Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[wombat]

Inev I think you are sensible enough that you would have figured that stuff out on your own, but I am very glad to have helped.

[AugustWest]

So yes, real life is just like Parks and Recreation.

After 20 years in state government, I feel comfortable in saying that real life is even weirder than P&R.  I really didn't watch much of P&R, good as it is, because it's just too realistic.

[AugustWest]

[pmcd9]

In Houston, if the rich want it, the rich get it. The poor must step aside.

[theinevitable]

That tension is nuts at my job. No matter how pro-egalitarian voters/politicians might be in NYC, market forces there are insane. There is also legislation at the state level that limits what the city can do about certain things, like rent regulation (not to mention conflicting information about whether that kind of policy even works).

It brings me so much happiness that the carnitas recipe I make has become a permanent part of the rotation in multiple branches of my family. And they know this, so they tell me every time they make it. Sure, this is egotistical, I didn't even make up the recipe... but there are worse vices.

[theinevitable]

I started getting weird Tinder messages lately, and I was not sure why. Just checked my profile and at some point I changed it to say "7'8, I have 6 dogs and cats (each). Instagram: Tall_Dog_Haver." I do not remember doing this.

The past few days this thing has been happening where I get home from work and I feel... almost drunk. I eat dinner and operate the rest of the night in slight confusion.

Maybe meatballs with fried cabbage combines to create a psychedelic compound.

[wombat]

Sounds like someone left their phone lying around while they were logged into the app and had a funny joke played on them.

[pmcd9]

Do you like to pour wine along your peepee?

[theinevitable]

I do not know how to say this without it being whiny, but have not had enough social interaction recently that someone could have pulled that off.

Also, "tall_dog_haver" is 100% a joke I would make. I think it is a riff on a twitter thing.

[Carlos del Vaca]

I have complained previously about the excess of gift-giving in our extended family at Christmas time. And now it's not just Christmas. My mom brought down the rope hammock she's had since I was a kid, and a stand for it. Which I should be really appreciative of, I know. But it's also another goddamn THING I have to find room for in my house, and I have this big frickin' metal stand in my yard that I have to move around when I mow the lawn.

I just about had a breakdown Saturday, when I was trying to diagnose a plumbing problem, and the amount of goddamned crap that we never use that I had to move in order to look at the pipes. Personally I am going to look into unloading some of my unused crap via eBay or Craigslist, and maybe that'll inspire the missus and/or the kids to do something similar.

But it got me thinking. I would really love to tell the extended fam, "We do not want THINGS as gifts. What would be really great would be, say, a Hilton hotels gift card. So when we want to go to California or wherever, that would help make that happen." Not sure how that would be received.

[wombat]

I feel like that is just like asking for money, and there are definitely people who find that offensive. Of course you could say "let's stop exchanging things, the best gift you could give is coming to visit and doing things together" but I get the feeling you'd like that even less.

I feel like this is one of those things where you can't control other people, you can only control your reaction to them. Maybe your best bet is to accept the stuff nicely and then have a yard sale once in a while.

[AugustWest]

If you're feeling less charitable, Craigslist or consigment stores are always an option.

[AugustWest]

For stuff of a more than a nominal value I agree with the EggMan. You get to meet interesting people that way.

There's also really cool stuff in consignment stores, sometimes.

[theinevitable]

my parents do that thing. Way too many presents. It is getting more and more awkward as other family members retire or get old enough that they don't get to say "my mommy got you something." Whenever people try to shift it towards "let's follow x system so there are less presents" it somehow turns into even more presents. My parents are definitely doing it from a loving angle but I don't see how they can not realize how uncomfortable it makes people in the family who make less money than them.

I am trying hard to accept their present-love by coming up with stuff I want that they can buy me for holidays. Aren't I a great son?

I think I inherited the thing where what makes me feel the best is giving. But trying to channel my personal version towards doing rather than buying.


Got a notice from school that I have not paid my tuition for the upcoming year, because for some reason my student loans did not go through. Now I am fiddling around on this government website and it's telling me I have never applied for loans before. That doesn't seem right.

Immediate update: accidentally submitted duplicate loan requests. D'oh.

[wombat]

Today I'm gonna sign a book contract. Not the book I wanted to write, or even the same book my co-author and I initially wanted to write together, but it's a book. So I can put off looking for a real job, which was what I said I'd have to do if I didn't sell a book this year.