Gabriel's Tell A Tale Emporium

Cultural Practices vs. Government Laws In the past two years the use of hookah, which are water pipes used to smoke flavored tobacco or herbal molasses, has been a hotly debated issue all over the province of Alberta.   On November 7, 2013 an amendment was passed to Bill 33, which originally prohibited smoking in public places and workplaces, banned retail displays and advertising of tobacco products, and prohibited the sale of tobacco products in university campuses and stores that have a pharmacy in them, to include the ban of smoking tobacco like products in public places and vehicles.   The government of Alberta has been trying to crack down on smoking for the past six years but the new amendment has proven to have a strong cultural impact on people of Middle Eastern decent living in the province.   The use of hookah is a common and accepted cultural and social practice in many Middle Eastern cultures that dates back hundreds of years.   Many people of Mid

Smoaked Out- Ch.5 December. 12. 2012             What a crazy two days it's been.   The good thing about crazy days though is that I get to write in you more often!   Now where to start?   I guess the most logical place would be the phone call to Mr. Steele that I made last night.             I was sitting at my desk while going through the list of names in Mrs. Queen's notebook when I noticed something odd.   Just to be sure my hunch was right I ended up cross checking with some recent news reports on the web.   As always, my hunch turned out to be right, well at least in my mind.   Picking up the phone I quickly dialed Mr. Steele's cell number to share the news (I only have his number for 'work' related purposes...nothing more.   Plus, he's way too old, and married, and ew).             "I'm in the middle of a dinner party Ms. Smoak.   I hope this of some importance," Mr. Steele said as he answered my call.

Smoaked Out-Ch.4 December. 5. 2012 Good evening/ morning Diary,             You know how I said before that work's been pretty boring lately?   Well, I take that back.   The last two days were actually quite interesting.   What happened you ask?   Well let me tell you.   For the past few days I've been doing some extracurricular work, particularly on the subject of Ms. Queen's accidental money mishap.   As luck would have it, or skill in this case, I found something.   With Mr. Steele coming back from his trip the same day, I decided not to waste any time in telling him...and hey I may even get a possible promotion because I'm so good at what I do (Not only was that not the case, but I almost got fired in the process!).             Walking into Mr. Steele's office later that evening I quickly grabbed his attention with my world famous humor...and by world famous I mean I'm the only one who seems to get it.             &q

Good evening my dearest diary.             First off let me say how sorry I am that I've been neglecting you this last little while...not that you really can care right?   Still, I'm sorry.   My life's been pretty routine since I last wrote in you.   What have I been doing your ask?   Oh, just the usual stuff like waking up, going to work, listening to my annoying supervisor prattle on in my ear all day, and eating Chinese food way too much... oh, and being my fabulous self of course.   Every single day has been pretty much the same, which really makes me think I really need to get out more.   Spending a night on the town wouldn't be so bad would it?   And it's not like I don't have any friends... I SWEAR I STILL HAVE SOME FRIENDS!   Maybe I should call them up and we could go see a movie or maybe go out dancing?   I like to dance...and I'm pretty damn good at it too...no matter what anyone says.   Maybe I'll even meet someone..

Christmas Eve dinner is one of my favorite events of the year.   Every Christmas Eve my family and I join two other families for a traditional Polish Christmas dinner.   I would be lying if I didn't say that all the traditional Polish food wasn't the primary reason that this is my favorite time of the year.   If I take a minute to stop and really think about it though a whole other reason to love that night comes to mind.   All of the families that come together that night all have one thing in common.   Each and every one of them is an immigrant to Canada.   Every single person at the table has helped one another weather the struggles that immigration presents since we all first immigrated to Athens, Greece when I was still a child.   We have all helped one another survive language barriers, financial problems, and the loneliness that eventually comes when we had to leave our homes in an attempt to make our quality of life better than it was.   These people are my

            I've always considered myself to be a creative individual but it has been only in the past three years that my creativity has really begun to flourish.   As a life-long fan of literature I finally decided to start writing my own stories.   At first my stories were only for self-entertainment.   Over the course of a year-and-a-half of writing I came to realize that I actually loved being the one to create the stories instead of the one reading them and searching for the next great story.   The few people that I have allowed to read my works all encouraged me to keep writing and to let more people read my creations.   This led me to create my own blog entitled 'Gabriel's Tell-A-Tale Emporium' and to use social networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr to spread the word.   After another year of steady writing and growing my writer's platform I began to work on a novel series and a book of poetry.   Though I am still str

Bloodlust: An Arrow Fan Fiction-Chapter 4: Brother's in Arms          Oliver reentered the world of conscious beings by way of an ice-cold blast of water to the face.   Blinking away the shock and the pain that coursed through his body he tried to stand up only to find his hands and feet securely fastened to the chair that he was seated in.             "Wake up Mr. Queen," Oliver heard a deep bassy voice say through the haze of his mind.             Looking up slowly Oliver saw a grim looking Bruce Wayne standing over him holding an empty glass pitcher.   Watching Bruce place the pitcher down on a nearby table and pull up a chair Oliver struggled to free his hands from their bonds.             "There's no use in struggling Oliver," Bruce said as he took a seat directly across from his captive.   "I tied those towels on your hands and feet pretty tight.   You'll just end up hurting yourself trying to get out.&quo