End of an era.

Well folks, it's been over a month. So much has happened. I went to England to visit family with Jules, which was fantastic; I even managed to catch up with some old school friends, some of whom I hadn't seen in almost ten years! The final Telus sponsored Ski and Snowboard Festival came and went, and I had a blast. Thank you, Press Pass! Though I couldn't see the sheepdogs at either their outdoor show or at their late night extravaganza at Bill's due to work, there is no doubt that this was my finest yet. Check out my blog entries for the OFFICIAL! website, where I covered State of the Art's Opening Party and the Olympus Pro Photographer Showdown. Speaking of work, I have a new job. My previous restaurant shut down at the end of april, so now see me doing all kinds of food and drink stuff at La Bocca! Seriously. It's awesome. But not till next week; I'm in England. Again. Yeah. More news; less fun. My little sister Ali lost a long battle with cancer days after her 22nd birthday. The funeral will be this Thursday, and it sounds like it's going to be one hell of a turnout. I'm in the middle of writing a little something to say, but I don't think I'll be able to read it, especially not now that it may well be standing room only. Which, when you think about it, is fuckin' awesome. The impact of her merely existing and getting through this horrible chapter the best way she could, with dignity, left people awestruck. It's tough, but like I've been saying the whole time: if she'd been healthy her entire life, and been fatally struck by a car just after her 22nd birthday, we'd be totally unprepared. At least we've known that this could have been a possibility from the outset. BUT! the important part. My mom, in her ingenious way, has organised a minisite where you can donate to CLIC Sargent, a charity that helped Ali all the way through and did wonderful things for her. Go to her site and give what you can, and/or share it with people. At the time of posting, including offline funds, my mom has raised over 4000 GBP (I don't have the sign for the Pound). Only a couple of days remain to help, and it'd really mean a lot. OK. Enough sad stuff. Go to awesomepeoplehangingouttogether.tumblr.com/ and cheer yourself up.