It's Personal...

Avoraciopoctules · Post by **Avoraciopoctules** » Wed Sep 05, 2012 3:33 am

Did my first full 8 hour work day today. Interesting feeling, compared to my previous internship with highly flexible hours and requirements that had me travelling all over the park district and nearby archives/colleges.

Curious to see how my level of enthusiasm will compare to now after a month of full work-weeks. Right now, I'm pretty happy. It looks like even temporary interns can get raises if they do repeated projects for the park district. My supervisor was a little surprised when she looked through the payroll info while she was explaining the timecard submission process.

Ted the Flayer · Post by **Ted the Flayer** » Thu Sep 06, 2012 1:31 am

I just realized that I left my fleshlight setting out. My friends were over for a few hours...

Dr_Noface · Post by **Dr_Noface** » Thu Sep 06, 2012 4:52 am

*reads*

erik · Post by **erik** » Fri Sep 07, 2012 2:25 am

After 6 months of job hunting, completing scores of unique, seemingly realistic job applications since I learned back in March that my termination hearing was a complete waste of my time done only for show, I finally have a job. A low paying job at a call center, but at least I won't be destitute. Sad that a college degree, good work history, many references, computer skills, 80 WPM typing and all I can get is a call center job.

Hell, it could be worse. I only had savings left to keep us above water until early next year and then things were going to get messy. I'm not certain my salary will be enough to pay all the bills but it's enough to slow the hemorrhage of money that has been going on since January.

Given lost wages, penalties for having to cash out my retirement and additional healthcare/insurance expenses, it's conservative to estimate that I lost over 30 grand thanks to a psychopath lying coworker and a couple cowardly, selfish middle managers who would rather fire me to cover their butts than actually perform any sort of due diligence in investigation into her fraud and slander against me.

But oh well. Things finally looking up, ever so slightly. And if my wife can ever find another job as an accountant then we will probably be doing better combined than we were on just my salary previously. I keep telling myself that this may be the motivation that was needed to finally get her back into working, but so far she is having just as much trouble finding employment as well despite being a skilled professional with work experience as a staff accountant.

fectin · Post by **fectin** » Fri Sep 07, 2012 4:51 pm

Prak_Anima wrote:What's tricky about herbal spirits? You boil the herb mix, still it, distill the alcohol, flavour lightly with another infusion of fresh herbs. That's basically all that a spirit entails.

And all Michalangelo did was chisel some rocks, yet he is unaccountably still remembered.

It's a bit illegal (which is BS, by the way), and I hear that ATF is a bunch of cowboy dicks. Also, distilling booze inherently means distilling poisons at the same time, so it's a little more tricky than just fermentation.

Maybe look into doing infusions or ciders first?

fectin · Post by **fectin** » Fri Sep 07, 2012 5:05 pm

Related and hilarious, though completely unverified:

The Dutch used to (in the 17th through 19th century or so) drink HUGE amounts of brandy; everyone drank weak beer (because the alternative was water), but they drank the same volume in brandy. If you dealt with the Dutch, you were served brandy too, and expected to drink it. Now, if you're Dutch, you've been drinking like this forever; anyone else is at a serious disadvantage.
Small wonder Amsterdam was a trade capitol of Europe.

Ted the Flayer · Post by **Ted the Flayer** » Fri Sep 07, 2012 5:18 pm

Crap. It figures the weekend that I have to spend preparing for a cross country move I catch the first cold I've had in years.

erik · Post by **erik** » Sat Sep 08, 2012 3:44 am

I live within a few hundred feet of a decent sized state park so I get all sorts of wildlife around me. And sometimes in my home. 3 inch spiders are actually kind of common. Heh, one of the three we've caught was on the couch right next to my wife. I made fun of her for overreacting and dropping the laptop on the floor and screaming... until I saw it and then pardoned her because it was a totally appropriate reaction to finding this guy a foot from your face. (not the picture of *our* spider, but it could be its twin)

And now I just spotted and caught a salamander in my living room. Probably fled indoors since it's been pouring outside. I dunno. I have no idea how this shit enters my home. Maybe crawlspace/under the floor into the air vents?

Anywho, I feel bad because I tried picking it up by pinching the cat fur that was stuck/wrapped around its body, so that I wouldn't actually be grabbing/crushing it, and I may have accidentally crushed that little guy's internal organs anyway. I applied about as little pressure as I possibly could, but he stopped moving and hasn't budged for the few minutes since I put him outside. Now I feel sad that I'm a salamander killer. =-(

[update! I was pulled away from computer to chat with mrs erik for 20 minutes and just rechecked and the salamander has left where I laid him. yay, I guess he was just playing possum. now stay outta my house little creature before my cats get you.]

Ted the Flayer · Post by **Ted the Flayer** » Tue Sep 11, 2012 9:13 pm

Remember the cross-country move?

Yeah. Not happening.

I'm short a hundred dollars. Why? Because Priceline doesn't tell you about any deposits required. I need $200 more than I thought, and there isn't a goddamn thing I can do about it. I have no place to live, no job, and no way to fix that, except I have a job and a house that's been paid for by my grandparents decades ago across the country that I can't get to BECAUSE I CAN'T GET A FUCKING VEHICLE TO USE. I want to fucking shoot someone.

Maj · Post by **Maj** » Tue Sep 11, 2012 11:23 pm

Wait... What?

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Wed Sep 12, 2012 12:04 am

Was that plane you were planning on, Ted?

erik · Post by **erik** » Wed Sep 12, 2012 12:26 am

I hope you can figure something out Ted. I wish I wasn't poor at the moment. =-(

I got fucked by Priceline about a decade ago, put in the most I was willing to pay for a ticket for a 1hr flight, they charged me 150% of that amount thanks to outrageous hidden fees and my 1hr flight took about >12 hours instead as the cherry on top. Not as aggravating as your situation, but I will double down on my hatred for Priceline as it appears they still have not cleaned up their act.

sabs · Post by **sabs** » Wed Sep 12, 2012 12:30 am

can you sell something to get the money?

Ted the Flayer · Post by **Ted the Flayer** » Wed Sep 12, 2012 1:08 am

I sold it all to get the 400 i have. I need $540 instead of the $340 i was qvoted. I have nothing left.

sabs · Post by **sabs** » Wed Sep 12, 2012 1:39 am

you can get to the west coast on a bus for less than that

Ted the Flayer · Post by **Ted the Flayer** » Wed Sep 12, 2012 1:29 pm

What about my cat? I would die before abandoning her. She is the only thing that hasn't stabbed me in the back in this planet. Everything else can slide, but the cat is with me and that is non-negotiable.

sabs · Post by **sabs** » Wed Sep 12, 2012 2:17 pm

Yeah, a cat is a problem. Amtrak and Greyhound are complete bitches about that. If you have a job, and a house waiting for you. Need to get there. Is there absolutely noone you can borrow $200 from?

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Wed Sep 12, 2012 3:06 pm

Try looking around this site. There are professional pet movers, apparently. The site I learned about them suggested about $100 per cat, and you should have that after buying a bus ticket.

Maj · Post by **Maj** » Wed Sep 12, 2012 6:23 pm

Can you rent a car?

Ted the Flayer · Post by **Ted the Flayer** » Wed Sep 12, 2012 7:18 pm

I was going to make a snarky comment, but I realized that when I was upset, I wasn't very coherent. That's what the problem is about, Priceline told me that Hertz wanted $330 to rent a car. That is actually incorrect, they want that plus a $200 deposit that they neglected to tell me. So I'm stuck here without a ral way to make that extra $200 at the moment. I'm working on finding a solution, but as usual there is no one who can help me. The people I know who are willing to help aren't able to, and the people in my life who are able to help aren't willing.

Maj · Post by **Maj** » Wed Sep 12, 2012 8:26 pm

Wow. Sorry I didn't understand... That just seems way too expensive. I seriously just rented one (from Budget) for 33 days, drove it 2/3 of the way across the country and back, and it cost me just $650.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Wed Sep 12, 2012 8:48 pm

I'm very sorry to hear that, Ted, and hope you figure out a solution.

On another, lighter (if weirder) note, I probably had the most bizarre thing happen to me on the train (spoilered for length.)

So I commented to a friend I was riding with that David and Jonathan (of Biblical fame) were totally gay (in the homosexual sense of the word, not the middle school insult sense of the word,) and that I found it funny to see the mental gymnastics that Biblical scholars perform to try and explain that they aren't.

So, as it turns out, the guy sitting in front of us (who looks a lot like Adam@Home, complete with coffee cup, big nose, heavy-lidded eyes, and balding head) is of the Bible-thumping type that does aforementioned mental gymnastics, and butts into our conversation.

He turns around and asks me "I've heard that a lot; what makes you think that?"

Now I probably should've ignored him, but I didn't because he sounded like a nice guy, and told him about David saying "My love for [Jonathan] was greater than that of any woman," and "they kissed together, and cried together, until David exceeded."

So he goes on about how that means different things back then, and that there are some kinds of friends that you share a familial bond with (although if that was the case, then why did David use "greater than any woman" and not "I loved you like you were my own?")

But here's where the crazy really starts.

He then asks me what faith I am (a rather personal question to ask a person you've never met,) and I inform him that I was raised Catholic (although I am starting to regret responding to him.)

So he says that maybe this was all because the Catholic Church taught me about the divinity of Mary and that set me down the wrong path, and asks if I'm still practicing.

At this point, I want to walk away, but I'm afraid he'll chase me, since he seems genuinely insane at this point.

I say that I'm not, and then he rambles about how my role-playing games and philosophy (no, really, that's what he said, although me and my friend had not discussed either prior) won't find me inner peace, only Jesus will.

I smile and nod and say, "I'll think about it," and he asks "Are you actually going to?"

And I say, "Faith is a really personal matter, so I think that I am the only person who can figure out whether or not I should be looking for religion."

He then turns to my friend (who has wisely remained quiet so far,) and suspiciously asks "What about you?"

And my friend replies that he thinks that people need to not look at religious differences, but rather the similarities that all people share, and that we should work to help our fellow human beings, regardless of their faith or lack thereof.

The man pauses for a minute, staring blankly as if he doesn't understand the response (he probably didn't,) and then informs us that evil started because Eve ate the apple, and then says peace will come when everyone is a Christian.

Me and my friend turn to each other, dumbfounded, and I lean in and whisper, "after the next couple of stops we head to the next car," as this guy seems crazy enough to be dangerous.

Fortunately, the guy falls asleep and we have a crazy-free rest of the trip.

Whipstitch · Post by **Whipstitch** » Wed Sep 12, 2012 10:22 pm

Ted the Flayer wrote:What about my cat? I would die before abandoning her. She is the only thing that hasn't stabbed me in the back in this planet. Everything else can slide, but the cat is with me and that is non-negotiable.

It's a bit of a longshot depending on your area, but try contacting the local humane society anyway. Some areas have animal surrender prevention programs in place that temporarily house pets at low rates for people facing housing issues. Even if they lack a formal program or if you don't qualify you still may be able to get help given that it's right in their wheelhouse anyway.

Pseudo Stupidity · Post by **Pseudo Stupidity** » Fri Sep 14, 2012 1:22 pm

Ted the Flayer wrote:I just realized that I left my fleshlight setting out. My friends were over for a few hours...

I didn't know Fleshlights were actually popular. I've only seen one in person, and the owner was pretty out there.

Your car situation sucks though, i understand what it's like to be poor and trying to make sure an animal is safe. I had less than a week to find an apartment that actually accepted cats that I could afford once and got extremely lucky. I hope everything works out alright.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Fri Sep 14, 2012 2:17 pm

Again, look into this, it's a list of pet transport companies. The person who I found mentioning it said it cost him ~$100/pet. That'd leave you $200 for a bus ticket, which shouldn't cost that much.