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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Something good for today

Something good for today

by David Anderson|  February 13, 201912:22 pm| 132 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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Let’s take a break and talk about something/anything good that has gone in your life for the past week.

For me, it is my daughter’s process of maturing.  She is trying to figure out her independence and her self-hood as she gets older and gets closer to being a middle schooler.  She did two things this week that are the epitome of this transition.

Last Thursday at dinner, she started a conversation with us:    “Mom, Dad, I don’t want to offend you, but I want to make my own lunch for school as that is something I should be doing for myself…”  Honey — we’re not offended and we greatly appreciate you taking on more.

And then on Monday, we had received a permission slip and a request for chaperones for her big class field trip.  It is a full day trip in March.  I was lucky enough to be able to chaperone her all-day field trip last year and I had a blast.  She told us:  “I’m okay with you guys coming, I’m also okay if you can’t”

I’m signed up to chaperone in a few weeks.  I will do my best to not embarrass her or acknowledge that I know her unless she initiates that recognition.

So let’s talk about something good today.

Open thread!

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Reader Interactions

132Comments

  1. 1.

    trollhattan

    February 13, 2019 at 12:41 pm

    “Mom, Dad, I don’t want to offend you, but I want to make my own lunch for school as that is something I should be doing for myself…”

    Words that will never spill from our 11th grader’s lips. Guess you have to keep her. :-)

    Ours got a recruitment email from Haavaad yesterday, so there’s that. She’s not unaware that she’d be in the same class as Sasha Obama.

  2. 2.

    Jager

    February 13, 2019 at 12:42 pm

    I have two girls, both teachers, two years apart. They’re great women, great mothers. They’ve always been competitive with each other. One just turned 50 the other 48 and they still have the same dynamic between them as they did when they were little kids and poke and prod each other like they are still in Jr. High. When they were in high school I overhead the younger one say, “If you don’t take me to that party on Friday night, I’ll tell dad you were doing donuts in his car in the parking lot at school.”

  3. 3.

    raven

    February 13, 2019 at 12:44 pm

    I got the roses, put them in vase and hid them. I’m leaving early Friday morning for a long fishing weekend on the space coast so that’s pretty good!

  4. 4.

    Seanly

    February 13, 2019 at 12:46 pm

    I got my taxes done. Does that count as good news? We’re getting back a nice chunk from the Feds & even more than usual from the state of Idaho. My leukemia-surviving wife continues to do okay although her lung damage does still pester her. She heard back from the German citizen who was her bone marrow donor (donor & recipient can’t contact directly for the first couple of years).
    And yes, I know that my wife doing okay is much more important than money. Burying the lede a bit.
    We do plan to use the refunds to take an actual vacation this year. I take off a good amount of time throughout the year, but it is mostly spent visiting family as opposed to going somewhere new.
    This year, we’d like to visit a friend in DFW. I also worked on the rehab of what is now the Roland Kirk Bridge in Dallas. Designed repairs for some of the fascia girders and concrete railings. I was there in August but didn’t get a chance to see the bridge.

  5. 5.

    Yarrow

    February 13, 2019 at 12:50 pm

    Your daughter sounds amazing.

    These threads are always so challenging for me since my life is mostly triage and wondering how to pay for things while everything falls down around me. Happy for everyone else’s good things, though. I did manage to take steps to get a birthday party arranged for someone so that I guess is good.

  6. 6.

    SFAW

    February 13, 2019 at 12:51 pm

    I will do my best to not embarrass her or acknowledge that I know her

    WTF? That’s just wrong. It is our JOB as parents to embarrass the crap out of our offspring.

  7. 7.

    J R in WV

    February 13, 2019 at 12:52 pm

    I’m home from AS, where I just spent 3 weeks in the high desert and a little time in Tucson, where I her a good time, also.

    But a night in my bed at home was the best nights sleep in those 3 weeks!

  8. 8.

    Major Major Major Major

    February 13, 2019 at 12:53 pm

    Good news? I’m finally out of a weeks-long funk and I think I’m making some good friends at work.

  9. 9.

    trollhattan

    February 13, 2019 at 12:59 pm

    @SFAW:
    Tell mine that all the time. She knows intuitively but it’s good to formalize it. Mom sometimes has a disconnect and simply embarrasses her without planning to. Painful to watch.

  10. 10.

    Comrade Colette Collaboratrice

    February 13, 2019 at 1:00 pm

    Um. Hmmm.

    Now that I’ve transitioned back to the full dose of therapy drugs, with my doctor’s approval, my hair has stopped falling out in handfuls? I mean, it’s still gray, but at least it’s staying put.

    @Seanly: Glad to hear that. All the best to her, and you.

  11. 11.

    Kent

    February 13, 2019 at 1:06 pm

    My daughters get bored with the lunches I pack and complain. I tell them “there’s the kitchen, you make what you want” and they decide maybe they aren’t so bored after all. They do make their own from time to time but generally get a more balanced and portion-controlled lunch if I pack it. So it is a catch 22 for me. If i want them to eat healthy I need to play some role in deciding what goes into their lunch.

    As for the field trips? I guess I’m still the cool dad because my 7th grader still wants me to chaperone.

  12. 12.

    Elizabelle

    February 13, 2019 at 1:07 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Quite sure Dr. Samwise helped in alleviating the funk.

  13. 13.

    Origuy

    February 13, 2019 at 1:07 pm

    My employer built a new HQ eleven miles from my house and I move in next week. It will cut my commute in half. There is a fitness center only a few steps away and I am looking forward to having time to use it now that i don’t spend two hours a day on the road. The bad part is that they are using the “open office” concept, so I’m losing a partitioned workspace.

  14. 14.

    Black Onion

    February 13, 2019 at 1:07 pm

    I’m getting a new cat this weekend and I’m very excited about it. Also my wife has been approved to take the EPPP (examination for professional practice in psychology) test!

    That’s more than enough.

  15. 15.

    TaMara (HFG)

    February 13, 2019 at 1:11 pm

    I was petting Baby this morning and while I can still feel his ribs, I realized I could no longer see them protruding.

  16. 16.

    Martin

    February 13, 2019 at 1:12 pm

    @SFAW: Well, I think context is hugely important. On school trips it’s not cool – kids have no real autonomy there. They’re trapped. That feeling is debilitating for some people (me, for instance).

    However, when the kid has autonomy, that’s an ENTIRELY different matter. I will give an example – my daughter (was 17 at the time) plays FF14 with some friends from school (terrible game, btw). They’re in a clan with some other players around the world and she and her female friend from school decide they want to get married in game because there’s some perk for being married that they each want. So, you have to schedule in-game weddings, which they do, and they invite the clan, and invite me to watch. They have their discord channel up so they can all talk to each other and I’m being introduced to some members from New Zealand – adults that are all married with kids, very funny group. So the whole endeavor takes a good hour or more, and they’re joking around, and at one point after my daughter forgot (in game) to bring something and has to race home to find it so they aren’t late for the ceremony, her spouse to be jokingly declares that she’s dumping her for being so forgetful. My daughters joking response is ‘but now who am I going to make out with in the bathroom’. I’ve been fairly quiet all this time, enjoying everyone having fun but yell out for the discord channel to hear ‘what, your dad isn’t good enough to make out with in the bathroom any more?!’. She just froze as her friends cracked up. Turned the most amazing shade of red. Usually she’s pretty quick on the response, but she knew she walked into that one. I know I’ll pay for that someday.

    So yeah, pick the right setting, when they’ve got control, and that way you can really go for it.

  17. 17.

    Hildebrand

    February 13, 2019 at 1:13 pm

    My son has a great and difficult decision to make – he has been accepted into two PhD programs, University of Michigan Electrical Engineering/Robots and University of Chicago Molecular Engineering. Both are fully funded, with stipends.

  18. 18.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    February 13, 2019 at 1:15 pm

    I’m going to a SFF conference this weekend and managed to get myself on a couple of panels. I’m nervous, but this will be good.

  19. 19.

    chopper

    February 13, 2019 at 1:15 pm

    well, no snow in the forecast today. that’s a good start. my back is fucking killing me!

  20. 20.

    dexwood

    February 13, 2019 at 1:16 pm

    45 years ago today, I left my dog with my parents. 45 years ago tomorrow, I left my girlfriend’s apartment, left Baltimore, and began driving west heading for New Mexico. Lit out for the territory. A month later, I went back for the dog. Happy to say I still love New Mexico, still love that much missed dog. Leaving that day was a Valentine’s present just for me.

  21. 21.

    chopper

    February 13, 2019 at 1:16 pm

    @Hildebrand:

    in terms of difficult decisions, that’s among the best to have to deal with.

  22. 22.

    dmsilev

    February 13, 2019 at 1:17 pm

    @Hildebrand: Those are both very good programs. I know a few people at the UofC IME; curious if he knows which groups he’d like to work in.

  23. 23.

    jacy

    February 13, 2019 at 1:18 pm

    I already talked about it ad naseum yesterday, but the ex caved on the custody battle, allowing Nick to move back in with me full time and go to the excellent magnet high school he got accepted to. Nick picks out classes a week from Saturday! We still have to finalize an agreement, but that’s for my lawyer to handle.

    The college kid (after a rocky freshman first semester where he had to drop Calc, which screwed up his entire schedule and took created a crisis that took 2 months to unravel), got an A+ on his first bio test (8th out of a class of 145), and passed his first calc test. Both of those things were a HUGE boost for him (and a huge relief for me….)

    And my daughter has been accepted into a Masters of Education Administration program specifically oriented for working teachers starting in the fall, so she should have her Masters 18 months from then AND another year after that she is eligible to have her student loans forgiven for putting in 5 years in an at-risk school.

    My oldest is going back to school part time, because he found a program that would work while he maintains his job at the high school he coaches at.

    And the other kid has decided to stay in the Marines a bit longer, but he transferred from high-pressure recruiting to supply, so he can spend more time with his daughter.

    One thing I am grateful for every single day is my children — I’m incredibly lucky.

  24. 24.

    Major Major Major Major

    February 13, 2019 at 1:18 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: oh cool, break their legs!

    @Elizabelle: he’s not a very good doctor otherwise though!

  25. 25.

    Cermet

    February 13, 2019 at 1:18 pm

    @Hildebrand: Congrats! Both great schools and useful departments! At least no decision will be a bad one.

  26. 26.

    opiejeanne

    February 13, 2019 at 1:20 pm

    They’re so worried that you might embarrass them by simply existing, but their friends know you and will often come up to talk to you while they’re pretending not to know you. This phase only lasted a short time with my kids. By the time the middle one was in HS her friends would come over to visit with us when she wasn’t home. Kids are funny creatures.

  27. 27.

    Cermet

    February 13, 2019 at 1:20 pm

    @jacy: Wow, that is a bost load of good news – thanks for sharing! Nice to here about good things happening to good people!

  28. 28.

    Bostonian

    February 13, 2019 at 1:20 pm

    My son, 14, explained to me yesterday the surprising benefits of doing homework as soon as it is assigned, rather than as late as possible.

  29. 29.

    trollhattan

    February 13, 2019 at 1:24 pm

    @Origuy:
    We’re getting a new HQ (presently a large hole in the ground) and they’re threatening an open office concept. Now that open office has been shown to be counterproductive. But, it’s cheap! Ugh.

    Not sure I’m up to making the move but there’s a couple years left to decide. The aforementioned high-schooler’s college choice plays an outsized role in my path.

  30. 30.

    Frankensteinbeck

    February 13, 2019 at 1:24 pm

    My week was getting my latest book through edits. Feeling that my job is going again made it a very good week, indeed. The publisher is now working on cover art. They openly admit that’s their big weakness. They don’t provide good cover art. I can’t afford to buy it myself, but I have a friend that I think may be able to provide something perfect. And since this isn’t in bookstores, cover art can be changed after the fact if necessary.

    @jacy:

    the ex caved on the custody battle

    Those are beautiful words.

  31. 31.

    jacy

    February 13, 2019 at 1:24 pm

    @Hildebrand:

    That is an excellent problem to have. Kudos!

  32. 32.

    Martin

    February 13, 2019 at 1:25 pm

    It just started raining again. Any time it rains in CA it’s good news right now. Snowpack is a bit above average, so another chip taken out of our drought.

  33. 33.

    zhena gogolia

    February 13, 2019 at 1:25 pm

    My husband got very good news on a publication. I don’t want to give any more details as he is not a netizen.

  34. 34.

    jacy

    February 13, 2019 at 1:29 pm

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    Yay! (And if you need typography and formatting on your cover art, hit me up. I’d be happy to contribute.)

  35. 35.

    Brachiator

    February 13, 2019 at 1:31 pm

    Let’s take a break and talk about something/anything good that has gone in your life for the past week.

    This week, not much. Hoping for a better tomorrow.

    @Martin:

    It just started raining again. Any time it rains in CA it’s good news right now. Snowpack is a bit above average, so another chip taken out of our drought.

    I hear that this is warmer rain that will melt the snowpack.

  36. 36.

    Major Major Major Major

    February 13, 2019 at 1:31 pm

    @trollhattan: Our open office layout, coupled with our dearth of meeting rooms, means that I’ll be working from home 2-3 days/week for the foreseeable future. Which is not the worst outcome. But it’s annoying, because I actually like going into the office a few days a week! I enjoy seeing non-spouse humans, and the free food.

    @zhena gogolia: Wahoo!

  37. 37.

    Doug R

    February 13, 2019 at 1:32 pm

    I will do my best to not embarrass her or acknowledge that I know her unless she initiates that recognition.

    Made me think of this scene from Oscar nominated Into the Spiderverse:
    Into the spider verse “dad, I love you”

  38. 38.

    opiejeanne

    February 13, 2019 at 1:34 pm

    What’s good with us? The power has stayed on since it came back on Monday night, we have enough to eat, and we have enough toilet paper.
    The kids have been worrying over us a little while they themselves have been snowbound too and they and my niece and nephew have been checking on us and sending us silly stuff to make us laugh, but even the niece’s husky has had enough of this snow stuff.
    I think tomorrow I might be able to slither down the driveway if we need to visit the store.
    Some of us don’t really think much about some things until we miss them, like having electricity.
    Our field of snow in our front yard looks like button-tuck upholstery and so do all of the neighbors. I can’t figure out what caused this weirdness.

  39. 39.

    JPL

    February 13, 2019 at 1:35 pm

    Well my grandson is one week old today, and although he’s not walking yet (lol), I think he’s pretty awesome. His father walked at seven months, and because of his monkey behavior stopped sleeping in a crib at nine months. This is one case where I don’t wish for payback.

  40. 40.

    Hildebrand

    February 13, 2019 at 1:36 pm

    @dmsilev: He would be working with Supratik Guha at Chicago.

    My thanks, everyone. We are just absolutely thrilled with all that he has accomplished. He is a great kid. I just wish I could hang with him a bit longer when he is describing the kind of work that he is doing these days. My daughter is convinced that when the Terminators come back in time his lab will be the first place they ‘visit’.

  41. 41.

    NotMax

    February 13, 2019 at 1:37 pm

    Let’s take a break and talk about something/anything good that has gone in your life for the past week.

    I got nuthin’. Get my good fix vicariously through this place.

    @Martin

    Heavy, noisy enough on the roof to drown out the sound on the TV rains today. Again. Peeking outside, visibility maybe ½ a mile.

  42. 42.

    Chacal Charles Calthrop

    February 13, 2019 at 1:38 pm

    I got my rescue kitty from a community garden in New York city last year where she had been dumped. Even though she was apparently feral, she had been socialized enough that she allows me to pet her furry belly, which generally only happens when a cat has had people play with her as a kitten. I think she may have been part of a litter born to someone’s pet cat in the neighborhood, and when she wasn’t adopted by the time she came into heat they may have just decided that she “wanted to be outside” and let her go “free” in the local community garden.

    She apparently lived some time off the dry cat food left in the garden, but by last year’s polar vortex she was sick, starving, and had both eyes so infected she couldn’t see. So she parked herself on the stoop of an apartment building next door, and there a friend of mine found her crying, shivering, and tried to follow random people into the building. He let her in, caged her in one of his dog crates to keep his rescued pitbulls from eating her, and called me.

    I took her in and took her to the vet (who got her fixed in addition to giving me eye medicine that worked). She re-adapted to the pet lifestyle with alacrity. She can go outside still in the co-op courtyard, and seemed to enjoy going outside this past summer, but when the weather turned cold and wet she lost all interest in going out.

    Her only ambition now is to be a fat cat in every sense of the word, a goal she is achieving so quickly that at present I’m feeding her high-quality wet food (the only food she won’t overeat) and the occasional dental treat. From her point of view, this entire past year has been a great one.

  43. 43.

    Major Major Major Major

    February 13, 2019 at 1:38 pm

    I love these good news threads.

  44. 44.

    sukabi

    February 13, 2019 at 1:40 pm

    After showing this to my 3 year old grandaughter yesterday, and watching it 3 more times as she requested, I was treated to quite the story.

    It seems Sofia (3 yo), herself did that too, when she was a puppy with a pink collar. And somebody found her and brought her home in their car, and then she turned into a kitty cat. At which point she went wandering outside again and turned into a super hero with a cape and had to fly to escape some dinosaurs. ????

  45. 45.

    maurinsky

    February 13, 2019 at 1:44 pm

    I made it through an intensive interview process (2nd interview had 7 people asking me questions) for a volunteer position with my national professional organization. I have to win an election now, but it raises my professional profile and will mean I can help build up a particular weakness in the organization in my region.

    This was after getting stuck in the entrance to the work parking lot and digging myself out with a clipboard (because I took the shovel out over the summer and forgot to put it back. I love New England!)

  46. 46.

    zhena gogolia

    February 13, 2019 at 1:50 pm

    @sukabi:

    So cute! I myself watched that video at least three times yesterday, and I have no grandchildren!

  47. 47.

    zhena gogolia

    February 13, 2019 at 1:51 pm

    @NotMax:

    You survived the Hawaiian snowstorm! Isn’t that a good thing?

  48. 48.

    Gin & Tonic

    February 13, 2019 at 1:52 pm

    I had my annual physical this morning, and we determined I am still alive, so that’s good. But I didn’t get a long-range prediction like Trump did, which is kind of disappointing.

  49. 49.

    Seanly

    February 13, 2019 at 1:54 pm

    @trollhattan:

    My office recently moved & we have small, low walled cubes but lots of small meeting rooms & phone booths. The space is nice in that the colors and surfaces are all contemporary (white with primary colors), but I do miss more space for my engineering books and old plan sets. They expect us to rely just on PDFs instead of hardbound codes and manuals. They did give us all adjustable height desks even for the guest benches.
    There’s a corporate story that I’ve heard. When we were still CH2M Hill, they switched to no offices & smaller cubes in the Denver HQ. One of the structural guys with over 30 years came in & saw his new much smaller space, said nope and quit on the spot. My Boise office has a couple of people who saved every bit paper for their 20 or 30 years here and they had to finally throw a lot out (hopefully recycled all that paper).

  50. 50.

    Yarrow

    February 13, 2019 at 1:55 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: I absolutely can’t read them. I tested it this time after skipping the previous threads and nope, hasn’t changed.

  51. 51.

    trollhattan

    February 13, 2019 at 1:56 pm

    @Gin & Tonic:
    Sometimes, being “bigly healthy” is enough.

  52. 52.

    Katdip

    February 13, 2019 at 1:58 pm

    My 14 year old made his high school freshman baseball team, a driving goal of his for the past year. I’ve been really impressed at how hard he’s worked, and matured in his willingness to put out effort and take advice (except from me, he’s long surpassed my ability to coach him). He’s still adjusting to the daily grind, but generally is in good spirits about it. I still make his lunches, and he’s such a foodie that plain old sandwiches don’t work. But he loves leftovers and a bunch of TJs frozen meals, so it’s not much trouble.

  53. 53.

    Kent

    February 13, 2019 at 2:00 pm

    I’m on my 2nd career as a HS science teacher. Last couple of years I was teaching at a pretty far away HS on the opposite side of the metro area. This year I’m taking a year off from full-time teaching and hoping maybe to find something much closer because both my daughters are in zero-period elective classes (early morning) and would have no way to get to school if I don’t take them. And I can’t do that if I’m teaching across town.

    This spring I’ve been substitute teaching at a variety of high schools in region (Vancouver WA suburb of Portland). It has been interesting to really see the class divide in this country on a day-to-day basis. This is a mostly white area so it isn’t a racial/ethnic thing, just class. Today I’m at the wealthiest HS in the region. Yesterday I was at the poorest. What do I notice?

    Wealthier kids are MUCH thinner than poorer kids. I barely see any obese kids at the wealthiest school. Huge numbers of them at the poorest school. The difference is dramatic. This country has a real health crisis among the lower classes. At the wealthy school I see healty vegan cafeteria options grilled foods, and lots of good raw fruits and vegetables in salad bar format. At the poorest school it is a lot of cafeteria pizza, chicken strips, and tater tots with sodas and bags of chips. Different school districts.

    Wealthier kids have much more mainstream names. Its all Emmas, Olivias, Collins, and Ethans. In the poorest schools I can barely get through the attendance roster without butchering kids names. Every other kid has some sort of Kre8tiv spelling. These aren’t ethnic names. I can handle the Jorges and Nguyens. These are just plain made up names and variations on names. Back when I taught in Texas that was common in the black community. Here it seems to be a lower class white thing that I was previously unaware of.

  54. 54.

    zhena gogolia

    February 13, 2019 at 2:01 pm

    @Yarrow:

    That is very, very good. You do us all good every time you comment here.

  55. 55.

    trollhattan

    February 13, 2019 at 2:03 pm

    @Seanly:
    Hill? Are you now part of the JE Borg? “Resistance is futile.”

    Had friends who left/fled JE for Hill, only to have Hill swallowed up by JE a decade later. Cheap bastards, they are. Much luck with the new joint and organization!

  56. 56.

    KSinMA

    February 13, 2019 at 2:05 pm

    @jacy: So glad to hear all that!

  57. 57.

    Betty Cracker

    February 13, 2019 at 2:09 pm

    This made me laugh:

    Schnauzers Rioting Outside Madison Square Garden Following Westminster Dog Show Defeat https://t.co/zUUIuGuEQM pic.twitter.com/qhjI07Y1Ww

    — The Onion (@TheOnion) February 13, 2019

    Hope that counts!

  58. 58.

    ruemara

    February 13, 2019 at 2:09 pm

    @Hildebrand: That’s fantastic!

    I’ve slept pretty well this week. A real bed is turning out to be very nice. Podcast is continuing on, I’m branching out to producing a few shorts and planning mine own audiodrama because it is way cheaper than film. The housemate made dinner last night, too. plus cats are always good.

  59. 59.

    Ninedragonspot

    February 13, 2019 at 2:10 pm

    Mentioned this a couple days ago, but husband won a Grammy on Sunday. His second. So that got the week started on a good note. (Yes, awards in art are absurd and arbitrary. Still, it’s fun.)

  60. 60.

    Bostonian

    February 13, 2019 at 2:11 pm

    @Kent: Is your real name Mr. Garvey?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd7FixvoKBw

  61. 61.

    HRA

    February 13, 2019 at 2:12 pm

    My aggravation of the line phone ringing while I was readying myself to shower is my celebration. It was my doctor’s office calling. My low sodium is no longer a problem. My bone scan no longer puts me in the danger zone. The results were perfect as said by the spokeswoman. I have been ans always will be someone who needs to know more about any health problems. I did it when you had to go to a library or a medical bookstore for the information. It is now at our finger tips and I am always advocating the usage available.

    I love the the posts about children and chaperoning. As a mother of six, I can relate to some of the experiences.
    Have a good day everyone!

  62. 62.

    Major Major Major Major

    February 13, 2019 at 2:14 pm

    @Ninedragonspot: Nice!

    Yes, awards in art are absurd and arbitrary

    As opposed to awards in every other non-racing field.

  63. 63.

    jeffreyw

    February 13, 2019 at 2:14 pm

    @jacy: Jacy, I would love a coffee cup with a calico cat, and another with a tuxedo. And one more because Ginger Boy would be offended if we were to slight him. Bea would love a white kitteh with green eyes. Fuck Homer, he’s an asshole.
    Good news? They may be hanging dry wall tomorrow on the kitchen project.

  64. 64.

    ruemara

    February 13, 2019 at 2:16 pm

    @Ninedragonspot: OOoohh, Fancy! Congrats to Mr. Ninedragonspot!

  65. 65.

    Kent

    February 13, 2019 at 2:16 pm

    @Bostonian: Yes, classic Key and Peele. That routine is absolute genius.

  66. 66.

    trollhattan

    February 13, 2019 at 2:17 pm

    @Betty Cracker:
    Heh. Missed night 1 but caught night 2 in time to see the noble boxer win her working group. Bet you were thinking “Work? Boxers?”

  67. 67.

    Steve in the ATL

    February 13, 2019 at 2:19 pm

    @Seanly:

    They expect us to rely just on PDFs instead of hardbound codes and manuals.

    Fuck that shit!

    My good news is that I get to go home today! Not finished here, but She Who Must Be Obeyed has forbidden me from bargaining out of town on Valentine’s Day ever again. Which is fine with me–I hate eating VD dinner at Hooter’s because it’s the only restaurant around that’s not having a special VD menu, I love my bargaining team, but not in a special VD dinner kind of way.

  68. 68.

    delk

    February 13, 2019 at 2:21 pm

    No cavities at the dentist Monday!

    ETA: The CTA moved a bus stop half a block north and now it is directly in front of my primary care doctor’s office.

  69. 69.

    zhena gogolia

    February 13, 2019 at 2:23 pm

    @HRA:

    Great news!

  70. 70.

    raven

    February 13, 2019 at 2:23 pm

    We met with our financial dude and he wants me to dump almost all of my scary into our 403b until I retire in September? I wasn’t planning on some big austerity push for eh last 7 months so I gotta figure something out.

  71. 71.

    cmorenc

    February 13, 2019 at 2:24 pm

    @David Anderson

    I’m signed up to chaperone in a few weeks. I will do my best to not embarrass her or acknowledge that I know her unless she initiates that recognition.

    With “tweenage” daughters, no matter how hard dad tries to discreetly stay in the background as e.g. a chaperone on the field trip, to her, you’re still an elephant in the room at high risk of inadvertently blaring cringe-worthy trumpet noises out of your nose. Which you won’t even realize you’ve done until she informs you back home what an embarassing spectacle you were. Been there, done that (I have two now adult-daughters).

  72. 72.

    Gin & Tonic

    February 13, 2019 at 2:25 pm

    @Steve in the ATL:

    I hate eating VD dinner at Hooter’s

    Phrasing, dude.

  73. 73.

    Kent

    February 13, 2019 at 2:27 pm

    @Seanly:

    I don’t know about your field, but I prefer .pdfs on a good tablet like a large i-Pad. they are searchable and bookmarkable. I have trashed every paper manual in my house and replaced them all with .pdfs which I put in dropbox and in my iBooks.

    But I can’t stand the open office. I would wear headphones on silent just to give myself an excuse to ignore people.

  74. 74.

    Betty Cracker

    February 13, 2019 at 2:28 pm

    @trollhattan: Wilma the boxer! We were rooting for her. That was a good looking wire-fox though. My granny had one of those when I was a kid — Scruffy, a very good boy!

  75. 75.

    donnah

    February 13, 2019 at 2:28 pm

    I’m in a creative niche of rug hookers, and there are actually trade magazines for us. Rug Hooking Magazine is my favorite. Every year they accept original rugs for a Celebrations issue. I submitted the Christopher Robin rug and it has been chosen for the magazine. It’s a big honor and I’m proud to have had twelve of my rugs chosen over the years. So, yay!

  76. 76.

    Mary G

    February 13, 2019 at 2:28 pm

    The teen, who came home drunk off his ass a couple of weeks ago, has not been permanently expelled, has an A and 4 Bs and has passed his daily breathalyzer test since that episode.

    @jacy: have been following your latest battle with the ex, but not in real time, and congratulations on your total victory. ????? All your kids are doing well and I hope you start to feel better yourself too.

    Also, we have made it past the midpoint of Twitler’s reign of terror even if we can’t get rid of him early.

  77. 77.

    NotMax

    February 13, 2019 at 2:29 pm

    @Steve in the ATL

    The eyes sighting “Hooter’s” and “VD” so close together is enough to stop them in their tracking.

    ;)

  78. 78.

    Steve in the ATL

    February 13, 2019 at 2:33 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: @NotMax: yeah, I knew that when I typed it but I’m far too busy to copy and paste the words I had already typed earlier in the post!

  79. 79.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    February 13, 2019 at 2:36 pm

    @sukabi: Now that’s imagination!

  80. 80.

    Gin & Tonic

    February 13, 2019 at 2:38 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: Holding your boot on the neck of the working man/woman must really be exhausting.

  81. 81.

    Cheryl Rofer

    February 13, 2019 at 2:39 pm

    Something good is the Opportunity Mars rover, on which NASA gave up today. It was supposed to operate for 90 days but lasted 15 Earth years and gave us much of what we know about Mars.

    And the government that made it possible.

  82. 82.

    Martin

    February 13, 2019 at 2:39 pm

    @Bostonian: Beat me to that. One of my student workers has accepted that she will forever be called D-Nice.

  83. 83.

    cmorenc

    February 13, 2019 at 2:39 pm

    @donnah:

    I’m in a creative niche of rug hookers

    Good thing you added that little qualifier. :=)

  84. 84.

    Kay

    February 13, 2019 at 2:40 pm

    I got into this conversation with my son and his friends about how they are wearing flared pants that are deliberately short. They don’t reach their sneaker tops.

    I sort of get it! They look cute in them, like, younger than they are – they’re 15, 16, 17 or thereabouts. I just think it’s so funny that they took this thing that was made fun of in my day and turned it into a something desirable enough that more than a few of them started wearing them.

  85. 85.

    zhena gogolia

    February 13, 2019 at 2:41 pm

    @Kay:

    Miley Cyrus was wearing a pair of sparkly ones at the Grammys!

  86. 86.

    oatler.

    February 13, 2019 at 2:44 pm

    My pomegranate trees haven’t shown life yet in my AZ yard but the weeds are producing spectacular bounty.

  87. 87.

    Kay

    February 13, 2019 at 2:44 pm

    @zhena gogolia:

    So funny. I like they they indulge me in this. I’m like “tell me about these pants- this has to be a decision, you’re not all outgrowing flared pants and still wearing them” and they’re all weighing in.

  88. 88.

    NotMax

    February 13, 2019 at 2:46 pm

    @Kay

    Purposely exposing ankles to sub-freezing weather in subservience to fashion. Two thumbs down.

  89. 89.

    Steve in the ATL

    February 13, 2019 at 2:50 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: hey, I passed a wage increase proposal across the table today!

    (don’t ask the amounts of the increases…)

  90. 90.

    Jeffro

    February 13, 2019 at 2:51 pm

    Great thing: my teen daughter was BEYOND surprised when my tween son didn’t know who Childish Gambino was but boring ol’ dad DID know

    Bonus: my teen daughter nearly fell on the floor when I pulled up the “This Is America” video to show the tweener who CG was, and then proceeded to talk at length with them about it, get their thoughts and opinions on it, etc.

    so yeah, that was a great thing ;)

  91. 91.

    Steeplejack

    February 13, 2019 at 2:54 pm

    @Martin:

    Same. I have a friend whose daughter’s boyfriend has permanently become A-A-ron.

  92. 92.

    IcedOranges

    February 13, 2019 at 2:57 pm

    As a longtime lurker, I figured I’d share the best thing that happened in the last forty-eight hours.

    I came home to my first ‘Welcome Home Daddy’s smiles from a nine-week old. A bright ray of sunshine on a snowy day it was.

  93. 93.

    A Ghost To Most

    February 13, 2019 at 2:57 pm

    For the first time in years, every watershed in Colorado is above average snowpack levels at this point, even the San Juans. The high roads will open late, but that’s cool.

  94. 94.

    Sheila in nc

    February 13, 2019 at 2:58 pm

    Daughter accepted to a highly-ranked PhD program (in public health; her thing is health policy research.)
    Beat the crap out of some of my best friends on the tennis court last weekend.

  95. 95.

    dmsilev

    February 13, 2019 at 3:02 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: Opportunity had an amazing run. Sad to see it end at last. And the last message NASA sent to it was a proper salute:

    Late Tuesday night, scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory sent their final data uplink to the Opportunity rover on Mars. Over this connection, via the Deep Space Network, the American jazz singer Billie Holiday crooned “I’ll Be Seeing You,” a song which closes with the lines:

    I’ll find you in the morning sun
    And when the night is new
    I’ll be looking at the moon
    But I’ll be seeing you

  96. 96.

    Kelly

    February 13, 2019 at 3:13 pm

    Snow in the Cascades! the weekend storm almost doubled the snowpack from 40″ to 72″ at the mountain pass levels 4000 feet and up. Better yet down at 3000′ the snowpack grew from 6″ to 40″. While the snow pack remains below average this is enough to meet our needs for skiing and spring run off.

  97. 97.

    VeniceRiley

    February 13, 2019 at 3:14 pm

    @Kay: That put a smile on my face!
    Oh hey, I’m trying a pizza called “Mexican” and it seems so wrong. I just had to sign up for something different today. Bonus: My coworker is fetching it for me. Best thing about being an old lady is young men from cultures that respect their elders.

  98. 98.

    JAFD

    February 13, 2019 at 3:14 pm

    Am still alive and kicking. Survived The First Great Polar Vortex Of Winter (basically hiburnated for a week) and WQXR tells me ’35 days to Spring’.

    Package of books I ordered from England – some for me, some gifts – arrived today (Cardboard package with Belgian Post stamp, and in 5’x3′ Tyvek sack (Wee hours, can’t sleep, look at FlightRadar24, always see cargojets heading to or from Liege, guess that’s why…)).

    Call from Rite Aid, prescript refills ready. Gotta head out.

    Happy Valentine’s Day to all you young lady Jackals (I’m 68, from my point of view most of you qualify as ‘young’ ;-) )

  99. 99.

    Haroldo

    February 13, 2019 at 3:18 pm

    I shoveled the drive way without suffering a heart attack! (Baby steps, baby steps…..)

  100. 100.

    trollhattan

    February 13, 2019 at 3:18 pm

    @A Ghost To Most:
    Now that is some good news. CA’s watersheds are likewise doing well and of the three snow regions, two have reached the average annual water content, blowing past the average-for-date. Once the current bigass storm passes through we’ll be in good shape. Naturally that makes us vulnerable to flooding but hey, you can’t have everything!

  101. 101.

    randy khan

    February 13, 2019 at 3:19 pm

    Yesterday our contractor started on a project to fix a bunch of issues in our breakfast room.* I’m looking forward to having one place for all of our cookbooks, better lighting, and nice shelves for some of the artwork.

    *Many people would not treat having contractors in their house as good news, but we’ve been using this company for more than 20 years, and they’re even pickier than we are, which is a good thing.

    Apropos of that, does anybody know of a faucet manufacturer that still makes kitchen faucets where the handle is separate from the spout? They all seem to be stuck together these days.

  102. 102.

    Kay

    February 13, 2019 at 3:20 pm

    @NotMax:

    The pants look cute. It’s the same effect as sleeves that ride up show their wrists- it makes them look gangly. Long-limbed.

    When they were a little younger I came upon them all marveling at the fabric one of them was wearing. “So soft!” It was corduroy. They acted like I was an expert in obscure textiles for knowing this. “Cord-U-roy?” Yes, space aliens. That’s the word.

  103. 103.

    Kayla Rudbek

    February 13, 2019 at 3:21 pm

    I came back from 6 days of vacation (without too much sunburn) and I had no voicemail and under 100 emails to read through. Also had an opportunity to take some online training today which helped ease back into the swing of things.

  104. 104.

    Shana

    February 13, 2019 at 3:25 pm

    @Seanly: Lovely news about your wife and the taxes, in that order. If you get to DFW before the end of May, my younger daughter may still be working at the Dallas art museum. Enjoy your trip!

  105. 105.

    Barbara

    February 13, 2019 at 3:25 pm

    @Kayla Rudbek: And you didn’t panic that no one needs you enough anymore to bother you when you are on vacation?

  106. 106.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    February 13, 2019 at 3:26 pm

    @VeniceRiley: The first time I faced pizza sprinkled with taco chips, I turned to my husband and asked it if was supposed to look like that.

  107. 107.

    Searcher

    February 13, 2019 at 3:30 pm

    @Kent: https://www.xkcd.com/1011/

  108. 108.

    Doug R

    February 13, 2019 at 3:30 pm

    I mentioned upthread Into The Spiderverse nominated for best animated picture. I think it should have been up for best picture.
    Go see it.
    Out on video yesterday Bohemian Rhapsody. I hear it takes some liberties like all those docupics seem to do, but it was a crowd pleaser and got nominated for best picture. I plan to hunt down a copy.

  109. 109.

    eldorado

    February 13, 2019 at 3:34 pm

    doctors told me i had two weeks to two months left. that was in may of 2017. all of these days are gravy.

  110. 110.

    Haroldo

    February 13, 2019 at 3:37 pm

    @eldorado:

    doctors told me i had two weeks to two months left. that was in may of 2017. all of these days are gravy.

    Gravy, indeed. Congratulations.

  111. 111.

    Steeplejack

    February 13, 2019 at 3:38 pm

    @eldorado:

    Congratulations! Keep on keeping on.

  112. 112.

    Matt McIrvin

    February 13, 2019 at 3:42 pm

    I think my CPAP is starting to work. Had several nights of honestly good sleep in a row, though I’m still having trouble with the mask hurting my nose.

  113. 113.

    Shana

    February 13, 2019 at 3:47 pm

    @Steeplejack: I was told a story about parents who wanted to name their son something that couldn’t be given a nickname or shortened to something else. They decided on Aaron. A friend, who evidently knew nothing about their concerns, walked in to meet the new baby for the first time and said “Hey Double A Ron.”

  114. 114.

    Martin

    February 13, 2019 at 3:50 pm

    @eldorado: May you outlive all of your doctors.

  115. 115.

    The Lodger

    February 13, 2019 at 3:50 pm

    @Shana: We decided on Aaron too for our son. I tell people we cracked the baby name book, I looked at the first name I saw, and said, “Yeah, that’ll do.”

  116. 116.

    Xenos

    February 13, 2019 at 3:59 pm

    My oldest child finishes university in a few weeks, and want to come back to Europe to find work not too far from us, which is great. Other kids proceeding in various schools as best they can, which is not always great but is making progress nonetheless. My niece just got her first full time post-college job, which is great too.

    Work keeps progressing – the more things get screwed up out there the more opportunities there seem to be. I would rather have less professional success and live in a less fucked up scene, and have a brighter and better scope of opportunities for the next generation. This is not a humble-brag, as I really have a shit career by the standards of my profession. But things are steadily trending positively, and I guess it means I am wealthy if I do not need to live in fear and anxiety.

  117. 117.

    Kayla Rudbek

    February 13, 2019 at 4:00 pm

    @Barbara: I had my out of office on, and my supervisor would be doing immediate response to the external customers if needed. Now of course I have various things that must be done before Monday afternoon

  118. 118.

    Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho

    February 13, 2019 at 4:01 pm

    I got an MRI scheduled for next week so the neurologist will have results for my appointment. It took some negotiation with another doc to write the order, but it will save a visit!

  119. 119.

    Steeplejack

    February 13, 2019 at 4:07 pm

    @Shana:

    Stuff like this always reminds me of irritating nicknames in movies and TV shows that feel “inorganic”—thrown in by a writer with a tin ear.

    On the old TV show Thirtysomething one of the main characters had a son named Ethan—barely 1½ syllables—and he frequently called him “Eeth.” If ever there was a name that didn’t need a nickname! (And it didn’t seem like it was done in a joking way.)

    Somewhat the same with Anakin Skywalker’s nickname “Ani” as a kid in the Star Wars movies. “Anakin” actually seems to roll off the tongue faster/​easier than “Ani,” so why? (Of course, “Why?” could be asked about a lot of stuff in the prequels.)

    Jeez, the pointless stuff one remembers.

  120. 120.

    West of the Rockies

    February 13, 2019 at 4:26 pm

    Good luck on the field trip, David. My daughter is 17, but well do I remember that earlier age. A few suggestions… Do not uncork too many dad jokes. Absolutely, do not dance or sing. Bring out no amusing anecdotes regarding your daughter.

  121. 121.

    Heidi Mom

    February 13, 2019 at 4:27 pm

    As Heidi and I began our walk today we met a young woman wearing hijab and carrying her toddler daughter. The woman and I exchanged hellos, and as we were walking away I heard the little girl say “dog-gy!” She’s going to make a fine American.

  122. 122.

    sukabi

    February 13, 2019 at 4:41 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: yes, she’s still struggling a bit with pronunciation, but has a great vocabulary and imagination. She was very carefully constructing her story and being quite patient with me as she told it.?

  123. 123.

    Brachiator

    February 13, 2019 at 4:42 pm

    @Doug R:

    I mentioned upthread Into The Spiderverse nominated for best animated picture. I think it should have been up for best picture.
    Go see it.

    Totally agree. Earlier this year, I think most people assumed that Incredibles 2 would win all the animation awards. But Spiderverse righteously flew in and has swept most awards since. The Academy had to be slapped around before nominating Black Panther for Best Picture. They didn’t have it in them to include the Spidey movie.

    Out on video yesterday Bohemian Rhapsody. I hear it takes some liberties like all those docupics seem to do, but it was a crowd pleaser and got nominated for best picture. I plan to hunt down a copy.

    Also worth seeing and enjoying for the music. There’s a ton of biographical info about Mercury and Queen for people who want to investigate further.

  124. 124.

    trollhattan

    February 13, 2019 at 4:46 pm

    @eldorado:
    Late entry wins thread: Keep doing whatever you’re doing, beginning with getting out of bed every day!

  125. 125.

    David Anderson

    February 13, 2019 at 5:05 pm

    @Sheila in nc: if she is in the Triangle, we should grab coffee

  126. 126.

    UncleEbeneezer

    February 13, 2019 at 5:16 pm

    We just booked a trip to Merida, Mexico in October. We will get to visit Mayan temples, Haciendas, Cenotes and see the glorious Dia De Los Muertos celebrations. Very excited.

  127. 127.

    Ruckus

    February 13, 2019 at 6:20 pm

    @eldorado:
    That beats the hell out of my good news. I’m moving and it’s a threefer. No more roommates, cheaper by a bunch, walk to work. It’s all good news, yours is lots better. As was said, once, keep on keeping on.

  128. 128.

    Steeplejack

    February 13, 2019 at 6:32 pm

    @Ruckus:

    Congratulations! That sounds like a lot of positive change.

    I value having access to solitude (when I want it).

  129. 129.

    imonlylurking

    February 13, 2019 at 6:50 pm

    @Matt McIrvin: I have two suggestions for the mask hurting the nose issue. #1 get some moleskin, it is usually sold by the foot care products. Cut a little sliver and lay it on your nose before wearing the mask. #2 get some Gold Bond ultimate lotion, the strength and resilience kind. Every morning rub a bit on the sore spot. It sounds silly, but the lotion really works to strengthen the skin. I don’t use the moleskin any more-my nose is a bit red but I don’t mind.

    The mental clarity that comes with true sleep is so wonderful.

  130. 130.

    Chacal Charles Calthrop

    February 13, 2019 at 7:54 pm

    @UncleEbeneezer: You should read (if you haven’t already) the book “1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus,” by Charles Mann. It made me want to travel to Mexico, and before I read it I couldn’t even imagine wanting to go.

  131. 131.

    Yutsano

    February 13, 2019 at 8:33 pm

    I said to Hades with frugality and ordered Chinese foods for delivery. Plus my new physiotherapist has way too many plans for me. It’s a good thing he’s nice to look at.

  132. 132.

    Seanly

    February 13, 2019 at 11:25 pm

    @trollhattan:

    Yes, now part of the collective. Luckily my time is the widget we sell so if anything my workload has increased. Swallowing CH2M was such a big meal that Jacobs is having to update some of their practices and improve pay & benefits. Also, the infrastructure market is pretty hot – we need hundreds of staff for all the projects we could be working on in the next year or two. A hot job market also helps pay & benefits.

    And thanks to the folks who expressed well wishing for my wife. It’s been a hard road and even 4 years out we’re only now feeling like things are getting back to normal.

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