Topic: Blog Thread 4; Live Free or Blog Hard - 'cos we all like blogging (Read 572338 times)

lepetitfromage · « **Reply #3000 on:** 22 Jan 2014, 19:16 »

Quote from: Patrick on 22 Jan 2014, 12:41

"PLEEEEATHE BURRRRY ME WWWITH IT"

I LOLed. You captured that perfectly.

Barmymoo · « **Reply #3001 on:** 23 Jan 2014, 04:02 »

I have two tickets to a Heather Peace gig which is in three weeks. I bought them as a sort of birthday present to myself; the rest of the tour had sold out in minutes and I didn't want to miss out on going - it was an additional date added later than the other venues - so I got them and figured I'd find someone who wanted to come with me.

It's in three weeks and I have not found anyone who wants to come with me. I've asked two friends; one isn't keen on Heather Peace but is thinking about it, and one says she can't afford it. I haven't yet asked the person I'd really like to ask, because it'd be too much like asking her on a date and that didn't work well last time. I am reluctant to ask any of my straight friends because Heather Peace gigs are really pretty gay. I don't want to go on my own, not least because it'd be pretty expensive. I don't think I can return the tickets. And I won't know until next week at the earliest whether I can even go anyway, because I don't have my shifts yet.

Jimor · « **Reply #3002 on:** 23 Jan 2014, 05:24 »

Quote from: Patrick on 22 Jan 2014, 12:41

I went in to SF last night to see Autumn Sky, who our very own Jimor has worked with. She's not only an incredible musician (despite the venue's sound person SUCKING FUCKING MISERABLY OH MY GOD GET A DIFFERENT JOB BECAUSE YOU ARE AWFUL AT THIS ONE) but a genuinely wonderful person. And her band are all wonderful people too. I bought an EP and she autographed it. And when she's famous it'll be worth thousands and I'll guard it so jealously that I might as well quote Modest Mouse and say "PLEEEEATHE BURRRRY ME WWWITH IT"

Awesome! Glad you got a chance to see her and talk with her. Pretty much everything I'm doing now is her fault. (After the first time I saw her play, the totally out-of-the-blue idea popped into my head to help her get her music on TV, which started the long process of learning how to video from scratch, which led to my current job, and also to meeting just about everybody in the local music scene, which led to other projects like directing music videos...)

lepetitfromage · « **Reply #3003 on:** 23 Jan 2014, 08:33 »

Blehhhh. I have some kind-of-almost-good news and some moments of Past Me stupidity that are currently hindering possible-almost-good-news.

Found out yesterday that my local ShopRite is hiring- like, doing a LOT of hiring. There are over 15 positions open. I want the Shop From Home clerk position- getting paid to shop for other people's groceries? YES PLEASE. I know this store like the back of my hand, have a decent amount of retail-ish experience and really need a stable second job (a stable first job would be nice too....). I've also heard that they pay really well for a grocery store and there is always room to move up the ladder. They had me come in as part of a customer focus group in October to discuss ways to improve the store too, so I think that might give me a little boost. There were only about 10 of us there and the store manager spoke to each of us and said if we needed anything, we could contact him directly. Do you guys think this counts as "needing something"? Lol

The problem? I can't remember the dates of my most recent related experience and I never updated any of my (multiple) resumes. I've put so much time and effort into my admin and teaching resumes and have completely ignored my retail one. The best I've gotten is finding out that based on my tax returns and the approximate pay per hour, I worked at one place starting in 2007 for roughly 20-30 weeks. I moved here in July, so it had to be after that. I know I started the second place shortly after that, but don't remember if I was still working at the first place at the beginning of the year and can't find my 2008 taxes on my computer. Either way, my taxes obviously don't help me narrow down the months. Or remember exactly what my pay rate was.

I might have to start digging around in my old livejournal. I've got to have something in there about getting/switching/quitting jobs......right?

Loki · « **Reply #3004 on:** 23 Jan 2014, 09:01 »

Don't forget this very forum.

lepetitfromage · « **Reply #3005 on:** 23 Jan 2014, 09:12 »

Strangely enough, it was before I started posting. I've only been here for 3 years!

Update: I think I figured it out!!! Yay for livejournaling! I even posted my salary at DSW lol

Welu · « **Reply #3006 on:** 23 Jan 2014, 14:26 »

Hey all. Not been here for a while and might not post here for a while after this.

Won't get into the nitty-gritty but a small update status update:
- Moved into a new house just after New Years. Still a bit of a tip but getting by.
- Just managed to get my assignments in a couple weeks ago, then because we've no exams I'm off college till the 27th.
- Haven't returned to work yet but I've said I'll do covers if they're desperate and I'm available.
- Starting a college course related work placement in the next couple weeks.
- I've started taking antidepressants. On a waiting list for counselling which'll probably take months.

I'm still on Facebook and Tumblr for those who have me there. Just tired right now. Hope you're all well.

Loki · « **Reply #3007 on:** 23 Jan 2014, 14:51 »

Hope you are well too! Good luck with the waitinglist.

Patrick · « **Reply #3008 on:** 23 Jan 2014, 17:08 »

Quote from: Jimor on 23 Jan 2014, 05:24

Quote from: Patrick on 22 Jan 2014, 12:41
I went in to SF last night to see Autumn Sky, who our very own Jimor has worked with. (clipping this for organization's sake)

Awesome! Glad you got a chance to see her and talk with her. Pretty much everything I'm doing now is her fault. (After the first time I saw her play, the totally out-of-the-blue idea popped into my head to help her get her music on TV, which started the long process of learning how to video from scratch, which led to my current job, and also to meeting just about everybody in the local music scene, which led to other projects like directing music videos...)

yeah man, she really is awe-inspiring. gives great hugs too, hah. by the way, my buddy Cole and I are throwing Cole-chella during one of the Coachella weekends, it's probably gonna be here in Livermore, and I've just talked Autumn into playing. you should come down if you can! and that goes for anyone.

Jimmy the Squid · « **Reply #3009 on:** 26 Jan 2014, 16:50 »

Saturday night I had some people over for a Martial Arts movie marathon to celebrate Invasion Day.

We ate a bunch of food ($200 of Thai food!) and watched a bunch of awesome movies where terrible things keep happening to people.

The films for the evening were Police Story, Hero, The Transporter, Ong-Bak, The Raid: Redemption, and Ip Man. We were supposed to watch Le Pacte des Loups and Once Upon A Time in China but after the first six films it was already 6:30am so we decided to go to sleeeeeeeeep.

Yesterday I woke up at about 12. My partner and housemates and some other people decided to go to the pub for Invasion Day beers. I stayed at home and slept some more. Then my friend Courtney came over and we watched some more films and cuddled on the couch. I've had a good weekend.

~~GarandMarine~~ · « **Reply #3010 on:** 26 Jan 2014, 18:23 »

Invasion Day?

Also Ip Man was a freaking EPIC movie. Also an epic human being.

Grognard · « **Reply #3011 on:** 26 Jan 2014, 21:37 »

Falkland Islands? Maybe?

Jimmy the Squid · « **Reply #3012 on:** 27 Jan 2014, 01:16 »

Centenary of the landing of the First Fleet by the British. I suppose it might be akin to either Independence Day or Thanksgiving? It's actual name is Australia Day and it's usually a day for jingoistic displays of nationalism and racism. People walking around with the Australian flag draped around their shoulders and getting extremely drunk.

A lot of Indigenous Australians refer to it as Invasion Day as it also marks the anniversary of nearly 150 years of oppression, displacement and attempted genocide.

Patrick · « **Reply #3013 on:** 27 Jan 2014, 01:57 »

Oh man. So years ago, I briefly met this cute girl at a party, made her acquaintance, and we became FB friends and never saw each other again. Today, she walked into my work and had me recommend her a beer. She took my recommendation (Lagunitas Hairy Eyeball, it's delicious) and we caught up a little bit after ringing her up. And of course as she walked out the door, she caught me checking her out a little bit, and gave me a smile that turned my face a nice shade of crimson.

When I got home I sent her a message saying I hoped she liked the beer, and that if I'm working the next time she stops by, she should say hi again. She said she loved the beer and that she'd be back soon. I am pretty tickled. Suffice to say that old crush is still going strong.

Quote from: Jimmy the Squid on 27 Jan 2014, 01:16

Centenary of the landing of the First Fleet by the British. I suppose it might be akin to either Independence Day or Thanksgiving? It's actual name is Australia Day and it's usually a day for jingoistic displays of nationalism and racism. People walking around with the Australian flag draped around their shoulders and getting extremely drunk.

A lot of Indigenous Australians refer to it as Invasion Day as it also marks the anniversary of nearly 150 years of oppression, displacement and attempted genocide.

I refuse to celebrate Columbus Day (I feel like this is a somewhat more accurate analogue) because I feel like it's tasteless to glorify a racist serial rapist/murderer.

Akima · « **Reply #3014 on:** 27 Jan 2014, 02:11 »

Australia Day is our "national day", and we treat it roughly like 4th July in the USA, but its more like celebrating the arrival of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Colony really, since the First Fleet arrived in 1788, but Australia didn't become an independent nation, as opposed to a geographic region containing a collection of British colonies, until Federation in 1901. Oddly, we don't really celebrate that at all. Racism was a major driving force behind Federation, particularly a desire to block Chinese immigration, as this cartoon from 1886 makes clear:

~~GarandMarine~~ · « **Reply #3015 on:** 27 Jan 2014, 03:59 »

On an unrelated note. I present Miyamoto Musashi's "Dokkōdō" (Trans: "The Way to Go Forth Alone", sometimes "Going My Way")

Accept everything just the way it is.
Do not seek pleasure for its own sake.
Do not, under any circumstances, depend on a partial feeling.
Think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world.
Be detached from desire your whole life.
Do not regret what you have done.
Never be jealous.
Never let yourself be saddened by a separation.
Resentment and complaint are appropriate neither for oneself nor others.
Do not let yourself be guided by the feeling of lust or love.
In all things, have no preferences.
Be indifferent to where you live.
Do not pursue the taste of good food.
Do not hold on to possessions you no longer need.
Do not act following customary beliefs.
Do not collect weapons or practice with weapons beyond what is useful.
Do not fear death.
Do not seek to possess either goods or fiefs for your old age.
Respect Buddha and the gods without counting on their help.
You may abandon your own body but you must preserve your honor.
Never stray from the way.

lepetitfromage · « **Reply #3016 on:** 27 Jan 2014, 07:17 »

Quote from: Patrick on 27 Jan 2014, 01:57

I refuse to celebrate Columbus Day (I feel like this is a somewhat more accurate analogue) because I feel like it's tasteless to glorify a racist serial rapist/murderer.

I don't "celebrate" it, per se....but you can bet I'm going to do a little happy dance for that paid day off of work.

Loki · « **Reply #3017 on:** 27 Jan 2014, 09:56 »

GM: I disagree with like, half of that.

Thrillho · « **Reply #3018 on:** 27 Jan 2014, 11:22 »

Me also.

Metope · « **Reply #3019 on:** 27 Jan 2014, 11:24 »

I disagree with most of it.

Lines · « **Reply #3020 on:** 27 Jan 2014, 11:38 »

That's because it's essentially a list of things on how to become a Vulcan.

Aimless · « **Reply #3021 on:** 27 Jan 2014, 15:19 »

Indeed, a lesser known title of the poem is "Spockkōdō"

Barmymoo · « **Reply #3022 on:** 27 Jan 2014, 15:31 »

I don't know a whole bunch about Buddhism but it kind of sounds like a version of that, to me.

Aimless · « **Reply #3023 on:** 27 Jan 2014, 15:35 »

It is a Buddhist approach to life clarified or made concrete through precepts

~~GarandMarine~~ · « **Reply #3024 on:** 27 Jan 2014, 16:54 »

More specifically it is a dedicated Zen Buddhist's personal approach to life and the warrior's path of which he was a master. Miyamoto Musashi was a skilled architect, painter, poet and the greatest Japanese swordsman to ever live, by definition his philosophy towards life will not be for everyone. Me included.

Akima · « **Reply #3025 on:** 28 Jan 2014, 00:52 »

The "Dokkōdō" is a famous personal statement, very heavily influenced by Zen Buddhism. As a Chán Buddhist myself, I have little problem with it, perhaps because I read it with "Buddhist eyes".

~~GarandMarine~~ · « **Reply #3026 on:** 28 Jan 2014, 04:01 »

I find it quite appealing as an ideal to live towards. Even if you want to avoid being a true ascetic as Musashi did you can always look at your life and strip out excess clutter from your personal belongings and the rest of your life. Approaching things stoically and calmly is also an attitude worth aspiring towards.

Masterpiece · « **Reply #3027 on:** 28 Jan 2014, 05:27 »

I just rubbed my finger in my eye after handling VERY HOT CHILLIES and now I fear I'm going blind.

Grognard · « **Reply #3028 on:** 28 Jan 2014, 09:46 »

having been sprayed repeatedly with OC spray, part of me wants to laugh uproariously...
and the other half feels your pain.

rinse with LOTS of water. then a little bit of milk. then more water.

Masterpiece · « **Reply #3029 on:** 28 Jan 2014, 17:07 »

UPDATE forumites
SET age = age + 1
WHERE nickname = 'Masterpiece'

cesium133 · « **Reply #3030 on:** 28 Jan 2014, 17:09 »

OPEN (UNIT=22) "this_post.txt"
WRITE (22,*) "Happy birthday!"
CLOSE(22)

jwhouk · « **Reply #3031 on:** 28 Jan 2014, 19:08 »

You need to make some more posts so your post total equals your birth year!

Happy birthday by the way!

ankhtahr · « **Reply #3032 on:** 29 Jan 2014, 04:50 »

Happy Spawndate, Masterpiece!

~~GarandMarine~~ · « **Reply #3033 on:** 29 Jan 2014, 09:55 »

Always interesting to get a forgein perspective: http://www.reddit.com/r/Military/comments/1wbyiq/american_troops_as_seen_by_a_french_soldier_a/

Grognard · « **Reply #3034 on:** 29 Jan 2014, 10:39 »

... half the job is knowing where to find the right research...

Lupercal · « **Reply #3035 on:** 29 Jan 2014, 14:22 »

Y'know, it's amazing that my colleague and I who run our department are seen as some kind of tech wizards, just because I Google my tech problems rather than going to co-workers with them (we have no IT department). I also Google their tech problems that they ask me about.

And when I asked my boss for some specific literature on the Adobe Suite to make my day-to-day stuff a bit easier, he said "Google is my friend". Should've seen that one coming.

nekowafer · « **Reply #3036 on:** 29 Jan 2014, 14:50 »

That's why I'm treated like the computing genius in the office.

Lupercal · « **Reply #3037 on:** 29 Jan 2014, 14:54 »

As such, I think we're both due pay rises!

nekowafer · « **Reply #3038 on:** 29 Jan 2014, 14:57 »

Absotively.

Thrillho · « **Reply #3039 on:** 29 Jan 2014, 15:01 »

I know SFA about Excel, but today someone had to get me to help them to filter a column.

pwhodges · « **Reply #3040 on:** 29 Jan 2014, 15:22 »

Quote from: nekowafer on 29 Jan 2014, 14:50

That's why I'm treated like the computing genius in the office.

I am the computing genius in my office ('cos that's my job). Certainly I rely on Google a great deal - but then, I'm also a whiz at Googling (some people just can't find things, it seems to me). My searches find things that other searches don't reach, one might say.

nekowafer · « **Reply #3041 on:** 29 Jan 2014, 15:24 »

Yeah a lot of my coworkers don't seem to understand how to do a basic search.

Patrick · « **Reply #3042 on:** 29 Jan 2014, 15:33 »

I work retail, so none of us have to give a shit.

Carl-E · « **Reply #3043 on:** 29 Jan 2014, 21:47 »

Automotive blog;

It's been a while since I posted anything, I think I mentioned when the differential literally fell out of my Saturn. It's still sitting at the curb, I decided not to try to put in a new transmission (it's just shy of 200K miles, and there are other problems).

The van we were given suddenly had its radiator blow up (literally - three large pieces) right before christmas. I replaced the radiator, flushed the ridiculous amounts of stopleak from the system, and it was fine... for about three weeks. Suddenly started overheating again, checked the thermostat, changed it anyway, flushed the system - and the amount of crud was impressive, because most of it was rusted bits of water pump. Which failed, spectacularly.

Now, some of you may know a bit about engines. Most water pumps are on the big belt, you just take off the belt, unbolt it, put on a new one, fill up the coolant, put the belt back on - voila! Easy, no?

No. This is one of those engines where the water pump is run off the timing belt. You need to support the engine, remove two motor mounts, remove all the accessories, and disassemble the engine to the point where you could change the head gaskets if you wanted to.

So it's at the garage now. One of the few that I trust implicitly. The one-man shop nearby (who loans me tools when I need them) wouldn't take it - couldn't afford to tie up his entire operation for that long. It's that kind of job...

But I've got enough money for them to do it, and I'm hoping nothing else got damaged in the overheating. I should have it back by Friday. Then we can actually go places without getting rides from friends...

Masterpiece · « **Reply #3044 on:** 30 Jan 2014, 04:21 »

I had the best birthday party EVER

lepetitfromage · « **Reply #3045 on:** 30 Jan 2014, 18:49 »

Woohoo! We got the house!

Loki · « **Reply #3046 on:** 31 Jan 2014, 00:25 »

Woohoo!

Barmymoo · « **Reply #3047 on:** 31 Jan 2014, 02:52 »

House house house house house!

ev4n · « **Reply #3048 on:** 31 Jan 2014, 05:56 »

/like

BeoPuppy · « **Reply #3049 on:** 31 Jan 2014, 06:17 »

THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)

Author Topic: Blog Thread 4; Live Free or Blog Hard - 'cos we all like blogging (Read 572338 times)