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

[PRgal]

2 hours ago, Ancaster said:

 

 

 

Because she likes having a chauffeur who drives a nice car.

Or knowing what car she’s getting.  I use Uber a bit and have been in just about everything.  Or maybe she just doesn’t want to be in a Tesla. 

[Dimity]

I just spent some time reading an article about the Beckhams (David and 'Posh' Spice) and their toxic relationship with their eldest son and wife.  And I now realize that (a) I care absolutely nothing about this and (b) I will do anything to avoid cleaning the bathrooms.  But that said, (c) even cleaning the bathrooms is more interesting than this sad little family melodrama, pass me the Windex please!

[Anela]

5 minutes ago, Dimity said:

I just spent some time reading an article about the Beckhams (David and 'Posh' Spice) and their toxic relationship with their eldest son and wife.  And I now realize that (a) I care absolutely nothing about this and (b) I will do anything to avoid cleaning the bathrooms.  But that said, (c) even cleaning the bathrooms is more interesting than this sad little family melodrama, pass me the Windex please!

Is their DIL the blonde girl from Bates Motel? I think I read something about that before. 

I also have to clean my bathroom. 

[Dimity]

Just now, Anela said:

Is their DIL the blonde girl from Bates Motel? I think I read something about that before. 

All I know is she's apparently from a super rich, as in billionaire level rich, family.  The writer of the article seemed oddly bitter about two privileged  kids not having to work as if this was the first time in human history that this has happened.

[Bastet]

If I was part of a family wealthy enough to employ a full-time driver, no way in hell would I be taking Uber, a taxi, public transportation, anything.  They probably should have two drivers now with the frequency she's being ferried about, or she should hire her own driver, but that she doesn't use Uber instead is not remotely surprising.

[PRgal]

39 minutes ago, Bastet said:

If I was part of a family wealthy enough to employ a full-time driver, no way in hell would I be taking Uber, a taxi, public transportation, anything.  They probably should have two drivers now with the frequency she's being ferried about, or she should hire her own driver, but that she doesn't use Uber instead is not remotely surprising.

Yes, but it's Daddy's money and she doesn't live at home (to my understanding).  If you're not living at home, you shouldn't be getting those benefits.  She should be using Uber/Lyft.

[StatisticalOutlier]

2 hours ago, PRgal said:

If you're not living at home, you shouldn't be getting those benefits. 

Wow.  My parents continued to do all kinds of generous things for me long after I moved out of their house.  Not at the level of letting me use their private driver, but no doubt only because they didn't have one.  😀

I had a boyfriend once and I went to dinner with him and his parents, and his parents split the check with him.  I couldn't believe it.  My parents always paid whenever they did anything with any of us kids, up until the day they died.

[PRgal]

9 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

Wow.  My parents continued to do all kinds of generous things for me long after I moved out of their house.  Not at the level of letting me use their private driver, but no doubt only because they didn't have one.  😀

I had a boyfriend once and I went to dinner with him and his parents, and his parents split the check with him.  I couldn't believe it.  My parents always paid whenever they did anything with any of us kids, up until the day they died.

The driver thing is different from bailing you out or helping you with childcare.  My parents have offered to drive me before and have suggested that I use their help to take me grocery shopping.  I don't feel comfortable relying on them all the time because it makes me feel like I'm disabled.  But maybe that's just me.

[Dimity]

11 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

Wow.  My parents continued to do all kinds of generous things for me long after I moved out of their house.  Not at the level of letting me use their private driver, but no doubt only because they didn't have one.  😀

Same.  My Dad is almost 90 and still insists on picking up the cheque whenever we dine out - and I know he does that with my other siblings as well.  But that's just one small continuing act of kindness on his part.  He has been generous to all of us over the years in ways I couldn't even begin to list.  Pretty sure if he had millionaire style money and a private driver we'd be benefiting from that too if the need arose!

[Is Everyone Gone]

So ... with David Souter passing away today, I was shocked to see most of the obits had the very old-fashioned euphemisms like "he never married" and "lifelong bachelor."

[Bastet]

I pay if I take my parents somewhere for Mother's Day or Father's Day (these days I tend to just make dinner at their house), but otherwise, yeah, my parents always pick up the tab if we go anywhere together.  From little (or not so little anymore) things like going out to lunch to big things like all three of us flying somewhere for a family member's funeral.

Thanks to my parents, I have never had to buy a car -- they bought me my first one at 16, and then twice since then my mom has bought a new car and given me her old one.

Edited May 9 by Bastet

[lookeyloo]

I used to tell Sweet Son that there are a lot of "right ways" to do things.  I guess all our families are a little bit same a little bit different.  As long as it works for the family in general, to me that is the "right way".   We all don't have to do things the same way.

[fastiller]

My Dad's 88 & generally I and the other kids will pay for meals out.  He's on a fixed income & we're all still gainfully employed.  Also, I was paying rent to him from when I started my first full-time job when I was 19. Was a small amount (like a couple hundred a month) that he put into a bank account in case something happened to him while I was still living with him. I wonder what happened to that $$$ 😁.

We also put all his assets, including the house, into a trust, so if he needs to go on benefits he's not cash/asset rich.

[oliviabenson]

I have 1 cousin that starting pushing me for favors. like massive ones. I kept saying no. well now she doesn't want to talk to me anymore. way to let me know that all I'm good for is to be asked for stuff.

also my sort of a friend let me know her mom died. the dead woman was a racist and just awful. I'm sitting here and I don't feel sad at all. 

[StatisticalOutlier]

7 hours ago, PRgal said:

The driver thing is different from bailing you out or helping you with childcare.

I'm childfree, and have never needed bailing out.  Probably in part because I'm childfree.  😀

My parents sound like Bastet's.  When one of my siblings was having a big 50th birthday party, my parents paid for all of us kids to fly there, and for the hotel.  When they built a house that had one guest bedroom despite having five kids, if more than one or two of us were there at the same time, they'd pay for the hotel for the leftovers. 

Whenever I'd go visit, my mother would hand me her credit card and tell me to go to the mall.  Once when one of my brothers and I were both there at the same time, we came home from the mall with rollerblades for each of us.  My mom was thrilled.  Maybe because she herself was the least acquisitive person who ever lived; she'd beg us not to give her anything for birthdays or Christmas.  When she died, it took maybe 10 minutes to bag up every personal item she owned to give it away.  That was the biggest gift of all.

 

 

 

[Yeah No]

21 hours ago, Ancaster said:

It seems to me that you need to sit your husband down and tell him that if he doesn't talk to his boss honestly and completely about the situation, then you will.  It's not as if you're strangers, and like you say, he cares for you both.  Also, if he's as wealthy (and generous) as you suggest, he can sign his daughter up for a car service that she can use.

Thanks. I have sat him down and told him just that, but he says that would be very bad and he'd be very upset with me if I talked to his boss. And he usually never would say anything like that to me. So forget that, that's not the hill I want to die on right now. He's begged me to let him handle this "his way" so all I can do is try to convince him to handle it differently without starting a huge argument. We usually see eye to eye on things like this so it's hard for me to know what to do in a situation like this. I'm not there with him to see the dynamics between him and his boss so maybe he does have good reason to handle it this way. But I think some of this is because he doesn't really know how to handle it or he doesn't have the guts to handle it the best way.

But then again maybe he does know what he's doing because he had 3 days off in a row this week, although that might be because one of the brothers in the family is getting married and the daughter has been staying at their parents' house for all the celebrations. He's working both tomorrow and Sunday and this time he will definitely be staying in a hotel because the first job is late into the evening and the second is early in the a.m., both down near NYC. I'm very happy about that.

Quote

If the daughter is constantly asking last minute, your husband needs to tell her that he's really sorry, but he's not available, goodbye.  She's entitled and indulged and needs to be told "no" now and again.

Sorry if this sounds harsh, but between your husband's extra driving and all the issues regarding the house and the hotel, you are under a lot of stress at the moment, which is very bad for your health, mental and physical.  Even though you've talked to your husband about this, he may not truly realize the extent to which you're suffering.

No, it doesn't sound harsh at all, you're preaching to the choir here. And yes you are right about it being bad for my health in every way. I've been trying engage in some "self care" to help with that, like today even though it was pouring rain all day I went to the mall and took a stroll through some nice stores I haven't been to in a while (or at all). I got in a lot of exercise and it took my mind off of everything including the crappy weather. I was also happy he didn't have to drive in it for once. A lot of those long drives recently took place in weather like this which made the whole thing even worse for him. Not that he's got any issues driving in bad weather but it just made it all the more unpleasant for him.

Today he really took it easy and took some well needed naps. That was good.

One day coming up I'm going to get a pedicure and a back massage. I have a gift coupon for one at Massage Envy. And I had lunch with one of my local friends this week. So I'm trying to be good to myself,  although I am still under a lot of stress....

I have communicated to him how this is affecting me but his reaction is to tell me not to worry about him, like that has a chance of happening, LOL. He says he understands but he regrets not saving more for retirement or he'd quit working right now instead of in a few years. As if to say he's sorry but he doesn't have much choice. I get that. I was on him for decades to save. I was saving. But I also know that the options aren't put up with it like this or quit. He just doesn't have the guts to handle it any other way.

Of course my close friends all say what you're saying and it upsets him that they do but he's not going to change on this any time soon, unfortunately. I wish I knew how to get him to but he's quite stubborn on this so I'm fresh out of ideas right now and not looking to get into any stressful arguments with him about it.

[Yeah No]

11 hours ago, Bastet said:

If I was part of a family wealthy enough to employ a full-time driver, no way in hell would I be taking Uber, a taxi, public transportation, anything.  They probably should have two drivers now with the frequency she's being ferried about, or she should hire her own driver, but that she doesn't use Uber instead is not remotely surprising.

10 hours ago, PRgal said:

Yes, but it's Daddy's money and she doesn't live at home (to my understanding).  If you're not living at home, you shouldn't be getting those benefits.  She should be using Uber/Lyft.

I agree that they should hire her a driver, but at least she should get a limo. from the limo. company they use when my husband isn't available, which is a better choice than Uber/Lyft. It costs about $450 each way but to them that's chump change. And it would be easy to have the travel agent just book it on Daddy's dime, too.

I've probably said this before but I suspect that there's some kind of guilt going on with Daddy over this and that's why he isn't making her take alternate transportation. I can't imagine what else it could be. He's already had to book the limo. company once because his daughter was monopolizing my husband the other week. And yet he's the person paying my husband's salary. 

To give you an idea of how rich these people are, they were willing to hire a helicopter to take the wife's mother from MA to Manhattan once when she was visiting one of her grandchildren who lives in MA and needed to be in NYC on short notice for a dr.'s appointment. My husband was on vacation at the time. And that's pretty expensive!

 

[Yeah No]

7 hours ago, Dimity said:

Same.  My Dad is almost 90 and still insists on picking up the cheque whenever we dine out - and I know he does that with my other siblings as well. 

7 hours ago, Bastet said:

I pay if I take my parents somewhere for Mother's Day or Father's Day (these days I tend to just make dinner at their house), but otherwise, yeah, my parents always pick up the tab if we go anywhere together. 

 

31 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

My parents sound like Bastet's.  When one of my siblings was having a big 50th birthday party, my parents paid for all of us kids to fly there, and for the hotel.  When they built a house that had one guest bedroom despite having five kids, if more than one or two of us were there at the same time, they'd pay for the hotel for the leftovers. 

Whenever I'd go visit, my mother would hand me her credit card and tell me to go to the mall.  Once when one of my brothers and I were both there at the same time, we came home from the mall with rollerblades for each of us.  My mom was thrilled.  Maybe because she herself was the least acquisitive person who ever lived; she'd beg us not to give her anything for birthdays or Christmas.  When she died, it took maybe 10 minutes to bag up every personal item she owned to give it away.  That was the biggest gift of all.

Wow, you all have had very generous parents. Perhaps it was because my parents didn't have much money and were true "Depression era children" that it didn't work that way for me. I was their only child but contrary to the only child stereotype I was never spoiled, not even close. I had to pay my own way through college and when I went out to eat with them as an adult I had to pay my own share. But when we went to their house to eat they paid for it of course. They didn't cheap out on me growing up, although money was tight. In fact they were generous in spirit and with money when they had it. My mother spent most of her salary after she went back to work when I was 8 on braces and day camp for me. She also paid for art and keyboard lessons. I was for the most part a "latch key kid" before that became a thing with Gen X, but my grandmother lived in our building so I went to her apartment after school if I wasn't playing outside with the other kids. But all those kids' mothers did not work and I was looked upon as some kind of neglected "orphan child" because no parental figure was around supervising me. And I felt like one, too. But given my parents' difficult childhoods I don't think they fully understood what I was up against in that time and place.

My parents lucked out into their co-op apartment when it converted from a rental in the '80s. They bought it for something like $20,000, which even then was below market price. My father signed it over to me when my mother died in 2001 and I sold it in 2021. It's pretty much the only thing they gave me as an adult aside from Christmas and birthday gifts and a couple of pieces of furniture. That money is supplementing my retirement money. My father had a car when he died but it was only a couple of years old and unfortunately he still owed too much money on it for me to inherit it. We had to return it to the finance company.

So anyway considering the minus column that my husband and I both started out in, we did better than one might expect, but considering all the setbacks (recessions, layoffs, the pandemic, us being separated for several years), handicaps and hardships we've had to face along the way it has definitely not been easy.

[Yeah No]

On 5/8/2025 at 4:30 PM, Yeah No said:

I got the charcoal odor eliminators the other day but they were delivered to the house and I keep forgetting to bring one to the room. I'll get one when I go there tomorrow and I'll let you know how it does.

@annzeepark914, I braved the rain today to go get the odor eliminators and set two of them out in the living room of the suite. So far I think they're working but the true test will be tomorrow when I leave the suite and come back in from the outside. I've been here with them the whole time since putting them out so it's hard to tell if there's been any improvement. I think there has already, though!

[Ancaster]

Thanks @Yeah No for your kind and thoughtful reply.  It's really good to hear that your husband has had a few days off, but I'm sorry to hear that he's being so stubborn about the situation, whatever his reasons.  It's also great to hear that you are making self care a priority - keep it up, and hopefully one day soon we'll hear things are getting resolved.

I hope you feel all the support coming through the ether from me and our fellow "chit chat" posters and lurkers.

[Yeah No]

4 hours ago, Ancaster said:

Thanks @Yeah No for your kind and thoughtful reply.  It's really good to hear that your husband has had a few days off, but I'm sorry to hear that he's being so stubborn about the situation, whatever his reasons.  It's also great to hear that you are making self care a priority - keep it up, and hopefully one day soon we'll hear things are getting resolved.

I hope you feel all the support coming through the ether from me and our fellow "chit chat" posters and lurkers.

Thank you so much, I broke down in tears after reading your post. I'm at a loss for words. Thanks to everyone here for your support, it means the world to me.

[Yeah No]

7 hours ago, Yeah No said:

@annzeepark914, I braved the rain today to go get the odor eliminators and set two of them out in the living room of the suite. So far I think they're working but the true test will be tomorrow when I leave the suite and come back in from the outside. I've been here with them the whole time since putting them out so it's hard to tell if there's been any improvement. I think there has already, though!

@annzeepark914, I just came back from the breakfast buffet - I still smell a faint odor if you can believe that. I guess it will take time to work. I've even left the living room windows open but they only open a couple of inches so it's hard to air out the place. I put the stove fan on for a while last night, which I think is vented to the outside but that hasn't helped either. It's unbelievable.

[PRgal]

@Yeah No:  yes, getting her a separate driver fine.  It’s different from relying on your husband, who is her father’s driver. 

[shapeshifter]

23 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

It's unbelievable.

Not to me👃

You may recall that I proposed marriage to my BLUEAIR Blue Pure 211 air purifier that my son-in-law got me 3 years ago?

We (my air purifier and I) are still cohabiting in blissful peace, although the replacement filters are a bit pricey.
But it’s worth it to me.💨

[oliviabenson]

8 hours ago, Yeah No said:

@annzeepark914, I braved the rain today to go get the odor eliminators and set two of them out in the living room of the suite. So far I think they're working but the true test will be tomorrow when I leave the suite and come back in from the outside. I've been here with them the whole time since putting them out so it's hard to tell if there's been any improvement. I think there has already, though!

I haven't found your post on what smell you trying to get rid off.

can you open the back door or something for a while? I think you said you can't open windows.

these might work too.

[Yeah No]

10 hours ago, oliviabenson said:

I haven't found your post on what smell you trying to get rid off.

can you open the back door or something for a while? I think you said you can't open windows.

these might work too.

Thanks. It's the leftover odor from a plug in room deodorizer, and it's not a pleasant smell. 

I have the charcoal one above only in a Walmart brand. The other two are scented and that kind of defeats the purpose as I don't want to trade one scent for another.

I found this Reddit on the subject interesting:

https://www.reddit.com/r/HomeImprovement/comments/or5qel/bought_a_new_home_and_need_help_getting_rid_of_15/

I've read that simmering a pot of water with vinegar in it can help. It didn't help the poor people in the Reddit, but they moved into a house with about 8 of those plug in deodorizers. I only have 1. So I might try that. They also tried the charcoal but that didn't help either. 

As this is a hotel the door to the room is pretty heavily weighted to slam shut so keeping it open enough to air out the room would be a challenge even with a chair stuck in it. And even with my husband here I don't like keeping the door open. But at this point I don't even think that would help. I'm beginning to think it would take more like a deep cleaning with a special odor absorbing cleaner called "zero odor" that I saw online.

But anyway the scent has dissipated to the point that I am nose blind to it now while in the room anyway.

[Yeah No]

10 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Not to me👃

You may recall that I proposed marriage to my BLUEAIR Blue Pure 211 air purifier that my son-in-law got me 3 years ago?

We (my air purifier and I) are still cohabiting in blissful peace, although the replacement filters are a bit pricey.
But it’s worth it to me.💨

Yes, I remember that discussion. I got myself two very good Shark air purifiers for dirt cheap when Bed Bath and Beyond had its closing sales a couple of years ago. They are very good at eliminating odors. Of course the people in that Reddit above tried that and said it didn't work for their problem but again, theirs was much worse than mine. I wish I had my purifiers here but that's not going to happen unfortunately!

I'm glad to hear you and your purifier are still cohabiting blissfully. I'm going to have to get a bigger one for the living area now that we are going to have more square feet. 

[oliviabenson]

32 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

Yes, I remember that discussion. I got myself two very good Shark air purifiers for dirt cheap when Bed Bath and Beyond had its closing sales a couple of years ago. They are very good at eliminating odors. Of course the people in that Reddit above tried that and said it didn't work for their problem but again, theirs was much worse than mine. I wish I had my purifiers here but that's not going to happen unfortunately!

I'm glad to hear you and your purifier are still cohabiting blissfully. I'm going to have to get a bigger one for the living area now that we are going to have more square feet. 

since it's a hotel I think you are sadly stuck with the smell. unless you spread cinnamon sticks around or something.

[oliviabenson]

I ordered an item 14 cup capacity. I get one with 6 cup capacity. sigh. the store gave me a refund and I get to keep the item. but it's not what I want.

[StatisticalOutlier]

22 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Wow, you all have had very generous parents. Perhaps it was because my parents didn't have much money and were true "Depression era children" that it didn't work that way for me.

I don't know...my dad was definitely a depression-era child.  He was a teenager when his father died in the mid-1930s.  

And things hadn't been great before that because his father was a brakeman for the railroad and had lost a hand at some point, but they kept him on as a luggage handler.  Or at least I think that's what happened.  Like so many people that age, he was pretty closed-lipped about it.  

For some reason it made both my parents happy to give their kids stuff, and they weren't denying themselves anything because they just didn't want or need much.  (And I'll add that it was most definitely not for leverage--I have two friends from very rich families and the way their parents controlled them with money always made me really sad.)

ETA:  Maybe it's genetic.  Like my parents, I spend very little money on myself, but when Mr. Outlier wants to lay down some dough for fancy parts for his mounainbike, I pause for a split second because I can't help it, but then say, "Sure, go ahead."  But I'm lucky that he's pretty level-headed and understands value as opposed to just cost.  (And on the genetics angle, I'll ad that I'm a near clone of my mother.)

Edited May 11 by StatisticalOutlier

[ECM1231]

[Dimity]

10 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I don't know...my dad was definitely a depression-era child.  He was a teenager when his father died in the mid-1930s.  

My parents were born in the midst of the depression.  Childhoods raised during the depression and WWII definitely affected them.  But differently, I think, then some.  It was very important to them that their children did not go through the same struggles and deprivations that they had.  I've followed that pattern with my own children and while we don't have the financial wherewithal my own parents did within our means we do what we can.

[Yeah No]

11 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I don't know...my dad was definitely a depression-era child.  He was a teenager when his father died in the mid-1930s.  

And things hadn't been great before that because his father was a brakeman for the railroad and had lost a hand at some point, but they kept him on as a luggage handler.  Or at least I think that's what happened.  Like so many people that age, he was pretty closed-lipped about it.  

For some reason it made both my parents happy to give their kids stuff, and they weren't denying themselves anything because they just didn't want or need much.  (And I'll add that it was most definitely not for leverage--I have two friends from very rich families and the way their parents controlled them with money always made me really sad.)

ETA:  Maybe it's genetic.  Like my parents, I spend very little money on myself, but when Mr. Outlier wants to lay down some dough for fancy parts for his mounainbike, I pause for a split second because I can't help it, but then say, "Sure, go ahead."  But I'm lucky that he's pretty level-headed and understands value as opposed to just cost.  (And on the genetics angle, I'll ad that I'm a near clone of my mother.)

My parents weren't just children during the Depression. They were both children of divorce and did not get support from their birth fathers (and that was not illegal back then or if it was it was not enforced). They both lived in abject poverty. My mother's mother, who had been living in Canada with my mother and uncle before the divorce, was forced to move back to the U.S. and live in Harlem in some pretty squalid conditions. The stories my mother told would horrify you.

My father's father lost his job in the Depression and did not have any money either but even later when he did I don't think he gave much money to my grandmother. My father was forced to drop out of high school to support his mother. Back then there wasn't much support if you didn't have family to support you. Then when WWII hit he joined the army. So did my mother. It was a way to get away from their bad home situations. They both would share what meager salaries they got with their mothers. My father's mother lived with her father after the divorce but he didn't have much either and then died. 

My mother's father was not a very nice or decent person to his children. He became rich in Montreal as a builder but never shared any of his fortune with his children. He must have been told to leave my mother, uncle and I a small amount in his will to avoid it being contested. When he died in 1988 I got $5,000 Canadian dollars. It was enough to put a down payment on a new car, the first one I ever bought.

My grandfather must have felt guilty in his old age about his son, my uncle, because he started calling him to chat before he died. My uncle was the most damaged by the absence of his father and the poverty he endured as a child. Born blind in one eye, he suffered challenges in addition to all of the above. He never managed to find a relationship, get married or have children although he had several girlfriends. He was funny as all get out, but had many issues. He managed to have a successful career traveling the world as a seaman aboard big vessels including the Enterprise, the big nuclear ship, but he engaged in self destructive things like chain smoking and beer drinking. He died of lung cancer at age 56.

Considering the hardships my parents faced when young they lived amazing lives and gave me as much as they could, but they never made much money either, even with both of them working. The cost of living in NYC was always high even in the Bronx. My mother had a real talent for pinching a penny and stretching a dollar but it still only went so far. It was hard for me not to feel somewhat deprived compared to the other kids in my neighborhood, though. I was very aware that their families all had more money than mine did, and that's despite the fact that none of their mothers worked. Most of their fathers were college educated and they were waiting for their moment to flee the Bronx for the suburbs, which pretty much all of them did in the 1970s. But I didn't blame my parents for that. I understood what they faced in life and knew they were giving me as much as they could.

What they didn't give me was the kind of self confidence that I needed to achieve. Unfortunately due to their bad circumstances they didn't have much of it to pass along to me. Again, I never blamed them for that. But it didn't help that I grew up around a lot of overconfident bullies either. But that's another story.

ETA: My grandfather left his fortune to his second wife's children.

Edited May 11 by Yeah No

[StatisticalOutlier]

9 hours ago, ECM1231 said:

So now I'm wondering if there's a legal requirement that memes have at least one misspelling or incorrect punctuation.  They were doing so well until they got to "soon to be moms" and just couldn't resist that apostrophe.

[Mondrianyone]

1 hour ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

They were doing so well until they got to "soon to be moms"

They weren't, actually. "Stepmoms" is a single word, no space. And "soon-to-be" is a compound adjective that should be hyphenated. Plus, all the capitalization is wonky.

But happy Mother's Day anyway.

[ECM1231]

Tough crowd. 

[Yeah No]

7 minutes ago, ECM1231 said:

Tough crowd. 

Yup.

[Bastet]

4 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

So now I'm wondering if there's a legal requirement that memes have at least one misspelling or incorrect punctuation. 

Since I take note the rare times there isn't an error, I often wonder the same thing.

[StatisticalOutlier]

5 hours ago, Mondrianyone said:

They weren't, actually.

Well that just shows how beaten down I've gotten by mangled memes--glossed right over all that.  But now I notice--why isn't "soon to be" capitalized, when "step" and "foster" are?

Isn't the whole reason for memes to exist is to go viral?  For everybody in the world to see them?  Yet quality control is nonexistent. 

[fairffaxx]

5 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

Isn't the whole reason for memes to exist is to go viral?  For everybody in the world to see them?  Yet quality control is nonexistent. 

Maybe they're created by the people who wear PJ pants in public?

[oliviabenson]

I have a super annoying neighborhood lady bothering me. she gets very angry and irritated easily. apparently I pissed her off and I'm hoping she'd stay away from me. she is such a complainer and ungrateful about her fortunes.

[shapeshifter]

5 hours ago, oliviabenson said:

I have a super annoying neighborhood lady bothering me. she gets very angry and irritated easily. apparently I pissed her off and I'm hoping she'd stay away from me. she is such a complainer and ungrateful about her fortunes.

There was one of those types who own$ a house that looks over a public sidewalk with a lovely view of the lake. She would scold me if I stepped one toe off the sidewalk — probably because I walk alone and without a dog and am not any bigger than she is.

I haven’t seen her this spring. She was quite elderly. Maybe all her raging got to her heart or burst a vessel in her brain. ☹️

[StatisticalOutlier]

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

She would scold me if I stepped one toe off the sidewalk

Are you supposed to stay on the sidewalk, or was she imposing this standard strictly on her own?

If the former, I'd stay on the sidewalk.  If the latter, I'd decide how important it was for me to step off the sidewalk (acknowledging that part of the decision matrix would involve how important it is to show her she can't boss me around, further acknowledging that such an attitude will never de-escalate anything but dammit, she can't tell me what to do).

[shapeshifter]

14 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

Are you supposed to stay on the sidewalk, or was she imposing this standard strictly on her own?

If the former, I'd stay on the sidewalk.  If the latter, I'd decide how important it was for me to step off the sidewalk (acknowledging that part of the decision matrix would involve how important it is to show her she can't boss me around, further acknowledging that such an attitude will never de-escalate anything but dammit, she can't tell me what to do).

There are many shades of gray in the local beach access laws. 
For instance, a house will be listed for sale by realtors (who should know such laws) as having "deeded beach access," but which often requires walking a few steps through a beachfront property owner's property to get to the beach
— which by state law is publicly accessible "up to 30 feet from the high water mark." 

There's a weathered, hand-made sign posted at one spot by a different cranky landowner stating there is no such thing as "deeded beach access." 
But when I was looking at a house for sale there, a property owner assured me that I would be okay to cut across their property to the beach. Yeah, I'm a little old white lady. But if…?

Likewise the original cranky lady once asked me if I knew Jane and John Doe and had their permission to cross their property to the beach.

During the height of the pandemic, I'm sure many folks walked onto the lawns to pass each other while maintaining a 6-ft distance. I moved here at the tale end of the pre-vaccine times. I suspect that set off Original Cranky Lady on her mission to keep me (and others?) on the sidewalk?

It's a narrow sidewalk. 
When a couple with a leashed dog approach, I step off to the side to let them pass. I get more than enough doggie time at my daughter's.

I still nurture a dream of offering to paint unlimited numbers of portraits for a beachfront property owner or maybe a swimming pool neighbor in exchange for access (I'd also offer to pay a lawyer to draw up something that would absolve them from any personal injury claims, but I don't know if that's possible).
And I suspect the original cranky person was worried I'd get injured and sue.

Edited Friday at 03:24 PM by shapeshifter

[oliviabenson]

it's rainy and blah here. so much for me getting any Friday night activity in. sigh. at least it isn't hot yet.

[BooksRule]

As of 5pm today, I'm on personal leave until Tuesday, May 27th (work is closed on Monday the 26th).  Yay!  Other than maybe a trip around the area to do some thrift-shopping, maybe the garden center, and maybe get a nice lunch somewhere one day, I plan to stay home and try to finish up the deep cleaning/decluttering I've been working on for weeks and weeks.  I finally realized a few days ago that trying to get anything done when I get home from work or trying to get so much done on weekends wasn't going to cut it anymore. I have a ridiculous amount of personal leave saved up (we don't lose it at the end of each year, it just rolls over) and I need to start trying to reduce some of those hours. Anyway, I made a grocery run and plan to try and get a good balance of getting some chores done (including yardwork) and just relaxing and finishing up my re-watch (and first watch for a few) of the Marvel movies in order (I'm up to 'Ant Man and the Wasp'), eating comfort foods (with a few healthy veggies/fruits thrown in here and there), and trying out a few new recipes. 

For the rest of this evening, it's a pimento cheese sandwich, Fritos (and maybe a cookie or two) for dinner, a huge glass of ice water, and a few episodes of '9-1-1' that I recorded a day or so ago to binge watch.

[PRgal]

It was super-hot in Toronto today, but the weather will cool down.  It's our long weekend (Victoria Day - casually referred to as May 2-4).  However, it looks like it's going to cool down for holiday Monday.  At least it should be nice.   

[Anduin]

Any other Aussies here? I heard it claimed yesterday, the rest of the country is talking about WA's lovely weather. I suspect the rest of you are too caught up in your own things to care about what's happening here. It would be nice to have confirmation one way or another.

[shapeshifter]

13 minutes ago, Anduin said:

Any other Aussies here? I heard it claimed yesterday, the rest of the country is talking about WA's lovely weather. I suspect the rest of you are too caught up in your own things to care about what's happening here. It would be nice to have confirmation one way or another.

The Wordle comments section has a group of Aussies and other Oceania folks.
It's the nice corner of SM.
I like to set my computer clock ahead and solve half a day ahead, so I sometimes interact with them.
It was a warm day for a change here too on the US side of Lake Ontario.

[Anduin]

17 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

The Wordle comments section has a group of Aussies and other Oceania folks.
It's the nice corner of SM.
I like to set my computer clock ahead and solve half a day ahead, so I sometimes interact with them.
It was a warm day for a change here too on the US side of Lake Ontario.

Do they talk about the weather in Perth, by any chance?