Small Talk: The Impala

[catrox14]

Oh good. You had me worried, catrox.

 

Sorry! Didn't mean to worry. Was just more complaining and annoyed than anything.

 

I am allergic to shellfish, but I didn't eat anything fishy or seafoody today which is weird. I had some wonderful Cuban food that was meat and beans and plaintains and empanadas and some key lime pie and an amber ale which has never bothered me before. So I can't fathom what has bugged me.

 

But yeah so far it's a lot better. 

[AwesomO4000]

Oh man. That sounds delicious - except for the beer - because I love Latin food. Growing up in New England, I wasn't really exposed to it until I went to college, but I was hooked pretty early on. Fried, sweet plantains are one of my most favorite foods. Hubby and I even had our favorite Latin restaurant cater our wedding. The food was awesome.

 

But I wonder if the restaurant had a fried fish or shrimp special tonight and maybe the plantains - if deep fried - got a little fish or shellfish molecules on them?

[rue721]

Daaaamn, rue721, that is so impressive to me. I was crappy at sports, too, but never had the confidence or bravery to do what you did. To put in all of that time and dedication is so impressive to me. I am really awed by your dedication.

 

That's so sweet! Thanks! In a way, though, not taking naturally to sports actually made them more fun. They were really challenging, and I had to push myself as hard as I could just to keep up with the other girls.

 

Also, I was *very* driven as a kid, and also really angry for some reason, so I would have been kind of a headcase without them! They were a good place to get out aggression and just negative feelings in general. And to just literally wear yourself out. When you're too exhausted to think, maybe you can finally sleep :).

 

I was very into school itself, and did other extracurriculars (played an instrument, art, etc), and started hostessing in HS (....and spent WAYYYYY too much time on chatrooms dedicated to Buffy the Vampire Slayer :P) -- but the thing that made playing a sport somewhat different in my experience (YMMV) is that you're with the team ALL. THE. TIME. It gives you A LOT of structure. You do your homework with the team, eat with the team, dress like the team (dress for success for away games, jerseys for home games, iIrc? Might be the opposite, LOL), hang out with other girls from the team on the weekend (if you're not having a literal team social or school event anyway), play on rec teams or get together with them for conditioning in the off-season -- and of course, during the season, you're also at practice with them for hours every day after school (if not weekends, too) and going to games with them that probably don't end until after 10pm. When I was in school, lots of girls even picked their class schedules together (another girl and I did that from tenth grade on, actually -- and we're still very close friends even now). Ime, the coaches are also really involved in your lives -- they're the ones who will have lots of talks with you about college, make sure you're doing your homework and keeping your grades up, pay attention to what you're eating, be there for you if you need "adult" guidance about something (not that they'll necessarily know what you should do, but they probably know you really well and at least will give you the time/listen). And often, you get really close to the other girls and will get to know their parents and families, too. Not to paint a too-rosy picture, obviously it's not going to be a kid's entire life and obviously some coaches and teams are crap, but ime, you get a LOT of support and structure from playing a sport in school that you just don't get otherwise.

 

Personally, I couldn't afford to make playing sports the center of my life (was VERY driven when it came to schoolwork and getting to college with a good scholarship. Plus I just wasn't all that good!), but like I said, it gave me a lot of structure -- and I LOOOOOOVED that. I'm just really grateful that I ended up having the opportunity to do all that. It made a big difference in my life.

 

Oh yeah, and not only am I personally just not that coordinated or athletic, but *no one* in the family aside from me has ever even considered playing a sport. So I showed up the first day of tryouts freshman year wearing street clothes and carrying a purse. The coaches had to pull me aside and literally tell me about sneakers and sports bras, to bring a water bottle, etc. LOL. I mean, if there had been really ANY barriers to entry -- especially if those barriers had involved money or an adult helping you navigate things -- I just honestly wouldn't have had a snowball's chance in hell of being able to participate.

 

The schools here have a lot of funding -- but the district is "majority minority," and the school admin's focus in the last few years has been on the a gap (nationally) between black kids and kids of other races in terms of how many kids are enrolling in AP classes and how high their standardized test scores are. So there's now this big push to get kids taking as many APs as possible and kids are getting pressured to cram their schedules with just "academic" classes. Like, every kid has to take algebra by or during ninth grade now. Kids that aren't really ready for algebra or kids with LDs or anything have to take two algebra classes at once to make sure they still can pass the standardized tests for algebra at the end of the year (they have block scheduling, so those kids get ~1.5hrs of algebra a day). That goes on with lots of other "core" subjects, too. So kids that are struggling have their schedule packed with double math classes, etc, and can't fit in any "non-core" classes. And kids that are doing well get pressured to cram their schedules with as many "core" subject honors/AP classes as they can, so they end up doing things like taking double science classes (AP bio *and* AP chem, stuff like that), too. So classes like art, drama, orchestra, etc, don't have their funding cut directly, but their enrollments are cut, because the kids are pressured not to take non-core classes like that (which are only important for, you know, the kids' WELL-BEING and HUMANITY. Not for improving the schools' ~quantitative data/statistics~). And then teachers in non-core subjects are laid off, because the enrollments for their classes are "low." I think it's horrible, obviously. But it's not even a money issue here. It's some kind of weird cultural issue, where lots of people with decision making power apparently have no respect for anything that's not STEM or posssssibly English anymore.

 

What pisses me off is that my district has a bad rap for some reason, and people are always busting on its "quality." But that same girl who I picked classes with and played volleyball with, etc, just got her PhD and finished her Fulbright and is now working for an aerospace company as a material engineer. I went to a college ranked as one of the top 10 (though now, possibly top 15? LOL) in the country, with the biggest scholarship in my (HS) class, and graduated with a GPA of ~3.75. I mean, the schools here were NOT bad when we were going to them ten, fifteen years ago. So I sort of feel like, "if it ain't broke" and don't understand what the administrators' goals even are now. To give kids a worse education than kids were getting ten years ago, but one that looks better to statisticians? I honestly think that new administrators/superintendents/etc come here, look at the student body that's not particularly wealthy and not particularly white, and think "these schools must be bad! they must be broken! let's fix them!" And then overcompensate trying to "fix" these "broken" schools, and end up fucking things up worse and worse. But who knows, really. We just had a pretty big local election (for mayor), and local politics has been getting pretty cut-throat around here in general. Maybe there's a sea change going on!

 

Hahaha actually, DDD, speaking of local politics. Have you started S5 of Smallville yet? (No specifics, in case you haven't). Those two would be eaten ALIVE in a race here. It cracks me up to think of what that campaign would even be like. LOL. Man, it's an UO but I loved that storyline. I wish they'd done more with it, actually. I would have liked a more specific rundown of each of their platforms :P

 

AwesomO4000, you're not nuts for agonizing over a word or two. I think I've said it before, my best friend taught Writer's Workshop at NYU, and one thing she stressed was revision, revision, revision!

 

How do you know when you hit the tipping point? Where your revisions are making the piece worse rather than better?

[DittyDotDot]

Glad things are better catrox. I have a lot of allergies myself, but mostly pollen and no food ones I'm aware of. I have been known to react rather strongly to a few insect bites though, so the swollen fingers made me a bit nervous.

 

Hahaha actually, DDD, speaking of local politics. Have you started S5 of Smallville yet? (No specifics, in case you haven't). Those two would be eaten ALIVE in a race here. It cracks me up to think of what that campaign would even be like. LOL. Man, it's an UO but I loved that storyline. I wish they'd done more with it, actually. I would have liked a more specific rundown of each of their platforms :P

 

No, currently mid-S4. Give me a couple more weeks and should start dipping into S5.

[Demented Daisy]

I just have to share.  This is my current favorite thing EVER.

 

[Demented Daisy]

Not sure, but Happy Father's Day to any dads around here -- no matter the species of your kids.  ;-)

[Mick Lady]

Haven't been around all weekend, too busy! Friday we took a friend of Mick's to the hospital. No big deal, elective surgery on ACL, but one of those "In by 6:30, out by11:00 dealies, which meant we had to be up at 3am! We had to wait until he peed to take him home, and that took forever! But we had fun goading him into taking a piss! He's fine, in fact his doctor told him to walk as much as was comfortable, to stretch out the ligaments. He's truckin' around like nothing happened.

 

Sunday, (today) Mick's Fantasy Football league had their annual picnic. Twelve guys and their wives who started the league 28 years ago! I'm home now, ready to crash, but Mick is still there playing poker. Don't expect to see him until four am or so...

 

I drank way too much!

[Demented Daisy]

[Demented Daisy]

Right.  In.  The.  Feels.  ;-)

 

[Demented Daisy]

So, while we wait, I just thought I'd mention that, IMO, the Suicide Squad trailer looks the most promising so far.  Then Deadpool, then Batman vs Superman.  I'm too nervous to watch the Star Wars stuff.  I'm trying to see the movie without any expectations -- and that's getting progressively more difficult.

 

Oh, almost forgot.  I'm looking forward to seeing the X-Men: Apocalypse teaser/trailer.

 

So, that killed 5 minutes.  Anyone have any ideas?  ;-)

[Omegamom]

We spent Saturday doing volunteer work, ripping out old ranch fencing in Valles Caldera National Preserve. (Valles Caldera is the HUGE caldera of an equally huge ancient extinct volcano.) My arms, legs, pecs, everything ache as a result. I think everyone should do one or two days a week doing this kind of work; we, as a nation, would all be in buff shape if we did so. ;-)

Then we spent today driving down through the Jemez National Recreation Area.

Lots of purty wildflowers and spectacular landscapes.

Wildflowers: http://yetanothersupernaturalfan.tumblr.com/post/123927886314/flowers-valles-caldera-national-preserve-and-jemez

Landscapes: http://yetanothersupernaturalfan.tumblr.com/post/123928000329/landscapes-valles-caldera-national-preserve-and

[Mick Lady]

So you're a photographer too! Wonderful pictures, thank you for posting! That's some beautiful country, we're in Northern Idaho, and the wildflowers this time of year are breath taking. I hope you plan to enlarge some of these and frame them. I certainly would!

[catrox14]

Just watching True Detective....and they are playing "Can't Find My Way Home" and all I could think about was dead!Dean and Sammy and my heart broke all over again.

[Mick Lady]

Okay guys, totally off topic, but this is the most scary story I've ever read! Turn off the lights, be in the mood, and read this;

 

http://www.castleofspirits.com/stories02/voiceinthe.html

[SueB]

I find these two statements

 this is the most scary story I've ever read! 

 

and

 

Turn off the lights, be in the mood, and read this;

antithetical.

 

My response: read in the daylight.

[Mick Lady]

Heh! I'm hoping others will post some they found. I love a good scare!

 

Come on SueB! Don't you like to be scared? ::evil grin::

 

Edit to add: A girlfriend of mine sent me this link years ago. We were living in a big old farmhouse at the time, and like an idiot I waited until Mick went out with his friends one night to read it. I turned off all the lights and scared the hell out of myself! Thank God for the three huge dogs we had at the time!

 

I like the more subtle stuff, not the blood and guts type of movie, or story. I love the movie "The Changeling" with George C. Scott for the same reason. You just have to be in the mood to be scared, and have the right setting.

Edited July 15, 2015 by Mick Lady

[Demented Daisy]

Meh.  I lived with a ghost, so that story doesn't scare me.

 

Now, Stephen King's Gerald's Game is probably the scariest thing I've ever read.  Probably because the premise (woman, handcuffed to a bed, is desperate to survive after her husband unexpectedly dies) is entirely possible.

[Mick Lady]

Meh.  I lived with a ghost, so that story doesn't scare me.

 

Now, Stephen King's Gerald's Game is probably the scariest thing I've ever read.  Probably because the premise (woman, handcuffed to a bed, is desperate to survive after her husband unexpectedly dies) is entirely possible.

 

You live with a ghost!? I missed that info. Have you wrote about it here, or could you tell me about it when you have the time?

 

I'll have to check out Gerald's Game. I gave up on King years ago. It seemed to me he'd be on a great roll with a story, then get bored with it and wrap it up as fast as he could. But a lot of my friends have told me lately that he's back on his game. Thanks for the recommendation!

[Demented Daisy]

Here you go.  I posted my story back in April.  This is the short, short version.  I usually tell it much better in person.  ;-)

 

 

We lived with a ghost for a couple of years in Germany.  Nice old gentleman, except he liked to knock over our candlesticks.  Until we hung up our 2006 World Cup flag.  He didn't like where we put it, so he knocked a display cabinet off the wall and threw it six feet across the room, shattering everything inside.  He also smashed all the crystal on my sideboard.  Took ages to clean up.

 

Anyway, a few nights later, we were talking about putting the flag back up.  That night (I slept through this), he woke up my husband and explained that his family portrait had hung on that wall where we put the flag.  If we agreed not to put anything else on that wall, he would leave us alone.  My husband agreed.

 

We never put anything else on that wall.  And nothing strange ever happened again.

 

100% true story.  Most of Germany is haunted.  Every time we told a German friend our story, they believed us -- and had one for us.  Almost everyone has one.

[Mick Lady]

Oh I believe it. Completely. I know many people who have experienced some really weird stuff, far too many to discount the possibility of ghosts existing. Germany is an ancient land, and I'm sure it has it's share of hauntings and spirits.

 

I love the fact that there is still some "magic" left in this world! Thank you for posting this!

[Mick Lady]

Hey Demented Daisy! Try this one, creepy as hell;

 

http://www.castleofspirits.com/outpast.html

 

And no ghosts!

[7kstar]

Shortly after 9/11, I had some students tell me they kept seeing a ghost around the school.  The funny part was that they knew they were safe once they got to my room.  It was like the ghost wouldn't enter the area because they said my room was surrounded in light.

 

I never told the kids that I had felt an energy that wasn't positive, so I had cleansed my room and the auditorium.  I don't see ghost, but I've felt them a few times.  Call me crazy.  :)

[Mick Lady]

Now that's one cool story!

 

I'm retired to Idaho now, but taught for many years at NYU. I was four blocks away having coffee with a girlfriend who worked for American Express in one of the buildings at The World Trade Center when the first plane hit. I will never, for my entire life forget that noise! No one ever talks about that and I can't understand why. We lived in Middletown NJ at the time, and our small town lost more people in the WTC than any other town. Just the thought of that day...

 

edit because spelling counts.

Edited July 16, 2015 by Mick Lady

[7kstar]

I totally get why people don't talk about it. 

 

I might one day write what I experienced, but the crazy part was my dreams.  I didn't know what I was dreaming about since I had never ever seen the trade towers till after they were being destroyed.  I couldn't watch the stuff very long because I felt way too much stuff.

 

Luckily I haven't experienced that kind of stuff again.  But it is a day that yes, you remember what you were doing when it happened.  I had a teacher friend that was in a panic due to thinking her daughter was in the area, another teacher was lied to by her son.  He told her he wasn't in the tower but was, but got out just in time.  It was a really crazy emotional day...I can't imagine how awful it would be to be in the area.  Hugs.

[catrox14]

nothing to see here

Edited July 18, 2015 by catrox14

[Demented Daisy]

New (unofficial) Supernatural shirts!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(The name of that last one is "Who ya idjits gonna call?"  Hee!)

[AwesomO4000]

I think my recent favorite ones  - I'm considering getting one of the Sam ones - are these quote T-shirts:

 

Dean

Sam

Cas

 

Though the site also has some other cool shirts also: see here

[catrox14]

That moment when your friend texts you saying "I blame you" and attaches a screenshot of her TV with Dean's face.  She has been assimilated. I have made it so.

[Omegamom]

:-(

So yesterday morning, we piled our 13-yo daughter into a car with my niece and her fella for her first long visit somewhere else on her own. To Lafayette, LA. Where some asshole just shot up a theater tonight, killing three and wounding seven others.

Bro, SIL, and family love to go to the movies. I assume if something happened to my nephew or SIL, I'd have heard about it (bro is out of town). And I know that, since some sicko nut did this today, Lafayette is probably safe for another year or so.

It's still just horrible and scary. My husband will freak out.

Just needed to vent.

[SueB]

Oh dear Omegamom.  I'm sure your heart has been thru the wringer today.  Sending you internet hugs.  <3

[catrox14]

:-(

So yesterday morning, we piled our 13-yo daughter into a car with my niece and her fella for her first long visit somewhere else on her own. To Lafayette, LA. Where some asshole just shot up a theater tonight, killing three and wounding seven others.

Bro, SIL, and family love to go to the movies. I assume if something happened to my nephew or SIL, I'd have heard about it (bro is out of town). And I know that, since some sicko nut did this today, Lafayette is probably safe for another year or so.

It's still just horrible and scary. My husband will freak out.

Just needed to vent.

 

I can relate to that feeling, Omegamom. I grew up not 3 miles from the Aurora theatre shooting and my mom still lived in the same house I grew up in. When I heard that news back in 2012, I was gutted and was grateful that most of my family had moved either south or north and didn't go to that theatre, but I used to go there pretty often back int he day. It's just a horrible surreal thing. :(.  (hugs)

 

As an aside, Jensen's wife Danneel was born in Lafayette and was tweeting about how upset she was at that news :(.

Edited July 24, 2015 by catrox14

[AwesomO4000]

I send you comfort, Omegamom. And I'm sorry to hear that about your home town, catrox.

 

I know how one crazy person can cause so much distress. As I may have mentioned before, my then hubby to be and I flying back into town just as the Danny Rolling murders were being discovered in Gainesville, FL. was something that has never left hubby and I. The town was frightened and no one knew anything. We didn't sleep well for at least a week. And even to this day, even though we're now 300 miles away in a safe town and Danny Rolling is long dead, my husband can't sleep well unless he knows I've locked the door. Sometimes he still asks me if I'm sure.

[7kstar]

When your world of safety has been rocked it is difficult to move on and let it stay in the past, especially when the incident is fairly recent.

 

I'm sorry that someone's insane actions is having such a profound effect on your lives and hope it feels better soon. 

 

I can only add that after being robbed from working in the banking industry more than once, time will allow you to work through the issues. 

 

Hugs and I hope that you feel some comfort to help you through these difficult times.  Not sure my words carry any weight, but in time it will feel better, not forgotten, but easier to deal with.

 

That young girl that had a gun pointed at her, learned to move on and that is the amazing part of being human.  We deal with horrific events and find the strength to move forward, to not let it define us and continue to find joy and laughter.  Be gentle on your spirit as you process it.

 

I know if you can do something creative with the negative images, it will help it fade a little faster...Example, paint, draw or even plant some plants.  Hope you all feel peace soon.  :)

[rue721]

I'm sorry, Omegamom. These random acts of violence are so terrifying. I hate how the police say they don't know the shooter's motive. What reasonable motive could there even be? That he's a terrorist? No one is ever going to know his motive, because there can't be any rational one. Mass murder is inherently irrational. SMH. Well, anyway, I hope that your family in Lafayette is alright. Have you had a chance to check in with them? I wish that EVERYONE in Lafayette were alright, really. At least this shooting wasn't as deadly as the Aurora shooting. Though I never thought I'd say something like, at least there were only two people murdered. SMDH.

[Mick Lady]

:-(

So yesterday morning, we piled our 13-yo daughter into a car with my niece and her fella for her first long visit somewhere else on her own. To Lafayette, LA. Where some asshole just shot up a theater tonight, killing three and wounding seven others.

Bro, SIL, and family love to go to the movies. I assume if something happened to my nephew or SIL, I'd have heard about it (bro is out of town). And I know that, since some sicko nut did this today, Lafayette is probably safe for another year or so.

It's still just horrible and scary. My husband will freak out.

Just needed to vent.

 

Oh this is just awful Omegamom ! ( I'm so sorry I didn't reply sooner, but during the summer I'm only on line late night.)  You and your husband must be frantic! Please keep us all updated, and let us know when she's home safe. I can't imagine what you're feeling right now. Please tell your daughter we're all thinking of her!

[Omegamom]

All is well, MickLady! The girl was on her way there when it happened, spending the night in Dallas. It was just a very intense gut reaction to a "might have been".

[SueB]

Omegamom... you should probably point out the 83 grey hairs you got that night to your darling daughter.  Maybe she'll make you a cup of tea and rub your shoulders.  So glad she's okay.

 

On a completely unrelated note, my hubby and I are avid movie fans.  We see just about every IMAX 3-D movie that is out there.  So my latest recommendations are:

1) Mr Holmes. The opposite of a block-buster but very very good.

2) Ant Man.  I had low expectations but I really enjoyed it.  The tie to the Avengers is strong.  

[catrox14]

So, I'm here to cry. My team just traded our best player to the Blue Jays. I'm preparing for my favorite player to be gone next. I'm just really upset right now.....:(. 

[Omegamom]

Sometimes, being married to a guy who's vaguely high-ish up in a federal department can be a bit unnerving. Like when the dad of an intern fired for documented racism/sexism phones and calls him an "injun-loving, faggot-loving, butt-fucking communist". Um. And then phones our congress critter to complain about him and calls *her* racist, sexist names.

Man. The world is kicking me emotionally in the butt this week. There are just some really icky people out there.

[catrox14]

Soooo, my friend that started watching SPN because of me...is now on s3 ep 10.  My work is done.

[AwesomO4000]

Good job, catrox!

[7kstar]

 

Man. The world is kicking me emotionally in the butt this week. There are just some really icky people out there.

I hope it is getting better.  Yes there are people that make terrible choices, but we keep on moving forward the best we can.  May the rest of the week run smoother.  :)

[MYFAKETVBOYFRIEND]

So, I'm here to cry. My team just traded our best player to the Blue Jays. I'm preparing for my favorite player to be gone next. I'm just really upset right now.....:(. 

But you got Jose Reyes! I cried when my team let him go.......Can you guess my Godforsaken team?

[catrox14]

But you got Jose Reyes! I cried when my team let him go.......Can you guess my Godforsaken team?

That... doesn't help. It's either the Marlins or Mets... If it's the Marlins at least you have Stanton and Jose Fernandez... Also I'm so sorry:(. If it's the Mets..you have.. I'm so sorry..

[MYFAKETVBOYFRIEND]

That... doesn't help. It's either the Marlins or Mets... If it's the Marlins at least you have Stanton and Jose Fernandez... Also I'm so sorry:(. If it's the Mets..you have.. I'm so sorry..

We have pitching.......

[rue721]

So, I'm going to be going on a road trip through the Deep South (Georgia and Alabama) next week and driving for loooooong periods of time. Anybody have playlist suggestions?!

I was just in the car listening to Throwback Thursday and rocking out embarrassingly hard, and remembered how great it is to actually have GOOD music playing as you drive! But I've played out all my music, the radio is so hit or miss, especially when you're traveling, and I KNOW everybody here has good taste. So I figured I should just ask what you all play while you drive! Or at least, what you think I should play.

Anybody willing to share their road trip playlists?

[DittyDotDot]

Well, be careful what you ask for with me, my taste in music is very eclectic. I pretty much just throw all my music on my iPod and leave it on shuffle. You could go from Patty Griffin to Muddy Waters to Brand New to Lynyrd Skynyrd to Woody Guthrie to...

 

However, when I'm on a road trip, many times I take the opportunity to catch up on my podcasts. One of my very favorite podcasts of late is Welcome to Night Vale. I like to describe it as: every horror/action/sci-fi movie ever made is happening in this little tiny town in the dessert and the local community radio station is reporting on it as business as usual. It's very quirky and very silly, but I adore it.

 

Wishing you safe travels and good times! Sounds like a very cool trip.

[Demented Daisy]

I suggest no "Radar Love" or "L.A. Woman".  You won't realize how heavy your foot has gotten until you see the flashing lights in your rearview mirror.  ;-)

[Omegamom]

"Twilight Zone" does that to me, too. ;-)

In fact, I have a fondness for classic metal and new metal, hard rock, and can often be found pounding the steering wheel and singing out...luckily, cruise control can abate the heavy foot action...I can't wait to be in my 80s in a senior living place and cranking up my "oldies".

rue721, what's your style?

[Demented Daisy]

I can't wait to be in my 80s in a senior living place and cranking up my "oldies".

 

 

For 4 years, we lived next to one of the few unrestricted areas of the Autobahn.  I lost count of how many times we were passed by little old ladies in Porsches.