Fuck you, 2016!

Hey, guys. Long time, no see. Lol. I thought I'd stop by and give you guys my yearly update. So, as you can tell from the title, 2016 officially fucking sucked. Of course, there are a few obvious reasons why, but yeah, I officially hate 2016. Lol.

So, pretty much throughout this whole year, I've just been working a lot. I've been working at the local movie theater (which may sound kinda lame, but being the movie buff I am, I love it) for a year now, and like I just said, I love it. Lol. It was a little rough when I first started there. Mainly because I had a GM (general manager) who was a fucking chauvinist pig and pretty much made all the girls (including me) in that place very uncomfortable. But he left over the summer, thank fucking God. Lol. But now, I actually enjoy going to work.

But yeah, seems like 2016 is also known as Celebrity Death Spree, Part II. The reason why I say Part II is because the last time that this many celebrities died was back in 2009. Lol. Lemmy from Motorhead (even though he died a few days after Christmas), David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Glenn Frey, Prince, George Martin, Frank Sinatra, Jr., Gene Wilder, Gordie Howe, etc. Holy crap. Too many people to even list. But the deaths that hit me the most were Bowie, Rickman, Frey, Prince, and Gene Wilder. May they all rest in peace.

Speaking of death...*sigh* Oh, man. I don't know how I'm gonna write this without crying. So, on November 20th, almost two weeks ago, my father passed away. Now, you guys heard me talk about him from time to time. I even told you when he got sick two years ago. Well, basically, in a nutshell, his alcoholism took him over. He was sober for a year, and he fell off the wagon, unfortunately. He ended up in the hospital again on Halloween. He was in the hospital for two weeks, and he just wasn't getting any better. The last time I saw him was 3 days before he died. I went to go visit him at the hospital and we were talking about what was gonna happen when they release him. So, my dad decided to go into hospice. At first, he decided to do palliative care, which is basically physical rehab, you have access to a counselor, help get over your addiction, etc. But he then decided on hospice. So, that Friday, he was released from the hospital, and he went to the rehab facility. He was only there for two days, and he died that Sunday morning.

I remember that morning. I was sleeping, it was around 6:30 in the morning. My mom comes into my room and wakes me up. Now, I'm not a morning person whatsoever, so I was like, "Why are you waking me up, what's going on?" She was on the phone, and she handed it to me, and it was the hospice nurse. He basically told me right then and there that my dad died. As soon as I got off the phone, I handed it to my mom, and I just started bawling into my pillow.

I'm hanging in there, as well as my family, but I'm still a fucking wreck. I've been having random moments where I would just start crying, because he's not here with me. Basically, my dad was my mentor, my savior, and my best friend. We've been inseparable pretty much ever since I was born. We did everything together. He knew how to make me laugh, make me feel better. We always had a blast together. We also went to a lot of concerts as a family. The last show that we went to was when we saw Rush, his favorite band, last year in Denver. I honestly don't know if I'll be able to go on without him. I know that he'll always be with me, but I wish he was here.

Sorry that this is a sappy post, but that's pretty much how this year went for me. The only good things that have happened was that I got my first tattoo back in January. It's a clef heart. It's basically an upside down treble clef and bass clef in the shape of a heart. It looks like this. I got it on my right wrist.



I also got my second tattoo back in August, about a week after my 20th birthday. I got the Avenged Sevenfold deathbat, no big surprise there. Lol. I got it on my left shoulder blade. It looks like this.



Luckily, my dad was able to see both of these tattoos. He loved both of them. My artist did such a badass job. Speaking of tattoos, I'm gonna get a tattoo in honor of my dad. I'm not gonna tell you what I'm getting. It's gonna be a surprise.

But in terms of shows I went to, I only went to a few. I saw AC/DC back in February, which was fucking awesome!! It was unbelievable. Words can't even describe how awesome that show was. I saw Megadeth later that month. They were awesome too. So, I've officially seen 3 out of the Big Four bands. The only band I still have yet to see is Metallica. I will see them one of these days. Lol. Then, I saw Iron Maiden again back in April. They came on my dad's birthday, actually. He and I were planning on going, but he wasn't feeling good that day, so my brother and I went. I kept trying to convince my dad to go, but he kept telling me to go with my brother. Lol. But Maiden kicked ass, as always. Lol.

Then, I saw Korn and Rob Zombie with one of my best friends. It was my third time seeing Korn, and my second time seeing Rob Zombie. In This Moment was supposed to play that night as well. I've never seen In This Moment before, but I've been a fan since middle school, and I've been dying to see them live. But right as the show was about to start, it started raining. It was only raining for 10-15 minutes. But they didn't let us back in the venue until about 45 minutes later. When we got in, they were setting up for Korn. They didn't even make an announcement that In This Moment wasn't gonna play. I was pretty honked off about it, actually. But the show was still awesome, I still had fun.

Then, about a week before my birthday, I saw Slipknot (again) for the fourth time. Lol. It was a birthday present from my brother. I was so happy. Lol. It was my first time seeing Marilyn Manson, though. He was awesome as well, but he was having a hard time breathing for a little bit. Gotta love the high altitude in Colorado. Lol.

Then, I saw Heart, Joan Jett, and Cheap Trick at Red Rocks. That was an interesting night. Lol. So, my brother and I got there while Cheap Trick was on. Unfortunately, we missed them. Right as security was checking our tickets, it started raining. It was pouring. Holy shit. Lol. It poured for a good 45 minutes. They almost cancelled the show. But the show went on. Joan Jett came on, but she had to cut the set short. She only played 6 songs, which were, of course, the big hits. She still kicked major ass, though. Then, Heart came on. They pretty much did their whole set, except they cut out a couple of songs. They came back with an encore and played Stairway to Heaven. I was so excited to see what Zeppelin songs they'd play. Lol. But the entire time Heart was on, it was really windy. And it was freezing cold. Lol. You wouldn't think that it would be cold at the end of August. Lol. Gotta love the mountains. But, despite the shitty weather, it was an awesome show. But I guess I got to experience what the weather was like when U2 played at Red Rocks back in the '80s.

Then, about a month later, in September, I saw Avenged Sevenfold again. Lol. It was my fifth time seeing them, and of course, they were amazing. I got my Deathbat tattoo three weeks before that. And before they came on, this guy that was sitting in the row behind me tapped me on my shoulder and complimented me on my tattoo. I said, "Thanks. I got it about three weeks ago, actually". Then, his friend said, "Holy shit, three weeks ago?" I laughed and said, "Yep, pretty recent". Lol. But like I said, Avenged was awesome. They even played a few songs that I've never seen them play before, even though I've seen them five times. Lol. They played To End The Rapture, Gunslinger, and Second Heartbeat. I was SO happy! Lol. Especially with Second Heartbeat. It's my absolute favorite song off of Waking the Fallen. So...yeah. Lol. Amazing night. I wish I could relive it.

So...2016 definitely had its ups and downs. Certainly when that person who looks like a fucking soggy cheeto won the election. Ugh! Don't get me started on that. Lol. So, anyways...I hope I'll make it through, in terms of somewhat getting over my dad's passing. Like I said, life is gonna be really fucking hard without him. And please, everyone. Do NOT turn to alcohol. EVER!! There's nothing special about that damn bottle. Don't use it as a sleeping aid, don't use it to numb the pain. Just--don't abuse it. EVER!! My dad was the sweetest, most caring person I've ever met. But, unfortunately, he let alcohol control his life. If he was here, he'd probably get annoyed with me talking about it. Lol. But take this as a lesson. Thousands of people die from alcohol every year. Do not become part of the stats. Please.

I may post another update here in the next few weeks. I'm not sure. But if I don't, I hope you guys have a very Merry Christmas, and a very Happy New Year.

Happy Holidays, guys.