let's give this a try

i have been tobacco free since 02/05/11. this is certainly not the first time i have stopped.
it seems i find a way a to use an event/disappointment/riding in the car with the malemate as an excuse to start up again.

however, i think i found something that just may work for me. i discovered the e-cigs. i had heard about them, but never knew anyone in r/l that used them.

i bought a disposable one in the local smoke shop and right away, it felt that i could use this as replacement. they had 3 different kits in the smoke shop, but for some reason, i just did not have a good feeling about them. so i started researching them.

this opened up an entire world that i knew nothing about. i was pleasantly surprised. at all the people that are using these and all the options.

for days, i read many forums, reviews, and watched oodles of opinions/reviews on youtube. the more i researched, the more overwhelmed and undecided i became.

the terminology itself was throwing me off - but i kept at it. it came to the point that i had 10-12 tabs open in firefox, each with a different vendor/product. finally i just pulled the trigger on one - the vapor4life starter kit. the next morning i got up and looked at it again, and researched some more, and realized that i am not going to be happy with that one. but it was too late. oh well, not the first time i have thrown away money -- and i am happy with my selections on the battery and l.e.d. - copper with a purple l.e.d. on the end - so who knows, maybe it will be okay.

so today i am impatiently waiting for it to arrive - and still continuing to read up on these things and watch even more reviews, and looking at other brands when i realize, i really don't want my new e-cig to be the shape of a cigarette - i really like the looks of the larger size ones and i really like the look of the mako midi but after further reading, it looked like it was a bit of a pain in the ass. so, i decided to click off it.

i ended up ordering the joye ego - in white ... naturally.
however, i did order some 'extras' to 'junque-i-fy' it to my taste, and i ordered a bunch of flavors and strengths. it will be interesting if i can actually kick the tobacco habit (or as the vapers call it - the analog habit) once and for all.

probably about the time i get really attached to these, the fucking government will ban them entirely -- and yet they refuse to ban cigarettes ???
i guess they haven't figured out a way to get all that tax money from the e-cigs like they get from the analogs.

by the next time i post, i will have received at least one of the kits and will be vaping away.

well hello 56

yesterday i turned 56. i was pissed on tuesday nite before going to bed - i hated it that it was the last day that i would be 55. i rather liked that double nickel age. but 56? well, it even sounds boring.

on my last night of being 55, we were slammed with 20" of snow, so when i arose on the first day of my 56th year, the world was covered in white. first off, i was bit torn with this, cuz i do hate the snow, but on the other hand, any shade of white is my favorite color - but definitely HATE the snow.

i downed a couple cups of very strong coffee, donned my jeans, sweater, down vest, coat, ear covers, gloves, and uggs and off to start the digging out in 1-degree temps. not long after, the malemate joined me and we managed to get it half done. we went in, thawed out for a couple hours, and then went back out and finished the drive.
it was tiring. cold. and i was in a pouty pissed off mood.

i came into the puter room to check on work only to find that i was having network problems. i isolated it to the router. i got on the phone with linksys. the foreigner is doing her 20 questions that have nothing to do with the hardware. finally she comes back and says i see that your 90-day free phone support has expired - and before she had a chance - i just said, "i guess we are done talking then." click.

pay for support or go buy another router? well, buying another router is by far the cheaper option plus i would get the free phone support for another 90 days.

by this time, i am really getting pissed off about what a crappyCrappyCRAPPY birthday this is.

i tell the malemate that i am going to walk to walmart to get a new router. he said he would go with, but that we should be okay taking the suv. so, for the third time, we bundled up in the layers of clothing, opened the garage door, got in the suv, started up, backed down the now cleaned off driveway, straight into the 20" deep snow of the street and, OF COURSE, we got stuck.

again, we grab the shovels and proceed to dig the suv out. got it dug out and pulled it right back in the garage.
clearly, i am not going anywhere on my day.
i stomped back in the house.

i went back to the office and started messing with the router settings once again.
finally, i just did a reboot on it - and miraculously, everything came back up - EVERYTHING - even my blackberry - which had NEVER connected to the router!

okay, so now i'm in a little better spirits.

then the malemate calls out that lunch is ready. he had made us his GREAT bacon burgers.

by now i'm starting to actually feel happy.

later, after i had showered and was winding down and had settled on the couch with a scotchie in hand, the malemate sits down on the other end - he grabs the lotion and tells me to give him my feet - he said, "afterall, it is your birthday and you should have a foot massage."
why yes indeed!

okay, at the end of that, i was feeling loved AND happy.
it ended up being a very good start to the 56th year.