Last year the Sweet Adelines International Competition was supposed to have been in New Orleans - but for obvious reasons it was moved to Detroit.
As for living near things - there’s a small airport about a mile from my house, normally used for private planes - Cesnas and the like. But twice a year, the military air show uses that airport as a base - talk about noisy! those jets rattle the house!
OK, Cool Kids, we need to get less chatty and more concise. Or, alternatively, we need to get me daytime access to the MMP (maybe during the non-existent breaks in my day…?) 
Just spent the last hour catching up. Although, I’ve been half-watching TV as we currently have a tornado warning (well, we did as I was typing this). Technically, I should have gone to the basement, but based on the radar they’ve been following, it wasn’t actually anywhere near me. Very weird tornados, though. We didn’t really have a big temperature shift (it wasn’t all that hot to begin with) and we hardly had any wind, hail, or even rain. And yet, there were several funnel cloud sightings. Fortunately, our warning is expiring just in time to allow the TV station to bring us prime-time programming. ::clicks TV off::
My brother and I went to the Ingham County Fair in Michigan with our grandfather a couple of times. We were in maybe 3rd and 4th grades, so I really don’t remember much. I’ve been to the Ohio State Fair several times in my 20+ years here. They always have a butter cow and then some other sculpture appropriate to the year. I think they had a sculpture of John Glenn in full astronaut regalia the last time he went into space. According to this year’s 63-page media kit , the first butter cow was sculpted in 1903. In other exciting news, this year, there was a Great American SPAM Championship (involving cooking, not e-mailing) as well a Heart-Healthy Cooking contest. Wonder if anyone entered both.
I used to live about 4 blocks from the Ohio State Fair. Fortunately, I lived on the side of the fair that got the least extra fair traffic, so we hardly ever noticed it was happening.
Those puns were painful, Spats, but welcome back anyway. 
And welcome to all the newbies…(and to the occasional MMPers who’ve stopped by this week) lovely to see you here.
Sorry about the wasp sting Bobbio. Oh, and stop putting off that Epipen acquisition! With the number of wasps you have, it’s REALLY important.
I’m tired and need to get some stuff done. And then sleep. More bla bla bla later…or in the morning…
GT
So, would it be ok to park in your your driveway when we go to the Fair on saturday?
I start my library job tomorrow morning!
He was so cute on the phone: “When you work the desk, you will be on your feet for 4 hours. I am just letting you know, so no surprises…”
I so wanted to tell him that 4 hours on my feet is child’s play for me. Oh, and he said taht sometimes the patrons can be unpleasant. I soooo wanted to ask him if they throw full urinals at the library staff (yep, it’s happened to me–but I moved out of the line of fire)…
I done died and gone to heaven, folks.
yay for rigs’ new job
I’m going to try to get to sleep at a reasonable hour tonight - which might be easier to do because TDS/TCR is on vacation, but that just means I’ll be jumping between Good Eats and Sex And The City
I know what you mean about standing. During vacation I had get up and just stand around, because sitting feels so unnatural.
I hear you on the military jets, anyrose. I thought WWIII was starting just before Memorial Day around here – turned out the Blue Angels were practicing for their performance for Naval Academy graduation, and they felt compelled to fly over my house a whole bunch. Fortunately, after racing out to see who was buzzing my house several times, I finally saw them in formation. Kinda hard to mistake for anything else.
gt, Papa T. lived in Guam for 11 years, where Spam is enormously popular. He has a 300-page Spam cookbook. Spam anything imaginable, and then a whole bunch of stuff beyond imagination. I’ll have to dig it out and horrify you guys with some of the ideas.
Yay for the library job, eleanorigby! My dream job would be in a library; I temped in one for a few weeks, and it was just amazingly fun. I hope you have a blast!
yay for rigsy!!!
Psst, rigs, have you been flooded? News says you were underwater today.
Just popping in to wave an empty beerverage at doggy.
Two more nights til Thursday morning, and Zero Hour.
Not. Soon. Enough.
w00t, rigs!
Spats is back, and so is lightingtool! Welcome to all the others, as well!
I’ve got two batches of bread in the fridge overnight, and tomorrow I will bake and run around doing chores. I have two whole days off in a row. It’s such luxury.
I am quite envious. Sometimes I think I went into the wrong field, I would love to work around books all day.
Just this weekend I spent several hours in a used and rare book store here in Grand Rapids (check out that segue!) and were it not for the rational, grounding voice of my sister (I never thought I would say that in reference to her) I would probably be broke right now. Those who attended the recent Central Michigan Dopefest may notice here how very weak I really am. I left the Dopefest, less than two weeks ago, with not only a pirate duck but five new books. Yet a mere nine days later I find myself once again in the gaping maw of the used book store. First they draw me in with the musty odor of aged tomes, then they trap me with the vice like grip of cramped shelving. The battle was grand and my foe comendable, he did not pull his punches with dime novels or cheap paperbacks. He did not need to test my mettle at all. Somehow, whether by divine inspiration or by unholy insight, he knew my weaknesses.
Right on the first shelf a two volume copy of Constance Garnett’s translation of Anna Karenina, over there The Pearl (the only Steinbeck books I ever enjoyed). But wait! Over there! A collection of Rudyard Kipling’s poetry. I held my flank and did not break, but then a first edition copy of Orwell’s Animal Farm came at me from the right, my defenses began to crack, I couldn’t hold much longer against the assault. And just as I began to consider a retreat he hit me in my weakest spot, a collection of Herman Melville’s short stories. Once I saw that I was finished, I left the battle with six new books, including the new pride of my collection: a leather bound copy of Goethe’s Faust published in 1882. There were four more or Goethe’s books there that were published in the same set, I’ll have to go back soon… I am so weak
(As this is my first foray into it I hope I am doing this whole MMP thing right… I just want to be able to sit at the cool table)
Now I want a pirate duck. envy
Well, the cat just hornked on the dog. I watched Farscape:Peacekeeper Wars and two episodes of Taken today. I guess it balances out. :dubious:
:hands a six pack of beerverages to :MBG:
Alistair, I like the Reader’s Corner in Raleigh. My dream is to become wealthy and buy everything.
Not… quite. I have worked for two Madrid-based companies, but in both cases outside of town. Been there visiting a few times.
It’s a funny business, consulting. You can have a contract that says you’re located in a tiny town in Northern Spain, yet spend most of your time in France and Italy, with trips to Switzerland and other exotic locations. Then the company relocates you to Philly, and because you’re going to spend over 12 months in the States they do all the paperwork and actually list you as being based in Philly - yet of those 13 months I was “Philly-based”, I spent 6 outside the US. Then go to being based on a provincial capital on the Mediterranean coast of Spain, but spend half your time in Italy, Germany and most of all England.
Change employers: now you work for a company in Madrid, but all your time of employment (except for vacation) is spent in Costa Rica. Move to another employer, also in Madrid, and be sent to the Basque Country.
Right now, the customer is in my province’s capital and I see my employer’s main office every day on the way home. It feels weird!
Congrats, rigs!! I can’t imagine having to duck flying urine at work. Of course, when the s**t hits the fan…
Mama Tiger, our far-too-absent founder, Rue, is a fan of Spam. Yeah, he’s entitled to one character flaw - it makes him almost human. (she says as she looks around carefully, not wanting to bring out the Wrath of Rue)
I want a Pirate Duck also! Without one, my life cannot be complete! Welcome to the Clan of the Cool Kids, Alistair!
OK, back to work.
You know, I think I’ve never been part of such a popular group [sub]with such low standards[/sub] before. Wow. Everyone wants to to be a Cool Kid! [sub]And if you’ve got me you know there can’t possibly be anyone more boring left to join.[/sub]
Time to make nice strong jasmine tea and make more bread dough. Two half-rye and a white with bulgur, bran, and rye flakes rising so far. I’ll do some egg bread and maybe an attempted brioche. I’ve promised many many people bread today.
OMG-talk about underwater–3.5 inches in six hours. Alot of the mulch that I spread last week is now in the lawn. We had a merry stream, running along my paver border, down to the southwest corner of the front lawn–into Lake (name of street here).
I called my neighbor (NOT CNG, creepy neighbor guy) and asked him what he had done to piss off God. He told me he’d get back to me with the list.
Looks like MORE rain today as well. We just don’t get rain in late August/Sept–it is usually very dry here then.
Off to move books and carts around soon. Thanks for sharing my excitement–it means alot. I can’t believe how quickly things are changing around here!
Welcome all newbies! Mr McCello --are you so called because you play the instrument or is it some obscure reference that only cool people get? (note: it cannot be the latter because we are the Cool Kids[sup]TM[/sup]). Anyone who loves books is welcome. Even if you hate books, you’re welcome!
You just can’t like the show Full House or Britney Spears. And send FCM some chocolate, pronto!
Well, Tuesday is nearly over, Thank Og!!! Then it’s time to hit the pool for a half-hour of “let’s pretend to be healthy and get some exercise”. I always try to come up with excuses to get out of it, but today I just can’t come up with anything good enough. I went home from work early yesterday because my morning sickness turned into all-day-sickness-plus-exhaustion-plus-stinking-headache. I slept for 2 hours in the afternoon, then had another 8-plus hours sleep last night. So, whilst I still feel first-trimester crappy today, it’s not bad enough to warrant a mental sick-note from swimming! And considering it’s about the only exercise I get during the week (too hot outside to go walking and too lazy/tight to pay for a gym membership), I really shouldn’t pike!
Congrats rigs on the new library job - sounds like a great place to work! And I hope the rain eases up and doesn’t start dribbling under your front door! :eek:
FCM, I looked at your pots - I thought you said they all turned out [del]poo[/del] chocolate coloured? They are beautiful and have a lovely rustic, cottagey kind of look to them.
Okay, off to pretend some more work until 6pm rolls around!
OK jayjay, this made me laugh – " Convergence, the fat gay guy convention." I’m imagining the promotional literature. “Collide with your fellow fat gay guys at Convergence '06!”
I’m glad to have something to perk me up: the newspaper here is running stories on all the people killed in the plane crash. Everyone one of them is beloved by their families and friends; it’s heart-rending to read their biographies.
**I have an idea ** I’d like to bounce off you guys. Maybe it’s the plane crash, maybe it’s the threads started in MPS and the Pit last week about the miscarriage, but I was thinking of starting a thread called Ask The Mother Who Lost a Child. My reason is, people seem to have a hard time grappling with the nature of grief. They don’t know how they’re supposed to react, what they’re supposed to do when someone dies. What to do when someone close to a friend dies. It’s been 13 years since I lost my daughter, and 18 since I lost my dad, so the grief isn’t fresh, though I certainly remember its terrible effects. I figured I could offer advice on how to deal with someone who’s lost a person, a “do’s” and “don’ts” kind of thing. And empower people TO grieve. It’s a part of life, after all. What do you all think?
By my calculations, rigs is starting her new library job RIGHT NOW. YAY RIGS.
Today I have to do a sort of inventory thingums. See, on Saturday the 2nd my family begins the Great Move-In. We drive up to UMass Amherst and stay the night in a hotel there. The next morning, the 3rd, we move my sister in. Then we drive to Hanover, NH that night and stay in a hotel. The following day, September 4, we move me in. Then my parents - for reasons as unbeknownst to me as the ones causing them to plan this sort of quest - will travel back [del]in time[/del] to UMass to check on my sister or something before going home.
I feel sorry for my little brother, who will be along for the ride the entire time.
Dotty, I don’t know where you are, but Tuesday is just starting for me. :dubious:
FCM, all of your pottery is lovely as usual. I may even become a repeat customer eventually. 
Puns! Here they go:
[quote=One]
I shuffled down the street, feeling very sorry for myself. After all, the clown had killed my grandmother. I was shuffling along when I passed a loud and boisterous building. Well, it wasn’t the building so much as the people who were making the racket. I peered into the window and saw everyone holding a snake and dancing to the peppy music. After I got past how moronically dangerous that was, I checked the front of the building and saw the sign that explained it all: “Everybody Mamba!”
Enjoy.
Mawnin, all! Imma just sittin here at work checkin on Ernesto from time to time. All the sources seem to be sayin we’re gonna be in the track some time tomorrow around 2 pm as either a big windy rain storm or something stronger. As usual, work hasn’t said boo one way or another on it. I wonder what’s gonna happen to swampy down in South Flawduh.
rigs, does that mean you are done with nursin?
fcm, cool ceramics. Love swirly reddish one.
li-li, you are one way kewl kid, so just stop it. 
ali, welcome to another bookaholic.
Well, off to do some work.
Tupug