Evil Shannanigans

Passion

2011-10-06T10:27:00.000-04:00

Why is it that everytime I say I am going to post more on this blog, I post less? And when I have so much going on, I don't blog about it, but when there is nothing happening in my life, it warrants a blog update?

I am getting a mother effing cold. I am trying to stave it off with hot tea, warm blankets, vitamins and Pepper snuggles. It could be a sign that there is too much on my plate but I just can't slow down right now. The non profit is well on its way to becoming official, my paranormal group is hopping this Hallowe'en season...in fact, we have a massive investigation on Saturday that will get it's own posting....I have to fly to Toronto for work next month for manager training, tomorrow is my 5 year wedding anniversary, and yes, I am freaking crazy enough to give NaNoWriMo a try again this year. What the hell, it's not like I have anything going on right?

One thing I am learning is that you can't escape your passion. You can neglect it for awhile, ignore it, think about something else...but it is always there. I guess that's why there is always room for my work with animals, and NaNoWriMo. I would feel as if i were turning my back on passion. That would be a regret, and I live my life without regrets. Who needs sleep anyway?!

Progress!

2011-09-08T05:10:00.001-04:00

My non-profit-in-the-works met again today and it felt so awesome even though we really didn't do a whole lot. We had a woman come in from a company that helps female business owners and entrepeneurs and helped us put together our mission statement, values and goals....and it took 3 hours! Part of that was my fault because you may or may not know but I am really anal about using the right words to describe something or convey a message. Although not here. Here I just swear a lot.

So good things...It is finally getting off the ground!

Fall is coming but we are being eased into it which is nice. The nights are getting chilly but the days are still HOT. Which I am more than OK with. I got zero sun this summer as usual but I tried the fake stuff and it looked alright. I didn't look like an oompa loompa or Jersey Shore reject (I refuse to watch that show but I have seen previews!) In fact, I still look pale, but a slightly darker shade. I also cut and died my hair....what is happening to the world?

Oh and sorry for the picture. It figures the best picture I have of my new hair features me with a penis in my mouth:

My friend came in town for a week and it was so much fun. We drove to the states to this ski hill where they have slides in the summer. Then we played Thunder Bay tourist!

I am recreating dumb and dumber here. This is why Steve never takes me anywhere nice.

And last but not least....my little niece:

Woah

2011-08-29T14:37:00.000-04:00

Where does the time fly? I know it has been a million years since I posted, but things are happening in this neck of the woods!

After years of trying to figure out what I want to do and how I want to change the world, I finally found it. Myself, along with a couple other like minded people, are starting up a non profit animal charity. Our goal will be to fundraise to support a low cost spay/neuter clinic, to raise awareness about issues surrounding animal welfare as well as educating the public, and assisting local animal rescues. I am so excited about this! I always wanted to do something like this but only until now did I realize that a dream this big needs a little help. I will give more details as they emerge, but right now we are just in the process of filing for our status and it takes quite a bit of work and time. Once we are up and running I will let you all know.

Aside from starting up the charity, I have been enjoying my beautiful hot summer. As it is winding down I am going to start reconnecting with all my online buds. When the cold weather hits, I am going to be stuck inside and on my computer so I will have lots of time to reconnect.

Emma!

2011-07-30T23:51:00.001-04:00

My little niece was born July 28 and weighed 6lbs, 10oz.

Only an hour old!

Me and the proud poppa

And before you ask, since I have been asked already, about a million times: NO. This does not make me want to have babies. At all. However, I do love my niece very much, and I am excited to be an aunt. She will be spoiled rotten! Her first gift from me is a professional photo shoot next week. So fun!

Not dead

2011-07-26T12:34:00.000-04:00

No I am still alive. Just busy. You know how summer gets. Remember when I did that fundraiser for Paul, and I said I would never do it again? I'm doing it again. My animal rights group is having a fundraiser which I suddenly was put in charge of, to start up a low cost spay/neuter clinic in town. Vet costs in town are so expensive that many seniors have to forgoe giving their pets proper medical care because they simply can't afford it. We are hoping to raise enough money to offset the costs. Which means fundraisers constantly. Why do I get myself into this, time after time?

Aside from that, I have so much work piling up around me and summer is just not the time to do it so, you guessed it...I am procrastinating! But fun procrastinating...I went tubing down the river the other day and then played a bit of soccer, went and saw Harry Potter twice and did a couple more ghost hunts.

I will try to post more frequently but you know me.

Relay for Life

2011-06-20T16:47:00.000-04:00

Busy busy busy. Too busy for a post, so enjoy some relay for life pictures! Hillbillies for Hope raised over $2000 for Cancer research, all staying in the Thunder Bay area.

Lighting Paul's luminary

In Memory of Paul

Hanging with the mayor dad!

our shanty town

Stay off the roads!

2011-06-13T14:53:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday. I have a driving lesson, my first of 8. I am scared as hell because I don't drive. I don't drive because I have been in so many accidents, and frankly, other driver's scare the hell out of me. My instructor is the kind that will stomp your foot down on the gas so I must show no weakness. The good thing is, he has his own brake so I don't have to worry much about mowing down kids and old lady's.

I am enjoying my two weeks off but I am so busy! I have a driving course on both weekends, lessons during the week, an animal rights meeting tomorrow, tattoo touch up tomorrow, Relay for life on Friday, a friend in from out of town, plus a house to clean...I need a vacation from my vacation.

Yesterday though, I found time to take Pepper for a walk and Steve and I saved a turtle. It had crawled from the lake and was stuck across a dirt road. It was super hot so we moved him/her back to the lake. It peed everywhere but Steve managed to avoid getting it on himself.

Pinched

2011-06-07T10:46:00.000-04:00

I didn't go golfing on the weekend because I pinched a nerve in my back and can hardly walk. What am I, 70 years old? I think I may have done it lifting things at the yard sale. Even though I am a superhero, I guess I just can't lift tables over my head anymore. This week has been nothing but laying on the couch with a heat pad. I took some pain meds and muscle relaxants at work yesterday which was mildly amusing. My suggestion to my future self is one or the other.
So how is everyone? I miss you all and hope you are having a nice summer. I have holidays in 2 more shifts! I am not going anywhere, but will not be doing nothing either. Stay tuned for adventures!

Burn Baby Burn

2011-06-04T16:19:00.001-04:00

I have a sunburn! Do you know what this means? It means I was outside...in the SUN! I know, it's crazy. We had a yard sale today to raise money for my favourite charity, Local Dog Rescue. I got up at the crack of dawn this morning. I also remembered that one should use sunscreen when one is outside, but unfortunately I remembered after I was already burned. Ah well, the things I do for animals.

I walked home and made an appointment for next month to get another tattoo...the only problem is I don't know what I want yet. Any ideas?

Tomorrow I am going to go golfing with Steve. I have only gone twice before and I was really drunk so we will have to see what it is like sober. I am thinking not as much fun. I might just rent a cart and drive Steve around all day. Again, must remember the sunscreen.

So enjoy your weekend everyone and cheer on the Bruins for me tonight!

Go Boston!

2011-05-27T23:04:00.002-04:00

Ghost Facers

2011-05-26T12:12:00.000-04:00

The team just wrapped up one paranormal investigation and we have another on Saturday and another in a few weeks. The one on Saturday sounds pretty awesome. It is on a property about 30 minutes outside of town, and there are several buildings on the lot that are over 100 years old. There are reports of footsteps, voices and one of the owners has even seen a man walking around the house!

In the last investigation we did, we got a ton of EVP's (electronic voice phenomenon) which I am still trying to transfer to video so I can post them. It is weird, because I am a skeptic but to hear voices on a recorder when you were in the room the whole time and heard nothing...it is disconcerting. Our little group also grew by 2 more members, we got a ton of new equipment and we now have three investigations lined up. Who knows, maybe we will be on Ghost Hunters Thunder Bay!

Other than that, I am busy saving animals, doing a fundraiser for a youth centre in town, participating in Relay for Life, working and sleeping. There are not enough hours in the day. I will get all caught up on your blogs this weekend.

I watched Oprah yesterday for her final show and she was talking about service and finding what you are passionate about. Mine is contributing something meaningful to society, and that is mostly to do with animals but also people who need a hand. I have a soft spot for the underdog, the people on the fringes. Maybe it is because when I was a kid, we were not well off and living paycheque to paycheque (yes that is how you spell cheque) and things could have turned out different had I not had opportunities. So now it is my turn to offer opportunities to others since I am in a position to do so.

I should have been born a billionaire so I could give it all away.

Rapture this

2011-05-21T00:26:00.000-04:00

In case you all get sucked up by the Rapture tomorrow, I would like to take this opportunity to say have a good trip and I will be looting all of your shit.

Apparently pets do not get to go to heaven. Another reason I am glad I'm not going with the 3% of the population who are better than the rest of us.

In honour of the rapture I am now going to slam a shot of vodka and bang my husband. Heaven!

Relay for Life

2011-05-17T22:09:00.001-04:00

I am once again participating in the Canadian Cancer Society's Relay for Life this year on behalf of Paul. It was a year in March since he passed away and his birthday this Sunday. Our team decided to go with the theme and Team name Hillbillies for Hope. We are all dressing up like rednecks and our "tent" is going to be a lean-to with hubcaps and lawn ornaments. My apologies to all real rednecks out there for blatent stereotyping.

You know how I feel about cancer. It sucks. Eff you cancer. This 12 hour event is more than just raising money to eliminate the big C off the planet, it is about honouring Paul and every other cancer survivor, or person who lost their battle.

If there is an event in your area I encourage you all to participate. It is quite an experience.

Moolah

2011-05-09T13:27:00.000-04:00

I need to win the lottery. Life is just too expensive. I am seriously thinking about opening up a sweatshop.

So until my taxes are paid, my couch paid off, my driving course paid for, my credit card paid off...I am renouncing the crappy little bit of social life I had and am going even further into seclusion. From here on out my entertainment is watching paint dry and playing beer pong with glasses of water. (Beer is too expensive)

OK my situation is not dire but I really want to get all my debt paid off so I can renovate my house. I think 1.5 years should get me there. It is really hard to save money though, when you are married to someone who is a material girl. Or boy. Steve loves his "stuff". And I have a hard time saying no, which is why we have two vehicles when I don't drive, and two flat screen TVs when I don't watch TV.

I am bad too though. I have about ten huge moving boxes full of books, most of which I haven't read yet. I am a book hoarder and still go to the used book store to buy more. Well maybe this self exile into the land of hermitville for the sake of monetary savings will allow me to spend more time on writing. But I won't bet on it.

Lungs

2011-05-06T00:18:00.000-04:00

Don't ever google your illness. Because now I think I have lung cancer and congenital heart failure. Or pneumonia.
Either way my lungs feel like someone put out a cigar on them. It's going around.

The weird thing is I don't feel particularly sick, just really sore. Which leads me to believe I must be dying.

But spring is here so I will make an effort to survive until autumn.

Vote

2011-05-01T20:43:00.001-04:00

Election tomorrow. Should turn out almost exactly the same as the last 3.

I haven't been here much because my little brother has been in town for 2 weeks and I have been on day shift. I don't know what it is about days, but I get nothing done in life. Plus I have some sort of virus where I sleep 12 hours a day.

The weather sucks too. It has been getting warm then cold then warm then cold. I just want tshirt and jeans weather.

So what is new with everyone else? Since my life is so uneventful, I will live vicariously through yours. Thanks dudes!

Well hello there

2011-04-19T04:31:00.000-04:00

I managed to get a pretty good seat at the rally for the current Prime Minister. See if you can spot me from the online newspaper photo:

PM

2011-04-18T04:40:00.004-04:00

I have been so busy doing nothing lately that I forgot to blog all about it.

Later today I am meeting the Prime Minister, no big deal. Well maybe. There is ANOTHER election in a few weeks so he is coming to the crap hole that is TBay. Since my brother works for the PM's office, he registered us to visit. You have to clear security checks and stuff. My whole family has been approved...except for me! So far I haven't heard...I wonder if it's the blog? The animal rights activism? The off colour jokes? Anyway, I hope I get in. It will be terribly unfair if Steve gets to go and I don't.

Other than that I just had two weeks off where I cleaned for my bro's visit, and laid around doing NOT A DAMN THING. It was fabulous. On the dream front, if you want crazy insane dreams, drink chocolate soy milk and eat an entire veggie tray with red pepper hummus. I'm telling you.

My animal stuff is doing good. I may apply for the board of directors of the humane society... not sure though. My preference is hands on stuff but perhaps I could make a difference behind the scenes? I will have to sleep on it, although with my dreams I don't think I will get a straight answer. Our group had a great meeting and we came up with some action plans to improve the welfare of animals in the city. I feel so good about this direction my life is taking. Seems like I am on the right road. So with that I will let you know if I get to meet the country's leader or if I vote for the other guy.

Ok one more

2011-04-08T22:22:00.000-04:00

I had a very strange dream in which I was a muffler..... THEN to top it off, I woke up exhausted!

LOL

2011-04-07T23:30:00.002-04:00

What did the suspenders say to the pants?

What's up Britches?!

Today I will...

2011-04-07T02:58:00.008-04:00

Today I Will... was a writing prompt I got in my inbox. I haven't written a friggin' thing since NaNoWriMo and even that was a bust. Again. The problem with writing is that when I sit and think about it, it becomes ominous...way too big of a task to take on at the moment so I will save it for later. But later never comes. So I took on this challenge and wrote a few paragraphs after pissing and moaning about it for a bit.

This isn't a writing blog, but I made a commitment to myself to express myself creatively and not let my inner perfectionist/critic get in the way so I am going to post it. This took me about 15 minutes to write and I edited spelling only. I don't even want to reread it. It is kind of amazing what spills out of your brain sometimes, isn't it? Where do these thoughts come from? Anyway, my story, below:

“Today I will kill myself,” he whispered under his breath as he stared out the subway window. The florescent tube lights overhead buzzed and flickered as the train moved closer to the final stop. Hearing it out loud did not frighten him and he took comfort in this. He looked to his left at the only other passenger on board to make sure they hadn't overheard.

It was a woman in a business suit, engrossed in a novel. She had kicked off her high heels and was sitting with her legs curled underneath her, as if she were in an armchair at home and not speeding underneath Toronto in a metal tube that smelled like urine and fast food.

He watched as she twirled a strand of long black hair around a well manicured finger. His heart lurched at the familiar gesture and he had to look away. Tears welled up in his eyes and he fought to keep them at bay. “No more crying,” he thought. “I will join you soon my love.”

This thought calmed him as he glanced at his watch. Three minutes until the train arrived at the next gate, where he would get off for the last time. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to go back to that day for the first time since it happened six months ago.

He had surprised her with tickets to her favourite Broadway show, The Phantom of the Opera. When she came home they were sitting on the chair she always flopped down onto first and she had squealed with delight, throwing herself into his arms.

“You better hurry up and get dressed my love, the show starts in two hours,” he said, grinning at her excitement.

He had watched her as she bounded up the stairs to change, overcome with love for this woman who filled his life with such energy and passion. A smile spread across his face as he listened to her humming “Think of Me” off key.

They never caught the person who pushed her in front of the subway car that night. Her face was frozen in his mind, her perfect mouth an O of surprise, her eyes wide with shock as she reached for him and then disappeared forever. It had taken four men to hold him back as the train crushed the body of the only woman he had ever loved, his reason for living. He had shoved every thought of her from his mind from that day on.

The robotic voice overhead announced that they were pulling into the station. The woman was slipping her feet back into her shoes and smoothing her skirt over her knees. She caught his eye and smiled at him, a friendly smile, nothing more. He turned away from her and took a deep breath.

“Soon babe.” He stood up as the doors slid open. He waited as the woman passed by him and exited the train. He was about to step out when he noticed she had left her book on the seat. He snatched it up and ran after her.

“Miss?” he called out. Startled, he looked around at the empty platform. The doors slid shut behind him with a thud and the train pulled out, leaving him in silence. He ran his hand though his hair, confused. There was no way she could have disappeared so quickly. He shook his head. It didn't matter. He was here, where it started and where he would end it.

He glanced absently at the book in his hand, then quickly dropped it.

“No,” he whispered. “No.”

The book had fallen face up, it's title in white text against a bold black background.

Think Of Me.

He sank to his knees as the final train, his train, arrived. Voices filled the air as people filed out, some glancing curiously at the man clutching a book and laughing.

On the run

2011-04-06T19:09:00.004-04:00

Owwwww!

I went for a 3 mile run the other day, now that the snow is melting, and I feel like I just gave birth to a baby elephant. 3 miles isn't a lot for me, but I took most of the winter off from running and I am so feeling it right now. Steve is laughing at me because I am shuffling around the house like an old lady with a load in her diaper.

Spring has got to be my least favourite season. I hate the cold of winter but I especially hate the muddy, dirty, stinky aspect of spring. Everything smells like poopy garbage outside. Maybe spring is nice in places where there is no copious amounts of snow, but here it is just grungy and gross.

Now autumn is the season I can get behind. Cool, pretty colours, Hallowe'en...Is there anywhere I can move where is is autumn all year round?

Mindbloom

2011-04-06T00:15:00.004-04:00

I am addicted! It's a game, sort of, where you pick areas of your life you need to work on. Then you set daily or weekly goals for yourself. It's nice to have reminders to do things that I really should be doing anyway. For example, I have to practice my art daily, keep in touch with my parents weekly, dance for 5 minutes a day to a song, concentrate on my breathing every day etc. etc. Since I started Mindbloom, I have started drawing again. I fairly suck at it but after 10 years I have picked it up again at least. Maybe after some more practice, I will post some drawings here...but I probably won't because I am a perfectionist and nothing is ever good enough. In other news, my Patrick is getting fatter every day!

Comfy Couch

2011-04-03T21:12:00.006-04:00

I bought myself a new couch today! I can't wait to get it because the loveseat and chair I currently have, have been destroyed by my animals and my husband.

This new one is a sectional with a chaise, so I can kick back and play on my computer while Steve plays XBox. Or vice versa. Now you can call me pathetic, but there was a smaller and way cheaper couch that Steve and I liked, but Pepper and the cats wouldn't have had room to sleep so we went with the huge expensive one. Same reason we bought the king sized bed. Our animals have us whipped.I love furniture shopping. Which is funny because I hate any other kind of shopping, but at least with furniture you don't have to try anything on.

I also went to the film festival today. They were playing Jane Eyre. I love the story, and this version was good. I'm glad I left Steve at home, he would have hated it. Anyone seen any good movies lately? I forgot how much fun it is to go see a movie in the theatre, as I usually just watch them at home. Tell me about the last movie you saw!

Busy Bee

2011-04-01T07:42:00.008-04:00

I have discovered the secret to happiness: Stay busy! Seriously, if you are so effing busy to do anything else, you won't have time to be miserable.

Things on the go:

1. Animal rights group to prep for. I am president of group so I have to bring the agenda and get everything started. I'm glad everyone else acts like I know what I'm doing! This on top of being an admin on two online AR groups.

2. Relay for Life team captain. I have to again, set up meetings and organize our fundraisers. I have until June so this is where my procrastination kicks in

3. Clean my house. My brother is coming here in 2 weeks and my house is a disaster. I'm sure I will leave the cleaning until the last day. BUT on the plus side, my reward is new furniture! I am buying Steve and I recliners for the living room.

4. Half marathon training. I am still hoping to do this, and now that the snow is melting I can run on the sidewalks

5. Everything else life throws my way. I still need to make time for my parents, my husband, my friends, my job, my sleep, my hobbies....

All of this and you know what? I love it! I used to think that the busier I got the more stressed I would get, which may be true but I found the key. Do what you love! All the things I am doing, I am passionate about. I'm sure my attitude would be a lot shittier if my list included having to clip old people toenails and eat baked beans.

2011-03-29T03:32:00.002-04:00

As I said in my last post, I have truly found my path in life and it is to be an advocate for animals. If you are on my facebook, you have probably noticed I have been following the Patrick saga very closely. Patrick was one of the most abused dogs I have ever seen in my life. He has affected me so much that I have been able to think about little else the last week. As such I have created a local group dedicated to issues facing animals in our area. So far there are about 15 of us and we are having our meeting next week! I am so excited to be doing something that will make a positive and measurable difference. On Sunday Pepper, Steve and I participated in the Million Mutt March, a 5km walk to put an end to Breed Specific Legislation or BSL. It is the pit bull ban here in Ontario. Pepper was out like a light afterwards :) In other news, there is an upcoming federal election AGAIN. This will be the fourth election in seven years! The good news is, because my little brother works for the current government, he is now sort of on vacation or something so he is coming to visit for a couple weeks. The bad news is he is staying with me and I have to clean my house. Sorry I haven't kept up with you all, I have been so busy but I am going to catch up this weekend, I promise! Peace out dudes!

Animal Cruelty

2011-03-21T11:33:00.005-04:00

I have been so busy the last few days trying to save some animals. There is a local farm on the outskirts of town that is under investigation for animal cruelty. Myself and a group of like minded individuals have banded together to try to get them out of there. The worst part is the disturbing pictures and video that were released by an anonymous tipster, and there are people feeling sorry for the farmer! Unbelieveable. We formed a facebook group to bring awareness to this issue, and another group springs up calling us unfair. Why can't people see this is not about the farmer, or personal opinion, or us just being mean? It is about an obvious case of extreme neglect and abuse! I am so mad right now, and this is just making me more and more convinced that this is the path I need to take in this life, even though it totally wears me down. Trying to convince ignorant people who choose to remain ignorant is futile I know, but I will never stop trying! On top of all this I was anonymously given a map to yet another horse farm with neglect and abuse going on. It has been forwarded to the right people so we shall see what happens, and I will keep you updated.

Anyway, I posted some of the pictures just to prove I am not one of those crazy AR nuts...

Split hooves

The hoof is split all the way up Look at the horse's neck... This cow is around heavy machinery just laying around the yard, and has lost part of her ears due to exposure to the elements

A pregnant mare...her hip and shoulder blades protrude from her back. The only reason her stomach is big is because she is pregnant!

Emma Isabel

2011-03-16T13:34:00.003-04:00

I'm going to be an aunt in about 4.5 months. To a girl named Emma. Weird. Most of you know my attitude about parenting and kids. They freak me out. And this one is related to me. Not too sure how I am going to handle it, but I guess I will just have to corrupt this young child's mind from the get go. If I have my way, the kid will be an atheist feminist vegan like me...but will most likely be a meat eating jehova witness or something. All kidding aside, I am kind of looking forward to being an aunt. While my uterus will stay empty in this lifetime (hopefully), I like the idea of being the cool aunt who crams their faces full of junky sugar coated food, then sits back smiling after I send them home to their parents. As an aunt I never have to deal with the poop and pee and boogers and temper tantrums and college tuition. I get to be the one they run away from home to. I get to be Aunt Jackie from Roseanne. I bet you I'm the one that has to buy them their first case of beer. Don't worry, I won't do that unless they share. So yeah, I feel old now. Where does the time go?

March 13

2011-03-13T21:11:00.003-04:00

Today marked one year since Paul's passing. Can you believe it? One year. It seems like just yesterday we were fighting for his life. Time passes so quickly. I had a star named for him to give to his family. I know it's not official, but it's the symbolism that counts and his family loved it. Now they can look up and know he's shining down on them. I also signed up for the Relay for Life again this year. Fitting that I did it today I think. Our theme is hillbillies. I can't wait to go to the thrift stores and find some overalls. I used to love overalls when I was a kid, and now this is an excuse to wear them without looking like...well, a hillbilly I guess. So at the end of your day today, lift your middle finger and say, "Fuck off Cancer." Do it for Paul, I know he would like it.

Zed's

2011-03-06T12:38:00.002-05:00

I finally slept. I thought I was going to have to drug myself but I actually caught more than 6 hours last night. Here in Canada we call it catching zeds. I have issues. You already knew that though. But right now my head is so full I am ready to explode. All the issues and current events and activisim and protesting is weighing heavily on me right now. It all seems to be so big, like I am a little ant trying to move a boulder. When in reality I want to be dropping the huge fucking boulder on several people. Anger is good though. It fuels the fire of passion, which drives action. The only problem is that same fire burns people out. I am so tired of fighting but I know I will never be able to stop. What does one do in such a situation? Posting random cute videos might help:

Insomnimaniac

2011-03-03T14:34:00.002-05:00

I can't sleep! It's been four days and I have been sleeping for about 4-5 hours a night. To put it in perspective, I usually average 10 hours a night. Maybe this is a good thing. I read a study once that the most successful people average less than 6 hours. Myself, I usually turn into a drooling mess with a vacant stare but hey, it was a scientific study. Other than the lack of sleepio, I feel pretty good. This vegan thing is really working out for me. Except all I do is poop, but I heard that's really good for you too. I READ IT IN A STUDY! Spring is just around the corner here in the great white north and I can't wait! I want to start running outside again. The only thing that winter is good for is the snow that covers up all the dog poo in my yard. When it melts though, my neighbours will not be impressed. And yes, I am well aware this is the second time in two paragraphs I have referenced poop. I did a follow up paranormal investigation to the first one I told you about and woaaahhh. It was crazy! There were four of us investigating and all kinds of shit went down. I haven't reviewed the evidence but according to one of the group that did, we may have gotten an apparition on film! So once we look at it I will post the video here. I am an official investigator now, and we have a few more cases lined up. I am still on the fence about ghosts and paranormal activity but it is so surprising how people react when I talk about it. Most people kind of smirk but then begin telling me all about their own personal experiences. I guess it is becoming less taboo, and you won't get burned as a witch for talking about it anymore. Other than that I have 6 days off after today's shift and will use it to get all caught up with your blogs. Peace out.

Boom!

2011-02-18T20:53:00.002-05:00

Yeah! Steve got a job already! First one he applied for...he will be building trains, subways and streetcars of all jobs. It was the first job he applied for and they hired him on the spot. I am so proud. I firmly believe he got the job because of my loving words of encouragement. Before he left for his interview I told him not to get his hopes up because he would no doubt bomb his interview. He loves proving me wrong. So now I don't have to take a second job as a day shift stripper. Life is good.

Merry February

2011-02-15T20:01:00.001-05:00

Time to take it down yet, or should I just leave it up until next year?

When it rains...

2011-02-15T09:52:00.002-05:00

Okie. Sorry I have been absent for awhile but things are dumb right now. Steve lost his job. Yeah it sucks. Nothing we can't handle but I just hate that everytime I feel like I am getting ahead, I get a kick in the ass that sends me back. So shit's on the table and who knows what is going to happen now. As my friend always says though, this time next year I will have a whole new set of problems. For those I still owe postcards to...they haven't been mailed yet. Sorry, I will send them, I just had so much other stuff I was worried about and I got sidetracked. They will be out soon, and anyone else who might want one just send me your email. The ghost hunt I did was in a word...AWESOME. Well that is kind of a lie because at the time it was kind of boring and nothing really happened. UNTIL...we reviewed the evidence. We got a ton of EVP's and they were crazy! We got two names spoken into our digital recording devices, Marco and Antonio, so we are going to research the house and look for names that fit. It was a little spooky to hear that on the audio especially when I didn't hear it at the time. I don't have the files on my computer but as soon as I get a disc copied I will post some of it here. We have a few more investigations lined up thanks to word of mouth so you might just see me one day on Ghost Hunters: Canada. My veganism is going great. I am cooking about 3 times a week now, which is 3 times more than I was before. I am slowly getting the hang of it, and when it turns out and I don't burn the place down, it is actually kind of enjoyable. But Steve has to do the dishes, that's only fair. Oh yeah, and I am now a sassy redhead. After almost 10 years as an exclusive brunette, I decided to try being a ginger. I like it! My brother has my camera so when I get it back I will post a pic. That's the update of my life. Hopefully now that crap has settled somewhat I can get back in the blogging swing of things.

Procrastination Station

2011-02-03T16:10:00.001-05:00

This is all I got today. There will be a post in a bit, I just have a lot going on right now. Boy do I. One step forward, two steps back.

Special

2011-01-22T18:26:00.005-05:00

Holy Bajeesus it is freaking cold. Today it got to almost -50 celcius with the windchill. FFS.

They are having the provincial special olympics here, and had to cancel most of the skiing events because of the arctic temps.

I went to see the figure skating today which was fun, but three hours in an arena with no heaters sucked big time balls. My fingers are still numb as I type this. What a cool thing to see though. The kids were great and the teamwork was so nice to see. Everyone was happy for everyone else.

I am going on a ghost hunt today, with my brother and his ghost hunting group Thunder Bay Paranormal. I have never been so I get to be a guest investigator. Some of the claims is the kid in the home sees and talks to a man who no one else can see, and doors are opening and closing by themselves. Should be fun, and I may post later to tell you about it.

Lastly, a friend of mine rescued a dog from city hall last weekend, and named it Hobbsey, after my dad. Hopefully we can find him a good home. He was found with his legs taped together and all the fur gone on one side to to mites and lice.

I hate people so much. Just this weekend a guy was spotted throwing two rottweiler pups out of his vehicle window. Unfortunately they could not be saved. It seems everytime I turn around I keep hearing more and more about the horrors people do to animals. We do not deserve them.

300

2011-01-11T19:56:00.004-05:00

FOR SPARTA! Just kidding, I haven't even seen that movie. Remember all the way back to my last post, when I said I was going to do something fun? Well, I have a shitload of postcards leftover from my postcrossing days, and everyone who posts here will get one...or more. Simply post a comment then email me your address (spaceninja2000@gmail.com) and I will send you one or more personalized postcards. It may be blank, it may be a quote, it may be a joke...depends on you and how I feel about you. FUN I TELL YOU! HoooAHH!

Duh duh dunnnnn

2011-01-10T11:30:00.003-05:00

Me, tomorrow.

I have to work day shifts tomorrow. I switched my schedule to one that rotates, so I will be working all shifts this year. To quote Johnny Cash, I ain't seen the sunshine since, I don't know when. I started to acclimate today, getting up at 8:50 am. It is now 11:33 and I am fading fast. I am so screwed tomorrow. They say that your body is naturally supposed to be on a day shift but I disagree. No matter how long I am on days, my body always tries to be on a night schedule. I feel so much better and wide awake at 3am then I do at 3 pm. Must be that vampire gene. I am trying to be productive today but it is so much easier to sit on my ass watching the CSI marathon. Daytime TV sucks. In other news, my next post is 300. I have posted on this blog 300 times! I have to thank my pal Zhen in particular as she was the one who got me into blogging, a great venue to spew all my unimportant personal crap. See current post for example. I think I have a fun thing planned for the next post. Stay tuned.

:(

2011-01-07T19:17:00.003-05:00

Steve's grandpa passed away this week. It is very sad but he had Alzheimer's and was gone a long time ago. The saddest part is watching his family suffer. What was neat though was learning about his life when he was younger. I absolutely love hearing stories from older people. Steve's grandpa was a high alpine ski instructor in Austria when he was young, and was into extreme sports before anyone called them that. His life was extremely full and well lived. It just reinforces that everyone has a story to tell, and one life can mean so much. I have talked too much about death this year, so I don't have much else to say except enjoy the time you have now, enjoy your loved ones and take care.

Day One

2011-01-04T01:43:00.005-05:00

Today is the first full day of me going vegan. I am doing it semi gradually, because I have a lot of Christmas chocolate to eat so I can't cut that out yet. But I have cut out eggs and all other dairy. Holy shit I'm hungry. I think it has less to do with me going vegan and more to do with all this healthy crap I am eating. My body is rejecting it and going into junk food withdrawl. This too shall pass. I am also buying more organic food which means my grocery bill has doubled, also because I still have to buy junk food for Steve. He is tolerating my new diet because I keep him supplied with pogos and pizza pops. I get asked all the time how I am married to a carniverous caveman while being a vegan animal rights crusader, and the only answer I've got is love makes you do crazy shit. Plus we fell in love back when I was a meat eater so I couldn't very well dump him for not joining me, could I? That would be terribly self righteous of me. In other news....this is now my favourite picture.

Cat in the Snow Hosted by Imbecile Entertainment

I want a square cat! This cat is seriously the most awesome thing I have seen all year. Gimmie!

...

2010-12-31T06:12:00.005-05:00

2010 sucked. But it was also ok. But now it sucks some more. Steve's grandpa is about to pass away any day now. No other words to describe it, it just totally blows.

It was a crazy year. Paul passed away. That was so ridiculously awful that it dominated most of the year and then some. Time has healed some of that wound but sometimes I still can't believe it happened at all.

I turned 30 in Vegas. I loved every minute of it and was pleasantly surprised at how much fun I am having so far. I feel freer and lighter and like good things are on the horizon. I mean they HAVE to be.

My dad became mayor. That was a crazy ride and it is still funny to me. I try to stay out of politics but it becomes a lot harder to do so now that everyone wants you to tell the mayor something important. And their shit is ALWAYS important.

I did my part to fight cancer. We did the relay for life and I also ran the Terry Fox and raised almost $1000 in Paul's name. Eff you Cancer.

I went to BC to visit my grandma, for what may be the last time. It was sad but I also got to connect with my cousin who I haven't seen since I was 5, and we got along great.

Finally, I am going to be an aunt. My brother and sister in law are having a baby next year, the first in the family. This should be good because now people can stop asking me when I plan on pushing something out my junk.

Here is to a better year, filled with fun and happiness and joy for you and your families. And in the words of Evil Shannanigans...Here's hoping it doesn't suck!

Passion

2010-12-19T06:23:00.004-05:00

Do you ever get so passionate about something that it begins to consume you? If someone speaks out against your passion, it hurts and enrages you? I have been thinking about this and I can't decide if it is a good thing to let passion rule you or to try and temper it. I mean, if you don't follow your passion, do you not just stagnate? On the other hand, if you follow your passion to any lengths it may take you, that may lead to overindulgence. I guess you need to walk a fine line. Most of you know that I am passionate about animals and animal rights. 5 years ago I began the journey to become a vegetarian. I made the decision because I could not in good conscience call myself a animal rights activist while at the same time consuming them. So I made the choice and it was much easier than I thought it would be, and I will never go back. Now I find myself in the same place I was 5 years ago. Vegetarianism is no longer enough for me. I turned my face away from the horrors of the egg and dairy industry just as many meat eaters I know turn away from the horrors of factory farming: I like cheese and chocolate just like they like bacon and steak. It is no longer possible for me to pretend that being a vegetarian is enough, and that I am doing all that I can to help end the suffering of animals. I know I can do more, and worse, I know that deep down I haven't made this step because of the sacrifices involved, which in the scheme of things are pretty crappy excuses for sacrifices. I need to follow my passion, but I need to do it honestly, and that means not lying to myself, and not pretending I can't do it. So in the new year I will be making the transition to vegan. I am scared, much more than being a vegetarian. Mostly because I need to learn to cook, which at the moment is a huge undertaking. I burn water. I need to educate myself even more on the nutrition side of things to make sure I remain balanced. Finally, I need to learn patience to handle the people who will not understand the choice I have made and why I have to make it. As it is I get teased for being a vegetarian (a concept I have never understood) and can only imagine that it will get worse. I wonder how my family will react, when they already accommodate my dietary differences so much? I will have to be that person who brings their own food to dinner parties. The wonderful/scary part is where will this take me in 5 years?

FSMas Pets

2010-12-14T16:33:00.003-05:00

That time of year

2010-12-13T16:10:00.003-05:00

As you know I have a love hate relationship with Xmas. I hate the commercialism, the greed, the ploy to get us all to spend more money than we have on crap we don't need. But I do love the family get togethers, the food (especially the food), and the general good feeling that people have towards one another. I broke down and bought a tree. It's a little 4 footer, pre lit and hassle free, but this year I really wanted one. I haven't had one in 8 years because my cats would climb it and knock it over daily, so we just said forget it. So far the new tree is standing, and there have been no attempted scaling of the branches. We adopted a family at work, which went amazing, and we got so much stuff for them. As I was shopping for this family I realized I was having way more fun than shopping for my own family. Maybe because they need it so much more. I have felt a little overwhelmed since my return from Vegas. I think everything just snuck up on me. Hopefully in the new year shit will calm down and I can catch up on everyone's blogs and I can actually have a meaningful post once in awhile. Finally, Pepper's picture with Santa turned out awesome. I will post it as soon as I scan it.

Back.

2010-12-07T22:43:00.010-05:00

Ok well I have actually been back for over a week, but I needed some recovery time. I got sick the day after I got back and am still nursing a cough. Vegas was amazing. To sum it up, I went zip lining, got tattooed, saw Zumanity, Phantom of the Opera, and Tournament of Kings, got upgraded to a suite, got 2 free limo rides, found and bought adult footie pajamas(!!!), saw a guy dressed up like superman peeing in a bush, went to pawn stars, celebrated my 30th birthday at the Vegas sign, went to a piano bar, ate at Dick's restaurant and got teabagged by my gay waiter, swam in an empty hot tub etc. etc. It was such an amazing birthday and I am so glad I spent it somewhere fun. I will always remember turning 30 as one of the best times in my life, and I truly believe that you need to enjoy life to the fullest and act like a kid much of the time. It keeps you from getting old. I have been super busy lately because my dad was inaugurated last night and is officially the mayor. So cool, and I will be milking that and using it to my advantage! Haha joking...disclaimer. I also went to see Sylvia Browne tonight. I have read her books and I find a lot of what she has to say interesting and thought provoking. I have been going through a hard time lately, where I have gone from being a hopeful agnostic to an angry atheist who doesn't believe or care about much. A lot of it has to do with Paul and the unfairness of it, but a lot has to do with just feeling lost and alone, in the sense that I have been feeling this is all there is. But this is for another day. She said it would last until January, then I would get to where I need to be. So keep an eye on January. I was underwhelmed though, but that might just be my lack of faith in anything right now. I guess we will wait and see. So without further ado, here are a few photo highlights from my trip.

Room service Our romantic fire

Snow balls

Preventing the teabag

I want to be BIG!

Riding in the limo with my one dollar bill.

Not her real bum

My delicious chocolate mint cupcake

On top of the Palms, in the Ghost Bar

Footie PJ's!

Ahimsa: Do No Harm

At Huntington Ink at the Palms.

Team Russia!

At The Phantom of the Opera at the Venetian

Does whatever a spider can

Just add water

30 is going to be awesome

Im like Mario

Love, love me do!

Arrrrrr!

I am afraid of heights so this was fun but I wont do it again

VEGAS!

2010-11-16T16:57:00.002-05:00

Vegas in 6 days. That is all.

2010-11-13T07:53:00.003-05:00

First things first, I need to plug my other blog. Go check out Miruspeg's guest post called The Beauty of Aging. DO IT! Next, I am kicking ass and taking names with this book of mine. I LOVE IT! Seriously, it is the first Nanowrimo I have done where I am extremely happy with the way things are going. And I would maybe probably even read this book if someone else wrote it. That doesn't mean I'm not procrastinating. Of course I am! In fact, I am writing this blog post instead of hammering out the 600 words I need before bed. I only have 11 days to write 30,000 words. No big deal. I cannot believe how busy November is for me. I think I may have already said this before. It needs repeating. I cannot believe how busy November is for me. Finally, I got my new schedule for next year. I will be working....DAY SHIFTS! I know, it's crazy. Not all the time, I will rotate through them all but yikes. I will have to put away my coffin and break out the sunglasses. I wonder what the world looks like when it's all lit up and shiny? And now I will leave you with this. So inappropriate that I almost peed my pants laughing. If you like 80's movies starring Micheal J Fox you will appreciate the humour

Rememberance Day

2010-11-11T16:41:00.002-05:00

In Canada, we celebrate rememberance day as a way to honour the fallen sodiers in past wars. We also wear poppies on our clothes. This tradition stems from a poem written by a Canadian Soldier John McCrae. "During the Second Battle of Ypres a Canadian artillery officer, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, was killed on 2 May, 1915 by an exploding shell. He was a friend of the Canadian military doctor Major John McCrae. John was asked to conduct the burial service owing to the chaplain being called away on duty elsewhere. It is believed that later that evening John began the draft for his famous poem 'In Flanders Fields'." In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.

Bloggedy Blog

2010-11-08T14:00:00.005-05:00

As you know (if you read a few posts back) I started a new blog called Finding Beautiful. I am quite excited about it and where it may lead. Today is the first Makeup-less Monday post and I am happy to say, my good blogger friend Caroline from Constantly Evolving was brave enough to send in her picture first. I hope more women can become comfortable in their skin, and not always feel like they have to change themselves. In other news, I am a procrastinating fiend but I am 14,000 words into the book I never thought I would even start this year. The plot is fun, my writing is meh, but hey, I'm doing it! 2 weeks until Vegas and my big 3-0. Watch out sin city, I'm about to show you how it's done.

Hallowe'en!

2010-11-01T21:35:00.003-04:00

This guy's costume made us all laugh so hard. Hilarious. He was the Mexican Burrito Wrestling Porn Star.

Crazy Hula Hooper

My "Halo"

Vampire's sometimes have poor vision

Cowboy Vampire

My natural state

I lied.

2010-11-01T07:37:00.002-04:00

Ok I caved. I am doing NaNoWriMO again even though I said I wouldn't. I just can't help it. The excitement of trying to write a novel in 30 days compels me so much that I cannot NOT do it. I hammered out 5770 words today. If I can do that every day or close to it, I can hit 50,000 words before my vegas trip. Fingers crossed. My little project is still on the go. I have lots of ideas for it. Here it is. I may not work on it too much until after November, as this is a crazy month, but I am excited beyond belief about it and I have so much I want to put in there. As always, I welcome advice and criticism and suggestions. Also if you would like to be featured, I plan on having a Woman of the Week post. OK off to bed. I have another 5000 words to pump out when I wake up.

Well...

2010-10-26T02:02:00.001-04:00

MY DAD IS MAYOR!!!!!!

cha cha changes!

2010-10-24T07:43:00.003-04:00

So the election is tomorrow and I am so nervous for my dad. He has worked so hard for this, it will be so disappointing if he doesn't get it. But he will. I will be glad when it's over, it's stressful! I also have a new project I am working on. I am going to keep the details secret until I get it rolling, but it is going to be good I think. I am actually going to skip NaNoWriMo this year so I can devote my full attention to this. Curious yet? Soon...

Updates

2010-10-19T07:19:00.004-04:00

I am watching reruns of the Incredible Hulk because I am too lazy to change the channel. It was much cooler when I was a kid. In other news, I am going to Vegas! I finally booked it. So the week of my 30th birthday I will be somewhere fun, which will hopefully take the sting out of leaving my 20's. I have tons planned: new tattoo, air guitar karaoke, indoor skydiving, pole dancing lessons and more! Also, my favourite holiday of the year is coming up...Hallowe'en of course! I am breaking with tradition and going as a vampire. I know I know, but I am just so good at it! I just need to figure out how to apply the fangs and fake eyelashes and we are good to go. I was going to go as Dr. Horrible but to be really authentic it would have cost me a fortune, and no one would have known who I was. NaNoWriMo is also coming up. I have yet to finish one, and this year will probably be no different. I was thinking of starting a week early since I will be in Vegas for the last week of November. Not technically cheating. I have a bunch of ideas but one favourite that is jumping out at me. Finally, the election is next week and things look really good for my dad. How cool would it be if he were the mayor? I would get away with so much shit! Oh, maybe I should wait until after the election to say that!

Happy Tofurkey day

2010-10-10T03:25:00.004-04:00

Today in Canada, we celebrate a holiday we ripped off of the Americans. But we said, "hey, November is just too damn cold for pumpkins, so let's do it in October." And we had no pilgrims, only hockey players and beavers. So they all sat down with the Indians and watched the playoffs. Or something. The actual holiday is on Monday but I am doing the family dinner tonight. I have my compartment plate all ready, it's going to be a feast! The fam is having steaks, and I will sit in my dark corner eating the vegetable scraps they toss my way. Just kidding, I think I'm having sweet potato casserole and ceasar salad. Whatever my mommy makes for me. So if you are in Canada, have a happy thanksgiving. If you're not, happy...day. PS. Pumpkin pie is nasty. Why does it have the texture and consistency of baby poop? Not appetizing. I am substituting my pumpkin pie with a pumpkin spice latte.

4 Years

2010-10-07T07:11:00.008-04:00

Today is my wedding anniversary. I plan to celebrate by sleeping all day and working all night, and Steve plans on working all day and sleeping all night. This arrangement works, and is probably how we've managed to be together for 12 years without any homicides and/or axe murders. Actually we both forgot until my mom reminded us. Anyway, I still think marriage (for me anyway) was a big fat waste of money. We were already shacking up for 8 years, have no kids, aren't religious...but we caved. Mostly for our families. So I propose they pay the debt that I still have for the friggin wedding.

But I do love my husband. Even though we are 100% opposites, we get each other. We are best friends and he makes me laugh. Like for instance today when I asked him what he bought me for our anniversary, and he dropped a huge fart. I think humour is what you need to find, because when you are are old, saggy, wrinkly and gross, peeing your pants and senile, you better be able to laugh at and with each other.

So here's to at least 4 more years of marriage. Then we'll see if I want to keep him around.

Techno Tard

2010-09-29T03:09:00.003-04:00

Remember when I told you I am useless with technology? Well I struck again. I am a huge Criminal Minds fan, it's the only show I actually watch on TV. Well for the last 5 seasons I have had to wait for the season to end then wait for it to come out on DVD, then watch it, rinse and repeat. Since I am a shift worker I pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I can't ever catch any good tv. If there is such a thing. Well my wonderful husband went out and got me a PVR. I am pretty sure he got it for himself, but he said it was so I wouldn't have to miss another CM episode. Since he had to go out of town, he showed me the relatively idiot proof way to set it up: Go to the channel, pick the show, hit set timer. Easy as pie. Well this pie is UNDERCOOKED! I set it for the wrong damn date! Blergh. Thankfully I have a friend who is not retarded and she also "PVR"ed it for me. I think I have it set up for tomorrow's episode properly. Should we take bets on it? Now that I can record everything, I am going to record everything! I already have it set (I think) to record every episode of CM and Ghost Hunters, and I think I might start watching True Blood. Between the internet and TV, I'm fucked.

Conversations

2010-09-27T19:40:00.003-04:00

I bought this great book on writing, and there is a chapter on using everyday conversations as writing prompts. It says you should take a journal with you wherever you go and write down all those snippets of conversations you hear, taken completely out of context, and develop a story around it. I love this! It's like being a dirty voyeur but nobody's naked. Hopefully. So I thought I would do maybe a weekly writing prompt for you based on my overheard convos. You can do it on your own or in the comments section. Although we will often never know the real meaning behind the conversation, it is fun to speculate. I also think it is so funny how two people will provide completely different perspectives on the conversation. Conversation: Two women are sitting down for coffee. Lady #1 is in a wheelchair. They appear to be in their 40's. Lady #1: It's been really hard since he's been gone. We used to help each other and now I have to do it on my own. Every day is a struggle. Lady #2: I know how you feel. Lady #1: It's hard to deal with. Lady #2: It's just like my situation. I just feel so...lost.

Terry Fox 2010

2010-09-19T16:25:00.003-04:00

It was a beautiful day for the run! Sun was out, Canadian Geese were flying overhead...

This year I took Pepper on the run with me. She did pretty good, except she kept wanting to jump in the lake and chase the ducks. She didn't crap out on me too badly, just a little near the end.

Pulling up to the finish line...

Pepper even got her own certificate saying she ran. It was a special day, being the first run since Paul passed away. But it was also the 30th anniversary of the Terry Fox Marathon of Hope. There was so much more significance since he had to end his run here in Thunder Bay because his cancer came back. He died less than a year later. In the end, Team Paul raised over $650 for cancer research!

Geez

2010-09-08T05:20:00.002-04:00

One week and $200 later I finally got my computer back. Turns out my hard drive was pooched and I needed a new one. And no it was not overloaded with porn. I don't think. They managed to save my pictures which is good, because I had about 3 years worth on there. I always say I am going to back up my shit but I never do. This is why when I am 90 years old, my life will be represented by drawings I have done in ketchup of favourite scenes from my life. The next week or so will be spent trying to track down all the asinine websites I waste time on so I can re-add them to my bookmarks. You would think that I would use this as an opportunity to stay away from time wasting crap but I won't. Being on night shift gives me a lot of alone time and I need to spend it some way. In other news, the temperature dropped 20 degrees in two days. Fall is coming which is awesome, but after that is winter which is not so awesome. No matter what, my heat will not be turned on until October 1st at the earliest!

Techno Blues

2010-09-01T16:02:00.003-04:00

Ok so first my computer flat out breaks, then my internet was shut off for a week so they could do upgrades. Remember that self imposed internet break I took a while back? Yeah, not so much fun when it's not voluntary. Not that I have any news to share or anything, but I was panicking with no attachment to my internet friends or my online games. I could have cleaned my house or other productive things with a whole internet free week, but instead I laid on my couch and played XBOX. But in all fairness, I unlocked a couple achievements.

Technical difficulties

2010-08-23T20:11:00.002-04:00

My computer is busted, probably a virus, and I have no idea when it will be fixed. Right now I am using Steve's but his is big and bulky and it overheats so I don't like using it. So there will be a lack of updates probably. In other news, I am further down the path to becoming a hermit. A hermit who showers and clips her toenails, but does not interact with the majority of humans. How come when someone is poor they are a recluse or a hermit, but if they are rich they are eccentric or living in seclusion? I'm going to invent a new word for people who are middle class who just want to live in the middle of nowhere but still keep their high speed wireless internet.

Terry Fox Run

2010-08-11T15:18:00.007-04:00

Once again I am running the Terry Fox run. I did it last year while Paul was battling cancer, and this year I will run it again in honour of his life. Hopefully I can do a better job of it this time, as I am not battling swine flu while I train. It falls on the same day as the half marathon and I chose this instead, as it has more meaning to me and Paul's family as well. I just wish Paul was here to run it with me.

So I am putting off the half marathon until next year. Now I have to hit the gym hard and work off all my indulgences from my two week holiday. It's amazing how many bottles of wine you can polish off when chilling with friends. Oh and get a load of the amazing cupcakes my cousin and I aquired while downtown Vancouver:

Yes, I will be working off those as well.

Scenery

2010-08-09T15:15:00.004-04:00

Whale Watching

2010-08-09T14:53:00.005-04:00

We had such an amazing time watching these magnificent creatures. We got to see Gray whales and Humpbacks. Orcas were further north so that is for next time. We also saw a whole island of sea lions. It was awesome, and one of the things I have been wanting to do for a very long time.

Sea Kayaking

2010-08-09T14:34:00.005-04:00

Not a drop to drink

2010-08-09T14:16:00.004-04:00

Because I drank it all! I'm thinking I need a liver detox.

Too Fast

2010-08-09T13:40:00.005-04:00

Vacations are always like that...they speed by much faster than real life does. I had a friggin fantastic time and crammed a hell of a lot into two weeks. I shopped, went whale watching (scratch that one off the bucket list), sea kayaking, rainforest hiking, reacquainted with long lost family members, beach combing, tasted every wine known to man, and ate outside for almost every single meal. BC is one of the most beautiful places and if it wasn't so expensive I would live there in a heartbeat. It was nice to come home too, because that's where Steve and Pepper are, and I can never really have 100% fun if they're not with me. In the next few posts I will share some of my experiences with you. Hopefully I can spend the next few days before I go back to work catching up on all of your blogs.

Here I come!

2010-07-24T16:44:00.002-04:00

Or alternatively, there I go. Off to BC in the morning. Scared of the flight as usual, but all packed at least. I'm contemplating a cocktail of something with codeine and alcohol to get through the flying part. Plus I have a 5 hour layover in Calgary. I hate travel. I really really really hope I don't have to sit next to a crying baby or a guy who picks his toes. Both of which happened on my last flight to Texas. I am off for two weeks of vacation, but I will try and post updates if I can. Hope evryone is having a good summer!

2 more weeks!

2010-07-12T08:10:00.002-04:00

I've been slacking in the blog department, I know BUT never fear. I have not gone out and got myself a life, I have just been re-reading the Harry Potter series. I figure I should read them again before the new movies come out. I'm a much bigger fan of the books, but the movies are ok. I want to get them read before I leave for B.C. Yes, I'm going back, this time for two weeks! Whale watching and a tattoo are on the agenda, as is hiking through the rainforest and hanging with my cousin who I haven't seen in 24 years. She is close to my age so we should get into lots of Shannanigans! On top of all this, Steve and I decided to celebrate my 30th birthday this year in VEGAS! I am more excited than I thought I would be, because I hate casinos (if you know me, you know why) but neither of us have been and there is so much to do...plus Steve really wants to play in a poker tournament. It might even ease the pain of leaving my 20's behind. Actually, truth be told I don't feel nearly as bad about this one as I did last year. I chalk it up to new decade, new beginnings and all that. I'm just going to take it one vacation at a time!

True North Strong and...

2010-07-01T05:01:00.004-04:00

...not so free. Today we celebrate Canada Day, by introducing a new tax called the HST. It was so nice of them to introduce it on our countries birthday. I love my country. I really do, so much so that I have a maple leaf tattooed on my back: To celebrate Canada, I have compiled a list of all things Canadian that I love. In no particular order: -Ketchup chips. They don't exactly taste like ketchup...but they kind of do. People think it's gross until that first chip goes in their mouth. Lays for Life baby. -Tim Horton's. A coffee chain named after a dead hockey player go figure. Cheap drive through coffee and there are line ups daily at every location. I realized how much I love Timmies when I went to Texas and the only drive through coffee they had was Starbucks. Ew. I drank gas station coffee, that's how desperate I was. -Poutine (poo-teen). A french culinary masterpiece of french fries, cheese curds and gravy. Even though I can't eat it anymore it is well worth the gazillion calories. -Olympic Hockey. Need I say more? -Freedom for everyone -Beer. Most kids get their first sip from their dad's bottle when they are still drinking out of their own bottles. As my friend Robin can attest, it's a way of life up here. -The way we spell honour, favourite, flavour, cheque, colour, etc. etc. We ain't scared of a little u! -The wonderful, multi faceted word "eh". If you don't live here, it just won't sound right! -Universal Health care. Health insurance? What the hell is health insurance? Sure my taxes are higher but at least I won't die because I have no coverage or my insurance company doesn't feel I need that extra kidney. There is so much more, but it is a wonderfully great place to live. Most of the time. If you like the cold. And plaid. Think of me today because I will be at work, and it will be insane. And the fireworks will scare Pepper so badly she won't poop for days.

Right in the kidney beans

2010-06-23T04:55:00.004-04:00

My kidneys hurt. I don't know why, but I think I might have an infection of some sort. Probably from getting it on too much with the S.O. Just kidding. Maybe. Well he has been in town all week for the first time in forever. So I am attempting to flush out my body with excess amounts of water. I have one of those massive A&W mugs (you know, the kind that look like beer pitchers?) and I am on glass number three. Which is equivalent to about a bathtub full of water. My kidneys still hurt and I almost pissed my pants trying to get to the washroom. Funny story about the A&W mug. It was my only case of thievery in my whole life. I was on a road trip during my first and only year of university and we stopped for lunch at A&W. I saw the biggest mug ever and thought about how much beer it could hold. That, combined with peer pressure, made me stick it in my jacket. It was probably a huge jacket. The best part is, we were on a border town and about to cross into the USA with stolen items! I'm such a badass. Ok I lied about me stealing the mug. It was actually my friend who took it and she gave it to me afterwards. I could never steal anything because I just feel too damn guilty about it afterwards. I'm surprised I can even drink out of this mug. In fact, I probably sent A&W an anonymous cheque to cover the cost. I fail at Evil. What was I talking about again?

Relay for Life 2010

2010-06-19T21:02:00.006-04:00

I did the relay for life last night into today, a 12 hour team event to raise funds for cancer research. It was so fun and amazing, sad and touching. Our team was called Cure for Cancer's Little Helpers, and we did a Christmas theme. We kind of regretted that theme when it was 30 degrees celcius and we were sweating in our santa hats, but it was well worth it. Our team was late organizing and registering but we still managed to raise over $700 in just over a week! Here are some photos from the relay:

Corporal Punishment:

2010-06-15T03:06:00.004-04:00

How do you feel about it? My parents spanked me when I was bad and it was pretty much well deserved when I got it, which wasn't often. Although we did not have corporal punishment in school, I remember my mom sent a letter to the school allowing them to punish me how they saw fit should I step out of line. Needless to say, I was a model student and never stepped out of line. Now that I think about it, I wonder if my mom just TOLD me she sent them a letter.... Anywhoo...there is a line between punishment and abuse, and unfortunately some people do not know where that line is. It is a hard call, but personally I feel like if the parents are doing their job at home, educators would not even need to resort to it. Just curious because I read a scathing article likening it to abuse, which I thought was a little absurd. Spanking a kid is not even close to abuse and really, some kids (myself included) totally need it now and again. Curious to hear from the parent panel... EDIT: OOohh I found this old post of mine about rotten kids! I just realized that I curse like a sailor. Cool beans

Smooshed Blueberries

2010-06-11T08:00:00.002-04:00

What a day. I woke up and got into the shower where I had a spider fall on my head. I HAAATE spiders. Of course Steve is out of town so I had no one to come save me. I am a self sufficient woman except when it comes to getting rid of spiders. I step out of the shower and into a nice hot steaming pile of cat puke, courtesy of my regurgitator, Kahlua. Nice. Then at work, I sat down on somebody's blueberries that they left on the bench so I had smooshed blueberries all over my ass for the last hour of my shift. There was a theme today. I should have stayed in bed.

2010-06-10T18:19:00.003-04:00

I am addicted to another internet site. I know, I know. It is Care2 and it is a great place to join causes, sign petitions, write letters to political leaders, get on a big soapbox etc. etc. I love it! I have already signed a gazillion petitions and sent a bazillion letters to people regarding (my personal fave) animal rights, women's rights, environmental causes...They even have success stories of petitions that make a difference. You earn points by taking part and those points can be used towards a cause you like, such as feeding shelter animals, or buying fresh drinking water for third world countries. The best part is, now I don't have to feel guilty about wasting all my time on the internet. It is for a good cause!

In other news

2010-06-09T00:32:00.004-04:00

And now I am back to sleeping too much. I slept all day and did not get up until 10pm! Yikes. Now I am screwed for tomorrow. Good luck trying to get up. Z, I think you are right, I am low on something for sure. I have to see the doc soon anyway to get a prescription for some knock out drug. It's for my flight to BC in July. I can't fly without being somewhat incapacitated. Alcohol does the trick except that you can't be drunk until you are already in the air and that doesn't work for me.

In other news, remember me telling you about my haunted house? Well the other day I came downstairs into my living room and found this:

No not the mess, that's Steve's. The couch cushion was completely off the couch and on the floor! It is too heavy for the cats to move, and while Pepper may have been able to move it, she was sleeping in my room with me all day. OOoooOOOOooOO. Creepy. And tonight I keep hearing noises in my house, and it is windy and rainy outside. I think I am going to watch Pet Semetary! Nothing like a good freak out to help me sleep.

Insomnia

2010-06-05T05:22:00.001-04:00

Anyone got a cure? Usually I can sleep for days but I haven't slept in 7 days. I'm starting to see things out of the corner of my eyes. That can't be good right? Tonight, the cure is self medication. Something with codeine and a side of vodka. Not a permanent fix but it should do for tonight. If you have any ideas, hit me with 'em. I have tried everything.

Who ya gonna call?

2010-06-01T02:18:00.005-04:00

Do you believe in ghosts? Paranormal activity? I do, because my house is or was totally haunted. It began when Steve and I first moved in here 8 years ago. About 6 months later we were sitting in the living room watching TV, when I heard banging coming from the kitchen. I went and looked...nothing. Five minutes later I heard it again. This time when I went to investigate, the cupboards above my sink were OPEN! Wide freaking open. Needless to say I was scared shitless. Over the next several years there have been too many occurrences to count: lights turning on by themselves, electronics turning on and off, strange wind blowing over me while in bed, things being moved around my house when I'm not home, pictures getting knocked off my TV, and so on and so on. Two weeks ago my brother and some friends did a ghost hunt in my house. They had all the gadgets: EMF detector, voice recorder, cameras, video cameras...the whole nine yards. They didn't find any voices but a few weird things apparently happened. They heard footsteps or a stomp come from upstairs while they were all downstairs, the two way radios started clicking like someone was trying to talk through them, and my one cat freaked and zoomed out of the kitchen while they were voice recording. Not conclusive evidence of a haunting but weird enough. They are going to come back in a few months and do a follow up. So tonight I decided to watch Ghost Hunters so I could see what they did on their investigation. Well now I am thoroughly freaked out, and I have every light in my house on. If I hear one footstep that isn't mine or my fat cats, I am sleeping outside. Normally my house doesn't scare me, but that show sure did! I don't think I could do what they do because the minute I heard a voice on a recorder tell me to get out of my house, I surely would!

?

2010-05-31T15:31:00.003-04:00

Photo courtesy of http://xkcd.com/

Run Run Run

2010-05-26T03:52:00.003-04:00

I went to the Firefighters 10 mile road race yesterday. To watch, not to participate. It was the 100th anniversary. If I had known that I might have trained a little harder so I could enter. There is something about watching these people push their bodies so hard, reach the finish and push a little harder. I'm still hoping I can do the 1/2 marathon in September, but I have been a lazy ass for quite awhile now (as you can tell by my lack of blog posts) There were two men from Kenya who placed 1st and 3rd, and I found out after that they are running races all over Canada for prize money to send back to their poverty stricken village. It answered my question as to why the hell you would come to Thunder Bay from Kenya. Or from anywhere for that matter. In other news, I have been helping my dad campaign. I can schmooze really well because I work in the customer service industry. In fact, just the other day one of my coworkers was laughing at my "customer voice". Apparently it is quite different than my real voice, and she said I sound so sweet. Then she laughed, thus reinforcing what everyone already knows, that I am decidedly NOT sweet. I was feeling a bit down about getting old too, having spotted a few new grey hairs as I edge closer to 30, but then this little old lady at the race asked me when I was finished school. When I told her I had been out of school over ten years, she told me she thought I was 16! I wanted to make out with her right there. Sometimes old people don't suck at all.

Thunder Bay shout out from Russell Crowe!

2010-05-15T21:02:00.004-04:00

My small town gets a shout out from Russell Crowe at around 3:05! My husband and I went to the same high school as Kevin and Steve actually knows him. It's so cool that someone got out of this armpit of Canada and made it! I'm next, by the way.

Mom

2010-05-12T09:36:00.002-04:00

Happy belated Mother's Day for all you mommies. I kind of made it an unintentional mother's week. I bought my mom tickets to go see Mamma Mia, because she hinted that that's what she wanted. And by hinted I mean she told me that's what she wanted. I kept pretending like I wasn't sure if I could afford them. Finally I got tired of her sighing every time she saw the ad for the show so I gave her the tickets a little early. Then the day before I brought her home some Finnish pancakes for breakfast. They are straight up the best pancakes ever. Then on Mother's Day, she got a bouquet of flowers from me and one from Pepper. So she got spoiled. Mom's are pretty awesome, and I got me a real good one. In other news, I slept for 3 days. That's not an exaggeration either, I literally slept for 3 straight days. There may have been a few hours of eating and sleeping and bathroom usage in there, but other than that I was in a coma. I think I had a bug. Now I have been awake since 5am and have to try and sleep some more so I can work midnights tonight. Thank goodness I love sleep and this shouldn't be a problem for me.

Life and Stuff

2010-05-05T07:48:00.005-04:00

I went to Paul's grave for the first time today. It was weird, because it felt like I was just there and it doesn't seem like almost 2 months has passed. There is a wooden cross in the ground with his name in black ink on a white piece of paper that is attached to the wood with a piece of plastic. Somehow, seeing his name on that paper made it more real than anything else. The whole thing sucks major suckage. I went to visit his family afterwards. It was his parents wedding anniversary so I got them dinner at a nice restaurant. I walked into said fancy restaurant wearing my holey joggers and ball cap thinking I would just be in and out. The waitress sent me across the whole room to the bar where I had to stand and wait for the guy to punch the gift certificate through. This place was the kind of place that you don't go to unless you are dressed to the nines and want to see a wine list. I think that biznatch waitress did it on purpose. Anyway, I'm reading a memoir tonight called "The Glass Castle" by Jeanette Walls. I have never read a memoir before but I like it. It is dark and gritty and depressing, but fun at the same time. I don't think I could write a memoir because I can't remember what I did last night let alone 20 years ago. Plus no one wants to hear about me locking my brother out of the house in a dress or trying to hitchhike from my driveway. I am reading more and internetting less. I even BAKED...muffins. Blueberry ones. I think I must be getting sick because I have weird urges to do things like BAKE or CLEAN or ORGANIZE. What the hell is with that? All books and no internet make Shannon go CRAZY!

Home

2010-05-03T11:19:00.003-04:00

My cousin returning home today from Afghanistan. That is my dad with him. I took the picture and didnt get in on it because I was still in my pj's at the airport. I'm classy like that.

Support our troops!

What the...?

2010-05-02T21:32:00.003-04:00

I need to be encased in bubble wrap. Or carbonite. I fell AGAIN! No road rash on my face this time, but I did a face plant into my radiator by my bed and almost broke my nose. I'm a little bruised but seriously, what the holy hell? You would think I just learned to walk or something. I am very lucky there were no missing teeth either. Then to top it all off, I have the biggest, planet sized zit on my chin. The biggest I have ever seen, I kid you not. I would say it covers about 90% of my face. So it's been a bad day but I am having a Firefly marathon tonight and it is my evening to eat whatever I want sooooo....Cool Ranch Doritos, Tim Horton's coffee and of course, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups. That just makes it all better.

Sorry Stoneweaver!

2010-04-26T18:07:00.003-04:00

Yes, I did say a week offline, but I surprisingly enjoyed it so much that I stayed away for a tad bit longer. I have been weaning myself back into the online world, but still trying to maintain a healthy balance. It would be so easy to roll right back into all day surfing mode. So what did I do on my days away from the internet you ask? Well Day one was hard. Very, very, very hard. Steve was out of town working all week, and I don't watch much TV, so when I woke up I glared at my computer for about an hour. Then I organized my 350+ movie collection alphabetically and created a spreadsheet inventory system to catelogue them. Wow. My house is cleaner, and I realized I am a very organized person when I am not procrastinating, being lazy or finding more fun things to do. I tend to be an avoider of anything that NEEDS to get done, sticking with the stupid crap that wastes time. But since I enjoy the time wasting crap I am learning to strike that balance. The best part about being offline, was the free time to do other stuff. Take today for example. I got up early, took Pepper to the dog park, went grocery shopping, went to the gym, and am on my way out of the house to go to a movie. The worst part was missing my online friends, falling behind on all the websites I follow, and GOOGLE. I google everything. My friends call me a bin of useless trivia because I know all kinds of dumb shit, but it is because if I come across something I have never heard of, I Google it. So being without that was hard, especially when faced with obscure pop culture references. Would I do it again? Yes and no. I dont think I need to go as drastic as a week or three away, but a couple days here and there won't kill me.

Good bye cruel world...I mean Internet

2010-04-04T07:09:00.002-04:00

I love my interwebz but alas, it has consumed my life and turned me into a worthless layabout. So long bejeweled blitz, adios failblog, sianara CNN, farewell facebook, arivaderci to all of the other time sucks that have sucked my life until it sucks.

I know it is only a week but I am terrified of what I am going to do with all this free time! Well I guess I always have this free time, I just choose to fill it with lolcats and IMDB. Now it will be filled with bathroom cleaner, garden tools and unread books.

So with that, I will see you in a week...unless I find out this li.lii..lif..life??? thing is actually fun.

Peace, I'm outta here!

One week

2010-04-01T18:43:00.002-04:00

I am quitting the internet for one week starting Sunday. No blogs, no Facebook, no news networks, NOTHING. I was inspired by a friend who deleted his FB account and returned to the real world. I haven't been there in awhile so I thought I would take a vacation there. I think it will be excruciating at first, but worthwhile in the end. I will get some books read, some movies watched, some house cleaned, some dog walked, some running ran. I'm a little excited. I am going to try to do a photo/video log of my week in the real world.

It's Official!

2010-03-25T18:50:00.001-04:00

Go Dad Go!

Love is

2010-03-22T19:44:00.005-04:00

This post won't be depressing, I promise. Yes, it has been a sad week and I am emotionally, mentally and physically drained. But I also have found a strength that I didn't know I had. I had to be there for my friend and her family, and I had to re-evaluate my whole belief system. Paul was the closest person to me to ever pass away, and I had to watch it happen over the course of two years. Watching that, and watching the grieving process of so many people, really made me question everything I thought I knew for sure. I realized that my wishes for when I pass shouldn't really matter, it should be up to the people who are left behind. Paul's family did it the way they needed to and it was about them, as it should be. I realized that I now firmly believe in some sort of afterlife. There was so much pure good in Paul that it needs to go somewhere. I have no idea where or what it's like, but it is somewhere and I have to believe that it is better than here and there is no suffering for him anymore. I still believe that everything happens for a reason. I believe Paul left us young and in the horrible way he did in order to teach us about strength and courage, and he was such a good person that he didn't need to stay here that long. He had nothing to perfect on, as he was already near perfect. One anecdote told at his funeral was when his friend was over and getting up to leave, Paul stood up to walk him to the door. Thing was, Paul had a tumour on his leg and stitches and tubes in his stomach and couldn't stand up straight or walk without pain, but he still saw his friend to the door. When his friend protested, Paul waved him off and said "don't worry about it." He would have thought it was rude to do anything else. I know myself, that every time I would come over, he would always say hello and ask me how I was doing, even when he could barely turn his head. I have a new respect for life now. I look for and try to see that spark in every person, to really see who they are. I noticed at the viewing that even though Paul looked like Paul, that light was not in his body. So it is lighting up the universe somewhere else. Finally, I was reminded how many people are around us and care for us. The outpouring of support, not just for Paul's family but for myself as well, was totally overwhelming. Sometimes you forget about that and feel so alone, but we're not, not really. So yeah, major life stuff going on. I miss Paul, I hate seeing his family suffer, but at the same time I am so so grateful for having the opportunity to know such an amazing soul. I will leave you with an excerpt from the eulogy, which completely undid me. It is from the bible (I know, anti religious nut is quoting the bible) and appropriately enough, from the gospel of Paul. The word love has been replaced by Paul.

Paul is patient, Paul is kind and is not jealous;

Paul does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly;

he does not seek his own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;

bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Paul never fails.

Ow

2010-03-18T07:15:00.002-04:00

I'm still here, there has just been a lot going on this week. Paul's funeral is in about 3 hours. Last night was the prayer service and I thought that was going to be easier than the funeral. Wrong. Eye makeup never a good idea when crying, got it. I thought I would do better. I am so unbelieveably tired, I have maybe slept 4 hours a night. I really believed I would deal with this better. I mean on many levels I knew this was coming eventually, but that little ray of hope was still there, buried under everything. So seeing him last night was hard because it made it real. It made me decide a few things though, when it's my time.: No funeral. Just a big fucking party. Too much sadness and grief, and since all that stuff sucks, I want people to celebrate who I was, with more laughter than tears and pain. Cremation. I don't want people seeing my empty body and remembering me that way. I want them to remember me alive and vibrant. Plus the whole being buried thing really freaks me out. That's about it. Is it wrong to see low lifes and criminals and wish they could take Paul's place? Because that's all I've been thinking about lately. How life is so random and seemingly unfair.

Paul

2010-03-13T18:29:00.001-05:00

Paul passed away this morning. He was 24 years old and will be remembered as the bravest, purest, kindest soul I have ever had the privilege of knowing. I love you kid.

Fate

2010-03-13T08:52:00.002-05:00

I was at work tonight, wandering aimlessly and thinking about fate. I dont know if I believe in fate. I would like to believe we have a choice in life and everything is not predestined. But then I got to thinking about why people turn out the way they do, when everything around them says they should turn out differently. Here's an example: I was raised in a strict Catholic household, went to church every Sunday, went to a Catholic school, said my prayers every night etc. By all rights, I should be a good little Catholic girl now. Nothing in my environment really changed my attitude towards religion, it was just IN me. I changed towards it. Something inside me said NO this isn't right. So is that fate? Why are both of my brothers staunch conservatives, and I am a left leaner, when we all grew up in the same household under the same conditions? I am genuinely curious as to how much impact environment really has on a person, and how much is ingrained in you from birth. I want a percentage here. So yeah, I really don't know what to think here, I just thought I would throw it out there to ponder. Fun Fact. As I was pondering whether to write this blog post, I went to Formspring (the question box on the sidebar) to ask myself a random question. Guess what it was? Do You Believe In Fate?

Ahhh spring

2010-03-11T08:19:00.003-05:00

The air is fragrant with the smell of melting dog poo, my shoes are caked with mud and my feet get soaked in the puddles. Everything is coloured in shades of brown and grey, and I'm so damned PUMPED! This is one of the earliest springs I can remember in a long time. It was such an easy winter this year *knock on wood*. I mean really, how many times did I bitch about the cold this year compared to last? Now the snow is about 98% melted and they say there is little chance that it will get much colder now. The two week forcast is sunny and above zero and that's all I care about! I went for my first real outdoor jog with Pepper after work this morning and it made me feel great. I haven't really been able to go because it has been so icy and slushy. Now it's on, baby, til the break of dawn! Hardcore training mode for my first half marathon. 6 Months to go. In other news, someone asked me if I have a tapeworm. I don't THINK so, but maybe. I ate a dozen perogies in one sitting. And a Lindt dark chocolate bar. That tapeworm better back the eff up because I share perogies and chocolate with no one.

Get me off this planet

2010-03-09T00:24:00.007-05:00

I know I do one of these "I hate people" posts at least once a month but here goes another one.

I am really not all that negative in my day to day existence (I can't be, since I work in the customer service industry) but it tends to hit me when I am sitting home alone on my computer or watching TV. The thoughts creep in and soon I am muttering to myself, "Man, I effing hate people." I say it at least once a day, and never say, "Wow, I love people."

I do, however, say I love my dog every other minute. In fact, I love my neighbours dog more than I love the average person. Maybe that's what that god guy meant, love thy neighbours DOG. I bet that was it.

I have a theory though. I think I need to stay off the Internet as much as possible, and not watch the news, read comment forums, or engage in debate with anyone who has naked lady mudflaps on their truck.

So here's the kicker: I KNOW I need to stay offline and disconnect from the things that make me insane, but I...just...can't...STOP! I must be a masochist or something.

So give me some advice readers. Do I sell all my belongings and live in the Canadian wilderness (too cold), take the next shuttle into space and stay there (freeze dried food=ick) or just suck it up and grit my teeth and hope I kick it before the planet self destructs? Or is there another option?

I have tried to make positive change in the world...I give to charity, but people bitch because I give to animals and not people (I do give to people charities but not as often and only to people who need it), I volunteer, I try to minimize my impact on the environment (I recycle, am a vegetarian and use the scratchy toilet paper). I think I am fairly open minded when it comes to lifestyle choices as long as it doesn't affect others. I am just at a loss as to what else I can do to make living on this planet easier...I am assuming I have another 30-50 years left to sweat it out.

But here are a few reasons why I do love this planet:

things...

2010-03-03T07:02:00.003-05:00

I haven't seemed to have the need lately to document my life in blog form...maybe because there hasn't been much going on in it. Now I have a new idea. I think I might buy a video camera and film my life instead. Does that make me lazy? Don't get me wrong, I like to write, it's just that I haven't been writing. I want to, but I just can't. So maybe I can film stuff and write based on that. Or I could make mini movies. Or this could turn into yet another unfinished project. I need a warehouse to store all those. Anyway, Steve is in the arctic visiting his parents, so I'm home alone. Pepper had kennel cough and was under quarantine, but she is better now. So I have been wandering my empty house trying to find things to do. I even cleaned. That's how desperately bored and lonely I am. And I have been watching Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog on repeat. I love Joss Whedon.

Still on the couch Z

2010-02-21T05:48:00.003-05:00

BUT...I came online long enough to find this video. Made me feel all warm and fuzzy about my American friends. We can go back to making fun of each other tomorrow.

Yay Olympics! We won gold in Skeleton which is luge face first. The guy that won is so stereotypical Canadian, I just love him. He was interviewed on the news chugging a pitcher of beer right off the podium. Oh, Canada!

Olympics!

2010-02-17T01:41:00.003-05:00

I am so addicted! I'm not a big sports fan except when the Olympics are on. I think it is even worse right now because they are being held in Canada. I love the personal stories that come from the athletes. Like Alex Bilodeau, the freestyle mogul skiier who won Canada's first gold of the games and the first gold ever won on Canadian soil. Watch this video and see what I mean. Oh I also love my new olympic mitts:

These suckers were impossible to find. Sold out within minutes of arriving at the store, but my mom managed to grab me a pair.

Other than the Olympics, Pepper has kennel cough so she has been under quarantine for 1.5 weeks and has 1.5 more to go. Ever had a crazy hyper dog cooped up in the house? Right now she is sitting in the corner thinking about what she has done.

Lastly, I may have rediscovered my book. I reread what I wrote in November, and while much of it was total crap, there was a lot of good stuff in it and it made me want to finish it.

So if you dont see me around for a bit, it is because I am molded to my couch with my doritos and M&M's, eyes glued to the tv. Probably the only tv I will watch all year. GO CANADA!

My Home Town

2010-02-05T18:31:00.004-05:00

Sorry, got a new video game (Mass Effect 2) that I just finished, which is why I have been away. But check out this cool video about my home town while I recuperate, it was made and produced locally. It is a music video, (c)rap, which I hate but this is really good, and no talking about smacking ho's or anything. It shows the city, urban and gritty, but working class and real. Just remember that we are also in the middle of the wilderness, so just 5 minutes away is nature and awesomeness. I like the video though.