I think that I shall never see, a thread as lovely as a free
September 4, 2023 3:34 PM Subscribe
Witcher 3: Blood and Wine is gorgeous!
posted by Gorgik at 4:06 PM on September 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Gorgik at 4:06 PM on September 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
butts.
posted by bombastic lowercase pronouncements at 4:09 PM on September 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by bombastic lowercase pronouncements at 4:09 PM on September 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
First!
posted by mochapickle at 4:14 PM on September 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by mochapickle at 4:14 PM on September 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
Ask me anything about keeping Corydoras catfish. That's my specialist subject this week. Next week: archery.
posted by pipeski at 4:25 PM on September 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by pipeski at 4:25 PM on September 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
Every time I've encountered an Oasis, I've been left wondering about the wall.
posted by hippybear at 4:35 PM on September 4, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 4:35 PM on September 4, 2023 [5 favorites]
Week following: Fishing with bow and arrow
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:35 PM on September 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:35 PM on September 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
pipeski: can you shoot catfish with an arrow? Or will not not have an answer until next week?
posted by hippybear at 4:36 PM on September 4, 2023
posted by hippybear at 4:36 PM on September 4, 2023
Dammit Greg_Ace
posted by hippybear at 4:36 PM on September 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 4:36 PM on September 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
I need to learn more songs. My "singing to myself when I'm bored" repertoire is pretty small and way too many of them are so short. The long ones I know have repetitive lyrics which gets boring fast, so I think I need to learn some story telling folk songs on purpose, instead of just relying on whatever random, easily memorable stuff I've passively absorbed.
posted by Baethan at 4:37 PM on September 4, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by Baethan at 4:37 PM on September 4, 2023 [6 favorites]
can you shoot catfish with an arrow?
As a UK-based archery coach, I can confirm that this is in fact illegal in the UK, as is shooting a rat, a pigeon, or any other animal.
I'm no expert in Siluriformes in general, but I'm certain people in other countries hunt catfish (which are not native here) with a bow. Bowfishing is a big thing.
posted by pipeski at 4:48 PM on September 4, 2023
As a UK-based archery coach, I can confirm that this is in fact illegal in the UK, as is shooting a rat, a pigeon, or any other animal.
I'm no expert in Siluriformes in general, but I'm certain people in other countries hunt catfish (which are not native here) with a bow. Bowfishing is a big thing.
posted by pipeski at 4:48 PM on September 4, 2023
Not much to add this week. Same shit as always. 7 1/2 days away from my medical procedures to stick a net into my heart to prevent pulmonary embolisms, (through my jugular vein, gross), and then two days later, my colostomy reversal and peristomal hernia repair... (With bonus colonoscopy-style prep before the surgery. Fun times!)
With nothing to do but wait for it, my medical anxiety is starting to go off the charts. At least when all this started, it was so fast, went to urgent care->You need to go to the ER->You need to go to the hospital NOW->into surgery and then the ICU for three days, (most of that not conscious), I didn't have time to get anxious. This time, I do. Can't help but feel the potential irony that would result from having survived what I did, to die on the table while they are just trying to fix the things they did before...
Ah well, breathe.
posted by Windopaene at 4:51 PM on September 4, 2023 [22 favorites]
With nothing to do but wait for it, my medical anxiety is starting to go off the charts. At least when all this started, it was so fast, went to urgent care->You need to go to the ER->You need to go to the hospital NOW->into surgery and then the ICU for three days, (most of that not conscious), I didn't have time to get anxious. This time, I do. Can't help but feel the potential irony that would result from having survived what I did, to die on the table while they are just trying to fix the things they did before...
Ah well, breathe.
posted by Windopaene at 4:51 PM on September 4, 2023 [22 favorites]
I need to learn more songs. My "singing to myself when I'm bored" repertoire is pretty small and way too many of them are so short. The long ones I know have repetitive lyrics which gets boring fast, so I think I need to learn some story telling folk songs on purpose, instead of just relying on whatever random, easily memorable stuff I've passively absorbed.
Mine is mostly just the Nestles Alpine White jingle
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 4:51 PM on September 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
Mine is mostly just the Nestles Alpine White jingle
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 4:51 PM on September 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
can you shoot catfish with an arrow?
As a UK-based archery coach, I can confirm that this is in fact illegal in the UK, as is shooting a rat, a pigeon, or any other animal.
But the UK practically invented shooting things with arrows!
posted by Dip Flash at 4:54 PM on September 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
As a UK-based archery coach, I can confirm that this is in fact illegal in the UK, as is shooting a rat, a pigeon, or any other animal.
But the UK practically invented shooting things with arrows!
posted by Dip Flash at 4:54 PM on September 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
Don't forget Noodling
(Not legal in Missouri, but legal on the other side of the river in Oklahoma, according to Kathleen Madigan)
posted by Windopaene at 4:54 PM on September 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
(Not legal in Missouri, but legal on the other side of the river in Oklahoma, according to Kathleen Madigan)
posted by Windopaene at 4:54 PM on September 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
Don't forget Noodling
I'd be interested in trying noodling if it wasn't in the same places where snapping turtles live.
posted by Dip Flash at 4:57 PM on September 4, 2023 [5 favorites]
I'd be interested in trying noodling if it wasn't in the same places where snapping turtles live.
posted by Dip Flash at 4:57 PM on September 4, 2023 [5 favorites]
For those in the Venn Diagram overlap of LOTR and Monty Python fans
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:00 PM on September 4, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:00 PM on September 4, 2023 [5 favorites]
Well if we are talking about snapping turtles...
I was probably 19 or 20, and had a job working as a camp counselor at at YMCA day camp. And it was probably my second summer of doing it. And the staff that year were all pretty meh on the concept. It was over a hundred degrees for several weeks, so the staff spent a bunch of time doing nothing but sending the kids off to the pool, and we sat in the shade and played Canasta. But I digress.
One cooler activity was to walk up the creek that ran through the camp, until we left camp property, and went under this road overpass. Where there were large sections of muddy shallows. So, Mud Fights!
The kids dug it. So I'm reaching into the mud to grab a handful, and buried under the mud...
Snapping turtle. Luckily a smallish one. still chomped right through the pad below my thumb. That, was unexpected...
Next time we took them up there, I got a stick, and poked around. Sure enough, another one of those monsters chilling in the mud. In other words, Fuck snapping turtles.
posted by Windopaene at 5:15 PM on September 4, 2023 [6 favorites]
I was probably 19 or 20, and had a job working as a camp counselor at at YMCA day camp. And it was probably my second summer of doing it. And the staff that year were all pretty meh on the concept. It was over a hundred degrees for several weeks, so the staff spent a bunch of time doing nothing but sending the kids off to the pool, and we sat in the shade and played Canasta. But I digress.
One cooler activity was to walk up the creek that ran through the camp, until we left camp property, and went under this road overpass. Where there were large sections of muddy shallows. So, Mud Fights!
The kids dug it. So I'm reaching into the mud to grab a handful, and buried under the mud...
Snapping turtle. Luckily a smallish one. still chomped right through the pad below my thumb. That, was unexpected...
Next time we took them up there, I got a stick, and poked around. Sure enough, another one of those monsters chilling in the mud. In other words, Fuck snapping turtles.
posted by Windopaene at 5:15 PM on September 4, 2023 [6 favorites]
Thanks for the thread Gorgik, someone had to do it.
Thanks for stepping up.
Now I got Midnight at the oasis running through my head
posted by yyz at 5:16 PM on September 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
Thanks for stepping up.
Now I got Midnight at the oasis running through my head
posted by yyz at 5:16 PM on September 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
Send your camel to bed yyz.
posted by Windopaene at 5:19 PM on September 4, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by Windopaene at 5:19 PM on September 4, 2023 [4 favorites]
My housemate and I both turn 50 this year, and we chose to do a shared party halfway between our birthdays, for which we rented out our local bar this Labor Day Sunday, and invited all our friends. We got a great turnout, partly because of the magic words "Open Bar". It was a nice way to give back to our little friend community. We requested that guests bring a can of cat food as a token gift, for us to feed to our outside ferals and/or donate to the local TNR group.
The party went off extremely well! Minimal drama, people had a great time and the dance floor was quite active. Open bar for 5 hours for about 40 guests adds up pretty fast, but you don't throw The Party Of The Summer without deploying some capital.
posted by notoriety public at 5:32 PM on September 4, 2023 [11 favorites]
The party went off extremely well! Minimal drama, people had a great time and the dance floor was quite active. Open bar for 5 hours for about 40 guests adds up pretty fast, but you don't throw The Party Of The Summer without deploying some capital.
posted by notoriety public at 5:32 PM on September 4, 2023 [11 favorites]
Midnight at the ol' homesis
Send your kitties to bed
Fridge-light painting our faces
Traces of cheddar and whole-wheat bread
Come on, butter is our friend
He'll spread over the toast
Come on, till the evening ends
And tummy slightly bloats
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:54 PM on September 4, 2023 [6 favorites]
Send your kitties to bed
Fridge-light painting our faces
Traces of cheddar and whole-wheat bread
Come on, butter is our friend
He'll spread over the toast
Come on, till the evening ends
And tummy slightly bloats
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:54 PM on September 4, 2023 [6 favorites]
Yeah Windowpaene.
I saw her do a set at a bar, unannounced
Weekend afternoon. don't judge lol
Perhaps 20 or 30 of us in the audience
Just a practice set I guess. fortunate to be there.
She did a number of jazz standards. But when she sang, ( I should say performed) Midnight at the oasis , I had no no idea it was such a suggestive tune. With lots of sexual innuendo
It put the song in a different context.
posted by yyz at 5:54 PM on September 4, 2023 [3 favorites]
Turtle story: My mom loved turtles as a little girl. Her dad, my grandfather, was a milk delivery driver at the time. On his route, he came across a turtle in the road, thought it would be a nice surprise gift for his daughter, so he picked it up and put in into the cab of his truck. At the end of his day, he was ready to retrieve the turtle, but it had scuttled under the seat and Grandpa couldn't reach it. He grabbed a scrap board from the back of the truck to fish around under the seat and push the turtle out. The turtle evidently clamped down so hard on the board that it split lengthwise. So, that's how my mom was likely spared losing a finger at the hands of a snapping turtle
posted by Larry David Syndrome at 6:00 PM on September 4, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by Larry David Syndrome at 6:00 PM on September 4, 2023 [6 favorites]
Send your camel to bed yyz.
posted by Windopaene at 8:19 PM on September 4 [2 favorites +] [!]
There's the Maria Muldaur /Rush mashup no one was asking for!
posted by Larry David Syndrome at 6:04 PM on September 4, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by Windopaene at 8:19 PM on September 4 [2 favorites +] [!]
There's the Maria Muldaur /Rush mashup no one was asking for!
posted by Larry David Syndrome at 6:04 PM on September 4, 2023 [5 favorites]
Speaking of threads, I'm beginning to learn how to spin yarn! The eventual goal is to make linen from flax I grew on my Brooklyn balcony, but that was a pathetic little harvest, so I'm doing a ton of practice on purchased and found* fibers first so I hopefully won't waste too much of the homegrown when I get to it.
* I have a stash of fur brushed out of pomeranian dogs that used to live with me. Pom hair stored for 15 years does not smell good but it spins up just fine!
** I guess the dog hair also counts as home grown....
posted by moonmilk at 6:04 PM on September 4, 2023 [3 favorites]
* I have a stash of fur brushed out of pomeranian dogs that used to live with me. Pom hair stored for 15 years does not smell good but it spins up just fine!
** I guess the dog hair also counts as home grown....
posted by moonmilk at 6:04 PM on September 4, 2023 [3 favorites]
How kind of past you to think about present you and you wanting to make dog hair yarn. That's foresight!
posted by hippybear at 6:06 PM on September 4, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 6:06 PM on September 4, 2023 [4 favorites]
When I was a young boy a big turtle showed up in our front yard. I put him in a metal bucket, but he was too big to fit all the way in. Mom said that's not a proper place for a turtle. So we drove 2 miles to a cemetery that had big ponds on the grounds. We released him. About 4 months later the turtle showed up in my yard again. I believe it was the same turtle. Mother drove us again to the cemetery pond, and we released him. That was the last we ever saw of him...
posted by Czjewel at 6:50 PM on September 4, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by Czjewel at 6:50 PM on September 4, 2023 [5 favorites]
Turtle: "Fine, I can take a hint - I can tell when I'm not wanted."
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:04 PM on September 4, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:04 PM on September 4, 2023 [4 favorites]
I've had Destiny's Child in my head all day, because of this hilariousness:
*to the tune of Destiny's Child's "Say My Name"*
Spell my name, spell my name
It's right there in the email,
It's not a hidden detail
The spelling doesn't change
(stolen from Techni-Calli on twitter)
posted by soelo at 7:04 PM on September 4, 2023 [4 favorites]
*to the tune of Destiny's Child's "Say My Name"*
Spell my name, spell my name
It's right there in the email,
It's not a hidden detail
The spelling doesn't change
(stolen from Techni-Calli on twitter)
posted by soelo at 7:04 PM on September 4, 2023 [4 favorites]
I have a stash of fur brushed out of pomeranian dogs that used to live with me. Pom hair stored for 15 years does not smell good but it spins up just fine!
Mitheral once mentioned the Salish wool dog, and the Wikipedia article makes it sound like their hair had very superior characteristics for both weaving and spinning, and I found a certain amount of consolation for my sorrow that they are extinct from imagining that their hair smelled like any other dog's when it got wet, but that might be something we are unlikely to ever know.
posted by jamjam at 7:11 PM on September 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
Mitheral once mentioned the Salish wool dog, and the Wikipedia article makes it sound like their hair had very superior characteristics for both weaving and spinning, and I found a certain amount of consolation for my sorrow that they are extinct from imagining that their hair smelled like any other dog's when it got wet, but that might be something we are unlikely to ever know.
posted by jamjam at 7:11 PM on September 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
Back in the midwest, where I grew up, my dad had friends who owned "farms". And all these farms had ponds. And my dad was a fisherman. And I'm sure the owners of these "farms" were too. And were trying to get fish in their ponds, so they could fish there. And they said that the turtles in the pond would eat the fry, preventing there from being fish. So they shot them.
Head comes up, .410 shotgun blast to the face. I am sad to admit, I got several.
And those weren't even snappers. Thankfully it was not an Alligator snapper that bit me upthread. Good god, what monsters.
Regular turtles seem pretty chill, and Sea Turtles are spooky, when they swim up on you while snorkeling, but seem to be about the chillest of turtles.
posted by Windopaene at 7:15 PM on September 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
Head comes up, .410 shotgun blast to the face. I am sad to admit, I got several.
And those weren't even snappers. Thankfully it was not an Alligator snapper that bit me upthread. Good god, what monsters.
Regular turtles seem pretty chill, and Sea Turtles are spooky, when they swim up on you while snorkeling, but seem to be about the chillest of turtles.
posted by Windopaene at 7:15 PM on September 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
I have it on fine authority* that sea turtles are totally chill and just want to ride a radical wave.
*Pixar
posted by hippybear at 7:18 PM on September 4, 2023 [4 favorites]
*Pixar
posted by hippybear at 7:18 PM on September 4, 2023 [4 favorites]
I thought it was time for a feral cat update.
The colony seems to be doing okay. All five are around, three of them are eating outside right now, and they've been showing up to breakfast and dinner regularly. After the whole Flurb tragedy I'm worried about FLV, and they seem thinnner, but still healthy. Hopefully they'll be okay.
I feed them in the mornings around dawn (and dinner around sunset, I try to respect their crepuscularity), and a few weeks ago a stray dog started showing up at breakfast, sending them scattering and eating their food. He was wearing a collar and a harness, so I picked up some dog food and spent a couple of days trying to get him to come close enough to get a leash on him. Because the local animal center won't come out for healthy dogs anymore; they'll send crews out for dangerous or injured animals, but regular strays are just not on their priority list.
While I was trying to get ahold of this big black lab with the collar and the harness and a tag with a phone number dangling just out of reach, I noticed that he was in the company of a small white and black dog. Think Wishbone but a bit bigger and skinnier. While the black lab was obviously a recent stray, the little white dog seems like he's been on the street forever. He hung out in the background while I fed his friend the lab, and if I backed off enough he'd swoop in on the leftovers.
Well, after a few days the black lab stopped showing up; I assume that he made it home to his loving family, and I don't want to entertain any other thoughts on the matter. But the white and black dog kept stopping by at breakfast, so I, um, kept feeding him. He was eating the cat food anyway, so I figured I'd distract him with dog food. Which works. He shows up maybe three days a week now, and I can get within maybe two yards of him. He's remarkably polite in a stray-dog kind of way; the cats don't even panic when he shows up anymore, they just saunter off in a huff.
So I don't know what to do. I could try and catch him and bring him in to the Humane Society or Animal Control, but he's fully feral. I don't think anyone is going to adopt him. And the local animal care center has been putting down dogs lately because they're overwhelmed. In other words, I'm not sure that signing him up for a life in a cage is much of an improvement over his current situation. And I'm not sure that I could catch him without putting myself in danger.
He's sort of adorable in an Oliver Twist streetwise kind of way. He seems to really know his way around. Unfortunately, I can't adopt him, even if I had the kind of skill it would take to domesticate a feral dog like him; my health is terrible, and I'm just not up for the physical requirements of dog ownership. All I can think of is to keep feeding him and hope he's okay out there.
I really have to stop getting emotionally involved with stray animals.
posted by MrVisible at 7:19 PM on September 4, 2023 [4 favorites]
TL;DR: They're fine, and I'm being an idiot about a stray dog.
The colony seems to be doing okay. All five are around, three of them are eating outside right now, and they've been showing up to breakfast and dinner regularly. After the whole Flurb tragedy I'm worried about FLV, and they seem thinnner, but still healthy. Hopefully they'll be okay.
I feed them in the mornings around dawn (and dinner around sunset, I try to respect their crepuscularity), and a few weeks ago a stray dog started showing up at breakfast, sending them scattering and eating their food. He was wearing a collar and a harness, so I picked up some dog food and spent a couple of days trying to get him to come close enough to get a leash on him. Because the local animal center won't come out for healthy dogs anymore; they'll send crews out for dangerous or injured animals, but regular strays are just not on their priority list.
While I was trying to get ahold of this big black lab with the collar and the harness and a tag with a phone number dangling just out of reach, I noticed that he was in the company of a small white and black dog. Think Wishbone but a bit bigger and skinnier. While the black lab was obviously a recent stray, the little white dog seems like he's been on the street forever. He hung out in the background while I fed his friend the lab, and if I backed off enough he'd swoop in on the leftovers.
Well, after a few days the black lab stopped showing up; I assume that he made it home to his loving family, and I don't want to entertain any other thoughts on the matter. But the white and black dog kept stopping by at breakfast, so I, um, kept feeding him. He was eating the cat food anyway, so I figured I'd distract him with dog food. Which works. He shows up maybe three days a week now, and I can get within maybe two yards of him. He's remarkably polite in a stray-dog kind of way; the cats don't even panic when he shows up anymore, they just saunter off in a huff.
So I don't know what to do. I could try and catch him and bring him in to the Humane Society or Animal Control, but he's fully feral. I don't think anyone is going to adopt him. And the local animal care center has been putting down dogs lately because they're overwhelmed. In other words, I'm not sure that signing him up for a life in a cage is much of an improvement over his current situation. And I'm not sure that I could catch him without putting myself in danger.
He's sort of adorable in an Oliver Twist streetwise kind of way. He seems to really know his way around. Unfortunately, I can't adopt him, even if I had the kind of skill it would take to domesticate a feral dog like him; my health is terrible, and I'm just not up for the physical requirements of dog ownership. All I can think of is to keep feeding him and hope he's okay out there.
I really have to stop getting emotionally involved with stray animals.
posted by MrVisible at 7:19 PM on September 4, 2023 [4 favorites]
moonmilk, I'm betting it's very likely you've seen Bernadette Banner's own attempts at learning to spin, but in case you haven't, click the link.
posted by sardonyx at 7:44 PM on September 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by sardonyx at 7:44 PM on September 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
When I was but a wee lad, a friend and I were rooting around the shore of a lake one day, when he found a dead catfish in the mud. He went “think fast” and lobbed it at me. I raised my arm to fend it off and so it hit me in the forearm…and stuck there.
Unbeknownst to either of us, catfish have a barbed spine on their fins, and I was hit just right. So there was a beat of us both looking in astonishment at this dead fish hanging off my arm. And then we both started screaming and running for the house.
So yeah, if you’ve got a bow and arrow and you see a catfish, shoot that son of a bitch. U.K. law be damned. They’ve got it coming. And they’d do the same to you in a heartbeat.
posted by Naberius at 8:02 PM on September 4, 2023 [5 favorites]
Unbeknownst to either of us, catfish have a barbed spine on their fins, and I was hit just right. So there was a beat of us both looking in astonishment at this dead fish hanging off my arm. And then we both started screaming and running for the house.
So yeah, if you’ve got a bow and arrow and you see a catfish, shoot that son of a bitch. U.K. law be damned. They’ve got it coming. And they’d do the same to you in a heartbeat.
posted by Naberius at 8:02 PM on September 4, 2023 [5 favorites]
I spent about two hours one night a few years ago, trying to get a very scared pit bull to come see me, (I have a phobia about Pit Bulls). She eventually came over and ate some treats, until I could get a picture of her tag. And was able to call her owner. Who came very soon and told me she had some issues.
You should always try to help stray dogs. dogs are the best. (One of mine is sick right now, off her food, which is her thing), so I am freaking out about it...
posted by Windopaene at 8:09 PM on September 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
You should always try to help stray dogs. dogs are the best. (One of mine is sick right now, off her food, which is her thing), so I am freaking out about it...
posted by Windopaene at 8:09 PM on September 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
Once upon a time I went snorkeling in Maui and saw a big sea turtle the size of, I don't know, a big suitcase. It basically rolled its eyes at us like "ugh, tourists" and moved on. Highlight of the trip.
posted by blnkfrnk at 8:49 PM on September 4, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by blnkfrnk at 8:49 PM on September 4, 2023 [4 favorites]
Joyce Kilmer is somewhat associated my fine alma mater, Rutgers University. One of the campuses (it's a big school) was once called Kilmer Campus. Legend had it that the tree of his poem was located there. I have no idea if that was true and sources seem to be divided on the subject, but as an undergrad, I composed my own poem, starting (and ending) with the line "I think that I will never see the bus they call the EE (we pronounced it the "double E"). The campus was so big it had multiple bus lines, and one of the most elusive of those was the EE.
posted by mollweide at 9:04 PM on September 4, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by mollweide at 9:04 PM on September 4, 2023 [3 favorites]
Starfield is not going to be anywhere near free but I am so excited to spend a bunch of time in the janky confines of Space Skyrim once it's live on Steam.
posted by cortex at 10:15 PM on September 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by cortex at 10:15 PM on September 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
If you spin dog yarn, look up how to deal with the smell issue. I can't tell you how, but I have heard there is some way to deal with it.
I am doing the light board for Something Rotten. Still wish I could have double dipped shows and been on the stage, but even tech on this is super fun. Assuming we can fulfill all shows and do not have to cancel for more covid or environmental disaster, I'll have seen this show the most of all shows (2 previously, 6 rehearsals, 12 shows) and it's a good one to see a lot of!
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:35 PM on September 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
I am doing the light board for Something Rotten. Still wish I could have double dipped shows and been on the stage, but even tech on this is super fun. Assuming we can fulfill all shows and do not have to cancel for more covid or environmental disaster, I'll have seen this show the most of all shows (2 previously, 6 rehearsals, 12 shows) and it's a good one to see a lot of!
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:35 PM on September 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
Snapping turtle stories? Don't mind if I do...
The old San Francisco exploratorium was at at the Palace of Fine arts, which features a gorgeous reflecting pond that makes a stunning backdrop for the quasi roman architecture.
link
It was a beautiful spring day, people were feeding the ducks, birds were singing, you know... idyllic. That was until I noticed this absolute chonker of a seagull bobbing erratically on the water with a single wing flapping in the air. This went on for a bit until a large head emerged from the water with its beak clamped on to the seagulls wing. I swear that turtle was the size of a manhole cover. After a bit of a look around it dove dragging the entire seagull with it.
So yeah, now I don't trust bodies of water, especially not small pretty ponds on calm spring days.
posted by Pink Fuzzy Bunny at 10:40 PM on September 4, 2023 [9 favorites]
The old San Francisco exploratorium was at at the Palace of Fine arts, which features a gorgeous reflecting pond that makes a stunning backdrop for the quasi roman architecture.
link
It was a beautiful spring day, people were feeding the ducks, birds were singing, you know... idyllic. That was until I noticed this absolute chonker of a seagull bobbing erratically on the water with a single wing flapping in the air. This went on for a bit until a large head emerged from the water with its beak clamped on to the seagulls wing. I swear that turtle was the size of a manhole cover. After a bit of a look around it dove dragging the entire seagull with it.
So yeah, now I don't trust bodies of water, especially not small pretty ponds on calm spring days.
posted by Pink Fuzzy Bunny at 10:40 PM on September 4, 2023 [9 favorites]
Once in Golden Gate Park, at a pond near Strawberry Hill, my friend and I fell asleep on a bench in the sun and woke up to see a small crowd gathered around an old man with a makeshift fishing pole. He had something orange (carrot? cheeto?) on the end of the line and was luring turtles out and making them jump for thr bait. Didn't know they could jump!
posted by blnkfrnk at 11:58 PM on September 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by blnkfrnk at 11:58 PM on September 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
It turns out that there's a wild cat breeding facility just up the road from me, which is not something you'd expect in sleepy rural Australia. It's a private sanctuary but they do take paying visitors so I decided to splash out last week for my birthday, and I got to see cheetahs, servals, cloud leopards, ocelots and a fishing cat, plus a pair of alligator snapping turtles that they'd taken in as a favour to another zoo. But they also had Aldabra tortoises and I got to give Rhett and Patch some scritches and honestly it was the best thing ever. The trick is, I learned, to stroke the shells gently until they feel happy enough to extend their necks and then you can just tickle the base of their neck near the shell until they bliss out. Tortoises can't grin, of course, but they can stand there with their eyes half shut, mouths open, just swaying gently, and that's almost as good.
posted by ninazer0 at 12:14 AM on September 5, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by ninazer0 at 12:14 AM on September 5, 2023 [7 favorites]
My bloody fantastic union just scored me (and every other public education teacher in NSW) a well-needed 8% pay rise. Beginning teachers in my state now start on $85k (there's a shortage, come over!). I am relieved. The cost of living has been rising so much and rents are ridiculous. An extra $100 a week in my pocket provides a bit of breathing space and a chance to save up for a holiday.
A very well deserved holiday. Almost all my student load will be sitting their final exams in a month or so. I have been working so hard getting them here and now that the end is just over the horizon, the exhaustion is making itself heard. I am tired, very tired. Slightly wealthier but bone tired.
Now dear union, please win me some better working conditions. I know you are trying. It's very appreciated. I wish you every success.
posted by Thella at 12:41 AM on September 5, 2023 [20 favorites]
A very well deserved holiday. Almost all my student load will be sitting their final exams in a month or so. I have been working so hard getting them here and now that the end is just over the horizon, the exhaustion is making itself heard. I am tired, very tired. Slightly wealthier but bone tired.
Now dear union, please win me some better working conditions. I know you are trying. It's very appreciated. I wish you every success.
posted by Thella at 12:41 AM on September 5, 2023 [20 favorites]
Regular turtles seem pretty chill, and Sea Turtles are spooky, when they swim up on you while snorkeling, but seem to be about the chillest of turtles.
About 25 years ago I went snorkeling in Hawaii and a sea turtle just swam up and hung around for a while. They seemed pretty chill.
posted by brundlefly at 1:12 AM on September 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
About 25 years ago I went snorkeling in Hawaii and a sea turtle just swam up and hung around for a while. They seemed pretty chill.
posted by brundlefly at 1:12 AM on September 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
Apropos of nothing, I just found out my husband has always thought the lyric in the Toto song is "I guess it rains down in Africaaa." lol!
posted by taz at 3:37 AM on September 5, 2023 [8 favorites]
posted by taz at 3:37 AM on September 5, 2023 [8 favorites]
This went on for a bit until a large head emerged from the water with its beak clamped on to the seagulls wing. I swear that turtle was the size of a manhole cover. After a bit of a look around it dove dragging the entire seagull with it.
Until you made this comment, I really did not get how snapping — and holding on as everyone always says they do — was really doing turtles all that much good as a feeding strategy.
posted by jamjam at 4:17 AM on September 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
Until you made this comment, I really did not get how snapping — and holding on as everyone always says they do — was really doing turtles all that much good as a feeding strategy.
posted by jamjam at 4:17 AM on September 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
When I was a kid someone brought my father a snapping turtle they had just killed, my dad cleaned and cooked it because that’s how he rolled. I remember that the severed heart continued to beat independently. The next morning I threw some water on it and it beat again a few more times.
posted by InkaLomax at 4:21 AM on September 5, 2023
posted by InkaLomax at 4:21 AM on September 5, 2023
And then the turtle pulls in its head to protect its eyes and neck from beak and teeth until the prey drowns.
posted by jamjam at 4:21 AM on September 5, 2023
posted by jamjam at 4:21 AM on September 5, 2023
Fifty-two!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:23 AM on September 5, 2023
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:23 AM on September 5, 2023
Well this thread got pleasant quick. I don't have any turtle stories, but I do enjoy a turtle stew when I have the opportunity.
The semester has started again, which is always a bit like groundhog day. For some reason this year the heat and humidity is just not going away, so what is usually a pleasant first week of classes was a frigging drag, but oh well.
I don't know if I mentioned this here before, but I recently signed my kids up for a Saturday kayaking class in the park right next to our apartment. Somehow I never noticed it before, but a couple months ago I saw a banner for elementary school kayaking and now that they are doing it, I recognize there is a big canoe club.
Anyway, since my youngest daughter is in first grade they let me "help" her in a tandem kayak, which means that basically I am kayaking on Saturdays, which is awesome. I will probably join the club myself so that I can take a boat out on my own from time to time.
But all of this isn't important, what is important is that the club held a big race and festival a couple weeks ago. My kids raced in the elementary student division and had a good time, but my daughter and I also entered in the parent child tandem contest and came in 2nd out of maybe 20 teams! We got medals and 60 bucks in prize money!!
posted by Literaryhero at 5:28 AM on September 5, 2023 [9 favorites]
The semester has started again, which is always a bit like groundhog day. For some reason this year the heat and humidity is just not going away, so what is usually a pleasant first week of classes was a frigging drag, but oh well.
I don't know if I mentioned this here before, but I recently signed my kids up for a Saturday kayaking class in the park right next to our apartment. Somehow I never noticed it before, but a couple months ago I saw a banner for elementary school kayaking and now that they are doing it, I recognize there is a big canoe club.
Anyway, since my youngest daughter is in first grade they let me "help" her in a tandem kayak, which means that basically I am kayaking on Saturdays, which is awesome. I will probably join the club myself so that I can take a boat out on my own from time to time.
But all of this isn't important, what is important is that the club held a big race and festival a couple weeks ago. My kids raced in the elementary student division and had a good time, but my daughter and I also entered in the parent child tandem contest and came in 2nd out of maybe 20 teams! We got medals and 60 bucks in prize money!!
posted by Literaryhero at 5:28 AM on September 5, 2023 [9 favorites]
I had a dream a few nights ago where I woke up in a different home, attached to a shopping mall. I was convinced this was all real, and couldn't understand why everything was so different. People kept walking in to use the bathroom or shop in my kitchen, I kept telling them to get the hell out of my house. Every time I tried to leave I ended up trapped in crowds of people in a department store, until eventually I discovered an exit and found myself outside in what looked like a bit like Greece. Suddenly Matthew McConaughey appeared to tell me I shouldn't be keeping so many secrets. I then came upon my sister walking along the street and told her I was very worried that I may have had some sort of amnesia, losing months or even years of memories. I didn't know what happened to my former home, or even where I was, so I pulled out my phone to check Google maps.
None of these bizarre events clued me into what was really going on.. until I tapped the maps icon and the error message " SYSTEM MALFUNCTION: SYSTEM AT 17% RELIABILITY" appeared. I said "Yeah, tell me about it!... Wait a minute, from a mobile software perspective that error message doesn't make any sense... Oh, GODAMMIT, I must be dreaming!!!", and I immediately woke up.
posted by CynicalKnight at 6:54 AM on September 5, 2023 [4 favorites]
None of these bizarre events clued me into what was really going on.. until I tapped the maps icon and the error message " SYSTEM MALFUNCTION: SYSTEM AT 17% RELIABILITY" appeared. I said "Yeah, tell me about it!... Wait a minute, from a mobile software perspective that error message doesn't make any sense... Oh, GODAMMIT, I must be dreaming!!!", and I immediately woke up.
posted by CynicalKnight at 6:54 AM on September 5, 2023 [4 favorites]
TIL it's BLESS the rains in Africa.
posted by kiwi-epitome at 7:03 AM on September 5, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by kiwi-epitome at 7:03 AM on September 5, 2023 [4 favorites]
kiwi-epitome, that makes two of us!
In other news, I finally caught Covid. Most of you probably know this, but I'll say it anyway: it sucks.
posted by Too-Ticky at 7:08 AM on September 5, 2023 [4 favorites]
In other news, I finally caught Covid. Most of you probably know this, but I'll say it anyway: it sucks.
posted by Too-Ticky at 7:08 AM on September 5, 2023 [4 favorites]
Apropos of nothing, I just found out my husband has always thought the lyric in the Toto song is "I guess it rains down in Africaaa." lol! posted by taz at 5:37 AM on September 5
I heard Betty Davis Eyes the other day and was reminded that as a child I'd hear it on the radio and hear: "She's got better days than nights"
which made sense to me in a strange way.. still does, kinda.
posted by djseafood at 7:25 AM on September 5, 2023 [3 favorites]
I heard Betty Davis Eyes the other day and was reminded that as a child I'd hear it on the radio and hear: "She's got better days than nights"
which made sense to me in a strange way.. still does, kinda.
posted by djseafood at 7:25 AM on September 5, 2023 [3 favorites]
Kiss This Guy is your go-to archive of misheard song lyrics. There's a bathroom on the right.
posted by JoeZydeco at 7:55 AM on September 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by JoeZydeco at 7:55 AM on September 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
"I think that I will never see the bus they call the EE (we pronounced it the "double E"). The campus was so big it had multiple bus lines, and one of the most elusive of those was the EE.
Waiting is such a subjective activity - it often seems longer than it actually is. One could prove this by simply keeping a small journal of the actual times spent waiting.
Suggested journal title:
ee cummings
posted by Artful Codger at 8:07 AM on September 5, 2023 [3 favorites]
Waiting is such a subjective activity - it often seems longer than it actually is. One could prove this by simply keeping a small journal of the actual times spent waiting.
Suggested journal title:
ee cummings
posted by Artful Codger at 8:07 AM on September 5, 2023 [3 favorites]
My current news is that I was chosen to join the board for CWIC (Canadian Women in Cannabis), a non-profit that gets a seat at the table when Health Canada reviews current cannabis legalization and policy. CWIC's pdf on their recommendations for positive and equal change in the 2.0 framework of legalization is well worth a read. I am excited and a little nervous (guess who's never been on a board before?).
posted by Kitteh at 8:14 AM on September 5, 2023 [10 favorites]
posted by Kitteh at 8:14 AM on September 5, 2023 [10 favorites]
Sunlight is the wrong colour in Toronto again. Bleah.
posted by seanmpuckett at 8:43 AM on September 5, 2023
posted by seanmpuckett at 8:43 AM on September 5, 2023
In Danish we have a nice word for when one is on the verge of crying all the time, and that is how I feel today: tudevoren. I think if I had been able to take a nap, it would have been different, but my room is too hot.
It's not that anything in particular is wrong, it's just that I feel I have to do everything myself, and sometimes I'm up to it, sometimes I'm not.
posted by mumimor at 9:07 AM on September 5, 2023 [8 favorites]
It's not that anything in particular is wrong, it's just that I feel I have to do everything myself, and sometimes I'm up to it, sometimes I'm not.
posted by mumimor at 9:07 AM on September 5, 2023 [8 favorites]
*sends some kind thoughts towards the northeast for mumimor*
(I would have sent hugs, but who wants a hug when they're already too hot?)
posted by Too-Ticky at 9:15 AM on September 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
(I would have sent hugs, but who wants a hug when they're already too hot?)
posted by Too-Ticky at 9:15 AM on September 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
This is a little too time-sensitive for an AskMe, and will need some follow-up discussion, so - is there someone who works in HR whose brain I could pick with an unusual (but good) situation that just cropped up where I'm working?
(I just got hit with a very, very unusual "hey, if you wanted to stay here part time, just let us know whether you'd need X or Y for your rate" proposition, and I just need to solve for X and Y but also think of Z and Q and alpha-prime and whatever.)
I have told them I need a day to math and think it over, I just need to discuss with someone.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:48 AM on September 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
(I just got hit with a very, very unusual "hey, if you wanted to stay here part time, just let us know whether you'd need X or Y for your rate" proposition, and I just need to solve for X and Y but also think of Z and Q and alpha-prime and whatever.)
I have told them I need a day to math and think it over, I just need to discuss with someone.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:48 AM on September 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
You should totally post to ask so more folks can see your question! Go go go!
posted by mochapickle at 9:55 AM on September 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by mochapickle at 9:55 AM on September 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
My brother has taken up fishing over the past few years. Last summer I went with him cause I hadn't been fishing since we were kids. We were there for several hours but I never got a bite. My brother did though. He reeled it in and it turned out to be a turtle. We got the turtle off the line and continued fishing. He got a second bite. Reeled it in. Another turtle (or possibly the same turtle). We didn't end up catching any fish that day. Over the past few years I don't think he's caught a single thing besides those turtles.
posted by downtohisturtles at 11:08 AM on September 5, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by downtohisturtles at 11:08 AM on September 5, 2023 [3 favorites]
So, part of my struggle with PTSD is just being able to find a space where I'm not having a panic happen even while I'm not emotionally feeling a panic. I know, it sounds crazy. It is. I have PTSD.
Anyway, a part of what I've found works for me sometimes is droning the lowest note I can sing. It involves a lot of breath focus [part of every kind of work involved with this], and concentration [another part, not thinking about the panic], and also harkens back to a thing I used to do a lot of a long time ago but haven't any outlet for in my life for several decades -- singing.
I used to sing a lot when I was younger. Church choirs, community theater... I had a lot of time spent when I was younger doing a thing that was basically a lot of people shouting melodically together. A bit of this can be achieved at a sportsball game or a concert, but it's really not the same.
So maybe as part of my mental wellness/survival pursuit I need to find a choir to sing in. I can sight-sing musical lines, or could when I was in better practice. And the sense of community is amazing.
The problem is -- singing in a group of people when COVID is going around is a dice roll every minute you're in that group exhaling and inhaling the same air.
So now I'm trying to think of how I can get this into my life in a way that is full of the group dynamics and healing properties, but without the health risks.
I don't know if this can be done, but of all the things I've thought about trying to pursue my own mental stability which isn't in great supply these days, joining a choir is one of the most appealing ones I've come up with.
Singing to myself in my own living room is not the kind of healing I would participate in much mostly because I'm mostly a choir voice, not a soloist.
Anyway, this is a thing I'm thinking about right now. I really need to get better because I need to support my own life. That's not happening quickly at the moment. But singing? safely? I could get into that and might feel more better.
posted by hippybear at 2:21 PM on September 5, 2023 [5 favorites]
Anyway, a part of what I've found works for me sometimes is droning the lowest note I can sing. It involves a lot of breath focus [part of every kind of work involved with this], and concentration [another part, not thinking about the panic], and also harkens back to a thing I used to do a lot of a long time ago but haven't any outlet for in my life for several decades -- singing.
I used to sing a lot when I was younger. Church choirs, community theater... I had a lot of time spent when I was younger doing a thing that was basically a lot of people shouting melodically together. A bit of this can be achieved at a sportsball game or a concert, but it's really not the same.
So maybe as part of my mental wellness/survival pursuit I need to find a choir to sing in. I can sight-sing musical lines, or could when I was in better practice. And the sense of community is amazing.
The problem is -- singing in a group of people when COVID is going around is a dice roll every minute you're in that group exhaling and inhaling the same air.
So now I'm trying to think of how I can get this into my life in a way that is full of the group dynamics and healing properties, but without the health risks.
I don't know if this can be done, but of all the things I've thought about trying to pursue my own mental stability which isn't in great supply these days, joining a choir is one of the most appealing ones I've come up with.
Singing to myself in my own living room is not the kind of healing I would participate in much mostly because I'm mostly a choir voice, not a soloist.
Anyway, this is a thing I'm thinking about right now. I really need to get better because I need to support my own life. That's not happening quickly at the moment. But singing? safely? I could get into that and might feel more better.
posted by hippybear at 2:21 PM on September 5, 2023 [5 favorites]
Kiddo seems to have bounced back from Covid quickly and was back in school today (I don’t have the spoons to argue with district policy at the moment). He had strict instructions to go to the nurse and ask to be sent home if he felt even remotely unwell, but he made it through the day OK.
And now he is overkilling a lantern fly, to much hilarity on the part of all in the house.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 2:29 PM on September 5, 2023
And now he is overkilling a lantern fly, to much hilarity on the part of all in the house.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 2:29 PM on September 5, 2023
Any masking while he was in school? was this even discussed?
posted by hippybear at 2:33 PM on September 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by hippybear at 2:33 PM on September 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
My wife can't stop commenting about how sexy I am. Everytime I walk by her, she says "That ass".
posted by parmanparman at 3:24 PM on September 5, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by parmanparman at 3:24 PM on September 5, 2023 [7 favorites]
I am just being utterly dicked around by all kinds of people today and I have frankly had e-fucking-nough of it. A repair guy showed up at 11 am, dropped off his tools, and then just vanished. It's 6pm! his tools are still sitting in my bathroom. He's been answering texts so he's alive but at no time has he indicated when he's coming back to FIX THE THING.
He keeps just asking me to leave my door unlocked so he can come and go and I'm like, my friend, absolutely not on your life, what the shit? This is my HOUSE, I LIVE HERE, I need to be able to take a shower and cook a meal, I can't just have someone wandering in at all hours wholly unannounced! This is a major city and I live in an area where you get your car broken into as a matter of course; if I leave my door unlocked while I'm gone my renters' insurance will set my policy on FIRE.
I hate getting people in trouble and I know almost everyone has it harder than me so I give everyone a lot of grace. But this guy has now been here four times, the problem is STILL not fixed, and now I can't even go to the goddamn grocery store because someone's property is inside my apartment and I don't know where they are. So, today, much as I hate it, someone is getting in trouble.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 4:10 PM on September 5, 2023 [5 favorites]
He keeps just asking me to leave my door unlocked so he can come and go and I'm like, my friend, absolutely not on your life, what the shit? This is my HOUSE, I LIVE HERE, I need to be able to take a shower and cook a meal, I can't just have someone wandering in at all hours wholly unannounced! This is a major city and I live in an area where you get your car broken into as a matter of course; if I leave my door unlocked while I'm gone my renters' insurance will set my policy on FIRE.
I hate getting people in trouble and I know almost everyone has it harder than me so I give everyone a lot of grace. But this guy has now been here four times, the problem is STILL not fixed, and now I can't even go to the goddamn grocery store because someone's property is inside my apartment and I don't know where they are. So, today, much as I hate it, someone is getting in trouble.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 4:10 PM on September 5, 2023 [5 favorites]
Hey, he left his tools. Sounds like you might come out ahead on this. Sell the tools and hire someone else to do the job for real.
posted by hippybear at 4:22 PM on September 5, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 4:22 PM on September 5, 2023 [4 favorites]
Would love to but as a renter I have literally none power to hire or fire anyone working on the apartment! It’s trash!
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 5:53 PM on September 5, 2023
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 5:53 PM on September 5, 2023
You have the guy's tools. Whether you're hiring or firing him in this instance, you have all the power over whether he does any work anywhere else or not. Make him do the job to get his tools back. Hold them hostage, stand there handing them to him one at a time as he asks for them.
You say this is the fourth time he's been out there on this job? Does the landlord or property management agency know he's been there four times and has finally left his tools at your place?
You hold ALL the power in this situation, if you care to wield it.
posted by hippybear at 6:12 PM on September 5, 2023
You say this is the fourth time he's been out there on this job? Does the landlord or property management agency know he's been there four times and has finally left his tools at your place?
You hold ALL the power in this situation, if you care to wield it.
posted by hippybear at 6:12 PM on September 5, 2023
Now I got Midnight at the oasis running through my head
Well, for a palate cleanser, there is Johnny Cash -- Barbie Girl...
posted by y2karl at 8:10 PM on September 5, 2023
Well, for a palate cleanser, there is Johnny Cash -- Barbie Girl...
posted by y2karl at 8:10 PM on September 5, 2023
Tell him you can't leave the door unlocked, but you're happy to leave his tools out in the hallway/on the porch so he can drop by and get them.
If the landlord hired him, I would absolutely complain and escalate to "You can either hire someone else to fix it or I'll hire someone and take it out of rent."
posted by blnkfrnk at 8:34 PM on September 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
If the landlord hired him, I would absolutely complain and escalate to "You can either hire someone else to fix it or I'll hire someone and take it out of rent."
posted by blnkfrnk at 8:34 PM on September 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
hippybear: two suggestions: (a) singing while masked--I know, I know, but I've done it enough, also gives you practice at projection, (b) buying a portable HEPA filter off Amazon like someone here recommended last year. I have one that's a little lunchbox size.
(And that just reminded me I forgot to take mine home from the theater just now...oh well...it'll probably be there when I get back. Too bad I forgot to turn it off though...)
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:52 PM on September 5, 2023
(And that just reminded me I forgot to take mine home from the theater just now...oh well...it'll probably be there when I get back. Too bad I forgot to turn it off though...)
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:52 PM on September 5, 2023
Any masking while he was in school? was this even discussed?
I can't even get a clear picture on what the actual policy is at this point except that "must be fever free for 24 hours prior" much less get kiddo to wear a mask (and kiddo wore it longer than A LOT of kids). We kept him out when both spouse and I had covid over the new year and got push back for that decision. All options are bad right now.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 4:52 AM on September 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
I can't even get a clear picture on what the actual policy is at this point except that "must be fever free for 24 hours prior" much less get kiddo to wear a mask (and kiddo wore it longer than A LOT of kids). We kept him out when both spouse and I had covid over the new year and got push back for that decision. All options are bad right now.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 4:52 AM on September 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
Full of anger and fury right now. My younger sister has the flu (but it sounds more like Covid, imo) and a fever of 101.2. Her work is threatening termination or punishment because she can't come in. I know South Carolina is an at-will employment state, but I'm pretty sure that when you don't accept the doctor's note she gave them--and mind you, she works in a VERY public facing job--you aren't exempt from legal action. I told her to keep a record of every email/text/what have you from her employers regarding this.
posted by Kitteh at 9:41 AM on September 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Kitteh at 9:41 AM on September 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
I had to yell at someone else’s four year old yesterday. Tiny Monster was swimming, which he’s pretty good at for his age, and a kid in a donut floated over and kind of pushed off of him with his foot. I didn’t think much of it but a couple of minutes later he did it again, harder, and I got a look at his face and figured it wasn’t just a push and he wasn’t playing.
I tried to maneuver myself between them but it’s hard to predict the movements of toddlers so after a couple more kicks (that Tiny Monster didn’t actually appear to notice), I squatted down t Donut Kid’s level and yelled, “Kid! Stop kicking him!” He swam away but didn’t cry or anything so I guess I’m not that scary.
Mrs. Monster suggested later that I could have removed Tiny Monster from the situation but he wasn’t the one misbehaving, so I’m not going to interrupt his favorite thing to do because there’s a mean kid.
posted by The Monster at the End of this Thread at 5:07 AM on September 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
I tried to maneuver myself between them but it’s hard to predict the movements of toddlers so after a couple more kicks (that Tiny Monster didn’t actually appear to notice), I squatted down t Donut Kid’s level and yelled, “Kid! Stop kicking him!” He swam away but didn’t cry or anything so I guess I’m not that scary.
Mrs. Monster suggested later that I could have removed Tiny Monster from the situation but he wasn’t the one misbehaving, so I’m not going to interrupt his favorite thing to do because there’s a mean kid.
posted by The Monster at the End of this Thread at 5:07 AM on September 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
.....Well. This is an in-between update that I don't think is right for my AskMe yet, about my weird job situation.
I'd posted that AskMe and talked to a bunch of HR-wise people. They all counseled me on the plan of attack. All day yesterday I waited for a chance to talk to my boss, but that never came; I figured maybe I should wait for him to come to Me to follow up (I have a job interview tomorrow for something I applied for anyway, I'm in a good place).
But then today....
So, ostensibly I was going to be filling in for a couple months until the VP's wife came off maternity leave. She was in yesterday, and came back in today. She asked me a couple questions about how to do things, but then she started asking a bunch of other questions about my role....which suggested that she may have been trying to build a case for me. I suggested we step into another room for a proper talk.
And - yep, that IS exactly what she was doing. She is VERY, VERY convinced that the office needs an office manager, and was hoping I could help her build a case. We had the "duties of the admin" document that got left behind by the previous person, and went through it point by point, with her pointing out the kind of things she'd do and I did the same; she's only going to be in the office part-time, and is meant to be handling the accounting and bookkeeping. But she is TOTALLY convinced the office needs someone here full time handling the other piddly office management shit, as am I; I pointed out a bunch of things that I could be doing, both in the document we were going through and also things I"d noticed could be improved upon. She even asked what salary I'd be interested in. She was totally on board with all of it, and she had a tone that suggested that she'd already had this same conversation with her husband several times previously.
She said she would speak to her husband the VP and the owner about this. "I'm not the one making the decision," she added, but she suggested she absolutely thought it was a good idea.
We went back into the main office to find her husband, the owner, and my boss all talking shop about some other stuff. She started discussing the accounting stuff with them I'd just told her about, and suggested some changes - ones we'd just discussed; meanwhile I tried to ignore them for propriety's sake. And after a while, suddenly my boss asked me if I could step out for five minutes. I went for a walk around the block, lingering as long as possible in the heat, and then tentatively went back and knocked on the door, asking "is the coast clear, it's just really hot outside." They were all still at it - and apologized profusely for pushing me out into the heat and said they'd step into another room themselves instead.
They've been talking in there for about 20 minutes now.
There is a non-zero chance this could be good.
(And yes - the "what would you want for salary" quote I gave her was my old salary at my last job AND health insurance, I made sure of that. She's Irish and has been regularly horrified at the state of health insurance in this country, so when it comes to how expensive insurance is here, She Gets It.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:18 AM on September 7, 2023 [7 favorites]
I'd posted that AskMe and talked to a bunch of HR-wise people. They all counseled me on the plan of attack. All day yesterday I waited for a chance to talk to my boss, but that never came; I figured maybe I should wait for him to come to Me to follow up (I have a job interview tomorrow for something I applied for anyway, I'm in a good place).
But then today....
So, ostensibly I was going to be filling in for a couple months until the VP's wife came off maternity leave. She was in yesterday, and came back in today. She asked me a couple questions about how to do things, but then she started asking a bunch of other questions about my role....which suggested that she may have been trying to build a case for me. I suggested we step into another room for a proper talk.
And - yep, that IS exactly what she was doing. She is VERY, VERY convinced that the office needs an office manager, and was hoping I could help her build a case. We had the "duties of the admin" document that got left behind by the previous person, and went through it point by point, with her pointing out the kind of things she'd do and I did the same; she's only going to be in the office part-time, and is meant to be handling the accounting and bookkeeping. But she is TOTALLY convinced the office needs someone here full time handling the other piddly office management shit, as am I; I pointed out a bunch of things that I could be doing, both in the document we were going through and also things I"d noticed could be improved upon. She even asked what salary I'd be interested in. She was totally on board with all of it, and she had a tone that suggested that she'd already had this same conversation with her husband several times previously.
She said she would speak to her husband the VP and the owner about this. "I'm not the one making the decision," she added, but she suggested she absolutely thought it was a good idea.
We went back into the main office to find her husband, the owner, and my boss all talking shop about some other stuff. She started discussing the accounting stuff with them I'd just told her about, and suggested some changes - ones we'd just discussed; meanwhile I tried to ignore them for propriety's sake. And after a while, suddenly my boss asked me if I could step out for five minutes. I went for a walk around the block, lingering as long as possible in the heat, and then tentatively went back and knocked on the door, asking "is the coast clear, it's just really hot outside." They were all still at it - and apologized profusely for pushing me out into the heat and said they'd step into another room themselves instead.
They've been talking in there for about 20 minutes now.
There is a non-zero chance this could be good.
(And yes - the "what would you want for salary" quote I gave her was my old salary at my last job AND health insurance, I made sure of that. She's Irish and has been regularly horrified at the state of health insurance in this country, so when it comes to how expensive insurance is here, She Gets It.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:18 AM on September 7, 2023 [7 favorites]
Rumors of An Offer are brewing. They're looking at using the salary I mentioned, but offsetting that with whatever insurance would cost and they'd cover it. I'll have to do some calculating and would see if I can nudge things up JUST a tiny bit once I actually get the offer.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:57 PM on September 7, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:57 PM on September 7, 2023 [5 favorites]
Oh sure, NOW we get official guidance from the school district for Covid, after going by the instructions we received in January when spouse and I got sick. NOW we are the assholes who sent our kid to school when they were not supposed to attend and exposed other kids.
I am FUMING right now. If I had this information last weekend I would NOT have sent my kid back so soon. I should have found the spoons to argue with the district.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 1:38 PM on September 7, 2023 [2 favorites]
I am FUMING right now. If I had this information last weekend I would NOT have sent my kid back so soon. I should have found the spoons to argue with the district.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 1:38 PM on September 7, 2023 [2 favorites]
Like, I am utterly SCREWED if I get the measles since I can't be vaccinated. I am the last person in that would intentionally expose vulnerable populations to myself or my kid.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 1:40 PM on September 7, 2023
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 1:40 PM on September 7, 2023
My kid and I are going to see The Nun II tonight, so if you're a fan of pop garbage horror, you can look forward to my review of that within 24 hours-ish. Prediction: there will be silly-ass jump scares!
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:59 PM on September 7, 2023
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:59 PM on September 7, 2023
I legit got scared by a nun once. And not in a religious eternal damnation way. It was the first time I took mushrooms and a friend and I decided to go to the grocery store across from campus. Everything was going fine and we entered the store. Started walking through and I spotted a nun shopping near the front. I took one look and just walked right past and exited the doors on the other side. I just couldn't handle that in that moment.
posted by downtohisturtles at 3:06 PM on September 7, 2023
posted by downtohisturtles at 3:06 PM on September 7, 2023
I’ve known a couple of nuns who would find that hilarious. Come to think of it, there is also a monk of my past acquaintance who would have enjoyed scaring individuals in the manner you describe.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 4:35 PM on September 7, 2023
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 4:35 PM on September 7, 2023
Back in a former life I was involved with a lot of community theater. Over the course of three years we did a production of Nunsense, and then The Sound Of Music, and then Nunsense again followed immediately by a community theater premiere of Nunsense II: The Second Coming.
Let me tell you, that thing where once you notice a thing once, you see it everywhere? NUNS ARE EVERYWHERE. They're in cars, they're in Walmart, they're in restaurants, they're in movie theaters, they're in the post office... EVERYWHERE.
But then once I stopped doing those shows, I don't really see them much anymore.
posted by hippybear at 4:55 PM on September 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
Let me tell you, that thing where once you notice a thing once, you see it everywhere? NUNS ARE EVERYWHERE. They're in cars, they're in Walmart, they're in restaurants, they're in movie theaters, they're in the post office... EVERYWHERE.
But then once I stopped doing those shows, I don't really see them much anymore.
posted by hippybear at 4:55 PM on September 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
THE NUNS ARE COMING FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:29 PM on September 7, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:29 PM on September 7, 2023 [4 favorites]
NUNS³: THE NUNS WERE INSIDE US ALL ALONG
Nuns IV: A Pew Hope
Nuns V: The Padre Strikes Back
Nuns VI: Return to the Abbey
posted by k3ninho at 11:20 PM on September 7, 2023 [2 favorites]
Nuns IV: A Pew Hope
Nuns V: The Padre Strikes Back
Nuns VI: Return to the Abbey
posted by k3ninho at 11:20 PM on September 7, 2023 [2 favorites]
Nuns VII: Cloisterphobia
posted by y2karl at 12:10 AM on September 8, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by y2karl at 12:10 AM on September 8, 2023 [2 favorites]
Nuns VIII: Bad Habits
The ninth installment, directed by David Fincher: 9s
posted by emelenjr at 2:54 AM on September 8, 2023 [2 favorites]
The ninth installment, directed by David Fincher: 9s
posted by emelenjr at 2:54 AM on September 8, 2023 [2 favorites]
Friends, The Nun II is exactly what the trailers led you to believe: professionally mounted pop culture schlock, rote in story and reasonably efficient in jump scares.
It did have Anna Popplewell (plucky teen Susan from the last set of Narnia films) as the sympathetic teacher/mom, so as ever, that ruthless bastard time comes for us all.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:55 AM on September 8, 2023
It did have Anna Popplewell (plucky teen Susan from the last set of Narnia films) as the sympathetic teacher/mom, so as ever, that ruthless bastard time comes for us all.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:55 AM on September 8, 2023
We've been watching Warrior Nun and it's pretty clear that the true horror of Stranger Things is that its apocalyptically bad pacing has infected other series.
posted by seanmpuckett at 8:08 AM on September 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by seanmpuckett at 8:08 AM on September 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
OH GOD oh PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
I just had a very promising first-round interview for a job that would be MONUMENTALLY better than the one I'm contemplating. And best of all - it sounds like the interview process is gonna move fast, and I'll know by Monday morning whether I'm getting second-round interview invite. So I could conceivably be into the second or third round of interviews by the time that the place I'm at even makes me an offer, so I would have time to pull the "I'll have to think about it for a few days" card and see if this other place comes through.
THIS IS NOT HOW MY JOB SEARCHES USUALLY GO, I'M FREAKING OUT
I'm going to go blast "God I Hope I Get It" from A CHORUS LINE and go clean the fridge to calm down or something.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:23 AM on September 8, 2023 [13 favorites]
I just had a very promising first-round interview for a job that would be MONUMENTALLY better than the one I'm contemplating. And best of all - it sounds like the interview process is gonna move fast, and I'll know by Monday morning whether I'm getting second-round interview invite. So I could conceivably be into the second or third round of interviews by the time that the place I'm at even makes me an offer, so I would have time to pull the "I'll have to think about it for a few days" card and see if this other place comes through.
THIS IS NOT HOW MY JOB SEARCHES USUALLY GO, I'M FREAKING OUT
I'm going to go blast "God I Hope I Get It" from A CHORUS LINE and go clean the fridge to calm down or something.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:23 AM on September 8, 2023 [13 favorites]
Invoking the money making energy of Johnny Paycheck in a big ass hat for you, EC.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:54 AM on September 8, 2023
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:54 AM on September 8, 2023
Nuns VII: Cloisterphobia
"If thou gaze long into the Abbess, the Abbess will also gaze into thee. And probably demand that you leave the convent immediately."
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:03 PM on September 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
"If thou gaze long into the Abbess, the Abbess will also gaze into thee. And probably demand that you leave the convent immediately."
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:03 PM on September 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
We are somehow still in this heatwave in England, and yet another day well above 30C. And it's apparently the hottest day of the year so far.
Earlier found me lying in the coldest bath of water I could manage without risk of hypothermia, to cool down. While at the same time eating a minature Christmas pudding. Everything is upside down.
Speaking of Christmas; provisional plans to go to Wisconsin for the winter months are gradually forming. Thank you to those MeFites who have provided useful suggestions - of which there are many - for things to do and eat in Wisconsin over those months.
posted by Wordshore at 12:44 PM on September 9, 2023 [1 favorite]
Earlier found me lying in the coldest bath of water I could manage without risk of hypothermia, to cool down. While at the same time eating a minature Christmas pudding. Everything is upside down.
Speaking of Christmas; provisional plans to go to Wisconsin for the winter months are gradually forming. Thank you to those MeFites who have provided useful suggestions - of which there are many - for things to do and eat in Wisconsin over those months.
posted by Wordshore at 12:44 PM on September 9, 2023 [1 favorite]
Nobody goes to Wisconsin for three months of winter voluntarily. Blink three times if you're being held hostage.
posted by hippybear at 2:37 PM on September 9, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 2:37 PM on September 9, 2023 [4 favorites]
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Whenever I encounter an oasis, I always wonder if there's a corresponding homesis.
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:54 PM on September 4, 2023 [1 favorite]