Small Talk: The Library

[AnnieF]

Have you seen that family Christmas picture a politician, I think she's a Governor, posted, where all the family members are armed to the teeth?

That would be Michele Fiore, a member of the Nevada state assembly (not anywhere near the level of a governor, very much a small-time local politician). She also thinks cancer is caused by a fungus and can be flushed out with baking soda. American politics are so fucking embarrassing.

[romantic idiot]

Yeah, that guy is in such bad shape, I don't know if he'll ever fully recover.

 

This makes me so sad. I've always found him to be the best looking guy on the lot and so talented (even though I'm Bangel all the way!)

[buffyjunkie]

Yeah, it makes me sad too because it sounds like he had a few hard knocks in life. I always thought he did a very good job on the show.

[Chyna]

Did Xander kill the thread?

[AnnieF]

Yay?

[AnnieF]

Well heck, lemme liven things up with a story. As you all know, I have MS, and sometimes (lots of times) I fall down. Yesterday was the Ladies' Winter Luncheon at my mom's golf club; I've attended this event as my mom's guest for about a decade. It's a hoot -- a bunch of women in their 60s and 70s for the most part, having fun and doing a charity raffle, since this event raises money for a local women's shelter. So I'm walking with my mom, we're right at the front of the room where everyone can see, and I roll my ankle and go down. Now, I have fallen down so many times and in so many places that I don't really get embarrassed anymore, I just go with it. But I realized that that was probably the least embarrassing place to fall. In front of a bunch of grandmas, heh. No one's thinking "what a moron," they're all going "Oh my goodness are you alright?!" Followed by "That shit happens to me all the time." Because these ladies are awesome. :-)

Story time! Who's next?

[Boliver]

Okay, I'll bite! Or, rather, a neighborhood cat did. There's a beautiful black cat that's been coming around our back yard, and he loves being loved on, and initially, I fed him a bit because I didn't know if he belonged anywhere. But after a week or so, I put the old collar from my orange tabby (Salvador) on pretty black cat with a note for whoever he belongs to to call me. An hour later, I got a call from a woman a few blocks away. We chatted, and I told her since he's being cared for, I won't feed him anything. I suggested she get him chipped and a collar, because if he gets hit by a car, she'll never know what's happened to him. I took the collar back off of him the next time he came over. 

 

Then, on Wednesday morning, I petted him in the back yard, and in a slightly different way than usual, and he grabbed my hand with his claws and pulled me in for a vicious bite. SilverFox and I tended to my wounds, and the deepest one is a tooth puncture in the meat on my palm under my thumb of my dominant right hand, leaving me unable to grasp much. It's been somewhat uncomfortable for a couple days, and last night, despite bandaids and copious hydrogen peroxide and Neosporin, it seemed angry. But this morning, voila! It's just a regular healing and non-angry wound. I bet I'm grasping normally sometime tomorrow. Whoo! 

 

Fucker. Does black cat taste different than other cats?

 

ETA: We've all been posting together for, what, 13 years? At what age will we start only posting about our elderly ailments? SF and I belong to a small club for married couples in which the husband is a cross dresser, and we are the youngest people. Every time we get together, the oldest couples dominate the discussion with medical talk, and 2 of them have died in the 3 years I've been there. 

Edited December 11, 2015 by Boliver

[Erratic]

I don't have any good stories. We took a trip to the mountains a day after giving the boy his 6 month shots and a flu shot. He was sick and grumpy and not sleepy for most of the time.

Took his to the mall today to get the requisite Christmas photo. One hour line up and he did fantastic! Pictures over in the other place :)

[Chyna]

I had my annual mammogram this morning. Also, my knees hurt on and off and I'm realizing that this is probably just the way it is from now on, since my mom has arthritis and her mother did too. #oldpeoplestuff

 

Here's my current story: I just started working for a new client that's based in London (my old boss works there and referred me). The names of some of these people are some of the most Britishy names ever: Simon (who always makes me want to sing Mike Myers' "well, you know my name is Simon" song from SNL), Nellie, Tilly, and someone whose last name is Quirke-Tomkins. It makes me smile every time.

 

Although when dealing with HR over an online timesheet problem, I really got a taste of the communication differences between Americans and the English. The woman I was dealing with kept talking around the problem, with a lot of "if you please" and not getting to the point, and I'm sure she found my directness terribly rude. Luckily, the consultants are more accustomed to dealing with Americans (which is exactly why they wanted to hire an American editor).

Edited December 12, 2015 by Chyna

[Barphe]

I went to a lower school holiday concert (K-12). The show was par for the course, but the "adults?" OMG. To my right a woman with a super fancy camera with a mongo telephoto lens, taking pictures non-stop with flash. In a cavernous gymnasium. Like, I don't know shit about photography, and I know that cavernous chambers eat up light. To my left, a woman who could not, for the life of her, figure out how to silence her phone. It only rang 6 times during the one hour show. A row behind me, a man who was coughing up one, if not both, of his lungs. I should get myself tested for TB. Oh, and the cherry on top? Not one, not two, but MANY self important parents or grandparents who thought nothing of walking to the front, standing before the front row and filming entire numbers with their cell phones. Clearly, their capturing the precious moment on their devices was more important than the enjoyment of the other 400 or so audience members.

I love people.

[Erratic]

School concerts really bring out the best in parents and grand parents, eh?

When I lived up in Nunavut, the school was tiny so it was Kindergarten to Grade 10, and every class took part in the 3 hour concert. It was a community event, so I went. Once.

Never again.

I am tempted to home school just to avoid Christmas concerts.

[buffyjunkie]

"Fucker. Does black cat taste different than other cats?"

Snort.

ETA: We've all been posting together for, what, 13 years? At what age will we start only posting about our elderly ailments?

Now. And here's mine. Been going to PT since March for lower right back pain caused by too much sitting at my job (resulting in weak hip flexors and glutes.) Hip flexors are now stronger but the pain still lurks in the shadows. Meaning daily stretching and strengthening exercises need to be my new norm.

Also, I finally roused Mr. Buffyjunkie to put the Christmas tree lights on. The tree has been in its stand for two weeks. Except we can't find them anywhere. Grrr.

Edited December 12, 2015 by buffyjunkie

[AnnieF]

Christmas tree lights are truly mystifying. No matter how carefully you pack them up after the holiday each year, by the time they are needed next year, they have either become hopelessly tangled, or disappeared entirely. It is a quandary.

Edited December 13, 2015 by AnnieF

[KittenPokerCheater]

I love cats.  They are weird and bites at odd times, but I like them.

 

Arthritis sounds icky.  Damn this aging process.  

Also, school concerts do sound like a special new kind of hell.  This might make me happy that I have no kids.  But if you have a kid, I am guessing it becomes adorable.

 

Who else has a secret santa gift?  I thought mine arrived today, but it was a catnap  carrot I'm giving to a friend who has a new kitten.

[AnnieF]

Also, school concerts do sound like a special new kind of hell. This might make me happy that I have no kids. But if you have a kid, I am guessing it becomes adorable.

Nope, it's unbearable no matter what. Er, that may just be me (but I really don't think so). Children are shitty musicians. I know, that's a radical statement, but someone has to say it: elementary school kids just don't have the musical chops. If they want to be appreciated as musicians, they need to put in several more years of practice. Decades, even. School kids, sheesh.

(Mostly sarcasm. Mostly.)

[Barphe]

Also, school concerts do sound like a special new kind of hell. This might make me happy that I have no kids. But if you have a kid, I am guessing it becomes adorable.

Not really. Not adorable, just survivable.

Observation of the week:

Setting--Yesterday, at the shopping center parking lot, a man seeing a woman driver pull out of a spot, stopped and gave her directions on how to do so. She did not ask for help (to my eye she did not need it), yet he stood there and 'directed' the action.

So, I realized I have never seen a man directing another man (unsolicited), and I have never seen a woman directing anyone (unsolicited).

So yeah, male privilege.

[Harvester]

Having directed high school plays and musicals for years, I have seen atrocious behavior. People bringing infants to the show and refusing to leave when the infant pitches a fit because the music is loud and kids who put their feet on the seats in front of them--ah, the list could go on.

I babysat Friday and then dogsat Saturday. I fully intended to have the dog sleep at my place, but she is not meant for condo living, Bark, bark, bark! Chill out pooch, they are just shoveling snow.

That meant I had to spend the night at my sister's house. Since I had washed their sheets and cleaned the house, I didn't want to mess anything up, so I had a night on the couch. I really feel it today too. Get off my lawn!

What I really want this holiday is some time to be cozy and quiet with lots of good books at hand.

On a completely different note, did anyone know dinosaur erotica is a thing? I attended a white elephant party and that was one of the gifts. Is there really a market for this outside of white elephant parties?

[KittenPokerCheater]

did anyone know dinosaur erotica is a thing?

 

It is?

 

Does this mean that there's Chris Pratt/'Raptor fan fiction out there too?

Edited December 13, 2015 by KittenPokerCheater

[Hostile16]

I really hate to ask this, but is it about dinosaur-dinosaur intimacy or dinosaur-human lovin', in which case it is both scientifically and, likely, physically impossible.

Filed under "holiday annoyances": I've been waiting for a package to arrive that more or less completes my gift-buying chores. I ordered it November 30th, and it is taking so long, I've been tracking it. The package left Massachusetts December 1st, wandered into Virginia, then the eastern part of my state before reaching my city. Where it spent three days before yesterday returning to some other place in Massachusetts. I figure it will be in Finland by Wednesday.

[Erratic]

Dinosaur erotica.

Huh.

[Darkpool]

did anyone know dinosaur erotica is a thing?

 

Not specifically, but Rule 34 says it has to be.

[Harvester]

It is dinosaur human.

[Chyna]

Children are shitty musicians.

 

 

My friend after our kids' 5th grade orchestra concert last year: "I feel so bad for music teachers. They spend all those years studying the world's most beautiful music, and then the rest of their lives listening to children destroy it." 

 

This week, Chynette has *two* choir concerts (because there are more than 100 kids in the three choirs performing, and therefore too many parents to fit in the auditorium in one night) but I only have to go to one. Then Tiny C has her winter concert later in the week. I can already predict that this week is going to be exhausting.

 

ETA: It's dinosaur-human, and it's a thing.

Edited December 14, 2015 by Chyna

[trudi-tru]

My bedside lamp has a very thick iron base. One night, while I was sleeping, I must have started flailing my arms or something, cause I knocked it off and it landed on my forehead. I had a pretty visible lump for days.

 

So, I realized I have never seen a man directing another man (unsolicited), and I have never seen a woman directing anyone (unsolicited).
So yeah, male privilege.

Stuff like that happens to me constantly. It's so annoying. Once a guy who was standing in line next to me to pay for parking literally took the bill right out of my hand and put in the machine.

When I was in Canada, I was dragging my luggage up the train stastion's stairs and a man took the luggage and helped me carrying it. When we reached the top of the stairs, I reclaimed my luggage, thanked him and said that I would take it from there. He scoffed "suit yourself" and walked away all offended.

 

I figure it will be in Finland by Wednesday.

There's your chance to visit the North Pole.

 

I won't even comment on dinosaur erotica cause, well, what is there to say?

Edited December 14, 2015 by trudi-tru

[Hostile16]

Package update: still in Springfield (since 10:46 a.m. Saturday).

Hey, if you haven't been able to afford that pricey coffee-table book or trashy novel, Amazon is offering a 25 percent discount (up to $10) on one book with the code 25OFFBOOK. It expires tomorrow, though. Perfect for a lucky Secret Santa-ee, and it works on pre-orders, too.

[Harvester]

Trudi, I had a similar experience at the post office the other day. I was using the automated shipping machine, and the guy behind me started giving me step-by-step instructions. "Enter the zip code." I can read the screen fuck face.

[Erratic]

We aren't entirely sure what this means beyond the obvious, but the boy was unexpectedly granted PGO today. This means that he is now under the sole guardianship of the director of Child services and his bio parents have no longer any parental rights.

This is a big yay!

[AnnieF]

Woo! That's awesome, Erratic! Is a haircut on the agenda for young Alf?

[Valny]

We aren't entirely sure what this means beyond the obvious, but the boy was unexpectedly granted PGO today. This means that he is now under the sole guardianship of the director of Child services and his bio parents have no longer any parental rights.

This is a big yay!

Awesome news!  What does PGO mean?  Parents Get Out?  :)

[KittenPokerCheater]

HURRAH!!!!  YAY!!!!  WONDERFUL!!  TERRIFIC!  BEAUTIFUL!!  AMAZING!!  BRILLIANT!!!!  EXCESSIVE USE OF EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!!!!

 

OH this is awesome.  

 

A PGO is a great step forward!

 

Happy Dance!!!

[Erratic]

Awesome news! What does PGO mean? Parents Get Out? :)

Heh. 'Permanant Guardianship Order'.

Yeah. Thanks. We are pretty psyched.

AnnieF, we are closer to a haircut and passport. We still need to find out what his band's ceremonial requirements are for the haircut. I have put out feelers to some local aboriginal healing centres.

Edited December 16, 2015 by Erratic

[Chyna]

Squee!

[buffyjunkie]

Whoa that seemed to materialize like a little Christmas miracle. Congratulations Erratic, I'm very happy for your family.

[Harvester]

How wonderful Erratic! I will add a big WOOT!

[Hostile16]

This adopted kid is taking it as a lucky sign that the guardianship came through on my birthday.

[Chyna]

This adopted kid is taking it as a lucky sign that the guardianship came through on my birthday.

Is it dusty in here? *sniff*

[Loandbehold]

Awesome news Erratic!

 

And Happy Birthday Hostile!

[trudi-tru]

Is it dusty in here? *sniff*

It definitely is.

 

What great news, Erratic! I'm so happy for the three of you. Don't cut the hair too much.

[romantic idiot]

So glad to hear about the PGO. And belated wishes, Hostile!!

[Valny]

Happy belated birthday Hostile16!  Did you get a perfect score on your birthday quiz?

 

I had a "get one free" coupon from Redbox yesterday so I picked Mad Max: Fury Road.   Holy crap, that was just probably the most action packed movie I've ever seen. It just may have been too much action.  Most of it was basically a post apocalyptic car/truck,weird vehicles chase movie with massive tons of CGI and stunts(which were a lot CGI too)  It was entertaining enough but it kind of got repetitive with the chase scenes. And somehow Charlize Theron still can look gorgeous even though she dirtied up,sometimes bloodied and most of her hair gone.

Edited December 20, 2015 by Valny

[Hostile16]

I did not! I missed the year Hitchcock died and one other... um...can't remember. Maybe something about which character killed another? I missed the Bette Davis one, too, so somebody got lucky.

A lot of people loooved Mad Max, but I was not one of them.

ETA: The other Hitchcock question was who killed the baddie in a movie that wasn't mentioned, but was the original The Man Who Knew Too Much.

Edited December 21, 2015 by Hostile16

[Darkpool]

Fury Road impressed me. Despite being basically one long car chase interrupted by some shorter car chases, it managed to hold my attention all the way through. Not many car chase movies could do that. Plus, I loved the dynamic between Furiosa and Max as the story progressed, including the way the film didn't try to force some ridiculous romance onto them.

 

That said, I didn't believe the world the movie was set in, but then I never did in the previous films either. That many years after civilization collapsed, there wouldn't be the infrastructure to refine and distribute gasoline for their cars, or manufacture bullets for their guns. They'd all be riding horses and fighting with crossbows and hand weapons. But I was able to suspend disbelief enough to just accept that stuff.

[Erratic]

Star Wars thought. Not really spoilers, but, just in case,

Why does the new bad guy look like Voldemort?

[dusky]

My computer has been sucking, so I am blaming that on my lack of posting, also my life.

 

I am however taking full responsibility for being a sucky Secret Santa, my poor victim will be getting gifts, but they will be late, not together and without gift wrap or any cute note hiding my identity, My Secret Santa gift has arrived, but I am being a good girl and waiting for Christmas to open it, it might be my only gift. My daughter says she is getting me something (I have been hinting for a bathrobe because the one I have is actually older than my daughter) but I am not holding my breathe. She is also suppose to clean the house and that hasn't happened yet, so no tree is up at domicile dusky.

 

Yeah, to Erratic. that is truly awesome, 

 

My daughter is enrolling in the local community college in January, taking a couple of courses and getting her feet wet, I am very excited that she is finally doing something and more than a little nervous that I am about to pay a couple of thousand dollars and have her say after a month that she just couldn't do it. 

 

Work is work, right now we have a really horrible temp that is not only completely incapable of doing the job, but has a bad attitude, doesn't ask questions and is rather misogynistic. So a really fun package. I also work with a bunch of Fox News watchers, which is stressful, I had a coworker say that he needed to go buy a gun because of Syrian refugees. I want to say something but it just isn't worth it, you know facts don't register with Fox News watchers.

 

As far as health goes, I am old and fat and my back hurts more often than it should, and I am often very very tired, but I seem to have flown through menopause without even 1 hot flash, so yeah me.

 

I will probably not go see Star Wars. 

Edited December 21, 2015 by dusky

[Loandbehold]

I'm sorry to hear about how things are going, dusky. May Christmas bring you some joy and may next year be a whole lot better. So sayeth me.

[Chyna]

So sayeth we all!

 

In answer to your question, Erratic:

Because Adam Driver has a weird face. He's a good actor, but he doesn't look even the teeniest bit like *any* of the many actors who have played his relatives.

[Erratic]

Not him, Chyna,

Snoke (sp?) - the holographic baddy that looks like Voldemort

[Chyna]

Oh. Yeah, that guy looks like

Voldemort after a really rough few years.

[buffyjunkie]

Dusky I'm sorry things are so overwhelming right now. I empathise more than I can explain here regarding lacking holiday cheer. I can say that a friend went through a rough patch with her daughter but the daughter is now exploring community college as well. So you never know. Or as Sayid on Lost would say,"hope but no expectations." The fact that you've flown through meno without hot flashes is a blessing. At one point it felt like being punished for just existing. And speaking for myself, I like receiving my SS gift after I've collapsed from Holiday hosting. Not that it would be so bad this year but work is 80 hours of work to do in 24 hours. Truthfully I am very grateful for my job (small voice: although last night I calculated how many work days until retirement. Shrug, there are good days and then there are bad days.) Sorry the new co-worker is a piece of work though. I am very confused by the whole Syrian refugee fear but have given up all hope for long-term human survival and although that sounds depressing it has actually been rather liberating. Also don't feel alone on the kid thing. I belueve studies have shown they are 40% less empathetic than 30 years ago. How they measure that, I haven't a clue.

[Darkpool]

I'm even less excited about the new Star Wars than I'd thought. I was planning to see it last weekend, then today, but stuff keeps getting in the way, and instead of getting annoyed I'm just telling myself, fine, wait a few more days if I have to. So maybe tomorrow or Wednesday? But if things continue to come up, it might be after Christmas.

 

Still remaining mostly spoiler-free, though. I've picked up a couple of character names and a hint about who the new lead character is, but not much else so far.

Edited December 22, 2015 by Darkpool