# A Melancholy MMP **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** mmp\ **Created:** [July 14, 2008, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-melancholy-mmp/456397 "2008-07-14T04:18:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-melancholy-mmp/456397/81 "2008-07-14T20:48:20Z")
Lovely OP, Spaz. I’m sorry about your mom, and about the other parents here who left too soon. My mom writes cute little poems, too; it must be a mom thing. As for my mom? > [@Taters](#): > > My mom is still around and I think she’ll outlive all of us because she’s just that ornery. I love my mother, but she drives me crazy. I can only take her in small doses. What she said. She’s 87 and going strong. Drives us _all_ up the wall. Which is one reason I live on one coast and she lives on the other! My dad died at 72 from Parkinson’s, but by the time he died, he had shrunk away to practically nothing and it was a true blessing. I’d love to have a JesusPhone! Alas, I have no real excuse for one; I seldom am away from home to need one, and when I am, I can take my laptop. **Bobbio** , your reputation was long ago [del]ruined[/del]elevated around these here parts. Relax and enjoy being such a good guardian angel! Where in Oregon were you staying, **picu**? That coast is such a lovely place; I would move there in a heartbeat. Thrak is growing fast! His fur has smoothed down from that adorable kitten-fur-sticking-out-every-which-way phase. I bet he’s going to be a big boy! Good luck ‘splainin’ things to your mom’s HR department, **Pie**. Remember, a little righteous indignation on your mom’s behalf is a good thing! And AC guys are a very, very good thing! I am just now joining the conversation because I stayed up till :eek: o’clock working, and then got up again at oh dark thirty to finish up a job that I _had_ to get in first thing this morning. So then I was totally out of it, and ended up vegging for a couple hours whilst the dogs ate and went out, and then went and took a looong nap. And then I just woke up, so I’m only about 90% out of it. But I’m here. Aren’t you all thrilled? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Most\_Creative\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Most\_Creative\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Most_Creative_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-melancholy-mmp/456397/82 "2008-07-14T20:48:49Z")
Here’s the link to [CutiePie’s](http://www.flickr.com/photos/12253741@N07/) Flickr account. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-melancholy-mmp/456397/83 "2008-07-14T20:57:32Z")
Where is the keeling over smiley? I have done 4+ hours of yard work today. I transplanted a bunch of hosta, planted the new plants, trimmed a few small trees, cut brush, and weeded. I am dead. No idea what’s going on in the thread–I see the usual suspects are still present, so we must not be doing too bad. ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-melancholy-mmp/456397/84 "2008-07-14T20:59:03Z")
I’ve linked to it before – but here’s [my flickr page](http://www.flickr.com/photos/noonespecial/) again. Yay for \*\*ReboKid \*\*-- and for an Air Conditioned **CutiePie**! 🙂 No dog ☹ I’m still hoping they’ll have him at the pound tomorrow. If not, well, he had a good enough run… (not sure exactly, probably almost 15 years old.) ---
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-melancholy-mmp/456397/85 "2008-07-14T21:02:02Z")
**LiLi** , I’m starting to question my sanity as far as these baking challenges go, actually. The danish inspired many an f-bomb during its making… and there wasn’t a part of my body that wasn’t covered in flour, dough, almond paste or a combination thereof. I’m not at liberty to reveal this month’s challenge, but suffice to say that it makes the danish look like a walk in the park. On the other hand, The Boy does get excited over the end results and devours them with much gusto, which makes up for some of the frustration. Sort of. Also, I now feel virtous because my account is way more current that Mr Lissar’s. 🙂 **McUne** , I’ve got a wicked bad itch to go camping after looking at your photos. Sniff. I’ll have to wait until Labour Day to go, which sucks large. ---
**Author:** ![Most\_Creative\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Most\_Creative\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Most_Creative_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-melancholy-mmp/456397/86 "2008-07-14T21:26:42Z")
\*\*Mahna \*\* I looked at your blog and it’s awesome! The pictures and the recipes, I can’t wait to try some of them out! That Danish looks amazing!!! Where do you find the cooking challenges? That might be fun to try sometime and push me to try more new things. More camping pictures will be uploaded btw, that was only Day 1, LOL. I have some cute pictures of the kids (I think, if they turned out). I haven’t looked past day 1 yet. Camping was SO much fun. I so want to go again. I didn’t want to come home. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-melancholy-mmp/456397/87 "2008-07-14T21:33:43Z")
Thanks to all your unbridled support about my awful student today!! I really appreciate it! [Ivory’s flickr](http://www.flickr.com/photos/20606762@N04/) Not much on it, but I’ll add more! We’re going camping in August, I hope. I love camping so much, but we haven’t done it in awhile ☹ . I need to light a fire under us and go! ---
**Author:** ![taxi78cab](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47c2d/32.png) [@taxi78cab](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/taxi78cab)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-melancholy-mmp/456397/88 "2008-07-14T22:06:50Z")
No flickr here. Just a photobucket account that I don’t often put pics on anyway. Oh and a KodakGallery that keeps threatening to disappear if I don’t buy something. No camping for me. I like hotels with beds and in-room bathrooms and hot showers thankyouverymuch! It’s been a day here. Not a bad day, not a particularly good day, not a noteworthy day (and yet, here I am, noting it). Just a day. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-melancholy-mmp/456397/89 "2008-07-14T22:12:16Z")
Lovely OP - and I love the poems. My mom is still going strong at 74 but she doesn’t do notes or poems. On the other hand, she’s learned not to glurge us with email, so yay! 😃 Long boring day at work - I’m doing data entry on a user-hostile Access database. I got a lot of data entered, but I’ve got a few issues to resolve - gotta grab someone more knowledgeable tomorrow. I’ll probably have to work late a few days this week, too - apparently we’re behind schedule. woo and hoo. :rolleyes: SIL is at work, \*\*FCD \*\* is chilling, and so am I. I’m thinking this will be a go-to-bed-early night. Is it Firday yet?? ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-melancholy-mmp/456397/90 "2008-07-14T22:42:48Z")
Yes. Your food blog is wonderful. Do more of it. Do you think I can eat a four-person amount of macaroni and cheese with mushrooms? I bet I can. And then the rest of the chocolate gingerbread. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-melancholy-mmp/456397/91 "2008-07-14T22:47:29Z")
Supper was nummy. We ate then we… well you know… then ol’ y’all know who went home to get some laundry done poor baby. **Rebo** yay on Reboson for passin’ his tests. **Special1** hope you find the pooch. Give 'em hell **CutiePie**! I hear ya **taxi**. Like I say, my idea of roughin’ it is a hotel without room service. 😃 A friend’s adult son died in a swimmin’ accident Saturday evenin’. I just heard about it a little bit ago. I don’t have details but it sounds like he was divin’ in a shallow spot and ended up breakin’ his neck. ☹ The funeral will be Thursday mornin’ with visitation the night before. After the funeral, my church is feedin’ the family. It’s been decided it’ll be sammiches and sides. Thus, what’s the first thing that comes to my mind? Bake a ham and make some **N.O.T.** salad. Am I southern or what? See, down south, it ain’t an after funeral feed without **N.O.T.** salad. I also have no doubt there will be some fried chicken. A whole lot of hurt can be nursed with a plate of fried chicken and a bowl of **N.O.T.** salad. I’m also goin’ to make some chicken salad for Thursday cause I make good chicken salad. So, I guess I’m takin’ off work Thursday to funeralize and help with **N.O.L.** afterwards. ☹ Ok, we have been entirely too somber thus far. Somebody needs to get silly for us. ---
**Author:** ![Most\_Creative\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Most\_Creative\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Most_Creative_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-melancholy-mmp/456397/92 "2008-07-14T22:50:59Z")
Sorry to hear about your friends son **Swampy**. ☹ I have a question for ya’ll, especially for those who are married or have a significant other…is it normal to have dreams about “being with” another guy? (Or in the case of my dreams it seems like a new guy every night. Yikes!) ---
**Author:** ![Wallflower](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Wallflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallflower)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-melancholy-mmp/456397/93 "2008-07-14T23:52:50Z")
Nice OP. {{{ **Spaz** }}} Thankfully, my parents are still alive, however, friday will be one year since **Hubby** [sup]tm[/sup] passed suddenly, 2 days before his 46th birthday. My head is not in the best place at the moment where I can express my feelings as bittersweet memories, the rage is too deep. Actually, I am mostly ok, but this anniversary is coming down on me like a ton of bricks. I’m glad that I scheduled some vacation days at the end of the week. {{{ **Alessan** }}} Go get 'em **Pie** Work has been kicking my butt the last couple months. I do price changes for Target, which means I put little red stickers on clearance stuff. This is normally a busy time for us, but the recession caught up to us, and not many people are shopping with their government bribe check, so there is double the amount of stuff to put little red stickers on. I have been reading along, mostly, just haven’t had the desire to post. {{{ **Mumpers** }}} Just because. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-melancholy-mmp/456397/94 "2008-07-15T00:16:58Z")
Hi. You have all been too busy. I can’t respond to it all. However, I got everything straighetened out and am not in trouble with Social Security. I’m still going to start full-time, though. I don’t need this crap. So, I’m good. ---
**Author:** ![Taters](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/taters/32/2845_2.png) [@Taters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taters)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-melancholy-mmp/456397/95 "2008-07-15T00:38:29Z")
I’m sorry to hear about your friend’s son, **Swampy.** Hugs to you **Wallflower.** I hope you find your dog, **Special 1.** Blech, whataday! The daughter and I kind of got into it over the phone because I told her to take care of getting herself registered for her math placement test at UW. However, she couldn’t figure out what her student ID and PAC numbers were. I kept telling her they were on her acceptance letter, but she didn’t want to hear. Finally, we both hung up in frustration. I then called the UW where the nice lady told me how to locate the numbers (on the acceptance letter). Then she told me that if Kirsten called the enrollment office, they would provide those numbers to her over the phone if she provided the right information to them. It turns out my daughter found her acceptance letter and registered for her test. She couldn’t register for her core classes, however, because she hasn’t turned her proof of immunization for measles and stuff in. So, tomorrow, I’ll take her down to her HMO so can sign for that info and we can take it to UW. Sigh, if it’s not one thing, it’s another. Work was slightly frustrating today because a healthcare provider did not like the workload numbers I produced for his providers. I can’t help what the workload says, and I can’t play with the FTE value to make the benchmark variance look good. The numbers are the numbers are the numbers are the numbers…jeesh. \*\*snowbunny, \*\* I’m glad you’re in a good place now re: the whole Social Security thing. ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-melancholy-mmp/456397/96 "2008-07-15T00:45:26Z")
I despise inconsiderate people. You see my crutch. You see me wincing in pain with every step, and whimpering at my desk as the pain subsides for a while. I know you see this because you ask if I am okay. But do you offer to bring back some coffee? or to pick me up some lunch as long as you’re out? or hold the frakin’ door for me? Stoopit fuckers. Perhaps I should explain I pulled the ham string in my right leg (the one with the replaced knee, the one with the fractured patella) this morning on my way down the steps. But I couldn’t turn around mid-stairs, so I kept going. And once all the way down, figured I might as well go to work. At least E, whose department has space in the same office as mine, was nice enough - she saw me this morning in the paarking lot juggling the umbrella and coffee cup and knew about the crutch from last week - so she offered to bring my coffee up for me. But none of my immediate cow-orkers did even a fraction as much. ---
**Author:** ![Sticks\_and\_Scones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sticks_and_scones/32/16951_2.png) [@Sticks\_and\_Scones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sticks_and_Scones)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-melancholy-mmp/456397/97 "2008-07-15T01:08:59Z")
I hate mosquitoes!!! No a/c in my shop still. Since they got there so late they couldn’t make any calls about getting the part that needs to be replaced. So it may be out for a couple more days. ☹ Too distracted by bugs to comment, sorry. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-melancholy-mmp/456397/98 "2008-07-15T01:19:22Z")
**SmartiePants** , is it still a zoom of shame if I’ve already taken a shower (at their place) and put on a clean work uniform? Off work, tired, need to make/eat frozen pizza (my third non-PB&J/ramen meal that I’ve bought in the last 3 weeks) ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-melancholy-mmp/456397/99 "2008-07-15T01:31:34Z")
**{{{Walls}}}** I’ll keep you in my thoughts and prayers. Yay for you **snowbunny**! **donkeybear** that makes it a clean zoom of shame. 😛 Boo on no a/c **CutiePie**. Here’s hopin’ y’all can get it all done tomorrow **Taters**. **MCUNE** dreams are just dreams. Don’t worry about it. You wanton hussy! **BioRosie** :mad: You have permission to “accidentally” trip cow-orkers with your crutch. Or drop things on their feet cause you know what with havin’ to balance all this stuff and handle a crutch things sometimes _slip_. Maybe I should become a consultant of evil and revenge. 😃 We need to lighten the mood a bit so here’s my favorite all time corny joke. What’s blackandwhiteandgreenandwhiteandblack and smells terrible? Two skunks fightin’ over a pickle. I swear this joke cracks me up just to think about it. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-melancholy-mmp/456397/100 "2008-07-15T01:36:15Z")
Thanks, everyone. Here’s what I ended up saying: > [@](#): > > I’m here to talk about my Grandma Florence. > > My grandmother was a woman of her times. But what times they were! She was born before the outbreak of the first world war; she grew up during the Roaring 20’s, came of age during the Great Depression, weathered the Second World War and everything society went through afterwards. She lived through an era of monumental changes. > > And yet, she changed very little herself. > > Now, you may see that as criticism, but it isn’t. For one, she had a way of shifting the world around her, so that she never seemed disconnected from it. And for another, because we all needed something unchanging in our lives – some point of reference. As far back as I can recall, I remember her asking me questions about my life, about what I was doing, about whether I was happy, and listening to the answers – even to those outside her frame of reference. The last time my grandmother and I spoke, she asked me whether my wife and I were happy with our jobs and whether our son was talking, and making friends, and was he a happy little boy. I’ve been answering similar questions for over 30 years. I’m going to miss them. > > Nothing was more important to my grandmother than her family. And that’s how I was raised, and even though I’ve spent so much of my life so far away from her, she always helped me understand what a family should be. Not perfect – never perfect – but always more than the sum of its parts. No individual family member’s life is purely their own, but is informed, and improved, by those they love. She embodied this more than anyone. She could not be happy unless we were all happy. That’s a lesson I hope to learn from. > > None of us would be who we are without her. That’s something to be proud of, and a pretty good legacy. I am exhausted beyond human recognition. Jetlag and emotional fatigue are not a good mix. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-melancholy-mmp/456397.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-melancholy-mmp/456397.md?page=6)