My first emergency repair in the new house; a handy MMP

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
101

Lizards and geckos and reptiles, oh my! Something tells me the scales are beginning to tip in their favor. :wink: Meeks, I’ll be heading over to your gecko thread shortly. For now I’ll just say he is a cutie.

BUT FIRST! An update on my progress at the new job. Just yesterday I finally got working a 2-D version of the model I’m trying to make. I think. I have to conduct one more test, namely using the parameters from one data set on another data set to see if it all falls down. If all the king’s horses and all the king’s men don’t need to get involved, I can make the transition to the full three dimensional model. Go me! :slight_smile:

Ahem.

And now, your daily dose of you know what:

102

I have a question – how do you know if someone has invited you over just to be polite, or if you’re invited because you really are wanted there?

Stick with me for the backgrounder:
My SIL (actually, my husband’s SIL) is having “some girls” over tonight. This includes about 5 friends she’s had for years (since high school, 20+ years ago), her sister, a friend she acquired through marriage (woman who married a guy friend of hers about 10 years ago), and me (we didn’t know each other until my husband & I started dating about 9 years ago).

So, – SIL does things with the “girls” pretty often, and invites me a lot, I think. I accept the invites maybe half the time. She lives about 45 minutes away. Most of her friends live within a 5 mile radius of me – SIL is the only one who moved away.

I like my SIL. But I don’t like her best friend AT ALL (she happens to live around the corner from me). And I’m certain her best friend doesn’t like me. We’re nice & polite to each other, but that’s about as far as it goes. As for the rest, they’re nice, but we have nothing in common. The wife-of-the-friend is my age; the rest are about 5 - 7 years older. I see them around town sometimes, and we’ll chat, but not much past the niceties. I can’t see them saying, “Hey, is Twinkie gonna be there?”

Like I said, I like my SIL. But I think I go because she’s family, and I don’t want to be rude. Is that why she invites me? On the other hand, it’s not like I’d know if she didn’t invite me. So, why am I invited? Should I continue to accept?

disclaimer:
I am aware that I am overthinking this, and many of you (mostly male, I suspect), with roll your eyes and mutter something about “silly wimmins.” Also, I’m not sure why I care, but I do. And later, we can talk about PMS.

103

Oh – and from the world of “Enough About ME”:

spats - the alliteration is great! How about instead of puns, you alliterate entire posts? That’d be something!

Mika - The gecko is really cute, and what a perfect name for a lizard! Congrats! I’m very glad you updated us on Midsummer Night’s Dream, too. I was about to buy tickets for me & my sister, but now that we have more info, we’re rethinking.

**Ivylass ** - Kudos to your son on that amazing grade! You must be very proud of him. And you’re right – he probably hasn’t given it a thought while he’s been away. He’ll come home and you’ll have to remind him that he even took the exam!

**Ellen ** - sometimes you get to buy things just because you want them, not just because you need them. So bring that box home and enjoy it everyday!

**Lissar ** - finished Deerskin this weekend. Wow. I think I’m going to have to read it again before I can talk about it. I’m glad you had a good visit with Best Friend. I hope you’ve got plans to see her again soon. I hated when mine moved far away (I used to sit outside her old house and cry). She’s a lot closer now, though.

**Everybody ** - I still think it’s hard to miss an afternoon here, and I’m so sorry if I should’ve responded to something and didn’t.

104

Okay, I do not currently have the time or energy to read two pages of stuff, but I’m sure I’ll be out of work later, so I’ll get to it then and post appropriate reactions. :slight_smile:

But first, a public service announcement–if you happen to be the kind of person who can become worried about minor health issues, do not spend the day watching the first season of House. I’m home because my innards hurt enough to not want to work, and suddenly I’m afraid I have every single malady mentioned on the show. I can only watch that show when I’m healthy.

And now, back to work. Surprisingly enough, everything looks like it was done correctly while I was out yesterday. I may die of shock.

105

I’m in a training class and not paying attention!!!

106

Agggh! You’re already on page three! I’ll never get caught up.

Very cute gecko. I’m afraid one wouldn’t last at my house. I think my dog would try to eat it.

Tel, what’s going on with the job?

Twinkie, I think the answer to your question lies in how you really feel about going there. Do you have a good time at these “girls nights”? If so, go. If not, don’t. That’s just me though.

Ellen, I like the box stand. Go for it!

I have nothing of note to report. I’m still trying to catch up the work I missed while I was gone. I’ll try to pop in later.

Oh, FCM, I’m glad to read that your PT seems to be going well.

107

Deerskin is a “Wow” experience all right. I think I mentioned in another thread that McKinley caught hell from a lot of people who thought that

having Lissar start to heal and acquire a fragile happiness was much worse than having her gracefully die. I think all those people are morons. I love that Deerskin acknowledges the reality of suffering, and the courage that it takes to reach out again after being brutally hurt.

Unfortunately, Best Friend and her husband live in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, which is eight hours from here by car. We see each other about once a year. There are lots of long phone conversations, but we rarely see them. They stubbornly refuse to move up here (they’re at Villanova University doing a combined Masters and PhD program) and we stubbornly refuse to move down to Philadelphia, because we’re both very attached to Toronto and Mr. Lissar is at school here.

It’s an impasse. At least they’re not living in Texas anymore. Texas is really far from Toronto.

108

Morning everybody. Lots of exciting stuff going on. Very cool about the gecko, mika!

Sounds like a great time with BF and her husband LiLi. I wish my closest friends weren’t half a country away. Or in the case of another friend, about 1/4 of a world away! :frowning:

Cute baby, Rebo! Congrats!

Good luck with the furniture shopping EC. I’ve done enough of that for a while with the new apartment. I don’t want to do it again for a long long time.

**KeithT ** had a good first day at work yesterday. He’s really excited about what he’s going to be doing. And he doesn’t seem to mind the hour-long drive too much yet. We’ll see what happens in the winter. Bleh.

109

I have one best friend in Iowa (hi Mr. Bus Guy!) and one in the western part of this state. (Twinkie, tell them how us wimmins can have two best friends). I get to see them both somewhat often, but I can relate, Lissla.

And Twink? You may indeed be overthinking it and I think if it were me, I’d continue to do as you are – go half the time, when you feel like it. However, if you detest going, I’d quit going! Life’s too short to endure things you don’t really have to.

The box is hideously expensive. I suspect even if they offer it at half price, I’ll have sleepless nights over how much that damn thing cost. But it’s so cute! It OPENS to reveal teeny-tiny desk cubbyholes and secret compartments. It’ll look awesome in my front alcove, where it can be seen through the floor-to-ceiling window. I have the chair that’ll go next to it all picked out and then, the joy of floor-lamp choosing. I love lamps with the same irrational lust I have for shoes – and if you know me and shoes, you know that’s saying something.

Lizards – When I was in North Carolina, we saw many (non-fornicating) lizards at my father-in-law’s. After a visit to the nature center, I decided they were skinks. Isn’t that a fabulous name for a critter? “Ah thank Ah go out and get me a SKINK. Hoo-wee!”

110

Hello!

Guess who figured out how to scan, all by her own self?

:smiley:

Off to take #2 son to tutoring and then grocery store.

You all are busy people.

111

Yay Rigs! Hey, I get all excited when I figger out some puter thing or other all on my own.

Twink if it ain’t fun, don’t go. An hour and a half’s worth of driving for sump’n that ain’t fun ain’t worth it. If you like SIL well enough, plan some things the two of you can do together. Shoe shopping and knocking over liquor stores are two things that come to mind immediately.

EC g’wan get the box! It’s awesome. Jake even. It’s an investment. Plus, it has cubbyholes so it’s functional.

112

Will you please come to NY and hang out with me? It’s so hard to find friends that are willing to knock over liquor stores.

It’s not exactly fun, but it’s not not fun, either, you know? I just feel like I don’t quite fit. They’re very grown up, and I’m not. For example, my sister got me a pogo stick for Christmas, and I have jumping contests with her kids, and when I was involved in the PTA, one of the women gave me a box of bubble gum as a going-away gift. (I think she meant it as a slight. I accepted gracefully.) Anyway, enough on it. I’m just cranky & feeling put-upon today. I’ll go, and I’ll sip my wine & smile like a good girl.

Ellen Cher - if you get the box, be carefull where you put it! Is the floor-to-ceiling window tinted? The sun can bleach the wood over time, and that probably wouldn’t add to its value.

Lissla - I have a friend that I routinely try to talk into moving back to NY. It’s hard, because it’s always summer in Puerto Rico. She comes up for a couple weeks in July (she’s here now), but that doesn’t make it easier when she’s not around. Although I might talk her into knocking over a liquor store…

rigs - could you pick me up a gallon of milk while you’re at the store? I haven’t done any grocery shopping for about a week, and the cupboards are pretty bare. Thanks!

113

Yeah swampus, you and I need to pick a town someday and paint it red, green, and blue. :smiley:

114

Spats, that kitten pic hurt. I have copied it and it’s now my desktop background. Hundreds of little kitten. i want to freak Mr. Lissar out with sugar-shock.

115

So, Twinks and Spats wanna go knock over a liquor store? :smiley: I’ve always thought that if I ever did decide to go knock over a joint or two it’d be liquor stores cause, somehow it sounds like it’d be a lot of fun.

It is, apparently, give all the weird phone calls to swampy day even if it ain’t even remotely akin to his job. :rolleyes: It’s like they answer the phone, think, “Hmmm… sounds like a nutjob”, and send it on to me.

116

Back from food foraging. Have you ever stood helpless, as a bystander, as someone verbally eviscerates someone else? God, it’s awful.

That didn’t happen at the store. It happened in my kitchen. Here is the story:

Hafta work on Monday, so I call the plumber and he is ok with my teenager being here while they install the sink and disposal. Great!
They come and do the work–turns out the faucet that I bought a year ago (and it sat, unopened in its box) was faulty and it took them two hours to install a sink. (I have my doubts about this–I really wonder about the faulty faucet…), any way, that isn’t what made me sit up and take notice, so to speak.
Get home from work (ICU, not stepdown) and I have running water in my kitchen–I am very happy. Husband is holding the bill and is not so happy. Keep in mind it was he that insisted on a new sink/disposal/faucet all along

He is angry (my husband does not get angry–sometimes I wonder if he has a pulse, but I digress) that the plumber didn’t do the wiring for the disposal and dishwasher.

I say that they’re plumbers, not electricians and that our handyman is gonna wire both on Wed noc. I reiterate how happy I am to have a functional sink!

then he shows me the bill.

Now, I am pissed–what is a $59 fuel charge? WTH? Husband leaves a message (I don’t know what that entailed) on plumber’s voice mail, stating that he is sure that is a mistake.

I am upset and puzzled by the extra charge, but don’t think the bill is out of line for the 2+ hours they were here.
Plumber calls this morning and says he’s gonna swing by to pick up the check. I ask him about the fuel charge. He says the other guy got the amount wrong; it should be $5. I’m ok with that–I am appalled at the total of the bill ($400), but chalk it up to never have a plumber install your sink when a handyman can do it cheaper. (Husband had insisted that the plumber would be cheaper).

Long story short–I ended standing there, next to the plumber while my husband “talked” to him via phone. He kept coming back to “I can’t believe for the money you charge, you didn’t wire the stuff.” Huh? If you are a plumber, please don’t wire any of my stuff.

This is so unlike my husband, that I wondered if he might be channelling my eldest sister-who dresses down waiters etc on a regular basis.

I hate being a spectator to this kind of thing. Plumber knocked off $100 and went away pissed. I (later) asked husband why he had to do it that way–plumber couldn’t save face this way and losing face causes folks to do any matter of odd things. He denies that he caused the plumber to lose face. But somehow, I think remarks like,“are you going to charge us for coming to pick up the check, now?” are a bit over the top.

Thoughts? (and you thought you could just sip coffee and read and bliss out here)

117

Everyone call swampy and be nutjobs!!

118

<snerk> Swampy said nutjob… <snerk>

119

Your husband and the plumber are both wrong. The plumber is wrong for charging that much to install a sink. He did, however, handle the ersatz charge thing quite well, and your husband was wayyyy overreacting. That said, the plumber is a big boy, and he’ll get over it.

120

Yeah, like that’d be a stretch for anybody. :smiley:

Rigs who knows. Maybe this is the thing that put your husband over the top wrt the whole remodel thing? Maybe he’s poed cause he’s the one who suggested a plumber to begin with and sees how much more it ended up costing? Sometimes the hardest thing for someone to do is admit being wrong, so instead he kinda took it out on the plumber.