Chit-Chat: What's On Your Mind Today?

[oliviabenson]

41 minutes ago, Ancaster said:

Thanks for the suggestion for White Bird.  I checked out of curiosity and my library does have the DVD, but I don't have a DVD player!  I did reserve the book though.

Some libraries still have old computers that have a DVD drive. You can at least reserve the computer and watch the DVD there. Man technology is way faster than me. I too don't have a DVD player at the moment. 

Also maybe ask your friends etc maybe someone has a portable DVD player to loan you! 

[shapeshifter]

The college library where I worked until 2019 had little DVD players available for check-out. The professors still had some required videos for their students to view that were not yet available online, but I'm guessing they are now?

[Dimity]

10 minutes ago, oliviabenson said:

Also maybe ask your friends etc maybe someone has a portable DVD player to loan you! 

Also they are really cheap to purchase now.  A quick look on Amazon showed a lot of choices many under $50.  Probably too much for just one movie but not a lot if you think you are going to want to borrow from the library regularly or are prepared to purchase when you can find a DVD you want.

[EtheltoTillie]

3 minutes ago, Dimity said:

Also they are really cheap to purchase now.  A quick look on Amazon showed a lot of choices many under $50.  Probably too much for just one movie but not a lot if you think you are going to want to borrow from the library regularly or are prepared to purchase when you can find a DVD you want.

You can get the players that are external to a laptop.  You can still watch on the laptop screen.  These are very inexpensive.  You don't have to get a player that has its own screen. 

[Dimity]

1 minute ago, EtheltoTillie said:

You can get the players that are external to a laptop.  You can still watch on the laptop screen.  These are very inexpensive.  You don't have to get a player that has its own screen. 

I also saw one marketed as "for the elderly" because apparently this is a selling point.

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 11/22/2024 at 11:05 AM, Anela said:

My dad will be home on thanksgiving. We’re just trying to figure out what to eat.  The one thing we both liked, every year, was the stuffing cooked inside the turkey, but neither of us likes turkey, anymore.

I've always made dressing without a turkey. I use two packages of chicken thighs in it, so I'm definitely not missing the meat angle.  A plateful of that plus some fruit salad and canned cranberry sauce make for a very fine holiday dinner.

[Anela]

29 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I've always made dressing without a turkey. I use two packages of chicken thighs in it, so I'm definitely not missing the meat angle.  A plateful of that plus some fruit salad and canned cranberry sauce make for a very fine holiday dinner.

Dad usually makes it in the turkey, and more in a pan. I’ll tell him what you said.  I have chicken thighs in the fridge. Editing to add a thank you. :)

I know what I have in mind, but I don’t know how much I’ll actually make.  Small pumpkin cheesecake for me, pumpkin pie for him.  Mashed potatoes, roast potatoes, maybe scalloped instead.  Yorkshire pudding.  Peas in a cream sauce.  A big salad.  I live on chicken soup, so I’ll be making more of that. (Pinch of yum healing chicken and rice soup, with a lot less rice.)

dad is getting a roast of some kind.  I might try short ribs next month. I had the strongest craving for a basic baked beans on mashed potatoes, last night, so I’ll probably do that tonight.  I need to get baked beans first.  

Edited November 26 by Anela

[Quof]

2 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

The LSAT was a bit scary.   I took a Kaplan prep class to learn how to do the logic puzzles.  I then proceeded to practice hundreds of them to build up speed.  So they use the LSAT for Canadian law schools? 

I did not do well on the LSAT. Well, I did fine, just not up to my standards.  I aced the logic puzzles, but did you know multiple choice questions are designed for people of average intelligence? Those of above average intelligence over analyze the question and say "well, it's probably (a) but if you consider it from this angle, it could be (b)".  

And we wrote the LSAT in the old engineering building at my university, built before there were female engineering students, so the few female washrooms were an after thought way down in the basement.  That was a treat when hundreds of test writers were sent on a 15 minute break at the same time. 

I got into law school on the basis of my 4.0 GPA

[EtheltoTillie]

1 hour ago, Quof said:

I did not do well on the LSAT. Well, I did fine, just not up to my standards.  I aced the logic puzzles, but did you know multiple choice questions are designed for people of average intelligence? Those of above average intelligence over analyze the question and say "well, it's probably (a) but if you consider it from this angle, it could be (b)".  

And we wrote the LSAT in the old engineering building at my university, built before there were female engineering students, so the few female washrooms were an after thought way down in the basement.  That was a treat when hundreds of test writers were sent on a 15 minute break at the same time. 

I got into law school on the basis of my 4.0 GPA

I'm the opposite.  I was a fuckup in college and had a poor GPA. But I had a later successful career.  I studied really hard so I could ace the LSAT. 

[fairffaxx]

I took the LSAT in 1978 & barely remember it.  My impression was that it was just the regular SAT test with a few legalese terms & concepts added.  There was nothing that could be called a puzzle & the only specific item I recall was the word "tortfeasor", which I failed to define correctly.   I had taken the regular SAT when I graduated from high school in 1965 & had the same results with the LSAT:  flunked the math section but aced the other parts because I'm good with words (except for that one word).    

[StatisticalOutlier]

2 hours ago, Quof said:

I got into law school on the basis of my 4.0 GPA

At my law school, there was a formula for GPA + LSAT that determined whether you automatically got in.  (I managed to figure out what it was based on a discussion with a dean when I was trying to decide whether I should start in the summer or the fall.)  Anything under that line got looked at for things like whether you're from out of state, what you majored in, etc.

I started law school in 1981, and took the LSAT just like I took the SAT and the GRE--just signed up for it and showed up.  I remember absolutely nothing about it, including where I took it.  But there are lots of movies from decades ago where I remember where I sat in the theater, including one in 1966, when I was 9 years old.  And I remember where I sat when I took the GRE (and where the guy was who was snoring). 

I do remember that on the bar exam day for procedure, everyone came out wondering what a "capias" was.  One guy said he answered, "a type of chicken."  🤣

[fairffaxx]

I just had to look up the definition of "capias", a term I've never heard of until tonight.  I passed the Calif bar exam the first time I took it, after 4 years of nightschool while working fulltime, & had a successful career for over 20 years until I had to retire in 2005 due to illness.  I expect that the stress of practicing law may have contributed to my cancer, which cleared right up as soon as I retired.  I'm much happier with volunteer work rescuing cats.

[Bastet]

28 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I started law school in 1981, and took the LSAT just like I took the SAT and the GRE--just signed up for it and showed up. 

I prepared more than you, but not by much -- I took it on a Saturday morning after a Friday evening return flight from a business trip, so I prepared by going through the info/practice booklet they sent when I signed up.  I started in my hotel room, got hungry, did some more in the hotel bar, and finished on the plane.  When my alarm went off, I almost skipped it, but powered through.  I did well, but not great.  The thought of taking a prep course or even doing a bunch more practice tests on my own in an effort to get a higher score was just too exhausting given how busy and obnoxious work was (part of the reason I was ready to move on to a different career), so I figured it was good enough given my college GPA and being a second career student, and it was.  (I mean, I didn't go to Harvard Law, but I wasn't trying to.)

[EtheltoTillie]

TIL what capias means.  ????  Never taught in any class.  Never seen in my practice. 

[isalicat]

9 hours ago, oliviabenson said:

@Yeah No I rather pay $1 than $12.

 

https://www.britbox.com/us/

It's on sale. 

$8. I'm not sure if it's a good deal or not.

It is my favorite channel, but I love all things British. There are some incredible series like Vera, Shetland, and Midsomer Murders if you like beautiful scenery and twisty mysteries. Wonderful endless comedy series. The best dramas from the BBC, etc. I think that is an amazing deal.

[StatisticalOutlier]

2 hours ago, Bastet said:

The thought of taking a prep course or even doing a bunch more practice tests on my own in an effort to get a higher score

Well hell's bells.  I thought LSAT was law school aptitude test, and took the "aptitude" part seriously--I figured I'd let the test determine if I was naturally a good fit for law school.  But I just looked it up and it's law school admission test.  That's one bit of ignorance I'm really glad I had.

Here's a great bar exam story.  I was clerking for a court of appeals when the bar exam results came out; two of us clerks had taken it.  They had recently added a "procedure" section of the test (hence capias), and you had to pass that separately from the rest of the exam.  We both easily passed the procedure part.  Passing score on the other part was 75.  I made a 76 and got my law license, while the other clerk made a 74 and did not.

Jesus I felt bad for her.  My boyfriend at the time even said, "I daresay there's not such a difference between you and OtherClerk that you should have a license and she shouldn't," and I wasn't even insulted.  Fortunately, our court was in a not thrilling town, so OtherClerk had plenty of time to study, and study she did.  Every damn night until the February bar. 

(As an aside, I didn't really study for the bar exam--I took a review course and generally paid attention, but didn't really hit the books.  I figured if I failed, I'd be living in not thrilling town, so it was worth the risk that I might have to take it again and study for it, since I probably wouldn't have anything better to do.  My 76 proved that I did exactly the right thing.)

So OtherClerk retakes the two-day non-procedure part of the exam, and passes.  I asked what her score was, and she wouldn't tell me, except to say it was below 80.  So I went through the possibilities.  It was obvious it wasn't 75, because that would be a cause for celebration:  "Here's your one point, you motherfuckers.  Happy??" 

It wasn't 76 because that's what I made.  79's a pretty good score, so nothing to be ashamed of about that.  78's also not too bad, but 77?  That's one point higher than me, which would be a pretty precise way to beat me.  So I decided it was 77.

It was 75!  All that for one. fucking. point. that made the difference between someone qualified to practice law and someone not.  And there's even irony:  she went on to have a successful career as a federal prosecutor and I...didn't.

[Bastet]

22 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

(As an aside, I didn't really study for the bar exam--I took a review course and generally paid attention, but didn't really hit the books. 

We were again similar.  I excelled in law school -- I'd always done well in school, usually without much effort, but this was me discovering what I was meant to do, and I finally put in real effort, finished the first semester at the top of my class, and stayed there through graduation -- and heard all the warnings about people who thought that meant they didn't need to study for the bar and failing.  I decided to heed that, but within reason.

I'd won free tuition to a BarBri prep course as one of my Moot Court prizes as a 1L, and one was being held at my law school, so I dutifully trotted myself down there for the summer, but I didn't do any of the homework.  I left for the better part of a week in the middle of it to attend an uncle's funeral and spend time with relatives, because I was friends with a student rep for BarBri who gave me the materials for the days I missed, and I heard from a few people freaking out about the very notion of not devoting every waking weekday hour to bar prep.

Taking a three-day exam was tiring, certainly, but I was confident I passed.  I chose not to work during the time between taking the test and getting the results (the fortune of being an older student who not only didn't have student loan debt, but still had savings), spending my time traveling and continuing to renovate my fixer-upper house instead.  The day results were to be posted, I had a moment of "Oh fuck, what if I screwed this up?" panic, but it passed.  As did I.  (We didn't get scores, just pass or fail.)

[Yeah No]

11 hours ago, oliviabenson said:

@Yeah No I rather pay $1 than $12.

https://www.britbox.com/us/

It's on sale. 

$8. I'm not sure if it's a good deal or not.

The $1 deal is only for a year and for new customers. I've heard it's also for lapsed customers which are considered "new" but I didn't want to let my Hulu membership lapse because I didn't want to miss stuff I watched.

I'd love to get Britbox but like @PRgal said, I can't keep up with every streaming channel I have now. Maybe next year.

[Yeah No]

 

10 hours ago, PRgal said:

I meant to post the following here (posted on The Feels by mistake):

Has anyone ever considered going back to school to do a graduate degree in an area they barely focused on as an undergrad?  Or at all?  This will require some catching up, of course - completing an equivalent of a minor.....or am I just crazy

Sorry!!

I did. I took exactly one intro. to Psych. course as an undergrad. and got into grad. school for and MSEd in Counseling Psychology when I was 30. I didn't have to take any catch-up to qualify. They were willing to honor courses in other subjects as I recall, like Sociology. I also had to take the GRE. My intention was to use the degree in Higher Ed. as it was commonly held by career and admissions/financial aid counselors at colleges and universities. I was working at my alma mater at the time so I got free tuition for grad. school, otherwise I would not have afforded to attend. Plus, I could do it part time at a time when most graduate Psych. degrees required taking courses full time and I was limited to going to my alma mater where I was working and got free tuition. Unfortunately even the classes I took were not geared toward the needs of people working full time at that time so it was a TON of work and I didn't have any life for 3 years. I did graduate with a 4.0 though!

I would have considered law school and my mother would have cheered me if I had gone that route, but I don't know if my employee tuition remission applied to my university's law school, I actually don't think it did, but mostly I didn't have the the moxie for it. I preferred to focus on the spiritual and personal growth side of things back then. I enjoyed working with students very much in admissions so that was part of my attraction to counseling. I found it fulfilling work.

Unfortunately, although I would have wanted to take the degree to the doctorate level (because salaries without it were pretty bad) my life took a turn and that never happened. Plus the doctoral program was even more rigorous and would have required me to attend full time - in fact they wouldn't have agreed to let me in with a full time job back then! I couldn't afford not to work full time so there went that idea. I knew a few women that were able to afford it and even some of them dropped out. One did it with small children but she had money and resources to do so without totally burning herself out. No matter, it still wasn't easy for her.

The turn my life took was fleeing the Bronx during the bad old crack days and moving to CT, which for me was like a dream come true and escaping a worsening situation. Unfortunately CT was not NYC and there were far fewer opportunities in higher ed. there. I searched and searched and even with the master's the jobs I found all paid crap. It was very disappointing. And I couldn't afford to get paid crap. It took everything we had to afford moving to CT to a nice condo. and that was my priority back then. So that's why I ended up as an exec. assistant in the corporate world. I made much better money and the benefits were good. And even then the money wasn't stellar considering all my education. Being a traditionally female job it didn't pay as well as it should have and it definitely didn't have the respect it deserved either.

I did get a counseling position at a college in Westchester County, NY but it was a rough commute and it turned into the nightmare from hell with a truly psycho. director. I ended up quitting after 6 months and found out I was her next victim in a line of about 6 people before me that also left because of her abuse. So that didn't help how I felt about working in higher ed. especially since I was coming from a previous job where the boss was also a toxic narcissist. I actually found the atmosphere more positive in the corporate world at that time!

Anyway that was probably way more than you asked for!

[Yeah No]

11 hours ago, oliviabenson said:

It's going to rain. Being outside for no reason is not for ne. I don't feel like doing anything alone. I'd go to the movies but it's $20 a ticket. Soooo I think I will just stay home. It is what it is. 

Sorry about that. My life pretty much sucks right now. Very long story but the construction to repair my house is going to be pretty traumatizing and involve putting furniture and stuff in storage, moving out for days if not weeks during the holiday season and living in a hotel. We are not happy with this but let's not get into our frustrations with this entire process and the construction company, the adjusters (we have private adjusters) the insurance company, etc. I have been under a HUGE amount of stress and worried about my health. And now I have to drive all over the world on Thanksgiving thanks my husband having to work so I have to go with him so we can go from there to where we're invited. It's going to be a LOT of driving and I have to leave the house at 6:00 a.m. on Thanksgiving and pray that the weather doesn't turn to snow. Then back to work here. All that and we're both over 65. But don't get me started on my problems....

[Ancaster]

5 hours ago, isalicat said:

It is my favorite channel, but I love all things British. There are some incredible series like Vera, Shetland, and Midsomer Murders if you like beautiful scenery and twisty mysteries. Wonderful endless comedy series. The best dramas from the BBC, etc. I think that is an amazing deal.

Does it have Broadchurch?  The first and third series were fantastic, helped by the presence of David Tenant and Olivia Coleman, who were great together.

(It may be on Netflix or Amazon, because those are what I used to have.)

[Mindthinkr]

3 hours ago, Ancaster said:

Does it have Broadchurch? 

You can watch that on Tubi (S1-S3) for free. Some ads, but much less than you see on regular television. It was an excellent series. 

[Yeah No]

40 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:

You can watch that on Tubi (S1-S3) for free. Some ads, but much less than you see on regular television. It was an excellent series. 

I saw Broadchurch on Netflix a while back, but it's not on that anymore. I see it now on Tubi, Pluto, Roku Chanel, YouTube, Peacock, Xumo and Plex, supposedly free on all except YouTube.

I really liked that series, BTW. Friends recommended it to me. I wish it had gone longer.

Edited November 27 by Yeah No

[EtheltoTillie]

6 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Sorry about that. My life pretty much sucks right now. Very long story but the construction to repair my house is going to be pretty traumatizing and involve putting furniture and stuff in storage, moving out for days if not weeks during the holiday season and living in a hotel. We are not happy with this but let's not get into our frustrations with this entire process and the construction company, the adjusters (we have private adjusters) the insurance company, etc. I have been under a HUGE amount of stress and worried about my health. And now I have to drive all over the world on Thanksgiving thanks my husband having to work so I have to go with him so we can go from there to where we're invited. It's going to be a LOT of driving and I have to leave the house at 6:00 a.m. on Thanksgiving and pray that the weather doesn't turn to snow. Then back to work here. All that and we're both over 65. But don't get me started on my problems....

Ask your adjuster if you can get some compensation for loss of use of the house.  That is more than just their paying for you to stay someplace else.  We had damage caused to our house by our oil company.  They had to put our kitchen out of commission for a certain amount of time.  We received a sum of money just for loss of use of the house above and beyond the repair costs.  That's under New York law, but Connecticut may have some formula for that also.

Edited November 27 by EtheltoTillie

[shapeshifter]

7 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Anyway that was probably way more than you asked for!

But a concise, interesting read, much of which I could relate to!

[Yeah No]

37 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Ask your adjuster if you can get some compensation for loss of use of the house.  That is more than just their paying for you to stay someplace else.  We had damage caused to our house by our oil company.  They had to put our kitchen out of commission for a certain amount of time.  We received a sum of money just for loss of use of the house above and beyond the repair costs.  That's under New York law, but Connecticut may also have some formula for that.

Thank you, we will talk to our adjuster about that. We are also thinking about changing contractors at this point. Basically, first we were told that the small addition we are adding to the front of the house would be mostly finished before the front wall of the house had to come down (which would have had to come down anyway because of damage), but now they're rushing us to do it much sooner and at the last minute. No warning, no lead time to prepare and involves moving furniture and everything in the living area out into storage. Plus our door and windows aren't even in yet and it may be weeks until they are - all their fault because we were waiting for their instructions on when to order these things.

BTW, they have thrown us several curve balls and the plans seem to change on a daily basis, all adding to our stress and increasing our lack of confidence in them. For a long time they told us we would only have to be out of the house for a few days later in the process. Now they say it can be weeks and has to be NOW. They act like they haven't even looked at the architect's plans until 2 days ago. My husband had to remind them of several things we thought they already knew about what they need to do. They seemed thrown off by learning that we had baseboard heating that required plumbing lines and that our AC handlers and ducts were in the attic. They were HERE LOOKING in the attic several times!

They said they didn't realize that they couldn't do more work until the wall came down until just now. We aren't stupid, they have had MONTHS to figure all this out but they dragged their feet and now we have to be stressed to the max and rushed around the holidays to boot? They are rushing us because it's getting cold out and they need to get the roofing done soon. But of course up until now we thought we had much more time before that wall had to come down so this is very much a curveball. I can't handle stress like this anymore.

Also we have no confidence in them anymore. They said they would "put up plywood" to cover the exposed area of the house when the wall comes down but We're having nightmares worrying about the security on this place and everything exposed to the elements. My husband is writing the supervisor a text right now telling him that we are NOT going to move out for potentially weeks starting almost immediately and they just need to figure out what they can do now without having to take down the wall. We don't believe they are at a point that they can't do ANYTHING else. And when they really can't do any more just put a good tarp over the whole structure if anything is still exposed to the elements.

And P.S. As of now they're not planning on doing any more work until we're out of the house. They haven't been here in two days. WTF? One minute they were full steam ahead and suddenly everything ground to a halt. We are not in construction but we have had two houses built and know BS when we smell it.

Edited November 27 by Yeah No

[EtheltoTillie]

21 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

Thank you, we will talk to our adjuster about that. We are also thinking about changing contractors at this point. Basically, first we were told that the small addition we are adding to the front of the house would be mostly finished before the front wall of the house had to come down (which would have had to come down anyway because of damage), but now they're rushing us to do it much sooner and at the last minute. No warning, no lead time to prepare and involves moving furniture and everything in the living area out into storage. Plus our door and windows aren't even in yet and it may be weeks until they are - all their fault because we were waiting for their instructions on when to order these things.

BTW, they have thrown us several curve balls and the plans seem to change on a daily basis, all adding to our stress and increasing our lack of confidence in them. For a long time they told us we would only have to be out of the house for a few days later in the process. Now they say it can be weeks and has to be NOW. They act like they haven't even looked at the architect's plans until 2 days ago. My husband had to remind them of several things we thought they already knew about what they need to do. They seemed thrown off by learning that we had baseboard heating that required plumbing lines and that our AC handlers and ducts were in the attic. They were HERE LOOKING in the attic several times!

They said they didn't realize that they couldn't do more work until the wall came down until just now. We aren't stupid, they have had MONTHS to figure all this out but they dragged their feet and now we have to be stressed to the max and rushed around the holidays to boot? They are rushing us because it's getting cold out and they need to get the roofing done soon. But of course up until now we thought we had much more time before that wall had to come down so this is very much a curveball. I can't handle stress like this anymore.

Also we have no confidence in them anymore. They said they would "put up plywood" to cover the exposed area of the house when the wall comes down but We're having nightmares worrying about the security on this place and everything exposed to the elements. My husband is writing the supervisor a text right now telling him that we are NOT going to move out for potentially weeks starting almost immediately and they just need to figure out what they can do now without having to take down the wall. We don't believe they are at a point that they can't do ANYTHING else. And when they really can't do any more just put a good tarp over the whole structure if anything is still exposed to the elements.

And P.S. As of now they're not planning on doing any more work until we're out of the house. They haven't been here in two days. WTF? One minute they were full steam ahead and suddenly everything ground to a halt. We are not in construction but we have had two houses built and know BS when we smell it.

Well, that's all way above my ability to even comment on.  I hope you can straighten it out.  We had a situation where the oil company just brought in their own people and fixed things.  They moved our kitchen stuff into the living room.  They packed it and moved it for us.  It's true that in any contracting work, the companies are juggling jobs.  We got the money for loss of use because the loss of use was the fault of the oil company.  If your loss of use is based on something else, I don't know.  But ask. 

Edited November 27 by EtheltoTillie

[supposebly]

I subscribe to this Good News channel. It helps me not focusing so much on the bad news.

 

[Yeah No]

25 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Well, that's all way above my ability to even comment on.  I hope you can straighten it out.  We had a situation where the oil company just brought in their own people and fixed things.  They moved our kitchen stuff into the living room.  They packed it and moved it for us.  It's true that in any contracting work, the companies are juggling jobs.  We got the money for loss of use because the loss of use was the fault of the oil company.  If your loss of use is based on something else, I don't know.  But ask. 

Thanks. This was really mishandled at every step of the way by the construction company and at our expense. Even when we were younger we wouldn't have been OK with what they're putting us through. This is not our first rodeo, we know how construction can be but this has been over the top. We'll have to discuss the loss issue with our adjuster. Thank goodness for him. We thought 10% was a big fee but he has already earned it.

My husband and I just got off the phone with the construction company supervisor. We're calling everything off for the Winter and they're going to tarp what they've done so far to protect it until Spring. I feel like a huge weight has been taken off my back. I also find that I don't physically handle extreme stress like this as well as I used to. I was losing sleep and my heart was pounding worrying about everything. I wonder how much my Hashimoto's has to do with this as I've read that it can cause such issues handling stress. So that may have had a part in my reaction to all of this. But when my husband agrees with me I know it's not just me.

In the meantime we're going to look into other construction companies. We were referred to this one by two neighbors that we trust and their online reviews are stellar. It just goes to show you that you can be jerked around despite all that. I think what happened is that they suddenly got a lot of work thanks to all the references and they're not up to coordinating all of it, so they did not put as much time and attention into ours when they should have. We were at "go time" in AUGUST so there's no reason we should be only at this point at the end of November. They jumped at this job but I think they were biting off more than they could chew. So of course things suffer as a result.

Anyway, thanks again!

[Yeah No]

3 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

We received a sum of money just for loss of use of the house above and beyond the repair costs.  That's under New York law, but Connecticut may have some formula for that also.

I googled on that and found out that yes, CT has a loss of use law as below:

Quote

Yes, Connecticut has a loss of use law, also known as additional living expenses (ALE) coverage, that pays for temporary housing and other expenses if you can't stay in your home due to a covered disaster: 

What it covers

Temporary housing

Hotel rooms, apartments, or other housing options

Other expenses

Pet boarding, restaurant meals, storage fees, laundry expenses, gas and mileage for a longer commute, moving costs

ALE coverage is a standard part of most homeowners' insurance policies. It's important to note that ALE coverage is limited, and the insurance company won't pay for extravagant accommodations or meals. 

We did know that our hotel, restaurant meals, storage fees, etc. were covered by our insurance within reason, but we didn't know all of this, or that it was a law, so thanks again!

[Cloud9Shopper]

22 hours ago, PRgal said:

I meant to post the following here (posted on The Feels by mistake):

Has anyone ever considered going back to school to do a graduate degree in an area they barely focused on as an undergrad?  Or at all?  This will require some catching up, of course - completing an equivalent of a minor.....or am I just crazy

Sorry!!

I’m thinking of going back to school to gain more education in my new chosen field (learning and development, which is often under the umbrella of HR). My communications undergrad degree has been a bust LOL so I would like to go back now that I’ve refined my focus and have a clearer goal of where I want to end up. I wouldn’t have to do pre-requisites since it’s not the same thing as switching to accounting or something but cost is one of my biggest concerns. My company does offer tuition reimbursement but not for the whole degree (to be fair, not sure if many companies do though). 

Edited November 27 by Cloud9Shopper

[EtheltoTillie]

14 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

I googled on that and found out that yes, CT has a loss of use law as below:

We did know that our hotel, restaurant meals, storage fees, etc. were covered by our insurance within reason, but we didn't know all of this, or that it was a law, so thanks again!

I am not talking about ALE.  I am talking about an additional cash compensation that makes up for your simply being unable to use your house.  Please make sure you ask very specifically about this.  They don't like to tell you about it.  I received a very substantial sum of money for this that went straight to my bank account.  In my case, they did not have to pay for alternate housing, but that does not mean you wouldn't get both.

[Ancaster]

6 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I saw Broadchurch on Netflix a while back, but it's not on that anymore. I see it now on Tubi, Pluto, Roku Chanel, YouTube, Peacock, Xumo and Plex, supposedly free on all except YouTube.

I really liked that series, BTW. Friends recommended it to me. I wish it had gone longer.

British shows tend to be much shorter than US ones, though not as much as they used to be, not just in terms of number of series, but also episodes per series. 

I think this is because of wanting to leave the viewers still feeling good about the series, and wanting more, but I think also perhaps because a lot of British actors do theatre work as well as TV/film, so they want time to do that too. 

Edited November 27 by Ancaster
Forgot to proofread!

[oliviabenson]

12 hours ago, Yeah No said:

The $1 deal is only for a year and for new customers. I've heard it's also for lapsed customers which are considered "new" but I didn't want to let my Hulu membership lapse because I didn't want to miss stuff I watched.

I'd love to get Britbox but like @PRgal said, I can't keep up with every streaming channel I have now. Maybe next year.

To get $1 Hulu. Every year I get a new email and use a different credit card. Otherwise it doesn't work would be my guess.

[Cementhead]

1 hour ago, Ancaster said:

British shows tend to be much shorter than US ones, though not as much as they used to be, not just in terms of number of series, but also episodes per series. 

One of my very favourite scenes from The Good Place --

Tahani & Eleanor are watching a British TV show together. 

Tahani says to Eleanore: "It's Deirdre and Margaret. It ran for 16 years on the BBC. They did nearly 30 episodes.”

 

[PRgal]

Back to the whole going back to school thing.  If I don't want take any required undergrad courses, I could always try for an MA in history, which was my major.  The University of Toronto has a specialization in food studies.  Sounds interesting.   

[Anela]

One of my longtime internet friends was on Jeopardy, this week.  I found out last night, because she posted a picture on FB. 

I’m watching “From”, right now, and totally forgot about Shogun. That’s one thing I want to watch, but it’s one of those shows that will require more of a commitment from my attention span, and I’m not ready for it yet.  

[oliviabenson]

Instagram: great British bake off show spoiled who won this season. I'm so pissed off. The show itself spoiled it for me. I was looking forward to watching the final on Friday when the show is shown in USA. 

[Yeah No]

I just wanted to wish all the Americans and everyone else here a Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow, whatever you're doing. I won't be online so I wanted to get that out now. 

 

[Annber03]

Seconding this! Hope all who are celebrating have a lovely holiday and safe travesl if you're going anywhere. And for those who aren't celebrating the holiday, hope you have a good Thursday/end of the week in general :). 

[Caoimhe]

Happy Thanksgiving (or Happy Thursday)!

Thinking of @oliviabenson today and hope you enjoy your day however you choose to spend it!

I’ve got my first load of laundry in - how exciting - but am incredibly thankful to see rain and not Frozen White Miserableness coming down outside my windows.

 

[PRgal]

Wishing all my US-based Primetimer friends a very happy Turkey Day!! :). It's just another Thursday for me up here...we DO do Black Friday (and Boxing Day - December 26)...my son is "graduating" to a booster for the car, so checking to see if I can get a good deal on that.

[Browncoat]

There are Black Friday ads here in New Zealand.  

[Cloud9Shopper]

My family gathering is slightly smaller this year since we’re missing some people due to snow (not here but they’re from out of town so it’s back where they live). It’s not the same of course but I’m enjoying being around less people and am relieved that I can avoid making small talk with my great uncle’s cousin and having to pretend I’m interested in how my dad’s cousin’s daughter met her boyfriend. 

I started my period this morning so I’m mostly just waiting to be able to go home and put on yoga pants and relax. 

Edited November 28 by Cloud9Shopper

[annzeepark914]

3 hours ago, PRgal said:

Wishing all my US-based Primetimer friends a very happy Turkey Day!! :). It's just another Thursday for me up here...we DO do Black Friday (and Boxing Day - December 26)...my son is "graduating" to a booster for the car, so checking to see if I can get a good deal on that.

Thanks. It's interesting that I recently read an article somewhere (NYT? Washington Post? Google News???) suggesting that the US should move Thanksgiving back to October ("like Canada"!). It makes sense as these two big holidays are way too close together. It will never happen, though.

[PRgal]

16 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

Thanks. It's interesting that I recently read an article somewhere (NYT? Washington Post? Google News???) suggesting that the US should move Thanksgiving back to October ("like Canada"!). It makes sense as these two big holidays are way too close together. It will never happen, though.

I also don't get the Thursday thing.  Ours is over a long weekend.

[Absolom]

For quite a few people in the US it is a four day weekend.  It is for my kids and a week off school for the grandkids.

[annzeepark914]

1 hour ago, PRgal said:

I also don't get the Thursday thing.  Ours is over a long weekend.

No idea how that came about but for many folks, it makes for an extra long weekend 😁

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Absolom said:

For quite a few people in the US it is a four day weekend.  It is for my kids and a week off school for the grandkids.

It makes a bit of a nightmare for scheduling college classes and employees.
The students and teachers wind up having to go an extra week at the beginning or end of the semester/trimester, especially if they allow Wednesday as a "travel day" for students to go "home."
The librarians, custodians, administrative staff, etc. wind up fighting amongst themselves over who gets Thanksgiving off this year.

 

I'm back from the feast at my daughter's with some of her husband's family. Interestingly, the 2 of us on opposite sides of the political spectrum were extra cordial to each other, whereas my daughter (who always warns me not to say "anything") dropped the "we don't believe in god" bomb in front of a shocked 9-year-old. 

Edited November 28 by shapeshifter

[oliviabenson]

Weather here is terrible and I would have stayed home anyway. Made a ton of food to my liking and am just watching true crime and relaxing. 

 

happy thanksgiving 🦃!

I have 4 days off to be lazy lol.