New Year’s Resolutions Past and Future

The end of one year and the start of a new one creates the perfect time to wipe the slate clean and start over.  Each year I am one of the many that creates resolutions to help guide me on the year to follow and also like many I think they are often quickly forgotten and pushed to the side.  This year was a little different for me, if only because I had the resolution documented so I couldn’t forget them.  I’m actually proud of my resolutions for 2013 because all of them except for one was at least attempted.  So on this last day of the year I want to quickly look back at my resolutions for 2013 and share my new resolutions for 2014 (some of which will look pretty familiar).

In 2013 I came up with four things I wanted to work towards, all of which were things that work towards my overall life goals.  They were to move more, complete a 365 day photo project, complete another Nanowrimo challenge and read fifty books.  Each of these resolutions have had their own challenges and they are also ones that I have ignored in other years so I was pretty determined to complete them.

The resolution to move more was probably the easiest of all the resolutions because it was vague enough not to give me outlandish goals but still specific enough to get me up off the couch.  This resolution took me a while to actually fulfill because it wasn’t until I got my fitbit that I actually could see that I was actively working towards moving more.  I have already written about how wonderful this change has been for me.  It has been incredibly powerful to see results that I want and at a steady pace.  I feel like this resolution is one that I can check off as being completed without any second thoughts. 

The second resolution is also one that I’m happy to say was a success.  In 2012 I started to do a picture a day with the plan of completing an album of 365 moments that would have made up my year.  I did not complete this project in 2012 – in fact I made it to October and completely gave up on it which made me even more determined to do it this year.  I mean really I was so close to be done it was silly to stop.  I’m ecstatic to say that I have completed this project (my very last photo is of the movie poster for The Book Thief which I saw this afternoon).  The difference this year is that I created and printed the pages as I went along.  As I started to see the finished pages coming to the house I realized how truly special and great this project is.  I think it is my favourite album that I have created to this point in my life as a scrapbooker.  This year was an amazing year in a lot of ways and I have it all captured to remember forever.  I highly recommend everyone doing something like this.   There were times it felt like a drag or I would wonder how much I would really like to see hundreds of pictures of my cat or my dinners but when I look at the album even those pictures are pretty special and tell a story.

My third resolution is the one disappointment of the year.  I did not do Nanowrimo this year.  I had planned on signing up to do the summer camp version again which was being held in July. I signed up with intentions of working on a novel I have been researching for a bit but after the craziness of the floods in June I just couldn’t seem to get to a spot where I could actually focus and get to work.  I had a second opportunity to try in November and I did consider it but November is a notoriously busy month for me because of the work I put into our adopted Christmas family so rather than disappoint myself with an unfinished goal I put it to the side for the year.

My last resolution to read fifty books was actually added towards the end of the first week of January.  I have always loved reading but since graduating from university I have found that I don’t do as much of it as I would like.  I’m far too easily distracted by other things and even with the resolution I still didn’t quite make it to my goal.  I read 28 books this year.  I am a little disappointed by this but at the same time I’m pretty sure it is more than I have read in any year since I left university.  What I wasn’t expecting from this resolution though is that I would fall in love with fiction again.  A lot of the reading I had been doing was more research type books.  I got lost in a world of history and forgot how much fun losing myself in fiction could be.  Of all four resolutions this one was by far the most fun to try and achieve and so I don’t consider it a failure only getting part of the way to the end – it just means I have to try again.

Now as we stand at the start of a brand new year and I have done the look back it is time to look forward.  I have once again created a list of resolutions and much like last year I’m going to document them so that they stay fresh and I actually work towards them.  I plan on looking back at the end of 2014 and having even more check marks for completed resolutions.  So here is the list for 2014:

·         Move More/Lose More

o   With my fitbit I get a weekly report of what my average steps per day is and I plan on recording that on my blog page.  My last week was not my best week but it is the starting point.  I average 6,535.  This time next year I would like to see that number doubled.  Of course with moving more I expect to see my weight continue to drop.  This will be especially important because I have big plans for 2015 and I don’t want to be slowed down by my weight.

·         At least one day a week is a vegetarian day

o   In the summer this past year I decided to try to go part time vegetarian and I loved it.  I have continued to have meat free days and want to keep this going.  I love the variety it has brought into my diet and I look forward to continuing to explore other food choices.

·         Regular blog posts

o   I try to be good about posting but having just cleared out my blog posts folder on my computer and I realized that I write a lot that I never post.  So this year I will try to not let fear/nerves get in the way from me posting.  It also encourages me to set aside time each week to do some writing which also helps me keep motivated on working on my fiction

·         365 Photos for 2014

o   I wasn’t sure I was going to put this on the list again.  I loved my 2013 project but it has felt like a burden at times but at the same time like I said above it is one of my favourite albums so how could I not do it again.  I expect 2014 to be filled with just as many memories that I want to capture.

·         Read 50 books

o   Yep this one is back again too.  What can I say but I hate to see things incomplete so it is back and this year I will do it.  I have proved to myself in the last couple months I am capable of reading a book a week so I just have to make sure I do it consistently this year.

·         Complete a Nanowrimo challenge

o   That’s right it is another of my resolutions that has come back.  I just want to prove to myself that the first year I did this and completed a novel wasn’t a fluke – besides I also figure it is a good excuse to actually get my Titanic/WWI novel written.

I have to say that as great as 2013 was for me I am more excited to see what 2014 has in store.  I feel like each year just gets better and better so how can next year not be amazing.  I think as each year goes by I get closer and closer to being the person I really want to be. 

Before I end this post I just want to take a minute and wish you all a very Happy New Year.  I hope that 2014 is a stellar year for all of us.  I hope it will be a year filled with good deeds, good friends and a whole lot of memories.

A Week like No Other

I keep thinking back to last Thursday (the 20^th) when we were told to leave work because of the evacuation order for Mission.  A group of us walked over to the river right behind the office to check it out and we were all joking because it didn’t seem so bad.  

In the giddiness of an early dismissal from work this didn't look too bad.
 

It seemed hard to believe that it was really worth evacuating us and we all figured at worst we would get a long weekend out of it with Friday off as a “rain day”.  When I woke up Friday morning and saw how much of my city was full of water I was blown away.  It was surreal and unbelievable.  It was the start of what feels like a very long, stressful and emotional week.  Yet at the same time in a lot of ways it was one of the best weeks of my life. 

The best way to I know how to explain what has been going on with me is to break it down to a few different parts.  The first is the flood itself, the second is the greatness of individuals that I have seen come out of the flood and the last is work.  Each area has had a different effect on me but all of them together have created a week that I’m not like to ever forget.

After waking up early on Friday I found myself glued to my television as more and more reports and images came in about the flooding in our city and around Southern Alberta.  I was worried for a great deal of people in my life.  A handful of some of my very best friends were all living in areas that were being inundated with water and my heart was breaking for what they potentially could be losing and I was worried but hopeful that everyone was safe and sound.  As I heard from all of them my fears were put to ease on their well being and I knew we would just have to wait and see how the rest would turn out.    

As crazy and bad as things looked there was at least some humor to be had.  Rumors began to circulate, on twitter mostly, that the big cats from the zoo were evacuated to the city jail to be locked in cages there.  This of course was just one of the contingency plans but it seemed to have everyone laughing and joking, including our Mayor who said ‘he wanted that photo’.  Of course for all the jokes that started to pop-up (things like how were the Flames going to be able to drain the Saddledome with only one cup?) the seriousness of the situation also began to set in.  The images that were being shared on TV and social media were almost unreal.  I went out to take a few pictures Friday morning and even though I saw it for myself, to see so much water covering our streets was just really hard to believe.  It was shocking to say the least.

It is surreal to not only see water on the streets but an empty downtown at 8am on a Friday

As the water began to recede though not only did it reveal how much damage the city was going to be dealing with but it also began to reveal the true spirit of Calgary.  Actually to be fair it started to come out on the Thursday night as people were beginning to be evacuated from homes.   Quickly on social media and kijiji people were speaking up offering places for people to go.  The ones that touched me the most were the ones that were not only opening their homes to people but to their pets as well.  This desire to help continued to grow.  As people were allowed back into areas that had been flooded out it wasn’t only the residents that went back but volunteers also moved into the areas.  Adults and kids alike were all coming out and were willing to get dirty or even just bringing food, water and support to areas that now looked like war zones.  It was inspiring to hear the stories but I couldn’t have prepared at how wonderful it felt to actually experience this love and support.

On Tuesday (the 25^th) I went with my current house guest and good friend to her condo to offer any help that I could.  I was a little worried because I’m not the most physically fit and I certainly have no clue what to do with tools but I was willing to give it a shot.  When we arrived we quickly got to work cleaning up mud, water and random debris from her basement and garage area.  Time flew by surprisingly fast and although it was hard work it didn’t seem as bad as I was prepared for.  As the morning turned to afternoon it was time to take a break from the basement and that is when I first experienced some of the warmest and most sincere interactions I have ever known.  I do not always have the best luck with large groups of people but there were on insults tossed.  Instead I was greeted with so much support.  We got offers of food, water, and help.  There was even one gentleman walking around who stopped just to say hi and encourage us.  It reminded me that there are good people out there.  I will admit it renewed my belief that humans are capable of doing great and wonderful things.  It filled my heart with so much pride and joy it made the afternoon go by even quicker.  By the time I got home that night I felt completely exhausted and yet surprisingly rejuvenated all at the same time – it felt like a strange contradiction of emotions. 



Dirty never felt so good!

Helping out at my friend’s condo gave me a little bit of focus and distraction as I waited to hear what my future was going to look like.  I don’t live in an area that flooded but my office was right in the middle of it.  Holy Cross is actually only a few blocks from my friend’s condo so when I saw her basement I knew there wasn’t much hope for my building.  As the information came out we quickly learned that we did in fact end up with water in our basement which affected our servers which of course impacts on our phone system as well.  As the week has gone by there was much speculation about what was going to happen, where we were going to go and what we would be doing as things were fixed.  I’m not a huge fan of change and I’m even less happy about not knowing the details so I have found this week incredibly frustrating.  I give so much gratitude to the management and staff that were dealing with all the details but I hated not knowing.  The good news is we have a place to go now.  I’m not thrilled about the idea of the move because it is going to increase my commuting time but I keep reminding myself that it will be temporary and it could have been worse.  I mean at least I still have a job and there is somewhere for us to move to. 

 

I have to admit that after spending part of my afternoon grabbing stuff from my desk in the dark Holy Cross building I am feeling a little more grateful about how things have turned out.  We looked down the stairs and saw how high the water came up in our basement and I was shocked – I never considered work would actually get water even though it does sit right next to the river.  I know it’s a little crazy. 

A pitch black basement lit by a flash and a couple flashlights.

 

When I went to my desk I found myself getting a little more emotional though.  All around my desk I have pictures of friends, family and even what I call my wall of fame which consists of pictures from my meetings with famous people and as I looked at them in the glow of my flashlight I found myself reminded of what really matters.  It was one picture in particular that set me off.  Thursday morning I had actually just put up a new photo of me and my Nan and when I saw it I just knew that things would be ok.  Sure the next few weeks are going to be crazy and inconvenient but compared to so many people in this city I really have nothing to complain about.  I decided in that moment that I would look at this change as something positive and go into it with an open mind.

This week really has been a week of ups and downs but it is a week I will never forget.  In the end I know the memories that will stand out the most are the positive – the good will and love that fills this city and makes us who we are.  Life is starting to get back to normal, even if that normal is a little different than it was last week.

Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo 2013

It is official I survived my second Calgary Expo and although I wondered if they could manage to do better than my first year I have to admit that this year blew it out of the water.  I will warn you know this blog entry is about to be filled with gushing and hormones but I want to not only share my memories but write them all down before I forget any of them.  In the span of three days I managed to do 8 photo ops, 8 autographs, 6 panels, a parade and experienced so much fun and excitement that I’m sure I have already lost some of it in the shuffle. 

 

The first thing I want to do is send a HUGE thank you to all the staff and volunteers that helped out and worked the Expo.  You guys are amazing and always do such a wonderful job.  I know your job is probably often time thankless and you probably see more than you fair share of cranky people but you are wonderful.  I know for me personally I had some very great interactions with some of you from random high fives while I waited for my Steven Yeun autograph, or the countless of you that I asked for directions, and of course the ones that I just got to chat with a little bit, you all helped to create a great experience for me and to keep me smiling.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

 

Expo this year was a whole new experience.  Compared to last year there were a lot of really great changes made.  Everything from adding more room by adding the Big Four building into the mix to having better labelled lines, it all seemed to make things run more smoothly.  (I have a small confession to make at this point and that is that I did have a VIP pass this year so my comparisons are a little skewed but since most people are saying the same thing I figure it must be true for most.)  I felt the energy of the place was a lot more positive this year, which also might have just been that my energy was more positive not having to spend as much time standing in lines.  heheh.  In all honesty though I really do think people were having a great time and there was a lot of love, excitement and enthusiasm filling the air.  For me the having more space as well as being able to easily and freely walk outside if need be helped the whole place feel less busy, less intimidating and less crowded.  It helped to keep my stress level down to a minimum.

 

As I mentioned above I did have VIP tickets this year and I have to gush (ok maybe brag might be a better word) at least a little about the experience.  As crazy as my schedule was this year I was able to do twice as much as I did last year.  Sure I still had to pick and choose and couldn’t do everything I wanted but I certainly got to do a whole lot of what I wanted.  As a scrapbooker I couldn’t help but be excited about the opportunity to get more photos and more autographs because that is what people ooh and aww over when they look at my books.  It is also what I get most excited about but mostly because looking at the photos or the autographs brings me back to those few seconds I got to be standing up close and personal with some of my most favourite crushes.  I knew right from Friday that I wanted to be able to do VIP again next year but it was sealed today when my heart was breaking thinking I wouldn’t be able to get into the very full Nathan Fillion panel but after a quick trip up to the VIP room we had someone lead us in through the back to make sure we were able to get to seats that were reserved for us.  I have never felt more grateful for something in the moment as I did then.  Part of that is also do in large part to the wonderful volunteers that were there to help us.  A huge thank you specifically to the VIP helpers.  It was great to know we always had someone to talk to if we needed help.

 

Now I warned you I would probably do some gushing well for those of you who don’t want to read it I suggest stop here because I’m about to start gushing.  The Expo was full of amazing good looking men (and women although I probably don’t give them nearly as much of my attention as I should) and I had some great experiences that I have to share.  If you are stopping here you should walking away knowing Calgary Expo is AWESOME!  The volunteers are AMAZING!  Everyone should go in 2014.

 

At first when I thought about what I wanted to write in this section I wanted to tell you everything but I have quickly realized that would make for a very very long blog entry.  I don’t think I’m nearly entertaining enough or witty enough after three long days to pull that off so I’m going to try and recount some of the most amazing moments.  I want to share those moments with you that moved me, excited me and had me squeeing inside.

 

One of the very first amazing moments was my autograph with Cary Elwes.  I have loved him for a very long time, in fact he was one of the three crushes I have had since I was young (the other two were Alan Alda from MASH and Dick Van Dyck from Mary Poppins if you are curious).  I LOVE Princess Bride.  It has always been one of my favourite movies and anytime I’m sick it is still the movie I love to curl up on the couch and watch.  I was excited and nervous to meet him and knew of all the autographs I planned I wanted to actually be able to say something to him (normally my shyness kicks in and I just blush).  As he finished signing my autograph I screwed up my courage and confessed that he was one of my first crushes.  He smiled and called me a sweetheart for saying that and I died a little inside.  It didn’t help that this was followed with a quick photo so he had his arm around me.  I was on top of the world as I left his table.

 

Another of my favourite moments is captured in a photo op.  I was standing in the middle of Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks.  Of all the photos I did this one has the biggest smile.  I was so happy and excited in that moment.  It was only a few seconds but the smile in my photo says it all. 

 

Of course I can’t talk about photos without mentioning my chance to have my photo taken with Nathan Fillion.  It was quick because he had so many to do but he still smiled, asked my name, and shook my hand before wrapping his arm around my back and getting really close for the photo.  Let me tell you it was not a bad place to be standing right next to him like that.  I’m pretty sure my pulse jumped and temperature rose.  I wish the moment had lasted forever.  Oh and he also thanked me as I left.  That is something I love because so many of the famous people I have met don’t do that. The ones that do always stand out and that makes them all great.  Nathan Fillion is a class act.

 

I experienced a few completely random moments including some line dancing that broke out on the top floor of the Big Four but I will admit whenever I think of this Expo and the random stuff that happens when you are just hanging out one memory will pop into my head more than any I’m sure.  When John Barrowman came out Saturday morning for his autographs Casper Van Dien was with him.  When he went to leave the area he ducked down under one of the line barriers and when he stood up his backpack caught it and he knocked it down.  It was priceless to see him trying to fix it while making jokes at the same time.  It was hilarious and completely unexpected, which somehow I think is sort of standard for him judging by his many entrances into places. He has a loud personality and is certainly not afraid of having a good time.

 

There were also two moments that are special because they moved me.  In fact in both cases I had tears in my eyes.  The first of these two moments was in the Wil Wheaton panel.  A new mom asked Wil to record a message to her new baby, Violet about why it is awesome to be a nerd.  His response was powerful and moving.  It was full of acceptance and encouragement.  It was enough to make anyone want to declare that they are a geek or a nerd.  It gave me goosebumps. 

 

The other moment that moved me to tears was one I didn’t expect to affect me as much as it did and that was the moment when I had a chance to flip through the program guide and I saw my name with “contributing writer” printed in front of it.  I will admit some of the emotion may have come from the fact the first time I flipped through I didn’t see the article and I thought maybe it got left out after all.  When I looked a second time though I saw it right at the very front and as I re-read what I wrote I was filled with pride.  Even now thinking about it I’m getting emotional.  I have dreamed of seeing something I wrote published and there it was.  It wasn’t a long article and I’m still not sure it was a great article but it was pretty damned cool to see it.  Even better than that though was a little while later while sitting at a table I watched someone actually take the time to read it.  This moment was a dream come true and instantly I was happy that I was going to be able to share it with my Nan who is 94 and has always cheered me on because I wasn’t sure I would ever have anything published in her life.  On the flip side of that I also felt a loss at the fact I couldn’t share it with Will.  As wonderful as every other moment of the expo was I’m sure those memories will fade but this is one memory that will always be with me.  One day when hopefully I’m a much more published writer and someone asks me about the moment I was first published I will with pride and love be able to share this memory.  I can’t finish this part without throwing a thank you to Lindsay.  If you are reading this thank you for offering me the chance.  It means more to me than I know how to put into words.

 

I truly think this Expo was incredible and epic.  I’m so excited to start working on my scrapbook for it just so I can relive these moments and all the rest.  The last three days have been overwhelming.  Memories have been made and dreams have come true.  I am so glad to have had the opportunity to be a part of such a wonderful, caring, accepting and supportive group of people.  As judgemental as the world can be there is nowhere as accepting as a comic convention and I can’t imagine ever missing a year now that I have experienced the world.  I look forward to my third, fourth and twenty fifth conventions.

 

PS Stay tuned for my photo blog entry where I will share a handful of the photos from the weekend.

365 Photos = 365 Captured Memories for 2013

Last year on January first like a good Creative Memories Consultant I was online and checking out to see what was happening for resolutions and photographs, trying to steal ideas that I could bring to my parties or to my own photos and I came across the idea for taking a photo a day. As I looked at digital stuff that people had done for the year before I thought how cool they looked. On a whim I decided to take up the challenge. I was going to take 366 photos (2012 was a leap year) and going to create my very own photo a day book.

This was the first photo I took (and considering I have spent the last week incredibly sick it makes me laugh now that how I spent my NYE is in fact how I’m spending the end of the year) I joked that I would be happy if I made it to February but truthfully figured I would be able to keep it going until the spring. The reality was I actually made into October having only missed a handful of days when for whatever reason I gave up on the idea. Now sitting here on Dec 31 I’m kicking myself for not gutting it out for a few more weeks but that has just fired me up for this year.

It might seem like a bit of a silly challenge or resolution but I can tell you that my goals of becoming a better photographer and paying more attention to the little details that happen around me that got me started last year were more than met even though I didn’t finish the challenge in 2012. I learned a great deal as I tried to stretch my brain to find interesting and beautiful pictures to capture the moments of my day to day life. I endured a bunch of teasing from my family for taking way too many photos of the cats but when I look at the photos there were a lot of really great moments captured that I never would have paid attention to but got me really excited at the time (From the announcement Wil Wheaton was coming to Calgary Expo, to adventures in my first Union rally, to the birth of a new baby, to even something as silly as that really cold morning – and let me tell you trying to photograph a thermometer at 6:50am before going to work is more challenging than you would think).

Although I had goals that I expected what has surprised me is the unexpected benefit that I found in the last two weeks. As I have been dealing with the passing of my cat, Molly, I realized I actually caught on film a lot of the things she did that made me feel very special. They were little moments like her cuddling against my chest or Molly curled up in her favourite chair. At the time they were just a photo for the day to meet my challenge but they now mean so much more to me. In going through them I was able to sort through some of my emotions and remember the really great things about my cat. I have also changed them into a beautiful memory book that whenever I’m missing my cat I can go back and look through and smile.

So my challenge to all of you this year is pick up your camera, your cell phones or anything that you are using to capture memories at least once a day and capture a moment. I will do it with you and try to keep you motivated. This time next year you will have 365 memories captured. To make it even more special anyone that completes this challenge and is willing to give me your photos I will create a digital scrapbook to display the photos for you. (It will be up to you if you want to buy the book but I will put it together for you.)

Let me know if you are taking up the challenge. Let me help keep you motivated as I try to keep myself going. This year will the year I get it done! I wish you all a very Happy New Year. May all your resolutions be met with the same determination on Dec 31st 2013 as they were created with on January 1st. 2013 will be the best year ever!

Photo Wednesday: Sharing my Memories

This weeks photo is one that was taken this summer and one that has actually been included in a previous blog entry. 

This photo to me not only is one of the coolest moments of my life, but it also sums up why I scrapbook, create photo albums, sell Creative Memories and why I think preserving our memories is just about the most important thing you can do with your time.  Having my Paul Brandt scrapbook completed meant that I could share some of the memories I had from his concerts with him.  It gave me an opening to actually be able to have a conversation with someone that usually leaves me starstruck. 

That particular scrapbook though could also have been an album I created for a travel companion or maybe a calendar that I could give as a gift, or a photo panel done in memory of a loved one.  They are ways that I get to show the people that I love how much they matter to me. It makes the other person feel as good as it makes me feel to do it.

So for all of you who are checking out these photos or reading my blog take a look at your computer and pull out an image or two that you love and print them.  Put them in a picture frame or even just tack them to a wall.  You don't need to do anything fancy but do you really want to hunt through thousands of photos to find your favourites when you need a lift.  Trust me when I say that it's not as hard as it seems and that the rewards of surrounding yourself with your memories is a great boost to any mood.

Thank You Paul Brandt!

I have met a growing number of famous people, some of which I have even met more than once, but none have ever left me feeling as good about myself, or smiling for quite so long after as the meetings I have had with Paul Brandt. On Friday I was lucky enough to get to meet him again, for the third time, down on the stampede grounds. What I wasn’t expecting was how amazing I was going to feel after talking with him. I spent the rest of the night and most of Saturday with a smile that wouldn’t quit. I was floating and it felt amazing.

I suppose I should probably start at the beginning and give a little context and perspective to why this meeting meant so much and give you a little background so you can understand why I wanted to write this blog entry. I grew up listening to country and one of the first concerts my mom ever took me to was a Paul Brandt concert. He was young and cute, I was 16 or 17 and boy crazy (I know shocking) and I developed a huge crush on him. I remember many times while babysitting for my nieces and nephew I would spend hours trying to catch his videos on CMT because my sister had cable and we didn’t. I loved the video for “My Heart Has a History”. It was upbeat and fun and there was this good looking guy in a cowboy hat all over it, how could a teenager not be drawn in. Between that smile, his eyes, the long hair (I have always loved longer hair) and the voice I was totally smitten. I couldn’t get enough of his music and played his first cd over and over, memorizing every word.

From that first album and my crush not much has changed to now. I still think he is crush worthy and cute. I have loved every album and each concert that I have seen. What has changed though over the years as I have grown is that now the songs mean more to me. I don’t tend to listen to country as much anymore but there are still times where country feels like a warm blanket on a cold night. I will admit that after Will passed away I turned to my country music and top of my mp3 player list was Paul Brandt’s newest album, Give it Away, which had just come out only a few weeks after I lost Will (it truly was perfect timing for me). The first time I listened to it through and I hit the song, “Together Again”, all the emotion I had been struggling with dropped me as I heard Paul’s lyrics. It was saying exactly what was going on in my brain and made me feel a little better. If someone could sing about it then I must not be going crazy. Even now nearly a year after Will’s death that song still reminds me of Will and what it felt like just a few months ago, although now different lyrics from it ring true. It is the lyrics of his songs that have kept me following him and buying each album as they come out even as I have gone away from listening to country. His lyrics tell amazing stories and no matter what mood I’m in I can always find something in Paul’s music to suit it.

I have a great deal of respect for Paul Brandt and it does go beyond the above gushing. I always hear how active he is with his different charity projects and anytime I say that I’m going to see him or have met him there is always someone that has a story of a chance meeting with him. They all say the same thing, how great he is and how nice he is. So in December after his concert in Calgary when I got to meet him for the first time I wasn’t surprised at how nice he was (ok I was a little surprised because part of me didn’t really buy into all the stories). Although he was well past the time he was going to spend doing autographs he kept pushing through and although it was rushed he still made a huge impression on me. It proved to me that my respect for him wasn’t out of place and that all the things I had heard other people say were true. I was my normal shy self (I can already hear you all saying I’m not shy…but I really truly am so hush) and was looking down and he actually dipped his head down to catch my attention and bring my gaze up to his so he could talk to me. He asked if I had enjoyed his show and thanked me for coming. I was very excited and a little speechless. I walked away from that meeting feeling so very happy. It was actually the first time I felt almost normal again (I was still very much struggling at that point with my grief). After that meeting I could understand why he has such a devoted following of fans, because he really does seem to treasure and respects us as much as we do him. I mean just the fact he is willing to take the time to meet people after his concerts demonstrates that. I don’t know many stars, that are as famous as he is, that are willing do that. It keeps us all loving him, how could we not?

So when I got a tweet on Thursday night saying he was going to be meeting people down on the grounds on Friday I got excited. It was a happy coincidence that he was going to be there meeting fans when I was already heading down to go see Johnny Reid that night. It also gave me a good excuse to leave work early, which is never a bad thing on a Friday. I was also hoping that maybe this time I would be able to say thank you to him and say some of the things I have wanted to both in December and in March (in Lethbridge). I grabbed the scrapbook I had created and the Century program and brought them both with me. (It took me all day to decide that it was the scrapbook I actually wanted him to sign). I got to the grounds early and planted myself by the dream home and started chatting with a couple other girls who were also there to meet him. Being early paid off and left me excited when I was third in line to meet him, which never happens I’m always near the end. When it was my turn I handed him by scrapbook thinking he would open it up and sign the front cover and be done with it but he actually took the time to flip through the whole book. He made a few comments and said he liked it. He also thanked me for sharing it with him, which blew my mind, because really I was there to get it signed I was the one that should be saying thank you.

For the couple minutes he was talking to me and looking at something I created I felt completely special. I felt like it was only me and him on the grounds (which is saying something when you consider how many people were around, including a photographer from the Calgary Herald). I know it’s crazy but it is one of the great things about him. I have no doubt that everyone that meets him for an autograph or photo feels the same way and that is one of the things that makes him so very cool. I think it shows how grounded and genuine he is.

Another one of the coolest things about this particular meeting, which I didn’t expect, was as I was standing there I could hear a few stray voices from people talking about me. This is not unusual but instead of the normal disparaging comments I usually hear when I’m surrounding by people, they were talking about how cool my book was. It was all positive and to be at the center of that much positivity and excitement pushed my enthusiasm for this meeting over the top. It’s pretty cool to get recognition for something you have put your heart into and hear that other people love it too and that was what was happening. It was a totally new experience for me.

As I end this entry I just want to say some of the things I always wish my brain would let me say when I meet Paul. Who knows with a little luck he will read this but at the very least I will know I have sent it out into the world.

Dear Paul,
Thank you for all that you do for your fans. Thank you for the songs you write and the performances you do. Thank you for writing Together Again, it really truly has helped more than I can express in this last year. Thank you for making me feel special when I have gotten to talk to you, it is rare for me and a very cherished feeling. Most of all thank you for being such a good guy. Sometimes it seems the world is lacking in really good people but it is great to know that there are still a few people out there trying to make the world a better place. I have loved every concert I have seen and love that you have given me so many songs that can lift me up when I’m feeling down. I hope that you will always find joy in what you do and that you will continue to do it for a long time. I know I’m only one of many but I will be a fan forever and can’t wait to see you perform again. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.


For the friends that are reading this and don’t know who Paul Brandt is or haven’t heard his music please check him out at www.paulbrandt.com. I promise you it is worth the time.

Here are also some of the photos from the Calgary Stampede grandstand show, Century, and from my meeting with him. (notice the big giant excited grin on my face…hehehe I can’t be cool no matter how hard I try)

The coolest moment of my life to this point.

An amazing show and a great way to say Happy Birthday to the Stampede.

Always so full of energy,

Even in the rain!