{{MissTake}}
At least you’re trying to quit. I’ve considered myself a lost cause (though I have managed to cut down to 1 hit of caffeine a day. But next time it’s a certain time of month, I’ll probably go back to binging on caffeine as I’ve heard it’s a painkiller.)
Professional Organization of English Majors, Special Weapons and Arms Troop.
Beautiful! 
I’m on hold with the water utility. Our water was shut off today about 9:00 AM. I called the water department. Their outgoing message said they were working on a PRV and the water should be back on by 5:00 PM. So, it’s 6:30 and no water.
I call the water department. Their office is closed, of course. Curiously, the outgoing message now doesn’t mention the shut off at all…
I call the emergency number. I ask them when the water will be back on.
“The water? Was it shut off for non-payment?”
No, the water has been off all day. Your office this morning said you were doing some construction or repairs and that it’d be back on at 5:00 but now it’s 6:30.
“Was your water shut off for non-payment?”
:smack:
I think it’s awesome that they have CSRs answering emergency calls at the water utility that don’t know that several hundred homes have no water.
(She checked with a tech in the field. They have no idea when the water will be back on.)
I was at one place where i had sat at the bar, ate while reading my book. once I finished eathing I waited awhile then put my credit card out in front of my dish so that the bartender/waiter would see it and know I was wanting my check. I finally put my book down and watched him for quite awhile trying to make eye contact so I could get my check and pay. I finally got up put my coat on, put my book away and stared walking off. The bartender called after me… " have a nice day!" I turned around and said “can I get my check so I can pay?”
I was heading up to the front desk to ask for a check not skipping out. just saying. I refuse to sit at the bar anymore.
That helps, thank you. I didn’t think that there was much demand for 20-30 year old movies on VHS tapes, but I should have made the effort. I am the self-proclaimed tree-hugger in this family, I have a reputation to uphold.
I love it.
My current word peeve is decimate. When a sports team kicks another team’s butt, sports announcers like to say that team A decimated team B. NO THEY DIDN’T, THAT WORD DOESN’T MEAN WHAT YOU THINK IT MEANS YOU FLIPPING MAROON!!!
For those who don’t know, decimate means one out of 10 killed or destroyed. It came from the Roman’s charming but effective habit of killing every tenth man as a way to punish troops or enforce discipline.
My husband likes to watch sports and I like to be in the same room as him. We make a great team, he yells at the game and I yell at the announcers.
Still no water.
I’m sorry for your trouble. If I knew where ibôápka was, I’d try to get out there with a gallon for you.
Do you have neighbors experiencing the same problems?
Try advertising them on freecycle, there are a fair number of flicks that were released on VCR but not on DVD and people collect and rip them so the film is not totally lost. [not that I encourage pirating, but if the copyright owner refuses to release the item on a current media type I can’t see a problem with ripping it.]
Got all my flower beds cleaned up today - just in time for the cold and snow that’s coming later this week. This has been the friggiest spring ever.
I admit, I do like the phrase “flipping maroon.”
Cat Whisperer, I can try to send some of my weather your way. We’re having rain today, but I guess you’d prefer that to snow. I hope your area can avoid the floods this year. We’ve had flooding in some parts of Quebec, but usually Montreal avoids that.
You are correct that the original meaning was killing 1/10 of the troops. However, that is one that is a lost cause, just like nauseous (if you are nauseous, according to the original meaning you make other people nauseated), and a few others. Better to fight over butchered English that is less ingrained - “ask” as a noun, “ect.” instead of “etc.”, “walla” or “viola” instead of voila (I will accept the omission of the grave accent, since accents aren’t customary in English), etc.
It is, apparently, the Mythical Land of No Water.
Water is still off this morning. Whole big swath of homes that are affected. City still shrugs and says they don’t have an ETA when it will be back on.
I’ll trade you gallons and hogsheads of water if you’ll come babysit the husband and monkey children and dogs for a little while. Or just the husband! I really need a break. A nap, maybe a long undisturbed soak in the tub, a long-overdue pedicure so that my feet don’t end up on People of Walmart when I drag out the warm weather shoes, a meal that I can eat all at once - all by myself - without getting up to see to someone else, a stiff drink or three, interesting conversation that doesn’t involve poop or how something got dirty or whether someone with squillions of prescription pain medications sitting right there on his bedside table, with his name all over them, and handy usage instructions printed right there on the bottles is in major pain and doesn’t know what to do, but by golly he doesn’t want to take a mild muscle relaxer, or a strong muscle relaxer, nor an opioid pain pill, nor a simple NSAID, or use the TENS unit because it’s so much more entertaining to whine to his wife and act like a great big jerk to the entire family because he’s just in so much paaaiiiin!
I’m truly at my wits’ end. Last night, after listening to Tony find fault with everyone, every day, for the entire week, I tried to talk to him. I didn’t attack, I carefully considered my words, and what I was trying to convey: that we’d all really appreciate it if he were just a little more positive, using a few “pleases” and “thank yous,” versus spending so much time and energy telling me and the teenagers what we were doing wrong, helpfully pointing out what still needed doing, etc. Tony’s response was incredibly lame - I quit listening when he drew a direct line from “13-year-old girl has clothes all over her bed, desk chair, and armchair” to “she’ll only date scumbags if she can’t clean up after herself.” Seriously? I only asked that you be considerate, dammit! I get it, that he can’t do everything he’d like to do, but that doesn’t give him license to be a total fucking jerk to the people doing their damnedest to get shit done!
(And no, I’m not irrationally defending my older kids. Their rooms aren’t perfect, they have been known to see a mess the little kids have made and not clean it up immediately. In other words, they’re teenagers. Teens who have worked their asses off to help me with the house, the move, and the little kids since Tony’s injury. Teens who maintain honor roll grades, high school drama and technology/robotics teams, AP exams, student council meetings, book club and math team and literary team meets, take care of the dogs and haul off the trash - sometimes with, sometimes without reminders, etc. They are awesome, and I’ll be damned if I and my children are going to let Tony sit on his ass and criticize every little thing we do.)
I’m not being melodramatic*. I love my husband dearly, and would never set out to hurt him, but I know I have to get it through his skull that we won’t live like this, no matter what sort of good intentions his bad behavior stems from.
*Maybe a teeny tiny bit melodramatic, but lack of sleep does that to me. Last night, Tony woke me up once for good reason - to help him use the TENS unit. And then three more times for sheer childish bad manners, not even making an effort to be quiet when he was stomping about, mad about something dumb. Maybe others are different, but he knows that (a) I really don’t fall back asleep easily, and (b) when I’m sick - I’ve had a horrible springtime cold + allergies for the past week - I NEED sleep before I’m really going to feel better. Incomprehensible amounts of sleep are best (he once called my mother to please come check on me when I slept 18 hours without even a pee break when I was fighting the flu,) but just a solid 7 or 8 hours helps immensely.
We might get some rain this afternoon - that would be okay (although it would kibosh my working outside). We are all very, very nervous here in Calgary about the spring run-off/spring monsoon season - I think we’ve had a good lot of melt already, which is hopefully going to prevent flooding like last year.
ETA: Forgot to say, Lacunae, if I recall correctly, Tony was injured at work, so is there some kind of counselling program that you and Tony could go to to work out all this kind of crap? A serious injury like the ones he had are very hard on a marriage; surely his employer knows that.
Tony is (probably rightfully) suspicious of any counseling program offered through his job: it was only last week that the governor signed a bill that requires counseling for law enforcement in Georgia to remain confidential from employers. There are horror stories of officers whose careers were torpedoed because they sought help for depression, substance abuse, traumatic stress, etc. With the new law on the books, I’m carefully reading our insurance policy to see whether any sort of therapy is covered. (And if our health insurance doesn’t cover anything, then maybe the workers compensation insurance does. That’s my next step.) Something has to give, very soon. I know Tony’s in pain, and that he worries that he’ll never be physically capable of returning to the job he loves, but the rest of the family can’t be sacrificed to his depression and anger and neediness.
Lacunae, it is testosterone poisoning. We are as the Goddess made us, and She made us yours.
Bitch shoulda issued us with big sticks to wallop y’all with when you need it, then!
Yes, dear.
It’s called the Mallet of Understanding. Apply to the side of the head repeatedly until understanding is achieved. Depending on your level of annoyance you can start with a rubber mallet or a cast iron saucepan. Both are effective.