My Wanderlusting Soul

wan·der·lust
[won-der-luhst] –noun
a strong, innate desire to rove or travel about

     I guess I take after my dad. He is a long haul truck driver. He’s happy as a clam in sand on the road. He loves to travel. Growing up, we were rarely in a place long. First it was military and then it was construction. I lived in Hawaii as a toddler, moved back to NC and went to elementary school here. We left when I was in the 1st grade to move to Colorado and I spent the rest of my 1st grade year, living in an RV with my parents & sister. I’m not sure when we moved to GA but I remember living at a camp ground during that summer. My 4th grade year, I spent the summer in TX.
     My soul aches to travel. Some places I just love going to over and over again. I could go to Key West any time of the year. My soul feels at peace there. I also dig Vegas. It’s the bright lights, thousands of tourists, the sound of Vegas and that excitement of “what if I hit big?”
     Give me an ocean and I’m happy. Hell, give me a lake to look at and I won’t complain about that either.
     Last year was a blur. I spent it healing my heart from my mother’s death. Key West in August with my dear friend Amy was the exact closure I needed. My mom sent the weather gods our way and it was a beautiful trip.
     As I rolled into 2011, I vowed to keep my soul happy. Doing things that I love and traveling is one of them. I’m not sure how I’m going to pay for all my big dreams but I’lm heading to Chicago & Vegas to see one of my favorite bands.
     More importantly, I’m heading to Australia at the end of December. I’ve been talking about going for years and there’s always a million and one reasons why I can’t go, but I want to keep my soul happy. I’m going to Australia. I will spend over 15 days “Down Under.” Planning and daydreaming about this trip has made my wanderlust even stronger. I want to cram as much as I can into the time I have there.
     I also want to cram 2 more weeks of vacation into my life and plan a trip to my beloved Key West and maybe throw a dart at a map or globe and spend a few days somewhere I’ve never been.
     I want my soul to roam the earth and I want to meet the world!

Listening to “Wings” by Jimmy Buffett
Originally posted on Shelia Taylor

Strangers to Friends

I've been in a mood over the last 2-3 weeks. Winter funk, blah funk, or just down...not sure, but what I am sure about was that I needed a soul cleansing.

For my soul cleansing, I normally clean out the closet of crap I don't need. Clean the house out as well, and clean out the office. Those that work with me like it when I clean the office. They benefit from the random free tickets, videos, cds, etc that never get picked up. This time though, I decided to weed the garden of friends. What is weed the garden of friends? It's getting rid of the negative people, the downers, the naysayers, & so on. I did this in real life and in the social media world. Unfollowing people I no longer had interest in, grouping people I was interested into a list because they were so many, deleting "friends" in Facebook, and so on. God it felt good. Even better, I didn't feel guilty about it, and if anyone tried to make me feel guilty about it, my response was "how often have we communicated in the last 30 days."

So last night, I went to the hockey game and after the game, I went with a friend's friend to Buffalo Wild Wing. She was passing her way through and they were meeting up after the game, but instead of sending her away, I said I'd go and keep her company. I'm glad I did.

Carlyn told me about her website http://www.strangerstofriends.com/ and how it started and as we sat and talked about everything from traveling, to death, to new beginnings, and previous lives, I realized that she was sent to my life for a reason. She was sent to me for me to see the signs the Universe was throwing at me. She opened my eyes a bit wider and made me aware of things. I cannot thank Carlyn enough for that. More importantly, I turned a stranger into a friend.

Then today, I had lunch with J9. It was just the 2 of us and I forgot how much I miss J9 and how much fun I have with her. She's been busy with her life...getting married, doing adult things that I don't do as an adult, and living her life, but as always, we make time for each other. She's married to my "baby bear bro" Patio O-Furniture so we keep up even it's only through Patio. Again, I realized as we sat and talked about travels that again, the Universe had sent J9 to my life not only for catching up over lunch but just remind me of last night and that I had to have my eyes open a bit wider and to remind myself that I just need to do what I do and great things will come your way.

So as the motto of http://www.strangerstofriends.com/ site says "the journey of a friendship begins with 2 strangers"

So thank you to all the strangers that have become my friends and to the strangers I don't know yet, I look very forward to calling you a friend in the future. Until then, keep your eyes open to signs from the Universe.

Listening to "Hard Way" by Thirsty Merc
Cross posted on http://www.sheliataylor.com%20/

Scorpios and Rabbits...the rebirth.

Here's another one of my alter egos.  I have several.  My real self and all it's glory is Shelia Taylor and my hockey self The Hockey Maven and now Scorpios and Rabbits...the rebirth.

I started this years ago and then merged it with my Shelia Taylor domain. I was getting lazy and didn't want to have to write for 2 websites, but now, as I'm a bit older, I think I should go back and write for sites.  While I'll leave the Shelia Taylor domain for writing and random thoughts, I want to use this one for my personal use of mood and such.  I'll cross post from each site, but just like my hockey blog, I wanted to keep parts of my life separate for those that don't care about all of me or my likes.  If you want all of me, follow this and the writing focused website.

So why Scorpios and Rabbits you ask?

That's me.  I'm a Scorpio in the Zodiac and I'm a Rabbit in the Chinese Zodiac.

This is me. These are my thoughts.  Enjoy.

My Life Choices Are Mine

There are days when you wake up and you have that feeling in your bones that it’s going to be a great day and then there are days when you wake up and you have that feeling that the world as you know it might come to end.  This morning, I woke up on the thin line in between those two. Something has been bugging me for a few days and I wasn’t sure what it was, and today, it hit me. A few people to remain nameless that I know had made comments to me about things in my life. It didn’t bother me when they had said it and I didn’t think at the time it would bother me, but I woke up this morning realizing that they had subconsciously planted a seed in my brain and that it had started to bloom. I had let the negative voices and the naysayers into my head.

Then as I was reflecting on everything I let get to me, I was reminded of a blog I wrote in 2009 called “To the Lust of the Life” and it made me remember the people in my life that matter. The ones that get me and don’t try to plant seeds of doubt but seeds of creativity, giggles, laughter and good times. The ones that like you for you and the ones you like for them being them.  It made me look at the people in my life and realize it’s time to weed the garden again.

As I told DZL today, I am only responsible for my actions and the choices in my life. If you don’t like my actions and my choices, you can fuck off

New Tattoo: The Color

On December 27, 2010, I started the coloring session of my new tattoo with Travis @ Fu's Custom Tattoos

So what hurts the worst between the outline and coloring?

Hands down, the coloring hurt the most BUT the day after, the place where the tape clung to my skin over night hurt the worst. No lie. The tape and I aren't friends.

I can happily say though, Session 2...done.

Again, it wasn't painful as I thought it was going to be but there were parts that did make me think "why am I doing this to myself?" As I said before, the pain only lasted for a few seconds before moving on. Luckily though, I'm guessing my tolerance for pain and the idea of breathing the pain away helped me cope because the poor girl next to me was crying a river of tears. She was getting her side/rib cage tattooed and I can only imagine that if her facial expression was the expression of her true pain, then that is probably her first and last tattoo she will ever get.

Travis @ Fu's Custom Tattoos again is a true artist. I couldn't be happier with the design and then once the color was added in, I was truly elated with the artwork and the design.

The color is done. The next appointment is for the back of the shoulder piece that will be done in January and then the 4th session will be the background of the tattoo.

Next appointment is January 27th - So check back to this blog for the back of the shoulder piece and if you get an itching for a tattoo, I recommend Travis at Fu's Custom Tattoos. You can see more his work on their Facebook page under 

Photos and then look for the Travis Lakeman Gallery.

Again, I also recommend that you get the tattoo you want for yourself, not what you think will make you look like Billy Badass

Time

Well it's a Saturday night and I'm sitting in Palm Springs, California. It's been one year and and one month and twenty days and fourteen hours and forty eight minutes since you have left. And it's
still seems like yesterday I was laying in bed with you while you took your last breath.  I keep hoping that I'll walk in the front door of the house and you'll come down the hall asking me where have you been and why haven't you called. I still find my self wanting to call you or I'll see something and
say Lek would want a picture of this. I keep the picture of you on my dash and sometimes I'll ask my
self why am I staying here on this earth when I could be with you. And then I see the pictures of Shelia,Brenda,Riley and Taylor(Bug) and even Bud! I know Daddy is with you now and I hate to say it but Momma will be with him soon too. I hope I can live as long as my Daddy and Momma has. Daddy was 91 when he passed away and I wasn't there. Sister let me talk to him over the phone and I know he heard. When I see the pictures of the girls that's my reason for living now. I know I'll see you soon enough. But I hope I got 40 more years left. I want to be old enough to where I can pester the hell out of
everybody. That's what Grandma Talbert told me and she lived to be 99 years old.  I'll be back later and write some more. Love you and I miss you so much. I've thought about getting a girl friend but I've been unable to find anyone that even comes close to you. Guess I'll be a widower the rest of my life. It's strange how a person can have some much love for someone and then have person taken away. I just don't understand. But I guess theLord or Buddha had different plans for you. I'll try to write some more tomorrow. I've got to try and get some sleep. I hate going to sleep because that means I've gone another day without you but when I do sleep I get to see you in my dreams. I Love you!

Ink, Needles, And A Tattoo Gun

On Thursday, January 27, 2011, I started the outline & color of the back/shoulder piece of my tattoo with Travis @ Fu's Custom Tattoos

I find that tattoo experience only quasi painful and oddly stress relieving. Between the sounds of the tattoo guns buzzing, the music playing over head, and the sound of conversations from others in the shop, when I enter Fu's Custom Tattoos, I immediately feel excited about getting a tattoo and feel a calmness wash over me.

Call me sadistic, call me strange, I really don't care. I love tattoos.

This tattoo is my biggest tattoo. I really wanted the sleeve to come around my shoulder and incorporate another tattoo I already had. It's on an "S" with an Air Force symbol for my dad and an orchid for my mom. As you can see from the picture, it's not as pretty or nice as the ones that Travis has tattooed on me, but he has free range and artistic control over the tattoo and how to make the "old" one look like it belongs with the new ones.

The back of the shoulder and back area, I must say, is a bit more painful than the arm, but I found that if I closed my eyes and focused on breathing, then it was easier to deal. There was one really sensitive part when Travis it with a needle, I got a cold chill. And it just didn't happen once, but several times. It's hard to explain to your artist that you have to pause a second to shake a cold chill off.

I'll be seeing Travis again in February for the background of the tattoo with a little drop shadowing and gray shadowing or shading. Not really sure which one he said right now.

Again, I cannot express how happy I am with Travis as my artist and with Fu's Custom Tattoos.

If you're itching or have questions about getting a tattoo, please visit Fu's Custom Tattoos and ask for Travis. Check out his work on Fu's Facebook page.

Marion Gaborik Scores Again

Those of you know that know me, know I'm a hockey fan. Hello, the boys at the station call me The Hockey Maven when they're not calling me The Rock Goddess and of course, when they're not calling me either of those, they're probably call me The Ill Asian Wind, but I digress. So while I was at the Charlotte Checkers game last night, my DVR was recording an amazing New York Rangers game.

Marion Gaborik who joined the New York Rangers last season has been the reliable scorer for the team. I would say he carried the team in the 2009-2010 season along with goalie Henrik Lundqvist, Many Blueshirt fans and hockey fans wondered how the team would do when Gaborik (aka Gaby) went out early in the season with a shoulder injury, but the Rangers gathered themselves and the goals poured forth from the likes of Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky. Those 2 are currently out of the lineup now due to injuries.
Gaby went into last night's game in an 8 game goal drought, but last night changed it all. He returned form as the Gaborik fans of the Rangers loved and loved to watch.

He returned to the Gaborik I loved to watch play. And did I mention, he got a hat trick? It's his 3rd of the season! Welcome back Gaby! Welcome back!

By the way...the score: Rangers 7, Leafs 0

Watch the video

Originally posted on www.1065.com

Behind the Scenes at the Charlotte Checkers

Charlotte Checkers took on the Norfolk Admirals at Time Warner Cable Arena. Brett Sutter of the Charlotte Checkers came out of the gate with a goal 12 seconds into the 1st period but the Checkers failed to skate away with the victory after falling to the Admirals 4 to 2.

During the 2nd period of the game, I (Rock Goddess & Hockey Maven) followed Wilson, the Charlotte Checkers Chief Fan Rouser, around the arena for a little behind the scenes view of what he does besides getting the fans to yell "LET'S GO CHECKERS!"

I now know how Wilson and the Checkmates keep their girlish figures. They're busting the ass to get to one side of the arena and back with only a few minutes of "go time" and then it's up a flight of stairs and down a flight of stairs and then back to the other side of the arena that they just left. As I huffed and puffed to keep up with them, my calves were burning and my lungs felt like they were going to pop. I didn't expect to be exercising when I went to the game that's for sure.

Here is what I followed Wilson and the Checkmates for: Met them at the bottom of section 106, walked all the way to the other end of the arena to the Loft Seats near section 114/113. Watch a bit of the game. Down the stairs, up the stairs for air guitar. Watch a little action. Down the stairs and up more stairs for signs of the game. Down the stairs and back to the 106 section for the cool seats of the game and kiss cam. Watch Admirals goalie get injured and walk off the ice. On the ice for Chuck-A-Puck. Off the ice and back to the main entrance for taco eating. Thank Wilson & crew and return to my seats for a nice breather and to watch the 3rd period action.

It was fun but I'll stick to sitting in the seats and cheering for the team. One, I'm too lazy to hustle and bustle from one end to another and two, I missed a lot of great 2nd period action.

Follow me on at Twitter.com/TheHockeyMaven

Originally posted on www.1065.com

Hello Hat Trick

Hat Trick: In hockey means to score 3 goals during the game. Fans will then usually throw hats on the ice at the player's achievement.

Last night during the Detroit Red Wings vs Dallas Stars, Red Wing right winger, did just that. His first NHL career hat trick. The 26 year old has been known for his checking skills and as a penalty killer but with Datsyuk, Cleary, & Modano out, he's stepped up his game and been an offensive player too.

Nicklas Lidstrom, the Detroit Red Wings captain also scored his first NHL career hat trick this season after 19 seasons, the 40 year old added one more list of accomplishments to his belt. That list of accomplishments include 4 Stanley Cups, 6 Norris Trophies and he's been voted into 10 NHL All-Star games and he's the only European-born and trained NHL captain to with the Stanley Cup. He's also gold medal for Sweden in the 2006 Winter Olympic.

And while we're speaking of hat tricks, I have to give a shout out to my favorite Russian sniper Pavel Datsyuk for his Gordie Howe Hat Trick. A Gordie Howe Hat Trick is a goal, an assist, and a fight all within one game. He is magical with the puck. One second it's at the end of his stick and the next, it's at the back of the net.
So congrats to my boys in the Motor City for currently being 2nd in the NHL league. May you make it to the playoffs and win a 12th Stanley Cup.

Watch Patrick Eaves hat trick

Originally posted on www.1065.com

Hockey is For Girls Too

And I don't mean as an ice girl or cheerleader!

I'd like to thank The Hockey News magazine for tweeting about this story and bringing it to my attention because I am highly annoyed at moron parents and the girls can't play with boys mentality.

You can read the story "Controversy Pushes Girl Off Coed Hockey Team" that The Hockey News Magazine tweeted about.

The gist of the story is this: a lawyer father of a boy on a coed hockey team drafted an agenda that included this item "Kayla Watkins - Player Ability Limitations and Suggested Options" and the result of it? Humiliate the poor girl into quitting the team.

First Mr. Atis, shame on you. It's a coed team. If you had problems with a girl being on the team, then maybe you should have put YOUR son on an all boy's team.

Second Mr. Atis, who died and made you coach of the team? Oh, that's right...NO ONE. The coach chose her to be on the COED team and never wanted her to leave.

Third Mr. Atis, your parenting skills of singling out the only girl and picking on her and then saying "As a parent my heart goes out to her," when she found out about your agenda not only leaves the question what kind of parent are you but what kind of man are you.

Mr. Atis, you knew it was a coed team when you signed your son up. You knew girls were going to be playing on it. I mean unless your version of coed is something doesn't fall under this definition {coed - adj - open to or used by both men and women}. You said the agenda wasn't about gender but skill level. Where does your son's skill level fall? I hope you are going to draft an agenda for every player that has "player limitations" on your son's team...I mean, come on, you've set the standard, live up to it big man.
It's hard enough being a girl in a man's sport, but I praise Kayla's coach, her parents, and most of all her for having the courage to play a sport she loves and to push herself. As Kayla says in the closing of the article "If we lose a game, it's okay because everyone picks each other up," and that is the most important thing about team building and a team game.

It seems sad that the coed team couldn't pick each other up and encourage each other just like an all girls or all boys team does.

I played street hockey for the first time this summer and I was the only girl out there with guys who play hockey and they were encouraging and taught and helped me play the game. My team lost and none of them complained that I was on their team or how bad I sucked, but I think that's because their parents weren't meddlesome morons who blamed a little girl on their son not getting enough ice time.

SO GIRLS, IF YOU'RE READING THIS...here are some links if you're in love with hockey like I am and want to know more about the sport you love.

The Hockey News - this magazine covers all aspects of hockey and is a great online read and a great magazine. I recommend subscribing to their newsletter and magazine.

NHL.com - all things NHL...player stats, records, news, videos, and more.

USA Hockey

Originally posted on www.1065.com

New Tattoo: The Outline

On Friday, December 3, 2010, I finally went to get a tattoo. The design has been in the works just 2 weeks shy of a year.

This is not my 1st tattoo. It is my 8th tattoo.

My 1st tattoo was when I was 18 years old. It's on my right shoulder blade and is a tiny bear holding a flower. It is not a Grateful Dead bear. It doesn't even look like a Grateful Dead bear. It looks like my Mr. Snuggle teddy bear from my childhood. My 2nd is of Woodstock the peanuts character on the side of my foot. It hurt like a a son-of-bitch. My 3rd tattoo is of my Chinese zodiac sign on the back of my neck.. My 4th tattoo is of a butterfly on my lower back and I got this years before it was designated a tramp stamp, followed by the Godsmack starburst/sunburst (no, I'm not a big fan of the band, I just always liked the design) underneath the zodiac sign, followed by my initial "S" with an orchid for my mom & an Air Force Symbol for my dad on my left shoulder blade. Finally, about 3 years ago, I got a self created tattoo on my wrist. It's of a bass clef shaped into a heart that's shaped in a 4 leaf clover.

The 7 tattoos are no bigger than 1 to 2 inches wide or long. Number 8, it's a big'un. It's almost a half sleeve that will wrap around the initial tattoo on my left shoulder.

Once I had a general idea of what I wanted, I started my research on tattoo shops & got opinions of friends who had gotten tattoos. I made an appointment at Fu's Custom Tattoos and met with tattoo artist Travis. I knew what I wanted but no idea on how to get the pieces together. I gave Travis complete creative control and faith and trust.

What I knew I wanted were the lyrics "I will never forget. I will never regret. I will live my life closer to the edge," from the 30 Seconds to Mars song called "Closer to the Edge." I don't know or care what Jared & crew were inspired by to write this song, all I knew was that it inspired me after my mom passed away in December 2009. I also knew I wanted a lotus flower as a tribute to my mom. Details, Travis could handle.

So I sat my butt down at Fu's Custom Tattoos for a little ink...okay, a lot of link.

I went for just the outline in this session and it wasn't because I couldn't handle the pain but because I want my artist just as focused and on top of his game. This is permanent you know. Giving Travis a break out of respect of his time consuming grueling work is just a way to say thanks for all the pain.

It wasn't painful though...or should I say it wasn't as painful as I thought it was going to be. There were 3 bad parts and the pain lasted about 10 seconds total. Travis isn't heavy handed (which in tattoo language means I didn't feel the needles piercing my bone...okay, not really, but there was a time I had to look down just to make sure there was a tattoo gun in his hand). Yes, I do also love the sound of a tattoo gun.

So check back to this blog after December 27th when the color comes flooding in and if you get an itching for a tattoo, I recommend Travis at Fu's Custom Tattoos.

The Force is With You

Girls, Be Proud of Your Inner Geek

I stumbled across the story on CNN called "The Force is With You, Katie" today and when I read it I was immediately taken back to my childhood.

I can't say that I was a Star Wars fan like Katie, but I know the bullying and the name calling because you're a bit different from the norm. I was a geeky girl growing up. I understand Katie's eye patch because I had to wear one myself for my own lazy eye. I preferred books to Barbies and how things worked to how things looked. I wanted nothing more than a science lab set for my birthday and ended up stupid make-up or a doll. I lived in the garage with my dad and loved and still love to tinker on engines with him. I was the 1st girl in my high school to graduate with all 3 semesters of auto mechanics under my belt. I was discouraged from my guidance counselor to take courses as he said "You're in the top 10% of your class, and well, classes like auto mechanics are for students who will be doing stuff like this for the rest of their lives." I politely ignored him and signed up for the class anyway. It was the only time I ever fit in and I can say fit in because I was the only girl in the class with 26 boys and I thought it was going to be the worst, but it wasn't. It was the time of day I looked forward. Hanging with 26 other people who liked doing stuff that you liked. Rebuilding engines and pulling things apart to see how they worked and then putting them back together.

Today, I realized the misfit friends I have were also geeks in their childhoods. We fell together through being a music geek, book geek, and so on. We realized that there are others out there like us and try to prevent the kids now from picking on the Katie's of the world.

So, I wanted to write this blog post just for the girls out there (and when I say girls I mean girls of all ages). Be proud of your inner geek and be even prouder of your outer geek. If there is a younger geek in your life, support her and let her know she's not alone.

Boys...you can do the same.

Katie - my message to you - grab that Star Wars water bottle & book bag and remember you are a beautiful young girl. I'm proud of you.

Think Geek!

Why You Should Follow Paul Bissonnette on Twitter

Reasons from me the Rock Goddess and the END's local hockey maven

Love Twitter or Hate Twitter - there's good reasons to follow NHL player Paul Bissonnette

The basics:
* Paul Bissonnette plays for the Phoenix Coyotes.
* Yes Phoenix, the arid desert, has an ice hockey team. (Okay, I really don't know if it's arid, but I know it's not conducive to winter mixes like here in the Queen City.)
* No, the Coyotes don't suck either. They are currently 2nd in the Pacific Division, 7th in the Western Conference, and 14th in the League. (There are 30 teams in all).
* Mr. Bissonette doesn't get a lot of ice time roughly 30 minutes in the last five games as of 12.01.10 but he's not bitter about it.

Why you should follow him on Twitter:
* This is his second Twitter account...which is @BizNasty2point0 GO FOLLOW HIM NOW. I'll wait. (With his original twitter @PaulBizNasty, he was asked by his agent to remove it saying nothing good come of it. The agent was wrong & Biz Nasty came back to the land of Twitter.)
* He is honest. (Great win in Calgary. Man the have great clips during TV time outs on the jumbotron. Keeps this plug happy. Playd 6 minutes, No Big Deal...from Nov 18th)
* He is funny as hell. (At the mall. Just told a guy who looked like a girl he was in the wrong washroom. Wow. Wish I could have taken a pic. Crazy...from Nov 26th)
* He can dish a snide comment but he can also take any of the negative comments & snide remarks. (Retweet from a fan: @BizNasty2point0 normally, when hockey players play hockey, they get sleepy. you wouldn't know that ;) ...from Nov 29th - this ice time is a reference to his lack of time on the ice and how he started a Twitter trend that was #GetsMoreIceTimeThanBizNasty)
Even if you don't like hockey, you can follow along with Biz Nasty on his daily jaunts. What other sports star is going to be honest and open? What other sports star is going to show you the cleaning supplies he bought at Wal-Mart?

Watch Coyote Snapshot: Paul Bissonnette from FoxSports Arizona. It's great!
Follow me, Rock Goddess & local Hockey Maven on Twitter @TheHockeyMaven

Originally posted on www.1065.com