Whine like a baby, now with 500% more drama!

Followup to the followup to the followup, they just called and arranged an interview for next Monday.

I am now seriously considering if I want to work at this organization, because if an interpreter as shit as I was could get an interview, then this place has unspeakably lax standards. Like, is everything up to scratch in the fire code department? Is the cafeteria up to date on its food safety certifications? The ceiling isn't going to fall on me when I set foot in there for the first time, is it?
Good luck on your interview (if you decide to work with that organization).
 
The in-laws brought their cat over for Christmas. Snippy loves me and is determined to soak up every second.

Last night, we thought she had snuck out. She’s an indoor-outdoor cat at home. The in-laws have a chain link fence that keeps her in. She has to be an indoor kitty here because we have a lot of crazy drivers and loose dogs in our neighborhood. She doesn’t understand that and just wants to go out. Anyways, last night we went to bed and realized we couldn't find the cat. We were afraid she'd snuck out when we let the dogs out to go to the bathroom. I went to sleep, thinking that if she were inside the house she'd eventually curl up next to me as usual. Nope, she wasn't there.

At around 1 am, the father-in-law and I searched the backyard. In case she had somehow gotten out of the backyard and into the neighborhood, we looked up and down the street. We also searched every room several times over. At 4 am, the wife and I looked again. We got back inside and saw the cat just sitting there. She was looking inquisitively at us, like she was asking, "do you know what time it is? Why aren't you in bed?" We have no idea how she had eluded us for most of the night, but we've been keeping a close eye on her just in case she tries pulling a stunt like that again.
 
The in-laws brought their cat over for Christmas. Snippy loves me and is determined to soak up every second.

Last night, we thought she had snuck out. She’s an indoor-outdoor cat at home. The in-laws have a chain link fence that keeps her in. She has to be an indoor kitty here because we have a lot of crazy drivers and loose dogs in our neighborhood. She doesn’t understand that and just wants to go out. Anyways, last night we went to bed and realized we couldn't find the cat. We were afraid she'd snuck out when we let the dogs out to go to the bathroom. I went to sleep, thinking that if she were inside the house she'd eventually curl up next to me as usual. Nope, she wasn't there.

At around 1 am, the father-in-law and I searched the backyard. In case she had somehow gotten out of the backyard and into the neighborhood, we looked up and down the street. We also searched every room several times over. At 4 am, the wife and I looked again. We got back inside and saw the cat just sitting there. She was looking inquisitively at us, like she was asking, "do you know what time it is? Why aren't you in bed?" We have no idea how she had eluded us for most of the night, but we've been keeping a close eye on her just in case she tries pulling a stunt like that again.
Cats can squeeze into the tiniest places. You'd be surprised what they are capable of.
 
I have to work today.
I have to work today at noon, but first I have to go and do 2wks' worth of grocery shopping at 7:30a because the stores were closed yesterday yet still get back home in time to unload everything and perform the remainder of my hygiene rituals before I have to leave for work at 11.

--Patrick
 
Packed up every last bit of Christmas this morning. I always get a little sad when I have to put away all the Christmas magic, and wait another year to bring it back. It's a shit-ton of work, but I really do love it.

Why does January always have to be so "blah"? :(
 
Packed up every last bit of Christmas this morning. I always get a little sad when I have to put away all the Christmas magic, and wait another year to bring it back. It's a shit-ton of work, but I really do love it.

Why does January always have to be so "blah"? :(
January is "vegan" month, it's "sober" month, it's the month all the festivities are over and it's "back to normal", it's when all bosses start with New Initiatives That Will Make Everything Better, it's the second-darkest month, it's usually when you've got the longest stretch of work to go before the next holiday,.... Yeah, it's a pretty sucky month.
 

GasBandit

Staff member
Because it's the grey, slushy, post-holiday hangover month that gave birth to the Gassiest of Bandits, of course - a cause for a general sense of mild dyspepsia with accompanying headache the world over.

Sincerely, GreatBorborygmus.
 
January is "vegan" month, it's "sober" month, it's the month all the festivities are over and it's "back to normal", it's when all bosses start with New Initiatives That Will Make Everything Better, it's the second-darkest month, it's usually when you've got the longest stretch of work to go before the next holiday,.... Yeah, it's a pretty sucky month.
It’s only 20 days here in the states before the next federal holiday. July through August is the longest, and around here it’s usually dang hot too.
 
Our basement has grid drop ceiling tiles that were installed in the mid-60's. Nothing special; I think they're called mineral fiber? panels with thin, aluminum crossbeams. But these are also punctuated by heavy, metal light boxes that provide the lighting. Back before Thanksgiving, Mr. Z and I had to take apart something in the basement, which meant a couple of sections of said-ceiling were now unbalanced. We had a wood beam propping up the crossbeams, and we've been trying to get the pieces we need to repair the ceiling.

In a unfortunate domino effect earlier this evening, Li'l Z bumped into something in the basement, that bumped into another thing, that knocked said wood beam loose, and the ceiling started to collapse. I was able to catch the row that held the light box and get Li'l Z out of the way, but as I was supporting it and trying to think of a way to get the beam back in place, the damn row collapsed the the light box fell right on me. Fortunately, it doesn't seem like I'm going to need stitches, but poor Li'l Z was shaken up because Mr. Z wasn't home, and he had to help me clean up the bleeding wounds I had on my head and lower back.

Hours later, my head and back still hurt, and Mr. Z says it looks like the lower back cut may leave me with a gnarly scar. And I have an even bigger mess to deal with in the basement. Not how I wanted to start my weekend.
 
Our basement has grid drop ceiling tiles that were installed in the mid-60's. Nothing special; I think they're called mineral fiber? panels with thin, aluminum crossbeams. But these are also punctuated by heavy, metal light boxes that provide the lighting. Back before Thanksgiving, Mr. Z and I had to take apart something in the basement, which meant a couple of sections of said-ceiling were now unbalanced. We had a wood beam propping up the crossbeams, and we've been trying to get the pieces we need to repair the ceiling.

In a unfortunate domino effect earlier this evening, Li'l Z bumped into something in the basement, that bumped into another thing, that knocked said wood beam loose, and the ceiling started to collapse. I was able to catch the row that held the light box and get Li'l Z out of the way, but as I was supporting it and trying to think of a way to get the beam back in place, the damn row collapsed the the light box fell right on me. Fortunately, it doesn't seem like I'm going to need stitches, but poor Li'l Z was shaken up because Mr. Z wasn't home, and he had to help me clean up the bleeding wounds I had on my head and lower back.

Hours later, my head and back still hurt, and Mr. Z says it looks like the lower back cut may leave me with a gnarly scar. And I have an even bigger mess to deal with in the basement. Not how I wanted to start my weekend.
 

GasBandit

Staff member
Our basement has grid drop ceiling tiles that were installed in the mid-60's. Nothing special; I think they're called mineral fiber? panels with thin, aluminum crossbeams. But these are also punctuated by heavy, metal light boxes that provide the lighting. Back before Thanksgiving, Mr. Z and I had to take apart something in the basement, which meant a couple of sections of said-ceiling were now unbalanced. We had a wood beam propping up the crossbeams, and we've been trying to get the pieces we need to repair the ceiling.

In a unfortunate domino effect earlier this evening, Li'l Z bumped into something in the basement, that bumped into another thing, that knocked said wood beam loose, and the ceiling started to collapse. I was able to catch the row that held the light box and get Li'l Z out of the way, but as I was supporting it and trying to think of a way to get the beam back in place, the damn row collapsed the the light box fell right on me. Fortunately, it doesn't seem like I'm going to need stitches, but poor Li'l Z was shaken up because Mr. Z wasn't home, and he had to help me clean up the bleeding wounds I had on my head and lower back.

Hours later, my head and back still hurt, and Mr. Z says it looks like the lower back cut may leave me with a gnarly scar. And I have an even bigger mess to deal with in the basement. Not how I wanted to start my weekend.
I hate T-Grids so much. A surprising number of injuries happen at my company with ceiling t-grid accidents.
 
The wife and I have been at her folks for most of the past week. The in-laws’ cat loved being at our place over Christmas and she's been overjoyed to have us over at her home. She gets head scratches on demand and a warm body to sleep next to at night. A bit of background: all the pets drink from the same water bowl here so she has been sharing with three dogs, one of which has drooling problems. So basically she drinks dog spit most of the time.

Late last night, I had some water and tilted my glass so she could access it. She drank like a fish. When she'd had her fill, I put it on my nightstand and forgot about it, then went back to bed. At the crack of dawn, I woke up to a *CLUNK! SPLASH* next to my head. Apparently the cat had wanted more water so she tried tilting the glass towards her. Instead it fell off the nightstand and water got everywhere, including on the clothes I'd laid out for the day. Really, kitty? This is what I get for being nice.
 
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Speaking of cats spilling shit, my cat just dumped a yeti tumbler on my desk and it almost got on my new server. He's grounded in the bedroom now.
My dogs are always knocking over stuff. Usually whatever I am drinking. It can be very aggravating, but I still love them.
 
On the plus side, you get to make cool "throwing hot drinks that freeze solid before they hit the ground" movies for insta/tiktok/brainpoisonofchoice, so that's nice.
 
That sucks. I'm sorry to hear that. I also thought thought that union workers routinely brought in six figures a year without even showing up to work.

Now another whine: my car broke down yesterday. It was probably the serpentine belt and/or alternator. The battery light came on in the afternoon when I was driving to campus. I brought it to a Walmart garage and the battery seemed to be in order. They told me it was probably just the cold weather that made the light come on. I was TWO BLOCKS away from home when the steering started to seize up. Luckily I was able to limp into the driveway. Once I shut the car off it wouldn't start up again.

This is only a whine and not a rant because it probably won't be too expensive. Also, the car broke down in my own driveway instead of, say, on the highway or on a busy road during rush hour.
 
That sucks. I'm sorry to hear that. I also thought thought that union workers routinely brought in six figures a year without even showing up to work.

Now another whine: my car broke down yesterday. It was probably the serpentine belt and/or alternator. The battery light came on in the afternoon when I was driving to campus. I brought it to a Walmart garage and the battery seemed to be in order. They told me it was probably just the cold weather that made the light come on. I was TWO BLOCKS away from home when the steering started to seize up. Luckily I was able to limp into the driveway. Once I shut the car off it wouldn't start up again.

This is only a whine and not a rant because it probably won't be too expensive. Also, the car broke down in my own driveway instead of, say, on the highway or on a busy road during rush hour.
Car trouble sucks. Glad you weren't on a hwy.
 
DartSpeak is tomorrow. It's a local writing group I went to a few months back and read the first chapter of Dill's new adventure. They have a timer for each writer so they don't take up too much time. It's accompanied by a bell.

Well, I tried writing a piece today that would incorporate the bell into the piece.

Until I reached the end...and realized I don't have a punchline to end it on. I'm literally a few sentences away and I can't figure out how to end the damn thing. I kind of know, in having a barrage of ringing, but I don't know what to write for its context. :(
 
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