DB, you can answer this when you’re comfortable doing so: was Maggie’s passing unexpected?
Bluuurf. Caffeinating now. I got to work late because I had to stop by the doctor’s office and get siphoned by the vampires. I also stopped at the nearby Lowe’s to buy masonry anchors for the handrails on the back stoop for VWife’s kneejob.
The bobcat came by last night and mixed it up with one of the feral cats, not 30 feet from my back door. Unfortunately I couldn’t get a shot off to either one of the bastiges. Loki and Freya went nuts with the caterwauling outside.
I am not well. I left work about 3pm yesterday feeling like a limp dishrag. I still feel like a dishrag but not quite so limp as yesterday, but I am going back to sleep in a few. I just stopped in to say Great OP - lovely scenery. and to offer hugs to all who need. db - Maggie’s in good company - she has lots of furry friends to play with - hopefully, knowing that will help you thru this.
{{{{{Doggio}}}}}, I was so sorry to hear about Maggie. She had a great life with you and I’m sure she’ll be much missed.
{{{herbs}}}
{{{Jah}}}
{{{db}}}
{{{ems}}}
All is well with me and mine. Not much to report. Hang in there, mumpers!
{{{BioRosie}}}, too. I’d offer you some Jewish penicillin, but I’m a Gentile… 
Jeebus on a Triscuit.
So our main shipper guy has been off work for a couple of weeks now for health reasons (depression-related, apparently) so they’ve been scrabbling in the back to pick up the slack. That’s fine – nothing we haven’t done before, though it does put a bit of strain on things. But I just learned today that not only did the Canadian distribution manager (my supervisor’s boss and the guy that interviewed and hired me – helluva nice guy, he is) once have cancer and that it was beaten into remission, but now it has come out of remission and he’s going to have to spend the next few days getting IV drugs and chemo to try and fight it off again. Damn, that sucks – and as the saying goes, it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. (Only it’s said here without the usual irony attached) I really hope they succeed. Cancer is an ugly thing, but it seems that much worse when it’s someone you know.
Anyway, so that shorts us more staff so we’re going to be scrambling around even more than usual, especially because he was also doubling as tech support/warranty while our main tech/warranty guy is off for his yearly training in Wisconsin, and then goes on vacation next week. Now there’s no one to do tech or approve/decline warranties, so we’re going to have to make do. It’s gonna be a fun week. But as long as H (the aforementioned Good Boss Guy) gets the treatment he needs we’ll work as hard as we need to to do what needs to be done.
Aside from that I had a weird kind of moment this morning while waiting for the bus. Off in the corner of the lot where I wait was another bus, parked right in a corner apparently because it wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon so the driver just wanted to park it away from functional bus traffic. I noticed what looked kinda like a figure in the driver’s seat, but the shape was positioned a little oddly. It was dark in the bus (everything being turned off), and the driver – if indeed there was one at the wheel – would have to be a black man or else the comparative brightness of a white face would have made it obvious. But then the figure moved – it seemed to slump over, actually. That obviously meant there was someone there, but the slumping action looked kind of weird. But that’s when I noticed that the marquee atop the front of the bus. It was one of those mechanical dot matrix displays, y’know, the ones that flip dots over to spell things? It was normally illuminated, but was currently dark, and was stopped in mid-message. It currently read, “SORRY…I.” The juxtaposition of the slumped figure at the helm and the marquee’s partial message was kinda eerie, yet darkly funny at the same time.
The driver eventually did move more and ultimately exited the bus, so this was clearly a case of having fun with the imagination, but it was still one of those odd moments where events align in just such a unique way that you can’t help but think.
It has been a strange morning. And it’s only just past 9.
Rigs - I don’t know if women have a harder time of this than men, especially if you prefer more salon-like (rather than plain striped-pole barber-like) places, but I definitely hear you on that. I don’t want to chat, I’m not interested in suggestions unless I’ve asked for them, and taking liberties with my instructions for the sake of your sense of fashion propriety is not cool. Just cut my damn hair the way I asked you do cut my damn hair and we’ll both leave with what we want; me with less hair, you (or your employer anyway) with more money. Why is this arrangement so hard for some people?
SCL - That drunken post was just bursting with win. I don’t know if I liked “Xomerlatority,” “drunkle” or “Poomise” better, but I know I’m going to work them into sentences at some point. I Poomise.
Heff&Roo - I are serious guy. This is serious face. Cell phone pic, so not very good (not that a good camera would improve that mug), but taken just now. It’s not very obvious, but owing to the top hair being rather too long to spike without appearing like I’m making a desperate attempt to look dorky, I’ve got a kind of front flip thing going on with the top brushed forward towards a few semi-spiky bangs. Not my usual style (not that I have anything you could call “style” with a straight face) but it seems to work with this cut.
Urf. Starting to get busy here. Guess I need to get to it.
Everyone be quiet! rosie is sleeping!
Bluurrff. It’s rainy and dark as twilight here, and I just barely dragged myself out of bed. I kept waking up, thinking, “Okay, I should really get up!”, and then the cat on my feet would stretch and it was so dark… and I’d go back to sleep. I’m up and dressed and about to drink tea. Should have got up at eight.
No puking so far. I started taking more pills again, and I feel okay. Thank goodness.
Aw, doggio, I have such a lump in my throat. Being a dog’s caretaker takes mucho strength of heart. God speed, Maggie.
Big hugs to all the other Mumpers in need.
I guess the dreary weather we are having fits the day.
Mork, well, aren’t you just the cutest lil thang! 
Off to read the Heros thread.
Tupug
{{{{{{{{{{{All who need one}}}}}}}}}}}
My doggie friends at work will be getting a little extra love from me today, doggio…I went to bed insanely early last night and didn’t read the thread. 
On the other hand, I got a realllllly good night’s sleep, which I desperately needed. Tomorrow I have to run a couple of errands around town here and then I hit the road for Seattle. Of course I’m taking my computer with me, but I won’t be online nearly as much as usual. Something tells me Grandma doesn’t have a wireless network in her place!
I hate packing for a trip. I’m always convinced I forgot something. At least this is easier than flying since I’ll be in the car and therefore have more room for stuff, though I try to pack light anyway. And it’s not like I can’t get anything I need while I’m there. So after work today I do laundry and pack. Wheeee.
It rained most of the day yesterday, which is a good thing for us even if it was only in the low 40s; chilly rain is almost my least favorite kind of rain. I do love the way the clouds are so low, when it rains, that they’re right over the top of the mountains, it makes me feel all safe somehow. I bet snowclouds will be even better at that.
Apparently it could be another month before my roommate manages to strangle the right person at the INS, or whatever it’s called now, to let him back in the country. I’m told he really wants to come back, but hasn’t been able to yet. I can’t say I mind having the place to myself, mind you, but it must be seriously frustrating for him!
Wow. I haven’t been drunk enough to make a post like this in ages. Glad SCL is picking up the slack.
Morning, all. I’ve been up and caffeinating for a while; I’m just off to a slow start this morning. I have a thrilling and exciting day ahead of me: Early this afternoon I have my six-month checkup for my bionic knee, and other than that I have work. Envy me my exciting life.
I learned one thing in Oregon, by the way, that I’ll pass along to our other bionical folks: Bionic knees (or hips, for that matter, since Margaret has one of those) do NOT like walking a lot in soft sand at the beach. I was in misery for several days after that long walk on Arcadia Beach. Not that it wasn’t worth it, but it was still startling since I’ve not had that kind of knee pain since about March.
I’m sorry you feel bad, Rosie. Here’s hoping you feel better soon.
Four, at least, Maj. Socks – you, me, FCM, and Herbs. I think that’s all that hang out in the MMP, although obviously there’s lots more Merrylande Dopers.
Actually, while your grandma probably won’t have wireless, she has upgraded to DSL. So you can use her 'puter and get online at a decent speed, finally. A car, decent online speed, and a Trader Joe’s just down the hill – what more could you want at her place now? 
That was a simply superior drunken post, SCL! You set a standard that’s going to be hard to beat! I can’t wait for a translation once you recover from your HANGOVER today!
Off to drink more coffee and think about working some more.
Dad is vertical and walking on sticks this afternoon
Yay!
Missed edit window…
And he could be home tomorrow!
Yay!
I ended up not bringing anything into the potluck today since it’s all covered. There is a TON of food around up here. I did bring in candy for my desk though. Anyone want a dum-dum sucker? Sorry, fresh out of watermelon ones.
**Mork ** how *you * doin’?
{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}} to all who needs them. Seems like a lot of people.
Evening all! Quiet day here - still waiting to hear back about my other potential interviews, so the day was filled with washing dishes and bottles, watching Barney, Hi-5 and Postman Pat, and blowing raspberries on my gorgeous daughter’s belly! I spent a few minutes browsing through some of the pics we’ve taken of her since she was born and I just can’t believe how much she’s grown. She will be 6 months old on Saturday - 1/2 a year already!
I also can’t believe I have to go back to work in a month’s time - YECH! A lot of people tried to tell me that being a mother would be much harder than working, but I tell you my daughter (who, in case you hadn’t noticed, is entirely dependent on me and my husband) is a lot less stress-inducing and nowhere near as high-maintenance as my boss (the psycho beeyotch from HELL!). So I am really really desperate to find another job before I start back. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to walk in there my first day back and politely tell her to shove her crap job up her steenkin’ butt! I have also found out through my recruitment agent that, based on my experience, I am currently being underpaid by about US$30K per annum, which is a huge chunk of change! :eek: All the more reason to pull the plug!
SCL, two questions for you. What was the dream that scared you so badly, and what in the blue blazes is:
K, off to snuggle with hubby on the sofa for a while. Envy me!
I didn’t write the dream down when I woke up, so I lost it. I can remember the fear - I was scared. Badly scared. This is the first bad dream (that I remembered on waking) I have had in over two years.
Hold things down in here, willya? Some dwarfs are playing drums in my head.
On the bright side: I can breathe through my nose.
Howdy all - antoher migration day for me. So basically I’ll lose roughly 5% of my hair from pulling it out while answering questions asked by people who shouldn’t be allowed outside alone.
FCM - If you want to go to the PNW, just dump the animals with me and the wife, we’ll look after 'em.
However, much like the kids they’ll have to hunt their food in the backyard and eat it raw. It’ll help keep 'em sharp.
Drat, drat, dammit, drat. I just found out I’ve lost my debit card. I’ve reported it, they’re sending me a new one, but it’ll probably not be here for a couple of weeks. And I don’t have a driver’s licence, so I can’t get a temporary one. I don’t have sufficient i.d. since they don’t take provincial health cards.
So it’s visa all the way for the next few weeks. Except they don’t take visa at Costco. Dammit.
And now I’ll probably find it on the floor. But it’ll be useless.
Dammit.
Is the hangover better now, SCL?
Busy morning, drives by, waves. More later.