanks Sarah!!), who tried to secretly buy it for me as a tip for all the (unfinished) tattoos I have done for her. I used it on a client today and I am quite happy with it! Much better than the crappy machines I have recently been using. They were not working the way I wanted them to, and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't seem to fix them, and as a result I started getting very discouraged and frustrated. And when I get that way, I just don't enjoy what I'm doing, so that really sucked. But I think that has started to go away! The tattoo I did today went very very well and, get this, after the client looked at it in the mirror, tears started rolling down her cheeks and she gave me a big hug. That, right there, is what I love about this job. The fact that I get to give someone something they love forever is so rewarding. I wouldn't trade that feeling for anything else in the world.

Introducing: The Green Monster

And what a monster it is..

I can't thank her enough!!

A tattoo I did yesterday on a regular client.

And the tattoo I did today!

She came in with just the idea of a flower and a zodiac sign.

I came up with this and she absolutely loved it!

In other news, the transition at my work has commenced. Our new manager had her first shift yesterday, and today things have already started to change. Things were being thrown out, downsized, and taken down. I'm all up for change, but too much so suddenly can be a little much, and I think I speak for everyone when I say that. These next few weeks are going to be weird for all of us, it is definitely going to take some adjusting, but I have confidence. Some people don't, but we just need to give things a chance and see how it goes. If it doesn't go well, then we will just stage a revolution, start our own store, and live happily ever after. Just kidding, we won't, because everything is going to be fine! Change is good.