Close but no cigar, yet.

So I had to drag all my work shit over to the new apartment. The unfinished apartment, I might add. But at least they have the bedroom done (sans floor) so I can work  in the morning. This should be fun.

This will be the first time in 5 years that I had to actually commute to work. I will have to actually put pants on and leave the house.

I believe by the end of the week I will be truly traumatized.

Walls going up!

Hi ho, Hi ho!

There was activity yesterday....actual activity! Supplies arrived, people showed up to work...

THERE WERE POWER TOOLS ON SITE!

THE SISTAH: I can't get on the internet.

ME: What does it say?

THE SISTAH: It says 'no'.

ME: Pretty sure it doesn't say 'no'.

Sorry....missed a couple days ;-)

Six of one?

So I am moving into the new apartment and the landlord, aka the Bride, says to me,"What are you doing Monday?"

Me, naturally suspicious,"Why?"

"Dad wants you to pick out the flooring and cabinets."

I can't decide whether that is a good or bad thing. Nice that he wants to let me pick what I like, but concerning that it isn't already underway.

So, since we have Sunday shopping here, I have pushed up the selection process to today.

Oh.....and welcome to DAY 3!

Don't piss on my leg and tell me its raining.

People, please stop telling me that a gun ban would not help anyone.

"Criminals will find a way to get guns..." Blah Blah Blah

Honestly? I am less worried about the so called criminals than I am about that fucked up 20 year old who, on the day he snaps, has easy access to guns obtained legally by his mother.

Here's a question. What the fuck does a kindergarten teacher need with a semi-automatic assault rifle? Suppose she could have used it for protection? Wait, what? That didn't work too well, now did it? She had 3 guns 'for protection' and was shot with one of them. By her son who, so far, is not reported to be one of these criminals you speak of.

Michael Moore said in an interview with Piers Morgan that more than 80% of gun murders on the planet happen in the United States. 

Maybe, just maybe, they need to rethink a constitutional amendment that was written before there was an organized military much less any kind of law enforcement. 

...another day (and my titles are screwed up)

This is how jumpy I am lately. Its 8am...on a Saturday...and I am awake. Maybe it is the mountain of reviews I have ahead of me? It will be a long day.

So, while I do that.....its DAY TWO.

Been a while.

Ya, so it has been a while since I last posted. It will pick up again. A lot has happened since I let this thing lapse. I have been almost 3 years not smoking. I have been living here with the sister out in butt-fuck-nowhere for about as long.

 Now the sister is getting married, moving in with her ìntended`and selling the trailor. So I was on the hunt for a new place. I am really not interested in buying (or I would consider buying the trailor). I don`t want all the hassle that owning property entails.

 So, as luck would have it, one of my friends is moving to another province and renting her house and the basement apartment that we once shared back in the good old days when we were 19. Back then, the place was an utter mess, dark and dingy, full of garbage and cobwebs, but once our eyes adjusted to the light?

We saw the bar! Back then it was straight out of a 70's porno. Mirrored wall, glass shelves, and I am pretty sure there was a lamp in the shape of a stoplight. It had no bathroom or kitchen. We looked at each other and smiled, 'Oh ya, we can live here!'

We spent a year partying and partying some more. Best year of my life. So, when my friend (The Bride, btw) said her father was going to renovate it into a one bedroom... I jumped at it. I am on vacation from the 21st to the 31st so moving my home office won't be an issue, it just all fell into place.

 Now I am starting to worry that the reno will not go as planned. The infloor heating is in but there is still no kitchen or bathroom. I am getting excited, however, to be on my own. I have never really been on my own since... well...since we lived in this apartment almost 30 years ago. There was a few months when the boy moved out before I moved here, but that is it.

And while living with the Sister, it was a bit strained so I really didn't feel comfortable blogging about our daily lives like I used to. The Sister is a bit more sensitive, and when you have to live with someone? ...you know how it is.

Any who...starting in the new year the blog will come alive again. I promise.

And to celebrate? I give you....The Twelve Days of Christmas.

Vacation update

Makes it all worth it.

Got a message the other day that makes me think I may not be just spinning my wheels with this vaping thing.

Eva - I have one word to say to you:

THANKS

I don’t think you realize how many lives you’ve saved and continue to save. As of tomorrow I’m 2 weeks as a Non-smoker. My sister’s kit will arrive tomorrow and she will try Vaping instead of smoking. God Eva, this is epic! I LOVE VAPING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If it weren’t for your videos and your “putting it out there” I wouldn’t know anything about vaping ( I’d NEVER have been able to quit. I knew I needed to quit but I wasn’t ready and I didn’t want to. I LOVE smoking. I love inhaling and blowing out and having a cigarette in my hand – I love the whole thing and because of you I didn’t have to give up anything but carcinogens and chemicals.

Eventually I will have watched every video you’ve made on you tube – I’m working on it. Loving the vaping in public thing I was at the Casino in Hfx on the 18th and vaped to my heart’s content – the others went outside to smoke

Anyway – keep it up Eva!!!!!!!!

Thankyouthankyouthankyou!!!!!!!!!

Priorities.

ME: "What's wrong?"

THE SISTER: "I think my credit card is over the limit and my phone bill payment bounced." Sitting with head in hands. "I am just gonna have to stop paying for the foster child."

ME:~~blink~~blink~~ "Out of all the things you spend money on, the starving child in Africa is who you are gonna let go? You are so going to hell."

THE SISTER: "It's 80 bucks!"

ME: "Oh well then..I think its probably time he started fending for himself. Or at the very least move to an area with a lower standard of living." ~~BLANK STARE~~

THE SISTER: "Ya...I am so going to hell."

ME: "Ya think?"

From Milton to Kojak

Milton...will be shaved on Monday.

Milton is a Yorkie-Po. We named him after my father ... well ... because he has black hair. He looks fine, but if you pick him up he feels like a sheep, he is so matted next to his skin. Poor thing.

He is a year old now and no, we have not had him fixed yet. We really need to do that soon, he needs to calm the fuck down and realize we mean business.

The sister hates him. He eats her shoes, he eats the wallpaper off the wall, he shits all over her lawn and if he gets near the garbage, he either pisses on it or tears it apart. (depending on the contents, apparently)

She has changed his name to Shutthefuckup. But he does not come when you call him.

Addiction vs. Hobby

I have accumulated a lot of stuff over this past two and a half years. Some of it was awesome, a lot of it was junk. The sister sometimes walks into my room and looks at my desk and shakes her head.



But tell me, who would have thought quitting smoking would be this much fun? Mind you, it can get out of control sometimes.



Smoking was an addiction, vaping is a hobby.

Pros and Cons

The scene on my desk used to be a pack of smokes and an ashtray.



So, I may have lost real estate in this non-smoker recession, but I have gained a lot more.

I can breathe, I can taste and smell things again. Granted, this is not always a good thing. For instance, I can smell if there is a dirty ashtray somewhere in the house. Also, were you aware that vegetables actually have their own taste? I kid you not....vegetables DO NOT taste like salt and butter.

I know, I was as shocked as you are and I am down 34 pounds.

What have I been up to?

Well, since I started vaping a couple of years ago, it has pretty much consumed my life. Much like blogging did and html coding did before that. I am not a well rounded human being, I am slightly OCD about things.

I started a vaping blog and pretty much neglected this one. I am starting to even out, but I thought I would reveal my obsession in its entirety now.



You know me...I am a gadget freak and since I got that first electronic cigarette, it has been all down hill from there. These are some straight up electronic cigarettes but some are what is known as a mod. Those are definitely the most interesting. My favourite by far is the Little Steamy a steampunk mod, pictured below.



This is by no means everything I have owned in the last two and a half years, it is just what I possess as of today. Some have been traded, some have been given away. When a device sits for too long and begins to collect dust, its days are numbered.

I guess you could call me a collector. I prefer Mod Whore. I am still looking for a 12 step program.

Please....no autographs!

Generally I avoid family functions like the plague. But, every once in a while I bite the bullet and show up.

One of my cousins got married out of town and they were having a little reception for the home towners to congratulate the couple.

It had been quite a while since I showed up at one of these things. Longer than I thought, apparently.

When we walked through the door the place erupted....people rushed to take our picture. It was like being accosted by paparazzi.

Fully expect this to be on the 11 o'clock news.

Did manage to get a shot of Irma and I vaping in public.

SO....To catch everyone up? NOT.

It has been so long since I blogged that when I decided to take it up again I thought I would take some time to catch everyone up.

That seemed like a daunting task and I kept putting it off. So, I decided to just jump in like I had been blogging all along.

Deal with it.

Facebook justice

Inside the News: Nova Scotia
Facebook justice
by Brian DuBreuil Posted: May 18, 2012 12:12 PM ET Last Updated: May 18, 2012 12:12


"There will be a lot of people on Facebook eating a big plate of crow today".

Those were the words of Eva Campbell, upon hear
ing that Christopher Falconer, a convicted murderer out on parole, had been charged with killing Amber Kirwan. Campbell, is Mason Campbell's mother, Amber's boyfriend.

Shortly after Amber disappeared while walking from a New Glasgow bar to meet Mason, social media sites were flooded with rumours and innuendo, many pointing the finger of blame at Campbell.

"They weren't just suggesting he was involved", says Campbell, "they came right out and said he was guilty."

It didn't help that Mason seemed to stumble through media interviews about his actions and whereabouts after Amber failed to show up for their meeting in the parking lot of Big Al's convenience store.

And we all know police questioned Campbell and given the sad fact female victims of crime so often die at the hands of a boyfriend or husband, police would have considered him a person of interest in the early stages of their investigation. But while police used facts and evidence to determine Campbell's innocence, that didn't stop those on social media from convicting him.

"You can imagine how bad it was", says Eva Campbell, "they just said whatever they thought, and pretty much twisted anything anybody said".

Campbell says at first they tried to ignore the comments. Then they tried to answer people's questions. But that didn't last long.

"It just seemed like if we said anything, we were lying; if we tried to defend him we were lying, and if we didn't say anything we were guilty."

Eva Campbell says some even called for vigilante justice. There were calls for Mason to be beaten and assaulted. People said they hoped Mason got what he deserved. In fact, Campbell says Mason was punched in the face one night while at a pub, for no apparent reason.

And the comments just kept coming. The night before Falconer was charged, while reports were circulating that two people had been arrested, some posted on Facebook that Mason Campbell was one of them.

Campbell says there were also messages of support and the family tried to tell themselves to simply ignore the rants of a few "morons". But in chatting with her, you could tell that didn't work; you could feel the hurt and lingering bitterness over the phone line.

I asked Campbell if she had a message for those who flock to social media to eagerly spread and consume the rumour and gossip that always surrounds cases like this.

"If you don't have confidence in your facts to say it to somebody's face", says Campbell, "then don't say it at all."

Murder parolee charged in teen Amber Kirwan's death

19-year-old killed last October after vanishing from New Glasgow street

CBC News

Posted: May 17, 2012 7:26 AM AT

Last Updated: May 17, 2012 12:36 PM AT

Murder charge in Kirwan case2:40

Amber Kirwan, 19, disappeared in October. Her remains were found a month later. (New Glasgow Police Service)

Convicted killer Christopher Alexander Falconer, who was on parole when Amber Kirwan disappeared seven months ago, has been charged with kidnapping and first-degree murder of the 19-year-old, say police in New Glasgow, N.S.

Kirwan vanished last October after a night out with friends. Falconer, 29, was granted parole a year ago after serving time in prison for the second-degree murder of the cab driver in 1998.

At a briefing this morning in New Glasgow, police said a woman was arrested Wednesday but released in the evening without charges. No other arrests are expected.

Remains found in wooded area

Falconer appeared in court briefly Thursday morning. He will remain in custody until his next court appearance on May 28.

Marjorie Kirwan, who lost her daughter months ago, said the charge against Falconer is a "bittersweet moment."

"At the end of the day, Amber's still gone," Kirwan said Wednesday night, adding that she always had faith in police. "It's just a matter of waiting and patience."

Kirwan, 19, left Dooly's pool hall in New Glasgow at about 1:30 a.m. on Oct. 9. Her friends said she was going to meet her boyfriend, Mason Campbell, at a convenience store nearby.

Campbell told police that she never showed up.

In a security video released by police, Kirwan is seen speaking with someone in a crowd of people. She then leaves the crowd and walks up the street alone.

Police and dozens of community members spent weeks searching the area for the young woman or any clue about her disappearance.

Parole revoked during probe

On Nov. 5, Kirwan's remains were found in a wooded area off Heathbell Road, about a half-hour drive from the pool hall.

Police ruled her death a homicide but didn't say how she was killed.

This message was left at a makeshift memorial in New Glasgow on Thursday. (Phonse Jessome/CBC)

The weeks stretched on with no word of an arrest.

During the investigation, police would not confirm that Falconer, from Heathbell, was a suspect. But his name did come up during the investigation.

According to National Parole Board documents, Falconer's parole was revoked last fall while police considered him to be a "subject of interest" in a serious ongoing investigation.

During the Kirwan investigation, police seized a car that neighbours said Falconer drove regularly.

They also searched a home and property rented by Falconer's stepsister, a few kilometres from where the body was found.

Falconer was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of second-degree murder in the 1998 death of a cab driver in Heathbell.