Crabs with Cranky Cake Pants: Pants Optional

Look at all this wide open space in which you can be grouchy!

NEW THREAD TO COMPLAIN IN

YES! Why do people have trouble changing lanes? Do they not see the car next to them? ARGH!

Why is it so hard to keep all my pencils exactly aligned on my desk? Is it too much to ask?

They don't look first...
}:o(

I've got sunscreen in my eye, and it BURNS!

How can you be grouchy with no pants on!

Here's my grouch. My BF and I were supposed to go out for lunch but she had to work. The grouchier part is that she said she was meaning to call me all week to tell me about her schedule change but never did.

I am slightly grouchy because I really have nothing to complain about today.

I just read that the Australian government can effectively ban video games by refusing to give them a rating. That in turn stops the game from legally being sold in Australia..

As a gamer that makes me cranky, and sad.

I wish the fires would stop. They are giving me a headache. Well, that and they're like, destroying people's homes and stuff.

scaifea - (From the previous thread) Congratulations on your great news! I know you are relieved. Take care of yourself!

I'm cranky because Youtube removes videos I've been watching for years so that they're no longer available.

TeenAuthor - They drive me crazy doing that! I watch a lot of anime vids and they're always disappearing.

I'm still a little under the weather from yesterday, and I'd rather not be here at work. Also, I had plans with my girlfriend to meet her for lunch downtown today, but she got a call at 2 AM this morning from her employer (interrupting our evening) "asking" her to come in to work early. Now the lunch is scrubbed.

I'm cranky, but somehow relieved, that my Grandma passed away about ten minutes ago.

#10 Yes, I want to join in the rejoicing. Wonderful news, Scaifea, you must be so relieved. I hope the rest of the pregnancy is without incident and you are enjoying your new baby before you know it! (Ha--okay, I know it won't quite be like that, but your news is wonderful, anyway.)

#14
I'm sorry that you lost your Grandma, TA, although I also understand the relief. It's very hard waiting for someone to die when you know it's approaching, and it's doubly hard if they are suffering. I hope you get to spend time with your family reminiscing about earlier good times with her. Hugs!

GeorgiaDawn and ejj1955: Thanks! I am *so* relieved! Only 2 more months to go!

And now from the "baby sitting" corner: my grand niece is 6 mo. now and is crawling like a champ. Very interested in everything. Learning all sorts of stuff. Likes to make singing noises, is eating baby bananas and rice cereral, tires easily, throws tantrums when tired, is darling. I am trying really hard to get a photo of her learning to crawl but I can only scoot backwards and shoot photos so fast. Lots of out of focus stuff.

You will have all this joy in no time.

Good luck and relax and try to enjoy these last months without the little one on the outside. (-:

scaifea - *Yipeeee!!!* Also for your mom. It's so hard to let our grown children be grown adults! Good for her that she can recognize her faux pas and make corrections.

I'm not cranky, just not motivated to do what really needs doing around here. May I hibernate until winter please?

I'm cranky because I want it to be 4 p.m. (17 minutes) so I can go to the animal shelter and look at the 9-week old calico kitty that is waiting for me.

If she and I bond (which will most likely happen) or fall in love (even more likely) I will put her on "hold" and we will go back on Saturday to see how she gets along with my daughter. (daughter doesn't come home from camp til tomorrow).

Then it will be how-does-the-9-week-old-kitty-cope-with-the-4-middle-aged-and-senior-kitties?

eta to add that it's now 16 minutes

I'm cranky because I jus...

Hmm, wait...

*removes pants*

Much better!

I'm cranky because I just spent $300 to get my new used car on the road, and that's BEFORE filling the tank for the first time (needle on Empty) and before taking it in for some "minor" but necessary work!

(Damn fleela, making this a pantsless rant makes me just a tad less cranky!)

I'm cranky because I posted why I am cranky in the old thread befre I found this one...

Karen, let us know how the kitten settles in .. :)

I'm cranky because... so, OK, I know I should be a better person but I really really don't want to go visit my MIL one more time. We just returned from there (218 miles, one way, or about US$500+) and it is such a waste of time and money.

She's elderly, mentally ill and with bad eyesight, and she smokes like a chimney. She lives in a small flat, and EVERYTHING reeks of nicotine, every single spot is covered with nicotine, there's burns in every piece of furniture, you can't look out of the windows because they're covered with nicotine, her fridge has broken down and she don't care, we don't eat there because if we do we will get sick, and we can't use the lo either because it's so dirty you don't even want to open the door to there. Etcetera - I could go on. AND she rejects any kind of help vehemently. For a small fee she is entitled to get full home service, but neither we or the nurse or doc from the open psychiatric clinic where she's "treated" (she's beyond help, but she's ill enough to be watched) manages to get her to agree to it and she's not ill enough to be forced to take help. So she lives on, in total misery (except she don't think it's misery).

Each year we go there for her birthday, and earlier she got better for a while after the visits. Not so any more, and while me and my husband can stay indoors there for a few hours a time there's no way a 4 yo can sit still without touching anything. We always start our visits with cleaning up, as good as we can, but even then he can't be allowed to play on the floor. Think Hazmat, with suits...

We have told her we would be there more if she cleaned up, but she wont. She have stopped to listen, long ago. The last couple of years we have tried to get her to agree to move to a home of the kind were you have your own flat but were there's staff to look after her, as she need. She wont. We have tried to get her to accept help. No.
She has a sister living close by who don't help her because she's ashamed of the state her sis is in. Because of that (and some other incidents) my husband has cut all contact with that side of the family.

Husband has suggested that he should go alone next year. I haven't disagreed.

(This year when we left for home we, as usual, told her that. At the first day of our stay we always tell her which day we will leave. When we arrived at home husband called her to tell her we had arrived all right, at which she exclaimed "have you left? won't you come by tomorrow too?!")

Sadly the venting haven't made me feel any better.

NO wonder you are not anxious to go. How difficult for all of you ... :(

I think I'm starting with a cold, I have a small headache and when I swallow it hurts and feels like there is a big ball in my throat and my sinuses are a bit tight.

#22 it is difficult when people refuse care, my grandad was a bit like that but we've got a live in carer for him, over his objections (at first, he seems to be better now) mind you it's a big house and he didn't use the ground floor which used to be a clinic that my grandma ran at one point which the carer lives in now

Busifer, your plight reminded of of this blog article. What ever happened to pnuemonia?

So sorry about your MIL, Busifer.

#24 - It is. In Sweden you have the right to refuse help (or treatments). This is normally as should be, I think, but in this case it's problematic. Presently the only way we could force help on her is by getting her declared incapable of taking care of herself. Legally this means that she would be on equal with our son (4.5 yrs), and not entitled to make any agreements by herself. While it should solve a lot of problems she would also feel violated, and it's a high probability that she would start to hate her son (my husband) for it.
She already hates the carers from the psychiatric clinic for trying to get her to accept help with cleaning up...

So it's a tough decision my husband has to make.

The only reason we could force the carer on him was because he is almost totally blind and has Altzheimers, otherwise he could refuse, he didn't want to go in a home and my parents and aunts and uncles want to keep him in the house as long as possible. It's sad but he's resigned himself to accepting it once he knew it was the best thing, but the carer does still have trouble making him shower and change his clothes.

It really is a moral dilemma because it's not really right to force things, but his children all thought it was the best thing despite the objections, they started with a member of the family living with him (then again my dad has 7 siblings so they could all take turns at living with him for a while untill he got used to people being there to help) and phased the carer in.

As you say, it's a moral dilemma. One of the worst things, I think, is that my MIL has 14 living siblings, none of which cares for her - they are all ashamed that she can't handle her situation. Some even seems to think she may have done something to deserve it - they're VERY religious and think this must be God punishing her.

She's not really mentally ill but she have been treated that way, with loads of pills and shots, and this have affected her physical and mental health. Her initial problem was that she took the blame for the death of her first child, who died aged 2 months, back in 1956, and with all probability therapy would had helped. Even an understanding sibling or two would have helped, I guess...
Now it's too late. In the mid-80's she didn't manage to repress it any longer and went real bad, and the nurse only got her off the drugs about a year ago. Two decades of heavy psych-meds can play up badly with a human brain...

Busifer - your situation reminds me of mine with my darling Mum (who passed away two years ago). She had all kinds of health problems, including schizophrenia, and the last years of her life were spent in care - which she hated. At the last place she lived independently she - in the middle of winter - cut off her electricity, her gas, and her phone. A sick woman with heart problems living with no heat, and no contact to the outside world. It was bad, and that was enough for the mental health services to step in. She, too, smoked like a train and stopped caring for herself. She refused to shower, and she reeked. Fortunately, living in care, she was 'cared' for per se. Bah, it was heart-breaking and I don't want to go on about it. I just wanted to say I understand the mixed pain and frustration that goes along with something like this.

I had a brother who lived much as Busifer's MIL. However, he lived "out in the country", his two daughters had moved away, and his former wife tried to keep a minimal eye on him; however, he still died alone and uncared for. At a young age. Very sad. His oldest daughter and I both tried at various times to help and I must say I feel good about at least trying and in the end I do understand it was his choices that ended up with this sad end.

This sort of stubborness seems to run in my family. When my grandmother could no longer take care of herself while my mom went to work she was put into a nursing home. She really hated it and did not speak much to any of us after that. For years. But she was taken care of and when she died I knew it was her choice. She just stopped eating and would take no more.

These are sad facts of life and most families have some of these stories. They are very hard to deal with at the time but whatever good efforts one makes will live with you for the rest of your life. I don't mean sacrifice yourself or your family, I just mean do what you can and hope for the best.

And when it is time to say no, say so, with no guilt.

I feel for you Busifer, and I would not feel one bit guilty for letting your husband go visit next year alone. My grandmother smoked all her life, until I was pregnant with my daughter. I think she quit, at least in part, because I was very clear with her about the fact I would not allow the baby to be in her house, or in her vicinity while she smoked. Even when I was very young, I was always very vocal about my dislike of cigarette smoke, and I really believe she knew it was choosing to be a part of our lives if she quit, or not being there if she didn't.

I know that's not your only issue with your MIL, but I just wanted to let you know I would definitely have the same feelings you do.

Ah Busifer, *hug* so sorry. If your husband has given you the out, and he means it, don't feel guilty about not going. You have to do what's best for your son too. Sometimes it can be beneficial for a son to visit alone with his mother. I know my MIL treasures the times when her son comes by himself for a visit. Of course she lives closer and doesn't have the mental issues you describe either. I just don't want you to feel bad! Guess there's no help for that, it's just a sad situation.

I'm crabby because my children are home for the summer. They have, of course, been home for some time. But I am tired of them all and ready to trade all three in for a pet rock. All I hear all day, it seems, are complaints about what we have for lunch, how much it stinks that we are broke and can't go out and spend money on ice cream, snow cones, lunch out, new clothes, etc, complaints about brother/sister, complaints that they are bored, they have no friends, there's nothing to do. Then my favorite time of the day - bedtime - and it's complaints that they have a headache, a backache, a stomachache, an earache, they're hungry, thirsty, they can't sleep, someone else is making too much noise, and on and on and on and on.

It's worse because two of those three children are currently on antidepressants and are in therapy every single week. So I know that this is more than your average "I'm sick of summer and I have nothing to do" sort of whine. But honestly, I am sick of summer too, and I have WAY too much to do.

(And one of those children just came downstairs to complain about her acne and make a fuss."

I seriously just want to run screaming from the house right now and not come home for another week or so.

And while we're at it, about me? I am still sick myself. But because I am the mom, I still have to carry on, being chauffeur, cook, and chief bottlewasher around here. It's true that my husband is great, and if it weren't for that, I would be on several antidepressants myself, just from living with these kids!

OK, my rant is over. Don't feel much better now, but maybe if I eat enough chocolate or play enough computer games, I will. Although that is my main coping mechanism, and it doesn't seem to work all that well.

Cm - I feel for you.

And thanks everyone for your thoughts and support.
Hearts - we told her that her grandson wouldn't come near her if she smoked, or if she didn't clean up. She wont do that. She don't smoke when we're actually there, but... She just don't care. We have tried to be outdoors but the last three years it have rained.
*sigh*
Mrslee - Sadly my MIL is in such a bad shape quality time don't really exist. And she don't listen to him. At al.

We can't move to where she lives. Its a small and very depressing town where neither of us can get a job. We have tried to move her here, but she wont. We have tried to get her to move to the town she's originally from, where most of her siblings and old friends still live, but she wont.
Until 6 or 7 years ago when we visited we always took her out, but she refuses. She's afraid of people that aren't as run down as she is.

Busifer, it sounds like you've done everything possible and given thought to all sorts of options to try to make the situation good for you, your husband, son, and MIL. If she won't take help after everybody's efforts, then it's her problem, not yours. Even if she's mentally ill and has been devastated by anti-psychotic drugs and guilt. You just can't help someone who won't accept the help. Your responsibility is take care of your family - husband, child, self.

If your husband is willing to go by himself next time, you should say "Thank you" and then be supportive when he returns.

What karen posted is a wise and positive and sane solution to this problem. You have to know when to give up. It is sad, very sad. It is however, impossible to help someone who simply refuses to be helped. You cannot allow it to wreak havoc in your own life forever. I realize that this is much easier said than done, believe me.

There are so many sad stories here of people that are so loved, and so beyond caring for themselves. :(

I know you're right, and my husband knows so too, but it is a hard decision. Especially for him. Who wants his or her mother to waste away in misery?
But I know for sure that my husband is going by himself next time.

Thanks everyone for the support.

I don't make enough money. My hourly wage is good, but I'm only working half-time. There's not enough work available for a full day. Also, there's very little work for me to do as it is. I'm incredibly bored when I'm here. Looking for a new job is challenging, and stress-inducing. I need to get out of the place I'm living, and get a place by myself, but I don't know that I can afford it (see previous problem.) Rent keeps going up, everywhere.

My girlfriend will now be working 10 hour days, 7 days a week (just about all of the waking hours that I'm not working. Also, she moved recently, and now lives in well into the next county. In addition, I'm not getting everything I'd like from her, emotionally and physically speaking.

My best friend moved recently, and now lives someplace in the city that is hard to get to by bus in the evenings. He is also more occupied with domestic issues, and doesn't go out as much anymore. Another friend moved as well, and we haven't seen him in weeks.

If only I had a dog to run away, I could write a blues or country song.

Mono - It might help to sell your soul to the devil? It is rumoured to make you a great blues man ;-)

Me myself am pretty content with my workplace (and salary - sure, there could always be more of it, but, wtf...) but my husband have been looking for a new job for over two years. Past a certain age, and when you don't have any higher education, jobs become scarce. Move on while you can, that's all I'll say.

Monohex

lovingly..

You need a new girlfriend. Seriously, what on earth does this girl have that is so wonderful that she can cause you so much pain and aggravation and you still want to keep her around?

Also, If you are working part time, you have plenty of time to job hunt. Make it a priority. It may be stressful but stress rarely kills.Get rid of the g/f already. There are wonderful girls all over, one that is meant for you I am sure. I am also sure this is not.

Once these things are squared away, you can find a new place to live.

Thanks for the advice, mckait. My problem is that I have always had trouble meeting women. I have no difficulty making conversation, but the first step is the hardest. It's so much easier meeting people through friends, which is how I met the woman I'm with. I'd still be alone, most likely, if I hadn't met her by chance through a friend.

I've been so happy to finally be with someone, because I was alone for a very long time. I don't want to go back to the emptiness. I'm weighing heartache against abject loneliness, and pain seems to be the only outcome.

I don't know if I'll get another chance in the dating world, so I'm trying to hold on to/fix what I have.

Sweetie, it is not worth being with someone if it does not make you happy. And you will never meet anyone else as long as you are hanging on to this one.
I can understand it being hard. I think a lot of us here are shy and find it difficult to meet people. But you have friends who have friends. It will happen. You deserve to be happy and have someone who cherishes you.. so does the right girl... when you find her. It really can and will happen.

Allow yourself a chance to find true happiness......

I don't know if I'll get another chance in the dating world, so I'm trying to hold on to/fix what I have.

Not to be an ass, but this line is the most pathetic reason to stay in any relationship and it usually bodes ill for the one declaring it. When I hear this (and it surprises me how often I hear some variation on it) I want to shake them. If your happiness is dependent on another person, you will NEVER be happy, but don't mistake this. Having the right one will make you happy but your happiness shouldn't be built on them alone.

I'm not saying to move on, but you should discuss some of these things with your gf and see if any of it is likely to change, if not, seriously think of moving on.

# 43

Well, I'm very inexperienced in the serious relationship world for someone my age, so most things are new to me. I have to figure everything out on the fly. Trying and failing with women for the past 8 years has been hell. It hurts being ignored/rejected over and over. Can you blame me for not wanting to throw away something that I've been striving for?

Still cranky.

44 > I understand. I really do. As I said, I am not saying move on, I am saying, talk to her about the things that are important to YOU in the relationship, if she is unable or unwilling to work with you on these things (being reasonable and working with her on the things important to her as well) then you really need to stop and think about continuing on.

Relationships are a give and take, and compromising.

If you really want to make it work you have a reasonable chance of making it a go, but you need to consider WHY you want this one to work. If it is only because you are miserable and alone, it is a very unfair thing to HER to put that pressure on her. THAT is where I'm coming from.

I'm cranky because I still need cheese for our wine tasting - and you know how seriously we Wisconsinites and GDers take our cheese. Yesterday, I stopped at Mars' Cheese Castle, a local landmark, since I was already out on the interstate. Judging by their website, you would expect a wide variety of cheeses from around the world. Nope. There were only 3 refrigerated cases of cheese in the entire HUGE complex, and the bulk of it I can get at my grocery store.

Why can't this place be closer?!

#45 - cm, make the kids get a job. If they're too young to work at a fast food joint, make 'em do yard work for the neighbors or babysitting or something. It'll get 'em out of the house, add to their life experiences, and hopefully make 'em appreciate you a little more.

44>

Grow a pair and dump her if she's giving you problems.

You know what happened when who I thought was going to be the love of my life stopped IMing me completely?

DUMPED HER!

There are a lot worse things in this stage of my life than not having a girlfriend, even the imaginary/Faerie/Kami Spirit ones have been trouble and afraid of commitment.

The biggest wake up call an idealist can have is when their imaginary girlfriend dumps THEM. And you know what you do when a woman who doesn't exist leaves you for some man who's equally a figment of your imagination? You don't mope around looking for some other fantasy in the recesses of your mind, you call up that bow and arrow love assassin Cupid and ask him to put a hit on you, and to surprise you with who he sets you up with....

I am SO RAMBLING right now!

I'm cranky at my tummy coz it just decided that it didnt want the smoothie i had earlier today :(

I'm pretty sure I'm not sick coz I feel fine now, except for the yukky taste in my mouth & the after affects of bein sick - I'm such a sook when I'm sick & I always scare myself & panic coz i cant breathe, which just makes me feel worse, & i know i'm doin it but can never seem to calm myself down for a few minutes at least...

chamomile tea? peppermints? The tea will sooth tummy and mind..
you should keep some around. It is very nice. Peppermint is good for tummy yuckies too.

Hmmmz, peppermint sounds good but I'm not a tea drinker, I really have tried coz I want to like it, but just dont like the tea taste...

But thanx for the suggestion :)

Although peppermince is not all that good for a tummyache.

From whence might once obtain this peppermince?

Ahhh, that is also available from the sea serpent.

glad they are able to supply many needs - cheese and peppermince!

#44 monohex, just dump her and i'll be your girlfriend, i can't stand the loneliness either, oh wait, you're in Seattle and i'm in England. oh never mind. Dump her anyway and somebody will turn up when you least expect it, when you are totally comfortable with yourself. You will live through it.

Monohex - chiming in (again, cause I mentioned this in the other thread I think) about the 'you need to talk to your g/f and decide if it's worth it.'

I don't think you're happy with her. I don't know you, but I feel I can say that quite honestly from all the things you've written. Nearly everything from you in the cranky thread is about that girl, and how unavailable she is for you. Not good for you, hon.

I notice that you said this: 'Can you blame me for not wanting to throw away something that I've been striving for?'

And I want to say this back: Is she really what you were striving for? Really? Everyone deserves love, respect and happiness I think. Not sure you're getting it from this chick. At least talk to her about it all.

Hope it works out for you, one way or another. ~hug~

And another hug from NZ as well

This reminds me of a joke which is heard around AA meetings here: I don't have a girlfriend, I take hostages. Meaning: I am so desperate that when I am connecting with someone, I will hold on indefinitely, beyond all reason.

That certainly described me in an earlier time. Now I am blissfully alone with my two dogs. They are the hostages, now.

I'm cranky because I lack motivation for just about everything that's not couchsurfing the DVD player and wikisurfing. It's not good for my thesis, and I'm getting really lazy. I'm not really even cranky, because that takes effort.

Issues suck. Dealing with them sucks more.

Thanks, Musereader, Severn, SpicyCat & Maggie. Musereader, I wish I could take you up on that. You sound cool. I'd love to visit the UK. It's weird; everything is wonderful & happy when I'm actually out with her- it's only during analysis and retrospection (on both our parts) that things seem very conflicted.

Anyway, I'm not going to post in the cranky threads anymore. It just brings me down. This is a lighthearted group, where I come to relax and have fun, and I've decided not to dump my life problems on you all in the future. See you elsewhere!

Ouch, WillSteed, I can totally sympathise. Grad student solidarity. Good luck with the dealing, it will make things better in the long run even though it's less than fun for the present :-s

i am cranky. rar!

It's Sunday night, the weekend is over (it was nice, but way tooooo short) and I have to go back to work tomorrow and can't LT till next weekend.
Mew! I know, it's not much but it's all I've got to be cranky about, isn't that good?
*warm fuzzies* to everyone that needs/wants them.

Just back from holiday. in work. 'nuff said. (oh and it rained all week!)

Also I've got a million posts to read, to catch up on what's been said.

a million and one.

no wait, a million and two...

It was my mother's birthday today. She would have turned 56. It's the second one without her. I have a candle set up in the living room, with her photo, a card I wrote and a bunch of flowers. So, not so much cranky, as grieving and angry that she's gone. I just miss her so much, so very very much, and I would give anything right now to hug my mother.

Not sure why I'm sharing this here...sometimes it just feels like this huge weight and I have to talk about it. It's past midnight here, hubby is in bed, and yeah...needed to give some weight and words to the feelings.

Happy bit-day Mumsy.

*hugs to severn* Hope that the day passes gently for you.

Thank you so much Jody...I really needed those hugs.

The day has passed...her birthday was the 14th, and it's now sliding into the 15th. But it doesn't 'feel' like it's over until I wake up. Also, I can't blow out the candle. The candle has to go out itself - it's a 'thing'. So, I'm waiting up with her candle.

Er. This was my mother when she was 19, and a bridesmaid at my aunt's wedding. (Gah, more 'I need to share' compulsions).

{{{hugs}}} Severn. That's what this thread's about. Vent, share, spill. Your mum looks sparkling.

*hugs* for Severn. Wow, you look a lot like your mom, both of you lovely.

My crankiness of the day is due to my insurance. Which I know is lovely to have, but still. So we have gotten several bills lately from the hospitals about my daughter's recent stay in the psychiatric hospital - well, not really recent, it was in March/April. Got another one saying - final notice, your insurance has been billed and has not paid, we want our money.

So I called the insurance to find that they are paying the second hospital, but the first one where I took her for the initial evaluation was out of network. So we will owe over $200 for that.

And what a swell visit it was. Saturday night, she was in bad shape, all the waiting room packed with crying children, old people having chest pains, people suffering from a little too much weekend. We were in the waiting room for 3-4 hours. Then we finally got called into a tiny exam room where we saw not an actual psychiatrist, but a social worker who talked with us for a while. Around 1 am he said we should just go home and let her get some sleep. By then, she was feeling well enough to agree. She received no medication, no treatment of any kind. And for that they are charging $450 hospital visit plus $177 for the social worker.

And then on top of that, I had to reschedule their appt. with the psychiatrist and now we can't get in until Aug 21.

Health care, especially mental health care, is a disaster in this country. I am so stressed about this. But there's not a thing I can do. Oh, and meanwhile, both girls are still in therapy once a week, both need new glasses, and my oldest daughter needs to see a chiropractor and our family doctor again too. Enough already!

cmbohn, I can hardly be too cranky over my issue. I want to send {{{hugs}}} and ~~~backrubs~~~ to you instead. I hope that someone will finally provide the effective help your family needs.

Can you negotiate with the hospital for a reduced bill? Sometimes they will "adjust" the costs based on a patient's advocate's complaints about quality of care received.

My complaint is that my home page takes forever to load and I have just been having too many problems with LibraryThing. I am not enjoying visiting here very much. I tried to get to Your Starred and its continued to be stuck on Your Groups. I haven't even tried today. I am just sticking my toe in to see how things are but I may not stay long. Bah Humbug!

Sorry about the site issues. It's working fine for me now, but every once in a while I have problems too.

I will see what I can do about reducing the bill. thanks for the hugs and the backrubs!

>74 cmbohn: "Health care, especially mental health care, is a disaster in this country."

I couldn't agree more. I could say more, but that would just get me on an angry soapbox. Here's hoping everything works out for the best, cmbohn.

My 18 year old, who has an IQ of 130, barely made it out of high school, and now he honestly thinks that he is going to be a professional gamer.

**beats head against wall, wailing "Where did I go wrong?"**

We have just been outbid on ebay for tickets to see David Tennant and Patrick Stuart in Hamlet at the end of the month.

I'm cranky because I wanted to go but we can't afford the tickets as they are now at four times the £30.00 each they were originally sold for and I had asked my husband not to bid on them in the first place.

I found out that he had by accident while I was paying for something else on our ebay account, we had a small argument and then got outbid, making the argument pointless anyway and now I am actually disappointed because we aren't going but I would have been really cross if we were.

*sighs at contrariness of self*

Oh, HP

If you can still touch your boy & give him a hug, you have not gone wrong.

My experience with other peoples' boys is that once they actually have to earn money to pay rent, food, insurance, etc. they quickly head back to school. Not your fault.

#78

Yep, give it time. He'll figure it out. Along they way, you will mysteriously become much, much smarter.

>69 Severn:-71 Severn

((((Hugs))))

I am steadfastly refusing to believe my mother will pass on. It won't happen. I know I will be devastated, and I can only imagine your loss at such a (relatively) young age.

>74 cmbohn: cmbohn

((((Hugs))))

I also have had severe battle with insurance over payments, etc. through no fault of our own, when my daughter was born. You have my sympathies. Maybe yours will turn out better than ours did, we ended up having to pay pediatrician and neonatologist for her first week and a half of her life out of pocket because the insurance company says they didn't get the *two* faxes we sent them from the hospital. Grrrr.

>75 maggie1944: Maggie

Have you tried shutting down the computer and restarting it? That seems to help mine fairly often when it's doing weird stuff. If it doesn't help, ((((Hugs)))) and good luck! :)

>78 hobbitprincess: hobbitprincess

You did nothing wrong. Boys (especially the teenage variety) are stoopid. No matter how smart they are! ((((Hugs))))

>79 QueenOfDenmark: Jody

Hmmm, is that kind of like when I complain when hubby says there's not enough in the checking account to buy more books, when I was probably the one who suggested going out to eat the night before and spending $40 on dinner? Nah, your dilemma is much more logical! ;)

((((Hugs))))

I'm not really cranky, just sad for you guys! Don't worry, school starts back the first week in Aug., I'll have plenty to be cranky about then!

:)

yes, I have tried shutting down. I do that every night. Except right now I have a visitor in my computer room (guest bedroom) and who knows what he does at night. (smirk, snort)

I'll keep trying. I like you guys a lot and I am persistent.

Aagh! Will someone PLEASE make the 'Mamma Mia' commercials stop? We've had six of them play so far in half-an-hour's time.

Also, I have a headache and my thrice-dislocated knee has decided to act up.

Hobbitprincess...

I raised three sons and a daughter. It will be okay..but remember, it takes longer for some than for others. It is far from easy, but as you know, worth it :)

hang in there... my boys are now 35, 33 and 30.. my daughter 31. She was so much easier than the boys. All are settled in , gainfully employed and on their own. It will happen eventually :)

Well, I had a cranky moment just now because I can't thing of anything to bi*ch about. Maybe later....

#87 Maggie

If you can't think of anything to b-tch about, just turn on the TV news.

You might have a problem with which new disaster should be b-tched about first.

I'm cranky because I have a gorgeous picture of my new kittie, Inara Starbuck, and I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get it in this thread. Or any thread, for that matter. Grrrr.

I wanted to have a picture of her, and tell you all about her but the picture part isn't working. Help. I have the picture on my C drive. I've read some instructions posted here and there, but I'm obviously not doing it right. What's the simplest way to get a pic on a thread?

Anyway, she's a dilute calico, about 8 months old, from the shelter. The humans all love her to bits, but 3 of the 4 kitties are still growling and hissing. Macho stud-muffin Kitty William, who we thought would be the mean one, hasn't hissed or growled and even played with her through the crack in the pantry door the other day.

#85 Mute button.

well you need to have the picture available out on the web at some place like flickr.com there are others as well. It's pretty easy after that.

thanks readafew. It looks like there's a place to store images on LT, but I just need to get it to load onto a thread.

OK, real complaint: my friend read a book he wants me to look at but can't remember title or author. Don't you hate it when that happens?

Can you guys help?

Recent book (within last 1-2 years) written about the Midwest US of A including sociology, economic issues: meat packing, immigrants, industrial decline, permanent decline of the automotive and other factory jobs. Mentions a conservative Minnesota member of the House of Representatives.

What's the name of this book, or who wrote it.

Thank you very much.

I am cranky because I am at work, and not supposed to be here at LT. I wanna go home and play all I want to here! On the other hand the computer nazi has not found out about this site....yet..

Y'all are great! I love the encouraging comments about raising boys. (I especially like the comment about being stoopid!)

I still do not have a dry erase board in my classroom to replace the nasty chalkboard that's in there; I went to check today, with so much hope in my heart. Grrrrr!

@92 - Karen, if it's not working you could upload the picture onto your profile page and direct us there to have a look at her.

Otherwise here's a step by step if you need one. Ignore me if you don't!

To put a picture in the thread, once you have stored it somewhere on the net like Photobucket, or Flicker, go here:

http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.php?topic=35356

then copy and paste:

(fifth example down)

into thread of choice.

Then go to your picture on the net, and right click on it - click on 'copy image location' and paste that between the "" in the (There are no spaces in the code but I had to add them to get the damn examples to show up)

Also, thanks to everyone who gave me hugs about Mum. I really needed them. Things are better now that her birthday is a couple of days behind me. Hugs back.

ETA - hope that all made sense. Is not techno-girl

More weird phone calls in the middle of the night, letting the phone ring twice and hanging up. I'd be crankier if I wasn't already awake and playing on here.

Phone calls like that creep the hell out of me.

Even in the day. If it's regular enough I start to get suspicious. I can't stand it when someone rings, you pick up and then they hang up. I have caller ID so I call them back, just to make sure it's only a wrong number! And then lecture them about how it's rude to just hang up and how a voice is so much more polite and reassuring than a 'click'.

If it's late I won't call them though.

#96 Severn - thank you! To be perfectly honest, I'm trying to avoid posting stuff on the net just because it's another step I don't have time for.

I've sent Abby an e-mail asking her if there's a way to post photos from my PC or the images file on LT.

I sent the e-mail from my PC at work and can't easily check my work e-mail from home. I'm hoping there's a "Yes, you can post pics from your PC" or "Yes, you can reference an LT image". If either answer is yes, then I'll post the instructions here for sure.

The idea of posting her pic on my profile page is a good one too. As soon as I submit this message, I'll run over and (try to) do that!

**Edited to add that I was successful. Inara Starbuck is on my profile page.

100 > you cannot post a picture on the forums from a home PC, That is what Severn and I were saying in our posts with out actually using that phrase. You have to have a web server (there are other ways but they are all more difficult yet for a non techie).

Cute little cat on your profile.

Awww! She's gorgeous!

Look at those eyes! She's kneading in the picture isn't she...she has her soft and fluffy thing hehe. And she's had an operation too...poor kitty. I love her name, Karen. What will you shorten it to? She has the same kind of face (triangular) as Charley, so I suspect she has some form of oriental blood floating around in her?

Yeah, what readafew said. Honestly, though, the image retrieval through a web-server takes about 30 seconds. To make it really easy I've bookmarked the 'How to do fancy stuff' thread that I linked in my first post. And as long as you know where your pictures are on your hard drive you can quickly upload one there, open the 'fancy' thread, copy the code, insert the 'copy image location' and click submit.

Very easy, very fast. :)

Thanks you guys - she is cute. And, yes, she is "making biscuits" as we put it. They spayed her 5 days before we brought her home, hence the shaved belly and incision. The vet we use donates time for the shelter, so Dr. Bonnie took care of our little girl and she's healing well. And, ta-dah! We don't have to take her to get her spayed.

No nicknames yet. We're calling her Inara. She'll eventually acquire nicknames, as have all our cats. Magic is Majooks and Budders, Coco is Cokes and coco-kitty. Merlin is Mer and Mer-kitty, Kitty William is ... well.... Catman, Katmandu, Kitty Wills, etc.

I know, you guys, that you've been saying that you can't post a picture. I really appreciate your help. I was just hoping I could because I just don't like the idea of putting pictures directly out there on the interet. For all that I post like mad here and amazon and ancestry know my life history, if I end up having to do that to get pictures to LT, then I'll just upload to a website, post here, then delete the pic on the website, which is ANOTHER set of steps I was trying to avoid. Lazy lazy me.

104 > just so you know, if you upload it to a website post here then delete it, we will not be able to see the picture any more. That is the point of putting it on the webserver in the first place, to have it on a place that can be reached. Posting a pic here in the thread does not actually make a copy in thread merely a link to the location on the other web server.

drat drat drat. Sigh. Nothing's easy, is it?

Thanks, readafew.

rarely ...

no problem

There's some dude out there with a jackhammer and he's been here all afternoon......aughhghghkghghhdahggajfsfjklasjfjs!!!!

I got to work half an hour ago soaking wet. I have to walk to the train station for only two minutes, but during ten minutes this morning the rain came down like a waterfall from all directions. No chance to stay dry, even with an umbrella. My pants are wet, my hair is dripping and my shoes and socks are also soaking wet. Thankfully I have a pair of flipflops at work and my officemate just gave me her short training pants. I look like I'm dressed to lounge in front of the tv. Which is what I really want to do now.

Not a pleasant way to start out the day and I just know I'll be cranky for the rest of it... and it's only 7.35am.

I'm cranky because a project I was promised more than two weeks ago hasn't gotten off the ground, and I turned down some other work because of it, and even though I didn't want to do the other work, I like the work I'm doing to fill in the time even less.

I'm also somewhat cranky because my dear brother keeps sending my political stuff and we're at opposite ends of the political spectrum and I am not amused.

I'm cranky coz I've got a new role in my job & its very confusing & I have no support :(

There's a fair ammount of resposibility involved & I'm dealing with solicitors & conveyancors who are pretty demanding. My boss is so laid back & he doesnt seem to understand how stressed i am!

I've been in the role nearly 2 weeks, had a couple of good days where I've felt I've understood & achieved everything I needed to for the day, but most days I have left work feeling very frazzled.

karenmarie she is very cute!

seanie I know the feeling, I am feeling very adrift in my new role at the moment...

plus I have a cold and just generally feeling blah

My house got burgled, 2 things gone - £900 LCD TV and my Dads Car. Police round now talking to my dad.

OOoh Muse, that sucks!

Was anyone home at the time? Or did you all come home to find it broken into?

I seriously hope they're caught. Also, a thing to remember when considering security - if you've recently been broken into it's likely you'll be targeted again!

Good luck, hon.

#109 more wet people here. biking in through the rain even when there's a shower room to get changed in afterwards is still unplesant.

#114 Severn, we were all home asleep, me and my brother had gone to bed at 12.30 and 1am respectivley, my dad went down at 8am, the door was unlocked, not forced, no car keys in the kitchen and there was no car outside, my mum had gone down to watch TV, gone, the back door was unlocked too but the computer consoles by it (Wii, PS2) weren't gone. Next most valuable stuff is the white goods (washing machine, fridge etc) and other TVs (another flat screen in parent's bedroom). They took the 2 things they could easily get and sell. Seems opportunistic more than anything.

Muse... dreadful... I am so sorry to hear this. Not a nice feeling to have. I am glad that you are all safe.

I am cranky because I have an appt. today that I do not want to keep, but have to. At least it is my first day of vacation time and it will be over with. I hope.

So sorry, Muse! We had our garage broken into a few years ago, but I guess the bad guy decided our beat up Toyota Corolla complete with child's car seat in the back wasn't worth stealing. Instead they took a bottle of water and all the papers out of the glove compartment and left them strewn all over the street. Then they moved a few houses down and stole our neighbor's new pickup truck. I was both relieved and a little amused at my luck, but not for them, as the truck was recovered smashed up.

I was really nervous about them coming back and got a little obsessive about locking up for a while after that.

Hope your dad's car is recovered!

Thanks for the support, we have got a little paranoid, the ps2 and Wii have gone into backpacks and taken upstairs. The locks have been changed so they can't use the keys they stole. It's been reported to the police and insurance and my dad has my sisters car (her husband has a car as well).

He had an estate but now he's looking at getting a Chevrolet Astro Camper Van!

Musereaders brother saying that this just might ruin my chances of a camping holiday with my parents (we were going to drive to devon) still might not though if we borrow/hire a car or get a courtesy car or get the old one back... maybe

good luck with the holiday Artemis !

Good luck on that Muse and Artemis. I'm sorry you lost that. I'm going to be more paranoid myself.

But Devon. I have a friend there at the moment. The photos I've seen are gorgeous.

I'm crabby because my husband is still at work. He should have been home 5 hours ago.

I'm cranky because no one has yet invented a do-it-yourself painless hysterectomy. Pill form would be even better.

ouch, flee!

Sorry for your troubles. Try some red raspberry LEAF tea to tide you over.

I've been getting phone calls from an 800 number to my cell phone every day, or nearly every day, for a couple of weeks now. If I don't answer, they don't leave a message, but if I do answer, there's nobody there. It's not creepy so much as mildly annoying and I wish there was a way to block specific phone numbers (like there is other places).

127 > I had an idiot who some how got my cell phone number on his speed dial and he would carry his phone in his pocket and would somehow accidentally call me now and then, usually in the middle of the night. Sooo, as much as I was tempted to call him in the early morning, I just entered his number into my phone and gave it a personal silent ring so I didn't have to hear when he called. I also named him 'Idiot'. I did call him once or twice to ask him to fix the problem but since he was too stupid or too much of an ass to fix it I came up with my own solution.

128 readafew

Awesome! I never would have thought of that, but that is a fantastic idea - I saved the number as a contact (and used your idea of "idiot" as a contact name :D ) and set the personal ringtone to silent. No more annoying calls from that stupid number! Fantastic! Thank you!

128> Hubby gets a "phantom fax" to his cell phone every now and again at 3 in the morning. I'm going to suggest he do this as well.

I like to imagine that people who constantly dial the wrong number look like this -

My callers tend to look more like this:

The Bobs have a song about this, it's called "Howard Peterson." Here's the words:

This is a message for Howard Peterson
We got your labs tests back today, please call Dr. Friedman's office at 310-562-5538

Ya, Howard Peterson - Gus at Valley Chevrolet
We need that last payment now so you need to get back to us... at your earliest convenience...

I am not HOWARD PETERSON
I do not know the man
He must have had this number
Before this all began

And I called you back
So you think that I know the guy
'cause I knew all about you
But that's the truth- It's not just an alibi

You never call me, Howie baby
And New York's no place to be old
It would be great to hear your voice again 'cause leaves are turning...

Mr. Peterson, this is David from Greyhound Bus in Dallas
We found your wallet yesterday - here's how to contact us

I am not HOWARD PETERSON
I do not know the man
He must have had this number
Before this all began

If I call you back
Then you'll think that I know the guy
'cause I know all about you
But that's the truth-
It's not just an alibi

It's midnight in Atlanta. FedEx closed at five
I didn't get the package, P - call if it's still alive

How, it's Bill in Pomona - I got the whole thing done
Let me know if the coast is clear

This is me, Howard Peterson
I thought I'd check in and see
I'm wondering, now, from the back of beyond,
Has anyone called for me?
Has anyone called for me?

129, 130 > glad I could be of help!

My dad has a courtesy car, a saloon car and they are going camping, now they have just got to get all the stuff they would have got in the estate, into the saloon.

I feel his pain. My truck's been in the body shop for 3 weeks after the accident in May (see earlier cranky thread). And they're not expecting to be done for another week or more. In the meantime, I'm driving a stripped down Nissan Sentra that's just awful and I want my truck back.

At least the Sentra only uses half the gas of the truck, though...

I just split my hand open ( about 10 minutes ago) with a razor sharp chisel, and the only excuse is stupidity on my part. At least it was only the half inch one and not full inch. Typing with one hand is a pain.

#69 & 71 - I'm late to this thread, but (((((((((((SEVERN)))))))))) she was certainly a beautiful woman. You can also read the kindness in her face.

#113 & 122 - Muse, Artemis, awwww man, that's gotta be one of the worst feelings in the world, that sense of being invaded. Sorry to hear about this.

#137 - Ack! Medic!!! Hope you're okay, here's a PGGB to help dull the pain!

Here's my latest crab - I went to the store to get some prescriptions. Be ready in 10 minutes they said. 45 minutes later my stuff was ready. It's not like I have anything to do besides wait for them, of course.

All right, a minor grump, but why are all pharmacies like that? I have tried several and I have yet to find a competent one in my town.

cmbohn, I feel your pain.

A couple of weeks ago it took me ten days and about as many phone calls to get my thyroid meds.

Calls to the dr office made them angry with me as they said they had called it in..
calls to the pharmacy denying any calls.

As it turned out after ten days they figured out it had been called in on day one by the doctor and was in the drawer, but no one saw it there....

I calmly suggested they consider hiring help who can read.

I have gone at 9:15 or later to pick up prescriptions to find the pharmacy locked tight as a drum.This has happened at least 5-6 times.. ( I use one in my grocery store to save myself trips and aggravation.. timing the end of my shopping with the oppening of the pharmacy it often doesn't work out)

I've just been framing copies of the hand and foot prints the hospital took from our daughter when she died in December. They have obviously taken more than one copy of each to get the best print but they have sent two copies of her right hand and not one of her left.

I know we were lucky to even get prints this time, as they couldn't take them from our son, but it's still upset me. To be honest it gave me a scare first as I thought they might have sent another baby's print and I wouldn't know which was hers, but they look the same, just one a bit blurred at the bottom, which is probably why they took the second print. They have really upset me and it's now nearly seven months later, so they probably threw away the left hand print by now :-(

#137 readafew, be careful with your injury, you ought to get that checked out, just to be on the safe side.

(((((((((((((((JODY))))))))))))))!!!

Hmmm, more hugs are in order for this!

((((((((((((((((((JODY)))))))))))))))))!!!

and even more hugs (((((((((((((jody))))))))))

After recovering from the PGGB Groo gave me, I'm back to say, I'll be keeping a close watch on my cut but after 24 hours it is not red or puffy so the cleaning I gave it (ouch!) and the bandages with neosporin seems to have kept it clean and infection free. My motor control and sense of tough are fine so I didn't damage anything other than the skin and my pride. If I had been using a larger chisel I don't think I would have had a choice about going in for stitches.

Thank you for the hugs. *hugs back*

#145 - glad to know you are feeling more or less okay with it now.

I am with the cranky types regarding the pharmacy and prescriptions, but I have another retail-related gripe. I am so tired as a customer of walking into a store with a firm intent to purchase some item only to discover that I cannot find the item because

(a) the store has crappy signage and consistently moves stock around in the hopes that you'll buy something else while you are looking for the item you originally came into purchase and

(b) that there are no sales people around to ask where said-item-in-stock lives because the store has cut back on staffing. (*cough*overhead*cough*costs)

No wonder folks like me have lifetime accts at Amazon (not that their business model is entirely without flaws...)

jill

"(a) the store has crappy signage and consistently moves stock around in the hopes that you'll buy something else while you are looking for the item you originally came into purchase and

(b) that there are no sales people around to ask where said-item-in-stock lives because the store has cut back on staffing. (*cough*overhead*cough*costs)"

I am with you on that too! Yesterday I went to Ikea. I knew exactly what I wanted, and I thought..where to find it. Turns out they had remodeled .
In this case it meant that they closed off doorways, moved stock and made things so much more difficult to find. I was trying to find my way out of the furniture department, but simply could not. I asked an employee and was pointed vaguely in a direction and told to watch the arrows. By 5 minutes later, I was in the middle of a significant anxiety attack. The husband never looked back at me.. just kept wandering around. By the time I was paying for my purchases... I was in a cold sweat, my heart racing and pounding and my hands shaking. He just walked out ahead of me, apparently embarrassed?
It has been two years since I had an attack, I had a mild one on july 4 and this one.. so scary.. and I blame Ikea!

I too enjoy Amazon for the same reason.

I totally agree Ikea is cruel and unusual shopping.

One big difference I noted immediately when I moved from Buffalo, NY to Sarasota, FL, was how much nicer folks are down here -- just plainly pleasant and much more courteous. Even grocery shopping in the Buffalo area was a daily headache -- clerks and customers were uniformly rude, and seemed to make it a point to be as unhelpful and dismissive as possible. I remember my first week as a Florida resident. I went to K-Mart or Walmart and couldn't find an item I was looking for. The sales clerk actually took me through the store until we found it. And that level of customer service is basically still the norm down here in the Sunshine State. It's one of the very real perks of living here, despite the heat and humidity.

>139 cmbohn: Well, that 10 minute quote was either hopelessly optimistic or just plain stupid. Why are most pharmacies like that? Because they are staffed at razor-thin margins and processing far more scripts than is healthy for both the staff and patients. There is often only one pharmacist on staff and she is responsible for every single tablet, capsule and suppository that goes over the counter, and a bad screw-up means her license (plus 6+ years of school and her income) goes out the window. The corporate bigwigs don't give a shit because a computer program tells them they'll make more money. /soapbox

Not that you wanted to hear my lecture on why I'll never, ever work in retail pharmacy... ;)

#148 mckait - I had exactly the same problem at ikea yesterday, without the panic attack thank goodness, but I went to Ikea & got mighty confused & flustered because they'd moved things arround & closed off some of the corridors between sections...

I refuse to shop in Ikea for that very reason, and of course the horrible it's blue 134, stagger through to a vast warehouse wander around looking for blue 134 to find an empty shelf, no we can't order it in, no we can't call you to say it's in stock, online - what's that?, come back next week and see if it might be in stock by then, What was it anyway? I've no idea I scribbled blue 134 on a bit of paper 4 hours ago, and now have no idea. Hate it hate it hate it. Goto Habitat. Ok it is more expensive, but it's also better made (out of better quality parts before you attempt to unflatpack it yourself), has customer service, and delivery, and helpful people.

Why I'm actually in this thread - more cut hands, still my own stupidity but at least only the breadknife rather than a chisel. Typing is still very awkward though.

151 # humbug! many times I have stepped up to hand over an prescription when they were standing around chatting and been told twenty minutes. Twice, I went when I was almost too sick to stand on my feet and been told the same.
I know that if I saw someone that ill waiting, I would not mind allowing them to go first. In both cases there was no one around. oh.. btw, I worked as a tech in the Boston area... it takes a minute, literally to fill an Rx. Type something into a computer, hit print.. and a gadget will count the pills for you.

Seanie... Than you for affirming me! I am sorry that you had that experience though.. I will NEVER go back, and I am not kidding. I have never heard of Habitat, so I imagine that we don't have one, but I will look into it..
Thanks Readingfox, and please stay away from sharp objects for a while!

I am cranky because the husband put together a nightstand and dresser last night ( he slept til 2pm and did much of it after I went to bed) something in the wood?? set of my asthma. I had to turn off the a/c in the living room and dining room and open the windows... this should make for interesting bedroom furniture. I was 2 rooms away, and found myself unable to breath.. or see for that matter.. my eyes were all foggy...

I am cranky because I woke up around 7:15 this morning, gasping for breath. And why, you might ask? Some medical problem? Something to do with the bed? Heat?

Oh no. One of my neighbors decided to start their car and just let it sit in the parking lot. By "parking lot" I really mean "space between buildings that is barely big enough to park a few cars". And when someone starts their car and lets it sit in a fairly enclosed space like that, what do you think happens to the exhaust? It goes in all the windows!

That was a fantastic way to wake up, I tell you. I'm in a smashing mood. Literally. I want to smash things. I called my landlord and left a message asking if he could ask people to not sit in the parking lot with their cars running please, because I would rather not suffocate in my sleep, thanks all the same.

#154 Possible. Apart from the obvious additives, you would be within your rights to worry about fungal spores and, if it's a tropical hardwood, nasties in the timber itself. I can think of three hardwoods of the top of my head where I'd want more than just the usual pressed-fibre mask to keep the sawdust out of the airways. Sorry Aussies, one of them is your very own Silky-oak, though the timber of that is gorgeous -- when it's been safely trapped under a layer of varnish!

I'm cranky because our power was out from 6:30 until 1:00AM. And while I was able to pass the time by reading via a booklight, now I have to throw out the perishables in my fridge. Which I had just brought home from the store before the electricity went out!

#157 if you didn't open your fridge much all the contents will be fine. Worth checking any raw meat a bit more carefully, but veg/ cheese/ milk etc no problems at all for a few hours being very slightly warmer than usual.

Yeah, that happened all the time when I was growing up - power outages from thunderstorms are common in Michigan, happen several times every year - and the only time we threw stuff out was when it lasted so long the freezer defrosted.

Really? The Red Cross website says to chuck milk, cheese, eggs, lunchmeat after 4 hours. Hubby's inclined to toss them. He just got over a stomach bug and he doesn't want to take any chances of eating anything 'off'.

Eggs? Really? And cheese? I've talked to people who don't actually store eggs in the fridge at all, just in a cool, dark cupboard.

Really! cheese has been stored without refrigeration for centuries. I think the Red Cross is erring on the side of caution and some common sense can be applied.

4 hours is ridiculous. It's quite possible for 4 hour gap between buying the things and getting home to put them in the fridge!

(were the eggs in a fridge in the shop?)

Milk - try it. If it tastes fine, then it is fine. If it tastes off or starts to curdle when you add it to tea/coffee then it's probably best used for cooking.

cheese? It's rotten milk anyway! How much more off will it get?!

Meat/fish is the more dubious areas, but 4 hours is still nothing. raw meat will be fine once cooked, and most lunchmeats are so full of preservatives that they keep for a week!

How hot is the weather where you are anyway? If your air temps are 30C+ and humid this is obviously different to the UK where it's less than 20C.

we'll be near 100F today, forecasting a heat index of 105-108F

One trick I use with meat (hold your eeeewwweees) is to smell it, and if it is a little "off", you wash it under running water and clean those bacteria etc. off the top of the beef. I don't do this with ground meat, or chicken, or fish. But with a nice steak I forgot...well if I give it a bit of a hand scrub and put some nice garlic salt (or other smelly seasonings) on it, it is fine. Done this more times than I like to count and I am a healthy old lady now.

I'm cranky because some teenage girl gave me that once-over look that I hate on the subway. You know, the one where they think you look funny or something. I really had to control myself so I wouldn't say "what are you looking at?" Then I fell back into my defensive thought: "maybe she's jealous". What a catty way to start a Tuesday. I blame the humidity.

I'm with maggie.....

I just became a volunteer for the Red Cross, and we do have the four hour rule and strictly obey it -- four hours at less than a certain temperature and then forget it! But I think a large part of that is that the Red Cross' mission is to feed people in need, and they don't want to take any unnecessary chances with those folks' health, or incur any legal liabilities.

Personally, in my own home, I keep stuff until it starts to move on its own, and then I enter it in a local science fair.

This is something I probably have no right to be cranky about, but whatever :)

I downloaded a torrent of John Barrowman music, including a couple of live concerts that aren't available any other way (I've looked. Repeatedly.). If I had the money (and, probably, when I have the money) I would buy most of it on cd, but I wouldn't be able to get those concerts even then. So why did the person who uploaded them insist on removing several songs just because Barrowman wasn't singing? They're still part of the live concert. It really screws up the continuity of the concert to have them not be there, and also I like those songs (I found a list of what should be there).

Grr. I left a comment on the torrent site (in fact, I joined the site specifically so I could leave that comment) but I don't expect anything to come of it.

I'm cranky because I got a splinter last night. Not your average splinter. They're not cranky-making. This one was about 10mm long and straight into my left big toe. I tried digging it out on my own, but it was deep enough in that I had to go to the hospital for them to take it out. That was the cranky bit. How embarrassing to go into the emergency dept and say you have a splinter! I was redeemed when they had to cut my toe open a little to get it out. It *was* enough to need medical attention.

Deities bless Australian free medicare.

oh, poor Will, maybe it was because we were throwing popcorn at you!

OR perhaps it had to do with popping corn ON HIS INERT BODY!!!?

*looks at ceiling while whistling a nice little tune*

I know nothing, nothing I tell you!

#173-4 Methinks thou doth protest too much! Umm, Mucheth?

*%&^()$!!!

No post and then two posts. *sigh*

I still know nothing! :)

I fail to see the connection between popcorn and splinters...

*reattaches electrodes and returns to the party thread*

How did you get such a huge splinter? Were you running barefoot in a lumber yard? Embrace a really large tree? What happened?

*bites tongue and does NOT go on about the recent man with the picnic table incident*

OK, Now I have a really cranky post to "yell" quietly so as to not disturb my friends, but emphasize how irritated I am!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just got a notice from Pal Pay that someone tried to raid my account! Yucky. Over $150!!!! luckily, no way gonna work. As soon as I can I am closing my Pay Pal account, I haven't used it for way too long. And I don't need to.

I was dancing in socks on a recently resanded floor. I've been dancing shoe free on there for years, but I managed to catch one last night. The splinter was originally about 5cm long, but when I tried to pull it out through my sock, it broke off a few mm inside the toe, so I couldn't reach it properly with the first-aid kit without cutting my toe open.

Picnic table? What did I miss?

You dance barefoot? In large crowds? You are braver than I thought...

#180 - Whoa. I used to get a lot of messages that someone in Romania was trying to access my PayPal account. It turned out that the warning email messages were actually bogus, with links to fake PayPal asking for personal information. Tread carefully there!

if you email spoof@paypal.com you can report bogus claims and get info if it ends up being real...

@181.

You so don't want to know...but er...

http://www.wnwo.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=150083

I see it was METAL anyhow...therefore any tongue in cheek jokes about tables simply cannot apply to you, or anyone else with a splinter. Alas. Such potential for mockery, wasted. :p

regarding my PayPal mess: this is way beyond phone phishing messages. I know about reporting them to spoof@paypal.com and have done that more than once. This is someone who actually broke thru and was able to deduct some money from my checking account. Paypay has assured me the money will be refunded but I am certainly tapping my foot. I don't like losing track of over a $100 for even a minute or two, much less a couple of days. Bleak!

@166: Ladygata - oh I forgot to say earlier I HATE that. I'm quite a paranoid person anyway, and get self-conscious really easily. That 'once over' look is horrible. I worry if I look fat, if my hair is weird, if I have stuff on my face, if I look like I'm from the 1900's...

Hah. My saddest, and most uncomfortable, example is from going to the hairdresser last year. I went in, got my hair washed, had just sat down at the cutting station, when the hairdresser pulled a little bug off my hair. It doesn't matter that it was very obviously a little green bug bearing no relationship to lice, I was mortified. Likely it had been flying around and thought 'Ooh, K's head, let's land there and embarrass her! Excellent plan!' And when I left the look of naked scorn and judgment in the eyes of the teenage hair-washery apprentice girl was dreadful. I nearly cried.

Stupid bug.

Maggie - that's terrible. I've never liked Paypal. I've always found it confusing, and never quite trusted it. I'm sorry this has happened - it's not just the amount, it's the principle of the thing. I hope you have your money back soon.

~hugs~

Thanks for the hugs and sympathy about PayPal. I guess I am, at this point, thinking it will all work out but I am with you in not quite trusting it. It is like they want to be a bank without the legal safeguards surrounding "real" banks. I am sure it is not that simple and I trust the people who put the thing together had good intentions. It is just that these days there is a crook around every corner, especially on line.

Definitely. Yes. Online fraud is huge, and unrelenting.

I get nervous using my Credit Card on secure sites, but since it's the only option (other than PayPal, which as stated I won't touch), I do it anyway.

"if I look like I'm from the 1900's" ?what means?

I often wonder if I am invisible.....

Maggie, thats really awful, then. I am sorry it happened to you .

This cranky crabbiness is of my own doing. I've already used up 97% of my Flickr upload limit for the moth and there's still eight days left in July.

PANIC!

There's an upload limit on Flickr? Tell me more, please.

Free accounts are limited to 100MB per month. http://www.flickr.com/help/limits/#65

oh, well, I fell for the "buy a pro" account. I really did not need it but oh well....

#185 - Well, maybe it ws a really, really nice table?

Severn, I loved that line about the 1900's...but it's funny how occasionally a once-over girl ends up complimenting me. To me, whether for good or bad, if you're gonna spend that much time on me, say something. Of course, if they say something snarky, I'll probably get offended. Can't win there.

Maggie, sorry about the PayPal bandit. It's not cool.

Fleela, I've run into the limit problem before. Now I just try to upload toward the end of the month, so it doesn't seem so limiting. Psyching myself out, I guess.

@191: Heh Kath - horribly out of fashion. Clothes aren't my 'thing' but, still, I don't want to look like I'm wearing clothes from 20 years ago yanno?

Ladygata - one of the defenses I've got going is the 'I can win any staring competition, matey, so bring it oooooooon...' I get such a perverse twist of glee when 'they' (whoever they may be) look away first. Still paranoid though, and wonder why they were staring at me in the first place. Guys - that's fine. I have boobs. That can be explanation for any amount of male staring (sorry guys, but it's true). Girls...mystifying. WHY are they looking? Why?

FYI - PayPal has emailed me that I will be getting a refund. Time takes time.

#187 Severn

I think I have a similar story, maybe even more embarrassing. I went for a massage once and while the woman was working on my legs, and I was just lying there being happy, she said something about it being hard to reach my feet in the shower, or something like that. I'm a "fluffy" person, so I'm a bit sensitive to comments like that, but I couldn't figure out what she was talking about, because despite the fluffiness, I am perfectly able to bend over and wash my feet!

It was when I was getting dressed that I realized the problem: I have a pair of black leather shoes that "bleed" when I wear them, so they had left black marks on my feet.

Embarrassing? Oh, yeah, you bet it was.

ejj - i can believe that! It is very funny in the telling though.

I had a pair of sandals do that to me one evening (though may have had to something to with the huge amount of anti mosquito I had to put on - I was being bitten on the soles of my feet - urgh). When we got back to where we were staying I gave my friends quite a fright, they thought I had some nasty foot disease!

it took an age to clean my feet that night in the shower...

I'm on a borrowed computer at my in-laws house, they set up their wireless network wrong and my laptop won't work here. This computer keeps cutting off the internet. Three people all want to use it at the same time. It's too hot. This room smells. The navy are flying some kind of weird jets over the house and they are LOUD! I am hungry but I think my in-laws have put me on a diet without telling me. They have NO food here and I need some. I miss my own bed and my dog. My in-laws are mostly okay but are getting a bit much after living with them for a week (they must be thinking that about me too). Nothing on it's own merits the amount of crankiness I feel but all together it's too much today. We aren't leaving until tomorrow but I want to go home (and eat something) now.

I'm going to go torture myself in the favourite sandwich thread.

I seem to be having trouble making a point today... and it is making me cranky.

So I am off to read! or eat.. or something...

Early morning and i want to play on the ps2 downstairs but do not know wether it will set our burglar alarm off if i do and do not know how to deactivate it so am scared to

I don't know why Aremisfowl, but that post really gave me the giggles!

The poor thing, the new alarm got installed while he was away in Devon (following the burglary we had that took our TV and Car, it's further up the thread) they got back at half one this morning, and he was sent to bed while I was explaining the new set up to our parents - so he didn't know the code. Don't worry I had to get up at 8am GMT (4am LT?) and I told him how to use it, he's only 14.

I have been inexplicably cranky for the last few days. Tense, grumpy...I am not sure why. Suggestions for chasing this away?

mckait - Treat yourself to a new book! :)

Go for a walk? Turn some music up (but not so loud that it annoys other people) and clean? Stay off the computer for a while? These sorts of things help me sometimes.

Good suggestions...

I have to try some out. I hate feeling this way.

:0P

Have a really good meal with plenty of protein; avoid sugar and caffeine; take a long, comfortable warm bath; give yourself permission to spend one day doing only what you really want to do (no shoulds, or ought to's, or obligations of any sort, real or imagined); or treat yourself to some pampering if you can easily afford it - manicure or pedicure; massage; or go to a good movie alone and really enjoy it.

OK, I don't know if these things will work for you but they have worked for me.

Ya know maggie... I just said to someone that you have so much common sense....

You are right about these things....I am going t start with making a steak salad for dinner, with eggs and cheese and lots of tomatoes..yummy.

I was supposed to go to an outdoor concert tonight, but the fall pretty much put an end to that plan. My entire body hurts...:P

I feel better already, just from reading the suggestions that y'all were kind enough to post!

Ugh, I just have to vent, and this is the place, right? Today I ran into one of those 'well, I'm just upset because no one else believes my made up theory about this book/movie/tv show' kind of posts. Make up whatever you want, just don't get all wacked out if other people challenge you on it. No one is attacking you, it's just an intellectual discussion about a made up thing. Jeeze....

Sometimes, I hate the internet. (Present company excepted most of the time.)

Thanks for letting me let off steam.

I am continually cranky over this...

Every time I think I have found a well written, funny sports blog, the illusion is shattered by post after post of T&A.

The schools are on holiday and the lady next door is taking care of her grandchildren. They are evil.

Our garden is full of the rubbish they throw over the fence at our dog!, said fence is broken now because they keep climbing on it, kicking footballs at it, hitting it with things etc. We get woken up at horrible hours of the day and night by the screaming, shrieking, fighting, pushing each other down the stairs, swearing competitions and crying that seem to go on all the time.

I'm planning to plant something viciously spiky and/or poisonous to replace the fence, which is so badly damaged we cannot repair it and need to buy new panels at £100+.

Can't you make the lady next door (or her grandchildren's parents) pay for the fencing? Since their brats broke it?

I suggest blackberries. They will take over her yard, too. They grow when you look at them. They are as evil as the grandchildren are. And then, they give us sweet berries in August. But they do have wicked thorns and stickers.

If not blackberries, then holly. A great big holly hedge. Also, quite prickly.

#215 - Piracantha. Not really sure how that's spelled. Mix it in with the blackberries. It has 1-2" thorns, pretty white flowers and orange berries that the birds love. Very prunable and shapable. I think I made up those last two words, at least spellcheck says so.

If you grow blackberries it might entice the children to come closer ;-|

Throw in LOTS of stinky manure -- chicken would be good -- and grow nettles in it while the pyracantha gets established }:-) If I was being really evil and you lived in a frost-free area, I'd suggest Bushman Arrow-poison (Acokanthera). It's quite an attractive shrub with pretty white flowers and edible-looking red or black fruits, but is deadly in all its parts. Or Tambotie -- an attractive shady tree, but so venomous that people have died of eating meat grilled on the coals from its twigs.

I would refrain from premeditated poisoning myself, but that's just me :). I would complain to the neighbor and if it doesn't stop, file a complaint with the police and perhaps her home insurance will cover the costs of repair?

I have no sympathy or tolerance for destruction of other's property especially by children who should know better or be controlled, it really aggravates me.

We have spoken to them before about it and although the actual neighbour is concerned, the boys parents have already told us that they are not interested in the breakages or littering. Our neighbour is a pensioner so doesn't have the money to spare anyway and it seems like the best solution is to fit the concrete panelling where the wooden panels are now and plant the spiky things.

As an older (pensioner) who also watches a child, I appreciate you are willing to be responsible even if the kids parents aren't. The pensioner who lives next to you is probably very embarrassed about the whole thing. I know I would be.

I think she is really and she is a nice woman. The bill is going to be £170 which we could have spent elsewhere but it does mean a strong, sturdy fence that should last a long time.

I don't want to complain to her landlord either so it's probably the best way to go for now. Better to try to resolve it this way and take action later should the litter throwing continue.

And if it does continue, spiky plants it is.

I really like your solution Jody, very kind. Hope this works for you, and that those children learn some manners and responsibility from someone before it's too late.

(-;

I'm cranky.
I have to go to physical therapy twice a week now to deal with a slipped disk I am way too young to have. And as if that weren't rotten enough, I end up going to the land of hot young men for therapy. Normally, I'm all about hot guys. At the pub, at the supermarket, heck, even on the tram. But when I have a physical therapist, I want a big, round old woman with a moustache named Brunhilda. No embarrassment possibilities there. Right now I spend my sessions giggling like a schoolgirl while he tries out various judo moves on me and praying to god that I don't fart when he does it. :-)

PMSL jenknox.

what's pmsl, MsDonna?
eta: never mind, found it. Google, I love you!

#230 - jenknox I sympathise about the embarrassent of having a hot guy deal with your physiotherapy (and about the slipped disk). My dentist is very handsome and I sit in that chair blushing at being so close to him while he asks if I need the air conditioning turning on because I "look a bit warm."

I am still cranky about the fence, the first company we called let us down so it will not be repaired until next Thursday now. Meanwhile the neighbours have added a giant rottweiller to the problem and I am living in fear of it bursting through the broken part and eating my very small Scottie dog.

Oh Jody! Dog issues on top of everything? Terrible!

I love animals, I hate irresponsible owners. It make life difficult for the rest of us.

I am cranky, too. For no apparent reason, or for a long list of small reasons. I am not sure. I just feel miserable and cranky and irritable. I hate feeling this way.

>228 jenknox: I saw this on another thread and thought of you! Hee Hee.

I'm cranky because I took a sick day for a migraine - and someone kept ringing the phone for my roommate. They kept ringing and ringing and I finally picked up and went ballistic on the poor guy. Now I feel bad because I hate losing my temper on anyone, and because the head hurts even more with all the ire coming to the surface.

I'm cranky because after getting up and feeding the baby (twice), packing her lunch for nursery, getting her clothes ready, putting all the boiled water out for her evening feeds/tea and cleaning up the mess around the highchair, I went to get dressed and my husband (who just about snuck a nappy change in - the baby's, not his!) looked at me and said "You know why I'm dressed already before work, because I'm organised". Not wishing to deal with him grumbling all the way in, I refrained from emptying the rest of the baby porridge on his head!

huh, at after a statement like that my wife would put ME in charge of the kid until I came back on my knees with a apology...

When the son got snippy with how often his laundry was getting done, he suddenly got to learn how to do laundry. Now he doesn't complain about things so much anymore since he may get to do 'em for himself. 8^}

#235 - I'd have gone with the porriage on his head idea myself.

#237 - when my Granddad was in India during WW2 with the RAF a senior officer came around the new arrivals asking if they were happy or if they had any issues or problems. One man, or boy really, said that he didnt think the potato's they had at dinner were peeled properly and the officer promised to have this rectified. Guess who got to peel all those potato's for the rest of the week.

#235 klarasu

Girl, these are the best days of your life. Your baby will grow up so fast & be out the door & you will wonder where did the time go? Enjoy your child. At least you kids now have disposable nappies (or diapers)

Some things never change. There will always be a mess on the floor around the Hi-Chair. Some day, just maybe, some where some husband will grab a paper towel & help his wife clean up. Someday. Maybe. Don't hold your breath.

readafew, I try but the panic isn't worth it!

Jody, I sincerely regret not doing that, but the mental image carried me through the day :)

Marian, believe me, the little precious is not making me cranky! That's the fun bit. I live in fear of the mythical husband picking up the paper towel .... isn't that one of the signs of an apocalypse? ;)

So, I haven't read this thread since July 12 and I now did - I feel it's part of the friendship thing, to know what people feels bad about, plus I feel I have no right offloading complaints on you if I don't do my share of listening.

Hugs to everyone who needs it, hope some of the issues are straightened out and that the medical conditions etcetera have improved.

To those of you with small kids I can only say that some men feel helpless around kids so you have to tell them what to do. After a while, they learn. If not, they may not deserve to have the official role as father. At least that's how things go in the culture I'm born to ;-)

(So, before I go to Ikea, or even before I chose which of two Ikeas to go to, I check the web site for availability of items; if it's to be picked from storage I check shelf numbers (all stores also comes with comprehensible maps, and lots of staff). I also know which kinds of items NOT to buy, like beds, because they deteriorate faster than a pay check, and I would never buy anything from there without first having touched it, to feel out the actual quality. We have Habitat here, it's wildly expensive, like designer furniture expensive, I mean US$5000 for a sofa? Eh? I thought the US$2000 I spent was enough /not from Ikea, though. NEVER buy a sofa from Ikea/. I guess Habitat stuff is cheaper on native ground?)

This is the third week in a row that I've forgotten to go to the game night! @#U^&*! I just look at the clock and suddenly it's 7:30. Gah.

The rain have now POURED down for over 14 hours, storm winds included. The windows are rattling and I don't even want to go out to dump the garbage.
No biking in this weather. Autumn already?

I'm cranky because I was planning to go to Italy for a family reunion and now I can't go, and the rest of my life my siblings will be talking about what a great time they had.

I'm even more cranky because this is related to some serious financial problems that are going to make life tough for quite a while, and although it's true I've made some bad decisions, it's a lot more (in my opinion) a result of a series of horrible events in my life, including a long painful illness of my sister's that ended in her death, followed by my moving into a new area to start over and then getting flooded out of my house. There was a period in which I had to choose between floors and walls for my house and paying my credit cards . . . guess which I chose? I'd be sorrier about this if I could see that I actually had some choice in the matter.

So, life has been particularly sucky this past week and seems set to continue that way for a while. Argh. Credit cards are the instruments of the devil.

ejj1955, now that Sucks! I'm with you with the 'instruments of the devil' business! Also suffering to finish my PhD with a big crippling credit card balance accumulated over 5 years of low pay, broken down cars and high petrol/food prices. I just wish I'd spent it on high end electrical equipment and expensive books, at least I'd have something to play with! Hang in there!

Now I'm cranky because I have discovered that some of our windows didn't take to well to the recent downpour of rain - two of them has leaked, one of which is swollen shut. Our landlord is a real miser and she's already upset about the costs associated with us getting secure outer doors (we have two, she had thought one and was upset when the cost ended up double to what she had expected... but it's her own fault, she should had known what our flat looks like).

I'll give the situation that it's not very often that rain pours like a waterfall, directly at that wall, for over 14 hours. But the windows ARE in a bad condition and I was a bit worried when the rain never stopped... I never thought I'd be as bad as it is, though.

And it's still raining, even if it's more of a drizzle right now. But to help the window frames dry out we'd need some sun, pronto!

I have pulled a muscle in my neck/shoulder and typing is just making it worse. Bad enough at work, but it is limiting my GD time :-(

Went the physio today and it was amazing - as she poked various muscles I could feel (and she could see) various muscles untangling and twitching. I do feel much better now, but really don't want to push it

I will try and pop in over the next few days, but it will only be briefly. Groo try not to burn the place down in my absence.

Ouch. Be careful. I have gotten to the point of my shoulder being in chronic pain, or at least somewhat stiff (can't always turn my neck/dangerous when biking...).

More rain. Now it has gone from light drizzle to downpour but at least the wind doesn't shove it at my leaky windows. Not at the moment, anyway...

Busifer, nothing like a lovely August, eh?

SpicyCat, watch out for overdoing it, I had an upper back problem that I thought was better but relapsed from over-use to soon. Take it easy for a while!

I'm cranks-and-the-gang as I'm trying to write a particularly boring thesis chapter and I have so many papers either side of me that I don't think I'll ever get through them ... and the more I write, the more I seem to find to do in the lab and I'm not funded now .... and I'm beginning to think that it's just not worth it to get 'Dr' on the bank cards ... which no doubt I won't have by the end of this as they will all have been repossessed ... do you think they can repossess my education too? But, then again, when they say 'Is there a doctor on the plane?', I'll be able to say 'Yes!' .... OK, I specialise in fruitflies, but hell, I worked for it so I'm saying 'Yes!' ;)

I am just a little cranky, as I too have painful shoulder issues and a very painful ankle, since I fell last week. There is way too much to do to be achy. But it is raining a little, and that makes me smile. I am a little cranky because some people are just way too self righteous, and that has never sat well with me.

So sorry about the reunion ejj. Such a high price to pay...I too have gone through periods when life stomps all over me. It eventually passes, but meantime it is very hard. I am so very sorry about your sister's passing. (((ejj))

Hey Spicy - go get some Anti-Flamme hon, if you don't have any already. It's freaking fabulous. I always have some on hand. Rub it in for 5 minutes, then do some neck stretches. It'll help, promise. :) The minute I do something to my neck (I've had some quite serious neck problems, and am prone to 'cricking' my neck) I grab the stuff and start rubbing. Usually, I can avoid the physio if I get onto it fast enough.

Which I could send you some Kath, and Busifer. And anyone else with soreness...

I'm cranky because it's nearly 1am and I've spent my reading hour...here. Heh.

I'm cranky because money is a witch. A scary witch with a big hat and warts. I think money flies about, cackling, and sending curses down upon the hapless people (like me) who can't sort their lives out enough to make the witch work for them. God, did my metaphor make any sense AT ALL? Ramble ramble.

I'm cranky....because dammit.

I want some cheese. ~sulks~

*hands Severn some cheese*

Here, take some. It's virtual so don't hurts.

I try to avoid creams like that because all that are available in Sweden says "do not expose skin to sun for 14 days afterwards". And I happen to like being in the sun, and my neck and shoulder is one exposed place in event of said disc showing itself (of which there is no hope for today; the rain is washing down in buckets and my leaky windows continues to leak... unprecedented) ;-)

You are very sweet Severn. (((((((Severn)))))I guess I should rummage around and see if I have something to rub on the sore spots. I just never thought about it, LOL. I have just taken a few Ibuprofen and grumped around.

As for money, I could not agree more. And cheese? Not being able to eat cheese is a terrible thing. There has to be some way around this!!!!!!!

I'm cranky ebay - got outbid on Last argument of kings, but then the bid got retracted - but i'm still cranky because reason give was "Verkeerd bedrag ingevuld" I DONT KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS, is the bidder going to bid again or something?

I figured nobody will bid on it because it's a half sized hardback BCA edition which I want to match my copy of Before they are hanged now I'm afraid of losing it and I don't want to join the BCA again to buy it because I still don't have a job and can't afford to buy books every 2 months from them. Grrrr.

Verkeerd bedrag ingevuld means the wrong amount was filled in, for the bid I assume.

I'm cranky because my daughter was a little witch this morning because a clean shirt she put in the utility room got put in the dirty clothes hamper and hasn't been washed yet (got dampish from dirty clothes) and didn't get cheery until we got close to school (she's in driver's education). Fine. Got to work, did work things.

Went through a big foof getting the last piece of marching band music for daughter (called band director, he put it on a stand in front of his office, daughter didn't have cell phone, called husband while on road to tell daughter to get music, school door was locked, called band director who walked the music out). Daughter called to say got music but was sullen and uncommunicative about driver's ed and things in general. Fine.

Husband called saying he dropped daughter off at home and went to have lunch with a friend because daughter was totally cranky and he didn't want to be around her. Spent 10 minutes bitching about daughter's attitude. He sounded cheery at the end of the conversation. I am now in the toilet.

Called daughter to complain about attitude and she told me new kitty chewed up something of hers. Now I want to get rid of the kitty because both husband and daughter are complaining about her.

I simply must scream.

Go ahead. We'll plug our ears. Then I'll pour you up a nice cold something-or-other of your choice!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! (very high pitched)

Wow. That felt good.

A nice cold glass of chardonnay, please.

#255, thanks fleela, i'm still watching it like a hawk for the next 51 minutes, I need one that matches!

#258 - Okie dokie, one chardonnay coming right up!

Why are wine glasses never filled up all the way?

Why not use smaller glasses if you want to drink less?

Classes start up next Wednesday, and I've barely touched the assignments I was supposed to do.

Also, the cat won't stop yelling from inside the laundry room, I can't wear sandals because I have a sock tan (my feet are blindingly white!), and I think I'm getting a heat rash.

Also also, I almost got killed coming home last night because I went to change lanes on the interstate and some moron zipped by when I was almost halfway over. This was at about 9:30 PM, and I can't recall if the driver had the headlights on.

my advice?

karen
keep kitty
get rid of husband and daughter
kittys are quieter

Spiral.. let the cat out of the laundry room
and glad you are not smooshed

#261 - Why are wine glasses never filled up all the way?

I think it's all about the bouquet. The shape of the glass retains some of the volatiles released from the wine, and the opening is big enough that when you take a sip your nose is right there where you can smell all the goodness as you sip.

#262

I say, wear sandals anyway, comfort trumps looks every time. If the whiteness really bothers you, get spray-on tan!

But my theory is, nobody cares how I look, they're all too worried about what people think of how they look. This is a very useful philosophy ;-)

>264 drneutron:
I never smell anything while I'm chugging. ;)

#266

LOL

Heh...8^}

#262 - Chiming in with Ejj in #265.
Well, I've been known to prioritize looks over comfort but it's MY look, not anyone else's... :-)

Well I lost the ebay for last argument of kings, and I couldn't get on the computer to watch it because my dad was on it. Why is it the one thing you want - that you go on ebay to look for - you lose, but the things you impusivley bid on because you are on ebay you win? Everything that you desperatly want to be outbidded on you win? Dammit, Dammit, none of the other copies listed say if they are BCA or not GRRRR. Some of them don't even say paperback. And I can't get it from amazon.

Wow, did anyone else hear a high pitched wail? Sounded like a mom to me. Hope she's O.K.

I say, put the bouquet in a vase a fill the glass with wine.

Excuse me, have to go take some ibuprofen for a stupid headache that seems to return daily in the last few days.

*Leaves an assortment of cheese and hugs behind for all my friends here.*

Oh, returning headaches are the worst :-(
Hope the Ibuprofen helps.

And thanks for the cheese :-)

#244 - Wow, cranky is an understatement. Man, things need to improve in a major way in this economy, but there's no hope in sight. Any changes to improve things that MIGHT be implemented by whoever our next president is won't have a prayer of actively affecting the economy substantially for many years to come. I frankly don't see why either man would want the job! Cranky cranky cranky!

As far as credit cards being "instruments of the devil," man, they ARE quite a source of temptation now, aren't they?

#247 - I'll try! *sends Rosie to Spicycat's place for a world class massage*

#251 - That's a great analogy, but also weird for me because I just finished writing some copy for a tour of the Salem Witch Museum, lol!

#262 -ACK! Spiral! Glad you're okay!

*perks up* Rosie gives massages?

I am cranky because the baby has discovered computers and really, really wants to use my lap top. I have to retreat to a table with a chair to keep out of her reach. Here she comes, now.....

Ow! My son loved the big shiny on/off button on my Dell laptop - it acted as a magnet on him when he was a baby. I lost count of the times that he suddenly had turned the computer off, most often with me in mid-sentence or something.
They get over it. Eventually. But that button is one darned bad design decision on Dell's part.

luckily on this model the button is not so obvious. My solution is to use it in the living room when she is asleep. Ah! naps, don't you love them.

I'm finally on the way to winning a game of spider Solitare & new little kitty sits on the escape key.

I am cranky because of the never ending problem that is our fence.

The first company misquoted and under-delivered the panels, so we sent them away as the quote to make up the difference was far too high.

So the second company was called and booked for today. They quoted us with delivery included, then said it wasn't included, then rang back to say it was. They didn't come. I called to find out where they were and they told me we hadn't ordered any panels. Then they found our order on the delivery board for today but had sold our panels to a more regular customer. Then they said they hadn't called us because they didn't have our contact details but they had telephoned us last week, so they had the number then. By then I was cross and the man told me if I was going to complain at him after he had given me a discount (on the free delivery they initially quoted) he wouldn't sell me the panels anyway. I was apparently being unreasonable in saying that they had already sold those panels to us so should not have resold them to someone else and expected us to wait for more to be made without telling us we were not getting them today as promised when we had arranged someone to help us fit them.

So, company number three is hopefully delivering panels tomorrow. Please keep everything crossed that this goes right because I am reaching the point of violence now.

Jody, what a PIA. It is so frustrating when things happen this way.
We used to say, when I worked in a doctors office that if three things go wrong in a day, its a sure bet it will be three things with the same patient.

I still believe in various versions of that!

I hope this company is better, nicer and that you have a fence up soon!

Yum. Cheese. I had some. I've had lots in recent days! Cheese sauce, cheese on crackers, cheese on bread, more cheese sauce. It's all good. There is cheese sauce in the pot, ready to freeze for later.

However, I AM still cranky. Hubby and I have been tired, stressed and grumpy at each other lately. Bah. Don't like being out of sorts with him.

Cranky because what should be a great, wonderful thing isn't quite yet. Hubby and I finally bought a car. After 2 years of no car, finally we have one. Long story why it took so long. However, Leif is having problems getting his NZ license - simply because in order to convert his full US license into an NZ one he needs to show the Driving Bureaucrats that what he has is indeed a license for a car, and not for...oh I don't know...a tuk tuk. Licenses from Washington State don't say what class of license it is though.

So, new car that we can't drive (I can't drive for medical reasons) is sitting uninsured in driveway. Uninsured because not only is it expensive as hell for an under 25 year old to get car insurance, but for an under 25 year old to get insurance without a full NZ license is even more ridiculous.

Fume. I think it's getting sorted though. We have a reference number that should make the Driving Bureaucrats paste a pretty smile on their faces and say 'why certainly, Sir, we can see that you have not been licensed to drive a pontoon, here's a lovely new license.'

Jody - why not blow up the neighbour's house, salt the earth, and therefore remove any necessity for a fence? Might seem a bit drastic, but think of the peace, hon, the peace!

#281 - it may yet come to that, but first there are two so-called fencing specialists on my target list first. On the only good bit of news in all this, it turned out the rottweiller was a temporary addition to the neighbours household and it has gone. So at least we aren't in danger of being eaten while we wait for the fence to arrive now.

That is good. You might find it difficult to negotiate fencing things whilst digesting in an ugly mutt's tum...

I am cranky because I realized this morning that I had lost an earring. It is from my favorite pair.

Severn, sorry about your car troubles, apparent we Americans have a reputation for driving tanks down out streets, and would have need for licenses for that sort of thing. I know I do.

Jody, I still see you as a saint for not calling the police or demanding payment from the neighbor, or the kid's parents. Good luck.

I'm cranky because I went to a Bridal shower in June, and it seems I've not been invited to the wedding. That just seems rude.

#286 - That really does seem rude. I hope your invite has just been a bit delayed in the post.

Maybe they're having a really small wedding and can only invite a limited number of people?

The wedding's big enough. A friend of mine is a bridesmaid, and she has told me of all the details going into it, and her invitation arrived nearly a month ago (the wedding's less than a month away.) I've seen people do this before, but I've never been the victim. When I receive (in plenty of time) a shower invite, I assume I'm invited to the wedding. I think others were invited to the shower too but not the wedding. Oh well, at least I don't have to go shopping for something to wear and all that complicated stuff. Rudeness gets to me, though - which is why it's funny that I'm getting Emily Post's biography in the Early Reviewers program. Too fitting.

Wow, I've been involved in a lot of weddings (50+), and I've never heard of such a thing, unless its a destination wedding, very small, etc. That's just taking the gifts and running, I would be greatly offended. You may want to contact and ask, of course that could be more embarassing, but perhaps it actually got lost in the mail? Anyway, sorry about your issue.

Perhaps you could co-opt your bridesmaid friend into making some discreet enquiries into it. If it's deliberate it's terribly rude. However, I have seen some cases like that with people who are the first of their friends to get married, because the traditions haven't necessarily been drilled into them.
A relevant side anecdote: When a couple of my friends got married, some people were concerned because their invitation didn't have the details of the reception. Someone had to take them aside and explain carefully that not everyone invited to the wedding gets to go to the reception and you can tell by whether you get the details with the invitation.

If you can stand doing it, I would ask the bride to be. I think it is sufficiently rude to not invite you that she should be put on notice. I hope she is embarrassed by her own small mindedness, if it was not an error. If it was an error, she has a chance to invite you personally.

Or, just chalk it up. The "best revenge is living well".

I did look into it via the bridesmaid friend, but she got only roundabout answers and basically it does seem these people aren't quite schooled about how to have a proper wedding, beside the part about choreographing the wedding party's dances and getting the hair done. The bride to be is highly immature, so I shouldn't be surprised.

I'm actually not furious about it, though if I did get a last minute invitation I'd be freaked, because I'm one of those neurotics who needs to plan things in advance. All I really wanted was to see my friend be a bridesmaid (matron) for the first time, though I've seen her as a bride (as her bridesmaid), so I'm not really losing out.

#293 - If they invite you to the baby shower don't go. Or go and give loud gifts - all small children need a drun kit.

*snort* Jody, I think you mean drum not "drun." :). A drun kit sounds like something involving blue body paint and a kilt, which may too be a good gift.

#295 Don't forget the obligatory 100%+ proof whisky in the drun kit, Madcow!

And when the kids get older, past the point of eating tiny plastic pieces, give them toys with hundreds of little pieces that get stepped on by barefoot parents in the middle of the night.

#295 - I did mean drum kit but yours sounds good too!

And don't forget about those kiddie tool kits with working tools or science project kits are usually good/bad. And smaller children can do terrible things with paint sets and plasticine. You will have years of revenge ahead of you ladygata, just as soon as they have that first child.

I'll have to have my revenge from a long distance, as they are going to live in Holland (Netherlands, wotsit called?) I won't have to watch the disaster unfold ;

#299 - That's ideal! You can sent terrible gifts through the post and never be asked to babysit and suffer through the use of them.

do they still sell bristle blocks! deadly in the dark.. deadly!!

Dear neighbors,

If you're going to play music so loud that it sounds like I'm playing it in my own apartment, could you at the very least not play such awful music? How about jazz? I like jazz. Or how about something classical, classical is good. Or, I don't know. Something that isn't this new-age-y crap with bongos and whistles and people going HEYYYY every ten seconds?

Please move. Or at least invest in some headphones.
Blue

#302 - bongos and whistles and people going HEYYYY? And you haven't taken a hammer to their car or an ax to their front door yet? You have the best self control of anyone, ever.

303 Jody

Tempting, but these people know where I sleep. And they know my landlord, oddly enough.

Thankfully, it stopped, but it went on far, far too long (because god, any time at all with crap like that is too long).

SHIT I spoke too soon. It's back.

I'm rather pissed at the OtherHalf. After much whining on his part, I agreed to go to the WI State Fair, which we were to do last night. We've been to the Fair most of our years together and it's just filled with too many dipshits, rednecks and yahoos for my taste. And it's boring. Still, I took off work two hours early to make sure we could leave as soon as he got home. It was a gorgeous evening and I managed to get myself excited about the Fair so I wouldn't be Mr. Negativity.

We didn't go. As soon as he got home, he announced that he'd been paged in the car and had to work. When that was over, he decided we couldn't go to the Fair because we needed to decide on an appetizer to make for the theme party we're attending tonight - an appetizer that *HE* offered to the host and which *I* have to make on my day off. So, after telling him that I love him and he can go f*** himself, I look and find a good-sounding recipe for Chinese chicken wings. And if he even thinks I'm letting him go to the Fair this weekend, he's got another thing coming. It's going to be art museums and restaurants with $40 entrees, and he's footing the bill. /soapbox

stick to it ExVivre!

You tell him whatfor!

And the only thing you'll make for dinner is reservations!

That'll teach him!

That's what I'm talkin' about!

That's what I'm talkin' about!

I'm in a baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad mood. Seriously bad. This is not the time to provoke me. I have no reasons, but I am in the mood to stick my fingernails in something deliate and rip it to shreads. Blue, your neighbours don't know it but they are lucky they don't live beside me right now, I feel positively evil.

The fence got fixed though.

*wanders around the green dragon to be talked down from violent mood*

We met my in-laws for Lunch. Neither of them work. They were 20 minutes late to the restaurant. Then they just breezed in like nothing was amiss. No explanation for why they were late. I mean, if you don't work and you're meeting people who do... shouldn't you TRY to be on time? Now I have to work 30 mins over. UGH- somebody pass me a mojito!

Mojitos for Blue, ExVivre, Jody...stat!

*samples some before passing the glasses around*

Imagine me as a tiger that has just eaten an angry rottweiller that is angry because he has just eaten a wasps nest wrapped in barbed wire. That's how angry I am.

Now imagine poking that tiger with a pointy stick. That's effectively what my husband has just done.

I need a whole vat of mojitos (whatever one is) and a large amount of chocolate.

AND I NEED IT NOW! Someone fetch the chocolate covered smurfs, quickly, for the sake of humankind.

Mojito - rum, crushed fresh mint leaves (I use spearmint), lime juice and a couple of slices,sugar, and seltzer. Pour over ice and serve in a tall glass. Hemmingway's favorite drink when he was in Havana.



edited because I forgot the sugar!

Mmm, now that looks nice, I want one of those.

A whole pallate of mojitos to jody along with a hug for Jody. I hope things get better, whatever the problem is.

Mustn't do it, mustn't do it, mustn't do it, oh, I can't help myself! *Pokes! Jody* RUUUUNNNNNNNNNNS!!!!!!!!!!!

looks yummy.... I could use one myself...

I brought

Jody - Find a pair of stockings you don't need any more. They'd have to be great to get your fingernails into and rip apart.

Edited because I couldn't stand looking at my own spelling mistake

#317 - It's alright, you are safe. I have just eaten and the bookstore has just delivered four lovely new books, so I am perfectly calm now.

#319 - I never thought of that. Our living room is full of little piles of shredded tissue and paper right now.

Whiners.

Whine whine whine whine.

Can you do something about it? If yes, have you DONE it? If you can't do anything about it have you vented (ONCE)? Good, drop it already.

I've stopped whining, starting drinking. Nothing like mojitos, cheese, and stuffed grape leaves to make my day a little brighter. This combination and the DVD "Nuts in May" was enough for me!

Re my post #321, it was not in reference to anyone here. This is an "allowable" venting (and sometime whining) sphere. Even I whine once in awhile. It's those people that are always whining that were getting on my last nerve. It's like, "Suck it up, already."

But wwwhyyyyyyy can't people whiiiiiiiine all the tiiiiiiiime if they waaaaaant to?

*shudders then thwaps ladygata* Cut that out!

*ouch* Yeah, I'm not a big fan of constant whiners. In fact, they make me cranky! Now grumbling, that's another story.

A few good solid complaints and then move along. I really hate people who think everyone is supposed to be positive all the time. No complaining ever allowed. So injustice can just roll along happily with no one complaining, and price gouging is suffered in silence, etc. etc. You know what I mean. I agree that too much is too much but I really don't like the pollyanna approach which bans the complainers to back of the bus.

That's my story.

I understand your point of view maggie particularly about price gouging. However, when one is thinking in terms of health, a positive point of view just helps to enhance your recovery. At least it did for me.

Oh, yes, don't misunderstand me. I am a great fan of optimism and expecting the very best results in life but I also know that you can not pretend that the risks don't exist. There are people out there trying to get your money and you need to be careful. So, my point of view is to acknowledge the negative, see it, deal with it, and then move on to expecting the best results for all involved. My life is wonderful and I know that.

Prepare for the worst, expect the best, shoot down the middle.

Almost beat the last level of World One on New Super Mario Bros. but just when I was about to get to the end I ran out of lives. I must have gone through 10 1UPs at least. I tend to suck at Mario when I'm sick.

Speaking of which I've been throwing up a lot. GRRR!

327 maggie

I really don't like the pollyanna approach which bans the complainers to back of the bus.

I lost a friend (not much of a friend, I guess) once because she was that kind of person. I had a blowout fight with my two best friends and was (I think understandably!!) rather depressed They weren't speaking to me and it's not like I could get away from them, it was in high school, so I saw them every day. She just couldn't deal with being around someone who wasn't happy all the time. Sorry, I don't suppress emotions much, especially not at that age.

This is a thread for complaining. Posts that are anti-complaining make me grumpy. If it bugs you, you don't have to read the thread.

I'll re-state my restatement. I'm not talking about venting here. And there is a difference between complaining and whining.

Yup. Whining is often a cry for help, "I don't know how to fix this, or I want some one else to take responsibility for fixing this."

It is truly awesome how many different ways people invent to avoid responsibility.

And I totally agree: This is the place to bit** and moan. heheheh

*bitches*
*moans*
Anyway ;)

333 Morphidae

I apologize for misinterpreting your post. It's just the kind of thing that needs to be carefully stated in a place like this, or it can be taken as criticism of people coming to vent. There have been people who have done that. Clearly you are not one of them :)

When my children were young I couldn't understand why I felt like climbing the walls, then I realized they were whining all the time. I told them I couldn't hear/understand them when they spoke in that voice. It resolved the problem very quickly. I don't think they realized they were doing it either. I've been known to say the same thing to my husband, but he's been kind enough not to say it to me. Sometimes we aren't even aware of the whine, but it's nice to have pointed out.

I suppose I should be cranky because when I took the new microwave which I bought yesterday out of its box, it was dented. That means another 60 miles of driving today to return it and get another. Mostly I just feel resolved though.

>335 bluesalamanders: I had restated it two posts later (#323) so people would know I wasn't refering to anyone here. I certainly hope people know me better than that by now.

#337 Morphy: When I first read your original post, I immediately thought, "sheesh, someone's angry at us," and then I saw who had written it and thought, "oh, *she's* not really talking about us." In fact, I thought you might have been referring to the metric discussion going on elsewhere - LOL!

snort

>338 scaifea: Can't IMAGINE why you'd think I was referring to the metric discussion. *COUGH COUGH*

*types up and deletes various humorous responses but figures she'll stay out of further trouble*

Just an update on my crankiness from #279

The third fencing company came and we now have a lovely, secure fence.

This morning fencing company number two rang us by mistake and had the following conversation:

FC2: This is Fencing Direct, do you still want your fence delivering to Broadway this morning.
Me: What? No, you've called the wrong number.
FC2: We've got your order here with this number on it.
Me: Well, this is Mrs Richardson, we don't live at Broadway and you were supposed to deliver our fence last week but you sold them to a more regular customer so we got a more reliable company to put the fence up the following day for less money than you were charging. You were supposed to call us back later that day and didn't bother, so we went elsewhere.
FC2: But I've just had the panels made for you!
Me: Best hope that regular customer comes back in then, hey?

I never normally say 'hey' at the end of sentances but I wanted to annoy him. I've been hideously cranky for days now, on and off, but this has cheered me up.

It is sweet to get pay back sometimes, isn't it? They must really be a confused company. I wonder how long they will last.

Oh Jody that is sweet! I'm happy to hear the fence is up at last and Fencing Company 2 is slightly screwed in the process. Not that I'm normally a vindictive person, but after the runaround they gave you, I think that karma is involved here don't you?

I am cranky because I just finished yet another book where a woman has breast cancer.

I am cranky because our COMCAST (the devil) service is rotten. my tv picture keeps pixilating and the sound is interrupted. This is followed by a black screen. I have had this problem for months.. they have been blowing it off. It has been terrible for two weeks.. they came once and didn't fix it. IT is the BOX people!
I have been waiting since sunday night.. no tv
no service call tll tomorrow afternoon..

GRRRRRR

#344:
I, too, suffer the evil of Comcast. For us it wasn't the cable TV, it was the internet; it went out at least 3 or 4 times a month for between 2 hours and six days. They sent a guy out 2 or 3 times, tried "walking me through" fixes at home, and listened to me carp at them repeatedly.
Finally, I was over it, and called to kindly cancel my internet service. I told them politely and nicely that they had tried to help me fix it, but since there was clearly an insurmountable problem, I would head to the library for internet needs.

They asked if I would give them one more chance for six months of half price cable.
I agreed, they sent out some "maintenance supervisor", and he FIXED THE PROBLEM.
Swear. I have never had another issue.
It may be worth a shot!

good advice! I also heard that any customer is entitled to any specials offered to new customers. There are some good handles to use on these corporations.

#344

I hear you about the book thing (I've already whined plenty on LT about my book club's weepy chick lit selections).

I had a similar problem with pixelating and, while you are no doubt at a place in which you know it's the box, for me it was the cables.

Can you just take your box to them and ask for another one? Sure, they SHOULD come fix it for you, but . . .

I'm a little cranky that all the stuff I really want to see on the Olympics doesn't come on until 11 p.m. or so. I enjoyed the little girls' gymnastics (sorry: women's doesn't seem like the right term for girls who may not be even the required 16 years old, though they are unbelievably good. Fantastic. Unreal!).

I'm also somewhat cranky that I've been waking up with backaches a lot recently. I don't think I should have to take pain relievers just to sleep.

There is nothing like trying to cancel a service to get a reaction. We received 9 months of free AOL when we tried to change to a cheaper ISP. Every 3 months we would call to cancel and they would give us 3 more months. Finally after enduring their sales calls to keep as customers we finally told them that free internet wasn't worth the hassle. They said, 'Free, what do you mean, free?.' You just have to shake your head in wonder.

Dear USA Olympic baseball team,

Stop losing to South Korea.

Thank you for your time,
fleela

Arrgh! My breakfast was horrid! And...I dropped some of it on my nice clean pants! Should have gone with the pants optional rule! Doh!

*snort*

Inspired by Flee:

#1 China 17 5 5
#2 United States 10 8 11
#3 South Korea 6 6 1
#4 Germany 5 1 2
#5 Italy 4 4 3
- New Zealand 0 0 0

Dear New Zealand Olympic team:

Get a medal. Any medal. I don't care which. I don't care if we only have 5.something million people and there is lots of competition. Mahe Drysdale you're the world rowing champ for a reason. Win.The.Final.Or.I.Will.Weep.

Stop falling off your horses.
Stop whining about the heat.

...

What can I say? I want to feel that patriotic glow...

Truly, a light hearted rant - they're doing so well, really, breaking all kinds of NZ records and such.

Sigh.

Oh goody! a place to gripe!

Stupid bluddy woman!!! Im called out, as in phoned by this lady, to please come rescue a rinkhals (highly venemous south african spitting cobra) from some her back yard... Just as I get things under control, is when the wentch releases her two dauschund dogs to 'help me with the snake...' '@%$#&*%^$%^%@'

So now there I stand, with a mad-as-hell SPITTING cobra by the tail, and two bluddy beserk little dogs trying to bite both it AND ME! Then she gets all upset when i deliver one of them a sharp kick to get it the hel away from me so that i can concentrate on the COBRA that I have BY THE TAIL!!!!

B*#ch...

sorry thats my little rant over...

My word, I would have offered to leave the snake for her to train her dogs. I would have been hard pressed not to give the woman a swift kick as well.

Yes...I can see what I would have liked to have done:

'Get these damned dogs away from me and my buddy here or he's having an early, furry lunch...'

Thing is, I wouldn't have been there in the first place....brrrrrr...

You is bravies...

Oh, Taliska, First AAAHHHH a snake!
*leaps on table*

Second, I think a swift kick to the owner would have been warranted. Did you politely explain to her that she was a moron?

#353 - Taliska, I think you have just had the worst thing to complain about ever on here - holding a cobra while some mad woman sets dogs on you - I am truly impressed.

I agree with Jodyreadseverything, you get a perfect 10.0 and the Gold for that gripe.

Have we met GD's first Snake Wrangler?

I tip my hat to you.

All I can say is...WOW!

okay, I'll add...I'm so truly impressed. I mean... a cobra??

(sorry fleela, I know you hate the ... , but really, a cobra???)!!!!!

Jodyreadseverything said
"#353 - Taliska, I think you have just had the worst thing to complain about ever on here - holding a cobra while some mad woman sets dogs on you - I am truly impressed."

Agreed

stupid twit of a woman...

#'s 345-348 I will keep all of that in mind. They finally told me today.. after MONTHS of this problem, that I can take my box to a place and get a new one. I am waiting for a tech now.. if he doesn't fix it I will either do as you suggest and tell them I am going to cancel.... or, maybe try the new box thing myself or both...

ARGH! I don't hate ellipses!

I was reading a long paragraph where the poster used no punctuation other than ellipses, for the WHOLE thing.

lol, sorry fleela.
Bad habit. I am trying to reform, just for you.

ROFLMAO!!!!!!

ok fleela, we get it :-D

Oh thank you :-) I love starting my day with a big laugh like that :-D

I hope that's not a very bad word in Morse Code.

animated ellipses

Wait. Isn't that the bubbles from the hot tub?

> holding a cobra while some mad woman sets dogs on you

Another vote for definitely the worst and will now be what we all compare our gripes to.

"Well, at least I wasn't holding a SPITTING COBRA by the tail while over-grown rats attacked me."

LOL, yep, that wins by a mile. I could never, never, ever do what you do, Taliska. One more LT hero!

Taliska, you are my hero. Do you wear shiny tights and a cape, 'cause I think you could be a superhero for not just throwing the snake at that lady and her dogs. I guess you probably have too much respect for snakes to do that.

*Must remember... special messages... for fleela... >:}

So Taliska.,what is your job anyway? I need to ask, you do not need to answer.. but that sounds like a curious activity.

Taliska, are you part of the MacThomas clan?

#364, 368 ... Only in Parseltongue! SSSS!!

Sometimes I realise that the only reason I like snakes is because we don't have any really venomous ones in Sweden.
Only one of them have any venom to speak of, and even that one is only dangerous for toddlers and old people who are sick.

And, oh, yes - I'm cranky because I got this headache while at a meeting with a client at their office today. I had planned to sneak off to the bookshop when the meeting was done but instead I had to go straight home, fighting a nauseous feeling.
Had to pick up my bike on the way, so I had to take a detour. Never have I ridden my bike as slow as I did those last kilometres home - the headache and the nausea made my reactions rather slow so I didn't dare go too fast. Arrived home 4:30 PM. Went straight to bed, slept two hours before I felt stable enough for a painkiller.
My guess is the Chicken Tikka Masala I had for lunch is to blame, but I really don't know.

Feeling better now, but tired. So - time to read a little before turning in, so I can go to work tomorrow. The preschool is closed tomorrow so husband is home with son, so I can't work from home and expect to get anything done... so off to the office it is.

Taliska you are my hero dauschund dogs freak me out big time. I'm not a big fan of snakes either.

Reasons to be cranky today - it's too cold and rainy for August, the dog has got gloss paint on her, certain relatives are being demanding and whingey, husband is slightly drunk and getting on my nerves sulking because I am being stubborn about the demanding relatives.

All I need now is a spitting cobra, two snappy dogs and a mad woman to make my day perfect :-)

I'm cranky because I've been left to organise a 50th birthday present with 10+ contributors, but no suggestions. I have to find something in the next two days. Why am I taking time off work to buy presents?

Secondary: Why can I not buy presents without buying myself things, too?

OK, so I'm not holding a cobra, but grrr anyway.

Wow! I think from now on, I'm going to preface all of my gripes with "I know it's not wrestling cobras, But..."

In fact, if I could only convince myself to think of snake-wrangling each time I have a gripe, my gripes might just go away :)

I'm cranky coz I'm a clutz :(

A couple of weeks ago I knocked my swarovski elephant off my bookshelf & broke his leg :( Luckily Dr. Dad repaired him with only a small scar.

A few days ago I knocked my fave travel mug over & broke it - & its beyond repair :(

This morning while getting dressed I knocked my black eastern dragon off my shadowbox & smashed him - again beyond repair - well his leg could prob be glued back on, but his face is too broken methinx :(

Seanie - I'm sorry! It depends on how much it is worth to you to have it restored, but there are people who can fix almost any broken ceramic thing and you would never notice it had been broken. I think they are very expensive though. I suppose it wouldn't help to think of it as just having more room in your collection for new additions?

He's the one I brought home from Thailand & I think he's made of resin so not sure about it's repairability (is that a word? if not it should be, lol)...

Thinking of it as room for a new Dragon is a good idea :)

I wish there was some sort of "anti clutz" medication i could take though :(

#353 So now there I stand, with a mad-as-hell SPITTING cobra by the tail, and two bluddy beserk little dogs trying to bite both it AND ME!

Yeah, that happened to me once, ummm, but only metaphorically. (Safer that way. Metaphoric Cobra venom is merely annoying, not lethal)

#386 Seanie

I don't know your age/gender, but once upon time when I was younger, I noticed that I was much clumsier during "certain times" of the month than usually. I don't think there's a pill that would have helped.

#388 ejj1955 - I'm 27y/o & female so you could be on the money with that - though this latest spout of breaking stuff i luv has lasted nearly 3 weeks so mebbe not :(

Tee hee! thanx for the support all

#356: actually I told her rather impolitely that she was a moron... :)
@ mackait: Im still a student, studying Plant pathology (glorified tree doctor... thats me!) and the snake catching is a hobby of sorts...

I have always had a soft spot for reptiles, and I eventually reached breaking point when my cousin bragged that he shot an egyptian cobra that was eating his hens eggs, explaining that 'there is nobody around here to call if we find a snake, so we just kill them...'

So I got the training, got the permit, and pretty much rubbed his nose in it that he can now call ME!!!

Good for you Taliska! That's really neat and sounds like it sure keeps you busy.

She was once an attraction at the county fair
And now she sleeps in a box at the top of the stairs
And she loves it here, make no mistake
Cause she can earn her keep by chasin' snakes

And if I wake up late at night
I know that everything will be alright
Cause crawling round on my roof
Is the woman who is also a mongoose

Dead Milkmen - The Woman Who Was Also A Mongoose

Taliska - You even more of a hero to me now. Not only do you wrangle snakes, you choose to do so because someone else was stupidly disregarding the snake's best interests just because humans generally don't see the snakes' point of views. It is wonderfully refreshing to see a person not just complain, but actually do something about it.

Seanie - Had your eyes checked lately? Sometimes poor eyesight sneaks up on us and can cause us to seem clumsy. I speak from experience. :)

>392 DaynaRT: Hehehe - Rikki-Tikki-Taliska!

#395 LMAO!!!