Gene is from Oz, but lives in S’pore with his beautiful wife and two monkeys -er children!
He is a mammal, which means he gives birth to live young and suckles them (technically I use the teevee for that bit of the mammalian process).
scientific name, ‘homo stultissimus’
common name, ‘dangergene’
name his mother calls him when he is naughty ‘EUGEEEEEEEEEEEEEENE!’
and hello to everyone I haven’t met before. I must sleep in a moment, or I will be cranky tomorrow and have bad hair.
Wow, Aleq. I can’t even imagine having to go through something like that at that age. My dad and I have had some pretty bad fights, and I still disagree with him on a lot of things, but to his credit he’s always been there for me. :: hugs Aleq ::
Well, I just dropped in to tell you guys that I’m quitting the Dope for a bit. I was going to leave quietly, but I felt like I owed the MMP an explanation at least. I love you all - you’ve been an incredible source of strength and encouragement for me this past year - but I’ve grown a bit weary of the Dope in general, and something posted during the general insanity last weekend (in the Pit) was kind of the last straw for me. I’m sure I’ll be back at some point, but for now I’d rather just take a break from the boards - not just from posting, but also from reading posts altogether. I’ll miss you guys - I do have contact with rigs outside of the boards, (and some of you are friends with me on goodreads) so I won’t lose touch with you guys completely.
:: hugs ::
{{Haze}}- you will be missed. You are a lovely person and any personal issues that you may have discussed are only a small part of who you are. You brought a lot of sweetness and fun to the board.
Miss you…
Awwww… Sorry to hear that, Haze. 
When come back, bring pie.
Many years ago, the day came when it was time to pack my stuff into a footlocker and head west to school.
Eh, short story. Back then, kids didn’t go off to school with 700 pounds worth of computer, monitor, DVD player, 7.1 channel surround speakers, plasma TV, Tivo, iPod, Wii and all of the necessary cables and widgets to lash all of it together. Back then, you were stylin’ if you had a portable typewriter, freeing you from having to trudge off to the Student Center or the library to use one of the college’s typewriters.
If you were really lucky, or in a relevant course such as Creative Writing, you’d be blessed with access to the new-fangled word processors, which were housed in some mythical and heavily-guarded location under the practice football field. And even then, you had to be sure to only submit papers printed on the daisy-wheel printer as professors wouldn’t accept the hard to read output of the 9-pin draft printer.
And why is it that the footlocker is the classical “going off to college” piece of luggage, even though it is so awkward and inconvenient? The dorms all had rooms devoted to long-term dead storage of the things.
Fast-forward to now.
Finding, staging and mobilizing all of the stuff we need for Faire is a major undertaking. Unfortunately, no matter how many times we do it, we always manage to forget something. Last weekend, we were able to bring our trailers on site and set up our summer homes. I remembered the generator, but I forgot the custom-made power cord for it. Oops.
It’s hard to believe, but we open this Saturday. It just seems like a week ago that we were looking at the calendar and thinking “Oh wow, it’s almost time to start build.” But here we are, and Faire is built, trimmed and decorated. Just 72.5 hours until opening parade!
Awake, awake, the day doth break
Good craftsmen open you stalls.
Come join the light, shake off the night
The Faire is open to all!
My goodness, we have a live one, don’t we? Hi, d’gene! 
Hmmm, define “win,” swampy! No apologies needed, Rigs, and no need to tell me what my male parental unit is–he’s what the Strines call “a raving ratbag.” See also: shithead, fucktard, asshole, jerk, drunk, dickweed, waste of flesh, violent family abuser and all around unpleasant person. He doesn’t care about anybody but himself, he has Faux News playing 24/7 on multiple tvs around the house and one of the most heartbreaking things I’ve heard was my grandchild telling me (very hesitantly, in an “I’m not sure I’m allowed to say this” tone) that “I really don’t like the way Grandpa talks to Grandma.” I thought he was actually taking an interest in the Grandboy (gods know he took no interest in his children or grandchildren) but it turns out he just wanted another little moldable, biddable unit to be shaped to his liking and when Grandboy started questioning his dubious assertions Dear Old Dad gave him the same shitty, meanass treatment he gave me–the big difference is that Grandboy has a strong support system that lets him know in no uncertain terms that he’s just fine the way he is and it’s Grandpa who has the problem. I’m very happy DOD is 600 miles away and doesn’t appear to have my phone number, e-mail address or meatspace address–not that he’d contact me in any way, mind you, but it’s nice to know he’d have to go to way too much trouble for His Assholiness to ever bother. I could tell some stories that’d curl your hair, but this ain’t the Pit!
Anyway, on a lighter note, Grandboy is safely off to his first day of seventh grade, yay! He spent the weekend and Labor Day with us, vegging out, playing video games, tuning up his computer and watching inappropriate movies. Himself was all set to let him watch “Kill Bill” and tried to sneak “Reservoir Dogs” past me, but I put my foot quite firmly DOWN on those, and compromised on “Snatch.” Yeah, it’s violent but it’s more cartoon violent and it’s funny as hell. I also had to sit through “Speed Racer,” which was quite the treat for someone recovering from a nasty migraine, I can tell you THAT for free! I’m rather surprised that movie didn’t cause seizures in susceptible viewers… I spent most of the movie surfing the Dope with my eyes turned 90[sup]o[/sup] from the screen.
I also got a chance to surprise the kid–he’s been immersed in all things SCA since we took him to the event a month ago, and he found “Murder at the War” online at Powell’s (it’s a murder mystery that takes place at the Pennsic War.) He was texting me about it, so I quick like a bunny established that they had one copy available (hardback!) for like three bucks so I ordered it to be picked up at the Hawthorne branch of Powell’s, then took the Grandboy “shopping” with me… He never even noticed what the book was that I was picking up until I handed it to him–I love seeing a kid’s eyes get as big as saucers!
Since the Hawthorne Powell’s is right next to Pastaworks, I was forced–FORCED, I say, to go buy a whole olive oil, garlic and sea salt focaccia and some hard salami. Oh my, I do love that focaccia slightly less than life itself… I made a nice vegetarian dinner of butter sauteed peppers and shallots with fresh oregano, which I tossed into some whole wheat/flax spaghetti from Trader Joe’s (heartily recommend this pasta, it is fabulous!) with freshly roasted pureed garlic and some basil pesto. Then I tossed a whole shitload of grated Pecorino romano and asiago in it. Big chunk of focaccia on the side–nom nom nom! Not one speck remained of that, and I used a whole pound of pasta!
Today I need to roust Himself and get out to a tailor to have alterations done on the sports coat I picked up for the wedding. My daughter also needs to have some alterations done on her bridesmaid’s dress so I’m scoping out the prices for her as well. As much as I bag on The Unfortunate Sash, I have to say that after watching “27 Dresses” last night, Daughter is gettin’ off EASY! It’s a very cute movie, by the way, I recommend it…
I am sooo tired this morning, Himself and I were up until almost 0200 and the text messages started coming in at 0700 this morning. Yawn and stuff. Himself says he’s been hearing phantom SpaceDawg noises out back and seeing her out of the corner of his eye, especially since we picked up her ashes. I’m not a ghost believer, but if it helps his grieving process I have no problem with it. He is starting to think in terms of looking around, tentatively, for another dog–the owner of the rescue Widget came from read my LiveJournal entries about SpaceDawg and sent some info on a couple dogs she has available–one is a German Shepherd mix that looks like she might have some Husky in her and Himself likes her eyes. We’re not ready yet, but maybe in a couple months if she’s still available we might have to take that longass drive out to Fossil…
Maybe a shower will wake me up… l8r!
On preview: Haze, don’t let Hostile Fetus get to you, that was pretty shitty but it’s on him, not you–remember we love you, and check in, promise? {{{Haze}}}
We’ll miss you Haze!!!
Hi, 'Gene! Another new kid on the block who doesn’t know you from your illustrious past 
Aleq – wow! Your moving out story definitely “wins” :eek:
Haze… Another one who will miss you
Okay, so, our Labour Day trip. We hadn’t really done anything this summer, the wife and I, but she was determined to go out and do something while there was still some summer left in which to do so, and while the weather was cooperating nicely. So, we went on an impromptu trip down to Port Credit. It’s probably the easiest and quickest trip we can make, which was perfect for a short notice thing, since it involves exactly one bus traveling about 40 minutes due south. (Well, south-southeast, but who’s counting? Oh, shaddap, I know at least one of you is. Pedant.)
Port Credit is just the southern end of Mississauga that terminates at Lake Ontario at the mouth of the Credit River, where there’s a marina full of boats. We had made the decision not to take our main camera – probably not the greatest of choices – but we both had our iPhones so we figured we’d just snap off pics with those.
The main strip (Lakeshore Blvd.) in this region is nice, and has a kind of small city feel to it, even though it’s really just the tail end of a larger city. The townhouses and other buildings abutting the lake definitely look big city though. We were hungry, so we wanted to find a place to eat. We did so by way of the walkway along one of the little inlets where Lake Ontario met the city. To the left there was a lovely little stepped, man-made stone embankment where people were sitting, and which circled around to a little pagoda at the end of a short pier. The other direction led to a wall that separated this relatively serene area from the long pier and the marina beyond. There was a spider scuttling towards me as I leaned against a stone wall to take this shot.
As we walked over towards the pier, I took a few pictures of various flower beds that lined north side of the walkway, including some Chinese Rose plants at the other end heading back out towards the street. We walked over to the marina side, passing a marina restaurant on the way that we briefly considered eating at. There were quite a few boats moored there, including a rather nice big yacht. We decided to see wat else was nearby first though, guided half by personal exploration, and half by an iPhone app called UrbanSpoon, which listed nearby restaurants based on our current Earthly GPS coordinates.
We pressed on, crossing the bridge over the mouth of the Credit River, where accidentally snapped a pic of the pavement. I rather liked the shadowplay of the early evening sun through the railings, so I kept it. At the other end of the bridge was a working lighthouse that I took numerous pictures of at various angles in an attempt to find a spot where the sun’s glare didn’t overload the camera’s auto-brightness feature. It was odd seeing a lighthouse built right against the road rather than at the end of a long jetty, but there it was. It was a small lighthouse to be sure, but a lighthouse all the same.
We – or rather, my wife – ended up picking out Helen’s Fish & Chips to eat at. I blame her for this because, despite my warnings that the interior looked like a greasy dump, she pointed out the large lineups and considerable business they were doing – something I personally attributed to a combination of location and a tourist industry that meant they didn’t have to rely on repeat business very much. Because they couldn’t be getting much; the fries were overcooked, the coleslaw was weak, the Greek salad was big on feta but skimpy on dressing, their burgers were dry and overcooked, and their tartar sauce was only tartar in the academic sense: They just mixed mayonnaise with sweet pickle relish and called it such. The fish was tender and flaky, I’ll hand it that, but the batter was, again, overdone. The portions were pretty huge, too, but a generous helping of shit is still shit.
Anyway, we choked down what we could of the meal and split, a little bit wiser in knowing never to return. As we walked back I snapped a few shots of the mouth of the Credit River as it passes under Lakeshore Blvd, as well as a few ducks and Canada Geese shot from the bridge. My wife pointed something out to me that I had to go down and take some closer shots of, so I wound my way around the stairs leading down to the boardwalk that lined the river so I could grab a few shots of a beautiful white swan that was angling for scraps of bread with some ducks.
Making our way back whence we came I grabbed a couple of random shots of the Canada Post coat of arms and a painting in an art store window, just because I’m a bit of a shutterbug. We stopped in at a cozy little Second Cup for some coffee and to mooch their WiFi (it’s faster than 3G), then stepped outside and stopped in at Scoops, one of those rare beasts (around here) that is a real honest-to-Og creamery. I took a Mr. BlurryCam shot of the interior. Amusingly, they have a little electric train that slowly travels around the entire store. I got my a nice Butterscotch swirl that was fan-freakin’-tastic, because it was that real, firm, creamy, takes-forever-to-melt-in-your-mouth creamery ice cream that was once commonplace in my youth, but has now been replaced by ice milk crap – or occasionally, ice milk crap with real cream! A few drops, sure, but real cream! Blah. Give me real creamery ice cream any day, this stuff was pure heaven, and I’d forgotten about how good it was, it’s been that long. (Really, it’s probably been a couple of decades)
Being later in the evening, the sun having been bisected by the horizon, We made our way through the streets of Port Credit again back to a bus stop so we could head home. I managed to cap of the otherwise nice evening (dinner notwithstanding) by running for the bus and pulling a calf muscle in the process. I had to take yesterday off work because I could barely even hobble.
<John Aston>
But I’m feeling much better, now.
</John Aston>
And so ends our trip through Port Credit.
well, that sucks. My Hazel is leaving [del]me[/del] us?
I am sorry to hear it. I hope you do well, Haze. And don’t forget, I’m here to open up a can of whoop-ass anytime it’s needed. The Metra is so convenient to Hyde Park (and even the north side!). Please stay in touch.
It is not my custom to badmouth other Dopers in the MMP, but I will say that you are not the first to struggle with certain posts made by certain posters. Why people like to spew hate and nastiness eludes me–perhaps they’re just showing on the outside what’s inside?
I just discovered that we can’t PM right now. That sucks.
Oh, and Hank - DON’T GO! You can’t go! You promised!
Well, I imagined that you promised, but that’s almost as binding!
stamps foot :: pouts ::
I really hope this will post… I’ve been having an awful time getting logged on and trying to read and post. :mad:
Me too! 
{{Haze}} We’ll miss you! Check in again sometime and let us know what happens with The Guy. And Cute not-single Irish Coworker. And anyone else who pops up.
I went off to college 11 years ago this fall too. (I think **Muppet **also mentioned 11 years ago. Probably **LiLi **too.) We packed all my stuff into the car, and it was so full that one of us had to hold my stuffed bear for the ride. But we fit it all in! The morning that orientation started we woke up to the news that Princess Diana had died. So not exactly the most fun memory tied to that day.
I was sort of ok when my parents left, but I got incredibly homesick in the weeks that followed. It didn’t help that within my first week a high school classmate died and all of my high school friends went home for the funeral. It just showed us all how close we were and how hard it was to make new friends. Plus, I broke up with my high school boyfriend right after that. That had been a long time coming, but it severed another tie and left me feeling even more adrift. (I should have broken up with him months sooner, but I was afraid our mutual friends would take his side, and I didn’t want to spend the summer after senior year without friends around. So I didn’t break up with him until we were both well ensconced in college.)
The first year was tough all around, but early in the spring semester I decided to transfer - I realized I should be an engineer instead of a liberal arts major - and the following year was amazing. It was the best time I’d had up to that point. I finally met people who saw the world in the way I did, people who were Like Me. It was just a great time. It was an incredibly tough time as well - I’d always been top of my class, the Smart One, and suddenly I was struggling to pass my courses and to keep up at all. But just being with the people around me made it all worthwhile. And we all made it through, and despite the struggles, I did graduate magna cum laude. So I wasn’t struggling *that *much. It just felt that way. Well, that and all exams were graded on a curve so even if I failed, as long as most people failed *more *than I did, I still came out ahead! 
Plus, the engineering school that I went to was only a little more than an hour from my home and parents so it was much easier than the previous three-plus-hour drive to see family. And I had a car on campus, which gave me soooo much more freedom. The first year had been on a very small campus in a very small town so being carless meant I was trapped on the campus that I didn’t really like. So the car really did help too.
Parents are (finally!) coming to visit tomorrow through Monday. Should be fun if we don’t all drive each other insane. I love seeing them, but we all have a very strong sense of This Is the Way Things Should Be Done. And when those ways aren’t all in sync, it can be tough. But hopefully we’ll all be on our best behavior and will let the small things slide.
I probably won’t be back until next week since I’m having such a tough time connecting and posting. See y’all later!
OK, so I managed to double post. :smack:
Hi Danger! (I like that better than Gene- more dramatic). I’m a neophyte around here, so you’re new to me! Pleased to make your acquaintance!
It working a bit better for me in Firefox. For now, anyway. Off soon to return the cello. Not much else to say.
Projected path of TS Hanna has the eye going over Cottonfield County Saturday afternoon.
Emergency Managment is starting to mobilize, and I may be incommunicado from Friday until I get to Boston Sunday. Bonus ambulance duty Friday night, too.
Good luck to you and your community!
Who you going to snog now?
Don’t let the bastards get you down, Haze. (Ah, dammit, they took our colors away from us, too!)
I’m supposed to be in a training session for athletic tutoring. The email told me the day of the meeting and the time. What’s missing from this information? I waited around for thirty minutes, walked around the complex, and then said “fuck it, I’m going home.” I’m starting to reconsider third job.
I bought new head lights, did the comfortoers at the laundromat, and napped. Somebody left an Aldi cart in front of the laundromat, so I thought, “Free quarter, WooHoo!” and took it home. I’m having a martini now.
Whippersnappers! I was 7 in '78.
Come back soon, Haze! Don’t forget to write, pm, visit Room 304 with me, etc.!
Mork, great pics! The duck/goose one looks familiar.
Keep your head down, BBBobbio. Figures we might hit right before my last vacation of the year.
