=== World Kindness Day ===

     I'm honestly unsure how I feel that we have designated a World Kindness Day. That makes it sound like we're never nice to each other on any other day... or that we need some kind of excuse to actually be nice to the people around us.

     Don't get me wrong, I think it's great for people to show respect to others and I wouldn't want to take something like that from the world, but I do question whether it's something we should truly need. Wouldn't the world be perfect if we could all be nice to each other all the time?

     Unfortunately, I think there are a lot of people who are driven by a desire to be successful in some way; whether that means being rich, or powerful, or whatever else a person wants which would make them feel like an accomplished person. And when these factors come into play, we end up with a lot of people who would much rather treat others quite poorly for their own gain.

Well, here's hoping we can find some balance in the world.

~ Kyle Welykholowa

=== October 2017 Recap - Getting Into The Groove ===

     Alright, so I've decided around the beginning of each month from now on I'm going to give some kind of recap as to how things are going with my blog and sometimes with myself as well.

     This past month I only made two posts and my total views has gone down a little which says to me that I need to get back on the posting train so that I can continue to make something of my site. I have a lot of good ideas in mind to post about so here's hoping I can find the time and energy to actually get to work on these things. There's so much that I can do with this to let everybody know about my thoughts and even to share my ideas on current events in the world which could one day grow into something pretty big if people find me entertaining enough.

     The hardest part is finding places and people who are interested enough in my content that the word gets around. I don't personally know many people and I'm not really part of any groups so it can be difficult to get in touch or find people who actually want to engage with my content and spread it around. That's where I'm hoping someone out there will share these stories or tell others about my work just to take that quick second to share something.

     I also greatly appreciate any comments people leave on my posts whether it's something telling me I'm doing a good job, or an insightful question, or any kind of feedback at all. Let me know you're listening! You shouldn't even have to sign up to make a comment at the bottom of each of my posts.

Keep being wonderful everybody! ^_^

~ Kyle

=== When Is A Person Not A Person? ===

     Okay, so this strange thing has come up at work recently which has me wondering... when is a person not a person? The nice thing is that I can talk about this because I'm not revealing any personal information about anybody specific; however, this IS something which has come up a few times recently when dealing with both people who are currently living in our community and with people who are applying to live in our community.

     We can only allow 2 people per bedroom living in a suite. The only time this is different is when it is a 1 bedroom in which case there can be 2 adults and 1 child under 10. In every other case, it is two people per bedroom. This seems simple enough, right? Well... when people come in to ask if we have any places available for rent, we have to ask how many people will be living there. Most of the time this is a normal interaction where they tell us there's two or four people or however many. Sometimes people come in and ask if we have a 2 bedroom and we won't have one, so they'll ask about 1 bedrooms... then you ask how many people would be living there and they say "Two."

     I'm going to stop there for a moment and note that this would be a perfectly normal answer. Two people in a 2 bedroom apartment. But then they continue on to say "There would be two people living there, and we have two kids." Well alright then, let me ju--wait, what? HOW many PEOPLE? "Two."

     The sad thing is that I have actually had to argue and explain to people that children are PEOPLE too. They do count as people. Living human beings. PEOPLE. Like... what could possibly make a child not a person? In what way could you possibly argue that your child does not exist, or count as a living occupant under your roof? I just don't understand; this is a real mindset that some people come to us with and it will forever boggle my mind until someone comes up with an answer for me.

Until then, all of you PEOPLE should go out there and have a wonderful day! ^_^

~ Kyle Welykholowa

=== What's Wrong With People? ===

     The first thing that comes to mind right now is simply... what's wrong with people? I hardly know how to start telling you all about this other than to simply hang my jaw open in disbelief at the sorts of things that go on in the world. Now don't get me wrong, I love it here in Moose Jaw; there are just some things that are a little bit odd happening of late. Let's just get right into story-time shall we?

     This past week, we've had a couple odd things go on while I've been gone to work. It seems like this first started when my parents were over and Carley saw a man walking down our back alley. Naturally, she didn't think much of it; there's no reason to give much thought to a person walking by. The real oddness starts a couple days later when someone walks by unlocking the back gates of every house in the area. What makes sense for someone to ever do that? As strange as that was, we didn't think too much of it other than to realize that we should put a lock on our back gate just in case something like that were to ever happen again. It certainly wouldn't be fun to have Furgle run away especially since we lost his tag and need to get him a new one.

     Do you think that's strange? You'll never guess what happened the very next day. Someone walks by (whom Carley thinks is the same guy all three of these days), reaches over the fence, and gives something to Furgle. Carley didn't think much of what it could have been at the time, but was pretty pissed about someone doing something like that. Now, when we have company over and Furgle is being too crazy, we put him downstairs in the office to chill out for a while. Usually he voices his opinion on how he would rather be with us by howling like a banshee in the basement being chased by a cop car, but on this night he sounded like he was going mental. Almost like he was throwing himself at the door.

     It wasn't until later on that night after company had gone home that we let Furgle out and Carley noticed his heart was pounding and he was pacing so badly that he just couldn't lay down for longer than a minute. At this point, Carley thought about it and asked what the symptoms of a dog eating chocolate are. I didn't know, so we looked it up and realized what the man gave him earlier Carley believes was about a cup of chocolate in total. I'm so flabbergasted that someone would do that I'm unable to process what even could go through the mind of someone to want to do that. The good news is that Furgle is fine now and he isn't having any issues of any sort. He just needed a little bit of time and rest to get back to normal.

At this point, all I can say is... what's wrong with people?

~ Kyle Welykholowa

Montreal Pitbulls

     So I've been hearing a lot about this lately and to be honest, it really makes me a little bit angry. I absolutely love dogs. I think they're one of the best creatures in the world and I would happily have my own pack of them if I could. Hearing about this sort of thing going on really saddens me that so many people in the world really don't understand the nature of dogs.

     I've heard it said that Pitbulls are so much more aggressive and dangerous than other dogs. I would have to agree that Pitbulls can be dangerous. They were bred for certain traits such as having large and powerful jaws. Yes, this makes them very dangerous if one were to attack you, but no, this does not make them more aggressive than other dogs. A dog is not born wanting to attack and kill humans. A dog is born being able to be trained to reinforce good behaviours and to not do unwanted bahaviours. What makes a dog dangerous and unstable so that it would attack a person is being in an unhealthy environment, whether that means being abused, or just having an owner who has absolutely no idea what they're doing.

     Speaking of having no idea what they're doing... there are so many people who think a pitbull is easily identifiable just by the shape of it's head or body. This is so incredibly untrue.

Can you tell which one of these fifteen dogs is the pitbull? I'm sure some of you can, but not everybody knows exactly what to look for. And there are some cases where a dog is in fact a pitbull, but won't look like what you'd expect. Visual identification is not recommended by the scholarly community, so why people decide they should do it anyways is beyond me.

     I'm really not sure where to go with this besides the fact that this topic really upsets me. People who don't understand how dogs work are making laws about them when the scientific facts staring them in the fact tell them they're wrong. Yet they make these terrible decisions anyways. It seems like there's a lot of questionable things going on in the world right now, and I almost feel like the majority of them are being done just because people want something to fight about.

     Anybody who's reading this, please PLEASE educate yourself on how dogs work and why labeling a dog based on how they look is a poor choice. It's basically equivalent to labeling a person based on their skin colour or how tall they are. I currently have some experience working at a kennel where I've personally seen some of our best behaved dogs are in fact pitbulls. The worst dogs we have? Usually unfixed males are most aggressive, especially when near other unfixed males. The next worst dogs are ones who are clearly not trained well; ones who don't know their own names. In fact, I've been bitten at work by one one dog so far... by an itty bitty little shih tzu.

     Have a wonderful day everybody.

~ Kyle

I'm mostly living a comfortable life.

     I have to say, I'm feeling awesome. I still need another job to make me feel more secure on the money front, but besides that, I'm doing quite well. I have a comfortable home and people who love and care about me, and I have time to do hobbies and things I want to do rather than only work at all points in time.

     I'm thinking that once I get another job I might start baking in my spare time for funzies. I do like baking believe it or not. More so when it's for other people as well. Besides that, I'm hoping to be able to find more time to sing a couple songs to post on YouTube, and I'm wanting to take more time to stream because I'm really enjoying meeting new people to talk to and entertaining them.

     More good days ahead! Keep being awesome everybody! ^_^

~ Kyle

Work Update

     I haven't posted anything for a while. I'm sorry for that. I've been so busy with work lately having 30+ hours per week. It's been really nice living on my own, working, and paying my own rent. I finally feel capable of living on my own. I'm finally independent. It's quite nice.

     Unfortunately... work decided it would be a good idea to merge the service desks into one location. On one hand, it's a nicer spot, and it's much easier having everybody in one spot where we can support each other and handle any issues and customers better. On the other hand... our hours have been cut.

     Now don't get me wrong. I understand that they're probably trying to save money by cutting hours and having everything be more efficient... I just don't really get why they would hire more people right before cutting hours. Especially the lady who drives an hour to work every day. It just seems a little bit odd to me.

     So it'll be back to job-searching for me. I'm not necessarily looking to quit my job at Sears. I mean... they gave me my first job here in Moose Jaw, and I really like working for them and the people I work with. But I suppose I should probably search for either another part-time job, or a replacement full-time job if possible. Here's hoping everything goes well. I see brightness in the future.

~ Kyle

So Much To Think About

     I have a lot coming up to think about in the future. I know what I want to do, but who's going to come with me? Will I have people following my blog, or my YouTube with every update throughout my journey? Will I have someone to hug and hold every night when I go to bed? Will I have a fuzzy critter to snuggle when I get home from work?

     There are many possibilities and even more that I cannot even hope to predict. I can only hope that somewhere along the way I can make someone's day. Brighten people's lives just a little bit every day. Even if it's only a couple people. I'm looking forward to seeing where things take me... now if only I could figure out how to make the day a few hours longs...

~ Kyle

It's A Whole New World Out There

     So I've posted my first couple videos on YouTube. First, a lovely video to introduce myself to the world. It's not much, but should say just a little bit about me.

     And for my first actual video, here is something I've been working on for quite a while now. I've never sung in public before, so this is pretty intense for me to do something like this and let the entire world see it. Hopefully it doesn't make anybody want to gouge their ears out.

     Someone special to me wanted me to sing this for them some time ago, but I wasn't ready to do so. This is dedicated to her. I'm hoping that now that I've started, I'll be more comfortable to continue doing things like this in the future. I'm going to make an effort to not only post on my blog, but also post videos on YouTube as well. I'm not expecting this to become a full-time job sort of thing. It's just a hobby. I like entertaining people, and now I have a way I can do that.

~ Kyle

Almost there!

     One more day of recording followed by a little bit of editing and I'm finished with my first secret project. It could be wildly embarrassing, or people might like it. As long as it provides some amount of entertainment for people, I'll be happy with it.

     Assuming nothing goes horribly wrong, everybody can expect a post tomorrow highlighting my project which will be found on YouTube where I will begin posting videos in my spare time. Possibly more like what will be done tomorrow. Possibly more of other completely different things.

     If you like my content, you are more than welcome to follow my blog, subscribe to my YouTube, follow me on Twitch, follow me on Twitter, you name it! You will also be more than welcome to send me suggestions for things you'd like to see me do. Obviously you'll have more of an idea in the future of my capabilities.

     As always, I hope you all have a lovely day and an excellent Easter Weekend! ^_^

~ Kyle Welykholowa

Feeling Alright, Searching For Work

     So I haven't posted anything for a few days. I'm here now; still hanging on. I don't have much to tell other than the fact that I'm still kicking and to be honest, I'm pretty proud of that. I've been spending a good portion of my time lately job-hunting. It's a pretty big deal that I find some sort of work pretty soon. Luckily I have enough money saved up to be able to pay for another month of rent, but hopefully I won't have to wait that long until I get a reasonable job somewhere. It would certainly be nice to actually save money.

     I've been looking at quite a few things and ideas of what to do with myself. I'm pretty sure I'm going to take some time to volunteer at the Moose Jaw Humane Society so that I can get my fix of fuzzy animals until I can finally get one of my own. I've also been looking at some school courses and may have finally found something that I would enjoy doing.

     Other than that, I'm trying to continue with my blog, maybe start up some kind of Fiverr thing... who knows, I might make a couple dollars out of something. And I'm trying to find time to get to streaming when I can.

     All in all I have to say, I'm feeling alright. I'm alive and breathing. I'm unfortunately missing curling tonight because I'm so worried about looking for a job at the moment. This hasn't been the best year for curling, but that's alright. Hopefully next Winter will be more stable than this past one was and I'll be able to keep up with curling. Not only that... perhaps I'll be able to find other people interested in curling for next year.

     Well anywhos, have a great day everybody! Please come support my Twitch stream if you get the chance! Every follow helps... or even a momentary view. ^_^

~ Kyle

Depression Sucks

     If you struggle with depression as I do, then you know how crappy it can be. If you know someone who struggles with depression, then you may have some understanding of what it's like. I'm not sure how I would describe it... perhaps like there's a blanket over me and I can't get it off. Everything feels difficult.

     Some days are alright, and others I can barely get out of bed. I know I've lost weight recently from not eating enough food - though I don't know how much. Sometimes it's triggered by certain events, other times I have absolutely no idea what causes it. That's the mystery of depression.

     So it's a difficult thing to understand. People who have no experience with depression may have trouble knowing what to do, or how to handle someone with such a problem. Supporting a depressed person isn't as difficult as it sounds though. I recently read an article that explained it in a really good way. If someone told you they had an energy-sucking flu that made it really difficult to get out of bed, you would probably be like "oh man, that energy-sucking flu really sucks." And that's basically what it's like. It's not something weird and out there. It's like catching an energy-sucking flu for a while.

     As someone who has to deal with this sort of thing, I can tell you the best thing you can do for someone in this position is to just remain calm, and be there for them. You don't have to find solutions for them. Searching for a solution to depression while depressed is kinda like going to the store for a fire extinguisher while your house is on fire. Not exactly the best time. Seriously, just be there for them. One of the worst parts of being depressed is feeling like you're in the way. Feeling like you don't want to bring everyone else down with you. Sometimes all they need is someone to talk to. Someone willing to ride out the storm with them.

     The days get better. Some days are worse, some days are better. But it does pass in time... just like an energy-sucking flu.

Banished - Game Review - 7/10

     This game, I have put so many hours into. Partly because I'm a perfectionist and I don't like to leave a game without 100% of the achievements finished, but also because this game is a nice city-builder.

     My first instinct is to call it "casual". I'm not actually sure if that's accurate or not. I mean, you aren't really playing against anything besides the elements, and basic human survival. The goal of the game is to make a settlement/village/town/city/whatever-you-want-to-call-it. You don't have to worry about being attacked by anything besides tornadoes and fires. It's just you and your people. As long as you make sure they have enough food and supplies, they're good to go.

     So in terms of a city-builder, this is a really fun game. Even though you don't have to play "against" anything, and don't have any specific goal besides making a city and keeping your people alive... this game captures enough attention to keep me playing it even when there's only one achievement left to get... that takes FOREVER I might add.

     The only thing about this game I can REALLY harp on is the fact that it slows down a ton as your population increases. I assume it's a problem with having to render/calculate every one of the sprites in the game. Figuring out what each and every one of them have to do, because they all have their own lives. I would imagine the more powerful your computer, the better the game would run at higher populations. Now, I have a pretty beefy machine... and my game starts to crap out around 200 population. I've searched for fixes for this kind of thing and unfortunately haven't really come across anything. I'm pretty sure it's just the way the game is made/encoded.

     Now, saying that. I do highly recommend this game. I have found it very interesting to learn how to take care of my people. If you're into tackling achievements, then that's what really makes this game worth it's money is the time you have to take to figure out how to get those elusive achievements.



     I'm going to give this game 7/10 for a city-builder. I haven't played many of them, but this one caught my eye. It could be better, but it's not bad at all.

~ Kyle