Hey Ashley Wagner, you suck! That US Ladies Figure Skating championship you won tonight after two falls in the long program was a joke. The eighth place finisher skated better than you did.
Fucking moron judges. Blind and stupid.
I’m so homesick. I’ve never gone this long without seeing my daughter, nor longer than this without seeing my mother. I miss them. I want to go back to the farm. I also miss Canada and my friends there. I’m so lonely here; I have such a hard time making friends that I can only really attach that label to a scant handful of people I’ve met here. I wish I would land a bloody job so that in addition to a paycheque I might actually obtain some decent acquaintances. As it stands, I can’t afford to go out and do things that might help me make friends.
Hands out hugs, chocolate, blankets (as needed) warm (and other) beverages of choice, tissues and fuzzy cuddly critters.
Now, may I be angry about the lawn guys who woke me up repeatedly today without having rocks and invectives thrown at me?
Seriously, lawn guys, it’s really not necessary to yell at each other from different parts of the back yard and then have a yelling conversation right at my bedroom window. I could almost get past the yelling at each other across the yard, if they didn’t proceed to yell at each other right outside my bedroom window. No, they didn’t know I was trying to sleep, but still.
On the upside, the night before my giant puppy (135 pounds-ish, large frame, no, really) decided he didn’t want to go on an out of town adventure briefly so he came running into my room and went into “mummy, protect me mode”, as we call it. Yes, a 135 pound lab was trying to play lap dog and trying to figure out how he could get behind me, to hide, without hurting me. I tell you what; the cuddles, love, and sweet puppy kisses totally melted the cold, black cockles of my heart. 
Flatlined, I’m sorry about your friend; that’s always something hard to witness. I applaud you for trying not to cry first. When my grandfather was dying I would get super pissed at people who would come over, walk in the door, burst into tears and expect my grandmother to comfort* them*. You know, the chick whose husband is dying. :mad:
How are you enjoying the Houston weather now? I know you weren’t here Saturday, but it was allegedly 77 degrees. Pleasant. Ouch! Who threw that rock? 
Preach it. I have a bloody job, but I don’t make enough to go out and do anything, either. I can’t even afford to go see my dad every week like I want to.
Speaking of my dad, since that was the rant that started this whole thread off, right after I posted the initial rant he ended up having to have his left leg amputated above the knee. It was a shock to all of us, but when I saw him a few days later he was much improved–talking up a storm and chipper as ever. Since then he’s gone to the VA home until he can get a prosthetic and my sisters (mainly) and I (when I can get there) are clearing out his house to give it a long-needed thorough cleaning and get it fixed up to be more handicap-accessible.
Oh my LORD how did that house get into that condition? No wonder my allergies were so bad when I was growing up–dust everywhere. My sisters and I have all taken solemn oaths that we will never be hoarders. You would not believe how much stuff accumulates over 40 years. Or maybe you do. Anyway, it’s a lot and I can’t spend a lot of time in that house without getting dizzy.
Correct.
D’Oh! :smack:
I try to move every five years - that cuts WAAAAAY down on the dust build-up and crap accumulation. 
We insulated our attic of our bungalow* yesterday, with blown-in cellulose. I have pains where I didn’t even know I had muscles, and my husband is the same. But hey, it’s finally done! It needed doing since we moved in here, three and a half years ago. Hopefully we’ll have less cold house in winter, hot house in summer.
*Bungalows are great, but they have a massive footprint compared to two storey houses. That translates into a massive attic. 
I have now joined the “Google are a bunch of info-stealing asshats” movement.
I needed to download a free app to properly use a new electronic device, which the manufacturers told me I could get from the “Google play store”. Of course you can’t just download the app, you must register with Google and among other things provide your telephone number. Then when I try to download the app, I get a message it is downloading, but nothing actually happens. After awhile, I notice a tiny icon (misleadingly labeled) which turns out to signify an error - I have failed to download the “Google play store app” which is needed to download other apps.
Seriously.
Of course, the “Google play store app” cannot be downloaded to my “smartphone” due to some configurational plague or phase of the moon, and I am advised to contact the phone manufacturer.
Ultimately I succeed by other means in my quest to obtain the device app. But now I loathe Google in all its manifestations and desire earnestly to see it suffer through an endless parade of successful lawsuits while all its execs come down with a bad case of shingles.
Random suggestion from personal experience - have you tried volunteering at a charity shop? One of my friends did that when she was unemployed, and it led to a paid managerial position with them. Even if that doesn’t work out, well, I befriended her as a result of volunteering there too, so it’s one way to meet people?
(and we must grab another pint sometime) 
Sounds familiar. My mother, the hoarder, has asked me to help her clear out her house, that she moved into sometime in the mid 1970s. Given that I found an open packet of biscuits with a use by of 2002 in the box she keeps my daughters toys in there (we don’t live there, but she has some toys and books for visits), I said yes. Not looking forward to it - but lets face it, I’d end up doing it now or some point in the future when she’s no longer with us, so now probably easier.
And there’s less chance of my daughter catching something unspeakable from eating 10 year old biscuits.
Well, we can only demonstrate that a phenomenon or entity did not occur at specific points of space or time, we cannot control for every variable in order to demonstrate that it is not possible at any space or time. Your example holds as modus tollens (if I put money in my bank account there’d be a statement, there is no statement, thus I did not put money in the bank account), but other claims do not reach that threshold. For instance, if you had said “I do not have $5m in my account so I did not put $5m in my account”, that’d be affirming the consequent I think. In reality, I think it follows from Popper’s claim that we can never prove a theory outside the realm of formal mathematics (more or less - that’s the impression I got from Conjectures and Refutations). Not that I’m madly enthusiastic about Popper, but he has a point.
Also, I’d like to minipit my wireless connection. I’m meant to be studying for my exam tomorrow and my net decides to be fickle and cut out capriciously. It’s so rare I’m using it for something productive and it always seems to be when I’m trying to upload an essay or corroborate something I read on a lecture slide that it decides to play up (course, that’s probably just an availability heuristic).
Grumbling about those messy surprises that lead to having to do laundry ahead of plan, especially when said surprise was a surprise due to being a week early. The ladies present can relate, I’m sure.
Having been in those shoes, I can sympathize. I know you likely know that these feelings will pass, but I also know what a crapsack those feelings can be. If it helps any, you got folks who care about your well-being here, and hope for the best for you. I’d second the suggestion about taking time to volunteer somewhere, and make it somewhere you like if possible (I volunteered in a medical library, and really liked my time there)- Even if you don’t immediately ‘meet people’, it’ll get you out of the house and keep you busy, thus distracting you from unpleasant things.
In the meantime, well wishes and a definite understanding. raises glass
If you don’t have job at the moment have you considered volunteer work? You get to meet all sorts of people and you get the added benefit of doing useful needed work. I dunno what it is like where you are but around here having volunteer work on your resume is an advantage.
I agree that volunteering is a good way to find like-minded people. I found many wonderful friends that way.
Thank you so much for asking, thursday next. I do like Houston a lot. My skin LOVES Houston. I’ve gone from carrying hand lotion in my pocket and using it a hundred times a day to once or twice a day, when I think about it.
We had a good old fashioned wake for my friend yesterday. Lots of laughs, some tears and the guest of honor was able to hear our stories about him. I didn’t cry. Much, and not in front of anyone in the house. I went outside to do it.
I went by my house on the way to the Sky Harbor. When I get home, I will make Bill teach me how to post pics from my phone online. You all need to see the ones I have now.
The next door neighbor’s kids sold her truck. She is dead and they are trying to deal with the stuff. That’s all good. (Not being dead, but taking care of stuff)
The truck was sitting so long that the battery was dead, so the new owner put it on one of those trailors that just hold up the front wheels, and didn’t strap it down. The driveway has a marked slant, so when he put the brakes on to turn onto the road, the owners truck stopped. His new truck didn’t.
Now the trailer is stuck under the truck, trailor wheels behind the trucks wheels and the trailor hitch is sticking out in the road.
Its going to take a couple of tow trucks to get this dealt with. I asked Tony to take more pics, but he’s really pissed off at me right now, so I’ll miss out.
Yeah, I know I shouldn’t point and make fun of stupid, lazy people.
HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
This sounds familiar too. When My Mother the Hoarder was in hospital my sister and I started to clear out the filth, then decided to have someone do it for us. Six dumpsters and $4000 later … the house was immaculate. She hated it, hated us, hated that all her treasures were gone. I admit it was a sneaky thing to do but her house was in dire need of cleaning. The floors werent even visible anymore.
After my mother passed, it took another 3 dumpsters to clear out what she had re-accumulated (by going to the GoodWill looking for her “treasures” that we “stole” from her and finding someone else’s treasures too irresistible to pass up).
She died? This is the crazy neighbour that you had all the kids saying “hi” to, right, that you were temporarily picking up mail for? I recall you said she’d been taken to the hospital, but for some reason I didn’t think it was serious.
What’s Tony ticked about this time?
Here’s to hoping that Dunkelheit’s volunteering opportunities are better than the ones I found in Philly. In Miami I had no problem finding volunteer organizations who’d be happy to take my time occasionally (grad students don’t sleep in the lab, but only because the snoring would distract those who are awake); in Philly all they wanted was my money, which they are still waiting for.
I do volunteer at a local historical site, part of the National Trust for Scotland, which is cool because it gives me membership and access to a wide network of historical sites across the UK. That helped me break out of my “can’t leave the house” spell and go out among people. A wee bit of social phobia goes a long way to prevent new friendships as well, heh. But I can’t spend too much of my time volunteering or the Job Centre will give me stick about taking time away from my job search. So I give them a few hours a week.
I hope that having a local reference will help as well, since all my others are across the Atlantic and long ago at this point. Getting longer, too, the longer the economy is crap and the search goes on.
Could you talk to your job centre about training/volunteering that would actually help in your job search? I understand about the social phobia but it is something I and others have gotten past and there is no reason you wont be able to do the same one day. Best of luck and always remember that internet friendships can be just as valid as irl ones. YMMV of course.
Ummmm… when were you in Philly and didn’t see me?!