2013: A Questionare

01. What did you do in 2013 that you'd never done before?
    Meet a childhood hero.  Paint mini war game models.  Buy a electric guitar & drum set.  Went & played in a few of those inflatable play areas with a couple of awesome kids.  Helped organize and participate in a treasure hunt.  Make a guest appearance as the villain of a short lived web series and a cameo in a movie.  I'm sure there's stuff I'm forgetting.

02. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
    I didn't have any nor do I plan to start this year.  I'll do what I do when and if I do it.

03. Did someone close to you give birth?
    Not yet.  She's scheduled to birth her spawn in February

04. Did anyone close to you die?
    No, but people close to me have suffered great losses this year.

05. What countries did you visit?
    None.  Hopefully that will change in a couple of years.

06. What would you like to have in 2014 that you lacked in 2013?
    Heh.  I really didn't lack for anything this year.

07. What date from 2013 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
    Christmas 2013.  From top to bottom, it was the best Christmas I've had in recent memory.  Probably not since my dad was alive.

08. What was your biggest achievement(s) of the year?
    I kept my job!  I also began learning how to play guitar.  Just playing the notes I can is a great achievement for me.

09. What was your biggest failure(s)?
    The lack of attention I had paid to my health.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
    Oral surgery in May.  Kidney stone in September.  Found out I have gallstones.  And the usual flus & colds.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
    My iPhone 5S

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
 Bek.  Thanks for continuing to allow me to dwell in your basement, and for helping me to drain it after the great flood of 2013.

Tim & Eilene.  Thank you for continuing to pay me to walk the Rerun puppy.

Jason & Jori.  Thanks for the awesome parties and for being great friends.

Sam.  Thanks for being an awesome gaming buddy.

Larissa.  Thank you for being in my life.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
    Taric Sam Alani.  Because he was a judgmental dick bag.

14. Where did most of your money go?
    On plastic.  :P

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
    My August week of awesome!  Six Flags.  Wizard World.  Camping

16. What song will always remind you of 2013?
    I can't think of a song that will always remind me of this year.  If I do, I'll let you know.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you
    i. happier or sadder? Happier
    ii. thinner or fatter? A bit thinner
    iii. richer or poorer? About the same, but with debt

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
    No regrets.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
    Pepsi consumption.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
    With friends, family, and loved ones.  As it should be.

21. What is your favorite Christmas carol?
    The religious ones, but O Holy Night and The Little Drummer Boy top my list though.  I also like the Christmas songs by The Cruxshadows.

22. Did you fall in love in 2013?
    Yes.

23. How many one-night stands?
    None

24. What was your favorite TV program?
    Game of Thrones.  True Blood.  Sherlock.  And I'm finally jumping onboard the Firefly train.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
    No

26. What was the best book you read?
    I'm currently reading a book called "Kushiel's Dart".  I'm really enjoying it.  I also finally read "The Princess Bride".

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
    Imagine Dragons.

28. What did you want and get?
    My week of awesome in August.

29. What did you want and not get?
    To ride Batman: The ride.  Stupid small seats!  Next year, Batman....next year.

30. Favorite film of this year?
    Gravity.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
    I went out to Buca di Beppo with Bek, Vicki, and Ashby.  I turned 32.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
    My year was already immeasurably satisfying.  Especially from June onward.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2013?
    Still growing my hair out.  Still the same fashion sense, for better or worse.

34. What kept you sane?
    Friends, family, and The Cruxshadows.  And also Eminem.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
    So, It's come down to this.  I'm gonna lock Jennifer Lawrence & Kate Winslet in a large, windowed room and let them fight each other Mortal Kombat style for my love and affection.  In the end, there can be only one!

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
    Right Wing insanity!  And Left Wing stupidity!

37. Whom do you miss?
    My parents.  I don't believe that will ever change.

38. Who was the best new person/people you've met?
    I'd have to say all the awesomely odd folks that gather at Melton house whether it be weekly for board gaming, or at parties. Great people!

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2013:
    Never give up!  Never Surrender!

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
          I'll quote two:

"And if I fall, give me the strength to rise unbroken
And where I stand, the courage and will to fight
And when I dream, these eyes discern my purpose and believe
That should I die, this sacrifice becomes my Valkyrie."

And...

It's time to begin, isn't it
I get a little bit bigger but then I'll admit
I'm just the same as I was.
Try and understand that I'm never changing who I am."

Letter To Santa

Dear Santa,

I have been a really good boy this year.  I would like a Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD Wii U bundle for Christmas.  I think you would agree that this would be an ideal gift as I have been a VERY good boy this year!

Thanks in advance.

Hunter

PS: If, for some reason, your slaves errr, I mean elves cannot find the Zelda bundle, I will be more then satisfied with the New Super Mario Bros U Wii U bundle. 

Thanks again in advance.


PPS: If, for some reason, your elves happen across a Playstation 4, kindly disregard the above.  I will be EXTREMELY grateful for a PS4 and will never doubt your benevolent existence again. 

Not that I ever did.

Again, thank you!


Hunter

Feelings

Feelings.  Nothing more then feelings.

Feelings for different seasons.

Feelings of all shapes & sizes.

Feelings for all manner of reasons.

Sometimes feelings are good.

They can light up your life.

Sometimes feelings are bad.

They can hurt and cause you to cry.

Sometimes feelings are both.

Causing you tears of joy.

Like the feelings you have

When you birth a girl or boy.

But the greatest feelings I have

The ones that are the purest and true

Is knowing beyond any doubt

That I love and am loved by you.

I'm still here.

 I really suck at updating this thing........


So, I figure both of my readers would want to know how my vacation back in August went.  It was kind of like this.....

Meeting Jason David Frank = AWESOME!

Everything else = It was ok.

I was originally going to write detailed accounts of how everything went, but that's really more work then I'm willing to put into something that happened almost two months ago.  It breaks down like this....

Six Flags: Fun, but I need to lose some weight before I go back.  I WILL ride Batman next year!  (that...just sounds wrong)

Comicon: Fun, but too much like a glorified mall with overly inflated prices for most of the stuff people are selling.  Though, I did find this cool booth that sold awesome board games at marked down prices, that's where a lot of my money went.  I also picked up some nifty items for Pixie & the younglings while I was there. That was a lot of fun.

Flashback: Underwhelming. 

Camping: Lonely.  Left a day early.  This might be my last solo camping trip.  The highlight was me eating two "special" cookies the night before I left & finding out why the feeling is called "stoned". 

Things haven't really changed much on my end.  Had a health scare at the beginning of September that made me reevaluate my eating habits.  I haven't drank a can of soda or eaten a bag of potato chips since.  I'm also cooking more at home. 

Work is going ok.  Going on my third supervisor in November.  Hopefully this one sticks around.  I'm finding myself back in a mentor role after the last couple of weeks of being a peer mentor for the last couple of new hires.  It looks like I'll be transitioning back into a floor walker role this Sunday.  Assuming I'm not kept on board for another week of training.

Pixie & I went to go see Gravity last weekend.  Wow!  It was an amazing ride.  I highly recommend it.  A few scenes really hit us right in the feels, but I enjoy movies that elicit an emotional response from me.  Sandra Bullock needs to win an Oscar for this film!

And as I look ahead on the calender, I see the holiday trifecta is nearly upon us.  Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  I'm looking forward to them this year more then last.  It should be a fun time. 

 Till next time.  :-)

What is happening to me?

What is happening to me?
I can't be feeling like this again.
Or is this something different?
Perhaps with time, I'll see.

But how much time?
How long does it take until you know?
Why shouldn't I let my feelings show?
I know why.

Because I've been wrong.
I've been hurt before.
I've allowed myself to love
And it's left me battered, rendered and torn.

So I shut down.
I rebuilt my walls.
I picked up the pieces of my rendered heart
And encased it in stone.

I was protected
I was safe
No one was ever going to get in
That was the decision I had made.

But she got in.

How did she get in?

Was it her beautiful smile?
Her wonderfully eclectic personality?
Was it our mutual love of geekdom.
Or our similar parallels in life?

Was it the feel of her body
As she quivers under my touch?
Was it the taste of her mouth against mine
When  I held her to me tight

Was it the nights of passion we've shared?
Was it the way she moans my name?
Was it the way she stares into my soul
Every time I took her there?

Was it our daydreams of adventure?
To just pack up and go.
To just leave the world behind
Where it would just be us two.

I don't know. But, she's here.
She's scaled the walls and braved the traps
She found her way to my heart of stone
And found a way to make it beat again

Perhaps it's also because
I've done the same with her.
She was sealed off too
And the hurt was nearer for her,

I got in too
So here we are
What do we do now?
How do we proceed?

I'm scared
I'm scared of being hurt again
I'm scared of loving
I'm scared of being loved

And so is she
We have that in common as well.
We're scared of what this means
We're scared of what this is.

Is this real?
Is this just NRE?
Is this a beautiful summer fantasy
That will dispell in Fall's chill?

I don't know.

At this very moment
All I know is this
I ache for her. I desire her
I miss her.

Gods help me

I think I'm falling. 

And I'm not sure if I want to catch myself. 

It's Dark Inside

I love this song.

"Demons" by Imagine Dragons has one of the most personal choruses I've ever heard. Great band overall as well.

"When you feel my heat

Look into my eyes.

It's where my demons hide.

It's where my demons hide.

Don't get to close.

It's dark inside.

It's where my demons hide.

It's where my demons hide."

 

Yeeeeeaaahhhhh!!!!

BLACKHAWKS!!!!!

That is all. 

The Countdown to Awesome.

I started putting the finishing touches on my vacation in August by purchasing my tickets to Flashback Weekend. It's a horror convention in Rosemont, IL which happens to be taking place in the same hotel that I booked a room at for the main reason for this vacation. Wizard World Chicago!
From August 6th to the 14th, my itinerary will be jam packed with awesome!  First, a trip to Six Flags Great America on the 6th to kick things off.  The next day will be spent packing & getting last minute things together.  Then on the morning of the 8th I'll head to Rosemont to check into the hotel and check out the first day of Wizard World.  The 9th will be spent "Con-hopping" between Wizard World & Flashback helping my friends at forcedviewing.com track down celebs to interview. 

Then, the 10th.  Oh man!  The 10th is going to be..........

Morphenomenal!

 I have a meet & greet with JDF, the Green Ranger on the 10th at Wizard World!  I am VERY excited for this opportunity.  This will more than likely followed up by more time at Flashback and celebratory drinking for meeting one of my childhood heroes.  

The 11th will be checking out of the hotel, spending some wrap up time at the two cons, and then it's off to the North where I will spend the 11th to the 14th camping.  

46 days & counting!  

  

Welcome.......Again.

So, it's been a while since I wrote anything on Blogger.  If you've visited my page before, you'll notice I've done a bit of....redecorating.  My blog was previously titled "Dark Hunter's Forest."  It was started during a really, really miserable period of my life.  I had to force myself to write the couple of meager posts that populated this page for more than two years.  Much has changed since March of 2011, and I am happy to report that I have made my way through the dark forest and came out the other side a better man. 

And as you can see, I burnt that sumbitch to the ground!  :-P

A divorce, a firing, a broken heart, and a bout of temporary insanity pretty much sums up my 2012.  I stand before you all a more focused, driven, and most importantly....happy person.  I have rediscovered who I was pre 2006 and built upon that.  I have rediscovered my inner strength and have found strength from those closest to me.  I am not where I want to be yet, but I know I will get there.  My way. 

So, why the redesign?  Quite simply, because I wanted to start over.  I have a lot of things running through my head constantly.  I need some place safe to express them.  My blog in it's former state was NOT that place.  As I said, it was created during a dark time while I was in a dark place.  I am no longer in that dark place.  Which is why I "burned down the forest" so to speak.  I deleted those two meaningless posts, and decided to start fresh.  The theme I chose also fits in with where my mind has been lately.  I have finally found a good creative outlet for myself.

Behold!

I have found an outlet through music.  I am learning how to play guitar primarily, but I also picked up a drumset because I love beating out rhythms and letting it take me wherever it will.  The keyboard you see is simply a controller that can plug into my iPad or PC & produce piano & synth sounds.  My goal is to bring the skills I learn together & actually create something.  I have also begun dabbling in songwriting.  My iPhone's become an invaluable tool for songwriting ideas since anytime I get an idea for a lyric, I whip out notepad and jot it down. I recently downloaded an app called Evernote, which can sync up with my iPhone, iPad, and PC so I can access my ideas anywhere.  Once I get proficient enough, I would like to start a band & rock the world.  Or, at least the neighborhood.  I will be using this blog as another tool to share songwriting ideas and acquire feedback.  Because as I've learned from my job, feedback is love.  :-P

Dark Hunter's Forest has been destroyed.  And from the ashes, a new chapter of my life has begun.

Welcome to Hunter's Stage.

Enjoy the show!