That's a bloody mean looking goat you got there, Griff!

Once they go feral, they're all mean.

That guy definitely isn't in it for the hunting.

I'm happy that what felt, sounded, acted and smelt like total gearbox FAIL and meltdown on Saturday night turned out to be a £12 (approx. $18) ten minute fix today :).

That is great! What ended up being the problem?

A stoopid plastic lever under the gearbox had snapped. The effect was that the gear lever (stick shift?) went from being all muscular and definite about which gear it was in, to resembling a limp dishrag and flapping from side to side all over the place. I could, just, get it into some sort of gear, which is how I drove it about 2 miles from where it happened, onto the ferry and off again on my beloved island home but the clutch objected more and more until it eventually billowed plumes of smoke out from under the bonnet as I attempted to urge the car up a hill away from the ferry terminal, and I had to roll the car back against the flow of traffic into a car park ... I was delighted that I managed to get the car onto the island, but convinced the gearbox was a goner. The AA (roadside assistance) fixed it temporarily with a cable tie and I had the lever replaced today.

Ding dong the witch is dead! For those who have been following along at home you might know to what I'm alluding. Woooohooooo! More tomorrow!

WOW!

#$%&YEAHHHH!!!!

Gory details, please!

I know, right? Gory disguised details tomorrow.

I think some people choose their fate. Score one for real humans!

I've tried to feel badly about it. I just can't. Goodbye reign of dubious terror. :)

Finally! Are you partying over the grave?

Yes. Yes i am. ;)

I went the bar i can walk to...told my friends there, and have talked to friends from all facets of my life, on the phone (and my mom!) And they're all like "yay'

Thanks friends. :)

:cheerldr: YAY!!!!!!!!!!!! :cheerldr:

Oh, that's freaking awesome!

We're not allowed to say much, but I will say that usually I would feel some sort of sorry for the person: in most circumstances in my life I've felt badly for people even when it was their own fault, even if they hurt ME.

But all I have to do is remember what she did to one of the most beloved long-term people here, who is now not here...that was the shot heard across the campus.

And I really do think things are headed in the right direction. Great meeting today and we are already seeing improvements and discussing future improvements.

I'm so happy.

Thanks again buddies! :)

:)

Congratulations, infi! :)

thanks for the update, im. so informative... you know, if this gig doesn't work out you would be a shoe in for Romney's press secretary.

:POKE:

Hmmm, is he saying I should put as much water into the nuclear reactor as I want, or is he saying I have to be very careful about not putting too much water into the nuclear reactor?

;)

I can't say much right now. For one, I don't know much. For two, I don't want to break any laws or get sued.

But I did find out it was a complete blindside and even though most of us were expecting (nay, hoping for) it...she didn't have a clue. Wow.

Unbelievable, really.

You might say she was clueless. In more ways than one.

I'm glad you're happy, however much water it takes.

:)

Thanks.

We call it taking a sabot (referring to the tank round that catches by surprise and destroys everything). I'm glad things have worked out for you. BTW, why don't you introduce her to the Cellar? We can give her lots of positive motivation ;)

Glad things have taken that major turn and are headed toward the better. :)

I have a job interview next Thursday in Jackson. Keeping my fingers crossed. I'd be 3 hours away from the kids, but it is quite the opportunity

Excellent. Just excellent.

I'm cheering for you from considerably more that three hours away, but I'm cheering you nonetheless. Go get'em tiger!

Cheering you on from here as well! Go Sarge!

Good luck, Sarge!


Sent by thought transference

inf<

can you get her gig? also.... let's hope her replacement doesn't suck!

w00t for you!

Ooooo good luck Sarge!

And yey, Infi.

My happy, and I'm sure this will come as a huge surprise, is Carrot related.

I haven't gone in for tricks much with Carrotchops. I did with Pilau, but this time around there were more pressing things on my mind than paw shaking and rolling over: this dog would be able to walk properly on a lead and behave himself in civilised company. Added to the odd responses to grooming and some other little ideosyncracies, and tricks just haven't been that high on the list.

I do a little with him, work it in to the day. But it's basic stuff, like lying down or waiting for something. Every so often I get him to give me his paw, but he doesn't really like doing it (possibly not helped by there being something seemingly a little amiss with his front left leg) and I generally have to gently tap the back of his leg to prompt him to do it.

Yesterday, we were playing, and I held my hand out and said 'paw' and he slapped his paw right into my hand. Just like that. I was delighted, gave him lots of praise, and then did it again. This time he slapped the other paw onto my hand. Ha.

Bit later I tried it again and he wouldn't do it without me prompting again. But just now, I held my hand out and said paw, and did it instantly.

It's a silly little thing, but it made me really happy.

Not silly! I love how you talk about Carrotchops, Dana - his personality comes across so well. And one of the best, purest pleasures is time spent with a happy canine friend.

I don't want that gig, and it's going to change, too. I also think they won't make that kind of mistake hiring that sort of person again. I like the research and compliance aspects of it but I'm not interested in the 'upward mobility' aspect of it...of anything anymore really. I just want to do my job well, to the capacity I am capable of...and I think that will happen. I want to do my job well, build up my retirement, and retire in comfort at the soonest possible moment...without considering driving my car into the retaining wall on the interstate on the way in.

There are so many things changing I'm not sure where we're going to end up, but certainly 'better' will be one outcome.

And, thanks. :)

Yay infini! & yay carrott!

I'm happy sitting here in my loungeroom, not dealing with a natural disaster, with two contented midgets doing their own thing, two big boys at HS getting smarter, and a husband at work doing what he does best.

My life is pretty good atm.

eta: also, my house is pretty clean and tidy, and I even have the last load of washing on, and leftovers in the fridge for dinner tonight, so I have a nice relaxing, spend time with the midgets day ahead of me. :)

Again? Why you bum, you just relaxed a few months ago. :p:

haha...is that what you call it?

Seriously though, it's been a nice day so far. I just had a nap with the baby and now Max and I are having lunch and watching some telly. Max played the iPad while I was napping. I didn't mean to fall asleep, but I must have relaxed a little bit too much while I was putting the baby to sleep.

He's such a good boy. He was being all quiet and good for poor old Mummy. I'm a lucky woman.

I'm going to my little brother's CD release concert tonight. He's been getting a ton of positive press around town. Plus, I never get to go out of the house, so I'm super excited!

I found my screwdrivers.

SonofV opened his laptop the other night--CRAACK--.


Bring it here. shitshitshitshitshit. Folks, you laptop folks, do yourself a favor and only open the screen from the center of the edge farthest from the hinge. Do not use one corner to adjust the angle. I know you want to keep your hand on the mouse or the track pad...

twisting teh screen relative to teh base of the laptop is like wringing it out. You will squeeze all the juicy pixels right out of the computer. And you won't like it.

I have been able to redeploy some of the screws in the bottom of his system and tighten several. It's in OK mode now, but I feel like lining the edges and corners with spikes. NO TOUCHY!

My oldest son passed the bar!!

Context - my son has faced numerous and prolonged health challenges that have taken a lot of courage and determination, on his part, to cope with. Happy is an understatement for what I'm feeling right now, for him. Almost shaky, almost in tears. Very very proud of him.

maximum congratulations!!!!

I heard a funny thing yesterday, a guy lecturing in a class full of law students near the end of their time in school. He said to the class "You think it was hard getting into law school? Just wait until you try to get *out*."

Please send along my good wishes for his good work. (and yours too mom!)

Wow! Yay for proud parentness!

Sent by thought transference.

Bravo!

All you need is a daughter elected chief of an Indian tribe. :beer:

My son got married today!!

Very good, Rich, congratulations. :thumb2:

Thank you ... wish I could buy all of you a beer in celebration!

And congratulations, Rich!

A big congrats to both Ortho and Rich. Y'all did good. ;)

I can view the cellar again! I have been un-banned! lol

Huzzah!

Computer issues?

Wow, all this fabulous news. I'm pleased to hear it. Congratulations, everyone.

richlevy is a FIL.

More work for you? Or more opportunity for funs?

Congrats to your newly bigger family and all in it. :)

1) Flying squirrels in my chicken coop. Them's cute vermin.
2) Good news: A friend gave us 1/2 a dozen chicks this summer. Bad News: 5 of 6 turned out to be roosters. Good News: I put all 5 in the freezer today.

sleeping..I just love it..I woke up to tell all of you how wonderful and restorative it is

ok back to sleep.

A big "LIKE" to BigV's post. I want to go back to bed too,.

Me three.

Watching the sun come up and start to burn off the heavy frost on the front field ... fire in the fireplace taking the chill off ... mug of strong coffee ... view over the valley ... keeping an eye on the woods for deer ... sigh. Morning doesn't get better than this.

sounds lovely orthodoc. reading your post gave me a bit of contact happy.

I haven't had proper morning yet, being before sunrise on Sunday... But I'm still happy this morning, and here's why. As you all know, I'm stalled in my job search. One of my friends forwarded to me a copy of an email he got from Groupon. He's not a pathological email forwarder (we all have one or two like that, no?) so I opened it up right away. And a good thing too because this Groupon deal *IS* something I'm very excited to take advantage of.

It was a coupon for some online training for Cisco certifications. This is an excerpt of the details:

I'm no Daddy Throwbucks, buying this and that, but a hundred dollars for three thousand dollars worth of training seems like a screaming deal. That's why I lurched out of bed, predawn, to put some of my limited remaining dollars down on this. I'm happy because it's a good deal. I'm happy because it represents real action on my job search. I'm happy because it has good potential for me to improve my attractiveness to employers by having a couple popular certifications (to be sure, this deal is training for a series of tests, I still have to pay for, take and pass the tests to get the certifications).

And I'm also happy because it gives me a good answer to an interviewer's question "what have you been doing to keep current?". I was asked and caught flatfooted by that question on an interview a little while ago, and I'm sure it was a big negative factor in their decision process. Now I have a *good* answer for that question; "I've been studying. I know time away from working in this field means it's harder to keep up with what's happening. But not having a daytime job means I have the time to improve my skills by going to school. I'm currently working on my CCNA and CCNP certifications from Cisco. I hope they will prove useful to you at XYZ Corp; I know they'll prove useful to me as I interview with other employers." Or words to that effect.

Yep, happy this morning, freely shared. Y'all help yourself to some. :)

Nice damn day today. Got up early, did the chores, then butchered turkeys at my uncles, followed by fencing 2 weapons (sabre and epee) at BU. Good and tired I am.