Small Talk: Ughngnggh! Ugghhnnn!

[Mr. Sparkle]

1 hour ago, AngelaHunter said:

I would think most people, like me, no longer answer the phone when it's a weird number, a number they don't recognize and/or no caller ID. I figure if it's legit, they'll leave a message. Surprise - none ever do.

I don't even answer if I know the person! 

[AngelaHunter]

37 minutes ago, Superclam said:

I don't even answer if I know the person! 

I've been known to do that on occasion: *Check CallerID, roll eyes, mutter, Oh, shit* and walk away.

[nachomama]

9 hours ago, AngelaHunter said:

It must be tough. With the hordes of phone scammers and pests out there today - "My name is Steve Smith and I'm calling from Vindows. Your computer is sending out errors. I can fix it for 9,000$. Just give me remote access to your computer so I can get into your bank account" - I would think most people, like me, no longer answer the phone when it's a weird number, a number they don't recognize and/or no caller ID. I figure if it's legit, they'll leave a message. Surprise - none ever do

I can't even believe I know someone who fell for this!!! My friend tells me the other day that his mom calls him and says "don't be mad at me" and she did indeed speak to some dude who said there was malware and gave him remote access. My friend had her immediately change all passwords etc, his mom is not even that old! I told him they gotta get credit kharma and keep checking that no one has set up bogus identities, even if they don't see money coming out of any accounts or being charged to existing accounts, who knows what they got.

We even come up on some people's caller ID as "scam likely" the people who answer our calls are predominantly older people. And I don't know if they just need to talk but hoo boy. Yes my "completes" score is pretty good (Good is 3 per hour or higher, so do the math that's way lower even than a good batting average.) Realistically you can dial 120 numbers in an hour if they are all hangups. You could ONLY achieve maybe 10 completes per hour if your survey averages about 10 minutes, 10 would be PHENOMINAL. So if you got 3 out of 120 that's .025%. So older people answer the phone and drag them on and on because instead of just giving me a yes or no answer they have to comment on each question or 1-10 I have to keep reminding them "so on a scale of 1-10 what would you give that?" So that's why my "training" is based on getting $5 out of grandma. You have to be patient. I am not trying to scam anyone, I don't sell anything. It is a nuisance call but it's literally how much do you like your cable or how did you like the installation from Lowe's or how much do you like your eyeglasses. I have been accused of being "too helpful" on calls. When we call older people about their cable they start telling me about buffering and it's not like I'm trying to trouble shoot their problem but I do ask for clarification. I can't help them and I can't transfer them to someone who can help but they kinda think I'm like a miracle from god who called because they were having an issue. All I can do is jot it down in the notes and tell their cable company to call them but I want to accurately write it down. Here's a hilarious thing I've noticed, most older people tell me "I don't even use the internet" they would get rid of it, if it were up to them but it's bundled, etc. but then they go on to tell me they were watching youtube videos on their ipad. or whatever other thing they were doing with their ipad. Do they not know that wifi on their ipad is internet? Do they not know that if they cut the internet they wouldn't have wifi on their ipads?

[Nashville]

17 hours ago, nachomama said:

Do they not know that wifi on their ipad is internet? Do they not know that if they cut the internet they wouldn't have wifi on their ipads?

No, they don’t.

[nachomama]

I think I tanked my interview...FIRST, the interview was set up for Wednesday between 4-5 and I got in touch with her and let her know that I don't get off my other job until 4 so it would take a minute to get home and she emailed me back she changed it to 4:30. So yesterday, my team leader texts me "do I want to go over anything before the interview?" he said it popped up on his calendar (we're both cc'd on the emails, he has to forward them to me) and I said that was odd because it was on my calendar for tuesday as well but clearly the interview was scheduled for Wednesday. He said I better check, so I did. And sure enough she said when she had to push the time back she had to change the day BUT SHE NEVER TOLD ME THAT. So basically I jump into an interview that I thought I had another day to prepare for. Yes I had actually been preparing but this whole "presentation" of how I would do training I hadn't practiced or run by anyone. I made up fake money to bribe my students with and had notes typed up but never really a dry run. So her questions were the usual bullshit "name a time you've had conflict and how you solved it" "think of an example where you've encountered someone who has a different approach and how you change their minds" she said I didn't answer the specific question she asked, of course I think I did. She asked me why I applied for the position of trainer (real answers that's what was available) I know the answer you're supposed to give is that you want to grow with the company and I know you blow smoke up their ass about the best company to work for ever and blah blah. I didn't think I was shooting myself in the foot to say that I had a convo with my team leader and he said he thought I'd be great but that I didn't feel like I wanted to jump straight to Team Leader and the most natural progression within the company was trainer and I was selling it as if I want to learn everything there is to know about my job/field/company but what she came back with was that she didn't feel I had the enthusiasm for a trainer position. (who the fuck does? truthfully it aint anybody's dream job) I think overall I was honest and I guess that's not what she wanted. I guess If she asked "can you do brain surgery tomorrow?" I was supposed to say "absolutely Im the best brain surgeon ever!" Where she asked what are 3 qualities you think are good for a trainer? I said "knowledge, patience and listening" I don't think is a shitty answer, I illustrated those. She asked for an example of how I would engage a student who didn't seem enthused...that led to my bribery scheme where I would specifically target students who seemed bored or weren't participating and try to encourage a healthy competition to earn money to exchange for treats, make it a quiz show, try to punch some fun into a very boring experience and she said she wanted to hear "you ask that person more questions" Isn't that what I just said? Yes everybody participates in the game but the purpose of the game is grab the attention of people who aren't engaged and you're targetting them but it isn't like they notice they're being targetted. Just a "hey there Steve, read line 4 for me and pretend you give a shit and I'll give you $5" and if you get more $5 than Kelly or John you get to pick cheetos or m&m's at the end of the day.

[nachomama]

So in conclusion she actually offered me the job but I felt like it was reluctant. She said I didn't have a passion for training and some of the answers she was looking for I wasn't quite giving but that with training she thought I had potential and I had been highly recommended by my leadership team but she had to hire so many and I would pick up my computer today by 8 am and immediately begin training....wait, wait, wait my interview wasn't even supposed to have happened until Wednesday so how was I supposed to have been picking up my computer and starting immediately? I said I have another job and I'd like to give them notice...she said she wasn't aware of that, technically they are hiring me from within the company I already work for so the whole next day thing wouldn't be a shock, my team was aware but she DID know I have another job because that was the purpose of pushing back the time because I have to physically leave the other job to get home to do the interview. I don't expect her to remember that but the whole not showing up the next day for my day job I couldn't really do. Even though I hate my day job and guaranteed at least one of these brothers hates me, it's very hostile but I want to be the bigger person and give them some notice. So I tried to ask for time, even til Monday and she was all no we have to be training immediately. She doesn't think i'm "right" but makes an offer anyway and if I quit my main job and then after 2 weeks of training if I'm not "offered" that job, then what? I'm fucked. Yes I can go back to the part time dialing but then I'd be ubering or some shit to make up for the lost income. I can take the job and prove her wrong. If I was 25 maybe I would do just that. I have a mortgage to pay. And even though I have a hostile work environment I want to do the right thing and not leave them hanging. So even if she could let me do the training later in the day (it's virtual, so why would I necessarily have to do it 9-5?) If I could even give my boss half days until he can find someone or we can figure something out. There's no going back, if I quit this job I don't come back and I'm prepared for that, just not overnight. Plus this lady would be who I'm reporting to, I think half this fuck up is on her, she changed the date and didn't tell me. I was unprepared and maybe didn't have the most enthusiastic responses because I was flying blind. She asked me what I knew about the client (nothing really) I said they were new to us but not new to the company but that they hadn't given me a lot to go on ( are we calling them or they call us? are we "selling" something or are we just doing satisfaction surveys) even she didn't know. She thinks we're selling cell phone plans but she would be the person I'm reporting to. So as much not confidence she was feeling in me I was feeling in her. As much as I want to I don't think I can accept the job. If I wait 6 months until the ship is up and running and maybe we go back to the site to work and I can actually get to know the people in that department maybe I'd give it a shot. I spoke to my TL again after and he said there may be a DCA position (listening to calls/Quality control) that might be opening up and I'd get to stay in my department and I'd jump on it in a heartbeat if it wasn't the job my friend is applying for. IF they don't give it to her I'd snatch it in a heartbeat but I won't compete with her for it. But I would have the same boss and same co-workers. 

She even said "oh I don't know that I would quit my job either for this" so I feel like she thinks I might not succeed which should light a fire to prove her wrong I guess but it doesn't, my fire is always to pay  my mortgage. I'm just so confused and yes talking way too much about this.

[Mr. Sparkle]

So after sweating it out with our old air conditioners for the last, brutal week, I finally gave in and bought 3 new units for $1,200. 

Freezing bliss!! 

[Mr. Sparkle]

@nachomama that was a lot to read, but from what I can glean, it sounds like you should keep your current job. 

On another note, if a interviewer/potential boss starts by playing head games, I'm not going to be interested. I had a potential interview and they wanted me to be there at 7:30AM. I said nope. 

[nachomama]

13 hours ago, Superclam said:

So after sweating it out with our old air conditioners for the last, brutal week, I finally gave in and bought 3 new units for $1,200. 

Freezing bliss!! 

congratulations, seriously. Pandemic is no time to be sequestered at home sweating. Everybody practically ready to club each other to death as it is but hot and sweaty on top of that isn't good.

I'm still waiting on the unit from China for my evil sister. She's got 1 window unit so I know she has at least 1 room to retreat to, she can sleep cool or get some relief. She never got a stimulus check so I ordered one for her, yes cheapest, and might get ripped off but supposedly a frigidair.

[Mr. Sparkle]

We got Frigidaires. They work fine. It's on 76 now and it's a bit chilly. 🥶

[Mr. Sparkle]

Stick out the window. We don't have the floor space for that fancy kind. 

[Mr. Sparkle]

Are you in the Western US? I hear the humidity is not so bad there even when it's very hot. Here on the east coast the humidity is just brutal. 

[AngelaHunter]

13 hours ago, Superclam said:

Here on the east coast the humidity is just brutal. 

I'm in Eastern Canada and the heat waves and humidity has been incredible this year, with the humidex often over 100 degrees. This past Thursday, I swear you could feel the air like a wet tarp and you could sweat like a bull even if just standing still. 

I had a window a/c in my basement but really hated being trapped down there for weeks every summer. After suffering for years with heat, I finally broke down and got a mini-split a/c systerm back in 2013. The new unit is Heaven! I could only wonder why I didn't do it way sooner.

OH, and btw - those so-called "portable" a/cs?  I had one and ended up selling it on CL the next year. I was not impressed and don't recommend them.  A window a/c is much, much better and cheaper.

[Mr. Sparkle]

21 minutes ago, AngelaHunter said:

I'm in Eastern Canada and the heat waves and humidity has been incredible this year, with the humidex often over 100 degrees. This past Thursday, I swear you could feel the air like a wet tarp and you could sweat like a bull even if just standing still. 

I had a window a/c in my basement but really hated being trapped down there for weeks every summer. After suffering for years with heat, I finally broke down and got a mini-split a/c systerm back in 2013. The new unit is Heaven! I could only wonder why I didn't do it way sooner.

OH, and btw - those so-called "portable" a/cs?  I had one and ended up selling it on CL the next year. I was not impressed and don't recommend them.  A window a/c is much, much better and cheaper.

Yeah, I think the only reason to get one is if you can't hang one out the window for whatever reason. 

[Mr. Sparkle]

3 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

If you live anywhere near the ocean.  Say "hi" to the sharks for me.  From a safe distance of course.

LOL, the rest of the family was at the beach yesterday. I stayed home and worked. I do not know if any sharks were seen, but I have heard that there have been more shark sightings from here to Maine. 

3 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

I don't know what "CL" is, but then again I don't shop online.

Craig's List. I've used them a few times. 

3 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

I was thinking if I got one that is portable and move it around, I wouldn't have to get more than one.

If you're not going to use it often like you said, this might be a good idea for you. 

[AngelaHunter]

3 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

Thank you for the information about the portable a/c.   I don't know what "CL" is, but then again I don't shop online.

As Superclam said, it's Craig'sList. That was the one and only time I've used that site. I got a ton of annoying emails, but did get one buyer and that's all it takes!

Apparently there are some portable a/cs now with two outlet hoses that are much more efficient than the single-hose types, like the one I had. Yes, it would cool (with a roar that rivalled a freight train ) but when the reservoir filled with water, the cooling part of the unit would shut off and just blow air. This usually happened in the middle of the night so you wake up in a mad sweat. I lost a lot of money selling this, but feel it was worth it to get rid of this annoying and mostly useless piece of equipment.

As for the "portable" part - yes, it's true, but it's not easy. You need a plexiglass type thing in the window to put the hose end in, so moving it around to different rooms is a big chore, especially if your windows aren't all the same size. Just don't buy one.

You can buy an 8,000 BTU window unit for somewhere around 300$ and well worth it.

[Mr. Sparkle]

15 hours ago, Superclam said:

but I have heard that there have been more shark sightings from here to Maine. 

Related:

https://943thepoint.com/another-great-white-pings-off-jersey-coast/?fbclid=IwAR2yoqPvSBwbgQ0YaShM7wKWFRrbrzNWRguvXNRycNsXY-YoHRJFQAGHjlQ

[OoohMaggie]

Continuing with the ‘You think you’ve had a bad day’ theme, 

A 64-year-old French man was attacked by a lion that tore part of his arm off during a luxury safari with his wife in Tanzania — and is now suing the British company that organized the trip, according to a report.

Patrick Fourgeaud, 64, and his wife Brigitte, 63, awoke to the sight of the big cat in their tent in the Ruaha National Park.

The lion sniffed Brigitte before attacking her husband in the horrifying mauling, according to the outlet.

Patrick has undergone 10 surgeries to reconstruct his left arm and is expected to undergo additional operations in the near future
 

I suppose you could call that the ‘ultimate big game experience’ 🦁

 

https://nypost.com/2020/07/31/lion-tears-part-of-mans-arm-off-during-african-safari/

[AngelaHunter]

19 hours ago, OoohMaggie said:

and is now suing the British company that organized the trip, according to a report.

If someone wants guaranteed safety on a safari, they should go to a wildlife park that has fences. Maybe even a park where you don't get out of your car. Have people become so utterly stupid they don't understand that wild animals are dangerous? If you chose to engage in potentially dangerous activities, there is always a chance you might get hurt. 

So if I book a tropical vacation and get bitten by a shark, or stupidly decide to climb Mt. Everest and get my nose and toes frozen off, I should sue the travel agent/tour company for not ensuring my safety?

The "Oh, shit!" moment.

 

 

[nachomama]

Being eaten by bugs and wild animals are part of the reasons why African Safari's are not high up on my list of vacation plans, also lack of funds for those types. Even some of the videos I've seen of the riding in the bus or jeep to look at the critters can get dangerous. I've seen the jeep get charged by elephants, seen a rhino flip the warden's vehicle. Seen lions "stalk" the vehicles. I respect nature enough to know I'm way too juicy for them. They just wouldn't be able to resist. I'd stay in a hotel but I have a friend who works for an Indian hotel chain and they warn to never leave your windows open, because even if you're on the 10th floor monkeys can get in and they love looking through your luggage and if you decide you want to take your luggage back (you think it's a smaller monkey) they get very angry and bitey, little boogars are much stronger than they appear.

If I visit beaches or oceans, I tend to stay in the shallow ends where only Bradley Cooper can get me, not sharks. Geddit? sha-ha-ha-lows. Yes I'm that funny.

[Nashville]

1 hour ago, AngelaHunter said:

If someone wants guaranteed safety on a safari, they should go to a wildlife park that has fences. Maybe even a park where you don't get out of your car. Have people become so utterly stupid they don't understand that wild animals are dangerous? If you chose to engage in potentially dangerous activities, there is always a chance you might get hurt. 

So if I book a tropical vacation and get bitten by a shark, or stupidly decide to climb Mt. Everest and get my nose and toes frozen off, I should sue the travel agent/tour company for not ensuring my safety?

Uhhh... you do realize, don’t you, that we are living in a society where the second most common* complaint about the National Park System is the lack of Wi-Fi?  🤣🤣🤣

 

* Most common are complaints about fees.

[AngelaHunter]

10 minutes ago, Nashville said:

Uhhh... you do realize, don’t you, that we are living in a society where the second most common* complaint about the National Park System is the lack of Wi-Fi?

Oh, I do realize we now live in a world where the Grand Canyon will soon need to be fenced in because idiots can't stop falling into it. The population is dumbing down to where the movie "Idiocracy" is now  a  documentary and not a zany comedy. Just Google "Selfie-related deaths and injuries" to see how true that is.

 

[nachomama]

35 minutes ago, AngelaHunter said:

Oh, I do realize we now live in a world where the Grand Canyon will soon need to be fenced in because idiots can't stop falling into it.

I almost fell in, I was 3 ish and I dropped my plastic harmonica (ouch littering) and I tried to go after it. My dad snatched me by the britches.

I binged "The Umbrella Academy" over the weekend. I like it, it's just goofy enough that it keeps me entertained without thinking a whole lot about things. Although I became distracted by Ellen Page's forehead. It seems endless. I began to question if it's receding or if it's shaved for some reason but I think she needs bangs. I like Ellen Page and I'm happy that she's a happier person than she once was.

[Nashville]

2 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

Gone are the days (1970s) where you could go over a neighbor's house, call up even more kids, and play a game of  "kick the can".

...and I expect mumbleypeg would be out of the question.

[Mr. Sparkle]

3 hours ago, nachomama said:

d stay in a hotel but I have a friend who works for an Indian hotel chain and they warn to never leave your windows open, because even if you're on the 10th floor monkeys can get in and they love looking through your luggage and if you decide you want to take your luggage back (you think it's a smaller monkey) they get very angry and bitey, little boogars are much stronger than they appear.

I went to India about 15 years ago, and there were a lot of monkeys. Sometimes flocks (according to the internets it's barrels or troops) of monkeys. I stayed tf away from them, and they didn't bother me. Seagulls at the beach can be bigger thieves. 

Here's a picture of a monkey, and a dude looking at me like I'm crazy for taking a picture of a monkey. 

 

[OoohMaggie]

7 hours ago, AngelaHunter said:

The "Oh, shit!" moment.

 

 

 

if this image is real, and if the rifle was to be used to kill beautiful creatures such as this in the name of ‘rich man’s fantasy’, that dick head died very slowly and very painfully.

[OoohMaggie]

7 hours ago, AngelaHunter said:

If someone wants guaranteed safety on a safari, they should go to a wildlife park that has fences. Maybe even a park where you don't get out of your car. Have people become so utterly stupid they don't understand that wild animals are dangerous? If you chose to engage in potentially dangerous activities, there is always a chance you might get hurt. 

I’m probably one of the most unsympathetic people you could meet, yet I feel you may be being a bit harsh, if you go on one of these trips, I think you’ve got a reasonable expectation of not being woken in the middle of the night and finding a lion standing in your tent sniffing your wife,  maybe I’m mellowing in my old age 😂

[AngelaHunter]

19 minutes ago, OoohMaggie said:

if this image is real, and if the rifle was to be used to kill beautiful creatures such as this in the name of ‘rich man’s fantasy’, that dick head died very slowly and very painfully.

I could not agree more. I don't know what this pic is all about, but if anyone wants to go out and gun down defenseless animals just for the pure pleasure of killing them and to to show what heros they are, but get injured or killed, I say "Good". I wonder how brave they would be if their victims could shoot back? I used to watch a show called "I Shouldn't Be Alive" , mostly about idiots who get themselves into life or death situations through sheer stupidity and then need to be rescued. One of them was some guy who was in the woods looking to shoot animals for sport and got attacked by a bear and nearly died. Good. Maybe he'll reconsider his idea of fun.

 

3 hours ago, Superclam said:

Here's a picture of a monkey, and a dude looking at me like I'm crazy for taking a picture of a monkey.

Probably the way I would look at someone around here taking pictures of squirrels or skunks! 😄

[OoohMaggie]

9 hours ago, AngelaHunter said:

I could not agree more. I don't know what this pic is all about, but if anyone wants to go out and gun down defenseless animals just for the pure pleasure of killing them and to to show what heros they are, but get injured or killed, I say "Good".

If these morons want a lion’s head on their wall,  I’d give them a six inch knife and say have at it, that’s something I would pay to watch 👹

[nachomama]

I don't understand the thrill of killing an elephant or cheetah or something like that. My dad used to go hunting once a year and it was his vacation and we ate what he killed. He was a member of the NRA and I do wonder what he would have thought about gun nuts now. We had guns in our house, I don't think he lusted for an AR 15 and I don't think he thought the average dumbass needed one for their own pleasure. I don't think he wanted to go to Africa and kill a lion. It was a little bit shocking when my sister told me he was a democrat. I didn't ever talk to him about politics beyond that I know my parents laughed about Jimmy Carter and they had Billy Beer somewhere in the house. I've questioned my dad's stance on a few things and been surprised by the results, I asked my sister if he was a "tipper". We did not go out to eat often and famously it was usually fast food, but he did like to go to Red Lobster (New Mexico, you weren't going to get too much fresh seafood). He was a tightwad so I was shocked that my sister remembered him as a tipper. I figured he was one of those $2 no matter what the bill was, types. I know he chatted with wait staff, mostly told corny dad jokes. They say you can judge a date by how they treat the wait staff and on that my dad scores pretty good. He was only a dick at home, he joked with cashiers, waitresses. Made Donald Duck noises at babies and children who sat near us. He did a very good Donald Duck. Basically my dad is my asshole-meter and if you kill something for sport you're a bigger asshole than my dad.

I got a call from an Australian trip planner person. I think when I was thinking about my travels I had to provide contact information to look at the packages and they eventually got around to getting in touch with me so she was asking what I was interested in and how much time and money was I willing to part with. I cracked this lady up. I said I wanted to see stuff and eat stuff. I didn't want to be adventury, like climbing the Sydney Opera house is way outta my league, I'd be that idiot that climbs up and looks down and then freezes and causes a national stir to get me down. I wanna look at Ayers Rock but not climb it, she said that's good because they don't let you anymore. I said I'd love snorkeling but only shallow like stick my head under water with a mask but not breathing stuff or anywhere where a shark can eat me. This lady was seriously laughing at me. I said I wanna see a kangaroo but not get close enough for him to kick me. Kayaking was out because I'd get in the thing and then I'd be the one stuck in a barrel roll, I wouldn't be able to stay upright and fwoomp down I'd go and I'd die because I am the person who should have been weeded out by natural selection eons ago. I don't want to go to crowded beaches but I'd be up for those mud spa things. I want to go to indiginous places and make crafts or watch them do what they do. I want to sit in a bar and have locals chat at me. I don't know if she was thinking I was a typical dumb american or if I'm just funny and at least know my limitations. I'm trying to recruit friends to take this trip with me, obviously there will be a money issue with most. I kinda want to to go with my friend Marcy who is Navajo, I think there's a parallel with what happened with our native peoples and what happened to the aboriginals in Australia. Their kids were removed and sent to boarding schools, very close to slavery because they were "educated" to only be domestics and in many instances they were sterilized to not reproduce. They were kept on reservations in america not sure what it's called in Australia but essentially you weren't a "citizen" you didn't have freedoms. Not that we'd be celebrating those things on this trip but kind of appreciate what they were able to maintain of their culture while having it stripped from them. I would probably have to pay for her and I'm willing to undertake that but with most Navajo people you aren't going to get just 1. I can't pay for 10 of her relatives so that may never come to pass. I'll see what the lady comes up with and go from there.

[OoohMaggie]

3 hours ago, nachomama said:

I wanna look at Ayers Rock but not climb it, she said that's good because they don't let you anymore.

You wouldn’t miss much by not walking up it, ‘Ularu’ as it is now to be called, is by far best viewed from some distance away, preferably at sunset or sunrise when in all honesty it can look damn impressive. The four and a half mile-ish walk around it’s base is a cool thing to do though. It’s better to look at it from a distance, than it is to stand on top of the damn thing and look into the distance 🤗

[nachomama]

Just now, OoohMaggie said:

You wouldn’t miss much by not walking up it, ‘Ularu’ as it is now to be called, is by far best viewed from some distance away, preferably at sunset or sunrise when in all honesty it can look damn impressive. 🤗

I don't guess I can ask the lady if there's some kind of "trippy" activity like smoke a bong and beat some drums at sunrise or sunset Ularu? "Hello, ma'am I'd like to smoke some indigenous plants and trip my balls off" I would also like to go to Coober Peedy (SP?) where they've dug all the houses out of rock and they have a lot of mining but I don't think I want to make a specific trip to do that because it's apparently at the ends of the earth nothing else around. I kinda wanna party with locals and eat stuff and point at stuff like "holy shit, there's that thing in person that we always see". I would go on a boat or ferry but not a boat I gotta do myself (because of the dying) and I'd like to see the great barrier reef but not have to do the breather thing because of dying, again. I just don't believe I'm smart enough to not die. so attractions/activities aimed at 5 year olds. You hold the koala and I'll pet it or feed it. If you have a quokka I'd love that too. Kangaroos will hurt me. all the snakes and spiders will kill me. So it's like "light nature" I want to experience, not full immersion. This lady kept cracking up. I feel like it's fair to say I'd be a dumb american tourist but not an assholey one? I don't want to stomp around and break stuff or kill things and be real loud. I can quietly look at stuff and just keep going, my goal in life is not to disturb anyone.

[OoohMaggie]

3 hours ago, nachomama said:

4 hours ago, OoohMaggie said:

 

I don't guess I can ask the lady if there's some kind of "trippy" activity like smoke a bong and beat some drums at sunrise or sunset Ularu? "Hello, ma'am I'd like to smoke some indigenous plants and trip my balls off" I would also like to go to Coober Peedy (SP?) where they've dug all the houses out of rock and they have a lot of mining but I don't think I want to make a specific trip to do that because it's apparently at the ends of the earth nothing else around.

Now that the main draw to the Ularu national park has been ‘officially restricted’, I’m sure the locals would be more than happy to let you bong & bang to your heart’s content, there’s always a ‘Hippy’ contingent around that you could latch onto who’d give you the ultimate sunrise experience.

Cooper Pedy is cool and worth the effort to visit. There isn’t a person on the planet who would be more aghast about coming into contact with spiders and snakes than me, yet I’ve made several  visits to the country and not had one bad experience. Kangaroos won’t let you get anywhere near them so fear not. Just go for it! 😋

Edited August 4, 2020 by OoohMaggie

[AngelaHunter]

13 hours ago, OoohMaggie said:

If these morons want a lion’s head on their wall,  I’d give them a six inch knife and say have at it, that’s something I would pay to watch

Get out of my head!😲 I've been saying that very thing for more years than I care to think about.

 

43 minutes ago, OoohMaggie said:

There isn’t a person on the planet who would be more aghast about coming into contact with spiders and snakes than me, yet I’ve made several  visits to the country and not had one bad experience.

Me. I'd be more aghast about the spiders. I know someone in Queensland and I would love to visit, but the giant spiders make it a no-go. Arachnaphobia is no fun. 😟

[Nashville]

I’ve always followed my father’s rules on hunting, which were exceedingly simple:

1. Don’t point a gun at it unless you plan to shoot it.
2. Don’t shoot it unless you plan to kill it.
3. Don’t kill it unless you plan to eat it, or it aims to kill and/or eat you.

[OoohMaggie]

9 hours ago, AngelaHunter said:

Me. I'd be more aghast about the spiders. I know someone in Queensland and I would love to visit, but the giant spiders make it a no-go. Arachnaphobia is no fun. 😟

Tell me about it, my best friend lives in Brisbane and loves to go hiking, unfortunately the bloody things love to spin their huge webs across the trails and sit right in the middle, normally about head height so I have to carry the longest / biggest branch I can and wave it around like a loon in front of me, after letting her take point obviously. So far it’s worked like a dream. 

[nachomama]

5 hours ago, Nashville said:

I’ve always followed my father’s rules on hunting, which were exceedingly simple:

1. Don’t point a gun at it unless you plan to shoot it.
2. Don’t shoot it unless you plan to kill it.
3. Don’t kill it unless you plan to eat it, or it aims to kill and/or eat you.

Same rules for us. In high school the boys took the girls out for target practice and had a great time "mansplaining" stuff to us. I will fully admit that I can't hit the side of a barn, my aim, she is no bueno, however, when I turned to ask a question I lowered the gun. The boys all hit the deck. I absolutely knew do-not-ever-aim-a-loaded gun, always lower the gun but damn those boys scrambled quick. We grew up very rural (and pre-Columbine) so dudes drove to school with gun racks in their trucks, every kid had a knife on them. No one ever questioned it and that boggles my mind now.

[AngelaHunter]

5 hours ago, OoohMaggie said:

Tell me about it, my best friend lives in Brisbane and loves to go hiking, unfortunately the bloody things love to spin their huge webs across the trails and sit right in the middle, normally about head height so I have to carry the longest / biggest branch I can and wave it around like a loon in front of me, after letting her take point obviously. So far it’s worked like a dream. 

I've actually had nightmares about walking through a doorway right into a big web with spiders in it. Poor spiders. It's not their fault I'm a headcase.🙄

Does this look familiar?😆

 

[OoohMaggie]

3 hours ago, AngelaHunter said:

Does this look familiar?😆

Yeah, that’s me if I see a cockroach 🤮

[AngelaHunter]

11 minutes ago, OoohMaggie said:

Yeah, that’s me if I see a cockroach 🤮

That was me when I stupidly locked myself out of my house and had to pry open the garage window and crawl through it. 😱🕷️🕸️🕸️🕸️

[Nashville]

9 hours ago, nachomama said:

dudes drove to school with gun racks in their trucks, every kid had a knife on them. No one ever questioned it and that boggles my mind now.

Same here; at my high school you could tell which hunting season was in effect by walking through the parking lot and seeing what types of guns were in the back window racks of the pickup trucks.  And guess what? - nobody ever shot anybody else.  Not with those weapons, anyway, and not on school grounds.

[nachomama]

14 hours ago, Nashville said:

 nobody ever shot anybody else.  Not with those weapons, anyway, and not on school grounds.

Nope, I did have a dude show up with a shotgun at a high school graduation party but he was just mad someone smoked all his weed.

Here's how rural we were, 2 girls fighting in the hallway at school...the insult: You Quarterhorse. I'm really not sure how that's an insult? Also very drunk girl: "why for, the fuck, you call me bullshit?"

[OoohMaggie]

18 hours ago, Nashville said:

Same here; at my high school you could tell which hunting season was in effect by walking through the parking lot and seeing what types of guns were in the back window racks of the pickup trucks.

Regarding trucks furnishing guns in racks, were you referring to the teaching staff or the students? If the students, what age range would ‘High School’ encompass exactly?  

[Mr. Sparkle]

1 hour ago, OoohMaggie said:

Regarding trucks furnishing guns in racks, were you referring to the teaching staff or the students? If the students, what age range would ‘High School’ encompass exactly?  

High school in the US is generally 14-18. 

The US is a huge country, with many different cultures. If you bought a gun to my high school, you would not be going back to that high school. 

[nachomama]

Students! and that was anyone between 15 and 18, in New Mexico you could get a driver's license at 15 so you could start driving to school at that time. In the very beginning it was just a separate parking lot, they eventually put a fence around it, the only security caution about that was people sneaking off for lunch so you then had to get a key or permission to leave campus. but no one ever checked for a gun, it was in plain sight. And every boy had a hunting knife, maybe not crocodile dundee style but bigger than normal pocket knives. I think weed became an issue after a while so you weren't allowed to get in your car at lunch because too many were coming back baked. The security was not about the guns or knives strictly weed. hahaha

[Mr. Sparkle]

^ Yup. Very different, except for the weed part. 🚬 (That's the closest emoji I could find.)

[Nashville]

4 hours ago, OoohMaggie said:

Regarding trucks furnishing guns in racks, were you referring to the teaching staff or the students?
 

Yes! 😄  By which I mean, both students and teachers.  Probably more heavily weighted towards students, though.

4 hours ago, OoohMaggie said:

If the students, what age range would ‘High School’ encompass exactly?  

Anywhere in the 15-18yo range.  In Tennessee most kids got their drivers licenses as soon as they turned 16.  15-year-olds under certain circumstances could qualify for a “hardship” license, though, which allowed them to drive between school/job/home - and some were known for frequently taking the long way home.  😉

[nachomama]

I was driving when I was 12. We retired my mom early because she was a menace. Her first husband taught her to drive and he said “aim for the middle. They’ll get out of your way”. She killed many many clutches. 

[OoohMaggie]

So at what age could you drive your truck around with a gun hanging on a rack?

[Nashville]

5 hours ago, OoohMaggie said:

So at what age could you drive your truck around with a gun hanging on a rack?

Not sure how you mean; most guys were hunting LONG before they were old enough to drive.  My pa already had me out in the woods with a shotgun when I was around 9 or 10, and I got my first rifle as a Christmas present when I was 12.

Edited August 7, 2020 by Nashville
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