Blog Tease

So Sister had it right.  Blog Tease.  WELL...

I'm lazy.  There I said it.  Too lazy to properly keep up with this.  I have however found a different way to do this.

You can now find my shite at: http://littleabouteverything.tumblr.com/

Tumblr is blogging for the lazy person.  Go there.  Now.

The Good Ole Days...

I was talking to a friend the other day, about the current societal "hot topic".  The gay kids who have committed suicide due to being bullied.  Don't get me wrong, I think it's awful and spent a good deal of time watching the "It Get's Better" Project videos.  Bullying in any form is horrible.  Young kids and teens being bullied because of their classmates fears and ignorance is even worse.  I remember being bullied and also bullying people in junior high and some of high school. 

My mom said that she doesn't recall much bullying happening in school.  That yes there were cliques, but the nastiness and the viciousness just wasn't there.  All of this was explained when I was relating my own experiences.  But now?  It's out of control.

With everyone connected via text messages and social network like Facebook, bullying has taken on a whole new meaning.  It's not the same type I experienced and definitely not the same that our parents did.  Hiding behind the anonymity of a computer screen, grants these kids a sort of strength to say things they would never say in real life.  Horrible things.  That same anonymity also allows things like fake profiles to be made to amp up the attacks.  I have seen that personally after mindlessly clicking through Facebook and landing on a friend's, daughter's page(! shouldn't have been able too in the first place).  Apparently one of her classmates had made up a fake profile to attack the girl's posts.  There was also the case of the mother who made up a fake Myspace page and bullied her daughter's classmate.  Resulting in the girl's suicide.  That kinda fucked up goes beyond what this topic is about.

Bullying isn't so much of a trend now as it is simply getting worse.  Everyone has a cell phone, those cell phones have cameras.  Never mind the pictures that are taken knowingly, what about the kids who are passed out or drugged.  Naked pictures of some poor 13 year old who was slipped something.  Makes it's way around the school.  Sooner or later something snaps.  For everyone involved.  Be it the schools who deal with the students and their loss.  The true remorse of students involved.  Or the realization of a psychopath in those who enjoy it all.

This instant access, instant gratification and instantly erased, though never gone, society has spawned a breed of mega monsters who thrive on fear.  Fear that comes from insecurity as we all know.  I was happy to see that Perez Hilton has decided to stop ripping celebrities apart.  I never understood his appeal.  He was the ultimate online bully.  Not anonymous, but most of his backers were.  The people who were participating, the posse behind the bully.  Other sites like TheDirty.com (I will not link to it) that are born out of people like you (well not really like or...) and me, submitting photos of people we know and destroying their character.  Hell even all the stuff on Fox News and the like.  Nothing but fear.

Add another notch to my geek belt

If you were in any doubt over my nerdom or geekiness I've got a new one for you...  I am incredibly excited that the Vancouver Public Library is having a free double feature of:

Yeah I know, a little odd for a double feature.  But free, on a Friday, at one of the most beautiful buildings in Vancouver?  Fuck yeah!

Add another one to the pile...

As if I needed anymore TV fixations... Recently added to the mix is the "family friendly" drama - Sons of Anarchy.  A pleasant romp through the world of motorcycle gangs clubs in California and beyond.  Yep they even mention Vancouver!  Thanks Bacon Brothers, thanks.

Got all wrapped up in it, most likely once again in part to the "gonna clean my house and put it on in the background" concept.  I do enjoy it, it's a boy's soap opera and the lead character is some shexy stuff under that greasy hair.

I suck part deux...

So I guess when you start up a blog and then tell people about it, they actually read it.  Who knew?  I was busted on Saturday evening by someone, and I see that another person has commented... Sigh...  Yes I CAN do better.

A little ashamed to admit it, but I'm sure so many of us have gone through the same thing, so it should be ok to fess up.

Miserable... there said it.  Shortly after my last post the "dream job" turned out to be a dud.  Yes, I was surprised and somewhat shocked when it happened.  And I have my theories.  Some of their reasons are legit and the rest I don't quite buy.  Ah well, there were also certain practices that I really did not agree with.  Also my NYC travel mug "went missing" in the first two weeks.  Seemed to be the norm there, things going missing.  Yeah that sounds like a real winner...

So anyways, back to the miserable.  Job hunt is once again the name of the game, and while I'm not entirely miserable to not be working/at the "dream job", I am miserable that I lost out on some ideal hiring timing.  September is prime hiring time, or so I've been told, and I was out at the end.

Oh well back we go.  It's different wandering to get my paper in October.  I'm not used to it, and I tend to dress too light for the cold and rain we have now.  Still not much out there.  So we'll see.

PS: A dead friend has been "signing on" to MSN and the virus that's running it actually "spoke" to me.  Creeped me the hell out!

I suck...

At keeping up with this that is.  With work, joining The Node, Nerds In Babeland, and basically not as much free time, this blog has fallen way behind. 

I mentioned that I would attempt to post 4 a week and well as you can see that didn't happen so I once again need to rethink things.  I really like the idea of keeping up with this, but it looks like laziness and procrastination has foiled me once again.

All I can say I'll do my best

Hermiting Worthy

I know a girl who goes squeeee crazy when "Shark Week" arrives.  I have found my own version... "Space Week"!

Click on the pic for the "Known Universe" photo gallery

My TV has been tuned to National Geographic channel all weekend and will continue to stay there until said week is over.  So happy to have this channel!

Update

A hoy hoy... it's been a while... And in that time I realized that maintaining this blog while working is going to be a bit trickier.  Not only that but joining a couple new online communities and hearing Nerdist talk about shaking up his own blog, I have decided to change up the format a bit.  With working and the past two hectic weekends (Erin got married!  Woo!) AND getting sick, my brain has been on auto-pilot.  This long weekend is helping get my nerd recharge on.


So what are the changes you ask?  Well here's a few ideas I've been bantering around...

- Links, video, images etc.  Things I find that I think are interesting. 
 - Less frequency.  I'm going to aim for about 4 days a week.  If I can do more great!  If not, well I guess my brain isn't hurting too much that week.
 - Reviews, upcoming events/releases.

Yeah so same, same but different.  See you soon!

You're still here?

When is enough, enough? One week, one year, one lifetime? It's been over a year since my heart was broken and I thought I was ok with things by now. Well at least enough to not have such a gut wrenching reaction. Alas that is not the case. A few months ago I saw the heartbreaker across the street (living in my neighbourhood doesn't help) and my reaction was so strong and unexpected that it took a while to regain my composure. I was disappointed with myself for still allowing him to have such a strong effect on me and hoped that would be the last time.


Again... alas that is not the case. I knew that by staying in the industry I would run the risk of hearing/seeing him again on a professional level. I haven't yet encountered that, but today I came across a quote request from him and it floored me. Why? Why should an email from him cause such a reaction? It was incredibly unexpected so I'm sure that played a part but again I am disappointed that he still has such an effect on me.

I want to be done with him, over him completely. There's nothing about his actions that deserves space in my brain yet he's still in there! What can I do to rid myself of him? I thought that with enough time passed the effect he has on me would start to fade. It hasn't and I don't know why. Were my feelings for him that strong? Have I not addressed the major issues surrounding the whole thing?

With everything that has gone on in my life that last couple years I think I was avoiding dealing with my feelings towards him to ensure there was enough energy to get me through everything else. I haven't spoken to him since spring of 2009, though I did write a letter outlining what I thought of him and his behaviour to which he replied. Foolish me replied back thinking I could be an exception in his life. At least now I know I never was nor will I ever be.

I had an incredibly positive feeling yesterday, that it's my turn to be happy. After two years of crap with an amazing Olympic experience thrown in (amazing but exhausting) I really do feel it's my turn in life. I will be 30 this coming spring and I'm really getting a handle on who I am and what I want. Much more so than my teens and early twenties. A big part has been simply acceptance. Acceptance of myself, others and the world in general. Maybe that's what I need to do to move on from him. Accept what happened and that he no longer deserves space or energy in my brain. Maybe then my reactions will be more in line with what he deserves... nothing.

Rule Breakers

After reading NML's blog Baggage Reclaim for a couple years now there's one thing she says over and over again.  We are not the exception to the rule.  Exceptions happen in fairy tales and romantic comedies.  Human behaviour is incredibly predictable and routine and it will rarely be the case that the "it could happen" actually happens.  We expect to be the exception.

So many conversations about our partners - girls talking about boys in particular - revolve around the hopes and dreams we place on them.  The things we want them to be, rather than the people they are.  We dream up the rom-com scenarios and imagine our guys moving away from normal and into an exception. 

Apparently the rules don't apply to us.  Every single one of us.  So if the rules don't apply to us, who the hell are they applied to?  Rules don't exist unless there are people to follow them.  Yet you can put a group of girls into a conversation and there will be multiple exceptions.  It cannot possibly happen! 

The idea that we will be the expectation is there to prevent us from realizing what is actually happening.  A form of denial if you'd like.  "It's going to happen/change I just know it!" Sounds a lot like avoiding the inevitable to me.  We need to stop expecting to be the exception and start following the rules.

Two'fer info Saturday

A quick note that since I will be starting work this Monday the frequency of these posts will be going down.  Hopefully my experience at work and public transit will provide me with plenty of ammo.  However, I do know that I will be pretty beat when I get home so unless I can type it all out quickly I may be missing days during the week.  This last one has been uhhh - training for all of you... that's right, training.

Yay for working and a paycheque but boo for alarms and wasting days on the interwebs.

Ratings: Nerd Series

Since this summer has been one of immersion into nerd series it's time I share my feelings and rankings on said series.  I will also mention some that I have been watching for a while, some still going and others unfortunately done.  One thing I've noticed though is that the nerd series are quite violent.  A lot of death, pretty much every episode.  But then again so are the CSI, Law & Order, Bones...

1) Doctor Who
 - to anyone who knows me or reads this blog you will know by now that I have a slight obsession with this show.  Tom was so right, I do love this show and apparently anything that Russell T. Davies has a hand in.  I do love Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor and I've heard many fans of David Tennant agree that he's doing a bang up job.  That being said, I blubbered like a baby when it was time for the Tenth Doctor to regenerate.  And it's strange, it's not as if I have to watch every episode to understand since each episode can somewhat stand on its own.  I just couldn't stop watching and looking forward to the Christmas special and season six.

2) Fringe
 - I started watching this show from the start and loved it.  Once the filming moved to Vancouver I was completely hooked.  The female lead Olivia Dunham does bother me a bit with her voice but it's only because she's Australian trying to do an American accent.  I'm a bit concerned that the plot lines will get a bit convoluted.  I was happy to hear Joshua Jackson talk about how he prefers Sci-Fi shows rather than mindless teenage dramas (not the exact words but the meaning which was full of win with the whole "Dawson's Creek") and that he's local.  Plus it's all sciency and stuff.

3) Chuck
 - so so so happy that the "Save Chuck" campaign worked.  Such a great show and you can't help but fall in love with Chuck.  So bumbling and nerdy and sweet.  The underdog that you root for yet he's gots that intersect thingy which makes him 'special'.  Some of the fight scenes are super cheesy but when you factor in the girl's shower and Nicole Richie, well it just works on so many levels.  The latest season finale was pretty emotional and I'm wondering what will happen with the Buy-Low gone.

4) Torchwood
 - I may move this once I get through season two and three but for now it belongs in the #4 spot.  It's a Doctor Who spin-off starring the dashing Captain Jack Harkness.  It's been advertised as a dirtier, sxier Doctor Who and it definitely lives up to it.  Some F-bombs are dropped, homosexual make-out sessions/relationships and more gore.  While it doesn't have the fantasy of traveling with the Doctor, the characters are pretty awesome and the tie-ins to the Whoniverse make it worthwhile.  I had the biggest grin last night when I watched an episode where Cpt. Jack heard the TARDIS and then disappeared.

5) Eureka & Warehouse 13
 - The two of these are going together because I have some serious issues with minor issues... if that makes sense.  I don't like the fact that Warehouse 13 is centered around the US Secret Service.  Anything but that.. please?  Eureka 13 because I cannot stand one of the female leads, Dr. Alison Blake just bothers me.  The stories are pretty awesome and I love the crossover with Claudia & Fargo.  Again Eureka is filmed here so that's fun to look for.  I actually remember wanting to watch Eureka when it first aired but lost track of it somehow.  I'm looking forward to seeing where these two shows go.

6) Firefly & Serenity
 - oh Nathan Fillion how do I love thee.  I recall Chelsea being really into this show and have heard nothing but good things and again Nathan Fillion *sigh*.  Ok so a western in space is somewhat of a far out there idea but it didn't help that the network aired the episodes out of order.  I mean come on, the one hour pilot is the last episode you air?  How does that even make any sense.  It's great that they were able to put together a movie afterward but all the "Browncoats" are fighting a losing battle getting it on the air again.

7) Pushing Daisies
 - I really miss this show, it had so much potential.  Yes, sometimes the cheesiness was a bit much but it was a truly great show.  And just like Arrested Development, the masses didn't get it.  A shame that the general public doesn't understand what a great concept is and Pushing Daisies got axed.  The whimsy was so much fun and you can never go wrong with a musical number.

8) Lost
 - this show pissed me off for a long time.  I didn't watch the first or second season catching up on a two hour special instead.  I then followed religiously until the end.  After a while I started to despise the show, yet I kept watching.  I guess I was committed to seeing it through.  An accomplishment of sorts you could say.  The ending was so-so but I wasn't expecting much with all the plot lines they had to deal with.  I did cry at the ending, when people were being reunited... but I'll blame detoxing from the 24 hour relay and it being too early in the AM.

Honorable Mentions:
 - Defying Gravity
 - Seaquest DSV (I LOVED that show)
 - Star Trek TNG
 - and I'm sure many others, with short lives.

DISLIKE
 - Sanctuary: I heard so many good things about this show that I thought it would be worth it.  Suffered through two seasons and still couldn't stomach it.
 - Vampire Diaries: I just want to say that I have zero interest in angsty vampires... especially on the WB network.  Saw a bit of it only once and had no intention of trying again.  True Blood is all the vampire drama I can take. 
 - V: this started on the Honorable Mentions list and then I thought about it... I don't actually like the show that much.  I would follow it when nothing else was airing but yeah its kinda lame.

So there.  If anyone is interested in the shows listed above I may have some episodes available to share.

Congratulations & Tragedy

I've been working on a nerd series rating post the last couple of days but this is more important.

1) I got the job!  Wooohoo!  So incredibly happy.  Almost the exact same timing as last year which is weird.

2) A friend died in a car accident Friday.  We weren't friends for a long long time and I never expected to speak to me again until good old Facebook connected us.  We spoke and it was really easy, surprisingly so.  He owned up to being a dick and we moved on.  Spoke a bit online and I did get to hang out with him a few months ago.  He may have been trying to pick me up that night but I didn't bite. 

I'm really glad that I got over my anger towards him.  He was my "first" (shhh don't tell.  Whoops!) so it's not as if he was easy to forget.  I'm happy we could be friends.

Today has been bittersweet.

Who's to say?

With so many discussions about what we should or should not be doing I frequently wonder what people think I may be doing "wrong".  Not that I really care but admittedly I have found myself defending my choices in case the other person does have that opinion.  So today I'd like to share the things I do that may be perceived as "wrong" by some.
I am doing something wrong because:
 - movie & sushi at home is a great Friday night
 - I don't want to sit at the beach in the middle of the day for hours
 - I smoke
 - watching TV is something I truly enjoy
 - hanging out is better than a Yaletown "club"
 - there's nothing wrong with a responsible hunter and I would go myself, and participate in the rest.
 - I read the Province instead of a "real" newspaper
 - "still" single
 - no interest in desperately searching for a husband
 - I still don't know if I want kids
 - I have no desire to join a gym, its not about exercise it's just the gym part
 - won't even step foot in a Starbucks unless I have to
 - don't drink red wine and no real interest in wines.

 Now the question is... am I ashamed of these things therefore I believe others will judge me?  OR Have my experiences shown me that other people "look down" on those things?  Might as well throw a third question in there.  Do some people "look down" because they secretly feel the same way and are ashamed themselves?

The (not so good) $1 Menu

I recently purchased an item I normally wouldn't due to cash flow issues.  I have been using a more expensive version for awhile and noticed it really did work better.  So today's topic are things I believe truly are "You get what you pay for"  And to begin, the item I am referring to in the first sentence.

Kitty Litter
 - The $20 container vs $10 container is a huge difference.  In smell, ease of scooping and how long it lasts before you have to switch all of it out.

Draft Beer
 - Unless the place is crazy successful or it's a one off thing there's now way the cheapest draft beer will be the best.  And I'd be willing to add beer in general.  It's not just about taste but the side-effects.  Cheap draft beer will always leave you feeling worse than not so ghetto beer.

Candles
 - I've tried to avoid buying $1 store tea-light candles for a while now.  Besides them burning for only half the amount of time as regular priced candles, I've had them "burn" through the little 'dishes' they are in.  The wax went everywhere, lovely.

Keyboards
 - I went for the cheapest keyboard I could find when mine suffered some liquid damage (yeah ok it was beer, but not mine!) and I hated it.  I didn't even want to go on the computer which was shocking simply because of they keyboard.  Sucked it up and got one only $10 more than the first but the difference was astonishing.  Though the first one had a volume control on it which I miss.

Lint Sticky Roller Refills
 - While I do use the cheaper ones I can find at the $1 store I have had very bad experiences with some of them.  Given the choice I would definitely pick the name brand.

Freezer Bags/Saran Wrap
 - Try as I might to save money on these things it really is the brand name versions that do the trick.

Burnable Media (DVDs & CDs)
 - You can usually find really good deals on burnable discs but they should be a brand name of sorts.  At least one you recognize.  I once purchased 100 CD's for the price of 30 in Futureshop and they were garbage.  By the time I had gone through them I realized it would have been more effective if I had purchased the brand name ones in the first place.  Seeing as I bought them one off when I had something really important to burn and didn't want to take the risk.

Jewellery
 - Yeah it would be nice to have real silver, gemstones, gold... take your pic.  But you can't always get what you want, you can try however,  to have a temporary fix with the cheapo stuff but don't expect it to last for too long.

As you can see I have purposefully left food items on here as I think it deserves a mention of it's own.  At the same time there are food items I prefer the store brand of, but again for a different time.  I'm sure there are things that I will think of later so there's a chance another list will come along.

Whose reality is it anyways?

Perception truly is everything, so is it fair for me to presume that what someone else perceives cannot be reality?  Is my viewpoint so informed and clear to state that I am right and they are wrong?  I certainly hope so at least some of the time.  I'd like to think that I possess a level of awareness and understanding to know when reality is really reality.

Countless times I have been listening to someone's perception of a scenario or person and thought, "you just don't get it" or "this makes no sense" or "how could you possibly think that way?"  Then again I'm sure people have thought the same thing with something I've said.  So who is right?  Does it matter?

In many cases I think it does matter if you believe the other person needs a reality check.  If someone's perception is obviously skewed by their emotional state, looking at it from an objective standpoint you should be able to see what they can't.  Yet how do you explain to someone else that what they are seeing isn't reality?  But again how do we know that it is reality.

I recall once listening to someone describe paint colours in a home.  I saw the colours for myself and what we saw was the complete opposite.  The complaint about one colour being too brown I saw as more of a green and vice versa.  But who was right?  I used previous experiences with the same person to figure out who was seeing things correctly.  One particular example is seeing a shirt on them and remarking how well the colour suited them.  Yet the disagreed completely and suggested a completely different colour that supposedly looked good.  I have to trust that my perception would be more accurate than their perception.  It is usually the case that others see us for us while our brains will skew things in our own head.

The best solution I have found so far is to pick my battles.  Take a stand when I truly believe someones perception is flawed and allow them to believe a false reality when it isn't hurting anyone.  It's just hard to figure out whose reality is flawed and when it is time to let them know.

Shoulda woulda coulda

I really enjoy discussing the idea of "ignorance is bliss" as lively conversations will generally ensue.  I for one agree with the statement.  Living a life of ignorance could really result in bliss.  If you are completely unaware then nothing can really affect you right?

Now while I agree I don't subscribe to it myself.  I like knowing, learning, asking - sounds like my profile, check - and generally being aware. According to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs self-actualization can only happen once all the other needs are met.  Those who live in that blissful place never really get to the top.  Yeah they may excel at things but is there a passion or a need driving it or just the ignorance of going along for the ride/doing what one "should" do.

I truly do believe that you will never fully experience the good without the bad.  Which would in turn imply that those who never experience the bad will have a hard time appreciating the good.  This isn't to say that these people won't be happy, I'm sure they will be, but they will be existing on a surface level.  A level of no awareness, no introspection, no desire for understanding.  Like functioning on auto-pilot.  Sure the plane can fly but what happens when it comes time to land or an evasive maneuver is required?  In a sense you would be "flying in the dark".

All of this brings me to the point of what we "should" be doing or the feelings of failure that can occur when we are living up to expectations other than our own.  I myself realize that I am not where I thought I would be at my age, but then again how could I have really known?  So many things will take place in our lives that will forever change our paths.  Do we struggle to fight against them and realign ourselves with the "should"?  Or do we embrace them and use them as a tool to move forward?  To become better than our previous "should".  Besides where does this "should" come from?

The "shoulds come from society, our friends, our parents and our environments.  The fact that I am 29 will generally elicit a "should be in a relationship".  But I'm not.  And of course there are times where I feel sad and alone but at the same time I am actually quite content with it all.  I should be in my career right now.  I'm trying I really am and I may just get there (with my upcoming interview) but it took me a while to find my path.  And during that time I got to have a "once in a lifetime" opportunity working for the Olympic Games.  I would not trade that for anything in the world.  Yet I know that in the minds of some I'm not doing what I "should" be doing.

We shouldn't allow ourselves to become slaves to the expectations that other have of themselves.  We should be striving towards achieving happiness in our own lives.  Not necessarily forcing yourself to be happy with just the things you have.  But finding the things that make US happy.  Happiness is different things to different people so why do we try to achieve the things that make others happy?

Vow #2

The summer of 2010 will forever go down as the summer I reawakened my nerdness.  The summer of Dr Who and Twitter.  The summer of looking for sites, blogs and podcasts that have a nerd/geek spin to it.  It will also be the summer that I vow to go to Comic Con.  At least once before it's too late.

I've known about and been interested in Comic Con for awhile now.  A place where many of the things that I enjoy come together.  Now I know it started as a Comic Convention, and even though I didn't really read them outside of Archie I do remember watching X-Men when I was really young.  I watched Get Smart & Bewitched when I was 8 or 9 and I'm guessing they would have had an attendance there nowadays.  So it isn't that big of a stretch to think I would want to go.

Best idea would be to try and hit up the San Diego one.  I could incorporate the West Coast road trip into it and end up in San Diego as I'm pretty sure that I would want to save the convention for the end of the trip.  I would seriously consider going down in cosplay but I would most likely stick to some sort of "wenchish" idea.  Unless of course I discover some sort of character that I absolutely fall in love with... hmm I could probably do River Song.  If she's still applicable by the time I make it there.

Alright!  So plan is; save money and plan to hit up Comic Con.  I'm crossing my fingers that it will be for 2011!

Just Do It

I have a problem with procrastinating.  A big problem.  To explain this succinctly, I recently checked two books out, one about the internet (never finished it and I had it for about a month, not a good/easy read) and the other was about procrastination.  I posted on FB "Checked out a book about procrastination, think I'll finish it tomorrow".  Ha ha it was pretty funny, even though it was the honest truth.  I was heading to Princeton the next day and thought I might read it on the way or while we were there.  Anyways - I never did crack it open and returned it.

Looking on the library's catalogue list I see that Phil Plait's (@BadAstronomer) book "Death from the skies! : these are the ways the world will end" has 6 copies available and one at the branch just down the road.  I've been meaning to pick it up and it is only 5 minutes away, and I was reading a John Grisham novel so I wasn't in that big of a hurry.  Well that novel is almost done and it's fireworks night tomorrow so I figured I could pick up the book tomorrow.  Seeing as I have procrastinated this entire week...

Pretty sure you can tell where this is going.  The book is checked out.  I procrastinated and now its gone until August 27th according to the website.  I tweeted "Dammit!Procrastinated getting a book from the library & it's checked out. Maybe I should check out the "Stop Procrastinating" book instead."  And I mean it.  This is most likely going to get worse before it gets better.

Alas said procrastination book is also checked out.  FML.

Found it!

A little while back I wrote about what my next tattoo would be and I believe I have now come to a decision.  I want a galaxy and whirlpool combined.  Most of my tattoo ideas have been of combining two things that are important to me or that really interest me.  And well I was on the track of science a few weeks ago and this fits the bill.  My fascination with the ocean and space.

As I was searching for some images to use as reference I knew I was looking for a spiral galaxy of some sort.  In order to incorporate the whirlpool it would only make sense.  So I'm looking through the Hubble site for inspiration and I stumble across a galaxy known as M51 or the "Whirpool" galaxy.  I just about stopped dead in my tracks.  Here I am looking for something to mix with a whirlpool and the galaxy that catches my eye goes by the same name!  It was definitely one of those "fate" moments.  Or whatever you want to call it.  These things came together in a way that just made sense.

So I guess I should share what I've found:

There are other images of the Whirlpool Galaxy but the colours in this particular one really appeal to me.  Once I decided on combining the two elements I knew I wanted to have reds and/or blues in the galaxy.  After all, it is a bit hard to represent star light in a tattoo so the surrounding colours need to be bright, yet galaxy like.  The whirlpool is the easy part and I'm sure if I put some effort into it I could draw one myself.  I do like the colours in the picture I found and I'm inclined to see what Japanese style with the water might look like.

Needless to say I'm incredibly excited that I figured this out as it puts to rest something that I have been thinking about... a lot.  Now I just have to sort out how big it needs to be so I know where it can go.