For the Christmas Season, I’m offering 10% off new tattoos from December 21st to January 3rd. Certain restrictions apply, but if you’re remotely interested or know somebody who is that would love a new tattoo for Christmas, definitely get ahold of me here, and we’ll set something up.

I have a feeling this holiday break is going to fly past me and be over in the blink of an eye. I have a lot of xmas shopping to do, and it’ll probably all come together last minute as it usually does. Too much of what I do in life is controlled and strategically calculated, while I’m also a fan of a little organized chaos here and there, so it’s nice to not have everything already done.

My cold is waning through its death rattle, thank goodness. There’s snow on the ground, however, and now that it’s past the freezing mark, my mental keeps taking me back to the sunny skies and palm tree lined streets of Cali. I tried my best to enjoy three days stuck at home alone in front of the tv making my way through a pile of movies I’ve neglected thus far because I haven’t had the time to watch them, but relaxing like that for me has become so foreign. Today, I’m antsy and have cabin fever, so I’m trying to organize my day so that I can do everything I need to efficiently before I go into work for my second last shift. While Mikka is getting her hustle on to the max by working seven days a week, that leaves me with having to take care of most of the home and errands business. It’s time to get my game back one. Those three days were nice and all, but I’m meant to be a busy body.

Tonight is UKC Toronto Funky @Toi Bar up in Lil Italy. It’s Plain English’s birthday jam, so I’m feeling rather compelled to go, despite knowing that I probably shouldn’t. Last weekend I went drinking for the first time since August, and went out and got successfully tipsy both nights. That’s another contributing factor to the cold I have now. Saturday during the day, I’m kickin it with my homegirl, Erin, who I haven’t seen in forever because she’s in her first year at U of T and grinding away at those credits with consistency. She made it through her first batch of midterm exams and finals and I’m hella proud of her. Sunday during the day, I’m kickin it with my homeboy Jaelen, which I can’t even come close to expressing how happy I am about that.

Carl stopped by Wednesday night to get more done on his dragon. It’s looking great and the chest panel section is all done, so it’s time to move onto the arm section of his half sleeve.

The science is: The Universe is Always unfolding as it should.
wordplay for the day: presents/presence.

Is everybody hyped for their holiday season?
Check out our big ass tree:

Shoot. I’m a day late. But I can make up for it with this track drop below. This is the first piece of vinyl that I copped in 2+ years because the tables were packed away in a box hibernating. I found it along side Honey, so I’m quite pleased with this, considering I’ve been mostly restocking jungle classics and anthems, but every now and then I’ll dabble in the new stuff and find something I actually like. This is a huge score, in my eyes so if you’re a basshead and you love the rollers, peep this new one from SpectraSoul off Metalheadz. Shit’s crazzzzy!

WOWWWWWWW.
I owe all y’all a week’s worth of entries! Shoot. My bad.

On the academic tip, the present obstacles in my way are a 12page paper and one final. It’s funny how when you’re staring down the way and see imminent and immense work coming your way that’s unavoidable, it’s easy to become overwhelmed and psych yourself out as if you might not survive it. Smart people, who don’t waste their time by allowing stress to get the better of them always remind me that as long as you keep focused with eyes on the prize, it’ll all be over before you know it. That’s the point where I’m at right now. This ordeal, completing my undergrad, has taken five years in total for me to accomplish. As much as I can downplay it and try to be humble, it is an accomplishment that deserves recognition. And I’m not trying to imply that everyone should give me respect for it, but what I’m trying to say is that I should acknowledge it myself, for myself. It’s been a journey, and to be honest, I don’t really know many people that can truly stay devoted relentlessly towards something they love more than anything. Those are the kind of peeps I like surrounding myself with. Motivation, positivity, discipline and inspiration are qualities that can move mountains, and they’re just as influential and contagious as H1N1.

(That’s the only reference I’ll be making to this freakshow propaganda illness that seems to be running off wild with the layman’s minds. Unless it produces a ravaging population of zombies that will finally give us something more tangible to resist and unify all of us, I AIN’T INTERESTED.)

This only reminds me of that latenight diner convo Jaelen and I had concerning our methods of ‘making shit happen.’ I have never forgotten the time someone told me:

I can’t tell you how much this simple sentence has done for me. It basically revolves around the idea that as long as you just make sure you’re there, wherever it is that you are required to be, and are prepared (which you should be striving towards in between the times that you are being called upon), then the rest will take care of itself and just be. Try it next time you’re too lazy to go hit the gym to do up some much needed cardio (y’know you should be doing it, I don’t even gotta tell you that you do). Also, pay attention to the sense of enjoyment you’ll feel after that first ten minutes is over. If you’re anything like me, and I’m not assuming that you are, sometimes the hardest part is just starting a task you perceive to be tedious. Once you’re in there doin it, getting carried away by the joy of completing that task, whatever it is, you’ll enjoy yourself. So just let go and give in to that.

To prepare for the arrival of Mikka and I’s first Christmas tree together, Nikko and I did our best to rearrange the family room. The beautiful tree Lu gave to Mikka and I as a gift is beautiful, and I was overwhelmed by it’s large and ever-consuming presence. I’ve also never had a real tree before, so setting that sucker up was a new experience for me. As I write this, it still sits in the corner of our living room, naked, with our red and gold co-ordinated decorations sitting beside it. I anticipate that we will get down to some serious decorating sooner or later.

Last night I had the pleasure of hitting up Dub Fe Dub, a High Grade Production that homeboy DJ Freeza Chin was spinnin with alongside his partner in crime, Plain English. I got to jam with my homegirl Janice, and Gremlinz which is always a surefire way to get the canadian winter chill outta your bones! I have come back to the jungle, and it’s true, my love for it is still devout. I’m looking forward to seeing dancefloors again. I will always be a bass-head junglist at heart, seen?

My little DJ booth in the basement of our apartment has finally been revived. The technic 1200s are spinning for the first time in nearly a year, and to rifle through my crates of records was like taking a stroll down memory lane. Not coincidentally (because I don’t believe in coincidence) I hit up Play De Record beside my work and found a copy of D.Kay and Epsilon’s Honey. This is one of my most coveted tracks of the last 4 years and I’m so delighted to finally bring her home. I’m going to post the track up at the bottom, so have a listen. My tastes in jungle/dnb/ragga are pretty diverse, so hopefully when I get the rust outta my spinning skills I may be able to post up a few mixes of my own. Haha, talk about goals for the upcoming newyear.

The announcement I’ve been meaning to make is that as of next weekend I will no longer be tattooing out of Ultimate Tattoo on Yonge St., but will be working out of a private studio location starting in the new year with Derek Lewis. I’m excited about this one. It’s time to put in work and move on to bigger and better things.

I’m rebuilding my whole music collection. What I want for Christmas from anyone who is so inclined is a mix cd. I’m pretty open, so lemme know whatchu got!

I read a really good article today by Cheryl Clarke in preparation for my Lesbian Studies final that theorizes about lesbian-feminism and why lesbianism is a form of resistance. If anyone is even remotely interested, you can contact me and I’ll get you a copy. Knowledge is power.

I am a regular voyeur of Mr. Cartoon’s blogspot space. He does a weekly youtube.com post of “soul sunday” so I’m going to introduce my own version of this, however I’m not of the same time and generation of Toon, so my choices for soul may be more of the R&B persuasions, but either way, they’re tunes y’all got to peep. Here’s my first official Soul Sunday submission, be free. xo