"Lazarus" by Porcupine Tree (Live)

An absolutely beautiful song. Do enjoy.

Joe's Death

Joe McCulloch: 1995-2008

Well, that's it. After 13 or so years of being together, my cat Joe, died last night. But unlike the death of Jack and Rex in previous years - both of which died from kidney failure - Joe's death was fully unexpected.

Prior to his departure, Joe had most always been a healthy cat: chunky, but not overweight per se; well groomed; extremely healthy teeth and lastly, was undoubtedly one of the most active cats I had ever seen. Just minutes before his death, I had (in the name of fun) chased him down the hall a couple of times as he frolicked, shouted and snarled. That was the thing about Joe - he was one of a kind. He was far from a boring, regular old cat with no personality. Even having owned 5 cats at one point in time, I can quite honestly say that he was like no other.

Joe was always one of those cats that you admired for his extroverted personality. In all fairness, he was an absolute bastard, but I obviously loved him for that very fact. This is a cat which was not only very easily annoyed, but very easily made jealous; akin to some delirious house wife. If you talked to another cat when he he was in the vicinity, he'd make a big deal out of it by not only snarling at you, but by staring at the cat you were talking (specifically petting) to. He'd even scratch our wicker chairs to regain the attention he believe he deserved. What's more, Joe's idea of how to get a cat out of his sleeping area or even away from me or my father, was by cleaning the other cat. Yup, that's right - he would purposely clean them knowing they would eventually get tired of it, and move on out. And kudos to him, because it always worked.

When he didn't wanted to be talked to, and you wanted to talk to him, he'd most always make a snorting sound and immediately cringe. But when he wanted to talk to you, he would make sure he'd have his way. He'd obsess and bother you until he knew you'd give up out of frustration and just starting nurturing him. Bottom line: he knew how to get want he wanted.

And yet again, his death was completely unexpected; even if he was 17 years of age (was 3 when we got him). After chasing him around last night, me and my father weren't out of that bathroom for more than 5 minutes when he heard three loud yelps. Considering yelping was one of Joe's favourite things, It normally would have gone unnoticed, but these yelps were notably different. Both me and my father quickly ran to the bathroom where Joe was laying on the floor as his body convulsed and his throat gasped for air. Naturally, we thought he was choking on something and thus attempted to pump his stomach, but it was all too late. Truth is, we'll never quite know what happened to Joe. Our first assumption was that he had a heart attack, but there's also the possibility that he swallowed his tongue or perhaps choked on water and such.

It's hard to explain the sorrow of his death. The only thing that can be said is that my father has undoubtedly taken a harder hit than I have. Joe was always his favourite cat, and losing him is easily akin to losing a family member. But of cours, his death has greatly affected me too. I loved that cat with an undeniable passion. He was my little buddy. And over the last little while, I had never seen him so eager to talk to me. Every night over the last two months, he'd crawl into my room and rub his head against my hands to wake me up. And no surprise, It would always work, and then I'd happily let him sleep beside whilst he was partially covered by my bed-sheets.

At this moment, I am on the verge of yet again crying, but am doing my best to hold it in. Last night I hadn't any problems showing how I felt though.... I must have cried - while my head laid against his - for at least 40 minutes last night.

What makes Joe's death even more so tragic is that it marks the end of an era in my life. My cats are pretty much all I have left from the good old days. Once they pass, I'll have little, if anything to remind me of how things once were. There were so many memories in that cat's eyes it's not even funny. I had Joe when I lived in the United States, I had Joe at most troubling of times in my life.

Our commitment to Joe was unparalleled. For instance, several years ago Joe had an infection thus causing a lack of red blood cells and as a result, was slowly dying. We spent $800 at a vetenarian clinic to help him get better, and after weeks of hoping for improvement (and hand feeding him squished liquids) things started to turn positive. He fought off something which I don't think anyone thought he could

And yet Joe's demise last night was an unlikely one. Any regrets you ask? Yeah, but only one. I'll forever ask myself why I never took more pictures of him when he was alive. As to pay some sort of a strange homage to the little guy, I decided that I'd take a few photos of him after his death. Given that I never took enough photos of him when he was alive and kicking, I thought now would be the best time. The below photo was indeed taken 20 minutes after he had passed. If you look closely, you'll see that his eyes are overtly dilated...


Death of something you truly love is a always strange thing. While I have those moments when I'm in tears thinking about him, now is not one of them. Help keeping his memory alive - by writing this post - is how I will pay honour to the mighty Joe, or as he was affectionally referred to as, the "seal baby"; the latter of which is thanks not only in part to his grey fur, but his chunky body and his odd vocal chords.

Take care little man. You'll be missed.

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!

I wrote this post this past Saturday on a sheet of paper and have just now gotten the chance to post it. Given that a terrible tragedy happened last night, I thought I'd better post it before I announce the bad news.

Oh my, where do we start?

How about we lay it simple: life is going well. Actually, "well" is more than somewhat of an understatement... "Fantastic" better describes how I've been feeling as of late. I feel better now than I have in the last seven years, and I sincerely mean that.

Finally, I feel as if things are going my way. Disappointments seems minuscule, meanwhile depression and unhappiness seem nearly non-existent. I've been waiting for this type of mental re-brith every since the beginning of this decade.

As I've explained oh-so many times before, the year 2000 was essentially a stop-gap in my life, but now - after a seemingly endless amount of problems - things are starting to look good.

Whilst I still have yet to sort my education, rest assure, I'm working on it. And when it's sorted, I'll welcome it with open arms. In the meantime, I'm just a happy person all-around. For instance, I'm feeling more confident not only about things as they are, but about the future. I'll just have to continue to do my best.

Other than that, I am pleased to say that my meet up with Mandie (the girl I met last weekend at Oakridge mall) went well. I truly believe that the two of us had a fantastic time together. However, that's all I'll say on the subject because I wouldn't want to be pushing my luck, but ultimately, don't believe it's fair to kiss & tell. I have a lot of respect for Mandie, and have no desire to treat her like some trophy. The only thing I'll say is that I really like her. She sets my mind and heart my free. I've never met anyone like her before, and am sure I never will again.

On the automotive front, Dad has bought a new car! Oh yes, it was time and let me say: it's one hell of a purchase. It's a gold/champagne coloured 1999 Acura RL 3.5 with just 54,000km. In short, the car is absolutely mind and has hardly ever been used.

And, umm, what else?

Evidently, I haven't been able to blog anywhere as much I have the past. Why? Well, it's not so much as I haven't the time, but more because I'm too busy enjoying life. Forum life, for instance, has taken a big hit. My usual online-forum visits have drastically declined. But you know, I don't really care about that. Silly though it sounds, I feel as if happiness has found me. And it's been a long time coming.

"FAAIIILLL"

That's what my Father was saying at the exact moment this picture was taken. :D

167lbs

Is what I weigh right now...

Not only have I been eating cookies and pizza to no end over the last two weeks, but I've also been eating cooked ham, cheese and milk. But for whatever reason, I cannot seem to gain weight. My metabolism is about as quick as a bunny. I've actually lost more weight even despite the increased eating...

Blew An Artery!

OMG...

I'm meeting a girl that I've been talking to online for a couple days at Oakridge mall here in Vancouver tomorrow morning at 11:00am

AND

Rush announced their 2008 leg of the "Snakes & Arrows" tour, and they're coming to Vancouver on the 29th of May!!

AH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Excitement! %* %^#R

MOOD: HAPPINESS!

Weekly Catch Up

Ok, here we are. It's weekly catch up, and I'm absolutely burned out.

Evidently, I haven't been Blogging anywhere as much as I'd like since the arrival Christmas, but I hate to leave my precious online-diary (that's what these are folks - face the music) neglected. I don't even know where to begin to cover the last three weeks, but I'll do my best. It goes a little like this:

Hair:
My hair's longer than it has ever been before in my life.

HotorNot:
I once had a total of 17 double-match girls on HotOrNot.com and am currently speaking with five of them. Oddly enough, three of the five happen to be a great distance away from where I live. Whilst one of them lives in Vancouver (Mandie), the other four live in Calgary (Sarah - yes, that Sarah), two in Burnaby (Wai-Lee & Kendra) and one in Taiwan (Tiffany)

I recently got back in touch with Sarah -it's a long story - and have been talking to her about the possibility of flying into Calgary so that we can meet-up. Meanwhile, the messages between the two of us have gotten quite personal - not in regards to private life, but sexually. Not online-sex per se, but a definite tension. That's all I'm going to say.

Another girl who I just recently met on the site is one named "Wai-Lee". Thus far, we've only exchanged one email with each other, but let me tell you - big wow! I reckon she's one helluva of a girl. As she pointed out, she was stuck dumb by the fact that I not only had an IQ above ".5", but had something to say.

And the girl in Taiwan.... is just brilliant. She's not only very expressive, but artistic.

Meanwhile, Kendra's a Christian and Mandie is a complete video-game freak. They are all very different from each other, and I can't wait to talk to each one of them again.

Music:
Hmm, where are we here... Oh yeah, Rush and Porcupine Tree. 'Nuff said.

AutoSavant:
Just finished writing a new automotive article for AS, and having taken a long writing-break, it was an absolute pain to write. Took what seemed like forever.

Facebook:
I'm afraid to admit it, but I'm addicted to FB. I've been wasting countless numbers of hours on this site, and it's only getting more addictive as time passes. Not only have I've since long accepted my mother's invitation to be added as a friend, but we've exchanged a few emails - nothing of real importance - just a simple "Hi, how are you doing" kind of thing. Thankfully though, in contacting her, I've gotten her to post some old photos of myself (unknown age)



Oh, and I got my father to join Facebook too... (he's already addicted)

Miscellaneous:

I'm still looking to sort of my education, but my transcripts from Alberta have not yet arrived. It's taking a long fucking time. I suppose I'd better give them a call as I would not be the least bit surprised if one of those goverment hacks lost my request.

Over and out.

Operation Hair Growth

The below two photos were taken 3 to 4 months apart:



My hair's longer now than it has ever been in my life before, and I love it! As I stated some time ago, my current hair style was inspired by a certain male celebrity. But I'm not spilling the beans... You'd probably make fun of me because it's so metro.
:-P

Weekend Video's (#42)

Barenaked Ladies - "The Old Apartment" (1996)



Dire Straits - "Calling Elvis" (live '91)



Peter Gabriel - "Digging in the Dirt" (live in '03)

Happy New Year

Happy New Year ya'll.

Thankfully I hadn't a hangover to ruin my day. Did a Ton of walking today; around Stanely Park, Granville Island and Jericho Beach. Suffice to say, I'm feeling happily fresh.