DJ Am (Adam Goldstein)

I was watching the VMA's (MTV video music awards) last week when some rapper guy (I have no clue who he was, there seem to be so many...I know it was not Jay Zee) dedicated his song to the above mentioned Adam Goldstein.

What really pissed me off was the fact that he waxed lyrical about the guy.
(Now he was probably really nice, but he obviously had issues and yes, that is plural!)

Why then did he not also mention to the millions of children and teens watching the show that he had been (and was at the time of his demise) a drug user.
Why was this opportunity not used to reinforce the fact that using crack will ultimately put you in an early grave. Why was it not stated that there are alternative ways to work out your issues.
Why was this guy even mentioned?????

I know he was someones son, brother etc. But for fucks sake, lets stop glamourizing this culture of drug taking and alcohol abuse.
Get this into perspective, share the fact that drug use will kill you and show the deaths of these 'celebrities' as an example of what NOT to do. It may have more of an impact.

At the very same awards show Madonna gave a lengthy and pretty fucking boring speech about Michael Jackson. (Another very troubled person, however one with infinately more talent than Mr AM)
Seemingly at some point during this speech she forgot why she was there and managed to talk for a good five minutes about (you guessed it) Madonna, who incidentaly has got a new single out which sounds exactly like all the stuff she did in the 80's. Some people should just learn to give up gracefully!!!

Where the hell has my spellcheck gone........ I'm posting without correcting then!!!

Dieppe aquatic centre. Dieppe, New Brunswick

What a total crock of shit.


Yes people I am angry, infuriated, pissy...in fact I am downright fucking raging!





This weekend will see the grand opening of the brand new aquatic centre in Dieppe, New Brunswick.





Here are some reasons I will not be attending.

I absolutely refuse to pay 10% more than the residents of Dieppe.

Who the hell do these people think they are (the council, not the residents)?For one thing you have absolutely NO right to ask me for proof of my address and for another I don't see a single resident of Dieppe being asked by the residents of either Moncton or Riverview, to pay 10% more when they visit a local bar or attraction, etc.

I know, lets charge the residents of Dieppe to cross the Gunningsville bridge..

We live in a community that has a large influx of visitor during the summer, they are NOT going to appreciate that bollocks for a second.

I will not, nor have I ever since I was in school wear a fucking bathing cap.

Over the summer I swam in hotel pools, Centennial beach and several fabulous beaches in the area. Not once did I wear a bathing cap and I am female. How many men can you see wearing a bathing cap...We are not in the 19th century in New Brunswick..or are we? Next we will all be required to wear a one piece bathing suit!

Of course if I were completely bald this wouldn't be a requirement. (Is this just my head hair that is being referred to, I wonder?)

What if I am a totally bald guy (or girl, lets not discriminate here) who is hirsute over the rest of his body? Will he/she be required to wrap himself in plastic wrap before entering the pool?

When is this pool actually catering to the needs of the public? I checked the schedule and it seems that it will only be open for approximately three hours a day.. What the fuck is that going to accomplish?

When I lived in Sherwood park, AB, the local pool and fitness centre was open from 5.30am until 11pm(it still is!). This was a project similar to the aquatic centre in Dieppe, but for $8million more there were ice rinks, a fully equipped, state of the art fitness gym, two indoor soccer pitches, a concessions area, an indoor children's play area, an aerobics facility and there were two pools, a steam room, a lazy river, a sauna, a wave machine, a children's wet play area(I could list more but I have provided a link). Childcare was available for a small charge, giving tired Moms a chance to have some me time.

Click on the link to take a peek!

http://http//www.strathcona.ab.ca/Strathcona/Departments/Recreation+Parks+and+Culture/Indoor+recreation/Millennium+Place/default.htm

The entry charge was approximately $8 per adult $5 for a child. For this fee you could stay all day and use all the facilities.

When exactly do the powers that be expect they will turn a profit, or at the very least earn back the hard earned money of Dieppe taxpayers?

It's not as if they turn the pool off to save money when the frigging thing is not open to the public. It is operational 24/7 unless it is being cleaned!

Have they even considered the huge amount of revenue that could be gained from Moms and pre-school kids, day cares, the folk who like an early morning swim before work, seniors in the retirement years..... again, the list could go on.

This has been a farce right from the word go and in my opinion is just a banal attempt at one upmanship.

Well let me tell you Mr Mayor of Dieppe, your attempt is a downright fucking failure.

When it is convenient Dieppe, Moncton and Riverview make sad and pathetic attempts to appear as a united front however if (lets use the Casino as another example) one gets something the others wanted, pacifiers are spat and feet are stamped. Residents are made to suffer and taxes are squandered so that you can once again do one better.

If this had been the money of a private investor deadlines would have been met and we would now have a fabulous fitness centre/pool/community centre that was open to the public when they need it, not when it is convenient.

Below is a link to yet another frivolous spending spree. While on a much larger scale it just goes to show what politicians are able to get away with while spending other peoples cash!

http://http//www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/research/pdf_res_notes/rn01-64.pdf

Finally, I would really like to know how there can be over 300 children signed up for classes and there is already a waiting list, when the facility is not yet open and I have not seen a single newspaper/website advertising services anywhere in the area, nor have I heard a whiff on the radio?

I suppose that none of the children pre-signed are related to Dieppe councillors or their friends and family?

I'm not going to rant on. it's pretty fucking pointless really, the damage is done and another $16million of hardworking taxpayers money has been frittered away by irresponsible pricks who really should know better.

I hope they remembered to claim back their lunch and business expenses while they were working on this project.........

Plastic surgery

Tattoo Man announced on Friday that he was considering surgery to remove his wrinkles..

Without hesitation I grabbed the sticky tape from the kitchen and proceeded to perform a procedure.

Of course I was almost pissing my knickers during the whole thing, but the results were (and this is my own personal opinion) pretty impressive and there was no pain or cost involved.

Botox is absolutely overrated and scalpels should be deposited into the sharps disposal immediately.

Sticky tape is where it's at!!

Peeling the stuff back off was pretty bloody hilarious too.

Look, no frown lines....

Summer

....has seemingly arrived and gone again, without so much as a whisper of "I'm bored" from the 9 year old.

A constant supply of friends to hang out with helped immensely, along with a huge amount of space to wander in and explore.

It would appear that this latest house move was a stroke of genius, unfortunately I cannot take the merit for that and must give the credit to Tattoo man (bugger, bollocks and bitches)

Summer didn't go quite as smoothly as I'm letting on though.

I was unlucky enough to be the driver of my SUV when a young boy ran out from behind a stationary vehicle and collided with said vehicle.

Fortunately he wasn't seriously hurt and it has made me a bit more 'aware' of any movement than I would perhaps like to be while I am driving (and while I am a passenger in any vehicle)

Because of this Shakka had to miss 3 days of summer school at the Theatre, which she wasn't too happy about, but she will doubtless make up for it.

Tattoo man and I managed a whole 2 day break away to attend a fabulous wedding in St. John NB at the end of August.

I have been to lot's of weddings, but never one like this. The whole thing was in the Theatre and it was just unique.

It was very strange being away from Shakka, even for 2 days and she called me in tears on the Saturday with very real signs of homesickness and missing her Mom.

I got up the next morning at 4.30 to go and collect her...yes Mommy was missing her girl too!!

We spent a fabulous day at Riverglade watching the MotoX, resulting in the purchase of a 110cc Kawasaki (pronounced ca wa ski if you are a 9 year old!!), which was ABSOLUTELY necessary, honestly Dad... Tattoo man and me (despite the weight restriction) have had several outings, but alas, Shakka is terrified to ride the bloody thing..is now a good time to say I TOLD YOU SO..

LOOK OUT Kijiji, here I come!!!

Blog has not been too forthcoming, but it`s been as hectic as hell. Not that I'm complaining, this summer has been pretty fantastic.

I will try and step it up a gear once I have completed the final step of my immigration paperwork (citizenship) after the small people have returned to their learning institutions!!

Now I have to apologize, my keyboard has gone funky and is putting the wrong comma`s etc in the wrong places..but you`ll have to live with it!!

HALLOWEEN...bring it on

Mortgage Mayhem

Whew. What a hectic few months. But life is back on a level and it's time to vent!!

I have tried on several occasions to sit and compose a blog or two, this one at the forefront, but unfortunately moving house and all the bullshit that was being thrown (and dodged........ not without an increase in blood pressure, I hasten to add) interfered with my concentration and ability to put words in an orderly and sensible manner.
Plus, I was so busy unpacking an arranging that I hardly picked up the PC!!!

Let's start at the beginning....
An offer on our last house. Albeit a very low one, over the course of the weekend increased to a reasonable number, although I am not sure where the request for my leather reclining love seat (I said no) and then my elliptical machine (are you serious??) fit in... You can keep my curtains, I won't need them where I'm going!!

OK, so an accepted offer. Then a dash to put in an offer on what is now our new home (and fabulous it is I have to say)

So an accepted offer on the home we were to purchase ensued and I called our mortgage co.
I was told that we should have financing in place by Friday at the latest (this was on the Tuesday) but was still waiting on the Monday and I had called the Mortgage co. several times at this point. Of course they don't work weekends!

Tattoo man and I couldn't decide what amortization to opt for at this point so we asked for a quote on 18 years, 15 years and 10. Easy you may think, but that is when the shit hit the fan and started flying rapidly around the room.
The house we were purchasing is outside City limits, but locally is not considered particularly rural, as it is a house lined street and has electricity.
Also, it was for sale privately, not listed on MLS and no REALTOR was involved in the sale, or purchase. Not a problem......... I used to be a REALTOR.
At this point I was informed (although nothing was mentioned on my written quote) that I would need to have an assessment/ appraisal on the price which would cost me $275. The mortgage co. would order this for me.
This was done over the course of the wrangle that was ongoing, but I was not allowed to see the result even though I was going to pay for it, because it had been ordered by the mortgage co.

I don't fucking think so!!

I am already not happy. I know the value of the property as I have compared local properties for sale, besides isn't a property realistically worth what someone is willing to pay!
So, Tattoo man and I re assess and decide that we will take a longer amortization. Bring it on.

Not only will we now need an assessment/ appraisal, call it what you will. But now CMHC will be requiring approximately $2,000 because of the longer borrowing period and because the property is rural and not listed on MLS......EH???

OK, so let's revert to the original plan.

Amazing though it seems we will no longer be required to pay CMHC.
What kind of drugs are you people taking?? You are now telling me that because I am taking 4 years of my borrowing time that my property is no longer rural and is seemingly listed on MLS??

NO

Well that is what it sounds like.

This malarkey lasted a total of 2 weeks, with Emails from the mortgage co. (most of them with incorrect figures, grammar and spelling) and phone calls from the mortgage co. which included childish sniggering from the agent involved and a general lack of respect!

I was fed contradiction after contradiction and was even at one point told that CMHC always required some security payment from purchasers in Windsor, ON. I live in NB and there is no auto industry anywhere near here, so where the crap is that comparison relevant....oh I know, Windsor, ON!!!

Almost at breaking point I was talking to a friend who suggested I visit her Mortgage Consultant at the local bank. I did and was approved for a mortgage on the spot.
NO CMHC payments, no assessments/ appraisals and a much more favorable interest %!!
UN freaking real.

I headed home and Emailed my current provider to inform them that I would no longer require financing on the purchase of my new home.......only to receive 3 additional calls over the next 2 days telling me that the paperwork had been processed for the original agreement (which had not been accepted because I had changed certain things and initialed them) and forwarded to my lawyer......
So on the 4th call I handed the phone to Tattoo Man......

As a result of cancelling my mortgage at the point of sale I was required to pay almost $4,000 in interest accrued and $250 for 'administration', I did not pay for the appraisal and rightly so.
My new mortgage is at a significantly lower rate of interest and my contact is easily accessible and more to the point....local and despite the fact that I borrowed more that I did for the last mortgage, to cover the penalty required by the last lender, I am paying less out each month.

A lesson learned the hard way perhaps, but showing me the real side of large financial institutions, who quite obviously take advantage of people less savvy that myself and Tattoo Man on a regular basis.
Never again will I borrow (or attempt to) any amount of money without being physically able to sit in an office with the representative of the company I wish to borrow from.
It's pure and total insanity to even contemplate such a thought and a serious health risk in my opinion.

Now if you will excuse me for a while, I have to write to the ombudsman................

Waiting...patiently

While I await the closing day on the sale of our house I am a little at a loss for writing.

You see I really need to get down on here a situation SO unreal that I still don't believe it, but I do not want to jinx the house sale and therefore I am forced to wait just a little longer to get down my (now unscrambled) thoughts on the matter.

That said moving day is coming ever closer and I am still not particularly organized.

For the past 5 weeks or so life has moved at lightning speed.

Shakka has been in rehearsals for the production of 'Petcudiac' (which is being performed on Saturday June 6th at The Capitol Theatre, Moncton) at least 3 nights a week and 5 this week!

http://www.capitol.nb.ca/

Tattoo Man has been working ridiculously long hours(and that is NO joke...I'm talking upwards of 15 a day here people) and I have been dealing with financial, removal, theatrical and educational matters on a whole different level than the norm!

Tattoo Man also spent the day in a recording studio two weekends ago and the result was 11 of his song's (YES the man is multi talented) finally down on CD. OK there is tweaking needs to be done, but the overall result was pretty damned fabulous!

A holiday is really needed by all at this point, but there is no time! Tattoo Man has actually booked a week off work for the first time in 4 years. Needless to say at least one of those days is already planned out by the arrival of AC/DC, playing their ONLY outdoor gig in North America on their Black Ice tour.

Mentally, I have already moved into our new home and am planning out a few changes here and there, so I am really no longer interested in the house we currently live in.

School is almost at an end for another year at which point 11 weeks of "when do we go back to school" and "I'm really bored" start a repetitive cycle.. enough to drive even a totally sane person gaga. I am of course half cooked to begin with so what frigging chance do I have?

I want to say that during this mayhem I managed to get a hall pass to attend a gig at Moncton Coliseum on Friday. Disturbed were the headlining band, but I only saw them perform two songs and they really don't do it for me.

However...Art of Dying, from Vancouver (the band featured in my previous blog) were there to open the show.

http://www.artofdyingmusic.com

They kicked serious ass.

Not only are they great live, but they are also a great bunch of guys who really deserve to be headlining their own tour.

Here's a little pic of me with vocalist and writer Jonny Hetherington!!

OK, enough of the free blog publicity!

SO....with everything being so breakneck right now, blogging is on the back burner until we are moved into our 'new' abode.

I'm under no illusion that there will be happenings that will be cause for blogging at a later date. Nothing EVER runs smoothly during a house move, but until that time I shall take the time out to concentrate on the matters in hand...all 45 of them!!

It's been a while

It indeed has been a while since I got my creative crap together and sat down to write a blog.
The reason for this being that we had an offer on our house, which in turn led to the rapid need for re-housing and a sprint to put in an offer on one which Tattoo Man has had his eye one for quite some time!
Timing being what it is we just made it, as two more 'tentative' offers came in on the same weekend!! Whew......

Strange to think the offer came in after just 3 views, when in the previous 2 years it had been listed twice, with a glimmer of hope on one occasion which led to a big load of nothing.

Also strange was the fact that this time we really didn't need to sell, when before, with Tattoo man working 200 miles away and a conditional offer on another property we just couldn't pull it together.

My friend (& REALTOR) has always said things happen for a reason and it would appear to me that she has absolutely hit the proverbial nail right on it's head.

Tattoo Man wanted a house with a view, he's getting it. He will be able to see nothing but trees for miles, and miles and..you get the idea!

I wanted nothing more than to be able to put our daughter on the school bus every morning and not fight the cluster fuck that is the school parking lot every afternoon.

The child, well she still wants to go to Disney (there's always one!) and it's in the early discussion stages. We shall see what happens on that subject after we are settled in.

I have to go, there is packing to be done!!

Art of Dying

http://www.artofdyingmusic.com/

Finally, after almost 2 years of asking when?? I am happy to say that Vancouver based band Art of Dying are coming to the East coast of Canada & more importantly MONCTON.

Opening for Disturbed, AOD will be the first of 4 (I hope I got that right!) bands playing Moncton Coliseum on May 29th (Check the AOD website for confirmation on the date!).

Vocalist Jonny Hetherington will have no trouble holding your attention for the AOD set. He is (in my opinion) an incredibly talented lyricist & has an absolutely fabulous voice.

See you there!!

Tampon commercials

WHY??

Most woman of childbearing age in Canada (& indeed the Western world) are well aware that they have periods, menstruate, call it what you will & buy tampons & sanitary towels with a frequency and precision that almost equals the purchase of coffee each morning!

Why then do producers of these necessary products insist upon ramming them down our throats (not literally I hope you understand) during out TV dinners, while we are watching a movie with our children & while Mike Holmes is taking a break from whacking his wood!!

My friend & bridesmaid once wrote a letter to the then English labour govt. demanding Tampons be made FREE. Irrelevant to a point, but it would have eradicated the need for such advertisements!

Tattoo man cringes at such advertisements, as I would imagine do most men.
To them these small, white, expanding wads of cotton are nothing more than an inconvenience, nasty & messy to boot.
They cause blocked toilets & endless hours of plunging, sticking your hand down the lav & wanking!

They do of course serve a purpose while out with friends in the bar, not only are they a serious cause for amusement once dropped into your buddy's nice cold pint (much on a level with dentures), but they sop up spill more rapidly than Bounty could ever hope to!
You can wear them over your ears as jewelry & wow, look how far they fly once sopping wet, not to mention how well they stick to the ceiling & for how long!!

OK, so I may be a little off the point here, but now it's gone too far.
Tena underwear for men??
I'm sure middle aged (& above) men with bladder issues will have already been made aware that there are products out there for incontinence (the wives & Dr's have precedence here boys) & will be sending the little lady off to the drugstore on the QT to purchase them!!

I did once witness a commercial for a Douche in the US many years ago........SERIOUSLY

I am no prude (far, far from it) but let's keep things in perspective, no one wants to watch this while they are drinking a nice cold one or eating a delicious rare steak fresh from the grill!!

We are all grown ups & we all go shopping, if we need it we will ask, if it has wings it says so on the packaging .............
& if you leak unnecessarily consult your GP!!!!

You need an upgrade......

Imagine if you will a deaf English man (& I'm talking hearing aids here people) & a young lady who's first language is NOT English, having a telephone conversation, on a cell with bad reception (out of work hours in at least one case) about how best to upgrade a computer system after the computer has been moved from one location to another!!

So, the first time this scenario occurred it was a little after 7.30pm.
Well after working hours in Atlantic Canada, obviously not in Texas.

Don't they have watches in Texas?? I always thought they had 3 more of everything & it was much bigger & could operate at thrice the speed..... I must be mistaken.

OK, so the instructions on this particular call are simple, if a little misheard at at least one end of the call & a little mis-pronounced at the other!!
It is important that the transferred PC (good job said English Chap is working late at the office today folks, because he has access to both PCs, were he at home that would not be the case!)) & the one already in place are both powered up while the upgrade & transfer of files is occurring. Easy............

Seeing this to be a total failure prompts call #2... during (but only just) working hours this time, reception not great, but hey, we'll give it a shot!

What you really need to do is just leave the transferred computer running.Simple........

Yet another fucked up attempt to get this thing running & here comes call #3.
Way beyond a frigging joke this time I'm guessing.

NCIS is on & I have just opened a very nice bottle of Chilean Red, buy a fucking watch & leave us alone!!

I can hear the tension rising at this end of the call.

I am not in my office.....I left them both on the first time, then you changed your mind, so I just left one (I'm loosing the signal & it's 8pm) switched on the second time, I have to (I'm losing you again, can you speak up & a little more clearly, I'm having trouble hearing you) just leave them both on again....is that what you are telling me???

Look I'm not in the office now, yes but we have already tried to do that, can you say that again..... I really can't hear what you are saying, no I don't have access to either of them, I'm NOT in my office, I will call your office first thing on Monday.......

Now, add some pacing, tapping of fingers on kitchen counters & a shit load of eye rolling to that mental image if you will, then repeat the whole conversation for 10 minutes.........
Get the idea yet??

MONDAY
# is dialled........ answer is : I'm sorry we do not recognise the # as dialled please hang up & try again!!!!!!!

I don't have the conclusion to this story.......
I just laughed my ass off at the image of it all.......... apart, you understand, from the NCIS interruption.
Way beyond necessary!!