I hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July, or for my Canadian visitors, a wonderful Canada Day. One of my top favourite holidays, what other day do you get to enjoy the simple act of blowing stuff up?

On to me? Well, I’m working at simplifying my life again, clearing out the clutter, and getting back to basics. I’ve put some serious research into this, and I fear my amazon.com wish list has grown (and will continue to grow) at a rather insane rate. I’m not looking for a lot of things, I’m looking for a few nice things, but the wish list gives me a place to decide “hrm, do I want to go this route or that route?” A couple of things I’m focusing on:

1. Kitchen supplies – I’m really looking at going mostly cast iron. Getting rid of the insane excess I own, and paring down to a couple nice pots and pans. Multitaskers of the world unite. Alton Brown would be pleased.
2. Furniture – I’ve come to realize that most, if not all, of my furniture is very old and worn out. Replacing this is one of the biggest things on the list, but also the most complicated. Admittedly the area I could use the most help in figuring out a good set that would fit my retrofit. Ideas? Suggestions? Comment section or contact me! I’d love to hear what others are doing.
3. Clothing – Much like my furniture, I haven’t done a proper clothing shop in I honestly don’t know how long. So I’m getting rid of the old and worn (for the most part), and getting the new and comfortable.
4. Electronics – Yes, I’m a complete geek. I’ve now got a 40″ Sony TV, a new Panasonic Blu-Ray player, and a Miele Vacuum. That said, I’m not done… Technology was designed to make our lives easier and more enjoyable, and while the former part of that may be scientifically proven wrong, the latter half can indeed be true. What’s life if you’re not willing to have some fun right?

So I’m making things simple, I’m cleaning things up, and I’m getting back to basics. I like this idea, it’s refreshing, and while it’s a lot of work now, the result is entirely worth it to me. If you’ve wondered what I’ve been up to of late, this would be the answer. Well, that and working my 4 10s each week, as well as crowbaring some overtime in here and there to help. Oh, and playing some WoW, heroic Lich King dead, woot!

This is me, signing off for now, enjoy your day!

_{Credits to header image for this post to: Eustaquio Santimano}

Secondly my websites, peoii.com is still going to remain my official blog, but my other domains (most of which I’m certain not as many know about) are going to undergo some re-defining as to their purpose.

Peoii.com – My main blog, where content shall remain unfiltered. If I need to rant something off, this is where it’ll happen. More frequently, this I promise to myself. I need that outlet in order to resolve things, so here’s where it shall be.

Anpobal.com – I’m working towards a more healthy me, so I’m going to start publishing dishes I’m trying, recipes I’m creating, and a specific focus on the newer healthier me tips that might help others.

JamieHarrell.com – Yes, I actually own it, and now it’s just a quick portal for myself that I made. It’ll continue in that same light, but I want to completely modernize the appearance and jazz it up. Suggestions are completely welcome to this end!

Photos – I’m going to set up a photo blog for myself, I just need to narrow down which platform I want to use. There are quite a few options, and unlike services like Flickr, I really want that security to know that my photos remain mine. Plus, I pay for web space, why should I pay them too?

Facebook – My “a sides” as it were, not fully formed thoughts, just ramblings/etc. More private audience, and if you haven’t befriended me there, by all means send me an invite. It’s filtered, but only just.

Twitter – My twitter account is likely going to be subject to simply a placeholder whereby my activities on all my websites will be syndicated.

To that end, it’s quite a task, centralizing everything and making it flow properly from site to site. Likely you’ll see massive changes on all fronts, but in the end, it’s the goal I’m after anyway.

There are many more changes in the works, but these are the beginning stones to me. I’m anxious to see what this may provide, and how it may change me. It’s been needed for a while, and I’m writing it here as a commitment to myself to get it done. Here’s to the beginning.

1. I have a vision, I know exactly what I want to see from the site, and I know how to accomplish that. Ironically, a lot of things I want are part of the new default theme coming with WordPress 3.0. So I’m going to hold out for that, and modify the theme accordingly.
2. I won a digital camera… something I’ve wanted for a long while, and that’s going to allow me to get the vision I want for the website done properly.

I’m personally very anxious to play around with the camera, and I just got the UPS tracking information for it today. So yea… look for new stuff coming soon!

When I originally launched this site the upkeep was insane. Everything was hand written, but I loved the look and feel I had developed for the page layout. Problem was, my tastes change a lot when it comes to design, and I found myself spending more time on maintenance than actually posting content. Lately, I’ve been slacking on content because the presentation isn’t where I want it to be. So it’s time to fix that, it’s time to get back to my roots, while still being able to allow WordPress to do it’s job and handle all the backend code that I’d honestly rather not deal with on this project.

So hopefully you’ll be seeing a change again by Thursday, and if nothing else, I’ll post some screenshots of the work in progress. (Even though my visit count has gone down recently due to lack of updates, I still can’t launch an at least mostly complete theme)

Until then.

Why am I saying this? For the first time in my whole life, I know exactly what I want. I thought I had before, I thought I had found my way, but now? Right this instant as I’m typing this? I know without question, reserve, or mystery. What I am feeling right now is the most pure feeling I’ve ever had in my whole life, and I can’t describe how much I enjoy it.

I want to ride that rollercoaster, cherish in the high points, sail thru the low points, and experience every moment inbetween. More importantly? I know I want to share that journey. Most importantly? I know with who.

I woke up this morning with a smile on my face, after a day yesterday where I hit a low point. For those who know me, it tears me up inside to know I hurt someone… and yesterday? I did, and it killed me. A low point in the rollercoaster indeed. I couldn’t sleep for crap, it kept me up thinking, wondering, hoping for better… Then I finally crashed from exhaustion, woke up, and suddenly… I knew. I knew it was a new day, new hopes, new dreams, renewed faith, and I smiled.

Here is to a brighter tomorrow, cause we’ve got a long climb to the next peak.

That said, if you have a Wave account, feel free to add me:
j…@g…e.com

Also, as a Wave user, I’ve got 20 invites available. I’m reserving about 5 of those for special individuals, but the other 15 are up for grabs. Either shoot me a wave (lolol, email), IM me, contact me somehow, and let me know your email address you’d like the invite sent to. They’re not an immediate send, as Google quotes “Invitations will not be sent immediately. We have a lot of stamps to lick.” But you’ll get it fairly promptly if I’m not mistaken.

So yea, if you’d like one, contact me, and I’ll be posting my feedback on this wonderful tool soon hopefully.

That said, I’m hoping it doesn’t start freezing the ground soon, cause I’d like to actually get a couple things moved around before the big deep freeze. After years up here, it still surprises me how much longer it seems to take to get things done thru the winter months. And I was honestly not expecting this near this quickly, so time to beat feet.

Otherwise, I’m alright, calm quiet days have given me a chance for reflection, to continue the process that has been the slogan for this website for years now. To Rediscover myself, one post at a time. That in of itself is more a help than I could have potentially thought. I’m almost where I need to be, and that’s got me feeling pretty darn good.

Well, I’d write more, but I’ve got a couple other projects that need to get done, so I’m gonna get to them! More soonish!