An open thread for personal stuff.
As usual for these threads: no trolls, no MRAs, no I’m-not-really-an-MRA-buts, no being jerky.
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Open Thread for Personal Stuff: February 2015 Cat Wearing Box in a Sink Edition
Oh man, my right ear has been blocked up all weekend, and I just blew my nose and cleared it.
What a wonderful feeling it is to hear clearly!
@buttercup: We gave our kids a xylophone, and A took the little striker and hit everything but the xylophone with it, including his sister.
And the spitting-up wasn’t very frequent, but it happened.
I kept waiting in dread for colic, but it never manifested.
@Buttercup Q. Skullpants–
Thanks! Those are good ideas. My shrink actually told me about Fiverr, too. I should look more in to it. I could peddle some skills there, I think. I don’t want or need to get rich, I just need to help out paying bills. My husband and I are trying to take our finances more seriously now that we are an Official. Married Grown-Up Couple and not just the little kids we feel and act like most of the time.
On art, I…just stared painting. Like, less than a year ago. I am self-taught in the strictest sense of the term–I legit just picked up some paint and went to town–so I am by no means a Capital-A Artist.
This is the kind of stuff I like to do. Let’s see if the code works…
That was the…second painting I did, I think? I don’t have anything more recent to upload. It was a present for my sister, who collects stoic animal portraits. That’s my dog, Hank. He will never sit that still in real life.
I guess I could try and commission work in that style…? Commissioning stuff is so scary, though. I thought about making a series of them and selling the originals and maybe making prints.
I don’t know if I could even sell any art, though. I feel like such a newb and like not a real artist.
And YES, IT IS BRAUTIGAN! I always get so excited when someone else knows of him. He is one of my all-time favorites. The only tattoo I have is “In Watermelon Sugar the deeds were done and done again as my life is done in Watermelon Sugar” in script.
Ope, link fail.
Trying again with just the URL:
http://tinypic.com/r/2vuafxf/8
It sounds like they’re willing to reschedule. If they do, what should I say? Just a simple “I apologize for getting lost, thank you for rescheduling” maybe? I’m thinking throwing in a bit about usually never being late would sound like excuse making and overjustification.
Watermelon sugar,
Maybe check to see if any animal shelters nearby are hiring? Helping people adopt might be less stressful than dealing with sick pets.
WWTH: I’d probably say, “oh, I reschedule would be so great, I really appreciate it!” And make a joke that now you know where it is, so you don’t have to worry about getting late!
I’m thinking about accepting an eviction if I can’t get a job by Monday. It may be easier for my family for me to move in with dad for a couple of months than to keep asking for money. My brother would probably take in one or both of the cats. I’m too far in the hole and sick
of scrambling.
The problem is, my dad’s fiancee just had a major health care and has been in the hospital. This is the last thing he needs.
I think the company I rented with before this might take me back because I was always very reliable when I was with them. I know an eviction can make it extremely hard to find a place though.
Ugh. It just sucks. I feel like such a failure. Has anyone else here ever been evicted and got through it? I really feel like the consequences, bad as they are would be less severe than the anxiety I’ve been dealing with since June, which is how long I’ve been having financial issues.
To clarify I would be able to take one cat to my dad’s and leave the other with my brother. I’m not going to have to give up either of them.
@WatermelonSugar ANOTHER BRAUTIGAN FAN! Yay! I’m just as thrilled as you! “Haiku Ambulance” is one of my favorites – it’s such a hilarious sendup of William Carlos Williams. I also love his haunting love poems to Marcia. There’s so few poets who can veer between humor and beauty as well as he did. Billy Collins is the only one who comes immediately to mind.
Can’t wait to see your painting. I’ll have to wait till I get home – our corporate firewall blocks tinypic. Don’t let worries about not being a “real artist” hold you back. The Artist Police aren’t going to cite you for fradulent impersonation. 😀 I’m not a Real Artist either; I just dabble at watercolors and collage for personal enjoyment, but I’ve managed to get my stuff into juried art shows and local exhibits. (I know how you feel, though; I always half expect them to slap a giant FAKER label underneath)
There’s definitely a market for reasonably priced art. People like having originals and prints to hang on their walls, but they’re not all willing to shell out hundreds and hundreds of dollars.
Freelance work is a good possibility. There’s plenty available online, although beware of scams and non-legit companies…research carefully and read recent reviews. Check out the beermoney reddit for user recommendations.
WWTH, all the best of luck. Sending positive thoughts your way, and maybe they’ll be extra lucky positive thoughts?
If you can find a place, that’d be great: at the same time, it isn’t a moral failing to need help. If your dad and brother can help, it’s totally okay to accept their help. I’ve never been through an eviction, but I’m sorry for the stress your under.
Crossing fingers for a successful reschedule and an amazing interview for you! Or another job/interview offer in the near future…
I’d stick with “I’m sorry about getting lost, and thank you so much for letting me reschedule. I really appreciate it.”
@all: Thanks for being happy I’m alive. I’m happy I’m alive. Putting a whole heap of happy to be alive hugs in the hug barrel for anyone who needs hugs for any reason.
http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/webdr06/2013/4/19/11/anigif_enhanced-buzz-10760-1366386960-25.gif
https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRpXFphF7AHeHZ1gLFWGf9wpHP-YcX5TMfNTwqEWAZOd2v0beYS
So I just found out my stepdad has leukemia, brought on by the chemo he had last year for lymphoma. Apparently this happens to about 5% of people. He’s 70, fought through lymphoma and came out the other side, and now… blam. There’s one treatment option on the table that could give him approx 2 years, and they’ve got a consult at the best cancer hospital here to see about other options, so we’ll see. Oncologist thinks about 4 months, if no treatment.
Kinda shell shocked. Really unfair.
Luckily they came back to Canada from Florida to have all his testing done and found this out here. He got sick with lymphoma while in Florida last year, and that was a nightmare financially for them until they got back. I really feel for people who’ve had to deal with insurance companies while battling an illness… it’s horrible. I couldn’t believe the bills they were getting for things that here are either covered, or much much cheaper.
Anyway, ranting now. Don’t know what to say but I could use some of the hugs in that hug barrel and a few cute animals.
I’m so sorry, Tracy.
For anyone who needs them, here are some Welsh Corgis. In my opinion, Corgis are among the cutest of all puppies.
http://cdn-www.dailypuppy.com/media/dogs/anonymous/Teddy_Welsh_Corgi_08.jpg_w450.jpg
http://sarasotadog.com/files/2012/04/Welsh-Corgi-Pembroke-puppies-15.jpg
http://dims.vetstreet.com/dims3/MMAH/crop/0x0%2B0%2B0/resize/645×380/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Fassets.prod.vetstreet.com%2F83%2F9e8de0a7f411e0a0d50050568d634f%2Ffile%2FPembroke-Welsh-Corgi-3-645mk62711.jpg
Feeling a little better. My employment agency offered interim employment. It’s an evening shift plus one weekend. It’s something crappy, like calling people for market research but it’s an open contract so they can submit me for better jobs and I’ll have days free for interviews. Hopefully something good will come up soon because that other job sounds awful.
My lease is up on May 31st so if I can hang on till then, I can maybe put my stuff in storage, stay at dad’s for a month and get out of the hole.
*waves weakly* Alive and came back from the hospital with my gallbladder intact.
And completely related: folks, vaccinate your kids against chickenpox. Because shingles you can get as an adult is pure hell.
It turned out (like some weirdo cheap knock-off of House) that the gallbladder was just mildly irritated over the fact that shingles decided to pop for a visit.
Glad to hear it, skiriki.
I’m doing better, too, although I’m still shaky and kind of sweaty.
Hi everyone… First I guess I’ll apologize for not reading most of the previous comments, and also hugs for all who need them!
I’m back from a one week vacation with my child and my compañero. it was both relaxing and exhausting at the same time.
For some reason I felt really sad and cried a lot since I arrived home yesterday, and I can’t seem to get some decent sleep (it’s currently 3 am here) so I just keep smoking and drinking wine and watching Bones on netflix.
I try not to feel so lonely and sad but I can’t spot the reason to feel this way either, so I think I’m calling my medical service in the morning to get an appointment with mental health.
I want this to be my “start over” year, I’m free of debt for the first time, only months away from owning a motorbike for the first time ever, and the trial for child support was over on November, I might start studying at the university … and I still feel I have left no strength left to carry on.
My child’s father decided he didn’t feel like he had to actually follow our (in-court) arrangement, so it’s sort of starting over, only not in the way I was expecting 🙁 Probably another whole year of lawyers and judges just to get a few pesos from an asshole who’s outraged about the fact that he can’t manipulate me by withdrawing from his responsibilities.
I’ve been offered a space in radio, in the station belonging to the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, no less, to talk about gender issues in Latin America. This is great news. Hell, it’s awesome news. This is closest to my dreams than anything else.
But in doing research for the job I just feel more and more depressed… like, what’s the point at all? it’s such a tiny difference I can make. I’m tired of living in a world that’s so violent and unfair.
And then again, this is the point when I start stepping into dangerous thoughts, like why bother? and why live in pain when there’s no real difference to be made? Why not just…
I know whee that leads and I don’t want to go back there… but the thought just keeps kicking in. Why not just give up? Why not just end all this pain? The world will keep spinning with or without me, after al.
I don’t want to jump into this quicksand, but I’m drawn to it once and again.
Then I take a deep breath. But all I have left is wine and my own tears.
My baby sleeps. I can’t let her down. I just wish I had more friends with a worldview like mine. More real-life friends who were like the people I read around here.
And I wish I didn’t feel so tired and sad when I’m home…
Sorry for the teal deer :/
Hugs for you, Lusbelitx; That sounds so rough…
Crossing fingers for the appointment with mental health to go well.
Hello all ,just wanted to delurk to say thanks to David, and especially the community, for teaching me so much. Hopefully, it’s made me a better person, but I do know that I’ve still a long way to go. So I’ll just shut up now and go back to lurking, and add a word in where I can.
Just a side note, a local (South African) gaming website published an editorial, declaring the Gamergaters had lost. The main editor really seems to have bought into the gamergater propaganda, which is a pity. (Please be good to me, blockquote monster…)
Hugs, if you want them, Luzbelitx! It sounds like it might be depression, so hopefully mental health will be able to help you. I hear you about not meeting people who share your views in real life. It’s discouraging. But, sometimes, we find what we need in the most unexpected places.
The job offer sounds amazing!
And, one mother to another, your baby needs you. The rest of the world wouldn’t notice if you disappeared, but she would. She would miss you forever. (this is what I tell myself when I start to feel the way you’ve described) Good for you for reaching for help!
There’s room under my fuzzy blanket in the sunshine for everyone! Make yourself comfortable, Luzbelitx.
http://36.media.tumblr.com/3ea653310f93220edc18e4d81b8beb53/tumblr_njb2roEzT71qe81uzo2_500.jpg
Thank you, contrapangloss! I feel a bit better today, it definitely helped to get it off my chest last night.
I’ve been calling the medical center but all lines are busy, as usually happens… I’ll try again later I guess.
Good luck, Luzbelitx!
You deserve to feel happy!
@grumpyoldnurse
Thank you… you are right abut my daughter, that’s a great thought to hold on to.
Also, baby is 8 years old now, but she’s still my baby, dammit!
@Falconer
Awwwwww that’s exactly what I need at the moment! *squeezes under fuzzy blanket with furry creatures*
Speaking of furry creatures, here’s what my favorite-composer-ever shared on Facebook this morning. It also, most definitely helped:
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