Great Discoveries

We may not realise it but we are all pioneers in our own lives. Everyday we make life-changing discoveries. These can come from the discovery that things have to actually go in the bin for them to be disposed or that money does not grow on trees. Sometimes these discoveries can change the course of our lives forever or, like in my case, they can be easily forgotten. The old adage "those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it" is entirely true in my case as I discover something, then I forget and discover it again the next day or week or month or year or decade or... well you get the idea. Today I made a number of these discoveries yet I know that in a few days I will forget all about it and then rediscover it later down the track.

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/axis-experience/3187217030/sizes/m/in/photostream/

Before we continue if anyone could please tell me what the above picture has to do with discovery. I have absolutely no idea so I thought I should include it unless anyone else worked it out. Anyway, so today was a big day of discoveries for me! It began in the morning with the discovery that ABC iView, basically catch-up television for ABC online, had a lot of new and old Doctor Who episodes which were being uploaded in the lead up to the 50th Anniversary in November of this year (so many great things going on with The Hunger Games Catching Fire coming out then too). It was a great discovery to see this as I scrolled through my Facebook news feed this morning (yeah, I am on Social Media a lot). I then walked the dog after watching The Waters of Mars with David Tennant as The Doctor. I decided we would go somewhere a little different today so I took Sandy (there he is again) past an estate that went near the Werribee River. By the time we got there though it was already thirty minutes into our walk as Sandy was being distracted by everything on the way but we did do some exploring and I found a nice little private pier that was fenced off (but pedestrian accessible through a gate) which would be nice with more water and the day was nice but we continued on after a brief exploration. We discovered some wonderful plains of grass right beside the river and just hidden from homes so it seemed like you were in the middle of nowhere. It really was paradise on such a beautiful day as today and so I am determined to go back there with Sandy (hopefully we will get there a bit quicker now I know the quickest route) and do some more exploring because he loved it and by them time we got back he was tired (for once). There were also a number of minor discoveries today I will not mention in an effort not to bore you more than you already are.

Discoveries are discoveries no matter who makes them and what they are about, they are all just as important. See you tomorrow!

Stubborn Sandy

So I realise that this blog is doing a lot of discussion around Sandy. In that respect you could say that Sandy is a "Daily Lukey Star". Getting past that horrible title and introduction lets move on to the new 'topic' for 'discussion' today. So Sandy definitely has his moments and the poor dog is quite the source of inspiration. I swear, each time I take him for a walk (so basically every day) I find at least three points of inspiration for my post. However, I tend to save these posts for a rainy day. For instance, the day I write this post is Saturday yet it is scheduled for release tomorrow (Sunday to those of you reading this). As it is Fathers Day in Australia today (Sunday 1st September for those of you reading this post days after it was posted) I did not want to worry about writing a post. Okay, enough of that crap. The truth is I started writing this post for Saturday but forgot that I had my political party series that night. Since I had already given it a break on Thursday I could not do it again so here we are right now. Then the truth is that I published it with the stupid schedule thing not working so it came out today instead of tomorrow. Now you know the truth so let's move on. Politics coming out tomorrow.

Source: http://www.123rf.com/photo_575089_boy-walking-dog.html

So today I discovered another point of inspiration from Sandy. Actually you could say I rediscovered it as he has done it many times before. The thing about Sandy is that at times he can be a bit lazy. Sometimes he gets two walks a day (these are both full hour walks mind you) when Mum and I take him at different times and within a few days he just does not want to go for another walk. Sandy is one of the only dogs that I know that does this. He is so stubborn too that you can not drag him along as he sits his bum down or stands tall and does not move. He also gives you a face full of concentration when you try to pull him. As soon as you  let go however his face becomes very happy as he thinks he has won. Usually he does this as we are about to leave our front step at home. However, today he decided he would make me look like an idiot when we were crossing the road. We get to the corner and he sits like we always do. I praised him and then I started to move across the road. I put the 'I' in bold on purpose. Sandy made me look like an idiot by not moving and just sitting there. I thought at first he was just been cautious as there was a car coming even though it was a long way away. However, after five minutes of me struggling to cross the road I discovered it was just Sandy being stubborn. At one point I was holding it with two hands and it was only when I used my whole body to try and move Sandy that he, begrudgingly, began moving. I thought that would be all but no, a few stops down he does it again. It was obvious he just wanted to go home though because if you went in any direction he recognised as the way home he would move again. It was really annoying and incredibly embarrassing. Sandy is one stubborn dog.

A walk a day keeps the dog at bay (unless they are full of energy), see you tomorrow!

It's Freezing!

So yeah, as you guys can see from the title it is freezing! By this I mean that it is very very cold and walking the dog made my hands go a little numb and Mum was dressed up like she was going to the snow. Seriously, I asked her as we were leaving (sarcastically of course) when it was going to start snowing. We almost turned back at one point because it got so freezing. Let's just say that Sandy was very lucky today when he got his walk. So from this experience, and to keep myself a little warmer while sitting in front of the fire typing this, I have come up with a few things that are good to do on freezing cold days, or at least things I like to do.

Source: http://1arcticfox.deviantart.com/art/FREEZING-COLD-TRAVELING-108491026

The first thing I am going to say is something I am doing right now. That is, obviously (if you read the above paragraph), sitting in front of the fireplace. It is just so nice to be able to sit with your back to it and just feel the heat hitting your body. It really makes you comfortable and sometimes it is just nice to turn around and watch the logs burn. Then there is probably what I will do later which is drink hot chocolate while wrapped in a blanket watching Under the Dome. Of course, what you actually watch or even do does not matter but the best part is just drinking something warm while relaxing in a blanket. Sometimes I am so grateful that I do not live in Canada or somewhere where it gets into the negative degrees. Another popular thing I find warming during these enduring Winter months is lying in bed curled up in blankets and reading a book. Of course you could do whatever you want while in bed (such as watching television or playing a game) but it is just nice to lie in bed and relax while also trying to keep warm. Again, I am so grateful that I do not live in countries where the Winters are freezing and the Summers are not much better. So those are a few of the things I enjoy doing when it is freezing. As always, if you have any you want to share just comment below, use the contact form to the right or email me directly at legolukeytutorials@gmail.com and I will reply.

Don't let the Winter months freeze your hopes, see you tomorrow.

Ouch

Well there are just so many things in our lives that make us go "ouch". Sometimes this is actual physical pain (or as some people call it "ouchie") and other times it is just mental. Some times all we want to do when we witness something is cringe. Is it just me or does this happen all too often? So today I am compiling a list of some of the things that make me go "ouch". To start things off I am going to say writing these introductions. They are so painful but also very necessary. Without them you would have no idea why I am listing such random things until right at the end if at all. Then there is the body that follows this introduction that can sometimes be just as bad when I look back because I was caught up in the 'emotion' of writing. Yeah, even I can not believe I just wrote that (#nojudge).

Image Source: http://afghanpenlog-en.blogspot.com.au/

Then there is the reason behind this post which happens to me nearly every Friday night during the school term. Of course, I am talking about the constant falling-on-your-backside Jujitsu. Especially now I am purple belt training for my black-white belt it is so much more as I am teaching some of the younger grades every now and again. So, as I write this, I am trying not to put pressure on my backside because it aches so much. Anyway, no gain without some pain. Then there is the things I see some people post on Facebook. It actually makes me cringe sometimes the problems that people have. I mean, if you have a problem about someone do not make an overarching status and leave everybody questioning in the comments and then say "Oh, I don't want to talk about it". I was talking about frustrations yesterday and I suppose that this one sort of goes over into both posts. Even watching Sandy can cause me some pain sometimes. Literally in the sense that he trips me over and figuratively in the way of watching what he does. Sometimes he even walks into letter boxes which is more embarrassing for me rather than hurting for Sandy. It hurts even more when he begins to park at the inanimate object that is a letter box. People really do stare at you and all Sandy can care about is getting back at the letter box that hit him. He also has a habit of barking at this house's Christmas decorations every year. It is something about the inflatable Santa on the see-saw that he just does not like. So, as you can see, there is so much that causes me pain and just really makes me go "ouch" in more ways than one.

Don't let the embarrassing times ruin your proudest ones, see you tomorrow!

Sandy Logic

I may have mentioned Sandy all too often on this blog. However, if you are new or have no idea what I am talking about, Sandy is my dog. Sandy is also the name my parents mess mine up with all too often. It happens way too often for it to be normal but moving on. Throughout Sandy's three and a half years of life I have noticed quite a number of strange things he does that can sometimes shock me as I am not expecting it. Sometimes it also makes me laugh while at other times it can just make me wonder. So in today's post I am going to fill you in on some of the quirky and strange things Sandy does all too often to be just a 'phase'.

Photo Credit: Luke M.

Like many dogs, Sandy loves attention. Unlike some dogs Sandy also has some form of Separation Anxiety as Mum took time off work when we first got him and he became very used to having people around. It was a really hard (and loud) task of getting Sandy to stay outside but in the end he got used to it and only comes inside at night. So Sandy thinks himself quite adept at staring through glass doors. It really is freaky to wake up in the morning to see a dog just standing there staring at you. It is even scarier when it is dark and the only light is that reflecting off of his dark eyes. It is quite a sight to behold. When Sandy does come inside, however, most of the time he is in Mum and Dad's room and the door is shut. If either Mum or Dad are outside (mostly Mum) Sandy will stand and just stare at the wooden door as if he can see through it. I do not mean staring from a distance. I mean him being right up close with his nose mere millimetres from the actual wood. I swear he thinks he can actually see through it. Then there are the times whenever you go outside. Sandy has a mentality that if you are outside you are out there for him. Some may call this a narcissistic personality disorder but I just call it "Sandy". So as you can see, Sandy is a very quirky and interesting dog and I am sure we all have stories of our pets. If you wish to share why not comment down below or via the contact form to the right. If you wish you could send it to legolukeytutorials@gmail.com and I will get back to you.

Sharing is caring, see you tomorrow.

RSPCA Million Paws Walk

Today was the RSPCA's (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) Million Paws Walk which is where dog owners come together to go for a walk (usually 3 kilometres so it isn't too much) with their dogs. Hence the name, Million Paws Walk. It is really a great experience and there are so many different breeds of dog. The following is Sandy's story (our dog) and his experience on the RSPCA's Million Paws Walk. All the photos, except the following logo, were taken by me.

Image Source: http://www.sidarousrealty.com.au/events/event/million-paws-walk/

The day started off with Sandy coming into my room really excited and waking me up. The reason he was excited wasn't because he was going to the Million Paws Walk (although that would have worked out really well if he was) because there was no way he could have known we were going there. He was really just excited because he got to come inside to wake us up. By the time we were ready to go he was already waiting at the front door and was getting more excited (and impatient) for every minute that passed.

Sandy still had no idea what was going on and still believed we were going on a walk. We were going on a walk but he didn't think it would also involve a car ride. Sandy is really a big fan of car rides and I think he really just loves the fact that he is in an enclosed space with people. The downside of this is that whenever we stopped he would get very excited thinking we were getting out to go on a walk. This was annoying when you were sitting next to him and it was only a stop light. By the time we got to the venue where we were doing the walk Sandy was getting really impatient. Then he saw all the other dogs and he got REALLY impatient. Seriously, it was very hard sitting next to him in the car.

Sandy was really excited when we got out of the car and we registered. We arrived at 9am and the walk didn't start until 10am and so we had a look around at the different stalls and purchased a new Million Paws Walk Coat for Sandy (we still have his old one but we use it for rainy days). It looked good on him and it warmed him up because it was still cold in the morning. For the next hour we waited and Sandy socialised with the other dogs. It was really good and Sandy was very excited.

Finally the walk started and Sandy was even more excited (somehow that was possible) and his head seemingly moved in every direction all at once. The start of the walk was actually sort of funny (in a disgusting way) because the start of the walk was where every dog that had to poo, did. This meant that the start of the walk stunk but Sandy didn't care, he was too excited to care. The worst part was when the dog owners let the dog go on the path and it was like mine bombs all over the place. It was disgusting but Sandy was really enjoying himself and it really was a nice day.

Sadly the walk had to come to an end and Sandy was severely disappointed but it was still fun to walk around some more and look at some more stalls. Sandy also got to do some more socialising and he was having a lot of fun. The finish line was sad for Sandy to see but it really was just a sign as Sandy is still enjoying himself now as he is sleeping off the walk. Sandy really enjoyed his day and the RSPCA really put together a great day and I cannot wait until next year.

May the odds be ever in your favour, see you tomorrow!

Daily Update

So today is just going to be a daily update. Whoa, contain your excitement please.

So today I started off with my Piano Lesson at 9:30 which would have been okay if my brother had not kept me up to past 3am the night before because he was on his phone and iPod doing what all boys do at night, watch anime. Plus he watched some House and he was just full of energy because he had had a Ribena drink he had bought from work (Woolworths). Just so you know, my brother always gets very energetic when he has one of those type of drinks, I think it is some preservative or something in it that increases his energy levels. It can be embarrassing at times.

Anyway, so back to Piano Lessons. I was a little worried at first because I hadn't practiced much over the holidays (by which I mean I practiced for 20 minutes before the lesson). So I got there and when I went in she was all like "Hey, how was your holidays?" and the rest. So then it came time to start practicing and she was like "Hey, I found a cool new song you might like to learn." I was secretly thinking "Yes, she won't know I didn't practice much!". It was even better when she started playing the song from YouTube as she was finding the music for it and it turned out to be Skyfall by Adele and I was so excited, not that I let it show. I love Adele's Skyfall and I really wanted to learn it and so I was really happy and so we practiced that the whole time and it was really a great lesson, I can't wait to learn more and to practice it.

When we got back I continued on with my homework while we waited for Dad to take Joshua (my middle brother) to work. When he got back we took Sandy for a walk into the main street which he loves because it is 45 minutes one way and he gets to see all the people around (I think he believes they are there for him) and he is a real chick magnet. Chicks of the senior ages who find him the cutest little dog around. While we were in town Mum spent some time looking for clothes for my cousins Confirmation (of which I am her sponsor, not money-wise but as a provider of Spiritual Guidance [she chose me]) and also got me a new pair of shoes because, as she put it, the soles 'were flapping about as if they were talking to you' [great metaphor Mum]. So that was fun and when we returned I spent some more time doing homework and then reading my friend Xavier's two blogs (Daily Xavier, Views on Current Affairs) and also went on Facebook to ask my friend some questions. Great resource Facebook, allowing us to communicate with each other for three over long distances via the internet. A great idea.

Then, as it is my eldest brother's birthday on the 15th April we went out with my Mum's family tonight to the Templestowe Hotel (in Templestowe) which is sort of a Buffet set up which is good and it was great fun to catch up with everyone (granted we had just seen them all on Thursday but anyway). So that was fun and Matthew (my eldest Brother) brought his Girlfriend with him and so on the way there we had a three-way (wait for the end of the sentence before making any presumptions) Mario Kart contest on our Nintendo DS consoles which passed the time. It was a close match with Matt's Girlfriend winning most of the time but towards the end I just kept beating her and eventually bet her entirely. I came first, so proud. Anyway  so now I am home writing this post before going to bed because unlike Xavier I don't stay up all night watching X-Files or Fringe. So that is all for today, probably one of the busier days these holidays. Last day of holidays tomorrow and then School on Monday which I am looking forward to (wait until the end of the sentence again) so I can catch up with friends and fix up any last-minute questions for stuff.

May the odds be ever in your favour, see you tomorrow!

Easter Holidays with the Relatives

So, as you know, I haven't been posting for a while and that is because I have been at Phillip Island for Easter with the relatives (on my Mum's side). This was far from boring with a fair load of things going on. Anyway, to start it off with, Happy Easter!

This holiday was made evermore fun with Sandy (our dog) coming along with Dad to stay overnight on the Saturday and come home with Dad on the Sunday. This was great and Sandy really loved his time, he provided a lot of entertainment as he kept walking into things (it's amazing how many times he can walk into the wall) because he kept getting distracted, this kept us entertained most of the time he was down.

So our holiday started on the Saturday when we arrived and the first thing to do was unpack and then get ready for church. Oh yeah, my family is Catholic. So yeah, when we arrived at Church it was raining but, as always, the church was hot and so we had to open the windows. This was a problem because during the mass we light tapers (candles for each person) and there was a wind coming in through the windows, guess who sat near the windows? Yeah, we did. So every so often our candles would blow out and we would have to relight them and quickly block them from the wind. Then, just as we let down our guard, the wind would build up again and we would lose the flames again. Another downside is that the only Priest down there is a bit of a cranky ass which can get annoying. He literally said: "Keep the windows open and if you get cold either suck it up or move" and I was just like "what's new?" Then, halfway through what seemed to be the longest mass ever (even for Phillip Island) the Priest announced there would also be a baptism. Needless to say, by the end of the 2 hour service we all had had enough and were ready to head home. From there we watched part of Home Alone (the first one) and then went to bed. Just so you know, even though Home Alone is one of the family favourites I hate the movie because of the kid (main character) which I just don't like which puts me off the whole movie. So yeah, that was Easter Saturday and it was time for bed before Easter Sunday arrived.

So then it was Easter Sunday! We started the morning with our Easter Egg exchange where lots of chocolates were given but Mum always gives us books as well which is really good as now I am reading Beautiful Creatures which is really good! I also got my Mum to read The Hunger Games and she is really enjoying it so score for me! Anyway, back to Easter Sunday. The thing with Sandy is that he is very spoiled and gets gifts for his Birthday, Christmas and Easter. Our pet before him was lucky to get one gift a year! So Sandy is a very spoiled dog and my eldest brother got Mum a sign for Mothers Day that we hung outside our front door which reads "A very spoiled dog lives here" which couldn't be more accurate! So Easter continued and we had an Easter Egg hunt (for my Younger Cousins) but we also collect all our eggs together and split it evenly so it's fair and they enjoy it. It was a great day overall and Sandy was tired by the time he left for home with Dad. We finished off the day by watching the original Annie movie which was actually very good (I hadn't seen it before).

Now we come to the day after Easter which was Monday (Yesterday). This was more of a quiet day with less things to do but we still had a lot of fun. We went for a walk along the beach and I played Halo with my cousins to keep them entertained. That night we decided to watch the whole of Home Alone (for we had only watched part of it on Saturday) which was actually funny because of my Italian grandfather (my Mum's father) who was making some pretty funny commentary. He didn't mean it to be funny but he always likes talking about something like a TV show or movie when it was on and so for Home Alone he kept saying things like "Oh, footprints in the snow" (fascinating I know), "how sweet" and "ouch, that might have hurt a lot". It was things like this which made me enjoy the movie evermore and left me going to bed smiling.

It now comes to today which was basically a day of tidying up before heading home. Nothing interesting really happened today besides going to the beach for a walk when the water was right up to the rocks which made for an interesting dash between the waves to try to avoid getting wet. It provided the walk with some entertainment and when we got back to the house we did some more cleaning and got ready to leave. We got home and I am now writing this post about my time and am watching The Biggest Loser (Australia of course) with Sandy and the Parents.

May the odds be ever in your favour, see you tomorrow!