Christmas in July

Y'all know I love RAOKs and volunteering and all that fun stuff.  :)  I'd recently found out that my city holds this event for homebound senior citizens called "Christmas in July."  It's super cute.  :)

There are Christmas trees in front of the city's senior center that are all decorated with paper ornaments. On each of these ornaments, the seniors write down that they want/need.  Citizens pick up an ornament and gift these items to the seniors.  The one that stood out to me was one that listed a need of new bath towels and a gift card to the local market.

It gave me the fuzzies when I found out.  I am definitely going to be picking up a few and spreading the word to my friends.  :D

I'm excited!

1 Week In... I Want to Go Back!

Just finished up my first week of work since coming back home after visiting my uncle.

My uncle's still doing a teeny bit better each day from what I've heard.  The road to getting better is going to be hard, but I pray he fights for it.  It's kind of like being a baby again and having to learn how to sit, walk, eat solid foods, and all that fun stuff.  We're still awaiting the results of that biopsy.

I think we take a lot of these things for granted.  Seeing my uncle bedridden before I came back was pretty heartbreaking.  The man I looked up to all my life, who took care of me all my life... was helpless.  But, I believe he'll get better.  I think by next week, as long as he continues to gain his strength back, he'll start physical therapy and begin walking again soon.

I'd really like to get back over to NC.  I miss the atmosphere.  I miss my family.  I wonder how things would be over on the east coast or south had I never moved back to over here to sunny SoCal.

It's kind of a weird feeling stepping away from your usual routine in life to adapt to the changes at hand.  Time seems to get stretched thinner and thinner - I'm glad school is out for the summer.  I'm not sure how I could handle it otherwise.  I go to work in the mornings, come home for lunch and grab a quick nap, then I head out to the shop to help out with the family business.

While hectic and not leaving much time for anything else, really, except for a few minutes to blog each day, it's kind of nice seeing things from a whole new perspective.  And my family finally feels like a family again.  It's been a long time since I'd felt this close to my family.  A very long time.  I think the ability to step back and re-prioritize my life at this moment is simply amazing.

2013 has been pretty rough.  Actually, today I also got word that a friend had passed and another is in critical condition after an accident last evening.  It's too surreal - just yesterday, I was joking around with one of them at work.  He'd even picked on us 'cause we had done work by hand for about an hour, uncrating a new table for the office, only to learn as we were pulling the last two screws out that he had a couple of electric drills we could use.

In the midst of all this, there are always those glimmers of happiness that shines bright each day.  Never forget to look back over your day and look for reasons to smile.  No matter how small that reason may be, they'll always outweigh all else.

haha My little glimmer of happy today?  I finished a notebook and started a new one.  :P  That always makes me giddy.  There's just something satisfying about finishing a notebook and really filling it up with ideas.  A fresh start.  :)

Cheers!

26 June 2013: Squeak, Squeak!

:D  Just hanging around the house.  Got a Spyderco Squeak from my pal Maxie a few days ago.  :)  I missed my black one a lot when I gave it away to my little bro.  But now I have a pink one to replace it!  :D  Thanks, Maxie!

25 June 2013: Work Snackage :)

1 Month

It's officially been one month since I'd received my custom notebook cover.  :D

Brand new as soon as I came home from the Steel Flame event:

1 month of daily carry:

I swear, this notebook [cover] is my absolute favorite carry item.  :)  I would hate to part with it for even a day.  But I might have to.  The back pockets of some of my girl pants are a little short, and so the notebook tends to slip out.  I'd remedied this with a "temporary" chain that holds it in place by slipping it in at the fold of the notebook.  It works, but it just doesn't look all that great.  I might have to send it back to have a grommet or tab added to the spine.  :(  I don't wanna be without it though!

:)  The wear is lookin' great and I can't wait to compare it next month.

Leather Steel Flame Molle Clip Bracelet

Put aside a few minutes today to work on a leather snap bracelet for my Steel Flame molle clip.  :)

The leather was a piece of remnant, so it took a while to get it to the thickness I wanted and all that fun stuff.  I had wanted to work on this for quite some time, but the L20 snaps were hard to find locally.  I found some L24s fairly easily, but those were too big.

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.  The width keeps the clip snug and the snaps "cages" it in - that clip isn't going anywhere!  :D

:)  On a side note, the 'mooshi' bracelet is aging quite well.  It's now about 2 months old.  :D

Until the Next Time We Meet...

I made it back to CA yesterday morning.  It was one of the hardest things I had to do - to leave my uncle and my family while tests were still inconclusive.

I couldn't stop the tears.  I held them in for the weekend, wanting to be brave for my uncle and family.  But when I had to say goodbye and catch my flight, I completely broke down.

We're waiting on the biopsy report.  It's been an extremely frustrating week, as the nurses and doctors were having a lot of miscommunication - the worst being that they were to allow my uncle to eat until the last 12 hours before his biopsy today (Monday) but the nurse had inputted in the computer that he was to be NPO ("nil per os," latin for "nothing through the mouth") all weekend.  Really?  Then I had nurses tell me, yes, he could eat.  Then a few hours later, a nurse come in and say no, he can't, now the procedure is postponed because he ate.  Really?  It was like that all weekend.

Overall, I hear my uncle's doing better.  Before I came, he was completely bedridden and could not move, let alone speak.  When I came, I helped him to exercise his extremities and he was able to start moving on his own again.  He was getting a little stronger each day.  He also started eating solid foods when I came.  For the past month, he'd been on a feeding tube.  I wonder how he's doing now.

I can only wait now.  Here's to finding something in the biopsy report so that the doctors have something to work off of.  He needs to get better and come back home to his family.  I miss him.  Until next time.

21 June 2013: It's Been a Frustrating Hospital Visit

It's been a crazy roller coaster here at the hospital today.  The scan results from yesterday came back conclusive and the biopsy that was supposed to be today got postponed, rescheduled, then postponed, then rescheduled... which screwed up my uncle's diet since whether or not he's allowed to eat is dependent on these tests.

I know the nurses are all doing their jobs, so I hold nothing against them.  It's just frustrating that there was a lack of communication between them, so we kept getting different answers.  Eventually I was able to get a hold of the radiologist in charge of the procedure and get a definite answer though.  That eased my anxiety...

As did the above Starbuzz.  haha I am an emotional eater and today did not help with that.  Without any gum in sight and the fact that I did not pack my ecigs for the trip, at the first moment that I could, I slipped out to the mall to grab one.

Here's hopin' that the next few days will be good and that the test results come in with something to work off of.  As of now, the only tests/scans that were done came up inconclusive.  :(

20 June 2013: This is it for the Weekend - Hotel Dump

Finally checked my gear this morning.  I ran out of gum!  For the time being I'd picked up some Wrigley's Double Mint gum, but its just not the same.  I should have packed an ecig or something.

As you can see, the knife and pepper spray made it here safely.  :)  haha I hope that I can say the same on the flight back.  Here's hoping!

19 June 2013: I Feel Naked! - Travel Dump

Took a last minute flight to NC yesterday.  I had to visit my uncle, who has been in the hospital for over a month now.  :(  It breaks my heart to see him this way.

This was my only carry for the flight.  In my check-in bag is the Kimber Pepperblaster II and an Opinel that was put into a Pelikan case.  We'll see if it makes it across the country safely.

USN SoCal Fuddruckers GTG

Got to hang out with some cool people today...

Mine, M, and P's.  :D  J gave us all grenade erasers.  It was nice to finally handle a VECP.

Check out the clip on this!  :D  Too sweet.

Yeah, this would be my first time at Fuddruckers.  I pretty much died and went to heaven right here.  ;)

Beach Burger w/ bacon, cooked medium rare.  Jalapeno cheese sauce for the onion rings.  Mmm...

I think this bracelet was made for me.  No?  ;)

It's a 2-man party.

This was pretty sick.  :D  I had to take a solo shot.

Some cool person brought this for the GAW table.  Then another cool person won it.  I wasn't cool.  :(

A few shots before we all packed up...

An amazing time was had for sure.  :)  It was really nice seeing new faces and I look forward to the next GTG.  I must say, the highlight of my day was watching J gift bomb M with his very first piece of Steel Flame.  :D  Way to go, fellow Minion!

14 June 2013: Surprise Mail Swag

Let's get this clear:

Swag (noun): [def.] a. plunder; booty, b. money; valuables

Yes?  Yes.  :)

Got some neat stuff in the mail this week.  

• From my buddy C, I got a bunch of stickers and a Cypop button he'd picked up for me from Blade.
• R got me some patches; Mayo, Sriracha, and Hello Kitty x Iron Man  :D  Whoo!
• SF LA Hitmen tag

Y'all are the best.  :D

My weekend's just started and I'm excited.  Tomorrow is another GTG with some USN folk, Sunday will be Father's Day, and then I'm hanging out with D & L at SF next week.  :)

12 June 2013: The Case is a Clip :D

Picked up a new case for my phone today.  :)  It's a clip!  How fun.  Just lounging at home - this new work schedule is getting the best of me... I'm too tired to do much than a few small errands each day.

Mooshbot Minions: Update

It seems that I'd hit a snag on this.  Short hiatus while I try to figure things out.  First thing's first comes my family - a few emergencies have come up in the past month and we're still scattering trying to get things settled.

Second thing... I miscalculated the cost of the coins/tokens + shipping for international orders.  Well, USPS did.  What was quoted as ~$5.00 shipping online came out to be $12.xx when I went to the post.  Ouch!  Took a major hit there.  Shipment on these will be on hold until I can find a reasonable fixed pricing.  All "original" Minions have been taken care of but all new orders/requests will be put on hold.  E-mail to the "original" Minions to follow.

My work schedule has also changed, so updates will come here and there as I can get them out.

A few things to toss out there:

1. Eventually I'd like to have a page where everyone can submit their RAOKs.  Tumblr maybe?
2. Along with that, perhaps on Fridays or something I can post one of the submissions in a feature blog post.  :)
3. I still need to update the Mooshbot Minions static page on this blog.  Any ideas?  Thinking of putting a "creed" of sorts on there.  haha Just gotta sort out my thoughts.  OMs, e-mail to follow.

Cheers!

Steel Flame & Leather - Like Milk & Cookies

Holy crap.  Steel Flame and leather just go together too well.  Makes me happy.  :)  All of the leather goods were handmade - the notebook cover by DHLW and the rest by myself.  :D  Cool beans!

09 June 2013: Tea Time!

08 June 2013: Happy Birthday, Brother! :D Time for Breakfast!

Quick shout out to my brother, who turns 26 today!  :D  A nice plate o' breakfast and a mug of chai tea (ran out of Cafe Du Monde!).  MmmMmm...

Been really diggin' carrying this TNT and the notebook is still amazing as always.  :D  The notebook is slowly developing some patina - I can't wait to see how it looks like in a year.  :)  Nothin' in my carry changes too much, especially when I'm lounging at home.

Perhaps a new vape setup will be added later on today.  Definitely some new juices.  I'll be taking my brother out to a couple of vape shops to set him up with one later this afternoon.  :)  He keeps taking my eGo-T.  haha!

Cheers!

UPDATE:

Just came back from the vape shop.  :)  I got myself a replacement Boge cart and had brother pick out his own little setup.  He went with the eGo Mini, Boge cart, and 3 juices - Gummy Bear, Smarty Tarty (like US Smarties candies), and Green Fairy (like black licorice).  :)  Now he can stop taking my stuff.

UPDATE:

Just finished dinner with the family.  :)  Had lobster and clams tonight.  :D  Then ended it with some boba on the way home.  :)

06 June 2013: I Hate Errands

Gaaaaah....!  I hate running errands.  Especially when it involves the post office.

05 June 2013: Finally Caught a Break

It's been a rough week trying to keep up with my 9-5 job on top of handling the family shop while everyone was away.  I'd finally caught a break today.  Above is just what I've been lounging around with.  Well, kinda lounging - still taking care of stuff, but at least I'm in the comforts of my own home!  :)

04 June 2013: DMT is Always a Pleasure

It's always nice to have this little DMT card in my wallet.  It handles touch ups quite nicely.  Blurple developed a pretty gnarly nick at the edge of the blade toward the tip and the DMT took care of that until I can get her on the whetstone at home.

02 June 2013: Another Day at the Shop

01 June 2013: Holdin' Down the Fort

Holdin' down the fort while the family is visiting my uncle in the ER on the other side of the continent. :(  Pretty lonely, but working keeps my mind off of things.

Been making the effort of carrying a purple Mooshbot Minion token to remind me to commit an RAOK each day.  While the challenge coin is also a reminder, the token drives me to commit it since its purpose is to hand them out/leave them behind as a "calling card."  :)

The dark brown braided leather bracelet is new; I made that yesterday morning before heading to the shop.  :D  I'm really happy with how it turned out.  The magnetic clasps are pretty cool; I have some with the twist lock coming in in a week or so.  I'm thinking of making a 3mm one for the KillboX to replace the paracord sheathed bead seed chain.  :)

Everything else is pretty much the same.  Forgot to add my pen and notebook in the picture though.  :(