Rules Of The World.

       Have you ever wondered, "what are the rules of the world?" are there any? who follows them? and who made them?. I'm not talking about the everyday rules we see on the road, in school or at work. I'm talking the rules of the world we were supposed to be following set from the start of mankind. For me I've come to believe that through live you live and walk a path you think is the right one. Along this path some of your choices may not be the right one but as long as you learn from the ones that were not so good you learned from that choice. See I hear from lots of people as probably you do that in life you make mistakes, and mistakes are made for us to learn from. I do my best now as a parent to make sure I teach my daughter as much as can before she has to learn the hard way. At the same time I also try not to punish her to much from a mistake most people have made as long as she has learned. After all if you do nothing you learn nothing and by doing nothing no mistakes will be made and you won't learn.
       Should you smile to everyone you pass on the street, should you wave or should you verbally say hi. If you don't know the person is it okay to not acknowledge them at all. Who should hold the door for who, I feel whoever is first should hold the door for the next. No matter who is coming towards that door, no matter how bad your day has gone, whether you had a fight with your spouse, kids or friend, you should always hold the door for the  next person. When it comes to saying hi maybe you don't have to verbally say it as some of us have a little touch of shyness. To smile I feel is okay and a good thing it tends to lead into a thousand smiles at the end maybe more depending how many people pass how many people. I've always lived by the motto ( smile it just feels good ) have you noticed that when you smile it does feel good and it also feels good when you smile at someone and they smile back. What about the polite factor? is it so, that you should be polite to everyone, even if that person is not so polite to you. I try regardless of who and what is done or said on the not so polite front to be the better person. I make it a point to be polite to all whether I know them or not. Even though being a door mat was not my first choice I've been there many times, but it's okay I guess someone needs to be the wall to bounce things off of. Maybe by the end I can help in one way or another, maybe that's what the person needs is just someone to listen and understand, after all Life is not easy. I know after my injury I needed someone to talk to, and I was very upset, mad and angry about the whole situation. Thankfully I had a couple of people I knew I could talk to and that understood. There was a lot of others that couldn't, wouldn't or didn't want to understand. I also learned that before my injury and all the things that I went through I had no idea what people were going through how they felt or the right thing to say. Sometimes when I thought I was helping I was actually making things worse. But I always tried to understand and do what I could to help and make things better. I guess what I'm trying to say is that no matter what, you should always try to be a good person, maybe have in the back of your mind that that person may be going through some rough times. If a smile can make their day is it too much for you to give that smile. Is that door really to heavy to hold for an extra second. Is really that bad and uncool to say thank you or your welcome. I've been through a lot in my time I've made mistakes like everyone else but I also changed ways and learned right from them. From the time I turned 22ish I made a point to be as helpful, kind, honest and giving as possible regardless of the person or reason, that's what I'd like for me. Now I understand that my hard times are no one else's fault and I need to work hard to make things better. Sure it would be nice for everyone to fix my mistakes and correct my problems but I know that's not a rule of the world.

Tattoo artists close to home.

         It all started two maybe three years ago when the needles were hitting the skin. A new tattooist was in town, already a good artist, but that was with paper and skin is a whole new canvas. The hardest part would be using that Gun to draw a picture on an arm or leg, maybe back or chest, hey could even be on the shoulder, the foot, ankle, elbow as well as the lip, hand ,forearm, maybe even the head, stomach, thighs, calves, the breast, and butt. As luck would have it I knew the guy, we have known each other for 32 years. Maybe I'll have to get one or two. Turned out I got eleven from this same artist. By the time I got my first tattoo I believe he had already done three or so. By the time I got my second from him he had done about thirty. He got very good very fast which was good for him on top of the fact self teaching is not that easy. There are lots of  tricks to learn many different types and sizes of needles you need to learned which is best where. Even different types of ink. You really have to know your ink. Another huge factor in Tattooing is to have a good reliable power supply with steady hands. A good thing with a new artist whether you know them or not is that they have a totally different style. Ultimately they can do a lot of things the same and just as well, but there is a different touch to it. When you look at in a monetary way everyone is getting a tattoo nowadays so if you are good and enjoy the art of tattooing there can be a lot of money in it. Next thing I know I receive a message letting me know "I do tattoos now", wow, now I have two new tattoo artists close to home. Everyone needs practice at whatever the may be doing and I don't mind using my skin as practice canvas. Mind you I haven't got a tattoo from this second artist but just like the first he did everything possible to learn the tricks of the trade, and get the best equipment in order do a good job. Again just like the first artist he's done quite a few tattoos now and I must say he has done very  good for himself. When the time is right and I can fit it in with a great idea I'll get one done from him. Then I'll have work done by five different artists, I know a lot of people like to go to new same artist but to me if they are good why not have different work done by different    artists. Now what is this! another new tattoo artist in the family, what to do, who do you go with? They have all been good artistically as it was. I guess I'll have to get work done by six different artists. This one though went a different route and actually took a collage course to learn all the tricks. He also did the practicing at home with the pig skin. I've seen his work and it's incredible. Growing up he loved to draw or by the finished product it seemed as though, I could only wish to draw that well. Wanting to get into the art form he took all the steps to learn what he could that would only make him better as good as he good get in the time frame. As we all know you always get better with time, so if you have the tricks of the trade from the start you'll go from good to awesome in no time. When the time is right and I have the new tattoo that I would like picked out I will be getting one done from him for sure. If you're a fan of tattoos what's better than having three artists in one family.     

            It all started march 27th 2007, it was a regular day just like any other. Going to work was something I looked forward to, I loved my job and through experience I haven't heard that much from anyone. I always had a job in a fast paced work environment and enjoyed working with my hands. There wasn't many things that could slow me down. Until one Friday getting everything ready for Saturday, that all changed in a huge and major way. I was a custom kitchen maker, my main job was to shape the designs of what people wanted their kitchen to look like. Cabinet doors were my specialty.
           The Friday started like every other day, working hard to get the cabinets done on time as they were needed. A good day like always so I figured I would get ahead of the game and be ready for Saturday. As the day came to an end about twenty minutes to four during my setup I see the wood go flying through the air. Now from my knowledge if the wood goes flying it can only mean a couple of things. One there was a knot in the wood, the wood had a split in the middle, or in my case you got hurt really bad. It took a second and thank god I didn't feel anything at first but yes my hand was ripped apart. I was able to remain calm so I could get first aid and rush to the hospital. I always went into work with the plan of ten fingers in and ten fingers out, I guess there was a different plan for me. With the help of great doctors they did a good job in fixing my hand it doesn't look no where near as bad. I just wish they could've fixed the movement and the pain. After the third surgery and many months of rehab it is what it is, I was left with not being able to use my hand very much and a twenty four hour pain schedule. This then turned into a two year battle with depression which I can gladly say I have the upper hand. I still have some anxiety and stressful thoughts about it all, after all no more hockey,boxing or working at the job that I loved my career. All in all I believe things happen for a reason sometimes I still wonder why, but it gave me time with my daughter.
           Now I'm almost finished school, another road that was scary at first after all I'm an adult. With the anxiety as well it was not an easy thing to get into. I tried to look at it in the way of making my life better, gain more knowledge after all I can't work with my hands anymore so it's the best way to go. I was able to get my diploma that I have been putting off for a long time now, which also gives me the leverage for my daughter to finish school and hopefully go to collage. I also took a computer course, after all they are taking over, and received my certificate. I must say there is no better feeling than going into something and coming out on top. I've been able to make a website with the help of one of the best teachers I've ever had. All the teachers in the road of gaining knowledge have been great, I feel if all teachers were like the ones I've had here it would be a better world. I've met a lot of good people through this rough time and they've all been through the same thing, in a different way. I wouldn't be blogging right now if it wasn't for one of these great people. She's made a big difference in my thinking. There is also a teacher that unfortunately I wasn't able to be one of his students, but he has really changed my mind and gave me reason to never stop being me. It's been overall a learning experience pardon the pun, I gave it my all ,and I do have more now then I had. I met and made good friends that I will do my best to keep in touch and I hope they all succeed because I know I will no matter what.