tattoo-two

Well, here he is.

He looks a little skewed because it's harder than it looks to photograph your own bicep.

My arm is still numb - index finger and thumb, up the side of my forearm, top of the bicep all the way to the tip of the shoulder. After a little reading online, I think it's a combination of the position I was lying in, and the vibration of the tool irritating my delicate nerves. I really hope it goes away by tomorrow. It's left me kind-of useless.

I have just a little more understanding of the frustration felt by someone who has lost use of a limb due to stroke. You should have seen me trying to eat corn on the cobb last night. It surprised me that the numbness would affect control over those muscles.

suffering for my art

I got my new tattoo today!

I think it looks great. Once the redness and swelling are gone I'll show you a picture.

Because of the way I had to hold my arm for 1 1/2 hours, it went completely numb. In fact, it's still not completely back to normal. It's just like when the freezing comes out at the dentist. You'd be surprised how hard it is to type with numb fingers.

It's about twice as big as my first tattoo, and filled in with colour, so it was a very different experience. It actually hurt this time!

Now I'm not so sure I want a big one across my shoulders anymore. Although I'm sure the discomfort will fade from memory in time and Ill do it anyway. Once you start you can't quit.

It was a good experience, and I would heartily recommend Gwen from Monster's Ink for your next work of art.

bruises to prove it

Yesterday I was in my third kick boxing light tournament, at Trevor Smandych's club in Calgary.
I'm in the pink trunks


This time they put the middle weights and the heavy weights together, and there were 6 of us in total.

I had to fight 3 times. with very little time in between, and it really showed me how far I have left to go with my cardio fitness.

I got fourth place, with a nice little medal. The other girl from our club got first, and I am so proud of her.

Today I have a dinner plate-sized bruise on my leg, stiff shoulders, and a few cuts on the inside of my mouth, but I had so much fun.

There's another tournament in Lethbridge next weekend.

I haven't decided if I'll go yet.

the cat came back

The other night I had the patio door open for some air while I was frying onions.

Out of the corner of my eye I caught a dark blur as stalker cat ran inside.

He started sniffing and rubbing up against everything. and strode around investigating the house as if to say,

"Not bad, not bad. I think I'm going to like my new home."

Luckily he came running when I called him and we managed to get him back out the door. Matt sat out on the patio and scratched his ears for a while, and then he disappeared into the night.

Last night we were out enjoying the last bit of day light when we heard that now familiar meowing again. He ran up the patio steps and started begging for attention.

Now he's not just satisfied with a good scratch from Matt. He insisted on rubbing his deadly hair all over my legs as well.

I wonder what time he'll stop by tonight.

making the rounds

There is a black cat in our neighbourhood who seems to be trying to adopt us.

We've been seeing paw prints all over the yard and the back patio for a while. Then we came home one evening and were walking from the garage to house when he came running across the street toward us, meowing and meowing. He was acting so glad to see us. Matt bent down to pet him, and he was exuberant about the attention to say the least.

The other night we came home and he was waiting on the steps for us. He ran towards us and it was like he was saying "thank goodness you're home!"

He even tried to come in the house with us, and then ran around to the patio doors and meowed until we went into the bedroom to escape him.

This little guy wears a red collar and looks clean and well fed, so he obviously belongs to someone.

Does he only come to visit us, or is he spreading the love all around the block? The yellow house on Mondays, the brick two-storey on Tuesdays...?

I have such a soft heart, it's difficult not to give in and feed him a snack.

Wiley cat.

done like dinner

Last night I wrote my Applied Statistics final exam.

It was 3 hours long.

My brain still hurts.

But that's it. I'm hopeful that I'll get an A- in this course.

Now I'm done school until I find a university to go to in my next home.

I feel very impatient.

green soon

Ah, the rain has come
to wash the dust from my car
it's cool on my skin

disconnected

I think everyone should have to go without plumbing once in a while. And household appliances, too. Just for a few days.

And camping doesn't count. It has to be in your own house. When you're camping, it's so removed from your everyday existence that it's hard to take insights and lessons home with you.

We've been doing renovations again.

It's been almost 2 weeks since I've had a stove. The fridge is on the patio. We just got a new toilet upstairs yesterday.

It gave me great anxiety to go without running water for a day. It was a hardship to have to go downstairs in the middle of the night to pee. Having all my dishes and canned goods on the living room floor is a pain in the ass.

When I have my house back in order it will feel like such a luxury. It will be a luxury. I forget regularly how much luxury I live with on a daily basis. It's good to remember that I can actually live without a dish washer, or a toaster. It's good to have to think about how much water or electricity are necessary for survival.

The majority of the people on this planet are aware of how much clean water they've used in a day, and how much work they need to do in order to eat, and where their poop goes.

Most of us North Americans act as if we believe that water and electricity magically flow out of the walls, that our homes generate their own heat, and that when we flush the toilet our waste disappears into thin air.

I have been reminded that it's just not true.