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[Jimmy the Squid]

Well, the logical solution would be to not organise a birthday party at all for this year because obviously your friends don't like you. Also yes it is a little silly to be organising a party 8 months in advance (NB: I don't like parties and I disapprove of fun). All my parties have basically worked out like that, i.e/: I put in a heap of effort and then no one turns up and I have a shitty birthday. Then I decided I wanted a swanky 21st and I invited a bunch of people from the forums and like 6 people from meatlife (two of whom were my brother and his girlfriend and one of whom was my girlfriend) and everybody turned up. That's when I decided that I really love these forums.

Oh yeah Blogthread,

I had that job interview today. Sigh.


I got the job.

[De_El]

That is pretty great.

[BrittanyMarie]

Yay! Congrats on the job!

I think I made up my mind to take a year off school! Because I'm a failure! On the plus side, any job I'd get would be the same kind of job I'd have if I did graduate. So really, it's just a piece of paper that I'll be missing.

[jhocking]

I finally got to order the underwear I have been telling Gabbly about for the longest time: http://www.splitreason.com/product/456

Your link has led me to
http://www.splitreason.com/product/542

I am getting a mac for many reasons!

I'm about to get a new Mac too, we should name them after the Wonder Twins! It will be like a secret international conspiracy.

This is the second image that you get when you google image search "absinthe party".

So you do that too? I am not a mutant.

[valley_parade]

e) I primarily use my computer for Photoshopping and listening to music and these are things Macs tend to do well

They're really good at making music, too.

[Jace]

Birfday stuff

Honestly, my birthday was 12 days ago. I didn't say much about it, I didn't have a party. It was just a normal day for me. A couple people remembered (mostly because facebook and myspace told them), but really, its just a day, its not that important.

[Emaline]

Maybe they don't mean that much to you, but they do to me. I haven't been having such a great time lately, so having something like my birthday is something I can at least try to look forward to. Maybe by June I will have better friends. And they will not forget my birthday and refuse to dress up.

[0bsessions]

SUGGESTIONS.

Be less creepy and get a paper route or something.

I don't understand this. I really like Vista! particularly how it re-did Office. Things in Powerpoint and Word are so much simpler now! And as a college student, that's what I use computers for, generally...

I mean, it's got problems, and I'll change once the new Windows comes out (which looks to be soon, actually) but it's a very good system, all things considered.

I farking love Vista. The only real 'problem' with Vista is people loading it onto computers that obviously cannot handle it. The biggest problem with this is PC manufacturers, who consistently put it into machines that clearly can't handle it by the already pretty liberal system requirements. Basically, don't put Vista on your PC unless you have a two ghz dual core and two gigs of RAM. If you top that, you're golden.

I got the job.

Does this mean you're funding my chicken party?

And Emaline, the solution to your problem is to wait six months, find ONE friend you know you can count on and ask them as a personal birthday request to plan it for you. Planning something like a birthday this far in advance is nonsense. People will just ignore it because no twenty-one year old has their plans full on set that far in advance and shit springs up like mad at that age. It will then get to your birthday and people will have forgotten they agreed to come. One to two months is reasonable as it gives people plenty of time to clear their calenders, but is close enough that they will not be so likely to forget. Having a separate person plan it for you also eliminates the stress involved in planning it and also allows for a sometimes bigger turnout if you ask them to spread word rather than just invite on your own.

[valley_parade]

I remember I had some pretty grand plans for my 21st birthday, and it ended up being the two of us + Rachel and some of her friends going to a few bars.

[Jace]

Guys, I applied for a new job yesterday. I am fed up with working alone all the time. Its so hard to go into work knowing you'll have no one to help you out at all for the entire 8.5 hour shift. So, I'll stop bitching about my job if I get this new one. If not I'll try to cut back on the bitching.

[pwhodges]

The only real 'problem' with Vista is people loading it onto computers that obviously cannot handle it.

If you were a member of forums inhabited by people who have to support enterprise desktops, you'd be getting a very different view.

Log Head:  I have no kitchen; I will have no kitchen for another week and a half.  This is called "getting a new kitchen", and it's a very messy and dislocating process; especially when I am doing all the electrical installation work myself (which it is now illegal for me to do in the UK, even though I've done it many times before, and do it better than many contractors).

[Metope]

Blargh thread,

I'm going over to my slightly creepy neighbor for a cup of tea in a few minutes. He has been nothing but nice to me, so I accepted his invitation because that is the polite thing to do. I'm not exactly sure how I feel about this, maybe he's not actually creepy at all, but we'll see.

Love
Kris

[Blue Kitty]

"She was never heard from again," is screaming in my head.  Do be careful dear.

[Metope]

Haha I will, and don't worry. The building is pretty loud, so if I scream someone will hear me.

[0bsessions]

Dear Wah Wah Thread,

Last night, Rachel made me a ham and mashed potatoes. The mashed potatoes were alright, but the ham was epic. She also made me brownies. The brownies were moist and chocolaty and maintained their consistency through to the morning and are still delicious at this very moment. I may smoke and have some more when I get home.

The ham was followed by furious dickings.

Now, back to your sob stories, blog thread.

[20 jazz funk greats]

And Emaline, the solution to your problem is to wait six months, find ONE friend you know you can count on and ask them as a personal birthday request to plan it for you.

yeah, i did that for my last birthday and the person i asked (someone i thought i could count on...) normally likes/is decent at event planning but it still ended up being a crappy last minute thing with not nearly enough booze. never again!

i would not suggest this to someone who doesn't seem all that happy with their current friends to begin with. it will most likely lead to disappointment.

[0bsessions]

Well, the only solution from there is resign yourself to misery or get new friends.

[redglasscurls]

Sounds like she's got the "resigned to misery" thing down pat, now just move on to the friends thing.

[Liz]

Guys, I applied for a new job yesterday. I am fed up with working alone all the time. Its so hard to go into work knowing you'll have no one to help you out at all for the entire 8.5 hour shift. So, I'll stop bitching about my job if I get this new one. If not I'll try to cut back on the bitching.

No no no you can't do this, we need your Hotel Wizardry next summer!

[öde]

I'd like to think I don't suck that bad at web design sort of things and I could start some sort of website making thing.

You and a hundred thousand others. You won't be able to start charging until you have good examples of your work, and even then paid work will be hard to come by.

[Metope]

It's ok Liz, he said he was applying to another hotel down the street, we still get his Hotel Wizardry!


(...And I am still alive people, the tea was nice, and he was less creepy than I thought. A bit weird though, but that's ok.)

[Alex C]

I farking love Vista. The only real 'problem' with Vista is people loading it onto computers that obviously cannot handle it. The biggest problem with this is PC manufacturers, who consistently put it into machines that clearly can't handle it by the already pretty liberal system requirements. Basically, don't put Vista on your PC unless you have a two ghz dual core and two gigs of RAM. If you top that, you're golden.

I was an early adopter of Vista and I am fairly happy with it, but it's mostly because I also built myself an entirely new rig at the time of release; other experiences have led me to believe that I would sooner castrate myself with a grapefruit spoon than willingly put it on the average Feb '07 laptop. So I would like to agree with what you're saying, but the fact of the matter is that Microsoft was very lax in its requirements for earning the right to wear the "Vista Capable!" endorsement and deserves to be shit on by early adopters who were working on a budget. Those people were boned rather vigorously.

[Metope]

Shut up, Tommy.

[Liz]

It's ok Liz, he said he was applying to another hotel down the street, we still get his Hotel Wizardry!

Yayyyy.

Also, I am glad you did not get brutally murdered by your slightly creepy neighbor!

[negative creep]

Hi Forum!

I see it is you-as-your-avatar time again. I am in no state to take a picture of myself right now, so you get this one, a few months old, I guess, me being drunk at a concert and flipping off the camera.

I am quite sick with a cold right now, and went home from Mainz today, as I don't think I'd go to university tomorrow anyway.

Quick update from my student-life: I still suck at meeting new people (i.e. I am still quite on my own), lectures are interesting, concerts are OK.

- Dominik

PS: it is damn hard to get a post in here, because every time I try, there are new posts and I have to click again!

[pwhodges]

I'd like to think I don't suck that bad at web design sort of things and I could start some sort of website making thing.

You and a hundred thousand others. You won't be able to start charging until you have good examples of your work, and even then paid work will be hard to come by.

Most of that hundred thousand can make a simple website that looks OK-ish in one or two browsers.  A career in the business means understanding:

• Standards, and why they matter;
• Cross-browser compatibility, and why it's bloody hard;
• Accessibility (in the UK; I don't know about elsewhere);
• Ajax techniques for efficient dynamic websites;
• Simplicity - why less is more;
• Graphic design - but please, no Flash just for "impact";
• Databases;
• Security;
• Security;
• The security you missed before;

Well, that's for starters - I could go on.

[öde]

I meant occasional freelance work for tiny clients, not major work.

[pwhodges]

Oh, I'm sure - but even tiny clients can suffer from the problems that a web site that is only partially functional can bring, especially if neither they nor the person who provided it realises.  Professionals are only too familiar with having to sort such things out later.

That's not to say I want to put someone off doing it; more to give pause to realise that if it seems simple, then there could easily be something wrong.  If anyone wants to learn even the basics of what I said, then all strength to them.

[BlahBlah]

Web security can be incredibly difficult to do properly. I was working for a large company in the summer and the security that the senior programmers had implemented was just laughable. Everything moves so fast now, it's almost impossible to keep up.

[Alex C]

My uncle is a systems analyst and he still laughs/cries about the time some hospital administrator wanted to consolidate the billing and patient record systems without compromising security. Hospitals tend to understandably place more value on acquiring a fancy new MRI machines than upgrading their computer security, so really, the air gaps they had inadvertantly put into place were really the most secure thing about their whole operation. Apparently explaining the pitfalls was a nightmare.

[Jimmy the Squid]

Does this mean you're funding my chicken party?

It means that I can kick in for the chicken party. It also means I can afford to buy things while I'm there.

[Emaline]

Birthdays!

The only friend I would ask to do that doesn't know my other friends, so he probably would have a hard time.

But really guys, I am honestly not that concerned and not planning beyond "Oh man! Wouldn't it be awesome to have a fancy party with absinthe, and fancy clothes for my 21st!". I am still pretty sure that most of my friends would not come even though they'd be getting free expensive alcohol. So, I will probably get the absinthe, and have my previously mentioned friend come over, and he and I would drink and play board/video games all night. AND IT WILL BE AWESOME. Because that is how he and I roll.


Also, man, Amanda, thanks for your oodles and oodles of help! Seriously! Thank you sooooo much.

[Slick]

My birthday is soon, I am making pizza dough, people are toping them with their favorite toppings, then we are going to see The Constantines.
Rock on.

[michaelicious]

The Constantines are such a fantastic live band. I think I have seen them more times than any other band. They haven't come to Guelph for awhile, though. My brother will probably be at the show you are going to.

[Slick]

Sweet. They come through here like yearly, usually on or near my birthday. This is the second time I'll be going to see them for my birthday, incidentally. I've probably seen them three or four times at least. Tickets are $20 this time, though, which makes me unhappy.


By the way, is there now or have their ever been forumpeoples from anywhere in Ontario besides Toronto, Waterloo, or Guelph?

[ampersandwitch]

Also, man, Amanda, thanks for your oodles and oodles of help!

Drama, on the internet? 

[Emaline]

When is there not?

[Social Bacon]

Sweet. They come through here like yearly, usually on or near my birthday. This is the second time I'll be going to see them for my birthday, incidentally. I've probably seen them three or four times at least. Tickets are $20 this time, though, which makes me unhappy.


By the way, is there now or have their ever been forumpeoples from anywhere in Ontario besides Toronto, Waterloo, or Guelph?

I'm in Ottawa. Formerly London, I just moved here for school.

[KvP]

Blog thread,

A guy in my class today asked me to hang out with him and his roomies sometime in the next few weeks. This is kind of freaking me out. I've sat next to this guy for the last few months, and all I know about him is (a) He's a democrat, or at least, he's an Obama supporter (b) He does charity work sometimes, although it could be community service or the like and (c) He drives a truck. He's very clean cut, athletic, probably student government in high school. For whatever reason I'm suspecting he's a christian, an FCA type. He might think me a potential convert (I don't know why I think this, but it seems plausible to me) I don't know what to do. The guy seems nice enough, he doesn't seem like a bro, although the possibility is still there. But I'm being asked to jump into a social situation with a group of strangers. I'm pretty stiff when I'm out with my best friends. I have a feeling of impending doom. Something about this guy is sending off all sorts of red flags in the back of my mind.

Then again, in my history, some of the best people I know have given me red flags on first meeting.

Also, I just got done watching the second to last episode of the Shield. Holy shit this is going to be devastating.

[ViolentDove]

Judging by a few of your previous posts, I think you should hang out with these guys... I mean, weren't you talking about wanting to improve your social skills with strangers? This would be a perfect opportunity. Making small talk and being comfortable in the presence of strangers is something that can improve with practice, or at least I've found it to be the case. I used to be completely inept at it, and gradually got better.

And hey, if they turn out to be christians, at least you can have a nice theological debate- no room for awkward silences there!

[Slick]

Ontario

I'm in Ottawa. Formerly London, I just moved here for school.

Fine. London was near the top of my list of 'hey that's a non-trivial town why haven't I heard of anyone here there' towns.

[Caleb]

You should always hang out and meet new people.

Otherwise you eventually become socially retarded in your late twenties.

I am speaking from experience.

[0bsessions]

he and I would drink and play board/video games all night.

Buy Cranium and convince four other people to join you. Cranium is the best drunk board game that exists in this world, closely followed by Trivial Pursuit.

[benji]

Blog thread,

A guy in my class today asked me to hang out with him and his roomies sometime in the next few weeks. This is kind of freaking me out. I've sat next to this guy for the last few months, and all I know about him is (a) He's a democrat, or at least, he's an Obama supporter (b) He does charity work sometimes, although it could be community service or the like and (c) He drives a truck. He's very clean cut, athletic, probably student government in high school. For whatever reason I'm suspecting he's a christian, an FCA type. He might think me a potential convert (I don't know why I think this, but it seems plausible to me) I don't know what to do. The guy seems nice enough, he doesn't seem like a bro, although the possibility is still there. But I'm being asked to jump into a social situation with a group of strangers. I'm pretty stiff when I'm out with my best friends. I have a feeling of impending doom. Something about this guy is sending off all sorts of red flags in the back of my mind.

The worst that's likely to happen is that you'll have an evening that's kind of a bummer. The best that's likely to happen is that you'll make new friends. If he tries to convert you, just be polite, make it clear that you're happy with your own faith/lack there of, and don't hang out again. It is also possible for clean cut moderate-liberal Christian athletes who drive trucks to just be friendly people who want to hang out. Also: a clean cut, athletic democrat, and you assume it's because he's a Christian? Have you considered that he might be gay (not that that would exclude also being a Christian)?

[mooface]

geez, or maybe you should just not make blatant judgments on people and just get to know them first

[0bsessions]

That is false. The worst that could happen is that the dude rapes and murders John. The best that could happen is consensual oral sex for everyone.

[Caleb]

If you take that view there is a possibility you can get raped and murdered by a total stranger breaking into your home.

If you go out and try to hang out there is at least a small chance of something fun happening.

But heck, if we are looking at the worst case senario something horrible will happen no matter what choice is made.  Hurrah!

[benji]

geez, or maybe you should just not make blatant judgments on people and just get to know them first

Of course you should. Sorry if I offended, but I do find it amusing that the character traits mentioned seem as stereotypical of gay men as they do of Christians.

[jhocking]

I voted for Obama, I do charity work sometimes, I want to buy a Tacoma if/when I land somewhere I'll need a car, I swim regularly, and I am certainly not a fundamentalist Christian. I'm confused; were all the other traits supposed to be indicative of a fundamentalist Christian, or were they just being listed for no apparent reason?

[KvP]

were all the other traits supposed to be indicative of a fundamentalist Christian, or were they just being listed for no apparent reason

The traits listed are not related to the presumption of christianity. The traits suggest he's at least a proactive sort of person. The assumption, well, it's based mostly on all the people I used to know, and that could very easily turn out to be very wrong.

I have no real problems with this guy, and if he's a christian then fine, really. I know a lot of them and they don't bother me. Having slept on it the red flags are all due to this guy just out of nowhere wanting to be my friend. We hadn't talked really at all before this. We sat next to each other, he asked me about homework here and there, that was it. I didn't even know his name at the point he was asking to me to hang out. It feels like an unnatural leap from classmate straight to buddy, without any small talk or getting-to-know-you or anything.

I suspect most of it has to do with my inability to speak to strangers, actually. My lack of trust informs my behavior. I'm put on edge when people I know cozy up to me. I imagine that when I cozy up to people I don't know they have the same reaction of alarm, and I'm generally a conflict-averse person. There's also a long story as to how I became wary of alpha male types specifically, but I don't really have a good reason (I suppose it could be a good reason, depending on your perspective, but I don't think it is). I have an understandable reason, but not a good one. I don't let it inform my opinions of people past a certain point, if I did I would have very few of the friends I do, but it always dominates first impressions.

I think that the most plausible thing that will happen, given my past experiences and my knowledge of guys of my age, is that hanging out with him and his roommates will involve drinking and possibly watching a horror movie. I enjoy neither of these things, by and large, and I enjoy them less together. But if the guy asks me to hang out I'm not going to say no, as I am incapable of coming up with not-lame excuses, and my friends have been making an effort to get me out of my comfort zone and I suppose this is jumping into the deep end, so to speak, but it probably won't turn out half as bad as I fear at might. I'm not entirely sure what it is I'm fearing here!