Family time.

So a lot of people love Christmas for the festive feeling. A lot of people love Christmas for the presents. A lot of people love Christmas for the birth of Jesus. Me, I love Christmas for the fact that I get to spend the time with my family. I never get to see them and Christmas is the only time when I do. However, this is limited. I only love spending time with my mom's side of the family- my Baki exempt. My mom's side of the family is great. We have amazing meals, amazing chats, amazing drinks. I can tell them about my secret tattoos and have them love me. I can babysit the little ones and love them. I can run around, make funny faces, act all silly and soak in the moments that make me incredible happy to be where I am and doing what I do. I can feel good about my decisions and know that whatever I decide to do with my life they will be two steps behind me just in case I fall. I love them with all my heart and even though half of them live half a world away, I've never felt more apart of a family than with them. Now the limited part. My father's side of the family is not as accommodating. You see they are all awesome at their lives while I sit in the corner still trying to figure everything out. Every time I chat with them I get the vibe that really they are unimpressed with all my "slow moving" decisions. See, not being on the root to a job that will make you millions and millions of moola is just a train en route to destination no where. Unfortunate to say the least. They always have some way of make me feel awful about my life. Family time is turning out to be bitter sweet. Never the less, my mother's family over rides my fathers family- my Baki exempt. My Baki is my father's mother and- this being the understatement of the year- she is the best person in the world. But we can get to that in another post. Christmas is a time for laughter, joy, praise, happiness and wonder. I get nothing less than that when I spend time with my family... on my mom's side.

Starting Fresh

Just recently I was left with a whole new canvas to paint. My best friend moved back home for good, I moved out of the place I called home for the past year and a half, leaving all my friends behind. I have stepped out of my norm and it isn't easy. It is safe to say- and you can ask anyone who knows me- I am not good with change. I have trouble re-adapting myself. I have trouble escaping the easy and finding the new. The last few years have been a roller coaster ride. I have graduated, started off university, switched degrees, moved, met so many great friends and said that many more good-byes and thats just the tip of the iceberg. To most people these things may not seem like a big impact on a life. To most people these things seem petty and just a way of life. But to me- and again ask anyone who knows me- these things are my life. I get trapped in the norm of things and get used to what is easy. Then when it is time to change, and lets be honest it always happens, I feel like it's the end of the world. I have to start new and things are going to be different. These changes are so hard for me. I never know what I want and I never know what is going to make me happy. I was happy with the old ways, I was happy in the easy. Now it is time to start fresh. New house, new friends, new classes, new relationships. It is going to be hard, but hopefully in the end I come out stronger with a better appreciation for change. There is nothing I can do to stop change I can only accept it as it comes. Knowing this makes me choke up and resent all the people that caused the change. But taking a double thought I know it is a way of life and no one is going to be stuck in one place forever. No one is going to be living in their norm. Life moves and changes and we all experience different things. We all want to look back on our lives and be happy with all our decisions and adventures. Being stuck in the norm wont give you that happiness. You have to take the risk, live up to the challenge and as hard as it may be, go with the change. It is tough for me but I have no doubts that my life will live out to being amazing.

Live Music

Anything can happen. I am so fortunate to have such a great location so close to me where I can go to to listen to live music performed by amazing artists. The Duncan Garage Showroom has come to be one of my favourite places to go. The talent there is so rich. The entertainment is so intimate and anything can happen. I've seen performances from some of my newly favourite artists such as Said the Whale, Aiden Knight, Hannah Georgas, Jeremy Fisher, Behind Sapphire, Steph Mcpherson and just recently Dan Mangan. It was my friends 19th birthday and to her luck and ours Dan Mangan was playing. He is such a talented artist and close to home too. I love local music and - not to sound horrible- struggling artists. They have so much talent because they have to to get anywhere. They don't have the means to pay for that crappy auto tune and they aren't getting famouse because their daddies are paying for it. They are purely talented from the soul out. Watching your favourite song live is like Christmas times ten. The best. It gives you a new appreciation for that song and makes you remember all the reasons why you fell in love with it in the first place. Along with live music entering your soul and embracing every single touch receptor in your body, anything can happen. I am talking anything. Nose flutes, random jokes, sing alongs, audience interaction- you name it. Such an amazing feeling when you can see your favourite song being sung right in front of you and you are asked to sing along right with it and if you are lucky- asked to harmonize. Robots need love too, they want to be loved by you.