Have you ever noticed how a phone on vibrate sounds a lot like a "personal massager"?

I read that as "Personnel Massager" :D

When did GC become Brad!?!?!

No idea. Didn't even notice until you pointed it out. Then again when I see your screen name my brain says Heidi. When I saw GC, my brain said Brad. I'm not a good person to answer this question.

er, when he was born, I expect !

(now I'm confused)

Shhhh - that's his secret identity you're revealing

Yeah, it was subliminal for me too - I actually had to click the "back" button because after I'd moved on, suddenly it settled in my brain: wtf? my brain says "Brad" but why is the page saying it?

I pm'd him. I'm begging him to change it back.


He cannot go down the boring road of "Alex." He cannot simply forsake one of the most legendary personality monikers in all of Disneyesque message board networld. I'm monumentally upset. And I can't believe the LoT powers let him get away with it ... without planning some kind of major intervention.



He's been at his new job for 24 hours and they've brainwashed him already.



I want to cry.

I'm Brad.
:)

Hi Brad! I still love you, regardless of your moniker :)

:)

Fine, be Brad on the internet.







I'll call you Gemini Cricket in person.

I'm trying to decide if "Alex" is somehow more boring than my full name or if it is just that I use my real name that is boring (in which case, the Disney boards are the only place I do that and it was semi-imposed on me and was too established to change completely).

Alex, I understand your being established and unable to change it up completely.

I joined a board, never ever ever dreaming that I would ever meet anyone from it. It wasn't local, for one thing, and, the members were from all over the world. Well, I used my real first name.

When I met the people, everyone was comfortable with calling me by my name. I could not get their names straight. I knew them as their screen names and ended up stumbling over their names.

I did eventually change my name but I used both to help those who'd known me before.

I like Alex. I like Brad. There are others on here that use their first names, I like them, too.

It feels comfy.

{ha ha, not what you want it to feel, eh Alex?:evil: }

I know!! I just can't believe the appalling lack of imagination when people use their real life........


Uhm, never mind.

:D

Goodbye Mr Cricket.... :(

i have another group of friends that has a message board. i don't really post there any more, but a strange thing happened over time. We kept our screennames, but always referred to each other on the board by our real names. It was a nice, very intimate feeling.

On the other hand, I've always found it completely charming here on the Lot that, even though most of us know each other i.r.l., we stick to the quaint internet tradition of monikers, for the most part.

Oh, we slip every once in a while (and Alex notoriously calls me "Steve" on a routine basis) ... but it's so cute how I'll always call Lisa "Not Afraid" or Greg "Ghoulish Delight." I love it.

On top of that, and though the man behind the curtain still lives, killing off Gemini Cricket has got to be something like killing Misery Chastain. I feel as if a beloved character has been offed, and it hurts.


Thirdly, after the cancellation of the mousepod's podcast, and the going-underground panic of Lickey Lumbo ... the death of Gemini Cricket makes me feel like working for the mouse is a horrible curse of life-sucking badness.


I hope this "Brad" person reconsiders. Come back from Stepford, Gemini Cricket.

I think I just refer to people (either about them or to their face) as either their real name or their screen name, which is what they usually do with me. I think more people call me Cherny than Joseph lol

I like it. I think we should all change our name to Brad. It would be like working at Yoyodyne.

Say, has anyone ever been to the Basque Nightclub in Hollywood? I'm watching some live footage from there now and it looks like a real hot spot.

Never been, but drive past it nearly every day (it's less than a mile from my home). Though if it takes the obnoxious billboard that's been above it for so long, I wouldn't be unhappy.

I know that relative growth is of primary concern and 0.6% is not a good number. However, it does drive home just how huge the U.S. economy is.

If today's quarterly number of 0.6% growth is sustained for the year (and that would be anemic), that is adding $83 billion to the economy. If just that minimal growth could be spun off into its own separate entity it would be the 57th largest economy in the world. We'll essentially, in what is almost a rounding error, have added to our economy the combined economies of Croatia and Guatamala.


Just a random thought listening to NPR this morning (and I'm aware of the many things that muddy the relatively simple picture painted, I'm just reminded of the vastly different scales of "success" between the U.S. and any other individual country).

That growth is split between an awful lot of people

I'm trying to remember Brads'/Gemini Crickets' name from before....He was a doctor or something????

Yes, I know. I'm perfectly aware of why the scale is so huge; as I said "I'm aware of the many thing that muddy the relatively simple picture painted" and per capita comparisons are a big one. Rate of inflation over the same time period would be even more important. The fact that what growth was made was largely created by a buildup of inventories due to reduced consumer spending. These buildups are positives now but may very well be write-offs in the next quarter: phantom growth. And there are plenty of others.

It wasn't a comment intended to imply that 0.6% isn't small (see also "is not a good number" and "that would be anemic"), it was simply once again being boggled by how huge the U.S. economy is compared to any other in the world. Triggered when I wondered what "0.6%" amounted to in nominal dollars.

I care not what people use as monikers. Brad, Gemini Cricket, Hey You: whatever. He is still the same person.

I'm about to go shopping at Company D with GusGus. :D

Lemme know if there's anything good!

There won't be after we get done there. ;) :evil:

You are?!? Oh crap.

Well, that's okay. I didn't want to eat anyways.

You can blame me. I invited her. ;)

But, hey, it's getting us both out in the sunshine which is a good thing! :D

I've lived here for 8 months and still haven't been to Company D.

I would be more than happy to let you take GusGus's place. Just say the word and I will make the arrangements.

Ah ****. I've unintentially started a bidding war for me. Financially, not a bad thing at all but the two bidders are too closely affiliated which means that at least one bridge is likely to be charred (and regardless I'll still work closely with the loser) and in this situation there is a small non-zero chance of somehow seeing them both burned.

Or worse, I'll be kept where I am not through negotiation but by some manager playing the "you're too valuable where you are to let you move to a new position" at which point I'll have to consider finding a new job outside this company on principal*.

Damn, damn, damn. The fact that it wasn't a simple "yeah, sure; best wishes and good luck" means there are some political currents I'm not aware of. I know it is odd to be bothered by a situation that will fatten the wallet but I feel like I just found out that I'm playing poker and completely misread the hands of the other players. I'll probably still win but I really wasn't looking for any excitement.




*In my opinion the worst thing a corporate cog can ever do is submit to the "you're too valuable where you are" response to a promotion request. If that happens, you pretty much must leave.

I agree. Gary was put in that position and that meant to us it was time to get a new job. Especially since they are basically trying to "hold you back", not really helping you to further yourself or your career.


And in other news...... I think I just broke my foot but I really don't want to go to the hospital for a broken foot Arghhhh!

Well why the heck not? Broken toe I can understand, but for a possible broken foot, get thee to a doctor!

Most people end up thinking my real name *is* Prudence. (Not just here.) Oddly, this doesn't happen places where I use Ethelberga. Actually, I tend to think of myself as Pru or Ethel more than I do my actual name.

Even when I use them (which is pretty much everywhere other than Disney board), I don't like being referred to by my screen names in real life. Fortunately, the most common one I use is difficult to pronounce though there have been many parties were most people knew me as "ob" (a shortened form). Everybody seems to think calling me by the name of a former president is silly so I don't have to worry about that one getting used.

So if we ever meet in real life what should I call you Alex? Brad?

I'm totally jealous, and want to know what you found.


Which is good, because the one time I heard someone refer to you by your real life name, I never got to meet you, becuase I didnt make the mind leap. :p

Again: I would have been MORE than happy to arrange to have you taken GusGus's place.

She called me that they have plates and flatware from Club 33. Nothing on them says Club 33 - they were just the plates and silver used there.

As honored as I am by your offer, know that even if they had called me to come with them, or you had arranged a swap, by the time I drove all the way up there, they could have been shopping once and been waiting for me in the parking lot.

-looks around-

Does he know I'm going to be going with him on Sunday to ride Toy Story Mania... lol

Hopefully he has fun with everything else...

I was willing to take whatever steps were necessary to prevent GusGus from going. If it meant that DP had to wait a while, so be it.

I've lived in fla... and only just been to WDWs company D a few weeks ago when Bopazot took me....

I need to get money to buy him something nice before he leaves... from company D that is, so I can get some more things...

Mousepod, if you're going to be in the Anaheim area this evening, I might be able to arrange something. Store closes at 8 though.

Company D is a store where you can purchase Disney merchandise from the parks at heavily discounted rates, but the catch is you gotta go with a cast member in order to either get in or purchase anything there. :) The one in Anaheim used to be in the TDA (Team Disney Anaheim) building years ago, but they moved it to another location in a business park near-ish the Park.

It is the place between Company C and Company E

I just checked. GusGus spent less than $50.00. I am relieved.

I still wish I could go and trawl for additions to my collection of main street miniatures. Although I did manage to add one building the conventional way this past trip, at the conventional price.

Actually Cherny, it's moved to an even more difficult location in some industrial park. The flipside is, it's bigger :)

One of the furniture places in town is having their annual "tent sale." Boy made me go to see if we could find the reclining loveseat that we want. At Mor it was $599 with a $70 delivery charge. Oak Liquidators had it for $579 with a $89 delivery. We are buying it from a local (reputable) dealer for $299 +$50 for delivery. The only thing is that it is the floor model and is sold "as is." For $300 I can totally live with a couple of small scuffs. We will be covering it with towels anyway, because of the girls.

That's great MG! I bet that chair is sold to the stores for $200 and the rest is markup! Enjoy!

As the economy has slowed down (into recession if you like that term) I'm starting to see a real up-tick in the number of "Going out of business" sales in this part of the country. So far they are primarily rug dealers and the funky curio type shops that I always amazed managed to stay in business to start with but the trend does seem to be building.

yeah, same around here. I think between deliveries costing more to do, less disposable income from clients in general and other energy related increases, their margin for survival just becomes nil.

I don't know about the Bitter East Coast, but out in Southern California, there is some law that says that oriental rug dealers must be gong out of business from the day they open.

Or so it would appear from the advertising.

Besides major furniture stores (Wicks, Levitz) I haven't seen any going out of business. But what I have noticed is the sales are getting better as retailers try to drive business.

There was a guy on NPR (local NPR, I think) yesterday saying that 7,000 retail stores will close this year with several medium and large chains closing all or a significant number (hundreds) of locations.

Since I don't shop I wouldn't notice. He said that while dropping consumer spending is a problem for some of them a bigger problem is that the credit crunch is hitting them hard. Stores buy inventory on lines and letters of credit. If those instruments are hard to come by a lot of them don't have the cash on hand to keep going.

Wow, Almost Live. Now that's a show I haven't thought of in a very long time and usually only when I'm caused to think about Bill Nye or Soundgarden.

I bought Michael Giacchino's "Roar!" on iTunes yesterday, the only bit of scoring written for the movie Cloverfield. What a great tribute to monster movie soundtracks! Here's my Michael Giacchino playlist (not everything I own by him, just what I assembled into a nice 45 minute playlist):

Space Mountain: Mission Two, Paris Disneyland
The Incredits: The Incredibles
Le Festin: Ratatouille
Remy Drives a Linguine: Ratatouille
End Creditouilles: Ratatouille
Roar!: Cloverfield
Space Mountain Anaheim and Hong Kong
Space Mountain Anaheim and Hong Kong exit

I also bought the restored soundtrack to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, unfortunately not released on CD, only on iTunes. What a spectacular score by Disney great Paul Smith. Mr. Smith was also responsible for the scores of the True-Life Adventures.

I am now the proud owner of a set of Club 33 china. :D

(It's white with blue and gold trim.)

I figured since we didn't have a set of nice china, it would be a good home purchase. So, we have a place setting for six that cost only $24 for everything. Not shabby.

According to the CM there, we missed out on the Club 33 logo charger plates by just a couple days. :(

I also got some cute $38 retro-style pants for only $9 per pair. (Still sold at the parks for full price, btw!)

As long as they don't say GOODY on the ass, you're good.

Noooooooooooo! Augh! I LOVED those chargers! :(

Drat, shoulda gone.

Considering they go for about $75 each on Ebay, I'm sure someone's going to make a mint...

mouse ears picked up....

What about Soundgarden? :D

Actually I am surprised you know who they are/were.

I know who they are because of their semi-regular appearances on Almost Live back when I was on college. I couldn't pick them out of a crowd or name a song by them if my life depended on it.

Almost Live was a Saturday Night Live knockoff in Seattle and "Bill Nye the Science Guy" grew out of a regular skit Nye did for the show. Soundgarden members would sometimes appear in a skit called "The Lame List" where the announcer would ask whether something was cool or lame and heavy metal types would answer "Lame!" to everything until something really complex was asked and they'd just look stupidly at the camera. I didn't know who Soundgarden was at the time (living in Seattle at the tail end of grunge was not easy for a non-music person; when Cobain killed himself the UW campus went into paralysis and that was how I first heard of him) but they were the most famous of the local bands that would do it and I picked it up from comments of other watchers in the dorm.

Wow, that is really fantastic information. Well, to me. :D
I didn't know that. Eh, while some may think I have searched and read the entire internet for information about SG and Chris Cornell, it really isn't so.

I do love to read about things like this, it sounds like they had fun, like they enjoyed what they were doing.

Thanks for sharing. :snap:

Oh, I didn't know that about Bill Nye, either.

Hey peeps. I've been having some issues lately, thus I haven't felt up to coming around much. I'm trying to get back into a routine now though, so I'm making the effort at least!

Sometimes I find this is the hardest part, making the initial effort if things aren't going great. You're doing a lot!

So my son has the sniffles. (He is 7). I just suggested he might want to use a tissue. He had the gravest look on his face when he shook his head and said "Never gonna happen."

I think my company is about to further restrict internet... who wants to be LoT ends up on the blocked list?

So, color me floored at the sheer number of 2-br condos in Anaheim that are under $200k. Some of them bank-owned, not REOs, even. Some of them $150k even. Who thought we'd see THAT price ever again? Scary.

I wonder what the condo associations would have to say about using one as a vacation rental? They probably forbid it thogh, meh.

And I don't believe it is done dropping yet. I think the market will bottom out the end of this year or Q1 of next year.

One of the main reasons Ken and I postponed even thinking about buying until then.

Jeeeeeeeez even I would get past the orange curtain for a $200k condo.

A house in my neighborhood just sold for $350k. Lowest price I've seen in 6 years.

Market isn't done yet. Winter this year and Jan/Feb next year. You'll see little peaks here are there, but it's far from done.

SoCal (along with several other cities/areas) has been classified as high risk. You need at least 20% even be looked at by a lender these days.

finally done with spring semester...

soooo close to the cruise then a few days at DL...

I didn't know I had someone to suffer through school with! I finished today too!

How much longer do you have?

this is just community college... sadly.

to get out i need like 3 more classes.... then transfer to USF for another 2 years... maybe 3...

all because the job I would like doesn't like the AS version of the degree...

The house across the street sold last year for $256k. Right now the houses in my area are going for $150-160k.

Over by my mom the houses have dropped even further. There is a 2600sq ft house, custom, selling for $250k and has been vacant for 6 months. Last year it would have been snapped up for $500k.

As a person wishing to purchase a home (without having to sell one), this is all good news.

Housing market is dropping - and yet my rent is going up $80/month :(

Yes, very.

The rental market is becoming tighter as people have to move out of their homes. Still super sucky :(

Yup. The housing market is dropping because loan money has tightened up so less people can buy a home plus there are all the people getting foreclosed on. Guess where they all go? That's right. Into the rental market. More demand means higher prices.

Knock on wood, I do not want to discuss my rent for fear of it going up. We have been there for eight years or so and have only had one price increase in that time.

Two bedroom condo in Brea with two-car garage. Our rent is spoilerized for those who don't want to hate me:

Chris' mom is in the hospital. She apparently has congestive heart failure and had to have a blood transfusion yesterday because her blood count was extremely low. She keeps insisting she is fine and can go home. The situation itself is bad enough, but the mis-information that we are getting is making things even more stressful. Chris is going to head to the hospital after a meeting. However, we don't know what happened over night and she is not answering her room phone. Regardless, it's all not good news.

I'm so sorry Lisa :( My thoughts are with you both.

Sorry guys, family illness/hospital stuff is hard. Let me know if I can do anything for you at all.

Love.

How old is his mom, NA? My ex husband's grandmother lived with congestive heart failure for several years. And Chris' mom's insistence that she can go home is a good sign for her will to thrive (and stubborn side).

oh, she's stubborn all right. It always makes us laugh. Ingrid is 80. She's had quite a life.

NA and Euro - let us know if you need anything. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

Thinking of you guys. I hope it all turns out ok.

Embarrassing Moment of the (my) Day
 

I have a friend recommending me for a position with Nintendo, where he has worked for many years. My cell just rang, and his name and work number came up on the caller ID. I answered, "Dude. What's up?"

It was HR calling from Nintendo.

Forch, it was someone with a good sense of humor. But I am still SO embarrassed.

I'll be keeping the three of you in my thoughts.

I read "quite a life" as a good thing. :)

Sorry to hear about Ingrid. I hope things turn out for the best.

Hey, L and C - please let us know if there is anything we can do for you right now. Our thoughts are with you and with Ingrid.

Sorry to hear it, guys. Hopefully she'll be okay. Feisty is a good thing :)

:( Hoping for the best for the two of you and Frau Meinke.

She's lucky to have you two as patient advocates. Doctors pick up fairly quickly on who's being looked after and who's not.

good thoughts and prayers all 'round on moms and new jobs.

Congrats on the oppertunity, I'm sure wii will all be rooting for you.

I'm so sorry. We just went through this with my step father.

Could today drag ass any slower? I mean... seriously...

I am SO with you on this!

So it's not just me?

No

All my best positive thinking going out to Ingrid and her loved ones. Anything at all I can do, I'm just a phone call away.

Running Vista (not by choice), there is a sidebar for widgets. One of the things I have running is a news stream with headlines. Since the sidebar is limited in space, the headlines are almost always truncated. While the actual news story is depressing, I am enjoying seeing "5 blow themselves..." come up in rotation.

I want to understand this phenomenon. It's dragging for me too.

Chris & Lisa <<Hugs>>

I found out today that getting hit in the face by a router hurts really bad.

Would that be a router:



or a router:



If the latter, I really hope it wasn't turned on :eek:

I hate reading the Sooo thread.


Mucho hugs, best wishes, prayers and good vibes, €uro and NA.



(fingers crossed for Deebs.)

chris is at the hospital and ingrid is getting tests tests and more tests. nothing to report yet except she says the doctor say he thinks she has lumps in her chest. god, i love her but what the **** do you mean????

The former.

How exactly does one get a power tool excited? Getting excited BY power tools I understand, but I do not know how to reciprocate.

i may let chris explain what going on with his mom. all i know is that she has sludge.

Ah yes my mom's looking good and I'll be damned if I can figure out what's really going on - my first message being that she couldn't breath becasue she didn't have enough blood, so she got a transfusion. I thought she knew better than to play with vampires.

Today I accompanied my mom and a series of tests, the most interesting one being the MRI - giant machine with tiny screen, slowly displaying the insides of my mom.

"That's her liver" the technician explained and I was instantly transported into an Andy Wahol film made somewhere between Sleep and Frankenstein. I'm grateful this one wasn't in 3D, but it's still odd to have seen my mother's liver.

I stayed till my nieces came to look after her and the last message I received from them was that her stress test was fine but they're was sludge in her ultrasound - the doctor will explain tomorrow.

Meanwhile, my mom is very hopeful that she'll soon go home, and maybe just maybe we'll do that tomorrow

Best wishes to your Mom for good news and that she'll be able to go home like she wants. Take care and try to relax. It's best to hear from the Dr than second hand telephone from relatives if your getting confusing answers.

and even worse to hear it from ingrid. ;) today she said that she has lumps in her chest. i have them too. they're called boobs. :)

30 Rock is a funny show. I likes it. I was watching it over at Cherny's and Gn2Dlnd's. Tina Fey is my hero. AND she acts like my friend Julie... same glasses even.
:)

I just got a very nice call. When I ordered my furniture all the sales person would say is that I had to be home all day today to receive it. The delivery guy just called and gave me a 3 hour window. I thought that was totally nice and very unexpected.

My living room is still not as clean as I would like, but I have been busting my butt since I got off work yesterday. It is looking leaps and bounds better than it was. It was just overwhelming to look at. With my depression and mood swings I just couldn't keep up. At least now, things are balancing out and hopefully I can get back on track as far as housecleaning goes.

It's even funnier if you work for the company they refer to quite often. One of my favorite scenes is the one on growth traits.

This just came today!



Yamaha ypg-625. 88 fully weighted, touch sensitive keys, 500 voices, and full piano sound!

Much more apartment friendly than the Farrand player!

OOps - I just sold one of those ^^

Oh good lord...

So we all sat down to watch the Kentucky Derby today. Each of us made our picks for the big race.

Headliner picked Eight Bells for her horse.

Damn. Her horse (and in her mind I mean HER horse) was euthanized on the track just after the race.

And MUCH more than a concert grand I'll bet!

Well, pisser. How did she take it?

Like a lead pipe to the stomach I'm afraid. I must admit between this and barbaro last year I think I'm finished with horse racing also.

Susan starts menopause on Monday. Anybody got a place I can crash for the next three months?

I'd be happy to offer you a place, but I'm afraid I live too close to you to be of much use in this case.

Perhaps Lashbear could help?

She has it scheduled?

It is drug-induced and temporary (3 months). Part of her endometriosis stuff.

Hey Kevy, we've got a spare room here in Chatsworth :)

So, I've been working on some OCR stuff at work. Tomorrow I am starting an accounts payable portion of it, so the project name is OCRAP - I get to work on the O CRAP project! Bwahahaha!!!!!!!!!!

My room has gone from disaster area to almost habitable, and I didn't even have to call in Hazmat. :)

WOW ! Maybe I can buy one as a holiday-home for our little trips tp DL....

It's the not knowing part that's frustrating. Big hugs.

Oh, also the WTF?? diagnosis is almost as frusterating as not knowing, too.

I'll stick to my Motif 6. :p

I'm afraid that even Hornsby might be not far enough away.... :D


I thought you were the original Haz-Matt........

Omg! ack!!! :mad: :eek: :(

My house just filled with skunk stink!!!! I dont know whether to open the windows to vent it or seal myself in to keep it from getting worse!

even the dogs noticed it...of course they want to go find it. dumb dogs

I feel ill

Oh no! you must have one in your backyard - or very close by - that got spooked. Icky!

Wowa! Skunk stinks for sure! I'd let the air outside clear (check and make sure you don't have a dead skunk out there) and then open the windows. I wonder if Fabreze would help?

Good luck getting rid of the smell! My heart goes out to you!!

Were you listening to "It's A Small World"?

ok...luckily the skunk stink subsided. I think it was just passing through, but knowing these guys, I need to do something to make them want to take a different route.

ideas? I know a few "home remidies" that I can try, but Im open to other ideas.

A shotgun perhaps?

this has indeed occurred to me

Oh fine: just be all natural and stuff. Don't let CJ have his fun.

Hey, skunks are cute.

well, the other method I know of is similar. but it involves me peeing around the perimeter of my yard....

so...while that might be the most entertaining option involving much beer and some less than accurate marksmanship on my behalf (in that particular state), I think I'll try NA's option.

so with that. ordered....thanks Lisa.
with luck it'll keep the Opossums out too...although theyre less....obnoxious

I almost had a pet skunk for a while. She was young and cute. She would visit with me through a screen door. She grubbed out under the bug zapper. I even named her Penelope. You could be outside with her, and she never raised her tail. When we had our nightly talks she would be less than 3 feet away. Unfortunatly the Old People did not find her a suitable pet. We caught her in a cat cage and had her relocated to a large park by the river. Even then she never sprayed. The next skunk was a very large, easily upset male. After the encounter with him the SPCA made it clear that they would not be back for skunk removal.

mmm...well the last one we had, while indeed cute....was not hesitant to disburse their biological deterrant with abandon. had to go. $100 for a capture and relocate....worth every penny.

I'll try Lisa's idea first this time.

Umm... just remember, the cheapest property in Anaheim will be in the cheapest part of Anaheim. (It's no Santa Ana, but Anaheim does have its seedy underbelly)

not even close :D

I may still do that just for giggles...

I saw this while doing something else and thought of the current discussion here.

And all I can think is: "Loofah.... ur doin' it wrong"

I think you should keep your fetish sites to yourself.

I'd love to own a de-scented skunk.
:)

Me too, GC. I hope we'll have a nice house someday where we can support a small menagerie of exotic furry kids. Skunks are SO cute! :)

Apparently, on Saturday, I missed out on a HUGE meltdown at work.

Well, I wouldn't say missed - I'm glad I don't work weekends. :)

I've sort of lost my fondness for them of late.

go figure.

btw, any of you wishing to capture, de-stink and keep as a pet said varmits...feel free to come by and catch this one. I will gladly assist in the only way I can. applauding as it leaves and offering tomato loofa's and a back yard shower stall

The boss (who has been down lately due to a divorce) convinced everyone to go Mexican today for lunch (El Torito :rolleyes:). Alcohol was flowing (tequila shooters and beer) for many (not me - just one beer). Not a whole lot of work is getting done this afternoon.

Grades are back. Missed an A by one point in one class. That's just annoying.

All Bs.

YAY!

Yay for all B's for BtD!

Good Show! :cheers: or :coffee:

B-eautiful!

B's are nice, but there's nothing like a nice set of DD's.

Oh, wait. We're talking about grades. My bad. ;)

(WTG, BTD! :) )

BD: Never liked 'em myself.

BTD: Yay! All B's in college is a thing to be proud of :)

I swear, with each post it gets harder to figure out your household.

If I seemed down about the economy before, well, I was right.

Count me as added to the ranks of the (mostly) unemployed.

Sorry to hear that. I hope you find something new soon.

Ya know, even in the direction that you were initially thinking, I still prefer B's to DD's.

Don't try: it will give you a headache.

Uggggghhhhhh crap.... and I thought they had you doing additional stuff too :( :(

What. I'm normal for me. :)

Bah. That stinks.

yeah...for the most part I agree. there really is sometimes "too much of a good thing"

Aw!!! Y'all dissin' my boobage. :(

Now I'm gonna go eat worms. :(

Makes me glas I have a variety to choose from.

I'm not touching NA's Glas. Whatever it is !

look, with a broken keyboard you either get proper caps and typos or no caps and no typos.

new NIN tun available on line free here.

Boy had his band concert tonight. He did really well. He also spent 20 minutes beforehand, primping. He figured out how to comb his hair to keep it out of his eyes.

His dad showed up for this one...too bad he didn't stick around to say anything to his son. Boy never even saw him and had no idea that he was there. 10 to 1 he saw my folks and ran.

now now......I did say 'sometimes'.
:blush:

Another day, another dollar...

Dollar??? Feels like a dime.

Actually, that link is the the thank you page for having signed up. Got to this link to sign up: http://dl.nin.com/theslip/signup

Seeing as how you dissed mine to begin with....I'm not even a B.... :p

I'm watching What Not To Wear... and I'm not sick. This is weird. Unemployment is weird.

Especially since I'm working at my former place of employment for 3 hours this afternoon. That's weird.

Can you pick up more hours with the Mouse?

Maybe, but $9.05/hr isn't going to sustain me long.

I'm hoping I can make something happen on the TDA front. That would be my ideal.

Plus I can ramp up the real estate activity.

No, but it's something in the interm. Starbucks pays well too.

OMG. Will someone please shoot me or rescue Chris. I just rescued a pug from a high kill shelter.

Good for you! Yay pug rescue!

I'm calling pug rescues to see if I can place him. If you've ever desired a pug, call me. I may have one available. ;)

I don't need the internet for that.



Although, I have never had an interest in naming it anyways.

Oh Lisa I so wish I could get that pug. How long do you think we could conceal a pug from our landlord? :D

Hey Cherny, if not the pug, there's a 10-y/o Basenji at the OC County shelter up for adoption. They don't bark (conceal longer!)

If this complex allowed them, I'd so stake the claim! :(

Oh No! That stinks Goonie, I'm sorry to hear this.

watching Connan O' Brian tonight...

Jason Lee briefely talks about going to DL with his son and going on Space mountain... then they show an onride photo.

good photo too...

I got another award from work tonight- 105 point (out of 100 plus an extra 5 bonus points) Mystery Shop score.

This time, I got a nice pin to go with my plaque.

How's the pug rescue going, Lisa?

Cherny and Cheeseman need to find a place that lets them have a dog(s)

I'd just like to say that I seriously love our small group here at LoT. Especially right now.

I'd take that pug in an instant if I were there, Lisa. Thurston definitely won me over to the Pug Side.

Man, that sucks! I hope things turn around for you soon!

Great job, Matt! :snap:

Yes, and I'll say AYE! The Ayes have it! :snap:

All of the girls seem to be enjoying the new loveseat. Smurf was the first to figure out that she could go back and forth between me & Nick. Hollywog tends to prefer the consol between us. TinkTink is still a bit jumpy, but she has started to settle down and rearrange the blankets again. Rocky has gone totally psycho. Last night she was running from one side to the other. One moment she was on my feet, the next on Nick's shoulder. She is also squeaking when petted. There is no reason, she has just become vocal. She isn't in pain, she is just weird.

I would love to have 1 normal animal. Even my goldfish are strange. Big Fish is still hanging around the tank upside down.

The call to drop all my classes and have another summer 'o fun is loud and persistent. May has filled up, June is not far behind. While taking classes this summer is going to suck, I need to focus on the end.

/shakes fist FOOOOOCCCCCUUUUUSSSSS

Okay, this made me laugh, the dark side of pug-ness

Quoted for posterity. WB, always quotable.

I'm really hungry, but also really need my shower. I have no idea which to do first.

I waver on the most stupid crap these days. :rolleyes:

Eat in the shower?

I'm getting the best advice about my rescue from my Pug board. They really know their stuff and are committed to saving pugs. Thursday at 4:30 is when I pick him up. Then all hell breaks loose.

Because he was rescued in Downey, I've been calling him Morton Downey Jr. or Morty for short. (There's also a play on the French for death - mort). When I told Chris my reasoning, he decided he should be named Snuggles after the fabric softener bear.

That only works when there's at least two people. ;)

That 1 point turned it into an A. 3 Bs and 1 A. YAY!!!!!!!!!

Great job, BTD!:snap:

Wait... what? ;)

Just had some Sushi from my favorite litttle spot here in the Financial District. Not the world's greatest spot (after all, I live very close to JapanTown), but the tekka maki was just what I was craving, and their pickled ginger is the best!

Can't get AT&T to fix my internet.
The only place I can access the internet is at work.
Can't take any time off from work to have them come by.
What's a girl to do?
I've called them 3 times already to come out and remedy the problem.
They are dinglecheeses all.
So, I will be LoT-less in the evenings.
And unable to kick anyone's a$s in MarioKart either...
:D

I hate sh!t like this.
Ugh.
AT&T, you stinketh.

What is wrong with your AT&T?

Not sure. It was working okay and then it stopped.
I'm in a guesthouse and they can't figure out a way to properly connect me without messing up the main house's connection. Ugh.
They came out once and said they would "Band Aid" fix my connection but that it would only work for a little bit and then I'd be disconnected. After that, I had not heard from them. Really irritating.

I called them, emailed them.... Now they're saying they can come out on Saturday to fix my connection. Between 8am and 5pm! That's messed up. But I need to figure this crappola out...

In order to get the Saturday appt, I practically had to scream at them...

Bleh

How are things plugged in? (computer to modem to router, or computer to modem, no router)
Did you restart your modem and your router?
Are you able to log in to your modem?
Are you able to log in to your router?

Modem is hooked to the wall, no filter (the tech told me to remove it).
The DSL light is red.
Can't log in anywhere.
:(

edit to add: did all the restart, reboot shenanigans... nada....

AT&T was the very worst cable/internet provider I think our area has ever seen, but it's gone now. Comcast isn't perfect, but they are a damned sight better in every way.

Add the filter back. Do you have another jack you can try (with and without the filter)?

I have AT&T, too. Use the filter, on ALL phone lines in the house. It may help, it did with me

I've tried it both ways...
No other jack. The jack works fine. I had it tested.

!

Honey, you'd be amazed.
;)


Was that your shortest post ever? I think it is.

I'm sure Kevy posted this once: .

That's much shorter

For phone or DSL?

I have tandem phone jacks in my room. They made the upper one DSL and bottom is voice.

Thar be no landline. It's for DSL.
The last AT&T tech checked it. He said it was working.

How about the phone cord?

We have Verizon Fios. Works like a dream!

Ugh.
I hadn't seen this post.
:(
I'm sorry.
You'll find something!

Not sure what that is.
I'll have to look it up.
The phone line would work if there was a phone in it... per the tech.

Which is all well and good if you want to make a call. But it sounds like the jack may not be set up to handle DSL. Data calls and voice calls are handled differently. AT&T has to change something at the phone box.

If it never worked, that is what it is starting to sound like is going on.

Verizon Fios not available in my area.
Bleh.

It did work until yesterday afternoon. All was well until then...

Hey GC, what are you up to Saturday?

Perhaps I can put on my tech support hat and at least attempt some DSLwizardry?

I shall be waiting for the AT&T man to come between 8am and 5pm. Ugh.

That night, I will be attending a birthday party for a friend.
I'd love for you to come fix it, but we'll see what the dunderhead from AT&T does first. If he biffs it, I will call the CoasterMatt. :)


I'm thinknig about just hooking up a cord from the main house's internet box to my laptop.

In case anyone knows or hears of any opportunities, I've posted my resume on craigslist.

The extra paragraphs at the top aren't part of the resume, I just added those for the sake of the craigslist posting.

If anyone knows someone who has some spare time and wants to make a couple of bucks, please PM me. We need someone to help us do some grassroots web promotion - mainly browsing the web for appropriate myspace pages, blogs etc and posting some stuff about some of the releases on our labels.

It doesn't pay much ($10/hr for 15-20 hrs a week) - but it's a pretty casual place to work and it could actually be fun...

Nice...

I do I do. But my bosses are mean and want me to be at work at work times. :(

I miss Marketing.

Ooooh! BD would be awesome for that job! :snap:

Anyway, I just want to reiterate how much I love this place.

For fun, I mixed a Naked protein drink into my Tall Soy Mocha from Starbucks.
:)













Yuck. What the fvck was I thinking?!
:D

GC:







EWwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

"Back to Cricket" was the original title for Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black" album. Honest.















:D

There is a gentleman from the UK who is visiting us at work today.
His accent is brilliant. Love it.
He's cute, too.
:)

Methinks thoughst weren't thinking.

Thoughst? Is that a word?

I've got a lovely large pug boarded in my garage because he's got kennel cough and needs to be isolated. I'm a bit on the stressed side. This isn't really what I had in mind when I rescued him. Oh, and he's not neutered.

I think Chris is nearing his wits end.

NA: console yourself with the fact that you are making a large deposit in the karma bank. I salute you!

I should totally bring a pug back to Utah...

It would make it the 5th pug in the apartments that share my staircase.

No, I shouldn't totally bring a pug back to Utah...

A) I was momentarily possessed by Lisa
or
B) It is now.


I just can't decide which answer to give.

He's a cutie NA. I never liked pugs before, but you Thurston has swayed me.

I like Morty. He's cute.
:)

He's got the best personality! I just wish he wasn't sick so he could interact with Thurston and other dogs. He's a total sweetie.

Yes, you should.

Erica,
I think you should take Morty back to Utah with you.
Just think of all the fun you two will have. Running through the snow, climbing trees, kayaking and streaking Mormon Temples. It could be fun!
I say adopt Morty before Chris kills Lisa and uses her carcass for cat and dog food.

Me thinks he was after an old English thoust.

breaking news:
final grades:
intern: A
music appreciation: C
Chemistry: C
carriers in RTV: C

Yea, you can see how much i've messed up my finals...

Dare I tell NA about the pugs at the OC shelter?

Just as long as Morty aint making any large deposits in the Garage Bank.

I'm the echo in the room.

I wish the weather would decide what it's doing. Hot, cold, hot, cold, sunny, overcast, sunny, overcast.
Sheesh.
:)

It's been sheesh all morning.

My new favorite headline: Great Tits Cope Well With Warming.

As long as it stay cool so Mortimer can say in the garage.

So today I'm interviewing for an Internet Fleet Manager position at a Nissan dealership, LOL.

Someone is already on it.

Good luck C

Yeah, break a leg, Morrigoon.
:)

Is it weird though? Me... cars?

It's a job!

Gn2Dnld posted about that in the WTF Stories thread. (Not meant as a slam or chastisement: just an observation.)

If you Woot, they're having a Woot-Off today (and yesterday for those who can time travel).

I prefer to do that in the privacy of my own home

Errr what do you mean by "woot" cuz if you mean what I think woot means..... Well that's just icky. But I would be curious. Would you win for Fastest, slowest, distance, volume?

Woot. One deal a day. Woot-Off is when they do multiple items a day.

WOOT Product:



Ohh!! I have one of those.
(regardless of which definition you are using)

It's extremely flexible and comes in very handy
(Again, regardless of definition)


I would recommend one to everyone!
(ditto)

hardly. the fact youre not caught up in the 'car' aspect helps you focus on the business side.

I do have one of these and I love it!

I never Woot in public.

Don't forget that Sunday is Mother's Day.
You know, if you're into that.
Or if she's into that.
Or if you still have a Mother who is alive.
Or if you do, if she's deserving of receiving something.
Or even if she isn't alive, you could send flowers to her grave.
If she has a grave.
Or not.

I'm pretty sure I don't want to talk about mom and wooting in the same thread. Now if this were the "embarrassment" thread I might have something to post on that topic.

Now there is a committed, definitive post.

Wasn't a real management job.

They call all their salesmen managers, so it was a basic car sales job with a base pay of minimum wage. Fvck that. If I was to do straight commission sales, I'd a) stick with my real estate, which pays better, or b) get a job at a local dealership, not one 40 miles away.

Earlier, someone brought in a bottle of Silver Patron and put it on ice. I can see this is going to be a productive afternoon.

20 minutes before quitting time and I feel like I'll never make it. And that's even knowing that as soon as I leave I will be bright, chipper, happy and 100% awake.
:D

still got a lot of stuff to do... and not enough time!!!

I think I could stay here at work all weekend and still not be caught up.

I'm home! I have the whole week off starting Monday. No plans, no expectations (except family things on Sunday), no responsibilities, for nine whole days!

Woo-hoo!!! :D

I know that I could as well. Even if I skipped sleep and food just "appeared" on my workstation.

That is sweet! I wish I could say that. I have a list of things to do that if I stayed home from work for 6 months I'd still have things to do.

I found Mortimer a wonderful forever home today! He's going to go live near Lake Arrowhead with 4 other puggies and a mom who loves pugs and will take care of him. I'm very happy and a bit sad. It's a good outcome.

I'd say that's an excellent outcome! Yay, you! I'm happy for Mortimer, and relieved for you and Chris.

I have a feeling I may end up with a ****zu-Cocker mix puppy. I hope not, but at the same time, I hope so.

I just watched my very first episode of "Brothers and Sisters" tonight. It was the gay wedding episode. It was awesome. I'm a mess right now. Wonderful show. (Not perfect, but wonderful.) And Sally Field... I Heart Her!
:)

Well, doesn't that beat all! You can't even type the name of the breed of dog with out the program asteriking it! :rolleyes:

I forgot to shave this morning.
Yikes! I feel like a bum!
:D

Oh well. Life goes on.

Lisa made it so any dog breed other than "pug" cannot be mentioned. ;)

Would that be called a Shít-Cøck?

Let us speak of sweet things ...
 

like the trillium now in bloom in our woods.

How beautiful! Where do you live? In Rivendale with the elves from Lord of the Rings? Great pics!
:)

So hows the weather doing for all of you?

Our homeowners association is voting tonight to authorize funding for the construction of an Arc.

I better not hear the word "drought" in these parts for at least two years.


(Note: For all you SoCal folks the term "weather" refers to seasonal fluxuations in temperature ranging from sub-freezing to over 100 degrees combined with various types of precipitation, wind and humidity. It is not the equivalent of asking "Will it be partly cloudy or partly sunny today?".

a high pressure zone building over the southwest will send temperatures into the 'icky hot' ranges for all southern california areas over the next week or so, with inland and desert areas forecasted to reach well over 100*F starting wednesday this week. energy use forecasted for the coming weeks is in the 'extreme' demand category, with local enery supply companies urging sparing use during the hottest parts of the day.

...and now to sports....

Today it's about 60. Thursday it's going to be in the 90s.

:(

On a related note, due to the drought in GA, citizens have been conserving water. The water company is losing revenue, and is raising rates to make up for it. So now people in GA are paying more money for less water.

Does anyone remember if that happened here during the our drought and water conservation efforts? I wasn't old enough to care about bills at the time ;)

We're getting some drizzle today - "Storm Watch 2008!"

Which one? We've had several (and some say we are in the middle of one right now).

Can go with in general. Water consumption is down due to drought-like conditions. Did the water companies raise their rates?

I think we've been living in "conservation mode" for so long it's now normal.

We've had four inches of rain since Friday. Flood warnings cover many parts of the area, streets are closed all over the place due to localized flooding (aka: clogged storm drains) and we are looking forward to thunderstorms "some possibly severe with damaging wind and hail" this evening. Oh, and on top of all that, the Nationals play here too. *bleeeck*

Yes, the water company raised rates, and charge large penalties any time you exceeded your "allotted" water usage.

Thanks. :) Most of the year, I live in Narnia, where it's always winter and never Christmas.

It's the first step to growing a beard! :D

"Icky hot"... Is that an official meteorological term? ;)

I do happen to live in Riverdale...

It's drizzling enough that Rufio is staying inside! Voluntarily!

perhaps not an industry standard, but accurate as 773H

I already have me a goatee...
:)

Duly added to quotes.



Oh, and Helen, LOVE the flowers. I'll have to catch Forster when it goes off for you this spring.

Another day, another 105 score on a mystery shop - I'm determined to get the average back up to where it's supposed to be, even if I have to do it all by myself. :)

So, I have been at this press check since about 4:30. Damned press keeps going down, so I have been here twiddling my thumbs for two hours now...

Step 1 done.



Step 2 ... a girlfriend!

Did you go to Riverdale High with Archie ??

Woof ! Pics please.

Well done !! I should write a letter of complement about your excellent customer service during my visit !

Wrong sort of Beard, dear.

Boy is feeding the rats moths...The Girls are grubbing. ewwwwww

Four hours...

Instead of pressing the check, why not write it by hand? - you'd be out of there in no time !

Or better still, use your AMEX. :p

"going down", "twiddling", "two four hours", "thumbs"

Humm, that's some nice raw material to work with.

Do we have six? Anyone? Going once, going twice..........

Come on, fess up. MadMoneyGirl is the "mystery shopper" right?

Um, what?

Is that a general comment about life or a question about my preceding post?

I'm guessing he means Rose.

aka madmonkeygirl.
:)

But I think GG would give him high marks as well.

*******


In other news...
I have pink eye.
Who the heck gets pink eye in this day and age? WTF?
What am I, in preschool?
:D

Umm, yeah. That's what I said. :blush: MadMonkeyGirl..... And in a weird coincidence.... The radio just started playing Aerosmith's "What it takes" which I was thinking was really cool given her love for Bon Jovi. Well at least that's what I was thinking until I realized it was in fact Aerosmith and not Bon Jovi at all. Which kind of killed the whole moment.

But the good news is is that she loves Aerosmith as well.
:)

We had my "fete de bar" at work yesterday. My coworkers decorated the conference room with many photocopied pages from legal documents and pictures of the state seal (ork! ork!), Judge Judy, and Bull from Night Court. And, to top it off, this cartoon.

The sad part was when I realized I could not only name the case and discuss the policy issues pro and con, but I even knew who had written the majority opinion.

*sigh*

I am a special kind of geek.

Nope - thankfully stopped at four hours. Oy

I've heard of these things going on for days... Literally. Of course, people go home, but the press check picks right back up where it left off...

So far, my two press checks were fairly quick, with only small color adjustments.

I went to South Bay Mini to get some work done on my car. I pulled up into the service area, and this earnest young woman bustled over, "Hi, welcome to South Bay Mini... What's your car's name?"
"Uhhh... It doesn't have one", I replied.
"Oh... we have these name tags.", She showed me an oversized magnetized version of the standard "My name is _______" badge, "Most Mini owners name their cars."
"well, I haven't."
"That's cool. Maybe When you come in next time.", with not a trace of irony in her voice.

I think I stumbled on a cult.

They do an excellent work, though.

Here is what you should name your car (and insist the put the whole name on the badge):

Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.

My first wife named her car. I divorced her.

I leave it to others to posit a causal relationship.

OK, I really need to put away the oriental wasabi snack mix.

Too. Addictive.

And now I have weird breath.

I need to find some gum.

Mmmmm, wasabi peas.

Now I am craving.... have none handy..... thanks a lot, BE ;)

I'm cruel, I know...

huh....

ok, I admit. Ive named every car Ive ever owned...and thats more than a few. :blush:

The first car I named was my Honda, dubbed Babette.

The big ol Chrysler New Yorker I first drove in VA was named Reggie, for no good reason I can remember because the previous owner had named it so. The name stuck.

Other than that, all my cars have been no-named.

I think I named my Volvo Gudren, but I never call it anything other than "the Volvo".

I've never named a car.

Err, I don't have to marry Alex do I?

well...now, in my defense, some names were far more endearing than others.

"em effing effing POS effing Nova" was one name that was well deserved, but not exactly given out of love

I have wasabi sunflower seeds.....

I had a brown Nova that I called the Flying Turd...

at least yours flew.

mine was like most turds. just sorta sat there stinking the place up

my cat left me a "present" on the bedroom threshold.

I know I should praise him for being a good hunter, but ewww....

Is that the bird you told me about earlier?

Next time I go in I should tell them the car's name is "Arglwyddes" (Welsh for "lady") just so I can watch them try and pronounce it! :evil:

I'm hoping it's not a second one.

Come to California. I swear there are people driving here who are completely blind.

I had a Honda civic that I named Fenry.

Fenry Honda.

Well, I don't have a car to name, but I name every computer I build.

I just completed "Maelstrom", a black Hackintosh with 2 quad cores xeons on a skulltrail motherboard.

My main system is "Atomic Cookie Blast Furnace"

My first car was named Bwana Devil, but no car after that ever had a name that stuck.

My car is named the Pink Robot (from the Flaming Lips song of course.) She got smashed up by Michael's boss on Mother's Day. I love that car, I hope they don't total her.

Here is the official announcement...
 

I'm getting divorced. I'll post a bigger update on all of life to LJ soon. There's lots of really good stuff.

Speaking of LJ, I've been pleased to see more of my LJ friends posting. I know some lotters have joined since I've last added anyone. Perhaps we need a new "who's on LJ" thread. I need more LJ friends that actually post.

My first car was the only one I gave a name to. It was a Ford Maverick named Mudrake.

Now I have a Ford fusion, which a got two weeks before my C spine bone fusion. Kinda weird after I thought about it......

The Simpsons Ride at Universal Studios is a whole lotta buncha fun.

Details to follow (The park threw a nice party tonight) :)

My feet have grown. They are swelling and are just about the size of my actual shoe.

I either must be pregnant... or just spent 12 days at a major theme park...

My car is named 'Car'. Seriously. I couldn't come up with a gender, as it's sort of androgynous, and then no name really stuck....but 'Car'. Maybe it's actually 'Karr'. :rolleyes:


Sorry about your news, Traci, and I agree about LJ- I posted a little nonsense tonight and I need to keep it up. I enjoy reading other's posts, but I am soooooo lazy when it comes to my own. Good thing I'm so boring these days. (Actually, I'm not as boring as LJ would have you believe, but I just cannot commit anything blackmailable to print. Years of training with older brothers..)

*hugs*

I'm on LJ... but I think you're on my Flist already...

And it probably is...

Yikes.
Sorry to hear about that.
Hang in there.

I'm on LJ, I need to post!

LoT MOJO needed
 

No, don't click the bongos, just send good thoughts to the universe, gods of your choce. I just got wind of a very cool Valentino item, a must have, and I'm praying that my main competition does not find out about it. It's a PC valentino sent to his sister, I'd dearly love it for the book and the collection.
So wave those magic wands and stifle my competition!

What were the PCs that rich people gave their sisters back then? I'm picturing the sister waking up one morning and find a Babbage Difference Engine on here doorstep.

A postcard from Arizona while on location. It's a pueblo with a very affectionate greeting

OOHHH Sounds like a must have Snowflake item. I'm crossing my fingers and keeping it on the low down.

I sooooo thought the same thing...

And yes, the postcard is a must have Snowflake item. I'll drink another cup of coffee in the hopes it stifles your competition...






Hey, every little bit counts, right?

Now I have a mental picture of a bunch of people getting their Hitachi Magic Wands and beating people up with them.







(Hey: it could have been worse. I had to delete my initial response.)

Ugh, back in town, back to the job hunt.

I fvcking hate Monster. Just thought I'd mention that.

Goonie, Monster (for all their advertising) seems to be useless to me. When I started looking earlier this year, I saw nothing there for months. And that's wrong, my job expertise is in demand and there are jobs out there. Just not posted on Monster!

Good luck and new job vibes heading your way.