PETA

I was having trouble deciding what to blog about today, when i looked down at my veggie chili for dinner and figured why not, i'll talk about being a non-meat eater.

About 5 years ago i was surfing the net and came across the PETA (People for the Ethical Treamtment of Animals) website. I clicked on a video that would change my life forever. It was called Meet your Meat and of course was extremely graphic and heartwrenching to watch. I then proceeded to sit for hours and watch every video i could find behind tears.

I don't preach to others what they should or should not be eating. I have suggested to some people to watch the video and draw their own conclusions, but at the very least just watch it. Jennifer and I went to a few vegan potlucks with a group called TARS which is an animal rights activist group in her city. They had various speakers, videos and great food. A good place to network with like minded people. Not everyone there was a vegan, we certainly were not and there was a couple who owned a farm but killed their animals in a humane way.

I am however in constant turmoil with myself because i still eat dairy and eggs as well as shrimp. I saw a horrible video regarding leather and did stop purchasing it for a few years but i've since started again. Apparently i only have so much compassion to go around which is bothersome for me because I do not want to be a hypocrite. It's a bit difficult always having to ask about ingredients when i'm out or travelling where i don't speak the language. In Japan I had a local man order my lunch Okonomiyaki with no meat for me, sure enough they slapped on some bacon anyway. When i told the friend i was staying with he declared "but it's bacon, everyone loves bacon." I used to in all it's crispy goodness, but not anymore.

I'll leave you with a letter i wrote to the Editor of a local newspaper a few years ago:

This is in response to the article titled "Anti-Meat Commercial Too Graphic for Canada." Every year billions of animals are raised to endure lives of absolute confinement and unspeakable pain and suffering in factory farms. There is no justification for our society's refusal to take this suffering seriously, yet attempts to raise people's awareness about these shameful practices are considered by most to be outrageous and extreme.
Case in point the TV Bureau of Canada has deemed a 30 second commercial by PETA "too graphic" and would anger Canadian viewers. It says the spot depicts "brutality against animals", would spark "major complaints" and has been banned in Canada.
I invite you to increase your knowledge of the conditions within factory farms, the premeditated methods of imprisoning, torturing and the slaughtering of animals.
Perhaps then you will view your dinner in a different light.

I got nothing

I'm going to borrow this from another blog as i rarely do quizzy type of things and quite frankly its Saturday morning and my brain seems to be on hold today.

1. If you could build a house anywhere, where would it be?






2. What's your favorite article of clothing?
If i'm going for comfort a pair of pants PP's mom made at her shop, they are fuzzy, warm and it feels like you're not wearing anything.


3. What's your favorite physical feature on the opposite sex?

I enjoy nice lips, i'm a kissing monster :)


4. What is the last CD you bought?

I rarely ever buy cd's i usually burn them. However, i did purchase Pinks latest one.


5. Where is your favorite place to be?
On vacation exploring somewhere new.


6. Where is your least favorite place to be?
Commuting to work. Recently i have seen a lot of blown out tires and accidents, makes me rather nervous.


7. What is your favorite place to be massaged?
I'm going to have to say my feet for sure, and of course my shoulders and back. Nothing is better than a good massage....


8. Strong in mind, or strong in body?
I'd say moreso mind than body, though i'm sloooowwwllly working on the body LOL.


9. What time do you wake up in the morning?
I am up at 6:45am and leave the house by 7:30am. I am not a morning person at all, i loathe mornings.


10. What is your favorite kitchen appliance?
The blender hands down. I drink protein shakes daily so i need something to whip them up.





11. What makes you really angry?
People who use the word retarded get on my nerves, it's so demeaning . As well, people that are close minded. I really can't understand in this day and age how some can be so homophobic or racist. Come on people.


12. If you could play any instrument, what would it be?
I'd have to go with the guitar. I had a roomate who played and taught our other roomate. I really should have jumped in there and learned while i had the chance for free :)


13. Which do you prefer, sports car or SUV?

Hmm, well see sports cars are just so cute, and SUV's are such gas guzzling gigantor monsters. However, i was recently in a friends SUV and it really was quite lovely. I'm still going to have to say sports car.

14. Do you believe in an afterlife?

I do believe in an afterlife, where it is and what it's like i haven't a clue.

15. Favorite childrens book?




16. What is your favorite season?
I have two, i adore both summer and fall. I love lazy summer days when the sun is shining and the nights are long. I also love when it starts to cool down and the leaves change color and the smell of a nice fire. Halloween is my favorite time of year :)

17. What is your least favorite chore?

Sorting my black socks. I despise doing this and would really love to pay someone to do it for me.

18. If you could have one superpower what would it be?

I'd probably like to be invisible. Oh yeah, invisible.

19. If you have a tattoo what is it?

No tattoos for this chicka. I have piercings though, 7 in my ears, 1 in my tongue, 1 in my bellybutton and i had 1 in my nipple a few years back but it grew out. Not doing that again LOL it was wayyyyy too painful.


20. Can you juggle?
I suppose i could juggle a few balls (oh yeah i said it) but i haven't really tried in a very long time.


21. The one person from your past that you wish you could go back and talk to...
Definately my Aunt. My mom's sister she died way too young in her early 50's from cancer. I wish i had spent more time with her, i always said i would go and visit and spend the weekend but i never did. She was my favorite relative hands down, wise beyond her years, told it like it was, i really miss her.


22. What's your favorite day?
Wednesday because the weekend is approaching and of course Saturday because it is the weekend.


23. What's in the trunk of your car?
Booster cables, extra washer fluid, umbrella and my gym bag, so practical and boring.

24. Which do you prefer, sushi or hamburger.
I don't eat hamburgers so i'll have to go with Sushi....hmmmm sushi.

Rockstar Lukas Rossi!!

Ok so i have been addicted to the show Rockstar Supernova. It began with 15 contestants competing to become the lead singer of the band Supernova featuring Tommy Lee, Gilby Clarke and Jason Newsted. It is down to the final four contestants and since day one i have been rooting for Lukas Rossi. He's amazing and of course it doesn't hurt that he is also a fellow Canuck. There is just a je ne sais quoi about him that i adore, and he can rock like a motherfucker. If you haven't been watching, check out these two video clips.

This was his very first performance:
Rebel Yell


Oh yeah baby!! Then he showed his softer side with
Creep

Alright one more:
Lithium
Enjoy!!!

Homely Homeless Girls

So this long weekend I found myself up at my friends house which is actually a cottage about 2.5 hours away. LD and I went up, the drive was not too exciting other than the gentleman (I use the term loosely) who refused to let us in when we had to merge. Then, for some strange reason he went into our old lane, i guess trying to get ahead and pass everyone however he hit the end and had to merge back into his original lane. Well of course there was no way in hell i was going to let him over after he refused to let us over. Unfortunately he practically drove into the side of my car so i had no choice, then he started yelling and looking into his mirrors and waving his hands frantically all over the place after he squeezed infront of us. It was quite amusing and we giggled. He had skulls around his licence plate, long hair and an eagle decal on his window. Oh and he was smoking and talking on his cell and apparently driving all at the same time, pure class.

The cottage was good times, other than the weather. The first evening was chilly but we just huddled around the fire having a few bevvies and hanging out. The girls bonded and went for a walk in the pitch dark, uphill for 25 mins to the closest store. We got some sparklers to amuse ourselves on the way back. Big thanks to Rob for the flashlight that did not work :)

Saturday rained alllllll day long. A few brave souls went out into the rain to play a game called "horseballs" don't ask. This is when some rules started coming out. Mark was cold and wanted a fire, Gavin said no fire during the day, we're roughing it. I got out an umbrella to watch the games, Gavin said no umbrella, we're up north. Rob was obsessed with his new cellphone, Gavin said no cellphones, i think he's bossy LOL. Needless to say i ended up in 2 shirts, a sweatshirt, a hat and a raincoat that resembled a garbage bag, bloody sexy if you ask me. As the drinking progressed (we started at 10am) the more hideous we all looked ( i swear it was the rain) and a few of us girls dubbed ourselves the Homely Homeless girls as the fire pit looked like a steel drum of fire.

I must say we were lucky though as we were one of the first few up there and ended up snagging the spare room that we shared, no tents for us. The others arrived throughtout the evening, he said there were going to be 30 people, there were 15. We went to bed around 5am after dancing, roasting marshmellows over a candle and sliding around in the mud all night.


The covered porch was nice but we decided to try out a fire anyway as the rain had died down a bit. Bad idea. I was passing my camera to Mark so he could take a picture and somehow my camera got knocked into the fire. I stood there stunned and he reached in and grabbed the sucker. Funny thing is, it looks exactly as it did before it's fall. The string wasn't even burnt though all of his arm hair had mysteriously disappeared.


It was a really great weekend, just a tad cold. I'm going to show you all the worst possible photo ever taken. As i said we started drinking around 10am in the rain. This photo was probably taken around 1am or so. Not a good looking person in the bunch at this point.



This attire was rather normal for the weekend, hoodies and hats:


Hope you all had a great weekend as well!!

Hottie Scottie :P

So i was on my way home from work today and made a pit stop off at PP's house. The traffic was horrendous going home and there was no way i was sitting in that for hours.

Yraucta will be pleased to know i have a date in the coming month. Scott stepped up to the plate and will be my 1st date for the dating challenge. For the record i would have gone out with him regardless as he seems funny and we have a lot in common. Now we just have to decide where to go. See we're both indecisive people and I thought perhaps my fellow bloggers could give us some ideas. What do you guys think we should do?


Here are some of our ideas:

I was telling him about a fetish party i went to years and years ago, that would make an interesting first date. We could dress up in fetish attire, patent bustiers, whips and saran wrap good times!!

The Andy Warhol exhibt will be on. I'm not a huge art buff but i do enjoy the galleries and Andy Warhol has some pretty cool stuff. A friend went and said it was small, but there were these weird pornish type videos playing.

We talked about getting really dressed up and going to a hole in the wall bar. Perhaps Sneaks as mentioned in my last post. Ties, dress pants the whole 9 yards while surrounded by the lovely artwork shown on my previous post and the graffiti filled bathrooms. Maybe we'll be there early enough to actually see the action go down, everytime i'm there there's police and bloody people around outside. Riff Raff i tell ya.

We also discussed the Film Festival. We could go and shmooze with the stars....well no not really. We would just go to a film, but there are some interesting ones playing.

PP suggested the underwear party in boys town aka the gay village. That's a tease for me and i doubt that he would be too into that LOL. Her real suggestion is Centre Island amusement park.

What does everyone else think?

On a sidenote: Does anyone else see something "happy" in this Ikea Catologue picture, that has been sent out to Everyone LOL. (click on the pic to enlarge it)

Don't touch me....I am full of Sushi!!

I went to visit Jennifer and celebrate her birthday this past weekend. Her boyfriend made this awesome cheese fondue and we drank champagne like it was going out of style. On our way to the bar, Jennifer was in a store and this man outside was rambling on and on to this other man who was clearly trying to leave the conversation. I think the rambler was a bit off if you know what i mean. So her friend Chris and I are standing there, the other man finally walks away and guess who saunters over. He starts mumbling to us, but I had already turned my back to him previous to this so Chris would have to listen to him. I think he tried to engage Jennifer as well when she came out of the store. Does this ever happen to anyone else, I always find the "interesting" folk like to stop and chat me up every now and again.



We went dancing, had more drinks and ended up walking to an after bar restaurant that the locals refer to as the Sneaky Disease. Now the last time i went here with her, there were police everywhere and the bank machine next door had police tape around it as there had been a slashing. The bloody guy was being tended to. In keeping up with tradition, last night was no different. We approach the Disease and there are about 10 cruisers surrounding the place, fire trucks and police everywhere. And of course, a bloody fellow sitting quite near the same bank machine. Apparently it was a fight of some sort, Jennifer never disappoints, always exciting good times!! Our conversation at the table turned to my dislike of the word retarded. I think it's offensive and naturally after i chastised them for using it, they all kept referring to everything as being retarded and then laughing. I told Jennifer i felt defeated and was far to drunk to try and defend the developmentally delayed people of the world.

A picture of the artwork on our table...it's classy :)


On sunday we went for all you can eat sushi at Masa and man oh man did we ever. I even tried Red Snapper....i spit it out into my napkin. I hate fish, just figured i'm supposed to be stepping out of the box this year and gave it a whirl. I think fish are so incredibly ugly and stinky and yucky. I am looking forward to the new year when i can make a new resolution and stop these shennanigans.

All you can eat Sushi!!

Sorry, i don't really have time to write a post, but i am off to celebrate Jennifer's birthday with her this weekend. Should be a messy time, concluded with all you can eat sushi on sunday for brunch. Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

What have i become?

I've had a lot on my mind these past few days. Recently i have been checking my blood pressure as i had never done this before. It's through the roof, atrociously high like i'm ready to have a stroke any second which scares me to no end. As well in March i went for my annual and was told to come back in 6 months because of abnormal cells. Apparently i'm falling apart.

It got me thinking about my life and poor choices I have made over the years. I should have listened when i was told i only have one body to last me years and years and to treat it like a temple. Instead i chose to smoke, tan for hours on end sans sunscreen resulting in horrible burns. (I had internal blisters so bad once that my face drooped down like Quasi Modo) I do lead a pretty active lifestyle but food choices over the years have not been the best either. When i stopped eating meat i went to a nutritionist to help me out...i don't feel like she did.

I was in a relationship years and years ago and when it ended i felt like i lost a huge part of myself. I quit University, gained 60 pounds and didn't seem to care about myself anymore.

Skip ahead years later and i feel like i've been left with this shell that is not me. I truly cannot understand the concept of self love, how do you love yourself? I'm embarassed by what i've become and feel so lost, but don't know how to pick up the pieces. Any ideas on where to start?

Volleyball Tourney

Yesterday i was up at an obscene hour to register for a volleyball tournament. It was a fundraiser for a woman with cancer, so all the money went to a really great cause.

The turnout was fantastic 20 or so teams, they had 4 courts set up on the beach, 3 bands played, it was a great day. Unfortunately it was quite overcast for most of the day, but the sun did come out later on. I taped up my finger as it is still recovering from my July 1st injury, and the first volley i did shot a stabbing pain into my joint, i tried to bump as much as possible after that. My team started out doing great, we won the first 4 games we played. However, as the afternoon wore on more drinks were consumed and we went downhill from there. Most of the people on my team were staying at the cottage so they didn't have to worry about driving and started drinking at 9am.....we played until 5pm.




I offered to go with one of their friends on a beer run in the morning. Terrible idea. His driving was so awful, he almost killed us like 3 times, and he had not even been drinking. Then we get to the beer store and find out it opens later than most and we have 45 mins to kill. We went to get some takeout, he spent 15 mins in the bathroom and when he returned to the car declared "sorry, i went number 2." Ewe!!Didn't need to know that. Other than that 45 mins, it was a great day playing on the beach and listening to some tunes.

I woke up today and my body felt as though it had been run over by a MACK truck LOL granted, i had not played vball since last summer. Perhaps i exerted myself a little more than i thought i did, that or i'm completely out of shape :)


This silly guy got his car stuck in the water.....


The evening turned out lovely....

I am not a Homewrecker!!!

LD was talking to Gavin this evening and for those interested parties, the gentleman from last night was NOT the gentleman that i had made out with. In other words, i did NOT kiss a married man horrah!!!!

Our evening ensued, random strangers were taking our pictures on their cellphone cameras. I asked LD if there were hot girls standing behind us and she said no. Then we got some eyebrows raised in our direction, and as we walked home "Nester" chatted us up. We then tried to flag a cab as we had been for sometime and a group of fellows offered us some pot. We crossed the street, uncomfortable and declined their offer. We made it home safe. Yay for us!!! Hope your weekends were grand.

Tell me a Joke

I haven't written a serious post in a while....and i'm not going to start today :) I've been thinking about the needle exhange programs, the safer injection sites in Vancouver and why the Prime Minister is not at the AIDS Conference. However, i've had a lot of heavy stuff relayed to me this week and i just need a good laugh.

I was with a young girl the other day who found out her partner had AIDS. She was on her way to get tested but called her parents first to tell them. Rather than being supportive it was apparent that they were being accusatory and awful by the way she was responding to them. I can't even imagine.....

Another woman told me a story about how she was raped at 8 years old by a family member, and then was beaten inbetween her legs by another for being dirty. Again, i can't even imagine.....

So needless to say, i am in need of a good laugh. I did get one last night though. I went out with some friends and i'm not sure if you'll recall but from a previous post a while back i had made out with a friends friend in a drunken stupor and it was awful. He molested my mouth with his tongue for a few seconds and then it was over. Anyway, i think he was there last night, i'm not 100% sure. He had his arm around a girl and we were joking that she must like choking while kissing. Then LD pointed and yelled "he's married" to which PP and I are like "WHAT?" Sure enough there was a wedding ring on his hand and her hand. Again, i'm not sure if this was even the same person but we all burst out laughing in sheer horror, i shook my head and asked "how is this my life?"

So my bloggy friends, please tell me some funny stories or jokes to brighten the weekend :)

Croquet & Guesture Games

First off, my sincerest appologies for the Word Verification. I have recently linked my comments to my email and have been getting an obscene amount of spam comments that are rather annoying and take up too much room. Sorry!!

This past weekend was a lot of fun. PP and I went up to TO to visit Jennifer and hit up a BBQ on the Island. Saturday PP and I arrived early afternoon and spent the day shopping. We saw a movie being filmed in the street and took that route to our shopping extravenganza. I was busy being cautious trying to make sure i didn't trip on any wires and lights that were all over the place, PP on the other hand was staring at the actors and swore she saw Stifler. We ended up walking all over the city it seemed and somehow ended up in Chinatown for their yearly festival. It was chaos and we had to endure this horrid Asian Three Days Grace coverband while we weaved in and out of the people trying to get to a restaurant. I did however find the cutest pair of John Fluevog shoes which were on sale $100 off WOO HOO!!






In the evening, Jennifer headed off to some Potato Festival and PP and I went to a pub for some drinks. Nothing too exciting we were home by 1am.

On Sunday we went to the TO Islands for Danboys' BBQ. The three of us were fashionably late which he was none to impressed with. Then something hilarious happened. There were 9 of us altogether, Dan at the front of our group surrounded by a hundred or so people. All these people are boarding and Dan tells us all to push through or we're not going to get on. As he goes through the gates to board the ferry, they slam the gates shut after him so noone else can board. So not only did he have to wait 45 mins for us to arrive, he now had to take the ferry alone and wait on the Island for another 20 mins until the rest of us hopped on the next ferry. It was priceless.

We ended up having a gourmet feast, fresh spring rolls, these amazing marinated shrimp on the BBQ, mouth watering brownies and for some burgers and sausages as well. Somehow a croquet set got busted out and we formed teams. S & I who had never played before were ahead in the game. That was until Jennifer and her partner started to play dirty and kicked our ball way off of the course because apparently they were afraid we would beat them. There was a bit of rivalry between our 2 teams and when i got the chance i hit their ball way off course as well. Only problem, when i did it, i took my shoes off and put my barefoot on the ball to steady it. I ended up wacking my foot as well.....it was quite painful.

On the way back to land we played this charade type game. S had this electronic gesture game that would tell you what to act out such as a pinprick or a bedspread and the rest of the group would have to guess what it was. It was hilarious and we had other people on the ferry joining in as well.

It was a great weekend, beautiful weather and good times. Tomorrow after work i get to play some volleyball finally this year. I'm looking forward to it.

Silly Quiz

Well unfortunately my computer at home will be on the fritz for a few days. Some virus bullshit that is getting worked out right now Yay for Norton. Anyway, i'm at work and i'm going to post a silly quiz. Sorry it sucks but oh well.


5 Things in my Wallet
*licence
*health card
*organ donor card
*money....sometimes LOL
*my favorite quotes

5 Things in my Fridge
*greens plus multi vitamin powder
*assorted veggie stuff such as TVP, Veggie Burgers, Tofu
*Yogurt
*Various fruit, pineapple, kiwi, strawberries at the moment
*Egg Whites

5 Things in my Closet
*old purses
*my juicer
*halloween stuff, wigs
*lots and lots of shoes
*clothes of course

5 Things in my Car
*gym bag with runners, mp3 player, extra clothes so i have no excuses
*CD holder
*umbrella
*jumper cables
*extra windshield washer fluid ... apparently i'm boring but practical

5 Most Recent DVD Purchases
I rarely ever buy DVD's so these are 5 that i own
*Almost Famous
*Closer
*Pulp Fiction
*American Beauty
*Clue

5 Books that i enjoy
*She's come Undone by Wally Lamb
*The Alchemist by Paul Coelho
*Anything by Douglas Coupland
*Tuesday's with Morrie by Mitch Albom
*The Mole People bye Jennifer Toth, i read that years ago but recall enjoying it. Here's a quick review from www.allreaders.com/Topics/info_30873.asp
"It's about people living in NY's abandoned subway tunnels. At times Ms. Toth's account of homelessness in the dark, dangerous warrens beneath NYC can be frightening, heartbreaking, and infuriating all in the space on one paragraph. She interviews many of those who have temporarily or permanently dropped out of society to live underground. Their reasons are usually due to serious addictions to drugs or alcohol, mental health issues, evasion from law enforcement, or extreme destitution.
It is a world of death, disease, poverty, and fear where the author sometimes finds children, married couples, and intellectuals amongst the citizenry of the tunnels."



5 Items on my Desk
*Water & lipbaum
*My appointment book
*New Computer yay!!
*YCJA Info
*Ikea Catologue

Bad After School Special

A bunch of us were either off on Friday or got off of work early and decided to hit up the beach where we came across all kinds of characters:

1st there was a kid with a metal dector walking along looking for buried treasure....we wanted to throw quarters at him or at least infront of him but refrained.

2nd were these two pre teens who insisted on running into the water then running onto the sand and rolling like logs and laughing, all the while getting covered in what some would argue is a giant litter box. I suppose it would be a cheap way to exfoliate. They did this repeatedly.

3rd was yet another child who was trying to catch seagulls with a fishing net. Once he got bored of that he proceeded to smash a shovel into the sand in a rather violent manner. The next Jeff Dahmer perhaps....




4th was this rather large cricket, I will call him Norman. Norman landed on our friend N's shorts. N thought it would be really funny to flick Norman at me. Well he did and Norman hit my mouth and landed on my shoulder. I was still trying to recover from the attack on my lips when i looked down and saw Norman perched on my shoulder. I'm yelling at N to help me and get Norman off and he appears to be helping, when i realize no he's not. He's waiting for PP to take a picture of this and holding my hand so i can't smack Norman off of me. Norman somehow landed next in my hair, more pictures ensued along with no help from N. It was awful.

In the evening LD and I went with some friends to our old stomping ground. J told us her male friends had asked if we were single, hot and easy. We said that depended :P We danced and drank and eventually decided to go to J's friends place for an after party. We get some booze from the one guys apartment and move onto someone else's. This new guy decides he wants to get high and asks who wants to order some blow he'll call his dealer. I'm mortified as i'm waiting for the dealer to be one of my clients or something as we were partying in the city i work in. LD whispers to me that she feels as though we are in a bad after school special. Needless to say, the goods came but we did not partake. I just enjoyed my very lovely beer. We didn't get home until 4:30am and let me tell you, today was rather rough.

For the record, i'm single and hot but not easy :)

Bit of a Rant

This week thus far has been both good and bad. I was cat sitting for some friends and so i was able to catch up on my reading and relax which was good for a change. I went to visit a coworker at her new apartment as well. Sometime hopefully in the near future i will be moving to the city in which i work, i wanted to check out her neighbourhood and see what it was like. Not too bad for downtown i must say, though knowing me i'd be much more comfortable on the mountain away from the riff raff.

Work has been fine, in fact today i barely worked at all. I went to get my RCMP clearance, then had some chinese food for lunch, when i tried to get back to work my boss patted the couch and told me to hang out for another 10 mins and chat. None of us were working we sat in the group room for an hour talking away.

Now, where i park is starting to get a bit to me. I walked to my car, got in, looked up and noticed a man all of a sudden lying in the middle of the road where i had just walked past. I waited, he didn't move. I drove up, got out, by then the shelter workers were outside giving him first aid, i made sure they called the ambulance as he was gushing blood from his head. They said it was an assault, how could i have missed that? He was 20 feet away from me. It made me really sad and i actually cried, i felt terrible for him. I feel terrible for all of the people out there, sleeping on the grass, so dirty. The city has cut down a lot of the trees around the area so there is limited shade for the homeless to at least seek some solace from this terrible heat. As well, the city has decided not to issue extreme heat alerts or to have cooling stations available for those less fortunate. I think that's bullshit.

This evening we had a crazy crazy lightning storm.....i'll share a secret with those that don't know me, i'm terrified of lightning, truly afraid of it. I took a gravol and put my sleep mask on so i couldn't see it. I used to put my running shoes on and stay in the basement .... don't ask!! I was essentially trapped and my mother got a hold of me. My sister made some quip about me having a lot of time on my hands because i took photos of the kitties i was watching. My mother then joined in. She likes to do this to me every now and again. I call it the pissing contest to see who has the most to do or who is more overworked. I told my sister i leave for work at 7:30am and drive for 45mins, work till 5pm and do the 45 min commute back home. Generally after that i hit the gym and don't get home until 7:15pm or so. Depends if i have more to do such as volunteer or run errands. So no i don't seem to have an excessive amount of free time on my hands. Mother chimes in "well i got home at 8 tonight" and goes on and on about how when she got home she vacuumed blah blah. I told her i was not going to engage in her pissing contest...I'm now thinking that i should go and look at an apartment tomorrow, perhaps right in the downtown core with all the addicts and sex trade workers. Anything is looking better than this at the moment.