Flu Bugs, Painting Models, eBay, Smoke Juice, and General Mayhem

This week's blog is a pretty mixed up pile of commentary. It fits well the overall title of the blog actually. I've spent this entire past work week (Monday – Friday) at home with a lovely case of the Flu. Of course, this went over like a big lead balloon at work I'm sure. Not that there was a ton of stuff going on at work this week, what with the Independence Day weekend coming up and no shows going out, but there is/was a very large dealer order to be filled and I wasn't there to help with it. I spent the bulk of the week taking TheraFlu or NyQuil and sleeping. In between naps, I tried to keep folks abreast of my illness via Facebook and Twitter.

Prior to the week of sickness, I had attempted to start painting again in the form of Warhammer models. Being as that I could feel the sickness coming on even as early as Friday (6/26) and my nose kept running, it made painting rather challenging. I mean, try painting a 28mm detailed miniature while having to stop every few seconds to grab a Kleenex. To the left is an unpainted model next to the one I painted (a task that took me several days to complete because I didn't feel well enough until late Wednesday (6/30) to finish some of the details, hence the reason only one out of a few dozen has been painted). As you can see, I suck at painting. To give myself some credit, it's the first time I've painted anything like that in over ten years, so I actually did pretty good. Now I just have to nut up the gumption to try things like washes and dry brushing to bring out the minute details in the model. I never was all that good at either of those techniques, probably because when I was a thirteen year old D&D geek, I didn't even know those techniques existed. I always liked to look at pictures of completed models and miniatures and always wondered how they got them to look so vibrant. Well, now I know, I just need to learn how to do it myself. So, the one model I've painted is technically incomplete from a certain point of view – but I had fun painting it and I've got plenty more models in the one Warhammer boxed set I own to keep practicing on (it's not like I can't strip it and repaint it later after I get good at it).

Speaking of Warhammer, I'm afraid to admit that it's causing me to become somewhat of an eBay junkie. I'm not going overboard buying and bidding, but I do have about a dozen or more things that I'm watching at any given time. I've logged into my eBay account more in the last two weeks than in the last two years I think. Previously I was looking to rebuild my collection of role playing game books. Now I'm searching for deals on Warhammer 40,000 models. It's a good thing too, because I have to admit, the prices on eBay are tons less expensive than actually going through Games Workshop itself. Case in point, the “Space Wolves Battleforce” retails for $90 on GW's website, but I've found it for as little as $64 (or less) on eBay! Of course, I have to keep an eye on how much folks are charging for shipping else I'm right back to paying as much as I would from GW.

In other online ordering news, I finally decided to order some Johnson Creek Smoke Juice to try to refill my spent e-cigarette cartridges myself. Being as how most of my empties are menthol, and I really didn't want to find out what it would be like to mix flavors, I ordered a half ounce bottle of their Arctic Menthol smoke juice. At only about $10 (plus shipping) for a half ounce bottle, it's actually way cheaper than ordering the actual cartridges from Red Dragon which would run around $12 for four cartridges. The trick now is to figure out just how much to drip into the cartridges. To much, and it'll leak (and I'm sure that would taste just nasty) and to little would be like I never put anything in them at all. Of course, everyone else's opinion is that I should just quit smoking altogether. Naturally, that would be ideal, but until I can work on overcoming the nicotine addiction completely, I'll keep using the e-cigarettes as a way to reduce my actual smoking. Incidentally, for those of you who smoke – who do you find to be more obnoxious, those who have never smoked, and therefore have no idea how hard it is to quit, or those who have managed to quit and act all superior because they were able to and you haven't yet? Just curious.

In the general mayhem department, well, the flu causes just that. Being sick always sucks, but when it causes you to miss work when you get paid by the hour, it really sucks. When sickness means not even being able to read or write or paint or whatever else you enjoy doing, then it just makes the days you are sick seem that much longer because all you can do to pass the day is either sleep, or watch TV in a cold-medicine haze. Eating isn't enjoyable because you can't taste anything, and you feel like if you see another can of chicken noodle soup you're going to scream (which, of course, would hurt like hell because of the sore throat).

The other thing being sick slows me down on is job searching. I like my job – there's something about taking a shoulder of bull-hide and turning it into a bunch of quality belts or seeing it become a batch of gun holsters that's pretty cool. But it's not a career. With my fiancee actively searching for work in her field, now that she has her Master's degree, I also sort of need to have a job that would allow me to easily transfer. I've hesitated about filling out applications with places, like BestBuy for example, because of a slight sense of loyalty to my current employer (who's also my uncle by marriage) and also because of things coming up like Jury Duty that could interfere with things. Not to mention, I'm not really sure I want to go back into working retail again, but hey, that's what I know and what I'm good at; plus someplace like BestBuy could lead to experience in actual computer technician work while working on a degree and/or certifications in the Information Technology (IT) field at the same time. Anyway, I need to sort that out soon... very soon.

~ JC

Puff The Magic Dragon

I doubt anyone reading this would disagree that smoking is bad, MmKay? Well, quitting smoking really sucks! In the last ten years or so, I've attempted to quit smoking with mostly failed attempts. The last time I tried to quit “cold turkey” I became such a grumpy ass that I actually had co-workers begging me to start again. I wish I could go back in time and try to convince that fourteen year old kid not to even start, but I can't. I have, however, finally found a device that may just finally be the ticket to quitting smoking for good. A few weeks ago a couple of people I work with found an electronic cigarette, or e-cigarette, while attending a gun show. It is called Red Dragon (hence the catchy title of this blog). After taking a couple of puffs off of one of their Red Dragon e-cigarette, I decided to order one for myself once I received my income tax refund. Now, I have to admit that the initial investment in a Red Dragon e-cigarette isn't cheap; I ordered the eight piece starter kit, four extra cartridges and a carrying case the total cost of which came to around $120 with express shipping. But, after only a couple of weeks I have managed to reduce the amount that I actually smoke real cigarettes my half or more. The e-cigarette emits vaporized liquid nicotine rather than smoke, so there is no tar, carbon monoxide or other harmful chemicals. So, it may not be a “safe cigarette” but it is safer. There is also no foul odor or second hand smoke, so I can use this indoors and in the car without having to roll down the windows. Because the Red Dragon looks and feels like a real cigarette, I feel like I'm getting smoking satisfaction, and because it does contain nicotine (unlike some other electronic cigarettes I've seen) it actually helps with the cravings. I really like that the cartridges are available in four strengths of nicotine, ranging from high to none so that I can step-down how much nicotine I'm getting over time to eventually break the addiction.

Not only is the Red Dragon e-cigarette less harmful, but it is also more cost effective, at least in the long term. Now I know what you're thinking; you're thinking that I said it cost me $120. That's true. The initial cost is kind of high, but the cost of the cartridges themselves actually ends up potentially being less than buying regular cigarettes. One cartridge is roughly the equivalent of a pack of cigarettes. So, if I buy a pack of four cartridges at $12, that is like buying four packs of cigarettes. I don't know about you, but I can't buy regular cigarettes for that price, unless I buy the super cheap, super disgusting off brands, which frankly I refuse to do. I mean, if I'm going to smoke, it's going to be Marlboro or Camel. Those cheap brands burn my throat, and they burn up so much faster than the name brands that I don't really feel like I've saved anything in terms of money. Not only are the e-cigarette cartridges mathematically more cost effective, but I have also found a site called Johnson Creek Original Smoke Juice, which sells liquid nicotine. So, even though Red Dragon doesn't really recommend it, I can refill my used cartridges myself for an even bigger cost savings.

Cons
- Initial Cost is rather expensive depending on the kit ordered
- Currently no retail outlets where I live, which means I have to pay for shipping plus have to order well in advance to insure I don't run out
- Battery could go dead while away from home or cartridge could run out without a way to obtain a fresh one if I didn't remember to bring an extra

Pros
- No tar or carbon monoxide poisoning
- No odor or second hand smoke means I can smoke in the house and inside my favorite coffee shop again instead of outside in the heat, cold or rain
- Cartridges and smoke juice for DIY refills actually much less expensive than real cigarettes (comparatively speaking)
- Red Dragon boasts 25 different flavors (such as Regular, Menthol, Vanilla, Cherry, etc)
- Ability to vary the amount of nicotine even all the way down to none to help step-down the addiction
- It looks and feels like a real cigarette, which helps with the psychosomatic aspect of smoking addiction

~ JC