Twenty-eleven, in Review

Another year has passed by, so it's time for another annual review! Here's a look back at what I've done over the last twelve months, or rather where I've travelled to, 'cause I've spent a lot of time up in the air since January 1st, 2011!

January was rather uneventful, but I managed to finish up my most recent tattoo. Soon after I blogged about a sort of realization I came to, about my self esteem and self perception. Not really heavy stuff, but personal stuff. Suffice to say I'm at a much better place now than I was a year or two back.

February marked the beginning of my worldly travels for the year, with a quick jaunt down to Mexico for reading week with a few friends. We may have only been down there a scant three days, but we stretched those hours to the maximum extent and had an absolute blast. Some people thought we were foolish for spending so much on so short a trip, but I can't say I have any regrets about going - even the unscheduled stay in Texas! I can still remember those buffalo hot wings. Mmmm.

A few weeks into March I participated in the Cut for the Cure, a UBCO fundraising initiative (started by some friends of mine a few years back) for the purpose of cancer research. This time around I actually shaved my head, which wasn't as terrible as I imagined it would be. In fact, I think I managed to pull off the look and since my fear of having an odd-shaped skull didn't materialize. Huzzah! I may or may not shave the ol' noggin again this year.

Nothing happened in April, apparently. No blog posts, no trips: only one exam and a few papers.

After moving back to Victoria in May, I barely had enough time to unpack before jumping a plane to Turkey. I was there for two weeks with my family, and had an absolutely amazing time. I still miss Turkish food (especially Turkish breakfast, those Mediterraneans know what's what) and long to go back one day.

June was my only full month at home for the summer, and for the most part it was fairly laid back. I met up with lots of friends for coffee, put in some time at the Gap, and celebrated a very low-key 22nd birthday.

However, I also went to Vancouver for a big concert, Janelle Monáe and Bruno Mars. Mars was good, but I was there for Janelle. Boy, did she deliver! Easily one of the highlights of my concert-going experiences.
 
July took me and two bags across the Pacific Ocean to Singapore, my new home for the next five-ish months. I had been to the city state ten years earlier, but I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Nevertheless, I fell in love with the city almost immediately, and count the journey as one of the most important parts of my university education. 

I met a tonne of rad people out in the tropics, some of whom I hope to see again soon. Despite being so far away from home, I still managed to fall in with a Vancouver crowd (figures), so I know I'll be seeing them again in the near future.

In August I did the first bit of my Southeast Asia travelling, a short ferry from Singapore to Indonesia. It's one of those trips that, while it was difficult to enjoy it at the time, will always be remembered with much laughing and inside jokes. Like, "We are just so cool."

The month also marked the beginning of my classes at NUS, my first Singaporean club experience, National Day celebrations, and a music festival. Not bad, eh?

September took me to the island of Borneo, to Sarawk province and Brunei Darussalam. Although I went alone, I joined up with some other backpackers to see the various sights in Miri, Mulu, and Bandar Seri Begawan. The jungles and mountains were a welcome change from urban Singapore (even though the meaning of "urban" in Singapore is a whole lot more green than in North America). 

When I came back from Borneo I attended the F1 Grand Prix and saw Linkin Park in concert. Another full month.

Compared to other months, October was a little more quiet. I took a relaxing vacation to the tropical island of Tioman in Malaysia, where I took full advantage of the sun to get my tan on. Long story short I fell asleep near the equator and got a sunburn. Surprise, surprise.

I also checked off one of the big Singapore Bucket List items: swimming in the Marina Bay Sands infinity pool. It was rad. Mad rad, even. 

By the time November rolled around I still wasn't tired of flying around the world, so I went to Macau and Hong Kong. Macau exceeded my expectations, Hong Kong didn't live up to them. I ate lots of food, sometimes good, sometimes bad, sometimes downright strange; went to a few theme parks; toured each city by foot to a point that I forgot what exhaustion was; and took far too many pictures in Disneyland.
 
Well, by December I really was tired of all the travel, but I still needed to see so much. Somehow I managed to fit a week in the Philippines, two days in Siem Reap, an afternoon in Kuala Lumpur, a day in Singapore, and countless hours in airports and airplanes into the sixteen days before I went back to Canada. It was quite the whirlwind, and I'm still not quite sure how I survived it. A fine end to a great year, I must say.


photos by: vcateyesv, me, me, kanikey, Janelle Monáe, me, me, me, me, Ed Coyle, Ezyan Y.

the Tattoos

So these are long, long overdue. I've had my most recent tattoo finished since December 2010. Better late than never, eh?

Here they are, then. The smaller one is a stylized Eye of Horus, and is the second tattoo I had done. The first, a stylized Eye of Thoth, is underneath the firebird's wing. That's actually the "tail" of the Eye curling out above the bottom-most feather.
The firebird is my latest and probably last tattoo. It took two sittings to complete, one in September '10 that lasted three hours for all the linework, and another in December '10 that lasted just under two hours for all the fills.

Suffice to say that, after around six and a half hours of total time spent under the gun, I'm in no hurry to go back for more.
I'm still not entirely accustomed to having the large firebird arcing across my body, and I often forget that I even have tattoos. I intentionally placed them somewhere I could hide them easily, so I guess the forgetfulness is a given.

Well, that's enough rambling from me. Ask any questions you might have in the comments below!

Corporeal Epiphany

I've known for a long time that I have body issues. My self-esteem stems from my shape, and the shape that I think I am. I'm one of those guys that girls envy: I'm tall, lean, and I never, ever gain weight. Recently I heard a testimony by a girl who was struggling with anorexia, and one of the things that she said really hit home: she never saw her body in entirety, only in isolated pieces. I'm the same way.

I have fat days. Seriously. I actually go to bed some days thinking I'm overweight. My BMI is 19. If I lived in the States, only 7% of males my height and age would be lighter than me. And I have fat days.

Recently, though, I came to a second realization about my issues with body image: they're the reason I have pursued tattooing. My personal perceptions have changed dramatically over the past few days with the completion of my large fire bird tattoo, and I'm starting to feel alright in my own skin again.

Maybe it's the constant desire to show the ink off, or the fact that I love the image permanently etched into my body, but things have changed for the better. I'm just hoping that my feelings will remain this way.

Now, don't get me wrong, I still endeavour to change a lot about myself. I'll probably never actually be at a weight I'm comfortable with, or be the size I want to be. It's funny sometimes how I have the same trouble as a lot of the girls I know, but in reverse.

Anyways, my plan is to be done with tattooing now. With about six and a half total hours of work on me I'm feeling satisfied. Maybe I'll end up hitting the gym more this year. Maybe. I'm a lazy fool, so we'll see what I look like come December.


all photos by vcateyesv

my Year in Review

First off, this idea (and title?) was stolen from a friend of mine. I like to swipe things like that. Here's what I got up to the last 12 months.

Is there an equivalent to Wednesdays in university degrees? As of January, I was officially at the hump-day of my degree program: 5 terms down, 5 to go. I'm not sure whether I was relieved or even more stressed because of it.

February brought Olympic good times as I spent part of my reading break up in Whistler with some friends. Mittens were worn, events were watched, beers were consumes, and I was hassled over and over about where I managed to pick up my Team Canada hoodie.

Did anything happen in March? Anything at all? The only thing I can think of is that I ate copious amounts of phở, but I do that every month. Well, did that until the phở place became blacklisted. I'm not bitter. Not bitter at all.

This picture isn't exactly accurate, but in April the hard drive in my laptop decided to die (finally?) after four years of service. However, it chose to die in the middle of exams and term papers, and in Kel where my XP boot disks were not. Long story short, I'm now an Ubuntu convert with extreme loyalty to Western Digital.

Even though my school year had only just ended, in May I began looking at the opportunities that I would have this year. And what should catch my eye but an exchange program to NUS. I've been obsessing over it since.

The Canadian group Thunderheist broke up in June, and I had the privilege of attending their last show in Vancouver. Honestly, it was one of the best performances I have seen, and I am so sad that they won't be touring or even making music anymore. Oh, and I turned 21. Minor detail.

Although I go to school in the Okanagan, I had never been there in the summer, when it is at the peak of awesome. In July I flew out to Kel and went camping with a bunch of friends and was finally able to experience an Okanagan summer. Rad.

August brought many of my RA friends back together, after four extremely long months apart (besides the ones I saw in July, heh). More rad people, more rad camping, and rad memories to boot. Mad rad.

I got my first tattoo shortly after I turned 19, and a week later I decided that I hated it. After many years mulling designs, I settled on a Russian firebird to cover the terrible tattoo up. I started the tattoo in September, accomplishing 3.5 hours of work in a single sitting.

October, of course, brought Halloween. I had a posse. Initially, I was a dragon. Then I was a dinosaur. By the end of the weekend, I was the Ogopogo. There were no costume changes. I'm just that awesome. We're just that awesome.

The most terrible month in the history of terrible months was November 2010. I had a very brief post about it, sharing the musicians who helped me through it all. I'm still not quite over what happened that month, but hopefully this new year will bring some healing.

I was finished with exams quite early in the month, so December became the month of movies. In theatres I saw Burlesque, Tron:Legacy, and Black Swan. Many others were screened from the comfort of my living room, or as movie marathons at friends' places. I really needed the down time after this year.




Garfield (c) Jim Davis, Whistler photo by me, phở photo by m0nyet, Thunderheist photo by wagepeace, Okanagan photo by trainboysd40, laser tag photo by a friend, tattoo design by laludia, costume photo by a friend, Chris Corner portrait by lora8, Black Swan poster (c) Fox Searchlight Pictures

Tattoo three, Round two

So today I had my second session at Urge in Vic, my tattoo destination of choice. I've been to two other places in the city, the first of which was terrible, while the second one was good but not good enough to bring me back. Why'd I go back to Urge? Emily. She's my artist.

She has a style all her own. She specializes in "all things rad," which is perfect for me. I like rad things. Better that these rad things are on me, raising my rad-factor tenfold! Also, I promise that I don't have a tiger and unicorn at tea tattooed on me.

I do have a mythological beast, though. My most recent (and hopefully final) addition is a Russian firebird, known throughout the English-speaking world as a phoenix. Yes, I have a story for it but no, I will not be sharing it here. It goes a little deeper than the usual "rising from the ashes" phoenix motifs into the Russian lore. I'm rad like that.

Urge logo by Urge, painting by Emily Shoichet, firebird artwork by an unknown artist

a Picture Challenge: 1 - You and 10 Facts

• I have two tattoos, a combined 6 1/2 hour effort. One is a stylized Eye of Horus, the other is a Russian firebird. Together, they cover my left hip and stretch across my lower back to the opposite hip.
  
• I wanted to be a dentist until I was 12, when I decided I hated the hygienist lady that worked for my dentist.
  
• My first year of uni was angled at getting me into the sciences. After one month I decided I hated it and applied to the Cultural Studies program at UBC.
  
• I love more than anything to sleep. Naps are a favourite pass time, and I will often pretend to sleep as a form of procrastination and/or relaxation.
  
• My favourite colour is green. As seen in the photo.
  
• I went on a six week Eurotrip in 2008. I hit France, Monaco, Italy, Greece, Germany, the Netherlands, and Britain.
  
• Moving to Kelowna was the best decision of my life. Seriously.
  
• I've worked for McDs, Gap Inc, UBC, and an addictions clinic.
  
• My sister is my best friend. And I'm pretty sure she'll insist on being my best man, without changing the title. Ferserious.
  
• The young Riesling by Tantalus in Kelowna in my favourite wine. I've got a bottle in my wine cooler right meow.
  
• I've had four different credit cards in a span of three and a half years. Only two of them are currently valid, which is still too many.
  
  photo by a friend of mine