Finally.. an update!

I have to apologize to everyone lately. The past little while has been a gong show in the life that is mine. It seems as though every time I get ahead in some way, I get knocked back in a different way. It for sure sucks, but I think I've been dealing with it well.

Besides, I suppose this blog is called "The Zany Adventures of Pixel Chick," so what good would it be if 'crazy' wasn't on the menu?

Anyway. I have been doing a lot of awesome things lately, despite things going downhill. At the beginning of May, I enrolled in a kickboxing class that, sadly, is ending tomorrow. I really enjoyed the class and I learned a ton. Not only that, but I was kicking the living daylights out of pads, so that helped. It made me look forward to Monday's, needless to say. It got the frustrations out for the rest of the week... =P

I've also been playing archery once a week lately. Well... I've been trying to go once a week. Things are still a little crazy for my schedule, so I've been going as often as I can and ideally, I'll be going once a week. My friend, Nicola, got me back into it. I had tried it in high school and loved it, but never really went beyond high school. Now I have an opportunity to go with Calgary's (Montengarde's) division of the SCA. =3

... On that note, I've been giving a lot of serious thought into joining the SCA (What is the SCA? Click here to find out more). Again, my friend Nicola asked if I wanted to go to an "event" a couple Saturday's ago. I did my best to object, claiming I had an assignment to do (I actually did have an assignment to finish), but I went anyway. It was a day-long event, 2.5 hours out of the city, and I had a blast! I got to dress up in a medieval dress and I ended up playing archery for most of the time, but I also watched a couple of my friends and others fight in a heavy fighting tournament. I loved it so much that I talked to someone about learning rapier combat. I will start those sessions on Thursday. =3

I also got a necklace from the baron and baroness for it being my first event. I got really sunburned... but it was awesome. =)

The first thing I did when I finished my final last week was I went to the library to take out books on the history and culture of gypsies. I determined that when I do join the SCA, I would like to dress as a gypsy, as they are of period. Even better, one from Spain. And then that would encourage me to learn how to dance Flamenco. I've done Latin American dance before, so learning a dance from Spain would be really awesome. <3

So yeah. Rapier-wielding gypsy from Spain who will soon know how to dance Flamenco. <3

I've been playing a lot more Magic: The Gathering lately, too. I went to my friend's place on Friday and he taught me how to play Commander. I won. It was awesome and it made me feel like a badass. =D

Other than that, not much to report... I've been recovering slowly but surely. My run club has been revived and I've been doing that as well as everything else. Crafting has been going well. I've been doing lots of things that I've always wanted to do or try, and that makes everything a bit happier in my little world.

I hope you all are doing well... <3

Meet my new kitten, Esperanza!

<3

Yesterday, I added a new member to my tiny immediate family (tiny = me). Her name is Esperanza, and she is a Maine Coon/Persian cross kitten. <3

I ran into a friend of mine while having dinner with another friend. After some chit chat, he asked if I would like a kitten. At first, I felt pretty uneasy at the idea. Someone before had suggested I get a cat, seeing as I wouldn't have Buster anymore. I honestly got pretty offended at first ("I can't just replace Buster!" I would protest before sobbing), but after a night of thinking on it, I decided to give it a go.

For me, I've always loved caring for things... people, animals, plants, secrets... things like that. After the breakup, I realized that I had nothing really to care for that I could call my own (other than myself, of course). So I took the plunge and decided to care for the kitten.

The choice for a name was between "Querida," which means "loved one," or "Esperanza," which means "hope" in Spanish. I decided on the latter given the recent turn of events. Honestly, I was at a low point in my life. I didn't believe I had hope... I didn't believe I had anything left. After many long nights of thinking and days of soul searching, I realized I have a lot going for me... a lot of hope. So I believe the name is fitting.

Coincidentally, I received Esperanza on what would have been the 3 year anniversary of mine and John's relationship. The day has a now positive twist on what would otherwise have been a day of sadness.

I also realized that Esperanza is the name of a song that is on a dancing game I used to play a ton years ago, called In The Groove. I didn't often play the song (it was usually custom songs that I played), but it's a nice connection nonetheless.