An Honest Days Work.

Hey readers! It's been a while I know. I've been crazy busy with work.
I'm gonna start up another blog that's a little more light-hearted, links to come once its up and running

I've found something I love doing and in doing that I have excelled quickly at it. I am well on the path of healing and am so strong in what I am doing now. I had a lovely visit a friend I graduated from highschool with. shes going on her own path of healing right now. she looks amazing and I realized something...

So do I!

I look freaking fantastic. I'm still doing what I want and living for me.

I think a large part of the reduced blog postings is I have finished the healing I needed that was facilitated by this.

I'll still come and chat with you lovely people every now and then. but I think I'm going to keep up my writing by doing something a little more 'fun' for me.

...stay tuned for links!

(also I have added a guest writer who may post anything they feel relevant to the "happiness is..." blog.)

Happy days readers

-PRKW-

Being Alive.

Angels are reaching out to me today...

They are telling me to keep being strong. To keep fighting for my happiness. Keep moving forward.
I appreciate their messages to me. I still have the chance to do more with my life, the lives of the
angels speaking to me today were cut short.

For them, I promise to more actively appreciate my life. I know I've been doing that already... but I
was in a little bit of a slump after being harassed by some of the bad people...

what I was given today was a gentle reminder that life is beautiful and to keep on enjoying it.

Happy Days Readers

-PRKW-

P.S. I know there hasn't been as many additions to "Happiness Is.." lately, life has been getting busy on me!

it's a good thing. and I will try to keep posting when I have free time, but I can't promise to keep a steady writing schedule..

sorry :(... and I will maybe vary up the content.. I'm thinking... REVIEWS NEXT WEEK! :)

Discovering you are a publlished writer!

Short little entry today. will write a long one again before friday... prooomiiiisseeeee...
I'll even put it into my calander!

There. done!

So anyways. I learned today that I am a published writer! CHECK IT OUT!

The LG Phoenix, a great way to enter into the world of smartphones

The times are changing and so is the way we are using our phones; the way we do business on them is changing, yet many people find themselves still using a phone that flips open and doesn’t have much substance to it other than a number pad. This is an approach that may work well for some people, but in a competitive society such as ours, most people need access to their business on the go, in a manner that isn’t going to take more than a few moments out of their day. The hurdle that many people will have to take to accomplish this is letting go of their old device. This can be a stressful decision, since almost everyone gets comfortable with one particular device, as well as their plans; The increased cost of moving from a basic phone plan to one that includes data as part of its services, may deter some cellular users.

This is where the LG Phoenix comes in: A new smartphone that has only been on the market since April 2011. An entrant into the world of smartphones, and someone who’s likely going to be looking at an increased cost is likely to ask themselves a question something along the lines of, “Why would I want to go with a smartphone? Wouldn’t I be better off going with an inexpensive basic model?” The LG Phoenix answers this question for you by setting itself at the fantastic price of 19.⁹⁹ on a 3-year term.

Rogers also answers the call of the budget-minded by offering a fantastic 40.⁰⁰/month plan available on a few select handsets, including the LG Phoenix, that includes: MY10 Canada-wide and 200 weekday minutes to ensure all your needs for voice services are met, Unlimited text/picture/video messaging, as well as unlimited Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace, for all your social networking needs. As an added bonus, the plan includes a reasonably priced 100MB Smartphone data package to make sure you always have access to e-mail, work website, and the internet on the go.
With the question of price and budget now out of the way, is this in fact a quality handset? I’m pleased to say that yes it definitely is. Some of the major features of this phone are that it is running one of the latest versions of the Android operating system (2.2. also known as “FroYo”) and has a 3.2” capacitive touch screen, accelerometer and proximity sensors for auto-rotate and automatic screen control. The screen also supports multi-touch controls for “pinch-zoom” web browsing and other applications that support the feature.

As with most Rogers phones, this is a GSM handset with quad-band receivers. This means that you can comfortably take this phone with you nearly anywhere around the world and not have to worry about whether or not your phone will work.

The memory on this device is a little bit short, coming with only 160MB of internal memory and a 2GB Micro-SD card to start, but the good news in this is that applications can be stored on the SD card and the memory slot supports up to 32GB of memory!

To Conclude, the Phoenix may not have some of the bells and whistles that the more expensive Android models have (Higher MP camera, Gorilla Glass, AMOLED screen etc.) but it debuts as the perfect option for those looking to make the leap into the world of smartphones with an inexpensive new device, running current software. The LG Phoenix is a great choice for consumers looking for a smartphone that just, plain and simple, works for a price that easily fits into their budget.

For a full breakdown on specifications on the LG phoenix, please visit the following link.
Author – Paul Wilson, Android OS and Small Business Specialist

To view the article in it's original format go to the following link.
http://www.mydigitalcom.ca/latest-news/2011/07/the-lg-phoenix-a-great-way-to-enter-into-the-world-of-smartphones/

Happy days readers!

-PRKW-

on hold, just a little bit longer.

Yes I know its been a while.

Just sit still a bit longer.

I promise everything is okay.

-PRKW-

New Years Resolutions... Kept.

I'm leaaaavvvinnnnggg on a jet plaaaannneee, don't know when I'll be baack agaiiinn~~~

This dog has more
flight hours logged than I do...

I resolved to do a couple of things this year, and although I did not achieve any of these goals in exactly the way that I imagined I would have, they are nonetheless achieved.




NEW YEARS RESOLUTION #1
Get out of my crappy dead-end job!

 I realized after nearly two years of hard work put into a company that I was exactly the same place I was in when I started the job, and it looked like the next two years would be the same as well. I was working for my job to stay the exact same. I needed a job that worked for me, where the people brought me up and motivated me, supported me. I found that job. I took that job. The job had amazing earning potential. I did awesome at that job. I quit that job. You probably are questioning my sanity right now... don't worry, I've done enough of that for the both of us. "Why would you leave the exact thing you were looking for in a job?!". The reason I left what seemed like the perfect job is because of the most frequently used three letter word in this paragraph. J-O-B. I was in another job. Though I was very close to what I wanted, it was another job, and in two or three years my search would start over if I stayed with them. So, NEW YEARS RESOLUTION #1 COMPLETE. I am not only done with my crappy dead-end job, I'm done with crappy dead-end jobs in general... it's career time for me.

That being said... if everyone on earth worked at least
six months in the service industry... there would be no war...
EVER.

and most importantly... I will have
toilets that always flush g*d-d*mnit!!

NEW YEARS RESOLUTION #2
This year is the last year I will lease!

I had fully intended to fulfil this new years resolution closer to November or December of this year... I wanted to move forward into a place of my own, I was tired of sitting around in an "okay" living space, paying somebody elses mortgage. Life is crazy though and will move along at it's own pace. It's not even May and I am lease free! Through the graces of my exceptionally understanding landlords, I am free of the hold of a contractual lease and at no penalty to my income. I cannot say for sure at this point in time if it is the last time I will ever lease a place, it may become necessary again in the future. I am now wiser though, I will approach the situation with appropriate caution and most importantly I have learned that some things are much easier to do than they are to undo. With that, NEW YEARS RESOLUTION #2 COMPLETE.




NEW YEARS RESOLUTION #3
I'm going to focus more on myself!

This one definitely came about in a most unexpected way. I had made this resolution as more of a cliche 'I'm going to exercise more, and eat healthy' B.S. typical new years resolution. My life was already in jeopardy at this point though, and focusing more on myself was going to be more of a life-or-death situation than I realized. In the first three months of 2012 I strayed as far away from this resolution as I possibly could. I don't know who or what or where I was at that point in time. It all came to a head when I was faced with a decision to either continue on the path I was heading, the path of least resistance... which would lead to my death. Or I could stand up and start fighting, it hurt like hell and I had a face that was bruised enough to prove it... but I stood up and started fighting for myself. I called out for help, and that was the difference between life and death. I have had more people than I can count abandon me for taking this path, but ultimately they are just distractions from what really matters. ME. NEW YEARS RESOLUTION #3 COMPLETE

...

no... I don't have a funny picture for this one.

I'm currently unemployed, I've had several possessions stolen this year, I almost died, I broke lease with my landlord, I was with a cheating and abusive ex, I had a friend from kindergarten abandon me.... the funny thing is, this has been the most amazing year of my life. I've driven the entire trans-canada highway! I've got an awesome new (and huge!) tattoo for free! I've seen the ocean and the great lakes! I found a calling in caring for animals! In four hours I will be on my first plane ride ever!

Happy Days Readers

-PRKW-

Where the Heart is.

Even this far away from where I grew up... things are the same.

They say home is where the heart is... for a while I had lost my heart and home. I went to a dinner event and had old teachers ask me where I was living. I felt like I didn't have that answer, I believed that I had no home. I was twenty-one years old and had nothing to show for it I thought, while metaphorically licking my still fresh wounds.   I'm now as far away as I could possibly be from any place that I would have called home without taking a plane ride, and guess what? I feel more at home than I have in a very very long time. All of this in spite of the fact that I wake up to only two familiar faces every day, I spend half my nights falling asleep on a couch, and every day I encounter more and more new faces, new names to memorize.

There's Bob, and Jim, and Jana, and Kathrine, and Courtney, and....

I'm not twenty-one years old though, I'm twenty-one years young, and I have gained twenty-one years of knowledge to show for it, and an incredibly supportive and amazing family. My family celebrates dinner every Sunday together, as long as its possible we will stop everything.. put everything else aside to spend one evening with those who are close to us. I know right about now my loved ones are all sitting around a table to eat a delicious meal prepared by my loving step-mother. Three of us are missing from that table, but when we can, we will be back. Surprisingly, I still had a family dinner... this other family, to whom I bear no blood relations, sits down every Sunday for dinner with their loved ones! I have never met a single one of these people before today, but they invited me into their home to share a meal with them and be with them during their celebration of family. They helped me to feel 'at home' because they knew that I had felt so far away from it. I had my own family dinner on the other side of the country today... oh. and there was just about as many animals as there were people.

And there's Fluffy, and Dozer,and Herb and...

I learned today that the saying "Home is where the Heart is" is really true. My heart is inside of me, no matter where I am, and no matter where I go, I will always be at home. Friends and Family ask me "when are you coming home?" I know they mean the location, as in a location that is closer to them... but in a very real way, I am home right now.

Happy Days Readers

-PRKW-

Animal Love

Today I missed home..

There are two beautiful dogs out here, who give that kind of love that only a pet can give. I know this love well... When I was allowed to start over one of the first things that crossed my mind was a panic-inducing need to hold my cats again, making sure they were safe and in my arms. I don't have any children... and the concern I feel over the safety of a few animals makes me think I'd go into a permanent coma from worry the moment my child was born.

Pictured: the reason I am terrified to have children.

Animal instinct I believe stays largely with the animals. There are a few people out there with good instincts, but animals can sense things so much quicker than we can... From the character of a person, to incoming danger. Not a day around the world goes by where you don't hear a "fluff" news piece of some animal saving a life. There's a good reason for that: they are better at it than we are, it is their full-time job. Don't get me wrong... I'm not saying my cat could drag me out of a fire... that's a canine thing. However, I do believe they could, and would warn me of incoming danger, or intercept that danger to buy me some time.

which one would you like to pet?

I have already lost a pet to the protection of human life... long before I was old enough to understand just how heroic my animals actions were. I was probably about seven or eight years old when it happened, thankfully I never witnessed my injured cat... I was scarred enough without seeing to know to this day exactly what was going on when I heard my cat had died. Near to our house growing up was a violent dog with behaviour issues; I should take the time here to mention I believe behaviour issues lie always in the hand of the dogs environment when being raised, and not inherent in breed. This dog was in the back of a pickup, but not properly secured to  it, when it saw some children get too close and decided to attack. My cat was either in the wrong place at the wrong time, or it knew that this was his moment... I like to think it was the latter. Anyways, Mouser proceeds to walk between point A (the dog) and point B (the kids) and averted attention from the children making itself the new target. He died in the days that followed. I will always remember you Mouser... I'm sure my mom looked ridiculous keeping you in the stroller when we went shopping. You were that amazing of a cat. Letting my sisters dress you up, coming along on walks, even if you were out playing in the woods you would come when you were called. pretty amazing for a cat.

Do it. I Double Dog Dare you.

I know this all sounds very sad but trust me the only tears I shed for him are tears of joy. that cat lived a full and amazing life. I've had almost as many animal lives touch me as I have human lives. I hope some day I will be blessed to have space enough to care not only for my current feline friends, but also a canine to love. My current cats (pictures coming soon!) "Buck Rogers of the 25th Century" and "My Boyfriend Astronaut Michael Dexter" were both adopted from the Edmonton Humane Society. If you are looking for an animal to love, I highly reccomend them or your local SPCA.. You can help change the lives of these animals.


... and if that's not incentive enough you will get them for dirt cheap compared to private sellers! ;)

Happy Days Readers

PRKW

(For those curious about all the details I remember when I had heard my cat died... It was the afternoon and it was sunny out, our PlayStation was still a fairly new toy to us and the TV was against the west facing wall at the time, I was playing the racing game "Car-Toons" with my sister, and was going to play "Croc" when we were done. I was wearing a dinosaur T-Shirt from Drumheller and jeans, my sister was wearing either a pink or yellow sundress. We had just finished eating a plate of Saltine crackers with peanut-butter and jam on them... I could hear my parents talking before so I already knew something was up. My dad had medium length hair, and still wore bigger framed glasses (I guess they weren't quite out of style yet). don't remember what he was wearing.)

A Day Off.

Yes Happiness Readers... there was no post yesterday.

And I'm sorry to dissapoint, but if you're looking for original content made by yours truly today you won't find that either. Call it what you want... I'm calling it a weekend. I'm sitting on the couch watching through the seasons of Reba while playing an old Final Fantasy game on my handheld. My body hasn't gotten used to the water out here and the toilet was my best friend yesterday.

Enough about me... I have some funny content created by other people for you to enjoy today..

Rhett and Link are two very funny gentleman who have a daily morning talkshow...

I'm posting this specific video because it made me think of my dad... it's his kind of humour

(also surprise! I'm Canadian. I spell humour with a "U")

Next up... 10 Second Traumas. Anna and Dee post a weekly  10 second video,

usually describing an "FML" moment or some universal experience... check em out :)

And last... Ray William Johnson with "=3". if you don't know who RWJ is yet... that's a good sign

that you are NOT spending too much time on the internet.

Happy Days Readers.

Back with fresh new content tomorrow.

PRKW

Good Customer Service!

Dear Regent Mall of Fredricton,

You are quite simply... Awesome. you aren't the biggest mall around, or the flashiest... but you will stick out in my head above all the other malls I have ever been to for one reason and one reason alone. Your staff make me feel happy.

My Journey today started with helping my sister clean up some of her house before I headed out. putting in some good work before heading out. My first stop would take me to the Fredricton Canadian Tire... looking for a hockey jersey. I spent probably a good 40 minutes in there, was not approached by a single person... and had an associate walk away from me when I came near... I did eventually find what I was looking for... but frustration led me to put the items down and look for elsewhere to purchase.

This led me to Regent mall... which by the way is attached to a large wal-mart and I would not have discovered the mall hiding beside it if the GPS did not tell me there was a sportchek hiding inside. Inside the mall has your typical mall attire, open areas for sitting, some fancy custom storefronts... nothing special.. I began to wander the mall in search of the sportchek when I found EB Games. Those of you who personally know me will know that I beelined it for the EB Games.

This is what heaven looks like for Geeks.

I expected my usual EB Games trip... a quiet simple trip, no communication with another human being, just time spent alone to stare at the pretty artwork of video-game covers. (don't tell me that video-game covers aren't art. I guarantee that more time and effort was put into the image on that tiny box than anything Jackson Pollock ever made) Instead I was approached by the friendly salesman who asked me what brought me into EB. "Just Looking." I told him... yep. the consumer cold shoulder. but rather than leave he said "cool, what kind of games are you into? have you heard much about the new Assassins creed?" ... I lost half an hour of my life discussing with him how awesome it was that they were bringing the world of Assassins Creed to North America. and I almost bought a PSVita. I probably would have too if I didn't have money allocated for a pre-order which would have to be placed back in Alberta.

Next up... East Side Skate Shop.

I'm not a skater by any means. but I do love my skate shoes. and Brenton... you have me sold on your brand by far. I came into the shop and you immediately complimented me on my Winnipeg Jets hoodie, we talked about our hometowns, and how nice the east side has been so far. You may not ever remember me, but your genuine human kindness got me into my awesome new shoes, and an awesome East Side T-Shirt as well. You Sir, Sold me Yourself. and got me happy... excited about the product I was trying on. and loved every moment of the experience.

After a little bit of internet digging I found this...

This is for you Brenton. I hope it brings you at least one more sale someday.

I know today didn't really follow the usual format

and seems like more of a  wordy advert for the mall.

But... I did say I would write what brought me happiness.

and this did.. I met some genuinely good people. see you tomorrow!

Happy Days readers.

Letting Go

I was attacked again today.

I've been attacked a lot recently by people that I thought meant something to me at some point. It's one of the challenges I face with starting over. The past is clawing at me to get what it wants before it lets me go. Today the attack was different though... the person sought to reach me through a sibling and "Finally..." I thought.

Not "Finally this person has succeeded in contacting me"
Not "Finally I have something to respond to"
Not "Finally I see what this persons true colors are"


"Finally... I'm not angry."

I had a five year old call me a crybaby today. sorry pal, no matter what you throw at me can't top that!

There's just no competing with this... "bro"

But I'm not the crybaby, far from it. I'm living on the other side of the country and I'm enjoying my life. Today, it didn't matter that I was attacked, your video game controllers are not my problem. I'm not mad that you won't stop bugging me for them... I'm sad. Sad that your problems in life amount to getting controllers for a console you don't own. Sad that you bring other people into your petty problems. Sad that your concerns are placed with inanimate objects and not other human beings.

If all it will cost me to have you out of my life is 2 XBOX  controllers

and a couple of cheap pre-owned video-games... then I'm fucking coming out ahead.

You're the one that's placed the value of your friendship at ~120CAD

the people still in my life don't have a pricetag

You'll get your stuff back... when I'm back in Alberta... but until then. I can't be bothered with your tiny problem.

a Shark in the Water

Today, I went swimming with my nephew. I haven't gone swimming like that for years. I started on my own, walking into the "cold" water. My sister says it's freezing, when really it isn't any worse than the showers I've had on days where the hot water is out. 

It's not that bad... really.

I've forgotten a lot of simple things though, like the fact that the cold is still a shock to the body and I shouldn't proceed to exert my body immediately. Any guesses on what I did     next? Laps. I ran up and down the length of the pool until my body couldn't handle it any more. which of course wasn't very long at all... I'd say 10-15 minutes at most. The important part was the state of mind it put me in. I came back to the shallow end to visit with my sister and nephew. My nephew had just gotten in trouble, he does that a lot. As luck would have it I jumped through some bars at the pool and proceeded to get myself into trouble too...

Boys will be boys.

After my nephew and me had a quick chat with Mom and lifeguard, respectively, it was back to the pool for fun. Only minutes into our swim had passed when something magical had happened... We found a boat in the water!

a boat

I have no idea how much time passed on that boat, at most it was only two hours... but it felt like days upon days. With my nephew and his young friend we powered around the seas. We fought pirates, we killed sharks and ate them for dinner, we won swimming trophies. (O.K. They won swimming trophies... apparently I suck at swimming so I don't get any trophies... so sayeth the kids) 

For a while even I was the shark, swimming under the mat... I mean boat... and attacking... lifting the mat into the sky! and hearing the kids scream! It was a new kind of scream to my ears... this was not a scream of fear, or of anger or of any negative emotion. it was a scream of J-O-Y. An excitement so wild and beyond control they could not contain themselves! "Again! Again!" they shouted. and I did.

I continued lifting the boat into the sky over and over until the lifeguard stopped me, told me it wasn't safe for them. I listened out of respect for the lifeguard. but what did she know? I had them, they were in no danger. Whether they bumped their heads, or there was a swimming pool bully.. there was no problem that I could not fix for them. none of the problems I have matter. I could protect them for a while, from everything... with me, they would be happy. 

Today I learned the most amazing thing about myself...

I am Superman.

the first step.

Hello.

Nice to meet you World. its me... remember me? I've been gone for a long time.
but for the first time in a long time... I'm fighting my way back to you. it's not easy.
I don't think I can do it alone... being alone is what got me here in the first place.

Coming up from the darkness is a difficult task, and this journal is a tool to aid me.

It doesn't matter to me if you pay attention to this my friend, World... 

I see everything you have that makes life worth living.

Happy things will stay marked here

Memories of it all.

Love You.

PRKW