Welcome to the freak show

I am the first to admit and recognize that I am paranoid beyond a generally acceptable level. This is not to be confused with a guilty conscious because I'm not doing anything wrong but I am cautious and careful and have an occasional tendency to overthink things. I don't like to be right about it but there is a certain satisfaction in the knowledge that my 'paranoia' saved me from pain or harm.

In most places with secure parking there is a rule/suggestion that you wait for the gate to close to ensure no-one slipped in to break into or steal cars -we've also had one or more incidents with firearms on the property in the past- so I was a little bothered to see a guy creep in after my car at 11:00 tonight. I waited in the car for a few minutes trying to decide what to do. I eventually decided to drive back out and see if he was hiding in the doorway he had gone towards, I didn't see him so I parked and went to leave the underground. We have an electrical room beside the door I take to my apartment and there he was in it. You would think that would be enough for me to know he is supposed to be there but once my mind had started, good luck. He was on the phone and I was listening to see if I could hear what he was talking about but only heard him rattle off some account numbers. I ended up interrupting him because I was becoming less uncomfortable and more put out by the whole thing. His brief, short and vague explanation appeased me because I was tired and most of the fear was gone, but some 45+ minutes later I hear some rustling and tapping on the wall beside my head in bed, imagine my shock to look out the window and see this person has the fire alarm off and is basically wiring/unwiring my wall. Now I feel it is prudent to reiterate that I am not having a guilty episode, but I don't feel unreasonable at becoming more concerned, especially when I ask for a business card and he doesn't have one.

I get his info, he provides me with the name and number of the person who called him in to do/fix whatever it was he was up to (it checks out as someone who really does work here) so I go straight to google, http://www.activefire.ca/ it appears to be a true business but there is no history and for all my paranoid mind knows, he created this website in his white van with no windows that is in the underground (which I got pictures of so if I am done away with tonight hopefully the authorities will find the pictures in my camera and put 2 and 2 together) shortly before I arrived home.

It's so weird, do I notice these things because I'm paranoid or am I paranoid because of these kind of things? I think it's a bit of a catch 22 here, but don't worry I am not too scared (he's gone now) but I will not be getting changed in my bedroom anymore.

Boycott Snow Buddies

I heard about this last week I think but just remembered it again.
A movie, Air Buddies, was being filmed here in Vancouver and from what I gather the main story line involves some golden retriever puppies.
First of all, this companies manages to get more then 22-6 week old golden retriever puppies at the same time.
Now if I learned one thing from reading about dogs (namely pit bulls) it was a bit about responsible breeding. No responsible breeder would have 2 or more puppies on the ground at one time. Responsible breeders would not generally have more then one litter, per mother, each 2 years; and those puppies would be kept with their mother and littermates until 8 weeks (not shipped to another country without shots etc).
So there's one strike against them.
Then they bring the dogs into Canada and house them (without shots) with some other older dogs, more then puppies got sick and in the end, 2 died. It could have been any of a number of various illnesses which require puppies to have shots before they're allowed to interact with other dogs, several people are looking into this including the Vancouver SPCA but there are US laws that clearly state you can not ship puppies for commercial use before 8 weeks old, Disney specifically requested 6-7 week old puppies.
What shocked me was when I visited the breeder's website the first thing on there is a screen shot of a news cast talking about the film Air bud/dies and the breeders who provided the puppies.
Anyways, you can bet your bottom dollar we won't be seeing this film, or any of it's predecessors. Hopefully as the movie is nearing release there will be a renewed media interest and others will boycott it too.

Do you have a word you just can't stand?

Have you got a word that could drive you to the edge?

I know a lot of people do. A lot of people find various curse words offensive. I admit I have a rather strong potty mouth, I am usually pretty good about controlling it when needed, but sometimes (like with friends and drinking) I let it run rampant.

There is really no swear word I won't use, some I do reserve for very special occasions (you can probably imagine what they might be) but I don't really get offended when I hear other people cussing.

I have one word that could drive me to violence and it's not even a cuss. I cringe when I hear it, I want to commit violent acts against people who use it.
I know posting this will encourage certain people who read this to use it with wild abandon in the hope of watching me flip my lid but they won't, I've spent too much time and money improving myself and my outlook on life to give them that satisfaction.

I'm not all that fond of the word whore. but the word I really hate is Junkie.

I have noticed an increase in the use of this word in the newspapers. It appears though that I have been able to enlighten some of the local reporters (eloquently and politely) to the connotations that word has, and that using it negates from any good work they may be doing (in my eyes at the very least).

So far every reporter who I have emailed to express my dissapointment in their use of the word have been very open and receptive. Most have said they weren't aware of how it would make people feel and they would refrain from using it along with asking what a better term was, and you know what? I read a later article by one of said reporters and I kid you not, he had replaced the word with the suggestion I gave him

PETA kills animals

Bad PETA.
First they said they though pit bulls should be banned, I thought 'you assholes', then they argued for 'total animal liberation'; that means no house pets, no guide dogs, no companion animals NOTHING.
Then the really nasty truth came out, PETA actually kills animals, a LOT of animals. They also do it in the most underhanded way, last year 2 PETA staff members were going to people's homes, to shelters and to veterinary offices and picking up animals under the guise of adopting them out. What was actually happening was that they had a case full of illegal substances used to kill animals, and then to add the final insult to this terrible injury they dumped the animals in a f*&#ing DUMPSTER at a MALL!!!!
I'll let you go to the site that the title links to because there is to much to post, and I am already struggling to keep this as cuss-free as possible, but here's a few factoids for you to ponder.
HERE is the official paperwork in case you think it's bullshit

In the second half of '98 - 72.6 of all animals received by PETA were killed
In 1999 - 73.6% of the 943 received animals were killed
In 2000 - 75.6% of 1,805 were killed
In 2001 - 72.4% of 2,685 were killed
In 2002 - 85.7% of 2,680 were killed
In 2003 - 85.9% of 2,224 were killed
In 2004 - 86.3 % of 2,640 were killed
And in 2005 90.7% of received animals were killed.

You may notice a trend that is heading upwards. While there are animals that need to be euthanized because of suffering or injury, people have stepped forward, including vets, to say that they have turned over perfectly healthy puppies and kittens that were subsequently killed by PETA (which incidentally does not have ANY staff member -including the 2 which brought this into the open- who are trained or legally authorized to euthanize animals.

There's also the nearly $10,000 walk in freezer that was purchased to store the dead animals before they were sent off to a contracted facility to be incinerated.

I hope you'll take a minute to peruse the site, then of course there is the small issue about Pamela Anderson, I think she's great, I'm proud that she's Canadian but I don't buy for one second that she hasn't taken a Hep C treatment that was at some point tested on animals.
I think this may be one more (of too many) case of so-called 'charities' that get too big for their britches and become corporations.

EDFC 4 TOMORROW!

Wow, I can't believe it's almost here.
I had accidentally volunteered to be the donation coordinator for the silent auction, whoops! Lol, just joking, it wasn't THAT bad but in order to do it again the person asking is going to have to resort to loads of flattery.
I just picked up the last items and was looking forward to a nice relaxing evening, maybe a little housework but a majority of nothing. Alas, I checked my email, and there are 3 last minute donations in spitting distance from where I was not too long ago.
Now I'm just being a baby, the fact that this is the biggest hurdle we faced (I had help) is pretty friggin' good I think.
So, just to refresh your memory,
WHEN: TOMORROW Sunday March 4, 2007
4:00pm to 12:00 midnight
WHERE: The Drake Showlounge, 606 Powell Street, Vancouver
WHY: To raise funds to be divided between a former dancer who is battling ovarian cancer (for the second time) and Rethink Breast Cancer a Canadian breast cancer charity.
Tickets are $10 at the door
There will be door prizes, raffles and draws and a great silent auction with lots of wonderful items from some great sponsors.
That's my pitch for today but hopefully I'll see some of you there!