Up, caffeinated, and sheveled. Off to heave.
Yeah. I wonder what percentage of the “aye” votes are ashamed of having a furry suit in their closet?
Morning, mumpers! It’s currently 5c/40f with a predicted high of 7c/44f and partly cloudy. Weather app says “What the fuck am I supposed to say about days like today? it’s fucking decent outside!” Which is true, it’s dry and there’s some blue sky out there.
Happy cake day, flyboy
Nothing much going on here today, I’m still germy but feeling better and got a bit more sleep last night. I have read much and retained very little so a definite case of rosie’s sig to all!
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 35 Amurrkin out and clear with a predicted high of 58 and mostly N.O.S. for the day. This mornin’ I shall take care of various duties over to the church house and then we shall be bears who brunch at Eggs Up. This will take care of the main need to feed for the day. We shall also get back into our routine of sloth, general overall uselessness, nappage and day drinkin’.
FlyBoy I see the piece of cake by your name, so Happy Doperversary!
JtC we’ve had iPhones for a while now and really like ‘em. This is my first experience with an iPad so lookin’ forward to playin’ around with it. I shall also play with the Dick Tracy watch cause I’m curious what all it can do.
Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy, Then, alas and bother of bothers, I suppose I must needs purtify and don attire acceptable for bein’ amongst the great unwashed. Woe!
Happy Thursday Y’all!
It always knocks me for a loop to see how students dress for school, even college, today. In my high school, girls were forbidden to wear pant, tho by senior year, we could wear pantsuits if we had a note from our parents. Jeans? Shorts? It is to laugh!! And, yes, this was public school.
And now - jammie pants?? [geezer mode] Kids these days!!![/gm]
We got a rather late Christmas card yesterday from one of our daughter’s high school friends - part of the quartet who hung together. Megan is expecting her second child (a girl this time) in March, so there was a most obviously belly in the photos. It caught me by surprise, and I wondered why I hadn’t caught the announcement in FB, only to find out that she left FB, and her mom, who is on my friends list, hadn’t mentioned anything.
My feelings aren’t hurt or anything, but it gives me a chuckle to think how social media has woven itself into my life. And it also gives me an excuse to make another baby blanket - I’d sent her one for her son 6 years ago. So that will await me when we return from our trip.
For some reason, FCD brought up our Iceland cruise that’s scheduled for July 2025. I had to do a little digging to find the email detailing the reservation and at first glance, I was aghast that we were spending so much on a 25-day vacation. But we booked a suite rather than a boring old balcony room, and got the full package with internet, beverages, 3 restaurant meals aboard, credit towards excursions, and probably a few other things I’d forgotten about. Yeah, it’s extravagant, but why not? We saved so we can enjoy our retirement, and this is one way we choose to enjoy it. But it also means as soon as we get back from this trip, I need to start tucking pennies aside for the next one so I’m ready when it comes due.
Isn’t it interesting that the ones who rail the loudest against certain things often wind up being guilty of said things?? Methinks they doth protest too much…
Today at long last we’ll go to MIL’s to hang curtains and pictures and put her dresser mirror on her dresser. I need to take my iron with us - I was going to iron the curtains here, but they’ll get wrinkled again on the way there, so I’ll just press them using her bed as the ironing board. Really, I just need to steam out the creases from being folded in the package, so no biggie. They’ve got the big grommets at the top, which I hate but MIL wanted, so I didn’t get a vote. 
The curtain rods are white, and they’ll all but disappear against the wall, which I think will look better than a stark black or bronze rod. And there are a lot of pictures to be hung in a small space. With luck, it’ll look more homey when we’re done. It’s almost institutional there now, as bare as the walls are.
And that’s pretty much today’s plan. Except for dropping my car off at the shop. I feel a distinct shudder when I apply the brakes. It feels expensive. Dammit. With luck, it’ll just be new shoes, or discs? (yeah, right)
It’s a soggy, chilly morning - onward! Happy Thursday!!
Good morning.
It’s 41F and lightly raining outside. The expected high is 49F, and there is a 100% chance it will rain most of the morning, tapering off to showers by afternoon.
nellie, unfortunately, I have to fly HELLTA because I am traveling on the Gubmint’s dime, and that was the only gov-compliant flight. The airline I would have preferred to fly had tickets for almost four times as much. That happens when you book flights last minute through the gov travel system. Also, it will be cold and snowy there. I plan to call the car rental company today and see about upgrading my rental to an AWD/4WD on my dime. All I could get through the gov travel system was a stupid compact. Interestingly enough, it’s supposed to snow here starting midweek next week.
Flyboy, I saw the cake by your name yesterday. Happy Doperversary!
Today is my daughter’s 34th birthday. I can’t believe I have a 34-year-old daughter. I still see that tiny, premature baby and the beautiful toddler with shiny, blonde curly hair. She and my son were small children when I joined the board.
One more wake-up, and then it’s the weekend for me. I must go to the office on Monday mainly because I need to print my travel stuff. Normally I’d do it at home, but my printer crapped out on me. So annoying. If I can fix the printer before Monday, I’ll print it here. Since I’m on travel status for three days next week, that counts as my “in-office” time.
On Tuesday, I leave in the morning and will arrive in Spokane by late morning. I’ll collect my rental car, stop for lunch, and then head to the hotel. They usually don’t mind if I check in a little early. If they do, no biggie, I can settle down in the lobby to wait. I’ll spend all day Wednesday scoping out new office sites, then fly home Thursday morning, arriving at my home around 2:00 or 3:00, depending on how long I must wait for my shuttle. Since the gov is paying, I couldn’t upgrade to private limo, but no biggie.
Okay, I need to finish my coffee and turn on the dishwasher. Everyone take care.
If I stick around, I’ll have been a Doper 17 years come February. (Started posting in '07 Got a first membership in March of '08. I’ll be 45 in March… you do the math. )
And yes, I am Pearl from this album. Swampy named me.
I’ve been in a weird mood since New Years. It’s hard to wrap my head around but I’ll see if I can be a little less cryptic soon, for now, irk awaits.
Happy Thursday, all.
Weird. I looked - after seeing the mentions - and did NOT see it yesterday, but I do see it today.
If that’s the worst tech glitch I encounter today, that’ll be fine.
I gotta pay my gas bill, and although they’re emailing me wanting $$$, I don’t have a paper statement with my account number, and never set up an online account in the past.
I always just called and used their automated phone payment thingie, which is tied to my phone number.
Well, since I’m a deadbeat who can’t keep up with shit, I can’t do that.
Not having an account number, I can’t pay online. (I tried. They have an alternate system that uses your name and address, instead of an account number, both of which I can recite. No go. Apparently, I don’t know my own name, or where I live … ?)
TL/DR I gotta put on friggin’ pants like some degenerate peasant, and go into work, so I can borrow their phone. (I already cleared this with Sweet Manager who gave a heads up to the acting manager for today.)
I have about an hour window, when she’ll be there to open, but before business is actually open, so I can tie up their phone.
Mornin’ all. Blistering sunshine here an hour after sunrise. Presently 68/20 on the way to 76/25. Been up a couple hours caffinatin’ already. Had decent sleep finally.
Had a busy day yesterday with 3 dancing sessions: 1 private lesson & 2 group freebie events. Earlier was a smidgen of erranding and trip planning. Same dancing plan today. There’s a small and dim light at the end of my dancing tunnel now. Not that there’s an end to a process like this, but finally the trend is upwards at more than a snail’s pace. I’ve also got a doc visit today in the late morning, plus starting to pack for the trip.
Happy Doperversary there Flyboy.
When you’re that close to payoff, interest gets pretty minimal, not quite negligible. Although any escrowed insurance & tax payments are as big as ever. Still gotta feel good watching that final countdown to ZERO!!! WOOT!!
Congrats on that accomplishment. Not counting refi’s, I’ve had 4 mortgages in my life and only paid off one of them. Which was paid off way early in a big lump. The other properties got sold with decades remaining on their mortgages. So I’ve never experienced the magic of a mortgage payment where I was really axing away at principal, rather than mostly just shoveling interest dollars into some rich bank while putting comparative pennies against principal.
Shoe hooray for new bright lights & decorations.
When I moved to cold country and first experienced driving home after a normal office workday in the fully dark, it was awfully depressing. Then the holidays came and all the pretty lights went up and it was better. Then right after New Years most of them disappeared. Which utterly sucked again until the weather warmed and the days got a lot longer.
IMO pretty lights should be mandated for every day when sunset is before 6pm, and better yet before 5:30pm. Or whenever the temp is below ~45F.
Great work stories too. Thanks for sharing. Best of luck with the rest of your trials and tribulations.
Back in my USAF days I used to live in Panamá and worked all over LatAm. My airline work also took me all over northern LatAm. Visiting almost anyplace there is always a treat. And avoids the jetlag that comes from going to Europe or Asia.
This time it’s Medellín. It’s warmer / nicer there now than it is here now, and it’s not beastly hot either. Next time it’ll be another of our hundreds of worldwide destinations, chosen more or less at random based on climate and the availability of probably-empty seats to sit in.
Congrats on finishing your jazz club / pizza parlor. Tres snazzy.
And good to get the rest of the story on DPM / not DPM. As long as you’re happy, we’re happy for you.
Woot!!! Your return to healthy lithe normalcy continues apace. Yaay!
Ouch! Stoopit bastards. Just consider it a gift to your low-cal diet which means you have an extra couple hundred to spend tomorrow. 
CatGlove best of luck with Hubs’ treatment and the extreme deep cleaning. I have some small experience with where you’re going and the challenges appurtenant thereunto. Sending my strongest good wishes to both of you. {{{{Hugs}}}}.
It is. Her Ladyship is magic at cupboard Tetris and car Tetris and potluck Tetris. I thought I was decent at it, but she’s in a whole 'nuther league. A talent indeed.
Glad to hear of all your exploits and the food distribution do-goodery. Somebody has to do all that stuff and the fact you enjoy it so makes it even better. The only thing better than a box of free food for somebody who needs it is a box of free food slathered in love.
When I worked there, “dealing” with the cartels and guerillas was my job. It’ll be fun (or at least cathartic) to visit Pablo Escobar’s grave, dance a jig, and think really bad thoughts. Shame I can’t pee on it.
Yeah. Despite the inordinate time I spend here, I feel so inadequate to the pace of the MMP.
Every time I hear or read somebody saying some food had “gone off” I imagine an explosion or Mentos fountain of slimy fuzzy green glop spewed all over everything. Yecch!
I hope you avoided your milk going quite that much “off”. 
You’re far more the expert than I, but IIRC teens go through a phase where either they just don’t sense cold, or they decide that underdressing for the temp is the height of fashion and is simply de rigeur. Seems to happen everywhere every year, whether local winter means 50F & drizzle or -5F & snow. Very strange.
Wrapping up after an hour ...
Best of luck to everyone and everything I didn’t cite. I did read and heed and care.
Cheers to all and we’ll yak later!!
ETA: And as Cookie inadvertently just demonstrated below, the $ [whatever] $ gizmo for math formulas does not survive being quoted without some manual tweaks to make it work right. 
It’s been many decades since I’ve seen the quadratic equation. You never forget some things.
Off to try for employment. Laketran said my i.d. was approved and in the mail. I’ve a few drivers who are letting me do reduced fare without it. 29 degrees.
Curious, what are your monsters of choice to bash? We tried to love Diablo IV but the game is just not there yet.
This morning I put fish sticks in the toaster oven instead of waffles. Let’s just say I’m not used to getting up early again since break is over.
Not caffeinated yet. I don’t usually ingest caffeine but lately I’ve been drinking green tea as part of my “starting work” ritual.
Sometimes I wish there was a magic fairy to make major life decisions for me. My husband and I just had a talk about when, if ever, we are buying a house, and where that house will be. Our plans have changed since having a special needs child. We originally planned to move to the expensive city where my husband works, because we wanted our son to go to a diverse school. But we didn’t know Wee Weasel was going to need all this extra support. For now he needs to be close to ABA which is right down the road from us. But then later we might want to move to the district where he is currently receiving special ed, because it’s a great elementary school. Also we can’t really afford a mortgage right now. We live in a manufactured home, quite a nice one actually, and all we pay is lot rent, but we don’t really want to sit on a depreciating asset longer than we have to. I guess homeownership is still 3-5 years off.
I would miss my garden tub, anyway. One of the advantages of living in a manufactured home is you can get amenities you otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford. My giant ass extra deep bathtub is one such amenity.
Morning all. Didn’t sleep all that well, kept hearing a strange noise (sort of like the electrical humming you hear in Frankenstein movies) that would last 5-7 seconds every few minutes, and I couldn’t figure out where it was coming from, so I kept double-checking the house. finally determined that (1) it was probably outside and (2) it wouldn’t kill me, so got about 6 hours sleep. Nappage has been avoided for a couple months but may be in my future today.
Need to get the garbage out, Monday being a holiday I’ll have until tomorrow to do so.
Still mad at one of my credit card places (I have just two), I check my balance at least once a week and every single time they want me to confirm by call or text that I am who I am. Been using the same computer for years to check so not sure what the problem is. Tried to check their security settings but the system is…not user-friendly. May end up calling them about it and if it doesn’t get fixed soon, well, there are a lot of credit cards out there…
Not that I would ever access furry porn…but that seems rather non-1st Amendment-ish. And that is as political as I’m going to get.
swampy, I have Verizon for my mobile phone and ATT for internet and Direct TV like you do. Been very happy with Verizon’s service so far. Hope you have a good experience with them.
flyboy, I can see the cake, so happy joining anniversary.
Call it insatiable curiosity about things the dominant life-form on this planet does.
nellie, lived in cold climes (N. Ohio) the first 25 years of my life and I doubt my mom would have let me out the door without at least 3 layers of clothing in the cold.
FCM, yeah, social media has revolutionized things, but we’ve ridden with it so the change doesn’t seem that great spread over a decade or two. I wonder what someone isolated away for 20-25 years would think of how we communicate these days. And that Iceland cruise sounds like something worth waiting to 2025 for.
Taters, yeah, the joys of GTR (Government Travel Regulations). Hope the trip works out OK. And happy daughter birthday.
Pearl, know what you mean with weird mood; everyday seems like Saturday right now. Along with 30F weather and completely cloud cover it’s just time for moods.
Shoe, hope the gas bill gets worked out. Surprised you don’t have any way to access your account number. I pay mine on-line, no issues.
Pilot, sounds like you had some…interesting times down Colombia way. The story I always got is that it was a ‘single’ tour for military/government folks (no family) and a lot of the men who went down there ended up with Colombian wives (and exes up here). So be careful!!
And all he wants to do is dance, dance…
Coppertone, best of luck on the job front.
As for home ownership, I know it’s hard waiting, but better that you have you requirements and your finances all lined up before you go shopping. Best of luck.
Have broken fast while typing this and may head off to the gym early today. Have a good Thorsday all.
Now I can’t see it!
Mmm, let’s see. Without having exact dates. that would make it about 37.78%
swampy I love my iPad. Adore my iPad. Would give up my brother to keep my iPad.
Shoe. nothing like Tim Curry and his glistening lip gloss to start off my day. I’m glad you like the card.
Made flight reservations for L.A. (lower Alabama). Will spend 5 days with my sister. We both decided Christmas sucked without each other.
I was almost jealous.
This reminds me of a misunderstanding I had when I was a wee one. We lived up on the mountain, 5 miles out of town. Our electricity was fairly reliable but, like everywhere, sometimes when the weather would get bad, the electricity would cut. I was probably around 5 or so when a bad storm came through and poof went the power. I was looking forward to a Sesame Street special being shown on network TV that night (and, living on the mountain outside a small town, if it wasn’t on CBS, it might as well have not existed.) Mom told me that we wouldn’t be able to watch it because the power went out. Imaginative 5 year old me had no clue what that meant but was picturing a happy little spark walking down the road for a night on the town.
I’ve got to wait a little for mine. My library only has the ebook and I’m 4th on the waiting list.
And Happy Doperversary, Flyboy!
BBBoo, I’ll have to check that one out too. I’m starting 2024 out with some really great recommendations.
I learn at your feet. I used to be so much more tech savvy. The kids have sucked that part of my brain away through the mother/ child connection.
Shoe, I wish I’d had that thought when i got my outside lights. Being able to change color and pattern would have given me an excuse to leave them up. Maybe it’s something I can look into if I get the waterfall lights I’ve been thinking of for a privacy curtain on the porch.
Oopsie, that looks fantastic! I’ve been looking at getting a knock-off brand TARDIS and mimic to make but I think I’ll wait until my hands are working to think about it. I did get BtY a Dr Eggman that he built Christmas morning. I thought of you as he was building it!
Also, yay for limited quantities of wine!
There’s a haunted look in your eye of “what are they getting into now” with the tired from a three year old.
CatGlove, I love your response to the unsolicited solicitation. Very classy! As for Christmas decorations, normally it doesn’t bother me having them up a bit later but this year everything is so cluttered because I can’t keep up. I just want a bit of sanctuary.
Don’t worry about being missing. Know our well wishes for good transplantation and healing for Hubs are with you even when checking here is too much.
red, I hope you got a chance for plenty of healing sleep. Working from home definitely gives you the best opportunity to be comfortable while being productive.
Please tell my body that! As I’m getting older, my body has decided that sleep in 2 hour increments is all I need.
Hubby is good at Fridge tetris. It amazes me how he can make things fit. I’m not nearly as good at visualizing space.
MetalMouse, I regularly have the confusion of days when the kids are on break. The only thing keeping me in track a lot of the time is CtE’s regular therapy.
They must be strong, holding you in the air for that long!
nellie, I’ve done the wrong time appointments. I’m grateful to have the health portal through Vanderbilt because I can portappointments directly to my calendar.
Glad you got some sleep and are feeling a bit better, BooFae.
FCM, I’ll be keeping the digits crossed that it is a simple fix on the brakes.
Good luck on the attempt at employment, Coppertone!
Hubby actually why into the office today so it’s just me and the kids. My plan is to be the general directing cleaning efforts. Hopefully, the kids won’t give too much trouble with being directed. The other plan is to drop off a return at the Brown Store and go to the grocery to get a couple of necessities. Then spend the rest of the day reading or practicing my nappage. Leah might was a particularly tough one for pain and I’m just having a hard time keeping my eyes open now. I think maybe nappage is in my immediate future. Happy Thorsday, all!
Oh, that I could work from home! Unfortunately, I can’t; that’s why I am taking PTO.
I woke up after the sleep of the drugged feeling a little better. Consistently being in a humidified environment makes a difference. I have no plans of putting anything but pajamas on this weekend except to go pick up an Insta-Cart order at Kroger and fill the gas tank while I’m there. I’ll likely only do a load of laundry (need clean jammies, ya know!) and make a pot of soup at some point, but it will be sleep and sloth for the remainder.
I did have to wrangle with the apartment manager over the phone this morning. The same charge as last month showed up, but she didn’t correct it after she said she would. I resent her a copy of my lease and copied corporate with it. I don’t want to have to deal with this crap again next month.
Stay safe and healthy y’all!
Morning, all!
I’ve fallen a little behind here, but managed to skim most of your goings-on. The usual yays and boos as appropriate.
I’ve been on the Dope for a little over 15 years. Compared to some of you, I’m a newbie. In many ways, it seems longer. I barely remember when the SDMB has not been a part of my life.
My three weeks in Virginia has morphed into two weeks in Houston. Virginia kept getting pushed back, eventually into weeks that I’m not available. I thought I’d lost the work, but just this morning I got offered the Houston job. I don’t envy the schedulers; it’s like they’re working on an endless jigsaw puzzle whose pieces keep changing shapes.
So January will have two weeks of pay instead of three. The extra week would have been nice, but I wasn’t crazy about being away from home for that long. As long as the work is consistent, I’ll happily take it in two-week chunks. Still not used to the uncertainty of it all, though.
After I get back from Houston, an old friend will be coming into town for a few days. Then a week after that, my brothers (and some other family, as it turns out - a story for later) will be visiting.
So I’m very happy to get these two weeks of work before hosting guests (and inevitably spending money). Hoping the jobs get more frequent after that.
My son discovered our label maker yesterday. That was fun.