(Old) Strange Places and Milestones in the MMP

[Wheelz]

I’ve been to a lot of places (49 U.S. states and 7 foreign countries), but strange places? I dunno.
I suppose in 2000, when we drove from Carcassonne to Sainte-Marie via back roads, you could say it was the most foreign-feeling place I’ve been. We explored a couple of small abandoned castles, stopped at a tiny winery run by one guy who didn’t speak a word of English, waited for a herd of sheep to cross the road. Not really all that strange, I suppose, but it was to me.

A rather mundane Moanday so far. My ‘roid hasn’t shrunk at all, but it hurts less, so I guess that’s progress. The interwebz says they tend to go away in a few days, so here’s hoping.

I did pass my proofreading final earlier this month, by the way; don’t think I shared that at the time. I am now volunteering as a proofreader on Project Gutenberg, which is dedicated to digitizing as many public-domain books as possible and offering them as free e-books. That should help build my resume and I should be able to go after actual paying customers before too long.

Tonight is trivia night at the clubhouse, so that’s something fun to look forward to.

[Misnomer]

It always feels like a small victory to be able to post in the MMP on an actual Monday! I’m procrastinating some work stuff, but meh. My brain needs a break, and it’s nothing that can’t wait until later today.

I can’t really think of any strange places. I’ve been to lots of places, especially as a kid (mainland Europe is sooo much easier to get to from England), but all pretty typical tourist destinations or work trips; nowhere strange.

I also mostly draw a blank when it comes to milestones, especially weird ones, but right before my gastric bypass my best friends did give me a “last supper” (what some in the bariatric community also call a “food funeral”): everyone in that family cooks and/or bakes, and they made all of my favorites. I ate e-ver-y-thing.

I must be middle-aged/a dork, because I’m still on a bit of a high from the weekend’s cord-cutting success. I might be just as tickled about the good Verizon customer service as I am about the savings! I did wind up adding a streaming service last night, though: I’m not much of a sports person but I realized that I would miss being able to watch live baseball, so I signed up for MLB TV’s “single team” option (and selected the Yankees, natch). Live Nationals and Orioles games are blacked out for me, but I’m alright with that; plus, I might be able to catch the Nats on OTA TV every now and then. I don’t watch a lot of baseball, but I love the idea of being able to catch a live Yankees game from time to time. And, the single team package is only $60/year ($5/mo).

I am so glad that Labor Day weekend is coming up. The next couple of weeks will be “short” for me: next week there’s a holiday on Monday and I’ll be taking Friday off for travel to the NJ wedding, and I’ll also be off the following Monday for travel back home. Then the week after that contains my birthday. And, cooler weather will be on the way! Yay, September!

Some holdovers from the last thread before I dive into responses to this one:

@Wheelz

photos of the completed landscaping

That looks great! Especially compared to the pile of dirt!

@purplehorseshoe

the customer’s name was the same as my late husband’s

Meh. Sorry for the unexpected and repeated “ouch!!” moments.

@nelliebly

I’ll be back here on the regular now.

Yay!!

I’m very sorry for the drama/trauma you and your daughter still need to deal with.

@purplehorseshoe

That was a big milestone in my childhood: finally being allowed to have pierced ears!

Yes! My mom’s rules were “no pierced ears or dating until 16,” but I managed to talk her into letting me pierce my ears when I started high school. And I went on my first date at 15 (to the nearby Hardee’s after school).

@LH75

it is month seven for my block of the month quilt

I like the reddish-goldish-brownish colors in that one!

@TruePisces

I think I’m going to spend the rest of the day reading.

Sounds like a good plan. I hope you hear from your doctor soon!

@Wheelz

I did pass my proofreading final earlier this month

This lifelong writer/editor says “WE GOT ANOTHER ONE!”

I missed the part of the previous thread where you mentioned who you were taking that exam with: was it a college course?

[Paintcharge]

Happy monday, all! I made it a WFH day, and spent much of it cursing at the drawing program on my computer for not doing what I was telling it to do. But finally did get a decent model done. Sent it off to the potential client, hope they like it.

I think I need more bananas and some stretching. Both calfs (calves?) are quite sore.

hippie You do some beautiful work!

FCM Conga-rats on 3 clean loo’s. I’ve only got one, and I can’t be arsed to clean it more than once a month. At least I finally got the vent stack to stop leaking when it rains.

Strangest place I’ve been was back stage at Epcot. I had a couple of exhibits there, and you can’t install when the park is open, so we would show up when the fireworks were going off, 10 PM? The tales of tunnels under Disney? True, more so in Cali than Fla. Being in the park late is weird. The music plays all night, lights still on, cleaning crews spraying everything down. The damn welcome to this ride sounds play. I can still hear “Welcome to the great American pizza race!” that came from the next exhibit over.

And security was crazy! Mirrors under the car, give driver’s license over, giant bollards that come out of the road.

[LSLGuy]

@swampbear

Pilot hope you get out and get back at a reasonable time today.

Smooth, sunny, easy. Worked like they’re all supposed to. The mechanic’s repairs did the trick and off we all went. Home & reset for next time by 2pm.

@nelliebly

To me, your years as a pilot will always be an important part of who you are, but since you’re not planning on flying any planes, I thought we should check in advance in case you’d rather not be called that.

Insightful and thoughtful, thank you for that. You’re right that I’ve never been someone who likes asking the question, “What are you?” expecting someone’s job description in return. Nor do I answer that question that way. I am not my job. Neither are you.

At some point I may pick a new MMP name (or have one foisted onto me by an angry mob.) For now let’s leave it alone.

Cookie was / is / and probably will be the thread winner in the strange places division. Between years in Alaska and his career, a lot of odd territory got / gets covered.

@FairyChatMom

And a biggie came up last week: I found out my retiree CAC will no longer be valid after Thursday.

Why Thursday? You’ll be a retiree for the rest of your life. Which should include days after Thursday unless the Navy knows something they’re not telling you.

Seriously, did something change in the access regs, are you about to have a milestone birthday or is Thu the anniversary of X years since separation or …?

@The_Stainless_Steel_Rat

nellie, we all have regrets about things in our life. Daughter sounds like she’s pretty well-adjusted, which says much for you as a Mom with a nightmare of a husband.

This. Nellie, the fact you’re alive and mostly sane and the kids aren’t in jail or a ward is a total testament to how well you really did.

@FairyChatMom

OK, get a quick beverage, then back to bathroom #2!!

Out of context, that sentence made me think you should be more careful about what you drink.

@purplehorseshoe

(since the 1st actual thread reply was the O.P. who apparently likes talkin’ to himself )

I was posting on my tablet tethered to my phone for internet riding down the wild highway in Guyana. Where signals are spotty. Once I saw nobody had a new MMP going I wanted to post the shortest standalone OP I could so we didn’t end up with two MMPs while somebody else was typing at the same time and my internet was flaking.

But I can’t talk about just my early morning without answering all the people upthread / previous thread, so I decided to do that as a second post rather than a long, slow ETA that would’ve probably timed out anyhow.

@purplehorseshoe

This job has turned one thing utterly topsy-turvy for me: driving home last night, I thought to myself, yet again: “I survived another weekend; thank GAWD it’s Monday!”

Thirty-plus years of a job where the concept of weekend and weekday are meaningless does that too. Then again, I often think "Oh good, it’s a weekday. that means the stores, recreations, and restaurants won’t be loaded with the usual crowds.

@FairyChatMom

On the downside, the spray cleaner with bleach left spots on my shirt, so I sprayed it some more - it’ll either make a neat pattern or I’ll have a new grubby-work shirt.

Now that’s clever! Or a lemons / lemonade situation. Either way, good on ya for creativity!

@LH75

I needed to make four of these and I will try to get the other three done this afternoon:

Very pretty. I can see you’ve gotten really good at these odd angles & funky corners. No “almost-fits” anywhere in sight.

I hope like heck the other three are well-in progress. I can’t imagine the total amazingness it’d take to crank out three of those starting from nothing in just an afternoon. If anyone can, it’d be you though.

@Wheelz

I did pass my proofreading final earlier this month, by the way; don’t think I shared that at the time.

I don’t recall seeing it earlier. But hooray and congrats and Huzzah! even if it is a bit late.

[enipla]

@TruePisces

I used to regularly get the earliest appointment possible. I liked to get it out of the way and get my day started.

Still do that. Probably always will. Less of a chance of a screw up and a delayed appointment. Same with airline flights.

[TruePisces]

I still do with airline flights, as much as I can. I do like getting to where I’m going so I can enjoy myself when I get there. The only exception is when I fly up to visit my LDR - but that’s only because there’s only one cheap flight that goes to where he is and I’m at the whim of whatever times the airline gives.

[swampbear]

Howdy Y’all! Slothness prevailed today, and I am sure that comes as no big surprise. I did make some brownies this mornin’ which might count as productivity. I opened a kitchen cabinet door and a box of brownie mix fell out. I took that as a sign the universe wanted me to make brownies. As a precaution, since it was the universe and all, I threw in pee-kahns as well. They are nummy if’n I do say so myself. We et burgers for sup and now continue to chillax.

[FairyChatMom]

@LSLGuy

Why Thursday? You’ll be a retiree for the rest of your life.

Civilian retirees are no longer entitled to the cards - apparently the news of the new rule came out in April but I just got an email over the weekend “reminding” me that as of the end of August, the cards are no longer valid. I’m guessing it’s a security thing - there’s no reason for me to have unfettered access to any base, and that’s true for pretty much all retirees, I expect.

We’ve gotten some nice, gentle rain since around noon, on and off. No biggie for us, since we’re inside anyway. We had an early supper of chicken/onions/mushrooms in gravy over rice, and now the dishwasher is sloshing away. The rest of the day is for chillage… kinda like most of the afternoon.

[The_Stainless_Steel_Rat]

Well rats. Went to the garage to see how they were doing on my car…and they haven’t gotten to it yet, may not for another week. Apparently their head gasket guy is swamped and it take 4-5 days to do each one right, so…I have another rental car laid on for tomorrow, will go down to the Airport and swap them out, and hope the rental cars don’t end up costing me more than the repair job. Sari, I’m joining your ‘car repair is a royal PITA’ club.

Anyways, the rain stopped early enough in the day and the fields have dried out, so soccer practicing will commence in about an hour. Swimming and sauna are done, so I’ll get all 5 S’s complete (shopping/sammich/swimming/sauna/soccer) today.

enipla, they have tours of one in S. Dakota near the Badlands, just missed on my timing to go see it.

FCM, nice that the bathrooms are clean…mine get a lick and a promise now and then.

My dentist appointment this July was at 8:30am; my next one (in 2024) is set for 11:30am–all in all, I’d prefer the earlier one.

Cookie, was in St. Petersburg for a day on a cruise a few years ago, we were told not to go wandering and had to change money to rubles to buy anything. A dour place.

suzie, 18-hours of travel and getting ready to travel is a long day for anyone; Sloth is recommended.

hipple, lovely start to the quilt.

{{Real Fish}}, hope the tingling/numbness isn’t anything serious. A enjoy being a sub; it can be fulfilling when it ain’t being frustrating.

Wheelie, congrats on the proofreading and Project Gutenberg is a worthy endeavour, IMHO.

Oopsie, glad the cord-cutting is meeting your expectations so far. Don;t watch enough baseball to make it worth subscribing and English soccer can still be found on Direct TV, so I’ll just keep on the status quo.

VanGo, I imagine the back stage/lot of any of the theme parks are fascinating, but EPCOT especially would interest me.

Swampy, pecan (or for that matter) walnut brownies help make me the man I am today (still 40 lbs overweight…).

OK, need to change to my coaching clothes and get ready for a group of 9-11 year olds. The Burger King will provide the necessary repast after that. Take care all.

[BippityBoppityBoo]

@The_Stainless_Steel_Rat

nice that the bathrooms are clean…mine get a lick and a promise now and then.

Eewww, you’re doing it wrong. Never lick your bathroom clean.

[nelliebly]

I’m getting a lot done, even though I have to rest every 10-15 minutes. I cleaned out the fridge and got rid of leftovers I know I won’t get to before they get scary. And I took out the trash. I was very careful because I can’t do it with a walker. My mistake was in trying to come up the stars like an adult (stair 1 right foot, stair 2 left foot) instead of a toddler (stair one, right foot, then left foot.). I thought if I gripped the hand rail, I’d be OK. That lasted one step–yeouch. Won’t try that again!

Thank you for the words of encouragement re: my kids. They did grow up to be good people. I try not to think of the bad ol’ days because I feel like I’m drowning in dirty water, and I hate that it’s hard for my kids, too. I’m grateful we all survived and that they each married someone who can help in tough times.

One of the strangest places I’ve ever been is Red Gulch Dinosaur track site in Nowhere, WY. (Actually it’s about 10 miles from teeny Shell, WY, pop: 50). Dinosaurs of the Middle Jurassic age walked through mud containing a lot of lime, which set like concrete. Then sand and layers of sediment covered them for 180 million years, until erosion exposed them. You’re out on a wind-swept plain, and suddenly, you’re stepping among the footprints of bipedal dinos from farther back than you can imagine. Nobody knows what kind because there are so few fossils from that period to compare them to.

@LSLGuy

Or a lemons / lemonade situation.

That always reminds me of a Maxine card I bought: “When life hands you lemons…stick 'em in your bra! Couldn’t hurt, might help!”

hippie, once again your artistry leaves me amazed. I wish I had half your dexterity.

VanGo, that does sound weird. Why do they play the music all night, do you know?

Oopsie, congrats on cutting the cord!

@purplehorseshoe

So often, vehicles mysteriously act all polite around the mechanic, then as soon as you’re laughed off the premises and head home feeling embarrassed, hey! there’s that funny sound again.

Kids do that, too: the minute you step into the doctor’s office, the rash clears, and their temp is normal. Maybe if the pediatrician took them for a test drive at his house…

Sari, it won’t be long now until you’re happily tucked into your wonderful new hone!

[Chefguy]

@The_Stainless_Steel_Rat

Cookie, was in St. Petersburg for a day on a cruise a few years ago, we were told not to go wandering and had to change money to rubles to buy anything. A dour place.

Rubles: the major currency that’s worthless everywhere. There was a thriving black market in the USSR for dollars/rubles. The embassy’s official exchange rate (which NOBODY else observed) was something like 1 Ruble=.8 dollars. All other embassies were exchanging at 8 Rubles= $1. People went through all manner of gymnastics to not use the embassy cashier, but if you got caught it could be unpleasant.

[missred]

Mooooom, has FCD considered PT to help with the nerve issues?

I hope that your hubby is feeling better soonest, cat glove.

nellie, you did the best you could with what tools you had. I have one narcissistic.sister that I cut off ties years ago. It was a mental health issue for me.

Nice quilt block hippy!

One of the strangest places that I’ve been has been a little community swimming pool (you would have to see it to believe it) in a town on Newman’s Ridge straddling Tennessee / Virginia. It was one of those chick trips with my SIL and we just happened to stumble upon it while on a four day ramble in the mountains.

Irked, got chewed by the receiving supe (quite possibly one of the rudest people I’ve met), got things resolved by going through her boss (I used to do a few favors for him in my previous position), came home, walked Nelson, et and am fixing to go to bed. According to my great grandboss, this is likely the last week of OT. I told him good, because he was costing me money.

Stay safe and healthy y’all!

[LH75]

Thank all of you for the kind words

[FairyChatMom]

@missred

Mooooom, has FCD considered PT to help with the nerve issues?

It won’t help. The nerve damage is in his spinal cord. It will never get better - it’s been over 2 years since the surgery.

Tahred… I foresee an early bedtime.

[swampbear]

Nellie from all I’ve read about your posts of your kids, you did a great job raisin’ ‘em. That is all on you. Go you for gettin’ some stuff done. Remember, baby, or toddler, steps. In time you’ll get to adult ones.

MetalMouse sorry for the continued car woes. Hope they get to it soonest so you can get your ride back. Also, don’t lick your bathroom.

Wheelie congarats on the proofreadin’ course. Project Gutenberg is indeed a worthy project.

Hippie you project is lookin’ good!

Pilot glad you are back in civilization.

Everyone else, I did read through the thread but brain I cannot at the moment. Yays, boos, hugs, noogies, trouts, chitlins, and how you doin’s all around, as needed.

enipla that sounds like it was perhaps a misspent youth adventure. A really good one!

[Sahirrnee]

The procedure went well.
I was pretty nervous, especially when the woman ahead of me came out complaining about how much it hurt.
I don’t know what drug was in the IV, but when I went in my BP was 155/87 and when I came out it was 91/60. I remember pre-procedure, I remember the procedure, but I don’t remember much afterwards.
It did hurt.
I came home hungry and my son made a pizza. By the time he brought me a slice I was sound asleep. I woke up and saw it, thought I had already eaten it and went back to sleep. The next time I woke up I was surprised to see it still sitting there.

I wasn’t allowed to have pierced ears.
When I was probably 15, and my sister was 10 or 11, we got our allowance, walked about a mile to the doctor’s office that did ear piercings, and got them done. I think it was $5, and of course back then you didn’t have to deal with all the pesky paperirk and parental permissions forms.
My mother didn’t care, but we knew Dad would be livid. We hid the piercings under our hair the best we could for as long as we could. Eventually we got caught and Dad was livid.
Then after he cooled off, he took me out shopping and bought me my first pair of grownup earrings. Gold studs with little jade balls.
I still have them.

Congrats on passing, Wheelie.

You do beautiful irk, Hippie.

Congrats on cutting the cord, Ooopsie
I did it years ago and never regretted it.

I know my sister has NPD, and probably a little psychopath or sociopath as well.
They are difficult to deal with, I don’t know how you did it for 32 years Nellie.
I am so looking forward to no more stairs, and the bigger yard.

Not having your own car is a HUGE pain MetalMouse.
I’m tired of it and want my truck back.

I used to like early morning, get in and get it over with, appointments.
Now getting ready in the mornings takes too long.
I can’t jump out of bed and be on my way like I used to.

RealFish, have you considered taking Vitamin B12 supplements for the tingling and numbness? That is one of the signs of B12 deficiency.

I’m going to bed early tonight, it’s only 830 and I am wiped out.

[LSLGuy]

@Sahirrnee

The procedure went well.
…
I’m going to bed early tonight, it’s only 830 and I am wiped out.

Any medical procedure with anesthesia is going to wipe you out. It’s darn hard work getting worked on.

You deserve 2, or maybe 22, consecutive uninterrupted nights of sleep on a schedule of your body’s choosing. Try it; you might like it. Everybody else can fend for themselves while you recover.

[The_Stainless_Steel_Rat]

Evening all. Soccer has been practiced, got Dinner from the Burger King, and got home just in time for it to start raining again pretty heavily. Need to clean out the rental car tomorrow morning so I can take it back to the airport and get the new one. Have reserved it through 15 September and hoping I can turn it in earlier than that.

Sari, glad the procedure went good for you. Have a good night’s (or many nights) sleep.

BBBoo, har-de-har-har…

nellie, do what you can and then rest when your body tells you to. Keep to that plan. And those Dinosaur tracks sound fascinating.

Red, you wrote…

@missred

One of the strangest places that I’ve been has been a little community swimming pool (you would have to see it to believe it) in a town on Newman’s Ridge straddling Tennessee / Virginia.

But you never told us why it was such a strange place?!?!?

And good on ya for going over the rude booses head.

OK, onward with the evening’s internetting. Take care all.

[dogbutler]

Up from naptime, and having an Old Fashioned. Spot has had his back and belly rubs.

And as far as strange places, when I was in Pittsburgh for the hockey convention, Ruble took us on a tour of the woman’s restroom at the Tiki bar on Carson street.

@LH75

So it is month seven for my block of the month quilt.

Looks nifty

@LSLGuy

Out of context, that sentence made me think you should be more careful about what you drink.

Dunno, maybe she really likes that lemon lime soda they stock on the Gastrointestinal aisle.

@BippityBoppityBoo

Eewww, you’re doing it wrong. Never lick your bathroom clean.

Yeah, that’s how half of zombie/Outbreak type movies start.