Small Talk: The Library

[Endeavour]

Valny - that link isn't working for me but I'm not on facebook. Don't know if that's the reason.

[dusky]

Hope your birthday went well, Dusky, please tell me that you didn't get a big ol' dildo from your daughter...

No dildo was gifted to me, this year. We went away and had a lovely time. My daughter was so funny, because her car was in the shop she drove my car for the first time, the 2010 Honda Civic drives a bit better than the 1998 Honda Civic and she enjoyed that so when we were at dinner she encouraged me to over imbibe so that she might be my designated driver. I am a truly awful passenger but she got us back just fine.

I don't watch Game of Thrones I know I would enjoy it but I just don't have the time to catch up with it. I can not wait for Orphan Black to return, the teasers are awesome.

[Chyna]

Chyna Beach?

I'm here, I'm here! And not only in journeywoman's subconscious.

I'm Chyna, and you're probably pronouncing it wrong.

I live in the Chicago area, 40s, married, with two girls who I call Chynette (age 10) and Tiny Chyna (age 8) on the internetz. I'm a part-time freelance writer and editor, a part-time library staffer, too-frequent volunteer, and an aspiring novelist in whatever tiny amount of spare time I have left. My current TV faves are Sherlock, Doctor Who, Orange is the New Black, Reign (aka Mary, Teen of Scots), Parks and Recreation, and Nashville, and while I'm not as in love with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as I'd hoped, I'm still hopeful.

Also, this link might tell you a little more about me.

[Erratic]

I'm Chyna, and you're probably pronouncing it wrong.

Say it ain't so!

[harrie]

Also, this link might tell you a little more about me.

 

Interesting!  I had no idea.

[KittenPokerCheater]

Every. Single. Time.

Gullible, thy name is KPC.

Chyna.  CHEYEna?  Cheena? Shyna? Chi-why-nah? Someday I'll decide on how to pronounce it in my head.

I took a walk down memory lane at the old place, and I'm all teary and nostalgic now.

So cool valny about your awesome Today-ness.  Wheeeee!

How was everyone's day

[LittleVoice]

valny, that's so cool!

I saw a really great movie yesterday at the local film festival: Coherence, starring none other than Nicholas Brendon. Low budget science fiction about four couples at a dinner party. A comet is going by overhead, then the power goes out . . . except for at one house down the street. And to say anything more would be spoiling it. The director had been at the screening the night before and said that a lot of the movie was improvised. That showed, not always in a good way, and there were a couple times when it didn't quite hold together, but it was the most engrossing move I've seen in a long time. I have no idea if it will get any sort of theatrical release or show up on DVD or streaming, but watch it if you get a chance.

[Erratic]

Anyone want to decide what my dream job is, where it is, who it is with, and then offer me that job? That'd be great.

[Endeavour]

Another bad day, Erratic?

My job feels, more often than not lately, stressful and unrewarding. I need to stay put though for a number of reasons, so I'm doing my best to leave work at work but that's difficult sometimes.

[Valny]

Every. Single. Time.

Gullible, thy name is KPC

 

 Ha! Now I know not to click on Chyna's link. But you should have said the longer Angel quote, "And she falls for it every single time.  :)

 

 

Orphan Black! It might be the only show I'm looking forward to right now. Valny and his honor LnB are partly responsible."

 

You're damn right!  :)  *Sarah as Beth*

 

 

 

Lie to Me is possibly my all-time favorite Buffy episode.

 

Really?!I that's a good ep but I don't think I know anyone who've said it was their fave. I would love to read why harrie. You can put it in the season thread if you want.

Well I have mixed feelings about Fargo,

 

I'm going to give that one a try too cko.

I'd also encourage y'all to cleanse your palate with 'Veep' 

 

A few months ago I started watching it on HBO-Go,but only watched about four eps. It wasn't bad, but I didn't adore it or anything. But I intend to keep watching whenever I get a chance. Still have to finish up on True Detective(two more eps to go...I can see the finish line!) and also Enlightened(finally finished the first season, will start season two whenever the mood hits me. Thank you for always being there HBOGo...even though my cable bill is ridiculous)

After seeing all the posts here mentioning how good Orphan Black is, I decided to get back to it after only having seen part of the first ep.

 

Yay Endeavour!.. glad we could help....one of us, one of us!

I saw a really great movie yesterday at the local film festival: Coherence, starring none other than Nicholas Brendon.  It got a really good rating on IMDB...I will have to check it out if I ever can find it..thanks LittleVoice. There was a trailer on YouTube,but it was only 55 seconds and you couldn't even tell what it was about. Must be very secretive

 

I saw a really great movie yesterday at the local film festival: Coherence, starring none other than Nicholas Brendon. 

 

It got a really good rating on IMDB...I will have to check it out if I ever can find it..thanks LittleVoice. There was a trailer on YouTube,but it was only 55 seconds and you couldn't even tell what it was about. Must be very secretive. But I appreciate a trailer that doesn't give away the WHOLE damn movie!

So my niece and son got some short yet decent screen time on The Today show today, she did really well...and even though her son did some crying at the end...he was calm and quiet for the rest of the segment.  You can watch it here.

Edited April 8, 2014 by Valny

[ZenLizzy]

Ok, seriously. I have to know. How should we be pronouncing Chyna?

[Erratic]

I'm thinking 'CHYNA' is now pronounced 'voll-duh-morrrt' until proven different.

[Superflyse]

I don't care how Chyna thinks she pronounces it, it still going to be like the country for me.

I also may have clapped in delight at the video link. Just pure joy.

I have a TV related rant.
To try and encourage not acquiring TV shows in the murky battleground of the internet, I went and got Hulu Plus and as far as it knows, I am completely and utterly American. Born on the 4th of July, don't think I didn't get jokes about that when I was younger and therefore much smaller than I am now.

So, I pay money for a service and I'll even deal with their ads but the thing that gets me is you start a show and then in two eps "Sorry, Hulu doesn't have the rights for that. Check with your cable supplier to view this show". Then you check with the supplier and they are like you need your cable provider details... Which naturally, you can't get until you live in the US.

It's like you try and do the right thing and then companies are all "the rest of the world? I'm not sure that exists"

Rage.

Edited April 8, 2014 by Superflyse

[cko]

Well for carp's sake, I clicked the link. And here I'd been wondering whether Chyna had shown up over here yet. With a vengeance.

That's such a cool story from your family, val. You have the most interesting family!

No dildo was gifted to me, this year.

Add that to the t-shirt list.

My sister and I are making a few things from the Game of Thrones cookbook. Sorry, no fermented mare's milk is available.

Whoa. Pigeon pie and

roasted arm

, coming right up!

Game of Thrones was immensely satisfying, I'm definitely hooked back in. And I used Silicon Valley as a palate cleanser, Ace, (I think it was Ace), and found it very funny! Of course it's possible that some of those were inside jokes more appreciated if you live in this area and hear about the Google Bus controversies and whatnot.

Martin Freeman fan, endeavor? I could just stare at that man's face for hours. Except from what I've seen of the trailers, in Fargo he's a little bit

beaten up

.

 

 

 

 

 

[dusky]

   

 Lie to Me is possibly my all-time favorite Buffy episode.

 

Really?!I that's a good ep but I don't think I know anyone who've said it was their fave.

 

It is my daughter's fave.

Add that to the t-shirt list.No dildo was gifted to me, this year.

That is funny, because the other t-shirt quote I know I am responsible for is "Being emotionally needy and horny leads to bad decisions,"  So I guess my daughter was just following my advice. I did try to talk to her about the "purchase" and as expected it wasn't productive, she said she would pay me back.

[Endeavour]

I'm thinking 'CHYNA' is now pronounced 'voll-duh-morrrt' until proven different.

Thanks for this. That's actually going to happen in my head every time now.

Oscar is a cutie, valny.

cko - I haven't seen a lot of Martin Freeman's work but think he does a great job in Sherlock. If you have any recommendations of a few things to check out, let me know.

That's annoying, superflyse. I gave up and am now paying a ridiculous cable fee that I'm just a tiny bit bitter about every month.

[Valny]

I'm thinking 'CHYNA" is now pronounced 'voll-duh-morrt' unitl proven different.

 

Or maybe it's Adele Dazeem.  :)

[Erratic]

Ftw!

[KittenPokerCheater]

ftw?  I'm not exactly sure what that means, but if it means what I think it does then many many many hugs and curses tossed their way.

Rain rain rain.  But SO GLAD it's not snow.

valny, I'm afraid to click on your link.  Is it safe?

[AnnieF]

Chyna=Keena. That's my guess. (I may have seen similar names before :P)

My water heater i s apparently dead? Or dying? So much aaaarrrrrggggghhhhhhhh.

[Chyna]

Ok, seriously. I have to know. How should we be pronouncing Chyna?

I'll tell ya over at The Other Place. :)

[Darkpool]

"Ftw!" could be either "for the win!" or "fuck the world!" depending on whether Erratic is (a) giving a massive thumbs-up to Valny's "Adele Dazeem" post or (b) grumbling about a really crappy day.

Edited April 8, 2014 by Darkpool

[Erratic]

ftw?  I'm not exactly sure what that means, but if it means what I think it does then many many many hugs and curses tossed their way.

Heh. Yes. In this case I was praising valny's pronounciation of 'Chyna', I don't often wish to fuck the world. It sounds like a lot of work. And sticky.

[KathH]

Hi Endeavour! There are places that I want to go see (like Central Park, go to a Mets game, and/or spend a day at the US open) but other than that...I'm not making any concrete plans. As far as my plans go is to check into the hotel and hope there is no mix-up with the room. I'm in a wheelchair and its a must that I have an accessible room. Its on the reservation but its still makes me nervous because mix-ups can happen.

So basically, i'm just freestyling it the entire week I'm there.

[AnnieF]

Aaaaaaand my water heater is, in fact, a goner. Being replaced as I type, at the gasp-worthy sum of $1800.

O_O It is really hard to save money when every time you manage to have something stored, you need it for a dire household emergency. Blergh. This is on top of the other plumbing emergency that happened around Xmas, when the furnace drain pipe was leaking and the plumber had to cut a two-foot-long hole in the drywall to get to the leak. That hole is still there, btw. Not because we love the look, but because we'd been waiting for a little breathing room in the budget before we hired a drywall guy (because the Xmas plumbing emergency cost $1K). I guess the hole stays for another month, at least.

Home ownership sure can be fun. :/

[Wilowy]

Full! Copper! Repipe!

[Ace Hansen]

Anne Chase (feels weird, Ace)

ZenLizzy, I'm not picky! You can call me Ace :) Or Anne C. That works.

Hope it's not one of  those times you regret eating, like The First Rule of Fringe: Never Eat During Fringe. That happened to me just the other day with a show that now I can't remember which.

cko, I have that rule for Bones. Shudder.

That's such a sweet video of your niece, Valny!

Edited April 8, 2014 by Anne Chase

[KittenPokerCheater]

I now have a visual of Annief standing in a water soaked basement and Spike showing up with the astute observation; "Whoa, Did you know this place was flooded?"

AnneAceChase, it's going to be awhile before I can settle on a nickname.  I feel like if I refer to you as AC, then I'll have the Saved by the Bell AC Slater character stuck in my head all day.  And you are better than any pre-teen sitcom from the 90s.  I'll also have to look for a creative way to pronounce you name.  Like, Anne Chase sounds like "Euphoria Cradle"  (the Ns are silent, of course).

So we know how to link now- are there any other shiny features anyone has discovered yet?

[Chyna]

Hope it's not one of  those times you regret eating, like The First Rule of Fringe: Never Eat During Fringe.

Mr. C and I used to eat dinner watching Fringe a lot of the time, because we realized that you just have to wait until the credits are over. As he would say, "Someone's head always explodes before the credits."

But Bones is grody throughout the episodes. I didn't make it past ep 3.

[Endeavour]

So basically, i'm just freestyling it the entire week I'm there.

That sounds like a good plan. There's so much to see and do. You'll have a great time.

Sorry to hear about the water heater, AnnieF. That's more than I thought it would be. There is always something with a house. I recently got an estimate to replace the windows.Yikes. Then I always feel like I have to do a lot of research and usually end up getting more confused the more I read. Such a pleasure.

Edited April 9, 2014 by Endeavour

[Erratic]

I recently got an estimate to replace the windows.Yikes. Then I always feel like I have to do a lot of research and usually end up getting more confused the more I read.

I watch HGTV and end up really hating the lucky bastards who get a free home renovation, or who buy a 2800 square foot home with 4 beds 5 baths for $130,000, and still manage to bitch about the sizes of the his and hers walk in closets in the master en suite.

Fuckers.

[AnnieF]

My neighbors just replaced all their windows. All 47 of them. And because the windows that they chose didn't quite fit in the existing space, they had crews out there chipping away at the stucco window surrounds. The whole job took weeks and has to have cost tens of thousands of dollars. I find it incomprehensible; they'll never get that money back out of the place, and the energy savings with the new windows might be pretty good, but $50(?)K good? Seems unlikely.

Thanks for the commiseration about the stupid water heater. :) At least the plumbers do the strapping (it has to be strapped to the wall. By law, I mean, because earthquakes. This is maybe not a thing in less earthquaky places, I imagine?), but it'll take several reminders from me before Mr F puts the blanket back on (maybe not a thing in warmer climes?)

Huh. That's more than I've thought about water heaters in maybe ever. They are boring. ;)

[Endeavour]

Ahhhh, the land of HGTV. Where a house isn't worth buying if it doesn't have granite countertops and stainless steel appliances.

No straps or blankets for my water heater.

[KittenPokerCheater]

How can anyone have 47 windows?  I have two (or six, if you count panes of glass stuck together).  Annief, are your neighbors like, kazillionaires?  If so, they should be able to afford windows that fit, instead of chipping away at their stucco sills for weeks on end.

I never knew that water-heaters needed to be strapped in.  Is that just a west coast thing, or do they have to be strapped in out east too?

And what's with all the blankets?

"Askew" is my new favorite word.  

Edited April 9, 2014 by KittenPokerCheater

[harrie]

Strapless water heater here on the east coast.   (And Yay! Lady Huskies!!!!!)

[buebug]

Anyone do their own taxes? I've been using TurboTax but I'm wondering if anyone recommends another product.

I do my own taxes using the pencil and paper method of filling them out. My dad(the engineer) suggested it a few years so that I would understand what went where and why I could or could not take a particular tax deduction. He also worked for HR Block for a tax season after retiring for fun. Since then I've never gone back to just using a program without doing them by hand first. The programs don't catch everything and will sometimes do funny things with education credits.

Annief, so sorry to hear about your water heater.

Erratic, if you want to live rent free and be a nanny I may have the perfect job for you. ;)

I will be replacing the door to my front loading washing machine, because you really shouldn't do a swan dive on it. My mother thinks I should pay someone to fix it, however as I am broke and handy so, I figure what the hell.

Edited April 9, 2014 by buebug

[AnnieF]

I live in a suburban "planned community"* of pretty large-ish, fairly characterless stucco boxes that have lots of windows. (EDIT: like this.) My neighbors' house is a 3-story model, so it has so very many windows. But the stucco-chipping-outing was just baffling. The new windows cannot possibly be awesome enough to justify the massive expense. I am truly without clue.

The water-heater-strapping-in must be an earthquake-zone-specific thing. And the blanket is because it gets cold at night here in the high desert. Single digits in the winter (which is pretty dang mild compared to other parts of North America, I realize, but it's cold enough to warrant putting a blanket on the water heater).

All our bookshelves are strapped to the wall, too. And the dressers in the kids' bedrooms. Life in a seismically active place, hee. :)

*We intend to get out of this neighborhood soonish. We moved here for the elementary school, which truly has been a good school for both my kids. But the F-let only has one more year there after this, and we can barely afford to live here. Property tax times are always joyous. Ha. We're going to be heading to more financially copacetic climes, which will also have the bonus effect of putting us closer to the kids' (future) high school. Win!

Edited April 9, 2014 by AnnieF

[Valny]

valny, I'm afraid to click on your link.  Is it safe?

 

  Always. Have I ever posted a suspicious link? I think not. Ha, you're getting link leery now!  Don't worry, I'm not a devious,deceptive,duplicitous Safety Dance linker!  :)  You go right ahead and click away on my  link KPC... You'll see my niece and her son on The Today Show.(I linked it on my FB page too)

AnnieF Sorry about your water heater woes. Those things are damn pricey! But we have to have our hot water.  I even take hot showers in the summer! I know some people don't like that.

Edited April 9, 2014 by Valny

[trudi-tru]

she said she would pay me back.

Sounds productive to me.

You have all my sympathies Superflyse. I try my best to do things right (I never download music or movies illegally), but I've stopped feeling guilty about watching some shows online. I'd be more than happy to pay, but that option is not available, so a girl does what she has to do.

This brings me to another quibble: on iTunes, you can buy songs only on your country's store, but if you want a song that's only available on the US store, for example, you can't buy it.

Now, I understand the policy when it comes to songs that are available on both stores, as currency change would work in favour of the country with the less valuable currency. But when something is only available in one store, why can't they just take my damn money and let me have what I want? Grrrr. 

you are better than any pre-teen sitcom from the 90s.

I don't care what anyone says, Saved by the Bell rocked. Judge me all you want.

I'm sorry about Oscar's and his family's struggles.He's a cutie, though. How adorable was he with his little walker?

Sorry about the home repairing expenses, Annie. I imagine your neighbors have someone just to clean the windows. That must take a day.

[Earl Is Dead]

Boo to expensive home repairs!  And also to earthquakes.

Spring is finally arriving here.  It's amazing what sunshine, warm air, and green can do for my mood. 

[Wonderflonium]

Hey ya'll. I figured it was time to jump in here. I was casperchick at the old place, but new place, new(ish) name. So now I'm going by Wonderflonium (my MM Fantasy Hockey Team).

Anyway, I'll do the intro thing since its been a while. Late thirties, married, a 3 year old daughter (the chicklet) who hates all things bedtime and sleep related which seriously limits my TV time these days. But when I do get a few minutes I am loving Orphan Black and The Americans.  I finally got to see the Veronica Mars movie yesterday which despite too little Mac and Wallace was like a supersized episode in all the right ways. 

I see Annie's busted water heater and raise one broken Heating/AC Unit. And since we are in the middle of our annual 2 weeks of spring before the OMG HOT, we need to get on fixing it pronto, ugh.

Edited April 9, 2014 by Wonderflonium

[KittenPokerCheater]

Aaaaah.  My first post that got eaten.

It was brilliant, also detailing how the latest internet quiz labeled me "chaotic good," and thoughts on strapping in furniture and keeping ac/heaters safe before the OMG heat kicks in.

Mostly, though, it offered good vibes to everyone and their appliances.

[Endeavour]

I do my own taxes using the pencil and paper method of filling them out.

I think I did this many, many years ago. It's definitely a good way to get a better understanding. I still haven't finished mine. I just have to give them a final look over. Every day I say I'm going to do it the next. Eh, maybe tomorrow.

Spring is finally arriving here.  It's amazing what sunshine, warm air, and green can do for my mood.

Yes. Had clear sunny skies today. Still a little cool, but so very nice.

Hi Wonderflonium! I just redelurked after the migration here, but I remember you from when I used to post at TWoP.

I see Annie's busted water heater and raise one broken Heating/AC Unit.

My heating/ac unit is very, very old (over 25 years). I know it's going to be the next thing to go. I'm leaving it be until it does. I'm sure any new unit I buy won't last as long.

Edited April 10, 2014 by Endeavour

[cko]

I'm Neutral Good, but I don't think I used the latest internet quiz because it was all about Dungeons & Dragons. Per this, it puts me the same as Cap'n Mal (sorry, AnnieF) so I think that's about right.

[KathH]

Sorry to read about your water heater troubles AnnieF. Hope that's the last big repair you have to get done for a long while. I have no ided if my water heater is strapped down. I live in an apartment complex and for some reason, the water heater that supplies my apartment is upstairs (I'm on ground floor) and across the hall. And the damn thing seems to be so temperature sensitive. It was fine before, on a whim, the propertly manager decided that all water heaters needed to be replaced. Maybe it was a HUD thing, I don't know.

Argh! I keep forgetting about the Buffy quiz day. Monday right? Need to put it in my calendar.

[AnnieF]

Hey, cko, it's no skin off my nose if you compare yourself to the Fillion. I would never make that comparison, of course, because I like you. :P

CR, since you're in CA, I'm going to guess that your water heater is indeed strapped to the wall. It is if your landlord wants to be in compliance with state law, at any rate. ;)

Hi Wonderflonium! I can't believe the chicklet is already three years old. Time, flying, etc.

[Erratic]

Sympathy for crappy house repairs, and yes, I am still astounded by AnnieF's neighbour wasting money on reshaping window holes for that extreme price! Damn!

I have never heard of blanket wrapped furnaces or hot water heaters either. Maybe it is because mine have always been oil or gas run, so open flame pilot light wouldn't do well being wrapped? But it can't just be a cold weather thing, given that they are probably the hottest thing in a house, and given that I challenge any of you to have lived in a colder climate than me. I need to research this as it is fascinating and curious.

I am taking a long weekend this week, and next week. I need to readjust my attitude. Again. The upside of beinbg constantly frustrated at pissy is that my workouts are getting way more intense and physical! Yay?
 

 

Argh! I keep forgetting about the Buffy quiz day. Monday right? Need to put it in my calendar.

Or just play every day.

Hi Wonderflonium! I can't believe the chicklet is already three years old. Time, flying, etc.

No shit! Wow!!!

Edited April 10, 2014 by Erratic

[Boliver]

 

Well, I have to head to Costco and do some other errands.

Did somebody say "Costco"?

 

There definitely seems to be a dearth of awesome TV at the moment.

Oh, no you di'nt, Annie! Justified, Game of Thrones, Mindy, Orphan Black, Sherlock, Downton Abbey, Sleepy Hollow, Community (which I don't yet watch but I should), etc. So there.

I'm Boliver, and will answer to B if you want to call me that in person. I'm recently married to SilverFox, and have a fantastic stepkid, an elderly, now balance-challenged deaf dog named Cordy, and 1 3/4 cats. I'm in the San Diego area, which, until global warming pushes the seas up and over my house, doesn't suck. As to the people who migrated over from the TWoPocalypse, I'm not sure how I would have coped with my divorce without the wonderful people I met from MBTV/TWoP; it was hairy, and their patience and love sustained me. Also, ice cream.

I'm a paralegal, and today I'd like to put my hands around my boss' neck for procratinating to such an extreme that it's making clients' and other attorneys' lives difficult, not to mention mine. He's the nicest guy on the planet, and therein lies part of the problem; he's so afraid to disappoint people that he puts off stuff he needs to do.

My water heater is strapped down. It's pretty sexy.

Edited April 10, 2014 by Boliver

[Chyna]

Had an interesting moment with 10-year-old Chynette today. Having been the victim of Mean Girls in my youth, I've been keeping an eye on the girls in her grade who are headed in the Mean Girl direction. (I co-lead both daughters' Girl Scout troops, and have learned that you can see the Mean Girls coming as early as kindergarten.) There's one girl in particular in Chynette's grade who is totally becoming a Regina George, and fortunately, Chynette seems to have mostly steered clear of her--they're friendly to each other, but certainly not Friends.

So Chynette has been reading an American Girl book called A Smart Girl's Guide to Friendship Troubles (mostly out of curiosity, not because of any specific problem) and she says, "The book says that some people are popular because other people like them and they're easy to get along with, but other people are described as popular but they really just want to have power over other people." So I asked her, "Do you think you've ever seen anyone who is the second type of popular?" And she said, "Yeah, [Regina George]. She has a lot of friends, but I think most of them are afraid of her. I don't know why they want to be friends with someone who makes them cry."

Damn, I wish I'd had that American Girl book when I was 10.

[Endeavour]

I'm a paralegal, and today I'd like to put my hands around my boss' neck

Hee! This is an accurate description of Monday through Friday for me. I'm picturing a support group meeting of paralegals with this as the opening.

Sounds like you've got a smart, level headed daughter, Chyna.

And a woo hoo! Done with the taxes!

Enjoy your long weekend, Erratic. I'm considering doing the same next weekend.

Edited April 11, 2014 by Endeavour