Out ridin' fences
October 17, 2022 2:24 AM Subscribe
This thread ain't getting no younger ...
Its pain and its hunger
They're driving it home
And freedom, oh, freedom
Well that's just some people talking ... in this thread right here.
Oh, you're a hard one, but I know that you got your reasons to talk about these things that are pleasin' you, so let's go ahead and lay some fine things upon the table. Giddyup.
Its pain and its hunger
They're driving it home
And freedom, oh, freedom
Well that's just some people talking ... in this thread right here.
Oh, you're a hard one, but I know that you got your reasons to talk about these things that are pleasin' you, so let's go ahead and lay some fine things upon the table. Giddyup.
Re: croissants: Yesterday I gave away a 55” smart TV. The day before, six boxes of powder free nitrile gloves. The day before that, a folding weight bench. Nobody wanted my old printer. Today I think I’ll give away a mini fridge. Yes, I have discovered my local FB Buy Nothing group.
During that period, a friend gave me a rotisserie chicken, and I found out that an organization I belong to paid for one of my nights in a hotel. I know it’s not related, but it feels related.
posted by Peach at 3:39 AM on October 17, 2022 [11 favorites]
During that period, a friend gave me a rotisserie chicken, and I found out that an organization I belong to paid for one of my nights in a hotel. I know it’s not related, but it feels related.
posted by Peach at 3:39 AM on October 17, 2022 [11 favorites]
adept256: amazing, that's already the best comment of todays thread, and it hasn't even started properly.
posted by flamewise at 3:41 AM on October 17, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by flamewise at 3:41 AM on October 17, 2022 [7 favorites]
Back when I was like 26/27 I lived in a house with a bunch of like 20 year old locals who had been high school friends. I can remember most of names of the wide group of family and friends. I have spent years bashing my head against the wall because I couldn't remember the name of the girl of the downstairs couple. Long time, lots of stories, knew her well.... can not remember her name.
A couple of days ago wham bam thank you mam the puzzle piece falls and lightning flashes and fireworks go off. Her name bubbled up to the surface. She's Stevie as in Stevie Nicks, so not in my Rolodex of girl names. Years I have spent trying to remember her name. It eventually surfaced. I really enjoy when that happens, like I know it's buried somewhere in my brain, it took a long time to tease out, but it's now back.
Now there's one less person that I only know as a "long assed description of connections", not really sure if that's good or bad. The long assed descriptions are sorta how I mostly tend to think about people. But it is nice to have a name here and there.
+++
I;m not a pilot. Can I land a 737? - YouTube
A Detailed Animated Tour of a Modern Airplane Cockpit
Continuing on a theme of last weeks Space Camp and flying. It's sorta like 3d parking once you know the gadgets and such. Poor Tom got flustered and missed headings. Now I really want to ride one of those real flight simulators.
posted by zengargoyle at 3:51 AM on October 17, 2022 [5 favorites]
A couple of days ago wham bam thank you mam the puzzle piece falls and lightning flashes and fireworks go off. Her name bubbled up to the surface. She's Stevie as in Stevie Nicks, so not in my Rolodex of girl names. Years I have spent trying to remember her name. It eventually surfaced. I really enjoy when that happens, like I know it's buried somewhere in my brain, it took a long time to tease out, but it's now back.
Now there's one less person that I only know as a "long assed description of connections", not really sure if that's good or bad. The long assed descriptions are sorta how I mostly tend to think about people. But it is nice to have a name here and there.
+++
I;m not a pilot. Can I land a 737? - YouTube
A Detailed Animated Tour of a Modern Airplane Cockpit
Continuing on a theme of last weeks Space Camp and flying. It's sorta like 3d parking once you know the gadgets and such. Poor Tom got flustered and missed headings. Now I really want to ride one of those real flight simulators.
posted by zengargoyle at 3:51 AM on October 17, 2022 [5 favorites]
that's already the best comment of todays thread,
I wholly agree! Sometimes the world is magical.
This week is a school holiday here, and everything is quieter than usual. Lovely.
posted by mumimor at 3:53 AM on October 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
I wholly agree! Sometimes the world is magical.
This week is a school holiday here, and everything is quieter than usual. Lovely.
posted by mumimor at 3:53 AM on October 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
She introduces herself and I finally recognize her. Her name is Ann and this is where it gets crazy.
Adept256, I have had the sort of photo negative of that experience: my next-door neighbour is some twenty years my senior and we learned at some point we had both grown up in the same neighbourhood in a nearby city. We both went to the same high school — her in the sixties, me in the eighties.
Our shared high school closed its doors three years back and just before pandemic times there was a public meeting so the board of education could outline its plans for the building, a lovely gothic revival thing from the twenties. Both my neighbour and I turned up at the meeting with no previous coordination of our plans to do so. At the end, she asked if I wanted a lift home. I said, “Sure.”
As we walked back over to her car, she paused and gestured at a nearby house — “You see that place there? When I was in school, that was my best friend Susan’s house, and we usually walked over here for lunch. I ate so many lunches in the kitchen of that place.” I pointed out that that was the house my parents bought in 1970, so I had had a few meals in that kitchen myself.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 4:12 AM on October 17, 2022 [37 favorites]
Adept256, I have had the sort of photo negative of that experience: my next-door neighbour is some twenty years my senior and we learned at some point we had both grown up in the same neighbourhood in a nearby city. We both went to the same high school — her in the sixties, me in the eighties.
Our shared high school closed its doors three years back and just before pandemic times there was a public meeting so the board of education could outline its plans for the building, a lovely gothic revival thing from the twenties. Both my neighbour and I turned up at the meeting with no previous coordination of our plans to do so. At the end, she asked if I wanted a lift home. I said, “Sure.”
As we walked back over to her car, she paused and gestured at a nearby house — “You see that place there? When I was in school, that was my best friend Susan’s house, and we usually walked over here for lunch. I ate so many lunches in the kitchen of that place.” I pointed out that that was the house my parents bought in 1970, so I had had a few meals in that kitchen myself.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 4:12 AM on October 17, 2022 [37 favorites]
zengargoyle, if you're ever in the Chicago/Milwaukee area of the USA there's a place near the IL/WI border that has a 737-800 simulator the public can try out. Apparently this started as a hobby project by one guy and it got so good that he moved it to a warehouse and turned it into a little business.
No motion and no FAA rating, just for fun, but I've been told that real 737 pilots use it once in a while to goof around and try things out.
posted by JoeZydeco at 4:14 AM on October 17, 2022 [3 favorites]
No motion and no FAA rating, just for fun, but I've been told that real 737 pilots use it once in a while to goof around and try things out.
posted by JoeZydeco at 4:14 AM on October 17, 2022 [3 favorites]
My recovering alcoholic friend lost her job, fell off the wagon, attempted suicide, checked herself out of the hospital, and disappeared; so, not a great weekend.
On the other hand, there are still kittens. They go in for their first vet appointment this morning. They need that dewormer! They will feel so much better once they evict those nasty worms.
posted by notoriety public at 5:12 AM on October 17, 2022 [14 favorites]
On the other hand, there are still kittens. They go in for their first vet appointment this morning. They need that dewormer! They will feel so much better once they evict those nasty worms.
posted by notoriety public at 5:12 AM on October 17, 2022 [14 favorites]
You know how at a certain age any weird incident has you thinking, "Is this it? Is this a sign that I'm getting too old for this nonsense? Is a rocking chair on the front porch in my future?"
I lost my cell phone yesterday.
Picture this: The lakeside cottage construction project which has been going on for forever and a day, rural Oklahoma, 2020s.
It's the weekend, so we have several items to tick off the list of things to do before winter weather sets in.
The kitchen is a work in progress, with tall upper cabinets and a breakfast bar with a poured countertop and a deep double sink. The water is finally turned on at the sink as of this weekend, with only a tiny leak in the P-trap. Yay! Now on to building the rest of the lower cabinetry.
This is my husband's retirement project -- "Have table saw and welding equipment, will work for relatives for meals when not designing floorplans for household improvements."
He has plans for our house when this project is finished. Oh, my.
Moving, moving, moving boxes and drywall scraps and boards in the attic to finish the plank flooring. Creating the short door and doorframe that will go into the plumbing area above the bathrooms. Admiring the steep wooden ladder that the sweet husband has built (By hand! No diagrams!) from the middle bedroom into the upper story. Very nice.
A morning spent bent over and kneeling inside my mother-in-law's empty refrigerator in her lakeside trailer, a few lots down in the same mobile home park. If it were red soda it would look like a crime scene. As it is, a bottle of Coca Cola has exploded and left a brown syrupy mess everywhere.
Did I mention that the MIL and FIL only come to the lake during the summer to fish and enjoy time with the grandkids, between haying season and working cattle and other aspects of farm life? So this has been a deeply regrettable issue for at least a couple of weeks.
The in-laws emptied the fridge and freezer and mopped the floor, but it's just too much for my dear MIL to deal with, so by the time I get there the syrup is rock hard and soaked into the glass shelving frames.
Do we have running water? Nope, we do not. I bring water from our construction site (My kitchen water, still yay!) and scrub and scrub....
Success. The refrigerator is sparkling, the floor is clean, and the dried-up dirt daubers (wasps) have been removed from the carpet and windowsills throughout the trailer.
The husband did a scan and clean of the bathroom. There were issues.
Back at our cottage, my allergies are kicking in and my legs are shot. The sweet husband has a few purchases to make at the city before moving on to the next items on his list, so it's time to hit the road.
As we pack out and break for a meal before heading home, I realize something.... Where is my cell phone?
* sigh *
Fast forward to the point where, after several searches of the middle bedroom, we find the phone has wedged itself between the mattress and the shelf at the end of the bed. I put it on top of a rickety pile during one of my many photo sessions of the work progress, and it didn't stay there.
So, it wasn't a senior moment. I didn't finish recording the upstairs progress before making lunch, and forgot to put my phone back where it belonged.
But that was a ridiculous finale for our very productive weekend at the lake.
posted by TrishaU at 5:15 AM on October 17, 2022 [7 favorites]
I lost my cell phone yesterday.
Picture this: The lakeside cottage construction project which has been going on for forever and a day, rural Oklahoma, 2020s.
It's the weekend, so we have several items to tick off the list of things to do before winter weather sets in.
The kitchen is a work in progress, with tall upper cabinets and a breakfast bar with a poured countertop and a deep double sink. The water is finally turned on at the sink as of this weekend, with only a tiny leak in the P-trap. Yay! Now on to building the rest of the lower cabinetry.
This is my husband's retirement project -- "Have table saw and welding equipment, will work for relatives for meals when not designing floorplans for household improvements."
He has plans for our house when this project is finished. Oh, my.
Moving, moving, moving boxes and drywall scraps and boards in the attic to finish the plank flooring. Creating the short door and doorframe that will go into the plumbing area above the bathrooms. Admiring the steep wooden ladder that the sweet husband has built (By hand! No diagrams!) from the middle bedroom into the upper story. Very nice.
A morning spent bent over and kneeling inside my mother-in-law's empty refrigerator in her lakeside trailer, a few lots down in the same mobile home park. If it were red soda it would look like a crime scene. As it is, a bottle of Coca Cola has exploded and left a brown syrupy mess everywhere.
Did I mention that the MIL and FIL only come to the lake during the summer to fish and enjoy time with the grandkids, between haying season and working cattle and other aspects of farm life? So this has been a deeply regrettable issue for at least a couple of weeks.
The in-laws emptied the fridge and freezer and mopped the floor, but it's just too much for my dear MIL to deal with, so by the time I get there the syrup is rock hard and soaked into the glass shelving frames.
Do we have running water? Nope, we do not. I bring water from our construction site (My kitchen water, still yay!) and scrub and scrub....
Success. The refrigerator is sparkling, the floor is clean, and the dried-up dirt daubers (wasps) have been removed from the carpet and windowsills throughout the trailer.
The husband did a scan and clean of the bathroom. There were issues.
Back at our cottage, my allergies are kicking in and my legs are shot. The sweet husband has a few purchases to make at the city before moving on to the next items on his list, so it's time to hit the road.
As we pack out and break for a meal before heading home, I realize something.... Where is my cell phone?
* sigh *
Fast forward to the point where, after several searches of the middle bedroom, we find the phone has wedged itself between the mattress and the shelf at the end of the bed. I put it on top of a rickety pile during one of my many photo sessions of the work progress, and it didn't stay there.
So, it wasn't a senior moment. I didn't finish recording the upstairs progress before making lunch, and forgot to put my phone back where it belonged.
But that was a ridiculous finale for our very productive weekend at the lake.
posted by TrishaU at 5:15 AM on October 17, 2022 [7 favorites]
I had an EMG/NCV test done to me last week. It was on my left leg, focusing primarily on nerves leading into the foot. It was definitely something I never want to do again. If you’ve had one, you know what I mean.
On the upside, the neurologist was actually surprised and just a bit thrilled that he easily found (and proceeded to electrocute) a set of nerves that run along the bottom of your feet. He said that in most people those nerves just tend to not be easily located or not respond well. Something like that, anyway.
Afterwards, the neurologist told me I have really great nerves, especially for someone my age. So, I guess that was my compliment for the week.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:30 AM on October 17, 2022 [13 favorites]
On the upside, the neurologist was actually surprised and just a bit thrilled that he easily found (and proceeded to electrocute) a set of nerves that run along the bottom of your feet. He said that in most people those nerves just tend to not be easily located or not respond well. Something like that, anyway.
Afterwards, the neurologist told me I have really great nerves, especially for someone my age. So, I guess that was my compliment for the week.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:30 AM on October 17, 2022 [13 favorites]
Had to be polite to Trumpists yesterday. They were sitting on the curb in their red hats, and they wanted to pet my little dog, who really wanted them to pet her, because she cannot read. I have to always be polite and nonconfrontational when I am with her, for her sake;* she is small and needs her person to take care of her even if that injures the pride. They weren't at all rude and weren't saying anything political, but you don't go out in those hats in this town for a peaceable time. I felt bad afterwards, but then if they can see me as human for a few minutes because she's a good girl, it might help.
___
*this implies that I am a cool, tough customer otherwise, which is false
posted by Countess Elena at 5:39 AM on October 17, 2022 [23 favorites]
___
*this implies that I am a cool, tough customer otherwise, which is false
posted by Countess Elena at 5:39 AM on October 17, 2022 [23 favorites]
adept256: " I don't wave croissants at randos."
And that's my new post-screamo band name settled.
posted by signal at 5:55 AM on October 17, 2022 [5 favorites]
And that's my new post-screamo band name settled.
posted by signal at 5:55 AM on October 17, 2022 [5 favorites]
I have finally arrived in my new city. Yesterday I went to the hardware store, the bakery, the pastry shop, the fruit market, the grocery store, and the plant store.
I walked three blocks. 🤩
Spent last week in my old city, en famille for 🇨🇦 thanksgiving. Great visit capped off with an awful moment. I got a sandwich near the downtown airport and when I went to leave, the only exit was fully occupied by two large, muscular pit bulls, parked there by their owner while he went in to order. I’m not a dog-fearer, but when I went to pass them (with a bag of hot beef) they growled, put their ears back, and raised their hackles. I backed off and — figuring the owner might otherwise be 5-10 minutes — knocked on the window, then heard a stream of cursing in response. I went inside to try and de-escalate. Big mistake. Ended up enduring a few minutes of angry homophobic ranting before this guy collected his dogs and allowed me to leave.
I don’t believe in “bad breeds”, but some owners are a nightmare. I feel bad for those doggos.
posted by sixswitch at 6:07 AM on October 17, 2022 [4 favorites]
I walked three blocks. 🤩
Spent last week in my old city, en famille for 🇨🇦 thanksgiving. Great visit capped off with an awful moment. I got a sandwich near the downtown airport and when I went to leave, the only exit was fully occupied by two large, muscular pit bulls, parked there by their owner while he went in to order. I’m not a dog-fearer, but when I went to pass them (with a bag of hot beef) they growled, put their ears back, and raised their hackles. I backed off and — figuring the owner might otherwise be 5-10 minutes — knocked on the window, then heard a stream of cursing in response. I went inside to try and de-escalate. Big mistake. Ended up enduring a few minutes of angry homophobic ranting before this guy collected his dogs and allowed me to leave.
I don’t believe in “bad breeds”, but some owners are a nightmare. I feel bad for those doggos.
posted by sixswitch at 6:07 AM on October 17, 2022 [4 favorites]
Did the Bisbee 1000 this weekend, an event I’ve been wanting to do for a while, and had a lot of fun there. One thing that has always been true is that I am not a runner. Lots and lots of runners at the event, so there’s no way I’m keeping up with them. However, while I don’t really run, I am a hiker who has done a lot of long, steep hikes, so once I got to the staircases, I was just gliding past pretty much everyone and so I managed to finish in the top half of the event. I might do it next year, but it is a bit expensive so I gotta see if the funds work.
I love Bisbee, so colorful and different, and I go there occasionally. (If you’re heading to Tombstone, hang out there for ten minutes, figure out that it’s a tourist trap and not really all that interesting, and then get back on the road and drive another half hour to Bisbee.) After the event I stocked up on coffee from Old Bisbee Roasters, which I usually get mail order from every 2-3 weeks. If you’re into coffee, I recommend ordering a couple of pounds and trying it - excellent stuff. I picked up a growler from the local brewery and got lunch at Dot’s Diner. I really need to go to that town more often, there’s art hidden everywhere.
posted by azpenguin at 6:07 AM on October 17, 2022 [5 favorites]
I love Bisbee, so colorful and different, and I go there occasionally. (If you’re heading to Tombstone, hang out there for ten minutes, figure out that it’s a tourist trap and not really all that interesting, and then get back on the road and drive another half hour to Bisbee.) After the event I stocked up on coffee from Old Bisbee Roasters, which I usually get mail order from every 2-3 weeks. If you’re into coffee, I recommend ordering a couple of pounds and trying it - excellent stuff. I picked up a growler from the local brewery and got lunch at Dot’s Diner. I really need to go to that town more often, there’s art hidden everywhere.
posted by azpenguin at 6:07 AM on October 17, 2022 [5 favorites]
I am having a stressful work week but my kid and I are doing much better relationship wise so I guess it's still a good week.
I am also trying not to be freaked out by all the fascism shit going on but I am freaked out. So thanks for the croissant story adept256.
posted by emjaybee at 6:19 AM on October 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
I am also trying not to be freaked out by all the fascism shit going on but I am freaked out. So thanks for the croissant story adept256.
posted by emjaybee at 6:19 AM on October 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
Back in 2016, there was a Metafilter post about Mad Ape Den, where you try to say things in words of no more than 3 letters. I had fun with it and since then I've occasionally entertained myself by trying to come up with Mad Ape Den versions of songs. Earlier this year I did Desperado:
Bad Guy
Hey, bad guy,
Why do you not get it?
You go to and fro all day, out in the hot sun or in the ice. You do not go in.
No one can get you to cry
But I get why you are ice.
You dig it but it is bad for you.
If you get the top gem gal, boy, you can not win.
But the top hug gal is not a bad bet.
The one you got is not bad.
But you try to get the one you can not get.
Hey, bad guy,
You get old.
You say, "Ow!" and you go in to eat and let a gal fix you up.
Men say, "If I dig it, I do it, and I do not let any gal say I can not" but it is all gab.
If you are out all day in the sun or the ice and no one is by you, you are in a pen.
If you are out in the ice, is it not icy to the toe?
No ice in the sky, no sun.
You can not say if it is day or not.
No joy, no woe.
Is it not odd how it is all meh now?
Why do you not get it?
Go in out of the ice.
Let a gal in.
It may be wet
But see that arc in the sky?
Let a gal hug you.
Let a gal hug you now
Or you may get too old and the gal may go.
posted by Redstart at 6:19 AM on October 17, 2022 [18 favorites]
Bad Guy
Hey, bad guy,
Why do you not get it?
You go to and fro all day, out in the hot sun or in the ice. You do not go in.
No one can get you to cry
But I get why you are ice.
You dig it but it is bad for you.
If you get the top gem gal, boy, you can not win.
But the top hug gal is not a bad bet.
The one you got is not bad.
But you try to get the one you can not get.
Hey, bad guy,
You get old.
You say, "Ow!" and you go in to eat and let a gal fix you up.
Men say, "If I dig it, I do it, and I do not let any gal say I can not" but it is all gab.
If you are out all day in the sun or the ice and no one is by you, you are in a pen.
If you are out in the ice, is it not icy to the toe?
No ice in the sky, no sun.
You can not say if it is day or not.
No joy, no woe.
Is it not odd how it is all meh now?
Why do you not get it?
Go in out of the ice.
Let a gal in.
It may be wet
But see that arc in the sky?
Let a gal hug you.
Let a gal hug you now
Or you may get too old and the gal may go.
posted by Redstart at 6:19 AM on October 17, 2022 [18 favorites]
Yesterday I went for a longish walk with the kids and had a variety of experiences. First, we walked to a nearby shopping mall (conveniently from our apartment there is only one road to cross and the rest is entirely in parks, even though it's about 3km away) because they wanted to go on the giant slide there (it really is giant, starts on the 4th floor and spirals down to the first). Unfortunately the slide didn't open until 2pm and we were there a bit too early, so they didn't get a chance to slide on it. This is a big deal because my two younger kids never tried it before, and the youngest just crossed the 120cm minimum height to ride it. Needless to say we are going back soon.
Weirdly, on the way back home we heard the loudest boom that I had ever heard in my life. Like it wasn't long lasting, but it was so loud it shook the ground. I haven't been able to figure out what it was, but other area friends all heard it (within a several km radius), so it was loud as heck.
Finally, while walking the rest of the way home I saw some unpicked persimmon trees. Well, the lowest ones were gone, but no one went through the effort of picking the higher fruit. Fortunately I am tall and lack dignity so don't mind jumping and grabbing and trying to pull down branches. We ended up with about fifteen soon to be ripened persimmons to take home, yay!
posted by Literaryhero at 6:22 AM on October 17, 2022 [3 favorites]
Weirdly, on the way back home we heard the loudest boom that I had ever heard in my life. Like it wasn't long lasting, but it was so loud it shook the ground. I haven't been able to figure out what it was, but other area friends all heard it (within a several km radius), so it was loud as heck.
Finally, while walking the rest of the way home I saw some unpicked persimmon trees. Well, the lowest ones were gone, but no one went through the effort of picking the higher fruit. Fortunately I am tall and lack dignity so don't mind jumping and grabbing and trying to pull down branches. We ended up with about fifteen soon to be ripened persimmons to take home, yay!
posted by Literaryhero at 6:22 AM on October 17, 2022 [3 favorites]
I went to college for technical theater, and have worked on some small local theater, TV, and radio projects (some volunteer, some paid) but I am not a regular gig worker, maybe once a year or so, because most of my time is devoted to my full-time "real" job and family.
But, when I saw there was a gig as a Production Assistant for a basic cable TV show in town, I stepped outside of my comfort zone -- and got the job!
So, for a couple days I muted my 'impostor syndrome' loop long enough to work on a episode of House Hunters -- so, yes, I had a good weekend.
posted by AzraelBrown at 6:23 AM on October 17, 2022 [19 favorites]
But, when I saw there was a gig as a Production Assistant for a basic cable TV show in town, I stepped outside of my comfort zone -- and got the job!
So, for a couple days I muted my 'impostor syndrome' loop long enough to work on a episode of House Hunters -- so, yes, I had a good weekend.
posted by AzraelBrown at 6:23 AM on October 17, 2022 [19 favorites]
I'm a low-key cinema buff and I've been slowly working to fill in the gaps in my classic movie watching. My wife isn't terribly interested in watching old, slow, ponderous, or experimental movies, but we have a sixteen-year-old who is turning out to be an incredible film nerd and we take turns picking things to watch together. Yesterday it was my turn, and we sat down to scratch another film off of my "To Watch" list: Ingmar Bergman's "The Seventh Seal." As we're watching, the kid says "Wait! Wasn't that Dies Irae? SOMEBODY 'BOUT TO DIE!" I rewound the scene and she was right--it was Dies Irae, a music cue that had slipped right past me. When we finished our foray into black & white Swedish existentialism, she said "THAT WAS AMAZING! TEN OUT OF TEN!" And then we spent a long time talking about the knight's search for God, what it means to have faith when you can't experience the divine with your senses.
I can't tell you how much I love this. Having a kid in the house who shares my passion for dissecting narratives and is sincerely enthusiastic about movies that would put most contemporary viewers to sleep is sheer joy to me. There's a big difference between having one movie geek in the house and having two.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 6:35 AM on October 17, 2022 [32 favorites]
I can't tell you how much I love this. Having a kid in the house who shares my passion for dissecting narratives and is sincerely enthusiastic about movies that would put most contemporary viewers to sleep is sheer joy to me. There's a big difference between having one movie geek in the house and having two.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 6:35 AM on October 17, 2022 [32 favorites]
Countess Elena, I have had the same experience on the other end of the leash, as it were.
My kid likes coming down to our community garden plot because it's right next to the dog park, so she can meet all the dogs. She met a nice chonky black lab named Blue, and when I went over to say hi, the owner was decked out in a Let's Go Brandon tee. I recognized him as a neighbor who sometimes comes to our council meetings to heckle the idea of government (I think that's what he's doing? definitely mad that we are trying to govern.)
The next day I ran into Blue again and the neighbor had on a Let's Go Brandon hat. Gotta have the whole range of merch I guess.
Blue is a perfectly good dog, and my neighbor is an asshole but we were cordial, which is about the bare minimum I can expect.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 6:36 AM on October 17, 2022 [6 favorites]
My kid likes coming down to our community garden plot because it's right next to the dog park, so she can meet all the dogs. She met a nice chonky black lab named Blue, and when I went over to say hi, the owner was decked out in a Let's Go Brandon tee. I recognized him as a neighbor who sometimes comes to our council meetings to heckle the idea of government (I think that's what he's doing? definitely mad that we are trying to govern.)
The next day I ran into Blue again and the neighbor had on a Let's Go Brandon hat. Gotta have the whole range of merch I guess.
Blue is a perfectly good dog, and my neighbor is an asshole but we were cordial, which is about the bare minimum I can expect.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 6:36 AM on October 17, 2022 [6 favorites]
Yesterday I had a great conversation with a domestic violence victim who was trying to understand their situation. I gave them the power and control wheel (well, mentioned it and they looked it up while we were on the phone). They were quiet for a while, and said "I recognize things from all of these sections".
It's the first time I've talked over the phone with someone about the wheel (usually in-person), and was grateful for the opportunity to assist someone who was starting their journey, being able to name the things they were experiencing.
posted by Gorgik at 6:46 AM on October 17, 2022 [6 favorites]
It's the first time I've talked over the phone with someone about the wheel (usually in-person), and was grateful for the opportunity to assist someone who was starting their journey, being able to name the things they were experiencing.
posted by Gorgik at 6:46 AM on October 17, 2022 [6 favorites]
My croissant story is not as magical, but since it's there deep in my bones, I'll tell it. I had moved to New York City in the fall of 1995 and sent out 65+ resumes before finally landing a job in publishing for an annual salary of $18,500. I didn't know anybody, and this was pre-Craigslist, so I found an apartment on my own out of the classified. I think it was maybe $850 a month? A shithole one-bedroom in Long Island City, close enough that I could walk home over the 59th Street Bridge and save the Subway fare.
This apartment was over a bakery that supplied the coffee carts of the city, so if you walked in you could buy a croissant or muffin for 75 cents rather than the buck-fifty the carts charged. It smelled wonderful in the apartment until I realized the smell never went away and became a dreary annoyance at some point. Also, the ovens below made the apartment sweltering at all times in warm weather. As winter set in, this turned out to be a good thing, because the boiler was always conking out. On the weekends, the bakery was empty and my apartment was usually freezing. Then my only neighbor, an Israeli gangster, showed me how to open the basement padlock with a hammer and relight the pilot light on the boiler, which sometimes worked.
I continued to buy the cheap pastries even though the apartment (and presumably the bakery below) was swarming with cockroaches. I couldn't afford not to. Fortunately, the Atkins diet took off and I got a raise the following summer, allowing me to break my lease and move on when the first rat appeared. Ugh.
All that said, I still miss living in the city.
posted by rikschell at 7:08 AM on October 17, 2022 [6 favorites]
This apartment was over a bakery that supplied the coffee carts of the city, so if you walked in you could buy a croissant or muffin for 75 cents rather than the buck-fifty the carts charged. It smelled wonderful in the apartment until I realized the smell never went away and became a dreary annoyance at some point. Also, the ovens below made the apartment sweltering at all times in warm weather. As winter set in, this turned out to be a good thing, because the boiler was always conking out. On the weekends, the bakery was empty and my apartment was usually freezing. Then my only neighbor, an Israeli gangster, showed me how to open the basement padlock with a hammer and relight the pilot light on the boiler, which sometimes worked.
I continued to buy the cheap pastries even though the apartment (and presumably the bakery below) was swarming with cockroaches. I couldn't afford not to. Fortunately, the Atkins diet took off and I got a raise the following summer, allowing me to break my lease and move on when the first rat appeared. Ugh.
All that said, I still miss living in the city.
posted by rikschell at 7:08 AM on October 17, 2022 [6 favorites]
notoriety public, I am so sorry about your friend. You must be frantic with worry; sending you any virtual hugs you want.
Croissants are wonderful; I don't think I tasted one until post college days. Rats are less fabulous; glad you could move.
I have a couple of happy food stories from the past week. One involves many pears (thus this Ask) gifted from a neighbour I just met. Lots of us Swedes never really meet our neighbours, at least in apartment buildings. But last week I met the pear guy. He chased me down in his wheelchair when I was on my way to the store. Apparently that happened because I had met his gaze and So suddenly this guy was zipping next to me on the sidewalk, asking if I had been born in Sweden. It was great. He's originally from Serbia and has many opinions about never being invited over for coffee after years and years of living here.
He will probably never be invited over to my place for coffee, either, but I am happy to know his name now and really enjoyed the pears. Also, last week a neighbour was grilling something delicious on her public patio. When I stopped to apologize for staring (I didn't mean to, I just kind of do sometimes), she insisted I take one of the things she was cooking. OMG so great!
What did I eat? Please tell me, I have no idea. It was some kind of ground meat (maybe lamb) that included some nuts. A thin layer of dough covered the meat. It was like a small, flattened dome shape. Super super tasty. I plan to make something with the pears that I can give to both the pear neighbour and the meat-morsel-grilling neighbour.
It is a holiday at my place when Swedish strangers talk to me. These encounters happened last week, and I'm still celebrating.
posted by Bella Donna at 7:14 AM on October 17, 2022 [8 favorites]
Croissants are wonderful; I don't think I tasted one until post college days. Rats are less fabulous; glad you could move.
I have a couple of happy food stories from the past week. One involves many pears (thus this Ask) gifted from a neighbour I just met. Lots of us Swedes never really meet our neighbours, at least in apartment buildings. But last week I met the pear guy. He chased me down in his wheelchair when I was on my way to the store. Apparently that happened because I had met his gaze and So suddenly this guy was zipping next to me on the sidewalk, asking if I had been born in Sweden. It was great. He's originally from Serbia and has many opinions about never being invited over for coffee after years and years of living here.
He will probably never be invited over to my place for coffee, either, but I am happy to know his name now and really enjoyed the pears. Also, last week a neighbour was grilling something delicious on her public patio. When I stopped to apologize for staring (I didn't mean to, I just kind of do sometimes), she insisted I take one of the things she was cooking. OMG so great!
What did I eat? Please tell me, I have no idea. It was some kind of ground meat (maybe lamb) that included some nuts. A thin layer of dough covered the meat. It was like a small, flattened dome shape. Super super tasty. I plan to make something with the pears that I can give to both the pear neighbour and the meat-morsel-grilling neighbour.
It is a holiday at my place when Swedish strangers talk to me. These encounters happened last week, and I'm still celebrating.
posted by Bella Donna at 7:14 AM on October 17, 2022 [8 favorites]
TrishaU: ....we find the phone has wedged itself between the mattress and the shelf at the end of the bed.
I wish!
Last weekend I went up into the attic to prep the air-conditioning unit for winter. We recently had the insulation improved, which means a second layer of fiberglass batts across the rafters. I have to go the length of the house to do this job, folding back the new fiberglass on the way so I can see where to put my weight -- and then on the way back, I keep turning and replacing the batts and turning and moving and turning back....
So I finish, go down the ladder, close everything up, put all the stuff back in the closet [siderant: WTF put the attic access hatch in a closet and not in the hallway??], and store the ladder in the garage, put away my tools & gloves...and realize that I left my best screwdriver in the attic.
No way am I making the half-hour round-trip back up there, no matter how many times I will wish I had between now and May. See in you in the Spring, little guy!
posted by wenestvedt at 8:17 AM on October 17, 2022 [11 favorites]
I wish!
Last weekend I went up into the attic to prep the air-conditioning unit for winter. We recently had the insulation improved, which means a second layer of fiberglass batts across the rafters. I have to go the length of the house to do this job, folding back the new fiberglass on the way so I can see where to put my weight -- and then on the way back, I keep turning and replacing the batts and turning and moving and turning back....
So I finish, go down the ladder, close everything up, put all the stuff back in the closet [siderant: WTF put the attic access hatch in a closet and not in the hallway??], and store the ladder in the garage, put away my tools & gloves...and realize that I left my best screwdriver in the attic.
No way am I making the half-hour round-trip back up there, no matter how many times I will wish I had between now and May. See in you in the Spring, little guy!
posted by wenestvedt at 8:17 AM on October 17, 2022 [11 favorites]
Went up to Long Island for a family wedding this weekend. I'd never been to Long Island before. Great time. My six year old, Tiny Croft, stole the show. Charmed the hell out of everyone, danced with the bride - danced with anyone she could get her hands on, really - and was still going strong at midnight. I have no idea where she gets this from. I'm so not a party person and neither is my wife. She was amazing.
But that's not why I'm posting. The block of rooms for the wedding was at the Long Island Marriott, right next to the storied Nassau Coliseum. Very popular hotel. Tons of weddings going on. A high school reunion. Some kind of conference. And air crew. Everywhere, packs of flight attendants and pilots in their matching uniforms hauling their little black bags around the lobby and swarming the elevators. There were at least three such groups in the 36 hours we were there.
And I started wondering why. I assumed we must be really close to JFK, but it turns out it's like 20 miles away, and surely there are lots of hotels right there at the airport. Why do airlines bus their crews all the way out to Uniondale?
posted by Naberius at 8:21 AM on October 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
But that's not why I'm posting. The block of rooms for the wedding was at the Long Island Marriott, right next to the storied Nassau Coliseum. Very popular hotel. Tons of weddings going on. A high school reunion. Some kind of conference. And air crew. Everywhere, packs of flight attendants and pilots in their matching uniforms hauling their little black bags around the lobby and swarming the elevators. There were at least three such groups in the 36 hours we were there.
And I started wondering why. I assumed we must be really close to JFK, but it turns out it's like 20 miles away, and surely there are lots of hotels right there at the airport. Why do airlines bus their crews all the way out to Uniondale?
posted by Naberius at 8:21 AM on October 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
This article suggests that it's just cheaper than downtown NYC hotels, especially when the airlines buy huge blocks of room nights in advance.
posted by JoeZydeco at 8:30 AM on October 17, 2022
posted by JoeZydeco at 8:30 AM on October 17, 2022
My father is so happy at the moment. Or maybe I should say contented. His new book is about to be launched. It's about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
He's been working on it for years, and the project hit a big roadblock during the pandemic when his publisher dropped him.
He got all quiet and miserable for a while.
But all that's been sorted out now, and I believe they're starting to print the copies tomorrow.
This will probably be his last book since he's getting old quickly now.
posted by Zumbador at 8:54 AM on October 17, 2022 [17 favorites]
He's been working on it for years, and the project hit a big roadblock during the pandemic when his publisher dropped him.
He got all quiet and miserable for a while.
But all that's been sorted out now, and I believe they're starting to print the copies tomorrow.
This will probably be his last book since he's getting old quickly now.
posted by Zumbador at 8:54 AM on October 17, 2022 [17 favorites]
I just posted Inception on FF and I believe it to be some of my finest work.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:54 AM on October 17, 2022 [9 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:54 AM on October 17, 2022 [9 favorites]
It smelled wonderful in the apartment until I realized the smell never went away and became a dreary annoyance at some point.
My neighborhood has what I call "the garlic hour," when all of the restaurants on the block start firing up their systems for the dinner service. I know that someday I will be very tired of my apartment smelling like garlic and meat but that day is NOT TODAY.
The restaurants also mean that I see more rats now than ever before. They are so very fat and careless, contented with their plenty, it almost makes them less gross. I shooed one out of the front yard yesterday and it just sort of looked at me balefully, before bumbling out.
At any rate none of them seem athletic enough to make it up to my 3rd floor apartment, which is comforting.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 9:35 AM on October 17, 2022 [8 favorites]
My neighborhood has what I call "the garlic hour," when all of the restaurants on the block start firing up their systems for the dinner service. I know that someday I will be very tired of my apartment smelling like garlic and meat but that day is NOT TODAY.
The restaurants also mean that I see more rats now than ever before. They are so very fat and careless, contented with their plenty, it almost makes them less gross. I shooed one out of the front yard yesterday and it just sort of looked at me balefully, before bumbling out.
At any rate none of them seem athletic enough to make it up to my 3rd floor apartment, which is comforting.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 9:35 AM on October 17, 2022 [8 favorites]
While I have mostly left my classic rock burnout days well in the past, I keep Desperado on my "sing out loud" playlist for when I'm moody.
I get loud. It's bad. I'm a bad singer. People have stared agape at me at karaoke. My throat hurts after Desperado. I develop a country accent. Migration paths for geese are altered. Bats can't echo locate. Eldritch powers drain three more days off Don Henley's life. And I don't care.
DON'T YOUR FEET GET COLD IN THE WINTER TIME!
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 9:42 AM on October 17, 2022 [23 favorites]
I get loud. It's bad. I'm a bad singer. People have stared agape at me at karaoke. My throat hurts after Desperado. I develop a country accent. Migration paths for geese are altered. Bats can't echo locate. Eldritch powers drain three more days off Don Henley's life. And I don't care.
DON'T YOUR FEET GET COLD IN THE WINTER TIME!
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 9:42 AM on October 17, 2022 [23 favorites]
Abehammerb Lincoln: That was the best attempt so far to dethrone adapt256's croissant opener: well done.
Everybody else: Your comments are well appreciated, too! Talk to your enemies; you can agree not to agree.
posted by flamewise at 10:00 AM on October 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
Everybody else: Your comments are well appreciated, too! Talk to your enemies; you can agree not to agree.
posted by flamewise at 10:00 AM on October 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
Is Desperado "classic rock"?
I mean yeah, the Eagles kind of became that, but Desperado? A country/rock hybrid ballad is not really classic rock is it. Already Gone, sure. But I always put most of Greatest Hits 71-75 in the hybrid category.
posted by Windopaene at 10:23 AM on October 17, 2022
I mean yeah, the Eagles kind of became that, but Desperado? A country/rock hybrid ballad is not really classic rock is it. Already Gone, sure. But I always put most of Greatest Hits 71-75 in the hybrid category.
posted by Windopaene at 10:23 AM on October 17, 2022
The restaurants also mean that I see more rats now than ever before. They are so very fat and careless, contented with their plenty, it almost makes them less gross. I shooed one out of the front yard yesterday and it just sort of looked at me balefully, before bumbling out.
-- We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese
* An aged and desultory gathering of rodents ease into the smoky alleyway, where a pool table is set up, poker chips are sold, and a juke box is churning out tired laments of discord and woe -- "... just another brick in the wall...." *
posted by TrishaU at 10:24 AM on October 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
-- We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese
* An aged and desultory gathering of rodents ease into the smoky alleyway, where a pool table is set up, poker chips are sold, and a juke box is churning out tired laments of discord and woe -- "... just another brick in the wall...." *
posted by TrishaU at 10:24 AM on October 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
Work was hard last week. With my continuing medical problems I'm very fatigued by mid afternoon, so completing a day's tasks is painful. Friday was especially hard. Then Saturday: up early! for a full day of ski patrol training. It was the annual autumnal refresher day in Outdoor Emergency Care (the event was actually indoors). I was on my feet all day except for when I was on my knees attending to a mock patient. Sunday was a rest day. Wife was away for the day so I just sat and did nothing. Spent the morning reading Metafilter discussions of the last few days. Watched the finale of The Rings of Power (I've enjoyed the series). Watched the Cowboys-Eagles game. Started reading The Return of Faraz Ali which so far is very good.
posted by neuron at 10:31 AM on October 17, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by neuron at 10:31 AM on October 17, 2022 [5 favorites]
I have watched this 10 second cat video (embedded in a tweet) multiple times, and still keep laughing at it.
posted by Wordshore at 10:35 AM on October 17, 2022 [9 favorites]
posted by Wordshore at 10:35 AM on October 17, 2022 [9 favorites]
(Just realized you all are talking about the song about the cowboy, and not "Despacito." I'll just be... uh, leaving....)
posted by wenestvedt at 10:35 AM on October 17, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by wenestvedt at 10:35 AM on October 17, 2022 [3 favorites]
10 second cat video
I thought: I'll just leave this up (it auto repeats) while I work. .... That idea lasted 40 seconds.
posted by neuron at 10:41 AM on October 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
I thought: I'll just leave this up (it auto repeats) while I work. .... That idea lasted 40 seconds.
posted by neuron at 10:41 AM on October 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
Desperado was one of the first tunes I learned on the piano, because it's fairly easy to play and (as Abehammerb Lincoln says) is fun to sing - in the privacy of my own home, though I'd like to think that my voice is at least good enough that I'm not disrupting the patterns of Nature when I do so.
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:52 AM on October 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:52 AM on October 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
I was at work Saturday morning and helping our loader bring in carts. A lady and her son were setting up a table for "donations" at the entry (as was previously approved by an assistant store manager.)
Upon speaking to them, I discovered that they had only a dozen boxes of "cronuts" (croissants deep fried and glazed and filled like doughnuts) obtained from a local bakery. She explained that it was just a test to see how well it worked. She's an 8th grade teacher who's trying to fund some field trips related to oral history projects her students were conducting.
Since I was confident those goodies would be sold in an instant, I suggested that they move their table to the exit doors for greater success.
Our loader guy came up and I explained what was going on with the cronut sales. He had a doughnut story:
He was 5 years old in Germany when the US forces came into their little town. The townsfolk were joyous because the Russian army was approaching and the US forces were greatly preferable. After a couple of days, the kids were allowed outside their homes. They were gathered steetside and waving at the convoy when a truck stopped and a soldier got out. The kids, being afraid, backed away. The soldier guestured for them to stop, then handed over a box of doughnuts. That guesture was most welcome because all the families had to eat for a long while were just scraps of things. And, you know that the children probably received the greatest share of their megar foodstuffs.
Our, now, 82 year old loader guy was eventually able to emigrated to the US as a 20 year old.
I knew how much our loader enjoyed sharing his stories with anyone who would listen, so I then suggested that if any of her students didn't have a preselected story to tell, perhaps this would be an opportunity. Yes, indeed, a visit to the school is arranged for next week.
posted by mightshould at 11:06 AM on October 17, 2022 [24 favorites]
Upon speaking to them, I discovered that they had only a dozen boxes of "cronuts" (croissants deep fried and glazed and filled like doughnuts) obtained from a local bakery. She explained that it was just a test to see how well it worked. She's an 8th grade teacher who's trying to fund some field trips related to oral history projects her students were conducting.
Since I was confident those goodies would be sold in an instant, I suggested that they move their table to the exit doors for greater success.
Our loader guy came up and I explained what was going on with the cronut sales. He had a doughnut story:
He was 5 years old in Germany when the US forces came into their little town. The townsfolk were joyous because the Russian army was approaching and the US forces were greatly preferable. After a couple of days, the kids were allowed outside their homes. They were gathered steetside and waving at the convoy when a truck stopped and a soldier got out. The kids, being afraid, backed away. The soldier guestured for them to stop, then handed over a box of doughnuts. That guesture was most welcome because all the families had to eat for a long while were just scraps of things. And, you know that the children probably received the greatest share of their megar foodstuffs.
Our, now, 82 year old loader guy was eventually able to emigrated to the US as a 20 year old.
I knew how much our loader enjoyed sharing his stories with anyone who would listen, so I then suggested that if any of her students didn't have a preselected story to tell, perhaps this would be an opportunity. Yes, indeed, a visit to the school is arranged for next week.
posted by mightshould at 11:06 AM on October 17, 2022 [24 favorites]
Thorzdad, I had to have an EMG several years ago, and the neurologist asked me if I knew what to expect, and when I told him no, he said "I'm sorry, it's basically torture." I'm glad he didn't pull any punches!
posted by obfuscation at 11:21 AM on October 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by obfuscation at 11:21 AM on October 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
All of the new strawberry plants that I propagated from runners are now themselves throwing out runners! Where do these plants think they're going, huh?
posted by SPrintF at 11:39 AM on October 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by SPrintF at 11:39 AM on October 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
They are going everywhere. That's what they do.
Unless you transplant a bunch, and there is no rain for three months. Then they die and you have to do it again.
posted by Windopaene at 11:45 AM on October 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
Unless you transplant a bunch, and there is no rain for three months. Then they die and you have to do it again.
posted by Windopaene at 11:45 AM on October 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
I used to ride fences with my grandfather (in a car generally, I know how to ride a horse, but neither my grandfather or my dad were interested in being a 'cowboy' - grandpa even had an ATV for occasional use) because animals love to destroy fences. I swear we were out fixing a fence at least 1 week a month on a 300 acre ranch. Cows, deer, goats -all hate on fences. It's nothing like suburbia where I put up my fence 14 years ago and haven't touched it much since.
Also, when you spend $200 to fix the fence and then ask the neighbor to pony up $50 - well let's say I heard way too much hemming and hawing to truly believe that 'small town charity' is a real thing.
posted by The_Vegetables at 1:02 PM on October 17, 2022 [4 favorites]
Also, when you spend $200 to fix the fence and then ask the neighbor to pony up $50 - well let's say I heard way too much hemming and hawing to truly believe that 'small town charity' is a real thing.
posted by The_Vegetables at 1:02 PM on October 17, 2022 [4 favorites]
Is Desperado "classic rock"?
'Hotel California' probably gets more radio play these days, but anything that appears on Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) is classic rock, and will continue to be classic rock until enough boomers die off (not really, it's more like 'age out of being an attractive advertising demographic') that the classic-rock of the '70s gets replaced with, like, Radiohead's 'Creep,' The Cranberries' 'Zombie,' and Green Day's 'Good Riddance.'
(On my own local classic-rock station, this kind of shift is already happening. You'll rarely if ever hear a song from the '60s, but they play turn-of-the-'90s stuff like Motley Crue's 'Dr. Feelgood' and Metallica's 'Enter Sandman' quite regularly.)
posted by box at 1:02 PM on October 17, 2022 [5 favorites]
'Hotel California' probably gets more radio play these days, but anything that appears on Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) is classic rock, and will continue to be classic rock until enough boomers die off (not really, it's more like 'age out of being an attractive advertising demographic') that the classic-rock of the '70s gets replaced with, like, Radiohead's 'Creep,' The Cranberries' 'Zombie,' and Green Day's 'Good Riddance.'
(On my own local classic-rock station, this kind of shift is already happening. You'll rarely if ever hear a song from the '60s, but they play turn-of-the-'90s stuff like Motley Crue's 'Dr. Feelgood' and Metallica's 'Enter Sandman' quite regularly.)
posted by box at 1:02 PM on October 17, 2022 [5 favorites]
It was still cool, when I went out at noon. Early before 7AM. I heard a flock of geese flying in formation. I love hearing them, they must be incoming. This is a hot town. It is such a relief to feel fall. I have to sleep under a sheet now, maybe even a blanket. I did turn off all the overhead fans today, for the first time since may.
posted by Oyéah at 1:22 PM on October 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Oyéah at 1:22 PM on October 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
Afterwards, the neurologist told me I have really great nerves, especially for someone my age.
I have had this exact experience, but it is not my neurologist but strangers, and they usually tell me I have a lot of nerve.
My croissant story is not as magical, but since it's there deep in my bones, I'll tell it. I had moved to New York City in the fall of 1995 and sent out 65+ resumes before finally landing a job in publishing for an annual salary of $18,500. I didn't know anybody, and this was pre-Craigslist, so I found an apartment on my own out of the classified. I think it was maybe $850 a month?
This apartment was over a bakery that supplied the coffee carts of the city...
This is very similar to my own experience of Montreal, where I landed in fall of 1987, save that the rent was cheaper (the Plateau had not yet been gentrified). I lived above a fantastic patisserie where croissants were thirty cents and chocolatines thirty-five, and two bucks would fill me up for the front half of the day.
I had arrived after my first (unsuccessful) attempt to finish a degree, but had the proceeds of a decently-paying summer job to live on while I looked for a job there, which was... slow in coming. A quasi-bilingual Anglo with an incomplete education was not in the highest demand, so my financial reserves got more and more meagre as time passed. When I arrived, one might say I was as financially secure as the day was long, meaning ever less so as the year wore on.
The thing that evokes that time for me more vividly than anything else is a song from eighteen years earlier: Just before I departed Toronto, I bought two cassettes in a record shop in the Eaton Centre. I wandered my new city with a newly-purchased cassette of Abbey Road playing endlessly on my Walkman. The lines,
posted by ricochet biscuit at 1:25 PM on October 17, 2022 [7 favorites]
I have had this exact experience, but it is not my neurologist but strangers, and they usually tell me I have a lot of nerve.
My croissant story is not as magical, but since it's there deep in my bones, I'll tell it. I had moved to New York City in the fall of 1995 and sent out 65+ resumes before finally landing a job in publishing for an annual salary of $18,500. I didn't know anybody, and this was pre-Craigslist, so I found an apartment on my own out of the classified. I think it was maybe $850 a month?
This apartment was over a bakery that supplied the coffee carts of the city...
This is very similar to my own experience of Montreal, where I landed in fall of 1987, save that the rent was cheaper (the Plateau had not yet been gentrified). I lived above a fantastic patisserie where croissants were thirty cents and chocolatines thirty-five, and two bucks would fill me up for the front half of the day.
I had arrived after my first (unsuccessful) attempt to finish a degree, but had the proceeds of a decently-paying summer job to live on while I looked for a job there, which was... slow in coming. A quasi-bilingual Anglo with an incomplete education was not in the highest demand, so my financial reserves got more and more meagre as time passed. When I arrived, one might say I was as financially secure as the day was long, meaning ever less so as the year wore on.
The thing that evokes that time for me more vividly than anything else is a song from eighteen years earlier: Just before I departed Toronto, I bought two cassettes in a record shop in the Eaton Centre. I wandered my new city with a newly-purchased cassette of Abbey Road playing endlessly on my Walkman. The lines,
Out of college, money spent,... summon up autumn leaves crunching under my sneakers in Outremont in a way nothing else ever will.
See no future, pay no rent,
All the money's gone, nowhere to go.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 1:25 PM on October 17, 2022 [7 favorites]
(The patisserie, by the way, is long since gone: in its spot is a place selling sandwiches for twenty dollars. O tempora, o mores.)
posted by ricochet biscuit at 1:26 PM on October 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by ricochet biscuit at 1:26 PM on October 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
When we lived in Santa Barbara, our apartment was right above a fantastic Mexican BBQ place. After about a month we were sick to death of the soot that collected everywhere, but I never got tired of the smell.
posted by Eddie Mars at 1:27 PM on October 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Eddie Mars at 1:27 PM on October 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
...I had to have an EMG several years ago, and the neurologist asked me if I knew what to expect, and when I told him no, he said "I'm sorry, it's basically torture." I'm glad he didn't pull any punches!
Oh, yeah, The neurologist asked me the same question, then apologized in advance and said “This is going to hurt. A lot.” Forewarned was definitely not forearmed, though.
posted by Thorzdad at 2:11 PM on October 17, 2022
Oh, yeah, The neurologist asked me the same question, then apologized in advance and said “This is going to hurt. A lot.” Forewarned was definitely not forearmed, though.
posted by Thorzdad at 2:11 PM on October 17, 2022
Forewarned was definitely not forearmed
My EMG was to assess for carpel tunnel syndrome so I’m fairly certain there’s a pun here but it’s not coming to me.
posted by obfuscation at 2:44 PM on October 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
My EMG was to assess for carpel tunnel syndrome so I’m fairly certain there’s a pun here but it’s not coming to me.
posted by obfuscation at 2:44 PM on October 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
The internship I had the summer before my senior year in college was on Market Street in San Francisco. It was several floors up in a surprisingly small building. There was a McDonald's on the ground floor, which meant that the office I worked in smelled like french fries all day long. Living or working above a bakery must be more pleasant and I envy those of you who had that experience.
posted by Bella Donna at 2:53 PM on October 17, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by Bella Donna at 2:53 PM on October 17, 2022 [3 favorites]
My EMG was to assess for carpel tunnel syndrome so I’m fairly certain there’s a pun here but it’s not coming to me.
I’m going to assume you meant carpal tunnel syndrome. I thought I’d nip that mistake in the bud.
posted by notoriety public at 3:19 PM on October 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
I’m going to assume you meant carpal tunnel syndrome. I thought I’d nip that mistake in the bud.
posted by notoriety public at 3:19 PM on October 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
Had a day out with my father today. We wandered around trying to find the buildings about which Pevsner was rudest, and almost entirely failing because of lack of map preparation. We did find "a wretched hotchpotch of buildings that are neither modern nor even decently copyist but just unpleasantly nondescript". We patronised a jellied eel stall where I drank Bovril and felt very fifties (we didn't have eels though). And we sat on the Round Tower and looked over the harbour and talked about clouds (or rather, my father explained them to me again and it went over my head as usual). It was a good day. Though as my father said, he will probably only remember (because of his dementia) the point where he reached for his cup of tea under the bench and found it had spilt. Then I got home and thought I'd lost my purse with cash and cards, including his power of attorney card, stressed about how to cancel them all and found it under the newspaper. Still have that lost-something stress, stupidly.
posted by paduasoy at 3:30 PM on October 17, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by paduasoy at 3:30 PM on October 17, 2022 [4 favorites]
Yes, I meant carpal tunnel. Thank you for nipping that mistake in the bud.
posted by obfuscation at 4:10 PM on October 17, 2022
posted by obfuscation at 4:10 PM on October 17, 2022
Out to dinner with my Mr. G. Thought we'd gone early enough but the restaurant was PACKED. Finally seated at a small table for two next to another small table for two with a young couple. The waitress stood between the tables to take our orders at the same time, so we started pleasant small talk.
Their appetizers came, and they got wings.. There was a fly, and the young man went to shoo it away - when he hit the bowl of Bleu Cheese dressing....
Reader, it flew in the air in slow motion. His face was of sheer horror as it flew in my direction!
It hit the floor, spewing dressing everywhere. It flowed under my seat...
But I was untouched! Not my dress; not my legs; not my shoes; not my purse which sat on the floor between my feet. Nothing! Miraculous!
Or just luck. Either way, he was relieved, we all laughed it off, and had a great story to tell.
posted by annieb at 4:10 PM on October 17, 2022 [8 favorites]
Their appetizers came, and they got wings.. There was a fly, and the young man went to shoo it away - when he hit the bowl of Bleu Cheese dressing....
Reader, it flew in the air in slow motion. His face was of sheer horror as it flew in my direction!
It hit the floor, spewing dressing everywhere. It flowed under my seat...
But I was untouched! Not my dress; not my legs; not my shoes; not my purse which sat on the floor between my feet. Nothing! Miraculous!
Or just luck. Either way, he was relieved, we all laughed it off, and had a great story to tell.
posted by annieb at 4:10 PM on October 17, 2022 [8 favorites]
The season's first real cold front came through last night, pushing out our humid 90-degree air and bringing 2.5 inches of rain, which was very welcome and hopefully didn't wash away the wildflower seeds I scattered yesterday. I've got a big pot of Thai vegetable curry on the stove for dinner tonight and lunches the rest of the week, and the chocolate cheesecake I made for my sister's birthday celebration this weekend was a hit, giant canyon of a crack in the middle notwithstanding. Feeling a rare sense of contentment, which is probably in equal part due to recent events and the tequila and soda I'm sipping on while I wait for the eggplant to finish cooking.
posted by Tuba Toothpaste at 5:08 PM on October 17, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by Tuba Toothpaste at 5:08 PM on October 17, 2022 [3 favorites]
OK, we are doing smells?
So, back in my mid 20s, I got a job at an inventory service. So we would go into stores, and count up all the shit they had on the shelves. Some of these were fairly large chain stores, that sold everything. You would be assigned one side of an aisle, and would count everything there, recording it on this badass, waist mounted calculator/storage device. When you got in the data entry groove, it was pretty fucking Zen...
But then you would come around the corner, and you got the Microwave Popcorn aisle...
OMFG. The artificial stench of that shit. Permeating your nose and your clothes. And you had to count the whole table side. ARRRGH! Still makes me want to retch.
posted by Windopaene at 5:30 PM on October 17, 2022 [3 favorites]
So, back in my mid 20s, I got a job at an inventory service. So we would go into stores, and count up all the shit they had on the shelves. Some of these were fairly large chain stores, that sold everything. You would be assigned one side of an aisle, and would count everything there, recording it on this badass, waist mounted calculator/storage device. When you got in the data entry groove, it was pretty fucking Zen...
But then you would come around the corner, and you got the Microwave Popcorn aisle...
OMFG. The artificial stench of that shit. Permeating your nose and your clothes. And you had to count the whole table side. ARRRGH! Still makes me want to retch.
posted by Windopaene at 5:30 PM on October 17, 2022 [3 favorites]
It was 50 degrees this morning when I took the pups out to the back yard. I had to go get a hoodie! Ahhhhh summer is finally being chased away and I love it. Winters in southern Arizona are perfect.
posted by azpenguin at 7:12 PM on October 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by azpenguin at 7:12 PM on October 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
Although the heat of summer was (mostly) alleviated by late September, what's locally considered to be actual fall weather is finally kicking in this week - highs in the 70s suddenly dropping to highs in the 50s-60s. I'm already planning to make a big pot of boeuf Bourguignon this weekend. Mmmmm....
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:53 PM on October 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:53 PM on October 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
I would like to point out, for no reason, that I found the TARDIS at the NorCalRenFaire. Talk about gritty realism.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 8:33 PM on October 17, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 8:33 PM on October 17, 2022 [4 favorites]
Here in Seattle, we had the latest date of an 80+ degree day ever. And it was 88.
Hasn't rained significantly since late June?
Cascades are on fire, haven't had a day without Moderate to Unhealthy air in like 3 weeks.
Supposed to start raining on Friday.
We usually have nice weather until the day before Halloween, then that day, the wind picks up, it gets cold. Time to go trick-or-treating kids! But never has it been so hot and so dry for so long.
posted by Windopaene at 8:41 PM on October 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
Hasn't rained significantly since late June?
Cascades are on fire, haven't had a day without Moderate to Unhealthy air in like 3 weeks.
Supposed to start raining on Friday.
We usually have nice weather until the day before Halloween, then that day, the wind picks up, it gets cold. Time to go trick-or-treating kids! But never has it been so hot and so dry for so long.
posted by Windopaene at 8:41 PM on October 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
Winters in southern Arizona are perfect.
posted by azpenguin
user name checks out
posted by adept256 at 8:41 PM on October 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by azpenguin
user name checks out
posted by adept256 at 8:41 PM on October 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
I have been alcohol free for 51 days now, since August 28, which was the one year anniversary of my dad's death. I am losing some friends and gaining others, and I have no desire to go back to drinking. It's nice to quit things.
posted by derrinyet at 9:04 PM on October 17, 2022 [23 favorites]
posted by derrinyet at 9:04 PM on October 17, 2022 [23 favorites]
Argh... Every Tuesday someone comes very early in the morning to wash the stairs. The dog hates this, and wakes us all up by barking and growling and also crawling into my bed. The others hate me, because it is my stupid dog (in that moment, all the other hours of the week, they love him, because he is a good boy). I'm tired, I want to go back to bed, but now it's no longer early.
The good thing is now you guys have reminded me that it is stew season, and I will start thinking about stews we can have for dinner. Maybe chili?
posted by mumimor at 12:20 AM on October 18, 2022 [4 favorites]
The good thing is now you guys have reminded me that it is stew season, and I will start thinking about stews we can have for dinner. Maybe chili?
posted by mumimor at 12:20 AM on October 18, 2022 [4 favorites]
I've been thinking about beef, leek, and barley soup.
posted by taz at 12:57 AM on October 18, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by taz at 12:57 AM on October 18, 2022 [2 favorites]
Tortellini soup this week, and I am going to bake some quick no-knead bread in the Dutch oven to go with it. Yesssssss, I love soup season!
posted by wenestvedt at 3:59 AM on October 18, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by wenestvedt at 3:59 AM on October 18, 2022 [3 favorites]
beef, leek, and barley soup.
Looks delicious! Good thing we have a long, cold winter in front of us!
posted by mumimor at 4:41 AM on October 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
Looks delicious! Good thing we have a long, cold winter in front of us!
posted by mumimor at 4:41 AM on October 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
It's starting to look like Spring in Santiago, though today is cold enough for a hoodie, again.
They opened a nice, well-designed 15KM bike path near my part of the city, so I've been enjoying that lately.
posted by signal at 5:25 AM on October 18, 2022 [3 favorites]
They opened a nice, well-designed 15KM bike path near my part of the city, so I've been enjoying that lately.
posted by signal at 5:25 AM on October 18, 2022 [3 favorites]
I would like to point out, for no reason, that I found the TARDIS at the NorCalRenFaire. Talk about gritty realism.
As I understand it, the Doctor’s particular TARDIS looks perpetually like a mid-20th century police phone box because of a malfunctioning chameleon circuit. They are supposed to blend in with the scenery, so any telephone booth, airport shuttle, or wardrobe might be one.
I’m sure at some point we will get another American reboot where the Doctor and companions, through the miracle of product placement, travel in an Orange Julius kiosk.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:46 AM on October 18, 2022 [3 favorites]
As I understand it, the Doctor’s particular TARDIS looks perpetually like a mid-20th century police phone box because of a malfunctioning chameleon circuit. They are supposed to blend in with the scenery, so any telephone booth, airport shuttle, or wardrobe might be one.
I’m sure at some point we will get another American reboot where the Doctor and companions, through the miracle of product placement, travel in an Orange Julius kiosk.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:46 AM on October 18, 2022 [3 favorites]
I would like to point out, for no reason, that I found the TARDIS at the NorCalRenFaire. Talk about gritty realism.
The Folsom RenFaire too. Come to think of it, probably at every RenFaire.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:37 AM on October 18, 2022 [2 favorites]
The Folsom RenFaire too. Come to think of it, probably at every RenFaire.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:37 AM on October 18, 2022 [2 favorites]
I was voted out of the kitchen. We are having risotto and a fennel and orange salad. I'm not complaining, since that means I can be here on the free thread with all of you.
posted by mumimor at 8:58 AM on October 18, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by mumimor at 8:58 AM on October 18, 2022 [4 favorites]
Perhaps the Doctor's fascination with ren faires informs some of their sartorial choices.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 9:21 AM on October 18, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 9:21 AM on October 18, 2022 [4 favorites]
Per boy theBRKP's request, I made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner on Sunday. I got a little too enthusiastic with the basil in the sauce and it was a bit bitter. Off to find a solution. Which turned out to be: add more garlic, a touch of Prosecco for sweetness and an extra hour of cooking. Kiddo loved it enough that he took his leftovers for lunch on Monday and ate it cold.
We were supposed to get new appliances today, as out much hated microwave died several weeks ago and we took that as a sign to replace everything (the fridge has been dying by inches for the past several years). Instead we are looking at early January for delivery. I'm mad that I paid for everything upfront.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 9:25 AM on October 18, 2022 [5 favorites]
We were supposed to get new appliances today, as out much hated microwave died several weeks ago and we took that as a sign to replace everything (the fridge has been dying by inches for the past several years). Instead we are looking at early January for delivery. I'm mad that I paid for everything upfront.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 9:25 AM on October 18, 2022 [5 favorites]
mumimor, at least you were deliciously voted out of the kitchen. I was also voted out of the kitchen, but not really because I wasn't volunteering for tonight's meal. We're having linguine, tuna and tomato with feta, black olives, and a little sautéed onion. Sounds wack but tastes delightful. It was my husband's supper idea, so he gets to cook. Whoever comes up with the best idea is thereby compelled to prepare the idea, so we don't so much get voted out of the kitchen, as voted into the kitchen. If both of our ideas are "oh, hm, I don't knowwww," then it's delivery time.
But about soup, we have Greek chicken soup at least once a week. It's so comforting, and so easy, especially with an electric pressure cooker. Here's how we make it:
Two or three chicken leg-thigh pieces (or whatever parts you have. frozen is fine, so you don't have to plan ahead)
Put them in the p-cooker with seven cups of water, and seven tablespoons of rice (I have a little cup that is this amount exactly, so I don't even have to measure), salt and pepper.
Set it to high for 45 minutes (or put the setting on rice or porridge or whatever for 45 minutes)
When the cooking is finished and the cooker is depressurized, take out the chicken to debone, and close the lid right back because you don't want the broth to cool down.
Add the deboned, loosely shredded chicken back to the pot
Whip up two eggs in a bowl with a fork or small whisk, and once it's frothy, squeeze a lemon into it while still whipping. Then, slowly slowly, stir some hot broth by ladelfuls into that mixture until you get it up to a temperature where it won't "eggify" when added to the rest of the hot broth. (this mixture just makes the soup delicious and beautifully creamy; we don't want egg drop soup!)
Pour the mixture into the pot quickly while stirring an making kissing sounds. The kissing sounds are a magic ritual to keep the egg mix from breaking. Also works for making dogs curious and eager to become involved somehow.
And that's it! Written out, it seems like a lot of steps, but this is one of the very best least-effort for greatest-reward dishes. The only real worky part is deboning the chicken if you don't like that. I don't, but he does, so whoever likes that should do it. Not the dog.
posted by taz at 9:33 AM on October 18, 2022 [4 favorites]
But about soup, we have Greek chicken soup at least once a week. It's so comforting, and so easy, especially with an electric pressure cooker. Here's how we make it:
Two or three chicken leg-thigh pieces (or whatever parts you have. frozen is fine, so you don't have to plan ahead)
Put them in the p-cooker with seven cups of water, and seven tablespoons of rice (I have a little cup that is this amount exactly, so I don't even have to measure), salt and pepper.
Set it to high for 45 minutes (or put the setting on rice or porridge or whatever for 45 minutes)
When the cooking is finished and the cooker is depressurized, take out the chicken to debone, and close the lid right back because you don't want the broth to cool down.
Add the deboned, loosely shredded chicken back to the pot
Whip up two eggs in a bowl with a fork or small whisk, and once it's frothy, squeeze a lemon into it while still whipping. Then, slowly slowly, stir some hot broth by ladelfuls into that mixture until you get it up to a temperature where it won't "eggify" when added to the rest of the hot broth. (this mixture just makes the soup delicious and beautifully creamy; we don't want egg drop soup!)
Pour the mixture into the pot quickly while stirring an making kissing sounds. The kissing sounds are a magic ritual to keep the egg mix from breaking. Also works for making dogs curious and eager to become involved somehow.
And that's it! Written out, it seems like a lot of steps, but this is one of the very best least-effort for greatest-reward dishes. The only real worky part is deboning the chicken if you don't like that. I don't, but he does, so whoever likes that should do it. Not the dog.
posted by taz at 9:33 AM on October 18, 2022 [4 favorites]
I have never tried to make that Greek soup, but I very often want to do it. What stops me is that ages ago, when I repeatedly made a very similar soup, the kids asked me to stop. But the thing is that they have in general changed their minds about all the things they asked me to stop cooking. Red beets are fine, liver is fine, couscous is amazing, tagines are good, etc. Your comment may well be the thing that takes me over the edge here.
I also strongly support the tuna-linguine recipe. I think our families have similar tastes... Everyone else reading this should try it for dinner in the time it takes to boil the linguine.
posted by mumimor at 9:58 AM on October 18, 2022 [2 favorites]
I also strongly support the tuna-linguine recipe. I think our families have similar tastes... Everyone else reading this should try it for dinner in the time it takes to boil the linguine.
posted by mumimor at 9:58 AM on October 18, 2022 [2 favorites]
the fridge has been dying by inches
"OK everybody, now we can't store anything on the bottom two shelves anymore." :/
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:54 AM on October 18, 2022 [3 favorites]
"OK everybody, now we can't store anything on the bottom two shelves anymore." :/
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:54 AM on October 18, 2022 [3 favorites]
Perhaps the Doctor's fascination with ren faires informs some of their sartorial choices.
You will usually spot at least one Doctor at any RenFaire as well.
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:12 AM on October 18, 2022
You will usually spot at least one Doctor at any RenFaire as well.
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:12 AM on October 18, 2022
wenestvedt, I'll have to look up tortellini soup! The late, fabulous Laurie Colwin wrote in one of her books, "Home Cooking," or "More Home Cooking" that dried tortellini was weird as pasta, but great for adding to soups, so I do keep dried tortellini around at all times and use it that way often.
If I can't get exactly the sort of pasta I want for this Provencal Vegetable Soup, au pistou, I use 4 cheeses dried tortellini, and it's faboo! I also use arugula instead of basil, or a mix of the two, because sometimes this is too basil-y for me. (This is not a low-effort recipe, btw, but oh, man is it gooood.)
posted by taz at 1:02 PM on October 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
If I can't get exactly the sort of pasta I want for this Provencal Vegetable Soup, au pistou, I use 4 cheeses dried tortellini, and it's faboo! I also use arugula instead of basil, or a mix of the two, because sometimes this is too basil-y for me. (This is not a low-effort recipe, btw, but oh, man is it gooood.)
posted by taz at 1:02 PM on October 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
taz, it's mostly sautéed onion & garlic, a large (28-ounce) can of diced tomato, tortellini, spinach, a lot of chicken broth, and Italian spices. Oh, and some chickpeas/garbanzos, too, I believe.
We use a box of the frozen tortellini from Trader Joe's because we are Capital-L-Lazy sometimes. Once the tortellini goes in, we have like ten minutes to whip up some grilled cheese sandwiches.
I am having my appendix out on Thursday, and they tell me that I can eat anything I want that day. The weather will be cool, and dinner that night will be this soup & grilled cheeses -- so I will be pissed if I can't have it.
posted by wenestvedt at 1:13 PM on October 18, 2022 [4 favorites]
We use a box of the frozen tortellini from Trader Joe's because we are Capital-L-Lazy sometimes. Once the tortellini goes in, we have like ten minutes to whip up some grilled cheese sandwiches.
I am having my appendix out on Thursday, and they tell me that I can eat anything I want that day. The weather will be cool, and dinner that night will be this soup & grilled cheeses -- so I will be pissed if I can't have it.
posted by wenestvedt at 1:13 PM on October 18, 2022 [4 favorites]
Barilla makes a pre-cooked pasta, (penne, rotini, elbows, gemelli.) I heated up water in my coffee water pot and poured it over the penne in a bowl to sit while I sauteed garlic, shrimp, and pumpkin seeds, then I used some of the water to loosen up the garlic basil marinara from the fridge, tossed that in the pan, drained the noodles, threw them in, and in about 7 minutes had lunch, with some parmesan sprinkled on top.
My friend who has a major vintage store told me this story. We were talking about people with special gifts, and he knew someone who had a bar, and thought the bartender was stealing from him. So the owner hires this guy with a gift for visual measurement, who goes to the bar before the shift starts and visually inventories everything there, including, and especially the levels of booze in the bottles. Then he was able to give an accurate accounting of everything gone from the bar, vs the bar receipts.
When I found the pre-cooked pasta in my hanging baskets today, it was like I struck gold.
posted by Oyéah at 1:49 PM on October 18, 2022 [3 favorites]
My friend who has a major vintage store told me this story. We were talking about people with special gifts, and he knew someone who had a bar, and thought the bartender was stealing from him. So the owner hires this guy with a gift for visual measurement, who goes to the bar before the shift starts and visually inventories everything there, including, and especially the levels of booze in the bottles. Then he was able to give an accurate accounting of everything gone from the bar, vs the bar receipts.
When I found the pre-cooked pasta in my hanging baskets today, it was like I struck gold.
posted by Oyéah at 1:49 PM on October 18, 2022 [3 favorites]
I did NOT kill this thread, right?
posted by Oyéah at 8:41 PM on October 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Oyéah at 8:41 PM on October 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
Nah, we're just busy daydreaming of cool stuff to eat after all the food talk!
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:16 PM on October 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:16 PM on October 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
The kids made amazing food last night, apart from what I mentioned above, they also made a raw mushroom salad with parsley and garlic, very good. It was the third anniversary of their first date, so they had spent the entire day doing nice things and they told me about it over dinner, then planned more nice things to do. They live a charmed life, without really knowing it, though they do appreciate the good things they experience.
I live with them as a consequence of the lock-down, they are looking for an apartment now, but it is a treat to get to know your in-law this way.
posted by mumimor at 1:01 AM on October 19, 2022 [1 favorite]
I live with them as a consequence of the lock-down, they are looking for an apartment now, but it is a treat to get to know your in-law this way.
posted by mumimor at 1:01 AM on October 19, 2022 [1 favorite]
Thanks to WFH, I can sneak a loaf of this no-knead bread into my work schedule, and have fresh bread by lunchtime! https://www.jennycancook.com/recipes/2-hour-fastest-no-knead-bread/
Five minutes of mixing, two minutes of folding, and the time to throw it in the oven each fit between meetings.
Damn, my quality of life just ratcheted up a few pegs....
posted by wenestvedt at 10:44 AM on October 19, 2022 [4 favorites]
Five minutes of mixing, two minutes of folding, and the time to throw it in the oven each fit between meetings.
Damn, my quality of life just ratcheted up a few pegs....
posted by wenestvedt at 10:44 AM on October 19, 2022 [4 favorites]
Sounds wonderful! I keep telling myself I really should learn to make bread...
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:51 AM on October 19, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:51 AM on October 19, 2022 [1 favorite]
So the first castmate came down with covid. She went to Disneyland for her anniversary/got proposed to, went to a few rehearsals once she got back (masked the second day once she had "sniffles"), her fiance came down with it, she tested negative and then guess what happened later last night. It seems like most castmates who go to Disneyland (a lot of them) end up coming back with it. Mickey Mouse is apparently a superspreader. Boy, does this make me not want to go on any trips, still. We are back to daily testing this week and mandatory testing twice a week again starting next week since someone else has been off-and-on ill but we don't know if that's covid.
BLEAH. I'm not terribly worried for myself since I wear an N95 or KN95 every single day, but nobody else is masking any more, and when I was told this news, I said, "This, exactly, is why I keep on wearing one!" Tested negative last night, no symptoms so far. Ugh, that reminds me, I'd better go check the FB page to see if anyone else got it yet :/
Am debating whether or not to go to dance class tonight--they ask you if you've been exposed, but you don't go into the building without being masked, I feel fine and go around masked all the time anyway, and I'm going to have to test daily anyway, including today before I leave, so.
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:43 AM on October 19, 2022 [5 favorites]
BLEAH. I'm not terribly worried for myself since I wear an N95 or KN95 every single day, but nobody else is masking any more, and when I was told this news, I said, "This, exactly, is why I keep on wearing one!" Tested negative last night, no symptoms so far. Ugh, that reminds me, I'd better go check the FB page to see if anyone else got it yet :/
Am debating whether or not to go to dance class tonight--they ask you if you've been exposed, but you don't go into the building without being masked, I feel fine and go around masked all the time anyway, and I'm going to have to test daily anyway, including today before I leave, so.
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:43 AM on October 19, 2022 [5 favorites]
I am currently on the phone while doing a screen share with my employer's IT support proving to them that syncing to/from One Drive is murdering my laptop battery even though the power supply is plugged in. The very nice support guy talked me through installing some necessary firmware updates in an attempt to stop the battery drain, but is skeptical that One Drive is the issue. Even though I proved it to him by plugging the power supply back in and making him watch the battery meter drain.
All I wanted to do was verify that I can nuke the OS from orbit as stated in one of the KBAs and start over fresh sans One Drive after backing up my necessary docs for work onto a jump drive. Apparently my mistake was asking for permission.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 11:59 AM on October 19, 2022 [2 favorites]
All I wanted to do was verify that I can nuke the OS from orbit as stated in one of the KBAs and start over fresh sans One Drive after backing up my necessary docs for work onto a jump drive. Apparently my mistake was asking for permission.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 11:59 AM on October 19, 2022 [2 favorites]
Greg_Ace, I heartily recommend this lazy recipe in particular. Literally stir stuff together and leave it sit. Heat the pot. Fold the stuff into a heap. Cook in the pot.
NOM NOM NOM
posted by wenestvedt at 12:09 PM on October 19, 2022 [3 favorites]
NOM NOM NOM
posted by wenestvedt at 12:09 PM on October 19, 2022 [3 favorites]
"OK everybody, now we can't store anything on the bottom two shelves anymore." :/
Not far off. Almost everything stored in the bottom two drawers ends up partially frozen (partially frozen mixed greens are a level of disgusting I have no adequate words to describe), so we use the bottom drawers for food items that can survive a partial freeze.
It is a side-by-side fridge/freezer, so try figuring THAT out.
Firmware updates are installing. The battery is currently holding at 71%, but not charging (in spite of messages to the contrary). I can guarantee if I disable One Drive, it will charge.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 12:11 PM on October 19, 2022 [3 favorites]
Not far off. Almost everything stored in the bottom two drawers ends up partially frozen (partially frozen mixed greens are a level of disgusting I have no adequate words to describe), so we use the bottom drawers for food items that can survive a partial freeze.
It is a side-by-side fridge/freezer, so try figuring THAT out.
Firmware updates are installing. The battery is currently holding at 71%, but not charging (in spite of messages to the contrary). I can guarantee if I disable One Drive, it will charge.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 12:11 PM on October 19, 2022 [3 favorites]
Oh yeah, more meatballs will be made tonight. Buffalo chicken and chicken/beef. I will freeze for future use.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 12:20 PM on October 19, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 12:20 PM on October 19, 2022 [3 favorites]
So, I've been working on writing a children's book for the past year. It's a middle reader chapter book based on the bedtime stories I've been telling my kids (almost every night) for the past four years. I've been submitting chapters/sections to a writers group I was lucky enough to join and I've gotten feedback on the whole manuscript from a few trusted friends. I initially wanted to do the illustrations for it, too, but since selling yourself as a first-time author and illustrator is even harder than either alone, and since I haven't worked on any of the illustrations as sample pieces, I'm getting the ball rolling with publishing.
To that end, I took part in a pitching event last weekend where I had two minutes in a zoom breakout room to sell the idea to agents and editors. It was a strange experience, with people from the organizing group telling us we should both work on our pitches and introduce ourselves to the other authors in the scant minutes before going into the breakout room, followed by the completely one-sided interaction with the various editors and agents (with the exception of them saying "thanks" in the chat after each pitch). So, I didn't know how to feel afterward.
But, I'm excited to say I got two responses! One agent and one editor from a big name publisher are interested in reading my manuscript. It has me through the roof, although, of course, there's no guarantee it will go anywhere.
posted by HE Amb. T. S. L. DuVal at 2:18 PM on October 20, 2022 [14 favorites]
To that end, I took part in a pitching event last weekend where I had two minutes in a zoom breakout room to sell the idea to agents and editors. It was a strange experience, with people from the organizing group telling us we should both work on our pitches and introduce ourselves to the other authors in the scant minutes before going into the breakout room, followed by the completely one-sided interaction with the various editors and agents (with the exception of them saying "thanks" in the chat after each pitch). So, I didn't know how to feel afterward.
But, I'm excited to say I got two responses! One agent and one editor from a big name publisher are interested in reading my manuscript. It has me through the roof, although, of course, there's no guarantee it will go anywhere.
posted by HE Amb. T. S. L. DuVal at 2:18 PM on October 20, 2022 [14 favorites]
Vacuum the back of your fridge, in case dust has gotten all over the coils, and is preventing air circulation.
posted by Oyéah at 4:47 PM on October 20, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by Oyéah at 4:47 PM on October 20, 2022 [3 favorites]
Appendectomy went well, I guess. (Good nap this afternoon, anyway.) The whole nursing team from the CNA Victor who greeted me to the student anesthesiologist Kingsley were patient and gentle and attentive and effective.
But it really hurts to get a hole in your gut wall!
Luckily, my wife made soup, and used yesterday's homemade bread for sandwiches, and I am feeling less bad.
posted by wenestvedt at 4:57 PM on October 20, 2022 [6 favorites]
But it really hurts to get a hole in your gut wall!
Luckily, my wife made soup, and used yesterday's homemade bread for sandwiches, and I am feeling less bad.
posted by wenestvedt at 4:57 PM on October 20, 2022 [6 favorites]
Good news is: first castmate with covid is doing well, was able to do our singing lesson tonight (yes, that's also the singing teacher, good thing we're doing chest voice anyway this month). Someone else who was out sick has returned and didn't have it afetr all.
Bad news: Scrooge has now come down with it/tested positive while at rehearsal tonight. I wasn't around him at the time (he had a private rehearsal with the director ahead of the rest of us) so my five day count doesn't go back to starting over and I'm still negative today, but had to point out to the director that her five day count starts over again, and since god knows very few people bothered to mask up again even after this...sigh. Come on, guys. Oh well...three weeks to show so if they all catch it, hopefully they're all back in beforehand.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:07 PM on October 20, 2022 [4 favorites]
Bad news: Scrooge has now come down with it/tested positive while at rehearsal tonight. I wasn't around him at the time (he had a private rehearsal with the director ahead of the rest of us) so my five day count doesn't go back to starting over and I'm still negative today, but had to point out to the director that her five day count starts over again, and since god knows very few people bothered to mask up again even after this...sigh. Come on, guys. Oh well...three weeks to show so if they all catch it, hopefully they're all back in beforehand.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:07 PM on October 20, 2022 [4 favorites]
Vacuum the back of your fridge
I vacuumed under my bed yesterday. Shocking, I tell you...
posted by mumimor at 12:29 AM on October 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
100.
I walked over to say hi to Estella, the woman across the street. I told her I had been busy lately helping an old lady move. Then we looked at each other and laughed, and laughed a fake laugh, and she asked me how old I am and I said, "72," and she told me that she is 74. We laughed again. Then she gave me five roses from the bush she was trimming, and we went our old lady ways, for the day.
posted by Oyéah at 5:59 PM on October 21, 2022 [11 favorites]
I walked over to say hi to Estella, the woman across the street. I told her I had been busy lately helping an old lady move. Then we looked at each other and laughed, and laughed a fake laugh, and she asked me how old I am and I said, "72," and she told me that she is 74. We laughed again. Then she gave me five roses from the bush she was trimming, and we went our old lady ways, for the day.
posted by Oyéah at 5:59 PM on October 21, 2022 [11 favorites]
Our refrigerator has also now gone bad. I blame this thread.
posted by taz at 1:24 PM on October 22, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by taz at 1:24 PM on October 22, 2022 [3 favorites]
It's 5 C/41 F and even though I am blue because of Seasonal Affective Disorder or whatever, someone in this or another thread mentioned how great it is to have an outdoor refrigerator again, and that's so true. I made a bunch of chicken thighs to freeze for future meals and it was cold enough to put the chicken out on my balcony to cool down before it went into the refrigerator. No wonder I cook more in the fall and winter. It's easier in lots of ways.
That said, my condolences to those with failing fridges. That is no fun at all.
posted by Bella Donna at 2:24 PM on October 22, 2022 [3 favorites]
That said, my condolences to those with failing fridges. That is no fun at all.
posted by Bella Donna at 2:24 PM on October 22, 2022 [3 favorites]
Bella Donna, I like fall's foods best: warm breads and roasts and pies. Food that hugs you from the inside, you know? :7)
posted by wenestvedt at 7:30 PM on October 22, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by wenestvedt at 7:30 PM on October 22, 2022 [2 favorites]
Absolutely in knots right now because I'm going canvassing this afternoon. I've done it before but I always end up partnering with someone who does most of the talking while I handle the clipboard or whatever else we need. There's no guarantee of that again. But I am facing my worst fear -- extempore persuasive human interaction -- in order to defend the republic.
posted by Countess Elena at 7:10 AM on October 23, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by Countess Elena at 7:10 AM on October 23, 2022 [6 favorites]
All you early voters out there, put your "I VOTED," sticker by your front door. Save everyone time and.effort.
posted by Oyéah at 1:59 PM on October 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Oyéah at 1:59 PM on October 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
Thank you for your service, Countess Elena! You are sacrificing your own comfort in order to help protect me and all the other American MeFites and, well, America. That is an incredible thing and I salute you. There’s nothing easy about doing scary shit that is both mundane and urgent, important work. You rock, no kidding.
posted by Bella Donna at 2:36 PM on October 23, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by Bella Donna at 2:36 PM on October 23, 2022 [3 favorites]
oh my gosh, thank you! I really appreciate that. As it was, it was harrowing but underwhelming in the end. Because I picked a neighborhood with a lot of apartments and condos, most of which were behind a vestibule door, I hardly got to talk to anybody. But nobody challenged me, except one guy who just didn't want me in the building.
posted by Countess Elena at 4:57 AM on October 24, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by Countess Elena at 4:57 AM on October 24, 2022 [3 favorites]
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I'm not alone in this, I keep seeing the same faces. We're friendly, holding the door open, saying good morning, but otherwise on our own journey.
I saw such a face this morning. Knowing that I had the last two croissants, I sat down on a bench as she passed. I had a feeling she was going to come back this way. I had a faceful of pastry when she did, so I held up the paper bag with the second croissant without words.
She decides to pay me and I gesture to wait until I swallow. She sits down next to me and I explain I'm not in the pastry resale business. She introduces herself and I finally recognize her. Her name is Ann and this is where it gets crazy. We went to the same primary school 35 years ago. We even remember eating lunch together, I'd share mine when she didn't have any. She's probably the only other person in the world that remembers my dad's vegemite sandwiches. Small world!
Somehow I must have known, I don't wave croissants at randos.
posted by adept256 at 3:08 AM on October 17, 2022 [136 favorites]