Hi all,

So I'm back home for the summer. No more pencils, no more books, no more TA's dirty looks! Also: no more exams and no more packing/unpacking, at least for a little while. I'm going through a major adjustment period being back home (I'm so used to being completely independent while I'm at school, so it's a little weird having to factor other people into my plans), but it's nice to be back.

One of the best parts of being back is our new Doxie, who I'll call Little Guy. He's a puppy-mill rescue from the States, and he's been home for 3 days now. The poor thing is going through an adjustment period of his own! The puppy mill left him with some pretty serious anxiety issues, so he's staying pretty firmly inside his shell for now - he doesn't even like it when we look at him. It's going to take a lot of time and work before he's able to trust us. Luckily, our other wiener dog is helping him relax a bit; he's taken to sleeping with his head on her butt! And he's helping her too. She's been pretty lonely since we lost Regal, so having a buddy around has helped her perk up.

In other news, I'm still jobless. I've been firing my résumé around the city, but have gotten exactly 0 callbacks. I'm getting the impression that people don't like that I come with an expiry date (I go back to school in September). So if anyone knows of a summer job in my area (or translation work I can do online), let me know!

K

Regal the Beagle passed away yesterday after 9 years with our family. She had an extremely aggressive form of liver cancer that left her unable to eat properly. As much as we will miss her, I'm glad she's in a better place now. She knew how much she was loved right until the very end.

Regal came to our family as a sort of surprise. My mother signed up for a small dog rescue group, figuring it would take a few months for them to find a dog. But we got a call the next day, saying that they had a 6-month-old Beagle puppy who was driving her previous owner's other dog nuts and had to leave ASAP. So next thing we knew, we had a new addition to our family!

The first few months took a lot of adjustment. Regal had a lot of energy, a stubborn streak a mile wide and a howl that could be heard from a block away. It became clear that much like a cat, Regal did what she wanted no matter what we had to say about it! She'd even get mad at us for leaving her alone for too long. Bossy dog.

She did eventually mellow out some, but even 9 years later she  would get "banished" from the kitchen nightly for sticking her nose into the dishwasher or garbage, only to lie in the living room with her head inside the kitchen, slowly inching her way back in. She loved to hide in my bed while I was in the shower, so much so that she learned the words "You know you're not allowed up there" because I kicked her off almost every day! And then, of course, I'd get the pathetic "What did I ever do to you?!" look...

That said, though, our Bagel did have a lot of endearing qualities. She made the best noises - her snores were so soothing! They helped me fall asleep more than once (did I mention she took over the couch in my room every night?). And when she woke up in the morning, she'd roll around on the carpet, scratching her back and groaning in bliss. It was hilarious to watch, especially since she had a lot of loose skin and wrinkles that kind of puddled around her.

So anyways. That's my Regal post. I'll just leave you with this thought: owning a pet (especially a dog) is a blessing and a curse. They give you so, so much love, but their lives are too short and it hurts really badly when they cross the Rainbow Bridge.

K

(This is very much a stream-of-consciousness post; forgive me if I go all over the place)

I came across this video this morning. It changed the way I see myself. Honestly.

See, here's the thing. I was always really awkward around people, especially as a kid. I was overweight and way too smart for my own good and didn't take care of myself (what kid does, really?) and never really figured out the whole "social interaction" thing. As a result, I spent most of my formative years isolating myself and - more importantly - being isolated by other kids. By the time I became aware of this, I had already internalized the message that I "wasn't good enough" and wasn't worth helping. It meant that I ended up not liking myself much; I felt like I was a failure of a human being and ended up filtering and twisting everything I experienced to support that conclusion. I carried this weight with me right through to adulthood in the form of wicked, persistent self-esteem issues that fueled my depression. It also led me to hide my issues, because I figured nobody would really care about the hell that was going on inside my head. Even after I broke my silence and started trying to help myself, I still struggled with staying motivated enough to do it because I didn't feel like I was worth the effort it took to actually heal myself.

I think that's changed.

Something in that video clicked for me and made me see that it WASN'T MY FAULT that I ended up like that. I always blamed myself for my depression and self-image issues, but looking back I can see how they actually came about. I picked up the "you're worthless" message from the isolation I experienced and fully assimilated that into my internal monologue.

I feel like a puzzle piece has clicked into place. I couldn't start changing until I figured out why I hated myself so much. Now that that's happened? Well, let's just say I think I'm ready to move on.

(Important note: I'm not writing this to blame anyone. I didn't even realize what was going on until today. And I've always bottled things up really tightly, so I can't expect anyone else to notice.)

K

Hey people,

No, I am not dead. Some days I might disagree, but, well, I'm here. So without further ado, here's the next episode of My Life: The Soap Opera.

For those of you who don't care to read the marathon post ahead, here's the breakdown of my life since my last post: I loved. I lost. I evicted. I gained a new roommate. I narrowly avoided a full breakdown. I gained an incredible appreciation for certain people in my life. I started over, but discovered that some things don't change.

(Also, I went to Hawaii and became an "official adult", but those really don't need elaboration so I'll put them here.)

Whew. And now, for the dirty details (because I know you're all fascinated by those)...

My love life: Yes, I had a boyfriend. We met through an online mental health community, became friends, then became "official" sometime in October. It was a long-distance thing, since he lives in England and I don't. Things were going really well for a while, but then Depression got in the way. We both have it, and that led to a lot of emotional baggage. It didn't help that I'm a full-time student and he's not, so it felt like I couldn't be there for him enough. Long story short, I ended up cutting it off just before Christmas because it just wasn't healthy for either of us anymore. I really do care about the guy and I felt TERRIBLE breaking up with him, but it needed to be done.

Roommates: I didn't mention it online before now because I didn't want to stir things up, but the roommates that moved in with me in September turned out to be pretty terrible. I've moved past the petty stage (finally - apologies to those of you who had to put up with my whining), so I'll just say that they were first-years, and were not ready for an adult apartment. They didn't know how to clean up after themselves - we're talking 4-day-old macaroni on the stove, here - and wanted to be loud and party, which caused a LOT of stress and tension. Seriously, it was at the point where I was more stressed to come home that I was to go to my exams. It meant that I spent a lot of time at the gym and the library, which was great for my fitness and my marks, but my stress level was through the roof. So after several, er, interesting confrontations with their parents, we evicted them.
     The silver lining is that after a frantic search, I found a wonderful new roommate. She is everything that the ex-roommates weren't, which makes me so very glad. I'm finally feeling at home in my own home, and it's a wonderful feeling. I really do love this apartment!

My near-breakdown: Thanks to the roommate situation, the insane amount of schoolwork followed by exams, and serious homesickness, I was thisclose to losing it for most of December. I actually ended up in tears one evening, just because I was so stressed. I mentioned this to my mother, and she made arrangements to fly out two weeks later. It was WONDERFUL. She helped ease some of the tension between myself and the roommates, was there for me during the breakup, and just generally helped me forget the mess that was my life. We had a good time shopping (especially at IKEA!) and Taking Back the Living Room. I seriously don't know how I would have gotten through the last few weeks of school without her visiting.

I love you guys: Aside from the whole roommate debacle, which I whined about constantly, I really didn't say much about my stress level. Still, there were a few people who knew and were a big help for me - still are, actually. I don't want to name names, but there were 4 or 5 people who did anything they could to help me, whether it was through advice-giving, getting me out of the apartment or giving me a shoulder to cry on. Your help meant a lot to me. More than I can even express. I still have a lot of trouble asking for help, so the fact that you went above and beyond is a Big Deal to me. Thank you.

Starting over: So coming back to school in January was a fresh start for me. New semester (and, for a week or so, less homework), new roommate, new year. And everything has been going really well for the better part of the past 3 weeks. Unfortunately, the shine is starting to wear off and reality's setting in. A triple-whammy of hormones, 7 major assignments and grey skies means that my mood is pretty freaking low right now. There is an end in sight though, since reading week is coming up soonish, so I'm just pushing through til then.

Finally, it's worth mentioning that I've been sticking with a 3x/week workout routine since before Christmas. I try to make a point of getting in one half-hour workout, one 45-min(ish) swim and one INTENSE hour-long session with a personal trainer each week. Can't say I'm losing much weight because my diet is still in need of a permanent overhaul, but I'm definitely in better shape than I was when I started. It's pretty encouraging :)

So yeah, that's The View From Here for now. Congrats if you actually made it though!

TTYL,
Me

Hi all,

Holy crap, it's been more than a month since I last posted. Sorry about that! My life is very much that of a typical student right now: I'll have absolutely nothing going on for a week or so, then all of a sudden there will be assignments to work on, readings to do and general chaos everywhere. Rinse and repeat every few weeks.

It's odd; it feels like I have nothing and everything to tell you guys (read: the 3 of you that actually still keep up with this), so I'll just give you updates of whatever comes to mind right now, stream-of-consciousness style. Apologies if you can't keep up!

Classes are going fairly well - I have 2 electives and 3 straight-up translation classes this semester. No evil profs, except potentially the translation prof who has a TON of random guidelines for us to follow on assignments. I literally have a half-page (and growing!) list of dos and don'ts, most of which are along the lines of "Prof HATES the word 'get'!" and "No gerund constructions". It turns translation into more of a puzzle than it needs to be!

In case anyone *doesn't* know yet, I also finally have a boyfriend! We met online on a mental health forum back in February/March, and started chatting as penpals. It continued that way for a while, until I finally told him that I was starting to see us as more than friends. He agreed, and a week later he told me he loved me!
The only issue is that he lives in England, so it's a long-distance MSN thing for now. Although he's planning to visit me in January!!

On a similar note, I've been making a fair amount of progress with my mental health. The counselor I've been seeing has helped me recognize my thought patterns and areas I really need to work on. She's also helped pull me out of a depressive episode before it got too serious, which has never happened before. It was kind of an eye opener for me!

... And that's about all I have to say for now. Stay tuned for the next episode in the soap opera that is my life!

Moi

Hi all,

So I'm finally starting to settle in to the new apartment. It's amazing - like living in a hotel. We have a pool, saunas, an exercise room and a movie room! And in the apartment itself, we've got 2 bathrooms and a freaking dishwasher. I have to say, it's one HECK of a lot better than living in res! Of course, we're still trying to figure out what we do and don't have; usually we find out we're missing something when we need it. So there's a lot of improvising going on.

The only thing that's not going so well at the moment is The Roommates. They've been doing a lot of frosh stuff this week, so we really haven't gotten to know each other that well. Despite trying to draw up a Roommate Agreement of sorts, we're still trying to figure out who should be responsible for what and what is/isn't acceptable. It's kind of awkward...

On the bright side, school is going fairly well. I ended up switching a bunch of classes around, so I'm now taking 3 translation courses (all in the same un-air-conditioned room, I might add), a Feminism class and a Medieval Studies class. So far most of my profs seem pretty decent, although I can see that my English prof treating us like we're in Grade 2 will probably get old fast. This woman (who looks like Mrs. Doubtfire, no joke) has already told us that "Spelling in English is hard" and asked us to name the advantages and disadvantages of working together in a group; you can only hear so much of that before someone snaps.


So yeah, that's more or less what's been going on with my life right now. Not sure when I'll post again, since I'm sensing an impending homework avalanche.

Moi

Hi guys,

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Blogspot really dislikes my phone, and I've been too tired from work/busy packing to go on my computer much before now. I am in fact still alive, though, and actually doing pretty well.

First, since I know people were wondering, I did in fact figure out my living situation. I have 2 roommates who happen to be friends - they confirmed that they'd be living with me last week. They're actually at the apartment now; I'll be joining them tomorrow. Even better, we have almost all our furniture. A couple was moving out upstairs and sold us most of their stuff, then moved it down for us. And finally, we should have Internet and TV tomorrow evening. It's a pretty sweet setup, really!

(I should mention that my grandparents have played a HUGE part in all this. I can't thank them enough for everything they've done to help make the move possible, not to mention easier)

So yeah. I'm currently "taking a break" from stuffing everything into suitcases. I have a whole suitcase full of clothes, plus 2 others that contain a mix of clothes, valuables, toiletries, bedding, books and stuff that can only be described as "random". My grandparents are bringing at least one more filled with pots and pans, cutlery, laundry nuggets and the like. In other words: HOLY CRAP DO I HAVE A LOT OF CRAP!

Other than that, I don't have a whole ton of stuff to report. My WeightWatchers plan has unfortunately kind of died, since I pretty much stopped using my computer this summer which in turn caused me to stop calculating/tracking my Points. On the upside, I'm REALLY looking forward to be able to control what goes into and out of the apartment and what I eat this year. Hopefully I can resist the urge to buy junk, which in turn makes it harder to eat said junk. It's kind of a "blank slate" thing, y'know?

*sighs* Guess I'd better get back to figuring out what I'm forgetting to stuff into my suitcases. I'll probably post again after this weekend, though, once I'm a little more settled into the apartment.

Moi

Hi guys,

Things have gotten kind of insane since I last posted. Most of the chaos has to do with housing - to make a VERY long story short, let's just say that I got ditched by the people I was going to room with next year because one of their boyfriends came and screwed everything up... after my grandparents were more or less locked in to an apartment that we wanted to keep at all costs. It's that nice. We're talking 1000+ square feet, with access to a pool, sauna, exercise room, BBQ and sun deck here! And it's right across the street from campus. The boyfriend felt that the price was too much though (even after my grandparents subsidized it down to below-average student rent rates for the city), so he basically backed out and took the other 2 with him, leaving me to find new roommates for September. Grr.

</rant>

The other thing I've been figuring out is my diet and exercise. Things are going really well on the exercise front; I'm starting to go on more and more "long" (around 15km) bike rides. I'm not expecting to do any races soon, but it's definitely a start and it gets easier the more I do it. Here's hoping I can stay in the habit!

The diet thing, on the other hand, isn't going so great. I'm still monitoring my points... which means I can see how consistently I'm going over my "allowance". Something needs to change, and I'm really starting to see that carbs are causing me the most difficulty. In fact, the more I think about it the more I realize how addicted I am to them. So I'm going to try to drastically reduce my carbohydrate intake over the next few weeks, mostly by watching how much sugar and bread products I consume. If anyone has any tips/ways to help me do this, please share!

Ciao for now,
K

Hey guys,

Sorry I haven't been posting. I'm kind of swamped between my 2 jobs; I've been working an average of 42 hours every week (and that's not counting the 2 "extended" Saturdays I've worked so far). Honestly, it's kind of a love-hate thing so far. On the one hand, I mostly enjoy both jobs and the money is really going to come in handy next year. On the other, though, I'm spending an awful lot of time and energy at work. It leaves very little time for, well, life. And that kind of sucks.

Another side effect of my insane schedule is that I'm not really caring for myself as much as I should be. I have no time or energy for exercise and I end up eating out a lot at work, just out of convenience. That stops now. My grandpa challenged me to start counting my WeightWatchers points, and I've been doing it for about a week now. I'm still having trouble with portion control and have been a few points over my "allowance" each day, but overall it's going well. It gets me thinking about what's going into my body and gives me some direct feedback, which is nice. And hopefully, it'll help me lose some weight!

The other part of my get-healthy plan is that I'm going to set exercise goals. I'm starting off really small; my first goal is to exercise at least once a week for the next month or so. Even if it's just a really long walk with my dogs or a bike down to the grocery store, I need to get moving. It would be awesome if someone could hold me accountable at first; anyone feel like nagging me?

I know this is a short post, but it's almost 11 here and I need to get to bed. I have to be halfway across the city and able to deal with kids at 9 AM tomorrow.

Ciao for now,
Me

Hey peeps,

No, I haven't forgotten about you. Life's just been a little nuts since I got back. I started a full-time internship about a week after I got back, and my system REALLY hates the whole "getting up at 6:30 so you can work for 8 hours" thing. Don't get me wrong, I love the job (I'm translating/helping with school programs/doing whatever needs to be done at a children's museum here). It's just... insane.

So of course I decided to go back to my old weekend job doing birthday parties at an animal shelter. Bye-bye free time, but hello money! Hopefully I'll have saved enough by the end of the summer to pay most of next year's rent. Provided we can find an apartment, that is...

Yup. That's right. I have 2 roommates lined up, but we have nowhere to live. If anyone knows of a cheap place to live in the nation's capital, I'm open to suggestions! Provided, of course, that rent is less than $800/person with hydro.

So that's my life in a nutshell. Sorry for the short (and uber-late) post, but it's my bedtime.

Me

Hey guys,

So I'm officially 3 days away from finishing my first year of university. It's kind of bittersweet, really - while I am incredibly excited to go home and see my family (and take full advantage of real food/a clean kitchen/free laundry etc.), I'm going to miss my friends like crazy. I promise I'll write about that next week, but I don't want to start the whole "I'M GONNA MISS YOU GUISE" thing just yet because I've still got 3 days to go and I really don't need to be a bawling mess the entire time. Instead, I've composed a list of things (in no particular order) that my first year of university has taught me.

1. Keep track of your deadlines. The panic that comes with the realization that you have an assignment due in 5 minutes is just not worth it.

2. On a similar note, procrastination is a really bad idea. Studying an entire semester's worth of notes the day of the exam will get you nowhere.

3. There is no shame in taking advantage of free stuff.

4. It's OK to ask for help.

5. If you make a mess, clean it up! It's really pretty simple, but when it doesn't get done the results are often disgusting and/or dangerous.

6. A lack of privacy can be both a blessing and a curse.

7. Don't be afraid to share your struggles. You'd be surprised at how many other people are dealing with the same thing.

8. It's always better to do something than to do nothing. Even tiny actions can have a huge impact.

9. Don't judge a book by its cover.

10. Sometimes, you just have to improvise.

K

Hey guys,

Exam season is officially here. Just finished my first exam (which was just a 10-minute oral interview - I saw it as a warm-up), which kicks off a week of utter chaos and stress. 4 regular exams in 6 days, then I get to work on my Translation take-home exam until I hand it in on the 23rd, which is also the day I leave. Something tells me I'll be running on caffeine and adrenaline the entire time.

...

I got nothin' else for you. My brain is categorically refusing to think. Time to put on an episode of Two and a Half Men so it can recuperate.

K

Hi all,

Since I already posted once this week, this is going to be short and sweet. School is starting to wind down since exams begin almost right after Easter, so aside from a few random tidbits (like the fact that OMG I NEVER HAVE TO DEAL WITH MY ITALIAN PROF AGAIN, or the fact that in just a few short hours I'm going to find out whether or not I pass Philosophy) there isn't much to report.

Similarly, I don't have much more to say about the tattoos except for that I'm ridiculously proud of them, and that they're healing really well. They're starting to scab over, and once the scabs fall off the initial healing process will be more or less done. Meaning that I won't have to walk around smelling like hemp moisturizer all the time. Yay?

Finally, I'm excited to say that I get to go home tomorrow. I know I just saw my mom/sister/grandparents, but it'll still be nice to actually be home :)

Ciao for now,
K

Hi guys,

I know you weren't expecting anything til tomorrow at the earliest, but I just couldn't wait to tell you that I FINALLY GOT INKED!!!!!!!

*deep breaths* OK, I'm calm.

Since I know many of you are going to have the same few questions, I figured I might as well answer them here. That way I can just direct people to this post instead of repeating the same thing ad nauseam. Think of it as a Tattoo FAQ of sorts.

Q: Did it hurt?

A: Of course it did. I heard someone else describe it as feeling like someone's cutting you with glass, and that's actually pretty friggin' accurate. The pain fades fairly quickly though (right now it's less than 6 hours after my appointment and my wrists are more tender and sting-y than anything else), and those few hours/days of pain are nothing when you consider that this is a piece of art that stays on your skin until death.

Q: How long did it take?

A: A lot less time than I was expecting. I was booked for a 2-hour appointment, but because it's a small and simple line piece it only took about 45 minutes. 

Q: Can I touch it?

A: Not until the surface has healed, which will take at least a week. After all, this is an open wound and I'm not sure where your hands have been. You're welcome to touch it after the scabs have fallen off, though.

Q: Can I at least look at it?

A: Sure. Here's a pic:

Ooh, pretty

Q: What does it mean?

A: It's based on my "wing and a ring", 2 pieces of jewelry that I always wear (sort of, since my necklace chain broke and I have yet to find a replacement I'm not allergic to). The filigree on the outside comes from a ring that I bought after my first depressive episode 2 years ago, while the wing is based on an angel wing necklace given to me by my grandma after I almost died in a car accident last year. They're serious strength symbols for me and I'm proud to have them on my skin.
There's also a whole bunch of minor symbolism in there, which will likely change over time; for instance, the fact that they're pointing towards me (which is not that common, since most people orient their tattoos so that they appear "right side up" to others) is a reminder to take care of myself.

Q: How much did it cost?

A: $150, including the $100 deposit I put down. It was originally estimated to cost closer to $200, but since it took a lot less time than expected they cut the price. Sure, it sounds like I paid a lot, but I'd rather pay $500 for something I'm excited to wear for the rest of my life than pay $20 for something that looks like it was drawn by a drunk toddler with ADD. The rule of thumb is that cheap tattoos aren't good and good tattoos aren't cheap.

Let me know if you have any more questions and I'll add them to the list.

Moi

Hey guys,

I feel bad because this is the second week in a row I've left my posts until Sunday. I'm really sorry! I do have a legitimate excuse, though: I was chillin' in a hotel with my grandparents, mom and sister from Wednesday until today. They were in town for part of my sister's spring break, which was really nice - I do legitimately miss seeing my family, even my little sister (something which I was certain would never ever ever ever ever ever ever happen when I was younger). Well, that and the fact that the hotel was much quieter and more sanitary than my residence could ever hope to be. Having my food and stuff paid for didn't hurt either...

Yeah. Anyways, it was a nice visit. We ended up going to IKEA and a mall that I've never been to (only because it's a 1/2 hr bus ride away), which was fun. My mom went nuts at IKEA, since we don't have one at home - at one point she picked something up, asked me what it was, then put it in the bag after I stated that I had no clue. I guess if the Swedes built it, it must be useful, right?

Other than my mini-vacation with my family (which will be repeated this weekend, by the way, since I'm going home for Easter), things have been... going. It's just starting to hit people that exams start in just under 2 weeks and that we'll be done for the summer in less than a month. As a result, it's a constant battle between "I don't need to start studying/writing my 10-page term paper/doing readings just yet, I still have a few weeks" and "OMG I ONLY HAVE 2 WEEKS TIL MY EXAM! PANIC!!!". It's actually kind of funny watching people flip-flop between the two.

Well, at least until the howling starts.

Me

P.S. With any luck, I'll have a special announcement for you guys on Tuesday or Wednesday (or as soon as I'm able to type again, anyways).

Hey guys,

I can't say too much yet (mostly cause I don't want to jinx anything), but things are finally starting to improve around here. For one thing, the weather's been hovering around the 25 degree mark for most of the week, which means that I've been able to break out my wonderful second-hand foldable Pugeot bike and go for a couple long rides. It beats the heck out of going to the gym!

Also, I had an awesome conversation with my CA (floor monitor) that's really started to help me sort out my priorities. Let's just say that I have a lot of work ahead of me (ditto for my therapist!) and it's going to require a pretty big paradigm shift, but it'll be worth it in the end.

Last but not least, I may very well be getting my tattoos sooner than I thought. That's all I'm going to say about that, since talking about it too much seems to jinx the whole thing.

Slainte,
Me

Hey guys,

I'm stuck in one of those weird time warps again. This time, I'm mostly waiting for stuff that seems like it's light-years away... until it smacks me in the face. Take the Philosophy midterm I had today. I learned about it a week ago (rather harshly, as you might remember) and still managed to put the majority of the studying off until last night, when the lightbulb over my head finally clicked on and said "Hey! Midterm tomorrow! Get your [rear] into gear!" So I studied til 2 in the morning, slept, then woke up and studied for most of today (or, uh, this afternoon, since I didn't wake up til 11...).

Note that I wasn't intentionally procrastinating. My brain just didn't register the importance of studying for this exam until it was way too late. It's the same thing with a translation I have due next Friday: I've done some basic work on it, but I know I have another 6 hours or so of research and work to do before it's even somewhat presentable. So naturally, my brain keeps throwing distractions at me. My internal monologue goes something like this: "You know you have a big project to do, right? You should really get to work on th-oooh! You haven't played Bejeweled for like 3 hours! Just play a couple of games and then you can start the project for real. But maybe you should feed yourself or just get out of the room first..." and on and on until the translation gets, well, lost in translation. But I can bet you that this time next week, I'll be beating myself up for leaving the project to the last minute again.

Any ideas on how I can get out of that habit?

Me

P.S. I'm doing the 30 Hour Famine next week and am collecting donations. I'm collecting cash in person, but I've also set up a donation page (https://myfamine.worldvision.ca/famine/profile/17187). The site takes Visa, MasterCard and American Express. Just, y'know, in case you're interested.

Hey peeps,

As you may have gathered, I've been looking forward to getting inked for a LONG time now. I started planning sometime last July, and went in for a consultation in mid-December. The first appointment I could get was for 2 days after my birthday in mid-January, and I took it. I went in to see the final design 2 days before, only to be told that I shouldn't get the tats because I was on meds that could make me bleed the ink out. So I rescheduled for Valentine's Day. Everything was fine and dandy right up until 2 days before (you sensing a theme here?), when I got a head cold that once again prevented me from getting inked. Another reschedule, this time on March 15, and I would've had to skip class to make the appointment. Only problem? It turns out I have a midterm during that class. So I get to reschedule AGAIN. I do have a tentative date, but I'm not going to share it for 2 reasons. First, my artist is going to call me tomorrow and we'll see if I can go for 2 separate appointments (one per wrist) or maybe get another artist to put her design on my skin. The second reason I'm not sharing is because every time I start to get excited and tell people about my upcoming appointments, I have to move them. It's like a curse, or as my aunt puts it, "Maybe the tattoo gods are trying to tell you something."

Signing off so I can go study,
Me

Hey guys,

I know my posts have been pretty crappy and depressing lately. Truth is, I've been going through something of a personal shitstorm lately, which I unfortunately can't discuss here. I can tell you that it's less Eeyore-y (Eeyore-esque?) and more "A Series of Unfortunate Events", though. I'm actually handling things fairly well, just at my own pace. I'm hoping to return to regularly scheduled programming soon.

In the meantime...

Ciao for now,
Me

Hey guys,

Just a quick note to let you know I'm alive. I've had a run of bad luck lately (nothing serious, but it requires a LOT of different explanations that I quite frankly don't have the time or inclination to give) and am still dealing with the aftermath. Then there's those pesky "midterm" things...

*sigh*

I can't wait to get home for Reading Week tomorrow. For those of you who are interested, I'm in town from the 17th til the 26th. Fire me a FB message/email/comment/text/whatever if you want to get together!

Moi

P.S. One thing I should mention is that I didn't get my tattoos this week after all. I caught a head cold over the weekend and they didn't want me contaminating the artist. So now the appointment's been moved up another month. I've learned my lesson, though; I'm not going to say anything about the ink anymore. It seems to curse me when I do...