MetaChat - Three-point Thursday update.

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05 June 2008

Three-point Thursday update. I'll start.
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1. For reasons I won't go into here, when I am asked to give feedback on my manager for his annual appraisal, I am going to be brutally honest about his lack of technical knowledge and poor management skills. But I'm not sure when his appraisal will be. If I get a new job before then, I will make my feelings known at my exit interview.

2. I was tired out by the time I got off the Tube tonight and was tempted to wait for the bus, which only runs hourly, but, after adjusting my backpack so it was tighter and didn't move I decided to walk up the hill. I beat the bus and now feel virtuous for having walked a mile home with a heavy backpack.

3. A year ago today I attended my first ever New York City meetup, where I met a very cute fella, but was too shy to let him know how much I liked him ...

post by: essexjan at: 11:49 | 32 comments

1. Plumber just left. He says the main drain is fine and it's purely mysterious and coincidental that the toilet keeps stopping up despite the fact that I have spent my entire life in old houses with vintage plumbing and thus I do not flush pretty much anything at all except the necessary and four squares, max, of toilet paper and this kind of repeat nightmare has never happened to me in any other house.
1a) You know what this means, don't you? That's right - TOILET TROLLS!
Aieeeeeee!!!!!!!!

2. Now I have to take a shower - a long shower, with bleach - and go to work, where I am ridiculously busy and this whole morning interlude may well mean I have to work on Saturday unless I get insane amounts of things done this afternoon and tomorrow.

3. And then I have to go see my mother after work. My life just keeps on getting better and better.

posted by mygothlaundry 05 June | 12:17

1. I just cut the shit outta my left pointer finger while cutting Italian rolls. It hurts like a mother-dinger and is making it hard to type.
2. Our dishwasher has been broken for over a week, and we don't expect the replacement to come until sometime next week.
3. Since I cut my finger so deeply, I think it is only reasonable to expect the men in my household to take over all dish washing duties until the new washer comes.

EJ - Happy New York Meetup Anniversary!

posted by msali 05 June | 12:27

1. I threw my back out last night.
2. It hurts, especially when I move or walk or try to bend or lift anything.
3. I'm waiting for the Aleve to kick in and help with number 2.

posted by Joe Invisible 05 June | 12:27

1. I'm drinkin' coffee! Coffeecoffeecoffeecoffeecoffee!

2. A friend of mine has invited me over to watch Kinji Fukasaku's Battle Royale, and I'm not sure if I want to see it. I have surprisingly delicate sensibilities, and am, in fact, a precious little flower.

3. The city is going to tear up the best disc golf course in town and replace it with a dog park. Dammit.

posted by BitterOldPunk 05 June | 12:37

(Battle Royale is well worth seeing, BoP.)

1. Work project is going better that I had feared it might. First major deadline is next Wednesday, and so far *knocks wood* so good.

2. Boy, the hot weather got here ALL OF A SUDDEN. No easing into higher temps, here.

3. Apropos of #2, I've been hanging my shirts out to dry instead of putting 'em in the dryer, and so my shirt smells like outdoors. Ahhh.

posted by BoringPostcards 05 June | 12:53

Injuries and backed-up toilets suck. Coffeecoffee (TP for my bunghole!) and cute fellas at meetups rule! And Battle Royale is good too, as is the smell of laundry dried outside. So

1. Long weekend! Wooh! Having Friday off is almost as good as having Monday off, but not quite.

2. I've been chain-watching Oz for the last few weeks, and yesterday I finished - it's over and I miss it. It's actually a terrible chain-watching show, you need a strong stomach and tolerance for graphic death, but I was so caught up in it I skipped out of work early a few afternoons to watch it. And now I miss those guys.

3. So thinking about volunteering in a prison - Wormwood Scrubs is a 15min walk away (and Broadmoor not too far either). I haven't been in a prison for years, and never in the UK, so I expect it to be interesting and a vertical learning curve.

posted by goo 05 June | 13:03

1. Rain. Rain, rain, rain, rain, rain.
2. Since I can't work, thought I'd finally go clean my old cabin. (There's no-one moving in yet, and they kept me waiting for all sorts of things: moving in (6 weeks), a fridge (2 months after that), former occupant's furniture moved out (over 4 months), and the place was a sty and full of dishes, etc when I moved in, so I figure a few days for the cabin to be cleaned won't kill 'em.)
3. Then woke up with a start realizing that I'd cancelled power as of June 2, which also means no pump, which means no water. Oops. I also have a feeling that the rug shampooer thingy I rented may, y'know, require power to work. I'm counting heavily on BC Hydro's legendary inefficiency, but also realize that the one thing they're usually astoundingly organized about is cutting off power. Could be an interesting day.

posted by elizard 05 June | 13:15

1. I like the word 'Balaclava'. It's fun to say. Balaclava. Hee.

2. I consider myself very lucky that we had no significant problems from the thunderstorms yesterday which uprooted trees, downed power lines and spawned several tornadoes closer to where I live than I like. Phew.

3. Contrary to the commercial, I can spell 'antidisestablishmentarianism'. See?

posted by fferret 05 June | 13:16

1. Back home from an epic-long East Coast trip, complete with familial drama and circuses and red-bean buns. The New Jersey part sucked balls, the Boston part was pretty awesome, the part where my boyfriend had minor surgery while I was gone was brutal.

2. Still having trouble with that last part. He's all wounded and it makes me nauseous and panicked.

3. Tired, worried about the work situation (my company got bought out by a huge conglomerate and I don't know what this will mean for my employment; could be good, could be bad), stressed out by the upcoming move to Seattle and starting grad school. Kind of want to curl up in a ball for the next few months and be fed chocolate and sugar water while being patted. Like that's going to happen.

posted by Fuzzbean 05 June | 13:18

1. I have the site registered, have my FTP client ready, and have installed Photoshop and Dreamweaver. There is no other reasonable way to procrastinate, it is time to assemble a website.

2. There are noodles and chicken with orange sauce waiting in the fridge. I wonder what Chinese people cook for the Bulgarian palate, and whether it will be anything like "Chinese food".

3. I sent a "Letter of Direction" to my bank instructing them to transfer funds. Sending a "Letter of Direction" makes me feel important, something that has never happened when dealing with my bank before.

posted by Meatbomb 05 June | 13:47

1. Two childhood friends of mine - brothers, in fact, with whom I did some of my earliest electronic music experimentation - are about to release their debut on the amazing Crammed Discs, which also happens to be my favorite record label. I am massively envious and proud at the same time.

2. L.A. Pride is this weekend. A decade ago, I was all political and involved and stuff. Now I've just been putting in overtime at the gym and trying to decide on fun costumes. Me, mainstream and complacent?

3. I'm a little paralyzed at work because I've been tasked with reformatting our entire radio show to fit the NPR clock, which means I also have to re-write, re-edit, and re-record all of our intros, interstitials, IDs, program modules, and more. It is like staring at a very large stone thing which I cannot move singlehandedly. Eep.

posted by mykescipark 05 June | 14:20

1) I made some lemonade with ginger and cayenne. It's good!

2) The kitten has spent most of the morning grooming my face and neck. Yes, with her tongue.

3) New supervisor at work this week. Hopefully we'll get along.

posted by jtron 05 June | 14:37

1. I am fucking sick of the fact that my post-doc colleague, whose desk is closer to the phone than mine, *refuses* to look up when the phone rings (it could be our line, or it could be our mentor's line, so we don't always answer it) meaning that I get up Every. Single. Fucking. Time. it rings on our line. And it's never for me.

2. O's are beating Twins in a tight game. Bottom of the 8th, Twins batting, 1 on 2 out, 3-2 O's. Yay MLB TV at work!

3. Way too addicted to internet word games.

posted by gaspode 05 June | 14:44

1. I have both Friday AND Monday off. I'm meeting a friend to go see baseball games.

2. My vet has raised the price for boarding cats to $16 per cat per night.

3. I am getting my backyard fenced in. If there is any money left when that's done, I'm getting one of these. (not necessarily this one, just something of that ilk.)

posted by JanetLand 05 June | 14:45

1. Just had to do an hour long job interview with a candidate for my team. I hate doing those, I just get totally scattered and forget to ask half my questions.

2. Still no shower at home for three weeks now. Work is progressing but there's still two more weeks to go. They've gotten approval for the wiring so they can start dry-walling now. I'm tired of having to always carry my gym bag around in case I'm near a working shower.

3. Going to Geek Night tonight, Yay! Drink beer and eat lots of pirogies.

posted by octothorpe 05 June | 15:01

Oh, and 4. The tiny bruise with minor swelling that was the result of catching a ladder with my cheekbone has turned into a pretty impressive shiner. I'm just telling people that my new roommate and her bf beat me when they're displeased. *sigh* This has not been a great week.

posted by elizard 05 June | 15:09

I just got another job to supplement the relatively money-less big political job. The another job is in the office of Ms. Big Cheese and will be all about training up my ass for the big political job.

I am SO looking forward to resigning from my current job with Ms. Takes Me For Granted. good luck finding someone else madam! You are gonna be stuck doin' that job yourself, for no money. ENJOY!!!

My friend S got a sweet traineeship at Ethnic Minority Law Firm of Win.

posted by By the Grace of God 05 June | 15:13

1. Feeling rather anxious in my gut this morning; I think it has to do with endless work work work, but also because I'm feeling particularly choked up about the RFK assassination anniversary this year. (No doubt in part for the obvious reason: the faint, unspeakable terror that something similar is on the horizon.)

2. Going to Scottsdale in about a week and a half to be with my folks as my dad goes through surgery.

3. Looking forward to a visit from my best friend from high school! He's going to be out here on business the same week I'll be in Scottsdale, but luckily he's arriving the night before I take off.

4. New shoes! Shiny + Red + Comfy = Teh Awesome.

posted by scody 05 June | 15:35

1. Was coughing so hard in the shower just now that I puked a little. I'm staying home from work.

2. While the staying home is good, I still need to get a new shirt for the wedding we're going to this weekend. If I'm feeling a little less shakey later, I'll see if I can't venture out to Macy's.

3. Really should have a number three, shouldn't I? Um... oh, the CBC would be fools to not re-sign Ron McLean for Hockey Night In Canada. Somebody's gotta balance out Don Cherry, both opinion-wise and sartorially. Ron is that somebody.

≡ Click to see image ≡

posted by bmarkey 05 June | 16:27

1. We're going camping this weekend. Yay! I am a whirlwind of organization. I have a long list; there are piles of stuff to pack on the kitchen table; the tent is set up in the backyard so's it can be cleaned after 5+ years in the garage. And we're camping in Tahoe, which means I'll get to play craps one night!

2. Ben Gay on sore neck/shoulder. It's making my eyes water.

3. Picked 4 zucchini and a cucumber yesterday, then sprayed all the plants with magical compost tea. Am headed back over to the garden in a bit to see if they doubled in size overnight.

posted by mudpuppie 05 June | 17:33

1. Today has been suckassed, mostly due to the fact that we STILL DIDN'T HAVE POWER AT WORK. Even though yesterday they said it would be back on at 9pm. The alarms were going BATSHIT this morning because the humidity and temp were rising in the stacks. Ugh. Plus, I couldn't fuck around on the internet like I normally do in the morning in order to avoid interacting with people.

2. It was my short day and I was able to get new BC pills, taste a new Rita's ice flavor (sweet tea...mmmmm...) and play with what I'm hoping will be my next phone (Samsung Glyde, oh so pretty).

3. I proceeded to come home and not do any of the things I needed to do (aka laundry) in favor of smutty fanfic and napping. I believe that will be a trend that will continue into the evening.

posted by sperose 05 June | 17:57

1. I'm making baked barbecue chicken with sticky rum barbecue sauce and mashed potatoes for supper tonight. Yum. (My chicken seems to have had very lopsided breasts, however.)

2. My worst nightmare has come true. My principal announced the appointment of not one of the two people I dreaded becoming Assistant Principals, but both. The woman who stole my idea for a school literary journal, and then didn't even do it, and the man everyone refers to as "Little Napoleon." Well, there's an Open Transfer period for NYC teachers until August 7th. Perhaps the Universe is telling me it's time to move on. I would love a better location with less of a commute. I travel almost three hours round trip everyday (about an hour and twenty minutes each way). And it would be fun to be in Manhattan instead of the Bronx, or close by in Queens. We'll see.

3. Some guy just free-climbed up the NY Times Building. Yikes.

posted by Pips 05 June | 18:04

1. Just sent off a check for 6k (!) today for first semester at SF State. . .(still shellshocked). Out of state tuition sucks. I hope to not have to do that for very long.

2. Having leftover chicken with romanesco sauce, over pasta. . .I heartily recommend that you explore romanesco sauce.

3. Painted bedroom over the weekend. Started with this and ended up with this.
The one red wall was a gamble. It reads blotchy on this pic, but in person (after 4 coats) it is pretty clean looking.

posted by danf 05 June | 18:09

I like those colors, danf.

1. I am tired every single day.

2. I feel like going to bed at 8 or sooner every night. I guess it's all this activity I've been up to. It sucks because I would like to stay up and read and read the Metachat and watch TV but I fall asleep.

3. My ant problem is under control. The Toro has brought every ant out of the woodwork to feed.

posted by LoriFLA 05 June | 18:35

Danf, nice paint job!

1. I've got a lousy attitude right now; anger mainly directed at my stepdaughter. I spent $ on her prom dress and shoes and now I won't see her in it as she's still in a teen snit. The ingratitude, and unappreciation are eating me up. Must. Stop.

2. Made another recipe from a cookbook I got on the clearance rack at Barnes and Noble. Chicken, spinach, mushroms, shredded swiss, sour cream, half and half and onions..plus egg noodles. Delicious.

3. Two weeks and a day until we leave for Punta Cana!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

posted by redvixen 05 June | 18:37

1. Fifth day without anti-depressants, and strangely, I'm in better shape. I almost wonder if I should go back on them (probably, says my husband).However, I slept for three hours this afternoon, after four days of exhausted agitation have segued (love THAT word) into just exhaustion. I get some emergency sample meds to tide me over till the scrip comes in tomorrow.

2. We're in the middle of the tornado watch area from hell -- apparently the conditions are right for spawning supercells, supercells, and supercells.

3. jtron, my youngest cat (1 year old) still grooms my face with her tongue occasionally. It's like dermabrasion, only cuter.

posted by lleachie 05 June | 18:51

1. Exorcising toilet demons in ugly business. Ugly, fetid, filthy business. There isn't water holy enough without hallucinegens.
You will need fire and a spa.
2. Universal yanking all Top Chef episodes everywhere is the squirrel on the wedding cake, only they take the whole cake.
≡ Click to see image ≡
3. Right know i feel both like this
≡ Click to see image ≡
and like this
≡ Click to see image ≡
which looks kinda like this.

posted by ethylene 05 June | 19:10

1. I have to go find a job.
2.I'm hoping my megachurch has an opening in its megaoffices.
3. I hate change.

posted by bunnyfire 05 June | 19:19

1) I just worked out how much it's going to cost to post all these Mefi Swap CD's (about $50). I think I'd've re-thought my packing strategy had I known that, but now I just want them sent.

2) It's Friday, and a long weekend. Yay. No, really. Yay! (Any Aussie Republicans reading note well! - The Queen's Birthday is sacred. You can fuck up Parliament, but you tamper with my long weekends at your peril).

3) I will be choosing new glasses tomorrow. I really want to take my SO in to the store and spend all morning walking around pointing out frames and asking loudly "This one........ or this one?, OK, this one........ or this one?, OK...." ad infinitum.

posted by pompomtom 05 June | 21:03

1. 2nd day of hanging with family. Fun was had: haircut, trip to sister's wedding chapel, pool, dinner, WalMart.
2. My sister and I got a slip and slide at WalMart- tomorrow we play! Hopefully it's buckets of fun. If not, oh well, $8 down the drain.
3. Later tonight: "Stick It" on DVD, cookies from the pre-made Pillsbury dough.

posted by ThePinkSuperhero 05 June | 21:22

Go for it pips!

GAH, mgl!!!

1.Only half of the women I invited to the Lynda Barry reading responded and none of them could show up.

2. It is NOT a good idea to ask her about the white kuto" I did not ask this question; someone who wanted to link TAL's ad with her reading on Gothamist did. The gist of her answer: "I knew him during the Reagan administration, I don't know him now"

3. The review of a new 70's era tv show claims that Fear of Flying depicted sex without consequences. Uh, no...I doubt this person bothered to read the book.

posted by brujita 06 June | 01:01

Go for it, Pips. Sounds like it's time.

5. aaaaand I'm sick. Finally caught my uncle's cold/flu/whatever thingy. Now I know why all I've wanted to do is sleep for the last couple of days. On the up-side, he & his wife had a lovely barbeque for me tonight, and I got to hang out with some friends. Then I lay down on their couch for an hour or so while they tried to get my aunt drunk. (She doesn't drink. It wasn't hard. She's funny when she's drunk.)

posted by elizard 06 June | 01:31

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