I spent an hour and a half tending my garden after work tonight. I get so much satisfaction from my garden. Happy. :-)

I was going to say that gardens are a prelude to heaven. Then I decided to revise: gardens ARE heaven. :)

Happy to see Orthodoc posting again.
:)

Me too, though the subject matter (see other thread, not this) makes me mad!


Sent by thought transference

I bought tickets to a football game for my daughter and my son Daniel - or so thought. The site screwed me and sent me three parking passes instead of tickets. Grrrrrrr
I went ballistic on them this morning and threatened "third party intervention" The finally relented from their "All sales final" policy and made a one time exception of a full refund.
Yay me, that was $240 I couldn't afford to lose.

$80 bucks for Eagles tickets?

The return of McCoy ... daughter wants to go ... Father wrapped around little finger.
Shush. Tickets are now $100.
The $80 was for some bogus parking pass. Who the Fuck pays $80 to park a car?

The invasion is receding! My tonsils are no longer under threat, my ears are relaxing their guard, my sinuses are looking forward to no longer being occupied ...

'snot bad, 'snot bad...

*nods affirmatively*

Hurrah! VL day :p

Congratulations! What's VL day?

Victory in Limey day - since the invasion is receding.

Invasion? That's no way to talk about Mr Limey.http://cellar.org/2012/nono.gif

incursion? probe? penetration?

People, people, what on earth would Mr Limey be doing in my ears and sinuses? (Let's not talk about the tonsils, eh?) ;)


Sent by thought transference

*snort*

It's called full. :lol2:

Pfft - You are thinking of this all wrong. Just because it's receding doesn't mean limey takes it back, it simply means there's a power vacuum up for grabs.

I declare Limey's left sinus strip "Gaza 2".

It certainly feels like it! :greenface

:p:

So in continuation of "what's irritating you today" post 5969, my boss has told me today the irritating coworker is in the process of been fired.

He would rather not hire anyone else, so me and another guy - who is awesome btw - are basically going to have to take most of her shifts until another quite fun guy comes back from vacation, which my bank account will love for the coming month, and it also means once he does get back from vexation I can go back to the 5-6 shifts I've been getting since he left rather then getting a cut down to 4-5.

I also won't need to get any annoying bitchy remarks at shift change, and I will get more of the fun shift changes I get with the other co workers - where sometimes one of us will even come early or stay late half an hour and have some coffee and chat, which is a pleasure - without her everyone else is pretty high quality people.

The wife of a well-known radio talk show host is on the board of the National Autism Association, is a very vocal and passionate supporter of biomedical treatment, and reportedly has a very big influence on who her husband brings on the show. It was a long shot that I would get her attention, but she was on our list of "movers and shakers" who marketing should reach out to because you never know.

Today we learned that someone in my publisher's office actually knows her personally, and plans to strongly encourage her to read it. Shit just got real.

Network, call in favors, twist arms, then when you get on Fallon, Kimmel, and Colbert, you can blow them away with your stand-up routine. :thumb:

Cool!

That's awesome! Fingers crossed.

Excellent.

Good luck, Clod, hope that works out.

If I am getting this right, you.. Have a book out about autism? Cool.

Good luck :)

When do I get my signed copy? (I will pay for it!)

My attitude towards the VA is changing.

My Father-In-Law is a (Korean War) Navy Vet, and frankly did not do much after his discharge.
But after years of not-so-healthy living, and a year living on the streets,
he managed to get classified as disabled, which helped get him into decent housing.

He was seen on a fairly regular basis at the PDX VA, and his health and dental problems were being managed.
But then, a couple of weeks they told him he needed triple-bypass heart surgery !
They called him to come in on that Friday, and he had the operation the following Thursday.

Currently, many of us may have bad feelings about the quality
and timelines of the health care handed out to Vets.
But at least for this man in his circumstances, the VA staff deserve a public commendation.

On each of the times I visited him, the staff throughout were very
courteous and extremely helpful to me as a visitor, and the medical staff
were exceptionally open, welcoming, and informative.

I spent a lot of time in waiting rooms, their canteen, stores, elevators and parking lots,
and I am very impressed by how good were the moods of people
working and receiving care in this huge medical complex.
The entire ICU and Recovery Rooms were in good conditions and
the staff and patients were in appropriate good humor.

My FIL is now doing well, and his outlook for a long life is so much better than before.

Maybe this VA is exceptional, but I hope not.
... every hospital, whether VA or not, should have such a helpful and healthy environment.

.

You're going to have to wait for March like everyone else. Believe me, I don't like it any more than you do. I'm not known for my patience.

I think the problem with the VA is they are just plain too small for the tidal wave of vets drowning them. Like industry of the Vietnam era in negotiations with the unions, promising big future benefits for smaller raises now, but never funded those promises. Congress made promises to vets, but never funded keeping them. The US created so many vets in the Vietnam era, who are now old and needy, the VA can't handle it. The doctors and specialists are so booked, if they miss a day, hell, miss a couple hours, for any reason, it becomes a rescheduling nightmare.

Sounds like they need to farm some of that shit out to the private sector...

Somebody's still got to pay for it, though.

What's making you happy today?
 

I'd been planning to buy another half dozen bags of gravel from the home center and spread them on thin spots on the gravel driveway. When it's wet, those spots get muddy and I track the mud into the house.
I never got around to it.

Last week, some friends down the street ordered too much gravel to redo their french drain, and they had a ton left over. Actually maybe it was more than a ton. So I made countless trips the block and a half with my wheelbarrow.

I saved him the trouble of getting rid of a pile of gravel, and I got a free refreshed driveway out of the deal. And a bunch of exercise.
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09...87b92892f6.jpg

Lot of work but a good score, saved money getting healthier.
That mud sucks. The last house I lived in, the stone in the driveway would sink and the dirt/clay that came to the top was as fine, and as slippery when wet, as possible. Each spring we'd have about 25 tons of modified stone delivered in one of those tractor trailer dump trucks. But the trailer body was so high when it was up he could only spread about half the drive way. The other half was wheelbarrow and shovel work, only to have to do it over a year later.

I got home from work first then my buddy got home an hour and a half later, so I would do most of it. One time I saw him slow down, see the stone had been delivered, and kept driving... son of a bitch. Thirty odd years later, I reminded him occasionally. :lol:

.

Sic, you are a legend.
Well done!

I'll pass your compliments on to my surgeon later today. ;-)

Syc- That is unbelievable man, great job.

Glatt- great job. That's now a no snowblower zone, but you're a shovel man. :)

My parents are coming up today for three days (two nights).
I go to meet them from the train in Leeds, ARR 15.38.

Already been to their B&B, which is a wonderful place, more like a miniature boutique hotel. Dropped off a personalised bottle of wine - I bought the wine and the self-adhesive label separately, saved about £12, helium balloons, a box of biscuits (half price as a promotion) and another engraved love-lock for Wharfedale Bridge, to go next to the one for Mum and me I put on last year.

I'm not saying these materialistic things make me happy. I'm happy they're coming up.
But yes, I am also happy that Mum will feel special and loved even though I've done it all on a budget.

Yep. And you need a certain technique with the snow shovel where you use the rear of the snow shovel as a fulcrum so the front blade of the shovel is about an inch above the stones when you scoop up the snow.

Gravel is a pain when raking leaves and when shoveling snow, but my lawnmower can blow the leaves off the gravel, and the shovel technique in the snow can get enough snow off that the rest will melt.

I dream of getting the driveway paved, but there's the significant cost. I find myself asking things like "Go on vacation, or pave the driveway?" "Save some money for college, or pave the driveway?" "Buy that used car from the old lady next door, or pave the driveway?" The driveway never wins. Plus, to pave a driveway right, you need to dig down a couple of feet and lay down a nice bed of compacted sand or crushed rock, and then go over it with blacktop. Digging down a foot or two would almost certainly kill the maple tree right next to the driveway now by severing 30% of its roots.

WOW ! 70 lbs in 2 months ???

Were some body parts amputated or just haircuts of a lot of body hair ? :D

.

that's a pretty cool chart, Syc.

Do you have a smart scale, or have you been doing a daily weigh in and recording the results in a phone app?

Jews. I was running late for a doctors appointment this morning, but it's a Jewish holiday so all the cops were busy directing traffic at the synagogues. Woot, no cops on the road.

Thanks all...it's been a hard slog but well worth it.

Glatt, I just weigh myself every day or two and use MyFitnessPal to keep track of things.

Yes. Gastric bypass surgery I believe it was. Syc will put me right, I'm sure. And he's also put in a lot of effort in very difficult circumstances both before and after the surgery.

You are welcome :D

Hee.

:D

My hat. Bought from eBay from China. Probably made with the tears of orphans, but I'ma gonna wear it on Christmas Day anyway.
I do love me a hat.

Got this message on my feedback.
謝謝你，這次的交易順利又愉快！超棒買家

I'll have it tattooed on my vajayjay because it's obviously deep and mystical and meaningful...

You are officially awesome. ;)


謝謝你，這次的交易順利又愉快！超棒買家 = Thank you, this transaction smooth and enjoyable ! Awesome Buyers.


Probably best not to have this tattooed, er..... anywhere. :blush:

No amputation...just a redirection of things...like a new highway! :D

http://kcbariatric.com/laparoscopic-gastric-bypass/

Fixed it. This way, she can still take pics to show us...:p:

Hope that doesn't mean this.

:lol2:

Happy/ sad/ I dunno and all that.

Was booked in to get my tattoo yesterday.
My sobriety tattoo and one which also remembers Brianna, although without her name because I don't do that kinda thing.
It was a push, financially, but I knew it was worth it because I've been thinking about it for such a long time, and baby girl (what she called me) is still dead.

Anyway. Me being me and having issues with public transport, I left it til the last second. Then rush rush rush, onto the bus, trying not to kill the silly girls sat at the back singing in tiny thready voices, obviously dreaming of being popstars. I mean I could've belted out It's a Fine Life and blown them out the back window, but I'm nicerer than that.

Anyway, get to tattoo parlour.
No.
Artist of choice, who I made the appointment with over a month ago (I have actually been saving) has had a family emergency.
"We did try to call you..."
I screamed at them, "I've had a G-D family emergency, my Mum has cancer, my Dad has dementia and my friend is dead!"
Okay, I didn't. But I sat down and cried. Had to explain to (very nice) tattooist who was there, that it's been a tough couple of days, and apologised for over-reacting.

So this is the happy thread, you're thinking. Where is the happy, Sundae?
Well after I dried my eyes I had a lovely day in Leeds. The money I'd set aside for the tattoo went on a new phone - I really did need one as mine has conked out randomly, recently, and it's now VERY important for me to be contactable. And a haircut. And some lip-gloss. And re-buying The Walking Dead seasons 1-4.

Brianna would completely pardon me. I'm sorry babba - I did try. You'd laugh. If you were still here you'd laugh your cotton socks off at my random attempts to immortalise you.

You don't need a tattoo, to imortalize Brianna. WE have our memories and the feelings in our hearts, to remember her by.

I know. I mean I do really know that.
It was just having finally made the decision and saved the money and made a real effort to get there it was such a let-down.

I'm over it now though.
It wasn't meant to be.
Even though I don't really believe in pre-determination and all that.

It was just a good excuse to spend some money. I did make sure I put £ on the electricity meter first though. See how grown up I am?
We won't talk about the DVDs which were completely unnecesarry ;)

We are Proud of you Cherry.

I just gave notice. I will be starting a new job in two weeks.

There is more money. The market is up for people like me. My goal is to replace my sofa, which has mold in it that I am allergic to, by the Spring.

There is a nicer environment. It includes a beer fridge. I'm diabetic so I don't drink beer much these days, but the nice thing is what it demonstrates about management.

They asked whether I want a Windows, Mac, or Linux desktop. The question is beautiful to me. (Answer: Linux)